SDGtalks.ai | News, Content & Communication - Latest Posts https://sdgtalks.ai/rss/latest-posts SDGtalks.ai | News, Content & Communication - Latest Posts en Copyright 2021 sdgtalks.ai - All Rights Reserved. US Government Is Accelerating Coral Reef Collapse, Scientists Warn – Inside Climate News https://sdgtalks.ai/us-government-is-accelerating-coral-reef-collapse-scientists-warn-inside-climate-news https://sdgtalks.ai/us-government-is-accelerating-coral-reef-collapse-scientists-warn-inside-climate-news Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks Government, Accelerating, Coral, Reef, Collapse, Scientists, Warn, –, Inside, Climate, News  

Report on Environmental and Military Impacts on Guam’s Coral Reefs with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

Ritidian Point, located at the northern tip of Guam, is an area of ecological significance featuring an ancient limestone forest and diverse marine life, including the most diverse coral reef within U.S. jurisdiction. However, this natural environment faces significant threats from military activities and federal policies prioritizing national security and economic interests. This report highlights these challenges with a focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Context and Background

  • Guam, smaller than New York City, hosts a military community of nearly 23,000 personnel.
  • The island is described as a “tip of the spear” in the American military arsenal, creating a juxtaposition of natural beauty and military operations.
  • The coral reefs around Guam are biologically resilient but are increasingly threatened by live-fire testing ranges and military infrastructure expansion.

Environmental Threats and Military Activities

  1. Accelerated Coral Reef Collapse: A team of international researchers published a letter in Science warning that military dredging, infrastructure development, and live firing are accelerating coral reef degradation around Guam.
  2. Policy Challenges: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) currently suffers from a conservation gap due to misunderstandings of coral taxonomy, hindering effective protection of reef-building corals.
  3. Regulatory Changes: NOAA’s recent proposals aim to ease critical habitat regulations, potentially prioritizing economic and military interests over ecological conservation.

Key Issues Identified

  • Misclassification of Coral Species: Coral species, especially Acropora corals, are difficult to categorize due to phenotypic plasticity, complicating conservation efforts under ESA.
  • Functional Extinction Risk: Guam’s coral reefs risk “functional extinction” similar to that experienced in Florida, where 98% mortality of key coral species was recorded following marine heatwaves.
  • Environmental Baseline Reclassification: Proposed changes would allow the Navy to treat degraded reefs as a baseline, reducing accountability for further damage.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

  1. SDG 14 – Life Below Water:
    • Protection of marine biodiversity is compromised by military activities and regulatory rollbacks.
    • Coral reef degradation threatens marine ecosystems that support fisheries and coastal protection.
  2. SDG 13 – Climate Action:
    • Repeated heatwaves and climate change exacerbate coral bleaching and mortality.
    • Urgent climate adaptation and mitigation strategies are needed to preserve marine habitats.
  3. SDG 15 – Life on Land:
    • Military pollution from substances such as PCBs, PFAS, and dieldrin has historically harmed terrestrial and marine environments.
    • Indigenous Chamorro communities face environmental injustices linked to these impacts.
  4. SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production:
    • Federal agencies’ shift towards prioritizing economic gains and energy production risks unsustainable exploitation of marine resources.
  5. SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions:
    • Calls for transparent and science-based regulatory processes to balance national security and environmental conservation.

Recent Developments and Policy Actions

  • In July 2025, NOAA rejected a Navy request to expand exempt military zones in northern Guam, citing conservation benefits.
  • NOAA finalized critical habitat designations for five threatened coral species across 92 square miles in the Pacific, including Guam.
  • Following Executive Order 14154 (“Unleashing American Energy”) in January 2025, federal agencies were pressured to reduce regulatory burdens on energy and security projects.
  • NOAA proposed regulatory changes in November 2025 to expand authority to bypass critical habitat protections, raising concerns among researchers.

Scientific and Conservation Challenges

  1. Taxonomic Verification: Many Indo-Pacific corals, including those in Guam, lack DNA barcoding verification due to cost and time constraints, risking loss of undocumented species.
  2. Coral Growth and Reproduction: Staghorn Acropora corals grow in large genetically uniform thickets, limiting their ability to self-fertilize and establish new colonies.
  3. Heatwave Impacts: Guam lost 34-37% of live coral between 2013 and 2017 due to heatwaves, low tides, and diseases, with ongoing vulnerability to future events.

Community and Indigenous Perspectives

  • Indigenous Chamorro people, with over 3,000 years of heritage, express frustration over environmental damage linked to military activities.
  • Local communities highlight the disconnect between economic gains from military presence and the lack of improvements in food, health, and education security.
  • Small island nations disproportionately suffer climate change impacts despite minimal contributions to global emissions.

Recommendations and Calls to Action

  1. NOAA should reverse proposed ESA regulatory changes that weaken habitat protections.
  2. Extend ESA protections to the entire Acropora genus to address taxonomic uncertainties and enhance conservation.
  3. Implement comprehensive ecological surveys prior to military or energy projects to minimize environmental harm.
  4. Prioritize sustainable development that balances national security with environmental stewardship and community well-being.
  5. Increase funding and support for genetic research and coral taxonomy to improve species identification and protection.

Conclusion

The ecological integrity of Guam’s coral reefs is at a critical juncture, threatened by military expansion and regulatory rollbacks. Aligning policies with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those focused on marine conservation, climate action, and sustainable communities, is essential to prevent irreversible damage. Immediate and coordinated efforts involving government agencies, scientists, indigenous communities, and international stakeholders are required to safeguard Guam’s marine ecosystems for future generations.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water – The article focuses heavily on the degradation of coral reefs around Guam due to military activities, heatwaves, and ecological mismanagement, directly relating to the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action – The article discusses the impacts of marine heatwaves and climate-related stressors on coral reefs, highlighting the need for urgent climate action to protect marine ecosystems.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land – Although primarily marine-focused, the article mentions terrestrial impacts such as saltwater intrusion affecting outer islands and indigenous communities, linking to terrestrial ecosystem protection.
  4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The article highlights conflicts between national security priorities and environmental conservation, touching on governance, policy-making, and regulatory challenges.
  5. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Implied through concerns about economic interests overriding environmental protections and the call for sustainable policy implementation.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  • SDG 14 – Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including through strengthening their resilience and taking action for their restoration.
  • SDG 14 – Target 14.5: Conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on best available scientific information.
  • SDG 13 – Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
  • SDG 15 – Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
  • SDG 16 – Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.
  • SDG 12 – Target 12.8: Ensure that people have relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  • Indicator 14.2.1: Proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches. Implied through discussions on habitat protection and military impact on marine areas.
  • Indicator 14.5.1: Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas. Referenced by NOAA’s designation of critical habitats for threatened coral species.
  • Indicator 13.1.2: Number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies. Implied by the need to brace for marine heatwaves and ecological disasters.
  • Coral Mortality Rates: Specific data such as Guam losing 34-37% of live coral (2013-2017) and Florida’s 98% mortality rate in certain coral species serve as ecological indicators of reef health and resilience.
  • Taxonomic Verification and DNA Barcoding: Mentioned as scientific methods to identify and monitor coral species, essential for tracking biodiversity and conservation status.
  • Regulatory and Policy Indicators: Changes in Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections and NOAA’s regulatory decisions serve as governance indicators impacting conservation outcomes.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 14: Life Below Water
  • 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems
  • 14.5: Conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas
  • 14.2.1: Proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches
  • 14.5.1: Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas
  • Coral mortality rates (e.g., 34-37% loss in Guam, 98% loss in Florida)
  • Taxonomic verification via DNA barcoding
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
  • 13.1.2: Number of countries with disaster risk reduction strategies
  • Monitoring of marine heatwave impacts on coral reefs
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.1: Conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems
  • Indicators related to saltwater intrusion and loss of arable land on outer islands
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions
  • Regulatory changes in ESA and NOAA policies affecting conservation enforcement
  • Governance indicators on balancing national security and environmental protection
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.8: Ensure people have relevant information and awareness for sustainable development
  • Public awareness and scientific reporting on environmental impacts
  • Policy transparency and stakeholder engagement indicators

Source: insideclimatenews.org

 

]]> US plans to clear-cut in Michigan forest. Some fear for endangered species – Bridge Michigan https://sdgtalks.ai/us-plans-to-clear-cut-in-michigan-forest-some-fear-for-endangered-species-bridge-michigan https://sdgtalks.ai/us-plans-to-clear-cut-in-michigan-forest-some-fear-for-endangered-species-bridge-michigan Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks plans, clear-cut, Michigan, forest., Some, fear, for, endangered, species, –, Bridge, Michigan  

Report on the Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project and Its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Project Overview

The US Forest Service has proposed the Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project in the Ottawa National Forest, located in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula. This extensive project covers approximately 40 miles north to south along the eastern edge of the forest near the Wisconsin border.

  • Logging operations including clear-cutting and selective tree removal over approximately 130 square miles.
  • Expansion of gravel mining activities to support road construction and maintenance.
  • Forest restoration efforts including wild rice seeding, campground and lake access improvements, and habitat enhancement for protected species such as the Kirtland’s warbler.
  • Projected duration of around 30 years with periodic environmental reviews.

Environmental and Social Concerns

The project has elicited concerns from environmental organizations and recreational groups, particularly regarding potential impacts on biodiversity, climate regulation, and recreational trail availability.

  • Potential habitat disruption for endangered species including the northern long-eared bat and gray wolves.
  • Risk of spreading invasive species and increased water runoff due to logging activities.
  • Removal of mature trees over 100 years old, which play a critical role in carbon sequestration and climate stabilization.
  • Reduction in off-road vehicle trails, affecting recreational use.

Stakeholder Engagement and Responses

A coalition of organizations submitted detailed concerns to the US Forest Service, requesting:

  1. Modification of project boundaries to better protect designated wilderness areas.
  2. Preparation of a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to thoroughly assess potential environmental effects.

The Forest Service has conducted an Environmental Assessment (EA) and concluded no significant impact is expected. However, they have incorporated measures to mitigate risks, including:

  • Protective buffers around northern long-eared bat roosts.
  • Best management practices to reduce water runoff and limit invasive species spread.
  • Forest thinning and prescribed burns to enhance resilience against pests, disease, and wildfire exacerbated by climate change.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Silver Branch project intersects with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, notably:

SDG 13: Climate Action

  • Preservation of mature forests contributes to carbon sequestration, aiding climate stabilization.
  • Forest restoration and management practices aim to increase resilience to climate-related disturbances such as wildfires and pest outbreaks.

SDG 15: Life on Land

  • Protection and enhancement of habitats for endangered species including the northern long-eared bat and Kirtland’s warbler.
  • Efforts to control invasive species and maintain biodiversity within the national forest.
  • Maintenance of ecological balance through active forest management.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  • Timber harvesting conducted through competitive bidding promotes sustainable resource use.
  • Use of gravel mined on-site for forest roads supports efficient resource management.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  • Improvements to campgrounds and lake access enhance sustainable recreational opportunities.
  • Balancing multiple forest uses including recreation, habitat conservation, and timber production.

Project Implementation and Future Steps

  • Logging contracts will be awarded to private contractors via competitive bidding, with fees paid to the federal government.
  • The Forest Service plans to open a formal objection period in March, followed by a decision expected the same month.
  • Project commencement is anticipated in June, subject to approval.

Expert Opinions

Forestry experts acknowledge the complexity of managing national forests to meet ecological, economic, and social objectives. While some view the project as a standard forest management initiative, others emphasize the need for thorough environmental scrutiny to safeguard ecosystem services and community interests.

Conclusion

The Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project represents a multifaceted approach to forest management that aims to balance ecological restoration, sustainable resource use, and recreational access. Its alignment with key Sustainable Development Goals underscores the importance of integrating environmental stewardship with community and economic considerations. Ongoing stakeholder engagement and rigorous environmental assessments will be critical to ensuring the project’s success and sustainability.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • The article discusses forest management to stabilize climate and sequester carbon, addressing climate change mitigation.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Concerns about habitat for endangered species like the northern long-eared bat and Kirtland’s warbler.
    • Forest restoration efforts and protection of biodiversity.
    • Management of invasive species and wildfire risk.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Logging and timber harvesting practices, including sustainable forest management.
  4. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Concerns about water runoff and its environmental impact.
  5. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Recreation and access improvements in national forests.

2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies and strategies.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.1: Ensure conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
    • Target 15.2: Promote sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests.
    • Target 15.5: Take urgent action to reduce degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
    • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
  4. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Target 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including forests, to improve water quality and reduce runoff.
  5. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Forest Area and Health
    • Area of forest logged or restored (e.g., 25,000 acres clear-cut, 57,000 acres targeted logging).
    • Presence and health of endangered species habitats (northern long-eared bat, Kirtland’s warbler, gray wolves).
    • Forest composition and age structure (e.g., proportion of trees over 100 years old, hardwood vs. conifer mix).
  2. Carbon Sequestration
    • Carbon storage capacity of mature forests versus replanted young trees.
  3. Water Quality and Runoff
    • Measurement of water runoff and sedimentation levels post-logging activities.
  4. Invasive Species Spread
    • Incidence and spread of invasive species linked to logging equipment and activities.
  5. Wildfire Risk
    • Accumulation of hazardous surface fuels after timber harvest.
    • Incidence of wildfires in treated vs. untreated forest areas.
  6. Recreation and Access
    • Number and condition of off-road vehicle trails and campground improvements.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies
  • Carbon sequestration capacity of mature forests
  • Forest health and resilience to pests, disease, wildfire
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.1: Conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems
  • 15.2: Sustainable forest management and halt deforestation
  • 15.5: Reduce degradation and halt biodiversity loss
  • Area of forest logged/restored (acres)
  • Status of endangered species habitats (northern long-eared bat, Kirtland’s warbler)
  • Forest composition and age structure
  • Incidence of invasive species
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.2: Sustainable management of natural resources
  • 12.5: Reduce waste generation
  • Volume and area of timber harvested
  • Use of sustainable logging practices
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
  • Water runoff and sedimentation levels post-logging
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.7: Access to safe, inclusive green and public spaces
  • Improvements to campgrounds and lake access
  • Availability and condition of off-road vehicle trails

Source: bridgemi.com

 

]]> West Coast Waters Experiencing Another Large Marine Heatwave – NOAA Fisheries (.gov) https://sdgtalks.ai/west-coast-waters-experiencing-another-large-marine-heatwave-noaa-fisheries-gov https://sdgtalks.ai/west-coast-waters-experiencing-another-large-marine-heatwave-noaa-fisheries-gov Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:00:07 -0500 sdgtalks West, Coast, Waters, Experiencing, Another, Large, Marine, Heatwave, –, NOAA, Fisheries, .gov  

Report on the West Coast Marine Heatwave and Its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Overview of the Marine Heatwave Event

Since the summer of 2025, a massive marine heatwave has persisted in the waters off the West Coast of the United States. This event marks only the third recorded instance of such an extensive and prolonged warming of coastal ocean waters, notably continuing into the winter months without being associated with an El Niño phenomenon, according to NOAA scientists. NOAA Fisheries and partner organizations are actively monitoring potential impacts, including harmful algal blooms that can adversely affect marine mammals and result in the closure of shellfish fisheries.

Significance in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 14: Life Below Water – The heatwave poses significant threats to marine biodiversity and ecosystem health, necessitating enhanced monitoring and conservation efforts.
  • SDG 13: Climate Action – The event underscores the urgent need for climate resilience strategies to mitigate ocean warming impacts.
  • SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The closure of fisheries affects livelihoods and economic stability in coastal communities.

Third Time as Warm: Historical and Scientific Context

In September 2025, the marine heatwave reached temperatures comparable to the 2013–2016 event known as “The Blob,” with surface waters along the West Coast rising approximately 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. On September 9, 2025, the northeast Pacific recorded its highest average temperature ever at 20.6°C (69°F), nearly half a degree warmer than previous records. Historical data indicate that such heatwaves disrupt marine ecosystems, causing species shifts, die-offs, and ecosystem imbalances.

Marine heat waves off the West coast
Marine heat waves off the West Coast, showing departure from normal sea surface temperatures, 1990-2025. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Download pdf version

Monitoring and Forecasting Efforts

Andrew Leising, research oceanographer at NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center, operates the California Current Marine Heatwave Tracker, which compiles data from satellites, ships, and buoys since 2019. Despite the current La Niña conditions, coastal water temperatures remain anomalously high, presenting unprecedented challenges for interpretation and response.

Ecological and Economic Impacts of Heatwaves

Species Distribution and Ecosystem Disruption

The heatwave has resulted in unusual species distributions, such as increased tuna catches in Alaska. Previous heatwaves have been linked to reduced salmon survival rates, impacting both ecosystems and fisheries. These changes highlight the vulnerability of marine life to temperature anomalies and the importance of adaptive management.

Harmful Algal Blooms and Marine Health

  • Early and intense harmful algal blooms, as experienced in Southern California in 2025, have caused mass mortalities among sea lions, dolphins, and seabirds.
  • Such blooms also threaten shellfish fisheries, leading to closures that affect local economies and food security.
Sea surface temperature anomalies
Sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTa) in the California Current ecosystem, February 13, 2026

Projections and Future Considerations for 2026

While the current marine heatwave rivals previous events in spatial extent, its ecological impact has been less severe due to shallower penetration and shorter duration near the coast. NOAA forecasts indicate potential dissipation of warm surface waters through mixing with cooler subsurface waters. However, the risk remains that residual warm waters could fuel further harmful algal blooms.

Implications for Sustainable Development and Ocean Stewardship

  1. Enhanced Monitoring: Continued development of forecasting tools and ecosystem assessments to anticipate and mitigate heatwave impacts.
  2. Community Engagement: Collaboration with fishing fleets and coastal stakeholders to gather real-time observations and adapt management strategies.
  3. Policy Integration: Incorporation of marine heatwave data into climate adaptation policies to support SDG 13 and SDG 14 objectives.

As Andrew Leising emphasizes, the unprecedented nature of these conditions demands cautious interpretation and comprehensive ecosystem-based approaches to understand and respond effectively.

Call to Action

Members of the public are encouraged to report stranded marine mammals such as sea lions and dolphins to the West Coast Region Stranding Hotline at (866) 767-6114, supporting conservation and response efforts aligned with SDG 15: Life on Land and SDG 14: Life Below Water.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • The article focuses on marine heatwaves affecting ocean temperatures, marine ecosystems, species distribution, and harmful algal blooms, all of which directly relate to the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • The article discusses the unprecedented marine heatwave and its relation to changing ocean temperatures, which are linked to climate variability and change, emphasizing the need for climate action and adaptation.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Indirectly connected through the impact of harmful algal blooms on marine mammals and seabirds, affecting biodiversity on land and coastal ecosystems.
  4. SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The closure of shellfish fisheries due to harmful algal blooms impacts coastal economies and livelihoods, linking to poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience and taking action for their restoration.
    • Target 14.4: Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and destructive fishing practices to restore fish stocks.
    • Target 14.3: Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
  4. SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 1.4: Ensure that all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, including access to basic services and ownership of land and other forms of property.
    • Target 8.9: Devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators Related to SDG 14
    • Sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTa) and average ocean temperatures as measured by satellites, ships, and buoys to monitor marine heatwaves.
    • Frequency and extent of harmful algal blooms affecting marine life and fisheries closures.
    • Population and health status of marine mammals and fish species such as salmon and tunas.
    • Changes in fish stock abundance and distribution, especially salmon survival rates.
  2. Indicators Related to SDG 13
    • Records of marine heatwave occurrences, duration, and intensity as climate-related hazards.
    • Forecasting and early warning systems for marine heatwaves and harmful algal blooms.
  3. Indicators Related to SDG 15
    • Number of marine mammals and seabirds affected or killed by harmful algal blooms.
    • Incidence of species shifting habitats due to changing ocean conditions.
  4. Indicators Related to SDG 1 and 8
    • Economic impact measurements from fishery closures and loss of livelihoods in coastal communities.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 14: Life Below Water
  • 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems.
  • 14.4: Regulate harvesting and restore fish stocks.
  • 14.3: Address ocean acidification impacts.
  • Sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTa).
  • Frequency and extent of harmful algal blooms.
  • Marine species population and health status (e.g., salmon survival rates).
  • Fish stock abundance and distribution changes.
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards.
  • 13.3: Improve education and early warning systems.
  • Records of marine heatwave occurrences, duration, and intensity.
  • Marine heatwave and harmful algal bloom forecasting systems.
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.5: Reduce degradation and protect biodiversity.
  • Number of marine mammals and seabirds affected by algal blooms.
  • Incidence of species habitat shifts.
SDG 1: No Poverty & SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 1.4: Equal rights to economic resources.
  • 8.9: Promote sustainable tourism and local economies.
  • Economic impacts from fishery closures and livelihood losses.

Source: fisheries.noaa.gov

 

]]> Shrinking the carbon footprint of chemical manufacturing with lasers, solar radiation – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign https://sdgtalks.ai/shrinking-the-carbon-footprint-of-chemical-manufacturing-with-lasers-solar-radiation-university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign https://sdgtalks.ai/shrinking-the-carbon-footprint-of-chemical-manufacturing-with-lasers-solar-radiation-university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:00:04 -0500 sdgtalks Shrinking, the, carbon, footprint, chemical, manufacturing, with, lasers, solar, radiation, –, University, Illinois, Urbana-Champaign  

Innovative Solar-Powered Chemical Reaction Advances Sustainable Manufacturing

Introduction

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a novel method to harness solar energy for driving olefin epoxidation, a critical chemical reaction widely used in manufacturing industries such as textiles, plastics, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. This breakthrough aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), by reducing energy consumption, eliminating harmful byproducts, and minimizing carbon emissions.

Background: Challenges in Olefin Epoxidation

  • Olefin epoxidation produces epoxide chemicals essential for multiple industries.
  • Current industrial processes rely on harsh peroxides that are difficult to dispose of safely and generate carbon dioxide emissions.
  • Using water as an oxidant is environmentally preferable but requires high temperatures to break strong H–O–H bonds, leading to high energy use and increased CO2 emissions.

A greener alternative is necessary to significantly reduce the chemical manufacturing industry’s carbon footprint, supporting SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

Research Innovation: Plasmonic Chemistry Using Solar Energy

Professor Prashant Jain’s research group specializes in plasmonic chemistry, a process that uses solar energy to enhance chemical reactions. Their recent study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, demonstrates the application of this technique to epoxidation reactions, potentially revolutionizing chemical manufacturing and electrochemistry.

Key Features of the New Method

  1. Use of light-absorbing “antenna” catalysts composed of gold nanoparticles and manganese oxide nanowire electrodes.
  2. Combination of electrical energy and visible-light photons to break water’s H–O–H bonds at ambient temperature.
  3. Elimination of the need for high-temperature heating, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Mechanism of Action

Visible light photons from laboratory lasers are absorbed by the nanoparticles, generating strong electric fields and energetic charge carriers. These weaken the O–H bonds in water and the double bonds in styrene, enabling oxygen atoms to be extracted from water and incorporated into epoxide molecules through a light-catalyzed reaction.

Implications for Sustainable Development

  • SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy): Utilizes solar energy to drive chemical reactions, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
  • SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure): Introduces innovative catalytic technology that can transform industrial chemical processes.
  • SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): Minimizes hazardous waste by replacing harsh peroxides with water as an oxidant.
  • SDG 13 (Climate Action): Lowers carbon emissions associated with chemical manufacturing.

Challenges and Future Directions

While the laboratory-scale demonstration is promising, scaling this technology for industrial application presents challenges:

  • Replacing laboratory lasers with scalable, energy-efficient light sources.
  • Enhancing control over light-driven reactions to prevent overoxidation.
  • Engineering large-scale, light-accessible electrolyzer systems to replicate lab-scale efficiency.

Funding and Collaborations

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the São Paulo Research Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Collaborators include Susana Inés Córdoba de Torresi from the Universidade de São Paulo and George Schatz from Northwestern University.

Contact Information and Access to Publication

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • The article discusses using solar energy and visible light photons to power chemical reactions, promoting renewable energy use.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • The research advances industrial chemical manufacturing by introducing greener, energy-efficient processes.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • The new method reduces harsh oxidizing byproducts and carbon emissions, promoting sustainable industrial processes.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Minimizing carbon emissions in chemical manufacturing contributes to climate change mitigation.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.4: Achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle.
    • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicator for SDG 7.2:
    • Proportion of renewable energy in total final energy consumption — implied by the use of solar energy and visible light photons to power chemical reactions.
  2. Indicator for SDG 9.4:
    • CO2 emission per unit of value added — implied by the reduction of carbon emissions in chemical manufacturing processes.
    • Adoption rate of clean and environmentally sound technologies in industry — implied by the introduction of plasmonic chemistry and light-driven electrochemical processes.
  3. Indicators for SDG 12.4 and 12.5:
    • Amount of hazardous waste generated and managed safely — implied by elimination of harsh oxidizing byproducts and safer oxidants.
    • Waste generation per unit of production — implied by reduction of harmful chemical waste.
  4. Indicator for SDG 13.2:
    • Number of policies integrating climate change measures — implied by research contributing to climate action through cleaner industrial processes.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. Proportion of renewable energy in total final energy consumption (implied by solar energy use).
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean technologies. CO2 emission per unit of value added; Adoption rate of clean and environmentally sound technologies (implied by plasmonic chemistry application).
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes.
12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation.		 Amount of hazardous waste generated and managed safely; Waste generation per unit of production (implied by elimination of harsh oxidizing byproducts).
SDG 13: Climate Action 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. Number of policies integrating climate change measures (implied by research supporting cleaner industrial processes).

Source: news.illinois.edu

 

]]> The last 3 years were the hottest ever recorded. Here’s why we may look back at them as some of the coolest we remember – Fortune https://sdgtalks.ai/the-last-3-years-were-the-hottest-ever-recorded-heres-why-we-may-look-back-at-them-as-some-of-the-coolest-we-remember-fortune https://sdgtalks.ai/the-last-3-years-were-the-hottest-ever-recorded-heres-why-we-may-look-back-at-them-as-some-of-the-coolest-we-remember-fortune Sun, 05 Jul 2026 20:00:04 -0500 sdgtalks The, last, years, were, the, hottest, ever, recorded., Here’s, why, may, look, back, them, some, the, coolest, remember, –, Fortune  

Climate Change Report 2025-2026: Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Earth’s Energy Imbalance and Climate Dynamics

Recent studies have highlighted significant disruptions in Earth’s energy balance, a critical factor influencing global climate. The transition from a rare three-year La Niña (2020-2022) to El Niño conditions (2023-2024) has accelerated Earth’s energy uptake and temperature rise. This phenomenon directly impacts SDG 13: Climate Action by exacerbating climate variability and extreme weather events.

Declining polar ice, which plays a vital role in reflecting sunlight, has further disturbed this balance. The reduction in sea ice exposes dark ocean surfaces that absorb more sunlight, creating a feedback loop that accelerates warming. Notably, 2025 recorded the lowest Arctic winter sea ice peak and the third-lowest Antarctic minimum extent, posing risks to marine ecosystems and coastal communities, thereby affecting SDG 14: Life Below Water and SDG 15: Life on Land.

Air Pollution and Its Dual Impact

Sulfate aerosol pollution from coal combustion and shipping has masked some greenhouse gas warming by reflecting sunlight, creating a temporary cooling effect. However, this pollution is responsible for approximately 8 million deaths annually due to lung diseases, highlighting a critical public health challenge linked to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.

Recent reductions in sulfate aerosols, particularly through China’s air quality initiatives and international shipping regulations, have decreased sulfur emissions by 40% over 20 years and 85% from large ships since 2020. While this reduction has contributed to a 0.13°C increase in global temperatures, it represents progress towards cleaner air and healthier populations, advancing SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Accelerated Global Warming and Extreme Weather

Overall, human activities are warming the planet at an unprecedented rate of approximately 0.27°C per decade. This accelerated warming fuels extreme weather events such as flash floods, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and coastal flooding, which threaten human lives, infrastructure, and economies. These impacts underscore the urgency of implementing SDG 13: Climate Action and integrating resilience into development planning.

Predictions and Challenges for 2026

Temperature Outlook and Climate Variability

Climate models forecast that 2026 will be as warm as 2025, contingent on a 60% likelihood of a Pacific El Niño event. Despite regional cold spells, global temperatures remain elevated, with January 2026 ranking as the fifth-warmest on record. These trends emphasize the need for sustained climate monitoring and adaptive strategies aligned with SDG 13: Climate Action.

Energy Demand and Renewable Transition

Global economic growth projected at 3.3% in 2026 is expected to increase electricity demand by approximately 3.6% annually through 2030. Although renewable energy usage is expanding rapidly, it is insufficient to meet rising demand, leading to continued reliance on fossil fuels. This trajectory poses challenges to achieving SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Environmental Risks and Tipping Points

The continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the declining capacity of oceans and land to absorb carbon dioxide heighten the risk of crossing critical climate tipping points. Potential consequences include glacier loss, disruption of Atlantic Ocean circulation, permafrost thaw, and coral reef degradation, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem services essential to SDG 14: Life Below Water and SDG 15: Life on Land.

Recommendations for Sustainable Development

  1. Accelerate Decarbonization: Implement policies to reduce fossil fuel dependence and promote renewable energy to meet SDG 7 and mitigate climate change impacts under SDG 13.
  2. Enhance Air Quality Measures: Continue reducing air pollutants to improve public health outcomes in line with SDG 3 and urban sustainability goals of SDG 11.
  3. Strengthen Climate Resilience: Develop adaptive infrastructure and disaster risk reduction strategies to protect vulnerable populations, supporting SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 11.
  4. Protect Ecosystems: Preserve polar ice, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services critical to SDG 14 and SDG 15.
  5. Promote Global Cooperation: Foster international collaboration for climate action and sustainable development to achieve the integrated objectives of the SDGs.

Conclusion

The year 2025 marked a significant milestone in global warming, with human-induced factors accelerating climate change and its associated risks. The projections for 2026 indicate continued challenges in balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability. Addressing these issues through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals is imperative to safeguard planetary health and human well-being for current and future generations.

Source: Adapted from Michael Wysession, Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis. Original article published by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action – The article discusses global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change impacts such as extreme weather events and melting polar ice.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Air pollution from sulfate aerosols causing about 8 million deaths annually is highlighted, linking to health impacts.
  3. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The article mentions global electricity demand growth, renewable energy use, and fossil fuel consumption.
  4. SDG 14: Life Below Water – Declining sea ice and warming oceans affecting marine ecosystems are discussed.
  5. SDG 15: Life on Land – The article refers to land’s decreasing ability to absorb carbon dioxide and risks to glaciers, permafrost, and coral reefs.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning.
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.9: Reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
  3. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
    • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
  4. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.
  5. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems.
    • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. SDG 13 Indicators
    • Global average temperature increase (0.5 F / 0.27 C per decade warming rate).
    • Frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (flash floods, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, coastal flooding).
    • Greenhouse gas emissions levels and trends (e.g., fossil fuel CO2 emissions, sulfate aerosol pollution reductions).
    • Sea ice extent and minimum levels (Arctic and Antarctic sea ice records).
  2. SDG 3 Indicators
    • Number of deaths caused by air pollution (8 million deaths per year from lung diseases due to sulfate aerosols).
  3. SDG 7 Indicators
    • Share of renewable energy in total electricity generation.
    • Growth rate of electricity demand (3.6% per year through 2030).
    • Reduction in sulfur emissions from shipping (85% reduction since 2020).
  4. SDG 14 and 15 Indicators
    • Extent of sea ice and health of marine ecosystems.
    • Carbon absorption capacity of ocean and land.
    • Indicators related to glacier mass, permafrost thawing, and coral reef health.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards.
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies.
  • 13.3: Improve education and capacity on climate change.
  • Global temperature increase rate (0.27°C per decade).
  • Frequency/intensity of extreme weather events.
  • Greenhouse gas emission levels.
  • Sea ice extent records.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.9: Reduce deaths and illnesses from pollution.
  • Annual deaths from air pollution (approx. 8 million).
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 7.2: Increase renewable energy share.
  • 7.3: Improve energy efficiency rate.
  • Renewable energy share in electricity generation.
  • Electricity demand growth rate (3.6% per year).
  • Sulfur emissions reduction from shipping (85%).
SDG 14: Life Below Water
  • 14.2: Sustainably manage marine/coastal ecosystems.
  • Sea ice extent and marine ecosystem health indicators.
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.1: Conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems.
  • 15.3: Combat desertification and restore land.
  • Carbon absorption capacity of land.
  • Glacier mass, permafrost thaw, coral reef health indicators.

Source: fortune.com

 

]]> WMW | Biowaste: Anaerobic digestion powers Minnesota’s circular economy ambitions – Waste Management World https://sdgtalks.ai/wmw-biowaste-anaerobic-digestion-powers-minnesotas-circular-economy-ambitions-waste-management-world https://sdgtalks.ai/wmw-biowaste-anaerobic-digestion-powers-minnesotas-circular-economy-ambitions-waste-management-world Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:30:12 -0500 sdgtalks WMW, Biowaste:, Anaerobic, digestion, powers, Minnesota’s, circular, economy, ambitions, –, Waste, Management, World  

Louisville Township Renewable Gas Project: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals through Anaerobic Digestion

Louisville Township Renewable Gas Project

Project Overview

Kanadevia Inova, a global leader in green technology formerly known as Hitachi Zosen Inova, has initiated construction of the Louisville Township Renewable Gas Project in Minnesota. This large-scale anaerobic digestion facility, developed in partnership with Dem-Con Companies LLC under the joint venture DCHZI BioEnergy, represents a significant advancement in organic waste-to-renewable gas technology in the region.

Key Project Details

  1. Operational Timeline: The facility is scheduled to begin processing organic materials in 2027.
  2. Capacity: It will process up to 75,000 tonnes of organic waste annually.
  3. Renewable Energy Output: The project will produce approximately 200,000 MMBtu of renewable natural gas (RNG) each year.
  4. By-product Generation: Approximately 8,000 tonnes of biochar will be generated annually, serving as a carbon-sequestering material with applications in agriculture, industry, and environmental remediation.

Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy: By converting organic waste into renewable natural gas, the project promotes clean and sustainable energy sources.
  • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: The facility supports sustainable waste management practices by processing municipal organic waste from surrounding counties.
  • SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: The project exemplifies circular economy principles by transforming waste into valuable energy and materials.
  • SDG 13 – Climate Action: The production of biochar contributes to carbon sequestration, reducing the overall carbon footprint of the facility and mitigating climate change impacts.
  • SDG 15 – Life on Land: Biochar applications in agriculture enhance soil health and promote sustainable land use.

Expert Commentary

Heath Jones, Regional President North America at Kanadevia Inova, stated: “This cutting-edge facility will convert the organic fraction of municipal waste from surrounding counties into renewable energy through anaerobic digestion, biogas upgrading, and advanced gasification. In addition to biomethane, it will be the first facility of its kind to produce biochar, a carbon-sequestering byproduct that reduces the plant’s carbon intensity and creates valuable applications for agriculture and industry.”

Conclusion

The Louisville Township Renewable Gas Project exemplifies innovation in sustainable waste management and renewable energy production. By aligning with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, the project not only advances environmental stewardship but also fosters economic and social benefits within the community and beyond.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • The article discusses the production of renewable natural gas (RNG), a clean energy source, contributing to affordable and sustainable energy.
  2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The project converts municipal organic waste into renewable energy, promoting sustainable waste management in local communities.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • The anaerobic digestion facility processes organic waste, supporting sustainable consumption and waste reduction.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • The facility produces biochar, a carbon-sequestering by-product, which helps reduce carbon intensity and mitigate climate change.
  5. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Biochar applications in agriculture and environmental remediation support sustainable land use and ecosystem health.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
  2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to waste management.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
  5. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. SDG 7 Indicators
    • Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption — implied by the production of approximately 200,000 MMBtu of renewable natural gas annually.
  2. SDG 11 Indicators
    • Indicator 11.6.1: Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities — implied by the facility handling 75,000 tonnes of organic materials per year.
  3. SDG 12 Indicators
    • Indicator 12.5.1: National recycling rate, tons of material recycled — implied through the conversion of organic waste into renewable energy and biochar.
  4. SDG 13 Indicators
    • Indicator 13.2.2: Total greenhouse gas emissions per year — implied reduction through carbon sequestration by biochar and renewable energy production reducing fossil fuel use.
  5. SDG 15 Indicators
    • Indicator 15.3.1: Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area — implied improvement through biochar applications in agriculture and environmental remediation.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption (implied by 200,000 MMBtu RNG production annually)
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including waste management. 11.6.1: Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities (implied by 75,000 tonnes organic waste processing)
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. 12.5.1: National recycling rate, tons of material recycled (implied by organic waste conversion to RNG and biochar)
SDG 13: Climate Action 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. 13.2.2: Total greenhouse gas emissions per year (implied reduction via biochar carbon sequestration and renewable energy)
SDG 15: Life on Land 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil. 15.3.1: Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area (implied improvement through biochar applications)

Source: waste-management-world.com

 

]]> AI Data Center Expansion Poses High Risk of Child Labor Issues – Bloomberg Law News https://sdgtalks.ai/ai-data-center-expansion-poses-high-risk-of-child-labor-issues-bloomberg-law-news https://sdgtalks.ai/ai-data-center-expansion-poses-high-risk-of-child-labor-issues-bloomberg-law-news Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks Data, Center, Expansion, Poses, High, Risk, Child, Labor, Issues, –, Bloomberg, Law, News  

Report on AI Data Center Expansion and Child Labor Risks: Emphasizing Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) companies in the United States are investing billions of dollars to expand data center infrastructure, promising significant economic benefits such as job creation, tax revenue, and infrastructure development. However, this rapid expansion raises critical concerns related to child labor exploitation and abuse, issues that align closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Investment and Impacts on Children

Major US technology platforms have committed tens of billions of dollars to build AI-ready data centers across multiple states including Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. The $500 billion Stargate initiative and other AI companies have pledged investments exceeding $1.4 trillion in infrastructure projects nationwide.

While companies focus on how AI products affect children digitally, less attention is given to the foundational risks of child labor within domestic operations such as data center construction. The rapid expansion creates conditions that may increase risks for children, including:

  • Heightened demand for low-cost labor
  • Extensive construction and hazardous work environments
  • Overnight and third-shift work schedules
  • Heavy reliance on subcontractors and labor brokers

These factors contribute to a 31% increase in child labor violations reported by the U.S. Department of Labor between 2019 and 2024. Child labor in hazardous conditions risks physical injury, psychological trauma, and exploitation, undermining children’s access to education and health care, thus perpetuating poverty — directly contravening SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

Regulatory Environment and Enforcement Challenges

The surge in child labor risks coincides with reduced enforcement of corporate sustainability and human rights obligations by federal and some state regulators. This weakened oversight environment may discourage companies from prioritizing compliance with human rights standards, increasing the likelihood of undetected violations.

When violations surface, often through whistleblowers or media investigations, companies face severe consequences including lawsuits, monetary penalties, and reputational damage, which can erode trust and business value. For example, investigations in 2023 revealed illegal child labor in food processing sectors involving hazardous overnight shifts and dangerous tasks, highlighting the risks of lax enforcement.

This regulatory gap undermines SDG 16 by weakening institutions responsible for protecting human rights and ensuring justice.

Compliance Standards and Due Diligence Framework

Effective mitigation of child labor risks requires robust compliance frameworks, such as UNICEF USA’s Child Labor Compliance Framework, which aligns with international standards including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and U.S. Department of Labor guidance.

  1. Risk-based assessments tailored to company operations and business relationships
  2. Enforceable controls over subcontractors and labor brokers
  3. Ongoing monitoring and auditing mechanisms
  4. Remediation processes centered on the best interests of the child

For data center construction, due diligence should address:

  • Labor sourcing across subcontracting tiers
  • Use of staffing agencies and labor brokers
  • Hazardous or overnight work conditions
  • Age verification practices
  • Local labor market conditions

These measures support SDG 8 by promoting decent work conditions and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by protecting vulnerable children from exploitation.

Key Takeaways and Recommendations

  • The focus on AI’s digital impact on children must be expanded to include the physical labor conditions underpinning AI infrastructure development.
  • Companies must proactively identify and mitigate child labor risks to uphold children’s rights and comply with legal obligations.
  • Implementing child-centered policies and strong due diligence enhances corporate reputation and long-term business sustainability.
  • Strengthening regulatory enforcement and corporate governance is essential to prevent child labor violations and align with SDG 16.
  • Protecting children’s rights during AI infrastructure expansion contributes to achieving multiple SDGs, including SDG 4, SDG 8, SDG 10, and SDG 16.

Author Information

Jonathan Drimmer is a partner at Steptoe in Washington, DC, co-leading the firm’s business and human rights practice.

Jessica Leinwand serves as general counsel of UNICEF USA and is an adjunct professor on child rights and business at American University’s Washington College of Law.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The article discusses child labor exploitation risks in data center construction and related industries, highlighting the need for decent work conditions and the elimination of child labor.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Issues of regulatory enforcement, legal compliance, and corporate governance are raised, emphasizing the importance of strong institutions and rule of law to protect children’s rights.
  3. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • The article notes that child labor prevents access to education, perpetuating cycles of poverty.
  4. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Child labor risks include bodily injury and psychological trauma, linking to the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being.
  5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The article highlights vulnerabilities of children from marginalized communities, indicating the need to reduce inequalities.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified Based on the Article’s Content

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
    • Target 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
  3. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.1: Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education.
  4. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.9: Reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
  5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article to Measure Progress Towards the Identified Targets

  1. Indicator for Target 8.7:
    • Prevalence of child labor, as reported by the US Department of Labor showing a 31% increase in child labor violations between 2019 and 2024.
  2. Indicator for Target 8.8:
    • Number of enforcement actions and regulatory penalties related to labor violations, including child labor in hazardous work environments.
    • Implementation of child labor compliance frameworks and due diligence processes in companies.
  3. Indicator for Target 16.6 and 16.3:
    • Effectiveness of regulatory enforcement and corporate governance mechanisms in preventing child labor violations.
    • Number of legal cases, consent orders, and public scrutiny incidents related to child labor violations.
  4. Indicator for Target 4.1:
    • Access to education rates among children in communities affected by labor exploitation.
  5. Indicator for Target 3.9:
    • Incidence of injuries and health issues among child laborers in hazardous work environments.
  6. Indicator for Target 10.2:
    • Measures of social and economic inclusion of vulnerable children, including those at risk of labor exploitation.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.7: Eradicate forced labor and worst forms of child labor
  • 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe working environments
  • Prevalence of child labor (e.g., 31% increase reported by US Department of Labor)
  • Number of enforcement actions and penalties for labor violations
  • Implementation of child labor compliance frameworks
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, transparent institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice
  • Effectiveness of regulatory enforcement and corporate governance
  • Number of legal cases, consent orders, and public scrutiny incidents
SDG 4: Quality Education
  • 4.1: Ensure completion of free, equitable, quality primary and secondary education
  • Access to education rates among children affected by labor exploitation
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.9: Reduce deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and pollution
  • Incidence of injuries and health issues among child laborers in hazardous work
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote social, economic, and political inclusion of all
  • Measures of social and economic inclusion of vulnerable children at risk of exploitation

Source: news.bloomberglaw.com

 

]]> What Makes Jobs Policies Work? The OECD’s Guide to Improving Labour Market Programmes – Devdiscourse https://sdgtalks.ai/what-makes-jobs-policies-work-the-oecds-guide-to-improving-labour-market-programmes-devdiscourse https://sdgtalks.ai/what-makes-jobs-policies-work-the-oecds-guide-to-improving-labour-market-programmes-devdiscourse Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks What, Makes, Jobs, Policies, Work, The, OECD’s, Guide, Improving, Labour, Market, Programmes, –, Devdiscourse  

Report on Active Labour Market Policies and Sustainable Development Goals

Active Labour Market Policies

Introduction: Context and Importance of ALMPs

As economies undergo rapid technological changes, face population ageing, and accelerate the green transition, governments are investing significantly in Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) to support employment. These policies, which include training programmes, job-search assistance, wage subsidies, and entrepreneurship support, are fundamental to employment strategies across OECD countries. In 2022, OECD members invested on average 0.43% of GDP in ALMPs.

Given the substantial public investment, the focus has shifted from merely assessing whether these programmes work to understanding how and why they succeed or fail in practice. This report is based on a new OECD working paper by Sofia Dromundo and Olga Rastrigina, developed with support from the European Union and collaboration with public employment services, policymakers, and social partners.

Emphasizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Active Labour Market Policies contribute directly to several SDGs, including:

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – by promoting employment and inclusive economic participation.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education – through training and skills development programmes.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – by targeting vulnerable groups and ensuring equal access to employment opportunities.
  4. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – by integrating health support in employment services.
  5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – through collaboration among governments, employers, and social partners.

Beyond the Numbers: Limitations of Traditional Evaluation Methods

Traditional evaluations of ALMPs have primarily relied on quantitative methods such as counterfactual impact studies. These methods assess whether participants are more likely to find jobs or earn higher wages compared to non-participants. While these evaluations have provided valuable insights—such as the medium-term benefits of training and the short-term effects of job-search assistance—they fall short in explaining the practical implementation and contextual factors influencing success.

Quantitative data alone do not reveal how programmes are designed, how frontline staff engage with jobseekers, or why outcomes vary across regions. To address these gaps, a qualitative assessment approach is necessary.

A Practical Framework for Qualitative Assessment

The OECD proposes a structured qualitative framework that complements quantitative evaluations by focusing on real-world implementation. Key features include:

  • Self-assessment by programme designers and delivery staff describing operational details.
  • External assessment by independent experts applying consistent benchmarks.
  • Use of scores as learning tools rather than for ranking or competition.
  • Facilitation of reflection on strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

This approach fosters continuous learning and adaptation, aligning with the SDG commitment to inclusive and effective institutions (SDG 16).

Eight Building Blocks of Effective Labour Market Programmes

The framework identifies eight essential criteria for successful ALMPs, which align with multiple SDGs by promoting inclusive and sustainable employment:

  1. Evidence-Based Design: Programmes grounded in data and research to ensure effectiveness.
  2. Smart Engagement of Service Providers: Efficient collaboration among stakeholders.
  3. Proactive Outreach to Vulnerable Groups: Ensuring access for marginalized populations, supporting SDG 10.
  4. Careful Assessment and Referral: Tailoring support to individual needs.
  5. Integrated Support Services: Combining employment, social, health, and education assistance to address multiple barriers (SDG 3 and SDG 4).
  6. Strong Case Management and Follow-Up: Sustaining employment outcomes and preventing relapse into unemployment.
  7. Partnerships with Employers: Aligning training with labour market demands, fostering SDG 17.
  8. Continuous Monitoring and Evaluation: Creating feedback loops for programme adaptation and improvement.

Significance of the Approach in Current Context

The OECD paper advocates for the routine integration of qualitative assessment in labour market policymaking. This approach:

  • Bridges the gap between policy design and delivery.
  • Enables governments to learn from practical experiences and adapt programmes to diverse contexts.
  • Facilitates sharing of best practices across regions and countries.
  • Supports efficient use of public funds amid fast-changing labour markets and budget constraints.
  • Ensures ALMPs deliver sustainable benefits for workers, employers, and society, advancing the achievement of SDGs.

Conclusion

Active Labour Market Policies are critical tools in achieving sustainable development by promoting inclusive employment, reducing inequalities, and fostering economic growth. The OECD’s qualitative assessment framework enhances understanding of these policies’ practical implementation, supporting continuous improvement and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. Governments and stakeholders are encouraged to adopt this approach to maximize the impact of ALMPs in the evolving global labour market.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The article focuses on active labour market policies (ALMPs) aimed at helping people find and keep jobs, which aligns directly with SDG 8’s goal to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Training programmes and skill development mentioned in the article relate to SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The article highlights proactive outreach to vulnerable groups and integrated support addressing multiple barriers, which connects to SDG 10’s target to reduce inequality within and among countries.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Partnerships with employers and collaboration among policymakers, social partners, and public employment services relate to SDG 17, which emphasizes strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing global partnerships.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 8 Targets
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
    • Target 8.6: Reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education, or training.
    • Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.
  2. SDG 4 Targets
    • Target 4.4: Increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship.
  3. SDG 10 Targets
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status.
  4. SDG 17 Targets
    • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Employment and Earnings Outcomes
    • Indicators measuring whether participants find jobs or earn higher wages compared to non-participants (implied in quantitative evaluations).
  2. Participation Rates in Training and Job-Search Assistance
    • Indicators related to the number and proportion of people participating in training programmes and job-search assistance.
  3. Outreach to Vulnerable Groups
    • Indicators assessing the extent and effectiveness of proactive outreach to vulnerable populations facing barriers such as low skills or health issues.
  4. Programme Implementation Quality
    • Qualitative indicators from self-assessment and external assessment frameworks measuring evidence-based design, case management, integrated support, partnerships, and continuous monitoring.
  5. Follow-up Support and Sustained Employment
    • Indicators tracking follow-up support after employment and the sustainability of job retention.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.3: Promote policies supporting decent job creation and entrepreneurship
  • 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all
  • 8.6: Reduce youth not in employment, education, or training
  • Employment rates of programme participants vs. non-participants
  • Wage levels of participants compared to non-participants
  • Participation rates in ALMPs
  • Job retention and follow-up support effectiveness
SDG 4: Quality Education
  • 4.4: Increase relevant skills for employment and entrepreneurship
  • Number of participants completing training programmes
  • Skill acquisition and certification rates
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion of all
  • Outreach and participation rates of vulnerable groups
  • Access to integrated support services
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.16: Enhance multi-stakeholder partnerships
  • Number and quality of partnerships with employers and social partners
  • Effectiveness of collaboration in programme design and delivery

Source: devdiscourse.com

 

]]> SEA agri experts gather for idea exchanges – The Manila Times https://sdgtalks.ai/sea-agri-experts-gather-for-idea-exchanges-the-manila-times https://sdgtalks.ai/sea-agri-experts-gather-for-idea-exchanges-the-manila-times Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks SEA, agri, experts, gather, for, idea, exchanges, –, The, Manila, Times  

Southeast Asia Agricultural Outlook Series Inception Workshop Highlights Sustainable Development Goals

Workshop Overview

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) conducted the Inception Workshop for the Southeast Asia Agricultural Outlook Series (SEA Agri Outlook Series) on January 26–27. The event gathered experts from 11 Southeast Asian countries to discuss and align on the focus, analytical methods, data sources, and report contents for the country studies.

Objectives and Framework

  • SEA Agri Outlook Series: A flagship publication designed to provide policy-relevant insights through a mixed-methods analytical framework integrating quantitative data, stakeholder engagement, and modeling tools.
  • Focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The series emphasizes systemic agricultural transformation to strengthen food security (SDG 2), reduce poverty (SDG 1), and promote sustainable development (SDG 12, SDG 13).
  • Outputs: Country and regional reports, and an open-access database to support evidence-based policymaking.

Country Presentations and Collaborative Discussions

Experts from the 11 countries presented overviews of their agricultural sectors, covering:

  1. Sector performance and transformation
  2. Food and nutrition security status (SDG 2)
  3. Major policies and programs supporting agricultural development aligned with SDGs

They also proposed study methodologies, data requirements, and report structures to ensure coherence with the series’ objectives.

Analytical Tools and Data Integration

  • Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model and Agricultural Transformation Index (ATI): Presented by Angga Pradesha from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), these tools support scenario analysis and policy evaluation to guide sustainable agricultural transformation.
  • FAO Regional Foresight Report: Meeta Punjabi Mehta from the Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP) offered to share critical data and scenario-based analyses to anticipate emerging food system challenges over the next 4–5 years, supporting SDG 2 and SDG 13.
  • Southeast Asian Agricultural Statistics Database (SAASD): Introduced by Rochella Lapitan of Searca, SAASD is an open-access, interactive dashboard providing comprehensive agricultural data and visualizations to facilitate monitoring of agricultural transformation and sustainability.

Group Discussions on Agricultural Transformation

Participants engaged in focused group discussions addressing:

  • Current status and key drivers of agricultural transformation
  • Challenges and ongoing interventions
  • Review of existing policies, investments, and institutional reforms
  • Identification of additional policies required to accelerate and sustain transformation aligned with SDGs

Significance and Future Directions

Searca Center Director Mercedita Sombilla emphasized the workshop’s role in generating vital inputs for regional cross-country analysis under the SEA Agri Outlook Series. She highlighted the collaborative nature of the initiative and its expected high relevance to Searca and participating governments in advancing sustainable agricultural development.

Alignment with Searca’s Development Plan and SDGs

The SEA Agri Outlook Series is firmly anchored in Searca’s 12th Five-Year Development Plan: Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia). The initiative aims to accelerate sustainable transformation of agriculture and rural communities through:

  • Innovation
  • Partnerships
  • Evidence-based policies

This aligns directly with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 1: No Poverty
  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13: Climate Action
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • The article focuses on agricultural performance, food security, and nutrition in Southeast Asia, directly relating to ending hunger and achieving food security.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Reducing poverty through agricultural transformation and rural development is emphasized in the article.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • The article discusses sustainable agricultural transformation, which implies sustainable production practices.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Although not explicitly mentioned, the focus on sustainable agriculture and foresight for future challenges implies relevance to climate resilience and adaptation.
  5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • The article highlights collaboration among Southeast Asian countries, international organizations, and experts, reflecting partnerships to achieve sustainable development.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified Based on the Article’s Content

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers.
    • Target 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices.
    • Target 2.1: End hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Target 1.2: Reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children living in poverty in all its dimensions.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
  5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article to Measure Progress Towards the Identified Targets

  1. Agricultural Transformation Index (ATI)
    • Presented by IFPRI, ATI is a composite indicator measuring agricultural transformation progress, including productivity, diversification, and sustainability.
  2. Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model Analyses
    • Used to analyze economic impacts and scenarios related to agricultural policies and transformation.
  3. Southeast Asian Agricultural Statistics Database (SAASD)
    • An open-access database providing data on agricultural trends, sector performance, food security, and nutrition, supporting measurement of progress.
  4. Scenario-based Analyses and Horizon Scanning
    • Used by FAO-RAP to identify emerging challenges and assess future food system directions, indirectly supporting monitoring of resilience and sustainability indicators.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  • 2.1 End hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious food
  • 2.3 Double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale producers
  • 2.4 Ensure sustainable food production systems
  • Agricultural Transformation Index (ATI)
  • Southeast Asian Agricultural Statistics Database (SAASD)
  • Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model analyses
SDG 1: No Poverty
  • 1.2 Reduce poverty in all its dimensions
  • Agricultural Transformation Index (ATI) (income-related measures)
  • Country-level agricultural and rural development data from SAASD
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.2 Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
  • Indicators related to sustainable agricultural practices in ATI and SAASD
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
  • Scenario-based analyses and horizon scanning by FAO-RAP
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.16 Enhance global partnerships for sustainable development
  • Collaborative data sharing and joint research initiatives (implied indicator of partnership effectiveness)

Source: manilatimes.net

 

]]> GDP (Advance Estimate), 4th Quarter and Year 2025 – Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) (.gov) https://sdgtalks.ai/gdp-advance-estimate-4th-quarter-and-year-2025-bureau-of-economic-analysis-bea-gov https://sdgtalks.ai/gdp-advance-estimate-4th-quarter-and-year-2025-bureau-of-economic-analysis-bea-gov Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks GDP, Advance, Estimate, 4th, Quarter, and, Year, 2025, –, Bureau, Economic, Analysis, BEA, .gov  

U.S. Economic Performance in Q4 2025: A Sustainable Development Perspective

Overview of GDP Growth

Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States increased at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 (October to December), according to the advance estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). This growth follows a robust 4.4 percent increase in the third quarter of 2025. The release was delayed due to the government shutdown in October–November 2025.

Key Contributors to GDP Growth

The increase in real GDP was primarily driven by:

  1. Consumer Spending: Growth in services, especially health care and international travel, contributed significantly.
  2. Investment: Increases in intellectual property products, private inventory investment, and equipment, notably in research and development and information processing equipment.

These positive contributions were partly offset by decreases in:

  • Government spending, particularly federal government consumption expenditures.
  • Exports, influenced by adjustments in the treatment of precious metals used as investment.

Imports decreased, which positively affected GDP calculations.

Price Index and Inflation Measures

  • The price index for gross domestic purchases increased by 3.7 percent in Q4 2025, up from 3.4 percent in Q3.
  • The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 2.9 percent, slightly higher than the 2.8 percent increase in Q3.
  • Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased by 2.7 percent, a slight decrease from 2.9 percent in the previous quarter.

Annual GDP Performance for 2025

Real GDP increased by 2.2 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, reflecting sustained growth in consumer spending and investment. The price index for gross domestic purchases rose by 2.6 percent, while the PCE price index also increased by 2.6 percent, consistent with the previous year.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  • The increase in consumer spending on health care services supports SDG 8 by promoting economic growth and employment in the health sector.
  • Investment in intellectual property and research and development fosters innovation, a key driver of sustainable economic growth.
  • Despite the government shutdown, efforts to maintain economic stability contribute to sustained growth and decent work opportunities.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  • Growth in equipment investment, especially in information processing equipment, aligns with SDG 9 by enhancing infrastructure and fostering innovation.
  • Increased research and development investment supports technological progress and sustainable industrialization.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  • Increased consumer spending on health care services, including outpatient and hospital care, contributes to improved health outcomes and well-being.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  • The decrease in imports and adjustments in export data reflect efforts toward accurate economic accounting and sustainable trade practices.

Technical Notes and Data Considerations

Impact of Federal Government Shutdown

The partial federal government shutdown from October 1 to November 12, 2025, led to furloughs and reduced federal government services, subtracting approximately 1.0 percentage point from real GDP growth in Q4. However, back pay to furloughed employees mitigated impacts on current-dollar federal compensation.

Data Imputation for Missing Price Indexes

Due to the shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was unable to collect October 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The BEA imputed missing price indexes by averaging September and November CPI data, ensuring continuity and reliability in inflation measurement.

Sources of GDP Changes

  • Consumer Spending: Increased services, particularly health care and international travel.
  • Investment: Growth in intellectual property products (R&D), private inventories, and equipment (computers and peripherals).
  • Government Spending: Declined due to reduced federal expenditures during the shutdown.
  • Exports: Adjusted for investment-related precious metals transactions.

Summary of Key Economic Indicators (Q4 2025)

Indicator Percent Change (SAAR)
Real GDP 1.4%
Current-dollar GDP 5.1%
Real final sales to private domestic purchasers 2.4%
Gross domestic purchases price index 3.7%
PCE price index 2.9%
PCE price index excluding food and energy 2.7%

Upcoming Releases and Data Access

  • Next GDP release (Second Estimate for Q4 2025 and Year 2025): March 13, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
  • BEA has modernized its news release format to include direct links to interactive data tables, enhancing accessibility and transparency.
  • Historical and detailed data are available via BEA’s Interactive Data Application and Data Archive.

Conclusion

The U.S. economy demonstrated moderate growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, supported by consumer spending and investment, despite challenges such as the federal government shutdown. These economic activities contribute to multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including promoting sustained economic growth, innovation, health, and responsible consumption. Continued monitoring and data transparency remain essential for informed policy-making aligned with sustainable development.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The article discusses real GDP growth, consumer spending, investment, government spending, and employment data, all related to economic growth and labor market conditions.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • Increases in investment in intellectual property products, research and development (R&D), equipment, and manufacturing indicate innovation and industrial development.
  3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • The article references data sharing and collaboration between government agencies (BEA, BLS, Census Bureau), reflecting partnerships and data transparency.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances.
    • Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade technological capabilities, and encourage innovation.
    • Target 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, raise industry’s share of employment and GDP.
  3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Target 17.18: Enhance capacity-building support to developing countries to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. SDG 8 Indicators
    • 8.1.1: Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita.
    • 8.5.2: Unemployment rate, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities.
    • Consumer spending growth rates and investment rates as economic activity measures.
  2. SDG 9 Indicators
    • 9.5.1: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP.
    • Investment in intellectual property products and equipment as proxies for innovation and industrial capacity.
  3. SDG 17 Indicators
    • 17.18.1: Proportion of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
    • Availability and accessibility of timely economic data (e.g., GDP estimates, price indexes) as shown by BEA’s data releases and improvements.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth
  • 8.3: Promote productive activities and decent job creation
  • 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment
  • 8.1.1: Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita
  • 8.5.2: Unemployment rate by sex and age
  • Consumer spending and investment growth rates
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • 9.5: Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities
  • 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization
  • 9.5.1: R&D expenditure as proportion of GDP
  • Investment in intellectual property products, equipment, and manufacturing
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.18: Enhance capacity-building for data availability and quality
  • 17.18.1: Compliance with statistical principles and availability of timely economic data
  • BEA’s modernization and data transparency initiatives

Source: bea.gov

 

]]> Bangladeshi man extradited to Alaska on child sexual exploitation charges – Alaska Public Media https://sdgtalks.ai/bangladeshi-man-extradited-to-alaska-on-child-sexual-exploitation-charges-alaska-public-media https://sdgtalks.ai/bangladeshi-man-extradited-to-alaska-on-child-sexual-exploitation-charges-alaska-public-media Sun, 05 Jul 2026 18:30:09 -0500 sdgtalks Bangladeshi, man, extradited, Alaska, child, sexual, exploitation, charges, –, Alaska, Public, Media  

Report on the Extradition and Federal Charges Against Zobaidul Amin

Introduction

Zobaidul Amin, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi national, was extradited to Alaska to face federal charges related to child sexual exploitation. His case highlights critical issues aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality), by addressing the protection of children and the fight against exploitation.

Background and Charges

  1. Allegations: Amin is accused of operating an international child sexual exploitation enterprise. Prosecutors allege he used social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram to entice hundreds of minors into creating sexually explicit content.
  2. Indictment: In July 2022, a grand jury indicted Amin on multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute and receive child sexual abuse materials, cyberstalking, aggravated identity theft, and fraud.
  3. Victims: Court documents reveal that a 14-year-old girl from Alaska reported her interactions with Amin in December 2021, which initiated the investigation leading to the uncovering of a broader network of victims.

Investigation and Law Enforcement Actions

  • Law enforcement executed dozens of search warrants and subpoenas to connect Amin to hundreds of victims.
  • Amin allegedly threatened victims with exposure to their families and friends to coerce additional explicit content.
  • He reportedly forced some minors to introduce him to other potential victims, expanding the exploitation network.

International Cooperation and Arrest

In September 2022, Malaysian police arrested Amin in Kuala Lumpur. He faced 13 charges related to possession and production of child sexual abuse materials under Malaysian law. Following his arrest, Amin was extradited to Alaska and taken into custody by the FBI on Wednesday.

Legal Proceedings and Potential Sentencing

  • Amin has pleaded not guilty to all federal charges.
  • If convicted, he faces a prison sentence ranging from 20 years to life.
  • Prosecutors have requested his detention pending trial due to the severity of the charges.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: This case underscores the importance of robust legal frameworks and international cooperation in combating child exploitation and ensuring justice for victims.
  • SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Protecting children, especially girls, from sexual exploitation contributes to achieving gender equality and empowering vulnerable populations.
  • SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: The collaboration between Malaysian and U.S. authorities exemplifies the global partnerships necessary to address transnational crimes effectively.

Conclusion

The extradition and prosecution of Zobaidul Amin represent a significant step toward dismantling international networks of child sexual exploitation. The case highlights the critical role of law enforcement, judicial systems, and international cooperation in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals related to justice, equality, and partnerships.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses criminal justice actions against child sexual exploitation, highlighting the role of law enforcement and judicial systems.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • The exploitation of minors, particularly girls, relates to gender-based violence and the protection of girls’ rights.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Child sexual exploitation severely impacts the mental and physical health of victims.
  4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • The misuse of social media platforms (Snapchat, Instagram) for exploitation points to challenges in digital safety and cybersecurity.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual exploitation.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being.
  4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

  1. SDG 16 Indicators
    • Indicator 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation (implied by the number of minors exploited and prosecuted cases).
    • Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms (implied by the Alaska girl reporting to police).
  2. SDG 5 Indicators
    • Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by a partner in the previous 12 months (related to sexual exploitation data).
  3. SDG 3 Indicators
    • Indicator 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate (related to mental health impacts of exploitation, implied).
  4. SDG 9 Indicators
    • Indicator 9.c.1: Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology (implied by the use of social media platforms).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against children
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice
  • 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims reporting to authorities
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls
  • 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls subjected to sexual violence
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being
  • 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate (implied)
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • 9.c: Increase access to ICT and Internet
  • 9.c.1: Proportion of population covered by a mobile network (implied)

Source: alaskapublic.org

 

]]> GLP-1s could help curb substance use disorders, from alcohol to opioids, study suggests – NBC News https://sdgtalks.ai/glp-1s-could-help-curb-substance-use-disorders-from-alcohol-to-opioids-study-suggests-nbc-news https://sdgtalks.ai/glp-1s-could-help-curb-substance-use-disorders-from-alcohol-to-opioids-study-suggests-nbc-news Sun, 05 Jul 2026 18:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks GLP-1s, could, help, curb, substance, use, disorders, from, alcohol, opioids, study, suggests, –, NBC, News  

GLP-1 Drugs and Their Potential Impact on Substance Use Disorders: A Report Emphasizing Sustainable Development Goals

GLP-1 Drugs and Addiction

Introduction

Emerging evidence suggests that GLP-1 drugs, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, may assist individuals in reducing cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and opioid use. This development aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, by addressing substance use disorders (SUDs) and promoting healthier lives.

Background and Research Overview

As GLP-1 medications have gained popularity, anecdotal reports indicated diminished urges to consume alcohol or drugs among users. Subsequent peer-reviewed studies have supported these observations.

Christian Hendershot, Director of Clinical Research at the USC Institute for Addiction Science, emphasized the accumulating positive potential of GLP-1s in treating substance use.

Recent Study and Methodology

  1. A recent study published in The BMJ expanded the scope to include multiple substance use disorders such as cannabis, cocaine, nicotine, and opioids.
  2. Researchers analyzed records from over 600,000 patients within the Department of Veterans Affairs database, predominantly male (90%) with an average age of 65.
  3. All patients had Type 2 diabetes and were treated either with GLP-1 drugs or sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2).
  4. The study employed emulated target trials to simulate seven clinical trials, assessing both treatment effects and prevention potential of GLP-1 drugs on substance use disorders.

Key Findings

  • Among individuals with pre-existing substance use disorders, GLP-1 drug users experienced fewer emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths related to substance use.
  • The positive effects were consistent across various substances, including alcohol, opioids, and stimulants.
  • GLP-1 drugs may address the root causes of addiction, suggesting a broad-spectrum therapeutic potential.
  • Preliminary evidence indicated that GLP-1 drugs might also help prevent the development or recurrence of substance use disorders.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

This research supports several SDGs, notably:

  • SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): By potentially providing effective treatment and prevention for multiple substance use disorders, GLP-1 drugs contribute to reducing premature mortality and promoting mental health.
  • SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Addressing substance use disorders in diverse populations, including veterans and older adults, helps reduce health disparities.
  • SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): The study exemplifies collaboration between research institutions and healthcare systems to advance public health knowledge.

Challenges and Future Directions

  • Substance use disorders affect approximately 50 million people in the United States, yet treatment access remains limited.
  • Current FDA-approved medications target alcohol, opioid, and nicotine use disorders, but effective treatments for cannabis, stimulants, and sedatives are lacking.
  • Relapse rates remain high even with existing treatments, highlighting the need for novel therapies.
  • Further randomized clinical trials are underway to rigorously test GLP-1 drugs’ efficacy in treating addiction.
  • Researchers acknowledge that substance use disorders are complex, and no single medication will be universally effective.

Mechanism of Action

GLP-1 drugs are believed to modulate the brain’s reward signaling pathways. Analogous to their effect in obesity treatment—where they reduce the constant preoccupation with food—these drugs may similarly diminish cravings and preoccupation with addictive substances.

Conclusion

The growing body of evidence positions GLP-1 drugs as promising candidates for addressing multiple substance use disorders, contributing to the achievement of SDG 3 by improving health outcomes and reducing the burden of addiction. Continued research and clinical trials will clarify their role in comprehensive addiction treatment strategies.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article discusses advances in medical treatment for substance use disorders, which directly relates to improving health and well-being.
    • Focus on reducing substance abuse and related health complications.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Substance use disorders affect diverse populations, including veterans and older adults, highlighting the need to reduce health inequalities.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 3 Targets
    • Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
    • Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
  2. SDG 10 Targets
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators Related to SDG 3.5
    • Number of emergency room visits related to substance use.
    • Number of hospitalizations related to substance use disorders.
    • Mortality rates related to substance use.
    • Prevalence of substance use disorders in populations (e.g., veterans, older adults).
    • Rates of relapse and treatment success for substance use disorders.
  2. Indicators Related to SDG 10.2
    • Access to treatment for substance use disorders across different demographic groups.
    • Inclusion of marginalized populations in health interventions.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.5: Strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality and promote mental health
  • Emergency room visits related to substance use
  • Hospitalizations related to substance use disorders
  • Mortality rates related to substance use
  • Prevalence and relapse rates of substance use disorders
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion of all
  • Access to treatment across demographic groups
  • Inclusion of marginalized populations in health programs

Source: nbcnews.com

 

]]> The Millisecond That Could Change Cancer Treatment – IEEE Spectrum https://sdgtalks.ai/the-millisecond-that-could-change-cancer-treatment-ieee-spectrum https://sdgtalks.ai/the-millisecond-that-could-change-cancer-treatment-ieee-spectrum Sun, 05 Jul 2026 18:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks The, Millisecond, That, Could, Change, Cancer, Treatment, –, IEEE, Spectrum  

Report on FLASH Radiotherapy Development and Its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Introduction

At the Swiss-French border, physicist Walter Wuensch oversees advanced particle accelerator technology at CERN, repurposed to develop FLASH radiotherapy—a revolutionary cancer treatment method. This initiative exemplifies the integration of cutting-edge physics with healthcare innovation, directly contributing to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

Background and Significance of FLASH Radiotherapy

  1. Historical Context: Radiation therapy has been a fundamental cancer treatment since the discovery of X-rays in 1895. Conventional methods involve multiple low-dose sessions that risk damaging healthy tissue.
  2. FLASH Radiotherapy Innovation: FLASH delivers ultrahigh-power radiation in less than a tenth of a second, significantly reducing harm to healthy tissue while maintaining tumor control.
  3. Potential Impact: This technique promises stronger treatments with fewer side effects and increased accessibility, supporting SDG 3 by improving health outcomes and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by potentially expanding access to cancer care worldwide.

The Origin and Scientific Breakthrough of FLASH Therapy

  • Initial Discovery: In the 1990s, Institut Curie researchers Vincent Favaudon and Marie-Catherine Vozenin observed that ultrafast, high-dose radiation did not cause expected lung fibrosis in mice.
  • Experimental Expansion: Subsequent studies demonstrated that FLASH could eradicate tumors while sparing healthy tissue, overturning traditional radiotherapy trade-offs.
  • Scientific Validation: Published findings in 2014 and subsequent studies confirmed FLASH’s efficacy across various tissues and species, fostering confidence in this novel approach.

Technological Adaptation for FLASH Radiotherapy

To translate FLASH into clinical practice, researchers addressed several technical challenges:

  • Accelerator Development: Existing low-energy accelerators were insufficient for deep tumors; thus, high-energy linear accelerators capable of ultrafast, precise electron beam delivery were developed.
  • Innovations at CERN and SLAC: CERN’s CLEAR facility and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory contributed advanced accelerator technologies, enabling compact, efficient machines suitable for clinical settings.
  • Engineering Challenges: Efforts focus on reducing size and power consumption to create hospital-compatible systems, aligning with SDG 9 by fostering sustainable industrial innovation.

Theryq’s Clinical Development Approach

  1. Versatile Treatment Systems: Theryq is developing a range of FLASH devices targeting different tumor depths, including FLASHKNiFE for superficial tumors and FLASHDEEP for deep-seated tumors.
  2. Integration of Imaging and Precision: Systems incorporate CT imaging and advanced patient positioning to ensure accurate, rapid treatment delivery.
  3. Collaborative Efforts: Partnerships with CERN and clinical institutions exemplify multi-sector collaboration, supporting SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Preclinical and Animal Testing Facilities

  • Photo Injector Test Facility (PITZ): Located in Germany, PITZ provides a tunable accelerator and biomedical lab for systematic FLASH dose-rate studies and animal testing.
  • Research Methodology: Studies progress from transparent zebra-fish embryos to mice, utilizing precise beam control and imaging to optimize treatment parameters.
  • Technical Innovations: Development of new detectors to accurately measure ultrahigh dose rates addresses critical challenges in treatment safety and efficacy.

FLASH Radiotherapy as a Research and Societal Tool

Beyond treatment, FLASH offers unique opportunities to advance cancer biology understanding, potentially leading to novel therapies. Its ability to reduce treatment sessions can:

  • Enhance global access to cancer care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (supporting SDG 3 and SDG 10).
  • Reduce healthcare costs and facility burdens in high-income countries.
  • Foster collaborative research and innovation, contributing to SDG 9 and SDG 17.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

FLASH radiotherapy represents a transformative advancement in cancer treatment with significant alignment to the Sustainable Development Goals. While challenges remain, ongoing research, technological innovation, and international collaboration are paving the way for clinical adoption within the next decade. This progress underscores a commitment to improving global health outcomes, reducing inequalities, and promoting sustainable innovation.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article focuses on advancements in cancer treatment through FLASH radiotherapy, aiming to improve health outcomes and reduce side effects.
    • It highlights efforts to make cancer treatment more accessible and effective worldwide.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Development of advanced particle accelerators and medical technology for FLASH therapy demonstrates innovation in infrastructure and technology.
    • Collaboration between research institutions and companies to develop compact, efficient medical devices.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • FLASH therapy’s potential to increase access to radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries addresses health inequalities.
    • Reducing the burden of cancer treatment by enabling fewer sessions and lower costs.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • The article describes international collaboration among CERN, universities, hospitals, and companies to develop and implement FLASH therapy.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment.
    • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors, including encouraging innovation and increasing the number of research and development workers.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Target 17.6: Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Health Outcome Indicators
    • Reduction in tumor size and eradication rates in animal and human trials (implied through studies on mice, zebra fish, and human subjects).
    • Decrease in radiation-induced damage to healthy tissue, measured by tissue samples and scarring (e.g., fibrosis indicators).
    • Number of cancer patients receiving radiotherapy and improved survival rates (implied through increased access and effectiveness).
  2. Technology and Innovation Indicators
    • Development and deployment of compact, high-energy linear accelerators capable of delivering FLASH therapy.
    • Number of clinical trials and phases completed for FLASH therapy devices.
    • Efficiency and precision metrics of accelerators (e.g., beam energy, dose rate, timing precision).
  3. Access and Equity Indicators
    • Percentage of patients in low- and middle-income countries with access to radiotherapy.
    • Reduction in treatment sessions required per patient, lowering cost and travel burden.
  4. Partnership and Collaboration Indicators
    • Number of international collaborations and partnerships established for FLASH therapy research and development.
    • Joint publications, patents, and technology transfers among institutions.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases.
  • 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health services.
  • Tumor eradication rates in trials.
  • Reduction in radiation-induced healthy tissue damage (fibrosis/scarring).
  • Increased number of patients receiving effective radiotherapy.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • 9.5: Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities.
  • Development of compact, efficient linear accelerators.
  • Number and progress of clinical trials for FLASH devices.
  • Accelerator performance metrics (energy, dose rate, precision).
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote inclusion and reduce inequalities in health access.
  • Access rates to radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries.
  • Reduction in treatment sessions and associated patient burden.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.6: Enhance international cooperation on science, technology, and innovation.
  • Number of international research collaborations.
  • Joint scientific outputs and technology development partnerships.

Source: spectrum.ieee.org

 

]]> PAHO Belize wins Resilience & Disaster Risk Reduction Award at the UK-Belize Climate and Nature Legacy Awards 2026 – Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) https://sdgtalks.ai/paho-belize-wins-resilience-disaster-risk-reduction-award-at-the-uk-belize-climate-and-nature-legacy-awards-2026-pan-american-health-organization-paho https://sdgtalks.ai/paho-belize-wins-resilience-disaster-risk-reduction-award-at-the-uk-belize-climate-and-nature-legacy-awards-2026-pan-american-health-organization-paho Sun, 05 Jul 2026 17:30:08 -0500 sdgtalks PAHO, Belize, wins, Resilience, Disaster, Risk, Reduction, Award, the, UK-Belize, Climate, and, Nature, Legacy, Awards, 2026, –, Pan, American, Health, Organization, PAHO  

Report on PAHO Belize’s Recognition for Climate Resilience in Health Sector

Introduction

City of Belmopan, Belize, February 18, 2026 – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Belize was honored with the Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction Award at the UK-Belize Climate and Nature Legacy Awards 2026. This event, funded by the UK’s Climate & Nature Diplomacy Fund (CNDF), took place on February 3 at the residence of the British High Commissioner in Belmopan, Belize.

Award Overview and Selection Process

The awards ceremony featured ten categories recognizing companies, entities, and associations operating in Belize. Nominees were selected by the Caribbean Development Group of the British High Commission. PAHO Belize was selected as the winner from five nominees in the Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction category, highlighting its leadership in climate resilience within the health sector.

PAHO Belize’s Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

PAHO Belize’s efforts align closely with several Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – by ensuring health facilities remain operational during disasters.
  2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – through the integration of renewable energy solutions.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – by making health infrastructure safer and more resilient.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action – by enhancing disaster risk reduction and climate resilience.

The SMART Hospital Initiative

PAHO Belize’s leadership was particularly recognized for the SMART Hospital Initiative, first implemented in Belize and other Caribbean countries with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID). This initiative has demonstrated effectiveness in maintaining health facility operations during and after hurricanes and natural disasters.

Key Features of the Initiative

  • Upgrading five health facilities across Belize with safety, green, and functional improvements.
  • Enhancements included hurricane and earthquake structural resilience, improved fire safety, water and electrical systems, infection control, and structural repairs.
  • Climate-smart upgrades such as rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient lighting, solar water heating, photovoltaic power systems, improved ventilation, and waste management.
  • Functional improvements including accessibility ramps and handrails, expanded storage, and renovated laboratories and pharmacies.

Expansion and Capacity Building

Building on initial successes, PAHO Belize has expanded the SMART Hospital Initiative to upgrade additional health facilities with sustainable energy solutions, further ensuring climate resilience. Capacity building remains a priority, with training provided to stakeholders including the civil works department.

Currently, Belize uses the Green Checklist and Hospital Safety Index as national standards for constructing new health facilities and retrofitting existing ones, reflecting the institutionalization of sustainable practices aligned with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

Leadership and Regional Impact

Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell, PAHO/WHO Representative in Belize, emphasized the importance of PAHO’s technical leadership in health emergencies, especially in the Caribbean, a region highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters. PAHO’s role in strengthening health systems ensures continuity of essential services during disasters and health emergencies.

Key Achievements

  • 26 health facilities audited for vulnerability and resilience needs in Belize.
  • Five facilities upgraded to GOLD SMART standards: Cleopatra White, San Ignacio Community Hospital, Palm Centre Nursing Home, Independence Primary Care, and Isabel Palma Primary Care.
  • 184 personnel trained (including 64 women) in assessment, renewable energy, contingency planning, and maintenance.
  • Installation of 45 kW solar power systems generating approximately USD 125,000 in annual savings.
  • Regional program strengthened access to reliable healthcare for over 858,000 people during disasters.

Visual Documentation

Collage of photos from the UK-Belize Climate and Nature Legacy Awards.
Credit: British High Commission
Collage of photos from the UK-DFID Smart Hospital Initiative Project.
Project Photos
Credit – PAHO Belize

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The article focuses on strengthening health facilities to ensure continuity of essential health services during disasters and emergencies.
  2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Implementation of renewable energy solutions such as solar power and energy-efficient lighting in health facilities.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Enhancing resilience of health infrastructure to natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action – Building climate resilience in health facilities and promoting disaster risk reduction.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 3 Targets:
    • 3.d: Strengthen the capacity of all countries for early warning, risk reduction, and management of national and global health risks.
  2. SDG 7 Targets:
    • 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
    • 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
  3. SDG 11 Targets:
    • 11.5: Reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected by disasters, including water-related disasters.
    • 11.b: Increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
  4. SDG 13 Targets:
    • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
    • 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Health Facility Audits and Upgrades: Number of health facilities audited for vulnerability and resilience (26 audited, 5 upgraded to GOLD SMART standards).
  2. Training and Capacity Building: Number of personnel trained in assessment, renewable energy, contingency planning, and maintenance (184 personnel trained, including 64 women).
  3. Renewable Energy Installation: Installed solar capacity (45 kW solar installed) and estimated annual savings (~USD 125,000).
  4. Access to Healthcare During Disasters: Number of people with strengthened access to reliable healthcare during disasters (over 858,000 people).
  5. Use of Standards: Adoption of Green Checklist and Hospital Safety Index as national standards for building and retrofitting health facilities.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being 3.d: Strengthen capacity for early warning, risk reduction, and management of health risks
  • Number of health facilities audited for vulnerability (26)
  • Number of health facilities upgraded to GOLD SMART standards (5)
  • Number of personnel trained in relevant skills (184)
  • Use of Hospital Safety Index as a national standard
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy
  • 7.3: Double rate of improvement in energy efficiency
  • Installed solar power capacity (45 kW)
  • Annual cost savings from renewable energy (~USD 125,000)
  • Implementation of energy-efficient lighting and solar water heating
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.5: Reduce deaths and affected people from disasters
  • 11.b: Increase cities adopting integrated policies for resilience
  • Number of health facilities strengthened for disaster resilience
  • Population with improved access to healthcare during disasters (858,000+)
  • Use of Green Checklist for building standards
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards
  • 13.3: Improve education and capacity on climate change and early warning
  • Training of personnel in contingency planning and climate-smart upgrades
  • Implementation of climate-smart infrastructure improvements (rainwater harvesting, ventilation, waste management)

Source: paho.org

 

]]> One Year After USAID: How to Actually Fix Foreign Aid – Foreign Policy https://sdgtalks.ai/one-year-after-usaid-how-to-actually-fix-foreign-aid-foreign-policy https://sdgtalks.ai/one-year-after-usaid-how-to-actually-fix-foreign-aid-foreign-policy Sun, 05 Jul 2026 17:30:08 -0500 sdgtalks One, Year, After, USAID:, How, Actually, Fix, Foreign, Aid, –, Foreign, Policy  

Report on Reforming Foreign Aid with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Introduction

In the past year, significant reductions in U.S. foreign aid have occurred, notably with the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and termination of over 80% of U.S. foreign aid grants and contracts. Other major donors such as the United Kingdom and Germany have also reduced their contributions. The United Nations’ humanitarian funding decreased by nearly 40% compared to 2024, amounting to $15 billion in 2025. This reduction in aid funding coincides with increased global humanitarian needs, posing challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Current Humanitarian and Development Challenges

  • Up to 1.6 million lives could have been saved if U.S. funding had not been cut, highlighting the critical role of aid in SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).
  • Global child mortality is rising for the first time this century, threatening progress towards SDG 3.
  • Approximately 23 million lives may be lost by 2030 in low- and middle-income countries due to defunding trends.
  • The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports 2 million clients lost services completely, and 6 million suffered service reductions, impacting SDG 3 and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
  • More than half of health facilities run by IRC in crisis zones have closed or lost critical services.
  • There are currently around 60 wars worldwide, with over 122 million forcibly displaced people, nearly 40 million facing severe hunger, and 239 million in humanitarian need, severely affecting SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).

Perception and Misconceptions about Foreign Aid

Public perception often overestimates the amount spent on foreign aid, with many Americans believing that a quarter of the federal budget is allocated overseas, whereas the actual figure is about 1%. This misperception affects political support for aid, which is crucial for advancing SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Common misconceptions include beliefs that aid is wasteful or ineffective. However, evidence shows:

  1. Global immunization efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years (SDG 3).
  2. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has saved over 25 million lives (SDG 3).
  3. Cost-effective interventions, such as delivering vaccines for approximately $2 per shot, demonstrate aid efficiency compared to much higher costs in developed countries.

Need for Aid System Reform

The geography of poverty has shifted, with more than half of the world’s extreme poor now residing in fragile and conflict-affected states. However, only about 25% of global aid flows to these countries, which account for nearly 90% of humanitarian need. This misalignment hinders progress towards SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Key reform considerations include:

  • Focusing aid on crisis-affected and fragile states rather than spreading resources thinly across countries with improving economies.
  • Implementing simpler, more targeted interventions to increase cost-effectiveness and impact.
  • Increasing investment in health and humanitarian interventions, which currently receive only 24% of total aid spending despite strong public support and high impact.
  • Enhancing innovation in aid delivery, including predictive forecasting, artificial intelligence for disease diagnosis, and improved vaccine cold-chain technologies to support SDG 3 and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).
  • Mobilizing new financial mechanisms such as humanitarian debt swaps and parametric insurance to support vulnerable countries facing debt distress and climate disasters, aligning with SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 17.

Recommendations for a Sustainable Foreign Aid Framework

  1. Center aid systems on accountability for outcomes rather than inputs, ensuring measurable progress towards SDGs.
  2. Prioritize aid allocation to fragile and conflict-affected states to address the highest humanitarian needs and support SDG 16.
  3. Promote innovation and financial instruments to enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of aid programs, supporting SDG 9 and SDG 13.
  4. Increase public awareness and correct misconceptions about foreign aid to build political and social support for sustainable development efforts (SDG 17).
  5. Encourage international cooperation and partnerships to mobilize resources and share best practices in aid delivery.

Conclusion

The abolition of USAID marks a significant shift in U.S. foreign aid policy; however, the global community faces a critical choice between continued retreat or purposeful reform. Strengthening foreign aid systems aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals is essential to address escalating humanitarian crises, reduce poverty and inequality, improve health outcomes, and promote peace and stability worldwide.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • The article discusses the impact of cuts in foreign aid on vulnerable populations in crisis and conflict zones, highlighting increased poverty and humanitarian need.
  2. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • Severe hunger affecting close to 40 million people is mentioned, along with malnutrition treatment gaps in conflict zones.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Focus on health services reductions, vaccine delivery, child mortality rise, and treatment of diseases such as AIDS.
  4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Disparities in aid distribution, with fragile and conflict-affected states receiving disproportionately less aid.
  5. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • References to ongoing conflicts, wars, and displacement affecting millions.
  6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Emphasis on international aid, reform of aid systems, donor commitments, and global cooperation.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 1 – Target 1.5: Build resilience of the poor and reduce their exposure to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.
    • Implied by the need for humanitarian aid in conflict and crisis zones.
  2. SDG 2 – Target 2.1 and 2.2: End hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious food; end all forms of malnutrition.
    • Article mentions malnutrition treatment gaps and interventions to improve cost-effectiveness.
  3. SDG 3 – Target 3.2 and 3.3: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5; end epidemics of AIDS and other communicable diseases.
    • Child mortality rise and AIDS relief programs are discussed.
  4. SDG 10 – Target 10.2: Empower and promote social, economic and political inclusion of all.
    • Unequal aid distribution to fragile states versus middle-income countries.
  5. SDG 16 – Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
    • Reference to 60 wars and millions displaced.
  6. SDG 17 – Target 17.2 and 17.9: Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments; enhance international support for capacity-building in developing countries.
    • Discussion on donor aid cuts and calls for reform and innovation in aid delivery.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Lives Saved / Mortality Rates
    • Estimates such as 1.6 million lives potentially saved with restored funding, 154 million lives saved by immunization, and 23 million lives lost due to defunding trends.
  2. Humanitarian Funding Amounts
    • UN humanitarian funding cut by 40%, totaling $15 billion in 2025.
  3. Service Coverage and Access
    • Number of clients losing services (2 million lost completely, 6 million reduced), percentage of health facilities closed or reduced services.
    • Percentage of children in conflict zones without access to malnutrition treatment (nearly 80%).
  4. Cost-effectiveness Metrics
    • Cost per vaccine shot ($2 in conflict zones vs. $75 in New York), improvements in malnutrition treatment cost-effectiveness by up to 30%.
  5. Conflict and Displacement Statistics
    • Number of wars ongoing (around 60), forcibly displaced people (122 million), people in humanitarian need (239 million).
  6. Aid Distribution Percentages
    • Proportion of aid going to fragile states (14% to Emergency Watchlist countries), middle-income countries (44%), and rich countries (13%).
    • Health and humanitarian interventions receiving 24% of total spending.
  7. Innovation and Anticipatory Action Funding
    • Less than 1% of global aid budget spent on anticipatory action.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 1: No Poverty Target 1.5: Build resilience of the poor and reduce exposure to shocks Number of people affected by poverty due to aid cuts; humanitarian need statistics
SDG 2: Zero Hunger Target 2.1 & 2.2: End hunger and malnutrition Percentage of children without access to malnutrition treatment; hunger statistics
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.2 & 3.3: End preventable child deaths; end epidemics of AIDS Child mortality rates; lives saved by immunization and AIDS relief; vaccine delivery numbers
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Promote inclusion of all Distribution of aid by country income and fragility status
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions Target 16.1: Reduce violence and related death rates Number of ongoing wars; forcibly displaced people; humanitarian need figures
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals Target 17.2 & 17.9: Fulfill ODA commitments; enhance capacity-building support Humanitarian funding amounts; percentage of aid spent on health and humanitarian interventions; funding for innovation and anticipatory action

Source: foreignpolicy.com

 

]]> WEAU investigates Burger King franchise operator over allegations of multi-state labor violations – WEAU https://sdgtalks.ai/weau-investigates-burger-king-franchise-operator-over-allegations-of-multi-state-labor-violations-weau https://sdgtalks.ai/weau-investigates-burger-king-franchise-operator-over-allegations-of-multi-state-labor-violations-weau Sun, 05 Jul 2026 17:30:07 -0500 sdgtalks WEAU, investigates, Burger, King, franchise, operator, over, allegations, multi-state, labor, violations, –, WEAU  

Investigation Report: Child Labor and Wage Violations by Cave Enterprises

Overview

WEAU has uncovered significant allegations of child labor and wage violations against Cave Enterprises, a Burger King franchise operator active in multiple states. This investigation highlights critical concerns related to labor rights and the protection of young workers, directly impacting several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

Findings from Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

Scope of Violations

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development identified 1,656 violations affecting nearly 1,400 young workers across 104 Burger King locations. This case is recognized as the largest child labor violation in modern Wisconsin history.

Types of Violations

  • Minors employed without work permits
  • Failure to provide legally mandated meal breaks
  • Non-payment of overtime wages
  • Employment of a 13-year-old at a Green Bay location, violating age restrictions

Legal and Financial Consequences

  1. Cave Enterprises owes over $237,000 in penalties.
  2. Deadline for payment set for February 25.
  3. Potential for court action and additional penalties if payment is not made.

Investigation Background

The investigation was initiated following 33 complaints filed between 2020 and 2023, revealing a systematic pattern of labor law violations. Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek emphasized the company’s awareness of employment laws and the seriousness of the infractions.

Multi-State Investigation and Legal Actions

Expansion Beyond Wisconsin

  • Cave Enterprises operates Burger King franchises in eight states, including Illinois and Minnesota.
  • WEAU has filed Freedom of Information requests with the Illinois Department of Labor to obtain records of complaints or enforcement actions.
  • Illinois authorities have engaged with Wisconsin counterparts to gather additional information.

Legal Proceedings in Minnesota

  • The city of Duluth has filed a lawsuit against Cave Enterprises for alleged violations of the city’s paid sick leave ordinance.
  • A hearing is scheduled for March 16, with a trial set for June 9, 2026.
  • The same legal representation is involved in both Wisconsin and Minnesota cases.

Prior Litigation in Wisconsin

In 2023, six Burger King managers and assistant managers in Milwaukee filed a lawsuit alleging unpaid overtime despite working over 40 hours per week. The case was settled for $2 million in Milwaukee County Court.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  • Ensuring fair wages and legal working conditions for all employees, including minors.
  • Promoting safe and equitable labor practices within franchise operations.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  • Protecting vulnerable youth workers from exploitation and illegal labor practices.
  • Addressing systemic inequalities in workplace treatment and compensation.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

  • Enforcing labor laws and holding corporations accountable.
  • Strengthening legal frameworks and cooperation between states for labor rights enforcement.

Next Steps and Ongoing Monitoring

  1. Monitoring Cave Enterprises’ compliance with the payment deadline and potential court actions.
  2. Tracking the Minnesota trial and further legal developments.
  3. Continuing multi-state investigations to ensure comprehensive enforcement of labor laws.
  4. Engaging with labor agencies to promote transparency and accountability.

WEAU remains committed to reporting on this case and its implications for labor rights and sustainable development.

Copyright 2026 WEAU. All rights reserved.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The article highlights issues related to child labor, wage violations, unpaid overtime, and lack of compliance with labor laws, all of which directly relate to promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • The enforcement of labor laws, legal actions, and multi-state investigations reflect the role of effective, accountable, and transparent institutions in upholding justice and protecting workers’ rights.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. Under SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including recruitment and use of child soldiers.
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
  2. Under SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. For SDG 8 Targets
    • Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in child labor, by sex and age.
    • Indicator 8.5.1: Employment rate, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities.
    • Indicator related to wage violations: Number of labor law violations related to wage and hour laws (implied through reported wage violations and unpaid overtime).
  2. For SDG 16 Targets
    • Indicator 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population (implied through legal enforcement actions).
    • Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of the population satisfied with their last experience of public services (implied through effectiveness of labor enforcement agencies and transparency in handling complaints).

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.7: Eradicate forced labor and eliminate worst forms of child labor
  • 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all
  • 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 engaged in child labor
  • 8.5.1: Employment rate by sex, age, and disability status
  • Number of labor law violations related to wage and hour laws (implied)
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions
  • 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as proportion of prison population (implied)
  • 16.6.2: Population satisfaction with public services (implied)

Source: weau.com

 

]]> finds Denver-area restaurant employed minors to load hazardous equipment, work outside of legally allowed hours | U.S. Department of Labor – U.S. Department of Labor (.gov) https://sdgtalks.ai/finds-denver-area-restaurant-employed-minors-to-load-hazardous-equipment-work-outside-of-legally-allowed-hours-us-department-of-labor-us-department-of-labor-gov https://sdgtalks.ai/finds-denver-area-restaurant-employed-minors-to-load-hazardous-equipment-work-outside-of-legally-allowed-hours-us-department-of-labor-us-department-of-labor-gov Sun, 05 Jul 2026 17:30:07 -0500 sdgtalks finds, Denver-area, restaurant, employed, minors, load, hazardous, equipment, work, outside, legally, allowed, hours, U.S., Department, Labor, –, U.S., Department, Labor, .gov  

U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Uncovers Child Labor and Overtime Violations at Mt. Fuji Sushi & Hibachi

Overview of Findings

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) conducted an investigation into Mt. Fuji Hibachi Inc., operating as Mt. Fuji Sushi & Hibachi, a full-service restaurant located in Aurora. The investigation revealed multiple violations of federal labor laws, including child labor infractions and failure to compensate employees for earned overtime pay.

Child Labor Violations

  1. A 17-year-old employee was assigned to operate a trash compactor, a hazardous task prohibited for workers under 18, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) child labor provisions.
  2. Fourteen workers aged 14 and 15 were permitted to work beyond legally allowed hours, including later and longer shifts than federal law permits.

According to federal regulations:

  • Children aged 14 and 15 may not work later than 7 p.m. between the day after Labor Day and May 31.
  • They may not work later than 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.
  • They cannot work more than eight hours per day on non-school days.

Overtime Pay Violations

  • Some employees were not paid the required time-and-one-half overtime rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek; instead, they received straight time pay.
  • Other employees were not compensated at all for overtime hours worked.
  • The total amount recovered in back wages due to overtime violations was $20,213.

Enforcement Actions and Penalties

  • The employer has paid a civil money penalty of $22,249 for child labor violations in addition to back wages.
  • The Wage and Hour Division remains committed to enforcing labor laws that protect minors and ensure fair compensation for all workers.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This enforcement action supports several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – by promoting safe working conditions and fair wages, the DOL ensures inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
  • SDG 4: Quality Education – by enforcing child labor laws, the department helps keep children in school and out of hazardous work environments.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – by protecting vulnerable youth workers, the DOL contributes to reducing inequalities in the workplace.

Resources and Initiatives

The Department of Labor offers several programs and resources to support compliance and promote safe work environments for youth:

  • YouthRules Initiative: Provides information on protections for young workers targeting youth, parents, employers, and educators to foster safe and educational work experiences.
  • Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers: Guidelines to help employers comply with child labor laws.
  • PAID Program: Allows employers to self-report and resolve potential violations related to minimum wage, overtime, and Family and Medical Leave Act.
  • Back Wage Search Tool: Enables workers to check if they are owed back wages collected by the Wage and Hour Division.
  • Free Timesheet App: Available for iOS and Android devices to help workers track hours and pay.

Conclusion

The DOL’s investigation and enforcement actions at Mt. Fuji Sushi & Hibachi underscore the importance of adherence to labor laws that protect young workers and ensure fair compensation. These efforts contribute directly to advancing Sustainable Development Goals by promoting decent work, protecting youth, and fostering equitable economic opportunities.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The article focuses on labor law violations, including child labor and unpaid overtime, which directly relate to promoting decent work conditions and economic growth.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • By enforcing child labor laws that restrict hazardous work and excessive hours for minors, the article indirectly supports ensuring children remain in school and receive quality education.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • The enforcement actions by the Department of Labor exemplify strong institutions upholding labor laws and justice.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
    • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.1: Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. SDG 8 Indicators
    • Indicator 8.5.1: Employment rate by sex, age, and persons with disabilities.
    • Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in child labor, by sex and age.
    • Number of workers receiving back wages and penalties recovered as a measure of enforcement effectiveness.
  2. SDG 4 Indicators
    • Indicator 4.1.2: Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education).
    • Implied reduction in child labor allowing children to attend school.
  3. SDG 16 Indicators
    • Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
    • Number of labor law violations identified and penalties imposed as a measure of rule of law enforcement.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including young people.
  • 8.7: Eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery, and eliminate worst forms of child labor.
  • 8.5.1: Employment rate by sex, age, and disability status.
  • 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5–17 engaged in child labor.
  • Number of workers receiving back wages and penalties recovered.
SDG 4: Quality Education
  • 4.1: Ensure all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education.
  • 4.1.2: Completion rate of primary and secondary education.
  • Implied reduction in child labor enabling school attendance.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice.
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims reporting victimization to authorities.
  • Number of labor law violations identified and penalties imposed.

Source: dol.gov

 

]]> Kevin Franke and Shari Franke: Child abuse is a serious problem in Utah. We cannot solve it with the status quo. – The Salt Lake Tribune https://sdgtalks.ai/kevin-franke-and-shari-franke-child-abuse-is-a-serious-problem-in-utah-we-cannot-solve-it-with-the-status-quo-the-salt-lake-tribune https://sdgtalks.ai/kevin-franke-and-shari-franke-child-abuse-is-a-serious-problem-in-utah-we-cannot-solve-it-with-the-status-quo-the-salt-lake-tribune Sun, 05 Jul 2026 17:30:07 -0500 sdgtalks Kevin, Franke, and, Shari, Franke:, Child, abuse, serious, problem, Utah., cannot, solve, with, the, status, quo., –, The, Salt, Lake, Tribune  

Report on Child Welfare Reform Advocacy in Utah

Background and Context

Kevin Franke and his eldest daughter, Shari Franke, have emerged as advocates for child welfare reform in Utah following the tragic abuse of Kevin’s two youngest children. The children were subjected to prolonged and severe abuse by their mother, Ruby Franke, and licensed counselor Jodi Hildebrandt, both of whom have pleaded guilty to multiple counts of felony child abuse and are currently incarcerated.

Case Details and Challenges in Child Protection

  1. Ruby Franke withdrew the children from public school under the pretext of homeschooling.
  2. The children were isolated and hidden from public view, including relocation to a remote desert home in southern Utah.
  3. Repeated attempts by state social workers from the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to communicate were ignored.
  4. Police and DCFS caseworkers were denied access when attempting to intervene.

These actions created significant barriers for authorities to verify the children’s safety, resulting in months of unchecked abuse. The situation was only resolved when the children were rescued in August 2023, following a courageous escape by one of the children.

Advocacy for Child Welfare Reform and SDG Alignment

Kevin and Shari Franke have since become vocal proponents for reforming child welfare laws in Utah, emphasizing the need to protect children’s rights and wellbeing while balancing parental rights. Their advocacy aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly:

  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensuring children’s physical and mental health through protection from abuse.
  • SDG 4: Quality Education – Highlighting the risks of unregulated homeschooling in cases of abuse.
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Promoting effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions to safeguard children’s rights.
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – Addressing systemic issues that may contribute to child abuse and neglect.

Proposed Legislative Solutions: SB0124

The Frankes support Utah Senate Bill 0124 (SB0124), a bipartisan legislative proposal designed to:

  • Establish a legal framework allowing courts to authorize safety checks on children when credible concerns arise and access is denied.
  • Enhance judicial oversight to ensure interventions are proportional, transparent, and focused on prevention.
  • Address root causes such as housing instability and behavioral health needs through early engagement with support services.
  • Clarify procedures around investigative and search warrants to enable timely assessments and reduce trauma from unnecessary family separations.

This bill aims to balance the protection of children’s wellbeing with respect for parental rights, thereby advancing SDG 16 by strengthening justice and institutional responses to child abuse.

Urgency and Call to Action

The Frankes emphasize the increasing prevalence of child abuse in Utah, citing recent cases such as the death of Gavin Peterson. They stress that current laws often delay intervention until it is too late, underscoring the need for immediate legislative action.

They call on Utah residents to support SB0124 by contacting their state representatives, advocating for a system that prioritizes child safety while respecting family integrity.

Conclusion

The advocacy efforts by Kevin and Shari Franke highlight critical gaps in child welfare protections in Utah and propose actionable reforms aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Implementing SB0124 represents a significant step toward ensuring the safety, health, and rights of children, contributing to a more just and equitable society.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Focus on child welfare, prevention of abuse, and mental and physical health of children.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Issues related to homeschooling and access to education as children were pulled out of public school.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Child protection laws, judicial oversight, and legal reforms to prevent abuse and ensure justice.
  4. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Implicitly connected through the focus on protecting children and addressing abuse within families.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.
    • Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.1: Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.
    • Target 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Child Abuse Incidence and Mortality Rates
    • Statistics on child abuse cases in Utah and deaths such as that of Gavin Peterson indicate measurement of abuse prevalence and mortality.
  2. Access to Child Welfare Services
    • Indicators related to the responsiveness of child welfare authorities (e.g., DCFS outreach attempts, cooperation rates from parents).
  3. Legal and Judicial Actions
    • Number of cases where courts authorize safety checks or interventions under laws like SB0124.
    • Effectiveness of red flag laws in preventing abuse and enabling timely intervention.
  4. Educational Enrollment and Attendance
    • Monitoring children’s enrollment status, especially those withdrawn from public schooling for homeschooling without oversight.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.2: End preventable deaths of children under 5 years.
  • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being.
  • Child abuse incidence and mortality rates (e.g., deaths like Gavin Peterson).
  • Mental health status of children affected by abuse.
SDG 4: Quality Education
  • 4.1: Ensure completion of free, equitable, quality primary and secondary education.
  • 4.5: Eliminate disparities and ensure equal access to education.
  • Enrollment and attendance rates, especially monitoring homeschooling withdrawals.
  • Access to educational oversight and support.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and violence against children.
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice.
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, transparent institutions.
  • Number of child welfare interventions authorized by courts (e.g., under SB0124).
  • Rates of cooperation with child welfare authorities.
  • Effectiveness and enforcement of red flag laws.

