Technological progress improves all aspects of our lives. But it comes at a high environmental cost. The manufacture of consumer goods, the production of energy and even the development and utilisation of effective medicines pollute our water, soil and air.

Society has also developed powerful pollution remediation technologies. However, these tend to be very costly, both in economic and energy terms, and often result in pollution of different forms. This pollution cycle is clearly unsustainable, and it has become essential to develop integrated approaches to control pollution that do not add to the problem.

Nature Sustainability and Nature Nanotechnology have jointly organized a virtual conference with a number of high level experts to discuss sustainable solutions for pollution control.

https://conferences.nature.com/event/3eba5d7f-89c9-4fed-a4a9-3e656654cc40/summary

The conversation will revolve around these topics:  

The multiple challenges of pollution control

In this introductory session, the speakers will explore how sustainable pollution control begins with the appropriate design of systems that are intended to provide societal services, regardless of the scale of the system, with examples ranging from urban planning to materials design at a molecular scale. 

Solutions for pollution control in soil

Beside overviewing major aspects of soil pollution, this session will deal with the sustainable remediation actions on a global scale. The speakers will overview the potential damage produced by remediation technologies that are not conceived in a sustainable fashion. Particular emphasis will be placed on the necessity of designing remediation approaches based on the full life of contaminants, as well as on geographical variation with regards to environmental standards and approaches to soil pollution solutions. 

Solutions for pollution control in water

Purifying water for drinking and sanitation is traditionally a high energy demanding process, making it unsustainable both in highly populated areas and in remote locations with little or poor infrastructure. The speakers in this session will discuss how the nanotechnology can lead to the dramatic improvements in terms of sustainable water treatment systems. Furthermore, they will discuss case studies of development of self-sufficient, low cost and low energy technology for water purifications in locations wgere technical services are not available

Solutions for pollution control in air

Air pollution is a growing environmental threat with severe impacts on the health of populations, particularly urban dwellers, worldwide. This session will explore the scale of the problem globally and discuss integrated solutions that for example tackle both air pollution and climate change emissions. It will then look at sector-level interventions that show practically the multiple benefits – beyond reducing health impacts - of addressing air pollution, as ways to move society onto a more sustainable development path.

We are looking forward to seeing you all there!