Using a systems thinking approach to assess the complex interplay between sustainable development goals, climate change, and humanitarian operations

Just eight years from now, in 2030, the world will once again review our progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a bold set of 17 interconnected goals with 169 targets, agreed upon by the 191 United Nations (UN) members, centered around creating a more equitable world for all. The SDGs were originally published in 2015 on the seventieth anniversary of the UN to set out a “supremely ambitious and transformational vision…a world free of poverty, hunger, disease and want, where all life can thrive” [1]. The SDGs were developed with a full recognition that humanity’s needs are deeply connected and not siloed. Despite this recognition, we continue to approach humanity’s needs in ways that belie the interconnectedness of those needs; we continue to work in ways that do not fully acknowledge that basic development needs such as housing, water, food, gender equality, food insecurity, poverty alleviation, and the environment are interconnected. We believe this is unacceptable because it fragments the discourse around the fullness of what humanity itself needs to thrive.The world of research is just as fragmented as the world of programs and policies around the SDGs. Development aid and government investments in sectoral programs are normally examined for their impacts on narrow outcomes. For example, few programs in nonhealth sectors are assessed for their influence on human health outcomes. While annual global development aid reached $161.2 billion in 2020 [2], economic and agricultural development programs rarely evaluate their health impacts [3, 4]. More importantly, most poverty alleviation and food security programs are not developed with improving health or health equity as a key objective, and as a result, improvements in health are not optimized with traditional development approaches. Additional research examining the linkage between poverty alleviation, improved food security, gender equality, planetary health, and human health could further encourage large global health and development actors to invest in more interdisciplinary approaches.Systemic racism as well as ethnic, gender, and other forms of discrimination negatively affect progress toward achieving the SDGs. Minoritized racial and ethnic groups are generally further behind advantaged racial and ethnic groups in poverty, economic growth, and access to clean water and food, all of which adversely affect health and well-being. Those who live in poverty typically have less access to food, less access to clean water and sanitation, and more exposure to pollution than those who have a higher income [5]. Physical and psychological health disparities are further exacerbated by racial disparities related to environmental injustice and climate change [6]. Despite a call by several UN human rights groups, the SDGs are silent on the eradication of systemic racism and racial, ethnic, and many other forms of discrimination, which constitute global barriers to human development and the fulfillment of human rights throughout the life span.Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the world had made substantial progress toward ending poverty in all its forms (SDG 1). While 36% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty in 1990, by 2015 this had fallen to 10%. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it is estimated that an additional half a billion people have been pushed or pushed further into poverty [7]. The effects of infectious diseases like COVID-19 on economic outcomes serve as yet another illustration of the strong positive correlation established between health and wealth over decades of economics research. Moreover, a vibrant literature in economics has demonstrated a strong bidirectional relationship between health and economic outcomes in both low- and high-income countries [8]. This research has demonstrated that there are large returns to investing in health and that programs that protect or improve economic outcomes—such as social protection programs—result in significant health improvements as well. Moreover, in the field of economics, the past two decades have witnessed a revolution in scientific methods for learning how to end poverty and improve well-being in low- and middle-income countries. Randomized trials of interventions and policies have become far more common and have opened new possibilities for understanding how to achieve SDG 1, and also with important impacts on SDG 3 (“Good health and well-being”) [9]. However, most of the economic research on poverty alleviation and health in low- and middle-income countries typically appears in journals that are not widely read by health scientists or by stakeholders in the countries where the research takes place. Through the section on SDG 1, Advances in Global Health aims to provide new opportunities for dissemination of research on the linkages between poverty and health.Food insecurity and poor diets (SDG 2) compromise nutrition and health outcomes in profound ways. Global and national models suggest that malnutrition and poor diets are the leading contributors to the burden of disease around the world [10]. These impacts operate through multiple pathways. For instance, maternal and child undernutrition contribute to almost half of all child deaths each year in the developing