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Over two centuries of economic growth have put undeniable pressure on the ecological systems that underpin human well-being. While it is agreed that these pressures are increasing, views divide on how they may be alleviated. Some suggest technological advances will automatically keep us from transgressing key environmental thresholds; others that policy reform can reconcile economic and ecological goals; while a third school argues that only a fundamental shift in societal values can keep human demands within the Earth's ecological limits. Here we use novel integrated analysis of the energy-water-food nexus, rural land use (including biodiversity), material flows and climate change to explore whether mounting ecological pressures in Australia can be reversed, while the population grows and living standards improve. We show that, in the right circumstances, economic and environmental outcomes can be decoupled. Although economic growth is strong across all scenarios, environmental performance varies widely: pressures are projected to more than double, stabilize or fall markedly by 2050. However, we find no evidence that decoupling will occur automatically. Nor do we find that a shift in societal values is required. Rather, extensions of current policies that mobilize technology and incentivize reduced pressure account for the majority of differences in environmental performance. Our results show that Australia can make great progress towards sustainable prosperity, if it chooses to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses what U.S. president Barack Obama could do to rejuvenate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Topics include commentary from six leading individuals regarding the changes including former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, president of the United Nations Foundation in Washington, D.C., Timothy E. Wirth, and co-director of the Harvard Sussex Program on chemical and biological weapons, Matthew Meselson.

The authors present their thoughts on why cities should record and monitor carbon emissions at the level of streets, buildings, and communities. They suggest that scientists work with municipalities and city managers to increase awareness of detailed emissions data and how such information can inform climate and development policies. The benefits of an interdisciplinary approach are also discussed.

The authors state that governments should not use compensation that developers pay for damaging biodiversity to meet existing environmental conservation targets such as those under the Convention on Biological Diversity. They comment on biodiversity offsetting schemes which usually try to achieve no net loss of biodiversity and mention the schemes don't always end biodiversity loss but may instead offset existing losses. They suggest offset-funded protected areas should be tallied separately.

The author reflects on the collaborative efforts of the governments and markets in addressing the climate change issue, and the move of investors and financiers of allocating more investments to low-carbon activities. Topics covered include the capacity of private finance to provide funding for shifting the world to low-carbon economy, the government policies involving carbon pricing, and details relating to the low-carbon economy financing process.

The article offers information on government policy regarding carbon trading and carbon emission. It says that the expansion of trading in carbon emission was not affected by the failure of the international negotiations on binding the targets for national carbon-emission. It states that carbon emission trading is considered to be one of the contributors in global market mentioning a 142 billion U.S. dollars spending in 2010. It also explores the continuous growth of carbon emission trading.

Reports on the need for a more coordinated approach from several government agencies responsible in reviewing the ocean policies in the U.S. Decrease in the population of some species due to overfishing and pollution; Decline in Florida's barrier-reef system; Two commissions that will integrate land issues into the ocean-management process.

The article provides information on a study which suggests that a policy change could limit Australia's environmental pollution. It notes how the country could still focus on economic growth based on a materials-intensive approach. Particular attention is given to how the study addresses the climatic influence of greenhouse gases, noting that lifestyle changes such as reduced working time are not enough.

The article reports on Chinese president Xi Jinping's September 2015 announcement of plans for a Chinese national emissions-trading system to limit greenhouse-gas production. The plan is related to a 2014 climate change agreement between the U.S. and China. Details on other joint environmental plans by China and the U.S. are presented. It is suggested that the cap-and-trade program could contribute to the development of a global climate pact ahead of United Nations (UN) climate talks in December 2015.

The article discusses environmental activist Marina Silva and her clashes with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in the presidential election polls. Topics include death of presidential candidate Eduardo Campos, environmental policies, stagnancy in economy and political corruption in Brazil, Silva's grass-root socio-environmentalism, election of Silva into Brazilian Senate as a member of the Workers' Party, opposition for genetically modified soya beans, and plans for sustainable development.

The article reviews the book "The Bet," by Paul Sabin.

