Climate change constitutes a significant threat to food security and poverty reduction in Africa, and the food system is severely off target in meeting development goals. Policy response should focus on investing in agricultural public goods, scaling up digital solutions, and developing innovative finance mechanisms to enhance resilience.The recession and debt distress accompanying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pose serious threats to governments' ability to invest in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, raising the specter of another lost decade for climate action. However, fiscal policy can be designed to simultaneously stabilize the economy and public finances while advancing sustainable development.The Belt and Road Initiative is perhaps the largest infrastructure development project in history and has aspirations to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. In this Voices, we ask experts from various disciplinary backgrounds for their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges for the Belt and Road Initiative in achieving this vision.The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the guiding policy for agriculture and the largest single budget item in the European Union (EU). Agriculture is essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the CAP's contribution to do so is uncertain. We analyzed the distribution of €59.4 billion of 2015 CAP payments and show that current CAP spending exacerbates income inequality within agriculture, while little funding supports climate-friendly and biodiverse farming regions. More than €24 billion of 2015 CAP direct payments went to regions where average farm incomes are already above the EU median income. A further €2.5 billion in rural development payments went to primarily urban areas. Effective monitoring indicators are also missing. We recommend redirecting and better monitoring CAP payments toward achieving the environmental, sustainability, and rural development goals stated in the CAP's new objectives, which would support the SDGs, the European Green Deal, and green COVID-19 recovery.As the world's largest coal producer and consumer, China's transition from coal to cleaner energy sources is critical for achieving global decarbonization. Increasing regulations on air pollution and carbon emissions and decreasing costs of renewables drive China's transition away from coal; however, this transition also has implications for employment and social justice. Here, we assess China's current coal-transition policies, their barriers, and the potential for an accelerated transition, as well as the associated environmental, human health, and employment and social justice issues that may arise from the transition. We estimate that the most aggressive coal-transition pathway could reduce annual premature death related to coal combustion by 224,000 and reduce annual water consumption by 4.3 billion m3 in 2050 compared with business-as-usual. We highlight knowledge gaps and conclude with policy recommendations for an integrated approach to facilitate a rapid and just transition away from coal in China.To halt climate change this century, we must reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human activities to net zero. Any emission sources, such as in the energy or land-use sectors, must be balanced by natural or technological carbon sinks that facilitate CO2 removal (CDR) from the atmosphere. Projections of demand for large-scale CDR are based on an integrated scenario framework for emission scenarios composed of emission profiles as well as alternative socio-economic development trends and social values consistent with them. The framework, however, was developed years before systematic reviews of CDR entered the literature. This primer provides an overview of the purposes of scenarios in climate-change research and how they are used. It also introduces the integrated scenario framework and why it came about. CDR studies using the scenario framework, as well as its limitations, are discussed. Possible future developments for the scenario framework are highlighted, especially in relation to CDR.In the search for ways to address sustainability challenges, there is growing interest in nature-based solutions. Among these are calls to plant a trillion trees globally, which have been met with mixed responses. In this Voices, we ask researchers about the potential role of trees in mitigating and adapting to global change, as well as doing so in a way that does not compromise other Sustainable Development Goals.Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA), part of the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism, has published an evidence review report summarizing social science research seeking a sustainable food system for the European Union. Here, I reflect on its key findings and tease out foundational issues that the document raises for scientists and policymakers.Globalization accelerates the mobilization of microorganisms via international trade and transport. Growth in population, increasing connectivity, and rapid urbanization all exacerbate the consequent risk of pandemics of zoonotic diseases. Global problems require global solutions, particularly the co-ordination of international research in biomedical sciences, global ecology, and sustainability.The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the climate emergency are devastating symptoms of the unsustainability of human society and the decreasing resilience of an unhealthy planet. Here, we discuss whether both COVID-19 and the climate emergency have the same underlying causes, and therefore common solutions, and whether they are rooted in a failing global agrifood system.Fashion is a growing industry, but the demand for cheap, fast fashion has a high environmental footprint. PF3758309 Some brands lead the way by innovating to reduce waste, improve recycling, and encourage upcycling. But if we are to make fashion more sustainable, consumers and industry must work together.The effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remind us of our arrogance of ignorance. Society has suffered. We are emerging scarred but enlightened. Can COVID-19 lessons help us avoid repeating the same mistakes with future climate shocks? We offer a supply-chain perspective and a set of pragmatic actions to increase resilience to climate shocks.