world, and 11% of the global burden of disease, including noncommunicable disease, is linked to poor diets [11]. These poor health outcomes, in turn, can affect other SDGs through increased health expenditures, loss of wages when people are too sick to work, or care burdens that often fall disproportionately on women. The connections between food insecurity, diets, nutrition, and health are strong, mutually reinforcing, and rooted in social and economic inequities. Often, the intergenerational transmission of food insecurity and poor nutrition prevents families and communities from escaping these vicious cycles. And yet too much research on food security and nutrition is out of the view of those working on achieving health goals, because it sits in literatures in agriculture, food policy, nutrition, and economics, and lacks a transdisciplinary and trans-SDG emphasis.Gender issues and global health challenges are diverse, emanating out of a complex global context, including a multiplicity of social and cultural contexts. SDG 5 is committed to gender equality, with several targets geared toward ending discrimination against women and improving their opportunities, especially in economics, leadership, and reproductive health. Gender equality is important to advancing global health for several reasons [12, 13]. Without attention to gender equality, females will continue to suffer from reproductive health challenges such as high rates of teenage pregnancies, infertility, and maternal mortality and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Beyond reproductive health, gender matters in the field of gender-based violence, access to health-care services, gender-disaggregated data, and much more [14, 15, 16]. These, in turn, invite us to interrogate the gender-biased norms and gender responsiveness of health policies, financing, and the entire political economy. Engendered by different crises and challenges, these matters play out differently in unique cultural and social environments.Since the 1950s and 1960s, humans have been transforming and disrupting most of our planet’s natural systems at a much-accelerated pace, from the deep oceans to the upper atmosphere, causing loss of biodiversity, overexploitation of fisheries, rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, acidification of oceans, and loss of tropical forests. Those disruptions interact with each other in complex ways to alter the fundamental conditions for human health and well-being and, ultimately, affect nearly every dimension of human health [17]. Planetary health focuses on understanding and quantifying the human health impacts of these global environmental disruptions and on developing solutions that will allow humanity and the natural systems we depend on to thrive now and in the future [18]. Our vision is to encourage the preservation and sustainability of natural systems for the benefit of human health (SDG 3), aligned with SDGs 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life below Water), and 15 (Life on Land) through the study and characterization of the inextricably linked dependencies between human health and the health of natural systems.Inequities in the representation of scientists from low- and middle-income countries as well as minority groups in most countries has plagued academic research. For example, in a systematic review of health research in sub-Saharan Africa between 2014 and 2016, 14% of papers had no local coauthors (i.e., from the country where the research took place), and representation of local coauthors as first author was also low (23%) when the research involved researchers from the United States, Canada, or Europe [19]. This is consistent with extensive global health literature [20, 21]. Even higher rates of nonrepresentation of local coauthors are reported in economics research that takes place in low- and middle-income countries. A recent review discovered that only 23% of first authors were from the country of the study’s focus [22, 23]. Research funding and publication fees contribute to such inequities and are some of the barriers that need to be addressed to improve equity in the recognition of research. We believe that supporting the SDGs cannot be separated from addressing these significant inequities in research dissemination.Advances in Global Health is a peer-reviewed, open-access research journal that is committed to decolonizing and democratizing global health. This entails purposefully giving prominence to knowledge and knowledge production from low- and middle-income countries as well as racial and ethnic minority communities within all countries. In so doing, Advances in Global Health is committed to the following: (1) having an editorial board that is representative of relevant disciplines and inclusive of scholars from low- and middle-income countries; (2) publishing knowledge from low- and middle-income countries; (3) focusing on issues that are pertinent to low- and middle-income countries; and (4) securing representation of lead authors from low- and middle-income countries. The journal is dedicated to transdisciplinarity and inclusivity; seeks to fully engage researchers from low- and middle-income countries in all aspects of the journal; and specifically encourages contributions led by authors situated in these regions. Furthermore, we have chosen to use an open-access format to ensure that the journal content is freely available to researchers, policy