Government
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement by 193 countries call for deep transformations in every region and actions by all parts of governments.
Policy priorities resulting from this analysis for Governments should be on the following:
- Create Climate Leaders Become Climate Neutral Now
- Build environment for Financing for Climate Friendly Investment
- Empower Women for Results Improve Planetary Health specific to their region and globally
- Provide ICT Solutions Reduce Urban Poor
To achieve the above goals the objectives of the Alliance formed by governments must be to:
- Maximize synergies and coherence of activities, avoid duplication of effort and utilize available expertise and resources in an efficient manner through enhanced coordination amongst various departments and UN organizations.
- Designate a senior leader to be responsible for climate action in each geography.
- Prioritize discussion of climate change on executive/Government agendas.
- Embed climate-smart considerations into decisions on office operations, real estate, finance and investments.
Biodiversity Finance
The World Economic Forum’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative aims to develop an aligned view on removing barriers to investor action. An estimated average of $844 billion is needed annually for the next 10 years to protect and promote biodiversity; while biodiversity finance is slowly coming out from the shadows of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, it still suffers from growing pains related to risk identification and measurement, standardized disclosure and reporting protocols, product design and supply constraints, and illiquidity. The evolution of climate finance has pointed the way forward for biodiversity finance, though greater financial innovation is now necessary.
A Territorial approach to the SDG Goals —Read more…
Use the SDGs as a vehicle to enhance accountability and transparency through engaging all territorial stakeholders,
including civil society, citizens, youth, academia and private companies, in the policy-making process. Cities and regions
should use a combination of various tools to engage local stakeholders, such as awareness-raising campaigns, networking
opportunities.
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Cities around the world are adopting targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and avert climate breakdown. The next challenge is turning those commitments into funded and measurable actions across city government.
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WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY – Read more…
For cities battling climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, natural solutions can provide the answer. Residents in cities across the world, from San Salvador to New York, are making changes to improve the environment around them, including:
– Reviving wetlands
– Urban gardening
– Planting a green belt
– Street artists raising awareness through murals
Ahead of #World Environment Day let us know what action cities across the world are taking?
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Starting on World Environment Day 2021, individuals, groups, governments, businesses and organizations of all kinds can join forces in a global movement to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation and secure a sustainable future for all. If you are ready to join #GenerationRestoration, this guide will show you how.
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Faced with domestic pressures and tough decisions in uncertain conditions, it will be critical for policy-makers to keep a level head with a view towards the longer-term time horizon and a continued understanding of our shared humanity and common future.
A Planetary SOS for Governments
Only governments can implement cross-sectoral transformative change at scale. Whether at the global, national or regional level, governments are key drivers of sustainability. Ambitious and consistent policies and their sustained implementation by committed leaders are essential. Along with regulating and setting the financial framework for human activities, and implementing environmentally- friendly policies; how governments use public funds – to equip offices or organize staff travel, for instance – creates market demands and sets examples.
World Environment Day is a great platform for leaders and governments everywhere to step up their sustainability commitments and transform their own activities and implement the policies that will enable everyone to solve the triple planetary crisis.Here are some key areas for action, several of which bring benefits across the three emergencies:
Close the emissions gap – now!
To avoid a climate catastrophe, greenhouse gas emissions need to fall 45 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. It can be done if all governments ramp up their commitments under the Paris Agreement and take strong action now to slash emissions.
• Lead from the top. Make the day-to-day operations of all government agencies carbon neutral by 2030.
• Sign up to, finance and implement national policies to meet the Paris Agreement.
• Phase out fossil fuels and end fossil fuel subsidies.
• Introduce policies that incentivize renewable energy and promote energy efficiency.
• Tax carbon. Adding a price to carbon will incentivize industries to develop climate-friendly processes and products, and property developers to build in energy
efficiency.
• Invest in renewable energy infrastructure, energy
efficiency and clean transport initiatives to lock in sustainability.
• Promote and support climate-smart and sustainable agriculture.
• Halt and reverse deforestation.
• Ensure all government finances – including pensions, savings and insurance – are kept in portfolios that support sustainable initiatives and do not harm the climate, human health or nature.
• Use procurement powers to promote sustainable living. For example, offer only healthy foods with a low carbon
footprint in canteens for public servants and incentivize staff to walk, cycle, and use public transport to come to work.
Protect and restore nature
Governments need to take strong action globally and nationally to halt the decline of nature and restore terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Past targets have been missed, so new objectives must be backed by strong action plans and financial support.
Take the lead in agreeing and implementing an ambitious and inclusive post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and ensure the sustainable use of nature.
Announce support for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 and take action to revive the 1 billion hectares pledged to restoration globally.
Overhaul your national accounting system to put natural capital at the heart of assessments of human wealth and prosperity, and use them to guide economic policy.
Launch reforms of tax structures and subsidies so that sustainable production provides jobs and prosperity, and
environmental degradation no longer pays.
Follow through on the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use to protect and restore forests.
• Engage with local, indigenous and faith communities to understand how to strengthen compliance with laws and policies designed to protect ecosystems.
• Reduce deadly air pollution by adopting the latest WHO air quality guidelines and closely monitor and incentivize compliance.
• Support the development of clean and affordable renewable energy, including for cooking, heat and light.
• Launch and implement cleaner transport policies, to enable citizens and products to move around their towns and country without causing air pollution.
Clean up our air and water
Air pollution kills millions of people prematurely every year and contributes to the climate crisis. Despite progress in some regions, indoor and outdoor air quality is still dangerously poor in many places. Meanwhile, plastics, chemicals and waste continue to flow into our oceans. These kill marine life, create dead zones and load our waters with millions of tons of microplastic particles, associated with serious human health impacts and unknown long-term effects on people and nature.
Pollution action governments can take:
• Forge an international agreement to end plastic pollution after 175 nations backed the call for a new treaty at the 2022 UN Environment Assembly.
• Ban, restrict or tax the use of single-use plastics such as plastic bags, packaging, bottles and cutlery.
• Improve waste management systems so that the right infrastructure is available to receive waste
Links
https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/ https://www.unep.org/resources/making-peace-nature https://www.unep.org/resources/inclusive-wealth-report-2018
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Key issues and Challenges for Education Finance in Asia Region- Read more..
The priority areas for action are categorized in line with the two main topics of the COP27 conference – a.) Learning recovery and b.) Transforming education and its systems.
Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity and already pose a large drain on financial resources for education. The realities of climate change therefore enhance the need to increase government and donor funding for education. As noted, “finance underpins all other tracks” despite the recognition in action track 4 that public financing remains ‘tepid.’
The summit must recognize climate change as a major challenge for education financing and call for dialogue not only between ministers of education and finance, but also ministers of the environment, building upon coalition work from COP 26 in Glasgow.
Furthermore, Climate Change education should be seen as a vehicle to galvanize both country governments, private sector, and the donor community as they create provisions to meet their nationally determined contributions in compliance with the Paris Accords.
To better integrate climate change at the Pre Summit, we propose the following actions:
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