Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
The Living Planet Report 2022 by the WWF is the most comprehensive study published of trends in global biodiversity. The latest version reveals global wildlife populations have plummeted by 69% on average since 1970. This rate of decline is a severe warning that the rich biodiversity that sustains all life on our planet is in crisis, putting every species at risk – including us. This is happening in all climates, biomes, habitats, across the world. The Living Planet Index combines global analysis of 32,000 populations of 5,230 animal species to measure changes in the abundance of wildlife across continents and different types of organism, and produces a graph a bit like a stock index of life on Earth. It is one of the key pieces of evidence that drive some to say we are entering the sixth mass extinction on planet Earth and certainly the biggest loss of life since the end of the dinosaurs. But this is driven by us not a natural disaster. latin America had an almost unbelievable . . .
No Poverty is in many ways the headline SDG. SDG number one. Literally. Poverty underpins so many other issues, it has to be one of the main targets. But over 1.3 billion people are still estimated to be in poverty and covid is likely to have pushed an additional 150 million+ people into this situation as well. On top of that we have market turmoil, energy insecurity, high inflation and falling real wages in many places. poverty is becoming significant in all countries not just the LICs. That said, vulnerable populations in many parts of Asia, Africa and the SIDSs will suffer even more and enter extreme poverty. The day of observance exists to educate the public and hopefully to mobilize political will and resources to address this global problem. . . .
What are green jobs and how can I get one? 5 questions answered about clean energy careers (The Conversation) Why a Few Words in Montreal are Key to Ending Deforestation (IISD) The Case for a Simple Climate Solution: Zero Waste (IISD) By-product hydrogen: a bridge to a green hydrogen economy? (Eco-business) How blockchain can transform the renewables market (Eco-business) US, Germany back ‘fundamental reform’ of World Bank to scale climate finance (CHN) Thailand’s Ambitious Plan to Become the ‘Silicon Valley of Food’ (green queen) 5 Zero Waste Bathroom Swaps to Try (green queen) How limitless green energy would change the world (BBC) . . .
The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction was started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction primarily through widespread provision of early warnings and risk mitigation knowledge. In 2015 at the UN conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, the international community was reminded that disasters hit hardest at the local level with the potential to cause loss of life and great social and economic upheaval. Sudden onset disasters displace millions of people every year. Disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change, have a negative impact on investment in sustainable development and the desired outcomes. Hence, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is a people-focused and action-oriented approach to disaster risk reduction and applies to the risk of small-scale and large-scale disasters caused by man-made, or natural hazards, as well as relat . . .
Hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs – and at last more people see the problem with the geopolitics of fossil fuel distribution thanks to the Ukraine invasion even if they are less concerned from a climate perspective. Hydrogen doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials. And it doesn’t require large amounts of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity, or covered like solar and wind farms. It can be used for “heavy” usage like aircraft and shipping and goods vehicles. All in all, hydrogen seems too good to be true. No wonder the energy industry is currently pushing hydrogen as the fuel of the future. So are there any problems? It all depends on production method. One is to pass an electric current through water, splitting the water molecules apart into their constituent hydrogen and oxygen atoms. With this method, the key is w . . .
Three Ways Sustainability Policy isn’t Serving the SDGs – and How It Could (IISD) ‘Dark data’ is killing the planet – we need digital decarbonisation (The Conversation) Waste solutions can curb 84% of global trash emissions, but nations are neglecting waste in climate plans (Eco-business) Chinese techniques offer corn farmers in Benin a way to adapt to climate change (Eco-business) What does true sustainability look like in the hotel industry? (Eco-business) The American EV boom is about to begin. Does the US have the power to charge it? (The Guardian) Cutting emissions will hit growth, but costs of inaction much higher, says IMF (The Guardian) Could This Paper Cup Help Us Quit Plastic Coffee Cups for Good? (green queen) Demand response: A win-win solution to climate and energy price crises (CHN) . . .
Every year the IDoP is observed on 21st September. In its most immediate form it asks that all conflict of all kind cease for the 24 hours. But of course a single day of ceasefire is not a solution to armed conflict and a day of respite from other forms of conflict is very small respite indeed. The bigger aim therefore is to get people to reflect on what brings them to conflict and the possible ways to remove themselves from it for a more everlasting peace - itself one of the primary motivators for the very existence of the UN. In 2022, the specific theme is to end racism - a form of conflict that is unfortunately endemic in many places yet which has no logical basis. The UN will mark the day early on 16th September to match with events at the UNGA. . . .
How Digital Innovation Has Accelerated Monitoring of the World’s Forests (IISD) Cooperation Needed to Correct Course on Gender Equality: UN Report (IISD) What is COP27? This year’s crucial climate talks, explained (Eco-business) Big promises, slow progress: sustainability culture rising up corporate to-do lists (Eco-business) Patagonia’s billionaire owner gives away company to fight climate crisis (The Guardian) Reasons for (cautious) optimism: the good news on the climate crisis (The Guardian) Clean energy jobs overtake fossil fuel sector but wages lag behind (CHN) 4 Online Courses for a Better Planet: From Sustainability to Plant-Based Nutrition (green queen) Agriculture drives more than 90% of tropical deforestation (Science Daily) What is The Line, the 170km-long mirrored metropolis Saudi Arabia is building in the desert? (The Conversation) AWS launches new Sustainable Cities Accelerator for startups (AWS) . . .