makers, and the general community free of charge. For at least through the end of 2023, publication is free of charge; in subsequent years, the publication charge will be reduced or free for authors from low- and middle-income countries.Thematically, Advances in Global Health is focused on advancing health equity throughout the world by publishing research aligned with the SDGs. Advances in Global Health centers health as its focus and promotes an interdisciplinary approach to studying the bidirectional relationship between health outcomes and other key sectors—for example, ending poverty and promoting food security, gender equality, and planetary health. These sections emphasize individual disciplinary approaches to the SDGs as outlined in each section’s aims and scope, forming the core areas of research inquiry and editorial activity of the journal (Figure 1). However, the journal specifically welcomes and encourages research that is interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary in nature and that cuts across multiple SDGs, to avoid research fragmentation and generate a commonplace for integrative science. Finally, as an underlying theme of the journal connected with each of the sections, we will promote scholarly activity that addresses racism and other forms of discrimination, including the rights of Indigenous people.In summary, the Editorial Board, UC Press, and the UC Global Health Institute are firmly committed to having Advances in Global Health be a leading academic journal to share cutting-edge transdisciplinary research and commentaries aiming at improving health equity worldwide. Advances’ editorial policies will actively address research publishing inequities in low- and middle-income countries to effectively promote free sharing of knowledge around the globe.AGL is sponsored by Emerge, the Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Research Training grant D43 TW007393 awarded by the Fogarty International Center of the US National Institutes of Health.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Climate Change and Health: Strengthening the Evidence Base for Policy

Re-defining Sustainability: Living in Harmony with Life on Earth

Global warming and ozone layer depletion signal the onset of climate change, a “slow-onset” disaster exacerbating poverty and social inequality. Addressing this requires global cooperation, as exemplified by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13, which focuses on climate action. Mitigation measures include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to clean energy, and enhancing community resilience. Social workers play a crucial role in climate change adaptation, engaging in community resilience, advocacy, and policy influence. Their work spans individual counseling, social protection, and addressing environmental refugee crises. As climate change impacts intensify, social workers must expand their roles internationally, advocating for human rights, social justice, and disaster risk reduction. Human rights frameworks guide social workers in addressing climate-related health and social inequalities, emphasizing empowerment and equity. International social workers contribute significantly to disaster response, pandemic recovery, and community resilience, advocating for vulnerable populations and promoting sustainable development. Their evolving role underscores the need for a comprehensive, transnational approach to social protection, ensuring equitable access to resources and fostering a more just and resilient global community.

Achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 remains a significant challenge, with 30% of targets showing no progress, regression, or severe deviations. Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) is a valuable method for monitoring and accelerating progress toward sustainable development by evaluating systems, processes, or products from environmental, economic, and societal perspectives. This work provides insights for integrating SDGs into LCT and advancing sustainability science. The study utilized bibliometric analysis of 21,783 publications from 2013 to 2022 to map LCT research to SDGs. It introduces a novel framework for integrating the SDGs into LCT studies, allowing for comprehensive assessments across environmental, societal, and economic dimensions. Thematic analysis identified five main areas of focus: waste management, infrastructure, agriculture, energy transitions, and integrated approaches to sustainable development. The highest emphasis was on SDGs 7 (Affordable Energy), 8 (Decent Work), 9 (Industry and Innovation), 12 (Responsible Consumption), and 13 (Climate Action). The study identified key institutions, journals, and countries contributing significantly to achieving SDGs through LCA and discussed future research topics with potential for shaping strategies towards a sustainable future. This research highlights innovation and evidence-based solutions in critical areas such as clean energy, sustainable urban development, and environmental conservation towards addressing SDGs. The prominence analysis revealed 23 topical clusters, with significant contributions in energy, construction, and pollution control aligning with multiple SDGs. However, the need for collaborative research and policy-making is evident in clusters like corporate social responsibility, supply chains, and air quality, which currently have fewer mappings to SDGs.

