Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
Sustainability (or lack of) in the news around the world this week: China pledge to stop funding coal projects (The Guardian) Developing nations welcome US climate finance pledge but warn more is needed (The Guardian) One-third of the world’s tree species are threatened with extinction – here are five of them (The Conversation) Cut less, leave longer: decades of data show we are over-exploiting tropical rainforests (The Conversation) Vaccinations, Climate Action Among 5 Sources of Hope for UNGA76 (IISD) Youth at the HLPF: Facing the Ongoing Challenge of Meaningful Participation (IISD) . . .
Globally, around 14 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17 percent of total global food production is wasted (11 percent in households, 5 percent in the food service and 2 percent in retail). In Hong Kong, over 3,300 tonnes of food is thrown in landfill every day. 29 September is the UN International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction which is aimed at raising awareness so that individuals and businesses can pause and think about how they might address this problem. Our YCI programme has also seen a couple of projects looking at this: https://www.wastelessfeedbetter.org/ and https://www.zerofoodwastepackaging.org/ . . .
Last week saw a summit convened in the United Nations General Assembly to address the challenges the world faces today in terms of the sustainability of its food production systems. It has become increasingly obvious in recent years that not only do we continue to need more food provision for an increasing global population but that our production and distribution methods need to change. The UN is trying to convene scientists plus SMEs and small holders as part of an overall approach to decentralize farming, deindustrialize it, reduce energy usage and improve food security while eradicating damage to the environment. However, numerous groups also criticized the summit for not doing enough to force change among the corporate stakeholders in current food systems. . . .
Sustainability (or lack of) in the news around the world this week: EPA finds production of PFAs emitting more GHGs than thought (Toxic-Free Future) Drought coupled with covid and poverty threatens starvation in Kenya (The Guardian) Calls begin for fossil fuel companies to fix their damage (The Guardian) Literacy better taught in school than not (The Conversation) White privilege: what it is, what it means and why understanding it matters (The Conversation) Alvin Wong, YCI Member, in the news (Learning Planet) Climate action at the General Assembly week (UN) Climate change: World now sees twice as many days over 50C (BBC) . . .
One of the core parts of the UN Action Campaign for the SDGs is the Act4SDGs Global Week which in 2021 runs 17-28 September. ITS Young Changemaker Incubator projects submitted 8 actions in 2020 and another 7 in 2021. The UN SDG Action Campaign joins committed individuals, organizations and growing SDG networks to channel the power of people to act on the Goals – and inspire others to do the same. You can see all the key elements at the sdgactioncampaign site. . . .
Saturday saw a fantastic day of celebrating Youth Ambassadorship in the Asia-Pacific region. Hosted virtually by UNITAR, and in-person in Hong Kong by Howden Insurance, the event brought together business and youth leaders to showcase Youth Ambassadorship for sustainable futures under the umbrella of the SDGs. The event also marked the official announcement of The ITS Education Asia Foundation being set up as an official not-for-profit organizer and provider of sustainability and SDG education for Hong Kong and the wider region. . . .
The UN has reported on statistics which show that although extreme weather events are becoming more frequent in our global heating crisis, and although this means growing economic losses, deaths are actually reducing. With better early warning systems making information available earlier to more places, plus more countries having implemented disaster management planning, deaths have reduced globally from 50,000+ per year in the 1970s to less than 20,000 today. As climatic disasters make up over half of all natural disasters, 45% of deaths and 75% of costs, they are a major area for us to work towards mitigating and yet another reason why we should be working to stop global heating. . . .
Climeworks has announced the opening of their latest carbon capture facility. It is called Orca and is located in Iceland. The geo-tech will extract 4000 tons of carbon dioxide per year which is the largest in the world so far. The plant mineralises the gas which can then be stored underground (where is most probably came from). Follow the link to see the timeline reporting of its build and launch. . . .
