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A new Nicholas Institute analysis suggests policy efforts to address plastic pollution have slowed worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. That development has coincided with a documented rise in medical waste and single-use and disposable plastics.

The analysis drew from an inventory maintained and regularly updated by the Nicholas Institute. The Plastics Policy Inventory now contains more than 570 public policies introduced around the world since 2000 to target plastic pollution. The research team included Duke undergraduates, graduate students from the Nicholas School of the Environment, and a Duke Law School student.

In its inaugural Ocean Innovation Challenge, the U.N. Development Programme—with support from the governments of Sweden and Norway—recognized the inventory as one of eight winning projects to accelerate progress on reducing marine pollution. Negotiators are scheduled to discuss a global treaty that would create legally binding rules for the use and disposal of plastics during the U.N. Environment Assembly session from Feb. 28 through March 2.

Renewables are enabling distributed, low-cost cold storage, irrigation, and processing capabilities that could be transformative for rural communities in Africa and South Asia. Yet these enterprises are largely invisible as destinations for climate finance.

A new report gauges the potential climate adaptation and mitigation contributions from these value chains and lays out how a clearer understanding of impact—in terms of carbon emissions, reduced post-harvest loss, reduced risk of crop failure, and other resilience metrics—can be a channel for monetizing climate benefits and mobilizing finance to scale the sector. The report was developed by the James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke in partnership with the Shell Foundation; the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office; and RMI.

Hosted at Duke University on March 18–19, the Blue Economy Summit will bring together diverse ocean stakeholders from industry, government, non-profits, and academia to identify the most promising opportunities to bring the vision of a sustainable blue economy to life.

The Oceans Innovations Showcase will highlight innovative “blue” technology and provide opportunities for students to engage with entrepreneurs working to enhance ocean sustainability.

Whether through a speaking role, sponsorship, or engagement with fellow thought leaders, participants of the Oceans@Duke’s Blue Economy Summit will have the exciting opportunity to join a rapidly growing interdisciplinary ocean research and education network. Through this network, Oceans@Duke aims to shape the coming decades of human activity in the oceans.