Research on climate change is critically important due to its widespread impacts on ecosystems, economies, and social structures. Climate change, including rising temperatures, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and droughts, is already causing significant harm to people, biodiversity, and the environment, highlighting the need for research to develop strategies for adaptation and mitigation. Furthermore, understanding the underlying mechanisms of climate change processesis essential for predicting future consequences and creating effective policies and technologies. Theseefforts are crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and preventing natural disasters. In addition, climate change research plays a vital role in global scientific and political discussions, influencing the formation of agreements and laws that support sustainable development and environmental protection. Scientific knowledge aids in informed decision-making at international, national, andlocal levels, contributing to the creation of social support strategies, especially for vulnerable populationssuch as impoverished regions and small island nations.This study utilizes bibliometric analysis to examine the research landscape of climate change, highlightingkey research areas, identifying gaps in knowledge, and determining priority fields for further study. Bibliometrics also helps assess the interdisciplinary nature of climate change, spanning various disciplines from ecology to social sciences, and it provides insights into the contributions of scientific research to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This approach enhances the understanding of the geographical aspects of climate change research and supports the formation of scientific priorities while improving the impact of research on practical solutions. Data from the Scopus platform on publications related to climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, sustainable agricultural practices, and the circular economy were analyzed. A total of 1,689 documents were identified between 1991 and 2024, and descriptive statistics were performed. The study employs structural scientometrics, using bibliometric links, co-citation analysis, and mapping cognitive structures to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution of climate change research. The findings show that scientific interest in climate change has significantly increased since 2010, marking a turning point in global awareness and research efforts.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an integrated framework for embedding social value in infrastructure planning and promoting inclusive, climate‐resilient urban development. However, the operationalization and measurement of social sustainability across infrastructure projects remain inconsistent and underdeveloped. This study examines the relationship between community engagement practices and social value outcomes in flood alleviation schemes in the North of England, with reference to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Through a comparative case study analysis of the Didsbury, Ripon, and Todmorden flood alleviation schemes, and 33 semi‐structured interviews with practitioners, the research finds that projects characterized by meaningful, early‐stage engagement and knowledge co‐production achieved stronger alignment with local social value priorities and increased community trust. The study concludes that, whereas current practices often reduce social value to narrow economic or technical metrics, embedding co‐production of knowledge with local communities is essential to achieving meaningful social value and aligning with multiple SDGs in flood risk management and infrastructure development.

Distilling the role of ecosystem services in the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract: The increasing effects of climate change on global food systems call for well-thought-out legal actions. The study investigates the interplay between climate change, legal frameworks, and sustainable food production, emphasizing how laws can facilitate or obstruct sustainability objectives. It begins by addressing the challenges that climate change imposes on food cultivation, distribution, and security, underscoring the vulnerability of agricultural sectors to climatic fluctuations and the ensuing risks to food availability and accessibility, which are crucial to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research proceeds with a comprehensive evaluation of existing global, national, and local legal mechanisms and policies, assessing their effectiveness in promoting sustainable practices and mitigating climate impacts. A critical component of this analysis is identifying deficiencies within legal frameworks that hinder the achievement of SDG objectives related to sustainable agricultural practices and climate initiatives. The paper examines aligning food-related laws with environmental sustainability principles and proposes amendments to current regulations and new policy recommendations for improved outcomes. In conclusion, the paper underscores the necessity of integrating