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Historically, climate governance initiatives and associated scholarship have all but ignored the potential for “global moral norms” to bring about changes in the political conditions for global climate mitigation. This is surprising, since global moral norms are widely employed—as both a mode of governance and an analytical framework—in other domains of global governance, from international security to human rights. However, recent national-level fossil fuel divestments, moratoria on new coal mines and bans on gas fracking, among other developments, suggest the promise of global moral norms prohibiting fossil fuel-related activities, which this article terms “anti-fossil fuel norms” (AFFNs). The article interprets recent examples of such activities in the light of international relations theory on moral norms to provide a general framework for understanding how AFFNs originate, spread and affect states. Specifically, the article argues that there are: (i) influential agents that are originating, and likely to continue to originate, AFFNs; and (ii) international and domestic mechanisms by which AFFNs are likely to spread widely among states and have a significant causal effect on the identity-related considerations or rational calculations of states in the direction of limiting or reducing the production or consumption of fossil fuels. The article also shows that, because they spread and affect state behaviour through mechanisms of “international socialization” and domestic “political mobilization”, AFFNs cohere with and build upon the new paradigm of global climate governance crystallized in the Paris Agreement. AFFNs, the article concludes, represent a promising new frontier in climate governance.

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated catastrophic job loss, unprecedented unemployment rates, and severe economic hardship in renter households. As a result, housing precarity and the risk of eviction increased and worsened during the pandemic, especially among people of color and low-income populations. This paper considers the implications of this eviction crisis for health and health inequity, and the need for eviction prevention policies during the pandemic. Eviction and housing displacement are particularly threatening to individual and public health during a pandemic. Eviction is likely to increase COVID-19 infection rates because it results in overcrowded living environments, doubling up, transiency, limited access to healthcare, and a decreased ability to comply with pandemic mitigation strategies (e.g., social distancing, self-quarantine, and hygiene practices). Indeed, recent studies suggest that eviction may increase the spread of COVID-19 and that the absence or lifting of eviction moratoria may be associated with an increased rate of COVID-19 infection and death. Eviction is also a driver of health inequity as historic trends, and recent data demonstrate that people of color are more likely to face eviction and associated comorbidities. Black people have had less confidence in their ability to pay rent and are dying at 2.1 times the rate of non-Hispanic Whites. Indigenous Americans and Hispanic/Latinx people face an infection rate almost 3 times the rate of non-Hispanic whites. Disproportionate rates of both COVID-19 and eviction in communities of color compound negative health effects make eviction prevention a critical intervention to address racial health inequity. In light of the undisputed connection between eviction and health outcomes, eviction prevention, through moratoria and other supportive measures, is a key component of pandemic control strategies to mitigate COVID-19 spread and death.

To keep global warming within 1.5 °C of pre-industrial levels, there needs to be a substantial decline in the use of coal power by 20301,2 and in most scenarios, complete cessation by 20501,3. The members of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), launched in 2017 at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties, are committed to “phasing out existing unabated coal power generation and a moratorium on new coal power generation without operational carbon capture and storage”4. The alliance has been hailed as a ‘political watershed’5 and a new ‘anti-fossil fuel norm’6. Here we estimate that the premature retirement of power plants pledged by PPCA members would cut emissions by 1.6 GtCO2, which is 150 times less than globally committed emissions from existing coal power plants. We also investigated the prospect of major coal consumers joining the PPCA by systematically comparing members to non-members. PPCA members extract and use less coal and have older power plants, but this alone does not fully explain their pledges to phase out coal power. The members of the alliance are also wealthier and have more transparent and independent governments. Thus, what sets them aside from major coal consumers, such as China and India, are both lower costs of coal phase-out and a higher capacity to bear these costs.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Despite clear evidence of exposure and toxicity, there has been little evidence of population-level declines of most nearshore fish and invertebrate populations. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this paradox. Two possibilities include a fishing moratorium following the spill and reductions in predation pressure following predator die-offs. We tested both using mass-balance food web models to quantify direct and indirect population sensitivity to perturbations in fishing pressure and bird and dolphin mortality. In doing so, we developed a new method allowing us to quantify responses of one functional group to changes in fishing pressure across all fished groups. We inferred support for a compensatory mechanism, either release from fishing or predation, when populations modeled without any oil-induced mortality displayed large increases to negative perturbations in fishing or predation. We found the fishing moratorium to be the most likely potential mitigating mechanism, especially for penaeid shrimp, menhaden, and blue crabs. Dolphin mortality may explain the stability of small sciaenids. Increased seabird mortality did not lead to major changes in any functional group we examined. The consideration of indirect trophic pathways within the food web model produced a wide range of plausible population responses, especially responses to increases in predator mortality. Broadly, this work shows that oil spills are one driver of population dynamics within a broader socioecological system, and understanding oil spill impacts on populations requires consideration of this complexity.

