GUEST ARTICLES
Realizing Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Through Trade Agreements
With 2017 rapidly drawing to a close, several international summits this year can still significantly advance sustainable development. Hopeful observers will naturally look closely at any progress made at the 23rd UN Climate Conference in Bonn in November, as well as the upcoming UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi in December.
Improving the Accountability Cycle: Recommendations for Stronger VNR Guidelines
Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) are central to the institutional mechanisms proposed to review the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and track their progress. Two years into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, after two review cycles at the UN High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF), sixty-four countries have presented their VNRs: 22 in 2016 and 43 in 2017, with Togo having presented twice. After the 48 volunteer countries present their VNRs in 2018, more than half (54%) of all UN Member States will have undergone at least one round of review, and 8 Member States will have volunteered to be reviewed at least twice at the global level.
Moving Ahead with REDD+ to Combat Climate Change
The forest is no place for impatience. From a great oak tree rising out of a tiny acorn, to tropical palm cover spreading across the Amazon basin, forests need time to grow. So does the successful climate-change mitigation programme Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). Make no mistake: REDD+ is maturing as countries build the necessary systems to reap the results-based rewards of participation. But, much work and fresh challenges lie ahead as countries move from readiness to implementation.
FEATURED
Lancet Commission Report Links Pollution Control to SDG Implementation
19 October 2017: Pollution was responsible for around nine million premature deaths in 2015, according to a Lancet Commission report on pollution and health, which aims to reduce air, soil and water pollution by communicating their health and economic costs, providing solutions to policymakers and “dispelling the myth” that pollution is an inevitable consequence of development.
Mounting Evidence on Conflict-induced Famine Prompts Discussion on Famine as Crime Against Humanity
19 October 2017: Several recent reports and events have raised awareness that conflicts and natural disasters are pushing the world off track towards reaching SDG 2 (End Hunger and all forms of malnutrition). Amid mounting evidence that hunger, malnutrition and obesity are on the rise, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has urged the international community to address famine as a crime against humanity.
IPBES Launches Primers on Upcoming Assessments
October 2017: The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has launched a series of primers. The short briefing documents contain key information about the five landmark assessments set for launch at the sixth annual session of the IPBES Plenary, to be held in March 2018, in Medellín, Colombia.
ICAO Conference Agrees on 2050 Vision for Sustainable Aviation Fuels
16 October 2017: Reducing emissions from international aviation is particularly challenging as the options for alternative propulsion technologies and fuels are limited. Efforts by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have therefore focused on alternative fuels for aviation. ICAO members have now adopted a 2050 Vision for the further development and deployment of such fuels.