The author reflects on the smarter environmental policy of California. The author informs that fuel providers in California have been finding ways to shift to cleaner processes such as focusing on the production of biofuels. Also the average carbon intensity of petrol and diesel substitutes has been dropped by 5 percent and 6 percent respectively from early 2011 to the end of 2012.

The author reflects on the implications of the Earth Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil held in June 2012. The author notes that the agreement for modest commitments to sustainable development after 2015 received criticisms, but it was expected that governments will not sign new environmental treaties. Meanwhile, the author says that attendees were introduced to global problems like poverty and smart solutions to the problems.

The authors discuss clean air strategy for China. They mention that the country have to overcome two major factors to meet the country's ambitious air quality policy such as the increase in fossil-fuel usage and the decentralized system of environmental enforcement. They state that China needs to promote development concerning the constrained fossil-fuel use instead of using more energy to ensure economic growth.

The article offers information on the debate regarding the extension of the Kyoto Protocol in the U.S. It states that Kyoto Protocol is a commitment among wealthy countries to restrict greenhouse-gas emissions. According to Harvard University environmental economist Robert Stavins, negotiators must look for ways to keep Kyoto alive.

The article offers world news briefs related to environmental policy and protection. The European Commission has prohibited the use of bisphenol A from baby bottle manufacturing by mid-2011. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has agreed to establish the 2011 catch quotas in the Mediterranean Sea to regulate the commercial fishing of tuna. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has marked 484,000 square kilometres in Alaska as critical habitat for polar bears.

The article focuses on the plan of the British government to terminate or unite its scientific advisory and regulatory bodies. It says that the abolishment of Great Britain regulatory bodies could compromise independent scientific guidance. It says that Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) has provided independent advice since 1970 but will be abolished in March 2011. According to Susan Owens, RCEP has tremendous contribution in the development of environmental policy.

In this article the author discusses the Global Green New Deal, an initiative taken by the United Nations Environment Programme for the revival of global economy. It informs that China and South Korea, member countries of Group of Twenty (G 20) have invested in environmental stimulus projects but other member countries of this group still need to invest in order to save the planet and the economy. He feels members of G 20 should take a global leadership in promoting green recovery. He says that the biggest failure of the G 20 is that it has neglected to address the economic and environmental vulnerability of the world's poor.

The article offers world news briefs related to environmental policy. A top-level U.S. government group has called for tightened security measures for scientists who are working with the most dangerous pathogens. The food and drug industry in Great Britain should allow the public to be aware on its research on nanotechnology for food packaging. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to override a decision by former President George W. Bush regarding air-quality standards.

In this article the authors discuss the long process of achieving sustainable energy system through alternative technologies deployment. They state that achieving sustainability through low-carbon energy technologies needs huge and enough time of overhauling. They add that the government is encouraged to design policies that will increase efficiency, curtail consumption and accelerate deployment.

The article discusses the significance of pristine environment. It states that pristine sites harbour much of Earth's biodiversity and offer a unique opportunity to learn how nature works. It reveals that the majority of Earth is not pristine which provides critical for human life, in the form of agriculture, development and the ecosystem services. Moreover, it points out that exotic species, pollution and mindless development have wreaked widespread havoc in the past, and strong safeguards are still needed to minimize future damage.

The article reports on the proposal of the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) in Germany. According to the author, the proposal combines incentives to help communities prepare for natural disasters in a two-tiered programme. These two-tiered programme, a climate-insurance pool would pay for major disasters in developing countries, and a second tier would promote public-private insurance systems to pay for broader implementation of index and other types of insurance programme. Moreover, Koko Warner of the United Nations University reveals that the proposal could cost nearly $10 billion annually.

The article presents a study which investigates the ecological effects on the loss of biodiversity. It notes that life is non-equilibrium phenomenon that involves a dual-diffusion process. It mentions that the evolution of an ecological community corresponds to the dynamics of the distribution of occupied regions in real space and genome space. Moreover, they found out that models on ecological communities that incorporate mutation and spatial dispersal can yield results that explains the researchers observation.

