Sustainability Horizons is CISL’s monthly scan of issues and evidence coming into view, but which may not yet feature in the mainstream sustainability debate. This is not a prediction of the future, but a way of helping practitioners and policymakers to get early notice of new ideas, trends or evidence, to inform their own view of what might or should happen as a result. Find out more about our own work in developing new ideas and approaches that have the potential to deliver transformational change and rewire the economy.

Latest review

IPCC special report on the ocean and cryosphere

November 2019: special report on oceans and the cryosphere emphasises calls to accelerate a transition to a zero carbon economy and place at least 30% of the world’s oceans under protection. Rising temperatures, acidification, and lower oxygen levels in the oceans are severely impacting human and marine life.

Urban agriculture

November 2019: Community gardens and urban farms under the umbrella of urban agriculture can contribute to combatting inner city ‘food deserts’, improve air quality, provide green spaces, and reduce CO2 emissions. A new paper calls for holistic and strategic interventions to expand such networks and adopt urban planning mechanisms.

Tidal barrages

November 2019: Designs for a mooted tidal energy barrage on the Mersey Estuary include social and economic opportunities beyond energy generation. However, concerns about high initial capital costs and adverse impacts on local wildlife habitats remain and challenge the project’s realisation.

Mental rigidity

November 2019: The level of cognitive flexibility in humans influences how people process stimuli and shape their ability to find compromise. Designing training and education strategies that enhance cognitive flexibility may contribute to combatting radicalisation and extreme partisanship on both ends of the political spectrum.

Investment performance of green bonds

November 2019: Central banks are expanding the triad of safety, liquidity, and return on investments to include ESG indices. This trend is prompting foreign exchange investments into green bonds and increases returns on investments that are on par with benchmarks across conventional investment sectors.

Economy of Borneo’s rainforest

November 2019: Infrastructure plans for creating a Pan-Borneo Highway are placing the region’s biodiversity at risk. Recent findings suggest that there are greater economic benefits in maintaining biodiversity and supporting emerging bio-economies than in depletion of natural resources.

Investments into tackling climate change

November 2019: Quantifying risks to critical systems finds that investing into climate change mitigation shows positive returns when compared to the projected costs of climate change impacts; hence reinforces the benefits of avoiding them.

Mental Health in Prisons

October 2019: Including horticulture programmes in prison shows a positive effect on prisoner’s mental health. The study highlights that engaging with plants as part of rehabilitation and community service may lower the risk of recidivism and support a successful transition into society.

Sustainable Palm Oil

October 2019: Connecting isolated high conservation value forest fragments using forest corridors across palm oil plantations could contribute to a more sustainable production of palm oil. The paper calls for the RSPO to include clearer guidelines and criteria on the connectivity of set–aside forests.

EU’s CAP

October 2019: Reforms of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) may not be efficient in improving or re-designing mechanisms to address climate change, land use, and biodiversity loss. Scientists are calling for a stronger focus on sustainability, an increased number of scientists partaking in negotiations, and a reduced influence of agri-business representatives.

Other resources

Education

Contact

Adele Wiliams

Adele Williams, Communications and Media Manager

Email | T: +44 (0)1223 768451

Disclaimer

The views expressed in these external research papers are those of the authors and do not represent an official position of CISL, the University of Cambridge, or any of its individual business partners or clients.

Sustainability Horizons: what’s coming into view?

Find out more about our own work in developing new ideas and approaches that have the potential to deliver transformational change and rewire the economy.