Challenges

14 pages, 1859 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Into the Blue: An ERC Synergy Grant Resolving Past Arctic Greenhouse Climate States

by Jochen Knies, Gerrit Lohmann, Stijn De Schepper, Monica Winsborrow, Juliane Müller, Mohamed M. Ezat and Petra M. Langebroek

Challenges 2025, 16(3), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe16030036 - 30 Jul 2025

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Abstract

The Arctic Ocean is turning blue. Abrupt Arctic warming and amplification is driving rapid sea ice decline and irreversible deglaciation of Greenland. The already emerging, substantial consequences for the planet and society are intensifying and yet, model-based projections lack validatory consensus. To date, [...] Read more.

The Arctic Ocean is turning blue. Abrupt Arctic warming and amplification is driving rapid sea ice decline and irreversible deglaciation of Greenland. The already emerging, substantial consequences for the planet and society are intensifying and yet, model-based projections lack validatory consensus. To date, we cannot anticipate how a blue Arctic will respond to and amplify an increasingly warmer future climate, nor how it will impact the wider planet and society. Climate projections are inconclusive as we critically lack key Arctic geological archives that preserved the answers. This “Arctic Challenge” of global significance can only be addressed by investigating the processes, consequences, and impacts of past “greenhouse” (warmer-than-present) climate states. To address this challenge, the ERC Synergy Grant project Into the Blue (i2B) is undertaking a program of research focused on retrieving new Arctic geological archives of past warmth and key breakthroughs in climate model performance to deliver a ground-breaking, synergistic framework to answer the central question: “Why and what were the global ramifications of a “blue” (ice-free) Arctic during past warmer-than-present climates?” Here, we present the proposed research plan that will be conducted as part of this program. Into the Blue will quantify cryosphere (sea ice and land ice) change in a warmer world that will form the scientific basis for understanding the dynamics of Arctic cryosphere and ocean changes to enable the quantitative assessment of the impact of Arctic change on ocean biosphere, climate extremes, and society that will underpin future cryosphere-inclusive IPCC assessments. Full article

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16 pages, 615 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Young People’s Perspectives on Climate Change in Urban Brazil

by Irene Rizzini and Mariana Menezes Neumann

Challenges 2025, 16(3), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe16030035 - 21 Jul 2025

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Abstract

The climate crisis poses profound risks to present and future generations. Nonetheless, the perspectives of children and young people internationally, and more specifically in Brazil, remain underexplored. Based on a multi-discipline literature review on climate anxiety and nature (dis)connectedness, the hypothesis is that [...] Read more.

The climate crisis poses profound risks to present and future generations. Nonetheless, the perspectives of children and young people internationally, and more specifically in Brazil, remain underexplored. Based on a multi-discipline literature review on climate anxiety and nature (dis)connectedness, the hypothesis is that the effects and symptoms of increasing (dis)connection with natural environments have short-, medium-, and long-term consequences. Access to natural spaces is a vital response to counteract the negative impacts of climate change. This article discusses findings from a study conducted in urban Brazil with 200 young people aged 12 to 18 years old, with the aim of addressing three research questions from ten questions that comprised the complete survey. The major research questions were as follows: 1. ‘Climate change worries me’: How do you relate to this statement? 2. How does climate change affect you?, and 3. Do you think some young people are more affected by climate change than others? The results show that young people care about and are preoccupied with climate change, especially when they reflect on their futures and the future generations. Although young participants are deeply concerned about climate change and feel its effects them personally in the form of anxiety, fear, and insecurity, they often lack clear pathways for contributing to broader environmental efforts beyond individual actions. These findings highlight an urgent need to foster community-based approaches and enhance education and resources for enlarging and improving youth engagement, especially to rethink the everyday strategies addressing these challenges, and to foster new paradigms of interaction with the natural world based on (re)connection with natural spaces. The correlation between climate anxiety and nature (dis)connection offers an approach that is still little explored, especially concerning children and young people. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Health: From Evidence to Action–Confronting Reality (Including Submissions Associated with the 2024 Planetary Health Summit (PHAM2024))

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20 pages, 2652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Moderate Impact of Increasing Temperatures on Food Intake in Human Populations

by Per M. Jensen and Marten Sørensen

Challenges 2025, 16(3), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe16030034 - 21 Jul 2025

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Abstract

Increasing temperatures associated with climate change will lead to (periodic) temperature-induced reductions in food intake in human and other mammal populations. Human adults, however, are both tolerant and resilient to periodic nutritional deficits, and the associated health effects should be limited. Intermittent nutritional [...] Read more.

