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Seagrasses are an important of many coastal ecosystems worldwide. They are flowering plants, or angiosperms and grow as meadows in subtidal and intertidal zone in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas.

Biological invasions are responsible for tremendous impacts globally, including huge economic losses and management expenditures. Efficiently mitigating this major driver of global change requires the improvement of public awareness and policy regarding its substantial impacts on our socio-ecosystems. One option to contribute to this overall objective is to inform people on the economic costs linked to these impacts; however, until now, a reliable synthesis of invasion costs has never been produced at a global scale. Here, we introduce InvaCost as the most up-to-date, comprehensive, harmonised and robust compilation and description of economic cost estimates associated with biological invasions worldwide. We have developed a systematic, standardised methodology to collect information from peer-reviewed articles and grey literature, while ensuring data validity and method repeatability for further transparent inputs. Our manuscript presents the methodology and tools used to build and populate this living and publicly available database. InvaCost provides an essential basis (2419 cost estimates currently compiled) for worldwide research, management efforts and, ultimately, for datadriven and evidence-based policymaking.

The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming 1.5ºC–2ºC above preindustrial temperatures. Current international climate responses will not meet these targets. Thus, urgent and widespread action is indispensable. recent Intergovernmental Panelon Climate change reports showed significant difference in degree of impact between 1.5ºC–2ºC of warming. Indeed, the 1.5ºCgoal is the safest for most of Asia and the Pacific. And then the covid19 pandemic entered the equation, shutting down economies and claiming almost 1,163,459 lives by 28 Oct 2020. Its devastating impacts leave the world struggling toe rebuild. After the covid19., the world must choose the path toward a safer, inclusive, dignifies and resilient future.

Currently, reduction of environmental e ects of the cement industry is an issue of global interest and one of the alternatives is to replace clinker with additions such as volcanic powder. The purpose of this work is to study the influence of up to 400 hardening days of volcanic powder, obtained from the last eruption of the Calbuco volcano (Chile), on the pore structure, mechanical performance, and durability-related properties of mortars which incorporate up to 20% volcanic powder as a substitution for clinker. In addition, an evaluation of greenhouse gases emissions was performed in order to quantify the possible environmental benefits of incorporating the volcanic powder in the mortars. The results obtained indicated that mortars with contents of 10% and 20% of volcanic powder had adequate service properties and improved all durability-related properties overall as compared with those noted for ordinary Portland cement. Additionally, the use of up to 20% volcanic powder makes it possible to reduce the CO2 emissions of mortars by almost 20%, demonstrating the advantages of incorporating this addition in mortars.

The UN Biodiversity Conference, originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is not just another international environmental conference. Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate and the drivers of decline show no sign of abatement. Humanity stands at a crossroads. Biodiversity and the ecosystem services nature provides are crucial for human survival and wellbeing. Continued biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation will have profound consequences in human societies and will pose an existential threat to future generations.

We present a list of Chemicals of Concern (CoCs) in plastic toys. We started from available studies reporting chemical composition of toys to group plastic materials, as well as to gather mass fractions and function of chemicals in these materials. Chemical emissions from plastic toys and subsequent human exposures were then estimated using a series of models and a coupled near-field and far-field exposure assessment framework. Comparing human doses with reference doses shows high Hazard Quotients of up to 387 and cancer risk calculated using cancer slope factors of up to 0.0005. Plasticizers in soft plastic materials show the highest risk, with 31 out of the 126 chemicals identified as CoCs, with sum of Hazard Quotients > 1 or child cancer risk > 10􀀀 6. Our results indicate that a relevant amount of chemicals used in plastic toy materials may pose a non-negligible health risk to children, calling for more refined investigations and more human- and eco-friendly alternatives. The 126 chemicals identified as CoCs were compared with other existing regulatory prioritization lists. While some of our chemicals appear in other lists, we also identified additional priority chemicals that are not yet covered elsewhere and thus require further attention. We finally derive for all considered chemicals the maximum Acceptable Chemical Content (ACC) in the grouped toy plastic materials as powerful green chemistry tool to check whether chemical alternatives could create substantial risks.

The data presented in this report speak for themselves: Ambitious climate action will bring significant demand for minerals. Limiting global warming to at or below 1.5°C–2°C, to realize a low-carbon future, requires a large scale transition to clean energy.

Coral reefs occur in more than 100 countries and territories and whilst they cover only 0.2% if the seafloor, they support at least 25% of marine species and underpin the safety, coastal protection, well-being, food and economic security of hundreds of millions of people.

This book provides a unique perspective on the multidimensional aspects of the health impacts of climate change and air pollution, which include the science, impacts, solution and advocacy of the solutions. The book is intended to add a new approach to climate change by focusing on its health impacts from a multidisciplinary understanding that can be used for academic, political, faith, community and activism purposes.

People live in nature. However, substantial evidence confirms that, under the pressure of anthropogenic alteration, nature is being fragmented, imperiled and becoming less able to provide essential services. Biodiversity loss is the most significant signal of this depletion, and could profoundly impact the future of human beings and the rest of life on Earth.