Addressing global challengesWe are all aware of the critical importance of ensuring a sustainable supply of energy, and of addressing the associated challenges for the global environment. In response to this, we believeEnergy & Environmental Scienceis a genuinely distinctive journal which is successfully linking together a broad range of communities. Our journal is the ideal platform to present the cutting-edge research which will overcome the global challenges we are facing.To help accommodate our wide readership, which spans many communities, each article inEnergy & Environmental Scienceis accompanied by a brief paragraph which puts the work into the broader context. This summary box (located on the first page of each article) is designed to highlight the importance of the research within energy and environmental science, allowing the entire readership to appreciate its significance.Indeed, the broad range of research whichEnergy & Environmental Sciencepublishes can be seen in this issue with, for example, articles covering research from solar cells to hydrogen storage, from original research on nuclear power to a comprehensive review on carbon dioxide.