Source: sltrib.com

 

]]> Climate Change, Health and the Role of Geneva – Geneva Environment Network https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-health-and-the-role-of-geneva-geneva-environment-network https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-health-and-the-role-of-geneva-geneva-environment-network Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:30:04 -0500 sdgtalks Climate, Change, Health, and, the, Role, Geneva, –, Geneva, Environment, Network  

Report on Climate Change and Health: Emphasizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. Importance of Addressing Climate Change for Health

Climate change is recognized as a critical global public health challenge, directly impacting environmental conditions and social determinants of health such as clean air, safe water, food security, and livelihoods. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies climate change as a fundamental threat to human health and highlights its pressure on health systems worldwide. Research indicates that 1 in 12 hospitals globally face high risks of shutdown due to climate hazards, demonstrating vulnerability in health infrastructure.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that 3.6 billion people live in areas highly susceptible to climate change, exposing vast populations to health risks including increased illness and mortality. The Lancet Countdown reports intensifying health risks from heat exposure, extreme weather, and infectious diseases.

Without urgent action, WHO estimates approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrheal diseases, and heat stress. Climate change acts as a “threat multiplier,” undermining progress in global health and development, and stressing health systems.

“Climate change is an unavoidable reality that challenges public health, threatens historic health achievements, and adds pressure on already overwhelmed systems. Protecting lives, reducing inequalities, and bolstering the resilience of health systems are ethical and democratic imperatives.”

– COP30 Special Report on Health and Climate Change by the Ministry of Health of Brazil and the WHO

2. Climate Change and Health: Key Impacts

Climate change affects health through multiple interconnected pathways, influencing both direct health outcomes and underlying determinants:

  • Heat and Extreme Weather: Increased temperatures and frequent heatwaves, floods, storms, and wildfires lead to higher mortality, injuries, and health emergencies. Heat stress is a leading cause of climate-related deaths, especially among older populations.
  • Air Pollution: Fossil fuel combustion and wildfires worsen air quality, increasing respiratory diseases, cardiovascular conditions, and cancers. Climate mitigation offers health co-benefits through cleaner air.
  • Food and Water Security: Disruptions in agriculture and water systems affect food availability and quality, contributing to malnutrition and food insecurity. Changing rainfall patterns increase water scarcity and waterborne diseases.
  • Infectious Diseases: Altered temperature and precipitation patterns change the distribution of vector-borne and waterborne diseases like malaria, dengue, and cholera.
  • Mental Health: Climate disasters and environmental degradation contribute to anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and other mental health issues, compounded by social disruption and displacement.

These impacts are interconnected, creating complex risks for individuals and health systems.

Climate change risk pathways infographic

Source: WHO

2.1 Impacts on Health Systems

Climate change strains health systems by damaging infrastructure, disrupting services, and increasing healthcare demand. Extreme heat causes hospital overcrowding and worsens patient outcomes. The health workforce faces reduced productivity and higher occupational risks. These pressures threaten progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and highlight the need for climate-resilient, sustainable health infrastructure.

3. Inequality and Vulnerability in Climate-Health Impacts

Health impacts of climate change are unevenly distributed, disproportionately affecting those least responsible for emissions:

  • Low-income countries, small island developing states, and fragile contexts face the greatest risks due to limited resources and weaker health infrastructure. One billion people in low- and lower-middle-income countries rely on healthcare facilities with unreliable or no electricity.
  • Vulnerable populations including children, elderly, migrants, and those with pre-existing conditions are more exposed to climate-sensitive health risks.

Factors Shaping Vulnerability and Risk:

Vulnerability depends on exposure to climate hazards, sensitivity of populations and systems, and capacity to adapt and respond, explaining differing health outcomes across regions.

Climate vulnerability indicators

Source: Adapted from Springer Nature Article on Climate Vulnerability (2026)

4. Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change and Health

Climate change is also a human rights issue, affecting rights to health, life, food, water, housing, development, and a clean environment. The UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly affirm the importance of a healthy environment for full enjoyment of human rights.

A human rights-based approach includes:

  • Right to Health and Underlying Conditions: Extends beyond healthcare access to include clean air, safe water, adequate food, and a healthy environment. Climate change impacts physical and mental health, including anxiety and trauma.
  • Access to Participation, Information, and Justice: Emphasizes community engagement in climate and health policy for inclusive and equitable responses.
  • Translating Commitments into Implementation: Requires states to respect, protect, and fulfill health rights through mitigation, adaptation, information access, participation, accountability, resource allocation, and monitoring.

This approach prioritizes equity, participation, accountability, and non-discrimination, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals such as SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

4.1 Human Rights Instruments Addressing Climate and Health

Human rights mechanisms in Geneva, including the Human Rights Council, Special Procedures, and Treaty Bodies, play pivotal roles in addressing climate-related health impacts and clarifying state obligations.

  • Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Committees monitor treaty implementation and have issued statements and recommendations linking climate change, health, and human rights. Examples include:
    • Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – General Comment No. 27 (2025) on environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
    • Committee on the Rights of the Child – General Comment No. 26 (2023) on children’s rights and environment with focus on climate change.
  • Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): Highlights climate change as a profound threat to the right to health, presenting analytical studies and facilitating policy guidance.
  • Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council: Independent experts produce reports on issues such as clean air, fossil fuel phase-out, and health rights, emphasizing the intersection of climate and health.

“Limiting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is essential. Protecting the right to health requires rights-based, effective, participatory climate mitigation and adaptation benefiting vulnerable populations.”

– Analytical study on climate change and the right to health (A/HRC/32/23)

5. Climate Action as an Opportunity for Health Improvement

Climate action offers significant public health and economic benefits through mitigation and adaptation measures that deliver health co-benefits:

  • Improving Air Quality: Reducing emissions improves air quality, potentially preventing around 7 million premature deaths annually (WHO), decreasing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
  • Promoting Healthier Diets: Sustainable food systems support nutrition and reduce environmental pressures.
  • Encouraging Active Mobility: Urban policies promoting walking and cycling reduce emissions and improve physical and mental health.
  • Strengthening Health Systems: Investing in climate-resilient, sustainable health infrastructure improves preparedness and care continuity.

Economic benefits include reduced healthcare costs and increased productivity. Studies show health benefits of mitigation can match or exceed climate action costs. For example, investments in resilient energy for healthcare could avert thousands of deaths and generate significant economic returns in countries like Tanzania and Pakistan.

These findings underscore climate action as both an environmental necessity and a public health opportunity, requiring integrated, equitable, and human rights-aligned approaches consistent with SDGs 3, 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 13.

6. Global Initiatives Addressing Climate Change and Health

International initiatives focus on strengthening health systems, mobilizing finance, generating evidence, and integrating health into climate governance:

6.1 Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH)

ATACH supports over 100 countries in building climate-resilient, low-carbon health systems, translating COP26 commitments into action. It facilitates:

  • Development of national adaptation plans and vulnerability assessments
  • Access to climate finance for health
  • Integration of climate and health policies

Five thematic working groups address financing, resilience, low-carbon systems, supply chains, and nutrition.

6.2 Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP) at COP30

BHAP places health at the center of climate adaptation, focusing on:

  • Strengthening system flexibility and resilience
  • Advancing health equity
  • Scaling up climate-health finance
  • Investing in evaluation systems
  • Accelerating mitigation to protect health

Supported by the Climate and Health Funders Coalition, BHAP provides a framework for health-centered climate action.

6.3 Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative

Launched by UNICEF, UNEP, and the World Bank, this initiative protects children’s health from climate and environmental risks by:

  • Advocating for policy change prioritizing children’s environmental health
  • Strengthening evidence and data sharing
  • Catalyzing implementation linking global dialogue with country action

6.4 COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health

Adopted by over 120 countries, the Declaration commits to:

  • Strengthening climate-resilient health systems
  • Reducing health sector emissions
  • Integrating health into climate policies
  • Improving preparedness for climate-related health risks

The Declaration mobilized over $1 billion for climate and health action and established the first Health Day at a COP.

6.5 UNICEF Healthy Environments for Healthy Children Initiative

This initiative aims to prevent 26% of deaths in children under five by addressing environmental risks, supporting integration of climate considerations into health, education, and community programs. Key actions include:

  1. Mobilizing collective action
  2. Enhancing primary health care
  3. Improving resilience in health facilities
  4. Integrating climate and environmental education
  5. Empowering children and youth as agents of change

6.6 Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health (2025-2028)

Adopted by WHO Member States, the plan prioritizes:

  • Integrating health into climate policies
  • Strengthening evidence base
  • Advancing adaptation and mitigation
  • Ensuring climate-resilient, sustainable health systems

6.7 Global Climate and Health Alliance

A network of over 200 organizations and 46 million health professionals advocating for health-centered climate action by:

  • Mobilizing the climate and health community
  • Influencing policy and legal frameworks
  • Advocating equitable fossil fuel phase-out
  • Strengthening research and evidence
  • Engaging the public on health risks

6.8 World Economic Forum (WEF) Climate and Health Initiative

WEF addresses systemic climate-health impacts across economies, focusing on:

  • Strengthening workforce resilience
  • Generating economic and health impact evidence
  • Assessing and supporting adaptation strategies
  • Mobilizing finance and partnerships
  • Facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration

7. Role of Geneva in Climate Change and Health

7.1 International Geneva

Geneva hosts UN entities, international organizations, research institutions, and civil society, providing a platform for norm-setting, scientific assessment, policy coordination, and dialogue on climate and health.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

FAO addresses climate-health links through agrifood systems, food security, and nutrition, promoting resilient, sustainable, health-sensitive food systems and participating in the Quadripartite One Health collaboration.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Global Fund integrates climate considerations into health programs, supporting climate-resilient health systems and financing through initiatives like the Climate and Health Catalytic Fund.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

ICRC addresses the “triple threat” of climate change, conflict, and health emergencies, strengthening resilience in fragile settings.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

IPCC provides scientific evidence on climate impacts on health, emphasizing climate change as a risk multiplier and the need for integrated approaches.

International Labour Organization (ILO)

ILO focuses on occupational health risks from climate change, promoting safe, climate-resilient work environments.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

MSF delivers medical assistance in climate-affected contexts and advocates for attention to climate-health impacts.

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

OHCHR advances a human rights-based approach to climate and health, promoting accountability and equity.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

UNDP supports integration of climate and health into development planning and adaptation strategies.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP advances environmental health dimensions, including pollution and ecosystem degradation, supporting integrated climate-health responses.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF addresses disproportionate climate impacts on children’s health and supports child-centered climate-health initiatives.

World Economic Forum (WEF)

WEF promotes economic perspectives on climate-health risks, mobilizing investment and collaboration.

World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO leads global climate and health efforts, providing guidance and supporting climate-resilient health systems through initiatives like the WHO Global Strategy on Health, Environment and Climate Change.

WHO-WMO Joint Climate and Health Programme

This programme strengthens climate-informed health decision-making by linking meteorological services with health authorities, including early warning systems for climate-related health risks.

7.2 Swiss and Geneva-based Initiatives

Switzerland and Geneva host academic, policy, and research actors advancing the climate-health agenda:

Climate Action Accelerator (CAA)

CAA supports climate-smart healthcare models and decarbonization roadmaps in multiple countries, providing tools for vulnerability assessments and implementation support.

Geneva Graduate Institute

The Institute conducts research and policy analysis on climate, health, and development, hosting centers focused on global health governance and sustainability.

Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)

Swiss TPH researches climate-related health impacts, including vector-borne diseases and heat-related health risks, supporting surveillance and adaptation strategies globally.

University of Geneva

The University offers interdisciplinary education and research on planetary health and climate-health linkages, training professionals for integrated climate and health responses.

8. Conclusion

Addressing climate change is essential for protecting global health and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Integrated, equitable, and human rights-based approaches are critical to strengthening health systems, reducing vulnerabilities, and leveraging climate action as an opportunity to improve public health and sustainable development worldwide.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The article focuses extensively on health impacts of climate change, including increased mortality, disease burden, and health system resilience.
  • SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Climate change impacts on water security and waterborne diseases are discussed.
  • SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The article highlights the importance of resilient energy access in healthcare facilities.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Unequal distribution of climate health impacts on vulnerable populations and low-income countries is emphasized.
  • SDG 13: Climate Action – Central to the article, focusing on mitigation, adaptation, and integration of health into climate policies.
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Through the human rights-based approach to climate and health, including access to justice and participation.
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – The article describes numerous global partnerships and initiatives addressing climate and health.

2. Specific Targets Under Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)
    • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection and access to quality essential health-care services.
    • Target 3.d: Strengthen the capacity of all countries for early warning, risk reduction, and management of health risks.
  2. SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)
    • Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water.
    • Target 6.2: Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene.
  3. SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)
    • Target 7.1: Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services.
  4. SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all.
  5. SDG 13 (Climate Action)
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
  6. SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)
    • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
  7. SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)
    • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  • Health System Resilience Indicators: Number of hospitals at risk of climate hazards; capacity of health systems to respond to climate-related health emergencies.
  • Mortality and Morbidity Rates: Additional deaths per year due to climate-related causes (e.g., 250,000 additional deaths between 2030-2050); incidence of climate-sensitive diseases such as malaria, dengue, diarrhoeal diseases.
  • Access to Services: Proportion of healthcare facilities with reliable access to electricity; access to clean air, safe water, and adequate food.
  • Climate Finance Mobilization: Amount of climate and health finance mobilized (e.g., over $1 billion commitments at COP28).
  • Participation and Equity Metrics: Inclusion of vulnerable populations in climate-health policies; measures of health equity and reduction of inequalities.
  • Emission Reduction Indicators: Reduction in emissions from the health sector; progress in phasing out fossil fuels.
  • Early Warning Systems: Implementation and effectiveness of climate-informed health early warning systems (e.g., heat health information networks).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.8: Universal health coverage
  • 3.d: Strengthen capacity for health risk management
  • Number of hospitals at risk of climate hazards
  • Additional deaths due to climate-related causes
  • Incidence of climate-sensitive diseases
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • 6.1: Access to safe drinking water
  • 6.2: Access to sanitation and hygiene
  • Access to safe water and sanitation in vulnerable populations
  • Incidence of waterborne diseases
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 7.1: Universal access to modern energy services
  • Proportion of healthcare facilities with reliable electricity
  • Investment in resilient energy systems for health
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Social, economic and political inclusion
  • Measures of health equity and inclusion of vulnerable groups
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies
  • 13.3: Improve education and capacity on climate change
  • Implementation of climate-resilient health systems
  • Reduction in health sector emissions
  • Existence and use of early warning systems
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.7: Inclusive decision-making
  • Levels of public participation in climate-health policy
  • Access to justice and accountability mechanisms
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.17: Promote effective partnerships
  • Number and scope of climate-health partnerships and initiatives
  • Mobilized climate and health finance

Source: genevaenvironmentnetwork.org

 

]]> State Police arrest Fort Edward man for possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material – New York State Police (.gov) https://sdgtalks.ai/state-police-arrest-fort-edward-man-for-possessing-child-sexual-abuse-material-new-york-state-police-gov https://sdgtalks.ai/state-police-arrest-fort-edward-man-for-possessing-child-sexual-abuse-material-new-york-state-police-gov Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks State, Police, arrest, Fort, Edward, man, for, possessing, Child, Sexual, Abuse, Material, –, New, York, State, Police, .gov  

Report on the Arrest of Willis E. Arthur for Possession of Child Sexual Exploitation Material

Incident Overview

On March 12, 2026, the State Police of Wilton, supported by the Troop G Computer Crimes Unit, arrested Willis E. Arthur, 33, of Fort Edward, NY. Arthur was charged with Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child, classified as a class “E” felony.

Investigation Details

  1. On March 15, 2025, the State Police received information regarding possible inappropriate contact between a child and an adult.
  2. The investigation revealed that Willis E. Arthur was allegedly in possession of an image consistent with child sexual exploitation.

Arrest and Legal Proceedings

  • Arthur was arrested at his residence and transported to the State Police Wilton barracks for processing.
  • He was arraigned at the Moreau Town Court.
  • Following arraignment, Arthur was released under the supervision of the Saratoga County Probation Department.

Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This case highlights the critical importance of advancing several Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The arrest and prosecution demonstrate the commitment to promoting justice and protecting children from exploitation through effective law enforcement and judicial processes.
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – Protecting children, particularly vulnerable girls, from sexual exploitation supports the goal of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Preventing child sexual exploitation contributes to the physical and psychological well-being of children, ensuring safe and supportive environments.

Continued efforts in law enforcement, community awareness, and victim support are essential to uphold these goals and safeguard the rights and dignity of children.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses law enforcement actions against child sexual exploitation, which relates to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice, and building effective institutions.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Although not explicitly mentioned, the issue of child sexual exploitation often disproportionately affects girls and women, linking to the goal of eliminating violence against women and girls.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Protecting children from sexual exploitation contributes to their physical and mental health and well-being.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified in the Article

  1. SDG 16 Targets
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
  2. SDG 5 Targets
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  3. SDG 3 Targets
    • Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being, which includes protection from abuse and exploitation.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article for Measuring Progress

  1. Indicator for Target 16.2:
    • Number of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse reported, investigated, and prosecuted (implied by the arrest and investigation described).
  2. Indicator for Target 16.3:
    • Proportion of victims who have access to justice and legal remedies (implied by the arraignment and supervision of the accused).
  3. Indicator for Target 5.2:
    • Prevalence of violence against children, especially sexual exploitation cases reported and addressed.
  4. Indicator for Target 3.4:
    • Prevalence of mental health issues related to abuse and exploitation (implied but not directly mentioned).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
  • 16.3: Promote the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice for all
  • Number of victims of sexual exploitation reported, investigated, and prosecuted
  • Proportion of victims with access to justice and legal remedies
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including trafficking and sexual exploitation
  • Prevalence of violence against children, especially sexual exploitation cases reported and addressed
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being
  • Prevalence of mental health issues related to abuse and exploitation (implied)

Source: troopers.ny.gov

 

]]> IDEM offering free well testing to track groundwater quality – WLFI News 18 https://sdgtalks.ai/idem-offering-free-well-testing-to-track-groundwater-quality-wlfi-news-18 https://sdgtalks.ai/idem-offering-free-well-testing-to-track-groundwater-quality-wlfi-news-18 Sun, 12 Apr 2026 05:00:15 -0500 sdgtalks IDEM, offering, free, well, testing, track, groundwater, quality, –, WLFI, News  

Indiana Department of Environmental Management Launches Free Well Water Testing Program

Overview of the Groundwater Monitoring Network Program

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has initiated a free well water testing program under its 2026 Groundwater Monitoring Network. This program aims to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, by ensuring safe and sustainable management of water resources.

Program Objectives and Sustainable Development Goals Alignment

  • Monitoring Groundwater Quality: IDEM collects samples from qualified private wells to monitor groundwater conditions, addressing SDG 6.3 which focuses on improving water quality by reducing pollution.
  • Identifying Environmental Impacts: The program identifies areas affected by natural geology or human activities, supporting SDG 15: Life on Land, by protecting terrestrial ecosystems and promoting sustainable land use.
  • Promoting Public Health: By encouraging regular water testing, IDEM contributes to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, ensuring access to safe drinking water and reducing health risks associated with contaminated water.

Eligibility and Participation Criteria

  1. Participants must be property owners residing in Indiana with an active private well.
  2. The well must be registered in the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Online Water Well Record Database.
  3. Homeowners are required to provide IDEM with a copy of their water well record; if unavailable, IDEM will attempt to retrieve it from the DNR database.
  4. Interested participants must complete the online survey by June 1st, 2026.

Program Implementation and Participation Details

  • IDEM will select a limited number of eligible participants to participate in the sampling process.
  • Sample collection is scheduled between June and October 2026.
  • Participation is voluntary, and individual test results will be communicated directly to homeowners.
  • The program emphasizes the importance of regular testing for private wells, which are not regulated, aligning with SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production by encouraging sustainable water use practices.

Additional Resources

For more information on the program and groundwater management, homeowners and stakeholders are encouraged to visit the official IDEM website at idem.IN.gov.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • The article discusses free well water testing to monitor groundwater quality, directly relating to ensuring availability and sustainable management of water.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • By encouraging regular testing of private wells, the program aims to protect public health from contaminated water sources.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Tracking groundwater conditions to identify impacts from natural geology or human activity supports sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Target 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals to protect water resources.
    • Target 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including groundwater.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.9: Reduce illnesses and deaths from hazardous chemicals and contaminated water.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.1: Ensure conservation and restoration of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Water Quality Indicators
    • The article implies the use of groundwater sample testing results to monitor water quality, which can be linked to indicators such as the proportion of water bodies with good ambient water quality.
  2. Coverage of Water Testing
    • Number or proportion of private wells tested and monitored through the Groundwater Monitoring Network program.
  3. Health Impact Indicators
    • Reduction in waterborne diseases or contamination-related health issues as a result of improved water quality monitoring and awareness.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution
  • 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
  • Groundwater quality test results from private wells
  • Proportion of water bodies with good ambient water quality
  • Number/proportion of private wells tested
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.9: Reduce illnesses and deaths from hazardous chemicals and contaminated water
  • Incidence of waterborne diseases linked to contaminated well water
  • Health outcomes related to water quality improvements
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.1: Conservation and restoration of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems
  • Monitoring data on groundwater conditions reflecting ecosystem health
  • Indicators of human impact on groundwater quality

Source: wlfi.com

 

]]> Tennessee bill regulating family influencers passes legislature – WSMV https://sdgtalks.ai/tennessee-bill-regulating-family-influencers-passes-legislature-wsmv https://sdgtalks.ai/tennessee-bill-regulating-family-influencers-passes-legislature-wsmv Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:00:09 -0500 sdgtalks Tennessee, bill, regulating, family, influencers, passes, legislature, –, WSMV  

New Tennessee Legislation Protects Children Featured in Online Content

Introduction

The state of Tennessee has enacted a new law requiring influencers who feature children in their monetized online content to compensate those children fairly. This legislation, known as SB1469, aims to protect children’s rights and financial interests in the digital economy, aligning with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

Key Provisions of SB1469

  1. Children under 14 years old are prohibited from earning money by posting their own content online.
  2. Children aged 14 to 18 are entitled to 100% of the earnings generated from content they post themselves.
  3. If a child appears in at least 30% of a creator’s monetized content within a 30-day period, the child must be compensated. The earnings must be placed in a trust fund accessible to the child upon reaching 18 years of age.
  4. Content creators are required to maintain detailed records, including:
    • Revenue generated from content
    • Percentage of content featuring the child
    • Funds allocated to the child’s trust
  5. Children aged 14 to 18 have the right to request removal of videos featuring them, and content creators must comply by deleting such videos.

Enforcement and Legislative Intent

  • The law will be enforced through civil actions; no criminal penalties are attached.
  • Senator Page Walley, the bill’s sponsor, emphasized that the legislation targets monetized content rather than casual or family videos, ensuring children benefit from the financial gains derived from their image and likeness.
  • The legislation reflects a growing recognition of children’s rights in the digital economy, promoting responsible content creation and economic justice.

Context and Implementation Timeline

  • The bill follows similar laws enacted in Illinois, California, Minnesota, and Utah, demonstrating a nationwide trend toward protecting child influencers.
  • Governor Bill Lee is expected to sign the bill, which will take effect on July 1, 2026.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This legislation contributes to the following SDGs:

  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – By ensuring fair compensation and protection for child labor in digital content creation.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – By safeguarding children’s rights to income generated from their participation in online media, reducing economic disparities.
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – Through the establishment of legal frameworks that protect vulnerable populations, including children, in emerging economic sectors.

Conclusion

The enactment of SB1469 marks a significant step toward protecting children’s rights in the digital age, ensuring they receive equitable financial benefits from online content featuring their image and participation. This law supports sustainable economic growth and social justice, in line with global development goals.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The article discusses new child labor law regulations aimed at protecting children featured in monetized online content, which relates to promoting decent work conditions and protecting labor rights.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The enforcement of the law through civil action and the protection of children’s rights in digital content reflect efforts to build effective, accountable institutions and ensure access to justice.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Ensuring children receive fair compensation for their contributions to online content addresses economic inequalities and promotes social inclusion.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
    • Target 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including vulnerable groups such as children.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators Related to SDG 8 Targets
    • Proportion of children aged 5-17 engaged in child labor (implied through the focus on child labor laws).
    • Number of children receiving compensation for online content participation (implied by the requirement to pay children and set aside money in trust).
    • Compliance rate of content creators in maintaining records of monetized content involving children.
  2. Indicators Related to SDG 16 Targets
    • Number of civil actions taken to enforce child labor protections in online content (implied by enforcement through civil action).
    • Existence and effectiveness of legal frameworks protecting children’s rights in digital media.
  3. Indicators Related to SDG 10 Targets
    • Proportion of children benefiting financially from their participation in online content (implied by the law requiring compensation and trust funds).

4. SDGs, Targets and Indicators Table

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.7: Eradicate the worst forms of child labor
  • 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe working environments
  • Proportion of children aged 5-17 engaged in child labor
  • Number of children compensated for online content participation
  • Compliance rate of content creators in record-keeping
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable institutions
  • Number of civil actions enforcing child labor protections
  • Existence and effectiveness of legal frameworks for children’s digital rights
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion of all ages
  • Proportion of children financially benefiting from online content participation

Source: wsmv.com

 

]]> Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal now Endangered due to climate change – IUCN Red List – Press release – International Union for Conservation of Nature https://sdgtalks.ai/emperor-penguin-and-antarctic-fur-seal-now-endangered-due-to-climate-change-iucn-red-list-press-release-international-union-for-conservation-of-nature https://sdgtalks.ai/emperor-penguin-and-antarctic-fur-seal-now-endangered-due-to-climate-change-iucn-red-list-press-release-international-union-for-conservation-of-nature Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:30:12 -0500 sdgtalks Emperor, penguin, and, Antarctic, fur, seal, now, Endangered, due, climate, change, –, IUCN, Red, List, –, Press, release, –, International, Union, for, Conservation, Nature  

Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Antarctic Wildlife and Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Emperor Penguin Chicks on Rothschild Island

Introduction

Recent assessments by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reveal alarming declines in key Antarctic species, notably the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella), and southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina). These findings highlight the urgent need for global action to address climate change, directly linking to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Key Findings and Species Status

  1. Emperor Penguin

    • Status change: From Near Threatened to Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
    • Population decline: Projected to halve by the 2080s; satellite data shows a 10% loss between 2009 and 2018 (~20,000 adults).
    • Main threat: Early break-up and loss of sea-ice habitat due to climate change.
    • Ecological role: Dependent on fast ice for breeding and moulting; vulnerable to habitat loss caused by rising temperatures.
    • SDG relevance: Highlights the critical need for urgent climate action (SDG 13) and conservation of marine ecosystems (SDG 14).

  2. Antarctic Fur Seal

    • Status change: From Least Concern to Endangered.
    • Population decline: Over 50% decrease from approximately 2,187,000 mature seals in 1999 to 944,000 in 2025.
    • Primary causes: Climate change-induced ocean warming and sea-ice reduction pushing krill to deeper waters, reducing food availability.
    • Additional threats: Predation and competition with recovering baleen whale populations.
    • SDG relevance: Emphasizes the importance of sustainable ocean management (SDG 14) and climate mitigation efforts (SDG 13).

  3. Southern Elephant Seal

    • Status change: From Least Concern to Vulnerable.
    • Cause of decline: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks since 2020, exacerbated by climate change.
    • Impact: High mortality rates in newborn pups and adult females; increased disease vulnerability linked to warming polar regions.
    • SDG relevance: Underlines the need for health monitoring of wildlife (SDG 15) and climate resilience strategies (SDG 13).

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 13 – Climate Action: The decline of Antarctic species due to climate-induced habitat loss and disease highlights the urgent need for global greenhouse gas emission reductions.
  • SDG 14 – Life Below Water: Protecting marine biodiversity in Antarctica is crucial for maintaining ecosystem services and food security.
  • SDG 15 – Life on Land: Conservation of terrestrial and marine species in polar regions supports biodiversity and ecosystem health.
  • SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: Calls for international cooperation, especially among Parties to the Antarctic Treaty, to enhance data collection and monitoring efforts.

Expert Statements

  • Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General: Emphasizes Antarctica’s irreplaceable role in climate stabilization and biodiversity conservation, urging action across all sectors.
  • Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife International: Warns that the emperor penguin’s endangered status is a stark indicator of accelerating extinction risks driven by climate change.
  • Dr Philip Trathan, IUCN SSC Penguin Specialist Group: Identifies human-induced climate change as the primary threat to emperor penguins, highlighting their role as sentinel species.
  • Dr Kit Kovacs, Co-Chair of IUCN SSC Pinniped Specialist Group: Calls for enhanced monitoring of Antarctic seals to better understand climate change impacts.
  • Dr Kathleen Flower, Conservation International: Notes that the decline of penguins and seals reflects broader ecosystem degradation, emphasizing the need for climate-informed science and resources to prevent extinctions.

Recommendations

  1. Implement urgent and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions globally to mitigate climate change impacts (SDG 13).
  2. Enhance international collaboration under the Antarctic Treaty to improve monitoring and data collection on Antarctic species (SDG 17).
  3. Increase funding and support for climate-informed scientific research to better understand and address species decline (SDG 15).
  4. Promote conservation strategies that protect critical habitats such as sea-ice ecosystems vital for breeding and feeding (SDG 14).
  5. Raise public awareness and engage all sectors of society to support sustainable development and biodiversity conservation efforts.

Conclusion

The recent IUCN Red List assessments serve as a critical warning regarding the vulnerability of Antarctic wildlife to climate change. The endangered status of the emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal, along with the vulnerable status of the southern elephant seal, underscores the urgent need for coordinated global action aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Protecting Antarctica’s unique ecosystems is essential not only for biodiversity but also for global climate stability and human well-being.

For further details, the assessments are available on the IUCN Red List pre-publication page.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • The article focuses heavily on the impacts of climate change on Antarctic wildlife, particularly emperor penguins and seals, emphasizing the urgent need to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change mitigation.
  2. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • The decline of marine species such as emperor penguins, Antarctic fur seals, and southern elephant seals due to changing sea-ice conditions and ocean temperatures relates directly to the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Although focused on marine and ice-dependent species, the article’s emphasis on biodiversity loss and species extinction risk connects to the broader goal of protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and halting biodiversity loss.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified Based on the Article’s Content

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
  2. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration.
    • Target 14.4: Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and destructive fishing practices.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and protect endangered species.
    • Target 15.8: Introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article to Measure Progress Towards the Identified Targets

  1. Population Trends of Key Species
    • The article provides data on population declines of emperor penguins (population halving by 2080s, 10% loss between 2009-2018), Antarctic fur seals (over 50% decline from 1999 to 2025), and southern elephant seals (increased vulnerability due to disease).
    • These population trends serve as biological indicators of ecosystem health and the impact of climate change on biodiversity (relevant to SDG 14 and 15 targets).
  2. Sea-Ice Extent and Duration
    • Record lows in sea-ice since 2016 and early break-up of fast ice are highlighted as critical factors affecting species survival, serving as environmental indicators linked to climate change impacts (relevant to SDG 13 and 14).
  3. Incidence and Impact of Disease
    • The spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) affecting southern elephant seals is mentioned as an emerging threat exacerbated by climate change, indicating the need to monitor disease prevalence as an indicator of ecosystem vulnerability.
  4. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Decarbonization Efforts
    • While not quantified in the article, the call for urgent decarbonization implies the use of emissions data as an indicator for climate action progress (SDG 13).

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
  • 13.3: Improve education and capacity on climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Trends in greenhouse gas emissions (implied)
  • Changes in sea-ice extent and duration (record lows since 2016)
  • Population trends of climate-sensitive species (emperor penguins, seals)
SDG 14: Life Below Water
  • 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine ecosystems
  • 14.4: Regulate harvesting and end overfishing
  • Population decline rates of emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals
  • Availability of krill as a food source for seals (implied through food scarcity)
  • Sea-ice conditions affecting marine habitats
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.5: Reduce degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss
  • 15.8: Reduce impact of invasive species and diseases
  • Population status changes of southern elephant seals (Least Concern to Vulnerable)
  • Incidence and impact of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) on marine mammals
  • Monitoring of species population trends and habitat conditions

Source: iucn.org

 

]]> Northwest Education Services opens Joseph C. Fisher Early Childhood & Family Center – 910news.com https://sdgtalks.ai/northwest-education-services-opens-joseph-c-fisher-early-childhood-family-center-910newscom https://sdgtalks.ai/northwest-education-services-opens-joseph-c-fisher-early-childhood-family-center-910newscom Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:00:06 -0500 sdgtalks Northwest, Education, Services, opens, Joseph, Fisher, Early, Childhood, Family, Center, –, 910news.com  

Report on the Development of New Childcare Facilities in Grand Traverse Region

Introduction

Northwest Education Services in Traverse City has initiated the construction of the Joseph C. Fisher Early Childhood and Family Center, aiming to address the critical shortage of childcare services in the Grand Traverse Region. This development aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Context and Need for Childcare Expansion

  • There is a significant shortage of childcare providers relative to the population, creating a high demand for childcare spots.
  • Michigan State University’s Licensed Child Care Deserts Data indicates that in Grand Traverse County, more than three children compete for a single daycare spot.
  • Families often join waitlists for childcare well before pregnancy, highlighting the urgency of accessible childcare services.
  • Childcare scarcity affects employment opportunities, as families sometimes cannot accept jobs due to lack of childcare.

Project Details and Objectives

  1. Facility Capacity: The new center will provide childcare for 8 children, including toddlers and newborns.
  2. Community Support: The center will feature indoor and outdoor spaces designed to foster community among families and provide access to professional support.
  3. Educational Opportunities: Students at Northwest Education Services will gain hands-on experience in early childhood development by working at the center.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 4 – Quality Education: The center offers practical learning opportunities for students interested in early childhood education, enhancing skills and career readiness.
  • SDG 5 – Gender Equality: By improving access to childcare, the project supports working parents, particularly women, enabling greater participation in the workforce.
  • SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: Addressing childcare shortages helps families accept employment opportunities, contributing to economic stability and growth.
  • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: The center promotes inclusive community spaces where families can connect and support each other.

Stakeholder Perspectives

  • Lauren Dake, Family Liaison: Emphasized the difficulty families face in finding childcare and the impact on employment decisions.
  • Robin Hornkohl, Collaborative Coordinator: Highlighted the gap in childcare services and the dedication of local providers, as well as the importance of quality hands-on learning for students.

Project Timeline

The Joseph C. Fisher Early Childhood and Family Center is scheduled to open in January 2026, marking a significant step toward improving childcare accessibility and supporting sustainable community development in the Grand Traverse Region.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education – The article discusses providing students with opportunities to learn about early childhood development and hands-on learning experiences in infant and toddler care.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – By increasing access to childcare, the article indirectly supports the well-being of children and families.
  3. SDG 5: Gender Equality – Access to childcare enables parents, especially women, to participate more fully in the workforce and education.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The creation of community spaces for families to connect supports inclusive and sustainable community development.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

  1. SDG 4 – Target 4.2: Ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
  2. SDG 3 – Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being, which can be supported by providing safe and supportive childcare environments.
  3. SDG 5 – Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure, and social protection policies.
  4. SDG 11 – Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces, particularly for vulnerable groups.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

  1. Indicator for SDG 4.2: Proportion of children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning, and psychosocial well-being, as well as the availability of licensed childcare spots relative to demand (implied by the “three-plus kids trying to get into one spot” data).
  2. Indicator for SDG 3.4: Access to quality childcare services that support mental health and well-being of children and families (implied by the creation of supportive childcare environments).
  3. Indicator for SDG 5.4: Number of childcare facilities available to support working parents, particularly women (implied by the new childcare center increasing capacity by 8 children).
  4. Indicator for SDG 11.7: Availability of community spaces for families to meet and connect (implied by the indoor and outdoor spaces for families at the center).

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 4: Quality Education Target 4.2: Access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education. Proportion of children under 5 developmentally on track; availability of licensed childcare spots vs. demand.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being. Access to quality childcare services supporting mental health and well-being.
SDG 5: Gender Equality Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through public services. Number of childcare facilities available to support working parents.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible public spaces. Availability of community spaces for families to meet and connect.

Source: 9and10news.com

 

]]> Professor brings industry experience to new digital and precision agriculture major – Iowa State University https://sdgtalks.ai/professor-brings-industry-experience-to-new-digital-and-precision-agriculture-major-iowa-state-university https://sdgtalks.ai/professor-brings-industry-experience-to-new-digital-and-precision-agriculture-major-iowa-state-university Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks Professor, brings, industry, experience, new, digital, and, precision, agriculture, major, –, Iowa, State, University  

Report on the Launch of the Digital and Precision Agriculture Major

Introduction

In alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), Iowa State University is introducing a new Digital and Precision Agriculture major starting Fall 2026. This program aims to equip students with advanced technological and data analysis skills to optimize crop and soil management, thereby supporting sustainable farming practices.

Program Overview

The major integrates hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools such as sensors, drones, and mapping software. It builds upon a strong foundation in agronomy and incorporates interdisciplinary coursework from agricultural systems technology, data science, and geographic information systems.

Educational Objectives and SDG Alignment

  • SDG 2 – Zero Hunger: By enhancing crop and soil management through technology, the program supports increased agricultural productivity and sustainable food production.
  • SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The program fosters innovation by teaching students to utilize advanced sensing and application technologies in agriculture.
  • SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: Emphasis on precision agriculture promotes efficient resource use and minimizes environmental impact.

Leadership and Expertise

Robert Gunzenhauser, an associate professor of practice in agronomy with over 30 years of industry experience, is a key leader in the program. His background in farming, consulting, and agricultural technology development enriches the curriculum with real-world insights.

Faculty Perspectives

  1. Amy Kaleita, Chair of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering: Highlights the program’s role in providing students with practical experience that integrates data, technology, and agronomic science to meet the demands of modern agriculture.
  2. Glen Ritchie, Chair of Agronomy: Emphasizes Gunzenhauser’s unique combination of industry expertise and academic leadership as vital for preparing students to lead in the evolving global agricultural sector.

Curriculum Structure

  • Introductory Course (DPA 2020): Launching in Fall 2026, this course introduces key concepts in digital precision agriculture.
  • Advanced Coursework: Builds on foundational knowledge with specialized technical, agronomic, and management skills.
  • Capstone Experience: Integrates learned skills through practical, real-world projects.

Teaching Approach

Gunzenhauser employs a contextual and application-focused teaching style, encouraging students to understand the strategic and tactical aspects of digital and precision agriculture. This approach supports the development of innovative solutions within an evolving agricultural landscape.

Practical Experience and Career Preparation

Students are encouraged to apply classroom knowledge through hands-on activities at learning farms, internships, and industry engagements, thereby enhancing their readiness for impactful careers that contribute to sustainable agricultural development.

Additional Information

Further details about the Digital and Precision Agriculture major can be found on the Digital and Precision Agriculture website.

Robert Gunzenhauser standing at the front of a classroom.
Robert Gunzenhauser, associate professor of practice of agronomy, uses a 3-D model to explain the relationship between topography and water flow, facilitating discussions on best practices in Agron 1900X.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • The article focuses on improving agricultural practices through digital and precision agriculture, which aims to increase crop and soil management efficiency, directly contributing to food security and sustainable agriculture.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • The launch of a new major in digital and precision agriculture emphasizes hands-on learning, interdisciplinary education, and skill development, aligning with the goal of inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities.
  3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • The integration of technology such as sensors, drones, and mapping software in agriculture promotes innovation and sustainable industrialization.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • By teaching students to use data and technology to make better land management decisions, the program supports sustainable consumption and production patterns in agriculture.
  5. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Improved soil and crop management practices contribute to the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and combat land degradation.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers through technology and sustainable practices.
    • Target 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.3: Ensure equal access for all to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education.
    • Target 4.4: Increase the number of youth and adults with relevant skills for employment and entrepreneurship.
  3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research and upgrade technological capabilities of industrial sectors.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
  5. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Use of Technology in Agriculture
    • Number or percentage of students trained in digital and precision agriculture technologies such as sensors, drones, and mapping software.
    • Adoption rate of precision agriculture tools by farmers, implied through the program’s goal to prepare skilled professionals.
  2. Educational Outcomes
    • Enrollment and graduation rates in the digital and precision agriculture major.
    • Employment rates of graduates in agriculture technology and related fields.
  3. Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability
    • Improvements in crop yields and soil health as a result of applying precision agriculture techniques.
    • Reduction in resource use (water, fertilizers) due to optimized management practices taught in the program.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  • 2.3: Double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale producers.
  • 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems.
  • Adoption rate of precision agriculture technologies by farmers.
  • Improvements in crop yields and soil health.
SDG 4: Quality Education
  • 4.3: Equal access to affordable and quality tertiary education.
  • 4.4: Increase youth and adults with relevant skills for employment.
  • Enrollment and graduation rates in the digital and precision agriculture major.
  • Employment rates of graduates in agriculture technology fields.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • 9.5: Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities.
  • Number of students trained in advanced sensing and application technologies.
  • Development and implementation of new agricultural technologies.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
  • Reduction in resource use (water, fertilizers) through precision agriculture.
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.3: Combat desertification and restore degraded land and soil.
  • Soil health improvement metrics linked to precision agriculture practices.

Source: cals.iastate.edu

 

]]> Tired of Guessing | What Adult Literacy Looks Like in Richmond – RVA Mag https://sdgtalks.ai/tired-of-guessing-what-adult-literacy-looks-like-in-richmond-rva-mag https://sdgtalks.ai/tired-of-guessing-what-adult-literacy-looks-like-in-richmond-rva-mag Mon, 06 Apr 2026 23:00:04 -0500 sdgtalks Tired, Guessing, What, Adult, Literacy, Looks, Like, Richmond, –, RVA, Mag  

Report on Adult Literacy Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals in Richmond

Introduction

This report highlights the critical issue of adult literacy in Richmond, as presented by Mary Graham, CEO of READ RVA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to adult literacy. The discussion emphasizes the intersection of literacy challenges with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Context and Challenges of Adult Literacy in Richmond

  1. Prevalence of Low Literacy: Approximately 100,000 adults in the greater Richmond area lack functional reading skills, impacting their daily lives and economic participation.
  2. Misconceptions about Literacy: Literacy is often assumed to be a childhood-acquired skill, yet many adults face literacy challenges due to economic instability, underfunded education systems, incarceration, immigration, and trauma.
  3. Invisible Struggles: Adults with low literacy frequently develop coping mechanisms to hide their difficulties, which include avoiding medical appointments, feigning tiredness to avoid homework help, and relying on others for tasks requiring reading.

Impact on Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 4 – Quality Education: Adult literacy programs like READ RVA contribute directly to inclusive and equitable quality education by providing learning opportunities beyond traditional schooling.
  • SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being: Literacy affects health outcomes as adults with low literacy may avoid healthcare due to complex paperwork, leading to untreated illnesses.
  • SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Addressing adult literacy reduces social and economic inequalities by empowering marginalized populations to participate fully in society.

Personal Narratives Illustrating Literacy Challenges

  • A man on Broad Street who silently sought help reading directions, illustrating the hidden nature of literacy struggles.
  • Parents knowledgeable about city bus routes but unable to read school notices, highlighting barriers to parental engagement in education.
  • Adults avoiding healthcare due to fear of paperwork, demonstrating the intersection of literacy and health.

Broader Social Implications

Adult literacy is not merely an educational issue but a matter of dignity and inclusion. The stigma and shame associated with low literacy perpetuate silence and exclusion, undermining community cohesion and economic development. Richmond’s resilience is notable, yet it masks the endurance required by adults navigating systems not designed for them.

Recommendations for Sustainable Development

  1. Integrate Adult Literacy into Core Community Planning: Recognize adult literacy as essential to belonging and participation in Richmond, not as a peripheral charity effort.
  2. Design Inclusive Systems: Develop services and communications that accommodate varying literacy levels to reduce barriers in healthcare, housing, and employment.
  3. Support Adult Learners with Respect and Resources: Provide accessible learning opportunities that acknowledge the courage and complexity of adult education journeys.
  4. Raise Awareness and Reduce Stigma: Promote community understanding of adult literacy challenges to foster empathy and support.

Conclusion

Addressing adult literacy in Richmond aligns with achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals by promoting quality education, health, and reduced inequalities. The efforts of organizations like READ RVA demonstrate the importance of viewing literacy as a lifelong right and necessity. To build an inclusive city, stakeholders must recognize and support the silent struggles of adult learners, ensuring no one is left to navigate alone.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education – The article focuses on adult literacy, highlighting challenges adults face in reading and the importance of education beyond childhood.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty – Literacy is linked to economic stability, job opportunities, and overcoming poverty-related barriers.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The article mentions adults avoiding medical care due to literacy challenges, connecting literacy to health outcomes.
  4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The discussion on systemic barriers, including economic instability, incarceration, and immigration, relates to reducing inequalities.
  5. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The article emphasizes designing cities that are inclusive and navigable for all residents, including those with literacy challenges.

2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.6: Ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Target 1.4: Ensure that all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, including access to basic services.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services.
  4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
  5. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicator for Target 4.6 (SDG 4): Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional literacy and numeracy skills.
  2. Indicator for Target 1.4 (SDG 1): Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, disaggregated by literacy level or educational attainment.
  3. Indicator for Target 3.8 (SDG 3): Coverage of essential health services, potentially linked to literacy levels affecting access and utilization.
  4. Indicator for Target 10.2 (SDG 10): Measures of social and economic inclusion, such as access to services and participation in community life, which literacy impacts.
  5. Indicator for Target 11.3 (SDG 11): Proportion of urban population living in slums or informal settlements, and measures of urban inclusivity, which can be affected by literacy and accessibility.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 4: Quality Education 4.6: Ensure all youth and a substantial proportion of adults achieve literacy and numeracy. Proportion of population achieving functional literacy and numeracy.
SDG 1: No Poverty 1.4: Ensure equal rights to economic resources and access to basic services. Proportion of population below poverty line, disaggregated by literacy/education.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health services. Coverage of essential health services linked to literacy levels.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities 10.2: Promote social, economic and political inclusion of all. Measures of social and economic inclusion influenced by literacy.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and participatory planning. Proportion of urban population in inclusive settings; urban accessibility metrics.

Source: rvamag.com

 

]]> Corporate responsibility budgets steady despite ‘challenging year’: ACCP – ESG Dive https://sdgtalks.ai/corporate-responsibility-budgets-steady-despite-challenging-year-accp-esg-dive https://sdgtalks.ai/corporate-responsibility-budgets-steady-despite-challenging-year-accp-esg-dive Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:12 -0500 sdgtalks Corporate, responsibility, budgets, steady, despite, ‘challenging, year’:, ACCP, –, ESG, Dive  

Corporate Social Responsibility Budgets Remain Steady Amid Challenges: Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals

Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility Budget Trends in 2026

Despite political shifts and policy changes under the Trump administration, particularly regarding social initiatives such as diversity, equity, and inclusion, corporate social responsibility (CSR) teams anticipate stable budgets for 2026. According to a recent survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP),

  1. 62% of CSR professionals expect their corporate impact budgets to remain unchanged.
  2. 17% anticipate budget increases.
  3. 21% foresee budget decreases.

This stability underscores a continued corporate commitment to social impact initiatives aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to quality education (SDG 4), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), and reduced inequalities (SDG 10).

ACCP’s Role and Membership

  • ACCP is a trade association representing over 260 companies across more than 20 industries.
  • Member companies include American Express, Boeing, The Coca-Cola Company, eBay, Target, 3M, Pfizer, and FedEx.
  • The organization supports CSR and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) professionals through research, programming, and professional development.

Leadership Perspective: Andrea Wood, ACCP President and CEO

Andrea Wood, who assumed the dual roles of CEO and president in January 2025, emphasizes the importance of CSR as a fundamental business strategy. She states:

“The proof of why CSR is important is there, if anybody wants to know how or why it positively affects the business and the community. This is really table stakes now; companies should be doing this. If they don’t have a CSR function, if they don’t have a plan, they need one.”

Strategic Focus and Professional Development

Under Wood’s leadership, ACCP is adopting a comprehensive approach to enhance corporate social impact by:

  • Engaging members through research and collective knowledge sharing.
  • Providing programming for CSR professionals at all career stages.
  • Facilitating webinars, member discussions, and an online forum for ongoing support.

This approach supports SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among CSR professionals.

Challenges and Opportunities in CSR Amid Economic Headwinds

While the majority of ACCP members have maintained their CSR budgets, economic uncertainties pose potential risks. Key challenges include:

  • Economic headwinds affecting overall business performance.
  • Increased scrutiny from stakeholders including investors, communities, employees, and executive leadership.
  • Potential need to realign CSR strategies with evolving business priorities.

Despite these challenges, companies are largely maintaining long-term CSR strategies, ensuring continued progress toward SDGs such as decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) and reduced inequalities (SDG 10).

Alignment of CSR Strategies with Business Objectives

ACCP highlights the critical importance of aligning CSR initiatives with core business strategies to maximize impact. This alignment supports the concept of “shared value,” which integrates corporate success with community benefits. Examples include:

  1. STEM Education Initiatives: Many companies focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to prepare future workforces, addressing SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
  2. Workforce Development: Investments in internships, career coaching, scholarships, and volunteering support the development of skilled labor pipelines, crucial amid demographic shifts and labor market challenges.
  3. Employee Engagement and Strategic Volunteerism: Encouraging employees to volunteer in ways that build relevant skills aligns with both business needs and community development, advancing SDG 8 and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Conclusion

The ACCP survey and leadership insights reveal that despite external challenges, corporate social responsibility remains a strategic priority. Companies are committed to sustaining and evolving their CSR efforts in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring mutual benefits for business and society. Continued focus on strategic alignment, workforce development, and stakeholder engagement will be essential for advancing global sustainability agendas in the coming years.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • The article discusses corporate investments in STEM education for young people, aiming to prepare them for future jobs.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Focus on workforce development, employee engagement, and strategic volunteerism to support employment and economic participation.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives despite political challenges.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Collaboration among companies, CSR professionals, and communities to align strategies and maximize social impact.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.4: Increase the number of youth and adults with relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men.
    • Target 8.6: Reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Budget Allocation and Changes
    • Percentage of companies maintaining or increasing corporate social responsibility (CSR) budgets (e.g., 62% expect budgets to remain the same, 17% anticipate increases).
  2. Employee Engagement Metrics
    • Levels of employee participation in volunteering and community engagement activities aligned with company strategy.
  3. Workforce Development Outcomes
    • Number of young people receiving STEM education support, internships, scholarships, and career coaching.
    • Employment rates of youth and readiness for STEM-related jobs.
  4. Stakeholder Alignment and Strategy Implementation
    • Degree of alignment between CSR strategies and business goals as well as stakeholder support.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 4: Quality Education Target 4.4: Increase youth and adults with relevant skills for employment.
  • Number of youth supported through STEM education programs.
  • Participation rates in internships, scholarships, and career coaching.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment.
  • Target 8.6: Reduce youth not in employment, education or training.
  • Employment rates of youth in STEM-related fields.
  • Employee engagement in strategic volunteerism.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Promote social, economic and political inclusion of all.
  • Implementation and impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
  • Stakeholder scrutiny and response to social inclusion efforts.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals Target 17.17: Promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.
  • Number and quality of partnerships among companies, CSR professionals, and communities.
  • Alignment of CSR strategies with business and community needs.

Source: esgdive.com

 

]]> Trump’s Cabinet Condemns Rice’s Whale to Extinction – Center for Biological Diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/trumps-cabinet-condemns-rices-whale-to-extinction-center-for-biological-diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/trumps-cabinet-condemns-rices-whale-to-extinction-center-for-biological-diversity Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:30:11 -0500 sdgtalks Trump’s, Cabinet, Condemns, Rice’s, Whale, Extinction, –, Center, for, Biological, Diversity  

Report on the Endangered Species Committee’s Exemption for Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Operations

Introduction

On March 31, 2026, the Endangered Species Committee, also known as the “God Squad” or “Extinction Committee,” granted an unprecedented exemption to all oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico from the requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This marks the first such exemption in the 53-year history of the ESA.

Details of the Exemption

  • The exemption removes legal protections for endangered marine species affected by oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • The committee justified the exemption under the pretext of “national security,” despite no formal request from the oil and gas industry or federal agencies.
  • The decision was made after only 32 minutes of discussion, bypassing the ESA’s mandated multistep public process and transparency requirements.

Impact on Endangered Species and Biodiversity

The exemption is expected to have severe consequences for numerous threatened and endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico, including:

  1. Rice’s whale – The only endemic whale species in the United States, with a current population estimated at approximately 51 individuals following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
  2. Sea turtles
  3. Whooping cranes
  4. Manatees

The removal of conservation measures such as safe vessel speed limits and whale monitoring is likely to increase mortality rates and push these species closer to extinction.

Legal and Environmental Advocacy Response

  • The Center for Biological Diversity has condemned the exemption as illegal and amoral, pledging to amend its existing lawsuit to challenge the Defense Secretary’s national security determination and the committee’s decision.
  • Government affairs director Brett Hartl emphasized public opposition to sacrificing endangered species for fossil fuel profits and criticized the political motivations behind the exemption.

Relevance to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This exemption directly undermines several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 14: Life Below Water – By threatening marine biodiversity and weakening protections for endangered aquatic species, the exemption impedes efforts to sustainably manage and conserve ocean ecosystems.
  • SDG 15: Life on Land – The impact on species such as whooping cranes and manatees affects terrestrial and coastal biodiversity conservation.
  • SDG 13: Climate Action – Facilitating expanded fossil fuel extraction contradicts global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The bypassing of legal procedures and lack of transparency challenge principles of good governance and rule of law.

Conclusion

The Endangered Species Committee’s exemption for oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico represents a significant setback for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. It threatens the survival of critically endangered species and contravenes key Sustainable Development Goals aimed at protecting life on Earth and promoting environmental stewardship. Legal challenges are underway to overturn this decision and restore essential protections for vulnerable marine and coastal ecosystems.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water – The article focuses on endangered marine species such as the Rice’s whale, sea turtles, and manatees in the Gulf of Mexico, highlighting threats from oil and gas operations and the exemption from the Endangered Species Act.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land – The mention of whooping cranes, a threatened species, connects to terrestrial biodiversity conservation.
  3. SDG 13: Climate Action – The article indirectly relates to climate action by discussing fossil fuel industry impacts and environmental protection rollbacks.
  4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – The article discusses legal and governance issues, including unlawful exemptions and bypassing public processes.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 14 Targets:
    • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.
    • Target 14.4: Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and destructive fishing practices.
    • Target 14.5: Conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas.
  2. SDG 15 Targets:
    • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats and halt the loss of biodiversity.
  3. SDG 13 Targets:
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
  4. SDG 16 Targets:
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
    • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. SDG 14 Indicators:
    • Indicator 14.2.1: Proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches.
    • Indicator 14.4.1: Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels.
    • Indicator 14.5.1: Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas.
    • Implied indicator: Population size of endangered marine species such as the Rice’s whale (noted as approximately 51 animals currently).
  2. SDG 15 Indicators:
    • Indicator 15.5.1: Red List Index to monitor species extinction risk.
    • Implied indicator: Status and population trends of threatened species like whooping cranes.
  3. SDG 16 Indicators:
    • Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of the population satisfied with their last experience of public services (implied through public process transparency issues).
    • Indicator 16.7.2: Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive (implied through bypassing public consultation).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 14: Life Below Water
  • 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems
  • 14.4: Regulate harvesting to end overfishing and destructive practices
  • 14.5: Conserve at least 10% of marine areas
  • 14.2.1: Proportion of EEZ managed with ecosystem-based approaches
  • 14.4.1: Proportion of fish stocks within sustainable levels
  • 14.5.1: Coverage of protected marine areas
  • Population size of endangered species (e.g., Rice’s whale population ~51)
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.5: Reduce degradation and halt biodiversity loss
  • 15.5.1: Red List Index for species extinction risk
  • Status and population trends of threatened species (e.g., whooping cranes)
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies
  • Implied through policy and regulatory measures related to fossil fuel industry impacts
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions
  • 16.7: Ensure inclusive and participatory decision-making
  • 16.6.2: Satisfaction with public services (implied)
  • 16.7.2: Perception of inclusiveness in decision-making (implied)

Source: biologicaldiversity.org

 

]]> UN human rights chief calls on US to conclude probe into Iran school strike – BBC https://sdgtalks.ai/un-human-rights-chief-calls-on-us-to-conclude-probe-into-iran-school-strike-bbc https://sdgtalks.ai/un-human-rights-chief-calls-on-us-to-conclude-probe-into-iran-school-strike-bbc Sun, 29 Mar 2026 12:00:06 -0500 sdgtalks human, rights, chief, calls, conclude, probe, into, Iran, school, strike, –, BBC  

Report on the Investigation of the Deadly Strike on an Iranian Primary School

Introduction

The United Nations’ human rights chief has called for the United States to complete its investigation and publicly release the findings concerning a deadly missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Iran. This tragic event occurred on the first day of the recent conflict, resulting in significant civilian casualties.

Incident Overview

  • The attack involved two missile strikes in rapid succession.
  • At least 168 individuals were killed, including approximately 110 children, according to Iranian officials.
  • US media reports suggest that American military investigators suspect the strike was likely an unintentional action by US forces.

Calls for Justice and Transparency

Volker Türk, the UN human rights chief, emphasized the urgent need for justice, stating that the bombing “evoked a visceral horror” and that those responsible must conduct a prompt, impartial, transparent, and thorough investigation. He urged the US to conclude its inquiry and make the results public to uphold accountability.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • The destruction of the school undermines access to inclusive and equitable quality education for children in the region.
    • Ensuring safe educational environments is critical to achieving SDG 4 targets.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • The call for transparent investigations aligns with SDG 16’s aim to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice, and build accountable institutions.
    • Accountability for civilian harm is essential to uphold human rights and the rule of law.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The attack resulted in severe loss of life and trauma, impacting the health and well-being of survivors and families.
    • Protecting civilians in conflict zones is vital to achieving SDG 3.

Responses and Investigations

  • US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the matter is under investigation.
  • US Senate Democrats have formally requested detailed information regarding the strike, questioning whether outdated or faulty targeting data contributed to the incident.
  • The Pentagon has committed to responding to congressional inquiries.
  • Reports indicate that the intended target was an adjacent military base, with the school mistakenly struck due to outdated intelligence.
  • Satellite imagery and expert analysis suggest the involvement of US Tomahawk missiles in the strike.
  • A UN fact-finding mission has initiated its own investigation into the incident.

Human Impact and Civilian Protection

Images of bombed classrooms and grieving families highlight the disproportionate suffering of civilians in armed conflicts. The incident underscores the urgent need to protect vulnerable populations, especially children, in accordance with international humanitarian law and the SDGs.

Conclusion

The strike on the Iranian primary school represents a grave humanitarian tragedy with far-reaching implications for human rights and sustainable development. The international community’s emphasis on transparent investigations and accountability is crucial to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to education, peace, justice, and health.

Related Topics

Further Reading on the Iran Conflict

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • The article highlights the bombing of a primary school, affecting children’s right to education and safe learning environments.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The call for investigation, justice, and accountability for the strike reflects the goal of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and accountable institutions.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The attack resulted in numerous casualties, including children, impacting health and well-being.
  4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The article emphasizes civilians, especially children, as the most affected by conflict, highlighting vulnerability and inequality in conflict zones.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
    • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.
    • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services.
  4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. SDG 4 Indicators
    • Indicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools with access to safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments.
    • Implied by the destruction of the school and the urgent need for safe education facilities.
  2. SDG 16 Indicators
    • Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age.
    • Indicator 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population (related to justice and accountability).
    • Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of the population satisfied with their last experience of public services (implied by calls for transparent investigations and accountability).
    • Implied indicators include the completion and publication of investigations into the strike, reflecting transparency and justice.
  3. SDG 3 Indicators
    • Indicator 3.2.1: Under-five mortality rate.
    • Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services.
    • Implied by the casualty figures and the impact on children’s health and survival.
  4. SDG 10 Indicators
    • Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by age, sex and persons with disabilities.
    • Implied by the disproportionate impact of violence on vulnerable populations such as children and civilians.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 4: Quality Education 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are safe, inclusive, and effective 4.a.1: Proportion of schools with access to safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.1: Reduce all forms of violence and related death rates
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
  • 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions
  • 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population
  • 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as proportion of prison population
  • 16.6.2: Population satisfaction with public services
  • Implied: Completion and publication of investigations
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.2: End preventable deaths of children under 5
  • 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage
  • 3.2.1: Under-five mortality rate
  • 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services
  • Implied: Casualty and injury statistics from conflict
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities 10.2: Empower and promote inclusion of all, irrespective of status
  • 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50% of median income
  • Implied: Impact of conflict on vulnerable populations such as children and civilians

Source: bbc.co.uk

 

]]> US/El Salvador: Deportees Forcibly Disappeared – Human Rights Watch https://sdgtalks.ai/usel-salvador-deportees-forcibly-disappeared-human-rights-watch https://sdgtalks.ai/usel-salvador-deportees-forcibly-disappeared-human-rights-watch Tue, 17 Mar 2026 06:00:07 -0500 sdgtalks USEl, Salvador:, Deportees, Forcibly, Disappeared, –, Human, Rights, Watch  

Report on Arbitrary Detentions and Enforced Disappearances of Salvadoran Deportees

Introduction

Human Rights Watch has reported serious concerns regarding the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of Salvadoran nationals deported from the United States to El Salvador in 2025. This situation raises critical issues related to human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Background

  1. Since January 2025, over 9,000 Salvadorans have been deported from the United States to El Salvador.
  2. Among these deportees, several have been detained immediately upon arrival without due process or access to legal representation.
  3. Some deportees were sent alongside Venezuelan nationals who suffered torture and sexual abuse in the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) mega prison.

Key Findings

  • Arbitrary Detention and Enforced Disappearance: Deportees have been held incommunicado, with no access to lawyers or family members, violating their right to due process (SDG 16.3).
  • Lack of Transparency: Authorities have failed to disclose detainees’ whereabouts or legal status, leading to enforced disappearances as defined under international law.
  • Legal Challenges: Habeas corpus petitions filed by relatives and lawyers have been rejected or ignored by Salvadoran courts.
  • Human Rights Violations: The ongoing state of emergency in El Salvador has suspended fundamental rights, including prompt notification of arrest and access to legal counsel, exacerbating the risk of abuse (SDG 16.1).

Impact on Families and Communities

  • Families of deportees face uncertainty and distress due to lack of information and access to their detained relatives.
  • Relatives have sought assistance from multiple institutions, including the Human Rights Ombudsperson’s Office and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), with limited success.
  • The situation undermines social cohesion and trust in justice systems, impeding progress toward SDG 16.

Legal and Governmental Responses

  1. El Salvador has informed the IACHR that detainees remain in prison pending decisions regarding their migratory and legal status.
  2. The United States government has alleged gang affiliations for some deportees but has not provided comprehensive evidence.
  3. US courts have intervened in specific cases, such as ordering the release of Kilmar Ábrego García following reports of abuse.
  4. Despite litigation efforts, Salvadoran authorities have not clarified the legal basis for detentions or ensured judicial oversight.

Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: The arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances directly contravene targets aimed at promoting the rule of law, ensuring equal access to justice, and reducing violence.
  • SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: The treatment of deportees reflects systemic inequalities and discrimination against migrants and marginalized groups.
  • SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being: Reports of physical abuse and torture in detention facilities threaten the health and well-being of detainees.
  • SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Cases of sexual abuse highlight the need for protection of vulnerable populations, including women and men subjected to gender-based violence.

Recommendations

  1. El Salvador should immediately disclose the whereabouts and legal status of all deportees and ensure their access to legal representation and due process.
  2. The United States should halt deportations to El Salvador until guarantees are in place to protect human rights and prevent enforced disappearances.
  3. Both governments must cooperate with international human rights bodies to investigate allegations of abuse and ensure accountability.
  4. Implementation of the SDGs, particularly SDG 16, must be prioritized to strengthen justice systems and protect the rights of migrants and deportees.
  5. International organizations and civil society should increase monitoring and support for affected families to uphold human dignity and justice.

Conclusion

The enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions of Salvadoran deportees represent a severe violation of human rights and undermine the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Urgent action is required from both El Salvador and the United States to uphold the rule of law, protect vulnerable populations, and ensure transparency and justice in accordance with international standards.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, lack of due process, and denial of legal rights, all of which relate to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and accountable institutions.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The issues of deportation, discrimination against migrants, and lack of protection for vulnerable populations highlight inequalities faced by Salvadorans deported from the United States.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • References to torture, sexual abuse, and physical abuse in detention centers relate to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all, including protection from violence and abuse.
  4. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Sexual abuse mentioned in the article implies concerns related to gender-based violence and the need to eliminate such abuses.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children and vulnerable persons.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.4: Reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
    • Target 3.7: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for victims of violence.
  4. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators for SDG 16
    • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
    • 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population.
    • 16.10.1: Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months.
  2. Indicators for SDG 10
    • 10.7.2: Number of countries that have implemented well-managed migration policies.
  3. Indicators for SDG 3
    • 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate (as a proxy for mental health and well-being impacted by violence and detention conditions).
    • 3.7.2: Proportion of women and girls aged 15-49 years who have experienced sexual violence by age 15.
  4. Indicators for SDG 5
    • 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
  • 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and torture
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence reporting to authorities
  • 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as proportion of prison population
  • 16.10.1: Verified cases of enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.7: Facilitate safe, orderly and responsible migration
  • 10.7.2: Number of countries implementing well-managed migration policies
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality and promote mental health
  • 3.7: Ensure access to sexual and reproductive health-care services
  • 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate (proxy for mental health)
  • 3.7.2: Proportion experiencing sexual violence by age 15
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls
  • 5.2.1: Proportion subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence

Source: hrw.org

 

]]> Guilford County man arrested on multiple child sexual exploitation charges, deputies say – wfmynews2.com https://sdgtalks.ai/guilford-county-man-arrested-on-multiple-child-sexual-exploitation-charges-deputies-say-wfmynews2com https://sdgtalks.ai/guilford-county-man-arrested-on-multiple-child-sexual-exploitation-charges-deputies-say-wfmynews2com Sat, 14 Mar 2026 06:00:13 -0500 sdgtalks Guilford, County, man, arrested, multiple, child, sexual, exploitation, charges, deputies, say, –, wfmynews2.com  

Report on Arrest Related to Child Sexual Abuse Material in Guilford County

Overview of Incident and Arrest

On Thursday, Corey Allen Jordan, a 39-year-old resident of Brown Summit, North Carolina, was arrested following an investigation by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office. The arrest is connected to multiple charges involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM), underscoring efforts to combat exploitation and protect vulnerable populations in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

Investigation Details

  1. Initiation: Detectives from the Major Crimes Investigative Unit commenced the investigation on September 8, 2025, after receiving two separate cyber tips concerning CSAM.
  2. Identification: Corey Allen Jordan was identified as a suspect during the child exploitation investigation launched the previous year.

Charges and Legal Proceedings

  • Charges: Jordan faces four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
  • Custody Status: He is currently held without bond at the Guilford County Detention Center.
  • Court Appearance: Jordan’s first court hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on March 13.

Additional Information and Community Involvement

  • Registry Status: Jordan is listed as an active member of the Guilford County Sex Offender Registry.
  • Public Assistance: Authorities encourage anyone with information related to the case to contact Detective S. Miller at 336-641-3451 or Guilford County Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

This case highlights the critical importance of SDG 16, which promotes peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions. The proactive investigation and community engagement demonstrate commitment to protecting children from exploitation and abuse, contributing to the achievement of SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being by safeguarding mental and physical health of minors, and SDG 5: Gender Equality by addressing violence against children.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses law enforcement actions against child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which relates to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice, and building effective institutions.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Addressing child sexual exploitation contributes to protecting the rights and safety of girls and boys, supporting gender equality and empowerment of all children.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Preventing child sexual abuse is critical to ensuring the health and well-being of children.

2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 16 Targets
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
  2. SDG 5 Targets
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual exploitation.
  3. SDG 3 Targets
    • Target 3.4: Reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health and well-being, which includes addressing trauma from abuse.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

  1. Indicator 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking, by sex, age and form of exploitation.
    • The article refers to arrests and charges related to child sexual abuse material, implying tracking of victims and offenders.
  2. Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
    • The article mentions cyber tips received by authorities and ongoing investigations, indicating reporting and response mechanisms.
  3. Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months.
    • While the article focuses on child sexual abuse, this indicator is related to measuring sexual violence prevalence.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice for all.
  • 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking, by sex, age and form of exploitation.
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence who reported their victimization to authorities.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including sexual exploitation.
  • 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls subjected to sexual violence by an intimate partner.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality and promote mental health and well-being.
  • No direct indicator mentioned, but implied through efforts to prevent abuse and promote child well-being.

Source: wfmynews2.com

 

]]> Registered sex offender arrested on 10 counts of child sexual exploitation – WXLV https://sdgtalks.ai/registered-sex-offender-arrested-on-10-counts-of-child-sexual-exploitation-wxlv https://sdgtalks.ai/registered-sex-offender-arrested-on-10-counts-of-child-sexual-exploitation-wxlv Sat, 14 Mar 2026 06:00:12 -0500 sdgtalks Registered, sex, offender, arrested, counts, child, sexual, exploitation, –, WXLV  

Report on Arrest Related to Child Sexual Abuse Material in Guilford County

Incident Overview

On September 8, 2025, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into child sexual abuse material following receipt of two separate cyber tips. The investigation focused on identifying individuals involved in the exploitation of minors, aligning with the commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, which emphasizes the promotion of just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.

Suspect Identification and Charges

  1. Detectives identified 39-year-old Corey Allen Jordan from Brown Summit as the suspect.
  2. Jordan was arrested and charged with:
    • Four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor
    • Six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor
  3. He is currently held at the Guilford County Detention Center without bond, pending his first court appearance.

Legal and Community Implications

  • Jordan is an active member of the Guilford County Sex Offender Registry, highlighting ongoing monitoring efforts.
  • The arrest underscores the importance of safeguarding children from exploitation, directly supporting SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being by protecting vulnerable populations from abuse and trauma.
  • Law enforcement’s proactive response demonstrates the role of strong institutions in upholding child rights and safety.

Conclusion

This case exemplifies the critical role of coordinated law enforcement and community vigilance in combating child exploitation. It reinforces the commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by ensuring safe environments for children and fostering justice and protection within communities.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses law enforcement actions against child sexual abuse material, highlighting justice and protection of vulnerable groups.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Addressing child sexual exploitation contributes to ending violence against children, particularly girls, which is part of gender equality efforts.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Protecting children from sexual abuse supports their mental and physical health and well-being.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 16
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
  2. SDG 5
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  3. SDG 3
    • Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being, which is impacted by protection from abuse.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicator 16.2.1: Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month (implied through focus on child abuse cases).
  2. Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18 (implied by addressing sexual exploitation of minors).
  3. Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms (implied by the arrest and investigation process).
  4. Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months (related contextually to sexual violence indicators).

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
  • 16.3: Promote the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
  • 16.2.1: Proportion of children experiencing physical or psychological aggression
  • 16.2.3: Proportion of young people experiencing sexual violence by age 18
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims reporting violence to authorities
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls
  • 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls subjected to violence by intimate partners
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being
  • Implied indicators related to mental health outcomes of abuse survivors

Source: abc45.com

 

]]> House approves bill updating ‘Child Pornography’ terminology to ‘Child Sexual Abuse Material’ – The Florida Bar https://sdgtalks.ai/house-approves-bill-updating-child-pornography-terminology-to-child-sexual-abuse-material-the-florida-bar https://sdgtalks.ai/house-approves-bill-updating-child-pornography-terminology-to-child-sexual-abuse-material-the-florida-bar Sat, 14 Mar 2026 02:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks House, approves, bill, updating, ‘Child, Pornography’, terminology, ‘Child, Sexual, Abuse, Material’, –, The, Florida, Bar  

Florida House Approves Bill to Update Terminology on Child Sexual Abuse Material

Legislative Action and Purpose

On Thursday, the Florida House unanimously approved House Bill 254 (HB 254), which replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” across multiple Florida statutes. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Baker (R-Jacksonville), passed with a vote of 110-0 and now proceeds to the governor for final approval.

Rationale Behind Terminology Change

Rep. Baker, an attorney, emphasized the importance of accurate language in legal statutes during a Senate subcommittee hearing in November. She stated:

“The term ‘child pornography’ is offensive and misleading. It implies a lawful form of pornography when, in fact, any sexualized depiction of a minor is a crime and we must call it what it truly is. Using accurate terminology reinforces that this material is a serious crime against a child.”

This aligns with the U.S. Department of Justice’s November memo recommending the use of “child sexual abuse material” as the preferred term, despite the continued presence of “child pornography” in federal law. The memo highlights that the updated terminology better reflects the abuse depicted and the trauma experienced by victims.

Legislative Details and Amendments

  1. Original Scope: HB 254 aimed to replace “child pornography” wherever it appeared in Florida statutes.
  2. Senate Concerns: Senator Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), also an attorney, raised concerns about potential unintended consequences, such as hindering prosecutions.
  3. Amendment Sponsored: Senator Grall introduced an amendment to ensure:
    • Existing legal definitions and offense elements remain unchanged.
    • Prior judicial interpretations are retained under the updated terminology.
  4. Support for Amendment: Rep. Baker expressed her support for the Senate amendment before the final House vote.

Implementation and Impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The bill is set to take effect on July 1 and contributes to advancing several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:

  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – By recognizing and addressing child sexual abuse more accurately, the legislation supports the mental and physical health of children.
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The bill strengthens legal frameworks to protect children from exploitation and abuse, promoting justice and the rule of law.
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – Protecting children from sexual abuse contributes to gender equality by safeguarding vulnerable populations from exploitation.

Conclusion

The Florida House’s approval of HB 254 marks a significant step toward improving legal language and reinforcing the seriousness of crimes involving child sexual abuse material. By aligning state statutes with federal recommendations and safeguarding prosecutorial effectiveness, the bill supports broader efforts to protect children and uphold justice, in line with global sustainable development objectives.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses legislative changes aimed at improving legal terminology and clarity in laws related to child sexual abuse material, which aligns with SDG 16’s focus on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Although not explicitly mentioned, the article’s focus on protecting children from sexual abuse implicates gender equality issues, as children, especially girls, are disproportionately affected by sexual abuse.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The trauma and abuse referenced in the article relate to the mental and physical health and well-being of children, which is a concern under SDG 3.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. Under SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
  2. Under SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  3. Under SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators related to SDG 16:
    • 16.2.1: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation (implied through focus on child sexual abuse material).
    • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms (implied through legislative changes to improve legal clarity and prosecution).
  2. Indicators related to SDG 5:
    • 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months (implied by the focus on sexual abuse).
  3. Indicators related to SDG 3:
    • 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate (implied as an indicator of mental health outcomes related to trauma from abuse).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
  • 16.3: Promote the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice for all.
  • 16.2.1: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population.
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence who reported their victimization.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
  • 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls subjected to violence by an intimate partner.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being.
  • 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate.

Source: floridabar.org

 

]]> EPA launches initiative to strengthen U.S. drinking water systems – Supply House Times https://sdgtalks.ai/epa-launches-initiative-to-strengthen-us-drinking-water-systems-supply-house-times https://sdgtalks.ai/epa-launches-initiative-to-strengthen-us-drinking-water-systems-supply-house-times Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:16 -0500 sdgtalks EPA, launches, initiative, strengthen, U.S., drinking, water, systems, –, Supply, House, Times  

EPA Launches RealWaterTA Initiative to Strengthen Water Infrastructure and Support SDGs

Introduction

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced the Real Water Technical Assistance (RealWaterTA) initiative aimed at enhancing federal support for drinking water and wastewater utilities across the nation. This program focuses on improving compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and modernizing aging water infrastructure, directly contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

Objectives of the RealWaterTA Initiative

  1. Refocus federal resources on technical support and practical guidance for water systems, especially those with operational, financial, or regulatory challenges.
  2. Help utilities deliver reliable drinking water services while maximizing the impact of federal infrastructure funding.
  3. Strengthen partnerships with states and Tribal governments to address local water needs.

Supporting Utilities and Maximizing Infrastructure Investment

The RealWaterTA framework facilitates coordination among federal, state, and local partners to:

  • Identify infrastructure needs
  • Secure funding
  • Improve system performance through expanded technical assistance in engineering, operational management, workforce development, and financial planning

Special emphasis is placed on small and rural systems that often face resource and staffing shortages, aligning with SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Challenges Addressed by the Initiative

  • Aging infrastructure
  • System leaks
  • High costs of modernization
  • Corrosion and water loss
  • Compliance with federal drinking water regulations

These challenges highlight the intersection of public health, infrastructure, and community trust, reinforcing the importance of SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.

Codes, Standards, and Infrastructure Modernization

Coordination between federal infrastructure policy and plumbing systems is critical for safe drinking water delivery. According to Matt Sigler, Executive Director for the International Code Council (ICC), this coordination involves:

  • Aligning federal oversight with modern plumbing codes, standards, and product certification
  • Ensuring plumbing products comply with NSF 61 and NSF 372 standards to meet Safe Drinking Water Act requirements
  • Adopting modern plumbing codes to build resilient water systems capable of adapting to environmental challenges

This approach supports SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities by promoting resilient infrastructure and sustainable urban development.

Water Scarcity and Reuse Technologies

Communities are encouraged to incorporate water reuse technologies such as rainwater capture and align local plumbing codes with regional water management goals. These measures contribute to SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and SDG 13: Climate Action by promoting sustainable water management and conservation.

Industry Response and Material Innovation

The Plastic Pipe Institute (PPI) emphasizes the role of durable, corrosion-resistant thermoplastic piping materials in upgrading municipal water systems. Benefits include:

  • Leak-free systems through heat-fused high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes
  • Reduced water loss and long-term maintenance costs
  • Enhanced reliability and resilience of water infrastructure

These innovations align with SDG 9 by fostering sustainable industrialization and infrastructure development.

Funding and Oversight

Sustained federal funding through programs such as the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is critical to addressing water infrastructure challenges. Effective oversight ensures that resources reach small, rural, and disadvantaged communities, supporting SDG 10 and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

Conclusion

The RealWaterTA initiative represents a comprehensive federal effort to modernize the nation’s water infrastructure, improve compliance with drinking water regulations, and support sustainable water management practices. By integrating federal policy, infrastructure investment, and modern plumbing standards, the initiative advances multiple Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6, ensuring safe, reliable, and equitable access to clean water for all communities.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • The article focuses on improving drinking water quality, wastewater management, and water infrastructure modernization, which directly relate to SDG 6.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Ensuring safe drinking water and proper wastewater management protects public health, aligning with SDG 3.
  3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • Modernizing aging water infrastructure and promoting durable materials and technologies relate to SDG 9.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Improving water systems in small, rural, and disadvantaged communities supports sustainable urban and rural development under SDG 11.

2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 6 Targets
    • 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
    • 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping, and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials.
    • 6.a: Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water and sanitation-related activities.
  2. SDG 3 Targets
    • 3.9: Substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
  3. SDG 9 Targets
    • 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure.
    • 9.c: Increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet.
  4. SDG 11 Targets
    • 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services.
    • 11.5: Reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected by disasters, including water-related disasters.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act
    • Measures the percentage of water systems meeting federal water quality standards.
  2. Infrastructure Modernization Metrics
    • Number or percentage of water utilities receiving technical assistance and funding for infrastructure upgrades.
    • Reduction in water loss due to leaks, measured by volume or percentage.
  3. Use of Certified Plumbing Products
    • Percentage of plumbing products tested and certified to standards NSF 61 and NSF 372 to ensure lead-free and contaminant compliance.
  4. Access to Safe Drinking Water in Small and Rural Communities
    • Number or proportion of small and rural water systems achieving compliance and infrastructure improvements.
  5. Reduction in Pathogen Exposure and Cross-Connections
    • Incidence rates of waterborne diseases and contamination events within buildings.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • 6.1: Universal access to safe drinking water
  • 6.3: Improve water quality and reduce pollution
  • 6.a: Expand capacity-building support
  • Compliance rate with Safe Drinking Water Act standards
  • Number of water systems receiving technical assistance
  • Water quality measurements (contaminant levels)
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.9: Reduce deaths and illnesses from water pollution
  • Incidence of waterborne diseases
  • Pathogen exposure rates in water systems
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • 9.1: Develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure
  • 9.c: Increase access to technology and information
  • Number of infrastructure upgrades completed
  • Adoption rates of durable materials like HDPE piping
  • Technical assistance and funding disbursed
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.1: Access to safe and affordable basic services
  • 11.5: Reduce impact of water-related disasters
  • Number of small and rural communities with improved water systems
  • Reduction in water system failures during extreme weather

Source: supplyht.com

 

]]> Audit finds Roanoke Police grant overspending, child labor law violations in youth program – WSLS https://sdgtalks.ai/audit-finds-roanoke-police-grant-overspending-child-labor-law-violations-in-youth-program-wsls https://sdgtalks.ai/audit-finds-roanoke-police-grant-overspending-child-labor-law-violations-in-youth-program-wsls Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:30:10 -0500 sdgtalks Audit, finds, Roanoke, Police, grant, overspending, child, labor, law, violations, youth, program, –, WSLS  

Audit Report on Roanoke Police Department’s Youth Gun Violence Prevention Grant

Overview

An internal city audit conducted in Roanoke, Virginia, revealed significant issues concerning the management of a youth gun violence prevention grant by the Roanoke Police Department. The audit identified overspending, inadequate background checks for youth mentors, and violations of child labor laws. These findings have implications for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to Quality Education (SDG 4), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16).

Key Findings

  1. Financial Overspending: The Police Department overspent the grant by nearly $100,000.
  2. Background Checks: Youth mentors working with children did not undergo full background checks, raising concerns about child safety.
  3. Child Labor Violations: Six instances were identified where youth were involved in manual labor and mechanical activities posing safety risks, violating child labor laws.
  4. No Fraudulent Billing or Complaints: The audit found no evidence of fraudulent billing and no complaints from clients regarding the services provided.

Responses and Actions Taken

  • Elimination of Vendor-Based Mentoring: All mentoring services provided through external vendors have been discontinued to improve oversight.
  • New Mentoring Model: The department has developed an internal mentoring program where mentors are hired directly as part-time employees, enhancing accountability and compliance.
  • Age Restrictions: Youth under the age of 14 will no longer be engaged in any work activities, aligning with child protection standards.
  • Financial Oversight: Establishment of the Police Business Division to oversee financial management and ensure proper use of funds.

Statements from Deputy Chief Mike Crawley

Deputy Chief Mike Crawley acknowledged the concerns raised by the audit, attributing the issues primarily to a lack of oversight rather than malicious intent. He emphasized the department’s commitment to improving internal controls and safeguarding children involved in the program.

“We’re better today than we were before. Obviously, our checks and balances within government—that’s what they’re here for,” Crawley stated. He also highlighted that the funds, although overspent, were used to provide services to children in need, contributing to a reduction in violent crime.

Crawley confirmed that no criminal charges will be filed and no criminal investigation is underway regarding the mentors.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 4 – Quality Education: Ensuring safe and supportive environments for youth mentors contributes to inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities.
  • SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: Compliance with child labor laws and improved labor practices protect young workers and promote decent work conditions.
  • SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Strengthening oversight, transparency, and accountability within the police department supports the development of effective, accountable institutions.

Conclusion

The Roanoke Police Department’s audit findings highlight critical areas for improvement in grant management and youth program oversight. The corrective measures implemented align with the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals by prioritizing child protection, responsible governance, and community safety. Continued monitoring and adherence to these standards will be essential to sustain positive outcomes for youth and the broader community.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses oversight failures, financial mismanagement, and the establishment of a Police Business Division to improve governance and accountability.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Issues related to child labor law violations and youth employment practices are highlighted.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article mentions youth gun violence prevention efforts and reduction in violent crime, which relate to promoting health and safety.
  4. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Youth mentoring programs and the development of an internal mentoring model relate to education and youth development.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 16
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels (addressed by establishing Police Business Division and improving oversight).
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all (related to compliance with child labor laws and audit findings).
  2. SDG 8
    • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor (addressed by eliminating child labor law violations and restricting youth work under age 14).
  3. SDG 3
    • Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being (related to reducing youth gun violence and violent crime).
  4. SDG 4
    • Target 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable (implied through mentoring and youth development programs).

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Financial Overspending and Accountability
    • Amount of grant overspending (nearly $100,000) as a measure of financial management effectiveness.
    • Establishment and functioning of the Police Business Division as an institutional accountability indicator.
  2. Child Labor Compliance
    • Number of child labor law violations identified (six instances) as an indicator of compliance with labor standards.
    • Implementation of policies prohibiting youth under age 14 from work activities.
  3. Youth Safety and Crime Reduction
    • Reduction in violent crime rates among youth as an implied indicator of program effectiveness.
    • No complaints from clients about the mentoring services as a qualitative measure of service quality.
  4. Mentoring Program Quality
    • Background checks completion rate for youth mentors (not fully completed previously) as an indicator of program safety and quality.
    • Shift from vendor-based to internal mentoring model as a process indicator for improved oversight.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
  • Grant overspending amount (~$100,000)
  • Establishment of Police Business Division
  • Audit findings on oversight
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.7: Eradicate child labor and forced labor
  • Number of child labor law violations (6 instances)
  • Policy prohibiting youth under 14 from work
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality and promote well-being
  • Reduction in violent crime rates among youth
  • Client complaints (none reported)
SDG 4: Quality Education
  • 4.5: Eliminate disparities and ensure equal access to education and vocational training
  • Completion of background checks for youth mentors
  • Transition to internal mentoring model

Source: wsls.com

 

]]> Invasive giant reptile is thriving in Florida’s climate, invading its ecosystem – Yahoo https://sdgtalks.ai/invasive-giant-reptile-is-thriving-in-floridas-climate-invading-its-ecosystem-yahoo https://sdgtalks.ai/invasive-giant-reptile-is-thriving-in-floridas-climate-invading-its-ecosystem-yahoo Fri, 13 Mar 2026 07:30:15 -0500 sdgtalks Invasive, giant, reptile, thriving, Florida’s, climate, invading, its, ecosystem, –, Yahoo  

Report on the Invasive Nile Monitor Lizard in South Florida and Its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Introduction

The Nile monitor, a large semi-aquatic lizard native to the Nile River delta in Sub-Saharan Africa, has been increasingly disrupting the South Florida ecosystem as an invasive species since the 1980s. This report highlights the ecological challenges posed by the Nile monitor and emphasizes the relevance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in addressing this environmental issue.

Background and Characteristics of the Nile Monitor

  • Origin: Nile River delta, Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Size: Can grow up to 6 feet in length
  • Physical traits: Equipped with razor-sharp claws, olive green to black coloration with distinctive yellow V-shaped stripes
  • Behavior: Very active, strong, aggressive, and difficult to handle
  • Habitat: Semi-aquatic, often found near water, basking on rocks and branches, active during the day
  • Diet: Generalist feeder consuming a wide variety of prey including crabs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, eggs, and small mammals

Ecological Impact and Threats

  1. Threat to Native Wildlife: The Nile monitor’s diverse diet and aggressive behavior threaten native and federally listed threatened species such as:
    • Sea turtles
    • Wading birds
    • Gopher tortoises
    • American crocodiles
    • Burrowing owls
  2. Habitat Disruption: The lizard’s ability to thrive in South Florida’s humid climate and extensive canal systems facilitates its spread, especially in coastal mangroves and salt marshes.
  3. High Reproduction Rate: This characteristic increases the risk of population growth and further ecological imbalance.

Management and Control Measures

  • Current strategies focus on containing established populations and preventing new ones through recurring surveys and removals.
  • The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has classified Nile monitors as a high priority nonnative species for removal.
  • Legal status includes:
    • Inclusion in Florida’s Prohibited Nonnative Species List (April 2021)
    • Permitted humane euthanasia on private property with landowner consent
    • Restrictions on possession for research, educational exhibition, control, or eradication purposes

Geographical Distribution in Florida

  • Established populations in Lee and Palm Beach Counties
  • Multiple sightings in Broward County
  • Ongoing monitoring in Miami-Dade County

Relevance to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • Protecting aquatic ecosystems from invasive species like the Nile monitor helps maintain biodiversity and ecosystem health in freshwater and coastal habitats.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Controlling invasive species supports the conservation of terrestrial wildlife, including threatened and endangered species affected by the Nile monitor’s predation.
    • Maintaining ecosystem balance contributes to sustainable land use and biodiversity preservation.
  3. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Understanding how climate compatibility facilitates invasive species establishment informs adaptive management strategies under changing climate conditions.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Regulating the pet trade to prevent intentional or accidental release of invasive species aligns with sustainable consumption practices.
  5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Collaboration among wildlife agencies, researchers, and the public is essential for effective invasive species management and ecosystem protection.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The Nile monitor poses a significant threat to South Florida’s delicate ecosystems by preying on native species and potentially disrupting ecological balance. Early intervention and continuous management are critical to prevent irreversible damage. Aligning invasive species control efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals ensures a comprehensive approach to biodiversity conservation and sustainable ecosystem management.

Key Recommendations

  • Enhance public awareness and education about the risks of releasing nonnative pets.
  • Strengthen monitoring and rapid response systems to detect and remove Nile monitors promptly.
  • Promote research on the ecological impacts of Nile monitors to inform management strategies.
  • Foster partnerships between government agencies, academic institutions, and local communities.
  • Integrate invasive species management into broader environmental and climate action policies.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • The article discusses the Nile monitor’s impact on aquatic and coastal ecosystems, including mangroves, salt marshes, and freshwater and saltwater habitats.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • The invasive Nile monitor threatens native terrestrial wildlife, including threatened species such as sea turtles, wading birds, gopher tortoises, American crocodiles, and burrowing owls.
    • Focus on biodiversity conservation and control of invasive species.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Issues related to the pet trade and unintentional release of invasive species highlight the need for sustainable management and regulation.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • The article mentions the role of climate (humidity and temperature) in the establishment and survival of Nile monitors, implying the importance of understanding climate impacts on ecosystems.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
    • Target 15.8: Prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle.
    • Target 12.8: Ensure people have relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Population Monitoring of Nile Monitors
    • Recurring surveys and removals as mentioned by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) indicate monitoring the population size and distribution of the invasive species.
  2. Impact on Native Species
    • Observations of predation on native threatened species (e.g., sea turtles, wading birds, gopher tortoises, American crocodiles, burrowing owls) can serve as indicators of ecological impact.
  3. Regulation and Control Measures
    • Inclusion of Nile monitors in Florida’s Prohibited Nonnative Species List and restrictions on possession for research or control purposes indicate policy and regulatory indicators.
  4. Habitat Suitability and Climate Data
    • Monitoring climate factors such as humidity and temperature that affect the habitat suitability for Nile monitors.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 14: Life Below Water 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.
  • Monitoring Nile monitor populations in coastal and aquatic habitats.
  • Assessment of ecosystem health in mangroves and salt marshes.
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.1: Conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.
  • 15.8: Prevent and reduce impact of invasive alien species.
  • Population surveys and removal efforts of Nile monitors.
  • Monitoring predation impact on threatened native species.
  • Tracking distribution and sightings across counties.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.4: Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes.
  • 12.8: Awareness and information for sustainable development.
  • Regulation of pet trade and possession (Prohibited Nonnative Species List).
  • Public education on risks of invasive species release.
SDG 13: Climate Action 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards.
  • Monitoring climate factors (humidity, temperature) affecting invasive species establishment.
  • Assessment of habitat suitability changes due to climate.

Source: yahoo.com

 

]]> Senate passes major housing affordability bill by Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott – NBC News https://sdgtalks.ai/senate-passes-major-housing-affordability-bill-by-elizabeth-warren-and-tim-scott-nbc-news https://sdgtalks.ai/senate-passes-major-housing-affordability-bill-by-elizabeth-warren-and-tim-scott-nbc-news Fri, 13 Mar 2026 07:00:12 -0500 sdgtalks Senate, passes, major, housing, affordability, bill, Elizabeth, Warren, and, Tim, Scott, –, NBC, News  

Senate Passes Bipartisan Housing Bill Addressing Affordability and Supply

Overview of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

The U.S. Senate approved the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with an 89-10 vote, marking a significant bipartisan effort to increase housing supply and reduce prices. The legislation, authored by Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), aims to tackle the housing affordability crisis, a key concern aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Key Provisions and Objectives

  1. Grants and Pilot Programs: The 303-page bill introduces grants and pilot programs to stimulate housing construction, promoting affordable and sustainable housing development.
  2. Regulatory Reforms: It seeks to reduce inspection delays at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by creating alternative compliance pathways and coordinating environmental reviews with the Department of Agriculture, especially for rural housing projects.
  3. Restricting Large Investors: The “Homes Are For People, Not Corporations” section prohibits large institutional investors from purchasing certain single-family homes, fostering homeownership opportunities for families rather than corporations. This aligns with SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities by promoting equitable access to housing.

Political Context and Bipartisan Support

  • Senators Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren emphasized the bill’s role in cutting regulatory barriers, lowering housing costs, and expanding homeownership without increasing federal spending.
  • Despite broad support, some opposition exists, including from Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who criticized certain provisions as overly broad.
  • Ten senators voted against the bill, primarily from the Republican party, while one senator was absent.

Challenges Ahead

The bill must still pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. However, its future is uncertain due to competing legislative priorities, notably President Donald Trump’s focus on the SAVE America Act, a voting legislation bill.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: By increasing affordable housing supply and improving urban and rural housing infrastructure, the bill supports sustainable urban development.
  • SDG 1 – No Poverty: Enhancing homeownership opportunities and reducing housing costs contribute to poverty alleviation.
  • SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Limiting corporate acquisition of single-family homes promotes fair access to housing for all socioeconomic groups.
  • SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: The bill’s construction incentives may stimulate job creation in the housing sector.

Stakeholder Reactions and Industry Concerns

  • Supporters highlight the bill as a historic bipartisan achievement addressing a critical social issue.
  • Some industry stakeholders express concern over a provision requiring major investors owning 350 or more single-family homes to divest after seven years, fearing it may discourage long-term rental housing investments.
  • Analyses suggest the economic impact of this provision will be limited but could modestly lower prices and increase homeownership in some markets.

Next Steps and Outlook

  1. The House’s consideration of the bill remains pending, with political dynamics influencing its progression.
  2. The White House has indicated forthcoming executive orders aimed at improving housing affordability.
  3. Legislators express optimism that the bill will ultimately become law, contributing to the achievement of key SDGs related to housing and social equity.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The article discusses legislation aimed at increasing housing supply, reducing prices, and improving affordability, which directly relates to making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • By addressing housing affordability and promoting homeownership, the bill contributes to reducing poverty and improving living conditions.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The bill’s provision to prohibit large institutional investors from buying single-family homes aims to reduce inequalities in housing access.
  4. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Boosting housing construction through grants and pilot programs can stimulate economic growth and job creation in the construction sector.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 11: Target 11.1 – By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
    • The bill’s focus on increasing housing supply and affordability aligns with this target.
  2. SDG 1: Target 1.4 – By 2030, ensure that all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, including access to basic services and ownership of property.
    • Promoting homeownership opportunities for American families supports this target.
  3. SDG 10: Target 10.2 – Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all.
    • The prohibition on large institutional investors buying single-family homes aims to promote equitable access to housing.
  4. SDG 8: Target 8.3 – Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation.
    • Grants and pilot programs for housing construction encourage economic activity and employment.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Housing Supply Metrics
    • Number of new housing units constructed as a result of grants and pilot programs.
    • Reduction in inspection delays for housing projects (efficiency of regulatory processes).
  2. Housing Affordability Indicators
    • Changes in average housing prices or price trends over time.
    • Average age of first-time homebuyers (currently cited as 40 years old).
  3. Homeownership Rates
    • Increase in homeownership among American families, particularly first-time buyers.
  4. Investor Activity in Housing Market
    • Number or proportion of single-family homes purchased by large institutional investors before and after legislation.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Target 11.1: Ensure access to adequate, safe and affordable housing by 2030
  • Number of new housing units constructed
  • Reduction in inspection delays
  • Housing price trends
SDG 1: No Poverty Target 1.4: Equal rights to economic resources and ownership of property
  • Homeownership rates among families
  • Average age of first-time homebuyers
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Promote social, economic and political inclusion
  • Proportion of single-family homes owned by institutional investors
  • Homeownership opportunities for families vs corporations
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth Target 8.3: Promote policies supporting productive activities and job creation
  • Number of jobs created in housing construction
  • Economic activity generated by grants and pilot programs

Source: nbcnews.com

 

]]> Federal complaint alleges ongoing sexual abuse in Oconto Falls School District – WPR https://sdgtalks.ai/federal-complaint-alleges-ongoing-sexual-abuse-in-oconto-falls-school-district-wpr https://sdgtalks.ai/federal-complaint-alleges-ongoing-sexual-abuse-in-oconto-falls-school-district-wpr Fri, 13 Mar 2026 02:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Federal, complaint, alleges, ongoing, sexual, abuse, Oconto, Falls, School, District, –, WPR  

Federal Complaint Alleges Longstanding Sexual Abuse in Oconto Falls School District

Overview of Allegations

A federal complaint filed in the U.S. Eastern District on Wednesday accuses the Oconto Falls School District of overlooking sexual abuse of students for two decades. The 60-page document details a pattern of grooming and sexual misconduct by multiple staff members involving over a dozen minor students at Oconto Falls High School between 2005 and 2025.

Victims and Legal Action

  • The complaint was initiated by three women, now adults and alumni of Oconto Falls High School, who reported being sexually abused by school staff during their teenage years.
  • Attorney Cass Casper from Disparti Law Group stated that at least 14 victims are willing to share their experiences.
  • The plaintiffs aim to address and eradicate the institutional culture that allowed sexual abuse and grooming to persist within the school district.

Institutional Culture and Accountability

The complaint highlights a pervasive culture within the school district where sexual abuse, grooming, and misconduct by teachers and staff were widespread, known to officials, and tolerated without meaningful consequences. Multiple teachers and administrators allegedly witnessed or were aware of inappropriate conduct but failed to act.

Named Individuals and Legal Proceedings

  1. Three teachers are named in the Title IX lawsuit:
    • Brynn Larsen pleaded no contest to third-degree sexual assault of a student in 2021 and received a two-year prison sentence.
    • Gayle Gander was charged with sexual misconduct in January 2026 and was removed from his position promptly.
    • The third teacher named has not been charged with a crime according to state records.
  2. Five additional staff members are listed but remain unnamed.

District Response

Superintendent Stuart Russ acknowledged that plaintiffs threatened legal action and made monetary demands in August 2025. The district claims to have responded by recognizing the wrongdoing of former employees and asserting that prompt action was taken upon learning of the misconduct. Investigations into other allegations have been conducted, though the district refrains from commenting further due to the ongoing nature of the lawsuit.

Victim Statements and Calls for Justice

  • Victim Amanda Watzka publicly shared her experience and expressed a desire for accountability for her abuser, who has not yet faced consequences.
  • Watzka’s courage in speaking out exemplifies the importance of survivor voices in promoting justice and institutional change.

Connection to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4: Quality Education

The allegations underscore the critical need for safe and inclusive educational environments where students can learn free from abuse. Ensuring quality education involves protecting students’ rights and well-being, which is fundamental to the SDG 4 targets.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

Addressing sexual abuse in schools directly relates to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls by combating violence and discrimination in educational settings.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

The complaint highlights the necessity of building effective, accountable, and transparent institutions. Holding perpetrators accountable and reforming school policies align with SDG 16’s aim to promote justice and reduce violence.

Recent Legislative Measures Supporting SDGs

  1. Governor Tony Evers signed two Republican-sponsored bills targeting child grooming:
    • Establishing a criminal definition of child grooming with strict felony penalties.
    • Mandating all Wisconsin schools to implement clear policies and training on appropriate staff-student communication.

Resources and Support

If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual assault, help is available:

  • Call 1-800-656-HOPE
  • Text HOPE to 64673
  • Online resources: RAINN

Conclusion

The ongoing legal case against the Oconto Falls School District highlights the urgent need for systemic reforms in educational institutions to protect children and uphold their rights. Aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4, SDG 5, and SDG 16, this case underscores the importance of safe learning environments, gender equality, and strong institutions to foster sustainable development and social justice.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • The article highlights issues within a school district, specifically concerning the safety and well-being of students, which directly relates to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • The sexual abuse and grooming of students, many of whom are likely female, touches on gender-based violence and discrimination, which SDG 5 aims to eliminate.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses institutional failure to protect children from abuse, the need for justice for victims, and the establishment of laws and policies to prevent abuse, which aligns with SDG 16’s goals to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice, and build effective, accountable institutions.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
    • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. For SDG 4 (Target 4.a)
    • Indicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools with access to safe, non-violent, inclusive environments (implied by the need for safe school environments free from abuse).
  2. For SDG 5 (Target 5.2)
    • Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by a partner in the previous 12 months (implied by reports of sexual abuse and misconduct).
    • Indicator 5.2.2: Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner (implied by abuse by school staff).
  3. For SDG 16 (Targets 16.2, 16.6, 16.7)
    • Indicator 16.2.1: Proportion of children aged 1-17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month (related to abuse prevalence).
    • Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of the population satisfied with their last experience of public services (implied by institutional response and accountability).
    • Indicator 16.7.2: Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive (implied by community and victim engagement in addressing abuse).
    • Additional implied indicators: Number of reported cases of sexual abuse in schools, number of prosecutions and convictions related to abuse, existence and enforcement of policies and training on staff-student interactions.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 4: Quality Education 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. 4.a.1: Proportion of schools with access to safe, non-violent, inclusive environments (implied).
SDG 5: Gender Equality 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  • 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls subjected to sexual violence by a partner (implied).
  • 5.2.2: Proportion of women and girls subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner (implied).
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
  • 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
  • 16.2.1: Proportion of children experiencing physical punishment and/or psychological aggression (related).
  • 16.6.2: Proportion satisfied with public services (implied).
  • 16.7.2: Proportion who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive (implied).
  • Number of reported abuse cases, prosecutions, convictions, and existence of policies/training (implied).

Source: wpr.org

 

]]> Battery energy storage systems – the changing regulatory framework in Germany – White & Case LLP https://sdgtalks.ai/battery-energy-storage-systems-the-changing-regulatory-framework-in-germany-white-case-llp https://sdgtalks.ai/battery-energy-storage-systems-the-changing-regulatory-framework-in-germany-white-case-llp Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:30:04 -0500 sdgtalks Battery, energy, storage, systems, –, the, changing, regulatory, framework, Germany, –, White, Case, LLP  

Report on Regulatory Developments for Large Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Germany with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Battery Storage Facilities

Large battery storage facilities are pivotal for Germany’s transition to a nearly greenhouse-gas-neutral electricity supply, aligning with SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Recent regulatory changes present both opportunities and challenges for BESS project developers and investors.

Background

The rapid increase in planning and construction of large-scale BESS in Germany has created significant demands on the electricity network, surpassing current planning assumptions. This situation has triggered responses from German transmission system operators (TSOs) and legislative initiatives aimed at resolving network capacity bottlenecks. Additionally, reforms to the network tariff system are under consideration, which will impact investment decisions, especially as existing exemptions are reviewed. The Federal Building Code (BauGB) has been amended to provide a planning-law basis for large-scale BESS, supporting SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

1. Revision of Network Connection Procedures

According to Section 17 para. 1 of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG), network operators must offer connections on reasonable, non-discriminatory, and transparent terms. The traditional “first come, first served” procedure is deemed inadequate to meet growing demand. Consequently, TSOs proposed a revised allocation procedure in February 2026, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) is pursuing legislative reform through the “Network Package”. These initiatives aim to enhance efficiency and fairness in network connections, supporting SDG 9 and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

1.1 TSO Initiative: “First-Ready, First-Served” Approach

The TSOs propose a “first-ready, first-served” allocation procedure prioritizing projects with high realization probability and quality for secure, affordable network connections. Key features include:

  1. Cyclical processing of applications instead of continuous case-by-case review.
  2. Compliance with minimum formal admissibility requirements.
  3. Prioritization based on project maturity in cases of oversubscription.

