Last summer was reported to be the hottest recorded, bringing heat waves, wildfires, sea surface temperature rises, ice melt, and storms, pushing many systems (ecological, social, economic, and political) toward critical tipping points, driving extinction, suffering, migration, and devastating conflict. Although, over the decades, we have done much to monitor and manage pollution, we are ever more aware of the ubiquity and impacts of “emerging” contaminants (many of which have been around quite some time, but had evaded scrutiny), habitat loss, and resource depletion. It is becoming increasingly difficult for all but the most dogged to deny the global impacts of human activities.

Worldwide, there is growing acceptance of the critical need not only to avoid further global damage but also to manage, mitigate, and adapt to the changes that are too late to avoid. Governments are increasingly seeking to implement green, sustainable, circular, and climate-neutral policies. What this means, in concrete terms, and how this is to be done will be based on normative societal decisions, but relevant and responsive research can support science-informed societal decision-making.

Although the drivers of many environmental problems are global, specific impacts and solutions are often local, and thus should be tailored to the reality and needs of local conditions and people, with the involvement of those affected. To that end, since the first issue was published in 2005, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (IEAM) has provided a platform to amplify local research so that it may be applied globally. Through its critical reviews and original (applied) research, debates, and commentaries, authors have evaluated how chemical (and other) risk is assessed, managed, and regulated, and what that means for the regulated and those who are affected by risks and their management. As we enter our 20th year, our focus is on succession—recruiting, training, and mentoring a new generation of authors, editors, and reviewers; reaching new readers; and probing emerging problems, framings, and perspectives.

Over the past two decades, our expectations around how research is conducted have evolved as well. IEAM discourages helicopter research, in which researchers conduct studies in lower-income or historically marginalized settings, with little or no involvement of those communities or local researchers. We are proud that our most recent issue included authors from 43 countries, reflecting a global voice for the global problems that we face. Open data policies ensure that the data underlying research and conclusions are, whenever possible, transparent and available not just to fellow researchers but also to those affected by the issues being addressed.

Our editorial board also increasingly reflects the global reach of the journal—senior editors now represent 12 countries, and the full editorial board, 21, with our greatest ever representation from the Global South, and continents outside (still predominant) North America and Central Europe. Further, we recognize that not all authors speak English as a first language. Thus, we provide language support for technically promising papers that may require it, and training for editors and reviewers to ensure that technical clarity, and not English language skills, are used as indicators of scientific quality—if the science is sound, the language can be fixed. Language skills should not be a barrier to the sharing of thoughts and ideas.

From the beginning, IEAM has provided a platform for those who want to clarify, improve, and challenge how we understand, assess, and manage the transdisciplinary problems that we face. We are all learning and evolving as we go. Here's to the next 20 years.

据报道，去年夏天是有记录以来最热的夏天，带来了热浪、野火、海面温度上升、冰雪融化和风暴，将许多系统（生态、社会、经济和政治）推向临界点，导致物种灭绝、苦难、移民和毁灭性冲突。尽管几十年来，我们在监测和管理污染方面做了很多工作，但我们越来越意识到“新兴”污染物的普遍存在和影响（其中许多污染物已经存在相当长一段时间，但逃避了审查）、栖息地丧失、和资源枯竭。除了最顽固的人之外，所有人都越来越难以否认人类活动对全球的影响。

在世界范围内，人们越来越认识到，不仅需要避免进一步的全球损害，而且还需要管理、减轻和适应那些来不及避免的变化。各国政府越来越多地寻求实施绿色、可持续、循环和气候中性政策。具体来说，这意味着什么以及如何做到这一点将基于规范的社会决策，但相关且响应性的研究可以支持科学知情的社会决策。

尽管许多环境问题的驱动因素是全球性的，但具体影响和解决方案往往是地方性的，因此应根据当地条件和人民的现实和需求，并让受影响者参与其中。为此，自 2005 年出版第一期以来，《综合环境评估与管理》(IEAM) 提供了一个平台来扩大当地研究，使其在全球范围内得到应用。通过其批判性评论和原创（应用）研究、辩论和评论，作者评估了如何评估、管理和监管化学（和其他）风险，以及这对受监管者和受风险及其影响的人意味着什么。管理。当我们进入第 20 个年头时，我们的重点是继任——招募、培训和指导新一代作者、编辑和审稿人；吸引新读者；并探讨新出现的问题、框架和观点。

在过去的二十年里，我们对研究如何进行的期望也发生了变化。IEAM 不鼓励直升机研究，即研究人员在低收入或历史上边缘化的环境中进行研究，而这些社区或当地研究人员很少或根本没有参与。我们感到自豪的是，我们最新一期的作者来自 43 个国家，反映了全球对我们面临的全球问题的声音。开放数据政策确保研究和结论所依据的数据尽可能透明，不仅可供其他研究人员使用，而且也可供受所解决问题影响的人使用。

我们的编辑委员会也越来越多地反映了该期刊的全球影响力——高级编辑现在代表 12 个国家，整个编辑委员会有 21 名，其中最大的代表来自南半球以及北美和中欧以外的大陆（仍然占主导地位） 。此外，我们认识到并非所有作者都以英语为第一语言。因此，我们为可能需要的技术上有前途的论文提供语言支持，并为编辑和审稿人提供培训，以确保将技术清晰度而不是英语语言技能用作科学质量的指标——如果科学可靠，语言就可以被修复。语言技能不应成为分享思想和想法的障碍。

从一开始，IEAM 就为那些想要澄清、改进和挑战我们如何理解、评估和管理我们面临的跨学科问题的人提供了一个平台。我们都在不断学习和进步。展望未来20年。