Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
Image by Lori Lo from Pixabay Google Launching New Mapping and Emissions Reduction Technologies (GreenCitizen) UN Youth Forum focuses on sustainable future for all (UN) Water extraction and weight of buildings see half of China's cities sink (BBC) Ice age climate analysis reduces worst-case warming expected from rising CO2 (ScienceDaily) Scotland ditches 2030 climate target to cut emissions by 75% (reuters) Penguins in the pond, kiwi in the back yard: how a city brought back its birds (The Guardian) Is China ready to put solar panels out at sea? (Eco-business) Older Swiss women just set a global legal precedent for challenging their nation’s climate change policy (The Conversation) Global Compact Network UK Unveils Tool for Businesses to Assess SDG Impacts (IISD) . . .
Image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay Do Investors Support the Sustainable Development Goals? (IISD) Only 57 producers are responsible for 80% of all fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions since 2016 – new report (The Conversation) SBTi approves carbon credits for Scope 3 emissions offsetting to dismay of NGOs, own staff (Eco-business) Explainer: How does corporate purpose drive sustainable growth? (Eco-business) ‘Small but mighty’: how invertebrates play central role in shaping our world (The Guardian) Hellmann’s Launches AI Recipe Tool to Cut Household Food Waste (greenqueen) Voltpost wants to bring curbside EV charging to a lamppost near you (TechCrunch) US surpasses renewable energy goal for public lands (reuters) Ocean currents threaten to collapse Antarctic ice shelves (sciencedaily) . . .
Image by WikiImages from Pixabay The energy transition can be fair, just and inclusive – but the window of opportunity is closing fast (The Conversation) Scientists challenge ‘flawed communication’ of study claiming 1.5°C warming breach (Eco-business) ‘Taking the pulse of the planet’: could we monitor biodiversity from space as we do the weather? (The Guardian) Loss and damage must be a focus of IPCC’s next reports (CHN) The beekeepers of Sine Saloum: How all-women team tends to Senegal mangrove (Aljazeera) Young activists lobby for Australian law on climate harm (reuters) China is building more coal plants but might burn less coal (Hannah Ritchie) Squirrel and Japanese knotweed: The chefs cooking with invasive species (Future Planet) EV charging void has US, Europe drivers trying new routes to power up (CNA) WMO confirms 2023 as warmest year on record ‘by a huge margin’ (UN) . . .
Image by PDPics from Pixabay Global energy demand could be lower in 2050, despite the world getting richer (SBN) Benefits of Renewables Outweigh Negative Impacts, REN21 Report Finds (IISD) Secrets of soil-enriching pulses could transform future of sustainable agriculture (The Conversation) ‘It’s almost carbon-negative’: how hemp became a surprise building material (The Guardian) Citizen Planet: 10 Things to Do for the Climate in 2024 (greenqueen) Blended finance can perpetuate climate colonialism (CHN) These founders want a more ethical company structure for startups (TechCrunch) New study points to more climate extremes (ScienceDaily) Asia-Pacific off track on path to SDGs, UN data shows (UN) . . .
Image by Bishnu Sarangi from Pixabay "Peace is the Missing Piece": UN Secretary-General on Priorities for 2024 (IISD) Trees can make farms more sustainable (The Conversation) To help Chinese communities adapt to climate change, listen to them (Eco-business) How to fix the carbon crisis in fast fashion (Eco-business) "Shameful": Shell uses carbon credits under investigation to meet climate targets (CHN) January was world's warmest on record, EU scientists say (reuters) What turned Earth into a giant snowball 700m years ago? (ScienceDaily) Why we need to highlight stories of progress to build a better future (substack) How planting trees is bringing clean water to a tropical nation (FuturePlanet) Australians Transform Coffee Waste into Stronger Sustainable Concrete (GreenCitizen) Pakistan bucks global trend with 30-year mangrove expansion (Mongabay) . . .
Ema is at Renaissance College HK where she is a very active member of a variety of clubs. Her main SDG focus and passion is with the oceans. She is also an avid film maker and is a leading figure in Hong Kong’s youth film landscape when it comes to documentary making that highlights ocean issues and wonders. Ema has won awards around the world for her films. She is also the founder of the Making Waves Club which uses film and story telling to raise awareness and stimulate activity to support ocean cleaning and protection among Hong Kong youth. Ema also graduated the 2022 running of the Youth Ambassador Asia-Pacific programme run by ourselves and the UN. . . .
Ava is in Year 11 at Island School. She is very active in a range of organizations which have a sustainability or specific SDG focus. Her main interests lie in the environmental side, but she enjoys the way that the SDGs allow that work to have both social and economic impact. Ava is also very hands on in helping to conceptualize, set up and run events for youth around these issues. . . .
Image by 445693 from Pixabay I’ve recently been reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and happened across this article as well in IISD. Pollan’s book makes an interesting case for how much of the modern human diet, especially in the US, is now derived from corn and fossil fuels. As a result, many people are eating “food product” rather than actual food and this is probably a good part of the reason for so many people in modern countries being overweight or obese. The article also highlights a range of factors that are externalities such as healthcare or lost farm wages or environmental clean ups that are created by modern large scale industrialized agriculture. All in all, this is an intriguing subject area with no easy answers but which impacts us all. . . .