The article reports on the commitment of the central government in China to intensify efforts in cleaning up the environment. However, the intention of government has been bombarded with various challenges making it difficult to assure that the implementation of changes in rules and environmental regulations is successful. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE)and the Natural Resources Defense Council revealed that a remarkable number of cities violated several environmental laws. The information which was released in the Internet aims to alert the government and exert effort in responding to the problem.

A letter to the editor is presented discussing the international response to a controversy involving automobile manufacturer Volkswagen and its efforts to manipulate emissions tests.

A letter to the editor is presented discussing China's policies on reducing carbon emissions and its subsidizing practices.

A letter to the editor is presented discussing the Chinese government's policies on reducing carbon emissions and the country's energy market.

The article reports that as of October 2, 2015 the Indian government has announced a carbon dioxide emissions reduction commitment for 2030, noting comments from environment minister Prakash Javadekar and criticism from researchers including Navroz Dubash and Shreekant Gupta.

The author presents his thoughts on the U.S. Secret Science Reform Act of 2015, a proposed bill that is designed to make data for environmental regulation more transparent. He supports claims from scientific and environmental organizations arguing that the bill is intended to prevent or reduce environmental regulations since much of the scientific research cannot be replicated.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article by Martine Maron and colleagues concerning the commitment of a country to establish biodiversity conservation areas providing a baseline for determining additionality of offset initiative based on habitat protection.

The article states that the United Nations (UN) suspended the work of the Oslo, Norway based company Det Norske Veritas, the main company that validates carbon-offset projects in developing countries. This development arose at international climate talks that took place in Poland in 2008. The company has validated and certified almost half of the projects approved beneath the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The article reports on the MEGAPOLI project, a program designed to build regional air-pollution models for every city in the world with a population of more than five million. The project encompasses 23 research organizations from 11 European countries in which its scientists hope that it will lead to better maps of potential exposure to harmful aerosols and particles. According to project leader Alexander Baklanov, MEGAPOLI is aimed to understand the bigger picture of the impact of megacities and the feedbacks between pollution and climate.

The article discusses the importance of addressing the perceptions for the global climate change. Climate modelers have used these perceptions to analyze and manage climate change. However, perceptions can lead to several assumptions which include the increase of energy efficiency and the decrease of carbon emission. Global policy are urged to increase the progress of energy technology and efficiency through the new research, new incentives and new costs for fossil fuels. The scheme of providing more energy in a lesser damaging way is also important.

The article offers information about the United Nations meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand that encourages developing countries to step up to the challenge of climate change to gain additional money flowing into clean-development projects. The concept would increase emissions to grow the economies and help citizens out of poverty in the current climate treaty. The European Commission (EC) will set policy proposals that would scale back the clean development mechanism (CDM) which is a program that allows businesses to offset their emissions by funding clean-energy projects. The recommendation aims to increase emissions reductions in every home in Europe as well as to give developing countries incentives towards economic stability.

The article reports that the European Commission (EC) has announced that power stations in Europe will have to pay for permits to release carbon dioxide in Europe. Accordingly, the proposal will become a law in the European Union's 27 member states in 2009 following its approval. The move aims to cut green-house-gas emissions across the European Union by at least 20% in 2020. One of the proposals of the commission is that power plants and energy-intensive industries will no longer receive a generous allocation of emissions allowances which is free of charge.

The article reports on the deforestation issues which will be discussed at the global carbon emission control forum. According to the report, European companies seek to offset their greenhouse-gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol for it is generating billions of dollars into clean-energy projects in the developing world. However, the policy does not include funds to prevent deforestation, which is responsible for some 20% of global carbon emissions. Environmental experts ensures that deforestation will be part of the meeting's agenda as the international negotiators of United Nations will be gathered for climate change in Bali, Indonesia.

The article reflects the opinion of the author on the significance of the role of the U.S. presidential science and technology adviser in the implementation of environmental policies. The author said that on the interview he conducted with some of the presidential advisers he learned that although the role of each science adviser is different, some characteristic remain constant such as the support an adviser must render to the president on whatever policies the president formulated.