To stop global warming at well below 2° C, the bulk of the world’s fossil fuel reserves will have to be left in the ground. Coal is the fossil fuel with the greatest proportion that cannot be used, and various advocacy groups are campaigning for a ban on the opening of new coal mines. Recently, both China and the USA implemented temporary moratoria on the approval of new coal mining leases. This article examines whether these coal mining bans reflect the emergence of a global norm to keep coal under the ground. To that end, we review recent coal mining policies in the four largest coal producers and explain them comparatively with a framework based on interests, ideas and institutions. We find that the norm of keeping coal in the ground remains essentially contested. Even in those countries that have introduced some form of a coal mining moratorium, the ban can easily be, or has already been, reversed. To the extent that the norm of keeping coal in the ground has momentum, it is primarily due to non-climate reasons: the Chinese moratorium was mostly an instance of industrial policy (aiming to protect Chinese coal companies and their workers from the overcapacity and low prices that are hitting the industry), while the USA’s lease restrictions were mainly motivated by concerns over fiscal justice. We do not find evidence of norm internalisation, which means that the emerging norm fails to gain much traction amid relevant national actors and other (large) coal producing states. If proponents of a moratorium succeed in framing the issue in non-climate terms, they should have a greater chance of building domestic political coalitions in favour of the norm.

New supply chain interventions offer promise to reduce deforestation from expansion of commercial agriculture, as more multinational companies agree to stop sourcing from farms with recent forest clearing. We analyzed the zero‐deforestation cattle agreements signed by major meatpacking companies in the Brazilian Amazon state of Pará using property‐level data on beef supply chains. Our panel analysis of daily purchases by slaughterhouses before and after the agreements demonstrates that they now avoid purchasing from properties with deforestation, which was not the case prior to the agreements. Supplying ranchers registered their properties in a public environmental registry nearly 2 years before surrounding non‐supplying properties, and 85% of surveyed ranchers indicated that the agreements were the driving force. In addition, supplying properties had significantly reduced deforestation rates following the agreements. Our results demonstrate important changes in the beef supply chain, but the agreements’ narrow scope and implementation diminish outcomes for forest conservation.

In the early 1990s, the Atlantic cod (Gadusmorhua) population on the Newfoundland and Labrador shelf declined dramatically, leading to a fishing moratorium in 1992. The Northern cod population has not fully recovered, possibly due to the simultaneous population collapse of an important prey type, capelin (Mallotus villosus), which migrates from the continental shelf into coastal Newfoundland to spawn every summer. Our objective was to test whether capelin availability influenced short-term dietary shifts of cod while inshore on the northeast Newfoundland coast. We quantify the dietary composition and relative abundance and biomass of prey types in cod stomachs sampled weekly or bi-weekly throughout July-August 2017 and 2018. Survey-based acoustic estimates of capelin biomass and the timing of spawning in the study area revealed that peak capelin biomass was five times higher (0.239 g/m2) and two weeks earlier (July 28) during 2018 relative to 2017 (0.048 g/m2, August 9). Cod stomachs were ~ 10 times more likely to contain capelin during 2018 relative to 2017. As capelin availability increased throughout each summer, cod shifted from a high diversity diet of lower-quality invertebrate prey (e.g., shrimp, crab) to a low diversity, capelin-dominated diet, whereby capelin presence, abundance and biomass increased. These findings indicate that capelin remains a primary prey type of cod in inshore waters during their summer growing season, but dietary proportions of capelin vary with their availability. As low dietary proportions of capelin are associated with reduced body condition and reproductive potential in cod, findings support the need for an integrated capelin-cod management approach.

