Editor's note

The past year has been a whirlwind for the environment, with the momentous Paris climate agreement's enactment in November 2016 followed, seven months later, by the United States' shocking withdrawal from the deal

We've compiled The Conversation Global's best Energy + Environment coverage, in which international scholars lay out everything from how the world can still meet its emissions goals to why Italian forests are going up in flames.

Catesby Holmes

Global Commissioning Editor

Looks good, tastes good, but can it feed the world?

Organic farming matters - just not in the way you think

Verena Seufert, University of British Columbia; Navin Ramankutty, University of British Columbia

Is organic produce better for you? Can organic farming feed the world? Those might be the wrong questions.

Forest fires are a key part of the lifecycle of the woods, but they can also be deadly. Eduard Plana

Wildfires are raging in the Mediterranean. What can we learn?

Luke Kelly, University of Melbourne; Eduard Plana Bach; Marc Font Bernet

Italy, Portugal and Spain have all gone up in flames in recent weeks, highlighting the need to rethink how Mediterranean countries protect people and save ecosystems.

Daniel Munoz/Reuters

Coal comfort: Pacific islands on collision course with Australia over emissions

Wesley Morgan, The University of the South Pacific

As Australia looks to expand the coal industry at home, it's also ramping up regional diplomacy aimed at avoiding condemnation by those at the front line of climate change.

Tiksa Negeri/Reuters

Why a new water decade is key to meeting the world's development needs

Reza Ardakanian, United Nations University

The first international water decade was a great success ... so why do we need another?

Shailesh Andrade/Reuters

We can cut emissions in half by 2040 if we build smarter cities

Shobhakar Dhakal, Asian Institute of Technology

Future population growth is expected to take place almost entirely in cities. We won't fight climate change without them.