While the environmental costs of illegal fishing—such as species extinction and marine habitat destruction—are well documented, the human costs are rarely in the spotlight. These include drug and human trafficking, corruption, loss of urgently needed government revenue and threats to food security. A new blue paper from the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy quantifies the immense human costs and offers practical solutions. Read More.

Senior Associate Devashree Saha unpacks the impact of the COVID-19-related collapse in fossil fuel prices on U.S. state budgets and fossil fuel workers. The crisis should be seen not as a blip, she writes, but a chance to jump-start economic diversification and design fair transitions for oil and gas workers, who could be employed plugging abandoned wells and restoring brownfield sites contaminated by petroleum. Read more.

In 2019, 300 million tons of plastic were thrown away. A third of all food is wasted. It’s clear, the world has a waste problem. David McGinty, Global Director of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), outlines three ways to hasten the transition: consume less (for those who consume a lot), consume better, and create systemic change, so that sustainability doesn't only depend on consumer choices, for example, by designing products that last, with parts and materials that can easily be used again. Read more.