Spotted seals, a protected species, face multifaceted threats to their habitat, which in turn impact the closely associated trophic networks. These threats will lead to irreversible structural variations within the ecosystem. Therefore, investigating the topological variability of trophic networks in spotted seals is important. Applying environmental DNA methods, field sample collection was conducted in 2021 during both the sea fishing moratorium period and the fishing period to decode fish diversity. Assessing the current status of fish resources by using the multivariate statistics approach. Applying dietary information establishes the spotted seals’ trophic network. Selecting 12 network indexes to analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of network topological attributes. As a result, about 51 families, and 76 genera species were identified. During the sea fishing moratorium and the fishing period, there are 12 and 18 different food resources available for spotted seals, respectively. The diversity index revealed that the FP had greater species richness and diversity than the SP. Comparatively, the Fishing period exhibited higher species richness and biodiversity, likely influenced by habitat heterogeneity and anthropogenic activities. Additionally, the topological features of networks reflected the high clustering coefficients (CC=0.35) and the proportion of omnivorous species (O≈60%), indicating that the network structure in this region tends to form higher trophic-level clustering patterns, which facilitate the formation of weaker interactions between clusters, enhancing the robustness of the network. The higher connectivity complexity index during the fishing period (SC=12.3) supported that the spotted seal’s trophic network was relatively more stable in this period. Thus, during the fishing period, it is crucial to pay more attention to the intensity of human fishing on mid-to-high trophic-level omnivorous fish resources to ensure the sustainability of these potential food resources for spotted seals. This comprehensive study achieved three key objectives: (a) utilizing eDNA to characterize fish diversity during distinct periods, (b) establishing trophic networks of spotted seals, and (c) discerning topological attributes and spatiotemporal patterns within the ecological network. Overall, this study can provide technical and data support for integrated ecological network management and propose suggestions for protecting and recovering spotted seals.

To investigate the spatiotemporal distribution and causes of blooms of Rhopilema esculentum in Hangzhou Bay during 2024, this study investigated its growth characteristics, including umbrella diameter and body weight, along with environmental factors, spatiotemporal dynamics and yield variations. The analysis was based on the 2024 monitoring data of R. esculentum resources in Hangzhou Bay, together with relevant social research data. The results showed that umbrella diameter and body weight increased over time at all monitoring points. The growth rate of the R. esculentum umbrella diameter declined gradually over time, whereas that of body weight rapidly increased. The daily growth rate of umbrella diameter in the water of Tangnao and Xiaoji Mountains was significantly higher than that in the waters of Tanxu Mountain. A sharp drop in salinity caused by Xin’anjiang Reservoir flood discharge from the 23rd to 28th June was the primary cause of the R. esculentum blooms in Hangzhou Bay. During the special R. esculentum fishing period in the summer fishing moratorium, R. esculentum was mainly distributed in the southern and eastern Hangzhou waters, with a maximum daily yield of 28,000 kg/day. After the 16th, R. esculentum production expanded across the entire bay, with blooms also occurring in Xiangshan Bay and Liuheng, reaching a production peak of 44,000 kg/day. In 2024, R. esculentum production in Hangzhou Bay totalled 250,000 tonnes, breaking historical records. This study revealed the 2024 growth and spatiotemporal dynamics of R. esculentum in Hangzhou Bay, providing a reference for the rational use and protection of the species and revealing the causes of the unprecedented blooms.

Objective Recently, the South China Sea has been facing a crisis of depleted fishery resources, primarily due to the impacts of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities, as well as overfishing. Accurately understanding the fishing activity intensity in the South China Sea holds significant implications for the sustainable management of fisheries resources. Methods Leveraging the automatic identification system trajectory data from 2018, this paper employs spatial statistical methods and fishing effort indicators to comparatively analyze the spatial variations in fishing intensity between Chinese and Vietnamese fishing vessels. Result The results of this study show that (1) in 2018, the total fishing effort of Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea was 7.65 times that of Vietnamese vessels, but during China's South China Sea fishing moratorium, the fishing effort exerted by Vietnamese vessels surpassed that of China and (2) the top 10 ports in China and Vietnam support approximately 30% and 55.13% of their respective fishing intensities in the South China Sea. Conclusion The study highlights significant variations in fishing intensity between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels and the substantial support provided by major ports. These findings offer valuable insights for fisheries resource monitoring and maritime spatial planning, contributing to the sustainable management of the South China Sea's fisheries resources. Impact statement This study sheds light on fishing by Chinese and Vietnamese vessels during the South China Sea fishing ban and the intensity of fishing by vessels supported by ports along the South China Sea. By understanding these patterns, we can better manage fishery resources in the South China Sea and ensure sustainable fishing.