Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
Quinton, is a student at Li Po Chun UWC in Hong Kong. He is interested in all things biology - but especially environmental conservation and regenerative medicine. His current biology-related and environment-related experience includes conducting research at various universities in Hong Kong, participating in Hong Kong AFCD reef check and coral watch biodiversity surveys, as well as interning at multiple sustainability and environment related startups and NGOs. In addition, he founded his own initiative called Music for Joy which brings music activities to young people who would otherwise not have access to them. . . .
Image by Igor Ovsyannykov from Pixabay Last week was the 2023 observance of World Habitat Day. Surprisingly for some, the theme was Resilient Urban Economies. But this masks the fact that urban areas are habitats too. Human habitats. Since its inception in 1986, WHD has always been about how we shelter ourselves. The themes run between the more economic-social aspect of ensuring adequate shelter for all, and the more environmental aspect of making our towns and cities places that not only do not damage the environment – the hinterland or more generally e.g. air, water and light pollution – but can actually be designed to enhance it. . . .
Image by WikiImages from Pixabay UN Initiative Aims to Hold Companies Accountable for SDG Commitments (IISD) Return of the wolf to Nepal’s Himalayas may threaten snow leopards (Mongabay) Drought-hit Thailand turns to cloud seeding to offset El Nino (Nikkei Asia) Global Strategies Aim to Reduce Virgin Plastic Use Significantly by 2040 (GreenCitizen) The ‘Green’ Future of Furniture Is a Sofa Stuffed With Seaweed (Wired) From poachers to protectors: In the ‘Guilin of Thailand’, locals lead efforts to conserve ancient rainforest (CNA) The ancient Sri Lankan 'tank cascades' tackling drought (FuturePlanet) Net-zero: it’s not just where you end up, but how you get there that matters (HannahRitchie) Two-dimensional compounds can capture carbon from the air (ScienceDaily) . . .
Hana is in Year 11 at West Island School. Through ESF, she has experience being a policy director with the ESF Sustainability Alliance which is part of the overall strategy approach within ESF to guide sustainability across its 22 schools in Hong Kong. This is of major importance when you consider even the very basic ideas of building maintenance, energy use, school transport, feeding students, classroom materials, cleaning policies and so on. In addition, Hana has been actively involved with Hands on HK (volunteering), Sunshine Action (hunger & homelessness) and the 24hr Race (anti-slavery). Elected Co-Chair for 2023-24, she supported Natalie in organizing the YAC event for International Youth Day and will now be the lead organizer for the YAC event for the International Day of Education 2024. . . .
Image by UN Photo/Joao Araujo Pinto At the UN General Assembly last week, leaders turned their attention to some of the most urgent issues of our time as highlighted in the past couple of years - the climate crisis, development finance, preventing future pandemics. UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ addressed leaders at the Climate Ambition Summit: “The future of humanity is in your hands,” the Secretary-General told them, warning that the world must accelerate its climate action efforts. “We can still build a world of clear air, green jobs, and affordable clean power for all.” In a meeting on pandemic preparedness, global leaders reached a historic agreement to strengthen international cooperation to help avoid a repeat of the devastating health and socio-economic impacts caused by COVID-19 and ensure the world is better prepared for future pandemics. At a high-level meeting on financing for development, leaders also discussed in . . .
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Harnessing Scientific Evidence and Decision Making to Accelerate the SDGs (IISD) Renewables are cheaper than ever yet fossil fuel use is still growing – here’s why (The Conversation) Might geopolitical competition driven by US-China rift be good for renewable energy investments? (Eco-business) UN wants cash and commitments to rescue stalled development goals (Eco-business) 8 Easy, Eco-Friendly Swaps To Make Right Now (greenqueen) Stop calling people ‘climate refugees’ (CHN) Why do some environmental shocks lead to disaster while others don't? (sciencedaily) Biden launches US ‘climate corps’ amid pressure from environment advocates (Aljazeera) . . .
Natalie began her SDG journey with ITS when she was selected for the 2022 Youth Ambassador Asia-Pacific Programme which we run alongside UNITAR. Over that course, she developed an idea which led to the creation of an initiative called Mental Health Means. Subsequently, under the mentoring of the ITS Young Changemaker Incubator, she was able to run her first mental health conference in early 2023. Natalie is a Year 12 student at the Chinese International School in Hong Kong. The school has been very supportive of her efforts and provided the venue for her conference. Natalie jumped at the chance to join the Youth Advisory Committee and her application was approved with ease by the outgoing committee members. At the first 23-24 committee meeting, Natalie was elected Co-Chair by her fellow committee members and went on the lead the organization and delivery of the ITSF event in August 2023 for International Youth Day, kindly hosted by Canadian International School Hong Kong and featurin . . .
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay A good article from Ryan Hagen on LinkedIn about the impact we can have by being active citizens at a local level i.e. within our own immediate communities. Most people will think of local government – town halls, district councils and so on. And this is where Hagen focuses. He points out an estimate that 35% of emissions in California could be wiped out by actions taken at local government level, simply applying the powers that they already have. He makes the point though that local governments won’t act unless local people demand that they do. This is especially important because local government may also be more accessible by local business lobbying that usually has profit propositions in front of any other. One of the key reasons that profit chasing increases emissions is that externalities can be created (therefore not paid for in money terms by business). And few people seem willing or able to price those externalities bac . . .