Increasing temperatures associated with climate change will lead to (periodic) temperature-induced reductions in food intake in human and other mammal populations. Human adults, however, are both tolerant and resilient to periodic nutritional deficits, and the associated health effects should be limited. Intermittent nutritional deficits may also cause growth restriction in developing foetuses and young children, which potentially affects their food intake in later life. Therefore, temperature-induced hypophagia can be hypothesised to manifest as later compensatory responses with multiple concomitant (or extended) lags of varying temporal dimensions. We examined the relationship between calorie intake and ambient outdoor temperatures for a time series covering past decades (FAO data for 1961–2013) in 80 countries to determine if humans alter their food intake in response to elevated temperatures. We included eleven different temporal “windows of exposure” of varying lag. These windows considered current and recent exposure, just as lagged effects allowed for a consideration of past effects on mothers, their children, and childhood exposure. It was hypothesised that one of these could provide a basis for predicting future changes in human calorie intake in response to climate change. Our analyses showed no apparent association with temperatures in ten of the eleven hypotheses/models. The remaining hypothesis suggests that current calorie intake is linked to decadal mean temperatures with a lag of approximately three decades, pointing to an impact on mothers and their (developing) children. The impact of an increase in mean temperature varies with temperature amplitudes, and negative impacts are only found in countries with low temperature amplitudes (warmer countries), albeit the impact on calorie intake caused by a 2–3 °C change in temperatures or temperature amplitudes is generally modest. However, in considering calorie intake, we only address quantities of food (with unspecified quality), which insufficiently reflect the full range of nutritional challenges associated with increasing temperatures. Understanding climate-driven changes in human food intake requires global interdisciplinary collaboration across public health, environmental science, and policy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Human Health and Well-Being)

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10 pages, 1134 KiB

Open AccessViewpoint

McDonald’s McLean Deluxe and Planetary Health: A Cautionary Tale at the Intersection of Alternative Meats and Ultra-Processed Marketing

by Susan L. Prescott and Alan C. Logan

Challenges 2025, 16(3), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe16030033 - 17 Jul 2025

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Abstract

Dietary choices and patterns have enormous consequences along the lines of individual, community, and planetary health. Excess meat consumption has been linked to chronic disease risk, and at large scales, the underlying industries maintain a massive environmental footprint. For these reasons, public and [...] Read more.

Dietary choices and patterns have enormous consequences along the lines of individual, community, and planetary health. Excess meat consumption has been linked to chronic disease risk, and at large scales, the underlying industries maintain a massive environmental footprint. For these reasons, public and planetary health experts are unified in emphasizing a whole or minimally processed plant-based diet. In response, the purveyors of ultra-processed foods have added “meat alternatives” to their ultra-processed commercial portfolios; multinational corporations have been joined by “start-ups” with new ultra-processed meat analogues. Here, in our Viewpoint, we revisit the 1990s food industry rhetoric and product innovation, a time in which multinational corporations pushed a great “low-fat transition.” We focus on the McLean Deluxe burger, a carrageenan-rich product introduced by the McDonald’s Corporation in 1991. Propelled by a marketing and media-driven fear of dietary fats, the lower-fat burger was presented with great fanfare. We reflect this history off the current “great protein transition,” a period once again rich in rhetoric, with similar displays of industry detachment from concerns about the health consequences of innovation. We scrutinize the safety of carrageenan and argue that the McLean burger should serve as a cautionary tale for planetary health and 21st century food innovation. Full article

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17 pages, 278 KiB

Open AccessEssay

Educational Leadership: Enabling Positive Planetary Action Through Regenerative Practices and Complexity Leadership Theory

by Marie Beresford-Dey

Challenges 2025, 16(3), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe16030032 - 15 Jul 2025

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Abstract

Uniquely rooted in regenerative leadership and complemented by Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT), this conceptual essay offers a theoretical exploration of how educational institutions can act as dynamic systems that catalyze adaptive, community-led responses to anthropocentric socio-environmental crises. Rather than sustaining existing structures, educational [...] Read more.

Uniquely rooted in regenerative leadership and complemented by Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT), this conceptual essay offers a theoretical exploration of how educational institutions can act as dynamic systems that catalyze adaptive, community-led responses to anthropocentric socio-environmental crises. Rather than sustaining existing structures, educational leadership for regeneration seeks to restore ecological balance and nurture emergent capacities for long-term resilience. Positioned as key sites of influence, educational institutions are explored as engines of innovation capable of mobilizing students, educators, and communities toward collective environmental action. CLT offers a valuable lens for understanding how leadership emerges from nonlinear, adaptive processes within schools, enabling the development of innovative, collaborative, and responsive strategies required for navigating complexity and leading planetary-positive change. Drawing on a synthesis of the recent global literature, this paper begins by outlining the need to go beyond sustainability in envisioning regenerative futures, followed by an introduction to regenerative principles. It then examines the current and evolving role of educational leadership, the relevance in enabling whole-institution transformation, and how this relates to regenerative practices. The theoretical frameworks of systems thinking and CLT are introduced before noting their application within regenerative educational leadership. The final sections identify implementation challenges and offer practical recommendations, including curriculum innovation, professional development, and youth-led advocacy, before concluding with a call for education as a vehicle for cultivating planetary-conscious citizens and systemic change. This work contributes a timely and theoretically grounded model for reimagining educational leadership in an era of global turbulence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Planetary Health Education and Communication)

