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Several years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the world is still far from achieving its emission reduction target. Despite the scientific certainty of the devastating effects of climate change on human rights, countries' 'nationally determined contributions' (NDCs) still fall short of the 1.5 °C goal. Compared to developed countries and their historical contributions, the Global South's role in climate mitigation may appear insignificant. However, the magnitude of the human rights effects of climate change are enormous. Any increase above 1.5 °C would endanger human well-being and the ecosystems on which human life depends. Therefore, all parties must cooperate to adopt more ambitious NDCs. This imperative—while falling mainly on the Global North, which holds significant historical responsibility for emissions—also extends beyond the Global North, to, for example, a country like Brazil. This article assesses how fair share has played a role in climate litigation cases in the Global North (primarily in Europe) and discusses the possibilities and challenges of bringing similar cases in Brazil. It relies on the fair share methodology used to substantiate the argument of increased ambition in cases in the Global North, discussing whether a similar argument could be brought in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge and application of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the Private Natural Heritage Reserve management can help guide the sustainable use of the reserve's resources, whatever their identity and economic vocation. In addition, they ensure development with a focus on social, economic, and environmental concerns, as proposed in the 2030 Agenda. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the SDGs and the Brazilian PNHR management proposals, identifying the relevance and role of the PNHR in meeting the proposed goals by the year 2030. The study surveyed 142 PNHRs using a structured questionnaire in which their representatives assessed the level of relevance of the 17 SDGs regarding environmental conditions and local reality. The analysis compared the data concerning biomes and geographic region; cluster analysis was performed to observe similar responses, and principal component analysis to verify the relative importance between the scores assigned to the SDGs. The study created graphs based on the motivations for creating and using the PNHR. The PNHR showed alignment with the fulfillment of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Earth), and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). All respondents recognize discussions about the environment and sustainable development allied to nature conservation as a priority for achieving the SDGs. It is possible to recognize the importance of strengthening a space for coexistence between the local population and the PNHR to implement regular and transformative actions in favor of conservation and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotechnology, the fifth technological wave preceding the sixth wave of Sustainability, is crucial for achieving the 2023 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in biodiverse Brazil. This review uses composite indicators to compare Brazil with the USA across static and temporal evolutions. Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4 and 5 were assessed using patents from 2000 to 2019. Patents from 2000 to 2019 reveal a TRL gap at 4–5 in Brazil, skewed towards academic articles (TRL3), indicating lag behind the USA at TRL5. Brazil's patent growth rate surpasses the USA's by eightfold. Specialization between Brazilian academia and the nation converges. The revealed technological advantage and the distance between academies and between countries are nearing unification. Brazil focuses on SDG3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) but must intensify efforts on SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG13 (Climate Action), SDG14 (Life below Water), and SDG15 (Life on Land). The USA concentrates its technologies in SDG3 (Good Health and Well-Being). USA's modern biotech navigates the fifth wave, while Brazil's traditional biotech must modernize, focusing on SDG9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG17 (Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development), requiring government policies for mid-range TRLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diet shift is an opportunity to mitigate the impacts of food systems, which are responsible for about a third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally and exert various environmental pressures on ecosystems. This study evaluates the mitigation potential of both global and local environmental impacts through dietary changes within the Brazilian context. Furthermore, the study aims to identify the potential benefits and trade-offs that may arise from these dietary transitions, thus providing a comprehensive analysis of the overall environmental implications. To this end, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of a conventional diet in Brazil and seven alternatives, namely adjusted-EAT-Lancet, pescatarian, vegetarian, entomophagic (insect-based food), mycoprotein (microbial-based food), and synthetic (cell-based food) diets. Results indicate a substantial mitigation potential for GHG emissions (4-9 kg CO 2 e/cap/day) (39 % to 86 %) and land use (4-9 m 2 /cap/day) (38 % to 82 %) through a diet shift from a conventional diet to any of the seven alternative diets. However, certain trade-offs exist. A diet shift demonstrates no mitigation potential of soil acidification, and opportunities to reduce water eutrophication (0.02-0.2 g Pe/cap/day) (2 % to 24 %) and water consumption (0.2-0.5 m 3 /cap/day) (7 % to 14 %) were only found by completely substituting animal products for insect-based food, microbial-based food, and cell-based food. This study highlights the considerable potential of dietary changes to mitigate global environmental impacts associated with food systems. By revealing opportunities and challenges, this study supports science-based decision-making and guides efforts toward sustainable and environmentally friendly food consumption patterns., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Tamar Bakman reports financial support was provided by Coordination of Higher Education Personnel Improvement. Tamar Bakman reports financial support was provided by Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of Rio de Janeiro State. Tamar Bakman reports financial support was provided by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Joana Portugal-Pereira reports financial support was provided by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Joana Portugal-Pereira reports financial support was provided by Foundation for Science and Technology. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Sugarcane straw is identified as a potential energy feedstock to increase bioenergy production, but advances are required in understanding the straw removal impacts on soil organic carbon (SOC) stability and storage. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the quantity, quality and physical protection of SOC under areas with different straw removal rates over a six-year period. A field experiment was conducted in randomized blocks with four replications, including the following straw removal treatments: total removal (TR), high removal (HR), low removal (LR), and no removal (NR), corresponding to the quantities of 0, 5, 10 and 15 Mg ha−1 of dry straw maintained on soil surface, respectively. Effects of straw removal on SOC stocks and its temporal dynamics, as well as the rates of carbon (C) incorporated into the soil were evaluated to a 0.3-m depth. The effects on particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) fractions were evaluated through physical fractionation of SOM. Finally, it was evaluated the distribution of aggregates, the C content of aggregates and the C preservation capacity (CPC) in fractions of aggregates. Our findings revealed that TR and HR decreased SOC stocks at 0.0–0.1 m and 0.0–0.3 m depths. The data indicated that about 24% of the C added via straw were retained in soil, and NR showed a SOC accumulation rate of 1.42 Mg ha-¹ year-¹ relative to baseline. Low straw removal increased POM (46.2%) and MAOM (12.4%) in surface layer as compared to TR. The straw maintenance in the field increased the proportion of soil macroaggregates, resulting in higher amounts of C preserved in this fraction. Our findings suggest that maintaining 10 Mg ha-¹ of straw was enough to favor physical protection and sustain storage of SOC over time. Therefore, the surplus of straw could be removed to produce bioenergy, although this management may hinder soil C sequestration and its benefits for sugarcane production and climate change mitigation. • High and total removal rates of sugarcane straw reduced soil carbon stocks. • Low straw removal increased POM (46.2%) and MAOM (12.6%) compared to total removal. • Straw retention increased soil aggregation and preserved C in macroaggregates. • Low removal rate was enough to sustain physical protection and storage of soil C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]