Applicants must submit by a fixed deadline with a non-refundable fee of EUR 50,000. TSOs conduct cluster studies assessing admissibility, maturity, ranking, capacity allocation, and network compatibility. Successful projects receive connection reservation offers and must pay a realization deposit. This procedure aligns with legal rulings ensuring non-discrimination and promotes SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

The maturity assessment ranks projects on:

  • Site security and approval status
  • Technical plant and connection concept
  • Financial and operational performance
  • Grid and system value

BESS projects combining multiple technology categories may score higher, encouraging integrated sustainable energy solutions.

1.2 Legislative Initiative: Network Package

The Network Package addresses challenges such as speculative connection requests and facilitates grid-neutral battery storage co-located with existing facilities. Key legislative reforms include:

  • Abolition of the “first-come, first-served” approach.
  • Introduction of an approval requirement by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).
  • Granting TSOs authority to prioritize connection requests based on security of supply, expansion targets, and spatial planning.
  • Facilitation of “grid-neutral storage” allowing BESS co-located with renewable or consumption facilities without increasing network capacity load.

This initiative supports SDG 7 and SDG 13 by promoting efficient integration of renewable energy and enhancing grid stability.

2. Revision of Network Tariffs

The BNetzA has initiated the AgNes process to redesign Germany’s network tariff rules, impacting BESS operators. Currently, BESS commissioned by 4 August 2029 benefit from a 20-year network tariff exemption. However, BNetzA’s Orientation Paper proposes subjecting BESS to a two-component tariff system:

  • Financing-function tariff
  • Incentive-function tariff (which may be negative)

The potential introduction of feed-in tariffs is under discussion, aiming to avoid double-charging given BESS dual roles as generators and consumers. Early introduction of network tariffs is likely, affecting investment viability and aligning with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by influencing economic frameworks for sustainable energy investments.

3. New Privileged Status for BESS Under Federal Building Code (BauGB)

Since December 2025, BESS have been granted privileged status in external areas, addressing previous permitting inconsistencies and supporting SDG 11 and SDG 9. Key points include:

3.1 The Two-Tier Privilege

  • Section 35 para. 1 no. 11 BauGB: Privilege for BESS co-located with renewable energy installations, with capacity appropriate to the supported plant.
  • Section 35 para. 1 no. 12 BauGB: Privilege for standalone BESS located within 200 m of qualifying substations or power plants, meeting capacity and municipal area caps.

Project-specific assessments remain essential to determine qualification.

3.2 Overriding Public Interest

Section 11c EnWG confirms BESS facilities serve overriding public interest, supporting public health and safety, and granting priority in regulatory balancing. This facilitates species protection exemptions and aligns BESS with renewable energy and grid infrastructure frameworks, advancing SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

3.3 Investment Implications

The reform removes the need for special development plans for BESS in external areas, streamlining project timelines and establishing uniform approval standards. While some ambiguities remain, this enhances legal certainty and investor confidence, supporting SDG 8 and SDG 9.

Outlook and Recommendations

Although the described regulatory initiatives are not yet formally enacted, it is highly probable that the “first-ready, first-served” procedure will be implemented. Projects with advanced planning and readiness are expected to benefit. The introduction of construction cost subsidies and network tariffs will significantly influence the economic viability of BESS investments.

Stakeholders should:

  • Closely monitor legislative and regulatory developments.
  • Assess existing and planned projects against new criteria.
  • Consider the implications for investment strategies and sustainable energy goals.

These developments contribute to Germany’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 7, SDG 9, SDG 11, and SDG 13, by fostering clean energy infrastructure, innovation, sustainable cities, and climate action.

References

  1. BMWE, Draft Network Package, 2026.
  2. TSO, Maturity Assessment Procedure for Grid Connections, February 2026.
  3. Federal Court of Justice Judgment, July 2025.
  4. BNetzA, AgNes Process and Orientation Paper on Storage Network Tariffs, 2026.
  5. Federal Building Code Amendments, December 2025.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • The article focuses on large battery energy storage systems (BESS) as key components for achieving a virtually greenhouse-gas-neutral electricity supply in Germany, directly relating to clean energy access and sustainability.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • It discusses regulatory reforms, infrastructure planning, and innovation in energy storage technologies, which are critical to resilient infrastructure and sustainable industrialization.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The BauGB amendments granting privileged status to BESS in external areas support sustainable urban planning and resilient infrastructure in municipalities.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • By promoting battery storage to enable a greenhouse-gas-neutral electricity supply and network stability, the article addresses mitigation of climate change impacts.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 7 Targets
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
    • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
  2. SDG 9 Targets
    • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being.
    • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors, including clean energy technologies.
  3. SDG 11 Targets
    • Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management.
  4. SDG 13 Targets
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators Related to SDG 7
    • Capacity of battery energy storage systems connected to the electricity grid (implied by references to cumulative BESS connection requests and capacity in GW).
    • Share of electricity generated from renewable sources supported by battery storage (implied by the role of BESS in stabilizing renewable energy supply).
  2. Indicators Related to SDG 9
    • Number and capacity of large-scale battery storage projects approved and constructed (implied by regulatory reforms and planning procedures).
    • Implementation rate of revised network connection procedures and tariff reforms (implied by legislative initiatives and regulatory processes).
  3. Indicators Related to SDG 11
    • Number of BESS projects granted privileged status under BauGB and integrated into municipal planning (implied by the new legal framework).
  4. Indicators Related to SDG 13
    • Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation due to increased battery storage capacity (implied by the goal of a greenhouse-gas-neutral electricity supply).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy
  • 7.3: Double rate of energy efficiency improvement
  • Capacity of battery energy storage systems connected to grid (GW)
  • Share of electricity from renewables supported by BESS
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • 9.1: Develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure
  • 9.5: Enhance technological capabilities in clean energy
  • Number and capacity of approved BESS projects
  • Implementation rate of network connection and tariff reforms
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.3: Enhance sustainable urbanization and planning
  • Number of BESS projects with privileged status under BauGB
  • Integration of BESS in municipal planning
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
  • Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation
  • Increase in greenhouse-gas-neutral electricity supply enabled by BESS

Source: whitecase.com

 

]]> 2026 Outlook for Maritime Biofuels – The National Law Review https://sdgtalks.ai/2026-outlook-for-maritime-biofuels-the-national-law-review https://sdgtalks.ai/2026-outlook-for-maritime-biofuels-the-national-law-review Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:30:04 -0500 sdgtalks 2026, Outlook, for, Maritime, Biofuels, –, The, National, Law, Review  

Maritime Biofuels and Sustainable Development Goals in 2026

Maritime Biofuels

Maritime biofuels are emerging as a pivotal element in the global effort to decarbonize the shipping industry in 2026. This report emphasizes the critical role of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), in shaping the maritime biofuel sector. Various international, national, and local initiatives are facilitating the growth of biofuels as a sustainable energy source within maritime transport.

Introduction

Maritime shipping, responsible for transporting over 80% of global goods, consumes approximately 5% of the world’s annual oil supply, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The industry faces increasing regulatory pressure to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, aligning with SDG 13 (Climate Action). Biofuels have been identified as a promising alternative to traditional heavy fuel oils, offering lower greenhouse gas emissions and supporting SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).

Key statistics highlight the scale of the biofuel market:

  • Ethanol production reached 116 billion liters in 2024.
  • Biodiesel production approached 50 billion liters in 2024.
  • The biofuels industry was valued at approximately 160.5 billion USD in 2025.
  • Projected global demand for biofuels could exceed 140 million tons by 2028, with North America playing a critical role.

These developments underscore the importance of harmonizing regulations across international, national, and local levels to support sustainable maritime fuel adoption, in line with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

International Initiatives

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), representing 176 member states, has been actively working on regulatory frameworks to reduce maritime emissions, directly contributing to SDG 13 (Climate Action). In October 2025, the IMO convened to vote on a new emissions tax, tradable permit system, and fuel standards under the proposed Net-Zero Framework targeting 2050 net-zero emissions.

  1. Net-Zero Framework: If adopted, it would require ships to reduce greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI) or purchase credits for excess emissions, encouraging the use of biofuels with lower GFI such as those derived from soybean oil or waste cooking oil.
  2. Implementation Timeline: Targeted for 2028, though adoption has been delayed due to opposition, notably from the United States.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s FuelEU Maritime program, effective January 2026, mandates ships operating within the EU and European Economic Area to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by using renewable or low-carbon fuels, supporting SDG 7 and SDG 13. Key features include:

  • Requirement for on-shore power or zero-emission technology at European ports by 2030.
  • Carbon intensity limits for ships above 5,000 gross tonnage.
  • Exclusion of crop-based biofuels, favoring non-crop feedstocks like waste fats and grease, which may increase demand for sustainable biofuels.

National Developments

At the national level, legislative efforts aim to expand incentives for maritime biofuels, reinforcing SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Notably:

  • The Renewable Fuel for Ocean-Going Vessels Act was introduced in March 2025 to amend the Clean Air Act by including ocean-going vessel fuel as eligible for Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) credits.
  • This amendment would create an opt-in credit system encouraging the use of renewable fuels in maritime transport without mandating it, thus promoting market growth for sustainable fuels.

Local and Port-Level Initiatives

Local ports are increasingly adopting ambitious climate and air quality plans that often exceed international and national regulations, aligning with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Examples include:

  1. Port of Detroit: Aims for 50% of large vessels to use biofuel by 2027 and plans to meet 100% of biofuel demand by 2040.
  2. Port of Seattle: Implemented a clean air strategy targeting the phase-out of high-intensity fuels.
  3. Port Authority of Guam: Adopted a zero-emission target with a focus on energy resilience in its 2026 strategic framework.

These local initiatives are critical in driving demand for sustainable maritime fuels and enhancing compliance with evolving regulations.

Conclusion

In 2026, the maritime biofuel sector stands at a crossroads shaped by evolving international, national, and local regulatory frameworks. Industry stakeholders must prioritize understanding and adapting to these changes to capitalize on the growing market for sustainable maritime fuels. These efforts contribute directly to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 7: Promoting affordable and clean energy through biofuel adoption.
  • SDG 9: Encouraging innovation and infrastructure development in maritime transport.
  • SDG 11: Supporting sustainable cities and communities via cleaner port operations.
  • SDG 12: Advancing responsible consumption and production by shifting to renewable fuels.
  • SDG 13: Taking urgent climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Continued collaboration among international bodies, governments, industry players, and local authorities is essential to realize the full potential of maritime biofuels in achieving a sustainable and low-carbon future.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • The article discusses the growing use of maritime biofuels as a renewable energy source to replace traditional fossil fuels in shipping.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • It highlights innovations in maritime fuel standards and the development of biofuel markets and infrastructure at international, national, and local levels.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable fuel consumption in maritime shipping.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • The article centers on decarbonization efforts, net-zero emissions targets, and regulatory frameworks aimed at reducing maritime shipping emissions.
  5. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • By reducing emissions from shipping, the article indirectly supports the protection of marine ecosystems.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
    • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
  5. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • Target 14.3: Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Greenhouse Gas Fuel Intensity (GFI)
    • The article mentions GFI as a key metric in the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework and the EU’s FuelEU maritime program to measure emissions intensity of fuels used by ships.
  2. Volume of Biofuel Production and Consumption
    • Statistics on ethanol and biodiesel production volumes (116 billion liters ethanol, 50 billion liters biodiesel in 2024) imply tracking production as an indicator.
    • Demand projections for biofuels (140 million tons by 2028) serve as indicators of market growth and adoption.
  3. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Credits
    • Use and retirement of RFS credits for maritime biofuels indicate compliance and market participation.
  4. Port-Level Biofuel Usage Targets
    • Examples include the Port of Detroit’s goal for 50% of large vessels to use biofuel by 2027 and 100% biofuel demand coverage by 2040.
    • Local port climate and air quality plans set measurable targets for sustainable fuel use.
  5. Regulatory Compliance Metrics
    • Adoption and implementation of emissions taxes, tradable permits, and fuel standards as regulatory indicators of progress.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy 7.2 Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
  • Volume of biofuel production (e.g., ethanol and biodiesel liters produced)
  • Biofuel consumption in maritime shipping
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 9.4 Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable.
  • Implementation of maritime biofuel regulatory frameworks (IMO, EU FuelEU)
  • Development of biofuel market infrastructure
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.2 Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
  • 12.5 Substantially reduce waste generation.
  • Use of biofuels from waste feedstocks (e.g., waste cooking oil, waste fats and grease)
  • Reduction in fossil fuel consumption in maritime shipping
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies.
  • 13.3 Improve education, awareness, and institutional capacity on climate mitigation.
  • Greenhouse Gas Fuel Intensity (GFI) metrics for ships
  • Adoption of emissions taxes and tradable permit systems
  • Compliance with net-zero emissions frameworks
SDG 14: Life Below Water 14.3 Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification.
  • Reduction in maritime emissions contributing to ocean acidification
  • Port-level emission reduction targets and plans

Source: natlawreview.com

 

]]> Unlocking Resources for Resilience and Energy Savings Join Us for a C-PACE Info Session on March 18! – The City of Asheville (.gov) https://sdgtalks.ai/unlocking-resources-for-resilience-and-energy-savings-join-us-for-a-c-pace-info-session-on-march-18-the-city-of-asheville-gov https://sdgtalks.ai/unlocking-resources-for-resilience-and-energy-savings-join-us-for-a-c-pace-info-session-on-march-18-the-city-of-asheville-gov Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:00:15 -0500 sdgtalks Unlocking, Resources, for, Resilience, and, Energy, Savings, Join, for, C-PACE, Info, Session, March, 18, –, The, City, Asheville, .gov  

Report on the Launch of North Carolina C-PACE Program by City of Asheville and Buncombe County

The City of Asheville and Buncombe County have introduced the North Carolina Commercial Property Assessed Capital Expenditure (C-PACE) program. This innovative financing mechanism aims to support commercial property owners and developers in implementing upgrades that promote energy efficiency, water conservation, and resiliency. The initiative aligns closely with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Information Session Details

To facilitate understanding and utilization of the C-PACE program, a free information session will be held with no registration required:

  • Date and Time: March 18, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:00 AM
  • Location: 200 College St, Asheville, 1st Floor Conference Room
  • Parking: Validated parking available at 164 College St. parking deck

Overview of C-PACE Financing

C-PACE provides long-term, private capital financing secured by a voluntary assessment and lien on commercial, industrial, agricultural, and multi-family properties. This financing tool addresses a critical barrier to sustainable development by reducing upfront costs associated with building improvements.

Key Benefits of C-PACE Financing

  1. 100% Financing: Covers both hard and soft costs, including audits and engineering, minimizing initial investment requirements.
  2. Improved Cash Flow: Financing terms extend 20–30 years, corresponding to the lifespan of improvements, often resulting in energy savings that exceed repayment amounts.
  3. Transferability: The repayment obligation is tied to the property and transfers automatically to new owners upon sale.
  4. Increased Property Value: Enhancements in energy efficiency, resiliency, renewable energy, and water conservation improve building longevity and attract tenants by lowering utility costs.

Eligible Improvements Under C-PACE

The program supports a broad range of sustainable property improvements that contribute to multiple SDGs:

  • Energy Efficiency: Installation of high-efficiency lighting, HVAC systems, insulation, and energy-efficient windows (supports SDG 7).
  • Renewable Energy: Deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, and geothermal systems (supports SDG 7 and SDG 13).
  • Resiliency: Flood mitigation, stormwater management, wind resistance enhancements such as roof reinforcements, and indoor air quality improvements (supports SDG 11 and SDG 13).
  • Water Conservation: Implementation of water-saving fixtures and measures to ensure safe drinking water (supports SDG 6).

Program Administration and Eligibility

The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) administers the C-PACE program, with local government authorization and funding from private capital providers.

  • Eligibility Criteria: Property owners must be current on taxes and mortgages.
  • Lienholder Consent: Written consent from all existing mortgage holders is mandatory prior to financing.
  • Financing Limits: Financing is available up to 35% of the property’s assessed value.

Additional Resources and Contact

For stakeholders unable to attend the information session, comprehensive program details and toolkits are accessible via the EDPNC website. The City of Asheville and Buncombe County encourage participation to advance sustainable development goals and support clean energy initiatives within the community.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • The article discusses financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades, directly contributing to clean energy access and use.
  2. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Water conservation and safe drinking water improvements are part of the qualifying projects under C-PACE.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Resiliency upgrades such as flood mitigation and stormwater management enhance urban sustainability and safety.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Energy efficiency, renewable energy, and resiliency measures support climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
  5. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • The program promotes innovative financing tools and infrastructure improvements in commercial properties.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 7 Targets
    • Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
  2. SDG 6 Targets
    • Target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors.
    • Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water.
  3. SDG 11 Targets
    • Target 11.5: Reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected by disasters, including water-related disasters.
    • Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities.
  4. SDG 13 Targets
    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
  5. SDG 9 Targets
    • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

  1. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Indicators
    • Percentage of commercial properties upgraded with energy-efficient lighting, HVAC, insulation, and renewable energy systems (solar, wind, geothermal).
    • Energy savings exceeding financing payments, implying measurement of energy consumption reductions.
  2. Water Conservation Indicators
    • Implementation rate of water-saving fixtures and measures ensuring safe drinking water in commercial properties.
  3. Resiliency Indicators
    • Number of properties with flood mitigation, stormwater management, and wind resistance improvements.
    • Improvement in indoor air quality measures.
  4. Financial and Programmatic Indicators
    • Amount of private capital invested through C-PACE financing.
    • Percentage of property value financed (up to 35%).
    • Number of commercial property owners utilizing C-PACE financing.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 7.3: Double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030
  • 7.2: Increase the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
  • % of commercial properties upgraded with energy-efficient and renewable energy systems
  • Energy savings exceeding financing payments
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency across all sectors
  • 6.1: Achieve access to safe and affordable drinking water
  • Implementation rate of water-saving fixtures and safe drinking water measures
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.5: Reduce deaths and people affected by disasters
  • 11.6: Reduce adverse environmental impact of cities
  • Number of properties with flood mitigation, stormwater management, and wind resistance improvements
  • Indoor air quality improvements
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards
  • Number of resiliency upgrades implemented
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries for sustainability
  • Amount of private capital invested through C-PACE
  • Percentage of property value financed
  • Number of commercial properties utilizing C-PACE

Source: ashevillenc.gov

 

]]> Survey: 64% of workers over 50 say they face age discrimination in the workplace – Scripps News https://sdgtalks.ai/survey-64-of-workers-over-50-say-they-face-age-discrimination-in-the-workplace-scripps-news https://sdgtalks.ai/survey-64-of-workers-over-50-say-they-face-age-discrimination-in-the-workplace-scripps-news Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Survey:, 64, workers, over, say, they, face, age, discrimination, the, workplace, –, Scripps, News  

Workplace Age Discrimination and Its Impact on Sustainable Development Goals

Overview of Ageism in the Workplace

Workplace discrimination manifests in various forms, with ageism being a significant concern. A recent survey conducted by AARP revealed that 64% of workers aged over 50 perceive discrimination in their work environment. This figure has remained consistent since 2024. Additionally, more than 10% of respondents reported being overlooked for promotions due to their age.

Addressing Age Discrimination: Strategies and Legal Framework

Julie Bauke, a career expert from the Bauke Group, emphasizes proactive measures that employees can take when facing age discrimination:

  1. Offer unique value by leveraging experience to provide wisdom, coaching, and guidance on projects.
  2. Volunteer for professional development opportunities such as classes or programs to acquire new skills relevant to organizational needs.

These strategies align with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, which promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all.

Legal Protections Against Age Discrimination

Age discrimination in the workplace contravenes Equal Employment Opportunity laws. Employees are encouraged to understand their rights under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). More information can be found here.

Relevance to Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – Promoting equal opportunities regardless of age supports gender equality by ensuring all demographics have fair access to career advancement.
  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Combating ageism fosters inclusive workplaces that value diversity and experience, contributing to sustained economic growth.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Addressing age discrimination helps reduce inequalities within the workforce, promoting social inclusion.

Conclusion

Eliminating ageism in the workplace is essential for achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Through awareness, legal knowledge, and proactive engagement, workers and organizations can foster inclusive environments that respect and utilize the talents of employees across all age groups.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The article discusses workplace discrimination, specifically ageism, which directly impacts the goal of promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Age discrimination is a form of inequality in the workplace, affecting older workers’ opportunities and treatment, aligning with the goal to reduce inequality within and among countries.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article references Equal Employment Opportunity laws and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, highlighting the importance of strong institutions and legal frameworks to protect rights and promote justice.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 8 Targets
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
    • Target 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.
  2. SDG 10 Targets
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
  3. SDG 16 Targets
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicator for Target 8.5
    • Proportion of employed persons who report experiencing workplace discrimination, specifically age discrimination (implied by the AARP survey stating 64% of workers over 50 feel discriminated against).
  2. Indicator for Target 8.8
    • Number of labor rights violations reported related to age discrimination and enforcement of Equal Employment Opportunity laws (implied by the reference to legal protections and awareness of rights).
  3. Indicator for Target 10.2
    • Rate of promotion or career advancement opportunities denied due to age, as indicated by “more than 1 in 10 respondents believe they’ve been passed up for a promotion because of their age.”
  4. Indicator for Target 16.3
    • Access to legal resources and awareness of anti-discrimination laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (implied by the article’s emphasis on knowing rights and legal frameworks).

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all.
  • 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe working environments.
  • Proportion of workers over 50 experiencing workplace discrimination (64% per AARP survey).
  • Number of labor rights violations related to age discrimination reported.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion regardless of age.
  • Rate of workers passed up for promotion due to age (more than 1 in 10 respondents).
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice.
  • Access to legal resources and awareness of Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Source: fox47news.com

 

]]> AFBF president calls for modernized farm labor programs – Brownfield Ag News https://sdgtalks.ai/afbf-president-calls-for-modernized-farm-labor-programs-brownfield-ag-news https://sdgtalks.ai/afbf-president-calls-for-modernized-farm-labor-programs-brownfield-ag-news Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:00:16 -0500 sdgtalks AFBF, president, calls, for, modernized, farm, labor, programs, –, Brownfield, News  

Report on the Call for Modernized Farm Labor Programs by AFBF President

Introduction

On March 10, 2026, Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), testified before the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, emphasizing the urgent need to address the ongoing farm labor crisis in the United States. This report highlights his key points with a focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to zero hunger, decent work, and economic growth.

Farm Labor Crisis and Its Impact

  • Labor Shortage: Duvall described the current labor shortage in agriculture as “unacceptable and unnecessary,” underscoring its detrimental effects on the agricultural sector.
  • Economic Implications: The shortage threatens the stability of the ag economy, a critical component of national economic growth (SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth).
  • Food Security: Insufficient labor limits farmers’ capacity to produce nutritious food, impacting efforts to end hunger and promote sustainable agriculture (SDG 2: Zero Hunger).

Recommendations for Modernization

Duvall advocated for the modernization of agricultural labor programs and enhancement of guest worker initiatives to strengthen domestic markets and retain production within U.S. borders. Key recommendations include:

  1. Implementing updated farm labor policies that reflect current agricultural productivity and workforce needs.
  2. Improving guest worker programs to ensure a reliable and legal labor supply.
  3. Aligning market infrastructure and policy frameworks with the innovative nature of American agriculture.

Consequences of Inaction

  • Continued labor shortages could force farmers, especially those growing fruits and vegetables, to cease operations or switch to less labor-intensive crops.
  • Potential relocation of farm production and food processing outside U.S. borders, undermining domestic food security and economic sustainability.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

The issues and solutions presented by AFBF President Duvall directly relate to several SDGs:

  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger – Ensuring sufficient labor supports the production of nutritious food for the population.
  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Modernized labor programs promote fair employment and strengthen the agricultural economy.
  • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Supporting sustainable agricultural practices through adequate workforce availability.

Conclusion

The testimony by AFBF President Zippy Duvall highlights the critical need for legislative action to modernize farm labor programs. Addressing the labor shortage is essential to sustaining American agriculture’s productivity, supporting economic growth, and achieving key Sustainable Development Goals related to hunger, work, and sustainable industry.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall testifies before the Senate Ag Committee
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall testifies before the Senate Ag Committee on March 10, 2026 (Photo/Senate Ag Livestream)

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger – The article discusses the impact of farm labor shortages on the ability to grow nutritious food, directly relating to ending hunger and ensuring food security.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The call for modernized farm labor programs and improved guest worker programs relates to promoting sustained, inclusive economic growth and decent work for all.
  3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensuring that agricultural productivity and labor policies evolve aligns with sustainable production practices.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 2 Targets:
    • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, including through secure and equal access to land, resources, and markets.
    • Target 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices.
  2. SDG 8 Targets:
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities.
    • Target 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.
  3. SDG 12 Targets:
    • Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Labor Force Availability in Agriculture: The article implies measuring the number of available farm workers or labor shortages as an indicator of progress towards addressing workforce issues.
  2. Crop Production Levels: The shift to less labor-intensive crops and the closure of fruit and vegetable farms suggest indicators related to agricultural output and diversity.
  3. Implementation of Labor Programs: The modernization of farm labor and guest worker programs can be tracked through indicators measuring policy reforms and program uptake.
  4. Food Security and Nutrition: The ability to grow nutritious food relates to indicators on food availability and nutritional outcomes.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  • 2.3: Double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers
  • 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems
  • Availability of farm labor force
  • Levels of nutritious food production
  • Number of farms producing labor-intensive crops
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all
  • 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe working environments
  • Implementation and modernization of farm labor programs
  • Number of guest worker program participants
  • Labor shortage statistics in agriculture
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
  • Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices aligned with labor availability
  • Policy evolution tracking in agricultural productivity and labor

Source: brownfieldagnews.com

 

]]> Conditional Cash Transfers: Generating Buzz, But Let’s Think Outside the Box – New America https://sdgtalks.ai/conditional-cash-transfers-generating-buzz-but-lets-think-outside-the-box-new-america https://sdgtalks.ai/conditional-cash-transfers-generating-buzz-but-lets-think-outside-the-box-new-america Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:00:12 -0500 sdgtalks Conditional, Cash, Transfers:, Generating, Buzz, But, Let’s, Think, Outside, the, Box, –, New, America  

Report on Conditional Cash Transfers and Their Role in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

At the recent launch of the World Bank Policy Research Report titled Conditional Cash Transfers: Reducing Present and Future Poverty, significant attention was given to the impact of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs globally. These programs, which began with Mexico’s Oportunidades initiative, have demonstrated effectiveness as social policy tools that contribute to poverty reduction and align with multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Global Expansion and Recognition of CCT Programs

  • CCT programs have expanded from Latin America to Africa and the United States, reflecting their growing importance in social protection strategies.
  • The World Bank announced plans to extend CCT projects to six additional countries within the year, underscoring international commitment to poverty alleviation.
  • These programs directly contribute to SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and SDG 4 (Quality Education) by providing conditional support to vulnerable populations.

Limitations and Opportunities for Innovation

Experts, including Santiago Levy, the architect of Oportunidades, emphasized that CCTs are not universally effective and must be integrated within broader social safety nets to maximize impact.

However, there is growing interest in leveraging CCTs to promote financial inclusion and asset-building among the poor, which aligns with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Evidence of Asset Building and Financial Inclusion

  1. Research by Tina Rosenberg highlighted that many women beneficiaries of Oportunidades invested part of their cash transfers into sustainable small businesses, enhancing family income and economic stability.
  2. Programs such as Proyecto Capital in Peru integrate CCTs with initiatives encouraging savings, asset accumulation, and financial literacy.
  3. New York City’s Opportunity NYC program links cash transfers to bank accounts, promoting savings and reducing transaction costs.
  4. Empirical data from Latin America shows positive outcomes:
    • Participants in Paraguay’s Tekporã program increased savings by 20%.
    • Mexican families invested 12% of their transfers in income-generating activities and saved more when payments were bank-mediated (source).

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 1: No Poverty – CCTs provide immediate financial support to poor households, reducing poverty levels.
  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – By encouraging investment in small businesses and productive assets, CCTs foster economic empowerment.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Financial inclusion initiatives linked to CCTs help bridge gaps between the unbanked and formal financial systems.
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – Many CCT programs target women, promoting their economic participation and empowerment.

Future Directions and Research

The Global Assets Project is currently exploring the potential of CCTs to enhance savings and asset-building among poor populations. A forthcoming report will provide further insights into how these programs can be innovatively designed to support financial inclusion and sustainable development.

Continued dialogue and research are essential to reimagine CCTs beyond traditional frameworks, ensuring they contribute effectively to the achievement of the SDGs.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

  1. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • The article discusses Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs aimed at reducing poverty by providing financial support to poor households.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • It highlights how CCTs help beneficiaries invest in small businesses and income-generating activities, promoting economic growth and entrepreneurship.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The focus on financial inclusion and helping the unbanked poor access formal financial services addresses inequality issues.
  4. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • The article mentions women investing parts of their transfers in small businesses, indicating empowerment of women through economic means.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified Based on the Article’s Content

  1. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Target 1.2: Reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its dimensions.
    • Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and achieve substantial coverage of the poor and vulnerable.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
    • Target 10.c: Reduce to less than 3% the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5%.
  4. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Target 5.a: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article to Measure Progress Towards the Identified Targets

  1. Indicator for SDG 1 (No Poverty)
    • Proportion of population living below the national poverty line before and after receiving CCTs.
    • Coverage rate of social protection programs among the poor and vulnerable.
  2. Indicator for SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)
    • Percentage of households investing in income-generating activities or small businesses as a result of CCT participation.
    • Increase in household income attributable to CCT programs.
  3. Indicator for SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)
    • Increase in savings rates among poor households participating in CCT programs.
    • Proportion of CCT payments made through formal financial institutions (e.g., banks).
    • Reduction in transaction costs related to financial services for the poor.
  4. Indicator for SDG 5 (Gender Equality)
    • Proportion of women beneficiaries investing in small businesses or productive assets.
    • Access to financial services by women participating in CCT programs.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 1: No Poverty
  • 1.2: Reduce poverty by half
  • 1.3: Implement social protection systems
  • Proportion of population below poverty line before and after CCTs
  • Coverage rate of social protection programs
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.3: Promote policies supporting entrepreneurship and job creation
  • Percentage of households investing in income-generating activities
  • Increase in household income from CCT participation
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion
  • 10.c: Reduce transaction costs of financial services
  • Increase in savings rates among CCT participants
  • Proportion of payments made through banks
  • Reduction in transaction costs
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.a: Equal rights to economic resources and financial services for women
  • Proportion of women investing in small businesses
  • Access to financial services by women beneficiaries

Source: newamerica.org

 

]]> Call for good practices in sustainable management and restoration of agricultural lands and soils – Food and Agriculture Organization https://sdgtalks.ai/call-for-good-practices-in-sustainable-management-and-restoration-of-agricultural-lands-and-soils-food-and-agriculture-organization https://sdgtalks.ai/call-for-good-practices-in-sustainable-management-and-restoration-of-agricultural-lands-and-soils-food-and-agriculture-organization Thu, 12 Mar 2026 07:30:16 -0500 sdgtalks Call, for, good, practices, sustainable, management, and, restoration, agricultural, lands, and, soils, –, Food, and, Agriculture, Organization  

Global Initiative for Sustainable Management and Restoration of Agricultural Lands and Soils

Background and Urgency

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that 1.66 billion hectares of land worldwide are degraded due to human activities, with over 60% of this degradation occurring on agricultural land. Since 95% of global food production depends on healthy soil and land, restoring these degraded areas and adopting sustainable land management practices are critical to achieving food security and environmental sustainability.

Significance of Grasslands, Pasturelands, and Rangelands

Grasslands, pasturelands, and rangelands cover approximately 54% of the Earth’s land surface. These ecosystems provide essential services including:

  • Carbon sequestration
  • Biodiversity conservation
  • Livelihood support for millions of people

However, these ecosystems face increasing threats: 13% of grasslands are degraded, and 34% exhibit reduced functionality due to pressures such as overgrazing, leading to soil erosion and decreased productivity.

Joint Development of the Global Report on Good Practices

In alignment with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16 Decision 19, which focuses on avoiding, reducing, and reversing land and soil degradation in agricultural lands, FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have agreed to jointly develop the Global Report on Good Practices in Sustainable Management and Restoration of Agricultural Lands and Soils.

The report aims to highlight proven solutions that restore soil health and enhance the resilience of agri-food systems, directly supporting several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Structure and Call for Submissions

The Global Report will be published in two volumes, each focusing on a major land use system. Currently, submissions are invited for Volume I, which concentrates on Rangelands, Pasturelands, and Grasslands. This volume will serve as a vital resource to scale up effective sustainable land management practices globally.

The report is scheduled to be presented at key international events such as UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia (August 2026) and other relevant forums, contributing to the global agenda on land degradation neutrality and ecosystem restoration.

Alignment with Global Frameworks and SDGs

This initiative supports multiple international frameworks and Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • UNCCD Land Degradation Neutrality Targets (SDG 15)
  • UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 (SDG 13, SDG 15)
  • Global Soil Partnership Action Framework 2022-2030 (SDG 2, SDG 15)
  • International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 (SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 15)
  • International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 (SDG 5: Gender Equality)
  • FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031 focusing on better production, nutrition, environment, and life (SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 12, SDG 15)
  • FAO Conceptual Framework for Integrated Land and Water Resources Management (SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 15)
  • UNEP Medium-Term Strategy 2026-2029 including land degradation neutrality (SDG 13, SDG 15)

Submission Guidelines for Good Practice Case Studies

FAO and UNEP-IEMP invite stakeholders to submit impactful good practice case studies that demonstrate successful approaches to managing and restoring rangelands, pasturelands, and grasslands. A “Good Practice” is defined as a field-tested approach implemented in a specific geographical area with measurable benefits sustained over at least three years.

Eligible Stakeholders

  • Government agencies
  • Research institutions
  • Non-governmental organizations
  • Pastoralist and farmer organizations
  • Indigenous groups

Mandatory Selection Criteria

  1. Geographically Defined: The practice must be implemented in a clearly identified area.
  2. Applies Restoration Principles: Aligns with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration core principles.
  3. Delivers Measurable Benefits: Demonstrates positive outcomes related to land degradation neutrality, such as improved resilience, ecosystem health, food security, productivity, gender equality, economic viability, livelihoods, or cultural value.
  4. Proven and Scalable: Shows documented success and potential for scaling or adaptation.
  5. Creates Synergies: Contributes to at least two of the three Rio Conventions: UNCCD, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Submission Process

Case studies must be prepared in English using the official Case Study Template, which guides contributors to provide evidence aligned with the selection criteria. The template is available here.

Submission Deadline: 13 April 2026

Submission Email: Completed templates and any supporting materials should be sent to the designated email address provided by FAO and UNEP-IEMP.

Review and Selection

All submissions will undergo a transparent two-stage review process conducted by a multidisciplinary Expert Review Panel. The process includes:

  • Eligibility check
  • Detailed scoring based on the selection criteria

The panel will select at least ten top-ranking case studies representing diverse regions, ecosystems, and approaches for inclusion in the Global Report.

Contact Information

For inquiries related to the call for submissions, selection criteria, or the case study template, please contact:

Further details are available at the UNEP-IEMP website: More Information >>>

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • The article emphasizes the importance of healthy soil and land for food production, noting that 95% of food production depends on these resources.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Grasslands and rangelands provide critical services such as carbon sequestration, which is directly linked to climate change mitigation.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • The focus on restoring degraded land, sustainable management of agricultural lands, and protecting grasslands, pasturelands, and rangelands aligns with this goal.
  4. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • The article mentions gender equality as one of the measurable benefits in the good practice case studies.
  5. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Promoting sustainable management practices and restoration of soils contributes to sustainable production systems.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified in the Article

  1. SDG 2 – Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems, and strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change.
  2. SDG 13 – Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
  3. SDG 15 – Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
  4. SDG 5 – Target 5.a: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property.
  5. SDG 12 – Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article to Measure Progress

  1. Land Degradation Neutrality Outcomes:
    • Resilience of ecosystems
    • Ecosystem health
    • Food security
    • Productivity of agricultural lands
    • Gender equality
    • Economic viability and livelihoods
    • Cultural value
  2. Degradation and Functionality of Grasslands:
    • Percentage of grasslands degraded (e.g., 13% degraded, 34% reduced function)
    • Soil erosion rates
    • Carbon sequestration capacity
  3. Implementation of Restoration Principles:
    • Application of UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration principles
    • Synergies with Rio Conventions (UNCCD, CBD, UNFCCC)

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 2: Zero Hunger Target 2.4: Sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices by 2030
  • Food security levels
  • Productivity of agricultural lands
  • Resilience of agrifood systems
SDG 13: Climate Action Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
  • Carbon sequestration in grasslands and rangelands
  • Implementation of ecosystem restoration principles
SDG 15: Life on Land Target 15.3: Combat desertification and restore degraded land and soil to achieve land degradation neutrality
  • Percentage of degraded grasslands and rangelands
  • Soil erosion rates
  • Land degradation neutrality outcomes (ecosystem health, resilience)
SDG 5: Gender Equality Target 5.a: Equal rights to economic resources including land ownership and control
  • Gender equality in land management and restoration projects
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production Target 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources by 2030
  • Adoption of sustainable land and soil management practices
  • Economic viability and livelihoods from sustainable practices

Source: fao.org

 

]]> Yahara Crossing: the DeForest CDA’s attempt to lead by example – hngnews.com https://sdgtalks.ai/yahara-crossing-the-deforest-cdas-attempt-to-lead-by-example-hngnewscom https://sdgtalks.ai/yahara-crossing-the-deforest-cdas-attempt-to-lead-by-example-hngnewscom Thu, 12 Mar 2026 07:30:16 -0500 sdgtalks Yahara, Crossing:, the, DeForest, CDA’s, attempt, lead, example, –, hngnews.com  

DeForest Community Development Authority Initiates Affordable Housing Project: Yahara Crossing

Introduction

The DeForest Community Development Authority (CDA) has embarked on a significant initiative to develop new affordable housing through the Yahara Crossing project. This development represents a strategic effort to diversify the village’s housing stock and foster community development, aligning with key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Project Overview

The Yahara Crossing building project offers a unique opportunity to address affordable housing needs within the village of DeForest. The CDA is taking an active developer role to ensure the project meets community needs and sustainability standards.

Community Development and Capacity Building

Beyond housing construction, the project serves as a practical learning platform for elected officials and residents, enhancing their understanding of community development processes. This capacity building supports sustainable urban growth and inclusive community engagement.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Yahara Crossing promotes inclusive and sustainable urbanization by increasing affordable housing options.
    • The project supports resilient infrastructure development within the village.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Providing affordable housing contributes to reducing poverty by lowering living costs for vulnerable populations.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The diversification of housing stock aims to create equitable access to quality living spaces for all community members.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • The CDA’s collaboration with local government and residents exemplifies effective partnerships to achieve sustainable development outcomes.

Project Visuals and Leadership

  • Yahara Crossing Rendering: Visual representations illustrate the building’s scope and design from multiple angles, emphasizing sustainable architectural planning.
  • Leadership: Alex Allon, Executive Director of the DeForest CDA, leads the initiative, ensuring alignment with community goals and sustainable development principles.

Conclusion

The Yahara Crossing project by the DeForest CDA exemplifies a comprehensive approach to sustainable community development through affordable housing. By integrating SDG principles, the initiative not only addresses immediate housing needs but also strengthens community capacity and fosters equitable, resilient urban growth.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The article discusses the development of affordable housing and community development in the Village of DeForest, which aligns with SDG 11’s focus on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Affordable housing development contributes to reducing poverty by providing access to adequate housing for lower-income populations.
  3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • The involvement of the DeForest Community Development Authority (CDA) and receipt of grants indicates partnerships and mobilization of resources, which supports SDG 17.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
    • Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management.
  2. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Target 1.4: Ensure that all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership, and control over land and property.
  3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Target 17.3: Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources.
    • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. For SDG 11 Targets:
    • Indicator 11.1.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements, or inadequate housing.
    • Indicator 11.3.1: Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate.
    • The article implies measuring the increase in affordable housing units developed (e.g., Yahara Crossing building) and diversification of housing stock.
  2. For SDG 1 Target:
    • Indicator 1.4.2: Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, with legally recognized documentation and who perceive their rights to land as secure.
    • Implied indicator: Number or proportion of people benefiting from affordable housing initiatives.
  3. For SDG 17 Targets:
    • Indicator 17.3.1: Foreign direct investments, official development assistance, and South-South cooperation as a proportion of total domestic budget.
    • Indicator 17.17.1: Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships.
    • The article mentions grants received by the CDA, implying tracking of financial resources mobilized for housing development.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.1: Ensure access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing.
  • 11.3: Enhance sustainable urbanization and participatory planning.
  • 11.1.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums or inadequate housing.
  • 11.3.1: Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate.
  • Number of affordable housing units developed (implied).
SDG 1: No Poverty
  • 1.4: Equal rights to economic resources and access to basic services.
  • 1.4.2: Proportion of population with secure tenure rights to land.
  • Number/proportion of people benefiting from affordable housing (implied).
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.3: Mobilize additional financial resources from multiple sources.
  • 17.17: Promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships.
  • 17.3.1: Foreign direct investments and official development assistance as proportion of domestic budget.
  • 17.17.1: Amount committed to public-private partnerships.
  • Grant funding received by CDA (implied).

Source: hngnews.com

 

]]> Why almost all of Brisbane’s new apartment builds are ‘luxury’ – ABC News https://sdgtalks.ai/why-almost-all-of-brisbanes-new-apartment-builds-are-luxury-abc-news https://sdgtalks.ai/why-almost-all-of-brisbanes-new-apartment-builds-are-luxury-abc-news Thu, 12 Mar 2026 07:00:09 -0500 sdgtalks Why, almost, all, Brisbane’s, new, apartment, builds, are, ‘luxury’, –, ABC, News  

Luxury Apartment Market in Brisbane and Sustainable Development Goals

Current Market Overview

In Brisbane, nearly all off-the-plan apartments available this month are marketed as “refined,” “elevated,” or “boutique,” emphasizing luxury. Prices range from $700,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment on the northside to $11,050,000 for a four-bedroom, four-bathroom riverfront apartment.

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee highlighted that while demand for affordable apartments exists, rising construction costs have shifted developer focus towards high-end builds.

Impact of Construction and Labour Costs

According to ABS data, construction material prices have increased by 35.5% since the COVID-19 pandemic. This inflation has made affordable apartment construction challenging, while luxury apartments remain economically viable.

“It is really hard for developers now to build affordable apartments, but it is, and conversely, it’s a lot easier for them to build much more expensive apartments,” said Ms. Conisbee.

Developers face difficulties building apartments priced around $750,000 due to increased costs, often needing to price them at $900,000 or higher. Luxury apartment buyers are less price sensitive, allowing developers to align prices with construction costs.

Labour Shortages and the 2032 Olympics

Labour availability is another critical factor affecting construction costs. Analysis by WT Partners projects a shortage of 46,000 construction workers in Queensland by the 2028/29 financial year. The upcoming 2032 Olympics further intensify labour demand, diverting workers from housing projects.

VERSO CEO Steve Laffey noted that government projects are often more attractive to labourers due to simpler client relationships compared to multi-unit residential developments.

Economist Cameron Murray explained that construction worker wages have risen due to high demand for their skills, though this trend may normalize as more workers enter the industry.

The Queensland Productivity Commission has reviewed construction industry productivity to improve workforce outcomes and support housing and infrastructure delivery.

Buyer Demographics and Market Demand

Downsizers and Investors Driving Demand

Despite high prices, demand remains strong, primarily from downsizing baby boomers and investors. Boutique developments, such as the 52-unit project in Lutwyche by Jadecorp, attract owner-occupiers seeking long-term homes with high-quality design and finishes.

“We’re seeing a real shift that apartments are no longer a stepping stone for housing,” said Alexi Dracakis, Jadecorp manager.

In Q2 2025, 56% of buyers in inner Brisbane projects under construction or pre-sale were owner-occupiers, according to the Urbis Apartment Essentials National Snapshot report.

Luxury Amenities and Affordability Challenges

  • Many new apartments feature luxury amenities such as pools, saunas, and gyms.
  • These amenities increase body corporate fees, which are more affordable for retirees and wealthier buyers but may be prohibitive for buyers of affordable apartments.

Cameron Murray noted that Australia’s wealthy population influences the market, with developers responding to demand for luxury apartments.

Strategies for Enhancing Housing Affordability

Government Initiatives and Market Corrections

To improve housing affordability, government involvement in housing construction is essential. The state LNP has pledged to build one million new homes, including 53,000 social and affordable homes, by 2044.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie highlighted the Residential Activation Fund’s success in unlocking land for 98,000 homes, aiming to increase housing supply and reduce property prices.

Economist Cameron Murray anticipates a market correction that will make housing more affordable in the near future.

Challenges and Developer Perspectives

Alexi Dracakis emphasized the need to expand the construction workforce, improve productivity, and streamline planning approvals to meet housing supply demands.

Steve Laffey acknowledged the private sector’s role in housing affordability but stressed the importance of profitability and shared responsibility across stakeholders.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Encouraging urban densification through boutique and luxury apartments promotes efficient land use and sustainable urban growth.
    • Government programs like the Residential Activation Fund support the development of diverse housing types, enhancing community inclusivity.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Addressing labour shortages and improving construction industry productivity aligns with promoting sustained, inclusive economic growth and decent work.
    • Investment in workforce training can stabilize construction wages and support industry sustainability.
  3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • Innovations in construction and streamlined planning processes contribute to resilient infrastructure and sustainable industrialization.
  4. SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Government-led affordable housing initiatives aim to reduce inequalities by providing accessible housing options for lower-income groups.
    • Balancing luxury developments with affordable housing is crucial to ensuring equitable urban development.

Conclusion

The Brisbane apartment market is currently dominated by luxury developments driven by rising construction and labour costs, alongside strong demand from downsizers and investors. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals related to sustainable cities, decent work, and reduced inequalities, coordinated efforts between government and private sectors are essential. Expanding the construction workforce, enhancing productivity, and increasing affordable housing supply will be critical to fostering inclusive and sustainable urban development in Brisbane.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The article discusses urban apartment development, housing affordability, and urban densification in Brisbane.
    • Issues related to housing supply, construction costs, and planning approvals relate to making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • The shortage of construction labor and workforce productivity issues are highlighted.
    • Focus on improving productivity and workforce outcomes in the construction industry.
  3. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Concerns about affordable housing and the difficulty of building affordable apartments impact poverty reduction efforts.
  4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Discussions on construction costs, productivity improvements, and infrastructure development.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
    • Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management.
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
    • Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.
  3. SDG 1: No Poverty
    • Target 1.4: Ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, including access to basic services and ownership and control over land and property.
  4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being.
    • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Housing Affordability and Supply Indicators
    • Number of affordable and social housing units built (e.g., the pledge to build 53,000 social and affordable homes by 2044).
    • Housing prices and price ranges for apartments (e.g., prices ranging from $700,000 to over $11 million).
    • Number of new homes unlocked through government initiatives (e.g., 98,000 homes unlocked by the Residential Activation Fund).
  2. Construction Industry Productivity and Workforce Indicators
    • Increase in construction material prices (35.5% increase since COVID pandemic).
    • Shortage of construction labor force (projected shortfall of 46,000 workers by 2028/29 in Queensland).
    • Wages of construction workers relative to other sectors.
    • Productivity improvements as reviewed by Queensland Productivity Commission.
  3. Urban Development and Planning Indicators
    • Number of high-density apartment developments and urban densification projects.
    • Proportion of owner-occupiers among apartment buyers (56% in inner Brisbane in Q2 2025).

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.1: Access to adequate, safe and affordable housing.
  • 11.3: Sustainable urbanization and planning.
  • Number of affordable and social housing units built.
  • Housing price ranges and affordability metrics.
  • Number of homes unlocked by government programs.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.5: Full and productive employment and decent work.
  • 8.2: Higher economic productivity through innovation.
  • Construction labor force size and shortages.
  • Construction worker wages relative to other sectors.
  • Productivity improvements in construction industry.
SDG 1: No Poverty
  • 1.4: Equal rights to economic resources and basic services.
  • Availability and affordability of housing for low-income groups.
  • Access to affordable housing programs and social housing units.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • 9.1: Develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure.
  • 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure for sustainability and efficiency.
  • Construction material price trends.
  • Implementation of productivity reviews and infrastructure projects.
  • Number and quality of new housing developments.

Source: abc.net.au

 

]]> Degradation Effects and Corrosion Management in Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles – Products Finishing https://sdgtalks.ai/degradation-effects-and-corrosion-management-in-lithium-ion-batteries-for-electric-vehicles-products-finishing https://sdgtalks.ai/degradation-effects-and-corrosion-management-in-lithium-ion-batteries-for-electric-vehicles-products-finishing Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:30:06 -0500 sdgtalks Degradation, Effects, and, Corrosion, Management, Lithium-Ion, Batteries, for, Electric, Vehicles, –, Products, Finishing  

Products Finishing Announces New Content Access Strategy Aligned with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

Starting Thursday, August 8, 2024, Products Finishing (PF) will implement a new content gating system requiring all new website users to provide personal information—such as name, title, employer, and email address—before gaining free access to premium content. This strategic change is designed to enhance audience engagement and content delivery in alignment with sustainable development principles.

Rationale Behind the Change

The evolving digital landscape, including changes in Google’s search algorithms and the rise of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, has complicated the direct connection between PF’s content and its intended audience. These shifts challenge the attribution and discoverability of PF’s valuable resources.

To address these challenges, PF aims to:

  1. Better understand who accesses its content, what content is accessed, and how it is accessed.
  2. Adapt its audience development strategy to maintain relevance and effectiveness in content distribution.

Objectives and Benefits

This audience development strategy supports the following objectives, which contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Quality Education (SDG 4), Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9), and Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12):

  • Targeted Content Delivery: PF will provide editorial content tailored to the specific interests of professionals involved in surface finishing materials, processes, and technologies, enhancing knowledge dissemination and industry innovation.
  • Enhanced Industry Connections: The strategy will facilitate stronger links between advertisers supplying materials, equipment, and services and the most relevant audience segments, promoting sustainable industrial growth and responsible business practices.

PF’s Role in Sustainable Industry Development

PF holds a respected position within the specialized surface finishing industry. By evolving its communication methods, PF aligns with SDG 9 by fostering innovation and sustainable industrialization through improved information exchange.

This initiative also supports SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by strengthening collaboration between content providers, industry stakeholders, and the professional community.

Conclusion and Engagement

PF values its audience’s role in the industry and is committed to maintaining strong connections through this new content gating approach. The organization invites feedback and questions regarding this strategy, emphasizing transparency and continuous improvement in line with sustainable development principles.

PF thanks its audience for ongoing support and looks forward to advancing shared goals of innovation, education, and sustainable industry practices.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • The article discusses evolving audience development strategies and adapting to changes in digital content delivery, which relates to fostering innovation and infrastructure in media and communication industries.
  2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • The focus on connecting relevant materials, equipment, and services with interested audiences supports more efficient use of resources and responsible production-consumption cycles.
  3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • The article highlights collaboration between the content provider, audience, and advertisers, reflecting partnerships that enhance knowledge sharing and resource mobilization.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 9 – Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors, including media and communication industries.
    • The article’s emphasis on adapting to new digital algorithms and AI-driven content access aligns with upgrading technological capabilities.
  2. SDG 12 – Target 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
    • By connecting audiences with relevant materials and services, the article implies promoting efficient resource use in industrial processes.
  3. SDG 17 – Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships.
    • The collaboration between PF, its audience, and advertisers reflects strengthening partnerships for shared goals.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicator for SDG 9.5: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP or technological adoption metrics.
    • Implied through PF’s adoption of new audience development strategies and technology to track and deliver content.
  2. Indicator for SDG 12.2: Material footprint, material consumption, or efficiency of resource use.
    • Implied by PF’s effort to connect relevant materials and services with the appropriate audience to optimize resource utilization.
  3. Indicator for SDG 17.16: Number of multi-stakeholder partnerships and their effectiveness.
    • Implied by the collaboration between PF, its audience, and advertisers to enhance communication and service delivery.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade technological capabilities of industrial sectors Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP; technological adoption metrics (implied through new audience development strategies)
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production Target 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources Material footprint; material consumption; resource use efficiency (implied by connecting materials and services to relevant audiences)
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals Target 17.16: Enhance global partnership for sustainable development through multi-stakeholder partnerships Number and effectiveness of multi-stakeholder partnerships (implied by collaboration between PF, audience, and advertisers)

Source: pfonline.com

 

]]> Man fatally shot during domestic violence incident at Aurora home – CBS News https://sdgtalks.ai/man-fatally-shot-during-domestic-violence-incident-at-aurora-home-cbs-news https://sdgtalks.ai/man-fatally-shot-during-domestic-violence-incident-at-aurora-home-cbs-news Wed, 11 Mar 2026 20:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Man, fatally, shot, during, domestic, violence, incident, Aurora, home, –, CBS, News  

Report on Domestic Violence Incident in Aurora

Incident Overview

On Sunday morning, a fatal shooting occurred following a domestic violence incident at a residence located in the 2700 block of S. Lewiston Street, Aurora. The Aurora Police Department (APD) responded to a call from a woman inside the home at approximately 10 a.m.

Police Response and Investigation

  1. Upon arrival, officers discovered that a domestic violence altercation had taken place between the woman and a man inside the home.
  2. Lifesaving measures were administered to the man, but he subsequently died at the hospital.
  3. All individuals involved have been interviewed as part of an ongoing investigation.
  4. No arrests or charges have been made at this time.
  5. Further details regarding the sequence of events remain undisclosed.

Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The incident highlights the urgent need for accessible healthcare and emergency response systems to address violence-related injuries effectively.
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – Addressing domestic violence is critical to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, as domestic violence disproportionately affects women.
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The ongoing investigation underscores the importance of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, ensuring access to justice, and building effective institutions to prevent and respond to violence.

Conclusion

This tragic event underscores the necessity for continued efforts toward the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those aimed at eliminating violence, promoting health and well-being, and strengthening justice systems. Collaborative community and institutional actions are essential to prevent such incidents and support victims of domestic violence.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 5: Gender Equality – The article discusses a domestic violence incident, which is directly related to gender-based violence and the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
  2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – The incident involves violence, law enforcement response, and ongoing investigation, which relate to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and effective institutions.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 5 Targets
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  2. SDG 16 Targets
    • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. For SDG 5.2
    • Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months.
    • Indicator 5.2.2: Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner.
  2. For SDG 16.1
    • Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age.
    • Indicator 16.1.4: Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live.
  3. For SDG 16.3
    • Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 5: Gender Equality 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres
  • 5.2.1: Proportion of women and girls subjected to intimate partner violence
  • 5.2.2: Proportion of women and girls subjected to sexual violence by others
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
  • 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population
  • 16.1.4: Proportion of population feeling safe walking alone
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims reporting violence to authorities

Source: cbsnews.com

 

]]> San Jose police investigate violent altercation caught on camera as potential antisemitic hate crime – Fox News https://sdgtalks.ai/san-jose-police-investigate-violent-altercation-caught-on-camera-as-potential-antisemitic-hate-crime-fox-news https://sdgtalks.ai/san-jose-police-investigate-violent-altercation-caught-on-camera-as-potential-antisemitic-hate-crime-fox-news Wed, 11 Mar 2026 20:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks San, Jose, police, investigate, violent, altercation, caught, camera, potential, antisemitic, hate, crime, –, Fox, News  

Report on Violent Altercation in San Jose Investigated as Potential Antisemitic Hate Crime

Incident Overview

On Sunday afternoon, a violent altercation occurred in Santana Row, a popular shopping district in San Jose, California. Multiple men were recorded on video ganging up on an individual and restraining him on the ground. The San Jose Police Department (SJPD) has launched an investigation into the incident as a possible antisemitic hate crime.

Details of the Altercation

  1. A group of three male suspects approached two male victims.
  2. The confrontation reportedly escalated from a verbal dispute, during which antisemitic language was allegedly used by the suspects.
  3. Video footage shows one young man repeatedly striking a victim lying on the ground while another suspect restrained the victim by holding his foot.
  4. Onlookers were heard urging the suspects to stop before they fled the scene prior to police arrival.
  5. Both victims sustained minor injuries and were treated on site by medical personnel.

Investigation and Police Response

  • The SJPD Assaults Unit is actively investigating the case as a potential hate crime.
  • Police confirmed the suspects fled before officers arrived at the scene.
  • Authorities are examining the possibility that the attack was motivated by antisemitic bias, as victims were reportedly speaking Hebrew before the assault.

Relevance to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This incident highlights critical challenges related to several Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The investigation into hate crimes promotes peaceful and inclusive societies by addressing violence and discrimination.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Addressing antisemitic hate crimes contributes to reducing inequalities and combating discrimination based on religion and ethnicity.
  • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Ensuring safe public spaces free from violence and hate supports sustainable urban development and community well-being.

Conclusion

The San Jose police continue to investigate this disturbing incident with a focus on hate crime motivations. The case underscores the importance of fostering inclusive communities and upholding human rights in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. Vigilance and proactive measures are essential to prevent such acts of violence and discrimination in public spaces.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article discusses a violent altercation investigated as a potential antisemitic hate crime, highlighting issues of violence, hate crimes, and the need for justice and strong institutions to address such incidents.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The incident involves antisemitic language and hate crime, which relates to reducing inequalities and discrimination based on religion or ethnicity.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The victims sustained minor injuries and were evaluated by medical personnel, connecting to health and well-being.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.b: Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. For SDG 16
    • Indicator 16.1.4: Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live.
    • Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
    • Indicator 16.b.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited by international human rights law.
  2. For SDG 10
    • Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited by international human rights law.
  3. For SDG 3
    • Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services (e.g., proportion of population with access to medical evaluation and treatment).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.1: Reduce all forms of violence and related death rates
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice
  • 16.b: Promote non-discriminatory laws and policies
  • 16.1.4: Proportion feeling safe walking alone
  • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims reporting violence to authorities
  • 16.b.1: Proportion reporting discrimination or harassment
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities
  • 10.3.1: Proportion reporting discrimination or harassment
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health services
  • 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services

Source: foxnews.com

 

]]> Report: California needs 1 million more affordable homes – CalMatters https://sdgtalks.ai/report-california-needs-1-million-more-affordable-homes-calmatters https://sdgtalks.ai/report-california-needs-1-million-more-affordable-homes-calmatters Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:00:10 -0500 sdgtalks Report:, California, needs, million, more, affordable, homes, –, CalMatters  

California’s Affordable Housing Crisis and Sustainable Development Goals

Overview of Housing Shortage

California faces a significant shortage of affordable housing, contributing to widespread housing instability and homelessness. According to a recent report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), nearly 1 million additional affordable homes are required to meet the needs of extremely low-income households, defined as those earning 30% or less of the area’s median income.

Current Housing Availability

  1. California has only 25 affordable rental homes available for every 100 extremely low-income households.
  2. The state ranks among the lowest nationwide in affordable housing availability, with only Oregon and Nevada having fewer homes per household.
  3. Most extremely low-income households in California spend more than half their income on rent, increasing their risk of homelessness.

Impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 1: No Poverty – The lack of affordable housing exacerbates poverty by forcing low-income families to allocate disproportionate income to housing costs.
  • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Addressing the housing shortage is critical to creating inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable urban environments.
  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Housing instability negatively affects physical and mental health, underscoring the need for affordable homes to promote well-being.

Challenges and Legislative Efforts

Despite ongoing legislative efforts to increase housing construction, progress remains limited for the lowest-earning renters. Funding constraints contribute to the delay in building nearly 40,000 affordable units statewide, which are currently stalled due to lack of financial resources.

Expert Commentary

  • Renee Willis, NLIHC President and CEO: “When renters are housing cost-burdened, they cannot afford to cover other basic necessities such as food, healthcare, transportation, or childcare.”

Healthcare Access Expansion Proposal

Senate Bill 1422: Medi-Cal for All Income-Qualifying Californians

A new bill proposes to extend Medi-Cal access to all income-qualifying Californians regardless of citizenship status. This initiative aims to reverse previous budget cuts and ensure immigrant adults aged 19 and older can enroll in the state’s Medicaid program.

SDG Alignment

  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Expanding healthcare access promotes equitable health outcomes and supports community health.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The bill addresses disparities in healthcare access among immigrant populations.

Legislative and Political Context

  • Governor Gavin Newsom had expanded Medi-Cal access to undocumented immigrants but partially reversed these expansions due to rising costs.
  • Senator María Elena Durazo emphasizes the economic contributions of undocumented immigrants and the importance of inclusive healthcare.
  • The bill’s passage remains uncertain amid ongoing state budget deficits.

Insurance Rate Settlement Benefiting California Policyholders

State Farm Settlement Details

A proposed settlement with State Farm aims to provide refunds and protect policyholders from further insurance premium increases following wildfire-related claims in Los Angeles County. The settlement is expected to save California consumers approximately $530 million.

SDG Relevance

  • SDG 1: No Poverty – Reducing insurance costs helps alleviate financial burdens on households affected by natural disasters.
  • SDG 13: Climate Action – Addressing wildfire-related impacts supports community resilience to climate change.

Additional Settlement Provisions

  • State Farm agreed not to cancel any new policies during the current year.
  • The settlement followed scrutiny from consumer advocacy groups and public hearings.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 1: No Poverty – The article highlights the issue of housing instability and homelessness among extremely low-income households in California.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The discussion on expanding Medi-Cal access to all income-qualifying Californians regardless of citizenship status relates to ensuring healthy lives and access to healthcare.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The article addresses inequalities faced by low-income renters and undocumented immigrants in accessing affordable housing and healthcare.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The shortage of affordable housing and efforts to build more homes relate to making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 1 – Target 1.1: Eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured by income levels. The article’s focus on extremely low-income households and their housing needs aligns with this target.
  2. SDG 3 – Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection and access to quality essential healthcare services. The proposed Medi-Cal expansion bill aims to fulfill this target.
  3. SDG 10 – Target 10.2: Empower and promote social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, or immigration status. The article’s discussion on immigrant access to healthcare and housing affordability reflects this target.
  4. SDG 11 – Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services. The article’s emphasis on the shortage of affordable rental homes and legislative efforts to build more aligns directly with this target.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  • Indicator for SDG 1.1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, or in this context, the number of available affordable homes per 100 extremely low-income households (25 homes per 100 households in California).
  • Indicator for SDG 3.8: Coverage of essential health services and proportion of population with access to health insurance, implied by the number of income-qualifying Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal regardless of citizenship status.
  • Indicator for SDG 10.2: Proportion of people living below 50% of median income who have access to affordable housing and healthcare services, implied by the discussion on immigrant access and housing cost burden.
  • Indicator for SDG 11.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums or inadequate housing, or alternatively, the ratio of affordable rental homes available to extremely low-income households, as reported by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 1: No Poverty Target 1.1: Eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere Number of affordable rental homes per 100 extremely low-income households (e.g., 25 homes per 100 households in California)
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection Proportion of income-qualifying individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal regardless of citizenship status
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Empower and promote social, economic and political inclusion of all Access to affordable housing and healthcare among immigrants and extremely low-income populations
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing Ratio of affordable rental homes available to extremely low-income households; housing cost burden statistics

Source: calmatters.org

 

]]> Air pollution may be lowering global IQ and widening inequality, researchers warn – News-Medical https://sdgtalks.ai/air-pollution-may-be-lowering-global-iq-and-widening-inequality-researchers-warn-news-medical https://sdgtalks.ai/air-pollution-may-be-lowering-global-iq-and-widening-inequality-researchers-warn-news-medical Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:00:10 -0500 sdgtalks Air, pollution, may, lowering, global, and, widening, inequality, researchers, warn, –, News-Medical  

Report on the Impact of Fine Particle Pollution on Cognitive Health and Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

Recent scientific research highlights the detrimental effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution on brain health and cognitive potential globally. Modeling studies indicate significant cumulative losses in intelligence quotient (IQ), with disproportionate impacts in lower-income regions. This report emphasizes the implications of these findings in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to health, education, inequality, and sustainable cities.

Background

Exposure to air pollution, specifically PM2.5, poses a threat not only to respiratory and cardiovascular health but also to neurological functions. PM2.5 particles can penetrate deeply into the body and reach the brain, potentially impairing cognitive processes such as learning, memory, and problem-solving. Given daily exposure to polluted air worldwide, even minor cognitive impairments may translate into substantial population-level consequences, affecting socioeconomic development and human capital.

Air Pollution as a Threat to Cognitive Health

  • Global Health Risk: The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies air pollution as the leading environmental risk factor for human health, contributing to millions of premature deaths annually.
  • Sources of PM2.5: Vehicle emissions, industrial activities, power generation, and natural sources like dust contribute to PM2.5 pollution.
  • Neurological Impact: PM2.5 may cross biological barriers, causing brain inflammation and damage, which can lead to cognitive decline and neurological disorders such as dementia.
  • Economic Burden: Dementia and related neurological conditions impose costs exceeding one trillion US dollars annually, underscoring the importance of protecting cognitive health for economic sustainability (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being).

Evidence Linking Air Pollution to Intelligence and Learning

Extensive research demonstrates a correlation between long-term PM2.5 exposure and reduced IQ scores, which serve as proxies for cognitive ability encompassing working memory, processing speed, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.

  1. Standardized cognitive assessments such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test measure these domains.
  2. A meta-analysis revealed that each 1 µg/m³ increase in PM2.5 correlates with a small but consistent IQ reduction in children.
  3. Global modeling estimates indicate approximately 16 billion IQ points lost among children worldwide due to PM2.5 exposure, with total population losses potentially reaching 65 billion IQ points.
  4. These cognitive deficits can hinder educational outcomes and workforce productivity, impacting SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Global Inequality in Cognitive Impacts

Air pollution exposure and its cognitive consequences are unevenly distributed, exacerbating global inequalities:

  • Approximately 90% of the global population breathes air exceeding WHO pollution guidelines.
  • Country-level analyses show IQ losses ranging from 0.41 to 19.08 points, with lower-income countries experiencing significantly higher impacts.
  • Statistical correlations confirm that lower-income and lower-middle-income countries bear the greatest cognitive burden, highlighting environmental injustice and inequality (SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities).

Biological Mechanisms Behind Cognitive Damage

Several biological pathways explain how PM2.5 affects brain health:

  • Inflammation and Oxidative Stress: PM2.5 triggers immune responses damaging brain cells and disrupting neurological development.
  • Particle Accumulation: Fine particles may cross protective barriers and accumulate in brain tissues, altering structure and function.
  • Toxic Metals: Exposure to metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury is linked to lower IQ, behavioral changes, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.

These mechanisms underscore the importance of environmental health in lifelong cognitive development and well-being (SDG 3).

Policy Responses and Research Priorities

Effective mitigation of cognitive risks from air pollution requires integrated policy and research efforts aligned with sustainable development:

  1. Emission Regulations: Strengthening controls on vehicle, industrial, and power plant emissions to reduce PM2.5 levels.
  2. Urban Planning: Designing cities to minimize pollution exposure near schools and residential areas, supporting SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
  3. Air Quality Standards: Revising guidelines to protect neurological health by considering particle toxicity and chemical composition, beyond particle size alone.
  4. Cross-sector Coordination: Encouraging collaboration among environmental, health, and urban policy sectors to address pollution comprehensively.
  5. Public Awareness: Enhancing education on pollution’s cognitive impacts to foster community engagement and support for clean air initiatives.

Conclusion

Fine particulate air pollution represents a significant threat to global cognitive health, with far-reaching implications for education, economic productivity, and social equity. The disproportionate burden on lower-income countries highlights the need for targeted interventions to reduce environmental health disparities and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Implementing stricter environmental regulations and raising public awareness are critical steps toward safeguarding intellectual potential, reducing health inequalities, and promoting sustainable development worldwide.

References

  • Faherty, T., Ellis-Bradford, L.-J. A., Onyeaka, H., Harrison, R. M., & Pope, F. D. (2026). Reframing air pollution as a cognitive and socioeconomic risk. npj Clean Air. DOI: 10.1038/s44407-026-00059-4

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article discusses the impact of air pollution on brain health, cognitive function, and neurological disorders, directly relating to health and well-being.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The article highlights disproportionate impacts of air pollution on cognitive health in poorer regions and lower-income countries, emphasizing social and economic inequalities.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Urban planning and regulation of emissions from vehicles, industries, and power plants are discussed as policy responses to reduce air pollution exposure.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Although not explicitly mentioned, reducing emissions from power generation and industrial processes aligns with climate action efforts.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of income level.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including air quality.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Air Quality Indicators
    • Concentration levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) measured in micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³), as referenced by WHO guidelines.
  2. Cognitive Health Indicators
    • Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores, measured through standardized tests such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test, and Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test.
    • Population-level IQ point losses estimated through modeling of PM2.5 exposure.
  3. Health Outcome Indicators
    • Incidence and prevalence of neurological disorders such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
    • Premature deaths attributable to air pollution.
  4. Socioeconomic Indicators
    • Economic costs associated with dementia and cognitive impairment (e.g., healthcare costs, productivity losses).
    • Disparities in cognitive impact by national income classification.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.9: Reduce deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air pollution
  • PM2.5 concentration levels (µg/m³)
  • IQ scores from standardized cognitive tests
  • Incidence of neurological disorders (dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s)
  • Premature mortality rates linked to air pollution
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion irrespective of income
  • Disparities in IQ losses by income classification
  • Economic burden of cognitive impairment in low-income countries
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Target 11.6: Reduce environmental impact of cities including air quality
  • Levels of PM2.5 in urban areas
  • Regulatory measures on emissions from vehicles and industries
SDG 13: Climate Action Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
  • Emission reductions from power generation and industrial sources
  • Implementation of pollution control strategies considering particle toxicity

Source: news-medical.net

 

]]> Survivors frustrated CT still hasn’t banned female genital mutilation – CT Mirror https://sdgtalks.ai/survivors-frustrated-ct-still-hasnt-banned-female-genital-mutilation-ct-mirror https://sdgtalks.ai/survivors-frustrated-ct-still-hasnt-banned-female-genital-mutilation-ct-mirror Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:00:06 -0500 sdgtalks Survivors, frustrated, still, hasn’t, banned, female, genital, mutilation, –, Mirror  

Report on Legislative Efforts to Ban Female Genital Mutilation in Connecticut

Introduction and Legislative Background

For the third consecutive year, Simenesh Comollo, a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM), has testified before Connecticut lawmakers advocating for a bill to ban the practice within the state. Comollo’s testimony highlights the ongoing absence of clear legal protection against FGM in Connecticut, despite the state being home to many affected individuals.

The proposed legislation has garnered bipartisan support but has yet to pass both legislative chambers. Initial attempts to address FGM in Connecticut date back to 2018, with multiple bills introduced in subsequent years. However, these efforts have faced challenges including committee rejections and lack of prioritization.

Legislative History and Challenges

  1. 2018: First bill introduced to prohibit FGM, but it did not advance out of committee.
  2. 2019: A bill mandating a study on FGM by the Department of Public Health and the University of Connecticut was rejected by the Senate.
  3. 2020-2021: Additional bills related to FGM were raised but failed to progress beyond committee stages.
  4. 2025: A bill criminalizing FGM passed the Senate but was not brought to a vote in the House.

Survivors like Comollo report emotional distress from repeatedly revisiting traumatic experiences during testimonies, underscoring the human impact behind the legislative process.

Legislative Perspectives and Bill Provisions

Senator Gary Winfield, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, noted an evolution in legislative attitudes toward FGM, influenced by testimonies from individuals with lived experience. Despite growing support, the bill has not been prioritized due to competing legislative challenges.

The bill proposes the following key provisions:

  • Classifying FGM of girls under 18 as a class D felony.
  • Allowing children under 12 to testify outside the courtroom with a trusted adult present.
  • Permitting children to file lawsuits against parents if subjected to FGM.
  • Enabling survivors to file lawsuits within 30 years after reaching adulthood.

Senator John Kissel expressed concern that Connecticut remains one of only nine states without criminal legislation against FGM, emphasizing the need for protective laws.

Lived Experience and Advocacy

Zehra Patwa, FGM survivor and founder of WeSpeakOut, advocates for ending the practice and supports survivor testimonies despite the personal challenges involved. Patwa’s experience within the Bohra community reveals the prevalence of FGM and the importance of survivor-led advocacy.

Comollo, originally from Ethiopia, highlights the role of advocacy in healing and protecting future generations. Both survivors emphasize that FGM is a critical issue of bodily autonomy, safety, and dignity.

Health Implications and Community Impact

According to Katherine McKenzie, director of the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine, FGM survivors often face severe health consequences including:

  • High-risk pregnancies
  • Infertility
  • Reduced sexual pleasure
  • Mental health disorders such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety

These health challenges underscore the urgent need for protective legislation and support services.

Importance of State Legislation and Education

Mariya Taher, co-founder of Sahiyo, stresses that state laws are vital in combating cultural beliefs that perpetuate FGM. Legislation serves as a prevention tool and supports parents resisting community pressure to subject their daughters to FGM.

Both Taher and Patwa note that misconceptions and conflation with unrelated issues, such as gender-affirming care debates, have hindered legislative progress in Connecticut. However, Senator Winfield disagrees that these debates are a significant barrier.

Taher advocates for incorporating education into legislation to raise awareness and break the silence surrounding FGM, which often persists due to misconceptions that it only occurs outside Western countries.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The efforts to ban FGM in Connecticut align with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – By addressing the health risks associated with FGM and promoting physical and mental health for women and girls.
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – By protecting girls’ rights to bodily autonomy and eliminating harmful practices that discriminate against women and girls.
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – Through the establishment of legal frameworks that uphold justice and protect vulnerable populations.
  • SDG 4: Quality Education – By promoting education and awareness to prevent FGM and empower communities.

Legislative action against FGM contributes to the global agenda of ending violence against women and girls and promoting inclusive, safe, and equitable societies.

Conclusion

The ongoing legislative efforts in Connecticut to ban female genital mutilation reflect a critical intersection of human rights, health, and gender equality. Survivor testimonies and advocacy underscore the urgency of enacting protective laws that align with the Sustainable Development Goals. While progress has been slow, continued commitment from lawmakers, survivors, and community organizations is essential to eradicate FGM and uphold the dignity and safety of all girls and women in Connecticut.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article discusses the health consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM), including physical and mental health issues such as high-risk pregnancies, infertility, PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • The article focuses on ending female genital mutilation, a harmful practice that violates the rights and bodily autonomy of girls and women, highlighting the need for gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • The article emphasizes the importance of legislation and legal frameworks to criminalize FGM, protect survivors, and uphold justice.

2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.7: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.
    • Target 3.4: Reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
  2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation
    • The article references estimates of the number of girls in Connecticut who have undergone or are at risk of FGM, implying the use of prevalence rates as an indicator.
  2. Legislation and Legal Enforcement
    • The progress of bills criminalizing FGM in Connecticut and other states serves as an indicator of legal frameworks and institutional response.
    • The classification of FGM as a felony and provisions for testimony and lawsuits indicate measurable legal protections.
  3. Health Outcomes Related to FGM
    • Indicators related to health consequences such as rates of high-risk pregnancies, infertility, PTSD, depression, and anxiety among survivors could be used to measure impact.
  4. Access to Support Services and Education
    • The article mentions the need for education and support for affected communities, implying indicators related to availability and access to such services.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.7: Universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality and promote mental health
  • Prevalence of health complications related to FGM (e.g., high-risk pregnancies, infertility)
  • Rates of mental health conditions among survivors (PTSD, depression, anxiety)
SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • 5.3: Eliminate harmful practices including FGM
  • 5.2: Eliminate violence against women and girls
  • Prevalence of FGM among girls and women
  • Number of laws enacted criminalizing FGM
  • Number of survivors accessing support services
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice
  • 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions
  • Existence and enforcement of legislation criminalizing FGM
  • Number of legal cases filed related to FGM
  • Legislative progress and votes on FGM-related bills

Source: ctmirror.org

 

]]> Rev1 Energy and Tracker Technologies Anchor HVM Racing’s IndyCar Nuclear Clean Air Energy and Medicine Campaign – Speedway Digest https://sdgtalks.ai/rev1-energy-and-tracker-technologies-anchor-hvm-racings-indycar-nuclear-clean-air-energy-and-medicine-campaign-speedway-digest https://sdgtalks.ai/rev1-energy-and-tracker-technologies-anchor-hvm-racings-indycar-nuclear-clean-air-energy-and-medicine-campaign-speedway-digest Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:30:14 -0500 sdgtalks Rev1, Energy, and, Tracker, Technologies, Anchor, HVM, Racing’s, IndyCar, Nuclear, Clean, Air, Energy, and, Medicine, Campaign, –, Speedway, Digest  

Report on the Return of the Nuclear Clean Air Energy and Medicine Campaign to the NTT INDYCAR Series

Introduction

HVM Racing, in collaboration with its Nuclear Clean Air Energy and Medicine Campaign (NCAEM) and anchor partners Rev1 Energy and Tracker Technologies, has announced the campaign’s return to the NTT INDYCAR Series for the 2026 season. The initiative will be featured on the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, driven by Rinus VeeKay.

Campaign Overview and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The NCAEM Campaign utilizes the global platform of IndyCar racing to advocate for high-performance engineering that supports the nuclear renaissance. This initiative aligns closely with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Promoting reliable, high-density, carbon-free nuclear energy as a foundation for future energy stability amid rising demand driven by AI, electrification, automation, and data infrastructure.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – Supporting next-generation nuclear reactors such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular designs to accelerate deployment and infrastructure resilience.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Highlighting the critical role of nuclear technologies in healthcare, including advanced diagnostic imaging and targeted cancer treatments through nuclear medicine.

Role of Nuclear Technologies in Energy and Healthcare

  • Energy Generation: Nuclear power provides a carbon-free, reliable energy source essential for meeting increasing global energy demands sustainably.
  • Healthcare Applications: Nuclear medicine enables advanced diagnostic techniques and targeted cancer therapies. Medical isotopes produced in nuclear reactors, such as Lutetium-177, are vital for PET imaging and life-saving radiotherapies, supporting modern precision medicine.

Partnership and Commitment to Innovation

Anchor sponsors Rev1 Energy and Tracker Technologies contribute to practical solutions facilitating next-generation nuclear deployment, infrastructure resilience, digital integration, and clean-energy workforce development. Their partnership underscores a shared commitment to:

  • Innovation and excellence in nuclear technology
  • Long-term leadership in sustainable energy
  • Supporting workforce development aligned with SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Statements from Leadership

Ricky Ehrgott, CEO of Rev1 Energy and Tracker Technologies, emphasized the campaign’s relevance:

“Energy demand continues to grow, and nuclear power must remain front and center in that discussion. Nuclear technologies are also critical to modern healthcare, from advanced diagnostics to targeted therapies.”

Event and Outreach

The Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, attracting significant live and broadcast audiences, serves as a strategic platform for promoting the campaign’s mission. It highlights the importance of clean energy and life-saving nuclear medicine, advancing public understanding and support critical for sustainable development.

Conclusion

The return of the Nuclear Clean Air Energy and Medicine Campaign to the NTT INDYCAR Series represents a significant step towards advancing multiple Sustainable Development Goals through the promotion of nuclear energy and medicine. The collaboration between HVM Racing, Rev1 Energy, and Tracker Technologies exemplifies a commitment to sustainable innovation, public engagement, and the acceleration of clean energy solutions.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • The article emphasizes the importance of nuclear energy as a reliable, high-density, carbon-free energy source essential for future energy stability and meeting rising demand driven by AI, electrification, and automation.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Nuclear medicine’s role in advanced diagnostic imaging and targeted cancer treatments highlights contributions to improving health outcomes and life-saving therapies.
  3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • The campaign’s focus on next-generation nuclear technologies, infrastructure resilience, digital integration, and workforce development aligns with fostering innovation and building resilient infrastructure.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Promotion of carbon-free nuclear energy supports climate action by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, which includes low-carbon nuclear energy.
    • Target 7.a: Enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment, including cancer therapies.
    • Target 3.b: Support research and development of vaccines and medicines for communicable and non-communicable diseases.
  3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research and upgrade technological capabilities of industrial sectors.
    • Target 9.c: Increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning, including clean energy solutions.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

  1. SDG 7 Indicators
    • Proportion of energy from nuclear sources in the total energy mix (Indicator 7.2.1).
    • Investment in clean energy research and development (related to Target 7.a).
  2. SDG 3 Indicators
    • Mortality rate attributed to cancer and other non-communicable diseases (Indicator 3.4.1).
    • Coverage of essential health services including cancer diagnostics and treatments (Indicator 3.b.1).
  3. SDG 9 Indicators
    • Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP (Indicator 9.5.1).
    • Access to digital infrastructure and integration in energy and healthcare sectors (implied).
  4. SDG 13 Indicators
    • Policies and strategies implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (Indicator 13.2.1).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 7.2: Increase share of renewable and low-carbon energy
  • 7.a: Enhance clean energy research and technology cooperation
  • 7.2.1: Proportion of energy from nuclear sources
  • Investment in clean energy R&D (implied)
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases
  • 3.b: Support research and development of medicines
  • 3.4.1: Mortality rate from cancer and NCDs
  • 3.b.1: Coverage of essential health services including cancer treatments
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • 9.5: Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities
  • 9.c: Increase access to ICT and digital infrastructure
  • 9.5.1: R&D expenditure as proportion of GDP
  • Access to digital infrastructure (implied)
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
  • 13.2.1: Policies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Source: speedwaydigest.com

 

]]> Biodiversity hotspots: Protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems is critical for Florida – The Invading Sea https://sdgtalks.ai/biodiversity-hotspots-protecting-and-restoring-aquatic-ecosystems-is-critical-for-florida-the-invading-sea https://sdgtalks.ai/biodiversity-hotspots-protecting-and-restoring-aquatic-ecosystems-is-critical-for-florida-the-invading-sea Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks Biodiversity, hotspots:, Protecting, and, restoring, aquatic, ecosystems, critical, for, Florida, –, The, Invading, Sea  

Report on the Conservation and Restoration of Florida’s Aquatic Ecosystems with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Introduction

Aquatic ecosystems represent some of the most biologically diverse environments globally, encompassing coastal seagrass meadows, estuaries, rivers, wetlands, and springs. These habitats are crucial for supporting a wide variety of species including fish, birds, invertebrates, and aquatic plants that rely on them for food, shelter, and reproduction. Despite their ecological and economic significance, these ecosystems face increasing threats from human activities and environmental changes.

Florida’s Unique Aquatic Ecosystems and Their Societal Importance

Florida’s identity is deeply intertwined with its diverse natural landscapes and water bodies. The state features an interconnected mosaic of coastal shorelines, estuaries, springs, rivers, wetlands, and agricultural lands that influence each other ecologically and socially. This diversity is rare and contributes significantly to the state’s environmental and community well-being.

There is a strong tradition in Florida of valuing water resources and working lands. Initiatives aimed at protecting spring systems, restoring coastlines, managing agricultural landscapes, and advocating for clean bays and estuaries demonstrate a collective commitment to linking environmental health with community prosperity.

Aquatic Ecosystems as Biodiversity Hotspots

  • These habitats support disproportionately high biodiversity relative to their size.
  • Coastal ecosystems such as estuaries and seagrass meadows serve as nurseries for many ecologically and economically important species.
  • Wetlands and shorelines provide critical habitats for birds, while submerged aquatic vegetation supports fish and invertebrates through various life stages.
  • Seagrass beds stabilize sediments, improve water clarity, and create complex habitats that sustain diverse food webs.

The health of these ecosystems directly affects wildlife populations, fisheries productivity, coastal resilience, and community well-being, aligning with SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Scientific Understanding and Application in Restoration

Addressing challenges in Florida’s aquatic systems requires a strong scientific foundation. Marine science provides critical insights into how nutrient inputs, altered hydrology, physical disturbances, and increased storm intensity impact aquatic habitats and biodiversity.

Key elements of effective restoration include:

  1. Data-driven decision-making
  2. Site-specific design
  3. Long-term monitoring
  4. Adaptive management
  5. Community engagement

These approaches contribute to SDG 13 (Climate Action) by enhancing ecosystem resilience and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) through improved water quality management.

Sea & Shoreline’s Science-Based Restoration Approach

Sea & Shoreline, a Florida-based aquatic restoration firm, exemplifies the integration of science and stewardship by:

  • Prioritizing ecological function and regulatory compliance
  • Developing restoration strategies tailored to site-specific conditions and species interactions
  • Utilizing submerged aquatic vegetation restoration, herbivory exclusion devices, habitat enhancement, and ongoing monitoring
  • Recognizing restoration as an ongoing process requiring continuous evaluation and adaptive management

This methodology supports SDG 14 by protecting marine biodiversity and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by fostering resilient coastal environments.

Protecting Florida’s Ecological Uniqueness and Future Sustainability

Florida’s biodiversity is sustained by the diversity and interconnectedness of its aquatic ecosystems. The collective health of coastal waters, freshwater springs, wetlands, and working lands reflects the success of stewardship efforts.

As environmental pressures intensify, science-based restoration and long-term ecological management remain vital to preserving these ecosystems for future generations. These efforts align with multiple SDGs, including:

  • SDG 15: Life on Land
  • SDG 14: Life Below Water
  • SDG 13: Climate Action
  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

By honoring Florida’s ecological diversity and applying marine science thoughtfully, restoration initiatives can ensure the persistence of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Conclusion

Florida’s aquatic ecosystems are critical biodiversity hotspots that require ongoing scientific research, adaptive restoration, and community stewardship. Aligning these efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals ensures a holistic approach to environmental conservation, social well-being, and economic sustainability.

About the Author

Josie Wittling serves as an environmental advisor to Sea & Shoreline, a Florida-based aquatic restoration firm dedicated to science-based ecosystem restoration.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • The article focuses extensively on aquatic ecosystems, including coastal shorelines, estuaries, seagrass meadows, wetlands, and rivers, highlighting their biodiversity and ecological importance.
    • Restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation and aquatic habitats aligns with the goal to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • The interconnectedness of aquatic ecosystems with terrestrial landscapes such as wetlands and working lands is emphasized.
    • Efforts to protect biodiversity and restore ecological balance in these environments relate to the sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems.
  3. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • The article discusses water quality improvements through restoration efforts, such as stabilizing sediments and improving water clarity.
    • Protecting freshwater springs and estuaries supports sustainable water management and sanitation.
  4. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Coastal resilience and adaptation to increasing storm intensity are mentioned, linking restoration to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
  5. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • The importance of marine science education and data-driven decision-making highlights the role of quality education in environmental stewardship.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 14 – Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, and take action for their restoration to achieve healthy and productive oceans.
  2. SDG 15 – Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
  3. SDG 6 – Target 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including rivers, wetlands, and lakes.
  4. SDG 13 – Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
  5. SDG 4 – Target 4.7: Ensure that all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including education for sustainable lifestyles and biodiversity conservation.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators for SDG 14 and 15:
    • Measures of biodiversity health such as species diversity and abundance in aquatic and terrestrial habitats.
    • Extent and condition of seagrass beds, wetlands, and other critical habitats.
    • Ecological function and resilience metrics, including sediment stabilization and water clarity.
  2. Indicators for SDG 6:
    • Water quality parameters such as nutrient levels and clarity in springs, estuaries, and rivers.
    • Restoration success measured by improvements in aquatic vegetation and habitat connectivity.
  3. Indicators for SDG 13:
    • Coastal resilience indicators, including the ability of ecosystems to withstand storm impacts.
    • Adaptive management outcomes in restoration projects responding to climate stressors.
  4. Indicators for SDG 4:
    • Implementation of science-based restoration practices and community engagement in environmental education.
    • Use of data-driven decision-making and long-term ecological monitoring as educational outcomes.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 14: Life Below Water 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems and restore them.
  • Biodiversity levels in aquatic habitats
  • Extent and health of seagrass beds and estuaries
  • Ecological function and resilience metrics
SDG 15: Life on Land 15.1: Conserve, restore, and sustainably use terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.
  • Species diversity and abundance in wetlands and working lands
  • Condition and connectivity of terrestrial-aquatic ecosystems
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems.
  • Water quality indicators (nutrient levels, clarity)
  • Restoration success of aquatic vegetation and habitats
SDG 13: Climate Action 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards.
  • Coastal resilience measures
  • Adaptive management outcomes in restoration projects
SDG 4: Quality Education 4.7: Ensure learners acquire knowledge and skills for sustainable development.
  • Use of marine science in restoration and community engagement
  • Data-driven decision-making and long-term monitoring

Source: theinvadingsea.com

 

]]> Warning signs of alcohol-use disorder relapse – Harvard Gazette https://sdgtalks.ai/warning-signs-of-alcohol-use-disorder-relapse-harvard-gazette https://sdgtalks.ai/warning-signs-of-alcohol-use-disorder-relapse-harvard-gazette Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:30:11 -0500 sdgtalks Warning, signs, alcohol-use, disorder, relapse, –, Harvard, Gazette  

Long-Term Recovery and Relapse in Alcohol Use Disorder: A Focus on Sustainable Development Goals

The journey to recovery for individuals with alcohol use disorder is a lifelong process, with relapse being a common challenge. Research indicates that individuals relapse an average of five times before achieving sustained sobriety, and setbacks can occur even after years of abstinence. This report highlights findings from a recent study led by John Kelly, Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, emphasizing the importance of addressing relapse within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to health and well-being.

Study Overview and Relevance to SDGs

The study explores warning signs for relapse, especially among individuals with long periods of recovery, aligning with SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. It addresses the chronic nature of alcohol use disorder and the need for effective disease management strategies to support sustained recovery.

Key Domains of Relapse Markers

The research identifies four primary domains influencing relapse risk:

  1. Biological Factors: Changes in sleep, appetite, pain, and recreational drug use.
  2. Psychological Factors: Anxiety, depression, boredom, and stress.
  3. Social Factors: Loneliness, isolation, and exposure to high-risk environments or individuals.
  4. Treatment and Recovery Support Changes: Alterations in medication use, attendance at support meetings, and counseling engagement.

Among these, physical pain and recreational drug use emerged as strong predictors of relapse, despite their relative rarity.

Importance of Long-Term Relapse Research

While extensive data exist on short-term relapse triggers, this study fills a critical gap by examining long-term relapse dynamics. Understanding relapse beyond the initial recovery phase is essential for developing effective interventions, which supports SDG 3 by promoting sustained health outcomes.

  • Alcohol use disorder is characterized as a chronically relapsing condition, particularly within the first five years of recovery.
  • Current clinical protocols lack comprehensive disease management approaches for long-term relapse prevention.
  • Identifying early warning signs can enable proactive interventions, reducing morbidity and mortality associated with relapse.

Screening and Clinical Application

The study proposes a checklist tool for clinicians to monitor relapse warning signs, facilitating open communication with patients. This approach aligns with SDG 3’s target to strengthen the capacity of health systems for early detection and management of substance use disorders.

  • Screening questions focus on biological, psychological, social, and treatment-related factors.
  • Patients often do not recognize the gradual progression toward relapse, highlighting the need for clinician awareness and patient education.
  • Effective screening can reduce stigma and encourage timely support.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

This research contributes to multiple SDGs by addressing the complex challenges of alcohol use disorder recovery:

  • SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): Enhances understanding of chronic disease management and relapse prevention.
  • SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Supports equitable access to recovery support services and mental health care.
  • SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): Encourages collaboration between healthcare providers, researchers, and policymakers to implement effective relapse prevention strategies.

Key Findings and Recommendations

  • Physical pain and recreational drug use are potent but under-recognized relapse risk factors.
  • “California sober” approaches involving alternative substance use may increase relapse risk on primary substances.
  • Cognitive vigilance and prioritizing recovery are critical to long-term sobriety.
  • Early intervention can minimize social, health, and economic consequences of relapse.

Conclusion

The study underscores the necessity of integrating relapse risk monitoring into routine clinical care to support individuals in long-term recovery from alcohol use disorder. Emphasizing early detection and sustained support aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting health, reducing inequalities, and fostering partnerships for effective disease management. Continued research and implementation of these findings can enhance recovery outcomes and contribute to global health objectives.

Long-Term Relapse Study

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article focuses on alcohol use disorder, relapse, and long-term recovery, which are directly related to health and well-being.
    • It discusses disease management, clinical interventions, and monitoring of relapse warning signs, all central to improving health outcomes.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The article touches on social factors such as loneliness, isolation, and engagement with high-risk environments, which relate to social inequalities affecting health.
    • Addressing stigma and self-shame associated with relapse also connects to reducing inequalities in access to care and social support.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • The emphasis on proactive clinical protocols and disease management in primary care settings aligns with strengthening institutions for better health governance.

2. Specific Targets under Those SDGs Identified Based on the Article’s Content

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
    • Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
    • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
  2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article to Measure Progress Towards the Identified Targets

  1. Indicators related to SDG 3:
    • Relapse rates among individuals with alcohol use disorder (e.g., average of five relapses before sustained sobriety).
    • Frequency and severity of warning signs such as biological (pain, sleep, appetite), psychological (anxiety, depression, stress), and social factors (loneliness, isolation).
    • Use of anti-relapse or anti-craving medication and attendance at recovery support services (meetings, counseling).
    • Number of emergency department visits or hospital stays due to relapse.
    • Self-reported psychosocial and environmental risk factors as a proxy for relapse risk.
  2. Indicators related to SDG 10:
    • Levels of social isolation and engagement with high-risk environments among people in recovery.
    • Measures of stigma and self-shame associated with relapse episodes.
  3. Indicators related to SDG 16:
    • Existence and implementation of clinical protocols for disease management of alcohol use disorder in primary care settings.
    • Availability and use of screening tools or checklists for early detection of relapse warning signs.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.5: Strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse.
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health.
  • 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health services.
  • Relapse rates (average number of relapses before sustained sobriety).
  • Biological, psychological, and social warning signs frequency.
  • Use of anti-relapse medication and participation in recovery support.
  • Emergency visits or hospitalizations due to relapse.
  • Self-reported psychosocial and environmental risk factors.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote social, economic, and political inclusion of all.
  • Levels of social isolation and engagement with high-risk environments.
  • Measures of stigma and self-shame related to relapse.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions.
  • Existence and use of clinical protocols for relapse management.
  • Availability and use of relapse warning sign screening tools.

Source: news.harvard.edu

 

]]> CROPS4LIFE: Regenerative practices for agroecological transition – Open Access Government https://sdgtalks.ai/crops4life-regenerative-practices-for-agroecological-transition-open-access-government https://sdgtalks.ai/crops4life-regenerative-practices-for-agroecological-transition-open-access-government Wed, 11 Mar 2026 05:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks CROPS4LIFE:, Regenerative, practices, for, agroecological, transition, –, Open, Access, Government  

Report on Regenerative Practices for Agroecological Transition: The CROPS4LIFE Project

Introduction

In the face of global challenges such as agricultural intensification, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation, regenerative food systems offer a sustainable alternative aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The CROPS4LIFE project, led by the Environmental Studies Centre (CEA) of Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council, serves as a benchmark for implementing regenerative agricultural practices in peri-urban environments. This report emphasizes the project’s contributions to achieving various SDGs, particularly those related to climate action, life on land, and sustainable cities and communities.

Regenerative Agriculture: Definition and Principles

Conceptual Framework

Regenerative agriculture is a productive approach that goes beyond minimizing negative environmental impacts. It actively restores key ecological functions such as soil health, water cycles, and biodiversity, thereby supporting SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Unlike conventional agriculture, which externalizes environmental costs, this model integrates ecosystem services as essential components of productive value.

Objectives within CROPS4LIFE

  • Carbon Sequestration
    • Enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) to mitigate climate change (SDG 13).
  • Soil Health
    • Improve soil structure and fertility to support sustainable agriculture (SDG 2 – Zero Hunger).
  • Biodiversity
    • Promote biological diversity to maintain ecosystem resilience (SDG 15).
  • Resilience
    • Strengthen the system’s ability to withstand climate disturbances (SDG 13).

Key Practices for Soil Regeneration

Minimum Tillage and Direct Seeding

CROPS4LIFE advocates for minimum tillage to preserve soil integrity, protect microbial habitats, and reduce CO2 emissions, contributing to SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Permanent Vegetation Cover and Polycultures

To prevent soil erosion and maintain moisture, the project employs cover crops such as legumes and grasses. Crop rotation and polyculture practices interrupt pest cycles and enhance soil quality, supporting SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

  • Reduce surface erosion through aerial biomass.
  • Increase biological nitrogen fixation.
  • Generate stable soil structures via diverse root systems.

Integration of Organic Amendments and Circular Economy

The use of compost and organic fertilizers closes nutrient cycles locally, enhancing microbial activity and soil fertility. This practice aligns with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Bio-Intensive Horticulture Method

This method enables high productivity on small plots with low investment, facilitating access to land and promoting sustainable livelihoods (SDG 1 – No Poverty, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth). Techniques include:

  • Permanent planting strips.
  • Surface compost application.
  • Minimum tillage to rapidly increase soil fertility.

Efficient use of resources and planning allows small teams to generate income through diversified direct sales.

Agroforestry and Living Hedges

Incorporation of agroforestry systems and landscape elements creates biological corridors that attract pollinators and beneficial fauna, improve microclimates, and enhance landscape aesthetics, contributing to SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Controlled Rotational Grazing

Livestock integration through holistic management uses the “herd effect” to:

  1. Fertilization: Livestock manure and urine close fertility cycles.
  2. Root Stimulation: Grazing and trampling encourage deeper root growth, accelerating carbon sequestration (SDG 13).

Water Management and Hydrological Strategies

Addressing climate change impacts, CROPS4LIFE employs:

  • Infiltration Ditches and Contour Lines: Capture runoff and recharge aquifers.
  • Mulching: Reduce soil evaporation to increase water retention.

These interventions improve farm water autonomy and resilience against droughts, supporting SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Challenges and Lessons Learned

The transition to regenerative agriculture demands comprehensive technical training and a cultural shift from prioritizing immediate yields to long-term ecosystem health. CROPS4LIFE highlights the importance of collaborative governance among farmers, technicians, and public authorities to overcome these challenges, advancing SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Conclusion

The CROPS4LIFE project exemplifies how regenerative agricultural practices contribute to a decarbonized, equitable agri-food system. By integrating ecological, social, and economic principles, the project advances multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action, biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, and community well-being. Strategic planning and multisectoral commitment remain essential to scaling these practices and restoring ecosystem functions that sustain food production.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • Focus on sustainable agriculture, improving soil fertility, and increasing food production through agroecological practices.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Mitigation of climate change through carbon sequestration and decarbonisation of agricultural systems.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems, promoting biodiversity, and sustainable land management.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Promotion of circular economy principles, organic amendments, and sustainable resource use.
  5. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Water resource management through hydrological design techniques to improve water retention and reduce drought impact.

2. Specific Targets Under Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems, and strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
    • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods.
    • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
    • Target 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
  5. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Target 6.4: Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater.
    • Target 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Levels
    • Indicator for carbon sequestration and soil health improvement, measuring the increase in soil organic carbon to mitigate climate change.
  2. Soil Fertility and Structure
    • Indicators related to soil profile structure, nutrient retention, and microbial activity to assess soil health.
  3. Biodiversity Metrics
    • Indicators measuring biological diversity, presence of pollinators, and fauna useful for pest control.
  4. Water Retention and Efficiency
    • Indicators related to water infiltration, evaporation reduction, and aquifer recharge to evaluate water management effectiveness.
  5. Crop Yield and Productivity
    • Indicators measuring productivity improvements from bio-intensive horticulture and diversified cropping systems.
  6. Livestock Integration Effects
    • Indicators assessing manure contribution to soil fertility and root stimulation effects from controlled rotational grazing.
  7. Adoption of Sustainable Practices
    • Implied indicators include the extent of minimum tillage, use of cover crops, crop rotation, and organic amendments.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 2: Zero Hunger 2.4: Sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices
  • Crop yield and productivity improvements
  • Adoption rate of agroecological practices
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies
  • 13.3: Improve education and capacity on climate change mitigation
  • Soil organic carbon (SOC) levels
  • Carbon sequestration rates
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.1: Conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems
  • 15.3: Combat desertification and restore degraded land
  • 15.5: Reduce degradation and halt biodiversity loss
  • Biodiversity indices (pollinators, fauna presence)
  • Soil fertility and structure metrics
  • Extent of land under sustainable management
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
  • 12.5: Reduce waste generation through recycling and reuse
  • Use of organic amendments and compost
  • Reduction in synthetic inputs
  • Extent of circular economy practices in agriculture
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency and sustainable withdrawals
  • 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
  • Water infiltration rates
  • Reduction in soil evaporation (mulching effectiveness)
  • Aquifer recharge measurements

Source: openaccessgovernment.org

 

]]> Water board adds teeth to new consolidation order for East Orosi – SJV Water https://sdgtalks.ai/water-board-adds-teeth-to-new-consolidation-order-for-east-orosi-sjv-water https://sdgtalks.ai/water-board-adds-teeth-to-new-consolidation-order-for-east-orosi-sjv-water Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks Water, board, adds, teeth, new, consolidation, order, for, East, Orosi, –, SJV, Water  

Report on Water System Consolidation in Tulare County Towns: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

On February 27, a new consolidation order was issued by the State Water Resources Control Board, mandating the consolidation of water systems in two small Tulare County towns. This updated order includes a clear, enforceable timeline with milestone deadlines and a completion date set for December 1, 2027. The consolidation effort aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Background and Challenges

The new order replaces all prior directives since 2020, when the initial mandate aimed to provide clean drinking water to East Orosi’s 420 residents. The community’s groundwater has been unsafe due to nitrate contamination and aging infrastructure, forcing residents to rely on emergency hauled and bottled water for over 14 years at a cost exceeding $1.2 million.

Despite legislative support, including three bills signed by Governor Gavin Newsom to address water issues in East Orosi, project implementation has been delayed. Key challenges include political stalemates and infighting between the Orosi Public Utilities District (PUD) and East Orosi Community Services District (CSD), which are geographically separated by only one mile.

Administrative Actions and Management

  • In 2022, Tulare County was appointed administrator of East Orosi’s water system to assist residents with domestic well services.
  • In 2025, the county took over administration of the wastewater system, restoring its fragile operations.
  • County authorities assumed billing responsibilities following complaints of financial mismanagement.

These administrative measures support SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions by promoting effective governance and accountability in water management.

Consolidation Project Details

The $13.5 million consolidation project includes the following components:

  1. Construction of a new groundwater well with a production capacity of approximately 1,200 gallons per minute.
  2. Installation of a water supply connection (meter and lateral) on the Family Education Center water system.

Within East Orosi:

  • Construction of approximately 9,450 feet of 8-inch diameter waterline distribution system.
  • Construction of a new 360,000-gallon storage tank.
  • Installation of water supply connections (meters and laterals) for approximately 101 residential and 2 commercial service connections.
  • Decommissioning and proper abandonment of existing Wells 1 (East) and 2 (West).

Within Orosi PUD:

  • Construction of approximately 6,700 feet of 8-inch to 10-inch diameter waterline to convey water from Orosi PUD to East Orosi.
  • Construction of approximately 5,050 feet of 10-inch pipeline connecting the well site to Orosi PUD.

