FEATURED
Annual World Bank, IMF Meetings Launch Initiatives on Poverty, Women Entrepreneurs, City Resilience
15 October 2017: The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) considered topics related to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as improving human capital, gender equality, youth, sustainable mobility, climate change and disaster risk financing. The meetings highlighted commitments from countries, such as the announcement by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) that it would provide US$9million to the World Bank’s City Resilience Program (CRP), making it the first donor to the CRP. The World Bank officially launched the the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), which seeks to advance women’s entrepreneurship in developing countries.
13 October 2017: The 44th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 44) endorsed recommendations, among other issues, on: the rise of global hunger as result of conflict; food systems and nutrition; sustainable forestry for food security and nutrition (FSN); women empowerment in the context of FSN; and urbanization, rural transformation and FSN.
Informal Migration Consultations Explore Decent Work, Regular Pathways
13 October 2017: The final round of informal consultations around a global compact on migration concluded in Geneva, Switzerland. Government representatives and stakeholders addressed: irregular migration and regular pathways; decent work and labor mobility; and recognition of migrants’ skills and qualifications. UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Miroslav Laj?ák called for the global compact to respond to people’s real needs and for full implementation of existing cooperative frameworks and agreements.
Second Committee Event Considers Role of Inclusive Innovation in SDGs
12 October 2017: Representatives of governments, UN agencies and the private sector discussed how inclusive innovation can support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during a side event of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Second Committee (Economic and Financial). Participants considered how governments can support inclusive innovation for national development strategies and harness information and communication technologies (ICTs) for participatory governance and more efficient public service delivery.
EU Calls for COP 23 to Provide Clarity on 2018 Facilitative Dialogue
13 October 2017: The European Council has adopted conclusions on the Paris Agreement on climate change and preparations for the UNFCCC meetings, outlining the negotiating position of the European Union (EU) for the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Bonn, Germany, from 6-17 November 2017.
NEWS
SEforALL CEO Outlines Challenges in Achieving Sustainable Energy for All
16 October 2017: Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), has highlighted seven challenges to achieving sustainable energy, emphasizing the areas in which policy innovations are needed to provide reliable, resilient and clean energy by 2030.
IPU, UNDP Report Showcases Parliamentary Oversight of SDG Implementation
15 October 2017: The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have released the second ‘Global Parliamentary Report.’ The report highlights the role of parliaments around the world in contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
13 October 2017: The dates for the 2018 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF 2018) have been announced.
11 October 2017: Agrobiodiversity is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while climate-resilient agriculture improves food security and nutrition. These are the main messages of two publications launched during the 44th Committee on World Food (CFS 44), which convened from 9-13 October 2017, in Rome, Italy.
UNISDR Guidelines Highlight Linkages between Disaster Risk, SDGs
13 October 2017: The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has released guidelines to encourage more countries to undertake national disaster risk assessments (NDRAs), and to link them with policy and investment processes in order to improve preventative actions that reduce the number of deaths and the number of people displaced by disasters.
International Day Calls for Reducing Number of People Affected by Disasters
13 October 2017: Against the backdrop of recent devastating hurricanes in the Atlantic and in Asia, the world celebrated the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) 2017. The event focused on ‘Reducing the number of people affected by disasters by 2030,’ in line with Target 2 of the ‘Sendai Seven’ campaign, which promotes the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). A number of interviews, studies and announcements marked the Day.
Comprehensive Climate Risk Insurance Database Launched
13 October 2017: The Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) and the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ) have launched an online tool that aims to contribute to improving the way impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities are addressed.
WIM ExCom Advances Work on Risk Transfer, Climate Displacement
13 October 2017: At its sixth meeting (ExCom 6), convened ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Bonn, Germany, from 6-17 November 2017, the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) advanced work on, inter alia, the clearing house for risk transfer, the Task Force on Displacement (TFD) and the WIM’s formal engagement at the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the UNFCCC.
Localizing SDGs Event Showcases Colombia’s SDG Implementation Planning
12 October 2017: An event on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted perspectives of those working to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level.
Las2017 Adopts Warsaw Integrated Programme of Work 2018-2021
12 October 2017: The joint 75th session of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) and the 39th session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) European Forestry Commission (EFC), which convened from 9-12 October 2017, in Warsaw, Poland, convened under the title, ‘Las2017’, with “las” meaning forest in Polish.
ESCAP, WMO Enhance Disaster Resilience in Asia-Pacific
12 October 2017: In recent adaptation and loss and damage news, Asia-Pacific countries advanced work on disaster resilience in the region during the first UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Disaster Resilience Week, while a joint Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) – World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS) workshop for the Pacific sought to strengthen observational networks on the region.
African Leaders Endorse Institutional Framework for Improved Land Governance
3 October 2017: The launch of the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC) marks the institutionalization of an 11-year programme of work developed by the Land Policy Initiative (LPI), a tripartite initiative of the African Union (AU) Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the African Development Bank.
International Facility to Finance Community Land and Forest Tenure
October 2017: In 2012, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) endorsed Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, forests, and fisheries (VGGT, or the Voluntary Guidelines) to, inter alia, promote food security and sustainable development by improving secure access to land, fisheries, and forests. Five years on, stakeholders such as the World Bank and the International Land Coalition (ILC) are sharing lessons learned and progress towards the Voluntary Guidelines, and the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), with partners and affiliated networks, launched the International Land and Forest Tenure Facility (the Tenure Facility).
2030 Vision Partnership Will Advance Use of Digital Technology in SDGs
October 2017: The UN Global Compact has released a publication that presents a vision for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the use of digital technology. The report summarizes opportunities and challenges for digital technology to advance the SDGs, and discusses the 2030 Vision partnership to be formally launched in December 2017.
Winners Announced for Youth Competition on Financing Sustainable Development
October 2017: The World Bank report has released a report that showcases the winners of the third installment of the Ideas for Action (I4A) initiative, based on their proposals for financing for development to help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2017 winners presented their proposals at the World Bank Group–International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings in October 2017 in Washington DC, US.
EU, India Partner on Paris Agreement Implementation, Clean Energy
6 October 2017: India and the European Union (EU) have issued a joint statement on clean energy and climate change, pledging to step up cooperation to enhance implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to encourage global low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve climate-resilient and sustainable development.
Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action Outlines 2017-2018 Work Programme
October 2017: The Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, an initiative launched by the High-Level Global Climate Action Champions during the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UNFCCC, has issued its 2017-2018 work programme. The Partnership aims to catalyze and support climate action by Parties and stakeholders in the period from 2017-2020.