SDG principles into legal structures to enhance the resilience of food systems against climate change. Resumen: Los crecientes efectos del cambio climático en los sistemas alimentarios mundiales exigen medidas jurídicas bien pensadas. El estudio investiga la interacción entre el cambio climático, los marcos jurídicos y la producción sostenible de alimentos, haciendo hincapié en cómo las leyes pueden facilitar u obstaculizar los objetivos de sostenibilidad. Comienza abordando los retos que el cambio climático impone al cultivo, la distribución y la seguridad de los alimentos, subrayando la vulnerabilidad de los sectores agrícolas a las fluctuaciones climáticas y los consiguientes riesgos para la disponibilidad y accesibilidad de los alimentos, que son cruciales para los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS). La investigación procede a una evaluación exhaustiva de los mecanismos jurídicos y las políticas mundiales, nacionales y locales existentes, evaluando su eficacia en la promoción de prácticas sostenibles y la mitigación de los impactos climáticos. Un componente fundamental de este análisis es la identificación de las deficiencias de los marcos jurídicos que obstaculizan la consecución de los objetivos de los ODS relacionados con las prácticas agrícolas sostenibles y las iniciativas climáticas. El documento examina la armonización de las leyes relacionadas con la alimentación con los principios de sostenibilidad medioambiental y propone enmiendas a las normativas actuales y nuevas recomendaciones políticas para mejorar los resultados. En conclusión, el documento subraya la necesidad de integrar los principios de los ODS en las estructuras jurídicas para mejorar la resiliencia de los sistemas alimentarios frente al cambio climático. Keywords: Sustainable Development goals. Climate change. Food laws. Sustainability. Agriculture. Palabras clave: Objetivos de desarrollo sostenible. Cambio climático. Legislación alimentaria. Sostenibilidad. Agricultura. Index: 1. Introduction 2. Sustainable Development Goals- A Call to Action 2.1. SDG 13-Climate Action and its assessment 2.2. SDG goals and its Implementation 2.3. SDG 2-Zero Hunger and its assessment 3. The Interlinkage between SDG 2 and SDG13 3.1. Linking Agriculture to SDG 2 and SDG 13 4. European Commission on Food, Climate Change and Farming 5. Conclusion and Suggestions 6. Bibliography Índice: 1. Introducción 2. Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible - Un llamamiento a la acción 2.1. ODS 13-Acción por el Clima y su evaluación 2.2. Objetivos ODS y su implementación 2.3. ODS 2 - Hambre cero y su evaluación 3. La interrelación entre el ODS 2 y el ODS 13 3.1. La vinculación de la agricultura con el ODS 2 y el ODS 13 4. Comisión Europea de Alimentación, Cambio Climático y Agricultura 5. Conclusiones y sugerencias 6. Bibliografía

I. INTRODUCTION II. THE IMPERATIVE OF STATE CLIMATE ACTION A. Exercise of a State's Police Powers to Protect Public Health and Its Natural Resources B. Exercise of the State's Policy Prerogative: Laboratory of Democracy C. Future National Climate Policy Framework: A Federal-State-Local Partnership III. CALIFORNIA'S MODEL OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT: LEADERSHIP, CROSS-AGENCY ENGAGEMENT, AND STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT A. Consistent Leadership B. Efforts by California's State Agency Climate Action Team C. Stakeholders: Local Governmental Agencies, Industry, NGOs and Individuals IV. MULTIPLE CHALLENGES, MULTIPLE TOOLS A. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Climate Change Executive Orders B. California's Assembly Bill 32 Framework: Markets and Mandates C. California's Upcoming Development of a Cap-and-Trade Program V. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY EXAMPLE: TRANSPORTATION SECTOR A. California's Passenger Vehicles Greenhouse Gas Regulation: The Parley Standards B. California's Low-Carbon Fuel Standard C. Senate Bill 375: Land Use, Vehicle Miles Traveled, and Greenhouse Gas Reductions Through Incentives VI. CALIFORNIA'S HARD-WON CLIMATE CHANGE LESSONS FOR THE NATION A. Demonstrate Clear and Determined Leadership B. Act Now C. Set a Specific, Declining Emissions Cap D. Engage Government and the Private Sector at All Levels and in All Silos. E. Federal Policy Must Engage the Effort of Stakeholders and Citizens from Across the Political and Economic Spectrum I. INTRODUCTION Climate change is a real and urgent threat to our communities, our states and our nation. California, like many other states, is already experiencing its impacts. Over the past 100 years, the Golden State has seen a seven-inch rise in sea level, eroding our coastal communities and threatening critical infrastructure. (1) In the winter, more of our precipitation now falls as rain rather than snow, leading to less water availability in the critical spring and summer months--an impact that threatens one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world and a pillar of the nation's export economy. (2) Climate change is also a major factor in California's longer and more severe wildfire season--an impact dramatically illustrated in 2008 