Located in a global hotspot for biodiversity, Los Angeles County is home to more than 4,000 distinct species of plants and animals, including 52 endangered species - more than any county outside of Hawaii. And with 1 million animal and plant species facing extinction due to human activity, according to the United Nations, efforts to better understand the factors that shape biodiversity in Los Angeles could help shape global conservation efforts.

A new study from University of Michigan climate researchers concludes that some of the latest-generation climate models may be overly sensitive to carbon dioxide increases and therefore project future warming that is unrealistically high.

Do biodiversity losses aggravate transmission of infectious diseases spread by animals to humans? The jury is still out but several scientists say there is a "biodiversity dilution effect" in which declining biodiversity results in increased infectious-disease transmission.

Sovereign nations typically measure economic success in terms of GDP (income) but this approach is risky as it fails to track and measure the impact of this on nature. Inclusive wealth, on the other hand captures financial and produced capital, but also the skills in our workforce (human capital), the cohesion in our society (social capital) and the value of our environment (natural capital).

In these unusual and tragic times, I am indeed grateful that we are able to connect virtually to continue the business of environmental governance. While the efforts of all your capitals are correctly focused on preventing human suffering, as parts of the world move slowly towards recovery, the environmental agenda remains one of our most powerful insurance policies in preventing future global pandemics like COVID-19.

Tropical rainforests are the world's richest land habitats for biodiversity, harbouring stunning numbers of plant and animal species. The Amazon and the Congo basins, together with Asian rainforests, represent only 6 per cent of earth's land surface, and yet more than 50 per cent of global biodiversity can be found under their shade.

To imagine earth without greenhouse gases in its atmosphere is to turn the familiar blue marble into a barren lump of rock and ice on which the average surface temperature hovers around -18ºC. Such a planet would not receive less of the sunlight which is the ultimate source of all Earth's warmth. But when the energy it absorbed from the sunlight was re-emitted as infrared radiation, as the laws of physics require, it would head unimpeded back out into space.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc, the world's energies are rightly focused on efforts to contain the virus and manage the economic fallout. Yet, in the background, the climate emergency remains as urgent as ever.

"Pollinators were the key," says Edgar Mora, reflecting on the decision to recognise every bee, bat, hummingbird and butterfly as a citizen of Curridabat during his 12-year spell as mayor.

We asked Guardian readers living in cities and towns across the world to share their images of the wildlife they can see from their homes. You answered in your droves, from Canada to Cardiff, and here are some of the best.

Ordinary citizens felt like they had been sold a bill of goods. They were right to feel conned.

Digital technology was not invented to tackle inequality, and there is even a risk that it could widen existing economic and social disparities. But, as the case of China illustrates, new platforms also offer many possible ways to narrow the opportunity gap.

Research from Chazen Senior Scholar Christian Moser suggests that who gets hired and how much they get paid could make the difference between a startup’s success and its failure.

Global action is also a matter of self-interest for developed economies.

The flu vaccine was developed through open science, without any intellectual-property considerations. Imagine if we could do the same for COVID-19.

Outcomes of the Meeting of the Friends of the Co-Chairs on liability and redress, Bonn, 7-10 May 2008

New Publication: Rules, Procedures and Mechanisms Applicable to Processes under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Report of the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Advance text)