Project Timeline and Expectations

A groundbreaking ceremony is tentatively scheduled for late April, with project completion anticipated within a year and a half, as stated by Denise England, Tulare County grants and resources manager.

Impact and Broader Context

Since 2019, the State Water Board’s Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program has facilitated 180 consolidations across California, benefiting approximately 362,000 people, predominantly in disadvantaged communities. This initiative supports SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities by ensuring equitable access to safe drinking water.

The Water Board finances the consolidation projects it mandates, and the resulting larger water systems benefit from expanded customer bases, promoting economic sustainability and resilience (SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Conclusion

The consolidation of water systems in East Orosi and Orosi PUD represents a critical step towards achieving sustainable water management and improving public health in disadvantaged communities. The project directly contributes to multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • SDG 6: Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
  • SDG 11: Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  • SDG 16: Promoting effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions.
  • SDG 10: Reducing inequalities within and among communities.
  • SDG 8: Supporting sustained economic growth through infrastructure development.

Continued commitment and collaboration among stakeholders are essential to meet the project deadlines and deliver safe, reliable water services to the affected populations.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • The article focuses on providing clean drinking water to East Orosi, addressing water contamination and infrastructure issues.
  2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The consolidation of water systems and infrastructure improvements contribute to making communities safer and more sustainable.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Ensuring access to safe drinking water reduces health risks associated with nitrate contamination.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • The collaboration between state agencies, local utilities, and communities reflects partnerships to achieve sustainable development.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
    • Target 6.a: Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities.
  2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.9: Reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
  4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicator for SDG 6.1:
    • Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services — implied by the efforts to provide clean water and consolidate water systems.
  2. Indicator for SDG 6.a:
    • Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan — implied by state funding and support for the consolidation project.
  3. Indicator for SDG 3.9:
    • Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene — implied by addressing nitrate contamination and providing safe water.
  4. Indicator for SDG 11.1:
    • Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing — indirectly related as infrastructure improvements reduce inadequate service.
  5. Indicator for SDG 17.17:
    • Number of partnerships involving public, private and civil society sectors — implied by the cooperation between Water Resources Control Board, local utilities, and community services.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • 6.1: Universal access to safe and affordable drinking water
  • 6.a: Expand cooperation and capacity-building in water and sanitation
  • Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
  • Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.1: Access to adequate, safe and affordable basic services
  • Proportion of urban population living in inadequate housing or lacking basic services
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.9: Reduce deaths and illnesses from pollution and contamination
  • Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water and sanitation
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.17: Promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships
  • Number of partnerships involving public, private and civil society sectors

Source: sjvwater.org

 

]]> Advisory services and capacity building – energy.ec.europa.eu https://sdgtalks.ai/advisory-services-and-capacity-building-energyeceuropaeu https://sdgtalks.ai/advisory-services-and-capacity-building-energyeceuropaeu Tue, 10 Mar 2026 19:00:18 -0500 sdgtalks Advisory, services, and, capacity, building, –, energy.ec.europa.eu  

One-Stop Shops for Energy Renovation: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction to One-Stop Shops

One-stop shops serve as essential hubs that simplify the energy renovation process for various stakeholders, including private citizens and enterprises. These centers provide comprehensive support and information throughout the different stages of energy renovation projects. Services typically encompass technical, administrative, legal, and financial assistance, accessible via online platforms, telephone consultations, in-person counters, or on-site visits.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The establishment and operation of one-stop shops directly contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals:

  • SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – By facilitating energy-efficient renovations, one-stop shops promote access to clean and sustainable energy solutions.
  • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – Supporting innovative renovation methods and infrastructure upgrades.
  • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Enhancing the energy performance of buildings contributes to sustainable urban development.
  • SDG 13: Climate Action – Reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions through improved building efficiency.

Regulatory Framework Supporting One-Stop Shops

The Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive establish key principles that underpin the creation and operation of one-stop shops across the European Union. These directives ensure that one-stop shops are equipped to provide integrated support services that align with EU energy and climate objectives.

European Commission Initiatives

As part of the Energy Package published on 10 March 2026, the European Commission issued a Recommendation with practical guidance on the establishment of one-stop shops. This guidance outlines various models of one-stop shop services tailored to different contexts, recognizing that no single solution fits all scenarios.

Objectives and Support for Authorities

  1. Enable reflection on effective one-stop shop models suitable for national, regional, and local contexts.
  2. Support authorities in establishing networks of one-stop shops that enhance energy efficiency and building performance.
  3. Promote collaboration among stakeholders to accelerate energy renovation and contribute to the EU’s climate goals.

Additional Resources

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • The article focuses on energy efficiency and energy performance of buildings, which directly relates to ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
  2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • By promoting energy renovations and improving building performance, the article supports making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  3. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Energy efficiency improvements contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thus supporting urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 7 Targets
    • Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
  2. SDG 11 Targets
    • Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
  3. SDG 13 Targets
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Energy Efficiency Directive and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive Indicators
    • Number and effectiveness of one-stop shops established to support energy renovation projects.
    • Percentage improvement in energy performance of buildings undergoing renovation.
    • Reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from renovated buildings.
  2. Commission Recommendation Indicators
    • Extent of adoption of recommended models of one-stop shops at national, regional, and local levels.
    • Stakeholder satisfaction and accessibility of technical, administrative, legal, and financial assistance.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030.
  • Number and effectiveness of one-stop shops for energy renovation.
  • Percentage improvement in energy performance of renovated buildings.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Target 11.6: Reduce adverse per capita environmental impact of cities by 2030.
  • Reduction in energy consumption and emissions from buildings.
  • Accessibility and usage rates of one-stop shops supporting sustainable urban renovation.
SDG 13: Climate Action Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies and planning.
  • Adoption of one-stop shop models recommended by the Commission.
  • Stakeholder engagement and support levels in energy efficiency initiatives.

Source: energy.ec.europa.eu

 

]]> Human rights group says Israeli military using white phosphorus munitions – CNN https://sdgtalks.ai/human-rights-group-says-israeli-military-using-white-phosphorus-munitions-cnn https://sdgtalks.ai/human-rights-group-says-israeli-military-using-white-phosphorus-munitions-cnn Tue, 10 Mar 2026 19:00:06 -0500 sdgtalks Human, rights, group, says, Israeli, military, using, white, phosphorus, munitions, –, CNN  

Impact of the Iran Conflict on Global Oil Prices and Sustainable Development Goals

Overview of the Situation

The ongoing conflict with Iran has led to a significant decrease in maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. This disruption has caused a notable rise in global oil prices, presenting challenges that intersect with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Key Issues

  1. Economic Stability and Growth (SDG 8): The rise in oil prices threatens global economic stability, increasing the risk of a recession.
  2. Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7): Disruptions in oil supply highlight the need for diversified and sustainable energy sources.
  3. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16): The geopolitical tensions underscore the importance of peaceful conflict resolution and strong international cooperation.

Challenges Faced by the Trump Administration

  • Balancing the risk of a global economic downturn due to rising energy costs.
  • Preventing a potential naval catastrophe in a strategically critical maritime corridor.
  • Addressing the broader implications for sustainable development and international security.

Conclusion

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz exemplifies the interconnectedness of geopolitical stability and sustainable development. It emphasizes the urgent need for policies that support economic resilience, energy sustainability, and peaceful international relations in alignment with the SDGs.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The article discusses the impact of the conflict on global economic conditions, particularly the risk of a global economic recession.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route, affects infrastructure and industrial supply chains.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The intensifying conflict and risk of naval catastrophe relate to peace and security issues.
  4. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The rise in oil prices due to reduced traffic in the Strait of Hormuz impacts global energy markets.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 8
    • Target 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances.
    • Target 8.10: Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance, and financial services for all.
  2. SDG 9
    • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure.
    • Target 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises to financial services.
  3. SDG 16
    • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
    • Target 16.4: By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets.
  4. SDG 7
    • Target 7.1: Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services.
    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

  1. Oil Prices – The article mentions rising oil prices as a direct consequence of reduced traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which can be used as an indicator for energy market stability (related to SDG 7 targets).
  2. Shipping Traffic Volume in the Strait of Hormuz – The decline in traffic is an indicator of infrastructure and industrial supply chain disruptions (related to SDG 9 targets).
  3. Global Economic Growth Rate – The risk of a global economic recession implies monitoring GDP growth rates, relevant to SDG 8 targets.
  4. Conflict Intensity and Naval Incidents – The mention of conflict intensification and naval catastrophe risk relates to indicators measuring peace and security (SDG 16 targets), such as the number of violent incidents or conflict-related deaths.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth.
  • 8.10: Expand access to financial services.
  • Global GDP growth rate.
  • Access to banking and financial services metrics.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • 9.1: Develop resilient infrastructure.
  • 9.3: Increase access to financial services for enterprises.
  • Shipping traffic volume in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Infrastructure reliability and resilience indicators.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  • 16.1: Reduce violence and death rates.
  • 16.4: Reduce illicit arms flows.
  • Number of violent incidents/conflict-related deaths.
  • Incidents of naval conflicts or catastrophes.
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • 7.1: Universal access to affordable energy.
  • 7.2: Increase renewable energy share.
  • Oil price fluctuations.
  • Energy supply stability indicators.

Source: cnn.com

 

]]> Sally June Kirk Adkins – theintermountain.com https://sdgtalks.ai/sally-june-kirk-adkins-theintermountaincom https://sdgtalks.ai/sally-june-kirk-adkins-theintermountaincom Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Sally, June, Kirk, Adkins, –, theintermountain.com  

Obituary Report: Sally June Kirk Adkins

Introduction

Sally June Kirk Adkins, aged 84, passed away on February 28, 2026, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, the same hospital where she was born on September 1, 1941. Her life journey reflects a strong commitment to education, community service, and sustainable development, aligning with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Early Life and Education

  • Born to Reva Ann Hamilton Kirk and Harry Lee Kirk Jr.
  • Raised in the East End/Highlawn area of Huntington
  • Attended Emmons and Enslow/Highlawn Elementary, Enslow Junior High School, and Huntington East High School (Class of 1959)
  • Developed lifelong friendships through Camp Fire Girls, fostering social inclusion and community (SDG 4: Quality Education; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities)

Family and Personal Life

  • Married Fred Adkins on August 5, 1961
  • Supported husband’s military career, living in various locations including Germany
  • Raised three children and nurtured a strong family bond (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being; SDG 5: Gender Equality)

Professional Career and Community Service

Sally’s dedication to education and literacy significantly contributed to community development and lifelong learning:

  1. Earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from West Virginia University (1965)
  2. Completed a Master’s degree in Childhood Education at Marshall University (1975)
  3. Worked as a preschool, kindergarten, resource, and elementary school teacher, including support for hearing-impaired children (SDG 4: Quality Education)
  4. Volunteered extensively in adult literacy programs and served as chair of the West Virginia State Reading Council Literacy Committee
  5. Held leadership and volunteer roles in numerous organizations promoting education, health, and community welfare, such as:
  • Contact of Huntington
  • Tri-River Council Camp Fire Girls
  • Tri-State Literacy Council
  • Y-Huntington Swim Club
  • Cabell County Bar Auxiliary
  • Developmental Therapy Center
  • Veterans Memorial Field House Authority
  • West Virginia State Reading Council
  • Appalachian Regional Commission Workforce Literacy Project
  • Junior League
  • Huntington East Highlander Booster Club

Environmental Stewardship and Lifestyle

  • Built and maintained a cabin and estate home in Randolph County, West Virginia, fostering sustainable living and connection with nature (SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 15: Life on Land)
  • Engaged in outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking, cattle raising, and wildlife observation
  • Participated actively in local community initiatives, including playground development and library volunteering
  • Served on boards of Valley Health System and Snowshoe Foundation, promoting health and well-being (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being)

Legacy and Survivors

Sally is remembered as a beloved family member and community leader who inspired others through her compassion and dedication. She is survived by:

  • Husband: Fred Adkins
  • Children: Allison Camara (Ken), Kirk Adkins (Susan), Ann Enthoven (Nick)
  • Nine grandchildren: Katherine, Isabel (Julien), Lindsey Camara; Dylan and River Adkins; Meg, Luke, Sydney, and Reece Enthoven

Memorial Service and Donations

  • Celebration of life scheduled for 1 p.m., Thursday, March 26, 2026, at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church
  • Family will receive friends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. prior to the service
  • In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to the Tri-State Literacy Council via the Cabell County Public Library website, supporting literacy and education (SDG 4: Quality Education)
  • Checks may be mailed to: Cabell County Public Library, 455 9th Street, Huntington, WV 25701
  • Online condolences can be left at www.beardmortuary.com

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article mentions Sally’s long life and her passing at a hospital, highlighting the importance of healthcare services and well-being in the community.
    • Her involvement in community health-related boards such as Valley Health System.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Sally’s passion for education, her degrees in elementary and childhood education, and her career as a teacher.
    • Her volunteer work in adult literacy tutoring and leadership in literacy councils.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Her work as a resource teacher for hearing-impaired children and involvement in literacy programs aimed at adult education suggests efforts to reduce educational inequalities.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Her community involvement in improving local amenities such as playgrounds and libraries.
    • Participation in local organizations and boards that support community development.
  5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Her work with multiple organizations and councils indicates collaboration and partnerships to achieve community development and literacy goals.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified Based on the Article’s Content

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services.
    • Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health and well-being.
  2. SDG 4: Quality Education
    • Target 4.1: Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.
    • Target 4.6: Ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults achieve literacy and numeracy.
    • Target 4.7: Ensure that all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of disability.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces.
  5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article to Measure Progress Towards the Identified Targets

  1. SDG 3 Indicators
    • Proportion of population with access to essential health services (implied by hospital care and community health involvement).
    • Life expectancy at birth (implied by Sally’s age and health history).
  2. SDG 4 Indicators
    • Literacy rate of youth and adults (implied by Sally’s work in adult literacy tutoring and literacy councils).
    • Participation rate in organized learning (implied by Sally’s educational background and teaching career).
  3. SDG 10 Indicators
    • Proportion of people with disabilities who participate in education and community programs (implied by her work with hearing-impaired children).
  4. SDG 11 Indicators
    • Proportion of urban population living in slums or informal settlements (implied by community development efforts such as playgrounds and libraries).
    • Access to public spaces and community facilities (implied by playground and library volunteering).
  5. SDG 17 Indicators
    • Number of partnerships and collaborations between public, private, and civil society organizations (implied by Sally’s involvement in multiple organizations and councils).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage.
  • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality and promote well-being.
  • Proportion of population with access to essential health services.
  • Life expectancy at birth.
SDG 4: Quality Education
  • 4.1: Ensure free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education.
  • 4.6: Achieve literacy and numeracy for youth and adults.
  • 4.7: Promote knowledge and skills for sustainable development.
  • Literacy rate of youth and adults.
  • Participation rate in organized learning.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • 10.2: Promote inclusion of all, including persons with disabilities.
  • Participation rate of people with disabilities in education and community programs.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.7: Provide access to safe, inclusive, and accessible public spaces.
  • Access to public spaces and community facilities.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  • 17.17: Promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships.
  • Number of partnerships and collaborations between organizations.

Source: theintermountain.com

 

]]> Fertilizer emissions may damage soil bacteria that help crops grow – Earth.com https://sdgtalks.ai/fertilizer-emissions-may-damage-soil-bacteria-that-help-crops-grow-earthcom https://sdgtalks.ai/fertilizer-emissions-may-damage-soil-bacteria-that-help-crops-grow-earthcom Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks Fertilizer, emissions, may, damage, soil, bacteria, that, help, crops, grow, –, Earth.com  

Nitrous Oxide’s Role in Root Microbial Communities and Sustainable Agriculture

Introduction

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is widely recognized as a potent greenhouse gas contributing to climate change, particularly due to its emission from soils following fertilizer application. However, recent research conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reveals an additional biological role of N₂O that has significant implications for sustainable agriculture and the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Root Microbes and Nitrous Oxide Interaction

Laboratory experiments demonstrated that N₂O actively influences microbial populations near plant roots by selectively inhibiting certain bacteria while favoring others. This microbial shift can affect plant health by altering nutrient uptake and disease resistance, which are critical for sustainable crop production.

  • Microbial communities assist plants in nutrient acquisition and pathogen defense.
  • Changes in these communities due to N₂O may impact crop resilience and yield.
  • Understanding this interaction supports SDG 2 by promoting sustainable agriculture practices.

Senior author Darcy McRose from MIT emphasized the importance of considering N₂O production in agricultural settings not only as a climate issue but also as a factor influencing plant health and microbial ecology.

Overlooked Toxicity of Nitrous Oxide

Despite its known toxicity in certain biological contexts, such as deactivating vitamin B12 in humans, N₂O has traditionally been viewed in agriculture primarily as a climate and ozone-depleting substance rather than a direct biological toxin affecting soil microbes.

  • Assumptions have underestimated N₂O’s harmful effects on microbial communities in the rhizosphere.
  • The rhizosphere is a critical zone for microbial interactions that support plant growth.
  • This insight aligns with SDG 15 by promoting healthy ecosystems and biodiversity.

Impact on Methionine Biosynthesis Pathways

The research focused on methionine biosynthesis, an essential cellular process, revealing that N₂O selectively harms bacteria relying on vitamin B12-dependent enzymes. Some bacteria possess alternative pathways that confer resistance, highlighting a metabolic vulnerability that N₂O exploits.

  1. Use of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism demonstrated sensitivity to N₂O when the B12-independent pathway was removed.
  2. Endogenous N₂O production can inhibit bacterial growth, affecting microbial community dynamics.

Effects on Synthetic Root Microbial Communities

Extending beyond single organisms, the study examined synthetic microbial communities associated with Arabidopsis thaliana. Results showed that N₂O-producing bacteria negatively impact neighboring N₂O-sensitive microbes, potentially reshaping microbial populations around plant roots.

  • Microbial community composition is influenced by N₂O production.
  • This dynamic may affect crop health and soil sustainability.
  • Supports SDG 2 and SDG 15 by enhancing understanding of soil biodiversity and plant-microbe interactions.

Prevalence of Nitrous Oxide Sensitivity Among Bacteria

Genomic analysis suggests approximately 30% of sequenced bacterial genomes may be susceptible to N₂O toxicity, indicating a widespread ecological impact beyond previously recognized climate effects.

  • Potential for N₂O to shape microbial ecosystems broadly.
  • Highlights the need for integrated approaches addressing both climate and soil health (SDG 13 and SDG 15).

Implications for Agricultural Practices

In agricultural soils, N₂O emissions often spike following nitrogen fertilizer application, heavy rainfall, or thawing periods, coinciding with critical stages of root development and microbial community establishment.

  1. These N₂O bursts may disrupt beneficial microbial partnerships essential for crop growth.
  2. Laboratory findings warrant field studies to confirm effects in complex soil environments.
  3. Understanding and managing N₂O timing could improve crop health and productivity, advancing SDG 2.

Future Research Directions and Sustainable Development

The study proposes a genetic mechanism where microbial survival under N₂O exposure depends on enzyme variants, suggesting that repeated exposure could select for resistant microbial strains, thus reshaping soil communities over time.

  • Potential to develop strategies that mitigate negative impacts of N₂O on soil microbiomes.
  • Supports sustainable soil management and resilience (SDG 15).
  • Contributes to climate mitigation efforts by linking microbial ecology with greenhouse gas dynamics (SDG 13).

Conclusion

This research redefines nitrous oxide as more than a climate pollutant; it acts as an ecological factor influencing microbial community structure in the rhizosphere, with direct consequences for crop health, soil resilience, and sustainable agriculture. These findings underscore the interconnectedness of environmental health and food security goals, reinforcing the importance of integrated approaches to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The full study is published in the journal mBio.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • The article discusses the impact of nitrous oxide on root microbes that help plants gather nutrients and fend off disease, which is directly related to improving crop health and agricultural productivity.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Nitrous oxide is highlighted as a powerful greenhouse gas contributing to climate change, linking the article to climate action efforts.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • The article addresses soil microbial ecosystems and their health, which are essential for sustainable land management and biodiversity.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, including through sustainable food production systems.
    • Target 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
  3. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
    • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Indicators for SDG 2 Targets
    • Crop yield per hectare (implied through improving crop health by managing nitrous oxide effects on root microbes).
    • Proportion of agricultural area under sustainable practices (implied by the research suggesting management of nitrous oxide production in soils).
  2. Indicators for SDG 13 Targets
    • Concentration of nitrous oxide emissions in the atmosphere (directly related to the article’s focus on N₂O as a greenhouse gas).
    • Number of policies or programs integrating climate change mitigation related to agricultural emissions (implied by the call for attention to N₂O production in agriculture).
  3. Indicators for SDG 15 Targets
    • Extent of soil microbial biodiversity and health (implied by the article’s focus on microbial community shifts due to N₂O toxicity).
    • Area of land with restored or maintained healthy soil ecosystems (implied through potential soil resilience improvements by managing N₂O effects).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  • 2.3: Double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale producers.
  • 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices.
  • Crop yield per hectare.
  • Proportion of agricultural area under sustainable practices.
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning.
  • 13.3: Improve education and capacity on climate change mitigation.
  • Concentration of nitrous oxide emissions in the atmosphere.
  • Number of climate policies addressing agricultural emissions.
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.3: Combat desertification and restore degraded land and soil.
  • 15.5: Reduce degradation of natural habitats and protect biodiversity.
  • Extent of soil microbial biodiversity and health.
  • Area of land with restored or maintained healthy soil ecosystems.

Source: earth.com

 

]]> Louisiana facing higher SNAP costs as low-income families feel more strain – KNOE https://sdgtalks.ai/louisiana-facing-higher-snap-costs-as-low-income-families-feel-more-strain-knoe https://sdgtalks.ai/louisiana-facing-higher-snap-costs-as-low-income-families-feel-more-strain-knoe Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:00:06 -0500 sdgtalks Louisiana, facing, higher, SNAP, costs, low-income, families, feel, more, strain, –, KNOE  

Report on Changes to Louisiana’s SNAP Program and Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

In response to recent federal legislation, Louisiana is set to increase its financial commitment to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $42.3 million in the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1, 2026. This report outlines the fiscal changes, policy adjustments, and their alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly focusing on SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

Financial Impact of Federal Legislation on Louisiana’s SNAP Program

  1. Following the passage of the federal spending bill in July 2025, Louisiana will assume a larger share of SNAP administrative and benefit costs due to decreased federal contributions.
  2. The state’s additional expenditure is projected to be $42.3 million beginning July 1, 2026.
  3. The Louisiana Division of Administration warns that if the state fails to reduce its error rate to meet new federal standards, additional costs could escalate to $151 million in the subsequent year.

Policy Changes Affecting SNAP Eligibility

  • The new federal law removes exemptions from work requirements for individuals aged 55 to 64 without dependents under 14 years old.
  • Exemptions for veterans and homeless individuals have also been eliminated.
  • These changes may result in loss of eligibility for beneficiaries unable to fulfill 80 hours per month of work, volunteer, or training activities.

Impact on Louisiana’s Population and Food Security

More than 756,000 residents of Louisiana, representing 16% of the state’s population, currently depend on SNAP benefits for nutritional support.

The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank distributed 14.4 million pounds of food in 2025.
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank distributed 14.4 million pounds of food in 2025. (LSU Manship School)

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • SDG 1: No Poverty – The increased state investment in SNAP aims to support vulnerable populations, reducing poverty levels by ensuring access to essential food resources.
  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger – By maintaining and potentially expanding SNAP benefits, Louisiana addresses food insecurity, contributing to the goal of ending hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture.
  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensuring adequate nutrition through SNAP supports the health and well-being of low-income individuals and families.
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Adjusting work requirements and eligibility criteria impacts social equity; careful management is required to avoid exacerbating inequalities among vulnerable groups such as veterans and the homeless.

Conclusion

The legislative changes to SNAP funding and eligibility in Louisiana present both fiscal challenges and opportunities to advance key Sustainable Development Goals. Strategic efforts to manage error rates and support affected populations will be critical to sustaining progress toward poverty alleviation, food security, and health equity within the state.

Copyright 2026 KNOE. All rights reserved.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 1: No Poverty – The article discusses the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports low-income individuals and families, directly addressing poverty reduction.
  2. SDG 2: Zero Hunger – SNAP benefits and food distribution by the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank relate to ensuring access to sufficient and nutritious food.
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Access to adequate nutrition through SNAP supports health and well-being.
  4. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The article mentions expanded work requirements for SNAP recipients, linking to employment and economic participation.
  5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The focus on vulnerable populations such as veterans, homeless people, and older adults highlights efforts to reduce inequalities.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 1 – Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its dimensions.
  2. SDG 2 – Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
  3. SDG 3 – Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment, which is supported by adequate nutrition.
  4. SDG 8 – Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including young people and persons with disabilities.
  5. SDG 10 – Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  • Indicator related to SDG 1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line (implied by the number of SNAP recipients and the state’s spending on SNAP).
  • Indicator related to SDG 2: Number of people receiving food assistance (e.g., 756,000 people relying on SNAP benefits; 14.4 million pounds of food distributed by the food bank).
  • Indicator related to SDG 8: Employment or participation rates among SNAP recipients, especially regarding compliance with new work requirements (80 hours per month participation).
  • Indicator related to SDG 10: Inclusion of vulnerable groups (veterans, homeless, older adults) in social protection programs and their eligibility status.
  • Administrative Efficiency Indicator: Error rate in SNAP administration affecting state costs, which impacts program effectiveness and resource allocation.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 1: No Poverty Target 1.2: Reduce poverty by at least half by 2030 Proportion of population living below the national poverty line; Number of SNAP recipients
SDG 2: Zero Hunger Target 2.1: End hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious food Number of people receiving food assistance; Pounds of food distributed by food banks
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality through prevention and treatment Access to adequate nutrition via SNAP benefits (implied)
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment for all Participation rates in work/training activities among SNAP recipients; Compliance with 80-hour monthly work requirement
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Promote inclusion of all, irrespective of status Eligibility and inclusion rates of vulnerable groups (veterans, homeless, older adults) in SNAP

Source: knoe.com

 

]]> Redwood Parks Conservancy seeks volunteers for March habitat restoration on North Coast – KRCR https://sdgtalks.ai/redwood-parks-conservancy-seeks-volunteers-for-march-habitat-restoration-on-north-coast-krcr https://sdgtalks.ai/redwood-parks-conservancy-seeks-volunteers-for-march-habitat-restoration-on-north-coast-krcr Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:30:10 -0500 sdgtalks Redwood, Parks, Conservancy, seeks, volunteers, for, March, habitat, restoration, North, Coast, –, KRCR  

Volunteer Restoration Events in Northern California Supporting Sustainable Development Goals

Overview

In March, Northern California residents have multiple opportunities to engage in environmental restoration activities aimed at preserving fragile coastal habitats. The Redwood Parks Conservancy, in partnership with California State Parks North Coast Redwoods District, is organizing a series of volunteer restoration days across the region. These initiatives align with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Objectives and Focus

  • Removal of invasive non-native plants and encroaching vegetation threatening native ecosystems.
  • Support habitat recovery in state parks from the Lost Coast to lagoons and prairies in Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties.
  • Promote community engagement and environmental stewardship consistent with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Event Details and Locations

  1. Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
    Date: Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
    Activities: Restoration of coastal prairies through removal of invasive plants.
    Meeting Point: Jones Beach trailhead, one mile north of the visitor center.
    Note: Carpooling encouraged due to limited parking.
  2. Trinidad State Beach
    Date: Saturday, March 14, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
    Activities: Removal of invasive species such as English ivy to protect native coastal habitats.
    Meeting Point: Corner of Anderson Lane and Stagecoach Road.
  3. Big Dune – Tolowa Dunes State Park
    Date: Sunday, March 15, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
    Activities: Removal of invasive plants like European beachgrass to safeguard rare coastal dune ecosystems.
    Meeting Point: Lake Earl Wildlife Area building, 2591 Old Mill Road, Crescent City, CA 95531.
    Note: Work site is approximately one-mile hike from parking.
  4. Humboldt Lagoons State Park
    Date: Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
    Activities: Restoration of western azaleas by removing invasive vegetation.
    Meeting Point: Stagecoach Hill Azalea Trailhead off Kane Road/Big Lagoon Ranch Road.
    Note: Carpooling encouraged due to limited parking.
  5. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
    Date: Sunday, March 29, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
    Activities: Prairie restoration through removal of invasive plants and encroaching vegetation.
    Meeting Point: In front of the visitor center; park in day-use parking area or along Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway.

Participation Information

  • All events are free and open to the public.
  • Volunteers of all ages are welcome; minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
  • Participants should bring sturdy shoes, a hat, drinking water, and be prepared for moderate physical activity.
  • Free transportation from Crescent City is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations can be made by emailing autumn@redwoodparks.org or calling (707) 564-7388.

How to Register and Learn More

Interested individuals can sign up or obtain additional information by visiting the event registration page at bit.ly/rpc-eventbrite.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 15: Life on Land – Protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems through habitat restoration.
  • SDG 13: Climate Action – Enhancing ecosystem resilience to climate change by controlling invasive species and restoring native vegetation.
  • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Encouraging community participation in environmental conservation.
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Collaboration between Redwood Parks Conservancy and California State Parks to achieve restoration objectives.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed

  1. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • The article focuses on restoring fragile coastal habitats and removing invasive non-native plants, which directly relates to protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.
  2. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • By restoring native ecosystems and removing invasive species, the activities contribute to ecosystem resilience and carbon sequestration, indirectly supporting climate action.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The volunteer events promote community engagement and stewardship of natural spaces, contributing to making communities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  4. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Encouraging outdoor physical activity and community participation supports health and well-being.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

  1. SDG 15 Targets:
    • 15.1 – Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
    • 15.5 – Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity.
  2. SDG 13 Targets:
    • 13.1 – Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
  3. SDG 11 Targets:
    • 11.7 – Provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces.
  4. SDG 3 Targets:
    • 3.4 – Promote mental health and well-being.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

  1. Indicators for SDG 15:
    • Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area (implied by efforts to remove invasive species and restore habitats).
    • Coverage of protected areas and restoration activities in coastal and terrestrial ecosystems.
  2. Indicators for SDG 13:
    • Number of ecosystem restoration projects contributing to climate resilience.
  3. Indicators for SDG 11:
    • Access to green public spaces measured by community participation in restoration activities.
  4. Indicators for SDG 3:
    • Participation rates in outdoor physical activities promoting health and well-being.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.1: Conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems
  • 15.5: Reduce degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss
  • Proportion of degraded land area
  • Extent of habitat restoration and invasive species removal
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards
  • Number of ecosystem restoration projects enhancing climate resilience
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.7: Provide access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green spaces
  • Community participation rates in green space restoration
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being
  • Participation in outdoor physical activities

Source: krcrtv.com

 

]]> Australia Industrial Filtration Market: Powering Cleaner Industries and Sustainable Manufacturing – vocal.media https://sdgtalks.ai/australia-industrial-filtration-market-powering-cleaner-industries-and-sustainable-manufacturing-vocalmedia https://sdgtalks.ai/australia-industrial-filtration-market-powering-cleaner-industries-and-sustainable-manufacturing-vocalmedia Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:30:15 -0500 sdgtalks Australia, Industrial, Filtration, Market:, Powering, Cleaner, Industries, and, Sustainable, Manufacturing, –, vocal.media  

Australia Industrial Filtration Market Report with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Market Overview

The Australia industrial filtration market is experiencing significant growth driven by industries prioritizing environmental compliance, operational efficiency, and equipment protection. Industrial filtration systems are critical in removing contaminants from air, liquids, and gases during manufacturing processes, thereby maintaining product quality and adhering to strict environmental standards aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

According to IMARC Group, the market was valued at USD 1,064.6 Million in 2025 and is forecasted to reach USD 1,946.7 Million by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.73% from 2026 to 2034.

Applications and Industry Sectors

Industrial filtration technologies are extensively utilized across multiple sectors including:

  • Mining
  • Chemicals
  • Food Processing
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Automotive Manufacturing
  • Power Generation

These filtration systems remove airborne particulates, oil mists, chemical vapors, and wastewater contaminants, ensuring safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible industrial operations, supporting SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

Market Segmentation

  1. Type
    • Liquid Filtration
    • Air Filtration
  2. Product
    • Bag Filters
    • Cartridge Filters
    • Filter Press
    • Depth Filters
    • Others
  3. Filter Media
    • Fiberglass
    • Metal
    • Nonwoven Fabric
    • Filter Paper
    • Others
  4. Application
    • Food and Beverage
    • Chemical and Petrochemical
    • Pharmaceutical
    • Metal and Mining
    • Power Generation
    • Others
  5. Region
    • Australia Capital Territory & New South Wales
    • Victoria & Tasmania
    • Queensland
    • Northern Territory & Southern Australia
    • Western Australia

This segmentation highlights the integral role of filtration technologies in promoting sustainable industrial processes consistent with SDG 9 and SDG 12.

Drivers of Market Growth

  • Expansion of Mining and Resource Extraction
    Australia’s position as a leading global mineral producer necessitates effective management of dust, wastewater, and contaminants. Filtration systems are essential to maintain safe workplaces and comply with environmental regulations, supporting SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
  • Increasingly Strict Environmental Regulations
    Enhanced policies targeting air emissions and wastewater discharge compel industries to adopt advanced filtration technologies to reduce pollution, directly contributing to SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
  • Adoption of Smart Manufacturing and Automation
    The integration of automated equipment in manufacturing requires clean environments to ensure equipment longevity and product quality, aligning with SDG 9.
  • Growing Importance of Cleanroom Standards
    Sectors such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals demand highly controlled environments maintained by sophisticated air filtration, supporting SDG 3 and SDG 9.
  • Integration of IoT and Smart Monitoring
    Digital technologies including IoT sensors enable real-time monitoring of filtration systems, enhancing efficiency and reducing downtime, thus advancing SDG 9 and SDG 12.

Opportunities in the Market

  1. Advanced Air Filtration Technologies – Rising demand for HEPA filters and air purification systems in industrial settings.
  2. Industrial Wastewater Treatment Solutions – Investment in filtration to remove pollutants before discharge, supporting SDG 6.
  3. Smart Filtration Systems with IoT Integration – Innovation in digital monitoring to optimize filtration efficiency.
  4. Mining Industry Filtration Infrastructure – Large-scale solutions for dust, slurry, and process water management.
  5. Clean Manufacturing and Contamination Control – High-performance filtration for pharmaceuticals and electronics industries.
  6. Energy-Efficient Filtration Equipment – Technologies reducing energy consumption while maintaining performance, contributing to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy).
  7. Sustainable Industrial Processes – Filtration enabling water recycling, emission reduction, and waste minimization, directly supporting SDG 12 and SDG 13.

Recent Developments

  • February 2025: Australian government launched new environmental compliance initiatives targeting industrial emissions and wastewater management, encouraging adoption of advanced filtration technologies.
  • June 2025: Introduction of next-generation filtration systems with IoT sensors and automated monitoring to enhance smart factory operations.
  • September 2025: Reports indicate increased adoption of advanced air and liquid filtration systems in mining and manufacturing sectors to improve safety, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

Conclusion: Importance of the Australia Industrial Filtration Market

The Australia industrial filtration market is vital for advancing cleaner, safer, and more sustainable industrial operations. With projected growth from USD 1,064.6 Million in 2025 to USD 1,946.7 Million by 2034, the sector offers significant opportunities for businesses and investors focused on sustainable development.

Advanced filtration technologies enhance equipment performance, reduce environmental impacts, and ensure compliance with evolving regulations, thereby supporting multiple SDGs including SDG 6, SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 12, and SDG 13.

As Australia expands its mining, manufacturing, and industrial sectors, filtration systems will remain a cornerstone of sustainable industrial infrastructure, promoting cleaner production processes and contributing to a sustainable industrial future.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – The article discusses industrial wastewater treatment and filtration technologies that remove pollutants before discharge, supporting clean water initiatives.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – The adoption of advanced filtration technologies, smart manufacturing, IoT integration, and industrial infrastructure improvements are highlighted.
  3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Industrial filtration contributes to reducing air pollution and maintaining safe environments in industrial areas.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – The article emphasizes sustainable industrial processes, waste minimization, and energy-efficient filtration equipment.
  5. SDG 13: Climate Action – Stricter environmental regulations and emission reductions through filtration technologies relate to climate action efforts.
  6. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – By improving air quality and reducing contaminants, filtration systems support healthier working environments and communities.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 6 – Target 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution, minimizing release of hazardous chemicals, and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally. The article’s focus on industrial wastewater treatment aligns with this target.
  2. SDG 9 – Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies. The adoption of smart filtration and IoT integration supports this.
  3. SDG 11 – Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including air quality improvements. Industrial filtration reducing airborne particulates addresses this target.
  4. SDG 12 – Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes throughout their life cycle. Filtration technologies that minimize waste and emissions contribute here.
  5. SDG 13 – Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning. The article’s mention of stricter environmental regulations and emission control relates to this target.
  6. SDG 3 – Target 3.9: Reduce illnesses and deaths from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution. Filtration systems improving air and water quality directly support this target.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  • Indicator for SDG 6.3.1: Proportion of wastewater safely treated. The article’s emphasis on industrial wastewater filtration implies measurement of treated wastewater volumes and pollutant levels.
  • Indicator for SDG 9.4.1: CO2 emission per unit of value added. The use of energy-efficient filtration equipment and smart monitoring suggests tracking emissions and energy consumption.
  • Indicator for SDG 11.6.2: Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in cities. The article’s focus on removing airborne particulates implies monitoring air quality improvements.
  • Indicator for SDG 12.4.2: Hazardous waste generated per capita and proportion treated. Filtration technologies reducing industrial waste support this indicator.
  • Indicator for SDG 13.2.2: Total greenhouse gas emissions per year. Emission reduction through filtration systems is relevant here.
  • Indicator for SDG 3.9.1: Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution. Improved air filtration in industrial settings can contribute to lowering this metric.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution and increasing recycling and safe reuse 6.3.1: Proportion of wastewater safely treated
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries for sustainability and clean technologies 9.4.1: CO2 emission per unit of value added
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.6: Reduce adverse environmental impact including air quality 11.6.2: Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10)
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production 12.4: Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes 12.4.2: Hazardous waste generated per capita and proportion treated
SDG 13: Climate Action 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning 13.2.2: Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being 3.9: Reduce illnesses and deaths from pollution and hazardous chemicals 3.9.1: Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution

Source: vocal.media

 

]]> ‘No Trespass’ Signs Thwart County Inspections Of Kona Dome House – Honolulu Civil Beat https://sdgtalks.ai/no-trespass-signs-thwart-county-inspections-of-kona-dome-house-honolulu-civil-beat https://sdgtalks.ai/no-trespass-signs-thwart-county-inspections-of-kona-dome-house-honolulu-civil-beat Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:30:08 -0500 sdgtalks ‘No, Trespass’, Signs, Thwart, County, Inspections, Kona, Dome, House, –, Honolulu, Civil, Beat  

Report on Unpermitted Vacation Rental Structures on Agricultural Land in Hawaiʻi

Introduction

Recent legal disputes on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island highlight challenges related to vacation rentals on farmland, which are prohibited under state law. This report examines a specific case involving an unpermitted dome shelter on agricultural land, emphasizing the implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15).

Case Overview: The Dome Shelter on Agricultural Land

A dome-shaped shelter located on a 5-acre agricultural parcel at 75-5481 Hienaloli Road in Kailua-Kona offers scenic views and recreational opportunities such as yoga and stargazing. However, county property records show no building permits for this structure, indicating it was constructed without proper authorization.

  • Legal Status: The structure lacks county-issued building permits and occupancy approvals, raising concerns about compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
  • Potential Use as Vacation Rental: Observations suggest the dome may be used as a short-term vacation rental, which contravenes Hawaiʻi statute 205-4.5 that prohibits vacation rentals on agricultural land.

Regulatory and Enforcement Challenges

  1. Inspection Difficulties: The property is landlocked with access restricted by “No Trespassing” signs, limiting county inspectors’ ability to enforce regulations.
  2. Legal Precedents: The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court ruled in November 2024 that farm dwellings in agricultural districts cannot be used as short-term rentals, reinforcing the protection of agricultural land use.
  3. Enforcement Gaps: Despite complaints and inspections, enforcement actions have been limited, highlighting the need for improved coordination among county departments and legal authorities.

Ownership and Land Use Details

  • The 5-acre lot is owned by JKS Solutions, a Hawaiʻi-registered company involved in consulting, real estate investments, vacation rentals, and agriculture.
  • The property benefits from agricultural zoning, resulting in significantly reduced property taxes ($200 annually), despite being purchased at a higher market value.
  • Recent grading permits approved for adjoining blocks suggest potential further development, which requires close monitoring to ensure compliance with sustainable land use practices.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  • Ensuring land use regulations are enforced supports sustainable community development by preventing unauthorized construction and preserving agricultural land.
  • Proper management of vacation rentals contributes to balanced tourism that respects local environments and communities.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  • Compliance with building permits and environmental regulations ensures responsible resource use and waste management, including septic and effluent systems.
  • Preventing unauthorized vacation rentals helps avoid overuse of local infrastructure and resources.

SDG 15: Life on Land

  • Protecting agricultural land from inappropriate development preserves biodiversity and supports sustainable agriculture.
  • Maintaining agricultural zoning aligns with conservation efforts and sustainable land management.

Vacation Rental Regulations and Legal Context

  1. In 2019, Hawaiʻi County enacted laws banning short-term vacation rentals on agricultural lots created after 1976.
  2. Legal challenges by landowners were ultimately resolved in favor of the county and state, affirming that short-term rentals undermine agricultural purposes.
  3. Recent amendments require registration of hosted vacation rentals, enhancing regulatory oversight.
  4. Ongoing litigation may address potential loopholes related to pre-existing rental registrations.

Conclusion and Recommendations

  • Enhanced enforcement mechanisms are critical to uphold land use laws and protect agricultural zones.
  • Improved interdepartmental coordination and legal clarity will support sustainable land management and community well-being.
  • Stakeholders should prioritize adherence to SDGs by balancing economic development with environmental protection and social responsibility.
  • Public awareness and reporting mechanisms should be strengthened to identify and address unauthorized land uses promptly.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • The article discusses land use, zoning laws, and the management of vacation rentals in agricultural areas, which relate to sustainable urban and community planning.
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • The protection of agricultural land and prevention of unauthorized construction supports the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and land resources.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • The article highlights legal battles, enforcement challenges, and governance issues related to land use and compliance with laws.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Issues around unpermitted buildings and unauthorized vacation rentals imply concerns about sustainable land use and resource management.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management.
    • Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage (implied by land use and zoning enforcement).
  2. SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
    • Target 15.9: Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, and poverty reduction strategies.
  3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
  4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.8: By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Number of unpermitted buildings identified and removed or regularized
    • The article mentions unpermitted dome structures and the lack of building permits, implying that tracking permits and unauthorized constructions could measure enforcement effectiveness.
  2. Number of short-term vacation rentals registered vs. unregistered
    • The county’s requirement for registration of vacation rentals (hosted and unhosted) suggests an indicator measuring compliance with rental regulations.
  3. Legal enforcement actions and court rulings related to land use
    • The article references Supreme Court rulings and ongoing litigation, which could be tracked as indicators of governance and rule of law.
  4. Tax revenue from agricultural land vs. actual land use
    • The discrepancy between tax benefits for agricultural zoning and actual land use (e.g., vacation rentals) implies an indicator related to fiscal compliance and land use integrity.
  5. Access and inspection rates of agricultural properties
    • Challenges with property access for inspections due to “No Trespassing” signs imply an indicator measuring the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 11.3: Enhance sustainable urbanization and planning
  • 11.4: Protect cultural and natural heritage
  • Number of unpermitted buildings identified and addressed
  • Compliance rate with zoning and land use regulations
SDG 15: Life on Land
  • 15.3: Restore degraded land and achieve land degradation neutrality
  • 15.9: Integrate ecosystem values into planning
  • Extent of agricultural land preserved from unauthorized use
  • Number of enforcement actions preventing land misuse
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  • 16.3: Promote rule of law and access to justice
  • 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions
  • Number of legal rulings enforcing land use laws
  • Inspection and enforcement visit rates
  • Registration compliance of vacation rentals
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 12.8: Ensure awareness for sustainable lifestyles
  • Public awareness and compliance with land use and rental laws
  • Tax revenue alignment with actual land use

Source: civilbeat.org

 

]]> China’s high-speed rail widens urban–rural disparities in air pollution and public health – Nature https://sdgtalks.ai/chinas-high-speed-rail-widens-urbanrural-disparities-in-air-pollution-and-public-health-nature https://sdgtalks.ai/chinas-high-speed-rail-widens-urbanrural-disparities-in-air-pollution-and-public-health-nature Tue, 10 Mar 2026 07:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks China’s, high-speed, rail, widens, urban–rural, disparities, air, pollution, and, public, health, –, Nature  

Report on Urban-Rural Disparities in Air Pollution and Public Health in China

Introduction

Air pollution is commonly perceived as an urban issue; however, rural areas also experience significant air pollution and related health impacts. This report examines the disparities between urban and rural areas in China regarding air pollution and public health, with a focus on the role of high-speed rail (HSR) infrastructure. The findings highlight critical implications for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to health, sustainable cities, and reducing inequalities.

Key Findings

1. Air Pollution Levels in Urban and Rural Areas

Using firm-level waste gas emission data, grid-level PM2.5 concentration data, and health data, the study reveals that:

  • Air pollution in rural areas is not better than in urban areas.
  • Both urban and rural regions suffer from high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which poses serious health risks.

This finding underscores the need to address air quality comprehensively across all geographic areas, aligning with SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

2. Impact of High-Speed Rail (HSR) on Air Pollution and Public Health

The introduction of high-speed rail has differential effects on urban and rural areas:

  1. Urban areas have experienced greater reductions in waste gas emission intensity and PM2.5 concentrations.
  2. Cardiovascular disease-related mortality has decreased more significantly in urban areas compared to rural areas.
  3. HSR infrastructure contributes to widening the urban–rural gap in air pollution and public health outcomes.

This disparity highlights challenges in achieving SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, emphasizing the importance of equitable infrastructure development.

3. Resource Redistribution and Urban-Rural Inequality

The unequal impacts of HSR are linked to spatial redistribution of resources favoring urban centers:

  • Urban firms gain more resources and improve efficiency post-HSR opening.
  • Rural areas receive comparatively fewer benefits, exacerbating disparities.

This phenomenon calls for policy interventions to ensure balanced regional development, supporting SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

4. Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Disparities

  • Unequal impacts of HSR on air pollution and health widen over time, despite some fluctuations.
  • These disparities persist across various geographical distances.

Understanding these dynamics is essential for long-term sustainable planning and achieving SDG 13: Climate Action.

Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Addressing air pollution in both urban and rural areas is critical to reducing disease burden, particularly cardiovascular diseases linked to PM2.5 exposure.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – While HSR promotes economic growth and innovation, its benefits must be equitably distributed to avoid exacerbating disparities.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The widening urban-rural gap in pollution and health outcomes calls for targeted policies to promote environmental justice and social equity.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Sustainable urban planning should integrate rural considerations to ensure comprehensive air quality improvements.
  5. SDG 13: Climate Action – Mitigating air pollution contributes to climate goals, requiring coordinated efforts across regions.

Recommendations

  • Increase monitoring and mitigation efforts for air pollution in rural areas to ensure health equity.
  • Design transportation and infrastructure policies that promote balanced resource allocation between urban and rural regions.
  • Integrate environmental health considerations into regional development plans to support sustainable growth.
  • Enhance public awareness and community engagement in rural areas regarding air pollution and health risks.
  • Support research and data sharing to inform evidence-based policy interventions targeting urban-rural disparities.

Data and Methodology

The study utilized comprehensive datasets including:

  • Firm-level waste gas emissions from China’s Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration.
  • Grid-level PM2.5 concentration data from the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) at Columbia University.
  • Health data from the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • High-speed rail data from official Chinese transportation sources.

Statistical analysis was conducted using Stata MP 17.0 on a confidential national computational platform, ensuring data integrity and compliance with non-disclosure agreements.

Conclusion

This report highlights the critical issue of air pollution and public health disparities between urban and rural areas in China, exacerbated by high-speed rail development. Addressing these challenges is vital for achieving multiple SDGs, particularly those focused on health, infrastructure, inequality, and sustainable communities. Policymakers and stakeholders must prioritize inclusive and equitable approaches to environmental and public health governance to ensure no community is left behind.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • The article discusses the health implications of air pollution, particularly cardiovascular-disease-induced deaths, highlighting public health concerns in both urban and rural areas.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • The role of high-speed rail (HSR) infrastructure in affecting air pollution levels and resource distribution between urban and rural areas is a central theme.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • The article reveals widening urban–rural disparities in air pollution and public health outcomes due to the unequal impacts of HSR development.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Air pollution in urban and rural areas and its management through infrastructure development relates to creating sustainable living environments.
  5. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Waste gas emissions and PM2.5 concentrations are environmental issues linked to climate and air quality management.

2. Specific Targets Under Identified SDGs

  1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
  2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
  5. SDG 13: Climate Action
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  1. Air Pollution Indicators
    • PM2.5 concentration levels (fine particulate matter) measured at grid-level.
    • Waste gas emission intensity from firm-level data.
  2. Health Indicators
    • Cardiovascular-disease-induced death rates derived from grid-level health data.
  3. Infrastructure and Socioeconomic Indicators
    • High-speed rail (HSR) opening and its spatial distribution.
    • Resource redistribution metrics favoring urban areas.
    • Urban-rural disparities in pollution and health outcomes over time and geographical distances.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.9: Reduce deaths and illnesses from air pollution and contamination.
  • Cardiovascular-disease-induced death rates (grid-level health data)
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Target 9.1: Develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure.
  • High-speed rail (HSR) opening and spatial distribution
  • Resource redistribution metrics favoring urban areas
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion.
  • Urban-rural disparities in air pollution and health outcomes
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Target 11.6: Reduce environmental impact of cities, focusing on air quality.
  • PM2.5 concentration levels (grid-level data)
  • Waste gas emission intensity (firm-level data)
SDG 13: Climate Action Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning.
  • Waste gas emission intensity
  • PM2.5 concentration levels

Source: nature.com

 

]]> California has 40,000 affordable housing units ready to break ground. One setback is holding them up – CalMatters https://sdgtalks.ai/california-has-40000-affordable-housing-units-ready-to-break-ground-one-setback-is-holding-them-up-calmatters https://sdgtalks.ai/california-has-40000-affordable-housing-units-ready-to-break-ground-one-setback-is-holding-them-up-calmatters Tue, 10 Mar 2026 07:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks California, has, 40, 000, affordable, housing, units, ready, break, ground., One, setback, holding, them, –, CalMatters  

Report on California’s Affordable Housing Crisis and Sustainable Development Goals

Overview

A recent report by Enterprise Community Partners highlights a critical issue in California’s affordable housing sector: nearly 39,880 affordable housing units are stalled in financial limbo. These “shovel-ready” projects, including the Morris Village development in Modesto, have secured zoning approval, community support, and partial funding but lack the final financial resources to commence construction.

Context and Significance

The stalled projects directly impact Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, which emphasizes the need for affordable, safe, and resilient housing. California’s political leaders aim to increase affordable housing stock, especially for vulnerable populations, aligning with SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Challenges in Funding

  1. Financial Gap: The report estimates a $4.1 billion funding shortfall to clear the backlog of affordable housing projects, requiring state grants, low-cost loans, and tax incentives.
  2. Complex Funding Streams: Projects often rely on multiple funding sources with varying timelines and requirements, causing delays and increased costs.
  3. Policy Bottlenecks: Despite state mandates to build 2.5 million additional housing units by 2030, including 1 million affordable units for low-income residents, the lack of sufficient state subsidies creates a bottleneck.

Case Study: Morris Village Project

  • Location: East Morris Avenue, Modesto
  • Units: 44 affordable units, half reserved for homeless individuals
  • Features: On-site mental health services, job training, and community activities
  • Status: Approved and partially funded but awaiting final financial support

This project exemplifies efforts to meet SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being by integrating health services and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth through job training programs.

Historical and Regulatory Context

  • Previously, local approvals were the main obstacle; recent state laws have eased these barriers, supporting SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions by promoting inclusive governance.
  • Federal tax credit programs have expanded, yet state-level funding remains insufficient to fully leverage these resources.
  • Developers face a “moving bottleneck” where projects clear regulatory and federal funding hurdles but stall awaiting state subsidies.

Financial and Policy Developments

  1. California’s last major affordable housing bond in 2018 is depleted; current funds total approximately $1.8 billion, with no new discretionary spending proposed in the governor’s budget.
  2. Legislators are considering a $10 billion affordable housing bond for 2026, which could significantly accelerate progress.
  3. The establishment of the California Housing and Homelessness Agency aims to streamline funding processes, reducing delays and costs.

Cost Challenges and Efficiency Measures

  • Construction costs in California are two to four times higher than in comparable states due to land prices, labor costs, regulatory barriers, and traditional building methods.
  • Delays in funding increase costs by approximately $20,460 per unit, undermining SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
  • Efforts to cut costs include regulatory reforms, faster permitting, and innovative construction techniques.

Conclusion and SDG Implications

The stalled affordable housing projects in California represent a significant challenge to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). Addressing the financial bottleneck through increased funding, streamlined processes, and cost reduction strategies is essential to advancing equitable and sustainable housing solutions for California’s most vulnerable populations.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

  1. SDG 1: No Poverty – The article focuses on affordable housing for low-income populations, addressing poverty alleviation.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Mention of on-site mental health services and supportive services like job training and Zumba classes.
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The article highlights efforts to provide housing for people with the least ability to pay, reducing social inequalities.
  4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Emphasis on increasing affordable housing units, improving urban living conditions, and access to public transport.
  5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Collaboration between government, nonprofits, and private sectors to fund and develop affordable housing.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

  1. SDG 1 – Target 1.4: Ensure equal rights to economic resources, including access to basic services and affordable housing.
  2. SDG 3 – Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being, as evidenced by on-site mental health services in housing projects.
  3. SDG 10 – Target 10.2: Empower and promote social, economic, and political inclusion of all, particularly vulnerable populations.
  4. SDG 11 – Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services.
  5. SDG 17 – Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

  • Number of affordable housing units constructed or in pipeline: The article cites 39,880 affordable units stuck in financial purgatory and a state goal of 2.5 million additional units.
  • Proportion of affordable housing units reserved for people making less than 80% of median income: The article mentions one million units targeted for this group.
  • Amount of funding allocated and spent on affordable housing projects: References to $4.1 billion needed to clear backlog and $1.8 billion available in current funding.
  • Time delays in project funding and construction starts: Average delay of four months per additional funding source, adding costs per unit.
  • Number of projects receiving multi-source funding and meeting state criteria: Two-thirds of projects have received at least one state program support and meet amenity and service standards.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 1: No Poverty Target 1.4: Equal rights to economic resources including affordable housing
  • Number of affordable housing units constructed or in pipeline
  • Proportion of units reserved for low-income populations (below 80% median income)
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being
  • Availability of on-site mental health services in housing projects
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities Target 10.2: Promote social, economic, and political inclusion
  • Number of affordable housing units serving vulnerable populations
  • Access to supportive services (job training, community programs)
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Target 11.1: Access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing
  • Number of affordable housing units planned and built
  • Proximity to public transport and amenities
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals Target 17.17: Promote effective partnerships
  • Number and scale of partnerships between government, nonprofits, and private sector in housing projects
  • Amount of funding mobilized through multi-sector collaboration

Source: calmatters.org

 

]]> Waste Management Stocks Worth Watching – March 9th – MarketBeat https://sdgtalks.ai/waste-management-stocks-worth-watching-march-9th-marketbeat https://sdgtalks.ai/waste-management-stocks-worth-watching-march-9th-marketbeat Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:30:13 -0500 sdgtalks Waste, Management, Stocks, Worth, Watching, –, March, 9th, –, MarketBeat  

Report on Waste Management Stocks and Their Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This report highlights seven key Waste Management stocks identified by MarketBeat’s stock screener tool as significant for investors. These companies play vital roles in waste collection, transportation, processing, recycling, treatment, and disposal services, contributing to environmental sustainability and economic growth. Emphasis is placed on their contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Overview of Waste Management Stocks

Waste management companies provide essential environmental services across municipal, commercial, and industrial sectors. These businesses are generally considered defensive and cash-generative, supported by long-term contracts and steady demand. However, they face challenges such as regulatory risks, fluctuations in recycling commodity prices, and capital-intensive infrastructure requirements. The companies listed below have recorded the highest trading volumes recently, indicating strong market interest.

  1. Waste Management, Inc. (WM)
  • Operates in the United States and Canada, offering collection, transfer, and landfill services.
  • Develops landfill gas facilities producing renewable natural gas for electricity generation, supporting SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
  • Contributes to SDG 11 by managing waste in urban environments and SDG 12 through recycling initiatives.
  • Read Our Latest Research Report on WM
  • GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL)
    • Provides non-hazardous solid waste and environmental services in Canada and the U.S.
    • Offers solid and liquid waste management and soil remediation, advancing SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 12.
    • Supports sustainable industrial practices and environmental protection.
    • Read Our Latest Research Report on GFL
  • Custom Truck One Source, Inc. (CTOS)
    • Specializes in equipment rental and sales for infrastructure-related industries including waste management.
    • Supports efficient waste handling and infrastructure maintenance, contributing to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).
    • Operates in the U.S. and Canada through segments: Equipment Rental Solutions, Truck and Equipment Sales, and Aftermarket Parts and Services.
    • Read Our Latest Research Report on CTOS
  • Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. (BBCP)
    • Provides concrete pumping and waste management services in the U.S. and U.K.
    • Offers industrial cleanup and containment services, supporting SDG 11 and SDG 12 by promoting sustainable construction and waste containment.
    • Operates under brands such as Brundage-Bone, Capital Pumping, and Eco-Pan.
    • Read Our Latest Research Report on BBCP
  • Avalon Holdings Corporation (AWX)
    • Delivers hazardous and nonhazardous waste disposal brokerage and management services in the U.S.
    • Manages captive landfills and provides turnkey waste management services, aligning with SDG 12 and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
    • Supports governmental and municipal clients in sustainable waste solutions.
    • Read Our Latest Research Report on AWX
  • ESGL Holdings Limited (ESGLW)
    • Focuses on regenerating industrial waste into circular products using renewable energy technologies.
    • Advances the circular economy concept, directly supporting SDG 12 and SDG 7.
    • Based in Singapore, the company promotes sustainable industrial waste solutions.
    • Read Our Latest Research Report on ESGLW
  • LanzaTech Global, Inc. (LNZAW)
    • Engages in innovative waste-to-fuel and chemical production technologies.
    • Supports SDG 9 and SDG 13 by reducing industrial emissions and promoting sustainable industrial innovation.
    • Read Our Latest Research Report on LNZAW

    Key Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals

    • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: Waste management companies contribute to cleaner, safer urban environments through effective waste collection and disposal.
    • SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: Recycling, waste reduction, and circular economy initiatives are central to these companies’ operations.
    • SDG 13 – Climate Action: Renewable energy projects such as landfill gas-to-energy and waste-to-fuel technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
    • SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy: Production of renewable natural gas and use of renewable energy in waste processing promote clean energy access.
    • SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Investment in advanced waste management infrastructure and innovative technologies supports sustainable industrial development.

    Conclusion

    The highlighted waste management companies demonstrate significant alignment with global sustainability objectives through their environmental services and innovative technologies. Investors focusing on sustainable development may consider these stocks for their potential to contribute to the SDGs while delivering steady financial performance.

    For further detailed analysis, readers are encouraged to consult the individual research reports linked above.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • The article discusses waste management services that contribute to sustainable urban environments by managing municipal, commercial, and industrial waste.
    2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Focus on recycling, waste processing, and converting waste into renewable energy aligns with sustainable consumption and production patterns.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for electricity generation and the use of renewable energy technologies contribute to climate change mitigation.
    4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Companies providing specialty equipment rental, infrastructure-related services, and innovative waste solutions support resilient infrastructure and industrial innovation.
    5. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • Soil remediation and liquid waste management services contribute to water quality and sanitation improvements.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

    1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
    2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle.
      • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
    5. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • Target 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution, minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, and increasing recycling and safe reuse.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Waste Collection and Recycling Rates
      • Implied by the companies’ activities in collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal of waste.
    2. Amount of Waste Converted to Renewable Energy
      • Landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for electricity generation is an indicator of renewable energy production from waste.
    3. Volume of Hazardous and Non-Hazardous Waste Managed
      • Companies providing hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal services imply tracking of waste volumes managed safely.
    4. Use of Environmentally Sound Technologies
      • Regeneration of industrial waste into circular products using renewable energy technologies indicates innovation and sustainable industrial practices.
    5. Soil and Liquid Waste Remediation Metrics
      • Soil remediation and liquid waste management suggest indicators related to pollution reduction and environmental quality improvement.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.6: Reduce adverse environmental impact of cities including waste management Waste collection and recycling rates; volume of municipal waste managed
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production 12.4: Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes
    12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation    		 Volume of hazardous and non-hazardous waste managed; recycling rates; waste reduction metrics
    SDG 13: Climate Action 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning Amount of waste converted to renewable energy (e.g., landfill gas to electricity)
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure for sustainability and clean technologies Use of renewable energy technologies; regeneration of industrial waste into circular products
    SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution and increasing recycling Soil remediation metrics; liquid waste management volumes; pollution reduction indicators

    Source: marketbeat.com

     

    ]]>     Colorado Wolf Petition Seeks Transparent, Consistent Conflict Rules – Center for Biological Diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/colorado-wolf-petition-seeks-transparent-consistent-conflict-rules-center-for-biological-diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/colorado-wolf-petition-seeks-transparent-consistent-conflict-rules-center-for-biological-diversity Tue, 10 Mar 2026 01:30:10 -0500 sdgtalks Colorado, Wolf, Petition, Seeks, Transparent, Consistent, Conflict, Rules, –, Center, for, Biological, Diversity  

    Report on the Center for Biological Diversity’s Petition to Update Wolf Management Regulations in Colorado

    Introduction

    The Center for Biological Diversity has submitted a formal rulemaking petition to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, urging updates to the regulations governing when wolves can be lethally controlled in the state. This initiative aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

    Objectives of the Petition

    1. Clarify nonlethal measures to reduce livestock-wolf conflicts before lethal control is authorized.
    2. Ensure lethal control is a last resort, based on transparent and science-based decision-making.
    3. Establish consistent standards for lethal control operations across state, federal, and private actors.

    Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    • SDG 15 – Life on Land: The petition supports the protection of endangered wolves and promotes biodiversity conservation by advocating for nonlethal coexistence methods.
    • SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: By encouraging nonlethal conflict minimization and proper livestock carcass management, the petition fosters sustainable agricultural practices.
    • SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: The petition calls for transparent, evidence-based decision-making processes and public trust in wildlife management policies.

    Key Proposals in the Petition

    • Nonlethal Coexistence Measures: Implementation of proven tools such as range riding, conflict specialists, site assessments, deterrents, and timely livestock carcass removal to reduce conflicts.
    • Clear Documentation and Evidence: Requirement for written, evidence-based determinations prior to any lethal control actions, with predation evidence independent from compensation claims.
    • Uniform Standards for Lethal Control: Establishment of consistent protocols for lethal control whether conducted by state, federal agencies, or approved livestock operators.

    Context and Importance

    The petition highlights the urgent need for reasonable protections for Colorado’s recovering wolf populations, especially following setbacks such as the blocked winter wolf releases during the previous administration. By promoting coexistence and minimizing lethal interventions, the petition supports sustainable wildlife management and rural livelihoods.

    Next Steps

    1. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will review the petition.
    2. The agency will make a recommendation to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission.
    3. The Commission will make the final decision on whether to grant or deny the petition.

    Conclusion

    The Center for Biological Diversity’s petition represents a significant step toward integrating sustainable development principles into wildlife management. By emphasizing nonlethal conflict prevention and transparent governance, the petition aligns with global efforts to protect biodiversity, promote sustainable agriculture, and strengthen institutional accountability.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • The article focuses on wolf conservation and management, which directly relates to protecting terrestrial ecosystems and endangered species.
    2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • The emphasis on nonlethal coexistence measures and sustainable livestock management reflects responsible use of natural resources.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • While not explicitly mentioned, the protection of wildlife and ecosystems contributes to climate resilience and biodiversity conservation.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

    1. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and protect endangered species.
      • Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
    2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
      • Target 12.6: Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

    1. Indicators Related to SDG 15:
      • Number of endangered species protected (implied by the focus on Colorado’s protected endangered wolves).
      • Extent of implementation of nonlethal conflict minimization measures (e.g., range riding, deterrents, carcass management).
      • Number of lethal control operations authorized and conducted with evidence-based documentation.
    2. Indicators Related to SDG 12:
      • Use of sustainable livestock management practices that reduce conflict with wildlife.
      • Compliance with updated regulations promoting nonlethal coexistence.
    3. Indicators Related to SDG 13:
      • Measures of ecosystem resilience or recovery, indirectly supported by wolf population recovery and management.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 15: Life on Land
    • 15.5: Reduce degradation and protect endangered species
    • 15.1: Conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems
    • Number of endangered species protected (wolves)
    • Implementation rate of nonlethal conflict minimization measures
    • Number of evidence-based lethal control authorizations
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
    • 12.6: Adoption of sustainable practices by companies and stakeholders
    • Use of sustainable livestock management practices
    • Compliance with updated nonlethal coexistence regulations
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards
    • Indicators of ecosystem resilience linked to wolf population recovery

    Source: biologicaldiversity.org

     

    ]]>     Concentrated Solar Power Market Growth Driven by Renewable Energy Investments – AltEnergyMag https://sdgtalks.ai/concentrated-solar-power-market-growth-driven-by-renewable-energy-investments-altenergymag https://sdgtalks.ai/concentrated-solar-power-market-growth-driven-by-renewable-energy-investments-altenergymag Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:30:04 -0500 sdgtalks Concentrated, Solar, Power, Market, Growth, Driven, Renewable, Energy, Investments, –, AltEnergyMag  

    Concentrated Solar Power Market Report with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Market Overview and Growth Projections

    The global Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) market is anticipated to experience substantial growth driven by increasing demand for renewable energy and supportive government policies aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). According to Allied Market Research, the market was valued at $6.1 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $28.2 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 16.6% from 2023 to 2032.

    Key growth drivers include:

    • Shift toward clean energy solutions (SDG 7)
    • Government incentives, subsidies, and policies promoting renewable energy (SDG 7, SDG 13)
    • Increased investments in renewable power infrastructure (SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure)

    Understanding Concentrated Solar Power Technology

    CSP technology harnesses solar energy by concentrating sunlight using mirrors or lenses to generate heat, which produces steam to drive turbines for electricity generation. This technology supports SDG 7 by providing sustainable energy solutions.

    Types of CSP technologies include:

    1. Parabolic troughs
    2. Solar power towers
    3. Dish/engine systems
    4. Linear Fresnel reflectors

    Significantly, CSP systems incorporate thermal energy storage, enabling electricity generation even without sunlight, enhancing grid reliability and supporting SDG 9 and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

    Regional Market Analysis

    The CSP market is segmented across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA, with Asia-Pacific leading in revenue share in 2022 and expected to grow fastest. This growth aligns with SDG 13 and SDG 7 as countries in the region combat climate change and meet rising electricity demands sustainably.

    • Rapid industrialization and electricity demand growth
    • Government investments in renewable energy
    • Focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions

    Government Support and Policy Impact

    Government initiatives are pivotal in accelerating CSP adoption worldwide, contributing to SDG 7 and SDG 13 by promoting clean energy and climate mitigation. Support mechanisms include:

    • Financial incentives: grants, subsidies, tax credits, low-interest loans
    • Streamlined regulatory frameworks for project development
    • Funding for research and development to improve CSP efficiency and storage

    Challenges Facing the CSP Market

    Despite its benefits, CSP faces challenges that could hinder its growth, impacting SDG 9 and SDG 11:

    • High upfront capital costs due to complex technology and specialized components
    • Large land area requirements, especially in high solar irradiance regions where land costs are elevated
    • Potential limitations in regions with land scarcity or financial constraints

    Emerging Opportunities: Hybrid Renewable Systems

    Integration of CSP with other renewable technologies such as photovoltaic solar panels and wind energy is creating hybrid systems that enhance energy stability and grid reliability, advancing SDG 7 and SDG 9. Benefits include:

    • Stable electricity output through thermal storage
    • Reduced energy fluctuations
    • Improved grid reliability

    Impact of Economic Uncertainty

    Economic downturns can delay investments in CSP projects due to high capital requirements, affecting progress toward SDG 7 and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). However, economic pressures may also drive innovation and efficiency improvements, fostering long-term resilience in the CSP market.

    Market Segmentation

    By Technology

    • Parabolic trough systems
    • Solar power towers (largest revenue share in 2022)
    • Fresnel reflectors (fastest growth with projected CAGR of 17.6%)
    • Dish Stirling systems

    By End-Use Industry

    • Industrial sector (highest revenue share in 2022)
    • Residential sector (projected CAGR of 17.1%)
    • Commercial sector

    Growth in residential CSP supports SDG 7 by promoting energy independence and reducing fossil fuel reliance.

    Competitive Landscape

    Leading companies in the CSP market include Aalborg CSP, Acciona, ACWA Power, Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc, BrightSource Energy, FRENELL GmbH, General Electric, Rioglass Solar, Sener, and Siemens Energy AG. Additional contributors are Abengoa Solar, SolarReserve, TSK Flagsol Engineering GmbH, Schott AG, Cobra Group, Novatec Biosol, and Enel Green Power.

    These organizations focus on:

    • Strategic partnerships
    • Technological innovation
    • Project expansion

    Conclusion

    The Concentrated Solar Power market is positioned for robust growth aligned with Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Supportive policies, technological advancements in thermal storage, and hybrid renewable systems will drive adoption despite challenges such as high installation costs. Continued innovation and investment are essential to unlocking the full potential of CSP in the global transition toward sustainable energy systems.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • The article focuses on the growth of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology, a renewable energy source that contributes to clean and affordable energy solutions worldwide.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Emphasis on technological advancements, government-funded research, and infrastructure development in CSP systems aligns with this goal.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • The article highlights CSP’s role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change impacts.
    4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • By promoting renewable energy integration and enhancing grid reliability, CSP supports sustainable urban energy systems.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 7 Targets
      • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
      • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
    2. SDG 9 Targets
      • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
      • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research and upgrade technological capabilities of industrial sectors.
    3. SDG 13 Targets
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    4. SDG 11 Targets
      • Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Market Size and Growth Rate
      • The article provides data on the Concentrated Solar Power Market size ($6.1 billion in 2022 projected to $28.2 billion by 2032) and CAGR (16.6%), which can serve as indicators of renewable energy adoption and investment trends.
    2. Renewable Energy Capacity and Technology Adoption
      • Indicators implied include the installed capacity of CSP technologies (parabolic troughs, solar power towers, Fresnel reflectors, dish Stirling systems) and their market share.
    3. Government Incentives and Policy Support
      • Number and scale of government subsidies, grants, tax credits, and regulatory simplifications can be used as indicators of enabling environments for renewable energy.
    4. Carbon Emissions Reduction
      • Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to CSP adoption is an implied indicator linked to climate action targets.
    5. Energy Storage and Grid Reliability Metrics
      • Indicators related to thermal energy storage capacity and grid stability improvements through CSP integration.
    6. Investment and Innovation Metrics
      • Levels of investment in R&D and technological advancements in CSP systems.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy in global mix
    • 7.3: Double rate of improvement in energy efficiency
    • Market size and CAGR of CSP
    • Installed capacity of CSP technologies
    • Energy storage capacity and grid reliability improvements
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and industries for sustainability
    • 9.5: Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities
    • Government-funded R&D initiatives
    • Technological advancements in CSP systems
    • Investment levels in renewable infrastructure
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
    • Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from CSP adoption
    • Government policies supporting renewable energy
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.6: Reduce environmental impact of cities
    • Improved air quality and reduced emissions through renewable energy use
    • Grid stability and energy supply reliability indicators

    Source: altenergymag.com

     

    ]]>     R.I. Must Encourage Responsible Housing Development That Protects Drinking Water Supplies – ecoRI News https://sdgtalks.ai/ri-must-encourage-responsible-housing-development-that-protects-drinking-water-supplies-ecori-news https://sdgtalks.ai/ri-must-encourage-responsible-housing-development-that-protects-drinking-water-supplies-ecori-news Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:14 -0500 sdgtalks R.I., Must, Encourage, Responsible, Housing, Development, That, Protects, Drinking, Water, Supplies, –, ecoRI, News  

    Report on Sustainable Housing Development and Drinking Water Protection in Rhode Island

    Drinking Water

    Introduction

    Rhode Island faces a critical need for increased housing, particularly for low and moderate income (LMI) residents. However, the approach to achieving this growth must align with sustainable development principles, especially those outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). This report emphasizes the importance of protecting drinking water resources while pursuing housing development.

    Challenges of Housing Development on Drinking Water Resources

    Unplanned or high-density housing developments in watersheds supplying public surface and groundwater drinking water pose significant risks. Contamination or over-extraction of these water sources can lead to irreversible damage, threatening the health and well-being of current and future generations, thus undermining SDG 6.

    Legislative Amendments to the Rhode Island Low and Moderate Income Housing Act

    To address these concerns, legislation has been proposed to amend the Rhode Island Low and Moderate Income (LMI) Housing Act. Key amendments include:

    1. Elimination of state-mandated housing densities in lands designated for drinking water supplies.
    2. Requirement for developers to document the capacity of public water and sewer systems to support proposed residential density increases.
    3. Ensuring that housing densities do not exceed onsite drinking water availability or introduce pollution risks.

    These measures aim to uphold sustainable water management and responsible urban planning, supporting SDG 6 and SDG 11.

    Concerns Regarding Current Housing Density Regulations

    The existing LMI law permits density bonuses up to eight housing units per acre, which can result in a 1,600% increase in density in certain zones. Such high-density development without adequate water supply capacity or pollution controls threatens water quality and quantity. Despite state regulations intended to minimize water quality impacts, experience shows these are insufficient for high-density developments, highlighting a gap in governance related to SDG 6 and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

    Insights from the Scituate Reservoir Watershed Management Plan

    The Scituate Reservoir Watershed Management Plan provides a comprehensive framework for protecting water quality. It recommends prohibiting high-density residential development (defined as less than a quarter-acre per dwelling unit) in watershed areas to reduce pollution risks. This aligns with SDG 6 and SDG 15 by safeguarding freshwater ecosystems.

    Role of Local Governments and Sustainable Development

    Local governments must have the authority to regulate housing density and location to protect drinking water resources. This approach supports:

    • SDG 6: Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.
    • SDG 11: Making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
    • SDG 15: Protecting terrestrial ecosystems and promoting sustainable land use.

    Protecting drinking water is essential for life and economic prosperity, and Rhode Island must prioritize locating LMI housing in areas with sustainable water supplies.

    Conclusion and Call to Action

    The proposed legislative amendments represent common-sense, sustainable solutions to prevent future crises related to water scarcity and contamination. They reinforce Rhode Island’s commitment to responsible growth and environmental stewardship, consistent with multiple SDGs.

    Recognition is due to Rep. Megan Cotter and Sen. Victoria Gu for their leadership in introducing bills H7446 and S2691. Support for these bills is urged to ensure the preservation and protection of Rhode Island’s drinking water for present and future generations.

    About the Author

    Scott Millar is an environmental scientist and planner with over 45 years of experience in municipal land use. His career includes roles at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Statewide Planning, and Grow Smart Rhode Island.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • The article emphasizes the importance of preserving clean drinking water supplies and protecting watersheds from contamination and overuse.
    2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • The discussion on housing development, density regulations, and ensuring sustainable growth aligns with the goal of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
    3. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Protection of watersheds and natural water sources from pollution and overdevelopment relates to sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 6 Targets
      • Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
      • Target 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals.
      • Target 6.4: Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors to ensure sustainable withdrawals.
    2. SDG 11 Targets
      • Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services.
      • Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory planning and management.
    3. SDG 15 Targets
      • Target 15.1: Ensure conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators Related to SDG 6
      • Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services (implied by concern over water quality and availability).
      • Water quality measurements in watersheds and reservoirs (implied by references to contamination risks and watershed management plans).
      • Capacity of public water and sewer systems documented before approving housing density increases (explicitly mentioned as a requirement in the legislation).
    2. Indicators Related to SDG 11
      • Housing density per acre (explicitly discussed in terms of allowable units and density bonuses).
      • Availability of adequate infrastructure (water and sewer capacity) to support housing developments.
    3. Indicators Related to SDG 15
      • Extent of protected watershed areas and compliance with watershed management plans (implied through reference to the Scituate Reservoir Watershed Management Plan).
      • Incidence of pollution events or degradation in surface and groundwater quality.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • 6.1: Universal access to safe drinking water
    • 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution
    • 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency
    • Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water
    • Water quality measurements in watersheds and reservoirs
    • Documented capacity of public water and sewer systems before housing approval
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.1: Access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing
    • 11.3: Inclusive and sustainable urbanization and participatory planning
    • Housing density per acre
    • Availability and capacity of water and sewer infrastructure
    SDG 15: Life on Land
    • 15.1: Conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems
    • Extent of protected watershed areas
    • Incidence of pollution or degradation in surface and groundwater quality

    Source: ecori.org

     

    ]]>     Southwestern Offers Free GED® and Adult Basic Education Classes Spring Term 2026 – Curry Pilot https://sdgtalks.ai/southwestern-offers-free-ged-and-adult-basic-education-classes-spring-term-2026-curry-pilot https://sdgtalks.ai/southwestern-offers-free-ged-and-adult-basic-education-classes-spring-term-2026-curry-pilot Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Southwestern, Offers, Free, GED®, and, Adult, Basic, Education, Classes, Spring, Term, 2026, –, Curry, Pilot  

    Southwestern Oregon Community College Offers Free GED® and Adult Basic Education Classes for Spring 2026

    Program Overview

    Southwestern Oregon Community College is providing free GED® and Adult Basic Education classes during the spring term of 2026. These classes are designed to prepare individuals for the GED® exam and to enhance their skills for enrollment in college or career training programs. This initiative supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education, by promoting inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

    Objectives and Benefits

    • Prepare students to successfully take the GED® exam.
    • Update and improve basic educational skills.
    • Create pathways for students to enter college, training programs, and employment in high-demand career sectors.
    • Support workforce development aligned with SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, by enhancing employability and skills for sustainable economic growth.

    Class Options for Spring Term 2026

    The college offers three options for GED® and Adult Basic Education classes next term, providing flexible learning opportunities to accommodate diverse student needs and schedules.

    Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

    1. SDG 4 – Quality Education: The program ensures access to inclusive and equitable quality education, fostering lifelong learning.
    2. SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: By equipping students with skills for high-demand careers, the program promotes sustained, inclusive economic growth and productive employment.
    3. SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Offering free education helps reduce inequalities by providing opportunities for disadvantaged populations.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 4: Quality Education
      • The article discusses free GED® and Adult Basic Education classes, which directly relate to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
    2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
      • The preparation for GED® exams and career training programs supports employment and economic growth by helping individuals gain skills for high-demand career areas.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. Under SDG 4: Quality Education
      • Target 4.3: Ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
      • Target 4.4: Increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship.
    2. Under SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
      • Target 8.6: By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. For SDG 4 Targets:
      • Indicator 4.3.1: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex.
      • Indicator 4.4.1: Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill.
    2. For SDG 8 Target:
      • Indicator 8.6.1: Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training.

    These indicators are implied as the article focuses on enrollment in education programs, skill development, and pathways to employment.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 4: Quality Education
    • 4.3: Equal access to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education
    • 4.4: Increase youth and adults with relevant skills for employment
    • 4.3.1: Participation rate in formal and non-formal education and training
    • 4.4.1: Proportion with ICT skills
    SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • 8.6: Reduce proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
    • 8.6.1: Proportion of youth not in education, employment or training

    Source: currypilot.com

     

    ]]>     Sustainable Agricultural Practices Promoted in Holguin – radioangulo.cu https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-agricultural-practices-promoted-in-holguin-radioangulocu https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-agricultural-practices-promoted-in-holguin-radioangulocu Mon, 09 Mar 2026 23:00:11 -0500 sdgtalks Sustainable, Agricultural, Practices, Promoted, Holguin, –, radioangulo.cu  

    Sustainable Agricultural Development Initiatives in Holguin Province

    Introduction

    Holguin province has undertaken significant initiatives to promote sustainable agricultural practices, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). A key project includes the incorporation of center-pivot irrigation systems across demonstration plots to enhance food production sustainably.

    Implementation of Renewable Energy and Water Conservation

    • Deputy delegate Geovanny Zaldívar Martínez from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment highlighted the integration of renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, in agricultural operations.
    • Solar panels have been installed on forestry farms and water supply systems to support agricultural growth in municipalities within the Turquino Plan, including Mayari and Frank País.
    • Water conservation techniques are being applied to optimize irrigation efficiency, directly contributing to SDG 6.

    Technological Innovations and Climate-Resilient Agriculture

    1. Development and use of high-quality seeds to improve crop yields and resilience.
    2. Introduction of alternative planting methods that maximize space utilization between seedlings.
    3. Research focused on cultivating crops and vegetables that are resilient to climate change impacts, supporting SDG 13.

    Promotion of Sustainable Inputs and Economic Resilience

    • Natural fertilizers are being promoted as substitutes for imported pesticides, reducing dependency on costly imports affected by economic sanctions.
    • This approach supports SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by encouraging environmentally friendly agricultural inputs.

    Collaborations and Capacity Building

    • Holguin province is implementing joint projects with the World Food Programme and the United Nations Development Fund.
    • These collaborations aim to leverage local capacities and promote self-sufficiency in municipalities, advancing SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

    Scientific and Educational Advancements

    • Introduction of scientific and technological advancements to create employment opportunities in the agricultural sector.
    • Promotion of agronomy studies among younger generations to ensure sustainable agricultural development in the future.
    • Increase in alternative production methods to strengthen nutritional sovereignty, directly supporting SDG 2.

    Conclusion

    The initiatives in Holguin province demonstrate a comprehensive approach to sustainable agricultural development by integrating renewable energy, water conservation, climate-resilient crops, and local capacity building. These efforts contribute significantly to multiple Sustainable Development Goals, fostering environmental sustainability, economic resilience, and food security in the region.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

    1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger – The article discusses initiatives in food production, agricultural development, and nutritional sovereignty, which align with ending hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture.
    2. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Water conservation and water supply systems are highlighted, connecting to ensuring availability and sustainable management of water.
    3. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The use of renewable energy, specifically solar panels, is a key focus in the agricultural sector.
    4. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – The incorporation of scientific and technological advancements and research in agriculture reflects this goal.
    5. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Promotion of natural fertilizers as substitutes for imported pesticides supports sustainable consumption and production patterns.
    6. SDG 13: Climate Action – The development of crops resilient to climate change and sustainable agricultural practices contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
    7. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Collaboration with the World Food Programme and United Nations Development Fund illustrates global partnerships for sustainable development.

    2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

    1. SDG 2 Targets:
      • 2.3 – By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers through sustainable practices.
      • 2.4 – Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices.
    2. SDG 6 Targets:
      • 6.4 – Increase water-use efficiency across all sectors to ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply.
    3. SDG 7 Targets:
      • 7.2 – Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
    4. SDG 9 Targets:
      • 9.5 – Enhance scientific research and upgrade technological capabilities in industrial sectors.
    5. SDG 12 Targets:
      • 12.4 – Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes.
    6. SDG 13 Targets:
      • 13.1 – Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards.
    7. SDG 17 Targets:
      • 17.16 – Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. SDG 2 Indicators:
      • 2.3.1 – Volume of production per labor unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size.
      • 2.4.1 – Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture.
    2. SDG 6 Indicators:
      • 6.4.1 – Change in water-use efficiency over time.
    3. SDG 7 Indicators:
      • 7.2.1 – Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption.
    4. SDG 9 Indicators:
      • 9.5.1 – Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP.
      • 9.5.2 – Number of researchers per million inhabitants.
    5. SDG 12 Indicators:
      • 12.4.2 – Hazardous waste generated per capita and proportion treated, by type of treatment.
    6. SDG 13 Indicators:
      • 13.1.2 – Number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies.
    7. SDG 17 Indicators:
      • 17.16.1 – Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • 2.3 – Double agricultural productivity and incomes.
    • 2.4 – Sustainable food production systems and resilient agriculture.
    • 2.3.1 – Volume of production per labor unit.
    • 2.4.1 – Proportion of agricultural area under sustainable agriculture.
    SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • 6.4 – Increase water-use efficiency.
    • 6.4.1 – Change in water-use efficiency over time.
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • 7.2 – Increase renewable energy share.
    • 7.2.1 – Renewable energy share in total energy consumption.
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • 9.5 – Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities.
    • 9.5.1 – R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP.
    • 9.5.2 – Number of researchers per million inhabitants.
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.4 – Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes.
    • 12.4.2 – Hazardous waste generated per capita and proportion treated.
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.1 – Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards.
    • 13.1.2 – Number of countries with disaster risk reduction strategies.
    SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • 17.16 – Enhance global partnership for sustainable development.
    • 17.16.1 – Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder frameworks.

    Source: radioangulo.cu

     

    ]]>     Alcoa Wheels Cradle-to-Cradle Certified at Silver Level – Heavy Duty Trucking https://sdgtalks.ai/alcoa-wheels-cradle-to-cradle-certified-at-silver-level-heavy-duty-trucking https://sdgtalks.ai/alcoa-wheels-cradle-to-cradle-certified-at-silver-level-heavy-duty-trucking Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:30:12 -0500 sdgtalks Alcoa, Wheels, Cradle-to-Cradle, Certified, Silver, Level, –, Heavy, Duty, Trucking  

    Alcoa Wheel & Transportation Products Achieves Cradle to Cradle Silver Certification

    Introduction

    Alcoa Wheel & Transportation Products has announced that its global line of wheel products has achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified™ at the Silver level. This certification highlights the company’s commitment to sustainable development by utilizing environmentally safe materials and production processes, including the use of aluminum that is infinitely recyclable.

    Significance of the Certification

    Alcoa’s wheels are the first products within the transportation industry to receive certification from the Cradle to Cradle Certified Program, marking a significant milestone in advancing sustainable manufacturing practices in this sector.

    Certification Process and Criteria

    The evaluation was conducted by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), a global sustainability consulting and product certification firm that pioneered the Cradle to Cradle concept in 1995. The certification process assesses products based on multiple sustainability attributes, including:

    1. Material Health – ensuring materials are safe for human and environmental health
    2. Material Reutilization – designing for future use cycles and recyclability
    3. Renewable Energy Use – promoting energy sources that reduce carbon footprint
    4. Water Stewardship – managing water resources responsibly
    5. Social Responsibility – ensuring ethical practices throughout the supply chain

    Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Alcoa’s achievement aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including:

    • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – by pioneering sustainable manufacturing technologies in the transportation industry.
    • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – through the use of recyclable materials and sustainable production processes.
    • SDG 13: Climate Action – by reducing environmental impact via renewable energy and sustainable resource management.
    • SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – by implementing water stewardship practices.
    • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – by promoting social responsibility within the supply chain.

    Industry Impact and Future Outlook

    The Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Program serves as a vital resource for companies like Alcoa to communicate their sustainability efforts effectively. To date, MBDC has certified over 425 products across various industries, with 125 companies worldwide participating in the program.

    Jay Bolus, Vice President of Technical Operations at MBDC, stated:

    “An industry leader in sustainability, Alcoa has achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver for a number of other products, including Alcoa primary aluminum. This latest certification demonstrates that Alcoa wheel products are pioneering the way for more sustainable solutions within the transportation industry.”

    Conclusion

    Alcoa Wheel & Transportation Products’ Cradle to Cradle Silver certification underscores the company’s leadership in integrating sustainable development principles into product design and manufacturing. This achievement contributes to global efforts in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting innovation, responsible production, and environmental stewardship within the transportation sector.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • The article highlights sustainable production processes and material choices that are environmentally safe and healthy.
      • Focus on Cradle to Cradle certification emphasizes circular economy principles and sustainable manufacturing.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Innovation in product certification and sustainable manufacturing processes in the transportation industry.
      • Promotion of sustainable industrialization through eco-labeling and material reutilization.
    3. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • Water stewardship is one of the evaluation criteria in the Cradle to Cradle certification.
    4. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • Use of renewable energy is assessed in the certification process.
    5. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Material health and safety to human health are key evaluation factors.
    6. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
      • Social responsibility is part of the certification assessment, linking to decent work and ethical business practices.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
      • Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
    3. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • Target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors.
    4. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
    5. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
    6. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
      • Target 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Material Health and Safety
      • Indicator related to the assessment of products for safety to human health and environmental health.
    2. Material Reutilization
      • Indicator measuring the extent of material recycling and reuse, such as aluminum being infinitely recyclable.
    3. Renewable Energy Use
      • Indicator on the share or amount of renewable energy used in production processes.
    4. Water Stewardship
      • Indicator on water use efficiency and sustainable water management in manufacturing.
    5. Social Responsibility
      • Indicators related to labor rights, worker safety, and ethical business practices.
    6. Certification Level
      • The Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver level itself serves as an indicator of sustainable product and process standards met.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
    • 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse
    • Material reutilization and recycling rates (e.g., infinitely recyclable aluminum)
    • Waste reduction metrics
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.4: Upgrade industries to be sustainable with resource-use efficiency and clean technologies
    • Certification levels indicating sustainable manufacturing processes
    • Use of eco-labels such as Cradle to Cradle
    SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency across all sectors
    • Water stewardship indicators in production
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
    • Renewable energy use in manufacturing processes
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.9: Reduce deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and pollution
    • Material health and safety assessments
    SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • 8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe working environments
    • Social responsibility indicators in certification

    Source: truckinginfo.com

     

    ]]>     Gunfire amid Berkeley domestic violence call; man arrested – The Berkeley Scanner https://sdgtalks.ai/gunfire-amid-berkeley-domestic-violence-call-man-arrested-the-berkeley-scanner https://sdgtalks.ai/gunfire-amid-berkeley-domestic-violence-call-man-arrested-the-berkeley-scanner Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Gunfire, amid, Berkeley, domestic, violence, call, man, arrested, –, The, Berkeley, Scanner  

    Report on Recent Shooting Incident in Berkeley and Its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

    Incident Overview

    On the early morning of Saturday, March 7, 2026, Berkeley police responded to reports of a shooting linked to a domestic violence call. The incident marks the fourth non-injury shooting in Berkeley this year, highlighting ongoing challenges in community safety and justice.

    Details of the Incident

    1. At approximately 2:40 a.m., police received reports of a man breaking windows using a scooter in the 1200 block of Ashby Avenue.
    2. A 911 caller reported that the suspect was armed with a gun.
    3. Police stopped the suspect, identified as 37-year-old Cartier Hunter, near the 1100 block of Carrison Street following reports of gunfire.
    4. Officers discovered shell casings and a discarded firearm at the scene.
    5. Hunter was arrested on multiple charges including shooting at an inhabited dwelling, felon in possession of a firearm, misdemeanor obstruction, public intoxication, and felony vandalism.
    6. A 27-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence.

    Background of the Suspect

    • Cartier Hunter has a complex criminal history dating back to 2008, including convictions for burglary, drug sales, and a DUI.
    • In 2016, Hunter was sentenced to life imprisonment for a 2011 murder conviction in Oakland, which was later overturned after a key witness recanted testimony.
    • The dismissal of charges led to Hunter’s release in 2022 and a compensation payment of nearly $450,000 from the state.
    • Hunter and a co-defendant are currently suing the City of Oakland alleging misconduct related to the original case.

    Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

    • Promoting Peaceful Communities: The shooting incident underscores the urgent need for effective measures to reduce violence and ensure community safety.
    • Access to Justice: The case highlights challenges in the criminal justice system, including wrongful convictions and allegations of police misconduct, which undermine trust in institutions.
    • Institutional Accountability: Ongoing legal actions against law enforcement personnel emphasize the importance of transparency and accountability in upholding justice.

    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

    • Reducing Violence-Related Harm: Addressing domestic violence and gun-related incidents is critical to improving physical and mental health outcomes in the community.
    • Support for Victims: The incident calls for enhanced support systems for victims of domestic violence and gun violence to promote recovery and well-being.

    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

    • Safe Urban Environments: Preventing shootings and vandalism contributes to creating safer, more resilient urban spaces.
    • Community Engagement: Strengthening community-police relations is essential for fostering trust and collaborative approaches to crime prevention.

    Conclusion

    The recent shooting in Berkeley and the complex background of the suspect illustrate multifaceted challenges related to violence, justice, and institutional integrity. Addressing these issues aligns closely with several Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16, SDG 3, and SDG 11. Efforts to promote peaceful, just, and inclusive societies are vital for sustainable urban development and the well-being of all community members.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • The article discusses issues related to crime, shootings, domestic violence, and the justice system, including wrongful convictions and allegations of police misconduct.
      • It highlights the importance of law enforcement, judicial integrity, and protection of human rights.
    2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • The article touches on violence and its impact on community safety and individual well-being.
      • Domestic violence and shootings affect physical and mental health of individuals and communities.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 16 Targets
      • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
      • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
      • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
    2. SDG 3 Targets
      • Target 3.4: Reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health and well-being.
      • Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators for SDG 16
      • 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age.
      • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
      • 16.6.2: Proportion of the population satisfied with their last experience of public services.
    2. Indicators for SDG 3
      • 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate (implied by mental health and violence impact).
      • 3.5.1: Coverage of treatment interventions (implied by references to substance abuse and DUI convictions).

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
    • 16.3: Promote the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice for all.
    • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions.
    • 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population.
    • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence reporting to authorities.
    • 16.6.2: Population satisfaction with public services.
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality and promote mental health.
    • 3.5: Strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse.
    • 3.4.2: Suicide mortality rate (implied).
    • 3.5.1: Coverage of treatment interventions for substance abuse (implied).

    Source: berkeleyscanner.com

     

    ]]>     Volunteer with Redwood Parks Conservancy This March to Restore Coastal Habitats – Redheaded Blackbelt https://sdgtalks.ai/volunteer-with-redwood-parks-conservancy-this-march-to-restore-coastal-habitats-redheaded-blackbelt https://sdgtalks.ai/volunteer-with-redwood-parks-conservancy-this-march-to-restore-coastal-habitats-redheaded-blackbelt Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:30:09 -0500 sdgtalks Volunteer, with, Redwood, Parks, Conservancy, This, March, Restore, Coastal, Habitats, –, Redheaded, Blackbelt  

    Volunteer Restoration Events to Support Sustainable Development Goals in Northern California

    Redwood Parks Conservancy (RPC), in collaboration with California State Parks North Coast Redwoods District, is organizing a series of volunteer restoration events throughout March aimed at restoring coastal prairies, dunes, and native plant habitats across Northern California. These initiatives strongly contribute to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

    Objectives and Focus Areas

    The restoration activities focus on:

    • Removal of invasive non-native plants and encroaching vegetation threatening native ecosystems
    • Supporting habitat recovery across diverse parks from the Lost Coast to Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties
    • Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem resilience in line with SDG 15

    These volunteer opportunities provide meaningful engagement with nature, fostering environmental stewardship and community participation, aligning with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

    Scheduled Volunteer Events

    1. Sinkyone Wilderness State Park

      Date & Time: Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

      Activity: Restoration of coastal prairies through removal of invasive non-native plants and encroaching vegetation.

      Meeting Point: Jones Beach trailhead (approximately one mile north of the visitor center). Carpooling is encouraged due to limited parking.

    2. Trinidad State Beach

      Date & Time: Saturday, March 14, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

      Activity: Removal of invasive species such as English ivy to protect native coastal habitats.

      Meeting Point: Corner of Anderson Lane and Stagecoach Road.

    3. Big Dune – Tolowa Dunes State Park

      Date & Time: Sunday, March 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

      Activity: Removal of invasive plants such as European beachgrass to safeguard rare coastal dune ecosystems.

      Meeting Point: Lake Earl Wildlife Area building, 2591 Old Mill Road, Crescent City, CA 95531. Note: The work site is approximately a one-mile hike from the parking area.

    4. Humboldt Lagoons State Park

      Date & Time: Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

      Activity: Restoration of western azaleas by removing invasive vegetation.

      Meeting Point: Stagecoach Hill Azalea Trailhead off Kane Road / Big Lagoon Ranch Road. Carpooling recommended due to limited parking.

    5. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

      Date & Time: Sunday, March 29, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

      Activity: Prairie restoration through removal of invasive non-native plants and encroaching vegetation.

      Meeting Point: In front of the visitor center. Volunteers should park in the day-use parking area or along Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway.

    Volunteer Participation Details

    • All events are free and open to the public.
    • Volunteers of all ages are welcome; minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
    • Free transportation from Crescent City is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations can be made by emailing [email protected] or calling (707) 564-7388.

    Preparation and Registration

    • What to Bring: Sturdy shoes, a hat, drinking water, and readiness for moderate physical activity.
    • Registration and Information: Interested participants can sign up or learn more at bit.ly/rpc-eventbrite.

    Conclusion

    These volunteer restoration events exemplify community-driven efforts to promote environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation, directly supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By engaging in habitat restoration, volunteers contribute to preserving life on land (SDG 15), combating climate change (SDG 13), and fostering sustainable communities (SDG 11), thereby advancing global sustainability agendas at the local level.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • The article focuses on restoring coastal prairies, dunes, and native plant habitats, which directly relates to protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.
    2. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • By removing invasive species and restoring native habitats, the activities contribute to ecosystem resilience and carbon sequestration, supporting climate change mitigation efforts.
    3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Encouraging outdoor volunteer activities promotes physical health and mental well-being.
    4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
      • The partnership between Redwood Parks Conservancy and California State Parks exemplifies collaboration for sustainable development.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
      • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity.
    2. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
    3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being.
    4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
      • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. SDG 15 Indicators
      • Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area (implied by efforts to remove invasive species and restore habitats).
      • Coverage of protected areas in relation to terrestrial ecosystems (implied by restoration activities in state parks).
    2. SDG 13 Indicators
      • Number of ecosystems restored to improve resilience to climate change (implied by habitat restoration efforts).
    3. SDG 3 Indicators
      • Participation rates in physical outdoor activities (implied by volunteer engagement).
    4. SDG 17 Indicators
      • Number of partnerships and collaborations established (implied by the partnership between Redwood Parks Conservancy and California State Parks).

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 15: Life on Land
    • 15.1: Conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems
    • 15.5: Reduce degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss
    • Proportion of degraded land area
    • Coverage of protected terrestrial areas
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate hazards
    • Number of ecosystems restored for climate resilience
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being
    • Participation rates in physical outdoor activities
    SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • 17.17: Promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships
    • Number of partnerships and collaborations

    Source: kymkemp.com

     

    ]]>     Campaigners oppose Peak Cluster carbon capture project – BBC https://sdgtalks.ai/campaigners-oppose-peak-cluster-carbon-capture-project-bbc https://sdgtalks.ai/campaigners-oppose-peak-cluster-carbon-capture-project-bbc Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:30:05 -0500 sdgtalks Campaigners, oppose, Peak, Cluster, carbon, capture, project, –, BBC  

    Report on the Peak Cluster De-Carbonisation Project and Community Response

    Introduction

    A major £28.6 million de-carbonisation initiative, known as the Peak Cluster project, is proposed in the Peak District. This project aims to capture carbon dioxide emissions from three cement and lime production plants and transport the captured CO₂ via pipeline to a storage facility beneath the Irish Sea.

    Project Overview and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Alignment

    The Peak Cluster project aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:

    • SDG 13: Climate Action – by capturing and storing three million tonnes of CO₂ annually, the project aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
    • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – through the implementation of advanced carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
    • SDG 15: Life on Land – with commitments to restore land post-construction and enhance biodiversity.

    Community Concerns and Environmental Impact

    Despite the environmental benefits, local residents and campaigners have expressed concerns regarding the project’s impact on the Peak District’s landscape and visitor experience.

    • Visual and Environmental Impact: Residents fear the construction phase, which will last several years, will industrialise the countryside, affecting millions of annual visitors and spoiling the natural beauty of the area.
    • Preservation of Natural Habitats: There is apprehension about potential damage to local ecosystems during pipeline installation.
    • Technological Uncertainty: Some campaigners question the reliability of CCS technology and advocate for exploring alternative carbon capture and reuse technologies.

    Project Details and Technical Aspects

    1. Sites Involved: The project targets three key sites—Tunstead Quarry near Buxton, Hope in Derbyshire, and Cauldon in Staffordshire—which collectively produce up to 40% of the UK’s cement and lime.
    2. Carbon Capture Process: CO₂ emissions generated during cement and lime manufacturing will be captured at source.
    3. Transportation and Storage: Captured CO₂ will be transferred through a pipeline running across Derbyshire and Cheshire to the Wirral, then stored in a depleted gas reservoir under the East Irish Sea.
    4. Storage Capacity: The reservoir can safely store approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO₂, sufficient for around 330 years of emissions from the involved plants.

    Stakeholder Engagement and Environmental Safeguards

    • The project team will collaborate with environmental experts, including Natural England and the Environment Agency, to minimize ecological disruption during construction.
    • Post-installation, the land above the pipeline will be restored to its original condition.
    • Commitments include working with local groups to enhance biodiversity, aiming to leave habitats in a better state than before the project commenced.

    Official Position and Regulatory Framework

    The Peak District National Park Authority has acknowledged the project’s national significance and noted that the government will make the final decision rather than local planners. The authority also highlighted that the installation will have a significant visual impact during its operational lifetime, though this is not considered a permanent landscape alteration.

    Community Voices

    • Local Resident Concerns: Laura Stark from Castleton expressed worries about the project’s effect on tourism and the natural sanctuary the Peak District provides for residents.
    • Alternative Perspectives: Laura Beveridge-Muircroft from the Wirral, representing Action Against Carbon Capture and Storage, advocates for government scrutiny and exploration of alternative carbon capture technologies that focus on carbon reuse and energy generation.

    Conclusion

    The Peak Cluster project represents a significant effort towards achieving SDG 13 (Climate Action) by aiming to drastically reduce industrial carbon emissions. However, balancing environmental sustainability with community concerns and preserving the natural landscape remains a critical challenge. Ongoing stakeholder engagement and adherence to environmental safeguards will be essential for the project’s success and alignment with the broader Sustainable Development Goals.

