Ambio fit for the 2020s

Environmental challenges and the way we frame and research them are changing, as are the channels for successful transfer of scientific knowledge into decision-making. In a time when novelty is often the beacon leading funding, research and publication, revisiting the archives and going back to the roots of current discussions offer an opportunity to reflect on what got us to where we are today. Ambio’s 50th anniversary in 2021 gave us a reason to look back at how Ambio’s scope and coverage have changed over time and to start a discussion about how Ambio can remain relevant for science and policy in the future. Ambio is growing steadily, and we see an increasingly broad range of methodological approaches and use of different sources of evidence. This is encouraging; our ambition is to support multi- as well as inter- and transdisciplinary science on the interrelationships between the environment and society. At the same time, the field of sustainability science and applied social-environmental research is growing rapidly and with it comes many potential outlets for publishing work within Ambio’s approximate niche. In this increasingly mixed and busy field, we work constantly to ensure that Ambio remains recognized as a leading forum for high quality science, based on a broad foundation of knowledge and at the interface of society and the environment