Pochazia shantungensis (Chou & Lu, 1977) is a polyphagous planthopper first identified in China. This species has now spread rapidly across East Asia and Europe, resulting in significant economic losses in agricultural and forestry production in many countries. In order to illustrate the intrinsic connection between climate change and the geographical expansion of this pest, the optimised MaxEnt species distribution model was used to analyse the potential distribution areas of P. shantungensis under current and future climate scenarios (2041–2100), using CMIP-6 projections (SSP126 and SSP585). MaxEnt modelling indicates that the area suitable for P. shantungensis will likely expand by 8–18% by 2100 under the SSP126 scenario (48,100 × 10⁴ km2) but contract under the SSP585 scenario (47,600 × 10⁴ km2) compared to the current suitable habitat area (43,900 × 10⁴ km2). Therefore, the range expansion of this species is predicted to extend from Asia to temperate regions globally, excluding Antarctica. This study provides baseline data for pest surveillance, early warning systems, quarantine, and management strategies in high-risk areas.

Previous studies indicate that in the United States, the effects of climate change disproportionately impact communities of color. Accordingly, we would expect racial/ethnic minorities to express greater concern over the environment than white Americans. However, racial/ethnic minorities are not monolithic. Therefore, we examine how intersectional identities within racial groups by partisanship and gender shape attitudes on the environment using the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey and the Climate Change in the American Mind (cross-sectional study 2008-2022). Our findings indicate that racial/ethnic minorities are more supportive of policies to combat climate change and are more likely to believe in climate change than white Americans. Latine and Asian American/Pacific Islanders also exhibit higher levels of anxiety about climate change compared to white Americans. In terms of intersectional identities, we find consistent partisan differences for Latine and White individuals, whereas gender and racial identity are inconsistent.

Plant-based diets are favourable for both climate and health. However, not much is known about different barriers to adopting more plant-based diets across sociodemographic groups. This study examined the proportions of the population reporting a shift towards more plant-based diets and identified perceived barriers to these changes across different sociodemographic groups. The study was based on the Healthy Finland Survey 2022–2023, including 5390 participants aged 20–74 years. Participants responded to questions on plant-based diets using pre-defined response options. Results were presented as prevalences and 95% CIs. Women reported that they had changed their diets to more plant-based more often than men did (46% vs. 31%). Urban residents, higher educated participants, and those with higher income were more likely to have adopted more plant-based diets than others. Concerns about nutritional adequacy (women 20%; men 24%) and lacking skills to prepare tasty vegetarian foods (women 30%; men 28%) were common perceived barriers. In men, barriers included a dislike of vegetarian foods (23%) and a lack of interest (28%). In women, 17% cited the preferences of their close ones as a barrier. Barriers also differed between groups. Older participants were more concerned about the nutritional adequacy (29%), while younger participants struggled with cooking skills (35%). One third of men living in rural areas or with basic education reported a lack of interest in the topic. Tailored health promotion and food education strategies are critical to overcoming barriers to adopting plant-based diets in diverse sociodemographic groups.

Climate change is expected to significantly affect the physical, financial, and economic environments over the long term, posing risks to the financial health of general insurers. While general insurers typically use Dynamic Financial Analysis (DFA) for a comprehensive view of financial impacts, traditional DFA as presented in the literature does not consider the impact of climate change. To address this gap, we extend the stationary DFA framework to integrate climate risk, enabling a holistic assessment of the long-term impact of climate change on the general insurance industry and offering a foundational architecture for the DFA of individual insurers. Our framework captures the long-term impact of climate change on the assets and liabilities of general insurers by considering both physical and economic dimensions across different climate scenarios within an interconnected structure. Furthermore, it addresses the uncertainty of climate change impacts using stochastic simulations within climate scenario analysis that are useful for actuarial applications. Our extensions are tailored to the general insurance sector and address its unique characteristics. To demonstrate the practical application of our model, we conduct an extensive empirical study using Australian data and assess the long-term financial impact of climate change on the general insurance market under various climate scenarios. The results are benchmarked against those of a stationary DFA framework and show that the interaction between economic growth and physical risk plays a key role in shaping general insurers’ risk–return profiles. They highlight the advantages of the climate-dependent DFA over the stationary DFA in generating financial projections under climate change impacts. Limitations of our framework are thoroughly discussed.

