Publications

Max Troell, Noureddine Benkeblia, Catriona Hurd, Thierry Chopin, Barry A. Costa-Pierce, Mark J. Costello. 2024. Seaweeds for carbon dioxide removal (CDR)–Getting the science right. PLOS Climate. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000377

To keep global warming < 2˚C, Almaraz et al. [1] highlight the need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food production and remove atmospheric carbon dioxide by 2050. They provided an expert analysis of the potential of terrestrial based biological methods of carbon dioxide removal (CDR), including technologies that “demonstrated high impact potential supported by peer-reviewed literature”. However, scientific...

Per Olsson, Michele-Lee Moore. 2024. A resilience-based transformations approach to peacebuilding and transformative justice. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101392

Moving from a state of war or violent conflict will require a transformation, but there are no guarantees that transformations automatically lead to peace, sustainability, and justice. This review focuses on the temporary phase when a system is in limbo between the existing, dominant state and a new alternative state. We combine insights from a resilience approach to transformations with peacebuilding and transformative justic...

Bunge, A.C., Mazac, R., Clark, M. et al. Sustainability benefits of transitioning from current diets to plant-based alternatives or whole-food diets in Sweden. Nat Commun 15, 951 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45328-6

Plant-based alternatives (PBAs) are increasingly becoming part of diets. Here, we investigate the environmental, nutritional, and economic implications of replacing animal-source foods (ASFs) with PBAs or whole foods (WFs) in the Swedish diet. Utilising two functional units (mass and energy), we model vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian scenarios, each based on PBAs or WFs. Our results demonstrate that PBA-rich diets substantia...

Wood, Amanda, Queiroz, Cibele, Deutsch, Lisa, Gonzalez-Mon, Blanca, Jonell, Malin, Pereira, Laura, Sinare, Hanna, Svedin, Uno, Wassenius, Emmy. 2023. Reframing the local-global food systems debate through a resilience lens. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/S43016-022-00662-0

Despite the growing knowledge that food system solutions should account for interactions and drivers across scales, broader societal debate on how to solve food system challenges is often focused on two dichotomous perspectives and associated solutions: either more localized food systems or greater global coordination of food systems. The debate has found problematic expressions in contemporary challenges, prompting us to revi...

Collste, David, Aguiar, Ana Paula D., Harmackova, Zuzana, V, Galafassi, Diego, Pereira, Laura M., Selomane, Odirilwe, van Der Leeuw, Sander. 2023. Participatory pathways to the Sustainable Development Goals: inviting divergent perspectives through a cross-scale systems approach. Environmental Research Communications. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ACCE25

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include social and ecological goals for humanity. Navigating towards reaching the goals requires the systematic inclusion of perspectives from a diversity of voices. Yet, the development of global sustainability pathways often lacks perspectives from the Global South. To help fill this gap, this paper introduces a participatory approach for visioning and exploring sustain...

Rammelt, Crelis F., Gupta, Joyeeta, Liverman, Diana, Scholtens, Joeri, Ciobanu, Daniel, Abrams, Jesse F., Bai, Xuemei, Gifford, Lauren, Gordon, Christopher, Hurlbert, Margot, Inoue, Cristina Y. A., Jacobson, Lisa, Lade, Steven J., Lenton, Timothy M., McKay, David I. Armstrong, Nakicenovic, Nebojsa, Okereke, Chukwumerije, Otto, Ilona M., Pereira, Laura M., Prodani, Klaudia, Rockstrom, Johan, Stewart-Koster, Ben, Verburg, Peter H., Zimm, Caroline. 2023. Impacts of meeting minimum access on critical earth systems amidst the Great Inequality. Nature Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/S41893-022-00995-5

The Sustainable Development Goals aim to improve access to resources and services, reduce environmental degradation, eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. However, the magnitude of the environmental burden that would arise from meeting the needs of the poorest is under debate—especially when compared to much larger burdens from the rich. We show that the ‘Great Acceleration’ of human impacts was characterized by a ‘Great In...

Cork, Steven, Alexandra, Carla, Alvarez-Romero, Jorge G., Bennett, Elena M., Berbes-Blazquez, Marta, Bohensky, Erin, Bok, Barbara, Costanza, Robert, Hashimoto, Shizuka, Hill, Rosemary, Inayatullah, Sohail, Kok, Kasper, Kuiper, Jan J., Moglia, Magnus, Pereira, Laura, Peterson, Garry, Weeks, Rebecca, Wyborn, Carina. 2023. Exploring Alternative Futures in the Anthropocene. Annual Review of Environment and Resources. https://doi.org/10.1146/ANNUREV-ENVIRON-112321-095011

Many challenges posed by the current Anthropocene epoch require fundamental transformations to humanity's relationships with the rest of the planet. Achieving such transformations requires that humanity improve its understanding of the current situation and enhance its ability to imagine pathways toward alternative, preferable futures. We review advances in addressing these challenges that employ systematic and structured thin...

Duran, America Paz, Kuiper, Jan J., Aguiar, Ana Paula Dutra, Cheung, William W. L., Diaw, Mariteuw Chimere, Halouani, Ghassen, Hashimoto, Shizuka, Gasalla, Maria A., Peterson, Garry D., Schoolenberg, Machteld A., Abbasov, Rovshan, Acosta, Lilibeth A., Armenteras, Dolors, Davila, Federico, Denboba, Mekuria Argaw, Harrison, Paula A., Harhash, Khaled Allam, Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Sylvia, Kim, HyeJin, Lundquist, Carolyn J., Miller, Brian W., Okayasu, Sana, Pichs-Madruga, Ramon, Sathyapalan, Jyothis, Saysel, Ali Kerem, Yu, Dandan, Pereira, Laura M.. 2023. Bringing the Nature Futures Framework to life: creating a set of illustrative narratives of nature futures. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11625-023-01316-1

To halt further destruction of the biosphere, most people and societies around the globe need to transform their relationships with nature. The internationally agreed vision under the Convention of Biological Diversity—Living in harmony with nature—is that “By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all ...

Coste, Madeleine, Pereira, Laura, Charman, Andrew, Petersen, Leif, Hawkes, Corinna. 2023. 'Hampers' as an effective strategy to shift towards sustainable diets in South African low-income communities. Development Southern Africa. https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2022.2028605

Transitioning towards sustainable diets is imperative to avoid the worst effects of climate change, environmental degradation, and malnutrition. In South Africa, households most vulnerable to food insecurity employ various strategies to access food. These include purchasing hampers; a combination of staple foods sold in bulk at a discounted price, which are cake wheat flour, super maize meal, white sugar, cooking oil, and whit...

Gupta, Joyeeta, Prodani, Klaudia, Bai, Xuemi, Gifford, Lauren, Lenton, Tim M., Otto, Ilona, Pereira, Laura, Rammelt, Crelis, Scholtens, Joeri, Tabara, Joan David. 2023. Earth system boundaries and Earth system justice: sharing the ecospace. Environmental Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2023.2234794

The literature on planetary and Earth system boundaries calls on humans to live within those boundaries. Sharing such limited ecospace raises questions of justice. Global environmental assessments and scholarship are increasingly paying attention to justice issues, yet inadequately define how to share the limited ecospace. Against this background we ask: how can global environmental assessments’ concerns for justice be enhance...