Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
With rising interest rates, the news in the mainstream media tends towards the cost of living crises for people in the world’s major economies, particularly mortgage holders. And while their difficulties are very real and many will enter relative poverty, we see yet again how the world’s marginalized are pushed from view despite the fact that they will be hit even harder and face very real questions of life and death. The UNDP has just released a report called Avoiding Too Little Too Late on International Debt Relief and it opens like this: “An already bad debt outlook has deteriorated rapidly across developing economies since the start of the year with fast rising interest rates pushing up borrowing costs, decreasing fiscal space and driving countries into or closer to debt distress.2 A least 54 developing economies are suffering from severe debt problems. Together they represent little more than 3 percent of global GDP but 18 percent of the global population, mo . . .
The UN charter was activated on 24th October 1945. UN Day is observed every year to mark the anniversary of the founding of this unique forum of most nations and peoples on earth. As with all observances, it calls a particular idea to mind and helps us reaffirm our commitments. In this case, to realizing the common agenda of humanity. So much more connects us than divides us and we would do well to remind ourselves of that amidst the doom and gloom of the media which is inherent to their function. . . .
CEOs Explore Solutions to Bridge Annual USD 4.3 Trillion SDG Financing Gap (IISD) Glaciers in the Alps are melting faster than ever – and 2022 was their worst summer yet (The Conversation) Facing the dual threat of climate change and human disturbance, Mumbai – and the world – should listen to its fishing communities (The Conversation) The implementation COP (Eco-business) School dropouts at ‘all-time high’ in climate change-hit Ganga delta (Eco-business) Pesticide use around world almost doubles since 1990, report finds (The Guardian) Watchdog bans HSBC climate ads in fresh blow to bank’s green credentials (The Guardian) Food Footprint: Which Diet Creates The Least Amount Of Food Waste? (green queen) Glass Or Plastic: Which Is Better For The Planet? (green queen) Thanks to fossil fuel crisis, wind and solar payback time drops to one year (CHN) . . .
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 unbelievabl . . .
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 . . .