International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) play a vital, yet contested, role in responding to global challenges. Do INGOs serve to advance the interests of grassroots social movements or temper demands as they bring popular voices into institutional power settings? This study focuses on how civil society in Spain engages with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action and argues that INGOs simultaneously provide voice for some and temper the message of others. The seemingly contradictory impacts can be understood by examining the interplay of institutional political opportunity structures and network relations. A transcalar examination reveals that Spanish environmental INGOs work in network coalitions with domestic environmental social movements developing common positions. While limited by domestic political opportunity structures, these relations are mutually beneficial. In contrast, transnational environmental social movements do not closely coalesce with INGOs due to their loose organizational structures and lack of specific policy positions.

Twenty-five years ago in this journal, Hilary Whitehouse described the cultural discourse of “greenies” evident in regional Queensland, Australia, and its implications for educators and students undertaking sustainability initiatives in schools. The present article draws on data from research conducted in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, to show that this cultural discourse persists in regional Australia and continues to challenge educators and students. Data from interviews and focus group discussions demonstrate that teachers and students are cautious about sharing environmentalist views at school, lest they be labelled as “greenies.” The contentious rollout of renewable energy infrastructure seems to have added further charge to the pejorative discursive practice originally described by Whitehouse in 2001. Contending with the “greenie” appellation, and its associated negative connotations, appears to be an ongoing impediment to teaching and learning about environmental issues in regional Australia.

As ecological crises intensify and planetary boundaries are exceeded, early childhood environmental education requires reimagining. Dominant stewardship and child-centred approaches often position children as autonomous actors engaging with a passive environment, reproducing human–nature divisions and obscuring more-than-human agencies. This paper introduces dust pedagogies, a posthuman approach that foregrounds dust and other microworlds as sites of ecological inquiry and relational learning. Drawing on posthuman theory, environmental humanities and Barad’s (2007) concept of intra-action, the study examines children’s encounters with dust through microscopy, multisensory exploration and co-mapping in a kindergarten in Melbourne, Australia. Commonly dismissed as waste, dust is reconfigured as agentic matter entangled with infrastructures, histories and planetary processes. The analysis demonstrates how these encounters connect local, embodied experiences with broader ecological systems, fostering curiosity, care and ethical attentiveness. Dust pedagogies offer a generative pathway for linking early childhood education with environmental justice and planetary boundaries in the Anthropocene.

What makes politicians personally invested in climate issues? While we know which politicians speak on climate issues, we lack knowledge of whether they do so out of electoral reasons or being assigned to this issue by their party leaders or whether they are personally invested in these issues. I argue that young members of parliament (MPs) and MPs from green and progressive parties are more emotionally invested in climate issues and that the emotional investment in climate issues has increased over time for all MPs. I use data on the emotional engagement of MPs during their speeches in the German Bundestag from 2011 to 2020 measuring emotional engagement via vocal pitch. Analyzing within-MP variation, I find that MPs are overall more emotionally engaged when giving speeches mentioning climate issues and that this effect has increased substantially over time. Contrary to my expectations, I find no difference between MPs with a different age or party affiliation. These findings have important implications for understanding the drivers of the personal engagement of politicians with climate issues. They indicate that both support of climate action and opposition to it may increase emotional engagement.

Climate change disproportionately affects people with pre-existing mental illness, yet there is a critical shortage of targeted interventions serving their needs. This Commentary argues for the further development and evaluation of preventative, structural interventions, including cash transfers, in the context of climate-change related disasters to reduce vulnerability among people with mental illness.