World Solve

Chemicals and fertilizers seep into groundwater supplies over years, often going unnoticed until wells become unsafe to drink from. Preventing this contamination before it happens remains far harder than detecting it afterward.

Estimates of forest carbon storage vary significantly depending on the measurement method used, making it hard to track progress on climate goals tied to reforestation. More precise, consistent measurement remains an open challenge.

Wetlands filter water and protect against flooding, but restoring one once it's been drained or built over is far harder than protecting it in the first place. Better restoration techniques remain limited and expensive.

Manufacturing solar panels currently involves energy-intensive processes and some toxic materials, undercutting part of their environmental benefit. A cleaner production process would make solar energy's benefits more complete.

Non-native plants and animals often outcompete local species once introduced, and by the time damage is noticed, removal is difficult and expensive. Faster detection and response systems remain underdeveloped.

Farms produce enormous amounts of leftover plant material that mostly gets burned or discarded rather than turned into usable energy. Affordable, small-scale conversion technology could turn this waste into a valuable resource.

Raising cattle and other livestock produces a significant share of global methane emissions, yet meat remains a major part of diets worldwide. A lower-emission farming method that doesn't require giving up meat entirely remains unsolved.

Plastic waste in the ocean is well documented, but pinpointing exact sources at a granular level remains difficult, making targeted prevention harder. Better tracking could focus cleanup and policy efforts where they matter most.

Some island nations face the real possibility of becoming uninhabitable within decades due to sea level rise. Cheap, effective coastal protection or relocation planning remains urgently unsolved for these communities.

Methane traps far more heat than carbon dioxide in the short term, yet nearly all climate technology focuses on capturing carbon dioxide instead. A cheap way to actively remove atmospheric methane could meaningfully slow near-term warming.

Parts of the Greenland ice sheet may have already crossed tipping points where melting continues regardless of future emissions cuts. Understanding and potentially slowing this process remains one of climate science's most urgent unresolved challenges.

Sea walls and barriers can protect some areas but often shift flooding risk elsewhere or fail to address long-term relocation needs. A truly sustainable coastal adaptation strategy remains incomplete in most vulnerable regions.

Deforestation and rising temperatures are pushing parts of the Amazon toward a state where it can no longer sustain itself as rainforest. Preventing this shift before it becomes irreversible remains an urgent, unresolved challenge.

Vast amounts of carbon and methane are locked in frozen Arctic soil, and as it thaws, it could release gases faster than current climate models predict. Better prediction tools are needed to understand how much this will accelerate warming.

Bee populations have declined sharply in many regions, partly due to pesticide exposure, threatening the pollination that much of global food production depends on. A farming approach that protects both crops and pollinators remains incomplete.

Vast areas of farmland worldwide have been degraded by decades of intensive use, and restoring their fertility can take years even with the right techniques. Scaling this restoration affordably remains an unresolved agricultural challenge.

Invasive plants and animals introduced by global trade and travel can outcompete native species, sometimes causing lasting ecological damage before anyone intervenes. Effective, scalable methods for controlling their spread remain incomplete.

Fertilizer and pesticide runoff from farms create dead zones in rivers and lakes where oxygen levels drop too low to support aquatic life. Preventing this runoff without harming farm productivity remains an unresolved environmental challenge.

Vast stretches of ocean lie beyond any single nation's jurisdiction, making it difficult to monitor and stop illegal fishing that depletes fish populations faster than they can recover. Closing this enforcement gap remains an unresolved challenge.

Rising ocean temperatures trigger coral bleaching events that can kill reefs outright if heat stress lasts too long, and current interventions can only help a small fraction of affected reefs. Scaling protection to match the pace of warming remains unresolved.