when over 1 million acres burned and air quality monitors were overwhelmed in efforts to measure record-breaking levels of particulate matter. And these effects are merely a preview. It is predicted that without major efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, in this century California will see an additional one- to two-foot rise in sea levels, a doubling in the frequency of drought years, a 55 percent increase of large forest fires and a 75 percent loss in California's snowpack, our state's biggest natural reservoir. (3) These threats are mirrored around our nation and around the globe. I emphasize them to underscore my contention that the nation must follow California's lead by taking swift, decisive and comprehensive action to address climate change. Not only is climate change an urgent and dire threat, it is also a complex one. The combustion of fossil fuels is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, but by no means the only one. Sources as diverse as agriculture, forestry and industrial processes also contribute to climate change. Cutting emissions from these sources will require a multifaceted response that includes a variety of regulatory, market-based and voluntary actions undertaken at all levels of government, industry and society. And, like the diversity of sources that contribute to climate change, the opportunities to reduce emissions--and the economic opportunities to create new, clean technologies--vary between different industries, regions and individuals. …

The European Commission's Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, under the European Green Deal, acknowledges that innovative techniques, including biotechnology, may play a role in increasing sustainability. At the same time, organic farming will be promoted, and at least 25% of the EU's agricultural land shall be under organic farming by 2030. How can both biotechnology and organic farming be developed and promoted simultaneously to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? We illustrate that achieving the SDGs benefits from the inclusion of recent innovations in biotechnology in organic farming. This requires a change in the law. Otherwise, the planned increase of organic production in the F2F strategy may result in less sustainable, not more sustainable, food systems.

To the Editor: The structural racism uncovered by the COVID-19 pandemic is not new. But one thing is for certain: the climate crisis will continue to exacerbate these unconscionable inequities, falling heavily on the shoulders of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) populations. As medical education institutions strive to address these issues, the intersection of climate change and environmental racism cannot be overlooked. Health professionals should be encouraging more action on climate change. Although 67% of Americans trust health professionals for information and guidance on climate change, only 19% of Americans have heard about this issue from their physicians. 1 Since climate change is discussed in less than 15% of medical schools worldwide, current and future physicians may be unaware of the health consequences. 2 As founding leaders of Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (MS4SF), an international coalition of over 400 medical students dedicated to catalyzing action on climate issues, 3 we see that medical students are demanding change. An important aspect of MS4SF’s work centers around educating medical students about the intersection of climate change and health and preparing them to care for patients in the context of our changing environment. Medical student participants in MS4SF recognize that BIPOC and low-income communities have historically lived near landfills and industrialized centers, contributing to higher rates of cancer, cardio-pulmonary diseases, and adverse birth defects. 4 They experience 38% higher levels of outdoor air pollution when compared with the White population. 5 Yet, racial and climate health injustices are not discussed in medical education. The MS4SF Curricula Guide offers best practices to incorporate these teachings into the medical school curriculum. MS4SF also supports the work of the Planetary Health Report Card, which offers a standardized rubric to assess where there are opportunities for improvement in these areas. Outside of curriculum reform, medical student participants engage in work across advocacy, research, climate-smart health care, plant-based health, ocean-health, partnerships, and communications. The students center justice in their innovations and projects and encourage medical colleges to do the same. Without preparation through undergraduate and graduate medical education, we cannot serve as effective climate justice messengers. Ignoring the health implications of environmental racism and climate change not only hurts our BIPOC patients but also our health systems and communities. Our training should alert us to the warning signs of these crises. Our rapid response is long overdue. Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the many leaders working to address environmental justice who have inspired this piece.

