Global Scans · Life on Land · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss,

• [New] The hybrid geostatistical approach combines Ordinary Kriging and land-use regression methods to predict PM2.5 concentrations across Germany at a horizontal grid resolution of 100×100m. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Under Closing the Gap Targets 15 A and 15 B, Australia aims for a 15% increase in land and sea areas subject to First Nations legal rights by 2030. AIHW Indigenous HPF
• [New] New Forests launched a $750 million Global Landscape Opportunities strategy to meet growing institutional demand for natural capital investments. Agroforestry
• [New] UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently called on AI firms to disclose the full carbon, water, and land footprint of their data centers, warning that communities should not be left bearing hidden costs they never agreed to. FTI Strategic Communications
• [New] The world land area harvested with wheat in 2023/24 is expected to rise +1.4% yr/yr to 223.0 million hectares (1 hectare equals 10,000 square meters or 2.471 acres). Barchart.com
• [New] Sub-Saharan Africa's working-age population will grow by more than 600 million over the next quarter century, more than three-quarters of the net labor-force increase across all developing economies, though only 24% of new workers today land wage-paying jobs. Slasify
• [New] Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Intelligent Transportation Society Singapore implemented the Smart Mobility 2030 plan, integrating AI and IoT to optimize traffic flow. Persistence Market Research
• [New] More than 20 countries will sign a joint statement outlining the need for trusted partners to create an AI ecosystem, and opined that Pax Silica would shape a US alternative to initiatives such as the UN's Global Digital Compact, which emphasises digital sovereignty. FTI Strategic Communications
• [New] The United Nations has launched an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative calling on AI companies to disclose the carbon, water, and land-use impacts of their data centers and transition to renewable energy by 2030. MarketingProfs
• [New] In the EU, alien invasives are estimated to have an annual economic cost of €12 billion, and the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 recognises their spread as a major threat to Red List species. Environment
• [New] With continued multidisciplinary effort, biodegradable plastics could transition from niche products toward mainstream materials if technical, economic, certification, and waste-management barriers are addressed, helping support global efforts in biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation. AZOM
• [New] As fossil fuel emissions leave more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for trees to absorb, climate scientists expect the land-based carbon sink to remain stable or grow over the 21st century. The Guardian
• [New] Cabinet stressed that the establishment of the Barbuda Land Registry will provide greater certainty, transparency, and security in matters relating to land ownership and development. / Antigua Antigua News Room
• [New] The Land Transport Authority (LTA) aims to have the entire public bus fleet, now at about 6,000, run on cleaner energy like hybrid and electric power by 2040, with half going electric by 2030. ST
• [New] Ending deforestation and forest degradation is an essential element of the 1.5 °C solution and it's now mission critical that we maximise synergies across a fragmented landscape of current climate, biodiversity and finance initiatives to secure an end to forest destruction by 2030. Greenpeace International
• [New] As Mongolia faces mounting pressures from soil degradation, desertification and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, agroforestry is emerging as a practical mechanism to restore ecosystem health, improve farm productivity and build resilience. Agroforestry
• [New] A projected decline in the extent of permafrost will have a major impact on the Earth ecosystem, affecting global climate through the mobilization of carbon and nitrogen stored in permafrost. Arctic Portal - The Arctic Gateway
• [New] Over 70% of England's land is farmed, which means the choices farmers make and the support they receive will be central to meeting statutory biodiversity targets. GOV.UK
• [New] Land across England will be used for the outcomes it is best suited to deliver, guided by ongoing engagement with land managers on the LUF to balance food production, nature recovery and climate mitigation as well as demands from other sectors such as energy. GOV.UK
• [New] To deliver emissions reductions to achieve the Seventh Carbon Budget (2038 to 2042) and the 2050 Net Zero target, action needs to start now in agriculture and land use, aviation, and engineered removals. Climate Change Committee
• [New] The unchecked spread of synthetic industrial chemicals - particularly endocrine disruptors - is a growing yet underrecognized risk to human health, biodiversity, and the future viability of modern economic systems. The Idea Farm
• [New] The EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation revision and OEM net-zero 2040-2050 commitments are creating supply chain transformation requirements across the wiring harness ecosystem. IMARC Group

Last updated: 05 July 2026