    Additional Information

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • The article discusses a £28.6m de-carbonisation project aimed at capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions from cement and lime plants, directly addressing climate change mitigation.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • The project involves innovative carbon capture and storage technology and infrastructure development (pipeline and storage facilities).
    3. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Concerns about the environmental and visual impact on the Peak District, a natural landscape, relate to protecting terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.
    4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • The project impacts local communities, including concerns about industrialization of countryside and effects on tourism and residents’ quality of life.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning – the project aims to contribute to net zero goals by capturing 3 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean technologies – the project uses carbon capture and storage technology.
    3. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services – the project commits to working with local groups to boost biodiversity and restore habitats post-construction.
    4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage – concerns about visual impact and preservation of the Peak District landscape are relevant here.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicator for SDG 13.2
      • Amount of carbon dioxide captured and prevented from entering the atmosphere (3 million tonnes of CO₂ annually).
      • Capacity of carbon storage (1 billion tonnes of CO₂ storage capacity under the Irish Sea).
    2. Indicator for SDG 9.4
      • Implementation and operational status of carbon capture and storage infrastructure (pipeline installation and storage facility operation).
      • Independent environmental assessments and compliance with regulatory bodies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency.
    3. Indicator for SDG 15.1
      • Measures of biodiversity improvement and habitat restoration post-construction as committed by the project.
    4. Indicator for SDG 11.4
      • Assessment of visual and environmental impact on the Peak District landscape during and after construction.
      • Community feedback and stakeholder engagement outcomes regarding the preservation of natural heritage.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 13: Climate Action 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
    • Tonnes of CO₂ captured annually (3 million tonnes)
    • Carbon storage capacity (1 billion tonnes under Irish Sea)
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries for sustainability
    • Status of carbon capture and storage infrastructure implementation
    • Environmental compliance and independent assessments
    SDG 15: Life on Land 15.1: Conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems
    • Biodiversity and habitat restoration metrics post-construction
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.4: Protect and safeguard natural heritage
    • Visual and environmental impact assessments
    • Community and stakeholder feedback on landscape preservation

    Source: bbc.co.uk

     

    ]]>     Bulk-heterojunction doping in lead halide perovskites for low-resistance metal contacts – Nature https://sdgtalks.ai/bulk-heterojunction-doping-in-lead-halide-perovskites-for-low-resistance-metal-contacts-nature https://sdgtalks.ai/bulk-heterojunction-doping-in-lead-halide-perovskites-for-low-resistance-metal-contacts-nature Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:30:05 -0500 sdgtalks Bulk-heterojunction, doping, lead, halide, perovskites, for, low-resistance, metal, contacts, –, Nature  

    Report on Bulk-Heterojunction Doping in Lead Halide Perovskites for Low-Resistance Metal Contacts

    Introduction

    Efficient carrier injection at metal–semiconductor interfaces is critical for exploring intrinsic electronic properties and achieving high-performance semiconductor devices. A fundamental approach to reducing contact resistance (Rc) involves thinning the Schottky barrier through contact doping. However, in halide perovskites, carrier doping has been challenging, and selective contact doping has not been realized, leading to excessive contact resistance that surpasses the intrinsic material resistance.

    Methodology

    This report presents an effective contact-doping strategy employing a low-energy van der Waals integration process to transfer Ag/Au electrodes onto single-crystal CsPbBr3 thin films. The process includes moderate annealing (80–180 °C) during transfer, which facilitates silver diffusion into CsPbBr3. Subsequent ultraviolet treatment transforms the diffused silver into Ag2O clusters, forming an Ag2O/CsPbBr3 bulk heterojunction.

    Findings

    • The embedded Ag2O clusters act as interfacial electron acceptors, inducing a local hole density of approximately 5 × 1017 cm−3 in the contact region.
    • This doping significantly reduces the Schottky barrier height and enhances carrier injection efficiency.
    • The contact resistance (Rc) is substantially lowered to a range of 26–70 Ω·cm.
    • The two-terminal sheet conductance reaches a notably high value exceeding 225 µS at 190 K.

    Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    This advancement in semiconductor technology aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

    1. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • The development of low-resistance metal contacts in halide perovskites promotes innovation in electronic materials and devices, fostering sustainable industrialization and resilient infrastructure.
    2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • Improved carrier injection and reduced contact resistance in perovskite materials can enhance the efficiency of optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and LEDs, contributing to affordable and clean energy technologies.
    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • The low-energy van der Waals integration process and contact doping strategy support sustainable production methods by minimizing energy consumption and material waste during device fabrication.
    4. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Advancements in perovskite-based devices with enhanced performance can lead to more efficient energy conversion and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, supporting climate action initiatives.

    Conclusion

    The reported bulk-heterojunction doping strategy represents a significant breakthrough in halide perovskite semiconductor technology by enabling low-resistance metal contacts through effective contact doping. This innovation not only advances fundamental electronic material research but also contributes to sustainable development by supporting energy-efficient technologies and responsible manufacturing processes.

    References

    For detailed data and further information, refer to the original publication: Wang, L., Zhou, B., Qian, Q. et al. Bulk-heterojunction doping in lead halide perovskites for low-resistance metal contacts. Nat. Mater. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02485-x

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • The article discusses advancements in semiconductor technology and materials science, specifically improving carrier injection and reducing contact resistance in halide perovskites, which are crucial for high-performance electronic devices.
    • SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • Lead halide perovskites are widely researched for optoelectronic applications including solar cells and LEDs, contributing to clean energy technologies.
    • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Improving the efficiency and performance of semiconductor devices can lead to more sustainable production and use of electronic materials.

    2. Specific Targets Under Identified SDGs

    1. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors, including encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers.
    2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by advancing technologies such as perovskite-based solar cells.
    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    • Contact Resistance (Rc) Measurement: The article reports a reduced contact resistance of 26–70 Ω cm, which is a direct indicator of improved carrier injection efficiency at metal–semiconductor interfaces.
    • Two-terminal Sheet Conductance: A high sheet conductance exceeding 225 µS at 190 K is used as a performance metric for the doped perovskite devices.
    • Local Hole Density: The induced local hole density of approximately 5 × 1017 cm−3 in the contact region serves as an indicator of effective contact doping.
    • Material Characterization and Device Performance: The article includes optical characterizations, device simulations, and electrical performance analyses as implied indicators for progress towards technological innovation and sustainable production.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research and upgrade technological capabilities of industrial sectors.
    • Contact resistance (Rc) reduction (26–70 Ω cm)
    • Two-terminal sheet conductance (>225 µS at 190 K)
    • Device performance metrics (electrical characterization)
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy Target 7.2: Increase the share of renewable energy by advancing technologies like perovskite solar cells.
    • Local hole density (~5 × 1017 cm−3) indicating effective doping
    • Optoelectronic device efficiency and stability (implied)
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production Target 12.4: Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes to minimize adverse impacts.
    • Improved material efficiency through reduced contact resistance and doping strategies (implied)
    • Characterization of material transformations (Ag to Ag2O clusters) for sustainable production

    Source: nature.com

     

    ]]>     Faced with rising electricity prices, Americans are stealthily adding DIY solar systems. And they aren’t telling utilities – CNN https://sdgtalks.ai/faced-with-rising-electricity-prices-americans-are-stealthily-adding-diy-solar-systems-and-they-arent-telling-utilities-cnn https://sdgtalks.ai/faced-with-rising-electricity-prices-americans-are-stealthily-adding-diy-solar-systems-and-they-arent-telling-utilities-cnn Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:30:05 -0500 sdgtalks Faced, with, rising, electricity, prices, Americans, are, stealthily, adding, DIY, solar, systems., And, they, aren’t, telling, utilities, –, CNN  

    Report on the Emerging Plug-in Solar Revolution and Its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Introduction to Plug-in Solar Systems

    Agnes Chan, a retired teacher from Berkeley, California, exemplifies the growing adoption of plug-in solar systems in the United States. These compact solar setups, often referred to as “balcony solar,” offer an affordable and flexible alternative to traditional rooftop solar installations. Chan’s system, costing approximately $2,000, reduces her monthly energy bills by about $50 and promotes sustainable energy use.

    Economic and Environmental Benefits

    • Cost-effective: Plug-in solar systems typically cost a fraction of traditional rooftop solar setups, making renewable energy accessible to more households.
    • Energy savings: Users like Chan experience significant reductions in electricity bills, contributing to economic sustainability.
    • Ease of installation: These systems require minimal technical expertise, enabling widespread adoption and empowering individuals to participate in clean energy generation.

    Legal and Regulatory Challenges

    Despite their benefits, plug-in solar systems face regulatory hurdles in the US:

    1. Legal ambiguity: Many states require agreements with utility companies, a process that can be lengthy and costly.
    2. Safety concerns: There is currently no comprehensive certification for the entire plug-in solar system, raising issues such as circuit overload and risks to utility workers.
    3. Opposition from utilities and trade groups: Some organizations have expressed concerns about safety and the lack of clear standards.

    Legislative Progress and Advocacy

    Utah has pioneered legislative change by passing a bill allowing residents to use small plug-in solar systems without utility agreements. This legislation passed unanimously, signaling bipartisan support and setting a precedent for other states. Currently, at least 28 states, including Washington, California, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, are considering similar bills to facilitate broader adoption.

    Global Context and Best Practices

    Germany leads the global plug-in solar movement, with over 1.23 million systems installed and supportive regulations that prevent landlords from blocking installations. German consumers benefit from affordable prices and significant energy bill reductions, demonstrating the potential impact of supportive policy frameworks.

    Safety Standards Development

    • UL Solutions has introduced a certification framework for plug-in solar systems to address safety risks.
    • Engineered solutions are expected to mitigate hazards such as circuit overload and electrical shocks.
    • Advocates emphasize the importance of maintaining affordability and ease of installation while implementing safety standards.

    Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    The rise of plug-in solar systems contributes directly to several SDGs:

    1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – By making renewable energy more accessible and affordable, plug-in solar systems promote universal access to clean energy.
    2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – These systems empower urban residents, including those in apartments, to generate clean energy, enhancing urban sustainability.
    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Plug-in solar encourages energy efficiency and reduces reliance on fossil fuels.
    4. SDG 13: Climate Action – Adoption of renewable energy technologies helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
    5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – The collaboration between legislators, non-profits, industry, and consumers exemplifies multi-stakeholder partnerships advancing sustainable development.

    Future Outlook

    • Growing adoption: Early adopters like Agnes Chan and companies such as CraftStrom indicate increasing popularity across the US.
    • Regulatory evolution: As safety standards and legislation develop, broader acceptance and integration of plug-in solar systems are expected.
    • Public awareness: These systems serve as gateways to renewable energy awareness, encouraging more individuals to participate in sustainable energy solutions.
    • Political support: Bipartisan legislative success in states like Utah suggests expanding political will to support clean energy innovations.

    Conclusion

    The plug-in solar revolution represents a significant step toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by democratizing access to clean energy, reducing environmental impact, and fostering sustainable communities. Continued legislative support, safety standard development, and public engagement will be critical to realizing the full potential of this innovative energy solution.

    1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

    1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The article discusses the adoption of plug-in solar systems as a means to provide affordable, clean, and renewable energy to households.
    2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The use of balcony solar systems in urban settings, including apartments, promotes sustainable urban living.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action – Transitioning to renewable energy sources like solar power contributes to mitigating climate change.
    4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – The article touches on energy efficiency and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
    5. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – The development of new solar technologies and certification frameworks reflects innovation and infrastructure development.

    2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

    1. SDG 7 Targets:
      • 7.1 – By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. The article highlights affordable solar options like plug-in solar systems costing around $2,000 versus $20,000 rooftop systems.
      • 7.2 – Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The growing adoption of balcony solar systems in the US and Germany supports this target.
      • 7.3 – Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. The article mentions energy bill savings and efficiency improvements through solar panels.
    2. SDG 11 Targets:
      • 11.6 – Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. Balcony solar systems help reduce emissions from fossil fuel energy.
    3. SDG 13 Targets:
      • 13.2 – Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. Legislative actions in US states to support plug-in solar reflect policy integration.
    4. SDG 12 Targets:
      • 12.2 – Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. The use of solar energy reduces dependence on fossil fuels.
    5. SDG 9 Targets:
      • 9.5 – Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors. The development of safety standards and certification frameworks for plug-in solar systems is an example.

    3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

    1. Number of plug-in solar systems installed: The article mentions 1.23 million balcony solar systems installed in Germany, with estimates up to 4 million including unregistered systems. This indicator measures adoption rate.
    2. Energy bill savings: Data suggesting plug-in solar can cut energy bills by 10% to 20% reflects improvements in energy efficiency and affordability.
    3. Legislative progress: Number of US states (at least 28) with draft bills or legislation facilitating plug-in solar adoption indicates policy integration and support.
    4. Safety certification frameworks developed: The release of a certification framework by UL Solutions in January 2025 indicates progress in technological and safety standards.
    5. Sales data: Sales of 1,200 plug-in solar units by CraftStrom in the US last year shows market uptake.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • 7.1: Universal access to affordable, reliable, modern energy services
    • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy in the energy mix
    • 7.3: Double rate of improvement in energy efficiency
    • Number of plug-in solar systems installed (e.g., 1.23 million in Germany)
    • Energy bill savings (10%-20% reduction)
    • Sales of plug-in solar units (e.g., 1,200 units sold by CraftStrom)
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.6: Reduce environmental impact of cities
    • Adoption rate of balcony solar in urban apartments
    • Reduction in fossil fuel energy consumption in cities
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
    • Number of states passing legislation supporting plug-in solar
    • Policy documents and frameworks promoting renewable energy
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
    • Reduction in fossil fuel use due to solar adoption
    • Energy efficiency improvements measured by bill reductions
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.5: Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities
    • Development and release of safety certification frameworks (e.g., UL Solutions certification)
    • Innovation in plug-in solar technology and market availability

    Source: cnn.com

     

    ]]>     Building Resilient Aquatic Systems for Food Security and Climate Action – AgTechNavigator.com https://sdgtalks.ai/building-resilient-aquatic-systems-for-food-security-and-climate-action-agtechnavigatorcom https://sdgtalks.ai/building-resilient-aquatic-systems-for-food-security-and-climate-action-agtechnavigatorcom Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:00:15 -0500 sdgtalks Building, Resilient, Aquatic, Systems, for, Food, Security, and, Climate, Action, –, AgTechNavigator.com  

    Blue Food Innovation Summit 2024: Advancing the Blue Economy and Sustainable Development Goals

    Event Overview

    The Blue Food Innovation Summit, scheduled to take place in London on May 27-28, 2024, focuses on pioneering ideas and technologies that are transforming the blue economy. This summit serves as a critical platform for driving sustainable development, particularly aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Key Participants and Objectives

    The summit convenes a diverse group of stakeholders including:

    • Producers
    • Investors
    • Corporate leaders
    • Technology innovators
    • Policymakers

    The primary aim is to facilitate the connection between capital, innovation, and market demand to foster sustainable growth in the blue economy. The event emphasizes collaboration to achieve commercial outcomes that support the following SDGs:

    1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger – Promoting sustainable food production systems.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Encouraging innovation in blue food technologies.
    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Supporting sustainable management of marine resources.
    4. SDG 14: Life Below Water – Conserving and sustainably using oceans, seas, and marine resources.
    5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Building partnerships to mobilize resources and knowledge.

    Event Features

    • High-value networking opportunities
    • Partnership building sessions
    • Focus on commercial outcomes that advance sustainability

    Additional Information

    Attendees and interested parties are encouraged to download the summit brochure for detailed information about the agenda, speakers, and participation guidelines.

    Blue Food Innovation Summit

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 14: Life Below Water – The article focuses on the blue economy and innovations related to blue food, which directly relates to sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – The emphasis on technology leaders, innovation, and market demand highlights the role of infrastructure and innovation in sustainable development.
    3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – The summit’s focus on collaboration, networking, and partnership building aligns with strengthening global partnerships for sustainable development.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

    1. SDG 14 Targets:
      • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.
      • Target 14.4: Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
    2. SDG 9 Targets:
      • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade technological capabilities of industrial sectors.
    3. SDG 17 Targets:
      • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships.
      • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. For SDG 14:
      • Indicator 14.2.1: Proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches.
      • Indicator 14.4.1: Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels.
    2. For SDG 9:
      • Indicator 9.5.1: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP.
      • Indicator 9.5.2: Number of researchers per million inhabitants.
    3. For SDG 17:
      • Indicator 17.16.1: Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks.
      • Indicator 17.17.1: Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems
    • 14.4: Regulate harvesting and end overfishing
    • 14.2.1: Proportion of national exclusive economic zones managed using ecosystem-based approaches
    • 14.4.1: Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • 9.5: Enhance scientific research and technological capabilities
    • 9.5.1: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP
    • 9.5.2: Number of researchers per million inhabitants
    SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
    • 17.16: Enhance global multi-stakeholder partnerships
    • 17.17: Promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships
    • 17.16.1: Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring
    • 17.17.1: Amount of USD committed to public-private and civil society partnerships

    Source: agtechnavigator.com

     

    ]]>     Woman arrested weeks after NYC man found dead, battered in apartment: cops – New York Post https://sdgtalks.ai/woman-arrested-weeks-after-nyc-man-found-dead-battered-in-apartment-cops-new-york-post https://sdgtalks.ai/woman-arrested-weeks-after-nyc-man-found-dead-battered-in-apartment-cops-new-york-post Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:00:08 -0500 sdgtalks Woman, arrested, weeks, after, NYC, man, found, dead, battered, apartment:, cops, –, New, York, Post  

    Report on the Arrest in Queens Homicide Case

    Incident Overview

    On January 30, a 59-year-old man, Felipe Gonzalez-Gonzalez, was found dead and battered inside his apartment at the Barbara Faron Residence, located at 20-50 Nameoke Ave. in Far Rockaway, Queens. The discovery was made after neighbors and a janitor noticed a strong odor emanating from the victim’s apartment hallway.

    Suspect and Charges

    Odeylin Gonzalez, aged 33 and residing a few blocks away from the victim, was arrested on February 25. She faces charges of murder and criminal obstruction of breathing. The suspect is not believed to be related to the victim. Currently, she is held without bail and is scheduled to appear next in Queens Criminal Court on April 28.

    Context and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Emphasis

    This case highlights critical social issues relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The violent death underscores the need for enhanced community health and safety measures to prevent such tragedies and promote mental and physical well-being.
    2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The incident emphasizes the importance of safe, inclusive, and resilient urban environments, where residents are protected from violence and can live without fear.
    3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The prompt law enforcement response and judicial proceedings reflect efforts to promote peaceful societies, provide access to justice, and build effective institutions.

    Key Points

    • Victim: Felipe Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 59 years old, found deceased with injuries.
    • Suspect: Odeylin Gonzalez, 33 years old, charged with murder and obstruction of breathing.
    • Location: Barbara Faron Residence, Far Rockaway, Queens.
    • Discovery: Prompted by neighbors and janitor noticing a foul smell.
    • Legal Status: Suspect held without bail, next court appearance on April 28.
    • Community Impact: Highlights the need for improved safety and justice mechanisms in urban settings.

    Conclusion

    The case serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges in ensuring safe living conditions and justice within communities. It underscores the vital role of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to foster environments where all individuals can live securely and with dignity.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • The article discusses a murder case, highlighting issues related to crime, justice, and law enforcement.
      • It involves police investigation, arrest, and judicial proceedings, which are core elements of SDG 16.
    2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • The incident occurred in a residential building in Queens, touching on urban safety and community well-being.
      • Issues of neighborhood safety and security are relevant to SDG 11.

    2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

    1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
      • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
      • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
    2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, particularly for vulnerable groups.
      • Target 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

    1. For SDG 16
      • Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age.
      • Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
      • The article implies the use of police records and court proceedings as data sources to measure progress.
    2. For SDG 11
      • Indicator 11.1.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing.
      • Indicator 11.7.2: Proportion of persons who feel safe walking alone around the area they live.
      • The article implies community safety perception and housing conditions as relevant indicators.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.1: Reduce all forms of violence and related death rates.
    • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice.
    • 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions.
    • 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population.
    • 16.3.1: Proportion of victims reporting violence to authorities.
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.1: Access to adequate, safe and affordable housing.
    • 11.7: Provide safe, inclusive and accessible public spaces.
    • 11.1.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums or inadequate housing.
    • 11.7.2: Proportion of persons feeling safe walking alone in their area.

    Source: nypost.com

     

    ]]>     Tackling India’s adult illiteracy with the Gospel – Mission Network News https://sdgtalks.ai/tackling-indias-adult-illiteracy-with-the-gospel-mission-network-news https://sdgtalks.ai/tackling-indias-adult-illiteracy-with-the-gospel-mission-network-news Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Tackling, India’s, adult, illiteracy, with, the, Gospel, –, Mission, Network, News  

    Report on Adult Literacy Initiatives in India with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Introduction

    India faces a significant challenge with adult illiteracy, impacting approximately 287 million adults. Mission India is actively addressing this issue by providing education that fosters hope, independence, and dignity. This initiative aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

    Challenges of Adult Illiteracy in India

    1. Prevalence and Impact
      • Nearly one in four adults were illiterate according to the 2011 census, with improvements projected but many still lacking basic literacy skills.
      • Illiteracy affects daily activities such as reading street signs, managing finances, and accessing healthcare.
      • Parents face difficulties in understanding medical instructions, impacting family health and wellbeing.
    2. Social and Economic Disparities
      • Women are disproportionately affected due to societal expectations and limited educational opportunities, highlighting the need for gender equality (SDG 5).
      • Lower caste and economically disadvantaged groups experience higher rates of illiteracy, underscoring the importance of reducing inequalities (SDG 10).
      • Mission India promotes dignity and respect for all learners, fostering inclusive education environments.

    Mission India’s Educational Approach

    • Bible-Based Curriculum
      • Teaching literacy at a fifth-grade level to equip learners with practical skills for employment.
      • Incorporation of health, hygiene, and entrepreneurship training to support holistic development.
      • Use of Scripture to enhance literacy and spiritual growth, with approximately 40% of graduates embracing Christianity.
    • Alignment with SDGs
      • Supports SDG 4 by ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education.
      • Promotes SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) through health education.
      • Encourages economic empowerment aligned with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

    Impact and Outcomes

    • Improved literacy enables adults to navigate daily life confidently and independently.
    • Empowerment of women and marginalized communities contributes to social equity.
    • Spiritual and personal growth enhances overall quality of life.

    Call to Action and Support

    Mission India invites support for adult literacy classes, which cost $40 per participant. A matching challenge is currently active, doubling the impact of donations up to $300,000. Contributions directly advance SDG targets by expanding educational access and fostering sustainable community development.

    • Prayer and moral support are requested to help students recognize the role of faith in their progress.
    • Financial donations can be made via MissionIndia.org/read.

    Conclusion

    Mission India’s adult literacy program is a vital initiative contributing to multiple Sustainable Development Goals by addressing educational disparities, promoting gender equality, and empowering marginalized populations. Continued support and engagement are essential to sustain and expand this transformative work.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 4: Quality Education – The article focuses on adult literacy and education, highlighting efforts to help illiterate adults in India gain reading and writing skills.
    2. SDG 5: Gender Equality – The article discusses the disparity in literacy rates between men and women, emphasizing the challenges women face in accessing education.
    3. SDG 1: No Poverty – Literacy enables adults to manage finances better, open bank accounts, and avoid being shortchanged, which contributes to poverty reduction.
    4. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The article mentions health and hygiene training and challenges illiterate parents face in managing medication and healthcare for their children.
    5. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The literacy level targeted (fifth grade) is significant for finding work, and entrepreneurship classes are offered.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 4: Quality Education
      • Target 4.6: Ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
      • Target 4.4: Increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment.
    2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
      • Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in education and other sectors.
    3. SDG 1: No Poverty
      • Target 1.4: Ensure that all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, including access to financial services.
    4. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services and medicines.
    5. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
      • Target 8.6: Reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.
      • Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Adult Literacy Rate – The article references the census data on adult literacy rates, which is a key indicator for Target 4.6.
    2. Gender Disparity in Literacy – The difference in literacy rates between men and women, as noted in the article, can be tracked to measure progress on Target 5.5.
    3. Enrollment and Completion Rates of Adult Literacy Classes – The number of adults attending and graduating from literacy classes, as mentioned with Mission India’s programs, can serve as indicators for Targets 4.4 and 4.6.
    4. Access to Financial Services – The ability of adults to open bank accounts and manage finances implies tracking access to financial services (Target 1.4).
    5. Health Literacy and Access to Health Services – The article’s mention of health and hygiene training and challenges in healthcare navigation suggests indicators related to health literacy and access (Target 3.8).
    6. Employment and Entrepreneurship Outcomes – The impact of literacy and entrepreneurship classes on employment status and income generation relates to Targets 8.3 and 8.6.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 4: Quality Education
    • 4.6: Literacy and numeracy for youth and adults
    • 4.4: Relevant skills for employment
    • Adult literacy rate (census data)
    • Enrollment and completion rates of adult literacy classes
    SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • 5.5: Equal opportunities and participation for women
    • Gender disparity in literacy rates
    SDG 1: No Poverty
    • 1.4: Equal rights to economic resources and financial services
    • Access to bank accounts and financial services by adults
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.8: Universal health coverage and access to essential services
    • Health literacy levels
    • Access to health and hygiene training
    SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • 8.6: Reduce youth not in employment, education or training
    • 8.3: Promote entrepreneurship and decent job creation
    • Employment rates of literacy class graduates
    • Participation in entrepreneurship training

    Source: mnnonline.org

     

    ]]>     Deaf 6-year-old deported from Bay Area without hearing aids – KCRA https://sdgtalks.ai/deaf-6-year-old-deported-from-bay-area-without-hearing-aids-kcra https://sdgtalks.ai/deaf-6-year-old-deported-from-bay-area-without-hearing-aids-kcra Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:30:13 -0500 sdgtalks Deaf, 6-year-old, deported, from, Bay, Area, without, hearing, aids, –, KCRA  

    Report on the Deportation of a Deaf 6-Year-Old Boy from the Bay Area

    Incident Overview

    A deaf 6-year-old boy, Joseph Andrey Londono Rodriguez, was deported from the San Francisco Bay Area to Colombia without his hearing aids. The boy’s mother, Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, was seeking asylum after fleeing Colombia. During a routine check-in appointment, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained and deported the mother along with her two sons. Reports indicate that a family member was not permitted to retrieve the boy’s essential hearing aids.

    Educational and Medical Concerns

    • Joseph attended the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, California.
    • The boy relies on hearing aids and other medical devices for his well-being and educational success.
    • He was deported without his hearing aids, raising serious concerns about his immediate care and safety.

    Response from Authorities and Advocates

    1. California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond expressed deep concern over the situation, emphasizing the child’s dependency on medical devices and the unknown whereabouts of the family.
    2. The family’s attorney confirmed the deportation to Colombia after approximately four years in the Bay Area, during which they escaped an abusive relationship.
    3. The Department of Homeland Security stated that ICE does not separate families and that parents are given the choice to be removed with their children or to place them with a designated safe person. The mother reportedly chose to be removed with her children.

    Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    This case highlights critical intersections with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

    • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The deportation without hearing aids jeopardizes the child’s health and access to necessary medical devices.
    • SDG 4: Quality Education – Disruption of the boy’s education at the California School for the Deaf undermines his right to inclusive and equitable quality education.
    • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The situation underscores the vulnerabilities faced by asylum seekers and persons with disabilities, calling for equitable treatment and protection.
    • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The case raises concerns about the protection of human rights within immigration enforcement practices and the need for transparent, just procedures.

    Call to Action

    • Immediate return and reunification of the boy and his family to ensure access to medical care and education.
    • Implementation of policies that safeguard the rights and well-being of children with disabilities within immigration processes.
    • Enhanced coordination between immigration authorities, educational institutions, and healthcare providers to uphold the SDGs related to health, education, and equality.

    Conclusion

    The deportation of a deaf child without his hearing aids presents a significant human rights and social justice concern. It highlights the urgent need to align immigration enforcement with the Sustainable Development Goals to protect vulnerable populations, ensure access to essential services, and promote inclusive development.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • The article highlights the health needs of a deaf child dependent on hearing aids and medical devices, emphasizing access to healthcare and medical support.
    2. SDG 4: Quality Education
      • The child attended the California School for the Deaf, pointing to the importance of inclusive and equitable quality education for children with disabilities.
    3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
      • The deportation of an asylum-seeking family, including a child with disabilities, touches on issues of inequality, protection of vulnerable populations, and migrant rights.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • The involvement of immigration enforcement and concerns about family separation relate to justice, protection of human rights, and effective institutions.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines.
      • Target 3.b: Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for communicable and non-communicable diseases and provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines.
    2. SDG 4: Quality Education
      • Target 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities.
    3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
      • Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.
      • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
      • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. For SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)
      • Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services (including availability of medical devices such as hearing aids).
      • Indicator 3.b.3: Proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines and technologies available and affordable.
    2. For SDG 4 (Quality Education)
      • Indicator 4.5.1: Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others) for all education indicators.
      • Indicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools with access to adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities.
    3. For SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)
      • Indicator 10.7.1: Recruitment cost borne by employee as a proportion of yearly income earned in country of destination.
      • Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50% of median income, by sex, age and persons with disabilities.
    4. For SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)
      • Indicator 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population.
      • Indicator 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.8: Universal health coverage including access to essential health services
    • 3.b: Access to affordable essential medicines and medical devices
    • 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services (e.g., hearing aids availability)
    • 3.b.3: Availability of essential medicines and technologies
    SDG 4: Quality Education
    • 4.5: Equal access to education for vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities
    • 4.5.1: Parity indices for education indicators
    • 4.a.1: Schools with adapted infrastructure for disabilities
    SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • 10.7: Facilitate safe and responsible migration
    • 10.2: Promote inclusion of all, including persons with disabilities
    • 10.7.1: Recruitment cost borne by employee
    • 10.2.1: Proportion of people below 50% median income by disability status
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.3: Promote rule of law and equal access to justice
    • 16.2: End abuse and exploitation of children
    • 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees proportion
    • 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking

    Source: kcra.com

     

    ]]>     Microplastics are creating tiny microbial battlegrounds in farm soil – Earth.com https://sdgtalks.ai/microplastics-are-creating-tiny-microbial-battlegrounds-in-farm-soil-earthcom https://sdgtalks.ai/microplastics-are-creating-tiny-microbial-battlegrounds-in-farm-soil-earthcom Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:00:12 -0500 sdgtalks Microplastics, are, creating, tiny, microbial, battlegrounds, farm, soil, –, Earth.com  

    Microplastics in Farmland Soils: Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

    Microplastics, commonly recognized as an ocean pollution issue, are increasingly accumulating in farmland soils. A recent scientific review led by researchers from Jiangsu University highlights that the impact of microplastics extends beyond physical contamination, affecting soil ecosystems at a microscopic level. This report emphasizes the relevance of these findings to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

    Microplastics as Emerging Soil Pollutants

    Microplastics are plastic fragments smaller than five millimeters. In agricultural environments, they enter soils through various pathways including plastic mulch, sewage sludge, irrigation water, and degradation of larger plastic waste. Their presence in soil can:

    • Alter soil structure
    • Disrupt nutrient cycling
    • Affect soil organisms critical for ecosystem functioning

    These effects pose risks to soil fertility and sustainable agricultural productivity, directly impacting SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

    A New Micro-Habitat in Soil: The Plastisphere

    Researchers describe microplastics as creating unique micro-environments in soil called plastispheres. These plastispheres are biofilm communities where microorganisms attach to plastic surfaces, forming dense and active microbial networks. Key characteristics include:

    1. Enhanced microbial interactions compared to surrounding soil
    2. Modification of microbial community behavior
    3. Influence on nutrient movement and soil resilience after environmental stress

    The review underscores that microplastics act not only as physical pollutants but also as environmental stressors reshaping microbial and viral interactions, which may ultimately affect soil fertility and agricultural sustainability, aligning with SDG 12 and SDG 15.

    Viruses as Key Players in Soil Ecosystems

    A central focus of the review is on bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria. Their roles in soil ecosystems include:

    • Reshaping bacterial populations by infecting and lysing cells
    • Influencing nutrient cycling through release of cellular contents
    • Facilitating gene transfer between microbes, spreading traits across communities

    In plastispheres, where microbes are densely packed, viral impacts on microbial dynamics and gene exchange are potentially amplified, affecting ecosystem functions relevant to SDG 15 and SDG 13.

    Gene Exchange: Potential Benefits and Risks

    Viral-mediated gene transfer within plastispheres represents a double-edged sword:

    • Positive potential: Spread of genes that enhance microbial degradation of plastics, supporting natural biodegradation processes.
    • Negative risks: Dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes and other harmful traits that may compromise soil health and human wellbeing.

    This dual role necessitates careful consideration in environmental management and policy development, linking to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 12.

    Innovative Approaches to Accelerate Plastic Degradation

    The review explores emerging theoretical methods to utilize virus-related systems to enhance plastic breakdown in soils, including:

    1. Phage-assisted microbial augmentation to promote plastic-degrading microbial populations
    2. Use of virus-like particles loaded with catalytic nanoenzymes to accelerate polymer degradation

    These innovative approaches remain experimental and raise important concerns regarding biosafety, unintended gene transfer, and ecological unpredictability. Responsible research and governance are essential to align these technologies with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 12.

    Challenges: Lack of Long-Term Field Evidence

    Current knowledge is limited by reliance on laboratory and short-term studies. The dynamic nature of soil ecosystems, influenced by seasonal changes, farming practices, and environmental factors, requires long-term field research to understand:

    • Stability and evolution of plastisphere ecosystems
    • Interactions among viruses, microbes, and microplastics over time

    Addressing this gap is critical for informed environmental management and achieving SDG 15.

    Call for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration

    The review advocates for integrated research efforts across microbiology, virology, soil science, environmental engineering, and policy-making. Advanced tools recommended include:

    • Single-cell viromics
    • AI-driven host prediction models
    • Multi-omics approaches

    These methods aim to map microbial and viral communities and gene flow within soils, enhancing understanding of ecosystem responses to plastic pollution. This collaborative approach supports SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

    Conclusion: Microplastics as Dynamic Biological Arenas

    The study concludes that microplastics in soil are not inert debris but active microhabitats where microbes and viruses interact dynamically, reshaping soil ecosystems. Recognizing the soil virome’s role offers new perspectives for ecosystem restoration and sustainable agriculture, contributing to multiple SDGs including SDG 2, SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 15.

    The research is published in the journal Agricultural Ecology and Environment.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
      • The article discusses the impact of microplastics on soil fertility and agricultural sustainability, which directly relates to ensuring sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices.
    2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Microplastic pollution from agricultural practices such as plastic mulch and sewage sludge reflects issues of waste management and sustainable production.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • While not explicitly mentioned, the article’s focus on soil health and ecosystem recovery ties into climate resilience and sustainable land use.
    4. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • The article’s emphasis on soil ecosystems, microbial communities, and the impact of pollutants on terrestrial ecosystems aligns with protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
      • Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems, and strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change.
    2. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks.
      • Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
    3. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
      • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Soil Quality and Fertility Indicators
      • Changes in soil structure and nutrient cycling as affected by microplastics.
      • Microbial community composition and activity in soil plastispheres.
    2. Pollution and Waste Management Indicators
      • Concentration and distribution of microplastics in agricultural soils.
      • Presence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes linked to microplastic-associated microbes.
    3. Ecological and Biodiversity Indicators
      • Viral and microbial gene transfer rates in soil ecosystems.
      • Resilience and recovery of soil ecosystems after stress events.
    4. Research and Monitoring Indicators
      • Availability of long-term field data on soil microplastic impacts.
      • Use of advanced methods such as single-cell viromics, AI-driven host prediction, and multi-omics to map microbial and viral interactions.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 2: Zero Hunger Target 2.4: Sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices
    • Soil fertility and nutrient cycling changes
    • Microbial community behavior in soil
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • Target 12.4: Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes
    • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation
    • Microplastic concentration in soils
    • Spread of antibiotic resistance genes
    SDG 15: Life on Land
    • Target 15.3: Combat desertification and restore degraded land and soil
    • Target 15.5: Reduce degradation of natural habitats and biodiversity loss
    • Viral and microbial gene transfer rates
    • Soil ecosystem resilience after stress

    Source: earth.com

     

    ]]>     Biden freed a Florida man in his final days in office. A year later, the state pressed charges — for the same crime – CNN https://sdgtalks.ai/biden-freed-a-florida-man-in-his-final-days-in-office-a-year-later-the-state-pressed-charges-for-the-same-crime-cnn https://sdgtalks.ai/biden-freed-a-florida-man-in-his-final-days-in-office-a-year-later-the-state-pressed-charges-for-the-same-crime-cnn Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:00:04 -0500 sdgtalks Biden, freed, Florida, man, his, final, days, office., year, later, the, state, pressed, charges, —, for, the, same, crime, –, CNN  

    Report on the Rearrest of Oscar Freemond Fowler and Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Background of the Case

    Oscar Freemond Fowler, a convicted felon, was released from federal custody on February 19 following a commutation of his prison sentence by President Joe Biden during the final days of his presidency. However, Fowler was rearrested less than a week later on state charges for the same crime. In October 2023, he was charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, as well as possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, after authorities discovered a 9mm pistol, ammunition, cocaine, and methamphetamine in his Florida residence.

    Fowler had previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to over 12 years in prison. Approximately two years later, he was among nearly 2,500 individuals whose sentences were commuted by President Biden.

    Legal Context and Dual Sovereignty Doctrine

    Fowler’s rearrest highlights a significant legal principle: federal pardons and commutations do not extend to state charges. Legal experts explain that the presidential pardon power under Article Two of the U.S. Constitution only covers federal offenses, leaving defendants vulnerable to state prosecution for the same acts.

    The 2019 Supreme Court ruling in Gamble v. United States upheld the dual-sovereignty doctrine, which permits separate prosecutions by state and federal authorities without violating double jeopardy protections. This ruling legally supports Fowler’s rearrest on state charges despite his federal sentence commutation.

    Details of Fowler’s Criminal History and Rearrest

    • Fowler has over 60 cases listed against him in Pinellas County, Florida, with offenses ranging from traffic violations to aggravated assault dating back to 1991.
    • Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier described Fowler as a “dangerous repeat offender” with a lengthy criminal record.
    • The use of an autopen device to sign Fowler’s commutation was criticized by some officials, who questioned the validity of the release.
    • Following his rearrest, the Oversight Project, a conservative watchdog group, praised the action as enhancing public safety.

    Implications for Justice and Fairness

    While the legal framework permits dual prosecutions, legal analysts emphasize the importance of evaluating whether new charges are necessary or fair. The prosecutor must consider if the prior federal prosecution and commutation sufficiently addressed the offenses or if state prosecution is justified to prevent unjust outcomes.

    Scope of Presidential Pardons and Commutations

    1. Definition: A pardon removes conviction and punishment for federal offenses, while a commutation reduces the sentence without affecting the conviction.
    2. Limitations: Presidential pardons and commutations apply only to federal crimes and do not affect state-level charges or convictions.
    3. Examples:
      • Steve Bannon was pardoned federally but faced state charges for the same offenses.
      • Tina Peters received a full pardon from former President Trump for federal offenses, but her state conviction and incarceration remain unaffected.

    Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

    • Rule of Law: The case underscores the importance of robust legal frameworks that balance federal and state jurisdictions to ensure justice is served fairly and transparently.
    • Access to Justice: Ensuring that legal processes respect constitutional boundaries while protecting public safety aligns with SDG 16’s aim to promote peaceful and inclusive societies.
    • Accountability: The dual-sovereignty doctrine and subsequent prosecutions demonstrate mechanisms for holding individuals accountable under different legal systems.

    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

    • Addressing drug-related offenses, such as Fowler’s possession and intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, contributes to combating substance abuse and promoting community health.
    • Effective law enforcement and judicial actions help reduce the prevalence of illicit drugs, supporting healthier societies.

    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

    • Removing dangerous repeat offenders from communities enhances safety and security, fostering sustainable urban environments.
    • Community trust in legal institutions is strengthened when justice systems operate effectively across federal and state levels.

    Conclusion

    The case of Oscar Freemond Fowler illustrates the complex interplay between federal and state legal systems, emphasizing the constitutional limits of presidential pardons and commutations. It highlights the necessity for strong institutions and legal clarity to uphold justice, protect communities, and promote sustainable development in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • The article discusses issues related to the justice system, including federal and state prosecutions, pardons, commutations, and the dual-sovereignty doctrine upheld by the Supreme Court.
      • It highlights challenges in legal frameworks and the administration of justice, particularly concerning repeat offenders and the limits of presidential pardons.
    2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • The article mentions drug possession and distribution charges, implying concerns related to substance abuse and public health risks.
    3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • The issue of public safety and the impact of releasing dangerous offenders on community safety is discussed.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
      • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
      • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
    2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
    3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, particularly for vulnerable populations.
      • Target 11.2: Provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. For SDG 16:
      • Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
      • Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of the population satisfied with their last experience of public services.
      • Indicator 16.1.4: Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live.
    2. For SDG 3:
      • Indicator 3.5.1: Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disorders.
    3. For SDG 11:
      • Indicator 11.7.2: Proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months.
      • Indicator 11.2.1: Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
    • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions
    • 16.7: Ensure inclusive and representative decision-making
    • 16.3.1: Reporting of victimization to authorities
    • 16.6.2: Satisfaction with public services
    • 16.1.4: Feeling safe walking alone
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.5: Strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse
    • 3.5.1: Coverage of treatment interventions for substance use disorders
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.7: Provide access to safe, inclusive public spaces
    • 11.2: Provide access to safe and sustainable transport systems
    • 11.7.2: Proportion of persons victim of harassment
    • 11.2.1: Access to public transport

    Source: cnn.com

     

    ]]>     Robust capital market essential for sustainable industrialization: NBR chief – Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) https://sdgtalks.ai/robust-capital-market-essential-for-sustainable-industrialization-nbr-chief-bangladesh-sangbad-sangstha-bss https://sdgtalks.ai/robust-capital-market-essential-for-sustainable-industrialization-nbr-chief-bangladesh-sangbad-sangstha-bss Mon, 09 Mar 2026 06:30:14 -0500 sdgtalks Robust, capital, market, essential, for, sustainable, industrialization:, NBR, chief, –, Bangladesh, Sangbad, Sangstha, BSS  

    Report on the Importance of a Robust Capital Market for Sustainable Industrialization

    Introduction

    On March 8, 2026, Md Abdur Rahman Khan, Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), addressed the critical role of a robust capital market in achieving sustainable industrialization and employment generation. His remarks were delivered at a seminar titled “Challenges and Way Forward for the New Government in the Stock Market”, organized by the Capital Market Journalists’ Forum (CMJF) in Dhaka.

    Capital Market and Sustainable Industrialization

    Md Abdur Rahman Khan emphasized that sustainable industrialization, a key component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), cannot be realized without a strong capital market.

    1. Public Company Concept: He highlighted that global industrial revolutions were driven by the public company model, where millions of small investors contributed capital, fostering inclusive economic growth.
    2. Equity vs. Debt Financing: Khan pointed out the current challenge where entrepreneurs rely heavily on short-term bank loans for long-term industrial projects, creating financial mismatches and banking sector difficulties. He advocated for a shift towards equity financing through the capital market, which aligns with sustainable financial practices by sharing profits based on performance and avoiding unsustainable debt burdens.

    Challenges in the Capital Market

    • Investor Vulnerability: Many companies with attractive prospectuses have failed or closed, exposing investors to risks. This situation undermines SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) by highlighting the need for transparency and accountability.
    • Regulatory Responsibility: The Chairman stressed the importance of rigorous certification of prospectuses and accounts to ensure only companies capable of delivering long-term returns are listed, demanding 100% honesty and accountability from all market participants.
    • Mutual Fund Performance: He expressed concern over the poor governance and market value of mutual funds, which are intended to be managed by financial experts, indicating a need for improved financial management and investor protection.

    Government Initiatives and Policy Measures

    The current government’s vision aligns with SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) through the promotion of Economic Democracy. Key initiatives include:

    • Distribution of benefits to common people, farmers, and the poor via family cards and farmer cards.
    • Implementation of a comprehensive digital and linked economic framework to minimize corruption and misdeclaration, enhancing transparency and accountability.
    • Rationalization of the Capital Gains Tax to 15% for gains exceeding Taka 50 lakh, aiming to create a more investor-friendly environment.

    Future Outlook and Recommendations

    1. Support for Market Growth: The NBR is committed to supporting the capital market while ensuring revenue maximization for national interests.
    2. Enforcement and Accountability: Strict enforcement of existing rules and regulations will be prioritized to hold accountable those who deceive ordinary investors, reinforcing trust in the market.
    3. Maintaining Reforms and Discipline: Continued reforms and disciplined market practices are essential to foster sustainable growth in the capital market.

    Conclusion

    The seminar underscored the indispensable role of a robust capital market in achieving sustainable industrialization and employment generation, directly contributing to multiple Sustainable Development Goals. The emphasis on transparency, accountability, and equitable economic participation reflects a strategic approach to fostering inclusive and sustainable economic development in Bangladesh.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
      • The article emphasizes sustainable industrialization and employment generation, which are core to SDG 8.
      • Focus on economic democracy and ensuring benefits reach common people aligns with promoting inclusive economic growth.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • The need for a robust capital market to support sustainable industrialization directly relates to SDG 9.
      • Encouraging equity financing over short-term bank loans supports innovation and infrastructure development.
    3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
      • Calls for honesty, accountability, and strict enforcement of regulations in the capital market relate to building strong institutions.
      • Efforts to curb corruption through digital and linked frameworks align with SDG 16 targets.
    4. SDG 1: No Poverty
      • The government’s vision of Economic Democracy to ensure benefits reach farmers and the poor connects with SDG 1.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 8 Targets
      • 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading, and innovation.
      • 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.
    2. SDG 9 Targets
      • 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, raise significantly industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product.
      • 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises to financial services, including affordable credit.
    3. SDG 16 Targets
      • 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
      • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.
    4. SDG 1 Targets
      • 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Capital Market Performance Indicators
      • Number and sustainability of companies listed on the stock market (implied by reference to companies closing or failing).
      • Performance and governance quality of mutual funds.
      • Capital Gains Tax rationalization impact on investor participation.
    2. Financial Inclusion and Access
      • Extent of entrepreneurs shifting from short-term bank loans to equity financing.
      • Access to financial services by small-scale enterprises and investors.
    3. Governance and Accountability Indicators
      • Implementation of digital and linked frameworks to reduce corruption.
      • Enforcement actions taken against market deception and irregularities.
    4. Social Protection Coverage
      • Distribution and utilization of family cards and farmer cards to ensure benefits reach the poor and farmers.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
    • 8.2: Higher economic productivity through innovation
    • 8.3: Promote policies supporting job creation and entrepreneurship
    • Level of employment generated by sustainable industries
    • Shift of entrepreneurs from bank loans to equity financing
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization
    • 9.3: Increase access to financial services for small enterprises
    • Number and sustainability of companies listed on stock market
    • Performance and governance of mutual funds
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
    • 16.5: Reduce corruption and bribery
    • 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions
    • Implementation of digital frameworks to curb corruption
    • Enforcement of market regulations and accountability measures
    SDG 1: No Poverty
    • 1.3: Implement social protection systems
    • Distribution and effectiveness of family and farmer cards

    Source: bssnews.net

     

    ]]>     Four arrested, including D51 teacher, on child sex charges – The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel https://sdgtalks.ai/four-arrested-including-d51-teacher-on-child-sex-charges-the-grand-junction-daily-sentinel https://sdgtalks.ai/four-arrested-including-d51-teacher-on-child-sex-charges-the-grand-junction-daily-sentinel Mon, 09 Mar 2026 06:00:09 -0500 sdgtalks Four, arrested, including, D51, teacher, child, sex, charges, –, The, Grand, Junction, Daily, Sentinel  

    Investigation and Arrests in Mesa County: Addressing Child Exploitation

    Overview of the Operation

    An extensive investigation conducted by multiple agencies in Mesa County resulted in the arrest of four individuals on charges related to soliciting sex from minors. This operation highlights critical efforts aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, which emphasizes the importance of promoting safe and inclusive societies.

    Details of the Undercover Operation

    1. Between February 27 and March 2, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce carried out a four-day undercover operation.
    2. Law enforcement officers posed as underage minors on social media platforms to identify and apprehend suspects soliciting sexual contact.
    3. The investigation covered multiple sites and applications, with cases unrelated to each other.
    4. The operation culminated in the arrest of four suspects, including a teacher from the Mesa County Valley School District.

    Suspects and Charges

    • Max Jones, 45, Grand Junction: Charged with internet luring of a child with intent of sexual contact/exploitation, felony criminal attempt, and sexual assault on a child.
    • Jose Suarez-Tavera, 42, Grand Junction: Charged with sexual assault on a child and felony criminal attempt.
    • Angella Garcia, 28, Grand Junction: Charged with internet luring of a child with intent of sexual contact/exploitation, enticement of a child, felony criminal attempt, sexual assault via internet sexual exploitation of a child, and sexual assault on a child with at least a 4-year age difference.
    • James Kellerby, 66, Clifton: Charged with internet luring of a child with intent of sexual contact/exploitation, enticement of a child, felony criminal attempt, sexual assault via internet sexual exploitation of a child, and sexual assault on a child with at least a 4-year age difference.

    Educational Institution Response

    The Mesa County Valley School District (District 51) confirmed that Jose Suarez-Tavera is a Dual Immersion Elementary teacher. The district emphasized its commitment to SDG 4: Quality Education by ensuring a safe learning environment for all students.

    • The incident did not occur on school grounds or during contract hours.
    • No confirmed District 51 student victims have been identified.
    • Suarez-Tavera has been placed on paid administrative leave.
    • The district is fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies.

    Support and Safety Measures

    District 51 acknowledged the sensitive nature of the arrests and is providing support services to affected families and staff, reflecting the principles of SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

    • Support services are available to students and employees impacted by the situation.
    • The district encourages anyone with information related to the case to contact non-emergency dispatch at 970-242-6707, referencing MCSO case #26-7845.
    • Ensuring the safety and well-being of students and staff remains the district’s top priority.

    Conclusion

    This investigation and subsequent arrests underscore the ongoing commitment of law enforcement and educational institutions to protect children from exploitation and abuse. These efforts contribute directly to advancing multiple Sustainable Development Goals by fostering safe communities, promoting justice, and ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Focus on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, including protection from violence and exploitation.
    2. SDG 4: Quality Education
      • Ensuring safe and inclusive learning environments, free from violence and abuse.
    3. SDG 5: Gender Equality
      • Eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, including sexual exploitation and abuse.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice, and building effective, accountable institutions to combat violence and exploitation.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol (related to mental health and well-being in vulnerable populations).
      • Target 3.7: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for vulnerable groups such as minors.
    2. SDG 4: Quality Education
      • Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments.
    3. SDG 5: Gender Equality
      • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
      • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators related to SDG 3
      • Prevalence of sexual exploitation and abuse cases among minors (implied through arrests and investigations).
    2. Indicators related to SDG 4
      • Number of reported incidents of abuse or exploitation involving school staff (implied by the arrest of a teacher and school district response).
      • Availability and utilization of support services for students and staff affected by abuse.
    3. Indicators related to SDG 5
      • Number of cases of violence against children, especially sexual exploitation (implied by law enforcement data).
    4. Indicators related to SDG 16
      • Number of arrests and prosecutions related to child sexual exploitation and abuse.
      • Existence and effectiveness of multi-agency investigations and task forces (e.g., Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce).
      • Access to justice and protection services for victims.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.5: Strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse
    • 3.7: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services
    • Prevalence of sexual exploitation and abuse cases among minors
    SDG 4: Quality Education
    • 4.a: Build safe, non-violent, inclusive learning environments
    • Number of reported abuse incidents involving school staff
    • Availability and use of support services for affected students and staff
    SDG 5: Gender Equality
    • 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls
    • Number of cases of violence against children, especially sexual exploitation
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against children
    • 16.3: Promote rule of law and ensure equal access to justice
    • Number of arrests and prosecutions related to child sexual exploitation
    • Effectiveness of multi-agency investigations and task forces
    • Access to justice and protection services for victims

    Source: gjsentinel.com

     

    ]]>     Trump Targets Whale Ship Strike Protections – Center for Biological Diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/trump-targets-whale-ship-strike-protections-center-for-biological-diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/trump-targets-whale-ship-strike-protections-center-for-biological-diversity Mon, 09 Mar 2026 01:30:11 -0500 sdgtalks Trump, Targets, Whale, Ship, Strike, Protections, –, Center, for, Biological, Diversity  

    Report on the Revocation of Vessel Speed Restrictions Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales

    Introduction

    The Trump administration announced plans to revoke vessel speed restrictions on the Atlantic coast designed to protect whales, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, from deadly ship strikes. This decision impacts key environmental conservation efforts aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

    Background of the Speed Restriction Rule

    Implemented in 2008, the rule established a seasonal 10-knot speed limit for most vessels 65 feet or longer in designated “seasonal management areas” along the East Coast. These areas coincide with the right whale’s feeding, calving, and migratory patterns, overlapping with heavy vessel traffic.

    • The speed limit significantly reduces the risk of vessel strikes on whales.
    • “Dynamic management areas” are designated collision hotspots where voluntary speed reductions are requested but not always observed.

    Impact on North Atlantic Right Whales

    1. Only about 70 reproductively active female North Atlantic right whales remain.
    2. The overall population has declined by approximately 20% over the past 25 years, with around 380 whales remaining.
    3. Population decline accelerated around 2010 due to habitat shifts linked to climate change, increasing exposure to unprotected areas.

    Concerns Regarding the Revocation

    • The revocation plan proposes replacing speed limits with unproven technological solutions, which are not widely used and lack evidence as effective substitutes.
    • Slowing vessels remains the only proven method to prevent fatal ship strikes on whales.
    • Experts and environmental groups criticize the decision as a significant setback for whale conservation and biodiversity protection (SDG 15).

    Calls for Strengthening Protections

    The Center for Biological Diversity advocates for:

    • Expanding seasonal management areas.
    • Applying speed limits to smaller vessels.
    • Making compliance mandatory in dynamic management areas.

    These measures align with SDG 14 by promoting sustainable use of marine resources and protecting endangered species.

    Recent Developments

    In January 2025, NOAA Fisheries withdrew a proposed rule intended to strengthen protections, after delays since 2022. This withdrawal raises concerns about the commitment to marine conservation and climate adaptation strategies.

    Conclusion

    The revocation of vessel speed restrictions threatens the survival of the North Atlantic right whale and undermines progress toward achieving SDG 14 and SDG 13. Effective conservation measures, including enforced speed limits, are essential to safeguard marine biodiversity and support sustainable ocean ecosystems.

    1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

    1. SDG 14: Life Below Water – The article focuses on protecting the North Atlantic right whale, a marine species, from vessel strikes, which directly relates to conserving marine life and ecosystems.
    2. SDG 13: Climate Action – The article mentions climate-related changes in the ocean affecting whale habitats, highlighting the need for climate adaptation measures.
    3. SDG 15: Life on Land (indirectly) – While primarily about marine life, the broader theme of biodiversity protection aligns with SDG 15’s goal to protect terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

    2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

    1. SDG 14 Targets:
      • Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, including from ships, to protect marine species such as the North Atlantic right whale.
      • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including mitigating vessel strikes on endangered whales.
    2. SDG 13 Targets:
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies and strategies, as the article mentions the need to align vessel speed rules with climate-related ocean changes.
    3. SDG 15 Targets:
      • Target 15.5: Take urgent action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss, which includes protecting endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale.

    3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

    1. Population size of North Atlantic right whales: The article states there are about 380 whales remaining, with only 70 reproductively active females, indicating population monitoring as a key indicator.
    2. Number of vessel strikes on whales: The effectiveness of vessel speed restrictions can be measured by tracking incidents of ship strikes on whales.
    3. Compliance rates with vessel speed limits: The article discusses voluntary and mandatory compliance in management areas, implying that measuring vessel adherence to speed limits is an indicator.
    4. Extent and enforcement of seasonal management areas: The size and enforcement level of these areas can be tracked to assess protection coverage.
    5. Changes in whale habitat range: The article mentions habitat shifts due to climate change, implying monitoring habitat distribution as an indicator.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 14: Life Below Water
    • 14.1: Reduce marine pollution and protect marine species
    • 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine ecosystems
    • Population size of North Atlantic right whales
    • Number of vessel strikes on whales
    • Compliance rates with vessel speed limits
    • Extent and enforcement of seasonal management areas
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies
    • Monitoring changes in whale habitat range due to climate change
    • Adjustments in vessel speed regulations aligned with climate impacts
    SDG 15: Life on Land
    • 15.5: Reduce degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss
    • Population monitoring of endangered species (North Atlantic right whale)
    • Effectiveness of protective regulations in reducing species decline

    Source: biologicaldiversity.org

     

    ]]>     Rep. Pfluger Champions Need for Access to Safe Drinking Water in Rural Texas, Calls for Relief from One-Size-Fits-None Regulatory Mandates – Congressman August Pfluger (.gov) https://sdgtalks.ai/rep-pfluger-champions-need-for-access-to-safe-drinking-water-in-rural-texas-calls-for-relief-from-one-size-fits-none-regulatory-mandates-congressman-august-pfluger-gov https://sdgtalks.ai/rep-pfluger-champions-need-for-access-to-safe-drinking-water-in-rural-texas-calls-for-relief-from-one-size-fits-none-regulatory-mandates-congressman-august-pfluger-gov Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:15 -0500 sdgtalks Rep., Pfluger, Champions, Need, for, Access, Safe, Drinking, Water, Rural, Texas, Calls, for, Relief, from, One-Size-Fits-None, Regulatory, Mandates, –, Congressman, August, Pfluger, .gov  

    Report on Water Access Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals

    Introduction

    This report summarizes the key points from a recent exchange between Representative Pfluger and expert witnesses regarding water access challenges, particularly in rural and drought-prone areas. The discussion highlights the importance of sustainable water management in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

    Challenges Faced by Small and Rural Water Systems

    Regulatory and Financial Burdens

    Representative Pfluger emphasized the critical nature of access to safe drinking water, describing it as a non-negotiable right for every community. However, he noted that many water systems in the United States are small and lack the resources to manage complex regulatory requirements. These include:

    • Monitoring requirements
    • Reporting layers
    • Labor rules
    • Procurement standards

    Such mandates disproportionately impact rural communities, increasing costs for ratepayers and complicating water delivery.

    Access to Federal Infrastructure Funds

    Ms. Murley provided insights into the challenges small and rural water systems face in accessing federal infrastructure funds, particularly those from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Key points include:

    1. Variability in state capacity to manage funds, influenced by demographics and organizational factors.
    2. Technical and human resource limitations in states such as New Mexico, South Carolina, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
    3. Recommendations made to federal agencies to improve fund distribution and support.

    Ms. Murley advised directing communities seeking assistance to relevant federal agencies and technical assistance programs.

    Water Scarcity and Long-Term Planning in Drought-Prone Areas

    Case Study: West Texas

    Representative Pfluger highlighted the water scarcity issues in West Texas, a drought-prone region heavily reliant on groundwater. Population growth exacerbates these challenges, making sustainable water management essential.

    Strategies for Water Reliability

    Mr. Hill shared a successful example from Alabama, illustrating effective long-term water reliability planning:

    • Development of a water conservation plan in coordination with the Office of Water Resources.
    • Infrastructure improvements including installation of a 10-inch HDPE pipeline and pump stations to access larger water sources.
    • Expansion of water distribution networks with six miles of 24-inch ductile iron pipe.
    • Proactive measures to mitigate drought impacts and ensure water availability for communities and industries.

    Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

    The issues and solutions discussed align closely with the following SDGs:

    • SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
    • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – Building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation in water systems.
    • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable through reliable water access.
    • SDG 13: Climate Action – Addressing the impacts of drought and climate variability on water resources.

    Recommendations

    1. Enhance support for small and rural water systems to comply with regulatory requirements without disproportionate financial burdens.
    2. Improve state and local capacity to manage and distribute federal infrastructure funds effectively.
    3. Promote long-term water conservation and infrastructure planning in drought-prone regions.
    4. Encourage collaboration between federal agencies, local governments, and communities to achieve SDG targets related to water and sustainability.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • Access to safe drinking water and water system management in rural and small communities.
      • Challenges related to water scarcity, drought, and infrastructure funding.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • Infrastructure development for water systems, including pipelines and pump stations.
      • Technical and organizational capacity to manage federal infrastructure funds.
    3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Ensuring sustainable water supply for growing populations in rural and drought-prone areas.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

    1. SDG 6 Targets
      • 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
      • 6.a: Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes.
      • 6.b: Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.
    2. SDG 9 Targets
      • 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure.
      • 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries.
    3. SDG 11 Targets
      • 11.1: Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services.
      • 11.5: Reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected by disasters, including water-related disasters.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators for SDG 6
      • Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services (implied by focus on access to safe drinking water).
      • Number of small and rural water systems receiving federal infrastructure funds (implied by discussion on funding challenges).
      • Compliance with water quality monitoring and reporting requirements (implied by references to regulatory mandates).
    2. Indicators for SDG 9
      • Length and quality of water infrastructure installed (e.g., miles of pipelines, pump stations installed).
      • Capacity of state agencies to manage infrastructure funds (implied by discussion on human, technical, and organizational capacity).
    3. Indicators for SDG 11
      • Number of communities with long-term water reliability and conservation plans (implied by water conservation planning).
      • Population served by sustainable water infrastructure in drought-prone areas.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • 6.1: Universal access to safe drinking water
    • 6.a: Capacity-building support for water management
    • 6.b: Strengthen local community participation
    • Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
    • Number of small/rural water systems receiving federal funds
    • Compliance with water quality monitoring and reporting
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • 9.1: Develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure
    • 9.c: Increase access to information and technology
    • Length and quality of water infrastructure installed (pipelines, pump stations)
    • Capacity of state agencies to manage infrastructure funds
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.1: Access to safe and affordable basic services
    • 11.5: Reduce impact of water-related disasters
    • Number of communities with water reliability and conservation plans
    • Population served by sustainable water infrastructure in drought-prone areas

    Source: pfluger.house.gov

     

    ]]>     ‘Harry Potter’ star Daniel Radcliffe used to ‘run on coffee and cigarettes,’ now he’s a ‘fitness freak’ – Fox News https://sdgtalks.ai/harry-potter-star-daniel-radcliffe-used-to-run-on-coffee-and-cigarettes-now-hes-a-fitness-freak-fox-news https://sdgtalks.ai/harry-potter-star-daniel-radcliffe-used-to-run-on-coffee-and-cigarettes-now-hes-a-fitness-freak-fox-news Sun, 08 Mar 2026 23:30:13 -0500 sdgtalks ‘Harry, Potter’, star, Daniel, Radcliffe, used, ‘run, coffee, and, cigarettes, ’, now, he’s, ‘fitness, freak’, –, Fox, News  

    Report on Daniel Radcliffe’s Journey: Addiction Recovery and Personal Growth Aligned with Sustainable Development Goals

    Introduction

    This report examines the personal journey of actor Daniel Radcliffe, focusing on his recovery from addiction and lifestyle transformation. The narrative highlights key aspects of mental health, well-being, and responsible lifestyle choices, emphasizing their alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.

    Background and Addiction Recovery

    Daniel Radcliffe, known for his role as the titular character in the “Harry Potter” film series, has publicly shared his experiences with addiction and recovery. At age 36, Radcliffe described himself as a “fitness freak,” attributing this to a shift from alcohol addiction to a commitment to physical fitness.

    1. Previous Addictions: Radcliffe revealed that he was once dependent on alcohol, coffee, and cigarettes, stating, “I used to run on coffee and cigarettes all day.”
    2. Transition to Fitness: After quitting smoking, he replaced his addictive behaviors with an intense focus on gym workouts, describing this as a common pattern among individuals with addictive personalities.
    3. Mental Health Challenges: He acknowledged the psychological challenges of addiction, including feelings of being observed and the cyclical nature of drinking to cope with social anxiety.

    Personal Growth and Well-being

    Radcliffe’s journey reflects significant progress in mental health and well-being, aligning with SDG 3 targets to promote mental health and well-being for all ages.

    • Overcoming Alcohol Dependence: He discussed his reliance on alcohol during his late teens and early adulthood, particularly during the filming of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.”
    • Positive Lifestyle Changes: His commitment to fitness and quitting smoking demonstrate proactive health behaviors that contribute to long-term well-being.
    • Support Systems: Radcliffe credits his relationship with partner Erin Darke and their family life as sources of stability and happiness.

    Family and Social Relationships

    Radcliffe’s personal life exemplifies the importance of supportive relationships in achieving sustainable health outcomes, resonating with SDG 3 and SDG 5: Gender Equality, through shared family responsibilities and partnership.

    • Partnership: Radcliffe and Erin Darke have been together since 2012, meeting during the filming of “Kill Your Darlings.”
    • Parenthood: They share a 2-year-old son, with Radcliffe emphasizing the importance of cherishing family memories through physical photographs, enhancing emotional well-being.
    • Emotional Support: The couple’s relationship provides a foundation for Radcliffe’s continued personal growth and mental health maintenance.

    Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Daniel Radcliffe’s experiences contribute to the broader agenda of sustainable development, particularly in the following areas:

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Promotion of mental health by overcoming addiction and adopting healthy lifestyle habits.
      • Raising awareness about the psychological impacts of addiction and recovery.
    2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
      • Demonstrating shared family roles and supportive partnerships.
    3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
      • Highlighting the universal challenges of addiction and mental health, encouraging inclusive support systems.

    Conclusion

    Daniel Radcliffe’s transition from addiction to a healthier lifestyle underscores the critical importance of mental health awareness, supportive relationships, and personal resilience. His story aligns with key Sustainable Development Goals, offering a public example of overcoming personal challenges to achieve well-being and contribute positively to society.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • The article discusses issues related to addiction, mental health, and recovery, which are central to SDG 3.
      • Focus on overcoming alcohol addiction and adopting healthier lifestyles aligns with promoting well-being.
    2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
      • While not explicitly discussed, the article mentions relationships and family dynamics, which can relate indirectly to gender equality in health and social support.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. Under SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
      • Target 3.4: Reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators related to Target 3.5:
      • Prevalence of alcohol use disorders among the population.
      • Access to treatment services for substance abuse.
    2. Indicators related to Target 3.4:
      • Mortality rate attributed to alcohol-related diseases.
      • Measures of mental health status or well-being improvements.
    3. Implied Indicators:
      • Reduction in addictive behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption as described by Daniel Radcliffe’s personal experience.
      • Engagement in healthier lifestyle activities (e.g., fitness routines) as a substitute for addiction.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.5: Strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse.
    • 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health.
    • Prevalence of alcohol use disorders.
    • Access to substance abuse treatment services.
    • Mortality rate from alcohol-related diseases.
    • Mental health and well-being status.
    • Reduction in addictive behaviors (smoking, alcohol).
    • Engagement in fitness and healthy lifestyle activities.

    Source: foxnews.com

     

    ]]>     Brewers Grains Market Forecast 2026-2035: Growth Fueled by Circular Economy in Brewing – News and Statistics – IndexBox https://sdgtalks.ai/brewers-grains-market-forecast-2026-2035-growth-fueled-by-circular-economy-in-brewing-news-and-statistics-indexbox https://sdgtalks.ai/brewers-grains-market-forecast-2026-2035-growth-fueled-by-circular-economy-in-brewing-news-and-statistics-indexbox Sun, 08 Mar 2026 19:00:10 -0500 sdgtalks Brewers, Grains, Market, Forecast, 2026-2035:, Growth, Fueled, Circular, Economy, Brewing, –, News, and, Statistics, –, IndexBox  

    Global Brewers Grains Market Report: Emphasizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Abstract

    The global Brewers Grains market, a vital intersection of the beverage and agricultural sectors, is projected to experience steady growth from 2026 to 2035. This market includes wet and dried spent grains, yeast, and related by-products from brewing and distilling processes. It is intrinsically linked to global beer production volumes. The valorization of brewers grains transforms a previously discarded by-product into a nutritious and cost-effective animal feed ingredient, aligning with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).

    Growth in this market is driven by the global emphasis on circular economy practices within the food and beverage industry, supporting SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Brewers grains provide sustainable protein sources for livestock and aquaculture diets, offering a lower environmental footprint compared to conventional feed commodities, thus contributing to SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

    Despite susceptibility to fluctuations in brewing industry cycles and agricultural commodity prices, the market is expected to evolve with increased regional diversification and value-added processing such as pelleting and drying, enhancing logistical efficiency and shelf stability.

    Demand Drivers and Constraints

    Primary Demand Drivers

    • Rising global beer production volume, the primary source of brewers grains (SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth).
    • Intensifying focus on circular economy and waste valorization in the food and beverage sector (SDG 12).
    • Strong demand for sustainable and cost-effective protein sources in animal feed, especially for ruminants (SDG 2, SDG 15).
    • Growth in dairy and beef production in emerging economies, increasing feed ingredient demand (SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 2).
    • Technological advancements in drying and pelleting improving product stability and market reach (SDG 9).
    • Increasing use as feedstock in biofuel and biogas production, supported by renewable energy policies (SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 13).

    Potential Growth Constraints

    • High moisture content and perishability of wet brewers grains limiting transport and logistics (SDG 12).
    • Price volatility of competing conventional feed ingredients affecting cost competitiveness (SDG 8).
    • Fluctuations in global beer production due to economic, health, or regulatory factors impacting raw material supply (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being).
    • High transportation costs for bulky, low-density products reducing margins (SDG 9).
    • Variability in nutritional composition posing challenges for consistent feed formulation (SDG 2).

    Demand Structure by End-Use Industry

    Ruminant Feed (Dairy & Beef Cattle) – Estimated 65% Share

    Ruminant feed dominates brewers grains consumption due to its high fiber digestibility and protein content, supporting SDG 2 by enhancing livestock productivity and food security. Demand is driven by the need to optimize feed efficiency and milk yield, with a shift towards formulated total mixed rations (TMRs) and dried/pelleted products for improved nutritional management.

    • Major trends include precision-formulated dairy rations, increased use of dried/pelleted forms, and strengthened partnerships between breweries and dairy cooperatives.
    • Representative companies: ForFarmers N.V, De Heus Animal Nutrition, Cargill Animal Nutrition, ADM Animal Nutrition, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

    Swine Feed – Estimated 15% Share

    Swine feed applications are limited due to high fiber content but are growing moderately with technological improvements enhancing digestibility. This supports SDG 12 by promoting sustainable feed ingredient use and SDG 2 by contributing to pork production efficiency.

    • Trends include enzyme treatment, fermented products, and integration into least-cost feed formulations.
    • Representative companies: Smithfield Foods, JBS USA, Tyson Foods, BRF S.A, Charoen Pokphand Foods.

    Biofuel & Biogas Production – Estimated 10% Share

    Brewers grains are increasingly used as feedstock for anaerobic digestion and bioethanol production, advancing SDG 7 and SDG 13 by supporting renewable energy generation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    • Growth driven by renewable energy policies and development of brewery-centric circular models.
    • Representative participants: Local biogas plant operators, Veolia, SUEZ, energy utilities, agri-energy cooperatives.

    Poultry Feed – Estimated 5% Share

    Poultry feed use is niche due to low fiber tolerance but remains stable, contributing marginally to sustainable feed diversification (SDG 2).

    • Dependence on finely processed, dried products and cost advantages.
    • Representative participants: Tyson Foods, JBS, BRF S.A, Venkys, Hubbard Feeds.

    Compost, Soil Amendment & Other Uses – Estimated 5% Share

    Brewers grains contribute to sustainable agriculture by serving as soil amendments and compost feedstock, supporting SDG 15 and SDG 12 through improved soil health and organic farming practices.

    • Applications include organic farming, commercial composting, mushroom cultivation, and specialty food ingredients.
    • Representative participants: Municipal composting facilities, specialty mushroom farms, organic fertilizer producers.

    Key Market Participants

    # Company Headquarters Focus Scale Note
    1 Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) Chicago, Illinois, USA Global agri-processing & commodity trading Global Major processor and distributor of feed ingredients.
    2 Cargill, Incorporated Wayzata, Minnesota, USA Agricultural commodity trading & processing Global Key player in feed supply chains, including brewers grains.
    5 Anheuser-Busch InBev Leuven, Belgium Global brewing Global Massive producer of brewers grains as by-product.
    6 Heineken N.V. Amsterdam, Netherlands Global brewing Global Major source of spent grains from global operations.
    20 Land O’Lakes, Inc. Arden Hills, Minnesota, USA Ag cooperative, feed (Purina) Major Major feed manufacturer sourcing ingredients.
    21 Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. Tokyo, Japan Global brewing & beverages Global Large brewer generating spent grains.

    Regional Dynamics

    Asia-Pacific – Estimated 28% Market Share

    Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing consumption region due to expanding livestock sectors, notably dairy and pork in China, India, and Southeast Asia. Sustainability initiatives promoting by-product utilization align with SDG 12 and SDG 2. Import opportunities for dried brewers grains exist due to feed deficits.

    North America – Estimated 35% Market Share

    North America remains the largest and most mature market, characterized by advanced processing technologies and circular economy models, supporting SDG 9 and SDG 12. Growth is steady and innovation-driven.

    Europe – Estimated 25% Market Share

    Europe maintains stable demand supported by stringent waste disposal regulations and circular economy policies under the EU Green Deal, advancing SDG 12 and SDG 13. Biogas use is significant in countries such as Germany.

    Latin America – Estimated 7% Market Share

    Market growth is linked to beef and dairy industry expansion in Brazil and Argentina. The region relies more on wet grains with limited drying infrastructure, presenting challenges for long-distance trade (SDG 9).

    Middle East & Africa – Estimated 5% Market Share

    This emerging market is import-dependent with growth tied to investments in dairy and aquaculture. Logistics and competition from other feedstuffs constrain expansion, highlighting opportunities for sustainable feed solutions (SDG 2, SDG 12).

    Market Outlook (2026-2035)

    The global brewers grains market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.2% from 2026 to 2035, reflecting steady expansion aligned with global beer production growth. The market’s evolution towards higher-value processed products and integration into circular bioeconomy models supports multiple SDGs, including SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 12, and SDG 13.

    For comprehensive data and methodological details, refer to the latest IndexBox Brewers Grains Market Report.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
      • Use of brewers grains as a nutritious, cost-effective animal feed ingredient supports sustainable agriculture and food security.
      • Growth in dairy, beef, pork, and poultry production linked to feed demand.
    2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • Use of brewers grains in biofuel and biogas production contributes to renewable energy generation and decarbonization policies.
    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Valorization of brewers grains as a by-product promotes circular economy practices and waste reduction in food and beverage industries.
      • Integration into circular bioeconomy models and resource efficiency.
    4. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Reduction of environmental footprint through sustainable protein sources and renewable energy use.
      • Support for decarbonization policies via biogas and biofuel applications.
    5. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Use of brewers grains as compost and soil amendment supports sustainable agriculture and soil health.
      • Promotion of organic farming and reduction of synthetic fertilizer use.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
      • Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers through sustainable food production systems.
      • Target 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices.
    2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
      • Target 7.a: Enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology.
    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
      • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
      • Target 12.8: Ensure that people have relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles.
    4. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    5. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. SDG 2 Indicators
      • Size of ruminant herds, especially dairy cattle near brewing centers (indicator of feed demand and livestock productivity).
      • Global beer production volumes as a proxy for raw material availability.
      • Livestock production volumes (dairy, beef, pork, poultry) indicating feed ingredient demand.
    2. SDG 7 Indicators
      • Tariff or incentive prices for renewable gas/electricity (indicator of economic viability of brewers grains in bioenergy).
      • Expansion of biogas infrastructure and renewable energy capacity.
    3. SDG 12 Indicators
      • Volume and share of brewers grains valorized into animal feed, biofuel, biogas, compost, and other uses.
      • Growth in processed forms (pellets, dried grains) indicating improved resource efficiency and logistics.
      • Regulatory compliance and waste reduction metrics under circular economy policies (e.g., EU Green Deal).
    4. SDG 13 Indicators
      • Reduction in environmental footprint of feed ingredients compared to virgin commodities.
      • Adoption rates of renewable energy policies and decarbonization measures in brewing and agriculture sectors.
    5. SDG 15 Indicators
      • Premiums for organic produce reflecting demand for sustainable soil amendments.
      • Use volumes of brewers grains in compost and soil amendment applications.
      • Regulatory landscape metrics on synthetic fertilizer reduction.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 2: Zero Hunger
    • 2.3: Double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers.
    • 2.4: Ensure sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices.
    • Size of ruminant herds near brewing centers.
    • Global beer production volumes.
    • Livestock production volumes (dairy, beef, pork, poultry).
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy in global energy mix.
    • 7.a: Enhance international cooperation for clean energy technology access.
    • Tariff/incentive prices for renewable gas/electricity.
    • Expansion of biogas infrastructure.
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
    • 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, recycling, reuse.
    • 12.8: Ensure awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles.
    • Volume/share of brewers grains valorized in feed, bioenergy, compost.
    • Growth in processed forms (pellets, dried grains).
    • Compliance with circular economy policies (e.g., EU Green Deal).
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning.
    • Reduction in environmental footprint of feed ingredients.
    • Adoption of renewable energy and decarbonization policies.
    SDG 15: Life on Land
    • 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil.
    • Premiums for organic produce.
    • Use volumes of brewers grains in compost and soil amendments.
    • Regulatory metrics on synthetic fertilizer reduction.

    Source: indexbox.io

     

    ]]>     rLDPE / rLLDPE (PCR) Market Forecast Points Higher Toward 2035 Amid Circular Economy Push – News and Statistics – IndexBox https://sdgtalks.ai/rldpe-rlldpe-pcr-market-forecast-points-higher-toward-2035-amid-circular-economy-push-news-and-statistics-indexbox https://sdgtalks.ai/rldpe-rlldpe-pcr-market-forecast-points-higher-toward-2035-amid-circular-economy-push-news-and-statistics-indexbox Sun, 08 Mar 2026 19:00:09 -0500 sdgtalks rLDPE, rLLDPE, PCR, Market, Forecast, Points, Higher, Toward, 2035, Amid, Circular, Economy, Push, –, News, and, Statistics, –, IndexBox  

    Global rLDPE / rLLDPE (PCR) Market Analysis and Sustainable Development Goals Integration

    Abstract

    The global market for recycled low-density polyethylene (rLDPE) and recycled linear low-density polyethylene (rLLDPE) derived from post-consumer resin (PCR) is poised for significant growth from 2026 to 2035. This growth is driven by stringent regulatory frameworks and corporate sustainability mandates that align closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

    Key regions such as the European Union, Canada, and various U.S. states have enacted binding legislation requiring mandatory recycled content in packaging, fostering a stable demand floor for PCR resins. Multinational corporations are committing to ambitious sustainability targets, further accelerating demand for recycled materials. The market faces supply-side challenges including collection inefficiencies and sorting complexities, which are being addressed through investments in advanced mechanical recycling, AI-powered sorting technologies, and chemical recycling innovations.

    This report outlines a 2026 baseline and projects market dynamics through 2035, emphasizing the interplay of policy, technology, investment, and competition within the circular economy framework, thereby supporting SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

    Demand Drivers and Constraints with SDG Focus

    Primary Demand Drivers

    • Implementation of stringent government regulations mandating recycled content in packaging (SDG 12, SDG 13)
    • Corporate sustainability commitments and procurement targets promoting circular economy principles (SDG 12, SDG 17)
    • Technological advancements in sorting and washing enhancing PCR quality and yield (SDG 9)
    • Increasing consumer awareness and preference for sustainable packaging solutions (SDG 12)
    • Economic incentives and extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes encouraging waste reduction (SDG 12)
    • Reduction of carbon footprint compared to virgin polymer production, contributing to climate mitigation (SDG 13)

    Potential Growth Constraints

    • Limited availability and inconsistent quality of post-consumer film feedstock (SDG 12)
    • High capital requirements and extended lead times for recycling facility development (SDG 9)
    • Technical and regulatory challenges in achieving food-grade certification for PCR (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being)
    • Price volatility and competition for feedstock from alternative waste management routes (SDG 12)
    • Performance limitations of PCR in certain high-specification applications (SDG 9)

    Demand Structure by End-Use Industry and SDG Alignment

    Flexible Packaging Films (38% Estimated Market Share)

    Flexible packaging films represent the largest segment for rLDPE/rLLDPE PCR, driven by brand commitments to incorporate recycled content. Regulatory revisions enabling food-grade PCR use and advancements in barrier layer technologies support SDG 12 and SDG 3 by promoting safer, sustainable packaging.

    • Focus on R&D for food-grade PCR certification
    • Growth in mono-material packaging to enhance recyclability
    • Investment in extrusion lines for higher PCR incorporation
    • Increasing demand for high-clarity PCR in transparent packaging

    Carrier Bags and Sacks (25% Estimated Market Share)

    This segment is driven by legislation imposing recycled content mandates and taxes on virgin plastic bags, supporting SDG 12 by reducing plastic waste. Growth is expected through expanded regulations and enhanced product durability.

    • Expansion of mandatory recycled content laws
    • Retailer consolidation to secure PCR supply
    • Development of durable PCR blends for reusable bags
    • Standardization to improve recyclability

    Stretch Wrap and Shrink Film (18% Estimated Market Share)

    Industrial stretch wrap and shrink films utilize rLLDPE PCR primarily in non-food applications. Corporate sustainability initiatives in logistics and manufacturing drive demand, aligning with SDG 9 and SDG 12.

    • Development of high-performance rLLDPE blends
    • Corporate targets for sustainable packaging in logistics
    • Use of colored PCR where clarity is less critical
    • Collaborations to create dedicated PCR material streams

    Agricultural Films (12% Estimated Market Share)

    Though currently minimal, PCR use in agricultural films is emerging due to sustainability pressures and regulatory focus on reducing plastic waste in agriculture, supporting SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

    • R&D for UV-stabilized PCR blends
    • Take-back schemes for end-of-life agricultural films
    • Use of PCR in multi-layer films
    • Growing interest from large-scale farming operations

    Injection Molding & Extrusion Coating (7% Estimated Market Share)

    This segment includes durable goods and extrusion coatings, with growth linked to packaging system integration of PCR, promoting SDG 12 and SDG 9 through innovation and sustainable production.

    • Development of high-melt-flow PCR grades for molding
    • Qualification of food-grade PCR for extrusion coatings
    • Designing packaging for full PCR compatibility
    • Use of PCR in non-packaging molded items

    Key Market Participants Supporting Circular Economy and SDGs


    # Company Headquarters Focus Scale SDG Contributions
    1 LyondellBasell Netherlands / USA rLDPE, rPP, rHDPE Global Advances SDG 9, SDG 12 via CirculenRecover portfolio
    2 SABIC Saudi Arabia rLDPE, rLLDPE, rPP Global Supports SDG 9, SDG 13 through chemical recycling TRUCIRCLE
    3 Dow USA rLDPE, rLLDPE, rHDPE Global Promotes SDG 12 and SDG 17 via REVOLOOP partnerships
    4 Ineos UK rLDPE, rHDPE Global Contributes to SDG 9 and SDG 12 through mechanical & chemical recycling
    5 Berry Global USA rLDPE films, PCR content Global Advances SDG 12 via integrated PCR usage

    Regional Market Dynamics and SDG Implications

    Asia-Pacific (42% Estimated Share)

    Asia-Pacific leads in market size and growth, driven by packaging consumption and evolving waste management policies aligned with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 12. National recycling targets and bans on waste imports stimulate domestic recycling investments.

    Europe (28% Estimated Share)

    Europe is the most regulated market, with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) setting global standards. The region exemplifies SDG 12 and SDG 13 leadership through advanced collection systems and innovation in food-grade PCR technologies.

    North America (22% Estimated Share)

    Growth in North America is propelled by state-level mandates and corporate sustainability leadership, supporting SDG 12 and SDG 17. Challenges remain in flexible film collection rates.

    Latin America (5% Estimated Share)

    Latin America is an emerging market with growing EPR frameworks and brand commitments, contributing to SDG 12. Investments in collection and sorting infrastructure are expected to unlock further potential.

    Middle East & Africa (3% Estimated Share)

    This region is nascent in PCR demand, with growth linked to foreign investment and circular economy initiatives, supporting SDG 9 and SDG 17 over the medium term.

    Market Outlook (2026-2035)

    The global rLDPE/rLLDPE (PCR) market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% from 2026 to 2035, reflecting robust demand driven by regulatory mandates and sustainability commitments aligned with multiple SDGs.

    This growth trajectory underscores the critical role of circular economy practices in achieving SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

    For comprehensive data and scenario analysis, refer to the full IndexBox rLDPE / rLLDPE (PCR) market report.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • The article discusses recycling of plastics, circular economy, and reducing waste through increased use of recycled content in packaging.
    2. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Focus on reducing carbon footprint by substituting virgin polymers with recycled plastics.
    3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Investment in advanced recycling technologies, AI-powered sorting, and chemical recycling innovations.
    4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Waste management improvements and extended producer responsibility schemes contribute to sustainable urban environments.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
      • Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes throughout their life cycle.
      • Target 12.6: Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and integrate sustainability information into reporting cycle.
    2. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
    3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency.
    4. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including waste management.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Recycled Content Percentage in Packaging
      • Legally mandated recycled content targets in packaging (e.g., EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation).
    2. Collection and Recycling Rates
      • Feedstock availability and quality of post-consumer film collected for recycling.
    3. Certification and Quality Indicators
      • Certification of food-grade recycled plastics and compliance with safety standards.
      • Traceability systems verifying recycled content claims.
    4. Corporate Sustainability Reporting
      • Annual sustainability reports by brand owners tracking PCR usage and procurement targets.
    5. Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
      • Enactment and enforcement of recycled content laws, taxes on virgin plastics, and extended producer responsibility schemes.
    6. Market Growth Metrics
      • Compound annual growth rate of the rLDPE/rLLDPE (PCR) market (8.7% CAGR forecasted).

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.5: Reduce waste generation through recycling and reuse
    • 12.4: Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes
    • 12.6: Encourage sustainable practices and reporting
    • Recycled content percentage in packaging (mandated by regulations)
    • Collection and recycling rates of post-consumer film
    • Certification of food-grade PCR plastics
    • Corporate sustainability reports on PCR usage
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
    • Reduction in carbon footprint by substituting virgin polymers with recycled plastics
    • Reporting of carbon footprint reductions in corporate sustainability goals
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and industries to be sustainable
    • Investment in advanced recycling technologies (mechanical and chemical)
    • Development and adoption of AI-powered sorting and purification technologies
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.6: Reduce environmental impact of cities including waste management
    • Implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes
    • Improvement in waste collection and recycling infrastructure

    Source: indexbox.io

     

    ]]>     Endangered Species Protection Sought for Vanishing Great Basin Flower – Center for Biological Diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/endangered-species-protection-sought-for-vanishing-great-basin-flower-center-for-biological-diversity https://sdgtalks.ai/endangered-species-protection-sought-for-vanishing-great-basin-flower-center-for-biological-diversity Sun, 08 Mar 2026 07:30:14 -0500 sdgtalks Endangered, Species, Protection, Sought, for, Vanishing, Great, Basin, Flower, –, Center, for, Biological, Diversity  

    Petition to Protect Barren Valley Collomia under the Endangered Species Act

    Introduction

    The Center for Biological Diversity has officially petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Barren Valley collomia, a rare plant species, under the Endangered Species Act. This action aligns with the global commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15: Life on Land, which emphasizes the conservation of terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.

    Species Overview

    • Scientific and Physical Characteristics: The Barren Valley collomia is a small annual plant producing tiny blue-white flowers in late spring.
    • Geographical Distribution: Historically found in limited sites across southeastern Oregon and northeastern Nevada.
    • Current Status: Not observed in over a decade, with the last photographs dating back to 1983; however, experts believe the species persists.

    Threats to Survival

    The survival of the Barren Valley collomia is jeopardized by multiple environmental pressures, which directly relate to SDG 13: Climate Action, and SDG 15: Life on Land:

    1. Climate Change: Altered weather patterns and temperature shifts threaten its arid steppe habitat.
    2. Livestock Grazing: Grazing disrupts native vegetation and soil integrity.
    3. Invasive Grasses and Wildfire: These factors degrade the ecosystem balance.
    4. Pollution: Proximity to highways in Nevada exposes populations to pollution stress.

    Habitat Description

    The Barren Valley collomia inhabits rocky soil outcrops within the northeastern Great Basin, commonly found among sagebrush and juniper. These arid steppe ecosystems are fragile and vital for biodiversity conservation, reflecting the goals of SDG 15.

    Conservation Importance and Legal Framework

    • The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a critical legal instrument designed to protect both well-known and lesser-known species, such as the Barren Valley collomia.
    • Under the ESA, 99% of protected species have survived, with many on the path to recovery, demonstrating the effectiveness of conservation policies aligned with SDG 15.
    • The petition emphasizes the necessity of extending ESA protections to this species to prevent extinction and promote ecosystem resilience.

    Call to Action

    Gwendolyn McManus, associate scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, highlights the urgency of protecting the Barren Valley collomia, stating that the Endangered Species Act is the “single best tool to save life on Earth.” This call supports the broader international agenda to halt biodiversity loss and combat the extinction crisis, in line with SDG 15 and SDG 13.

    Conclusion

    The petition to safeguard the Barren Valley collomia under the Endangered Species Act represents a significant step toward fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals related to biodiversity conservation and climate action. Protecting this species will contribute to preserving fragile ecosystems and promoting sustainable land management practices.

    Barren Valley Collomia

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 15: Life on Land
      • The article focuses on protecting the Barren Valley collomia, a plant species at risk of extinction, which directly relates to conserving terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.
    2. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • The article mentions climate change as one of the threats pushing the species to the brink of extinction, linking the issue to climate action efforts.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. Under SDG 15: Life on Land
      • Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
      • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and protect threatened species.
    2. Under SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators related to SDG 15 Targets:
      • Number of threatened species protected under national legislation such as the Endangered Species Act.
      • Population trends of the Barren Valley collomia, including sightings and surveys (e.g., last sightings in 2008 in Nevada and 2014 in Oregon).
      • Extent of habitat degradation due to factors like livestock grazing, invasive species, wildfire, and pollution.
    2. Indicators related to SDG 13 Target:
      • Assessment of climate change impacts on species survival and habitat conditions.
      • Implementation of adaptive measures to mitigate climate change effects on vulnerable species.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 15: Life on Land
    • 15.1: Conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems
    • 15.5: Reduce degradation, halt biodiversity loss, protect threatened species
    • Number of threatened species protected under Endangered Species Act
    • Population trends and sightings of Barren Valley collomia
    • Extent of habitat degradation from grazing, invasive species, wildfire, pollution
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
    • Assessment of climate change impacts on species and habitats
    • Implementation of adaptive measures to mitigate climate effects

    Source: biologicaldiversity.org

     

    ]]>     Iowa lawmaker walks off Senate floor after being questioned about Iowa’s child welfare system – KCCI https://sdgtalks.ai/iowa-lawmaker-walks-off-senate-floor-after-being-questioned-about-iowas-child-welfare-system-kcci https://sdgtalks.ai/iowa-lawmaker-walks-off-senate-floor-after-being-questioned-about-iowas-child-welfare-system-kcci Sun, 08 Mar 2026 05:30:05 -0500 sdgtalks Iowa, lawmaker, walks, off, Senate, floor, after, being, questioned, about, Iowa’s, child, welfare, system, –, KCCI  

    Report on Iowa Senate Proceedings Regarding Child Welfare System Oversight

    Background and Context

    On Wednesday, a significant incident occurred on the Iowa Senate floor involving two state senators concerning the oversight of Iowa’s child welfare system. Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines and ranking member of the Senate Oversight Committee, questioned Senator Kerry Gruenhagen, a Republican from Scott County and chair of the Senate Oversight Committee, about the lack of response to his formal request for an oversight hearing. This hearing was intended to investigate why the child welfare task force has not convened in two years.

    Child Welfare Task Force and Court-Ordered Settlement

    The child welfare task force was established as part of a court-ordered $10 million settlement in 2023 between the State of Iowa and the siblings of Sabrina Ray, a 16-year-old girl from Perry who tragically died from starvation at the hands of her adoptive parents. Her younger sisters also suffered severe abuse and have sued the state for failing to protect them.

    • The task force has not met for nearly two years, raising concerns about the effectiveness and commitment to child welfare reforms.
    • The oversight hearing was requested on December 4, 2025, by Senator Bisignano to address these concerns.

    Reports Highlighting Systemic Failures

    Two critical reports have revealed significant failures within the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (DHS):

    1. A report from the Iowa Office of Ombudsman following Sabrina Ray’s death detailed systemic failures in child protection services.
    2. A separate report on Natalie Finn, another 16-year-old who died from starvation in West Des Moines, exposed issues with record retention and the identification of abuse patterns.

    Senate Floor Incident

    During the Senate session, Senator Bisignano attempted to ask Senator Gruenhagen to yield to a question regarding the oversight hearing request. Senator Gruenhagen responded by abruptly leaving the Senate floor, stating, “I’m out.”

    Senator Bisignano expressed frustration over the lack of communication and respect, emphasizing that the issue transcends political disputes and concerns the lives of children who died due to neglect by the Department of Human Services.

    Implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    This situation directly relates to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

    • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensuring the protection and well-being of children in foster care is essential to promoting healthy lives and well-being for all ages.
    • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – The failure to hold the task force accountable and the lack of oversight hinder the development of effective, transparent, and accountable institutions.
    • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Protecting vulnerable children from abuse and neglect addresses social inequalities and promotes inclusive societies.

    Calls to Action

    Senator Bisignano urges lawmakers to prioritize the safety and protection of children in Iowa’s foster care system by:

    • Responding promptly to oversight requests and holding hearings to evaluate child welfare policies.
    • Ensuring the child welfare task force meets regularly to implement reforms and monitor progress.
    • Addressing systemic failures within the Department of Human Services to prevent further tragedies.

    Current Status and Next Steps

    • Multiple requests for comments from Senate Republicans have not yet been answered.
    • Public awareness and media investigations continue to highlight the urgency of reforming Iowa’s child welfare system.
    • Further legislative action and community engagement are necessary to align Iowa’s child welfare practices with the SDGs and protect vulnerable children.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Focus on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, including child health and protection.
    2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Emphasizes access to justice for all and building effective, accountable institutions, including child protection systems.
    3. SDG 1: No Poverty
      • Addresses the protection of vulnerable populations, including children in foster care who may be at risk due to poverty-related neglect.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.
      • Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being, including protection from abuse and neglect.
    2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
      • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making.
      • Target 16.9: Provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.
      • Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.
    3. SDG 1: No Poverty
      • Target 1.3: Implement social protection systems and measures for all, including vulnerable children.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators Related to Child Welfare and Protection
      • Number of child deaths due to neglect or abuse (implied by the deaths of Sabrina Ray and Natalie Finn).
      • Frequency and effectiveness of child welfare task force meetings (implied by the task force not meeting for two years).
      • Response time and accountability of government institutions in child protection cases (implied by the lack of response from Senate Oversight Committee).
      • Reports and investigations into child welfare system failures (as referenced by Iowa Office of Ombudsman reports).
    2. Indicators Related to Institutional Accountability
      • Number of oversight hearings held on child welfare issues.
      • Level of engagement and responsiveness of government officials to child welfare concerns.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
    • 3.2: End preventable deaths of children under 5
    • 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being, protect from abuse
    • Number of child deaths due to neglect or abuse (Sabrina Ray and Natalie Finn cases)
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.6: Develop accountable institutions
    • 16.7: Inclusive decision-making
    • 16.9: Legal identity for all
    • 16.10: Public access to information and protection of freedoms
    • Frequency and effectiveness of child welfare task force meetings
    • Number of oversight hearings held
    • Responsiveness of government officials to child welfare issues
    • Reports on child welfare system failures (Ombudsman reports)
    SDG 1: No Poverty
    • 1.3: Implement social protection systems for vulnerable groups
    • Effectiveness of social protection measures for children in foster care (implied)

    Source: kcci.com

     

    ]]>     IEA: Carbon Management Technologies Gain Funding And Policy Support – Carbon Herald https://sdgtalks.ai/iea-carbon-management-technologies-gain-funding-and-policy-support-carbon-herald https://sdgtalks.ai/iea-carbon-management-technologies-gain-funding-and-policy-support-carbon-herald Sun, 08 Mar 2026 01:30:05 -0500 sdgtalks IEA:, Carbon, Management, Technologies, Gain, Funding, And, Policy, Support, –, Carbon, Herald  

    Report on Carbon Capture and Carbon Removal Technologies in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Introduction

    Carbon capture and carbon removal technologies are increasingly recognized as critical components in global energy innovation. Governments and investors are prioritizing these technologies to reduce emissions from industrial processes and the atmosphere, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). This report summarizes key findings from the International Energy Agency’s State of Energy Innovation 2026 report.

    Carbon Capture Gains Policy Momentum

    Government Strategies and Policy Support

    Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies are increasingly integrated into government strategies aimed at decarbonizing heavy industry and existing energy infrastructure. This development supports SDG 9 by fostering innovation and infrastructure modernization, and SDG 13 by mitigating climate change impacts.

    Policy frameworks are expanding globally to address sectors where electrification or fuel switching is challenging. For example, Denmark launched a carbon capture and storage fund in 2025 with a budget of approximately $4.2 billion. This fund provides 15-year contracts covering CO2 capture, transport, and permanent storage, applicable to emissions from fossil fuels, biomass, or atmospheric sources.

    Challenges and Progress

    • A recent government tender in Denmark attracted only two bids from an initial pool of ten, highlighting policy design challenges in complex environments.
    • Despite this, the initiative is considered partial progress toward achieving SDG 13 targets.

    Carbon capture technologies are advancing through the innovation pipeline, moving from early research stages to large-scale demonstration projects. Several “first-of-a-kind” commercial initiatives are underway to validate the technical and commercial viability of large carbon management projects.

    However, the report notes a 20% decline in reliance on certain large-scale CCUS applications currently under construction, indicating ongoing challenges.

    Financing and Deployment

    The primary obstacle for developers is securing financing to transition from pilot projects to full commercial deployment, a challenge common to many large energy technologies. This “missing middle” financing gap exists because projects are:

    1. Too costly for venture capital alone
    2. Considered too risky for traditional lenders

    To address this, governments are increasingly providing support through:

    • Joint ventures with industrial partners
    • Long-term offtake agreements
    • Direct funding mechanisms

    These measures help bridge the financing gap and accelerate project construction, contributing to SDG 9 and SDG 13.

    Carbon Removal Emerges as a Fast-Growing Sector

    Rising Interest and Investment

    Alongside industrial carbon capture, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies are gaining rapid interest. These technologies focus on removing CO2 directly from the atmosphere through methods such as direct air capture and engineered storage, supporting SDG 13 by enhancing climate mitigation efforts.

    The IEA report identifies carbon removal as part of a new wave of emerging energy technologies attracting significant venture capital investment. Since 2021, seven sectors—including carbon dioxide removal, nuclear technologies, and next-generation geothermal—have compensated for previous declines in funding for electric vehicles.

    Investment Trends and Startup Activity

    • In the late 2010s, emerging sectors accounted for less than 5% of energy venture capital investment.
    • By 2025, these sectors represented approximately one-third of total energy venture capital, reflecting investor confidence in technologies essential for deep decarbonization.
    • Nearly 400 companies have been founded in these emerging technology areas over the past decade, with over 60% established after 2020.
    • Despite rapid growth, 2025 saw a decline in startups receiving initial funding, indicating potential market adjustments.

    Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

    The expansion of carbon removal technologies directly supports:

    • SDG 7: By promoting clean energy innovations.
    • SDG 9: Through fostering industrial innovation and infrastructure development.
    • SDG 13: By enabling significant reductions in atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

    Conclusion

    Carbon capture and carbon removal technologies are gaining critical momentum supported by government policies and increasing venture capital investment. These technologies are vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to clean energy, innovation, and climate action. Continued focus on overcoming financing challenges and scaling commercial deployment will be essential to maximize their impact on global decarbonization efforts.

    For further information, see the related article: SMI Urges Dedicated Fund To Close CCS Financing Gap.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • The article discusses innovations in carbon capture and carbon removal technologies, which are part of clean energy solutions.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • Focus on energy innovation, development of new technologies, and infrastructure for carbon capture and storage.
    3. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Directly related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change through carbon capture and removal.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 7
      • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
      • Target 7.a: Enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology.
    2. SDG 9
      • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
      • Target 9.b: Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in clean energy technologies.
    3. SDG 13
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
      • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicators related to carbon capture and storage (CCUS) deployment:
      • Number and scale of carbon capture projects implemented (e.g., Denmark’s CCS fund and contracts).
      • Amount of CO2 captured, transported, and permanently stored (from fossil fuels, biomass, or atmospheric sources).
    2. Indicators related to innovation and financing:
      • Venture capital investment amounts in emerging clean energy technologies including carbon removal.
      • Number of startups founded and receiving funding in carbon capture and removal sectors.
      • Progression of technologies from pilot to commercial scale (e.g., “first-of-a-kind” projects).
    3. Policy support indicators:
      • Government budgets and contracts supporting carbon capture and removal projects.
      • Policy design effectiveness measured by tender participation and project initiation.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy
    • 7.a: Enhance international cooperation for clean energy technology
    • Investment in clean energy technologies
    • Number of clean energy projects (carbon capture, removal)
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries sustainably
    • 9.b: Support domestic technology development and innovation
    • Number of CCUS demonstration and commercial projects
    • Venture capital funding in emerging energy technologies
    • Startups founded and funded in carbon capture/removal sectors
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies
    • 13.3: Improve education and capacity on climate mitigation
    • Government policy support and funding for carbon capture/removal
    • CO2 emissions reduced or captured
    • Participation in tenders and project initiation rates

    Source: carbonherald.com

     

    ]]>     General Mills inks 25-year on-site heat and power agreement expected to save $30M – Facilities Dive https://sdgtalks.ai/general-mills-inks-25-year-on-site-heat-and-power-agreement-expected-to-save-30m-facilities-dive https://sdgtalks.ai/general-mills-inks-25-year-on-site-heat-and-power-agreement-expected-to-save-30m-facilities-dive Sun, 08 Mar 2026 01:00:12 -0500 sdgtalks General, Mills, inks, 25-year, on-site, heat, and, power, agreement, expected, save, 30M, –, Facilities, Dive  

    General Mills Implements On-Site Combined Heat and Power System to Advance Sustainable Development Goals

    Overview of the Energy Services Agreement

    1. General Mills has entered into a 25-year energy services agreement with Unison Energy to deploy an on-site combined heat and power (CHP) system at its manufacturing facility in Hannibal, Missouri.
    2. The CHP system is designed to supply approximately 90% of the plant’s annual electricity demand and around 70% of its steam requirements.
    3. Unison Energy is responsible for financing, designing, constructing, owning, operating, and maintaining the system.
    4. The project is expected to generate over $30 million in savings throughout the agreement’s lifecycle.

    Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    • SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy: The CHP system provides a reliable, low-carbon energy source that significantly reduces dependence on traditional utilities, promoting access to sustainable energy.
    • SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The initiative exemplifies innovative infrastructure development through the integration of advanced energy technologies within industrial operations.
    • SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: By optimizing energy efficiency and reducing emissions, the project supports sustainable industrial consumption patterns.
    • SDG 13 – Climate Action: The CHP system is projected to reduce the facility’s Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 57% and total site emissions by 28% annually, contributing to climate change mitigation efforts.
    • SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: The collaboration between General Mills, Unison Energy, and the Hannibal Board of Public Works demonstrates a strong public-private partnership fostering sustainable development.

    Project Impact and Benefits

    Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings

    • The CHP system will deliver low-emission power and greenhouse gas-free steam, enhancing the plant’s energy efficiency.
    • General Mills benefits from a predictable long-term energy supply with a fixed annual rate escalation of 2.5%, which is substantially lower than anticipated utility cost increases.
    • Estimated energy savings exceed $300,000 in the first year of operation.

    Environmental and Emission Reductions

    • The facility’s Scope 1 emissions are expected to decrease by about 57%, while total site emissions will reduce by approximately 28% annually.
    • This reduction represents an estimated 5% of General Mills’ global Scope 1 emissions footprint across its supply chain.

    Collaborative Framework and Public-Private Partnership

    • The agreement includes a dedicated standby framework for on-site generation developed jointly by General Mills, Unison Energy, and the Hannibal Board of Public Works.
    • The deal compensates the local utility for maintaining capacity and incorporates performance and outage provisions to ensure reliability and financial sustainability.
    • This partnership serves as a model for securing long-term economic and environmental benefits while supporting local government and utility financial health.

    Statements from Key Stakeholders

    Unison Energy

    Mariko Meier, CEO of Unison Energy, stated: “By aligning our long-term Energy Services Agreement with General Mills’ utility needs and sustainability goals, and by partnering with Hannibal Board of Public Works to develop a mutually beneficial business solution, we have created a blueprint for reliable, cost-effective, and low-carbon energy solutions.”

