Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
The Seaweed Research Group at the University of Gothenburg Tjärnö Marine Lab are one of the foremost units looking at how seaweed can be a big part of a sustainable future. A number of cultures have a history of including seaweed in their diet, but ramping seaweed as a food source up to impactful levels and in a sustainable way is a whole different challenge. In addition, there is the potential for seaweeds to fulfil other roles such as animal feed, cosmetics, coastal protection, biofuel and more. They have a good video on seaweed as food on their website: https://www.gu.se/en/research/seaweed-research-group . . .
An article in The Guardian last week caught my eye as a real-life example of those philosophical brain teasers that high-schoolers are often presented with. You know the ones like who to throw out of the falling balloon to save all the others. In Tajikistan, recent experience has shown that by making the prey of the snow leopard the preserve of trophy hunters, sheep and goat populations have stabilized and thus snow leopard numbers have gone up. The key is that the money charged to trophy hunters is so high that it makes protecting the target populations the most logical financial choice for the local population who would otherwise see these animals as necessary for their own food provision. An interesting dilemma for the sustainability community. Read the full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/19/trophy-hunters-tajikistan-unlikely-saviours-snow-leopard-conservation-aoe . . .
Oceans and their largest inhabitants could be the key to storing our carbon emissions (The Conversation) Greener lifestyles linked to greater happiness – in both rich and poor countries (The Conversation) As G20 chair, coal-heavy Indonesia sends mixed signals on green transition (Eco-business) ‘A huge mistake’: alarm bells ring as deep-sea mining negotiations progress (Eco-business) ‘Historic’: global climate plans can now keep heating below 2C, study shows (The Guardian) 12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research (The Conversation) Protected areas don’t always benefit wildlife, global study finds (The Guardian) UK consumers able to track renewable energy hourly under new plans (The Guardian) Brazil Commits To Serving 10 Million Sustainable Plant-Based School Meals A Year (green queen) . . .
Earth Day started in 1970, driven initially by politicians and environmentalists in the US and in reaction to environmental problems being seen in the US. In 1990, the observance went fully international and now sees tens of millions of people in dozens of countries engaging in events and actions. Many places have instigated earth weeks and earth month to expand the impacts they can have. For 2022, the theme is Invest in Our Planet. International Mother Earth Day is a UN observance started in 2009 as an addition to World Environment Day in June. It takes the specific theme of working towards living in harmony with the earth as an eco-system. . . .
This year Girls in ICT falls on 28 April. Girls in ICT is a UN observance run by ITU - The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technology. Since 2011, over 377,000 girls and young women have taken part in more than 11,400 International Girls in ICT Day celebrations in 171 countries. In 2022, the theme is “Access and Safety”. The aim is to lower barriers for girls and young women to have access to reliable and good quality digital tools, including the internet. This is a proven route to improving women’s overall educational outcomes as well as addressing the gender imbalance in STEM. . . .
Building Materials – A Hidden Heavyweight for Climate Action (IISD) More than Just SDG 12: How Circular Economy can Bring Holistic Wellbeing (IISD) Any plans to dim the Sun and cool the Earth must be led by those most affected by climate change (The Conversation) What the invasion of Ukraine means for the IPCC’s latest climate change report (The Conversation) How technology can help address challenges in agriculture (Eco-business) How much does air travel warm the planet? New report gives a figure (Eco-business) Some businesses still go for the cheapest carbon credits (Eco-business) Microplastics found deep in lungs of living people for first time (The Guardian) This Singaporean Software Platform Wants To Make Sustainability An Unavoidable Integration For Global Businesses (green queen) The U.N.’s ‘Blue Deal’ Aims to Replace Overfishing With Seaweed Farming (green queen) . . .
The IPCC has released the third part (working group 3) of its current report AR6. In this section of the report we get to see the suggestions being made by the science experts on what we can actually do to stave off disaster and get back on track for the 1.5 deg target. The IPCC identifies clean electricity and agriculture/forestry/land use as the sectors where the greatest emissions reductions can be achieved, followed by industry and transport. Further low-emissions opportunities exist in other areas of production, buildings and the urban sector, as well as shifts in consumer demand. Overall, half the options to cut emissions by 50% cost less than US$20 a tonne. They found that: Coal must be phased out if the world and no new fossil fuel capability built, Methane emissions must be reduced by a third, Growing forests and preserving soils will be necessary, but tree-planting cannot work alone, Investment in a low-carbon world is six times lower than it needs to be, All secto . . .
With an increasing skepticism towards net zero pledges and claims being made by both private sector and state actors, the UN Sec-Gen has appointed a new high level expert group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities. It will cover areas such as ESG, carbon and climate disclosure standard setters; securities and accounting regulators; regulatory and policy bodies supervising the global financial system; leading global civil society organizations including youth; and climate science. It is hoped greater accountability and the perception of it can be improved as well as achieving better common standards for reporting. The HLEG recommendations are hoped to cover: standards and definitions for setting net-zero targets, and any elements to maximize integrity; credibility criteria used to assess the objectives, measurement and reporting of pledges; processes for verifying progress towards net-zero commitments and decarbonization plans; and a road map to translate . . .
