GUEST ARTICLES
Education, Training and Public Awareness: The Bread and Butter of Capacity Building
Enrica Marika Melandri, Capacity-building Expert, Former UNFCCC Associate Programme Officer
Capacity building is the cornerstone of any implementation action geared towards achieving the 17 UN SDGs by 2030. If we are committed to producing a meaningful shift in the way we address sustainability, and to enhancing the efficiency of current approaches to it, capacity building is the key which offers all involved stakeholders the possibility of abandoning their role as passive spectators, and becoming engaged actors of change.
POLICY BRIEFS
Monthly Forecast May 2018: Climate, Clean Energy and HLPF Preparations
Content Editors, SDG Knowledge Hub
Preparations for the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development’s (HLPF) review of the SDGs on energy, biodiversity, and sustainable consumption and production will be in full swing during May. At the same time, the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany is expected to advance efforts under SDG 13 (climate action).
SDG Knowledge Weekly: Adaptation, Agriculture and FoodAdam Fishman, Thematic Expert for 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (US)
This week’s brief looks at the role of climate adaptation in agriculture and related impacts on food security and nutrition. Among other partnerships and stakeholder initiatives on this topic, we highlight efforts toward a zero hunger future, and the business case for reducing food waste.
GENERATION 2030
Youth Create, Innovate to Support SDGs, Paris AgreementAna Maria Lebada, Thematic Expert for 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Romania)
19 April 2018: A panel of young people discussed how they have applied their passions and skills in comics, spoken word, graffiti, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to climate action. A comic book created through the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Climate Comic Contest was launched during the event.
FEATURED
UN Climate Change Conference Opens in Bonn
30 April 2018: The UN Climate Change Conference opened in Bonn, Germany, on 30 April 2018, and will continue until 10 May. The ongoing preparatory phase of the Talanoa Dialogue is expected to continue deliberations on its three questions related to countries’ efforts to combat climate change: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?
UNSC Holds First-Ever Open Debate on Youth, the ‘Missing Peace’
24 April 2018: The UN Security Council held its first open debate on youth, peace and security. Participants called for changing negative stereotypes on youth, underscoring the role of young people in preventing and resolving conflict.
NEWS Integration for SDG Implementation Discussed at WPSR Event
26 April 2018: UN officials, members of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), UN Member States and other stakeholders exchanged views on the World Public Sector Report (WPSR) 2018, on the sidelines of CEPA’s 17th session. The report examines three dimensions of integration towards SDG implementation: vertical, horizontal and stakeholder engagement.
UNFCCC Highlights Cooperative Activities for SDG Implementation
26 April 2018: The UNFCCC Secretariat has published a note summarizing cooperative activities with UN entities and international organizations that contribute to work under the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, including cooperative activities related to SDG implementation. The note was prepared in order to advance discussions at the 48th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 48), convening during the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.
UNEP FI, Banks Develop Methodology to Assess Risks, Opportunities of Low-Carbon Transition
26 April 2018: The UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and 16 banks have developed a methodology to help the banking industry understand how climate change and climate action could affect their business, by increasing transparency regarding exposure to climate-related risks, as well as the opportunities to be found in transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
UNSD Opens Access to Data on SDG Progress
20 April 2018: The UN Statistics Division (UNSD) launched an online data hub that provides access to official SDG data, providing transparency to the data used by the UN to report progress toward the SDGs and their targets. To date, the hub contains 460,000 data records, covering 132 out of the 232 indicators in the SDG global indicator framework.
LAC Forum Calls for Regional Unity to Achieve SDGs
20 April: The second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development began with a call for regional unity to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and discussed challenges faced in implementing it. The meeting also highlighted the importance of the regional dimension in the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), where the Forum’s conclusions will be presented.
Report Details LAC Progress on SDGs, Remaining Challenges
20 April 2018: The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) published an annual report detailing countries’ progress on the SDGs and recommendations for confronting remaining challenges. The report was presented during the second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, which met in Santiago, Chile, from 18-20 April 2018.
UN Special Rapporteur Urges Mongolia to Raise Standards on Water and Sanitation Services
20 April 2018: The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation has called on the Government of Mongolia to do more to meet the water and sanitation standards set by the SDGs. He notes that sufficient access to water for nomads’ personal consumption and livestock could help prevent large-scale migration into cities and rural towns.
Commonwealth Women’s Forum Calls for Actions to Empower Women and Girls
18 April 2018: The Commonwealth Women’s Forum (CWF) 2018 focused on accelerating gender equality for sustainable development, prosperity and peace for all women and girls in the Commonwealth. Participants at the Forum, which convened on the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), agreed on an outcome statement on ‘An empowered future for women and girls.’
Geneva Forum Shares Case Studies in Sustainable Infrastructure
April 2018: Participants at the Geneva Forum on Sustainable Infrastructure shared approaches and tools for ensuring that infrastructure projects contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Call to Action agreed at the Forum cites the need to promote nature-based solutions to infrastructure planning and development, among other priority areas for engagement.