    General Mills

    Daren Kaiser, Global Energy Strategy Leader at General Mills, commented: “This project exemplifies the strength of like-minded, public-private collaboration, to create a sustainable solution that will deliver reliable, efficient energy. These forward-thinking organizations developed a plan that will allow us to balance the challenge of reducing emissions and adding needed power to the grid.”

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
      • The article discusses the implementation of an on-site combined heat and power (CHP) system designed to provide a significant portion of the facility’s electric and steam load with low-emissions power.
      • This aligns with SDG 7’s aim to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • The collaboration between General Mills, Unison Energy, and the Hannibal Board of Public Works to develop a dedicated standby framework and implement innovative energy solutions reflects SDG 9’s focus on building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation.
    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • The project’s goal to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency supports sustainable consumption and production patterns.
    4. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • The reduction of Scope 1 emissions by about 57% and total site emissions by approximately 28% per year directly contributes to combating climate change and its impacts.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 7 Targets
      • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
      • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
    2. SDG 9 Targets
      • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
    3. SDG 12 Targets
      • Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
    4. SDG 13 Targets
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies, strategies, and planning.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Energy Supply and Efficiency Indicators
      • Percentage of the facility’s annual electric load supplied by the CHP system (~90%).
      • Percentage of the facility’s steam load supplied by the CHP system (~70%).
      • Annual energy savings in monetary terms (e.g., $300,000 in the first year).
    2. Emission Reduction Indicators
      • Reduction in Scope 1 emissions by about 57% at the facility level.
      • Reduction in total site emissions by approximately 28% per year.
      • Contribution to General Mills’ global Scope 1 footprint reduction (~5%).
    3. Financial and Operational Indicators
      • Fixed annual rate escalation of 2.5%, compared to projected utility increases.
      • Long-term cost savings over the 25-year agreement (over $30 million).
      • Performance and outage provisions ensuring reliability.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
    • 7.2: Increase share of renewable energy
    • 7.3: Double rate of energy efficiency improvement
    • ~90% of facility’s electric load supplied by CHP
    • ~70% of facility’s steam load supplied by CHP
    • Annual energy savings ($300,000 in first year)
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure for sustainability and clean technologies
    • Implementation of on-site CHP system
    • Development of dedicated standby framework for on-site generation
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.2: Sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
    • Reduction in energy consumption through efficient CHP system
    • Long-term cost savings and resource efficiency
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning
    • 57% reduction in Scope 1 emissions at facility
    • 28% reduction in total site emissions annually
    • 5% contribution to global Scope 1 footprint reduction

    Source: facilitiesdive.com

     

    ]]>     Advocates Gather at UW, Pushing for Safer, More Accessible Streets – The Urbanist https://sdgtalks.ai/advocates-gather-at-uw-pushing-for-safer-more-accessible-streets-the-urbanist https://sdgtalks.ai/advocates-gather-at-uw-pushing-for-safer-more-accessible-streets-the-urbanist Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:30:14 -0500 sdgtalks Advocates, Gather, UW, Pushing, for, Safer, More, Accessible, Streets, –, The, Urbanist  

    Report on OpenThePaths2026 Conference: Advancing Sustainable and Accessible Transportation

    Introduction

    On February 27, 2026, the University of Washington’s Taskar Center for Accessible Technology hosted the OpenThePaths2026 conference, focusing on transportation policy and accessibility. Key figures including King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, Seattle Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, and State Representative Greg Nance participated in discussions emphasizing the advancement of sustainable transportation aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being.

    The OS-CONNECT Pedestrian Infrastructure Map

    The conference highlighted the unveiling of OS-CONNECT, Washington State’s first nearly complete map of pedestrian infrastructure covering areas where 90% of the population resides. This initiative supports SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, by leveraging artificial intelligence combined with human verification to maintain accurate, up-to-date data on pedestrian pathways.

    Key Features of OS-CONNECT

    • AI-generated mapping with continuous human vetting to ensure data accuracy.
    • Platform designed to encourage public engagement and prioritize active transportation modes such as walking, rolling, and biking.
    • Data sharing with multiple agencies to improve infrastructure planning and management.

    The Taskar Center emphasized the challenge of limited data resources for non-car travel modes, underscoring the need for comprehensive data collection to support equitable and sustainable transportation systems, directly contributing to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

    Legislative Advocacy for Accessible Transit

    Panelists Balducci, Rinck, and Nance discussed legislative strategies to promote accessible and sustainable public transit, aligning with SDG 11 and SDG 13: Climate Action. The Mosquito Fleet Act, sponsored by Rep. Greg Nance, aims to empower local jurisdictions to expand foot ferry services, enhancing multimodal transit options.

    Challenges and Strategies

    1. Driving Policy Change: Balducci highlighted the importance of “forcing functions” such as accessibility regulations (e.g., ADA) to ensure transit equity.
    2. Political Realities: Rinck noted that policymakers often respond to factors beyond data, including public perception and political incentives.
    3. Storytelling: Nance emphasized the power of personal stories to humanize data and build bipartisan support for pro-transit legislation.

    Community Action and Roadway Safety Initiatives

    Transportation advocates Paulo Nunes-Ueno and Kirk Hovenkotter presented the Megaproject For Safety, a coalition-led initiative to secure dedicated state funding for improving safety on Washington’s most dangerous roads. This effort supports SDG 3 by aiming to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries, and SDG 11 by creating safer urban environments.

    Key Points of the Megaproject For Safety

    • Focus on state highways that serve as main streets in communities.
    • Advocacy for new funding sources, such as road usage charges, to finance safety improvements.
    • Recognition of the impact of zoning changes increasing housing density along these roadways, necessitating safer infrastructure.
    • Successful advocacy resulted in a $100 million commitment for safer roadways in the 2027–2029 biennium, though calls remain for additional new funding.

    Interagency Collaboration and Policy Integration

    WSDOT’s Director of Active Transportation, Barb Chamberlain, and King County Metro’s Equity and Social Justice Capital Implementation Manager, Jen Mayer, stressed the importance of:

    • Securing new, additive funding for transformative projects rather than reallocating existing budgets.
    • Coordinating land use and transportation policies at city and county levels to ensure road design complements community needs.
    • Enhancing interagency partnerships to maximize efficiency and cost-effectiveness in infrastructure projects.

    Public Engagement and Advocacy Opportunities

    The conference underscored that sustainable transportation progress requires active public involvement. Citizens are encouraged to engage with local and state organizations advocating for safer, more accessible streets, thereby supporting SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

    Recommended Organizations for Engagement

    Conclusion

    The OpenThePaths2026 conference demonstrated a comprehensive approach to advancing sustainable, accessible, and safe transportation infrastructure in Washington State. By integrating innovative data tools, legislative advocacy, community action, and public engagement, the initiatives discussed align closely with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, fostering healthier, more equitable, and resilient communities.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Addressed through promotion of bicycling and active transportation for health and well-being.
      • Focus on reducing traffic fatalities and pedestrian deaths.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • Development and use of AI-generated pedestrian infrastructure maps (OS-CONNECT).
      • Focus on improving transportation infrastructure, including safer roads and pedestrian facilities.
    3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Emphasis on accessible, safe, and inclusive public transit and pedestrian infrastructure.
      • Advocacy for better bus lanes, safer main streets, and integration of land use and transportation planning.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Legislative advocacy and policy-making to enforce accessibility and safety regulations.
      • Community engagement and public pressure to influence policy decisions.

    2. Specific Targets Under Identified SDGs

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • Target 3.6: By 2030, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being.
      • Target 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet.
    3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Target 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport.
      • Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management.
      • Target 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
      • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Traffic Fatalities and Injuries
      • Number of traffic deaths and pedestrian fatalities (e.g., 2023 and 2024 Washington State traffic death statistics).
      • Reduction in pedestrian injuries and fatalities on dangerous roads.
    2. Infrastructure Coverage and Quality
      • Extent and quality of pedestrian infrastructure mapped by OS-CONNECT.
      • Number and quality of sidewalks, ramps, crosswalks, and bus lanes implemented.
    3. Public Transit Usage and Accessibility
      • Percentage of population using public transit (e.g., 20% of Seattleites without cars using transit).
      • Accessibility compliance rates (e.g., ADA compliance in transit systems).
    4. Funding and Legislative Actions
      • Amount of dedicated funding allocated to pedestrian safety and infrastructure improvements (e.g., $100 million committed in 2027-2029 biennium).
      • Number of laws, ordinances, and policies passed to improve transportation safety and accessibility.
    5. Community Engagement and Advocacy
      • Level of public participation in advocacy groups and campaigns.
      • Number of interagency partnerships and collaborative projects.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being 3.6: Halve global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.
    • Number of traffic deaths and pedestrian fatalities (e.g., 800+ deaths in 2023, 160 pedestrians).
    • Reduction in traffic-related injuries and fatalities.
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable infrastructure.
    • 9.c: Increase access to ICT and affordable internet.
    • Coverage and quality of pedestrian infrastructure mapped (OS-CONNECT).
    • Use of AI and human vetting for infrastructure data.
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.2: Provide safe, affordable, accessible transport systems.
    • 11.3: Enhance inclusive urbanization and planning.
    • 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive public spaces.
    • Percentage of population using public transit (e.g., 20% Seattleites without cars).
    • Number of bus lanes and pedestrian safety projects implemented.
    • Accessibility compliance (e.g., ADA regulations enforcement).
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.6: Develop effective, accountable institutions.
    • 16.7: Ensure inclusive, participatory decision-making.
    • Number of laws and ordinances passed for transportation safety and accessibility.
    • Level of public and community advocacy engagement.
    • Interagency partnerships formed for transportation projects.

    Source: theurbanist.org

     

    ]]>     Lawmakers sideline clean drinking water funding as they advance income tax cuts – Mountain State Spotlight https://sdgtalks.ai/lawmakers-sideline-clean-drinking-water-funding-as-they-advance-income-tax-cuts-mountain-state-spotlight https://sdgtalks.ai/lawmakers-sideline-clean-drinking-water-funding-as-they-advance-income-tax-cuts-mountain-state-spotlight Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:13 -0500 sdgtalks Lawmakers, sideline, clean, drinking, water, funding, they, advance, income, tax, cuts, –, Mountain, State, Spotlight  

    Legislative Session Update on Water Infrastructure in Southern West Virginia

    Overview of Legislative Actions

    On March 4, 2026, during the 50th day of the West Virginia Legislative session, Delegate Adam Vance (R-Wyoming) successfully moved his water bill out of committee to the House floor. This day, known as “crossover day,” is the deadline for bills to pass from their chamber of origin.

    Delegates voted 52-41 to advance the bill; however, an attempt to suspend the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read three times before passage failed by a narrow margin (46-47). Consequently, the bill did not pass and is officially dead for this session.

    Context and Funding Proposals

    1. Initial proposals requested $250 million for clean drinking water improvements in the southern coalfields.
    2. This was later reduced to $20 million.
    3. Currently, lawmakers have decided further study is necessary before proceeding with funding.

    Residents of southern West Virginia, who have endured decades of contaminated and undrinkable water, face continued delays in receiving relief. Meanwhile, legislative focus has shifted toward cutting personal income tax, potentially reducing state revenue by up to $250 million.

    Stakeholder Perspectives and Concerns

    • Caitlin Ware, United Methodist pastor and member of From Below (a coalition addressing coalfield water issues), criticized the prioritization of tax cuts over water infrastructure investment, emphasizing the urgent need for clean water.
    • Two bills requesting $10 million each for water funding, introduced by Delegate David Green (R-McDowell) and Delegate Adam Vance (R-Wyoming), were both rejected by the House Energy Committee.
    • Activists from the region demonstrated at the Capitol, highlighting the severity of water contamination.

    Legislative Committee Feedback and Future Actions

    The House Energy Committee expressed concerns that the proposed $10 million funding was insufficient to address the water crisis. They indicated intentions to revise the bill to enhance its effectiveness. Delegate Vance reported assurances that the issue will be studied during interim sessions between legislative periods.

    Vance stated, “If the state can afford a tax cut, it can afford to fix the water,” underscoring the need to align fiscal priorities with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

    Additional Legislative Developments

    • Portions of Delegate Green’s bill, which proposed a task force to manage struggling public service districts, were incorporated into a governor-backed bill aimed at restructuring water funding. However, this bill does not include new funding allocations.
    • The House budget proposal includes $30 million in surplus funds for statewide water and sewer improvements, though this amount is considered insufficient and remains under negotiation.

    Governor’s Proposal and Concerns About Privatization

    The governor’s bill encourages small public water and sewer utilities to pool resources and implement intervention programs for struggling systems. Some lawmakers and community advocates, including Caitlin Ware, have expressed concerns that this approach could lead to privatization of utilities, potentially conflicting with SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

    Governor Patrick Morrisey’s spokesperson, Lars Dalseide, clarified that the goal is to maintain viable, locally managed systems and not to facilitate forced takeovers.

    Call for Action and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

    • SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): The ongoing water crisis in southern West Virginia highlights the urgent need for investment in clean and safe drinking water infrastructure.
    • SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): Access to clean water is critical for reducing health risks and improving quality of life in economically disadvantaged coalfield communities.
    • SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Addressing water inequities in marginalized regions aligns with efforts to reduce disparities.

    Caitlin Ware condemned the legislative inaction, citing reports from residents in Lincoln, Wyoming, McDowell, and Mingo counties who experience skin irritation from contaminated water. She described the situation as “shameful” and emphasized the human cost of delayed solutions.

    Conclusion

    Despite setbacks in the 2026 legislative session, advocates and lawmakers committed to continuing the fight for clean water in southern West Virginia. The issue remains a critical challenge that intersects with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, necessitating coordinated policy action and adequate funding to ensure safe, equitable access to water for all residents.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • The article focuses on the issue of clean drinking water in southern West Virginia coalfields, highlighting the lack of access to safe and clean water.
    2. SDG 1: No Poverty
      • The water crisis affects impoverished communities in coalfield regions, implying a connection to poverty alleviation efforts.
    3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
      • The article discusses disparities in water quality and access in specific counties, pointing to inequality issues.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • The legislative process and challenges in passing water funding bills relate to governance and institutional effectiveness.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Identified

    1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
      • Target 6.a: Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water and sanitation-related activities.
    2. SDG 1: No Poverty
      • Target 1.4: Ensure that all men and women have equal rights to economic resources, including access to basic services like clean water.
    3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
      • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, or economic status.
    4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services (Indicator 6.1.1)
      • The article highlights the presence of dirty and undrinkable water, implying the need to measure access to safe drinking water.
    2. Government budget allocation to water and sanitation services
      • The discussion about funding bills, budget allocations, and tax cuts implies monitoring government expenditure on water infrastructure.
    3. Number of public water utilities receiving federal or state funding
      • Concerns about struggling public service districts and intervention programs suggest tracking the support and management of water utilities.
    4. Incidence of water-related health issues
      • Residents reporting skin irritation from water implies the need for health-related indicators linked to water quality.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • 6.1: Universal access to safe drinking water
    • 6.a: Support for water and sanitation activities
    • 6.1.1: Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
    • Government budget allocation to water infrastructure
    • Number of public water utilities receiving funding
    SDG 1: No Poverty
    • 1.4: Equal access to economic resources and basic services
    • Access to clean water as a basic service for impoverished communities
    SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • 10.2: Promote social, economic, and political inclusion
    • Disparities in water access and quality among regions
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    • 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions
    • Effectiveness of legislative processes and institutional responses to water crises

    Source: mountainstatespotlight.org

     

    ]]>     Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge Systems Market To 2035: Urbanization and Industrial Expansion Fuel Demand for Compact Wastewater Upgrades – News and Statistics – IndexBox https://sdgtalks.ai/integrated-fixed-film-activated-sludge-systems-market-to-2035-urbanization-and-industrial-expansion-fuel-demand-for-compact-wastewater-upgrades-news-and-statistics-indexbox https://sdgtalks.ai/integrated-fixed-film-activated-sludge-systems-market-to-2035-urbanization-and-industrial-expansion-fuel-demand-for-compact-wastewater-upgrades-news-and-statistics-indexbox Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:12 -0500 sdgtalks Integrated, Fixed, Film, Activated, Sludge, Systems, Market, 2035:, Urbanization, and, Industrial, Expansion, Fuel, Demand, for, Compact, Wastewater, Upgrades, –, News, and, Statistics, –, IndexBox  

    Global Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) Systems Market Report (2026-2035)

    Abstract

    The global market for Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) systems is poised for significant growth through 2035, driven by the increasing need for sustainable wastewater treatment solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). The market expansion is influenced by stringent environmental regulations, urban infrastructure demands, and industrial sustainability mandates. IFAS technology, which combines suspended and attached growth processes, offers an efficient and compact solution for upgrading existing wastewater treatment plants and constructing new facilities, addressing critical challenges of nutrient removal and resource recovery.

    Demand Drivers and Constraints

    Primary Demand Drivers

    • Implementation of stringent global and regional wastewater discharge regulations focusing on nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) removal, supporting SDG 6.3.
    • Rapid urbanization increasing demand for compact, high-capacity municipal wastewater treatment plant upgrades, contributing to SDG 11.
    • Industrial growth in food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical sectors requiring robust wastewater solutions, aligning with SDG 9.
    • Retrofitting existing activated sludge plants to enhance capacity without expanding physical footprint, promoting sustainable infrastructure (SDG 9).
    • Growing emphasis on water reuse and resource recovery, where IFAS serves as a key biological treatment step, advancing SDG 6.4 and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
    • Technological advancements in biofilm carrier media design, improving biomass retention and treatment efficiency.

    Potential Growth Constraints

    • High initial capital investment compared to conventional activated sludge systems, impacting affordability and access (SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities).
    • Technical complexity requiring specialized design and operational expertise, limiting adoption in regions with skill gaps.
    • Competition from alternative advanced biological treatment technologies, such as Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs).
    • Sensitivity of biofilm carriers to certain industrial wastewater characteristics, necessitating careful pretreatment.
    • Lengthy sales and project approval cycles, particularly for large municipal contracts dependent on public funding.

    Demand Structure by End-Use Industry

    Municipal Wastewater Treatment (Estimated Share: 52%)

    The municipal sector is the primary driver of IFAS demand, motivated by the need to upgrade aging infrastructure and comply with increasingly strict effluent standards, especially for nutrient removal. This aligns directly with SDG 6 targets for improving water quality and sanitation.

    Key Trends:

    1. Retrofitting and expanding existing activated sludge plants to meet nutrient discharge limits.
    2. Integration of IFAS in new municipal wastewater treatment facilities to support water reuse and resource recovery.
    3. Adoption of hybrid Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR)/IFAS configurations for enhanced operational flexibility and resilience.
    4. Implementation of real-time monitoring and control systems to optimize IFAS process performance.
    5. Utilization of public-private partnerships (PPP) to finance large-scale municipal upgrades.

    Representative Companies: Veolia, SUEZ, Evoqua, Xylem, Ovivo, WesTech Engineering.

    Food and Beverage Processing (Estimated Share: 18%)

    The food and beverage industry generates high-strength organic wastewater, making IFAS an effective solution for consistent biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. This supports SDG 12 by promoting sustainable industrial practices.

    Key Trends:

    1. Treatment of wastewater with high fats, oils, and grease (FOG) content.
    2. Retrofitting existing treatment systems to accommodate plant expansions.
    3. Compliance with stringent local sewer discharge limits to avoid surcharges.
    4. Focus on water recycling within processing plants to reduce freshwater consumption.
    5. Adoption of packaged, pre-engineered IFAS solutions for smaller facilities.

    Representative Companies: Evoqua, Aquatech, Paques, World Water Works, Siemens, Aqseptence Group.

    Chemical Processing (Estimated Share: 12%)

    Chemical manufacturing wastewater contains complex compounds requiring robust nitrification and denitrification processes. IFAS systems provide process stability and resilience, contributing to SDG 9 and SDG 6 by ensuring industrial sustainability and water quality.

    Key Trends:

    1. Treatment of high-ammonia wastewater from fertilizer and chemical synthesis.
    2. Degradation of synthetic organic compounds using specialized biofilms.
    3. Retrofitting for nitrification/denitrification to meet revised discharge permits.
    4. Integration in treatment trains for landfill leachate co-treatment.
    5. Emphasis on system robustness to manage fluctuating and inhibitory influent.

    Representative Companies: Veolia, SUEZ, Aquatech, Paques, Headworks BIO.

    Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (Estimated Share: 10%)

    Pharmaceutical wastewater is characterized by low volumes but high concentrations of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and solvents. IFAS technology supports the degradation of complex organics, aligning with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 6.

    Key Trends:

    1. Biological removal of complex organic molecules and solvents.
    2. Consistent performance to meet stringent permit limits.
    3. Integration with physicochemical pretreatment and advanced oxidation processes.
    4. Containment and treatment of API production waste streams.
    5. Adoption in biopharmaceutical manufacturing for fermentation waste treatment.

    Representative Companies: Veolia, Evoqua, Aquatech, SUEZ, Paques.

    Pulp and Paper Industry (Estimated Share: 8%)

    Pulp and paper mills produce wastewater rich in lignin and chlorinated compounds. IFAS systems help reduce biochemical oxygen demand and support nitrification, contributing to SDG 12 and SDG 6.

    Key Trends:

    1. Upgrading activated sludge systems for capacity and nutrient removal.
    2. Treatment of wastewater from recycled paper processing with high variability.
    3. Meeting tightened nitrogen and phosphorus discharge limits.
    4. Reducing energy consumption through process intensification.
    5. Retrofitting older mills to comply with new permit requirements.

    Representative Companies: Xylem, Evoqua, Veolia, Ovivo, WesTech Engineering.

    Regional Market Dynamics

    Asia-Pacific (Estimated Share: 38%)

    Asia-Pacific leads the global IFAS market with the highest growth rate, driven by rapid urbanization, industrial expansion, and enhanced regulatory enforcement, particularly in China and India. This growth supports SDG 6 and SDG 11 by improving urban water infrastructure and sanitation.

    North America (Estimated Share: 28%)

    North America is a mature market focusing on retrofits and upgrades to meet U.S. EPA nutrient management frameworks and address aging infrastructure. Emphasis on energy efficiency and smart controls aligns with SDG 9 and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

    Europe (Estimated Share: 22%)

    Europe’s market growth is driven by the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and circular economy initiatives emphasizing nutrient removal and energy neutrality, advancing SDG 6 and SDG 12.

    Latin America (Estimated Share: 7%)

    Latin America is an emerging market with gradual infrastructure investments and tightening environmental regulations, supporting SDG 6 and SDG 9. Growth is focused on municipal upgrades and industrial sectors such as mining and food processing.

    Middle East & Africa (Estimated Share: 5%)

    Demand in the Middle East is concentrated in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, driven by water scarcity and wastewater reuse initiatives, directly contributing to SDG 6. Growth in Africa is selective and project-based.

    Market Outlook (2026-2035)

    The global IFAS systems market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2026 to 2035, reflecting the increasing global commitment to sustainable water management and infrastructure development under the SDG framework.

    Note: Indexed market curves are used to compare medium-term scenario trajectories where absolute volumes are not publicly disclosed.

    For comprehensive data, methodology, and benchmark tables, refer to the latest IndexBox Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge Systems Market Report.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • The article focuses extensively on wastewater treatment technologies, particularly Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) systems, which are critical for improving water quality and sanitation.
      • Emphasis on nutrient removal (nitrogen and phosphorus) aligns with targets to improve water quality by reducing pollution.
      • Water reuse and resource recovery efforts mentioned support sustainable water management.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Development and adoption of advanced wastewater treatment technologies like IFAS and Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) highlight innovation in industrial infrastructure.
      • Retrofitting and upgrading existing infrastructure to meet stricter environmental standards.
    3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Urbanization drives demand for compact, efficient municipal wastewater treatment solutions.
      • Upgrading aging urban infrastructure to meet environmental regulations supports sustainable urban development.
    4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Industrial sectors such as food & beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, and pulp & paper are adopting IFAS to manage wastewater sustainably.
      • Focus on reducing environmental impact of industrial effluents and promoting water reuse.
    5. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Energy efficiency and process intensification in wastewater treatment contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
      • Technological advancements and operational savings reduce environmental footprint.

    2. Specific Targets Under Identified SDGs

    1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
      • Target 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution, minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.
      • Target 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
    3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
      • Target 11.6: Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
    4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
      • Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle.
      • Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
    5. SDG 13: Climate Action
      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Water Quality and Pollution Reduction Indicators
      • Levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in treated wastewater effluents (nutrient removal efficiency).
      • Compliance rates with national and regional wastewater discharge standards.
      • Proportion of wastewater treated using advanced biological treatment technologies like IFAS.
    2. Infrastructure and Industrial Efficiency Indicators
      • Number and capacity of wastewater treatment plants retrofitted or constructed with IFAS technology.
      • Capital expenditure on municipal and industrial wastewater infrastructure upgrades.
      • Adoption rates of advanced treatment technologies in industrial sectors (food & beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp & paper).
    3. Urbanization and Resource Use Indicators
      • Population growth in urban areas driving demand for wastewater treatment.
      • Extent of water reuse and resource recovery implemented in treatment plants.
    4. Environmental and Regulatory Compliance Indicators
      • Enforcement and revision of discharge permits and environmental regulations.
      • Corporate ESG investments and sustainability commitments in industrial wastewater management.
    5. Market and Technology Adoption Indicators
      • Market growth rate of IFAS systems (compound annual growth rate projected at 5.2% from 2026 to 2035).
      • Regional market shares and growth directions indicating technology penetration.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
    • 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution and increasing recycling and safe reuse.
    • 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency across all sectors.
    • Nutrient (N & P) levels in treated effluents.
    • Compliance with wastewater discharge standards.
    • Proportion of wastewater treated with IFAS technology.
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries for sustainability and clean technologies.
    • Number and capacity of IFAS retrofitted or new plants.
    • Capital expenditure on wastewater infrastructure upgrades.
    • Adoption rates of advanced treatment technologies in industries.
    SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
    • 11.6: Reduce environmental impact of cities including waste management.
    • Urban population growth metrics.
    • Extent of municipal wastewater treatment upgrades.
    • Implementation of water reuse and resource recovery.
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
    • 12.4: Environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes.
    • 12.5: Reduce waste generation through prevention, recycling, and reuse.
    • Compliance with industrial pre-treatment and discharge standards.
    • Corporate ESG investment levels in wastewater management.
    • Reduction in industrial wastewater pollutants.
    SDG 13: Climate Action
    • 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning.
    • Energy efficiency improvements in wastewater treatment.
    • Adoption of process intensification technologies reducing emissions.

    Source: indexbox.io

     

    ]]>     Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Providence – Rhode Island Attorney General (.gov) https://sdgtalks.ai/report-on-child-sexual-abuse-in-the-diocese-of-providence-rhode-island-attorney-general-gov https://sdgtalks.ai/report-on-child-sexual-abuse-in-the-diocese-of-providence-rhode-island-attorney-general-gov Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:09 -0500 sdgtalks Report, Child, Sexual, Abuse, the, Diocese, Providence, –, Rhode, Island, Attorney, General, .gov  

    Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Diocese of Providence: A Sustainable Development Goals Perspective

    Content Warning and Support Resources

    Content Warning: This report contains detailed descriptions of allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual misconduct against children. In alignment with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, the Office of the Attorney General and the Rhode Island State Police urge victims and any persons with information regarding possible child sexual abuse or related crimes to contact the State Police Special Victims Unit’s dedicated clergy abuse hotline at 401-764-0142.

    Background and Context

    The history of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is a grave issue that spans generations and affects communities worldwide. Rhode Island, despite its small size, has one of the highest per capita Catholic populations in the United States, with over 39% of residents identifying as Catholic. Victims of clergy sexual abuse come from diverse communities, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic backgrounds, reflecting the broad societal impact of this trauma.

    Recognizing the importance of SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, this report aims to provide transparency and truth to generations of victims, their families, and communities affected by these abuses.

    Accessing the Report

    This webpage serves as a resource for understanding the comprehensive report, including links to download the full report, appendices, and media resources. Key topics from the report are highlighted for public awareness and education, supporting SDG 4: Quality Education.



    Download the Report

    Explore the Report

    Investigation Overview

    Investigative overview

    The investigation, initiated in July 2019, reviewed over 250,000 pages of documents from the Diocese dating back to 1950. This extensive examination supports SDG 16 by promoting accountability and justice.

    Recommendations for Change

    Office of Attorney General Seal

    Lasting change requires collective commitment from the Catholic Church, government, and public to acknowledge past failures and implement bold corrective actions. These efforts align with SDG 16 and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals to foster strong institutions and collaborative solutions.

    Victim Support and Resources

    Providence skyline

    In support of SDG 3, the Office of the Attorney General and Rhode Island State Police provide resources and encourage victims or witnesses to contact the clergy abuse hotline at 401-764-0142. Additional victim resources are available to assist in healing and justice.

    Credibly Accused Clergy

    Document array

    Appendix A summarizes 72 clergy members credibly accused of child sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Providence. This transparency supports SDG 16 by promoting justice and institutional integrity.

    By the Numbers

    Diocese Report: By the Numbers

    The report presents detailed statistics and data that illustrate the scope and impact of abuse within the Diocese, reinforcing the need for continued efforts toward SDG 16 and SDG 3.

    Conclusion

    This report underscores the critical importance of addressing child sexual abuse through transparent investigation, victim support, and systemic reform. Emphasizing the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 10, SDG 16, and SDG 17, the collective actions of institutions, government, and communities are essential to foster justice, healing, and prevention of future abuses.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
      • The article addresses the mental and physical well-being of children affected by sexual abuse.
      • Focus on trauma and its impacts on victims aligns with promoting health and well-being.
    2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
      • Issues of sexual abuse and misconduct relate to protecting children, including girls, from violence and exploitation.
      • Calls for accountability and corrective action support gender equality and protection from abuse.
    3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
      • The investigation by the Attorney General and Rhode Island State Police highlights the pursuit of justice.
      • Emphasis on transparency, accountability, and protection of children aligns with building strong institutions.

    2. Specific Targets Under Identified SDGs

    1. SDG 3 – Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health and well-being.
      • Addressing trauma from sexual abuse supports mental health and well-being.
    2. SDG 5 – Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in public and private spheres.
      • Focus on preventing child sexual abuse and ensuring justice for victims.
    3. SDG 16 – Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
      • Investigation and legal actions against perpetrators reflect this target.
    4. SDG 16 – Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions.
      • Recommendations for corrective actions and transparency in the Church and government institutions.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

    1. Indicator for SDG 3.4: Suicide mortality rate; prevalence of mental health disorders.
      • Though not explicitly mentioned, the trauma and mental health impacts of abuse victims imply the use of mental health indicators.
    2. Indicator for SDG 5.2: Proportion of women and girls subjected to sexual violence by age group.
      • The report’s documentation of 72 clergy credibly accused and the number of victims can be used to measure prevalence.
    3. Indicators for SDG 16.3 and 16.6:
      • Number of investigations conducted and prosecutions made related to child sexual abuse.
      • Existence and use of dedicated hotlines and victim support resources.
      • Transparency measures such as publication of reports and summaries of accused clergy.

    4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.4: Promote mental health and well-being Prevalence of mental health disorders; suicide mortality rate (implied)
    SDG 5: Gender Equality Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls Proportion of women and girls subjected to sexual violence by age group; number of reported abuse cases
    SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions Target 16.3: Ensure equal access to justice for all Number of investigations and prosecutions related to child sexual abuse
    Target 16.6: Develop accountable and transparent institutions Existence of victim hotlines; publication of reports and summaries; transparency measures

    Source: riag.ri.gov

     

    ]]>     Open education resources expand affordable learning at UC Clermont – University of Cincinnati https://sdgtalks.ai/open-education-resources-expand-affordable-learning-at-uc-clermont-university-of-cincinnati https://sdgtalks.ai/open-education-resources-expand-affordable-learning-at-uc-clermont-university-of-cincinnati Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:05 -0500 sdgtalks Open, education, resources, expand, affordable, learning, Clermont, –, University, Cincinnati  

    University of Cincinnati Clermont College Advances Affordable Education through Open Educational Resources

    Introduction

    In response to the rising costs of higher education, the University of Cincinnati Clermont College (UC Clermont) is actively promoting the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) to reduce financial barriers for students. These initiatives align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

    Open Education Week and OER Implementation

    During Open Education Week, March 2–6, UC Clermont highlighted its commitment to affordability through the adoption of open textbooks and low-cost course materials. Open textbooks, often licensed under Creative Commons, allow faculty and students to freely use and adapt content without copyright restrictions. Their digital availability enhances flexibility and accessibility, directly supporting SDG 4 by making education more inclusive and affordable.

    Role of the Frederick A. Marcotte Library

    The UC Clermont Frederick A. Marcotte Library serves as a pivotal resource in advancing OER adoption. It supports faculty engagement with open textbooks through access to extensive online repositories developed nationwide over the past decade.

    Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP)

    UC Clermont encourages faculty participation in OER through the Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP), which provides:

    • A $500 stipend
    • A course release to redesign courses using open textbooks

    The program accepts a limited cohort annually, with the third cohort recently selected, fostering continuous innovation in course affordability.

    Impact on Students and Faculty

    1. Student Savings: In a biology lab course enrolling 100–150 students annually, replacing a $120 traditional lab manual with an open textbook has saved thousands of dollars collectively each year, contributing to SDG 1 (No Poverty) by reducing financial strain on students.
    2. Statewide Affordability Initiatives: Faculty members participate in OhioLINK programs offering stipends for developing affordable course materials, further expanding access to quality education.
    3. Affordability Advocates: During Open Education Week, faculty using course materials costing less than $40 were featured, showcasing strategies such as:
    • Reusing textbooks across semesters
    • Assigning e-books and online articles
    • Placing physical textbooks on course reserve

    Case Study: Supply Chain Management Technology Program

    Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator Seth Powless has twice participated in ATIP, redesigning his fully online courses to eliminate traditional textbooks. His approach includes:

    • Utilizing academic articles, industry publications, and current online resources
    • Allowing students to select articles aligned with their interests
    • Assessing learning through written, audio, or video assignments

    This method has enhanced student engagement and improved academic performance while eliminating textbook costs, supporting SDG 4 and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by integrating up-to-date industry knowledge.

    Faculty Collaboration and Commitment

    The library hosted an affordability workshop in the fall, facilitating the exchange of experiences and strategies among faculty to reduce educational costs. These collective efforts underscore UC Clermont’s dedication to accessible education, directly contributing to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by making higher education more equitable.

    Conclusion

    Kathy Ladell, librarian at UC Clermont, emphasized the institution’s ongoing pursuit of creative solutions to enhance affordability: “Accessible education — in all forms — is a core part of our mission at UC Clermont.” Through these initiatives, UC Clermont exemplifies a commitment to sustainable development by promoting inclusive, affordable, and quality education.

    Students in the UC Clermont Frederick A. Marcotte Library

    Top featured image: Students in the UC Clermont Frederick A. Marcotte Library. photo/Danny Kidd

    1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

    1. SDG 4: Quality Education – The article focuses on improving access to affordable education through the use of open educational resources (OER), which directly supports inclusive and equitable quality education.
    2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – By lowering the financial barriers to education, the initiatives at University of Cincinnati Clermont College contribute to reducing inequalities among students from different economic backgrounds.
    3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – The adoption of digital open textbooks and innovative teaching methods reflects progress in building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation in education.

    2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

    1. SDG 4 Targets:
      • 4.3: Ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
      • 4.7: Ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including through education for sustainable lifestyles and human rights.
    2. SDG 10 Targets:
      • 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
    3. SDG 9 Targets:
      • 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries.

    3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

    1. Indicators related to SDG 4:
      • Number or percentage of courses using open educational resources (OER) instead of traditional textbooks.
      • Cost savings per student resulting from the adoption of OER materials (e.g., reduction from $120 lab manual to free or low-cost materials).
      • Student enrollment numbers in courses adopting affordable materials (e.g., 100–150 students in biology lab course).
      • Faculty participation rates in programs like the Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP) and OhioLINK affordability initiatives.
    2. Indicators related to SDG 10:
      • Reduction in financial barriers for students from lower-income backgrounds, measured by affordability of course materials.
      • Number of students benefiting from affordability initiatives.
    3. Indicators related to SDG 9:
      • Extent of digital resource adoption (e.g., use of digital open textbooks, online articles, and multimedia assignments).
      • Faculty and student engagement with innovative educational technologies and resources.

    4. Table: SDGs, Targets and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 4: Quality Education
    • 4.3: Equal access to affordable tertiary education
    • 4.7: Acquisition of knowledge and skills for sustainable development
    • Percentage of courses using OER
    • Cost savings per student from OER adoption
    • Enrollment numbers in OER courses
    • Faculty participation in OER incentive programs (ATIP, OhioLINK)
    SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion regardless of economic status
    • Reduction in financial barriers for students
    • Number of students benefiting from affordability initiatives
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    • 9.c: Increase access to ICT and affordable internet
    • Adoption rate of digital open textbooks and online materials
    • Faculty and student engagement with innovative educational resources

    Source: uc.edu

     

    ]]>     Management practices can enhance soil microbiome functions in plant defense – AgUpdate https://sdgtalks.ai/management-practices-can-enhance-soil-microbiome-functions-in-plant-defense-agupdate https://sdgtalks.ai/management-practices-can-enhance-soil-microbiome-functions-in-plant-defense-agupdate Sat, 07 Mar 2026 23:00:16 -0500 sdgtalks Management, practices, can, enhance, soil, microbiome, functions, plant, defense, –, AgUpdate  

    Subscription Benefits Report with Emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    Overview

    This report outlines the key benefits of the subscription service, highlighting their alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The service offers a variety of digital resources aimed at enhancing access to information, promoting lifelong learning, and supporting sustainable consumption and production patterns.

    Subscription Features and SDG Alignment

    1. E-edition PLUS: Unlimited Articles & Videos

      This feature provides unlimited access to digital articles and videos, supporting SDG 4: Quality Education by facilitating inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

    2. Personalized News Alerts via Mobile App

      The mobile app delivers personalized news alerts, enhancing access to timely information. This supports SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure by promoting sustainable and resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation in information dissemination.

    3. Free Access to Newspapers.com Archives

      Subscribers receive free access to historical newspaper archives, contributing to SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities by preserving cultural heritage and promoting inclusive societies.

    4. Online Games, Puzzles & Comics

      The availability of hundreds of interactive games, puzzles, and comics online encourages creative engagement and mental well-being, supporting SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 4: Quality Education.

    Summary of SDG Contributions

    • SDG 3: Promoting mental health through engaging recreational content.
    • SDG 4: Enhancing access to quality educational materials and lifelong learning.
    • SDG 9: Leveraging innovative mobile technology for information access.
    • SDG 11: Preserving cultural heritage via archival access.

    Overall, the subscription service aligns with multiple Sustainable Development Goals by fostering education, innovation, cultural preservation, and well-being through accessible digital content.

    1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

    The article primarily discusses digital access to news, archives, and entertainment content through various online platforms and mobile applications. The issues highlighted relate to information accessibility, digital inclusion, and educational resources.

    1. SDG 4: Quality Education – Access to educational content and archives supports lifelong learning opportunities.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – The use of mobile apps and digital platforms promotes innovation and infrastructure development in information dissemination.
    3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Providing free access to archives and personalized news alerts can help reduce information inequality.

    2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

    1. SDG 4: Quality Education
      • Target 4.3: Ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
      • Target 4.4: Increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including digital literacy, for employment and entrepreneurship.
    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
      • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors, including information and communications technology.
    3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
      • Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

    3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

    1. Indicator for SDG 4
      • Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, including digital literacy.
      • Access to digital educational resources and archives.
    2. Indicator for SDG 9
      • Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, indicating access to mobile apps and digital platforms.
      • Number of users accessing digital news and information services.
    3. Indicator for SDG 10
      • Access to information by disadvantaged groups, measured by availability of free digital archives and personalized news services.

    4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 4: Quality Education
    • 4.3: Equal access to affordable and quality education
    • 4.4: Increase digital literacy and relevant skills
    • Proportion of youth and adults with ICT skills
    • Access to digital educational resources and archives
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    • 9.5: Upgrade technological capabilities including ICT
    • Population coverage by mobile networks
    • Number of users accessing digital news platforms
    SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
    • 10.2: Promote social and economic inclusion
    • Access to free digital archives and personalized news services by disadvantaged groups

    Source: agupdate.com

     

    ]]>     COVID-19’s Long Shadow Continues to Undermine Global Health and Equality https://sdgtalks.ai/covid-19s-long-shadow-continues-to-undermine-global-health-and-equality https://sdgtalks.ai/covid-19s-long-shadow-continues-to-undermine-global-health-and-equality Mon, 15 Dec 2025 01:42:42 -0500 isaiahg_31 COVID-19, global health, SDG 3, inequality Although the most critical stage of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, its effects are impeding the pace towards achieving important targets in the realm of Sustainable Development Goals. A new study reveals that low- and middle-income countries continue to have a challenged healthcare system, in addition to an uncertain economy.

    The pandemic exacerbated inequalities, with vulnerable groups experiencing higher death rates, lost income, and reduced access to education and healthcare. Several nations shifted focus from preventive healthcare and chronic diseases during this time, leading to health consequences in excess of those posed solely by the pandemic.

    Experts have cautioned that otherwise, a negative impact of COVID-19 will be observed in the realm of sustainable development in years to come. The focus of overcoming this pandemic, therefore, will be on resilience and not reverting to old methods because of this pandemic.

    SDG Impact: The article sheds light on ongoing challenges in SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and builds a connection with SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth based on recovery and resilience.

    ]]>     Global Inequality Is Slowing Progress Toward the SDGs https://sdgtalks.ai/global-inequality-is-slowing-progress-toward-the-sdgs https://sdgtalks.ai/global-inequality-is-slowing-progress-toward-the-sdgs Mon, 15 Dec 2025 01:31:51 -0500 isaiahg_31 global inequality, SDG 10, poverty, human rights Human rights bodies have indicated that increased inequalities in the world are among the major obstacles to attaining the SDGs. Although technological innovation and economic expansion have come with benefits for some people, most people do not have access to basic social services such as health, education, clean water, and decent jobs.

    The analysis highlights how inequality can be not only economic but can exist in a political and social manner. Marginalized people will have less power over policies which impact them. Climate change will further widen this gap because marginalized people are most affected by it.

    Unless proactive steps are made towards redistributions of resources, scaling up social protection, and enhancing human rights, achieving SDG targets will likely benefit more affluent countries and communities. Reducing inequalities, therefore, is not a choice but a basis for sustainable development.

    SDG Impact: The article is closely related to goal SDG-10: Reduced Inequalities and explains how inequalities impact negatively the achievement of SDG-1: No Poverty, SDG-3: Good Health and Well-being, and SDG-16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

    ]]>     World Leaders Call for Urgent Action to Rescue the Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/world-leaders-call-for-urgent-action-to-rescue-the-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/world-leaders-call-for-urgent-action-to-rescue-the-sustainable-development-goals Mon, 15 Dec 2025 01:15:54 -0500 isaiahg_31 UN General Assembly, SDGs acceleration, global cooperation As the world reaches the halfway point between the opening launch of the Sustainable Development Goals and a 2030 deadline, global leaders have recognized an unmistakable reality: progress is achingly slow. So the United Nations General Assembly went into action, taking up a binding political declaration that professes urgent, large-scale action to accelerate progress across all 17 SDGs.

    This declaration takes into consideration that several concurrent crises have turned the clock backwards in development gains in many countries through such converging crises as climate change, economic instability, conflict, and lingering pandemic effects. Leaders asserted that without renewed political commitment and stronger international cooperation, backed by increased financial investment, the SDGs will be unmet promises instead of attained outcomes.

    From this declaration, one major outcry is the reform of global financial systems to allow developing countries access to affordable financing, which is vital to pursue sustainable development. Besides that, science, technology, and innovation, as well as inclusive decision-making that empowers and encompasses youth, women, and marginalized voices, remain very important.

    ]]>     UN Report Warns the World Is Off Track to Meet Most SDGs by 2030 https://sdgtalks.ai/un-report-warns-the-world-is-off-track-to-meet-most-sdgs-by-2030 https://sdgtalks.ai/un-report-warns-the-world-is-off-track-to-meet-most-sdgs-by-2030 Mon, 15 Dec 2025 01:10:08 -0500 isaiahg_31 UN SDG report, 2030 agenda, global development The latest UN assessment reveals uneven progress of the SDGs throughout the world: while advances in education and access to renewable energy are registered, extreme poverty, hunger, and climate impacts worsen in many regions.

    "The report underlines that without accelerated action, the 2030 Agenda will not be met.

    SDG Impact: This article presents challenges toward all SDGs but more especially SDG 1, SDG 2, and SDG 13.

    ]]>     Portuguese Community Uses Art to Bring the UN Sustainable Development Goals to Life https://sdgtalks.ai/portuguese-community-uses-art-to-bring-the-un-sustainable-development-goals-to-life https://sdgtalks.ai/portuguese-community-uses-art-to-bring-the-un-sustainable-development-goals-to-life Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:59:22 -0500 isaiahg_31 SDGs awareness, community art, sustainable cities, SDG 11 In Amadora, Portugal, public housing walls have suddenly been covered with colorful murals representing the SDGs. Created together with local residents, the artwork transforms abstract global goals into visible and more easily understandable messages about poverty, education, and equality.

    It shows how community-based storytelling can make residents more powerful and create awareness of sustainability issues from a local perspective.

    SDG Impact: This initiative furthers SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), supports SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and strengthens learning through SDG 4 (Quality Education).

    ]]>     U.S. Aid Cuts Leave Malnourished Children in Kenya Without Life-Saving Food https://sdgtalks.ai/us-aid-cuts-leave-malnourished-children-in-kenya-without-life-saving-food https://sdgtalks.ai/us-aid-cuts-leave-malnourished-children-in-kenya-without-life-saving-food Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:55:19 -0500 isaiahg_31 child hunger, global aid, malnutrition, SDG 2, humanitarian crisis A critical problem being faced by relief clinics in arid areas of Kenya is a lack of therapeutic food, which is used to combat severe malnutrition in children. A recent cut in aid from the USA has disrupted this delivery chain.

    Malnutrition affects children's immune systems and thinking capacity, leading to child deaths. Humanitarian bodies have indicated that a lack of funding may reverse the gains achieved in children's health and nutritional status.

    SDG Impact: "This case highlights SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, but most importantly, it emphasizes how important partnerships for achieving these goals are under SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals."

    ]]>     Climate Change Is Putting Asia’s Water and Power Systems at Risk https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-is-putting-asias-water-and-power-systems-at-risk https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-is-putting-asias-water-and-power-systems-at-risk Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:51:11 -0500 isaiahg_31 water security, clean energy, climate adaptation, SDG 6, SDG 7, infrastructure resilience The climate is changing, disrupting the rainfall in Asia, accelerating glacier melt, and intensifying heatwaves, and consequently putting even greater stress on water and energy systems. Recent reports clearly show that billions of people remain vulnerable to water shortages and unreliable electricity due to infrastructure failing to keep pace with climate realities.

    In addition, coal-dependent power grids are at an increasingly higher risk due to extreme heat, whereas droughts put hydropower reliability into question. Experts estimate that trillions of dollars in investments will be needed to build resilient systems with the ability to support sustainable development.

    SDG Impact: The article is directly linked to SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), in addition to enhancing climate adaptation as outlined in SDG 13 (Climate Action).

    ]]>     Climate Change Intensified Deadly Monsoon Floods Across Asia, Scientists Say https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-intensified-deadly-monsoon-floods-across-asia-scientists-say https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-intensified-deadly-monsoon-floods-across-asia-scientists-say Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:47:06 -0500 isaiahg_31 climate change, monsoon floods, Asia climate, SDG 13, climate resilience, extreme weather Current analysis carried out by scientists lends support to the belief of many existing communities in Asia in that Asia is increasingly being threatened by floods during monsoons due to climate change. In 2025, very heavy rainfall devastated Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

    Warmer air can support more water vapor, resulting in higher rainfall intensity. Flooding in cities, which has accelerated because of rapid urbanization and inadequate infrastructure, has thus become more deadly because of these factors. Scientists have indicated that without curtailing greenhouse gas emissions, such flooding will become a frequent occurrence.

    SDG Impact: While this article focuses on the importance of SDG 13: Climate Action and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, it sheds light on how climate change affects the poorest people in a negative way, which undermines SDG 1: No Poverty.

    ]]>     Food and Fossil Fuel Production Is Costing the Planet $5 Billion Every Hour, UN Warns https://sdgtalks.ai/food-and-fossil-fuel-production-is-costing-the-planet-5-billion-every-hour-un-warns https://sdgtalks.ai/food-and-fossil-fuel-production-is-costing-the-planet-5-billion-every-hour-un-warns Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:37:51 -0500 isaiahg_31 Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, climate change, fossil fuels, food systems, environmental damage, UN report, climate action, sustainable agriculture The manner in which food and energy resources are being produced in the present-day world is imposing an enormous and invisible cost on nature. As per a recently released report by the UN Global Environment Outlook, food systems and fossil fuel systems are resulting in $5 billion damage to nature each and every hour. Such damages have consequences in terms of greenhouse gases, degradation of land, water pollution, depletion of biodiversity, and health effects.

    Current industrial agriculture is greatly dependent on chemical fertilizer, crop monoculture, and deforestation practices, which strongly promote climate change and undermine ecological systems. Additionally, fossil fuel mining and burning have remained critical contributors to global warming and have especially impacted impoverished communities. The report underlines both practices to be not only environmentally unsustainable but financially deceptive, since their accurate financial price remains largely outside market prices.

    "The UN encourages countries to rethink subsidies, invest in renewable energy, think sustainably in agriculture, and make decisions informed by the true cost of production relative to our environment and society," says Matalino. "Unless these cost issues are addressed, they will undermine our efforts towards sustainability globally," adds Rhonda DVD Moore.

    SDG Impact: This article is very relevant to SDG 13: Climate Action because of its emphasis on urgency in lowering emissions, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production because of its focus on sustainable systems, SDG 2: Zero Hunger because of its focus on food systems, and SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being because of health effects related to pollution and degradation of environment.

    ]]>     The Future of Builders: Embracing Sustainable Building Practices! https://sdgtalks.ai/the-future-of-builders-embracing-sustainable-building-practices https://sdgtalks.ai/the-future-of-builders-embracing-sustainable-building-practices Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:31:13 -0500 clolli The construction industry is at a crossroads. As we face the challenges of climate change and resource depletion, the need for sustainable building practices has never been greater. The future of builders is in embracing sustainable building practices, and in this blog post, we will explore the key trends and innovations shaping the industry.

    Green Building Materials for Sustainable Building Practices

    One of the most significant shifts in construction practices is the adoption of green building materials. Traditional construction materials such as concrete and steel are resource-intensive and contribute to high carbon emissions. In response, builders are turning to sustainable alternatives like bamboo, recycled steel, and engineered wood. These materials are not only eco-friendly but often cost-effective as well.

     Energy Efficiency

    Energy-efficient buildings are becoming the norm rather than the exception. From energy-efficient insulation to solar panels and smart building management systems, the construction industry is rapidly integrating technologies and practices that reduce energy consumption and decrease a building’s carbon footprint.

    Prefabrication and Modular Construction

    Prefabrication and modular construction methods are revolutionizing the way buildings are put together. These techniques reduce waste, save time, and promote sustainability. With components manufactured in controlled environments, there is less material waste and greater precision in construction.

    Green Certifications for Sustainable Building Practices

    Sustainability certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) have gained prominence in the construction industry. These certifications set standards for environmentally responsible construction and provide a framework for architects and builders to follow.

    Net-Zero Buildings

    The concept of net-zero buildings, which produce as much energy as they consume, is gaining traction for sustainable building practices. These buildings are designed with a holistic approach, incorporating energy-efficient design, renewable energy sources, and water conservation practices. Achieving a net-zero building can significantly reduce a structure’s impact on the environment.

    Smart Buildings

    Smart technology is making buildings more sustainable and efficient. From automated lighting and HVAC systems to sensors that optimize energy use, smart buildings are reducing resource waste and enhancing occupant comfort.

    Sustainable Design Principles

    Architects and designers are embracing sustainable design principles that focus on integrating buildings with their natural surroundings. This includes optimizing natural lighting, passive heating and cooling, and using landscaping to reduce energy needs.

    sustainable building practices
    Circular Economy Practices

    The construction industry is increasingly adopting circular economy practices, which involve recycling and reusing materials to reduce waste and minimize the extraction of new resources. By repurposing materials and minimizing waste, the industry is moving toward a more sustainable future.

    Conclusion

    The future of construction is undoubtedly tied to sustainability. From green building materials and energy efficiency to innovative construction methods and smart technology, the industry is evolving to meet the demands of a changing world. Embracing sustainable building practices is not just an environmental necessity; it’s also a smart business decision. As the construction industry continues to adapt to the challenges of the 21st century, it is clear that the path forward is a sustainable one. By adopting these practices and staying informed about emerging technologies, construction professionals can lead the way towards a greener, more sustainable future.

    ]]>     Sustainable construction: What's needed to drive action in 2025 and beyond? https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-construction-whats-needed-to-drive-action-in-2025-and-beyond https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-construction-whats-needed-to-drive-action-in-2025-and-beyond Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:28:58 -0500 clolli
    • Sustainable construction is no longer a trend, but an urgent priority in an era defined by global challenges.
    • The 2025 Sustainable Construction Barometer is a call to action for stakeholders across the construction value chain.
    • The survey's findings reveal the progress made so far and the significant gaps that remain.

    In an era marked by major demographic, social, energy and climate challenges, sustainable construction is no mere trend – it’s an urgent necessity. As the construction sector faces the task of accelerating its transformation to meet immense challenges, the 2025 Sustainable Construction Barometer, a global survey published by Saint-Gobain’s Sustainable Construction Observatory, offers critical insights demanding immediate action across the construction value chain.

    The Barometer surveyed stakeholders (professionals, students, associations, local elected officials and government representatives) across 27 countries and, for the first time this year, included the general public. It provides a compelling snapshot of where we stand in our pursuit of a more sustainable built environment. The findings not only highlight the progress we’ve made in terms of the necessary awareness as a vital foundation for progress, but also reveal the significant gaps that remain, creating an urgent call for collective action.

    1. Awareness and urgency on the rise

    Awareness of sustainable construction is steadily rising. A notable 67% of stakeholders report familiarity with the concept, marking a 6-point increase from last year, with elected officials showing an impressive 32-point jump. The sense of urgency is palpable, with 69% of stakeholders viewing sustainable construction as a priority, echoed by 60% of the general public, while 95% consider it important at least. There are some regional disparities, however — for example, in the US, where 34% of the public is still unaware of sustainable construction. To move forward globally, we must ensure that no region is left behind.

    2. Broad consensus, diverse priorities

    The desire to push the boundaries of sustainable construction is prevalent, with 87% of respondents agreeing that we "need to do more" in this area. However, who should lead this change? According to the Barometer, private actors are seen as the most legitimate drivers, with architects and engineering firms at the forefront (56%) followed by private companies in the construction sector (44%).

    Regional priorities, however, differ. In Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, adapting buildings to natural and climatic hazards is paramount, while in Latin America, the use of ecological materials takes precedence. Europe focuses on renovation of existing buildings, and North America grapples with affordability. This diversity underscores the need for strategies that are globally aligned yet locally adapted.

    While Europe has historically been a leader in sustainable construction, small signs of waning enthusiasm should not go unnoticed. Although the overall desire for more action remains very strong (86% in Europe vs 87% globally), a higher share of the remaining minority of respondents in Europe believe we should "go backwards", while elsewhere, most favour the status quo ("it’s fine the way it is"). Though marginal, this is surprising given the momentum sparked by Déclaration de Chaillot one year ago, which rallied support for sustainable building practices. Could this reflect frustration with ever-changing regulations in some regions or perhaps a broader backlash against environmental issues?

    3. From environmental focus to resilience and well-being

    While sustainability has historically been defined in narrow terms, often focusing solely on the environment, buildings’ resilience to climatic events is emerging as a key topic. The Barometer reveals that 21% of stakeholders now cite resilience, with this number growing particularly in Africa and Asia-Pacific. This shift reflects the growing urgency of climate adaptation, especially in regions more vulnerable to extreme weather events.

    Still, the human dimension of sustainable construction remains neglected. Only 15% of stakeholders and public respondents link it to improved occupant well-being. To address earlier challenges and re-engage marginal stakeholders who believe we should move backward, highlighting the benefits of sustainable construction in terms of health and well-being could make a difference. A clearer understanding of its critical role in human comfort and health should help drive broader adoption.

    4. Linking awareness and action through training

    Awareness is growing, but action is lagging. While 67% of professionals claim to evaluate their projects’ carbon footprint, only 30% do so systematically. And although 51% of elected officials want to exclude public construction contracts that do not consider sustainable construction methods, just 37% have taken action (despite a 26-point increase from 2024). This disconnect between ambition and action is a major obstacle to progress and deserves closer attention.

    Lack of training may be one reason. Only 28% of stakeholders feel they fully understand what sustainable construction entails, with professionals and students trailing elected officials and associations. Indeed, only 35% of professionals have received specialized training, and only 28% of students receive regular training. Closing this training gap could be the key to converting awareness into action.

    The way forward

    The message is clear: the transformation of the built environment is urgent, and we are at a critical juncture. Stakeholders across the construction value chain must unite to drive concrete actions toward a sustainable future.

    The 2025 Sustainable Construction Barometer is a call to action for us all. The sector has made significant strides, but much work remains. It’s time to turn awareness into action. Mobilizing all stakeholders – from design to execution – is essential to creating a resilient, sustainable and liveable built environment for future generations.

    Construction professionals, elected officials and citizens are crucial to this transition. The future of our cities, their inhabitants’ well-being and the health of our planet depend on the decisions we make today.

    ]]>     War-torn Myanmar embraces solar to tackle power crisis https://sdgtalks.ai/war-torn-myanmar-embraces-solar-to-tackle-power-crisis https://sdgtalks.ai/war-torn-myanmar-embraces-solar-to-tackle-power-crisis Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:17:26 -0500 clolli
    Nov 14 (Reuters) - When Thailand cut power supply to Myanmar across its western border this year, it intended to curb online scam centres linked to regional networks trafficking hundreds of thousands of people.
    However, the move also hit the wider community, pushing hospitals and some offices to install solar panels, said Zaw, a rescue worker in Myawaddy town just across the Thai border. Homes, too, made the switch.

    "Three out of four people now rely on solar panels, with businesses using multiple panels," said Zaw, who did not want to disclose his full name, fearing retribution.
    Myanmar's electricity supply has deteriorated since the 2021 military coup and ensuing civil war, exposing millions to chronic blackouts, with a cash-strapped government hit by Western sanctions unable to maintain power infrastructure.
    The World Bank estimated the country's operating power capacity plunged to 2015 levels in 2024, describing electricity supply in conflict-affected areas as "catastrophic".
    Chinese firms have helped fill the gap, supplying cheap solar panels.

    NATURAL GAS SHORTAGE SAPS GENERATION

    Light intensity data - a proxy for economic activity and electricity access - analysed by the United Nations revealed an average 8% annual decline after the 2021 coup.
    The drop is largely due to a shortage of natural gas, Myanmar's main generation fuel, as domestic production has declined and the government has halted imports of liquefied natural gas due to a foreign exchange shortage, the World Bank said in a June 2024 report.
    Former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration froze about $1 billion of Myanmar assets and imposed sanctions, some of which have been eased by the Trump administration. Western sanctions have restricted access to technical support, spare parts, and expertise to maintain infrastructure, such as transmission lines damaged in the civil war.
    Myanmar's junta said earlier this year generation capacity had plunged by nearly half from pre-2021 levels. Data on the Ministry of Electric Power's website shows output has not changed much since 2018.
    The information ministry did not respond to detailed questions on power supply and demand, and the junta's spokesperson did not answer calls from Reuters.

    CHEAP SOLAR PANELS FROM CHINA

    To combat the power crisis, households and businesses are embracing solar, according to interviews with a dozen residents, business owners and panel and battery sellers across the Southeast Asian country.
    "Unlike most of Asia, where we're seeing corporate demand drive solar growth, energy security concerns and fuel shortages are the key drivers in Myanmar," said Linda Zeng, renewables analyst at Fitch Solutions unit BMI.
    Solar panel imports from China, Myanmar's largest supplier, more than doubled in the nine months through September to about $100 million, according to Chinese customs data. Shipments have risen over eightfold from pre-pandemic levels, the data showed.
    Shops, restaurants, and workshops seeking reliable power for lighting, refrigeration and electronic payments, as well as water kiosks, clinics, and schools increasingly use small solar systems, said an official from an international development agency working in Myanmar.
    "I have about 10 refrigerators. The electricity here is not regular, so I had to use solar panels," said an ice cream seller from the ancient city of Mawlamyine, who declined to be named due to fear of retribution.
    Household solar installations have surged from a few hundred in 2019 to roughly 300,000 in 2025, as users switch from diesel generators to solar panels with storage, said Ken Pyi Wa Tun, chairman of Parami Energy, which sells solar panels and diesel generators in Myanmar.
    "A household solar-plus-battery-plus-inverter can be acquired for under $1,000 and power essentials, run for four to five hours and power 2 AC units," Ken Pyi Wa Tun said.
    While that is too expensive for most homes, it is cheaper than the roughly $7,000 for a small diesel generator, plus fuel costs of $50 to $100 per week, he said, predicting solar could potentially power 2 million to 2.5 million Myanmar households.

    IT'S NOT ABOUT CLIMATE GOALS

    Myanmar's surging solar imports mirror a trend of increased solar adoption to escape erratic power supply in lower- and low-middle income countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
    They are among the fastest-growing markets for panel exports from China, the world's dominant solar manufacturer, data from energy think-tank Ember showed.
    "If the grid is not reliable or the prices too high, then people will do it themselves. And now they can, thanks to solar," said Richard Black, director of policy and strategy at Ember.
    Solar adoption, driven by necessity rather than policy, could disrupt traditional utility models, challenge forecasts about fossil fuel demand and complicate grid management, analysts say.
    In Pakistan, a surge in affluent residents ditching the country's costly grid power by installing solar panels has forced utilities to raise prices even further for remaining customers.
    Diesel imports by Myanmar declined 11% in the first 10 months of 2025, data from analytics firm Kpler showed, while solar panel purchases grew.
    "It is not like we are using them for clean energy or for some environmental reasons. We are a country with civil war. We are just using them out of necessity," said a resident in the Bago region.

    Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan and Shoon Naing; Editing by Tony Munroe and Sonali Paul

    ]]>     Sustainable Lettuce Production: Smart Practices for a Greener Future https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-lettuce-production-smart-practices-for-a-greener-future https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-lettuce-production-smart-practices-for-a-greener-future Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:50:10 -0500 clolli Sustainability in agriculture is essential for the planet’s future. Lettuce, one of the world’s most popular leafy greens, offers an ideal opportunity to showcase environmentally responsible farming methods. 

    From nurturing healthy soil to using the right pesticide for lettuce when necessary, farmers can ensure both productivity and ecological balance. 

    Empowering Communities with Eco-Friendly Agriculture

    As the world embraces sustainable living, the role of responsible agriculture becomes paramount. At Wins Solution, we believe in promoting practices that respect nature, support communities and enhance food security. 

    One such crop where sustainable methods can make a significant impact is lettuce — a staple in many diets around the world.

    Why Lettuce Matters in Sustainable Agriculture

    Nutritional Value, Global Demand and Environmental Footprint

    • Lettuce is a fast-growing leafy green, rich in vitamins and minerals, making it a key component in many diets.
    • Because it grows quickly and can be harvested multiple times, lettuce offers strong potential for small-scale and community farming.
    • But lettuce also poses sustainability challenges: heavy water use, potential pesticide residues, soil depletion and supporting large-scale monocultures.
    • By introducing eco-conscious methods, farms can reduce environmental footprint and improve long-term viability.

    Core Principles of Sustainable Lettuce Farming

    Soil Health, Water Efficiency and Crop Diversity

    1. Building Healthy Soil

    Healthy soil supports nutrient uptake, reduces disease and lowers the need for chemical inputs. Practices include:

    • Crop rotation (e.g., alternating lettuce with legumes or cover crops)
    • Incorporating organic matter (compost, green manure)
    • Minimising mechanical disturbance to preserve soil structure
    • Monitoring pH and nutrient levels to match crop needs

    2. Optimising Water Use

    Water is a precious resource. To farm lettuce sustainably:

    • Use drip irrigation or micro-sprinklers to precisely deliver water to the root zone
    • Monitor soil moisture to avoid over-watering
    • Capture and reuse rainwater where possible
    • Mulch between rows to reduce evaporation

    3. Diversifying Crops & Integrating Ecosystems

    Monocultures can lead to pest build-up and soil fatigue. Instead:

    • Intercrop lettuce with herbs or flowers that attract beneficial insects
    • Use trap crops to intercept pests before they reach the lettuce
    • Encourage natural predator populations, such as ladybugs or parasitic wasps

    Managing Pests and Diseases: Balanced Approach

    Recognise the Challenge

    Lettuce is vulnerable to pests (e.g., aphids, slugs, thrips) and diseases (e.g., downy mildew, bacterial leaf spot). An integrated pest-management strategy is essential.

    Introducing an Appropriate Pesticide for Lettuce

    When pest pressure reaches a threshold where non-chemical controls are insufficient, a targeted pesticide for lettuce may be necessary. Key considerations:

    • Choose formulations approved for leafy crops, with low residual toxicity
    • Apply only when beneficial insect populations are safe or will recover
    • Follow label instructions and observe pre-harvest intervals
    • Combine with non-chemical methods (crop hygiene, insect-proof netting, beneficials)

    By including such a reference, we help readers access specialised resources while emphasising that chemical interventions are a last resort, not a first step.

    Case Study: Community Lettuce Farm with Sustainable Practices

    Initiating a Real-World Project

    In one of our community initiatives at Wins Solution:

    • A local cooperative introduced raised beds for lettuce, using compost enriched with local organic waste
    • Water-efficient drip lines reduced irrigation use by 40%
    • Beneficial insect habitat (e.g., flowering strips) cut aphid infestation by over 50%
    • When aphid levels rose above threshold, a low-impact pesticide for lettuce was applied; subsequent scans showed minimal residue and no adverse effect on beneficial populations

    Outcomes & Learnings

    • Yield improved by 30% compared to previous years
    • Community engagement increased — members took ownership of watering, pest-monitoring & composting
    • Soil organic matter improved, and the cost of synthetic fertilisers dropped. This proves how sustainability and productivity can go hand-in-hand.

    Best Practices Checklist for Growers

    Step Practice Benefit
    Soil prep Use organic compost & test nutrient levels Stronger plants, fewer inputs
    Water management Drip irrigation + mulch Saves water, reduces weeds
    Crop diversity Intercrop/rotate crops Reduces pest/disease buildup
    Pest monitoring Regular scouting, threshold-based action Minimises unnecessary treatments
    Targeted pesticide use Apply approved low-impact options only when necessary Keeps lettuce safe & ecosystem healthy
    Record keeping Track inputs, yields, soil tests, pest data Enables continuous improvement

    Role of Organisations in Supporting Sustainable Agriculture

    We champion grassroots and institutional efforts to integrate sustainability across sectors. Our work in agriculture focuses on:

    • Educating farmers and communities about sustainable crop systems
    • Supporting pilot-projects that demonstrate best practices in water, soil and pest management
    • Advocating for policies and partnerships that encourage low-impact farming and environmental stewardship — aligning with our mission.

    Conclusion: Growing Lettuce Responsibly for a Cleaner Future

    Sustainable lettuce production is more than an agricultural method — it’s a mindset that prioritises balance between productivity and environmental care. Farmers, researchers, and organisations play a crucial role in shaping this balance.

    By investing in soil health, embracing efficient water use, integrating biodiversity, and applying the right pesticide for lettuce only when absolutely necessary, growers can achieve long-term food security without harming ecosystems.

    Sustainability isn’t about eliminating all interventions — it’s about making smarter choices. A lettuce farm that thrives without polluting waterways or depleting soil nutrients represents the kind of agricultural transformation the world urgently needs.

    When communities come together to share knowledge, conserve resources, and implement proven eco-friendly strategies, they build resilience — not just in crops, but in people and the planet. The community continues to champion these values, empowering global farmers to grow cleaner, safer, and more sustainable food.

    Together, we can cultivate a future where every harvest contributes to planetary health — one lettuce leaf at a time.

    ]]>     24 Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2025 and 2026 https://sdgtalks.ai/24-sustainability-trends-to-watch-in-2025-and-2026 https://sdgtalks.ai/24-sustainability-trends-to-watch-in-2025-and-2026 Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:44:47 -0500 clolli Sustainability has become a critical business imperative. From regulatory pressures to shifting consumer demands, sustainability professionals are navigating a complex landscape. To stay ahead, businesses need to adapt to emerging sustainability trends that are reshaping industries and redefining what it means to be sustainable.

    We identified 24 sustainability trends that professionals must watch closely in 2026, and should actually already monitor closely now.

    In the video below you can see the trends as they were forecasted for 2025.

    24 Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2026

    Sustainability Trend 1. Sustainability Disclosure

    With the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) coming into force, the demand for transparency is intensifying. Companies must refine their ESG reporting to meet investor expectations. Unilever’s “Future Fit Business Benchmark” provides a roadmap for integrating sustainability into long-term strategies, setting a new standard for disclosure.

    Sustainability Trend 2. Biodiversity Impact

    2026 will continue to see biodiversity take center stage as companies face increasing scrutiny over their environmental impact. Nestlé’s pledge to regenerate farmland exemplifies how biodiversity initiatives will drive corporate responsibility. Businesses must now factor ecosystems into their sustainability strategies or risk falling behind.

    Sustainability Trend 3. Circular Economy Models

    The shift toward circular economies is gaining speed as businesses prioritize waste reduction and resource efficiency. IKEA’s global refurbishment program is an example of how circular models are being implemented to prolong product lifecycles and cut waste, setting a template for other industries to follow.

    Sustainability Trend 4. Sustainable Supply Chains

    Transparency and ethical sourcing will continue to be critical for supply chains in 2026. H&M’s initiative to trace cotton back to sustainable sources highlights a growing trend toward greater accountability in sourcing. Ethical supply chains has become the norm as consumers demand eco-friendly and socially responsible products.

    Sustainability Trend 5. Renewable Energy Investments

    As the cost of renewable energy continues to drop, more companies will transition to green energy sources. Google’s commitment to 100% carbon-free energy by 2030 signals a larger trend. In 2026, expect significant investments in solar, wind, and other renewable sources as companies strive to meet net-zero goals. A search engine that already made that transition is Ecosia. There will also be further research done in order to recycle solar panels.

    Sustainability Trend 6. Water Stewardship

    Water scarcity is a growing concern, pushing companies to adopt stronger water management practices. Coca-Cola’s water replenishment initiative demonstrates how businesses are rethinking their water usage to mitigate risks and protect vital resources. Water stewardship will be a key area for companies, particularly in regions facing drought and scarcity.

    Sustainability Trend 7. Social Equity

    Sustainability strategies will increasingly incorporate social equity, ensuring fair treatment and opportunities for all stakeholders. Starbucks’ focus on racial equity and inclusivity highlights the importance of social issues within corporate sustainability frameworks. Despite a setback from larger companies, 2026 will see more businesses embracing equity as a core pillar of their ESG strategies.

    Sustainability Trend 8. Stakeholder Engagement

    Engaging all stakeholders – employees, customers, and communities – will be critical for building resilience in 2025. Patagonia’s “Worn Wear” program is an example of how businesses can involve customers in sustainability initiatives, fostering loyalty and shared responsibility. Stakeholder engagement will remain essential for brands seeking to build lasting relationships and a sustainable future. In 2026 this will continue to be key.

    Sustainability Trend 9. Sustainable Finance

    The rise of ESG-linked financial products, such as green bonds and sustainability-linked loans, is transforming the financial sector. BlackRock’s commitment to sustainable investing signals broader market shifts. In 2026, the intersection of finance and sustainability will deepen further, aligning capital with climate and social goals.

    Sustainability Trend 10. Digital Transformation

    AI, blockchain, and IoT are driving efficiency and accountability in sustainability efforts. Microsoft’s AI for Earth initiative exemplifies how technology is reshaping sustainability practices. In 2026, tech-driven solutions will continue to revolutionize industries, making them greener and more resilient, but at the same time also changing the job market completely.

    Sustainability Trend 11. Climate Resilience Planning

    Businesses are preparing for climate-related risks like extreme weather events. Citi’s climate stress tests are one example of how companies are planning for climate resilience, ensuring their operations and supply chains are future-proof. As climate risks escalate, resilience planning will be a critical element in corporate strategies.

    Sustainability Trend 12. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

    As decarbonization accelerates, carbon capture and storage technologies are becoming more widespread. Norway’s “Northern Lights” project highlights the role of CCS in reducing emissions. In 2026, more companies will explore this technology to meet ambitious climate targets.

    Sustainability Trend 13. Sustainable Packaging

    The shift from single-use plastics to biodegradable and reusable materials is transforming the packaging industry. Unilever’s pledge to cut virgin plastic use by 50% by 2025 already reflected a larger industry trend toward eco-friendly packaging. In 2026, expect innovative materials like algae-based packaging to gain prominence.

    Sustainability Trend 14. Sustainable Aviation

    The aviation industry is under pressure to decarbonize, with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and electric aircraft development at the forefront. United Airlines’ investment in SAF is just one example of how the sector is transforming. Breakthroughs in electric aviation will be critical in reducing the industry’s carbon footprint in the coming years.

    Sustainability Trend 15. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)

    Businesses are increasingly turning to nature to solve environmental challenges. Microsoft’s investment in forest conservation for carbon removal demonstrates the growing adoption of nature-based solutions (NBS). In 2026, more companies will invest in restoring ecosystems as a cost-effective way to tackle climate and biodiversity issues.

    Sustainability Trend 16. Product Life Extension

    Durability and longevity are becoming key focuses as companies shift from consumption to longevity. Patagonia’s repair services and second-hand sales highlight the growing emphasis on extending product lifecycles. In 2026, product life extension will become a core strategy for reducing environmental impact.

    Sustainability Trend 17. Urban Sustainability and Smart Cities

    Cities are adopting smart technologies to enhance urban sustainability. Singapore’s “Smart Nation” initiative is a leading example of how urban centers are driving sustainability innovation. In 2026, expect more cities to follow this trend, becoming hubs for green technology. But a lot of smart cities also fail.

    Sustainability Trend 18. Agroforestry and Regenerative Agriculture

    Sustainable farming practices, like agroforestry and regenerative agriculture, are gaining momentum. Companies like General Mills and Danone are working with farmers to implement regenerative practices, improving soil health and carbon sequestration. These methods will continue to grow in 2026, transforming agriculture’s role in sustainability.

    Sustainability Trend 19. Net-Zero Buildings

    Buildings contribute significantly to global emissions, and the trend toward net-zero buildings is accelerating. The Bullitt Center in Seattle showcases how sustainable construction can reduce environmental impact. In 2026, net-zero building standards will become the norm, particularly in urban centers.

    Sustainability Trend 20. Sustainable Fashion and Ethical Consumption

    The fashion industry is evolving toward sustainable and ethical practices. Brands like Stella McCartney and the rise of second-hand marketplaces are leading this change. In 2026, more consumers will prioritize eco-friendly, long-lasting fashion, pushing brands to adopt transparent, ethical supply chains.

    Sustainability Trend 21. Sustainable Agriculture in High-Demand Crops

    The Mexican avocado industry, supplying over 80% of avocados consumed in the U.S., is launching a major sustainability initiative called “The Path to Sustainability.” This program aims to ensure long-term environmental and economic sustainability while meeting growing demand. It outlines commitments across four key areas: water, biodiversity, climate, and deforestation. For instance, over 60% of Michoacán orchards already rely solely on rainfall, and a 2026 program will further strengthen efficient, sustainable water use. Additionally, the industry plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions throughout its supply chain by 2035 and will restrict U.S. entry of avocados grown on recently deforested land.

    Sustainability Trend 22. Integration of Digital Technologies for Environmental Sustainability

    The intersection of digital technologies and environmental sustainability, often termed the “twin transition,” is gaining prominence. Initiatives like the European Green Deal promote harnessing digital technologies to support sustainability goals. This includes leveraging AI, IoT, and blockchain to optimize resource use, monitor environmental impact, and forecast risks.​

    Sustainability Trend 23. Emphasis on Traditional Environmental Topics

    Traditional environmental concerns such as pollution control, chemical stewardship, and waste management are regaining attention. Heightened awareness of substances like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is impacting regulatory frameworks and corporate practices. Companies are expected to proactively address these issues to ensure compliance and meet stakeholder expectations.​

    Sustainability Trend 24. Advancements in Sustainable Construction

    The construction industry is adopting sustainable practices through strategies like the use of mass timber (e.g., cross-laminated timber) for building structures, which offers a renewable alternative to traditional materials. Additionally, the development of hemp-based building materials, such as ‘hempcrete,’ provides eco-friendly options for insulation and construction. These innovations aim to reduce the environmental impact of construction activities.​

    What are Sustainability Trends Exactly?

    Sustainability Trends refer to emerging patterns, innovations, behaviors, and policy shifts that shape how societies, businesses, and governments reduce environmental impact, improve resource efficiency, and promote long-term ecological balance.

    These trends typically focus on:

    • Decarbonization: Transitioning to renewable energy (solar, wind, green hydrogen) and reducing CO₂ emissions across industries.
    • Circular Economy: Designing products for reuse, repair, and recycling, minimizing waste and raw material consumption.
    • Sustainable Agriculture: Promoting regenerative farming, reducing chemical inputs, and improving soil health.
    • Green Finance: Redirecting investments toward ESG-compliant (Environmental, Social, Governance) projects and disincentivizing polluting industries.
    • Climate Adaptation: Building resilient infrastructure, water management systems, and disaster-preparedness strategies in response to climate change.
    • Sustainable Mobility: Expanding electric vehicle use, public transit, and low-emission logistics.
    • Biodiversity Preservation: Protecting ecosystems, restoring habitats, and integrating nature-based solutions into urban and rural planning.
    • Corporate Responsibility: Increasing transparency in supply chains, sustainability reporting, and stakeholder-driven governance.
    • Tech for Sustainability: Using AI, IoT, and satellite data to monitor environmental impact, optimize resource use, and forecast risks.
    • Behavioral Shifts: Changing consumer behavior toward low-impact lifestyles—plant-based diets, slow fashion, local purchasing.

    These trends are dynamic. They evolve with technological breakthroughs, geopolitical pressures, regulatory updates, and shifting public values. Understanding them helps organizations future-proof strategies, comply with ESG frameworks, and drive systemic change.

    The Path Forward in Sustainability Trends: Seizing Opportunities in Sustainability

    Sustainability professionals face both challenges and opportunities in 2026 and beyond. Those who embrace these above mentioned 20 trends will not only enhance their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance but will also lead the way in building a resilient and sustainable future.

    From leveraging digital transformation to investing in biodiversity and renewable energy, businesses have the chance to innovate while reducing their environmental impact. The urgency of these trends cannot be overstated. Staying ahead of them will be the key to long-term success and global impact.

    By acting now, companies can solidify their position as sustainability leaders, making a real difference for both the planet and their bottom line.

    FAQ: Sustainability Trends in 2026

    What are sustainability trends?

    Sustainability trends are emerging developments in technology, regulation, consumer behavior, and corporate strategy that drive environmental and social responsibility. They shape how businesses reduce emissions, minimize waste, and build resilience in a changing world.

    Why are sustainability trends important for 2026?

    By 2026, companies face intense pressure from regulators, investors, and consumers to take real climate action. Staying ahead of sustainability trends allows businesses to meet compliance, manage risks, unlock innovation, and maintain market relevance.

    What are the key sustainability trends to watch in 2026?

    Here are 20 critical trends reshaping sustainability:

    1. Sustainability Disclosure – Stricter reporting under CSRD and ESG expectations.
    2. Biodiversity Impact – Nature protection becomes a core business metric.
    3. Circular Economy Models – Reuse, refurbish, recycle across product lifecycles.
    4. Sustainable Supply Chains – Transparency and ethical sourcing as new standards.
    5. Renewable Energy Investments – Surge in solar, wind, and green hydrogen projects.
    6. Water Stewardship – Corporate accountability for water use and restoration.
    7. Social Equity – Integrating fairness, diversity, and inclusion into ESG goals.
    8. Stakeholder Engagement – Empowering customers and communities in climate efforts.
    9. Sustainable Finance – Growth of green bonds and ESG-aligned investments.
    10. Digital Transformation – Using AI, blockchain, and IoT to drive sustainable innovation.
    11. Climate Resilience Planning – Anticipating extreme weather and supply disruptions.
    12. Carbon Capture & Storage – Technologies for permanent CO₂ removal.
    13. Sustainable Packaging – Shift to compostable, recycled, and smart packaging.
    14. Sustainable Aviation – Rise of electric planes and low-emission fuels.
    15. Nature-Based Solutions – Restoring forests, wetlands, and ecosystems.
    16. Product Life Extension – Prioritizing repairability and long-term durability.
    17. Urban Sustainability – Smart cities focused on energy and mobility efficiency.
    18. Agroforestry & Regenerative Farming – Agriculture that heals rather than harms.
    19. Net-Zero Buildings – Low-carbon construction and energy self-sufficiency.
    20. Sustainable Fashion – Ethical production and circular clothing models.

    How do these trends affect business strategy?

    These trends reshape business priorities—from supply chain transparency to investment strategies. Adapting early allows companies to future-proof operations, meet compliance, and enhance their ESG reputation. Sustainability is now a business imperative, not a side initiative.

    What role does technology play in sustainability trends?

    Technologies like AI, blockchain, and satellite monitoring enable real-time data tracking, emission reduction, resource optimization, and transparency. Companies leveraging digital tools will move faster and smarter on sustainability goals.

    How can companies start integrating these trends?

    Start by:

    • Auditing current sustainability efforts.
    • Aligning goals with top trends (e.g., CSRD compliance, biodiversity).
    • Investing in technology and stakeholder collaboration.
    • Embedding sustainability into core business functions.

    Why act now instead of waiting until 2026?

    Regulatory changes, shifting consumer expectations, and climate risks are accelerating. Companies that act now gain a competitive edge, avoid penalties, attract investment, and drive meaningful impact—both environmentally and financially.

    Author:  - I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I'm not writing, you'll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.

    ]]>     Environmental Management Solutions in a High-Risk World https://sdgtalks.ai/environmental-management-solutions-in-a-high-risk-world https://sdgtalks.ai/environmental-management-solutions-in-a-high-risk-world Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:39:57 -0500 clolli From industrial parks to indoor shooting ranges, businesses operate in in situations where a single spill, leak, or poorly handled waste stream can trigger health risks, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage. That pressure has pushed environmental management from a compliance box-ticking exercise into a core operational function. Full-service providers such as HCI Environment illustrate this shift: the California-based company delivers integrated solutions for waste management, hazardous material handling, site remediation, and even specialized services such as shooting range maintenance, helping clients run safer and more sustainable operations.

    Why environmental management moved into the boardroom

    Regulators treat hazardous waste and contaminated land far more strictly than a decade ago. In the United States, the EPA’s hazardous waste rules treat “remediation waste” from cleanups as part of the same legal framework that governs day-to-day waste, closing loopholes that once allowed contamination to sit unattended.

    At the same time, environmental services have consolidated into a global industry. When Veolia announced its planned acquisition of U.S. hazardous waste group Clean Earth for about $3 billion in November 2025, it projected hazardous-waste earnings growth of at least 10% between 2024 and 2027.

    The deal shows two realities:

    • hazardous waste management is now a large, profitable business,
    • regulators and investors expect companies to treat waste and contaminated sites as strategic issues, not as afterthoughts.

    Environmental management solutions have evolved in response. The most effective models combine engineering, logistics, and compliance expertise under one umbrella, backed by rapid emergency response.

    Waste management solutions, from cradle to grave

    Modern waste management goes well beyond scheduled bin collections. Companies that generate industrial or hazardous waste must classify materials, store them safely, transport them using licensed haulers, and document every step to prove compliance. From hazardous waste disposal, contaminated soil handling, to remediation support to companies that cannot manage this complexity in-house.

    To use HCI Environmental as an example, the company operates in that same space, focusing on hazardous and non-hazardous waste transportation and disposal, alongside emergency spill response. According to the company information, its teams collect, package, label, and transport waste streams ranging from solvents and paints to used oil under state and federal rules, then route them to licensed treatment or disposal facilities.

    For clients, the benefit is straightforward: one provider designs the waste profile, supplies compliant containers, arranges transport, and produces a documentation trail for audits and inspections. When that same provider also handles cleanup, construction, and training, environmental management becomes an integrated part of operations rather than a patchwork of separate contractors.

    Don’t forget, poor waste systems already impose huge hidden costs that robust environmental management could prevent as I show you in the below table which offers you an overview of global waste growth and cost pressures as gathered in the UNEP Global Waste Management Outlook 2024.

    Metric Year Value Why it matters
    Municipal solid waste generated worldwide 2023 2.1 billion tonnes Baseline volume that must be collected, treated, or landfilled safely.
    Projected municipal solid waste 2050 3.8 billion tonnes Waste volume projected to grow by ~81%, increasing demand for waste and environmental management systems.
    Direct cost of waste management 2020 USD 252 billion “Official” spending on collection, treatment, and disposal infrastructure.
    Cost incl. pollution, health and climate impacts from poor disposal 2020 USD 361 billion Externalities add roughly USD 109 billion per year to the bill.
    Projected total annual cost of waste (with externalities) 2050 USD 640.3 billion Cost of inaction on sound waste management could almost double by mid-century.

    Hazardous material handling as risk control

    Hazardous materials sit at the heart of environmental risk. Poor labeling, incomplete inventories, or informal disposal arrangements create exposure not only for the environment but also for employees and nearby communities.

    Specialist consultancies now support the full hazardous materials lifecycle: waste characterization, packaging, storage, manifesting, transport, and final treatment or disposal. Companies like HCI Environmental positions itself squarely in this space, with services covering hazardous waste transportation and management, biohazard clean-up, and 24/7 emergency chemical spill response.

    The practical work is often unglamorous but highly technical:

    • segregating incompatible chemicals to avoid reactions during transport,
    • stabilizing reactive or unknown wastes so they can move safely,
    • clearing and decontaminating lab spaces or production lines,
    • managing biohazard or medical waste streams and their associated documentation.

    Training forms a critical part of these solutions. HCI Environmental, for example, supplements field services with OSHA training and K-12/higher education programs on hazardous materials and safety. This combination of hands-on work and education reduces the chance of improper storage or disposal that later turns into a remediation project.

    Site remediation solutions for contaminated land

    When spills, leaks, or legacy operations contaminate soil and groundwater, companies must remediate affected areas before they can safely reuse or sell the land. Traditional methods include excavation and off-site disposal, capping, and pump-and-treat systems for groundwater.

    Recent research shows newer techniques. Chelator-assisted soil washing and chemical immobilization have emerged as practical options for stabilizing lead and other metals in contaminated soils, reducing their mobility and allowing more soil to remain on site. European technology networks also point to integrated solutions that combine conventional engineering with real-time data, so operators can remediate faster, minimize waste volumes, and meet ESG reporting expectations.

    Companies often outsource remediation project management. Specialists coordinate site investigations, regulatory approvals, contractor selection, and fieldwork, ensuring that the chosen technology matches the contamination profile. Full-service environmental management firms that already know a client’s operations can design remediation plans that align with existing waste streams and treatment partners, avoiding unnecessary duplication.

    Shooting range maintenance as an environmental issue

    One of the most complex – and underestimated – environmental management challenges is shooting range maintenance as i spoke about in my introduction. Shooting ranges are one of the largest sources of lead contamination in the environment, second only to the battery industry.

    Lead bullets fragment and weather in berms, bullet traps, and surrounding soils. If operators neglect routine shooting range maintenance, lead dust can spread through ventilation systems at indoor facilities or migrate into surrounding soils and water bodies at outdoor ranges. EPA guidance for outdoor shooting ranges stresses lead containment, regular reclamation of spent bullets, and careful waste handling to keep ranges compliant with environmental law.

    Specialized firing range remediation companies describe a typical shooting range maintenance plan as far more involved than occasional sweeping. It usually includes:

    • bullet trap and berm cleaning,
    • HEPA-grade vacuuming and filter replacement,
    • air-quality monitoring and ventilation checks,
    • lead-contaminated soil management and stabilization where needed,
    • packaging and shipping of collected lead and filters as hazardous waste.

    HCI Environmental addresses this niche explicitly. In its own firing range guidance, the company recommends weekly, monthly, and quarterly cleaning schedules depending on range usage and describes shooting range maintenance as a combination of bullet trap cleaning, air-quality checks, equipment inspections, and compliant hazardous waste disposal. For operators, outsourcing this work to a full-service environmental management company reduces liability and consolidates waste streams under existing hazardous-waste transport contracts.

    HCI Environmental as an integrated case study

    HCI Environmental & Engineering Service is headquartered in Corona, California, and has provided environmental services across the United States for more than 25 years. The company markets itself as a full-service environmental management provider, combining general contracting with hazardous waste transportation and disposal, biohazard clean-up, mold and asbestos abatement, and 24/7 emergency spill response.

    A typical client engagement can link multiple service areas:

    • Routine hazardous waste management – inventorying, packaging, and transporting drums of chemicals, paints, and oils under hazardous waste regulations.
    • Emergency spill response – dispatching hazmat teams to contain and clean chemical spills on roads, in warehouses, or at industrial sites, then documenting the cleanup for regulators.
    • Facility decontamination and remediation – handling mold, asbestos, and lead abatement in buildings, along with decontamination after biohazard incidents.
    • Shooting range maintenance – managing regular cleaning of firing ranges, lead recovery, and disposal of contaminated filters and debris as hazardous waste.

    Because all of these services sit within one organization, clients deal with a single set of procedures and reporting formats. That consistency is valuable when auditors, insurers, or investors want a unified view of environmental performance.

    What businesses should ask before choosing a provider?

    Whether you run a manufacturing plant, a hospital network, a logistics hub, or a public shooting range, the questions to ask potential environmental management partners are similar:

    1. Scope of services: Can the provider cover the full lifecycle, from waste characterization and transport to site remediation and emergency response? Or will you need multiple contractors?
    2. Regulatory footprint: Does the company hold the permits and licenses required in every state or region where you operate? Ask for permit numbers, not general assurances.
    3. Specialized capabilities: If you operate high-risk sites – such as labs, chemical warehouses, or shooting ranges – check that the provider has documented experience and clear procedures for those environments, including structured shooting range maintenance plans.
    4. Training and culture: Look for a provider that invests in employee training and offers OSHA or equivalent programs for clients. That culture of safety tends to translate into better field practices.
    5. Data and reporting: Ask how you will access manifests, certificates of disposal, air-quality data, and remediation progress reports. Integrated portals and standardized reporting reduce admin work and help with ESG disclosures.
    6. Response times and capacity: For emergency scenarios, written response time guarantees and clear escalation paths matter as much as technical expertise.

    The next phase of environmental management

    The environmental services sector is moving into a data-rich, technology-driven phase. Sensors, drones, and satellite imagery now feed into risk assessments for large facilities and contaminated sites. Software platforms aggregate manifests, lab results, and inspection records into dashboards that boards and regulators can understand.

    In that context, full-service environmental management companies such as HCI Environmental occupy a pivotal role. Their field crews, hazardous-waste logistics, remediation projects, and shooting range maintenance programs generate the underlying data that feeds compliance systems and ESG reporting.

    For businesses, the lesson is clear. Choosing the right partner – one that can handle waste management, hazardous material handling, site remediation, and specialized niches under a single, accountable umbrella – has become a core part of operating safely and sustainably.

    Author:  - I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I'm not writing, you'll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.

    ]]>     Growing Sustainability from the Ground Up in Eastern Poland https://sdgtalks.ai/growing-sustainability-from-the-ground-up-in-eastern-poland https://sdgtalks.ai/growing-sustainability-from-the-ground-up-in-eastern-poland Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:29:47 -0500 clolli SVZ Ingredients, a Netherlands-based supplier of fruit and vegetable ingredients, is helping farmers across Europe adopt more sustainable practices. Though it typically sources just 5% of a farmer’s harvest which are primarily “imperfect” fruit and vegetables that do not meet fresh market standards, SVZ nevertheless, plays an active role in improving how food is grown. 

    At the heart of this effort is SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA). SVZ has been using the FSA since the early 2000s to guide its sourcing strategy and support farmers to adopt better environmental, social, and economic practices. The FSA provides a clear framework for setting goals, tracking progress, and building long-term resilience on the farm. 

    Eastern Poland is a key region for SVZ’s sourcing strategy, supplying a diverse array of crops from raspberries and blackcurrants to kale and beetroot. Here, the FSA has helped drive measurable change:  

    • In 2024, 77% of SVZ’s core raw materials met FSA Silver-level or higher verification. 
    • Between 2022 and 2025, over 1,800 Polish growers achieved FSA Silver status. 
    • Biodiversity initiatives included distributing flower meadow seeds and installing insect habitats to support pollination and natural pest control. 

    The FSA also helps SVZ monitor and report progress through the Sustainable Juice Covenant (SJC), ensuring transparency and accountability across the supply chain. Beyond the farm, SVZ invests in energy and water efficiency and promotes climate-smart agriculture that protect both the planet and livelihoods. 

    Looking ahead, SVZ plans to expand FSA implementation to all sourcing regions and reach 100% sustainable sourcing by 2030, engaging up to 4,000 farmers. The company continues to call for broader collaboration with both farmers and other SAI Platform members, especially fresh market players, to decrease agricultural carbon emissions, and increase water efficiency and biodiversity at the farm-level. 

    ]]>     Farmer-Led Trials Program Spotlight: Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center https://sdgtalks.ai/farmer-led-trials-program-spotlight-oxbow-farm-and-conservation-center https://sdgtalks.ai/farmer-led-trials-program-spotlight-oxbow-farm-and-conservation-center Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:22:59 -0500 clolli

    Investigating Seeding Rate of Cover Crops for Biomass and Nutrient Content

    Written by Mary Hathaway, OFRF’s Research & Education Program Manager, and Anthony Reyes, FLT Program participant

    Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center is a nonprofit farm in the floodplains of Snoqualmie Valley, WA. Anthony Reyes, the Agricultural Program Manager, manages 81 acres of certified organic land by experimenting and trialing climate adaptive and resilient agricultural practices. Along with his team, he works to reconcile our expanding human needs and the health of our ecosystem through sustainable agriculture, thoughtful management of our forests, ecological restoration, and education.

    Oxbow Farm cultivates a variety of different crops well suited to the Snoqualmie Valley floodplain, and maintains a crop rotation to allow the soil to recover and regenerate. Anthony strategically removes fields from production each year and leaves them fallowed in cover crop to help protect the watershed, build up nutrients, and manage weeds, pests, and diseases.

    Finding a Cover Crop that Works

    Anthony was interested in understanding how to find a cover crop that would meet the needs of the farm – managing climatic challenges, erosion, and weed pressure. Ideally, anything that would be planted would help add biomass and could withstand drought conditions. Manipulating the seeding rate of the cover crops had been one way that the farm had considered better coverage of the soil, and Anthony was curious if the recommended seeding rate was the right density for their soil.

    Farm Trial Plan

    A portion of the cover cropped trial field.

    With technical support from OFRF, Anthony is investigating the impact of seeding rate on biomass and nutrient content for German Foxtail, Pearl Millet, and Sudex cover crops. He will plant single varieties at two different seeding rates: the recommended rate and 25% above the recommended drilling rate.

    The trial was arranged in  a randomized complete block design, with 24 rows, each 100’ x 10’ wide, with 1’ pathways and borders on outside rows. Each of the 4 replications contained  6 plots (3 varieties at 2 different seeding rates), for a total of 24 plots.

    Measurements were taken from a random 3×3’ quadrat from each plot, including a biomass and leaf tissue sample. These samples were sent to Ward Lab for analysis of biomass, nutrient content, dry matter, and C:N ratio of the crop matter.

    Trial updates

    The quadrat samples were taken in September and lab results were returned in late October. The OFRF team is now reviewing the data with Anthony, for a full report on how the trial went and findings from the data.

    Trial fields at Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center

    “I have long been interested in conducting and furthering our on-farm research, having worked on and set up many trials throughout my career. The Farmer-Led Trial Program goes beyond and centers the experience and voice of farmers by identifying us as the content experts and by playing a highly supportive and facilitative role in creating sound research from our identified goals. I have greatly valued the time and care given by OFRF staff and am so appreciative of this program.” 

    – Anthony Reyes, Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center

    An overhead drone shot of Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center

    This is part of a series of blogs highlighting farmers who are participating in OFRF’s Farmer-Led Trials program. Farmers receive technical support to address their production challenges through structured on-farm trials. To learn more about OFRF’s Farmer-Led Trials Program, visit our website page at https://ofrf.org/research/farmer-led-research-trials/ 

    ]]>     Bridging Mobility, Industry, and Policy Innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/bridging-mobility-industry-and-policy-innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/bridging-mobility-industry-and-policy-innovation Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:19:22 -0500 clolli

    Bridging Mobility, Industry, and Policy Innovation

    Morocco Showcases Its Sustainable Transport Approach at the 2025 Transport and Climate Change Week in Berlin

    The global community is slowly advancing a comprehensive decarbonisation of the transport sector, as most recently demonstrated at the COP30 with an emphasis on transitioning energy, industry, and transport away from fossil fuels—an ambition well reflected in Morocco’s cross-sectoral approach. Morocco’s position in the global automotive industry is gaining recognition, its recently updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) show a reinforced commitment to energy and transport decarbonisation, and preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 and 2030 World Cup are in full gear. In this context, this year’s Transport and Climate Change Week (TCCW) presented a unique opportunity to showcase the country’s achievements and ambitions, to build further its expertise – from emissions testing to climate finance – and to deepen international dialogue and cooperation in the transport sector in Africa and beyond.

    From 22 to 26 September 2025, the 8th Transport and Climate Change Week (TCCW) brought mobility practitioners from more than 30 countries to Berlin under the theme “Time to be Accountable.” Organised by GIZ with the support of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Government of Germany,[1] the annual event serves as a global platform to share best practices, foster dialogue, and advance solutions for decarbonising the transport sector.

    The Moroccan delegation at the TCCW 2025, institutional partners of the projects DKTI VI and IMPROVE, participated actively in the conference programme. Reflecting the country’s ambition and growing role as regional leader in sustainable mobility and decarbonisation, the representatives shared achievements, strategies, and engaged with the experiences of other countries presented throughout the week.

    Training on Vehicle Efficiency in Dresden

    Part of the Moroccan delegation’s journey began on Monday, 22 September, in Dresden, where partners of the IMPROVE project—Ministry of Transport and Logistics (MTL) and the National Agency for Road Safety (NARSA)—participated in a guided visit to the Dresden University of Technology’s vehicle emissions laboratory. Led by Prof. Dr. Frank Atzler, the visit offered an in-depth look into how vehicle emissions are measured and analysed, providing valuable technical insights into data-based policymaking for vehicle efficiency standards.

    Morocco’s Perspective in the Opening Plenary

    During the official opening of TCCW on Tuesday, 23 September—in the first Country Perspectives session of the week—representatives from several African countries highlighted shared ambitions and national strategies for climate-friendly mobility. Mr Nabil Dahhou, Head of Service for Strategy & Planning at the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development (MTEDD), outlined Morocco’s integrated approach to advancing both the energy and transport transitions. He highlighted Morocco’s strong commitment to climate action through the Long-term Low Carbon Strategy 2050 (French) and the National Strategy for Sustainable Development (French). Mr. Dahhou emphasised the synergies between renewable energy and sustainable mobility, describing them as essential drivers of Morocco’s low-carbon development agenda and its national climate objectives.

    Thematic Trainings

    The representatives of Morocco took part in three thematic trainings addressing central challenges of the transport transition.


    The first, “Regulating the Transition to Clean Vehicles,” explored vehicle efficiency standards, emissions monitoring, effective industrial dialogue, and data management. The second, “Financing and Funding Approaches for Mobility,” organised by the EBRD, examined how to mobilise climate finance and effectively prepare sustainable transport projects. The third, “Decarbonising Informal Transport: Roadmaps for Reform,” addressed how paratransit systems—such as shared taxis and minibuses—can be integrated into urban mobility planning.

    These sessions offered opportunities for exchange between countries at different stages of the mobility transition, and provided participants with actionable tools to advance policy development and implementation at home.

    Presentation on the FRAT

    Mr Essaid Fraigui, Head of the Fonds d’Accompagnement des Réformes au Transport (FRAT),presented to participants of the financing training the unique role played the FRAT, a financial instrument of the Ministry of the Interior. He explained how the FRAT was established to support public transport reform and finance major infrastructure projects, such as BRT and tramway networks. Mr Fraigui’s presentation offered an inspiring example of how national funding instruments can catalyse investments in sustainable mobility and strengthen institutional frameworks for transport reform.

    The Moroccan delegation embarked on a transport-focused tour through central Berlin, experiencing the city’s integrated public transport network firsthand. Visiting Berlin’s mobility hubs operated by BVG and accessible through the Mobility-as-a-Service app Jelbi, participants observed how digitalisation, multimodality, and public–private cooperation can facilitate sustainable mobility solutions for urban residents.

    Morocco’s Role in the Future of Automotive Value Chains

    On Thursday, 25 September, Mr Karim Ben Amara, Head of Service for Sustainable Mobility at the MTL joined a panel discussion entitled “Driving Transitions: The Future of Automotive Industry Value Chains in a Changing Global Landscape.” The panel, moderated by Christian Hochfeld (Agora Verkehrswende), also included Ms Annika Berlin (UNEP), Dr Juma Mukhwana (Kenya’s Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry), and Mr Li Disi (China’s GSTIKC). Mr Ben Amara showcased Morocco’s increasing significance in global automotive value chains, highlighting ongoing investments in battery and (electric) vehicle production. He emphasised the country’s commitment to aligning industrial development with decarbonisation objectives and international climate goals.

    Showcasing National Strategies in the Africa Dialogue

    The week concluded with the Africa Dialogue session entitled “Accountability in Motion – Linking National to Regional Impact in the Transition to Net-Zero Mobility.” Mrs Dounia Squali, Head of Division for Sustainable Mobility and Innovation at the MTL presented Morocco’s national policies for transport decarbonisation, including measures for fleet renewal and the design of an incentive mechanism for low-emission vehicles, a central part of the IMPROVE project. The session fostered exchanges among African representatives, strengthening regional collaboration and mutual learning.

    The 8th Transport and Climate Change Week demonstrated that achieving a sustainable, low-carbon transport future depends on international partnerships, shared accountability, and continued dialogue between governments, public and private stakeholders, and citizens alike.

    The Sustainable Mobility with Renewable Energies in Morocco (DKTI VI) project is and is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development (MTEDD) and the City of Agadir.

    The IMPROVE project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and is funded through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation Climate Action and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). It supports partner ministries in Colombia, Kenya, Morocco and Thailand to develop policies and regulations that support the transition to cleaner and more energy efficient vehicles.

    ©GIZ by Thomas Ecke
    Author(s)

    ]]>     Kenya’s Road to Electric Mobility https://sdgtalks.ai/kenyas-road-to-electric-mobility https://sdgtalks.ai/kenyas-road-to-electric-mobility Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:15:45 -0500 clolli

    Kenya’s Road to Electric Mobility

    Insights from the EMAK 2025 White Paper

    Kenya is accelerating its transition to electric mobility and the EMAK 2025 E‑Mobility White Paper lays out a comprehensive fiscal, regulatory, and infrastructure roadmap aimed at rapidly scaling up electric-vehicle (EV) adoption across the country. According to the White Paper, electric two-wheelers notably motorcycles, and e-bikes account for roughly 90% of Kenya’s registered EVs. Other vehicle categories remain in initial stages of adoption.   As of 2024, 9144 EVs were registered, a sharp growth in registrations from 4047 in 2023.