The article focuses on the controversies that besieged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2006, a federal appeals court examined the way EPA was proposing to regulate power-plant emissions. The court found EPA to be ambiguous in its rules. Some of the criticisms since EPA was founded in 1970 were its standards for smog, rules for mercury and enforcement changes to the coal industry. Under the Bush administration, the emphasis was on less regulation.

The article discusses the disturbing predictions about global warming in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The science behind the latest predictions of the IPCC is now perfect enough to expect a response from policymakers. The sophisticated climate models and increasing data have also reinforced simulations of future climate. The article also presents that helping policymakers decide what to do now may require radical reform of the IPCC.

The article critically discusses the views expressed in the Nicholas Stern Report. The article questions the valuation methods to estimate the reduction of greenhouse gases by the year 2050. The article also present differing views from scientists on how the present generation should value the future generation's welfare. The article concludes with the comment by economist Ottmar Edinhofer at the Postsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research that the focus should be on reducing emissions.

The article focuses on the effectiveness of carbon offsetting in protecting the environment against green house gas emissions. Offsetting is being increasingly accepted by the businesses and the money collected is used to buy credits in the emission market and this money will be invested on renewable energy technology sources in developing countries. The article also presents that reduction of energy consumption along with voluntary measures can result in effective carbon offsetting.

The article reports on the challenges faced by U.S. President George W. Bush and his administration with the climate-change policy in the U.S. There is an argument that the Environmental Protection Agency should be forced to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from cars and trucks as a pollutant. The problem is that climate change is a large and global problem that the emission in question may not make a huge difference by themselves.

The article presents the Stern review on the economics of climate change. The review states that tackling climate change would cost 20 times less than doing nothing. The review triggered debate about the issue by economists and other scientific community, and experts consider the report as more of political than scientific in nature, as it covers wide and complex range of subjects. The article also evaluates the cost of environmental effects in dollar terms and recommends tough measures.

The non-participation of the United States in the recently ratified Kyoto Protocol is a matter for global concern because it is estimated that the country produces 24% of all greenhouse-gas emissions worldwide. Here we analyse the commitment of individual states and municipalities to addressing this problem and find that, despite the federal policy, between 24 and 35% of the US population are currently (or soon will be) engaged in policies directed towards significantly reducing anthropogenic climate change. The importance of this sub-national effort, which we estimate corresponds to 27–49% of the gross domestic product, will depend — like the targets adopted in Kyoto — on the real reductions achieved in greenhouse-gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) search for a director-general. Annual budget of the program; Mission of UNEP; Leadership on environmental issues.

The article presents information about Kyoto Protocol, a convention for environmental protection reached by various countries in the Kyoto city of Japan. The Kyoto Protocol has only just come into force, but its 2012 expiration date already looms large on the horizon. A successor agreement faces some formidable political obstacles. Negotiations on Kyoto II are due to begin at the eleventh meeting of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Montreal in November, 2004. Climate science, and the tools that researchers can use to detect global change, have advanced significantly since 1997, when the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated.

Looks into the issues involving the policy makers and economists with respect to the controversy of policy-induced improvements of the environment. Evaluation of environmental policies; Misconception about the nature and purpose of discounting; Benefits of the society.

Discusses a study in the April 5, 2001 issue of 'Nature' magazine which brings economics into consideration in prescribing limits on greenhouse gas emissions by use of a model that integrates physical and economic systems. Focus on tradeoffs, the principle that a nation can emit more of one gas and less of another, of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide; How this model differs from the global warming potential (GWP) model used in the Kyoto Protocol of 1997; Cost-effectiveness logic used; Implications for climate policy.

A letter to the editor is presented concerning the environmental policies of the Bolivian government of Bolivian president Evo Morales regarding hydrocarbon exploration within environmentally protected areas within Bolivia and the construction of a highway across the Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS).

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article by Bo Zhang published in the journal in 2015, which focuses on the need for China's citizens to have a legal right to safeguard the quality of their environment.