21 pages, 1136 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Leveraging Public–Private Partnerships for a Circular Industry Economy: Advancing Economic Sustainability in Industrial Waste Management in the Emirate of Ajman, UAE

by Khaled Alhosani

Challenges 2025, 16(3), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe16030031 - 6 Jul 2025

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Abstract

This study investigates the empowering role of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the economic sustainability of waste management (ESW) and the circular industry economy (CIE), specifically in the small, rapidly industrialising Emirate of Ajman, UAE. Embracing a circular economy is vital for the sustainability [...] Read more.

This study investigates the empowering role of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the economic sustainability of waste management (ESW) and the circular industry economy (CIE), specifically in the small, rapidly industrialising Emirate of Ajman, UAE. Embracing a circular economy is vital for the sustainability agenda while forging a transformative commitment to planetary health (PH) in a manner that is especially crucial for small states with limited carrying capabilities. A quantitative methodological orientation is employed in a survey-based research design, followed by the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling statistical technique to test the hypothesised relationships. Sampling involved the three sub-populations of government employees (n = 123), managers/employees of private waste collection businesses (n = 106), and employees of private industrial waste generation industries (n = 276). Findings indicate that PPP empowerment positively impacts ESW and contributes to the creation of CIE. Moreover, ESW fosters the growth of CIE in Ajman. Notably, the perspectives of government stakeholders differ from those of non-government actors. This research underscores the significance of PPP empowerment in the development of CIE towards SDGs 11, 12, and 17, emphasising the mediating role of ESW between PPPs and CIE in small, rapidly industrialising states. The study recommends that the Ajman government implement training and social initiatives aimed at aligning the sustainability perspectives of all stakeholders involved in waste management to promote the mutual benefits of “people, places, and planet”. Full article

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27 pages, 1228 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Transformative Experiences Reshape Values, Worldviews, and Engagement with Sustainability: An Integral Inquiry

by Elizabeth Halliday and Jessica Bockler

Challenges 2025, 16(3), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/challe16030030 - 1 Jul 2025

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Abstract

Climate scientists, systems theorists, and policymakers increasingly suggest that global sustainability challenges stem from dysfunctional worldviews and values that drive individual and collective behaviors, undermining both human flourishing and planetary health. Recognizing that paradigmatic shifts in values and worldviews can arise from transformative [...] Read more.

Climate scientists, systems theorists, and policymakers increasingly suggest that global sustainability challenges stem from dysfunctional worldviews and values that drive individual and collective behaviors, undermining both human flourishing and planetary health. Recognizing that paradigmatic shifts in values and worldviews can arise from transformative experiences, this study employed Integral Inquiry in a mixed-methods design to examine the nature of the relationship between such experiences and engagement with sustainability. A sample of 145 adults was recruited based on self-identification of having undergone a life-changing experience and demonstrated evidence of transformative growth and integration. In the qualitative phase, 73 participants completed an open-text survey detailing their perspectives on sustainability and their related practices and behaviors. Ten individuals from this subset were interviewed to explore the depth and dimensions of their engagement with sustainability. Using Constructivist Grounded Theory analysis, three tentative themes emerged: intraconnection, personal equilibrium, and defining social change. Whilst the study was exploratory in nature, the analysis indicated that transformative experiences seemed to foster a profound felt sense of intraconnection—a deep awareness of interconnectedness with all life. This awareness appeared to naturally clarify participants’ values and beliefs, aligning their actions toward sustainability. Moreover, participants emphasized the importance of cultivating personal equilibrium—a state of inner balance and congruence in daily choices—as a foundation for meaningful social and environmental change. This study tentatively highlights the role transformative experiences can play in bringing about more pro-ecological behavior, and it underscores the need for further research into how such experiences can be more readily integrated to support global sustainability efforts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Relationship between Sustainability and Inner Development: Towards More Integrative Worldviews, Paradigms, and Actions)

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Challenges, Volume 16, Issue 3 (September 2025) – 7 articles

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