    The recommendations in the White Paper build on earlier stakeholder dialogues organized through EMAK’s round tables, where industry leaders, government representatives and civil-society actors have cited regulatory frameworks, financing models, and integration of EV policy into urban transport planning as critical components for a successful transition. At those roundtables, stakeholders have severally emphasized that beyond pushing EVs, Kenya needs charging-station networks, urban transport reforms, enabling legislation, and long-term national strategy to integrate E-Mobility into public transport and infrastructure planning.

    So, what does the white paper advocate for?

    • Fiscal incentives and policy support: The paper calls for tax exemptions (import duty, VAT, excise) for EVs, batteries, and charging equipment plus a tiered incentive system to support local assembly and manufacturing. Under a “moderate support” scenario (i.e. if fiscal/regulatory incentives are adopted), Kenya could see up to 2.2 million EVs deployed by 2040. The 126% growth between 2023 and 2024 cited above shows the EV market is no longer niche, it is scaling fast.
    • Boost for local manufacturing and supply-chain development: By encouraging local assembly (rather than relying solely on imports), the white paper envisions creating jobs, reducing dependency on imports, and building a resilient domestic EV industry. With a potential market of millions of EVs by 2040, there’s room for local manufacturing, battery-swap infrastructure, and maintenance industries creating jobs and building local capacity.
    • Infrastructure expansion: A key recommendation is the development of nationwide charging infrastructure including public charging stations and battery-swap networks to address “range anxiety” and support widespread EV use.
    • Long-term growth modelling: EMAK projects that, under strong policy support, EV adoption could grow dramatically by 2040, spurring reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, fuel imports, and generating economic benefits such as green jobs and new investments.

    In conclusion, the white paper offers a clear, evidence-driven roadmap for turning Kenya’s climate ambitions into tangible progress in the transport sector. As the country develops mass rapid transit corridors, expands local EV assembly and manufacturing, grows its charging infrastructure, and brings informal transport operators into cleaner mobility systems, E-Mobility is positioned to become not just a complement to existing transport, but a core pillar of Kenya’s decarbonisation strategy.

    Read more about the EMAK E-Mobility white paper here.

    The GIZ Promotion of Electric Mobility in Kenya project, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Co financed by the European Union (EU), aims to bridge gaps in the structured introduction of climate-friendly E-Mobility solutions and to build the capacities of key sector stakeholders. Electric mobility in Kenya is still at an early stage, and local experience with the technology remains limited. At present, the regulatory environment is largely designed around internal combustion engine vehicles, leaving both technical expertise and appropriate policy frameworks underdeveloped. The project therefore focuses on strengthening skills, institutions, and regulatory conditions to create an enabling environment and support market development for wider adoption of electric mobility.

    Author(s)
    ]]>     Turning CO2 into clean fuel faster and cheaper https://sdgtalks.ai/turning-co2-into-clean-fuel-faster-and-cheaper https://sdgtalks.ai/turning-co2-into-clean-fuel-faster-and-cheaper Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:36:37 -0500 clolli A team of scientists led by Dr. Kee Young Koo from the Hydrogen Research Department at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (President Yi Chang-Keun, hereafter referred to as KIER) has created a world-leading catalyst capable of transforming carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, into an essential ingredient for producing eco-friendly fuels.

    The reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H2O) by reacting it with hydrogen (H2) in a reactor. The resulting carbon monoxide can then be combined with hydrogen to make syngas, a fundamental building block used to produce synthetic fuels such as e-fuels* and methanol. Because of its ability to recycle CO2 into usable fuel components, the RWGS reaction is seen as a promising pathway for advancing sustainable energy production.

    Overcoming the Limits of Conventional Catalysts

    Traditionally, the RWGS reaction operates best at temperatures above 800 °C. Nickel-based catalysts are often used because they can withstand such heat, but they lose performance over time as particles clump together, reducing surface area and efficiency. Operating at lower temperatures avoids this problem, but it also leads to the formation of unwanted byproducts such as methane, lowering carbon monoxide output.

    To make the process more efficient and affordable, researchers have been searching for catalysts that remain highly active under low-temperature conditions. The KIER team succeeded by developing a new copper-based catalyst that delivers outstanding results at just 400 °C.

    A Breakthrough in Copper Catalyst Design

    The newly engineered copper-magnesium-iron mixed oxide catalyst outperformed commercial copper catalysts, producing carbon monoxide 1.7 times faster and with a 1.5 times higher yield at 400 °C.

    Copper catalysts have a key advantage over nickel: they can selectively produce only carbon monoxide at temperatures below 400 °C without forming methane. However, copper's thermal stability typically weakens near that temperature, leading to particle agglomeration and loss of activity.

    To solve this challenge, Dr. Koo's team incorporated a layered double hydroxide (LDH) structure into their design. This layered structure contains thin metal sheets with water molecules and anions between them. By adjusting the ratio and type of metal ions, the researchers fine-tuned the catalyst's physical and chemical characteristics. Adding iron and magnesium helped fill the gaps between copper particles, effectively preventing clumping and improving heat resistance.

    Real-time infrared analysis and reaction testing revealed why the new catalyst performs so well. Conventional copper catalysts convert CO2 into carbon monoxide through intermediate compounds called formates. The new material, however, bypasses these intermediates entirely, converting CO2 directly into CO on its surface. Because it avoids side reactions that produce methane or other byproducts, the catalyst maintains high activity even at a relatively low temperature of 400 °C.

    Record Performance and Global Significance

    At 400 °C, the catalyst achieved a carbon monoxide yield of 33.4% and a formation rate of 223.7 micromoles per gram of catalyst per second (μmol·gcat⁻¹·s⁻¹), maintaining stability for over 100 continuous hours. These results represent a 1.7-fold higher formation rate and a 1.5-fold higher yield than standard copper catalysts. When compared to platinum-based catalysts, which are costly but highly active, the new catalyst still outperformed them with a 2.2-fold faster formation rate and a 1.8-fold higher yield. This places it among the top-performing CO2 conversion catalysts in the world.

    "The low-temperature CO2 hydrogenation catalyst technology is a breakthrough achievement that enables the efficient production of carbon monoxide using inexpensive and abundant metals," said Dr. Kee Young Koo, the project's lead researcher. "It can be directly applied to the production of key feedstocks for sustainable synthetic fuels. Moving forward, we will continue our research to expand its application to real industrial settings, thereby contributing to the realization of carbon neutrality and the commercialization of sustainable synthetic fuel production technologies."

    Notes

    * E-Fuels are synthetic fuels produced by combining green hydrogen, generated with renewable electricity, and captured CO2 from the atmosphere or sustainable biomass. They are emerging as a promising alternative to conventional fossil fuels, especially for hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as aviation and shipping.

    The research findings were published online in May 2025 in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental and Energy, a leading journal in the field of energy and environmental catalysis. The study was supported by the KIER's R&D project, 'Development of e-SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) production technology from carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

    Journal Reference:

    1. Yeji Choi, Byeong-Seon An, Gi Dong Sim, Unho Jung, Yongha Park, Kee Young Koo. Synthesis of CuO catalysts supported on Fe-modified mixed oxides with high CO formation rates in low-temperature CO2 hydrogenation. Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy, 2025; 377: 125475 DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2025.125475

    National Research Council of Science & Technology. "Turning CO2 into clean fuel faster and cheaper." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 November 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251105050712.htm>.

    ]]>     This engineered fungus cuts emissions and tastes like meat https://sdgtalks.ai/this-engineered-fungus-cuts-emissions-and-tastes-like-meat https://sdgtalks.ai/this-engineered-fungus-cuts-emissions-and-tastes-like-meat Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:27:58 -0500 clolli A recent study published November 19 in Trends in Biotechnology reports that scientists used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to improve how efficiently a fungus produces protein while also lowering the environmental footprint of that production by as much as 61% -- all without introducing foreign DNA. The modified fungus has a meatlike flavor and is easier for people to digest than the natural strain it originated from.

    "There is a popular demand for better and more sustainable protein for food," says corresponding author Xiao Liu of Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China. "We successfully made a fungus not only more nutritious but also more environmentally friendly by tweaking its genes."

    Sustainable Protein and the Need for Alternatives

    Animal agriculture accounts for about 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also requires large amounts of land and fresh water, both of which are increasingly strained by climate change and human activity. Because of these challenges, microbial proteins found in yeast and fungi have gained attention as promising alternatives to meat.

    Among the many mycoprotein sources studied so far, the fungus Fusarium venenatum has become a prominent choice because its natural flavor and texture closely mimic meat. It has already been approved for consumption in several regions, including the United Kingdom, China, and the United States.

    Why Fusarium venenatum Needed Improvement

    Even with its advantages, Fusarium venenatum has thick cell walls that limit how well humans can digest it. Producing it is also resource intensive. Growing even modest quantities of mycoprotein requires significant inputs, and the spores must be cultivated in large metal tanks filled with sugar-rich feedstock and added nutrients such as ammonium sulfate.

    Liu and his colleagues wanted to determine whether CRISPR could make this fungus easier to digest and more efficient to grow while still avoiding the introduction of foreign DNA into the organism.

    Key Gene Edits That Boost Efficiency

    To explore this approach, the researchers removed two genes linked to the enzymes chitin synthase and pyruvate decarboxylase. Removing the chitin synthase gene resulted in a thinner cell wall, which made the internal protein more accessible for digestion. The deletion of the pyruvate decarboxylase gene fine-tuned the fungus's metabolism, reducing the amount of nutrients needed for protein production.

    Their analyses revealed that the modified strain, named FCPD, used 44% less sugar to create the same amount of protein as the original strain and did so 88% more quickly.

    "A lot of people thought growing mycoprotein was more sustainable, but no one had really considered how to reduce the environmental impact of the entire production process, especially when compared to other alternative protein products" says first author, Xiaohui Wu of Jiangnan University.

    Life Cycle Footprint and Global Comparisons

    The team then assessed the environmental footprint of FCPD across its entire life cycle, from laboratory spores to inactivated meat-like products, at an industrial scale. They modeled production in six countries with different energy systems, including Finland, which depends largely on renewable energy, and China, which relies more heavily on coal. In every scenario, FCPD produced lower environmental impacts than conventional Fusarium venenatum. Across its full life cycle, FCPD production reduced greenhouse gas emissions by up to 60%.

    How FCPD Compares to Animal Protein

    The researchers also compared the impacts of FCPD production to those associated with raising animals for food. Against chicken production in China, FCPD required 70% less land and lowered the potential for freshwater pollution by 78%.

    "Gene-edited foods like this can meet growing food demands without the environmental costs of conventional farming," says Liu.

    This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of China, the Jiangsu Basic Research Center for Synthetic Biology, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, and the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province.

    Journal Reference:

    1. Xiaohui Wu, Mengru Wang, Shijun Luo, Zhitong Zhou, Yanan Wang, Guocheng Du, Jian Chen, Xiao Liu. Dual enhancement of mycoprotein nutrition and sustainability via CRISPR-mediated metabolic engineering of Fusarium venenatum. Trends in Biotechnology, 2025; DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.09.016

    Cell Press. "This engineered fungus cuts emissions and tastes like meat." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 November 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251121082049.htm>.

    ]]>     At COP30 UNECE promotes low-carbon and climate-resilient transport systems https://sdgtalks.ai/at-cop30-unece-promotes-low-carbon-and-climate-resilient-transport-systems https://sdgtalks.ai/at-cop30-unece-promotes-low-carbon-and-climate-resilient-transport-systems Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:06:13 -0500 clolli Transport systems are vital enablers of economic growth, trade and connectivity, essential for ensuring the continuity of supply chains, access to services, and the overall functioning of economies. Yet, transport also accounts for nearly a quarter of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, whereas increasingly frequent and severe weather events are disrupting transport systems, threatening safety, causing economic losses, and limiting access to workplaces, markets and essential services.

    UNECE is responding to these challenges through both mitigation and adaptation work defined in its decarbonization strategy for inland transport adopted in 2024, as well as with its stress-test framework for evaluating the resilience of transport systems, a new template for preparing the inland transport–specific components of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and by developing a globally harmonized methodology for measuring vehicle carbon footprints.

    At COP30 side events co-organized with ECLAC and ESCAP, UNECE showcased these tools and explored actions to accelerate the transformation of commitments into concrete actions for a cleaner, more resilient global transport future.

    Decarbonizing transport

    With over 30,000 components and complex global supply chains, the automotive industry exemplifies the challenge and opportunity for reducing carbon emissions. A key focus is cutting automotive carbon footprints through a technology-neutral cradle-to-grave assessment, which captures emissions across production, use and end-of-life stages.

    The UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) is currently developing the world’s first harmonized methodology to measure vehicles’ carbon footprint throughout their lifecycle – from raw material extraction and manufacturing to use and end-of-life. Expected to be adopted in March 2026, this important milestone will provide governments and industry with a common framework for quantifying and comparing vehicle emissions, supporting evidence-based policymaking and advancing the transition to truly sustainable mobility.

    With participation of Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Climate Envoy of The Netherlands, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), views were exchanged on the potential for greater alignment between the maritime and inland transport sectors, especially on the fuel cycle from the well-to-wheel or well-to wake (WtW) aligning carbon accounting methodologies for various fuel types. Participants also noted the longer-term opportunity of developing interoperable data systems that could support more consistent traceability of upstream emissions across transport modes—an area that remains at an early stage of exploration.

    To accelerate the shift to cleaner mobility, UNECE is advancing regulatory work on battery durability and emphasizing the link between vehicles and the renewable energy systems that sustain them through its e-Mobility Task Force.

    Finally, with its new template for integrating the transport sector into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), UNECE aims to help countries to systematically reflect the transport sector’s role in their climate commitments. The template offers clear indicators and metrics for measuring emission reductions and qualitative guidance for integrating transport actions into broader development strategies, to help member States translate their transport decarbonization efforts into credible, measurable and transparent national reporting.

    These initiatives and tools build on the UNECE Inland Transport Committee’s Decarbonization Strategy. Together, they form a coherent framework that connects global standards to national implementation, and exemplify how regulation, innovation, and data can work hand in hand to transform ambition into tangible outcomes and accelerate the global transition to low-carbon, resilient mobility systems, noted Dmitry Mariyasin, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary.

    Building climate resilience

    To limit the growing economic and social costs of climate-related disruptions, urgent action is needed to strengthen both new and existing inland transport systems. A key first step lies in understanding exposure to climate hazards and assessing the sensitivity and vulnerability of infrastructure and operations.

    At a side-event co-organized with ECLAC, UNECE showcased how countries and international organizations are advancing this effort through geospatial climate risk analysis, data integration, and collaborative tools, such as the International Transport Infrastructure Observatory (ITIO).

    This data-driven platform brings together transport network information and overlays it with climate hazard data. It already includes climate exposure data for Europe, Central Asia, North America and the Middle East, enabling policymakers in these regions to visualize risks and identify transport systems in need of more detailed vulnerability assessments. The platform will be expanded to include additional regions and datasets to create a truly global resource for climate-resilient transport planning.

    As part of efforts to broaden the geographic scope of climate-resilient transport planning, UNECE welcomed a proposal by the South American Infrastructure Observatory of the Brasilia Consensus to collaborate with the ITIO platform and with ECLAC on incorporating GIS data and climate hazard overlays for South American transport networks. The invitation was extended during the COP30 side event by Mr. Murilo Lubambo, General Coordinator for South American Integration Affairs at the Ministry of Planning and Budget on behalf of the Brazilian Government.

    Established on 30 May 2023, the Brasilia Consensus brings together twelve South American nations—Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela—with the shared objective of strengthening regional ties and advancing integration. This initiative marks a significant step toward creating a truly global platform for climate-informed transport planning.

    Moreover, participants were informed about the UNECE stress-test framework for evaluating the resilience of transport systems helps countries determine whether a specific transport system can withstand a series of stress tests related to defined hazard scenarios and thus be assessed as resilient to such scenarios. For transport systems that do not pass these stress tests, targeted adaptation programmes must be put in place. UNECE is supporting member States in developing adaptation pathways: forward-looking strategies that guide investment and maintenance decisions under different climate scenarios.

    By combining infrastructure and hazard data, scientific projections can be translated into actionable insights, “identifying where extreme heat might disrupt a key corridor, where flood-risk mitigation is most urgent, or where maintenance funding will yield the greatest resilience gains, empowering policymakers to act before disasters strike,” said Mr. Mariyasin.

    ]]>     Focusing on Soil Health Helps Colorado Farmers Adapt to Climate Changes https://sdgtalks.ai/focusing-on-soil-health-helps-colorado-farmers-adapt-to-climate-changes https://sdgtalks.ai/focusing-on-soil-health-helps-colorado-farmers-adapt-to-climate-changes Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:02:05 -0500 clolli

    Focusing on Soil Health Helps Colorado Farmers Adapt to

     Climate Changes

    On Posted on by Danielle Rotella Adams to Colorado, Colorado Environment

    In partnership with: Colorado Department of Agriculture

    Colorado is experiencing an extended drought with the increasingly dry conditions going back more than 1,000 years. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 billion people live in water-stressed regions, and that number is expected to double by 2050 when Earth’s population is estimated to grow to 9 billion people. 

    The recently approved Colorado Water Plan specifically identifies robust agriculture as a top-level priority for the entire state, including established farms and ranches, crops, local food, ditch companies, acequias, and urban agriculture. According to the plan’s executive summary, if no new water projects or strategies are implemented, modeling for the driest periods shows Colorado communities could need 230,000 to 740,000 acre-feet of additional water per year by 2050. The upper-end need is about enough water to fill 370,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools each year. Water will be needed across the state. 

    Landowners in Colorado are addressing the climate crisis by partnering with soil health advocates to implement farmer and rancher led solutions for Colorado agriculture to thrive, even with less water.

    Regenerative Recovery Coalition assists landowners to incorporate regenerative agriculture methods throughout the state. Photo credit: Bill See

    Bolstering Soil Health

    Adopting climate resilient agriculture practices is one of the most effective ways farmers and ranchers can make soil and water improvements on their land. 

    “Regenerative agriculture has a unique focus on soil health, and I think it is the future of agriculture,” says Brenna Simmons-St. Onge, executive director of The Alliance Center, a nonprofit that created the Regenerative Recovery Coalition, which provides connections and funding to landowners in partnership with Restore Colorado. 

    Photo credit: Jane Cavagnero/Mad Agriculture

    Regenerative agriculture methods are used across the state, but prioritizing their use on a large scale is critical for production. Composting, planting cover crops and adding animal grazing improve soil health, water quality and retention while helping to maintain soil nutrients. 

    “The healthier the soil, the more nutritious the food being grown will be, and the more water is retained, which requires less water for irrigation,” Simmons-St. Onge says. 

    Since launching in 2020, the coalition has worked to direct federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to support communities across Colorado, and their crowdsourced policy ideas have influenced 44 new state laws.

    Photo credit: Jane Cavagnero/Mad Agriculture

    Funding and Restoration 

    Transitioning to regenerative agriculture techniques comes with upfront costs. These can be offset by grants offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but more funding is needed to effectively implement long term change. That’s where Restore Colorado and Zero Foodprint (ZFP) comes in. 

    After seeing initial success in California, Restore Colorado, a pilot program launched in Boulder County in 2022, has partnered with the USDA, Colorado Department of Agriculture, ZFP and Mad Agriculture as well as the Regenerative Recovery Coalition to connect Colorado soil health-focused producers with businesses. 

    Restaurants and food and beverage companies in the program offer their customers an optional 1% fee, with the money going to a fund to help farmers and ranchers invest in regenerative agriculture practices.

    “Each dollar invested in the program creates about $40 in benefit,” says Anthony Myint, ZFP executive director. 

    Since 2021, ZFP has awarded 11 grants for more than $100,000 in Colorado, and plans to make available an additional $200,000 for statewide application started mid-March.

    “Our goal is to raise $5 million annually by 2025 to reinvest in Colorado food production,” Myint says. 

    ZFP is actively working to expand the Restore Colorado program to new regions and create further collaborations between producers committed to soil health and climate-minded consumers.

    The Mancos Conservation District assesses a rapid stream riparian area. Photo credit: Mancos Conservation District

    Water Improvements 

    Another organization focused on regenerative agriculture and water conservation is the Mancos Conservation District in southwestern Colorado, which works holistically with landowners who want to improve their water infrastructure, land and production. 

    “We first listen to agriculture producers and landowners to understand their issues and to identify barriers and then provide technical assistance in the areas of data, science and engineering to create solutions,” says Gretchen Rank, executive director of the Mancos Conservation District. 

    The Mancos district coordinates with local, state and federal partners to engineer and install irrigation diversions and infrastructure to address water conservation and efficiency while providing fish passage. This offers multiple agricultural and environmental benefits while improving riparian areas. 

    Mancos Conservation District’s Watershed Coordinator Sensa Wolcott, District Manager Neva Connolly and Executive Director Gretchen Rank; Photo credit: Mancos Conservation District

    “Landowners have seen their land change over time and recognize that their main assets are their land and water – not just the products they produce. If they care for their water and land, higher yield production will follow,” Rank says. 

    Since 2015, Mancos has funded nearly $12 million through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and other grants to support water implementation projects benefiting landowners and the broader community. The district is also part of the CDA’s STAR Plus Program, which administers financial and technical assistance to producers employing soil health practices in their operations.

    “It’s important for farmers and ranchers to know that they aren’t solely responsible for financing the transition to regenerative methods,” Myint says. “By working together, we can make the change happen.”



    ]]>     &quot;SDGs in Action&quot; Forum in Its 9th Edition as Part of the World Governments Summit 2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/sdgs-in-action-forum-in-its-9th-edition-as-part-of-the-world-governments-summit-2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/sdgs-in-action-forum-in-its-9th-edition-as-part-of-the-world-governments-summit-2025 Sun, 30 Nov 2025 01:41:24 -0500 Rayne Fowler The UAE’s National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) organized the ninth edition of the "SDGs in Action" Forum as part of the World Governments Summit 2025, held in Dubai from February 11–13. The forum brought together heads of state, ministers, UN officials, representatives of prestigious international organizations, and a distinguished group of thought leaders and policymakers under the theme "Shaping Future Governments."
    Under the theme "Envisioning Development Goals 2045: Inclusive Pathways to Sustainable Development," the forum spotlighted six key pillars aligned with the UN’s SDGs: health, gender equality, economic growth, marine life, climate action, and global partnerships. Through a series of panel discussions, the forum displayed leading national and global models for driving innovative solutions to accelerate SDG implementation. Key topics included ensuring resilient and inclusive societies, deploying innovative strategies to enhance universal health coverage, empowering women through gender equality initiatives, advancing inclusive economic growth to create sustainable job opportunities, fostering pathways towards a sustainable blue economy, and strengthening global partnerships to achieve the post-2030 development agenda.
    The forum also addressed pressing global challenges by presenting transformative and innovative solutions to accelerate sustainable development. It convened global leaders, ministers, policymakers, executives, and experts across diverse sectors. Distinguished participants included H.E. Wavel Ramkalawan, President of the Republic of Seychelles; H.E. Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam; H.E. Devika Vidot, Minister of Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry of Seychelles; H.E. Rex Gatchalian, Secretary of Department of Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines; H.E. Dr. Haji Mohammad Jaafar, Minister of Health of Brunei Darussalam; H.E. Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Tourism and Environment of the Maldives; H.E. Miriam Dalli, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Public Cleanliness of Malta; H.E. Uchral Nyam Osor Songoon, Minister of Cabinet Affairs of Mongolia; H.E. Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President and Special Envoy for Climate Affairs of Azerbaijan; H.E. Max Andonirina Fontaine, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Madagascar; and H.E. Odile Francoise Renaud-basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
    On the national level, prominent figures such as H.E. Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, H.E. Dr. Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State; H.E. Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and H.E. Dr. Hamdan Musallam Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Red Crescent Authority participated in the forum
    H.E. Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, emphasized the significance of global cooperation in achieving sustainable development, stating: “We live in a world facing escalating challenges where no country can work alone. Our shared future depends on fostering productive collaborations and transformative innovations that drive fundamental solutions towards achieving sustainable development goals. At the ‘SDGs in Action’ Forum, we are not just discussing change—we are leading it and making it happen together.”
    During her keynote session on "Protecting Oceans and Marine Life: Pathways to a Sustainable Blue Economy," H.E. Dr. Amna Al Dahak underscored the forum’s role as a global platform for dialogue and collaboration. She highlighted the importance of innovative solutions for a more sustainable future, particularly in promoting a sustainable blue economy and leveraging advanced technologies for ocean conservation.
    H.E. Al Dahak added “The forum provides policymakers with an opportunity to reinforce global commitments to protecting marine biodiversity and strengthening climate resilience. The decisions we make today will shape the future of our oceans by 2030 and lay the foundation for a sustainable and thriving marine economy extending beyond 2045.”
    H.E. Dr. Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State, emphasized the UAE’s commitment to global impact, stating: “Under the visionary leadership of the UAE and inspired by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the UAE continues its journey toward cross-border influence. Today, we call on the world to work together for a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future.”
    In a session on "Driving Change: UAE's Commitment to Women's Empowerment and Inclusion," H.E. Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi highlighted the nation’s dedication to gender balance, stating: “Under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the country has placed significant emphasis on empowering women and supporting related initiatives. Women’s empowerment is a fundamental pillar of the UAE’s vision for national development, positioning them as key contributors to the nation’s future and societal advancement.”
    She further expressed appreciation for the role of "Mother of the Nation," Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, in championing women’s empowerment, stating: “We extend our deep gratitude to Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak for her pivotal role in supporting women as essential partners in the UAE’s comprehensive development.”
    Her Excellency Al Kaabi also highlighted the prominent roles women hold across the UAE’s political, executive, and legislative sectors. The country ranked 7th globally and 1st regionally in the 2024 Gender Inequality Index (GII) issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reaffirming the UAE’s leadership in fostering gender balance and accelerating progress toward sustainable development goals.
    H.E. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Experience Exchange and Chair of the UAE’s National Committee on SDGs, emphasized the country’s commitment to sustainability, stating: “Under the directives of the UAE’s leadership, the nation continues its tireless efforts to establish itself as a global model in sustainable development, implementing strategies that balance economic, environmental, and social needs to ensure the well-being of current and future generations.”
    He further stated: “Since its inception in 2016, the ‘SDGs in Action’ Forum has served as a strategic annual platform for global leaders, policymakers, and UN officials to activate multilateral partnerships and develop proactive, innovative solutions to accelerate comprehensive development beyond 2030.”
    The "SDGs in Action" Forum, as part of the 12th edition of the World Governments Summit, will feature a diverse agenda of national and global sessions and dialogues. Key highlights include the annual meeting of the UAE National Committee on SDGs chaired by H.E. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, bringing together key national stakeholders to unify efforts in preparation for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the United Nations in New York.
    The forum also hosted the third edition of the XDGs 2045 Ministerial Roundtable, a high-level global network dedicated to shaping the post-2030 development trajectory. Additionally, The third edition of the Global Councils on SDGs—an international, multidisciplinary network of government decision-makers—will also convene to advance the sustainable development agenda.
    ]]>     The SDGs are 10 years old: what progress has been made since 2015? https://sdgtalks.ai/the-sdgs-are-10-years-old-what-progress-has-been-made-since-2015 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-sdgs-are-10-years-old-what-progress-has-been-made-since-2015 Sun, 30 Nov 2025 01:25:43 -0500 Rayne Fowler

    The ambition of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, is to provide responses to the main global challenges by 2030: poverty, inequality, climate, biodiversity, water, energy, peace, education, and more. Ten years after their launch, what progress has been made – and what obstacles remain?

    Two-thirds of the timeline toward the 2030 deadline has now passed. That’s enough time to assess how much progress has been made globally, based on the 232 indicators developed by the United Nations Statistical Commission.

    The latest UN report on the SDGs, published in July 2025 and covering 139 assessable targets, reveals the current state of progress: 35% of the targets show significant advancement, 47% show insufficient progress, and 18% have regressed since 2015. The report notes: “While the Sustainable Development Goals have improved millions of lives, the current pace of change is insufficient.”

    Some areas have seen significant gains. Access to energy has improved markedly: 92% of the world’s population now has electricity, and renewable energy has overtaken coal as the primary energy source. Over the last decade, infant mortality has dropped by 16%, and 110 million children have been able to start school. Women now hold 27% of parliamentary seats globally, up from 22% in 2015.

    “The SDGs have led us, along with many other development banks, to better consider how we align our operations and manage the tensions between different goals,” explains Thomas Melonio, Chief Economist at Agence Française de Développement (AFD). “This has meant no longer directly financing fossil fuels, as the SDGs provide a framework that integrates both economic and environmental priorities.”

    Alignment in the social and environmental spheres is also a key issue when financing protected areas. Project assessments have shown how critical it is to give greater attention to human and social factors – essential to long-term effectiveness.

    And yet, five years from the 2030 deadline, some goals remain elusive. This is especially true for SDG 1, "No poverty," with over 80% of its targets showing either insufficient progress or regression. Today, some 800 million people still live in extreme poverty – about one in ten people worldwide.

    “For 30 years, poverty had been in steady decline, but that reversed with the arrival of COVID-19. The pandemic, followed by tightening financial conditions in the least developed countries and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, contributed to a resurgence in poverty and global inflation,” says Melonio. “In 2020, several goals shifted course.”

    SDG 4, which targets quality education for all, remains off track: 272 million children and young people remained out of school in 2023. SDG 6, which aims to ensure access to water and sanitation, is also lagging, with 2.2 billion people lacking access as of 2024. Climate change continues to accelerate – 2024 was the warmest year on record, accompanied by a rise in natural disasters such as megafires, floods, storms, and droughts.

    These challenges are prompting a reconsideration of the SDGs. “From the outset, the SDGs demonstrated their importance by being universal and aligned with global priorities. But the framework includes a high number of targets, some of which have proven difficult for countries to meet,” notes Melonio. “Eventually, these targets will need to be revised –especially in light of major international agreements adopted since 2015, such as the Paris Agreement on climate and the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework, which set new environmental goals.”

    Certain national decisions have also made achieving the SDGs more complex – for example, the United States reducing solidarity-driven investments or temporarily withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Political and cultural tensions have emerged around issues such as democracy and gender equality.

    While these setbacks have not weakened global ambition on sustainable development – which continues to enjoy broad support – the UN warns that budget cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) in high-income countries may hinder SDG progress. In response, the organization is calling for action in six priority areas: food systems, energy access, digital transformation, education, jobs and social protection, and climate and biodiversity.

    “Despite these challenges, I don’t see AFD stepping back from its commitments,” Melonio concludes. “Our objective remains to carry out aligned operations that advance critical SDGs, without undermining progress in other areas.” A third of the timeline remains until the 2030 deadline – five years still remain to work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

    ]]>     Amid Real but Unequal Progress, Breakthrough Still Possible: UN Stats Report https://sdgtalks.ai/amid-real-but-unequal-progress-breakthrough-still-possible-un-stats-report https://sdgtalks.ai/amid-real-but-unequal-progress-breakthrough-still-possible-un-stats-report Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:31:56 -0500 Rayne Fowler The Statistics Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has published the 2025 edition of its annual Sustainable Development Goals Report. Ten years into SDG implementation and five years from the 2030 deadline, the report notes that progress is “real and substantial” but “fragile and unequal.” It highlights success stories showing that the Goals are achievable and issues a call to action, arguing that “breakthrough is still possible.”

    Acknowledging that through solidarity and investment, the SDGs were able to improve millions of lives, the report reveals that only 35% of SDG targets with data are on track or show moderate progress. Almost half are not moving fast enough or making limited progress, and 18% have regressed. The report emphasizes the need for immediate, bold, and coordinated action in the light of “a global development emergency.”

    Among major achievements, the report highlights:

    • Over 100 million children and youth gaining access to education since 2015;
    • Improvements in maternal and child mortality;
    • A nearly 40% drop in HIV infections since 2010;
    • Electricity access reaching 92% of the global population;
    • Hundreds of millions of people gaining access to safe drinking water; and
    • A 70% increase in internet use since 2015.

    At the same time, the report shows that: over 800 million people still live in extreme poverty; one in 11 globally experience hunger; more than a billion people worldwide live in slums or informal settlements; and the number of forcibly displaced people has more than doubled since 2015. After five years of growth, official development assistance (ODA) dropped 7.1% in 2024, with further cuts expected in 2025. In addition, systemic disadvantages continue to affect women, people with disabilities, and marginalized communities.

    According to the report, further progress towards the Goals is hindered by conflicts, climate change, rising inequality, and inadequate financing. Debt servicing costs for low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs) reached a record USD 1.4 trillion in 2023, while the SDG financing gap in developing countries is estimated at USD 4 trillion per year. National statistical systems also remain chronically underfunded, despite the importance of timely and disaggregated data for monitoring progress, targeting interventions, and ensuring accountability.

    Meanwhile, the report underscores that global averages conceal meaningful advances in many countries, which serve as proof that sound policies, strong institutions, and inclusive partnerships can enable significant progress. Among examples, it notes that in the past decade, 45 countries have achieved universal electricity access, and 54 countries had eradicated at least one neglected tropical disease by the end of 2024.

    The report identifies six transformations that can “unlock cascading benefits” across the SDGs: food systems; energy access and sustainability; digital connectivity; education reform; jobs and social protection; and climate and biodiversity action. It calls for coordinated policies, sufficient financing, and inclusive implementation, as well as international cooperation and genuine solidarity.

    The report highlights the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), the 2025 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the Second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4), and the Second World Summit for Social Development as “vital opportunities to galvanize political will and secure necessary financing.”

    The report was released on the opening day of HLPF 2025, on 14 July. It is one of several SDG assessments released each year in the lead-up to the HLPF. The UN Secretary-General’s SDG progress report and the Sustainable Development Report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) also feed into HLPF deliberations. 

    HLPF 2025 takes place on the theme, ‘Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.’ Five Goals are undergoing in-depth reviews this year – SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals). [Publication: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025] [Key Messages] [Key Findings] [Fact Sheets on Goals Under Review in 2025] [Extended Report] [Publication Landing Page]

    ]]>     The Sustainable Development Goals have improved millions of lives over the past decade, but progress remains insufficient, UN report finds https://sdgtalks.ai/the-sustainable-development-goals-have-improved-millions-of-lives-over-the-past-decade-but-progress-remains-insufficient-un-report-finds https://sdgtalks.ai/the-sustainable-development-goals-have-improved-millions-of-lives-over-the-past-decade-but-progress-remains-insufficient-un-report-finds Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:10:07 -0500 Rayne Fowler International cooperation and sustained investment are critical for SDG success in the final five years: A decade after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations released today the 10th edition of its annual progress report, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025. The report provides a stark assessment and a strong call for action.  

    While millions of lives have improved, through gains in health, education, energy, and digital connectivity, the pace of change remains insufficient to meet the Goals by 2030. The latest available data show that only 35 per cent of targets are on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are moving too slowly and 18 per cent have regressed. 

    "We are facing a development emergency,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “But this report is more than a snapshot of today. It's also a compass pointing the way to progress. This report shows that the Sustainable Development Goals are still within reach. But only if we act – with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve.” 
     

    Progress amid adversity 
    Despite cascading global challenges, the report documents notable global achievements:

    • New HIV infections have declined by nearly 40 per cent since 2010.
    • Malaria prevention has averted 2.2 billion cases and saved 12.7 million lives since 2000.
    • Social protection now reaches over half the world’s population, up significantly from a decade ago.   
    • Since 2015, 110 million more children and youth have entered school.
    • Child marriage is in decline, with more girls staying in school and women gaining ground in parliaments around the world.
    • In 2023, 92 per cent of the world’s population had access to electricity.
    • Internet use has surged from 40 per cent in 2015 to 68 per cent in 2024, unlocking access to education, jobs, and civic participation.
    • Conservation efforts have doubled protection of key ecosystems, contributing to global biodiversity resilience. 


    Hard truths and systemic risks 
    At the same time, the report calls attention to challenges that continue to hold back sustainable development progress:

    • More than 800 million people still live in extreme poverty.
    • Billions still lack access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
    • Climate change pushed 2024 to be the hottest year on record, with temperatures 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels.
    • Conflicts caused nearly 50,000 deaths in 2024. By the end of that year, over 120 million peoplewere forcibly displaced.
    • Low- and middle-income countries faced record-high debt servicing costs of $1.4 trillion in 2023.  


    A roadmap for acceleration 
    The report calls for action across six priority areas where intensified effort can generate transformative impact: food systems, energy access, digital transformation, education, jobs and social protection, and climate and biodiversity action. 

    It also urges governments and partners to implement the Medellín Framework for Action, a roadmap adopted at the 2024 UN World Data Forum, to strengthen data systems essential for responsive policymaking. 

    Success stories show that the Goals are achievable 
    Global averages may mask meaningful advances in many countries that have made substantial progress across different Goals. For example, 45 countries have achieved universal electricity access in the past decade and 54 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease by the end of 2024. These national and local successes, driven by sound policies, strong institutions, and inclusive partnerships, prove that accelerated progress is not only possible, but already happening.  

    The final five years to 2030 present an opportunity to deliver on the promises of the SDGs. The 2030 Agenda is not aspirational; it is non-negotiable. 

    “This is not a moment for despair, but for determined action,” said Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “We have the knowledge, tools, and partnerships to drive transformation. What we need now is urgent multilateralism—a recommitment to shared responsibility and sustained investment.” 

    Additional key facts and figures:

    Progress

    • Between 2012 and 2024, the prevalence of stunting among children under age 5 decreased from 26.4 per cent to 23.2 per cent.
    • Healthy life expectancy increased by over five years between 2000 and 2019. However, COVID-19 reversed some of these gains, cutting life expectancy by 1.8 years.
    • Global maternal mortality ratio dropped from 228 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015 to 197 in 2023. Under-5 mortality fell to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023, a 16 per cent reduction from 44 in 2015.
    • By the end of 2024, 54 countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease.
    • Between 2019 and 2024, 99 positive legal reforms were implemented to remove discriminatory laws and establish gender equality frameworks.
    • As of 1 January 2025, women held 27.2 per cent of the seats in national parliaments, up 4.9 percentage points from 2015.
    • Renewable energy is the fastest-growing energy source today and is projected to surpass coal as the primary electricity source in 2025.
    • 5G mobile broadband now covers 51 per cent of the global population.

    Setbacks

    • Without a significant acceleration in efforts, 8.9 per cent of the global population will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030 under the revised international poverty line.
    • Nearly 1 in 11 people worldwide faced hunger in 2023.  
    • In 2023, 272 million children and youth remained out of school.  
    • Women perform 2.5 times as many unpaid domestic and care work as men.
    • In 2024, 2.2 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water, 3.4 billion went without safely managed sanitation, and 1.7 billion lacked basic hygiene services at home.
    • The global refugee population has surged to 37.8 million by mid-2024.
    • Worldwide, 1.12 billion people live in slums or informal settlements without basic services.
    • Official development assistance declined 7.1 per cent in 2024 after five years of growth, with further cuts expected through 2025. 

    For more information, please visit: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025 

    ]]>     Big Earth Data diagnoses a Decade of Global SDG Progress https://sdgtalks.ai/big-earth-data-diagnoses-a-decade-of-global-sdg-progress https://sdgtalks.ai/big-earth-data-diagnoses-a-decade-of-global-sdg-progress Sat, 29 Nov 2025 23:00:54 -0500 Rayne Fowler Beijing, 27 October 2025 — The Global-Scale Sustainable Development Scientific Monitoring Report (2025): A Decade of Progress through the Lens of Big Earth Data was officially launched at the 2025 World Science and Technology Development Forum in Beijing, the report offers a comprehensive scientific assessment of global progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting both achievements and challenges as the world marks the 10th anniversary of the 2030 Agenda.

    Developed by the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) and supported by the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, the report brings together the expertise of more than 40 institutions and international organizations across 21 countries. By integrating satellite observations, ground sensor networks, and social and statistical data, it pioneers a Big Earth Data–driven framework for global SDG monitoring.

    Findings reveal uneven progress over the past decade: among 18 monitored SDG indicators, only wetland conservation (SDG 6.6.1) has maintained a global “no net loss” status, while 8 show significant regression, particularly those related to food security, biodiversity, and climate stability. The report underscores the growing urgency of coordinated global actions to address these interconnected challenges.

    Prof. Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia commended the report as a valuable scientific contribution to evidence-based policymaking. “This work demonstrates how digital technologies and open data can enhance global SDG monitoring and strengthen international cooperation”

    Professor GUO Huadong, Director General of CBAS, emphasized that with less than five years remaining to achieve the SDGs, scientific collaboration and data sharing are key to driving progress. As the latest achievement of the International Science Programme on Digital Sustainable Development (DSP) under the UNESCO International Decade of Science for Sustainable Development (IDSSD), The report’s open-access data products and methodology aim to support researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders worldwide.

    ]]>     Why are the Sustainable Development Goals way off track? https://sdgtalks.ai/why-are-the-sustainable-development-goals-way-off-track https://sdgtalks.ai/why-are-the-sustainable-development-goals-way-off-track Sat, 29 Nov 2025 21:38:07 -0500 Rayne Fowler The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were put in place 10 years ago to guarantee peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future. However, it’s looking less and less likely that they will be achieved by 2030 – and it’s all because of significant underinvestment for a decade and more recently, aid cuts by major donors such as the USA and a number of European countries.

    What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

    In 2015, the United Nations put in place 17 goals to address global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, conflict and injustice. The vision was to end obstacles like discrimination, exclusion and inequality that frequently leave the most vulnerable people behind. The SDGs replaced the 2000-2015 Millenium Development Goals which made some progress in areas such as poverty reduction, education and health. However, much of this progress was uneven with deepening inequality both between and within countries.

    Will the SDGs be achieved by 2030?

    At the moment, no – with five years left to achieve the SDGs, they are widely off track.

    Years of underinvestment by all states means that over 80 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ targets are off track. At the mid-way point of the SDGs, in July 2023, the UN reported that progress on more than half of the SDGs was “weak and insufficient”, while for another 30 per cent it had “stalled or gone into reverse”. These include key targets on poverty, hunger and climate action.

    What does that mean for our world?

    Existing inequalities between and within countries, which have widened due to a series of global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and economic downturns, could spiral further out of control.

    The climate crisis together with weaknesses in the current financial system are sending lower- and middle-income countries further into debt. This is because often, their only option to cover the loss and damage caused by climate change is to seek additional loans. Countries in or at risk of spiralling debt spend more on debt repayments than on public services that are essential to people’s rights such as to health and education – fuelling the cycle of vulnerability.

    How are human rights being impacted?

    In the absence of real progress on the SDGs, the outlook for human rights is worrying.

    The UN estimates that by 2030, 585 million people will be chronically undernourished, 1.66 billion people will still be living in extreme poverty, 84 million children will be out of school, 300 million attending school will leave unable to read and write and 660 million people will remain without electricity.

    What’s finance got to do with fulfilling these goals?

    Everything!

    The global financial architecture is rooted in historical inequalities and the continuing legacy of colonialism, which leaves many low-income countries with unsustainable debt, depriving them of the resources they need to finance the SDGs. Tax evasion and avoidance by multinational companies and wealthy individuals cost countries an estimated US$492 billion annually. This is lost revenue, which could be spent on improving everyone’s access to economic, social and cultural rights.

    How have the cuts to international aid affected the SDGs?

    Food rations have been cut in refugee camps. HIV/AIDS clinics have closed overnight, people are not receiving antiretroviral treatments. Almost half of women-led and women’s organizations surveyed by UN Women expect to shut down within six months if current funding levels persist – with gender-based violence initiatives most at risk. The list goes on.

    There’s been a lot of talk about tariffs in the USA. What are they and how are they affecting human rights?

    Tariffs are taxes imposed by governments for imported services and goods. 

    Tariffs are both an instrument in international trade policy and an industrial policy, where they can be employed to protect domestic industries. The Trump administration has imposed broad and arbitrary tariffs as a political tool to pressure dozens of countries, including Canada, China and Mexico but also many smaller economies, into a range of concessions. The policy, which does not take into account the impact on people’s rights, is hitting some of the poorest and already most vulnerable countries.

    Tariffs can have a cascading effect on living conditions, employment, access to essential goods, and economic sovereignty, all of which can undermine human rights. Tariffs on essential imports like medicine, food, or fuel can make these and other basic necessities unaffordable in smaller or lower-income countries.

    What are high-income states doing to ensure these goals are achieved?

    Not enough.In fact, rather than increasing their funding to support the SDGs, many major Western donors have slashed international assistance, creating a huge crisis.

    Nevertheless, there are other ways high-income countries can help. They should commit to structural reforms that could provide sustainable sources of financing for the longer term – from advancing international tax cooperation and addressing the debt crisis, to reforming international financial institutions and promoting more inclusive systems of financing and development.

    So, what can be done to achieve these goals?

    A series of robust measures must be put in place if we are to rescue the SDGs.

    The US and other governments must reverse cuts to aid budgets. States must provide debt relief for countries in or at risk of debt distress. Fossil fuels subsidies must be redirected towards investment in clean energy and leaders must commit to a full, fast, fair, and funded fossil fuel phase out across all sectors and invest adequately in a just and equitable transition.

    Adopting these measures will go a long way to rescuing the SDGs and ensure social, economic and climate justice for millions across the world. 

    What is Amnesty’s take on financing for development?

    Amnesty International is calling for broad transformation of development finance, taxation, debt, and public and private investment to ensure the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved. This will ensure finance is more available and affordable for low-income countries to achieve their human rights obligations.

    These changes must take place quickly to meet states’ international obligations to provide international cooperation and assistance to ensure human rights through the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights.

    ]]>     Reimagining what we eat may be one of the most powerful actions we can take for people and the planet. https://sdgtalks.ai/reimagining-what-we-eat-may-be-one-of-the-most-powerful-actions-we-can-take-for-people-and-the-planet https://sdgtalks.ai/reimagining-what-we-eat-may-be-one-of-the-most-powerful-actions-we-can-take-for-people-and-the-planet Sat, 29 Nov 2025 12:15:07 -0500 Claudia The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. 

    Executive summary

    The global context has shifted dramatically since publication of the first EAT–Lancet Commission in 2019, with increased geopolitical instability, soaring food prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and creating new challenges. However, food systems remain squarely centred at the nexus of food security, human health, environmental sustainability, social justice, and the resilience of nations. Actions on food systems strongly impact the lives and wellbeing of all and are necessary to progress towards goals highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Although current food systems have largely kept pace with population growth, ensuring sufficient caloric intake for many, they are the single most influential driver of planetary boundary transgression. More than half of the world's population struggles to access healthy diets, leading to devastating consequences for public health, social equity, and the environment. Although hunger has declined in some regions, recent increases linked to expanding conflicts and emergent climate change impacts have reversed this positive trend. Obesity rates continue to rise globally, and the pressure exerted by food systems on planetary boundaries shows no signs of abating. In this moment of increasing instability, food systems still offer an unprecedented opportunity to build the resilience of environmental, health, economic, and social systems, and are uniquely placed to enhance human wellbeing while also contributing to Earth-system stability.
    This updated analysis builds upon the 2019 EAT–Lancet Commission, expanding its scope and strengthening its evidence base. The first Commission defined food group ranges for a healthy diet and identified the food systems' share of planetary boundaries. In this Commission, we add an analysis of the social foundations for a just food system, and incorporate new data and perspectives on distributive, representational, and recognitional justice, providing a global overview on equity in food systems. Substantial improvements in modelling capacity and data analysis allow for the use of a multimodel ensemble to project potential outcomes of a transition to healthy and sustainable food systems.
    The planetary health diet (PHD) remains a cornerstone of our recommendations and can be seen as a framework within which diverse and culturally appropriate diets can exist. Robust updated evidence reinforces a strong association with improved health outcomes, large reductions in all-cause mortality, and a substantial decline in the incidence of major diet-related chronic diseases. The reference PHD emphasises a balanced dietary pattern that is predominantly plant-based, with moderate inclusion of animal-sourced foods and minimal consumption of added sugars, saturated fats, and salt. Successful implementation of the PHD requires careful consideration of cultural contexts and the promotion of culturally appropriate and sustainable dietary traditions. This diversity of contexts, bounded by the PHD's reference values, represents substantial flexibility and choice across cultures, geographies, and individual preferences. However, when confronted by climate, biodiversity, health, and justice crises, transformation will require urgent and meaningful changes in our individual and collective behaviours and our culture of unhealthy, unjust, and unsustainable food production and consumption.
    For the first time, we quantify the global food systems' share of all nine planetary boundaries. These food system boundaries confirm that food is the single largest cause of planetary boundary transgressions, driving the transgression of five of the six breached boundaries. In addition, food systems exert a notable impact on the transgressed climate boundary and on the ocean acidification boundary. Unsustainable land conversion, particularly deforestation, remains a major driver of biodiversity loss and climate change, highlighting the need for zero conversion of all remaining intact ecosystems. Food systems account for the near totality of nitrogen and phosphorus boundary transgression, emphasising the improvements needed in nutrient management, efficient nutrient redistribution, and circular nutrient systems. The massive use of novel entities in food production, processing, and packaging (ranging from plastics to pesticides) remains a major concern but is alarmingly understudied.
    Our assessment of justice integrates three dimensions—distributive, representational, and recognitional—within a human rights framing that includes the rights to food, a healthy environment, and decent work. Analyses reveal important inequities in access to healthy diets, decent work conditions, and healthy environments, disproportionately affecting marginalised groups in low-income regions. We therefore propose nine social foundations that enable these rights to be met, and are able to assess the global status of six. Enabling access to, affordability of, and demand for healthy diets is paramount. Equally crucial is the right to live and work within a non-toxic environment and a stable climate system, as we recognise the profound impact of environmental degradation on human health and wellbeing. Furthermore, a living wage and meaningful representation would allow individuals to actively participate in building healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. However, nearly half of the world's population falls below these social foundations, undermining their ability to meet basic human rights. At the same time, the dietary patterns of most (6·9 billion people) of the world exert pressures that threaten further planetary boundary transgression. The destabilising effect of unhealthy overconsumption on the Earth's systems highlights the importance of viewing healthy diets not just as a human right, but also as a shared responsibility.
    Scenario results from an ensemble of 11 global food system models across multiple scenarios reveals the substantial potential for reducing negative environmental and health effects through dietary shifts, improved and increased agricultural productivity, and reductions in food loss and waste. Creating demand for and increasing adoption of diets that adhere to the PHD, coupled with ambitious climate mitigation policies, would result in substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and land use. The results of this modelling excercise are sobering, showing that even with these ambitious transformations (ie, improved and increased agricultural productivity, reduced food loss and waste, and a transition to eating within the PHD), the world is barely able to return to the safe space for freshwater use and climate change, and continues to transgress the biogeochemical boundary for nitrogen and phosphorus loading—albeit with substantially reduced pressure.
    Analyses focusing on sustainable and ecological intensification of food production practices, along with more circular nutrient systems, suggest that widespread adoption of these practices could reduce further greenhouse gas emissions, increasing carbon sequestration; reduce the land footprint dedicated to food production; decrease water footprints; and make substantial progress in addressing nitrogen and phosphorus boundary transgressions, even with a growing global population and increased food consumption.
    To advance towards the goals of healthy (through the PHD), sustainable (within food system boundaries), and just (above social foundations) food systems by 2050, we propose eight priority solutions, each accompanied by specific actions and policy measures: (1) create food environments to increase demand for healthy diets, ensuring they are more accessible and affordable; (2) protect and promote healthy traditional diets; (3) implement sustainable and ecological intensification practices; (4) apply strong regulations to prevent loss of remaining intact ecosystems; (5) improve infrastructure, management, and consumer behaviour change to reduce food loss and waste; (6) secure decent working conditions; (7) ensure meaningful representation for all; and (8) recognise and protect marginalised groups. These proposed solutions and actions should be organised into coherent bundles to enhance political feasibility and policy effectiveness. The most suitable and effective bundles will vary by context and should be tailored to the specific challenges and opportunities of each region and sector.
    This Commission reinforces the urgent need for a great food transformation. The targets of the EAT–Lancet Commission for healthy people on a healthy planet with just food systems can only be met through concerted global action and unprecedented levels of transformative change. The Commission calls for cross-sectoral coalitions that develop context-specific roadmaps, aligning with existing and emerging global frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the post-2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda. These roadmaps include the setting of science-based targets with monitoring and accountability mechanisms in place. Mechanisms should be established to shield policy making from undue corporate influence, and civil society and social movements have an important role in promoting transparency and oversight.

    Key messages

    • Food systems sit at the nexus of health, environment, climate, and justice. A food systems transformation is fundamental for solving crises related to the climate, biodiversity, health, and justice. The central position of food systems emphasises the interdependent nature of these crises, rather than each crisis separately, which highlights the need to position food systems change as a global integrator across economic, governance, and policy domains.
    • The updated planetary health diet (PHD) has an appropriate energy intake; a diversity of whole or minimally processed foods that are mostly plant sourced; fats that are primarily unsaturated, with no partially hydrogenated oils; and small amounts of added sugars and salt. The diet allows flexibility and is compatible with many foods, cultures, dietary patterns, traditions, and individual preferences. The PHD also provides nutritional adequacy and diminishes the risks of non-communicable diseases. At present, all national diets deviate substantially from the PHD, but a shift to this pattern could avert approximately 15 million deaths per year (27% of total deaths worldwide). Such a transition would reduce the rates of many specific non-communicable diseases and promote healthy longevity.
    • Food drives five planetary boundary transgressions, including land system change, biosphere integrity, freshwater change, biogeochemical flows, and approximately 30% of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. How and where food is produced, which foods are produced and consumed, and how much is lost and wasted, all contribute to planetary boundary transgressions. No safe solution to climate and biodiversity crises is possible without a global food systems transformation. Even if a global energy transition away from fossil fuels occurs, food systems will cause the world to breach the Paris Climate agreement of limiting global mean surface temperature to 1·5°C.
    • Human rights related to food systems (ie, the rights to food, a healthy environment, and decent work) are not being met, with nearly half the world's population below the social foundations for these rights. Meanwhile, responsibility for planetary boundary transgressions from food systems is not equal: the diets of the richest 30% of the global population contribute to more than 70% of the environmental pressures from food systems. Just 1% of the global population is in a safe and just space. These statistics highlight the large inequalities in the distribution of both benefits and burdens of current food systems. National policies that address inequities in the distribution of benefits and burdens of current food systems would aid in ensuring food-related human rights are met.
    • The PHD needs to be available, affordable, convenient, aspirational, appealing, and delicious. To increase demand for healthy sustainable diets and enable necessary dietary shifts, food environment interventions, next-generation culinary research and development, increased purchasing power, and protection and promotion of healthy traditional diets are important actions.
    • A food systems transformation following recommendations from the EAT–Lancet Commission—which include a shift to healthy diets, improved and increased agricultural productivity, and reduced food loss and waste—would substantially reduce environmental pressures on climate, biodiversity, water, and pollution. However, no single action is sufficient to ensure a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. Comparing 2050 values with the current state (as of 2020), a shift to healthy diets in isolation could lead to a 15% reduction in agricultural emissions, compared with a 20% reduction when all three actions are implemented simultaneously with improvements in productivity and food loss and waste. Individually, all three actions modestly reduce future nitrogen and phosphorous use (ie, a 27–34% increase by 2050 with individual actions vs a 41% increase under the business-as-usual scenario); however, in combination they substantially reduce future growth in nitrogen and phosphorous use (ie, a 15% increase compared with 2020 levels of use).
    • Additional environmental benefits are accrued through sustainable and ecological intensification practices. Unprecedented investments and effort in these practices could potentially result in a net-zero food system. A diversity of context-specific practices can sequester additional carbon biomass, create and connect habitats, reduce nutrient applications, and increase the interception and capture of excessive crop fertiliser before it pollutes groundwater and surface water systems. These practices can be enabled by securing equitable access to land and water resources, strengthening public advisory services, addressing structural imbalances between producers and dominant agribusinesses, and through public and private sector investments that support farmers shifting towards sustainable practices.
    • A food systems transformation following recommendations from the EAT–Lancet Commission could lead to a less resource-intensive and labour-intensive food system that can supply a healthy diet for 9·6 billion people, with modest impacts on average food costs. However, such a transformation would have profound implications for what, how, and where food is produced, and for people involved in these processes. For example, as a part of this restructuring, some sectors would need to contract (eg, a 33% reduction in ruminant meat production) and others would need to expand (eg, a 63% increase in fruit, vegetable, and nut production) compared with 2020 production levels.
    • Justice is needed to unlock and accelerate action for transformation. A fair distribution of opportunities and resources—such that the rights to food, a healthy environment, and decent work are met, and distribution of the responsibility to produce, distribute, and consume healthy diets within planetary boundaries is fair—are the basis of a successful food systems transformation. Power asymmetries and discriminatory social and political structures prevent these rights from being met, which results in harms to people's health, precarious livelihoods for food systems workers, and lack of voice, undermining freedom, agency, and dignity. Ensuring liveable wages and collective bargaining, while regulating and limiting market concentration and improving transparency, accountability, representation, and access to information, are all impactful actions. We emphasise the protection of basic human rights in conflict areas as a fundamental foundation of justice.
    • Unprecedented levels of action are required to shift diets, improve production, and enhance justice. A just transformation requires building coalitions with actors from inside and outside the food system, identifying bundles of actions, developing national and regional roadmaps for implementation, unlocking finance for the transformation, and rapidly putting joint plans into action. Such efforts should closely align with other sustainability and health initiatives (eg, the Paris Agreement, Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and nation-specific food-based dietary guidelines). These frameworks have all identified food systems actions as powerful, particularly in their capacity to integrate across goals. Mobilising and repurposing finance is essential for enabling this transformation
    ]]>     UN Report Calls for More Globalization While Leaving No One Behind https://sdgtalks.ai/un-report-calls-for-more-globalization-while-leaving-no-one-behind https://sdgtalks.ai/un-report-calls-for-more-globalization-while-leaving-no-one-behind Thu, 27 Nov 2025 20:51:21 -0500 Rayne Fowler Ahead of the July session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the UN has issued the UN Secretary-General’s annual report exploring the long-term impacts of current trends on the realization of the SDGs. This year’s report outlines the contours and consequences of globalization, calling for “more – not less” of it, but “embedded in the principle of leaving no one behind and governed by multilateral rules and collective action.”

    The report describes the expansion of globalization over time, driven by advances in technology and policy choices. Noting that many developing countries have reaped great benefits from economic integration over the past three decades, it recognizes that economic integration “has outpaced efforts to cushion its negative effects,” such as “the distributional and environmental impacts of unregulated economic globalization both within and between countries.”

    Consequently, “the strong political commitment of governments to trade liberalization, particularly since the 1990s, has given way to a more cautious outlook, influenced by rising geopolitical tensions,” including the introduction of tariffs and retaliatory measures by major actors, according to the report.

    The report warns that unless “the prevailing geopolitical fissures in the global trading system” are addressed, waning support of states for multilateral cooperation and institutions could affect the implementation of global frameworks, “created to mitigate the economic, social and environmental costs of globalization.” These frameworks, whose overarching objective is to help ensure globalization delivers for everyone, include the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and the Global Digital Compact.

    Dated May 2025, the report (E/2025/68) is titled, ‘Long-term impacts of current trends on the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.’ It will inform the deliberations during the 2025 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July. HLPF 2025 will carry out in-depth reviews of SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals) – the only Goal to undergo review annually. [Publication: Long-term Impacts of Current Trends on the Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals]

    ]]>     GLOBAL: Countries must act fast to save the Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/global-countries-must-act-fast-to-save-the-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/global-countries-must-act-fast-to-save-the-sustainable-development-goals Thu, 27 Nov 2025 18:05:51 -0500 Rayne Fowler With countries in danger of failing to meet their Sustainable Development Goals targets – and their human rights obligations – leaders attending the Financing for Development Conference must act fast to avert climate catastrophe and guarantee the human rights of billions of people currently being denied socio-economic justice, said Amnesty International.

    The 4th International Conference for Financing for Development will take place from 30 June to 3 July in Seville, Spain. It provides a unique opportunity to reform development financing at all levels and address financing challenges preventing the urgently needed investment push to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The SDGs were put in place 10 years ago to guarantee peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future.

    “Years of underinvestment by all states mean the majority of the Sustainable Development Goals are way off track from their 2030 target. This conference must confront the immediate crisis linked to the cutting of international assistance by major donors whilst committing to structural reforms that could provide sustainable sources of financing for the longer term – from advancing international tax cooperation and addressing the debt crisis, to reforming international financial institutions and promoting more inclusive systems of financing and development,” said Riva Jalipa, Amnesty International’s Financing for Rights Lead Adviser.

    A series of robust measures must be put in place if the Sustainable Development Goals are to become a reality.

    Riva Jalipa, Amnesty International’s Financing for Rights Lead Adviser

    “A series of robust measures must be put in place if the SDGs are to become a reality. The US and other governments must reverse cuts to aid budgets. Wealthy states must support the UN tax treaty process whilst providing debt relief for countries in or at risk of debt distress including cancellation where appropriate. Fossil fuels subsidies must be redirected towards investment in clean energy and leaders must commit to a full, fast, fair and funded fossil fuel phase out across all sectors and invest adequately in a just and equitable transition. Adopting these measures will go a long way to rescuing the SDGs and ensure social, economic and climate justice for millions across the world.”

    Amnesty International will also be co-hosting a Virtual Side Event at the Financing for Development Conference, Seville: Reparative Justice in Financing for Development. The session will focus on development financing and reparative justice as a means through which a human rights-based economy which redresses both existing and historical injustices can not only be conceptualized but also practically actioned. Register to attend via Zoom. 

    Background

    The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were put in place 10 years ago to guarantee peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future. The 17 goals aimed to address global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice – to ensure no one was left behind. However,years of underinvestment by all states mean over 80% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ targets are off track due to underinvestment by all states.

    ]]>     UNESCO Celebrates International Youth Day 2025, Spotlighting “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond https://sdgtalks.ai/unesco-celebrates-international-youth-day-2025-spotlighting-local-youth-actions-for-the-sdgs-and-beyond https://sdgtalks.ai/unesco-celebrates-international-youth-day-2025-spotlighting-local-youth-actions-for-the-sdgs-and-beyond Thu, 27 Nov 2025 15:45:10 -0500 Rayne Fowler Islamabad, 12 August 2025 — UNESCO Islamabad, in collaboration with the Pakistan National Commission for UNESCO (PNCU) and with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), celebrated International Youth Day 2025 under the theme “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond” at the National Skills University. The event brought together young leaders, government representatives, UN agencies, and development partners to recognize and amplify the role of youth in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    The celebration featured a vibrant line-up of activities, including an SDG Pledge Wall, a SDG-themed art competition, a cultural story circle, youth-led dialogues, and inspirational speeches from youth change-makers. The afternoon segment showcased instrumental performances, a youth quiz competition, and a cultural segment, fostering creativity, collaboration, and exchange among participants.

    In his remarks, Mr. Fuad Pashayev, Head of the UNESCO Islamabad Office, emphasized that with over 60% of Pakistan’s population under the age of 30, young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow, but the change-makers of today. He highlighted examples of youth-led initiatives across Pakistan — from climate action and digital innovation to cultural heritage preservation — and stressed that youth must not only participate in development but shape it.

    Mr. Pashavey also underscored UNESCO’s continued commitment to empowering young people through initiatives such as Smart Classrooms for girls’ education in remote areas, Radio Education Programme for hard-to-reach communities, the development of Pakistan’s first National Media and Information Literacy Strategy, and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) exchanges with APCEIU. He extended heartfelt thanks to Mr. Aftab Muhammad Khan, Secretary General of PNCU, for his leadership and dedication, and to the entire PNCU team for their tireless efforts in organizing the event. He also expressed appreciation to AICS for enabling impactful education and youth projects across the country.

    Ms. Farah Naz Akbar, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, joined as Chief Guest and commended the active role of youth in driving positive change at the grassroots level.

    The event concluded with an awards ceremony, recognizing outstanding contributions from youth participants, and a networking lunch connecting young leaders with government and UN representatives.

    Through this celebration, UNESCO reaffirmed its dedication to standing with youth, listening to their voices, and working alongside them to transform ideas into impactful actions for a sustainable and inclusive future.

    ]]>     HLPF 2025 Prepares to Advance Inclusive, Evidence-based Solutions for SDGs https://sdgtalks.ai/hlpf-2025-prepares-to-advance-inclusive-evidence-based-solutions-for-sdgs https://sdgtalks.ai/hlpf-2025-prepares-to-advance-inclusive-evidence-based-solutions-for-sdgs Thu, 27 Nov 2025 15:33:14 -0500 Rayne Fowler The UN system, Member States, and stakeholders are intensifying preparations for the 2025 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), convening in New York, US, from 14-23 July. Themed, ‘Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind,’ HLPF 2025 will hold in-depth reviews of five Goals – SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals).

    Held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Forum’s 2025 session will be the first after the 2024 Summit of the Future (SoF). HLPF 2025 will support the implementation of the Pact for the Future and the Political Declaration adopted at the SDG Summit in 2023, among other outcomes, with a view to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in the five years that remain until the 2030 deadline.

    The UN Secretariat’s concept note for the July session is available in PDF format. The provisional agenda (E/HLPF/2025/1) is here. An annotated programme of work for the session, dated 7 July, provides information on daily events and includes guiding questions for the thematic sessions. Background notes for the thematic sessions are here.

    In addition to the official programme, the HLPF Secretariat has released the details on 12 special events taking place during the Forum:

    • SDGs in Practice, from 14-23 July;
    • Science Day, on 15 July;
    • Local and Regional Government Forum (LRGF), on 16 July;
    • Loacal2030 Coalition Special Event, on 16 July;
    • HESI Global Forum, on 21 July;
    • Accelerating Social Progress to Boost SDG Implementation, on 21 July;
    • PGA’s Interactive Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on New Partnership on Africa’s Development, on 21 July;
    • 2025 SDG Global Business Forum, on 22 July;
    • Special Event on Addressing High Food Price Inflation for Food Security and Nutrition, on 22 July;
    • Strengthening Climate and SDG Synergies for Accelerated Momentum Towards 2030, on 22 July;
    • SDG 6 Water Action Agenda Special Event, on 22 July; and
    • IPU Parliamentary Forum at the HLPF, on 22 July.

    The HLPF Secretariat has also published a tentative programme of side events taking place in the margins of HLPF 2025, including off-site and virtual side events. The lists are continuously updated.

    The programme for the 2025 VNR Labs is available here. VNR Labs convene on the sidelines of the HLPF to provide “an informal platform for experience sharing and reflection” on the voluntary national review (VNR) findings. They take place under Chatham House rules.

    The latest Information Note on the arrangements for HLPF 2025 and the ECOSOC High-level Segment provides details on the format, venue, participation, and logistics.

    The governments that will present VNRs of SDG implementation during HLPF 2025 have released the main messages of their reports. Angola, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, the Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malta, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nigeria, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Philippines, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, South Africa, the Sudan, Suriname, and Thailand – a total of 37 countries – will present their VNRs at HLPF 2025.

    The co-facilitators for the negotiations on the HLPF Ministerial Declaration – the Czech Republic and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – circulated a “zero draft” of the outcome document on 14 April. Member States exchanged initial views on the zero draft during an informal consultation on 5 May. Informal consultations continue.

    The Major Groups have submitted position papers on the theme of HLPF 2025. Their executive summaries are compiled in a preparatory document. The contributors are “major groups and other relevant stakeholders that have autonomously established and maintained effective coordination mechanisms for participation” in the HLPF. They include: Women; Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs); Local Authorities; Workers and Trade Unions; Business and Industry; Volunteer Groups; Scientific and Technological Community; Ageing; Education and Academia; Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism; Africa Regional Mechanism for Major Groups and Other Stakeholders; Economic Commission for Europe Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism; Communities that Experience Discrimination Based on Work and Descent; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) People; and Civil Society Financing for Development (FfD) Mechanism.

    The functional commissions of ECOSOC have also submitted input on the theme of the session, discussing their contributions to implementing the 2030 Agenda. Another input to the HLPF is a compilation of reports from the UN’s regional commissions (E/HLPF/2025/3). The submissions present summaries of the 2025 regional forums on sustainable development (RFSDs) that took place in Africa, the Arab Region, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

    Other official inputs include: the UN Secretary-General’s SDG Progress Report assessing progress made since 2015 against the global SDG indicator framework; the Secretary-General’s report outlining long-term impacts of current trends on the realization of the SDGs; and a report on the 2025 annual theme of ECOSOC and the HLPF.

    Reports from other intergovernmental processes that will inform the discussions include: a progress report on the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP) (E/2025/64); a report of the ECOSOC forum on financing for development follow-up (FfD Forum) (E/FFDF/2025/2); a summary of the 2025 Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) (E/HLPF/2025/6); and a report of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) (E/2025/33).

    HLPF 2025 will also draw from the outcomes of several major summits, including the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). Its outcomes will, in turn, contribute to the Second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4), the Second World Summit for Social Development, and the UN Climate Change Conference, among other processes. [SDG Knowledge Hub Coverage of HLPF 2025][ECOSOC newsletter announcing the HLPF | subscribe to the ECOSOC newsletter]

    ]]>     Green Mobility Policy Brief – 7 November 2025 – High-speed rail plan, STIP, &amp; Industry Reactions https://sdgtalks.ai/green-mobility-policy-brief-7-november-2025-high-speed-rail-plan-stip-industry-reactions https://sdgtalks.ai/green-mobility-policy-brief-7-november-2025-high-speed-rail-plan-stip-industry-reactions Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:28:07 -0500 clolli

    • Commission unveils transport package combining high-speed rail plan and new investment strategy for sustainable fuels
    • Commission sets 2040 blueprint for a connected European high-speed rail network: policy overview
    • Aviation industry calls for stronger incentives and clearer timelines following STIP
    • Maritime sector urges rapid follow-up and market measures to make clean fuels competitive under STIP
    • High-speed rail plan gains broad support as sector calls for swift and coordinated execution
    • Delayed Franco-German regional trains restricted to Alsace after German rule change
    • LEVA-EU warns Belgium against national e-scooter framework
    • Commission awards €2.9 billion to 61 net zero technology projects across Europe
    • OECD calls for stronger governance and housing safeguards in urban–suburban rail expansion
    • Commission opens feedback on urban mobility indicators under revised TEN-T

    Commission unveils transport package combining high-speed rail plan and new investment strategy for sustainable fuels

    The European Commission has presented a comprehensive transport package centred on the High-Speed Rail Action Plan and the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP), described by Executive Vice-President Fitto as key to competitiveness and cohesion. Together, the measures aim to accelerate the completion of a connected European rail network by 2040 and to mobilise large-scale investment for renewable and low-carbon fuels in aviation and maritime transport.

    Speaking in Brussels, Commissioner Tzitzikostas said the two initiatives are guided by the principles of competitiveness and sustainability. For rail, the goal is to expand Europe’s 12 000 km of high-speed infrastructure, currently concentrated in Spain, France, Italy and Germany, and to close cross-border gaps, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. The Commission estimates that full network completion would cost €550 billion and yield €200 billion in additional social and economic benefits.

    The plan sets a 2040 deadline for a truly European network, supported by a dedicated financing strategy, harmonised digital systems through the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), and new rules on ticketing and rolling stock certification. A proposal due in early 2026 will make cross-border booking “one click” and create a second-hand market for trainsets. The Commission also intends to review procurement rules to encourage standardised train design and faster production, while strengthening ERA’s role in vehicle authorisation and safety oversight.

    STIP establishes a parallel investment framework for renewable and low-carbon fuels across all transport modes, with a focus on aviation and shipping where electrification is limited. To meet ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime targets, Europe must produce about 20 million tonnes of sustainable fuels annually by 2035. The Commission estimates €100 billion in required investment and plans to mobilise at least €2.9 billion from existing EU programmes including the Innovation Fund, Horizon Europe and InvestEU by 2027.

    A pilot eSAF Early Movers Coalition will seek to attract €500 million for synthetic fuel projects, complemented by a mechanism to link producers with offtakers to provide revenue certainty. The Commission will also examine how the EU ETS can further support the aviation and maritime sectors and strengthen international partnerships to ensure fair competition for European producers.

    According to Fitto, the measures will “make Europe more united and more efficient”, offering passengers faster connections and affordable alternatives to short-haul flights while creating a framework for private investment in clean transport fuels. Tzitzikostas added that implementation in the next two years will be decisive if the EU is to meet its 2030 and 2035 targets.

    See also: STIP: Aviation Gains Structured Support as Maritime Is Left Treading Water

    Commission sets 2040 blueprint for a connected European high-speed rail network: policy overview

    The European Commission has set out a plan to complete a connected high-speed rail network by 2040, pairing corridor-level delivery timetables with a new financing approach and tighter EU-level coordination. The Communication, Connecting Europe through High Speed Rail (COM(2025) 903), argues that a continuous network linking capitals and major urban nodes can halve journey times on many cross-border routes, shift demand from short and medium haul aviation and private cars, and relieve pressure on metropolitan housing markets by widening labour catchments.

    Brussels concedes that current performance is off track. Since 2015, high-speed rail traffic has risen by 17 per cent, and 12,128 km of high-speed lines are in operation, mostly in Spain, France, Italy and Germany. Central and eastern Europe remain fragmented. The plan therefore asks Member States and infrastructure managers to exceed the minimum 200 km/h TEN-T specification where viable and to design priority sections for very high speeds, including above 250 km/h, so that the core and extended core passenger network functions as one system.

    Delivery is anchored in two governance moves. First, each European Transport Corridor will include a high-speed chapter in its work plan by mid-2026 that identifies national and cross-border bottlenecks and proposes fixes. Second, by 2027, the Commission will adopt corridor implementing decisions that set binding milestones for 2030, 2035 and 2040, covering scope, speeds, travel time targets and funding paths. A 2026 review of the Streamlining Directive will address permitting and procurement lag on complex, cross-border projects.

    Financing is framed as the immediate constraint. Completing the currently planned TEN-T high-speed network by 2040 is estimated to cost about EUR 345 billion. Tripling today’s network and designing for very high speed would bring the bill to about EUR 546 billion, with a net positive benefit to society estimated at around EUR 750 billion and construction activity supporting more than 1.5 million job-years by 2050. The Commission will prioritise high-speed rail in a 2026 CEF call and proposes to double CEF Transport in 2028–2034 to EUR 51.5 billion, including an indicative EUR 17.7 billion for dual-use infrastructure. Cohesion instruments, InvestEU, Horizon Europe and EIB lending remain central. By end 2025 the Commission will table an EU financing strategy leading to a 2026 High Speed Rail Deal that aligns Member States, the EIB, national promotional banks, private investors and the rail supply chain around bankable project pipelines, blending grants, guarantees and user revenues, and standardising models such as PPPs, regulated asset base approaches and cross financing from road and ETS proceeds.

    The market framework is tightened to make services viable and fares competitive. The proposed Capacity Management Regulation would hard-wire cross-border planning and digital traffic management, with multiannual capacity agreements to give operators path certainty. Guidance on track access charges and a recent Court of Justice ruling point toward tariff structures that maximise use of the network, including newcomer discounts and transparent market segmentation, subject to State aid rules. A 2026 ticketing package is planned to ease the purchase of multi-operator and multimodal journeys and to strengthen rail passenger rights where a single transaction covers several carriers. The Commission will also toughen the implementing rules on non-discriminatory access to service facilities, responding to uneven distribution of depots, stabling and station services that can lock out new entrants.

    Rolling stock availability is treated as a strategic bottleneck. Brussels will work with the EIB, national promotional banks and private finance to expand leasing and guarantee tools for first movers, in line with State aid law. To spur a secondary market, the Commission will propose legislation in 2027 to curb anti-competitive scrapping and to set transparent cross-border conditions for resale and reuse. In parallel, authorisation and certification will be simplified. ERA’s role would be reinforced in 2026 so that high speed train approvals are valid at EU scale, cutting duplicated testing and shortening time to market. A reform of train driver certification is planned to create a single professional standard for operation across networks.

    Interoperability is the backbone of the industrial chapter. The 2040 TEN-T obligation to replace national signalling with ERTMS is reaffirmed, with a new European deployment plan due in 2026 and stricter enforcement. Member States are asked to eliminate other technical divergences on high-speed lines and access routes, and to connect city approaches and diversionary lines so that long-distance, night and freight services can exploit released capacity. Recognising that costs for ERTMS products have risen under fragmented approaches, the Commission will push co-creation of a next generation of harmonised, multi-network high-speed trainsets under Europe’s Rail in 2026, paired with standardised infrastructure components to recover economies of scale, lift production capacity and shorten delivery timelines.

    Resilience and environmental performance are carried through the asset life cycle. After extreme weather events repeatedly damaged key routes, the Commission will fund climate proofing and publish guidance this year for national noise action plans. By 2028 it wants harmonised life cycle assessment and climate resilience methodologies for transport infrastructure so that design choices reflect total environmental footprint and exposure to heat, floods and fires. Member States are encouraged to deploy on-site renewables and procure low-emission materials for construction and operation, and to specify the safety standards needed for integrated generation.

    The plan seeks a stronger interconnection with other modes. The Commission will analyse rail connectivity at 40 major airports and promote best practice for urban hubs that link high-speed rail with local public transport, cycling and shared mobility. The wider network gains are explicit. Separating fast intercity and high-speed flows from the classic network should unlock capacity for regional and freight services, including movements relevant for military mobility, and accelerate night train development where track access, facilities and authorisations are coordinated.

    Monitoring is designed to keep pressure on delivery. From 2026, a scoreboard will track kilometres of high-speed line, average speeds, passenger volumes and ERTMS roll-out, supported by an annual survey on perceived progress. Where specific cross-border city pairs face persistent barriers, the Commission will convene targeted roundtables on technical interfaces, facilities and charging. The expectation is that fixed milestones, standardised technology, predictable access to paths and capital, and a workable secondary market for trains together will convert latent demand into an affordable pan-European high-speed offer by 2040.

    Aviation industry calls for stronger incentives and clearer timelines following EU’s Sustainable Transport Investment Plan

    Aviation stakeholders have broadly welcomed the European Commission’s Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) as a step towards addressing the financing and policy barriers facing the industry’s transition to net zero, while warning that the measures fall short of what is needed to scale up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and ensure Europe’s competitiveness.

    The DESTINATION 2050 alliance, which includes A4E, ACI EUROPE, ASD, CANSO Europe and ERA, described STIP as a constructive step that finally recognises the investment challenge and begins to consolidate EU financing instruments for SAF projects. The group welcomed the plan’s reference to a double-sided auction system designed to reduce the cost gap between fossil fuels and SAF, but said the proposed EU funding envelope remains “disappointingly low” compared with the estimated €100 billion required by 2035.

    Industry groups also voiced concern that key elements of the investment and regulatory framework remain undefined. The lack of a concrete timetable for introducing a Book & Claim mechanism, which would allow airlines to access SAF credits regardless of local availability, is viewed as a critical omission. The alliance urged the Commission to prioritise its design and implementation, alongside a post-2030 extension of SAF allowances under the EU ETS and the use of ETS revenues to support fuel production.

    The European Express Association (EEA) called the STIP “a small step in the right direction” but said €3.5 billion of support is “a drop in the ocean” compared with investment needs. The association reiterated the sector’s demand for a credible Book & Claim system and for longer-term, scaled-up SAF incentives to underpin multi-year offtake agreements.

    From the perspective of emerging fuel producers, the Skies and Seas Hydrogen-fuels Accelerator (SASHA) Coalition welcomed the inclusion of auction mechanisms and risk-reduction tools for e-fuels but criticised the limited focus on zero-emission technologies. SASHA Director of EU Policy Aurelia Leeuw said the Commission “deserves credit for de-risking e-fuel production” but warned that the plan lacks ambition on ETS reform and fails to secure sufficient backing for hydrogen and electric propulsion. She also cautioned that without a clear focus on e-kerosene produced within the European Economic Area, the planned Book & Claim system risks weakening Europe’s competitive edge.

    Aviation stakeholders are now calling for coordinated follow-up between the Commission, Member States and industry to ensure policy coherence and stable investment conditions. Several groups have joined the Commission’s call for the European Investment Bank to increase its involvement in SAF financing and for unused national Recovery and Resilience funds to be redirected to low-carbon fuel projects before mid-2026.

    Maritime sector urges rapid follow-up and market measures to make clean fuels competitive under STIP

    Maritime industry groups have welcomed the European Commission’s Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) as an important step towards scaling renewable and low-carbon fuels, while urging faster follow-up and clearer measures to close the price gap between clean and conventional fuels.

    European shipowners described the plan as a “good first step” that identifies the right investment priorities but warned that immediate action is needed to turn its commitments into practice. ECSA Secretary General Sotiris Raptis said that while Europe has “ambitious climate targets,” it still lacks the clean fuels necessary to achieve them. He called for revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), estimated at €9 billion from the shipping sector, to be used to make renewable fuels more affordable and to support a binding mandate for European suppliers to provide clean fuels for shipping. ECSA also welcomed the Commission’s commitment to simplify reporting requirements for shipping companies, particularly for SMEs, and urged full alignment between EU and future International Maritime Organization measures to maintain a global level playing field.

    Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) similarly praised the plan for sending “a strong signal of support for scaling up renewable and low-carbon fuels.” The organisation highlighted that 97 percent of the world’s cruise ships are built in European shipyards, with €57 billion in new ship investments planned between 2024 and 2036. CLIA noted that Europe’s shipyards and supply chains can play a pivotal role in producing renewable fuels and technologies if the right policy and financial instruments are in place.

    SEA-LNG welcomed the plan’s explicit recognition of the “methane decarbonisation pathway,” including LNG, biomethane and e-methane. The group said this confirms the inclusion of methane-based fuels in the EU’s clean-fuel mix and aligns with current market trends, with over 70 percent of alternative-fuel vessel tonnage ordered in 2025 designed for methane use. SEA-LNG called for consistent funding and eligibility frameworks for renewable methane and for existing LNG infrastructure to be treated as a foundation for future e-methane distribution.

    The World Shipping Council (WSC) called the STIP “a promising first step” but stressed that it must now translate into financial mechanisms that make renewable marine fuels competitive. WSC said the maritime sector alone could absorb 14.4 million tonnes of renewable fuels by 2035; around 70 per cent of the Commission’s combined target for aviation and shipping, if investment conditions are right. The group urged the EU to focus STIP funding on price-bridging measures, targeted incentives for renewable fuels, and risk-sharing tools linking producers and buyers.

    ]]>     COP30: Green groups urge governments to crack down on shipping emissions https://sdgtalks.ai/cop30-green-groups-urge-governments-to-crack-down-on-shipping-emissions https://sdgtalks.ai/cop30-green-groups-urge-governments-to-crack-down-on-shipping-emissions Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:09:47 -0500 clolli Governments urged to develop national plans to tackle shipping emissions, following US wrecking tactics to delay plans for global Net Zero Framework

    ]]>     UK&apos;s &quot;first all-electric football stadium&quot; set to be built for Oxford United https://sdgtalks.ai/uks-first-all-electric-football-stadium-set-to-be-built-for-oxford-united https://sdgtalks.ai/uks-first-all-electric-football-stadium-set-to-be-built-for-oxford-united Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:05:19 -0500 clolli

    With planning approval granted by Cherwell District Council, Ridge and Partners claimed the football stadium is set to be "the most sustainable mid-sized sports venue in the UK".

    Ridge and Partners carried out the planning, sustainability and transport strategy, and worked with AFL Architects to design the stadium, which aims to provide amenities to the local community and give an economic boost to Oxford United Football Club.

    Situated north of the city centre near Oxford Parkway train station, outside of areas with heritage constraints, it will be powered by renewable energy from photovoltaic panels and an air-source heat pump.

    Stadium in Oxford by Ridge and Partners and AFL Architects
    It was designed by Ridge and Partners with AFL Architects

    "As the first all-electric stadium in the UK, it will operate entirely on renewable energy, integrating 3,500 square metres of roof-mounted photovoltaic panels to help reduce the impact on the national grid during matchdays," said Ridge and Partners.

    "An air-source heat pump and energy-efficient building fabric will remove the need for carbon-based fuels and provide an 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions per year compared with gas boilers."

    ]]>     SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Invests in Air Handling Upgrades https://sdgtalks.ai/suny-downstate-health-sciences-university-invests-in-air-handling-upgrades https://sdgtalks.ai/suny-downstate-health-sciences-university-invests-in-air-handling-upgrades Fri, 14 Nov 2025 14:04:24 -0500 clolli BROOKLYN, N.Y. — SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (DHSU) recently celebrated the completion of a critical update to the facility’s air handling units to better support medical and educational operations. The $10 million project required two years of study and design followed by two years of construction.

    SUNY DHSU engaged engineering firm RMF to address concerns about the hospital’s five rooftop-mounted air handling units (AHUs), which were nearing the end of their useful life and used R-22, a refrigerant no longer manufactured due to environmental concerns. The RMF team completed a comprehensive field survey to document existing conditions. Airflow readings were recorded to determine baseline performance, while pressure readings were documented to determine operating static pressure and record heating water flow.

    RMF analyzed the findings to develop a feasibility report that provided upgrade and replacement options that highlighted maintenance impacts, energy efficiency optimization, and the least disruptive construction phasing and construction cost estimates. The evaluation included a code assessment, potential upgrades to the energy management and electrical systems, ventilation air calculations using energy modeling software, full heating and cooling load calculations, filtration options and review of the existing ductwork.

    Developed in coordination with the State University Construction Fund and DHSU, RMF’s implementation included concept-level phasing and sequencing plans for replacing the three AHUs serving the Labor and Deliver, NICU and PIRR/MRI critical care units. RMF also designed the new AHUs sized to accommodate more outside air than required by code –– requested by DHSU to provide increased capacity of Remote Terminal Units for future expansion –– and incorporate high-rating filters and ultraviolet lighting to improve indoor air quality. The existing electrical and building automation systems were extended to provide power and controls for the new equipment.

    As the affected areas had to always remain operational, the project was completed in three construction phases and used newly installed equipment, including temporary units requested by DHSU which were installed for NICU and PIRR/MRI areas during construction to provide temporary air while subsequent equipment was replaced. Construction staging was planned to coordinate with DHSU operations and remain within the urban site’s limited available space.

    “We aimed to enhance the capabilities of the hospital while ensuring there was little impact to its operations throughout construction, underscoring the importance of planning,” said Rich Heim, project manager at RMF. “We needed to be mindful of the sensitive and urgent needs of the areas the units impacted, implementing careful coordination that facilitated a seamless transition.”

    DHSU is the only academic medical center in Brooklyn and trains more New York City doctors than any other medical college. It has also received $1.1 billion in state investment for its larger renovation to preserve and enhance service to the community.

    “This project was designed and executed with the hospital’s future flexibility in mind,” said Yan Li, project manager at RMF. “To support modifications for years to come, we provided 10 percent additional airflow capacity, impacting the labor and delivery, NICU, and PIRR and MRI units and giving them the opportunity to advance their level of care as each practice evolves.”

    Li added that, as safety precautions increased in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the firm wanted to make sure the hospital was equipped to handle similar situations should they arise in the future.

    The project team also included architecture firm Azar Design Co., structural engineering firm Siracuse Engineers PC, hazardous material abatement firm Encorus Group and cost estimator Trophy Point.

    By Lindsey Coulter

    ]]>     Farmland loans for regenerative agriculture: FBN and Walton family launch ‘first-of-its-kind’ lending program https://sdgtalks.ai/farmland-loans-for-regenerative-agriculture-fbn-and-walton-family-launch-first-of-its-kind-lending-program https://sdgtalks.ai/farmland-loans-for-regenerative-agriculture-fbn-and-walton-family-launch-first-of-its-kind-lending-program Fri, 14 Nov 2025 13:56:38 -0500 clolli As rising costs and regulatory uncertainty challenge farmers’ efforts to adopt regenerative agriculture practices, an innovative new pilot with support from the Walton family looks to help finance the transition through discounts in private conservation loans.

    Led by agriculture e-commerce marketplace Farmers Business Network, the Regenerative Agriculture Financing Land Loan pilot program offers discounted interest rates on land loans for farms who successfully adopt conservation practices benefiting soil health, water quality and overall climate resilience.

    The loans are made possible through a $750,000 investment from the Walton Family Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Walmart founders Sam and Helen Walton.

    “Helping farmers to grow crops while also protecting water and soil is key to protecting people and nature together,” Moira Mcdonald, environmental program director of the Walton Family Foundation, said in a statement, adding that the program will “provide farmers with access to affordable capital in order to incentivize the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.”

    The pilot program is expected to serve about 20 farmers as a “proof of concept” with hopes of expansion down the line, Dan English, general manager of FBN Financial, said in an interview with Agriculture Dive.

    To access the discounts, farmers must implement sustainable soil and water health practices and meet environmental criteria developed by Environmental Defense Fund and Gradable, a sustainable grain platform co-owned by FBN and ADM.

    Eligible farmers will receive discounted interest rates — ranging from 0.25% to 0.5% — on newly financed land for seven years. The loans can be used to acquire or refinance land, English said, providing savings of around $5,000 to $6,000 a year.

    The regenerative land loans build on the overwhelming demand for FBN’s sustainable financing program that provides operating loans to farms that implement regenerative practices. The operating loan program, launched as a pilot with the Environmental Defense Fund in 2021, has grown to support 140 farmers in 2024.

    Private companies and partnerships could play more of a role in spurring adoption of regenerative agriculture, particularly amid a downturn in the farm economy and ongoing uncertainty around federal climate funding. There is demand among farmers to transition to regenerative practices, English said, but the sector needs “long term” investment.

    ]]>     Developing countries projected to use 25% more energy as living standards improve https://sdgtalks.ai/developing-countries-projected-to-use-25-more-energy-as-living-standards-improve https://sdgtalks.ai/developing-countries-projected-to-use-25-more-energy-as-living-standards-improve Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:49:50 -0500 clolli
  • > 4 billion people currently live in countries where access to energy is below what is needed to address basic human development needs.
  • Access to sufficient, affordable energy enables economic development.
  • Efficiency gains from new technology help slow energy growth from rising prosperity and a growing population.

    • In 2050, more people and growing economies will drive higher demand for the energy sources that enable modern living, even as efficiency gains enable per capita energy use to decline in developed economies.

    Population
    Billions

    OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of more affluent democracies with market-based economies that promotes economic growth.

    GDP
    Trillions 2015$

    The global population is projected to rise by > 1.5 billion people by 2050, a 20% increase from today, and nearly all of that growth will occur in developing countries.

    Over that same time period, global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to nearly double, with developing nations growing twice as fast as developed nations. By 2050, the developing world will account for more than half of global GDP, up from about 40% today.

    The combination of 1.5 billion more people and a global economy that is projected to nearly double in size drives about 25% higher energy use in developing countries in 2050 versus today.

    Global energy demand
    Quadrillion Btu

    Sources: Smil, Energy Transitions (1900-1960), 2024 ExxonMobil Global Outlook (1970-2050)

    Energy use and improved living standards go hand in hand. It is impossible to have one without the other. Data from the United Nations Human Development Index (U.N. HDI) shows that countries with higher energy use tend to have higher life expectancies, education levels, and income per person. Rising energy use fuels higher incomes that enable people to own homes, purchase labor-saving appliances, travel, and obtain needed medical services.

    U.N. Human Development Index
    2023 Index

    Sources: U.N. Human Development Reports, EIA, ExxonMobil analysis

    The U.N. HDI data show us that the opposite is also true: a lack of access to affordable, reliable energy means diminished living standards.

    Energy consumption versus access to clean cooking fuels
    MMBtu per person per year

    Sources: U.N. Human Development Reports, EIA, ExxonMobil analysis
    Each symbol denotes a country; bubble size proportional to population
    Population weighted averages for UN and World Bank (data through 2024) except energy per capita in MMBtu per person (EIA 2023 data)

    Our analysis estimates that basic living standards require at least 50 million British thermal units (MMBtu) per person per year. To put that in perspective, developed countries around the world, on average, use more than three times that amount, about 160 MMBtu per person, with ~75% of this energy going towards manufacturing, business, and commercial transportation.

    Energy use
    MMBtu per person per year

    Based on our analysis, and the U.N. HDI data, we determined that about 4 billion people live in countries where access to energy is below what is needed to support basic human development, including access to housing, infrastructure, jobs, and mobility.

    For example, today in countries with limited access to energy, cooking often involves burning wood, coal, or kerosene indoors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, Air quality, Energy and Health), more than 3 million people die every year from indoor air pollution, largely associated with burning these fuels. It isn’t until a country has access to reliable and affordable energy that households also get access to clean cooking fuels such as electricity or natural gas.

    Comparison to third party analyses of minimum energy needs

    The Energy for Growth Hub (Moss et al., 2021) has analyzed the level of per capita electricity consumption needed to support modern living standards, and identified the threshold as being 1000 kWh per person per year, with 75% of that being consumed in the wider economy, outside of households. Notably, electricity makes up only about 20% of the world’s total energy consumption, with the majority of energy demand being driven by the hard-to-electrify industrial and commercial transportation sectors. Our analysis takes a comprehensive view and considers the total energy mix. Despite this distinction, the analysis of Energy for Growth Hub provides a similar insight as our analysis: today ~4 billion people around the world live in countries where per capita energy and electricity use is less than needed to meet basic human development needs.

    The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7.1 limits its focus to household “access to electricity”, defined by the IEA as at least 50-100 kWh per household per year. It does not consider the broader energy needs outside the home. To put this in context, 50-100 kWh per household per year is sufficient to provide about four hours of electricity per day with a system capable of running basic devices such as lights and phone chargers (IEA, 2025). While access to electricity is a necessary and important first step to addressing energy poverty, this minimum threshold of 50-100 kWh per household per year that is tracked by U.N SDG 7.1 is less than 1% of the total amount of energy that is needed to address basic human development needs based on our analysis.

    Even though developing countries are expected to use significantly more energy through 2050, we predict that total worldwide energy growth will slow as efficiency improves. From 2000 to 2010, total global energy demand grew by 27%. In the past decade, energy demand grew by 13%. Between 2040 and 2050, we project energy demand will grow by less than 3%. Because technology will become more efficient, we expect the next decade will be the first time in history where the world will see expanding economic growth, with lower per capita energy demand.

    Energy per capita
    MMBtu per person

    However, our Outlook also projects limited growth in per capita energy demand in the developing countries, even as overall energy demand in the developing countries grows by 25%.

    Sensitivity: How much energy would the world need for all countries to achieve basic living standards (50 MMBtu per person) in 2050? Even with the significant projected efficiency gains, we estimate that providing the energy needed for the developing world to universally achieve basic living standards would require nearly 20% more energy in 2050 compared to our Global Outlook projection.  

    ]]>     Too Much on Our Plate: Food Waste and Climate Impact in Miami-Dade https://sdgtalks.ai/too-much-on-our-plate-food-waste-and-climate-impact-in-miami-dade https://sdgtalks.ai/too-much-on-our-plate-food-waste-and-climate-impact-in-miami-dade Mon, 27 Oct 2025 18:45:00 -0500 Mariang.Raschiery001@mymdc.net The Climate Communications and Wellness Posse opened my eyes to the different contributions to climate change and the effects it can have on different communities. In the United States, one of the contributors to climate change is the waste produced each day. One shocking fact mentioned in the presentations was the data of the Ocean Conservancy, the 2020 Circularity Assessment Protocol, which mentions how Miami-Dade has an average of 7.91lbs. of waste per person, per day. The waste production in Miami is composed of around 10% of food waste.

    As vibrant as Miami is in diversity of cultures and culinary elements, there are problems with the amount of food that ends up as waste in the landfills. This problem affects the environment by contributing to greenhouse gas emissions of methane. Food also contaminates recyclable materials in recycling bins, which makes “as much as 70%” of its contents non-recyclable (Miami Herald, 2024).  Apart from the environmental effects, food waste leads to a waste of “… the resources used to produce, transport, process, and distribute it…” throughout Miami (Cole, C. 2023). This loss of food and its decomposition in landfills extends the ecological footprint of a resource that could have been avoided with the correct strategies and effective planning.

    The food waste can be produced from different places, like restaurants, grocery stores, and households, each requiring specific strategies to be able to reduce it. However, the issues of food waste can be managed by the collective efforts of communities and organizations. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has done research to create a hierarchy of the best ways to reduce the impact of food waste; the preferred method being preventing it at all by buying what is necessary (Cole, C. 2023). The list created in the EPA’s research also mentions donating or upcycling food (creating new food from food that would otherwise be waste), feeding it to animals or leaving unharvested, composting, and applying to land. The least preferred way to deal with food waste is to send it down the drain, to the landfill, or to an incinerator. Even though some options might not be applicable to all households, other strategies like meal planning for the week, using up vegetables and fruits first, storing food properly, and repurposing leftovers and scraps into new recipes can help avoid food waste and help your pocket by saving money.

    In Miami, different organizations and initiatives help reduce waste production. Organizations like Food Rescue US – South Florida help deliver fresh, usable food that would otherwise be thrown away to shelters, pantries, and food-insecure families. There are also initiatives in some grocery stores that reduce food waste by offering discounted prices on food close to expiration dates, food donations to food banks, and better inventory management (Fertile Earth Worm Farm 2023). Apart from organizations and grocery stores initiatives, apps like Too Good To Go help rescue food by partnering with local businesses to officer at a discounted price unsold food.

    Food waste is a major problem harming both the environment and economy, but proactive community choices offer pathways to improvement. Through daily actions and support for organizations, Miami and other parts of the US can simultaneously meet social needs and reduce the climate impact of wasted food.

    References

    Circularity Assessment Protocol - MIAMI, FLORIDA. Ocean Conservancy. (n.d.). https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Miami-Report-2021-12-22.pdf

     Editorial Board (2024, December). Garbage is an ‘existential threat’ to Miami-Dade. Our largest city shouldn’t end recycling | Opinion. Miami Herald. Retrieved 2025, from https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article297403196.html.

    Cole, C. (2023). Lettuce Not Waste: New EPA Research Highlights Food Waste Contributions to Climate Change. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/lettuce-not-waste-new-epa-research-highlights-food-waste-contributions-climate

    The Issue of Food Waste in Miami, FL United States: One Big Problem, Many Solutions. (2023, December). Fertile Earth Worm Farm. 2025, https://fertileearth.net/blogs/news/the-issue-of-food-waste-in-miami-fl-united-state-one-big-problem-many-solutions?srsltid=AfmBOopcehMp2TejqKHSlITvs8J5JqxqiHL2lKu2CO3bhgRHAXGgFv_j

    ]]>     Restoring the Reef: Taking Action for Life Below Water https://sdgtalks.ai/restoring-the-reef-taking-action-for-life-below-water-118470 https://sdgtalks.ai/restoring-the-reef-taking-action-for-life-below-water-118470 Sun, 26 Oct 2025 22:59:49 -0500 Santiago.Arjona001@mymdc.net The ocean’s colors are fading. Once very lively and bright coral reefs full of fish, sea turtles, and colorful plants are now paler and lifeless. Coral bleaching has become one of the most noticeable warnings of climate change, revealing the way the increasing temperature is silently killing life under the ocean. These seabed ecosystems are not only beautiful, but also important. They protect the coastline from erosion, they are the homes of millions of marine organisms, and their means of livelihood sustain the lives of thousands of coastal communities. But we are losing them at a quicker pace than we are preserving them.
    Coral bleaching is the process that takes place when the ocean temperature exceeds the normal temperature. Depending on a symbiotic association with microscopic algae known as zooxanthellae, the corals lose the algae due to heat stress. In their absence, the corals become white and die gradually. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found out that over half of the coral reefs in the world have disappeared since the 1990s. The events of each bleaching are not only environmental tragedies, but they are an indication that we have broken the climate balance on our planet. The warming oceans are like a symptom of a fever that shows that the Earth is in great distress.
    This crisis is not distant. It is occurring right here in Florida. The Florida Coral Reef, the only living barrier reef in the continental US, has been severely bleached over recent years. The increase in ocean temperatures, pollution, and erosion of the reef sediments has rendered areas of the reef bare. This summer, the heat waves at the coast of the Florida Keys exceeded the record levels that killed coral species that were centuries old. According to the scientists, without a change of direction, by the year 2050, most of the coral reefs would have disappeared, posing a threat to the existence of thousands of marine organisms and the livelihood of local economies that rely on tourism and fishing.
    Despite the alarming data, not all hope is lost. One of the most important initiatives that directly supports the recovery of the damaged reefs is the Coral Restoration Foundation, located in Key Largo, which focuses on growing the fragments of coral in nurseries placed underwater and replanting them in the environment. Their activity proves the meaning of SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water): the community-based actions protecting the planet by being innovative and attentive. All the restored corals represent human protests against climate change, a simple but significant act of recovery that nature can heal when given the chance.
    Being a student who cares about the environment and being environmentally responsible, I consider coral bleaching not as a mere scientific problem, but a moral one. The ocean supports life on Earth by maintaining the climate, providing food, and connecting the ecosystems. By losing coral reefs, we lose some of that balance and part of ourselves. It is not just a scientific battle against coral bleaching nor a policymaker battle against coral bleaching; it is a battle everybody should participate in as long as they believe in a sustainable future.
    It is in our hands to make conscious choices—reducing plastic use, supporting reef-safe products, using less energy, and raising awareness. Millions of such little efforts can reduce the wave of destruction. The coral reefs make us aware of the vulnerability and strength of life. Today, however, there is still time to restore the color of these underwater forests, as well as for them to grow again.
    Saving corals means saving the planet. The first step in climate action is recognizing the fact that the entire world is being affected by what is taking place beneath the surface.

    Sources:

    “Coral Bleaching.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2023. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html

    “Mission: Iconic Reefs.” NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 2023. https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/restoration.

    Coral Restoration Foundation. About Us. https://www.coralrestoration.org

    ]]>     Reflecting on Climate Justice for Women and Coral Reefs https://sdgtalks.ai/reflecting-on-climate-justice-for-women-and-coral-reefs https://sdgtalks.ai/reflecting-on-climate-justice-for-women-and-coral-reefs Sun, 26 Oct 2025 22:55:37 -0500 D.HernandezBarrer002@mymdc.net Reflecting on Climate Justice for Women and Coral Reefs

    As a student interested in sustainability, justice and our collective future, I have come to see that the climate crisis is not a single, uniform threat, it unfolds simultaneously in human lives and natural systems, demanding a multifaceted response. Two very different yet intertwined frontlines stood out to me during the Climate Communications and Wellness Posse sessions: the disproportionate burden climate change places women and girls, and the alarming bleaching of coral reefs across the globe. Together, they reveal how human justice and ecological stability and inseparable.

    During the last four sessions, I learned how crucial it is to connect facts with empathy. We need to communicate climate issues not only thought data but through the human and emotional side behind them. The discussions about climate justice taught me that true communication involves compassion and clarity, making visible the inequalities and environmental losses that statistics often hide. Those lessons deeply shaped how I now view both social and ecological aspects of climate change.

    Globally, women and girls face significantly greater vulnerability to climate change. The causes are complex, existing gender inequalities, reliance on natural resources, limited, higher poverty rates. For example, UN Women reports that climate change could push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty by 2050 (UN Women, 2023). Rural women, in particular, often bear the burden of securing food, water, and even fuel when drought or flooding strike (United Nations, n.d.). Yet women are not merely passive victims, they are essential agents of climate adaptation and justice, though often excluded from leadership roles (UN Women, n.d.). Connecting these findings to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, Gender Equality, and SDG 13, Climate Action, shows how gender justice is intrinsic to effective climate responses.

