World Solve

Draining and clearing carbon-rich peat swamp forests for agriculture releases enormous amounts of stored carbon while also destroying unique ecosystems. Preventing this specific type of high-impact land conversion remains an unresolved policy and enforcement challenge.

Fish populations often migrate across international boundaries, but management practices and quotas can vary significantly between neighboring countries sharing the same stock. Aligning these practices for shared, sustainable management remains unresolved.

Invasive plant species can spread aggressively in forest understories, crowding out native plants that many forest animals depend on for food and habitat. Effective, scalable control of this lower-profile but significant ecological threat remains incomplete.

Seabirds frequently mistake floating plastic debris for food, and combined with habitat loss on nesting islands, many populations have declined sharply in recent decades. Addressing both threats simultaneously remains an unresolved conservation priority.

A large share of organic waste still ends up in landfills producing methane simply because industrial composting infrastructure isn't available in enough regions. Building this capacity out at the scale needed remains an unresolved waste management challenge.

Bats provide essential pest control and pollination services, but populations have been hit hard in various regions by disease and habitat destruction, with recovery remaining slow and uncertain. Protecting this ecologically valuable species remains an unresolved conservation priority.

Forests act as natural carbon sinks, but increasingly severe wildfires are turning some forests from carbon absorbers into carbon emitters faster than they can regrow and recover. Reversing this shift remains an unresolved climate feedback challenge.

Many consumer electronics are built in ways that make repair difficult or uneconomical, encouraging early replacement and contributing significantly to electronic waste. Shifting the industry toward genuinely repairable design remains an unresolved manufacturing and policy challenge.

Wetlands serve as essential breeding grounds for many amphibian species, and their continued drainage for agricultural or urban development remains a significant driver of amphibian population decline. Balancing development needs with wetland protection remains unresolved.

Many fast-growing cities in arid regions are outpacing the water systems built to serve them, leading to shortages and rationing. Solving this needs both new infrastructure and smarter long-term water planning.

Sustainable aviation fuel and electric planes exist in early forms but remain far more expensive than traditional jet fuel. Making clean flying both effective and affordable is still an open engineering and economic problem.

Many major rivers and aquifers are being pumped or diverted faster than rainfall can replenish them, threatening long-term water security. Without better management, some regions may simply run out of accessible fresh water.

Entire island nations and coastal communities face losing their homes permanently, with no agreed international process for where they go or who helps pay for it. This is already happening, not just a future risk.

Paved surfaces send rainwater rushing into drains that quickly overflow during storms, instead of letting it soak into the ground. Cities designed to absorb water naturally would suffer far less flood damage.

Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide in the short term, and much of it leaks unnoticed from pipelines and wells. Better detection and faster repairs could meaningfully slow near-term warming.

Droughts, floods, and shifting seasons are making traditional farming less reliable in many regions. Crops that can handle this unpredictability are essential to keeping global food supply stable.

Cement production alone accounts for a huge share of global carbon emissions, yet it remains central to nearly all construction. A low-carbon alternative that's just as strong and cheap would be one of climate policy's biggest wins.

Coral bleaching events are becoming more frequent as ocean temperatures rise, and restoration efforts are still small and slow. Without faster recovery methods, many reef ecosystems may not survive this century.

Hotter, drier conditions combined with decades of fire suppression have left forests primed to burn catastrophically. Managing this risk needs new approaches to land management, not just faster firefighting.

Fish farming was supposed to relieve pressure on wild fisheries, but many farms still rely on wild-caught fish for feed. A truly sustainable seafood system would need to break that dependency entirely.