Climate change will alter natural areas on a global scale within the next century. In areas vulnerable to climate change, scientists are regularly challenged to justify the resources needed for research and conservation. We face what may seem like a losing battle, especially in low-lying coastal areas where sea-level rise is predicted to severely degrade or destroy many ecosystems. Using sea-level rise in the low-elevation state of Florida, USA, as a case study, we argue that it is critical to remain engaged in the research, restoration, and conservation of natural areas threatened by climate change for as long as possible. These areas will continue to provide invaluable ecological and societal benefits. Additionally, uncertainty surrounding climate change forecasts and their ecological impact leaves room for optimism, research, and actions that are necessary for developing adaptation plans and mitigating further sea-level rise and other consequences of climate change. We urge scientists and particularly students beginning their careers not to forego research and conservation efforts of these imperiled lands but to face this unprecedented challenge with determination, creativity, and solution-based strategies.

The adoption of the 17 ambitious global sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the 169 targets in September 2015 aimed to better the global society. The year 2020 marks 5 years post-adoption of these SDGs and signals the last decade in which the world is set to take stock of the progress made. This chapter sets the background and tone for the book that examines how society is interacting with some of the SDGs. A healthy society is one that is free of hunger (SDG 2), depends on clean and sustainable energy (SDG 7), and allows society to drive its socioeconomic desires and aspirations. Given the interconnectedness of society to the environment, there is a need to ensure healthy biodiversity (SDG 15) to support the thriving society through a variety of ecosystem services, including the ocean economy (SDG 14). However, anthropogenic climate change remains one of the biggest threats to human civilization and society’s aspirations. Society, in many ways, drive climate change through activities that release greenhouse gas emissions and drive global warming, which is the biggest driver of climate change. This chapter tackles some of the crucial talking points and debates that will be further developed in various chapters of the book. It highlights significant challenges and discusses some initiatives on ending hunger, energy, biodiversity, water, and sanitation (SDG 6) and climate change action (SDG 13).KeywordsSDGsClimate changeEnergy securityRenewable energyFood securityBiodiversity

Respirable crystalline silica is a well-established occupational hazard in construction work. Despite increased awareness, consistent exposure control remains a challenge, particularly in dynamic and resource-constrained environments. Respirable crystalline silica exposure in construction environments challenges the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Respirable crystalline silica particles cause severe health complications, including silicosis, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune disorders, representing a significant barrier to achieving SDG 3.9’s target of reducing deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemical exposures by 2030. This systematic review evaluates two decades of advancements (2004–2024) in respirable crystalline silica identification, characterisation, and mitigation within construction, synthesising evidence from 143 studies to assess progress toward sustainable occupational health management. This review documents a paradigmatic shift from traditional exposure assessment toward sophisticated monitoring approaches incorporating real-time detection systems, virtual reality–Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations, and wearable sensor technologies. Engineering controls, including local exhaust ventilation, wet suppression methods, and modified tool designs, have achieved exposure reductions exceeding 90%, directly supporting SDG 8.8’s commitment to safe working environments for all workers, including migrants and those in precarious employment. However, substantial barriers persist, including prohibitive costs, inadequate infrastructure, and regional regulatory disparities that particularly disadvantage lower-resourced countries, contradicting the Sustainable Development Goals’ principles of leaving no one behind. The findings advocate holistic approaches integrating technological innovation with context-specific regulations, enhanced international cooperation, and culturally adapted worker education to achieve equitable occupational health protection supporting multiple Sustainable Development Goals’ objectives by 2030 and also highlighting potential areas for future research.