Sustainability news

The North Korean government engages in unsustainable and illegal wildlife trade, which includes species protected under its own laws and poses a threat to biodiversity recovery in the region, finds a groundbreaking new study by UCL researchers.

A new technique to extract tiny cellulose strands from cow dung and turn them into manufacturing-grade cellulose, currently used to make everything from surgical masks to food packaging, has been developed by researchers from UCL and Edinburgh Napier University.

The intensification of existing farmland can sometimes be more harmful to local biodiversity than expanding the area covered by agricultural land, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

Writing in the Financial Times, Professor Philippe Sands (UCL Laws) reviews recent books about the rights of nature and natural ecosystems, and the need for new ideas to protect Earth’s natural environment.

A technique to cool the planet, in which particles are added to the atmosphere to reflect sunlight, would not require developing special aircraft but could be achieved using existing large planes, according to a new modelling study led by UCL researchers.

UCL is trialling a new initiative to donate surplus event food to St Mungo’s Homeless Hostel, reducing waste and supporting those in need.

As part of plans to decarbonise the district heating system shared between UCL, SOAS and UoL, air-source heat pumps and electric boilers will be installed at 20 Bedford Way.

People would be encouraged to eat more healthy and sustainable diets if Value Added Tax (VAT) rates were set based on health and environmental considerations, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Geography) and Honorary Professor Iain Hanson (UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction) highlight in The Conversation five ways the avian industry can reduce its carbon footprint.

UCL has secured the top position in the UK, 3rd in Europe, and 5th globally in the 2025 QS Sustainability Rankings, announced today.

Refocusing the global economy and global finance around a broader concept of the common good needs to be a global priority to form a more equitable society, said a UCL economist in discussion with the Prime Minister of Barbados at an event featuring a message from the Pope.

A new index, based on measures of so-called resilience, is needed to help gauge the success of policies aimed at preserving humanity’s ability to live within Earth’s resources, finds a new study involving a UCL researcher.

The windfall ‘superprofits’ for oil and gas companies resulting from the 2022 energy crisis – profits above expectations – amounted to several times the annual international funding commitments to combat climate change, finds a new international study featuring a UCL researcher.

The world’s top 20 economies, collectively known as the G20, need to adopt ambitious sustainable industrial strategies and financial policies to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C above preindustrial levels, finds a new international report co-led by a UCL researcher.

A new construction biomaterial that uses living microorganisms to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has been developed by a UCL graduate student and colleagues.