SDG Update – 22 June 2017 – IISD’s SDG Knowledge Hub

Jay OwenGlobal Citizen, Sustainability News, Beyond GDP

GUEST ARTICLES
To #SaveOurOcean, We Have to Work Together
C. Davis Parchment, Manager of Knowledge Services at Foundation Center
The UN Ocean Conference and World Ocean Festival was a historic convening of thinkers and doers from all over the world. But the momentum we felt when we were together can only lead to lasting impact if we make a commitment (and a plan) to collaborate more effectively into the future.
France, Australia and the EU Can Lead in Protecting Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
Claire Christian, Acting Executive Director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition
In 2009, 24 countries and the European Union (EU) agreed to a bold plan to create a circumpolar network of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica by 2012. As Members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), they took the first step towards fulfilling that commitment by designating the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) in 2016, which will come into force in December 2017.
Forest and Farm Producers: First Responders to Climate Change
Jeffrey Y. Campbell, Manager of the Forest and Farm Facility
What comes to mind when you think about climate change? The impact of fumes from all the traffic on your commute to work? Maybe erratic weather, with flooding in some places, severe drought in others?
FEATURED
EU Council Adopts Conclusions on SDG Implementation
20 June 2017: The EU Council has adopted conclusions on the EU’s response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its implementation at the EU level, calling on the European Commission (EC) to set an implementation strategy with timelines, objectives and concrete measures for implementing the 2030 Agenda in all EU internal and external policies by 2018.
Co-Facilitators Revise Draft Declaration for HLPF
19 June 2017: The co-facilitators of consultations on the 2017 Ministerial Declaration of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-Level Segment and the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) released a revised draft, ahead of a reading by UN Member States on 20-21 June 2017. The joint declaration is expected to be adopted by the HLPF on 19 July 2017, and by the ECOSOC High-level Segment on 20 July 2017.
GFRID 2017 Links Remittances to SDG Achievement
16 June 2017: Representatives of governments, the private sector and civil society discussed efforts to significantly decrease transfer costs of remittances, maximize their impact for development, and ultimately contribute to achieving the SDGs, during the 2017 Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID). GFRID’s conclusions will feed into the tenth Global Forum on Migration and Development, as well as preparations for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Africa Case Studies Show Five Pathways to Speed Up, Scale Up SDGs
16 June 2017: The Poverty-Environment Initiative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP or UN Environment) launched a report on African countries’ progress in fostering coordinated and integrated approaches to development. The highlighted approaches connect and address poverty reduction, inequality, employment generation, climate change, environmental stress, and water, energy and food security. The report proposes five “pathways” to speed up and scale up integrated and participatory approaches to sustainable development and support achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
NEWS
Sustainable Energy Finance Update: Investments in Solar Power Surge as Global Coal Production Plummets
21 June 2017: The falling cost of solar power has made this form of renewable energy an increasingly attractive option to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase access to affordable, clean energy in developing countries through energy finance. This update covers recent investments in solar power generation and other renewables against the background of an accelerating decline in global coal production and consumption.
Adaptation and Loss and Damage Update: DRR Efforts Increased Amid Record High Temperatures
21 June 2017: Summer arrived early in the Northern hemisphere, with heat waves engulfing parts of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the US since May. This theme and recent developments in disaster risk reduction (DRR), disaster risk management (DRM) and early warning systems are reviewed in this update.
Capacity Building and Technology Update: CTCN Welcomes 300th Member, Dual Water Treatment Brings Multiple Benefits
20 June 2017: Recent weeks have brought news regarding activities of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), which welcomed its 300th Network member and published updates on its ongoing technical assistance. Another CTCN member developed a dual water treatment and solar heating system that could save millions of lives.
CRPD10 Calls for Disaggregated Data to Monitor Action on Disabilities
20 June 2017: The tenth session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP10) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) concluded with a call for data to be disaggregated by disability, in order to ensure the fulfillment of commitments made in the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The following week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of a Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.
UN Youth Envoy Appointed, Preparations Underway for SDG 4 Action Event
20 June 2017: Announcing the appointment of 26-year-old Jayathma Wickramanayake of Sri Lanka as his Envoy on Youth, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development depends on “empowering young people as rights-holders, agents of change and torch-bearers.” On 28 June, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Peter Thomson will host a High-Level SDG Action Event on Education to emphasize the importance of teaching about the SDGs, including for the 126 million children who will be eighteen years old in 2030.
Toll of Pollution on Human Well-being Addressed in Canada, China and Europe
16 June 2017: A report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) estimates the billions of dollars that pollution costs Canada, while in Europe and Asia, initiatives also drew attention to pollution and its effects on human health. In Europe, the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health called for the region to reduce the number of deaths from environmental pollution, while in China, a Green Financing Platform (GFP) will promote air pollution-reduction investments in the greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region.
ILO Report Calls for Reducing Gender Disparities in Work
15 June 2017: A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) finds that a 25% reduction in gender disparities at workplaces could add US$5.8 trillion to the world economy and boost tax revenue, particularly for countries in North Africa, Southern Asia and the Arab region. In Austria, 52 UN leaders and senior diplomats made pledges on gender equality at the launch of the International Gender Champions-Vienna Initiative, and a forum in Bangkok proposed actions to address contraints facing women entrepreneurs.
UNITAR Partners on Earth Observations, Stakeholder Engagement to Support SDG Implementation
14 June 2017: To help realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has partnered with Radiant.Earth to undertake efforts to build capacity related to Earth observations data. UNITAR has also partnered with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) to strengthen stakeholder engagement in implementing the 2030 Agenda.
UNEP-DTU Finds Opportunity to Raise Energy Efficiency Ambition in Tbilisi, Georgia
14 June 2017: The partnership between UN Environment (UNEP) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) has released the Energy Efficiency Brief for the city of Tbilisi, Georgia. The Brief summarizes opportunities and issues uncovered during a dialogue between UNEP-DTU and the city administration aiming to explore opportunities for energy efficiency implementation.
Initiatives Enhance Climate Education in West Africa
9 June 2017: Ghana has initiated the integration of climate change into school curricula to implement Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 (climate action) target 13.3 (Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning). Two francophone Youth Climate Dialogues (YCDs) held among European and African students also contributed to the implementation of that target.
Stakeholders and Officials Highlight Priorities for HLPF
20 June 2017: The UN Secretariat issued a compilation of the executive summaries of the position papers submitted by Major Groups and Other Stakeholders (MGOS) on the theme of the 2017 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world.’ Also ahead of the HLPF, representatives of MGOS, UN entities and Member States shared views on the Forum, the zero draft of its Ministerial Declaration, and the 2030 Agenda.
WFUNA, Partners Discuss Global Citizenship Education for 2030 Agenda
19 June 2017: UN entities, UN Member States and other stakeholders highlighted the importance of global citizenship education for sustaining peace, preventing global extremism and achieving the SDGs, during an event on the role of global citizenship education in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and beyond.