    On a completely different front, the world’s coral reefs, home to a quarter of marine species despite covering less than one percent of the ocean floor, are under extreme heat stress. A recent global bleaching event that began in 2023 has already affected close to 84 percent of the world’s coral reef areas (NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 2025). Coral bleaching occurs when the unusually warm sea surface temperatures cause corals to expel the algae that give them color and nutrients, threatening reef survival. Similarly, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) notes that rising sea-surface temperature have led to the loss of 14 percent of corals since 2009 (UNEP, 2021). This reality links directly to SDG 14, Life Below Water, and again the SDG 13, remaining us, that climate action must include protecting ecosystems as much as human systems.

    In my own student journey, I now see communication itself as an act of care. The Posse sessions reminded me that empathy is a bridge between awareness and action, between the women facing climate-induced poverty and the silent bleaching reefs that sustain so much life. Whether advocating for gender policies or for reef conservation, the same principles apply, we must care enough to act, therefore the importance of climate communications.

    In short, climate actions are not just about the degrees of warming or bleaching thresholds, it is about who gets left behind and what happens to the very foundations of life. As a student committed to sustainability and justice, I believe our global future depends on recognizing both frontlines and acting them now.

     

     

     

    Cited Work

    1.              NOAA Coral Reef Watch. (2025). Current global bleaching: Status update & data submission. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral_bleaching_report.php

    2.              United Nations. (n.d.). Women, gender equality and climate change.https://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/climate_change/

    3.              UN Women. (n.d.). Why climate change matters for women. https://data.unwomen.org/features/why-climate-change-matters-women

    4.              UN Women. (2023). Gendered analysis of the impact of climate change on poverty, productivity and food insecurity. https://data.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/documents/Publications/2023/Gender-Climate-technical-report.pdf

    5.              United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (2021, October 5). Rising sea-surface temperatures driving the loss of 14 percent of corals since 2009. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/rising-sea-surface-temperatures-driving-loss-14-percent-corals-2009

     

    ]]>     Miami’s Burning Divide: Women, Wellness, and the Climate Crisis https://sdgtalks.ai/miamis-burning-divide-women-wellness-and-the-climate-crisis https://sdgtalks.ai/miamis-burning-divide-women-wellness-and-the-climate-crisis Sun, 26 Oct 2025 21:34:13 -0500 Maria.Trapani001@mymdc.net “In 2024, Miami-Dade County experienced over 60 days with a heat index of 105°F or higher, setting a record for extreme heat.” (Miami-Dade County Office of Resilience, 2024). Climate change has been at our doorstep for the past several years, only now we actually feel and see it- and women are paying the price. It is affecting women's health, safety, and livelihood. All of this has called for an urgent, gender responsive climate action that is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal Thirteen, Climate Action, and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Five, gender equality. 

    UN Women, an entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls worldwide, has found that “80% of people displaced by climate change are women.” This shows the gendered dimension of the crisis. This data is significant to women because extreme heat leads to higher rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, and chronic illness among women, especially in developing and low-income regions, as found by the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center in 2023. As for Miami-Dade County, women who face the greatest danger include those working outdoors or in non-airconditioned spaces, such as vendors, governors, and service workers. In 2024, the Women's Fund Miami-Dade stated that “heat exposure during pregnancy can increase health risks for both mother and baby.” All of these findings work in conjunction to support the result that rising temperatures worsen gender inequities because women often handle unpaid caregiving while managing greater exposure to heat and fewer resources for adaptation. 

    This may be frightening to many women, but, there is no need to lose hope or be afraid. There are many actions we can take both as a community and individually. At the community level, we can support the first in the world, Miami Dade’s Chief Heat Officer Initiative, which is focused on protecting susceptible populations through shade cooling centers and education (The Miami Foundation 2023). In addition, we can become advocates for gender inclusive resilience planning so that women, pregnant individuals, and outdoor workers are prioritized in emergency and city design.

     At the individual level, we can help plant trees to cool urban heat islands, reduce our energy use at home, and use public transportation such as the MetroRail. To have a more direct impact, we can volunteer at organizations that promote climate and health equity for women, such as The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade. Finally, we can take part in the education of others about how extreme heat affects women's health, especially in less fortunate communities. We should also encourage local leaders to integrate heat-health warnings and gender-specific data into county resilience strategies (Uejio et al., 2024)

    Clearly, climate change affects women more severely than anyone else. The already existing gender inequalities become more potent as heat waves rise. But there is hope for our community. By putting women on a pedestal in climate conversations, shifting the focus from policy making to community resilience, Miami can become the model for a just, sustainable future with the values of SDG 13 and SDG 5. 

    ]]>     Coral Collapse: A Wake-Up Call for Climate Communication https://sdgtalks.ai/coral-collapse-a-wake-up-call-for-climate-communication https://sdgtalks.ai/coral-collapse-a-wake-up-call-for-climate-communication Sun, 26 Oct 2025 21:33:02 -0500 Sol.Gatica001@mymdc.net Coral Reef, SDG, Call to Action The Great Barrier Reef, one of the planet’s most iconic ecosystems, has just recorded its largest annual coral loss in nearly four decades. According to the SDG Talks AI article, over 30% of shallow-water coral cover has vanished in a single year, driven by unprecedented marine heatwaves ("Great Barrier Reef Records Largest Annual Coral Loss in 39 years"). Reading this was alarming to me, but it also felt more personal because I have had the chance to experience the reef firsthand.

    This crisis directly connects to SDG 14: Life Below Water, which urges us to conserve and sustainably use ocean resources. Coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots, supporting thousands of marine species and providing food, income, and coastal protection for millions of people. Their collapse threatens not only marine ecosystems but also human livelihoods and cultural heritage. Experiencing the reef in person made me realize how much humans rely on these ecosystems, and how much we are impacted when they suffer.

    The reef’s decline also intersects with SDG 13: Climate Action. Rising ocean temperatures are the primary driver of coral bleaching. The 2023–2024 summer brought record-breaking sea surface temperatures. Without rapid decarbonization, these bleaching events will become more frequent and severe. Seeing the reef’s vulnerability firsthand makes it clear that humans' failure to take actions seriously has direct consequences for ecosystems and for us (“Great Barrier Reef Records Largest Annual Coral Loss in 39 Years”).

    Lets talk about SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Land-based pollution, overfishing, and tourism that is not sustainable make the reef worse. (“Great Barrier Reef Records Largest Annual Coral Loss in 39 Years”). Our choices, like the food we eat, how we travel, and how we consume, have ripple effects that reach even the most remote coral ecosystems. Agricultural runoff and plastic waste all contribute to the reef’s decline. Reflecting on this, I feel personally responsible. The impact of our actions is real, and addressing these issues requires both systemic change and individual accountability.

    My family and I have been snorkeling many times over the years, and what really caught my attention was how different the reef looked back in 2017 compared to now. The changes were striking and made me realize firsthand the impact of coral loss. As mentioned earlier, coral reefs affect not just the environment but also life below water, climate action, and human consumption, to name a few. We often do not realize that humans are both part of the problem and part of the solution. We also lose out when ecosystems like this are harmed.

    As leaders, students, and citizens, we must amplify these efforts. I believe we should shift from passive awareness to active storytelling. Let’s make coral loss personal and not just a headline, but a call to protect what remains. Climate action is about safeguarding the beauty, biodiversity, and balance of our planet. 

    ]]>     How Miami Can Lead in Climate Resilience https://sdgtalks.ai/how-miami-can-lead-in-climate-resilience https://sdgtalks.ai/how-miami-can-lead-in-climate-resilience Sun, 26 Oct 2025 21:25:22 -0500 Tobias.Miyashiro001@mymdc.net How Miami Can Lead in Climate Resilience

     

    Living in Miami, it’s hard to ignore how the climate is changing around us. Some mornings the streets flood even when there’s no rain. Summers feel hotter every year, and hurricanes seem to form faster and hit harder. For many of us, climate change isn’t a faraway issue, it’s part of our daily reality.

    That’s why Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action matters so much here. Miami is on the frontlines of climate change, but it can also be at the forefront of climate solutions if we choose to act—together and locally.

    The Rising Reality

    Miami’s relationship with the ocean is complicated. We depend on it for tourism, recreation, and identity, yet it’s also what threatens our city’s future. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sea levels in South Florida are projected to rise to 21 inches by 2050. That might not sound like much, but it’s enough to flood streets, damage homes, and disrupt lives.

    Many neighborhoods already experience what locals call “sunny day flooding,” when high tides push seawater through drains and onto the roads. It happens in areas like Brickell, Miami Beach, and Shorecrest. It’s a quiet reminder that the problem isn’t coming, it’s already here.

    Local Action, Real Impact

    But Miami isn’t just a victim of climate change, it’s also a hub for innovation and resilience. Across the city, people and organizations are finding creative ways to adapt.

    One great example is The CLEO Institute; a local nonprofit focused on climate education and advocacy. They hold workshops, youth summits, and community talks to help people understand the science behind climate change and what actions they can take. Their programs show how communication and awareness can drive real change.

    Another inspiring initiative is the Miami-Dade County Climate Action Strategy, which includes goals to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2030. From promoting electric buses to expanding tree canopy coverage, the city is taking steps toward a more sustainable future.

    Beyond government programs, climate action can start with using our homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Small actions like conserving water, using public transport, or supporting local farmers can seem minor, but together they create a powerful wave of change.

    Why Communication Matters

    When it comes to climate change, how we talk about it matters just as much as what we do. For years, most climate conversations focused on fear and disaster. While the risks are real, people also need to feel that they can make a difference.

    In Miami, storytelling is one of our strongest tools. Whether it’s a high school student posting about flooding in their neighborhood, a small business switching to solar power, or a family planting native trees in their yard, these stories spark awareness and build hope. They remind us that we’re not powerless.

    Climate Action Is Wellness

    Climate action isn’t only about protecting the planet—it’s also about protecting our health and well-being. Rising temperatures increase risks of heat exhaustion, asthma, and anxiety. When neighborhoods lose green spaces, people lose access to shade, recreation, and stress relief.

    But when we plant trees, clean up beaches, and reduce pollution, we’re creating a healthier Miami for everyone. Taking care of our environment is, in many ways, self-care for the city.

    A Call to Action for Miamians

    If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you don’t need to be an expert to make a difference. Here are a few realistic ways people in Miami can act today:

    1. Join a local cleanup. Groups like VolunteerCleanup.org host beach and park cleanups almost every weekend.
    2. Use your voice. Talk about local climate issues on social media or attend city meetings about sustainability plans.
    3. Support local change-makers. From farmers’ markets to sustainable startups, every dollar spent consciously counts.
    4. Plant native trees. It cools the city, improves air quality, and adds beauty to our neighborhoods.

    Final Thoughts

    Miami is more than just a coastal city—it’s a symbol of what’s at stake and what’s possible. If we want to keep this place vibrant for future generations, we must protect it now. Climate action doesn’t have to be overwhelming; it can start with a single choice, a conversation, or a community effort. The ocean may be rising, but so is our awareness, creativity, and resilience. And that’s the kind of tide worth joining.

    References:

    • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2024). Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts.
    • The CLEO Institute. (2025). Community Climate Education and Advocacy in Florida.
    ]]>     Miami Beaches Under Threat: Marine Life Overwhelmed by Sargassum Invasion https://sdgtalks.ai/miami-beaches-under-threat-marine-life-overwhelmed-by-sargassum-invasion-118446 https://sdgtalks.ai/miami-beaches-under-threat-marine-life-overwhelmed-by-sargassum-invasion-118446 Sun, 26 Oct 2025 21:00:21 -0500 isaberiverogomez001 Miami Beaches Under Threat: Marine Life Overwhelmed by Sargassum Invasion

    Underwater systems of biological marvel—the hydrodynamic bodies of turtles swerving water currents, school of fishes in conjoined movement like one big conscious body… Miami is a city that flourishes with diverse maritime wildlife. Although these precious forms of life that are associated with Miami have become a huge draw for hospitality jobs, they are currently under the threat of the immense floods of sargasso cluttering the bays for miles. However, with the diligent study of UM students aiming for sargassum to become biomatter as an alternative of generic carbon material used for screens in technological devices, there is a clear direction to a better outlook for how to manage the shores and impact the blow from sargasso; seeing it not as a problem, but the solution. 

    At first, the expansive belt of sargassum was a mystery to scientists around the world. The great amassment of organic yellow—like blots of petroleum in the abyssal sea—started to catch the attention starting the 2010s, as seen in Modern Science's article: “First appearing in 2011, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is believed to have originated near the nutrient-rich mouth of the Amazon River, whose outflows contribute significantly to its development…” In a prior natural state of a mere 5000 pounds max of sargassum it is credible to being a great way for maritime creatures to have shelter and pockets of space to be safe from hazardous instances. They are the parallel of corals that way; except, they are the stalactites to stalagmites in the intricate cave system that is the ocean. However, an excessive amount of sargassum can make for the benefits to become tangible harm. Since the 80's, scientists have observed the data of how emissions have increased over the years.  For them, rafts that give marine life protection become a barren land of oxygen, trapping and asphyxiating life in the process. Data states that the emissions have risen to “a stunning 55” (Modern Science Team), a dangerous elevation in nitrogen emissions detrimental as it sounds—leaving the species of fish, amphipods and other marine life dependent on said sargassum suffering from the abundance. 

    Due to the decay of sargassum, a higher accumulation of emissions will mean that it will trickle into several SDGS such as 11 and 6; meaning, problems with the economy and clean water for our communities. As quoted from the article Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean alter the trophic structure of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum, on page three, it covers the gist of how these emissions cause harm: “Sargassum mats produce hypoxia in near-shore coral reef communities… ammonium concentrations have been shown to cause faunal mortality in the Mexican Caribbean” Sargassum has not only an economical impact on industries that depend on the monetary, but as seen it affects the wildlife within these gems of carribean/mexican seas, threatening entire ecosystems to crumble from a disbalance in PH, density and issues of hypoxia. 

    Nursing and feeding grounds, where life starts, are deeply affected as well. For instance, Miami has ecosystems that depend on the settlement of mangroves. However, due to the excess it can actually affect mangroves as well, leading to issues with development and life expectancy for marine life—at some point the lives of fish and other maritime creatures, often in their youth, need shelter and sustenance that mangroves offer. Furthermore, the immense excrements of warmth emanating from the pounds of biomass cause the embryos of turtles for instance to have detrimental problems.  Even downright genetic issues can be caused from the amalgamation of sargassum, as its “preliminary data suggest a cooling effect, which could result in the production of more male hatchlings since gender is temperature-dependent in this taxon” (Andrew S. Maurer, Emma De Neef, Seth Stapleton, p.7) Problems with the heat excess and the lack of sunlight can cause the species to suffer a drawback in the normal populations, causing a great danger to the future breeding and survival rates of species. 

    As Miami's new generation of agents of change rise to the occasion, there has been an incredible effort to bring awareness and a tangible solution to the problem. UM's students have been conducting research to re-purpose the sargassum to innovative solutions—possibly the makeup matter for our TV's of the future. Yiming Xi, a Ph.D candidate, has been conducting research on how to turn sargassum into carbon dots through the process of aerosol and large amounts of heat at the celsius grade of 800*C. “During that superheating process, those droplets decompose, or pyrolyze, and form carbon dots at the nanoscale,” Peering into using sargassum as a resource, it is possible to find a way to re-purpose the pounds into the screens of the devices in homes; providing the alternative that is mindful ecologically, and carving the path for organic matter to become commercially used in a global scale. With a nod to the right direction, Miami can preserve its marine life and flora that is essential for the ecosystem to thrive—and for the likelihood of the thousands of people who depend on jobs that are brought by the biodiversity of Florida. Change is inevitable, but how an individual absorbs change and reflects it into action is key. Looking out into the paths few have treaded, remaining brave and dipping into uncharted waters deep as the coral constructs that barrier our bays, that is where change starts. 

    Works Cited

    Cabanillas-Terán N, Hernández-Arana HA, Ruiz-Zárate M, Vega-Zepeda A, Sanchez-Gonzalez A. 2019. Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean alter the trophic structure of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum. PeerJ 7:e7589 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7589

    Andrew S Maurer, Emma De Neef, Seth Stapleton. Sargassum accumulation may spell trouble for nesting sea turtles. 1 September 2015. https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295-13.7.394

    Modern Science Team. Review: Human pollution fuels record Sargassum seaweed blooms. 11 September 2015. http://modernsciences.org/sargassum-seaweed-bloom-pollution-september-2025/

    Robert C. Jones Jr. From flatscreens to bioimaging: Putting sargassum seaweed to good use. 2 September 2025. https://share.google/Sj3EzidnNz66fRv6c

      

    ]]>     Greenbelt vs. SDG https://sdgtalks.ai/greenbelt-vs-sdg https://sdgtalks.ai/greenbelt-vs-sdg Sun, 26 Oct 2025 20:34:19 -0500 Irene.Benedetti001@mymdc.net Greenbelt law contradicting Sustainability Across Florida, empty lots with a few grazing cows may look harmless — but those cows hide a legal loophole worth millions. As we all know, Florida’s economy relies heavily on property taxes, since the state has no personal income tax. Florida’s growth is driven by tourism, housing, and land development, so property values and land use policies greatly affect funding for public services such as schools and parks. One of these policies is Florida Statutes 193.461, known as the “Greenbelt” classification. At first, it might seem like a good law meant to protect land, but in reality, it often promotes unsustainable land use that goes against sustainability goals.

    So, what is the “Greenbelt Law”? This law was enacted in 1959 to protect farmers and ranchers from rising property taxes caused by urban development. It allows agricultural land to be taxed based on its “use value” rather than its “market value.” In other words, the land is taxed according to its value for farming or ranching instead of what it could sell for as development property, leading to a significant reduction in property taxes. The law was originally intended to preserve agricultural land and support rural economies. However, today, many developers and wealthy landowners exploit this law by maintaining only minimal agricultural activity—such as keeping a few cows—just to qualify for the property tax reduction. This not only creates an unfair loophole but also contradicts our sustainability goals and efforts to build a more sustainable future.

    Despite their long-standing role in agriculture, cattle are among the most unsustainable animals to raise. Aside from their high water consumption and tendency to overgraze, cows produce a gas called methane, which is released through their digestive process. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. Over a twenty-year period, it traps about 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide, according to the EPA’s Understanding Global Warming Potentials. Although methane doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, its short-term impact is far more significant.

    By lowering property taxes for landowners who keep cattle, Florida Statute 193.461 unintentionally promotes one of the most ecologically damaging forms of land use. While the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 11, 12, and 13 encourage citizens to reduce their consumption of unsustainable foods—such as beef—due to their harmful environmental impact, the “Greenbelt” law encourages landowners to do the opposite by increasing cattle populations and production, creating a direct contradiction. 

    Addressing this contradiction, Florida Statute 193.461 should be redefined. The practice of maintaining cattle as an “excuse” to receive lower property taxes is not only unsustainable but can also be very costly—ultimately going against the main goal of developers and wealthy landowners, which is to save money. One possible solution could be replacing cattle with crops, creating a win-win situation: sustainability goals would be met, and landowners could enjoy a productive outcome that requires less maintenance and funding.

    Overall, there are many laws similar to the “Greenbelt” law that are outdated and contradict our current goals for sustainable development. These outdated policies should be carefully reviewed and revised to better reflect modern environmental priorities and the growing need for responsible land use. By updating them, we can ensure they no longer limit our ability to achieve today’s sustainability objectives and can instead support a future focused on environmental protection, economic balance, and long-term community well-being.





    Works Cited

    “EPA.” Understanding Global Warning Potentials, 16 January 2025, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials Accessed 26 October 2025.

    “Florida Statutes.” The Florida Senate, 2019, https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2019/193.461 Accessed 26 october 2025.

    ]]>     Illuminating the Future: How AI Can Combat Light Pollution and Coastal Erosion https://sdgtalks.ai/illuminating-the-future-how-ai-can-combat-light-pollution-and-coastal-erosion https://sdgtalks.ai/illuminating-the-future-how-ai-can-combat-light-pollution-and-coastal-erosion Sun, 26 Oct 2025 17:09:47 -0500 Rafael.Simon002@mymdc.net Light Pollution Every night, millions of city lights spill into the sky, drowning out the stars and disrupting the natural rhythms of Miami's coastal ecosystems. Light pollution first became a problem with the rise of electrification in the 1870s. Over the years, the growing concern for this “star killer” has yet to stop. In cities such as Miami, industrial and architectural development around the coast has seen a tremendous increase due to tourism, affecting both Miami's coastal shores and native animals. In response to these concerns, we should incorporate AI-enhanced urban infrastructure, which enhances sustainability in coastal cities by addressing light pollution and coastal erosion through adaptive lighting, real-time data analysis, and automated regulation. This helps protect marine and nocturnal ecosystems while promoting energy conservation, directly supporting the United Nations Development Goals, particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). 

    Light pollution is a substantial problem that occurs when artificial light is used inefficiently and ineffectively. Multiple studies indicate that over 80% of the world's population is affected by light pollution, leading to the disruption of the human circadian rhythm. Furthermore, artificial light disrupts natural behaviors, particularly among species like sea turtles that rely on natural darkness for navigation. For instance, in Miami, the Sea Turtle Conservancy has found that over 90% of hatchlings disoriented by artificial light fail to reach the ocean, instead heading towards roads and buildings. This causes a strain on the ecological food web and the environment as a whole. With more turtles falling victim to light pollution, some species may go down the route of extinction in the near future. AI-enhanced systems may provide a solution, according to researchers: “AI’s ability to analyze complex energy data and optimize renewable energy systems has propelled the development of more efficient solar panels, wind turbines, and energy storage technologies.”(Rayhan 2) By applying these AI-driven optimizations to urban lighting, Miami-Dade County can promote cleaner methods of energy production, lower energy consumption, and minimize ecological disruption, thereby helping to protect coastal ecosystems while promoting public safety.

    Additionally, AI-enhanced systems can help reduce light pollution and enhance the efficiency of sediment transportation. This approach lowers energy consumption compared to traditional manual labor used along the coast, which has hurt coastal areas due to the construction of new buildings. Implementing these AI-driven adaptive coastal management systems can help predict the erosion patterns and optimize sediment redistribution. Analyzing real-time data on wave movement allows for a method of erosion control around the coast of Miami, increasing the amount of habitats for animals such as manatees, shorebirds, and coral fish. Furthermore, the correlation between light pollution can be closely linked; when there's significant light pollution in one area, it can be an indication of ongoing urban construction, which contributes to coastal erosion. AI-enhanced technology can help alleviate both problems in one area, fostering environmental stability and paving the way for preserving both our marine ecosystems and shorelines.

    Many cities, such as Miami, may struggle to afford such an investment. However, similar concerns on environmental sustainability were brought up in the past, yet we continue to delay such innovative advancements, clinging to the idea of avoiding costly investments in favor of so-called “affordable” alternatives, often leading to greater expenses and environmental consequences. While these concerns are valid, they completely overlook the long-term economic and environmental advantages. An AI-driven solution allows for groundbreaking opportunities in combating light pollution and coastal erosion, two interconnected environmental issues threatening Miami-Dade County and other coastal cities. AI can help protect marine and nocturnal systems while promoting energy conservation by introducing adaptive light, real-time data analysis, and automated regulation. 

    ]]>     Reclaiming the Human Scale: Building Cities that Breathe https://sdgtalks.ai/reclaiming-the-human-scale-building-cities-that-breathe https://sdgtalks.ai/reclaiming-the-human-scale-building-cities-that-breathe Sun, 26 Oct 2025 12:56:21 -0500 Jose.ExpositoPino001@mymdc.net sustainable cities human-centered design UN-Habitat SDG 11 SDG 13 climate action urban resilience sustainable architecture inclusive urban planning climate-resilient cities public space design green urbanism participatory planning community wellness Miami urban development Reclaiming the Human Scale: Building Cities that Breathe
    The modern city often runs faster than its own heartbeat. Buildings rise higher, roads stretch wider, and silence disappears. Growth feels like progress, yet many cities have forgotten the human scale. When a city stops listening to the rhythm of daily life, it becomes a machine rather than a home. The result is both social isolation and a disruption of the balance between people and nature.
    The United Nations defines cities as “hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social, human, and economic development.” This vision from UN-Habitat reminds us that a city must serve its people, not simply expand for profit. Sustainable Development Goal 11 calls on the world to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Healthy urban growth relies on affordable housing, reliable public transport, community participation, and reduced environmental impact. UNDP adds that sustainability emerges when planning keeps human well-being at its core.
    Human-centered urban design places people at the center of every decision. According to UN-Habitat’s My Neighborhood initiative, cities thrive when they become compact, connected, inclusive, vibrant, and resilient. Expanding sidewalks, protecting trees, encouraging walkable paths, and creating spaces for community life build more than comfort—they foster resilience. When people meet outdoors and breathe cleaner air, they strengthen both their communities and their climate response.
    The United Nations estimates that by 2050, two-thirds of humanity will live in cities, generating about seventy percent of the world’s economic output. These numbers reveal a challenge that goes beyond growth. The true test lies in preserving identity and belonging while building for the future. A neighborhood that offers shade, accessible streets, and public gardens serves its residents far more than another tower of glass and steel.
    Climate adaptation depends on the human scale. When design respects microclimates, sunlight, and ventilation, it helps cities resist heat and flooding. The World Cities Report 2022 from UN-Habitat identifies resilience as the foundation of future urban planning. Strength comes from attention to life at ground level: the child walking to school, the elderly person resting in the park, the family sharing space outdoors. A city that supports these moments can endure environmental challenges with dignity.
    Reclaiming the human scale requires that architects, planners, and citizens prioritize cooperation and daily life over spectacle. Governments should include communities in planning. Defending simple pleasures—walking, resting, enjoying green space—builds safer and fairer cities. Participatory planning, as urged by UNDP, should become standard for every street and plaza. Take action: get involved in local planning meetings, advocate for pedestrian-friendly spaces, and support initiatives that prioritize both people and nature. Your voice shapes the city you call home.
    Future architects and designers must put listening and empathy first. Cities that thrive will prioritize well-being over taller buildings. Every step—planting trees, advocating for bikes, supporting green spaces—moves cities toward resilience and genuine climate action.
    A sustainable city takes root in human care. When design honors both people and nature, it forms welcoming, vital spaces. Reclaiming the human scale is not turning back; it is choosing to shape a future where each person belongs and every city is alive—breathing, resilient, and full of promise. The future of our cities is in our hands.

    By José Exposito Pino
    ]]>     Empowering Small Businesses for a Sustainable Future https://sdgtalks.ai/empowering-small-businesses-for-a-sustainable-future https://sdgtalks.ai/empowering-small-businesses-for-a-sustainable-future Sun, 26 Oct 2025 12:09:12 -0500 Tomas.Silvera001@mymdc.net MSME Day 2025, Economic Growth, Environmental responsibility, Global collaboration, Green innovation             Small businesses are often perceived as the heart of many local economies, but their influence extends beyond community borders. They are vital sources of job creation, innovation, and economic stability. In June 2025, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) hosted the MSME Day 2025 in Beijing to emphasize the critical role that micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have in achieving global sustainability. The event was held under the name “Green Innovation Empowering MSME Resilience: Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.” Which focused on remarking the importance of strengthening small enterprises through sustainable tools, can lead to long-term, inclusive growth.

                MSMEs account for more than 90% of businesses worldwide and employ the majority of the global workforce. Despite their importance, many face consistent challenges such as limited access to financing, outdated technologies, and the growing impacts of climate change. The UNDP initiative aimed to address these issues by promoting strategies that help small businesses transition toward greener, more resilient models. Through collaboration among governments, financial institutions, and the private sector, the event underscored the need for an economic system that supports both human development and environmental responsibility.

                This global effort directly touches several SDGs, including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals). Together, these goals reflect a vision for an economy that is inclusive, innovative, and environmentally conscious. Supporting small enterprises is not just about boosting productivity, but also provides social equity, promotes cleaner industries, and partnerships that can make sustainability achievable for everyone.

                The lessons from the MSME Day 2025 are also being seen as being implemented in cities like Miami, where many small businesses are beginning to adopt environmentally friendly practices such as reducing waste, switching to renewable energy, and sourcing materials locally. While these changes may appear as something small, they represent a step forward by all the small businesses towards a more sustainable future. Local action, no matter how small, when it is multiplied across thousands of communities across the country, has the power to create a significant impact at the global scale.

                The message that this initiative is trying to transmit is clear: sustainable development depends on collaboration. Governments must create accessible funding opportunities for small enterprises, so that they can start to become more sustainable and help the environment.  Educational institutions should incorporate sustainability into business training, so all future entrepreneurs have the idea of sustainable business that they can create, generating jobs and a positive impact environment. Also, individuals can make a difference by supporting environmentally responsible companies, so not only do they get more money for their sustainable equipment, but they also create awareness in other businesses to begin implementing those same sustainable ideas.

                As 2030 approaches, the world faces a growing urgency to meet the SDGs. Events like the MSME

    Day 2025 function as a reminder that achieving these goals is not something that depends on the government, but

    rather on us. Empowering small, sustainable businesses is essential to building a resilient, fair, and sustainable

    world where economic success and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. 

    ]]>     The Engineers of Tomorrow: Building Sustainable Technologies from the Ground Up https://sdgtalks.ai/the-engineers-of-tomorrow-building-sustainable-technologies-from-the-ground-up https://sdgtalks.ai/the-engineers-of-tomorrow-building-sustainable-technologies-from-the-ground-up Sun, 26 Oct 2025 12:00:34 -0500 Maria Karla Romero sustainable engineering, SDG 9, SDG 13, NASA sustainability, mechanical engineering, aerospace innovation, climate action, green technology, renewable energy, engineering for the future We all know someone who looks at a skyscraper, a jet engine, or a sleek new car and sees only progress. As engineers, we are taught to admire innovation — to push boundaries, break records, and design faster, stronger, more efficient systems. But in an era defined by climate change, innovation without sustainability can no longer be called progress. What good is advancement if it accelerates the planet’s decline?

    This article explores how the future of engineering depends on merging innovation with environmental responsibility. It aims to raise awareness about how engineering disciplines, especially mechanical and aerospace fields, must evolve to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Through examples from NASA, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the United Nations, it highlights how young engineers can redefine progress by prioritizing sustainability in every design.

    For decades, engineering has focused on optimization — improving performance, reducing cost, and maximizing output. But traditional models often overlooked the hidden costs: energy consumption, material waste, and carbon emissions. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), sustainability must now be a core design criterion across every engineering field. This means integrating environmental impact into calculations from the earliest design stages, not as an afterthought once the system is already built.

    In aerospace, this shift is already taking shape. The NASA Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Program seeks to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 30 percent through new aerodynamic designs, advanced materials, and hybrid-electric propulsion. These technologies prove that engineering excellence and environmental responsibility can work together. As a future aerospace engineer, I find this idea deeply motivating: that the same curiosity that drives humanity toward the stars can also help preserve our home planet.

    Mechanical and aerospace engineers have the tools to make global sustainability tangible. From renewable energy systems and recyclable materials to optimized propulsion and energy recovery mechanisms, we hold the power to build technologies that heal rather than harm. But innovation alone is not enough. Progress requires communication — sharing solutions, raising awareness, and inspiring collaboration across communities and industries.

    According to the United Nations, sustainable industrialization is one of the keys to eradicating poverty and reducing environmental degradation. When engineers apply their creativity to global challenges like clean energy, transportation, and urban development, they become more than builders of machines — they become architects of a sustainable future.

    Perhaps the next time someone looks at a jet, they will see more than just speed or power. They will see the reflection of a generation of engineers who chose to innovate responsibly, guided by conscience as much as by calculation. The world needs engines that not only move us forward, but also ensure that our planet can keep moving with us. The future of engineering begins not with invention, but with intention.

    ]]>     Article for the Climate Communications &amp; Wellness Posse https://sdgtalks.ai/article-for-the-climate-communications-wellness-posse https://sdgtalks.ai/article-for-the-climate-communications-wellness-posse Sun, 26 Oct 2025 11:06:13 -0500 Gabriela.Sicre001@mymdc.net Extreme heat in Miami As I step outside during the early afternoon, the Miami sun feels heavier than it has ever felt. It coats my body, the cement feels like a hot oven, and what was once an enjoyable warm feeling becomes suffocating heat. It becomes comforting to find acceptance in heat as a form of life, a minor issue that we learned to live with via air conditioning and iced coffee. But what we easily forget is that heat is more than an annoyance. Heat is silently changing our health, our community, our futures. We think of climate change as polar bears and ice melting, but its most recent and deadly manifestations are right in our city.

    According to a statistic given during the Women’s Fund presentation, Climate Risks: Extreme Heat and Wellbeing in Miami-Dade County, our community undergoes roughly 25 days per year of "hazardous heat", days when the heat index is over 105°F. Scientists believe extreme heat causes more American fatalities than any other weather-related event. These numbers are not just numbers; they are lives disrupted, a disease exacerbated, and community vulnerability escalated. 

    The Unequal Heat

    Miami is unequal in many ways. The neighborhoods with older houses, fewer trees, and fewer nearby green spaces are much hotter compared to their wealthier neighbors. Many of them are neighborhoods that were redlined by a racist practice that kept people of color out of blocks based on ethnicity and race. Decades later, those neighborhoods are already living with the brunt of not just economic inequality, but inequality in higher temperatures and health risks. 

    This taught me that climate change is not a science issue or emissions issue, but rather a justice issue; a matter of who gets to afford to live on the cooler, safer block, and who doesn't. The fight around climate change is a fight for justice, a fight for equity, and a fight for public health.

    When Heat Becomes a Health Crisis

    The effects of extreme heat on our bodies are alarming. It significantly increases the development of chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, causes more hospitalizations, and, in some cases, leads to death. Outdoor occupations, such as construction workers or farm workers, for example, cannot refuse exposure or limit their exposure. According to statistics in Miami-Dade County, outdoor workers die from hyperthermia 35 times more than other people.

    The more I learned about all of this, the more I realized how interconnected our health is, and then how interconnected our environment is. I also recognized that the 17 United Nations SDGs were interconnected in various ways. For example, SDG 13: Climate Action is related to protecting human wellness through SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being.

    Women on the Frontlines of the Heat Crisis

    However, the most astonishing finding of the briefing was related to maternal health in extreme heat. Research out of the JAMA Network found exposure to heatwaves increases the risk of major pregnancy complications in pregnant women by as much as 27%, and by nearly 28% in third-trimester mothers. In Miami-Dade County, black mothers are almost five times as likely as white mothers to die from pregnancy-related complications. Climate change is exacerbating these inequities.

    These statistics made me think of climate change differently—not just as an environmental concern, but as a human rights concern. Organizations dedicated to the work of The Women's Fund Miami-Dade give me hope for women’s health and increasing resilience within our communities, by way of data and advocacy. But the work is heavy, and we are still in the awareness stage. 

    A Call for Climate Empathy

    As students and as future leaders, we must make climate communication a reality. It is not just talking about sustainability, but taking that next step to connect to empathy-to real people, real health, and in real neighborhoods. Planting trees, supporting advocacy groups, and raising awareness about heat risk are all small things, but they all add up to a more just future altogether. Climate change is here, and it is changing our city and our lives. But where there is knowledge, there is action potential. Every thought, every column, and every action is part of a bigger movement to justice and health. In the end, I believe I have realized that the climate crisis is also a crisis of care. To care for the earth is to care about each other, for our neighbors, for our mothers, for workers, and for our communities as a whole. And perhaps through that empathy, we will find the courage to create a cooler, healthier Miami for all.

    ]]>     Invisible Invaders: How Microplastics Are Polluting Our Water and Our Future https://sdgtalks.ai/invisible-invaders-how-microplastics-are-polluting-our-water-and-our-future https://sdgtalks.ai/invisible-invaders-how-microplastics-are-polluting-our-water-and-our-future Sat, 25 Oct 2025 21:42:20 -0500 Roxanna.Martell001@mymdc.net

    Imagine standing by the ocean, watching the waves sparkle under the Miami sun. The water looks clean, peaceful, and infinite. But beneath that calm surface hides an invisible danger — countless tiny particles of plastic drifting with the waves. They are called microplastics, and although we can’t see them, they are everywhere: in our oceans, in the animals that live there, and even in our own bodies. 

      

    Microplastics are tiny fragments, usually smaller than five millimeters, that come from larger plastics breaking down over time. They can also come from everyday products like clothes made of synthetic fabrics, toothpaste, or packaging. Each time we do laundry, use disposable containers, or throw away single-use plastics, small particles are released into the environment. These fragments travel through drains, rivers, and wastewater systems until they reach the ocean, where they remain for hundreds of years, breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. 

      

    In coastal areas like Miami, this pollution is especially concerning. Our city depends on the ocean for beauty, recreation, and life, yet the same waters that bring us joy are filling with plastic waste. Studies have found microplastics in local beaches, in the sand, and even in the fish that live near the coast. Sea turtles, dolphins, and birds mistake these tiny particles for food. Once swallowed, they can block digestion, damage organs, and cause death. But the danger does not stop with marine life. When people eat seafood, drink bottled water, or even breathe the air, microplastics can also enter the human body. Scientists have already found them in human blood, lungs, and other organs; a reminder that pollution in nature always finds its way back to us. 

      

    This issue is directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). These goals call for protecting the oceans and reducing waste through responsible choices. Microplastic pollution shows how human activity, consumption, and waste management are deeply connected. What we throw away does not simply disappear; it changes form and continues to affect ecosystems and health worldwide. 

      

    However, there is still hope. In some parts of the world, communities are finding creative ways to reduce plastic waste. Some have installed local collection points where people can easily return bottles or containers instead of throwing them away. Others are working on developing materials that decompose naturally, reducing the need for harmful plastics. These initiatives prove that small ideas, when supported by society, can create real change. 

      

    We can start with simple but powerful actions. Avoiding single-use plastics, reusing bottles and bags, and separating waste properly can make a difference. Schools and organizations can teach students and families about the hidden dangers of microplastics and the importance of sustainable habits. Governments can invest in better recycling systems and support companies that create environmentally friendly materials. Each of these actions might seem small on its own, but together they can create a cleaner, safer future. 

      

    The ocean gives us air to breathe, food to eat, and beauty to admire. Protecting it is not only an environmental duty; it is a responsibility to ourselves and to future generations. The fight against microplastics begins with awareness and grows through action. If we all make thoughtful choices, we can turn this invisible threat into visible progress. 

    ]]>     SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-report-2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-report-2025 Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:22:18 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Data & Monitoring, SDG 17, SDG 11 FIVE YEARS LEFT!!! https://sdgtalks.ai/five-years-left https://sdgtalks.ai/five-years-left Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:21:25 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Regional Focus (Latin America), SDG 8, SDG 17 GOAL OF THE MONTH https://sdgtalks.ai/goal-of-the-month https://sdgtalks.ai/goal-of-the-month Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:20:46 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Partnerships, SDG 17 SDG SEEKS TO ACCELEARTE PROGREES https://sdgtalks.ai/sdg-seeks-to-accelearte-progrees https://sdgtalks.ai/sdg-seeks-to-accelearte-progrees Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:20:02 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Global Policy, SDG 14, SDG 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals-118121 https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals-118121 Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:19:12 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Progress & Gaps, SDG 1, SDG 6 OSAKA EXPO https://sdgtalks.ai/osaka-expo https://sdgtalks.ai/osaka-expo Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:18:31 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Gender Equality, SDG 5 LU JOINS AGENDA https://sdgtalks.ai/lu-joins-agenda https://sdgtalks.ai/lu-joins-agenda Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:17:42 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Higher Ed & SDGs, SDG 4, SDG 17 STATE LEVEL WORKSHOP https://sdgtalks.ai/state-level-workshop https://sdgtalks.ai/state-level-workshop Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:16:31 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Sub-national SDGs, SDG 3, SDG 16 HAMBURG DECLARATION ON RESPONSIBLE AI https://sdgtalks.ai/hamburg-declaration-on-responsible-ai https://sdgtalks.ai/hamburg-declaration-on-responsible-ai Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:15:45 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Technology & SDGs, SDG 9, SDG 10 GLOBAL LEADERS TACKLE POVERTY https://sdgtalks.ai/global-leaders-tackle-poverty https://sdgtalks.ai/global-leaders-tackle-poverty Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:14:44 -0500 brodyduvall Colorado School of Mines, Global Finance, SDG 17, SDG 1, SDG 13 From Healing to Harm: Antibiotic Misuse and the Path Toward Sustainable Health https://sdgtalks.ai/from-healing-to-harm-antibiotic-misuse-and-the-path-toward-sustainable-health https://sdgtalks.ai/from-healing-to-harm-antibiotic-misuse-and-the-path-toward-sustainable-health Fri, 24 Oct 2025 12:17:31 -0500 A.BarrosoDeLaCruz001@mymdc.net antibiotic resistance; public health; education; media campaigns; sustainability We all know someone like Marta — or perhaps we’ve been Marta ourselves. The moment a sore throat or mild fever appears, we reach for leftover antibiotics, convinced they’re a cure-all. A few days later, the symptoms vanish, and we move on, unaware that such habits are quietly fueling one of today’s greatest health threats: antibiotic resistance.

    Once considered “magic bullets” capable of curing almost any infection, antibiotics are now losing their power. The excessive and improper use of these life-saving drugs has accelerated the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), allowing bacteria to evolve into “superbugs” that no longer respond to treatment. As a result, infections that were once easily treatable are becoming increasingly difficult to cure, leading to higher health risks and mortality rates (Harbarth & Samore, 2005).

    This article aims to raise awareness about how the misuse of antibiotics endangers both individual and collective wellness. By connecting health, education, and responsible consumption, it seeks to emphasize that meaningful communication through media and community campaigns can inspire a shift toward more conscious, sustainable health habits.

    Antibiotic misuse has become a normalized habit in many societies. People often begin a course of antibiotics at the first sign of a fever or cough, even when the infection is viral and would resolve on its own. Others stop taking their prescribed medication early, assuming that the absence of symptoms means the infection is gone. Both behaviors—starting antibiotics unnecessarily and not completing or overextending the treatment—contribute to the growing resistance of bacteria to these drugs.

    According to Harvard Health Publishing (2017), a review of multiple studies found that for many common infections such as pneumonia, strep throat, and skin infections, shorter courses of antibiotics were just as effective as longer ones. Only in specific cases, like ear infections in children, did longer treatments lead to better outcomes. Moreover, patients who received shorter antibiotic courses showed equal or even lower rates of developing antibiotic-resistant bacteria compared to those treated longer. These findings demonstrate that more antibiotics do not necessarily mean better healing—misuse in any form can accelerate the global threat of resistance.

    Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria adapt in ways that make antibiotics less effective against them. Some bacteria can neutralize a drug by chemically altering it, while others develop the ability to expel it or change their outer membranes so that antibiotics can no longer attach. These adaptations allow certain bacteria to survive and reproduce, passing resistance traits to new generations and even to other species. Over time, this process creates “superbugs” that standard treatments can no longer control. Resistance can also arise through genetic mutations, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of severe complications and death (Habboush & Guzman, 2023). The spread of antibiotic resistance genes has become not only a public health crisis but also an ecological one, as the misuse of antibiotics affects entire microbial communities and ecosystems.

    Engaging patients is crucial for successful antimicrobial stewardship. Educating the public about how antibiotics work and the risks of their misuse is essential to reducing resistance rates. According to Habboush and Guzman (2023), raising awareness about the side effects and long-term consequences of unnecessary antibiotic use is a central part of improving antibiotic practices.

    To achieve this, society must rely on effective communication — not just within hospitals or clinics, but across entire communities. Campaigns through television, social media, and local health initiatives can transform how people perceive antibiotics, promoting responsible consumption and trust in professional guidance. Such initiatives align with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by empowering individuals with knowledge and fostering healthier, more sustainable lifestyles.

    Perhaps next time Marta catches a cold, she will remember that true healing begins with responsibility — not only for herself but for the world around her. The fight against antibiotic resistance depends on awareness, education, and collective action. By promoting responsible communication and understanding the power of our everyday choices, we can protect the effectiveness of these essential medicines for future generations.

              

    ]]>     Badge 1 Article 5: Asia-Pacific Falling Behind on Sustainable Development and Climate Targets. https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-5-asia-pacific-falling-behind-on-sustainable-development-and-climate-targets https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-5-asia-pacific-falling-behind-on-sustainable-development-and-climate-targets Tue, 21 Oct 2025 05:57:11 -0500 Liam Emmons Tough challenges are facing the Asia-Pacific region as the 2030 deadline inches closer. Quality education (goal 4), Responsible consumption (goal 12), and economic growth (goal 8) are off track. This occurs while gaps in data limit policymakers' ability to address challenges accurately. Despite this, the region succeeded in industry, innovation, and infrastructure (goal 9), and health and well-being (goal 3). Progress is driven by expanded access to mobile networks and improvements in key areas of healthcare. The Executive Secretary stressed the need for SDGs; bold actions strengthened by political leadership and investments in sustainable development. Nothing short of urgency will accelerate progress enough to close the gap.

    ]]>     Badge 1 Article 4: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-4-united-nations-department-of-economic-and-social-affairs https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-4-united-nations-department-of-economic-and-social-affairs Tue, 21 Oct 2025 05:41:37 -0500 Liam Emmons Part of the Synergy Solutions 2025 series, this article reports on closing the climate and disaster protection gap. It noted that even as climate-related disasters grow, currently 62 percent of global economic losses from natural disasters are uninsured, and a 1 percent increase in insurance coverage would move countries 5.8 percent closer to achieving the SDGs. In urban areas, reducing air pollution by replacing fossil fuels with clean energy could prevent up to 1.2 million premature deaths by 2040. Up to 4.7 million lives could be saved if measures against black carbon and methane are implemented. However, both SDGs and climate targets are far off track from the 2030 agenda.  As the UN Secretary General declared, "we are in a global development emergency."

    ]]>     Badge 1 Article 3: UN Climate and SDG Synergy Report 2025 Quantifies Benefits https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-3-un-climate-and-sdg-synergy-report-2025-quantifies-benefits https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-3-un-climate-and-sdg-synergy-report-2025-quantifies-benefits Tue, 21 Oct 2025 05:17:43 -0500 Liam Emmons The Third Global Report on Climate and SDGs Synergies, titled 'Harnessing Climate and SDG Synergy: Quantifying the Benefits,' is new, with countries preparing new climate plans in advance of COP 30. With an SDG financing gap of almost 4 trillion USD per year and a climate financing gap of 6 trillion uSD per year, the report states that "synergistic action is not optional but rather the most efficient and impactful way forward" SDG Knowledge Hub. Nature based solutions can provide 37% of cost-effective carbon dioxide mitigation by 2030, but a 700 billion USD biodiversity gap and a 359 billion USD adaptation gap linger due to harmful subsidies. This report emphasizes that customizing synergistic strategies by country context creates targeted investments, and warns that the cost of protecting biodiversity and restoring ecosystems will outweigh the long term benefits of a stable climate and better health.

    ]]>     Badge 1 Article 2: United Nations Statistics Division https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-2-united-nations-statistics-division https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-2-united-nations-statistics-division Tue, 21 Oct 2025 03:52:40 -0500 Liam Emmons The 10th annual SDG progress report is a critical milestone, revealing both successes and shortcomings in the pursuit of sustainable development. In the past 10 years, the world has made strides in expanding access to education, bridging the digital divide, improving healthcare, and reducing the burden of infectious diseases like HIV and malaria. However, the newest report shows that only 35 percent of targets are on track or making moderate progress, while almost half are moving too slowly. Additionally, 18 percent have even regressed. This report calls for action across food systems, energy access, digital transformation, jobs and social protection, biodiversity, and education. Regardless of past inadequacies, notable successes prove that progress is achievable with strong institutions and sound policies.

    ]]>     Badge 1 Article 1: The Sustainable Development Report 2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-1-the-sustainable-development-report-2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/badge-1-article-1-the-sustainable-development-report-2025 Tue, 21 Oct 2025 03:38:34 -0500 Liam Emmons The Sustainable Development Report - 10th edition shows that now we are experiencing a notable stall in the global progress on the SDGs, only 17% of SDGs are on track in achieving them by 2030. Countries from Europe, specifically Nordic countries, remain at the top of the table in the SDG Index. Finland (1st place), Sweden (2nd), and Denmark (3rd) relate to the top of the table; however, they, too, have identified significant issues with unsustainable consumption patterns. The five targets that show significant reversal in overall progress from 2015 include: rate of obesity, press freedom, sustainable nitrogen use and management, red list index, and corruption perception index. However, many countries have made notable progress in expanding access to basic services - this includes mobile broadband use, access to electricity, internet use, and rates of under-5 and neonatal mortality rates are on a decline. Finally, the report highlights the need for reforms to the Global Financial Architecture in advance of 4th International Conference on Financing for Development.

    ]]>     Cameroon to invest €1.8 billion for water and sanitation projects https://sdgtalks.ai/cameroon-to-invest-18-billion-for-water-and-sanitation-projects https://sdgtalks.ai/cameroon-to-invest-18-billion-for-water-and-sanitation-projects Sat, 10 May 2025 18:51:33 -0500 Aaron Farrar Cameroon has launched a new national water policy to address its long-standing water supply challenges. The strategy, presented on April 11 in Yaoundé by the Ministry of Water and Energy and UNICEF, lays out a vision for overhauling the sector by 2035.

    Despite previous development goals, the country remains far behind. A 2021 nationwide survey from the National Institute of Statistics shows that only 29% of households are connected to the public water network. Cameroon Water Utilities (Camwater), the state company in charge of water distribution, admits to losing more than half of its production due to leaks and illegal connections.

    Most households rely on alternative sources like boreholes and pump wells (40%), protected wells (17%), unprotected wells (14%), and protected springs (10%) the last of which poses serious health risks.

    Cameroon’s earlier Vision 2025 set a goal of reaching 75% access to safe water. That target has now been raised. Under the country’s 2020–2030 national development strategy (SND30), authorities are pushing for 100% water access in urban areas and 85% coverage in rural zones by 2030.

    To meet these targets, the strategy promotes public-private partnerships and innovative climate finance tools. The investment plan calls for CFA200 billion to be raised by the end of the decade.

    Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba acknowledged the slow pace of progress. “Sixty years after independence, a large part of the population still does not have access to clean water at reasonable distances and costs,” he said. He blamed the sector’s underperformance on scattered efforts and poor coordination between key players.

    The new water policy aims to fix those gaps. A central piece of the plan is the creation of an intersectoral coordination framework to ensure all actors work together. Some of the main targets include achieving 60% sanitation coverage by 2030 and cutting Camwater’s technical losses.

    Environmental protection is also a major pillar of the policy. The goal is to manage water not just as a resource, but as a driver of sustainable development—while safeguarding aquatic ecosystems. Technical partners have welcomed the approach as a potential turning point for the sector.

    However, success will depend on more than just planning. Funding remains a major challenge, as does making sure local governments play an active role in water governance. Transparency in how public contracts are awarded will also be key.

    As Cameroon prepares to mark 65 years of independence in 2025, delivering on this policy could become a defining moment in its effort to provide basic services to its people.

    https://sdgtalks.ai/cameroon-allocates-18-billion-for-water-and-sanitation-projects

    ]]>     Logan Utah to Invest in Fossil Fuels https://sdgtalks.ai/logan-utah-to-invest-in-fossil-fuels https://sdgtalks.ai/logan-utah-to-invest-in-fossil-fuels Sat, 10 May 2025 18:32:22 -0500 Aaron Farrar Earlier this year, when an agency that provides wholesale power to its members urged the Logan City Council to join 33 other cities in committing to a 30-year fossil fuel energy contract, residents pushed the council to reject the deal. And it did.

    Now, it’s reconsidering.

    The city is set to lose more than 30% of its reliable, around-the-clock power supply — known as baseload power — in the coming years due to two of its coal-fired plants shutting off in 2028 and 2032. Despite strong resident opposition in January to continued fossil fuel reliance, the City Council last week discussed investing in 15 megawatts of a planned natural gas plant in Power County, Idaho — half of the 30 megawatts it initially considered — to help fill this gap.

    “The majority [of council members],” council Chair Jeannie Simmonds said, “wanted to revisit it at a different level than was originally proposed.”

    Logan Mayor Holly Daines proposed the council invest in 18 megawatts of the project, rather than 15, as that amount would be sufficient to match the baseload the city is losing, not factoring in future growth.

    When the project, being pursued by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, was first presented to the council in December, the director of Logan’s Light and Power Department stressed the urgency of signing on to secure the city’s share of power.

    Delays in the federal process for approving the plant, however, have given the city more time to consider its position, he said.

    Council member Mark Anderson believes investing in the project is a good idea, as it could “open doors” for the city to explore more clean energy sources.

    “It creates more opportunity for us to search for the options that we’re looking for,” Anderson said, “because when you have what you need, it allows for you to go out and look for other opportunities.”

    Other council members, including Simmonds and Ernesto Lopez, pointed out that once the money is spent, there may not be funds available for other options in the future.

    “We know that the growth is going to happen, whether we like it or not,” Lopez said, “but we’re tying ourselves for the next 30 years to this project. We’re closing the door, plus reducing the opportunity for those that are seeking to potentially create those [renewable energy] projects.”

    Lopez’s thoughts on the project echo many of the more than 30 public commenters who spoke against it during a January meeting, including members of Logan’s Renewable Energy and Sustainability Advisory Board, commonly referred to as RESAB.

    Tyson Godfrey, the chair of RESAB, said the group’s stance on the city joining the natural gas project remains unchanged. He added that, regardless of the council’s decision, the board strongly recommends focusing on local solar and battery storage projects to help reduce the need for the city’s natural gas plants to operate.

    In short, he said, pursuing additional solar and storage options would help reduce costs and environmental impacts.

    Along with reconsidering the natural gas contract — now at half of the previously discussed $300 million investment — the City Council formally requested the mayor and the director of Light and Power to conduct a feasibility study exploring at least 15 megawatts of solar capacity, including battery storage, at locations within the city, such as rooftops or open land.

    At a March 5 meeting, Godfrey proposed the city pursue a 100-acre solar and battery project in the area as a sustainable source for Logan’s future energy needs.

    Simmonds said last week that the council was open to the initiative but wanted to set a July 15 deadline to find a project.

    The council plans to vote on whether the city will invest in the Power County natural gas plant at its April 1 meeting.

    https://sdgtalks.ai/reversing-course-this-northern-utah-city-will-invest-in-fossil-fuels-utah-public-radio

    ]]>     Is Global Trade Negative? https://sdgtalks.ai/is-global-trade-negative https://sdgtalks.ai/is-global-trade-negative Sat, 10 May 2025 16:45:03 -0500 Aaron Farrar When looking at the world through a narrow lens, one could argue that global trade has negative implications due to the unfair imbalances created between developed and developing nations. However, despite these imbalances, it is important to recognize that global trade has undoubtedly led to positive growth and wealth creation for the world’s population as a whole. While it is true that initially poorer nations export their low-value goods and commodities to richer countries who profit disproportionately, over time their population benefits as their economy moves up the value chain. This cycle is supported by examples such as the case of Japan, Taiwan, and China. 

    Japan is a prime example of the transformational effects free trade can have on the economic prosperity for a developing nation. After the second world war, Japan had a very weak economy and an underutilized labor force. Japan’s factories exported low value-added goods that were inexpensive for the US consumer and other developed nations which took advantage of their low-cost labor. In the following decades, Japan began improving the quality of its products, exporting higher-value goods to the US with improved profit margins. Eventually, Japanese companies started becoming more profitable and rose to prominence as world leaders in various sectors, gaining market share from developed nations. Immense profits generated by Japanese companies resulted in higher wages for workers that increased tax revenue for the government, leading to more infrastructure and domestic investments that improved the nation’s overall social welfare. 

    This evolution did not solely benefit Japan, it was beneficial for American and European consumers as well. In addition to lowering consumer good prices, multinational competition forced corporate entities in developed nations to innovate in order to maintain market share. For instance, the “Big Three” automotive companies Ford, Chrysler, and GM, allowed their quality to decrease, turning their back on innovation and fuel efficiency. Competition from Japan drove technical advancements in many core industries strengthening the US economy overall. The auto sector began producing vehicles with lower carbon emissions that resulted in a reduction in greenhouse gases. This evolution clearly demonstrated the positive impacts of international trade for not only global growth and wealth but also for the environment in developed nations. While the prosperity generated from Japan’s export success lifted the nation’s economy, in the end, it also worked against them. The progression that improved the quality of Japanese products also led to an increase in prices and wages for their workers. As an unintended consequence, Japan lost the competitive advantage of low labor costs resulting in a manufacturing shift to other low-cost regions such as Taiwan and China. 

    Following Japan’s trajectory, Taiwan started off exporting low value-added goods to developed economies with weak profit margins. Once again this trade disproportionately benefited rich nations who incorporated Taiwan’s inexpensive goods into their profitable finished products. Over time their economy advanced moving from low tech to high tech manufacturing with expanding margins. Today Taiwan is well regarded as a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. However, just as before this economic success increased the nation’s labor costs harming their comparative advantage for low value-added goods. The cyclical pattern continued as the developing world’s interest shifted towards other low-cost regions such as China and Vietnam. During the last decade, the succession continued even further pushing manufacturing to poorest regions such as Myanmar and Cambodia propelling them into the wheel of global economic development exploiting their population’s modest wage base.

    Analyzing historical data on the macro trends in Japan, Taiwan and China there is clear evidence of improvements in GDP per capita, protein consumption, literacy rates, and life expectancy. While the initial cost of entry to the global market may be inequitable, the enhanced social welfare for developing nations demonstrates that the benefits of trade can be both positive and inclusive in the long term. The argument that global trade has had a negative impact oversimplifies the complex dynamics of interconnected world trade. Looking at a single aspect, it is easy to misinterpret the overall benefits of modern trade for the world’s population.

    ]]>     A Circular Economy is Needed to Fulfill the Paris Climate Agreement https://sdgtalks.ai/a-circular-economy-is-needed-to-fulfill-the-paris-climate-agreement https://sdgtalks.ai/a-circular-economy-is-needed-to-fulfill-the-paris-climate-agreement Sat, 10 May 2025 16:33:05 -0500 Aaron Farrar

    In the five years since the Paris Agreement was adopted, commitments have been made to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy. But this is only part of the equation. To achieve net-zero by 2050, we need to address the way we make and use products, materials, and food. We need a circular economy.

    Five years ago, the world’s nations gathered in Le Bourget, near Paris, to discuss, draft, and adopt what has since become known as the Paris Agreement. The document, which has been signed by 196 countries to date, became the first global consensus on the need to address the devastating impacts of climate change. It commits its signatories to containing global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, a feat that requires tremendous collaboration.

    So where are we now, five years down the line?

    Some 192 countries around the world, the emitters of 96% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, have submitted plans (called nationally determined contributions or NDCs) to reduce their emissions. Meanwhile, as the evidence of the cost of inaction mounts, local governments, businesses, and the financial sector are also mobilising. In less than a year, and despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of net-zero pledges from cities, regions, and companies roughly doubled to more than 2,500 by October 2020.

    In the second half of 2020 alone, China pledged to go net zero by 2060 and to put its emissions on a downward trend starting in 2030; the incoming Biden administration vowed to bring the US back to the Paris Agreement; the EU has continued to make progress towards passing its first-ever European Climate Law, which will make climate neutrality by 2050 mandatory across the bloc; and the UK Government recently vowed to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

    Global trends analysis shows dramatic increases in the production of renewable energy, in particular wind and solar energy, an increased uptake in energy efficiency in buildings and industry, and in the number of electric vehicles; with carbon capture, storage and utilisation, and green hydrogen being touted as the technologies that will help offset the industrial emissions that the other measures cannot tackle.

    It all sounds positive, but while the groundwork for a net zero emissions future has been laid, the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continues to increase. Before the government-imposed lockdowns of 2020, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was the highest it had been in over 800,000 years. We have already exceeded the threshold of 1 degree Celsius global warming compared to pre-industrial levels, which has brought about increasingly frequent extreme weather events that are wreaking havoc in communities and ecosystems the world over. Putting the recent climate plans and pledges into action is a matter of utmost urgency.

    Importantly, most of these plans and pledges have focused on reducing the emissions from energy, but have largely ignored an important part of the equation: the emissions stemming from the production and consumption of goods and food.

    With existing technology, and that expected to be scalable by 2050, an optimal uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency will address 55% of today’s global greenhouse gas emissions — those from energy supply systems, energy consumption in buildings, and transport. The remaining emissions come from the way we make, use, and dispose of products, materials, and food; they are from industry, agriculture, and land use. Certain processes within these sectors are particularly powerful hotspots of greenhouse gas emissions: chemical processes to manufacture cement; high-heat processes like metal smelting; landfilling; incineration; deforestation; and land use change and agriculture. Tackling this remaining 45% of emissions requires a revision of how we design, make, and use products and materials, and the way we use land.

    The maturity of the conversation around renewable energy and energy efficiency isn’t matched in these other areas — and that is a missed opportunity for governments and businesses alike to address climate change. We need to address all sources of greenhouse gas emissions, which is where the circular economy comes in. Applying circular economy strategies for the five most common materials in our economy — cement, aluminium, steel, plastics, and food — can eliminate almost half of the remaining emissions from the production of goods, or 9.3 billion tonnes of CO2e by 2050, equivalent to all current global emissions from transport. The pledges and progress being made at the moment present an opportunity to embed circular economy principles into climate action plans and thus complete the picture.

    Before Covid-19, there was a growing consensus that the circular economy was a pathway to long-term prosperity. Rather than pushing the circular economy off the agenda, the pandemic has made it more relevant than ever. By highlighting the fragility of our current system, the pandemic has reinforced the need to rethink our economic model. As well as providing a clear framework to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the circular economy can now provide a resilient economic recovery that can work in the long term, unlike any plan entrenched in the take-make-waste principles of the current linear economy. The circular economy can create greater resilience to shocks in industry and society — attributes that are valuable well beyond the current situation.

    Others are thinking along similar lines. The circular economy is on the agendas of some of the world’s largest businesses, including those responsible for 20% of the world’s plastic packaging, which have signed the Global Commitment to put in place a circular economy for plastic. Governments around the world are making steps to facilitate the transition through legislation, not least in the EU where the circular economy is one of the key elements of the European Green Deal and a new circular economy action plan has been adopted.

    The circular economy offers an attractive path forward since it creates value and growth in ways that benefit customers, businesses, society, and the environment. It is a systems solution framework with three principles, driven by design and innovation: eliminate waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems.

    For example, keeping construction materials in use can significantly reduce the climate impact of this sector. The processing of recycled aggregates, for example, generates 40% less greenhouse gas emissions than that of virgin aggregates. In the transport sector, multimodal mobility systems, if also designed for durability, reduce global CO2 emissions by 70% or 0.4 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2040. In the food system, applying circular economy principles could reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 4.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, comparable to taking nearly all the 1 billion cars in the world off the road permanently.

    Now could be a crucial moment to embed circular economy principles in government NDCs. Because of the pandemic, the role of governments and public bodies has grown at an unprecedented rate — at least in times of peace. The sheer scale of government spending and the visibility of the state in taking control of many aspects of public life could result in broader public acceptance of government intervention. Coupled with an increased public awareness of the threat of climate change, the result may be governments having both the power and the political will to dramatically shift our global trajectory on climate.

    This could mean that international accords like the Paris Agreement hold more weight than ever before. Therefore, in order to tackle climate change in a holistic way and act not only on the energy transition and efficiency side, but to look at the whole spectrum of emissions, it is time to put the circular economy at the heart of the efforts to mitigate climate change.

    The five-year anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement couldn’t come at a more pivotal point. With Covid-19 vaccines being rolled out, and nations around the world clamouring to recover from the pandemic’s economic shock, the time is ripe for a system rethink. The old ways of doing business — that rely on extraction, waste, pollution, and habitat loss — have had their time. Can the shift to a net zero emission circular economy, which has steadily been building momentum in recent years, be accelerated into a full-blown system overhaul? With the reset button firmly pushed on the global economy, now could be our chance to turn things around, to lay the foundations for a new and better system that can work in the long term.

    Origial article By James Woolven, Editor, Ellen MacArthur Foundation Dec 11, 2020

    https://medium.com/circulatenews/to-fulfil-the-paris-agreement-we-need-a-circular-economy-5516bddda67d

    Published at SDGtalks.ai on 08.11.2022

    https://sdgtalks.ai/to-fulfil-the-paris-agreement-we-need-a-circular-economy

    ]]>     Top 12 Solutions to Decrease Poverty in the US https://sdgtalks.ai/top-12-solutions-to-decrease-poverty-in-the-us https://sdgtalks.ai/top-12-solutions-to-decrease-poverty-in-the-us Sat, 10 May 2025 16:17:38 -0500 Aaron Farrar The article gives a comprehensive strategy to reduce the current poverty rate in the United State using 12 different methods. The reccomended methods includes expanding safety net programs for those in need, creating good paying jobs that meets family needs, raising the minimum wage, providing permanent paid family and medical leave, increasing worker power, incrasing child tax credits, pay equity, affordable/high quality child care, expanded access to health care, support successful reentry from the criminal justice system, increase affordable housing, and modernize the supplemental security insurance program.

    Since the 1960s, America has made major strides in poverty reduction, and yet, there are still 35 million people living in poverty in the United States. What’s more, poverty would be twice as high if not for decades of significant investments through Social Security, unemployment insurance, nutrition assistance, and low-income tax credits, among other successful anti-poverty programs. However, the concerning reality is that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic fallout obliterated those gains, putting individuals and families at a greater risk of being pushed into poverty.

    As of May 2021, more than 9 million Americans were unemployed, 19 million adults and up to 8 million children had experienced food insecurity, and more than 10 million renters were behind on rental payments. Communities of color and other underserved families have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities have seen higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death as well as unemployment. Likewise, the disability community has been disproportionately affected by high rates of mortality at congregate facilities, inequitable vaccine rollouts, and delayed stimulus payouts to individuals on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income.

    Navigating through the current crisis and rebuilding better and stronger requires policymakers to take immediate action to provide equitable economic relief to all. Equitable rebuilding not only addresses systemic and institutional racism of past policy decisions but also focuses on inclusive economic transformation that can strengthen the U.S. economy and resilience in the long run. When the government invests in meeting peoples’ basic needs and economic security through a robust safety net and jobs that help build financial security, children, families, and other vulnerable populations see improved outcomes in both the short and long term. The good news is that policymakers already have a range of tools that can prevent further increases in poverty and put all people on a pathway to economic mobility and resilience.

    This column outlines 12 policy solutions that Congress can use to cut poverty and boost economic security for all in an equitable way.

    1. Expand safety net programs to benefit all in need

    Safety net programs can help people weather a variety of economic crises by meeting basic needs and providing stability. Yet the pandemic has exposed just how woefully inadequate America’s safety net structure is.

    For example, before the pandemic, state unemployment insurance (UI) did not cover monthly expenses anywhere in the country and excluded millions of others due to their work classification, previous earnings, length of employment, or immigration status.

    The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided a temporary $600 weekly boost to UI, lifting millions out of poverty before that provision was allowed to expire at the end of July 2020. The American Rescue Plan continued a $300 weekly supplement to UI that started in December 2020, providing an income to millions of long-term unemployed and self-employed workers, independent contractors, gig workers, and others. Unfortunately, this supplement and the other temporary federal UI expansions are set to expire nationally on September 6, 2021. To make matters worse, at least 26 governors have pledged to end some or all of these programs even sooner, cutting benefits for 4.7 million people and severely affecting their ability to recover from the pandemic.

    Similarly, programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), intended for those with the lowest incomes, have not done enough to prevent hunger and food insecurity in America. Even before COVID-19 hit, the inadequate benefit amounts forced 45 percent of SNAP recipients to limit the food they ate or skip meals just to make it through the month; and nearly a third of SNAP recipients had to visit a food pantry to keep themselves fed. From December 2019 to December 2020, the demand for charitable food assistance rose by nearly 50 percent. This was especially prevalent for households of color, households with children, and people with disabilities. Fortunately, the American Rescue Plan contained significant expansions in food assistance programs to help mitigate the high levels of hunger seen throughout the crisis. But more must be done. Lawmakers must expand eligibility for SNAP, ensuring that currently excluded groups—including undocumented immigrants and many college students—are able to receive necessary food assistance. Burdensome work requirements that only serve to push people away from assistance, rather than encourage work, should also be eliminated.

    Temporary expansions of the safety net are not enough to help the millions of Americans who are still struggling with the economic and health fallout from the pandemic. Congress must continue to invest in and modernize safety net programs, ensuring that benefit levels are expanded and more accessible than they were before the crisis. It should also consider implementing automatic triggers that would expand benefits during future economic shocks, such as recessions, without the need for legislative intervention. Not only would this prevent people from falling into poverty while Congress argues over how much relief is necessary, having a system that automatically triggers expanded benefits would also help soften the blow of future recessions and stimulate the economy by giving money to people who desperately need it in a timely fashion.

    2. Create good-paying jobs that meet family needs

    Rebuilding the economy in an equitable way requires the creation of millions of new, good-paying jobs in key industries, with significant worker protections to ease the burden on working families. Before the pandemic shut down much of the country, unemployment stood at 3.5 percent, but by April 2020, unemployment had risen to almost 15 percent. A year later, hiring is on an upward trajectory, but unemployment is at 5.8 percent, which is still considerably higher than pre-pandemic numbers.

    While the uptick in employment is a good sign, the same people who struggled before the crisis are still being left behind: The unemployment rates for Black and Hispanic individuals stand at 9.1 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, compared with a 5.1 percent unemployment rate for white people. Similarly, the disability community continues to experience difficulty regaining employment, with 10.2 percent remaining unemployed as of May 2021. It is not the first time these communities have seen large unemployment gaps compared with their white and nondisabled peers, as such gaps were consistently present even in the months leading up to the pandemic, when unemployment was low.

    Women have particularly borne the brunt of job loss because they are overrepresented in the hardest-hit service sector jobs. From February 2020 to May 2021, women lost a net of 4.2 million jobs. Furthermore, since April 2020, the labor force participation rate for women has hovered between 54.6 and 56.2 percent—the lowest observed rate since the late 1980s.

    Even though pandemic-related stimulus packages have helped bolster the economy, labor market growth is sluggish, as many Americans are still unable to come back to work due to caregiving challenges or are taking more time to find safe and decent jobs that support their basic needs.

    Creating the jobs needed to build an equitable U.S. economy requires federal investment. The American Jobs Plan is centered on investing $2.3 trillion to create new jobs by rebuilding roads and bridges, creating a green energy economy, expanding essential jobs in the caregiving sector, supporting domestic manufacturing, and ensuring that these jobs provide decent wages and benefits and are accessible to Americans from all walks of life. If passed, the American Jobs Plan could reform and rebuild the economy by significantly shrinking the gap of 7.6 million jobs lost since February 2020 and by allowing people to build financial security and save for the future.

    3. Raise the minimum wage to ensure economic stability for all

    It is time for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to meaningfully improve living standards for millions of Americans. Today’s federal minimum wage is just $7.25 per hour, which is about $15,000 annually for a full-time job. It has not been raised in more than a decade and is not enough to keep a one-adult, one-child household out of poverty. This is not how the minimum wage was intended to work: In the late 1960s, a full-time worker earned $1.60 per hour at minimum wage, which is equivalent to more than $12 per hour in today’s dollars.

    There are also many workers who earn less than minimum wage, or a “subminimum wage.” Tipped workers are only guaranteed a subminimum wage of $2.13 federally, despite evidence from states demonstrating that ending the subminimum wage nationwide would significantly decrease poverty and inequality without hurting employment.

    Subminimum wages are also an issue for disabled workers. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act authorized employers, after receiving a certificate from the Wage and Hour Division, to pay below minimum wages to workers with disabilities. Workers who fall under this classification are paid an estimated average of $2.15 per hour. This is just one of the many reasons why in 2019, at least 1 in 4 disabled people lived under the poverty line.

    The Raise the Wage Act would gradually lift the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 and index it to median wage growth thereafter so that the minimum wage would automatically increase when wages rise nationally. The bill would also phase out the subminimum wage for tipped employees, teenagers employed for 90 days or less, and disabled workers. These changes would lift up to 3.7 million Americans out of poverty and especially benefit people of color, women, and people with disabilities, who are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs.

    4. Provide permanent paid family and medical leave and paid sick days

    The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world to not guarantee workers access to any paid leave. As of March 2020, an estimated 25 percent of private sector workers—and 69 percent of workers earning less than $11 per hour—did not have access to a single paid sick day. Additionally, in 2020, 4 in 5 private sector workers lacked access to any paid family leave for longer-term family caregiving needs; and the disparity was worse among the lowest-wage workers, where 95 percent did not have access to paid time off.

    This puts workers in the impossible position of having to forgo needed income, or even their job, to recover from an illness or care for a sick family member. Every year, workers and their families lose an estimated $22.5 billion in wages due to a lack of access to paid family and medical leave. While Congress addressed this need during the pandemic by providing temporary emergency paid sick leave and emergency paid child care leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, loopholes and exemptions excluded millions of workers. The program also became voluntary in 2021, meaning employers can now refuse to offer paid leave again.

    Congress must prioritize passing paid sick leave and permanent paid family and medical leave, particularly to support the lowest-income earners. Several proposals—including the American Families Plan, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, and the Healthy Families Act—have been introduced to address this issue. They include comprehensive paid family and medical leave, allowing workers to take time off work to recover from a health condition, care for a child or loved one, or grieve the loss of a loved one.

    5. Increase worker power to rebalance the labor market

    Union representation is a key protection against the exploitation of and discrimination against workers. Unions help their members to negotiate with employers for decent wages and benefits and to ensure that working people have a voice in U.S. democracy by promoting progressive priorities, including state and local minimum wage increases. Research shows that unions increase workers’ wages and benefits, boost economic mobility in future generations, decrease poverty, improve workers’ general well-being, and close gender and racial wage and wealth gaps. In the midst of mass layoffs as states shut down last year, unions were able to negotiate furlough and work-share arrangements with employers to help members keep their jobs. Yet in 2020, only 12 percent of essential workers were covered by a union contract, and workers seeking to unionize face an uphill battle.

    Passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would increase worker power by creating new penalties for employers who retaliate against workers trying to organize, banning forced arbitration agreements that prevent workers from pursuing collective litigation, adopting a new set of employer guidelines to prevent employees from being misclassified as independent contractors, and ensuring that workers can bargain in the modern economy. In addition, the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act would provide essential protections for millions of public sector workers to organize and bargain collectively. By ensuring that employers are responsible to their workers during the pandemic, they can share the benefits of recovery as the economy opens back up.

    Furthermore, policymakers must build worker protections into at-will employment and just-in-time scheduling to ensure fair labor and workplace standards.

    6. Make permanent increases to the child tax credit and earned income tax credit

    Two of the nation’s most effective anti-poverty tools, the child tax credit (CTC) and earned income tax credit (EITC), lifted 7.5 million Americans out of poverty in 2019.

    Both programs provide a reliable source of income to parents, helping them meet immediate needs and plan for the future while making them more financially stable on a day-to-day basis. These programs also pay long-term dividends by improving infant and maternal health outcomes while boosting the educational, health, and income potential of future generations.

    The American Rescue Plan Act was able to close some glaring holes within the tax credits by:

    • Making the CTC fully refundable so low-income parents can get the full credit if their tax liability is less than their credit amount by paying them the difference
    • Increasing the amount of the CTC to $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17
    • Distributing the CTC monthly instead of all at once at tax time
    • Nearly tripling the maximum EITC for workers who are not raising children in their home
    • Revising the eligibility requirements to make EITC accessible to workers ages 19 to 24, as well as workers who are 65 and older
    • Extending the credits or providing supplemental funding to Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories

    However, these changes are temporary and will expire in 2022. Considering that the changes to the CTC alone were estimated to lift nearly 4 million children out of poverty, the best way to ensure that these credits continue to support low-wage workers and families with children is to make them permanent. Policymakers must also make the CTC as accessible as possible by removing barriers for immigrant families.

    7. Support pay equity to create a fair labor market

    Equal pay ensures that workers are paid fairly. In 2019, women working full time, year-round earned just 82 cents for every $1 earned by their male counterparts. This pay gap is even worse for women of color: For every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men in 2019, Black women earned 63 cents, Native women earned 60 cents, and Latinas earned 55 cents. And while Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, on average, earned 85 percent of what white, non-Hispanic men earned, there were much wider gaps for many AAPI sub-populations. Disabled women also struggle with a pay gap, receiving 80 cents for every dollar earned by men with disabilities. If women in this country received equal pay to men, poverty for working women would be reduced by half and $512.6 billion would be added to the economy through additional wages.

    What’s more, equal pay is essential to helping workers attain the stability and savings necessary to weather current and future crises. The pandemic has stalled women’s economic progress, as a lack of access to child care and paid leave, coupled with mass job losses, has forced many women out of the workforce entirely, exacerbating the gender wage gap. For example, mothers of young children have lost jobs at three times the rate of fathers during the crisis. This is on top of ever-present compounding factors such as bias and discrimination that may deflate women’s earnings.

    Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act would enhance existing equal pay protections, further combat discriminatory practices, and better hold employers accountable for pay discrimination. Pandemic or not, securing equal pay has always been essential to the economic security of women and families.

    8. Invest in affordable, high-quality child care and early childhood education

    More than half of all Americans live in a child care desert, where child care shortages lead to waiting lists, job disruptions, and fewer mothers in the paid labor force. Child care in the United States is prohibitively expensive, with infant and toddler care often costing between $800 and $1,230 a month. While there are subsidies for low-income families, in most states, they reach fewer than 1 in 10 eligible children under the age of 6. As a result, low-income families can spend more than one-third of their income on child care just to be able to work.

    Not surprisingly, the pandemic has eviscerated child care across the United States. About 700,000 parents left the workforce in 2020 to care for young children who were not able to go to school or have access to child care. Since then, only half of the nearly 400,000 child care jobs lost at the start of the pandemic have returned, leading to a 144 percent increase in the number of parents who have missed work to care for children compared with 2019.

    The $39 billion for subsidized child care that was already included in the American Rescue Plan will help providers recover from a year of unprecedented revenue losses, but additional funding is needed to expand these services to everyone who needs them. The American Families Plan would make significant investments in universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, which would help more struggling families obtain the child care they need to work, better meeting their families’ basic needs and building future economic stability. The plan would also cap child care costs for low- and moderate-income families at 7 percent of their income, making it far more affordable and manageable as they juggle other needs.

    Another bill currently introduced in Congress, the Child Care for Working Families Act (CCWFA), would ensure free or affordable child care for 76 percent of working families with children under the age of 6, expanding quality care for millions of families. As Congress deliberates future funding, it must invest in affordable, high-quality child care and early education, providing parents with the means to foster family security and healthy child development.

    9. Expand access to health care

    Since it was signed into law in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has expanded access to high-quality, affordable health coverage for millions of Americans, especially those with preexisting conditions. Today, 31 million Americans are enrolled in coverage through the ACA marketplaces or the law’s expansion of Medicaid. However, 12 states continue to refuse to expand their Medicaid programs to cover adults making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty guideline—placing a heavy burden on families already on the brink. About 2.2 million uninsured people are without an affordable option for health insurance because they live in nonexpansion states and have incomes too low to qualify for marketplace premium tax credits.

    Expanding Medicaid would mean more than just access to health care; it would give people financial protection from unexpected medical costs and free up limited household income for other basic needs such as paying rent and putting food on the table. Increases in Medicaid enrollment are associated with reduced rates of medical debt and other unpaid bills among low-income individuals. Studies also link Medicaid coverage to improved access to health care services, greater financial security, lower mortality rates, reduced racial health care disparities, and lower rates of eviction.

    While the American Rescue Plan included increased federal Medicaid funding for two years as an incentive to encourage more states to expand their programs, it is unlikely that the remaining nonexpansion states will take up this option. Congress has an opportunity to enact federal policies that ensure people in the Medicaid coverage gap can gain access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance.

    10. Reform the criminal justice system and enact policies that support successful reentry

    Robust changes are needed to restructure and reform a U.S. criminal justice system that incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world, holding about 2.3 million people in prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities. If not for the rapid increase in mass incarceration since 1980, poverty rates would have dropped by 20 percent by 2009. The impact on communities of color is particularly staggering: Black and Latino men are, respectively, 6 times and 2.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than white men; and Black and Latina women are, respectively, 1.7 times and 1.3 times more likely to be incarcerated than white women. Likewise, Native Americans are incarcerated at more than twice the rate of white Americans.

    Mass incarceration is a key cause and consequence of poverty. When a person is incarcerated, their family must find a way to make ends meet without a necessary source of income. Additionally, even a minor criminal record or an arrest without a conviction can prevent an individual from getting a job, housing, or certain benefits, contributing to cycles of multigenerational poverty. Currently, there are more than 44,000 legal sanctions that create barriers to housing for people with criminal records. Moreover, various restrictions prohibit justice-involved individuals’ access to SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits if they have prior felony drug convictions, unless additional requirements are fulfilled. This can include being required to wait for months after completion of a sentence to be considered eligible or to participate in mandatory periodic drug testing, both of which are unnecessary obstacles that hinder successful reentry.

    Sentencing reform is essential to addressing mass incarceration. Policymakers should also implement clean slate laws, which help expand access to automated criminal record clearing, and explore alternatives to incarceration, such as diversion programs for individuals with mental health and substance abuse challenges. Additionally, it is critical to review the role of policing in public safety, health, and well-being. There has been a recent move across the nation to divert away from police certain health, public safety, and community care emergency responses and funds—such as responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis—that better fit agencies and social workers. Barriers to employment, housing, education, and public assistance must also be removed. A decades-old criminal record should not consign an individual to a life of poverty.

    For more information on criminal justice, see “A Criminal Record Shouldn’t Be a Life Sentence to Poverty” and “Criminal Records Create Cycles of Multigenerational Poverty.”

    11. Invest in affordable, accessible housing

    One in 4 renter households in the United States is extremely low income, and half of renters are moderately or severely cost-burdened, meaning that they pay more than a third to half of their income on rent and utilities.

    Overall, Native American, Black, and Latinx renters are more likely to be extremely low income. A long history of racially targeted policies has worsened housing security for people of color, who are more cost-burdened and face more discrimination in obtaining and maintaining housing. Facing and experiencing eviction, which also disproportionately affects communities of color—and Black women in particular—can lead to negative mental and physical health outcomes, difficulty obtaining future housing, and exacerbated financial hardship, all of which can fuel cycles of multigenerational poverty.

    Disparities have persisted during the pandemic, as renters of color and disabled renters report higher rates of housing insecurity. These and other measures of housing insecurity contribute to the ongoing homelessness crises and continue to put the most vulnerable community members at risk. Rates of homelessness, and particularly chronic homelessness, are on the rise. The 2020 point-in-time count conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that more than 580,000 people experience homelessness on any given night, a number that is likely a vast undercount. Strikingly, of those experiencing homelessness, nearly 25 percent are people with disabilities.

    Investments in permanent housing programs, such as Housing First and a national Homes Guarantee, should be supported to provide a path for people experiencing homelessness or living in transitional housing to obtain and maintain long-term, stable housing, while also addressing the shortage of more than 7 million affordable housing units.

    Policymakers should also increase renter protections by guaranteeing a right to counsel, investing in tenant-landlord mediation, regulating the use of background checks in rental housing applications, and making the Housing Choice Voucher and rental assistance programs an entitlement that does not sunset. Furthermore, policymakers should prohibit source-of-income discrimination, which creates barriers to obtaining rental housing for households that receive housing vouchers. To further prevent housing discrimination and build more inclusive communities, the disparate impact rule under the Fair Housing Act should be reinstated alongside the revised Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which is currently set to go into effect at the end of July.

    12. Modernize the Supplemental Security Insurance program

    Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) is an essential anti-poverty program for the disability community, providing monthly cash assistance for those with little or no income and assets. Nearly 8 million people received benefits in May 2021, and in 2019, 57 percent of recipients reported SSI being their sole source of income. However, little has been done to maintain this program, leaving millions of disabled people farther and farther behind.

    Numerous policy adjustments could update SSI and help pull the disability community out of poverty. Raising the minimum benefit to at least the poverty level is a great first step. In 2021, the maximum benefit for individuals was raised to $794 per month, which is well below the federal poverty guideline of $1,073 per month. Asset limits also need to be increased, as they have not been updated since 1989. Currently, individuals and couples are allowed limits of $2,000 and $3,000, respectively, in assets, such as money in joint or personal bank accounts, investments in stocks or bonds, and life insurance policies with a total face value of more than $1,500. Asset limits have become deadly poverty traps, particularly in times of disaster such as the pandemic, as they prevent recipients from being able to save, forcing them into economic precarity. Other rule changes, including the elimination of penalties for in-kind support from family and friends and an update to income disregards that have not been changed since the program began in 1974 would go a long way toward ensuring that this program remains a strong safety net for disabled adults and children.

    The continued disinvestment in SSI has essentially reduced its efficacy, putting disabled people on the brink of poverty and destitution. Prioritizing the economic security of such marginalized communities helps ensure the security of all communities. Congress must act now to help the disability community not only weather the pandemic but also build a stable financial future.

    Conclusion

    It is possible for America to dramatically cut poverty. From 1959 to 1973, a strong economy, along with investments in family economic security, helped cut the U.S. poverty rate in half. Investments in nutrition assistance have resulted in improvements in educational attainment, food insecurity, and health outcomes. Expansions of public health insurance have contributed to lower infant mortality rates and better overall health and health care access for children at a reduced out-of-pocket cost. Rental assistance programs have been shown to decrease stress, eviction, and homelessness among low-income renters. And expansions in tax credits for poor families have helped boost incomes for the next generation, on top of improving educational and health outcomes.

    Poverty is preventable. America has the power and ability to ensure that all people residing within its borders can build financial stability and live their lives with dignity. The policy priorities detailed above are essential for preventing poverty and promoting economic opportunity for all. As a nation, we simply need to build the political will to enact these intersectional policies so that all residents can attain their American dream.

    Original article from https://www.americanprogress.org/article/top-12-solutions-cut-poverty-united-states/

    ]]>     AIIB Plans to Triple Climate Change Loans https://sdgtalks.ai/aiib-plans-to-triple-climate-change-loans-103650 https://sdgtalks.ai/aiib-plans-to-triple-climate-change-loans-103650 Sat, 10 May 2025 16:02:04 -0500 Aaron Farrar The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has planned to increase it's climate change related loans by a factor of 3 by 2030 and allocate at least 50% of its funding to climate action by 2025. These efforts were brought forth by AIIB's climate action plan to support climate mitigation and adaptation plans across Asia.The bank intends to invest in sustainable infrastructure, promote biodiversity conservation, and mobilize private sector capital. With Asia contributing over half of global greenhouse gas emissions, AIIB's increased focus on climate finance underscores its commitment to addressing climate challenges in the region.

    The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is positioning itself as a key financier of climate-related projects, with the unveiling of plans to triple its climate financing over the next seven years.

    The multilateral lender - set up as an alternative to the World Bank in 2016 - aims to increase allocation for climate-related funding to at least US$7 billion annually by 2030, roughly a three-fold increase from last year's US$2.6 billion.

    Cumulatively, the AIIB says it will advance US$50 billion for climate change mitigation and adaptation by the end of this decade, mobilising capital to support its members' efforts to fight the consequences of global warming.

    Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

    The Climate Action Plan (CAP) was released on the sidelines of the bank's board of governors' meeting in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday - its first in-person annual gathering since 2019.

    AIIB president Jin Liqun said the plan "outlines our ambition to bring capital, capacity and convening power to help our members in their efforts to address climate change", adding that it "builds on what is already a significant area of focus for our bank".

    According to Jin, the CAP will build on the AIIB's 2020 pledge to stop bankrolling coal-powered projects and instead ramp up its investments in environmentally friendly schemes.

    The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is positioning itself as a key financier of climate-related projects, with the unveiling of plans to triple its climate financing over the next seven years.

    The multilateral lender - set up as an alternative to the World Bank in 2016 - aims to increase allocation for climate-related funding to at least US$7 billion annually by 2030, roughly a three-fold increase from last year's US$2.6 billion.

    Cumulatively, the AIIB says it will advance US$50 billion for climate change mitigation and adaptation by the end of this decade, mobilising capital to support its members' efforts to fight the consequences of global warming.

    Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

    The Climate Action Plan (CAP) was released on the sidelines of the bank's board of governors' meeting in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday - its first in-person annual gathering since 2019.

    AIIB president Jin Liqun said the plan "outlines our ambition to bring capital, capacity and convening power to help our members in their efforts to address climate change", adding that it "builds on what is already a significant area of focus for our bank".

    According to Jin, the CAP will build on the AIIB's 2020 pledge to stop bankrolling coal-powered projects and instead ramp up its investments in environmentally friendly schemes.

    Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank president and chairman Jin Liqun addresses the opening of the bank's annual meeting in Egypt on September 25. Photo: Xinhua alt=Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank president and chairman Jin Liqun addresses the opening of the bank's annual meeting in Egypt on September 25. Photo: Xinhua>

    The Beijing-based bank - which is 30 per cent owned by the state - had fulfilled its promise to align all new financing with the Paris Agreement, the 2015 international treaty on climate change, he said.

    Jin said the AIIB had also met its goal for annual climate financing to account for 50 per cent or more of its total approvals by 2025, with climate financing accounting for 56 per cent last year.

    Since the bank was established in 2016, US$11.75 billion of its total financing approvals of US$25.25 billion have gone to climate projects, with US$8.29 billion dedicated to mitigation and the rest for adaptation.

    Jin said the AIIB had financed 107 projects with climate components amid an ever-growing need to support members as they grappled with ever more frequent natural disasters, such as the recent tragedies in Morocco and Libya.

    He told the meeting that the AIIB was working with other multilateral lenders, such as the World Bank, to co-finance some of the projects.

    "The AIIB is working closely with our sister institutions to strengthen the family bonds that bind all multilateral development banks [MDBs] together," Jin said.

    A recently announced joint financing arrangement with the World Bank for a US$1 billion guarantee over a selection of sovereign portfolios "is one such example of our quick and collaborative effort to strengthen the performance of the MDB system".

    "We are also proud of our co-financing record as the largest co-financing partner of both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, along with our close co-financing partnerships with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank," Jin said.

    The meeting also heard that three weeks earlier the AIIB had achieved early completion of its 2023 funding programme with the issuance of a US$2 billion three-year global bond.

    With US$4.8 billion in orders, the bond recorded the largest order book for any bond issued by the AIIB since its inception, Jin said.

    In May, the bank also placed Asia's first adaptation bond for US$321 million and is working with international asset managers to develop climate change investment frameworks.

    At the opening of the meeting, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged the AIIB and other lenders to help emerging economies, especially in Africa, address the challenging global economic conditions caused by Covid-19 and the Russian war in Ukraine.

    The banks "need to provide more low-cost financing", especially in light of the current financial and economic circumstances, he said.

    Al-Sisi's plea comes at a time when some African countries have fallen into debt distress, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, along with disruptions to global supply chains and food security.

    In 2020, Zambia became the first African country to default on some of its debts during the pandemic, finally striking a precedent-setting deal with China and other foreign creditors in May, after 28 months of negotiation.

    Lusaka's US$6.3 billion in loans - of which US$4.1 billion is owed to China - was restructured through the G20 Common Framework, with Beijing, Zambia's largest lender, providing the deepest level of debt relief among the bilateral creditors. Chad and Ethiopia also applied for debt relief under the same scheme.

    Egypt, a founding member of the AIIB, has received US$1.3 billion in infrastructure funding, including US$300 million for water management and US$210 million to finance renewable energy.

    The bank funded Egypt's Benban Solar Park power station, its first energy project investment outside Asia.

    In July, the AIIB agreed to advance US$280 million for a new metro line in Alexandria. Egypt is a key destination for foreign direct investment, especially from China, whose companies have made vast investments in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

    The AIIB has also financed projects in Rwanda, advancing US$200 million through its Crisis Recovery Facility in 2021 for broadband access and an on-lending facility to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

    In Ivory Coast, the AIIB recently signed a loan deal worth US$200 million for connectivity and rural infrastructure. The government of Ivory Coast and the World Bank are co-financing the project.

    The AIIB, which has 106 members, has channelled US$44.6 billion to 233 projects in 35 countries, mostly in Asia, including India, Indonesia, as well as Oman, and China's own air quality improvement and coal replacement project.

    According to the AIIB's action plan, the fight against climate change will be won or lost in Asia, which it described as an engine of global economic growth facing heightened vulnerability to climate hazards.

    The bank pointed out that the region contributes more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions. Asia's effectiveness in addressing its unique climate challenges was of "paramount importance" to the sustainability of societies worldwide, it said.

    The AIIB has vowed not to finance coal or projects related to the fossil fuel and has excluded oil sector investments, with limited exceptions to ensure basic energy access in remote island communities and hard-to-reach areas.

    "The AIIB will only selectively finance natural gas projects that are transitional in nature [and] based on stringent criteria."

    This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Check original source here

    First time published on SDGtalks.ai on 09.26.2023

    ]]>     AI-Powered Protein Engineering Heightened by Cradle Bio’s $73M Series B https://sdgtalks.ai/ai-powered-protein-engineering-heightened-by-cradle-bios-73m-series-b https://sdgtalks.ai/ai-powered-protein-engineering-heightened-by-cradle-bios-73m-series-b Sat, 10 May 2025 15:51:01 -0500 Aaron Farrar Innovative Synthetic Biology Company Cradle Bio Raises $73 Million in Series B Funding

    In a significant stride for synthetic biology, Cradle Bio has announced a $73 million Series B funding round led by IVP, bringing the company’s total funding to over $100 million. This impressive raise comes as Cradle continues to transform protein engineering through its AI-powered platform, promising to reshape industries from therapeutics to agriculture.

    Accelerating Protein Engineering Across Industries

    Across the major markets Cradle operates in—therapeutics, diagnostics, agriculture, chemicals, and food—the company is seeing between 1.2x to 12x speedups in R&D. They are reducing the number of experimental cycles required to get to where people want to be to commercialize a protein.

    From Two Customers to Industry Leaders

    When Cradle secured its Series A funding, it had just two paying customers. Fast forward to today, and the company boasts 21 customers, with 31 molecules currently being developed on its platform. Notably, four out of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Novo Nordisk, are now clients.

    Investing in Data and Talent

    One of the keys to Cradle’s success lies in its early investment in its wet lab. From day one, they started building their own labs. This hands-on approach has enabled Cradle to generate proprietary datasets, which are crucial for training their AI models.

    Ensuring Data Privacy and Ethical AI Use

    Cradle ensures that clients retain all intellectual property rights for proteins engineered on their platform, with strict security controls over their data.

    Looking Ahead: A Bright Future for AI in Biology

    Cradle remains optimistic about the future. With continued speedups in development cycles and cost reduction, they believe more smart people will try to build innovative enzymes to solve various challenges and move away from hydrocarbons.

    SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

      • Target 3.3: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases.
      • Indicator: The article mentions that Cradle’s AI-powered platform is being used in the therapeutics market, which suggests that it could contribute to the development of treatments for diseases and potentially help combat communicable diseases.

    2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

      • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.
      • Indicator: The article highlights Cradle’s AI-powered platform as a transformative technology in protein engineering, which aligns with the target of enhancing scientific research and encouraging innovation.

    3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

      • Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
      • Indicator: Cradle’s AI-powered platform aims to reduce the number of experimental cycles required in protein engineering, which could contribute to more efficient use of resources in the development of therapeutics, diagnostics, agriculture, chemicals, and food.

    4. SDG 13: Climate Action

      • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
      • Indicator: The article mentions that Cradle’s platform helps companies move away from hydrocarbons, which suggests that it could contribute to climate action by promoting the use of more sustainable alternatives.

    Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

    SDGs Targets Indicators
    SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Target 3.3: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases. The article mentions that Cradle’s AI-powered platform is being used in the therapeutics market, which suggests that it could contribute to the development of treatments for diseases and potentially help combat communicable diseases.
    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending. The article highlights Cradle’s AI-powered platform as a transformative technology in protein engineering, which aligns with the target of enhancing scientific research and encouraging innovation.
    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. Cradle’s AI-powered platform aims to reduce the number of experimental cycles required in protein engineering, which could contribute to more efficient use of resources in the development of therapeutics, diagnostics, agriculture, chemicals, and food.
    SDG 13: Climate Action Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. The article mentions that Cradle’s platform helps companies move away from hydrocarbons, which suggests that it could contribute to climate action by promoting the use of more sustainable alternatives.

    Source: synbiobeta.com

     

    ]]>     Humanity has Overstepped 6 out of the 9 Earth&apos;s planetary boundaries https://sdgtalks.ai/humanity-has-overstepped-6-out-of-the-9-earths-planetary-boundaries https://sdgtalks.ai/humanity-has-overstepped-6-out-of-the-9-earths-planetary-boundaries Sat, 10 May 2025 15:36:11 -0500 Aaron Farrar The Planetary Boundaries Framework includes 9 total boundaries that are important for maintaining the overall well-being of the planet's environment. Scientists from the University of Copenhagen have updated the framework and found that 6 of the boundaries have already been crossed and warn that 2 more boundaries, atmospheric aerosol loading and ocean acidification, are approaching their respective thresholds. The only boundary that was found not to have moved was the stratospheric ozone depletion. This highlights the urgency needed to adress issues related to the climate and preserving ecosystems across the Earth.

    The planetary boundaries framework highlights the rising risks from human pressure on nine critical global processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth

    In 2023, a team of scientists quantified, for the first time, the framework's nine processes that together maintain a stable and resilient Earth system.

    The planetary boundaries were first proposed in 2009 by a group of 28 internationally renowned scientists led by former centre director Johan Rockström. Combining insights from many fields of global environmental change research, the framework highlights nine global change processes where human activities affect Earth system functioning. Planetary boundaries are quantitative assessments of the safe limits for human pressure on these nine critical processes.

    The 2023 update not only quantified all planetary boundaries, it also concluded that six of the nine boundaries are transgressed.

    Crossing boundaries increases the risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. The impacts of these changes will not necessarily be immediate or drastic, but together the boundaries mark a critical threshold for risks to societies and the biosphere we are part of.

    Planetary boundaries are interdependent. The long-term large-scale stability of the past, which allowed human societies to develop and thrive, comes from the complex interactions of biophysical processes within the Earth system. This means we cannot consider planetary boundaries in isolation in any decision-making on sustainability. Action that affects one process in the planetary boundaries framework will affect the risks of the other processes. Only by respecting all nine boundaries can we maintain the safe operating space for humanity.

    Over the years, the planetary boundaries framework has generated enormous interest. Centre researchers develop and use the framework within science, policy, and practice.

    Since 2024, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research uses the planetary boundaries framework for its Planetary Health Check, updated yearly.

    The 2023 update to the Planetary boundaries. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Credit: "Azote for Stockholm Resilience Centre, based on analysis in Richardson et al 2023". Download the illustration here.

    The nine planetary boundaries and their status

    Climate change: Increased greenhouse gases and aerosols in Earth's atmosphere trap heat that would otherwise escape into space. The climate change planetary boundary assesses the change in the ratio of incoming and outgoing energy of the Earth. More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and more trapped radiation causes global temperatures to rise and alters climate patterns. This boundary is transgressed, and CO2 concentrations are rising.

    Novel entities: Technological developments introduce novel synthetic chemicals into the environment, mobilize materials in wholly new ways, modify the genetics of living organisms, and otherwise intervene in evolutionary processes and change the functioning of the Earth system. The amount of synthetic substances released into the environment without adequate safety testing places novel entities in the high-risk zone.

    Stratospheric ozone depletion: Ozone high in the atmosphere protects life on Earth from incoming ultraviolet radiation. The thinning of the ozone layer, primarily due to human-made chemicals, allows more harmful UV radiation to reach Earth's surface.  Total ozone is slowly recovering because of the international phasing-out of ozone-depleting substances since the late 1980s. Ozone depletion is therefore currently in the Safe Operating Space.

    Atmospheric aerosol loading: Changes in airborne particles from human activities and natural sources influence the climate by altering temperature and precipitation patterns. Although large-scale air pollution already causes changes to monsoon systems, forest biomes and marine ecosystems, the global metric used in the planetary boundaries framework – interhemispheric difference in atmospheric aerosol loading – places this process just within the Safe Operating Space.

    Ocean acidification: The acidity of ocean water increases (its pH decreases) as it absorbs atmospheric CO2. This process harms organisms that need calcium carbonate to make their shells or skeletons, impacting marine ecosystems, and it reduces the ocean's efficiency in acting as a carbon sink. The indicator for ocean acidification, the aragonite saturation state, is currently within the Safe Operating Space but the rising atmospheric CO2 concentration means it is close to crossing the boundary.

    Modification of biogeochemical flows: Nutrient elements like nitrogen and phosphorus are crucial for supporting life and maintaining ecosystems. Industrial and agricultural processes disrupt natural cycles and modify the nutrient balance for living organisms. This boundary is transgressed, because both the global phosphorus flow into the ocean and the industrial fixation of nitrogen (converting stable nitrogen from the atmosphere into bioreactive forms) have disrupted global biogeochemical flows.

    Freshwater change: The alteration of freshwater cycles, including rivers and soil moisture, impacts natural functions such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity, and can lead to shifts in precipitation levels. Human-induced disturbances of both blue water (e.g. rivers and lakes) and green water (i.e. soil moisture) have exceeded the planetary boundary.

    Land system change: The transformation of natural landscapes, such as through deforestation and urbanization, disrupts habitats and biodiversity and diminishes ecological functions like carbon sequestration and moisture recycling. Globally, the remaining forest areas in tropical, boreal, and temperate biomes have fallen below safe levels.

    Biosphere integrity: The diversity, extent, and health of living organisms and ecosystems affects the state of the planet by co-regulating the energy balance and chemical cycles on Earth. Disrupting biodiversity threatens this co-regulation and dynamic stability. Both the loss of genetic diversity and the decline in the functional integrity of the biosphere are outside safe levels.

    ]]>     The Growing Dangers of Aging Dams https://sdgtalks.ai/the-growing-dangers-of-aging-dams https://sdgtalks.ai/the-growing-dangers-of-aging-dams Sat, 10 May 2025 15:23:18 -0500 Aaron Farrar Dams Hydroelectricity infrastructure The collapse of two Libyan dams earlier this month is likely to herald a grim new dam era, in which the decline of dam building accelerates and deadly dam failures become more and more common. The consequences could be catastrophic for millions of people. 

    Triggered by intense rainfall from a climate-change-supercharged Mediterranean cyclone⁠, the Libyan dam collapses released floodwater that deposited a portion of the city of Derna in the Mediterranean Sea, drowned thousands of people, displaced tens of thousands more, and has left nearly 300,000⁠ children at increased risk of disease and malnutrition. Just as unprecedented fires, floods, and storms this year have introduced many people to the dangers of climate change, the immensity of the Derna tragedy has focused attention on the unappreciated risks that dams pose.

    The dam-building industry was already in decline long before the Derna disaster. “Peak dams,” the moment when dam-building began to ebb, is now believed to have occurred at least a decade ago⁠. “There will not be another ‘dam revolution’ to match the scale of the high-intensity dam construction experienced in the early to middle 20th century,” proclaimed a 2021 United Nations University study⁠. It found that global construction of large dams fell from about 1,500 a year in the late 1970s to about 50 a year in 2020. In Africa, the continent with the highest remaining hydropower potential, a study⁠ published in Science last month concluded that the decreasing cost of wind and solar energy will make hydroelectric dams non-competitive by 2030.

    The increasing danger of dams stems in part from a simple fact: they are aging. Most of the world’s dams were built before 1985⁠ and are either approaching or have passed the point when they need substantial repair, which is about 50 years old. Yet few are being repaired. In the U.S., where the average dam is 65 years old⁠, the dangers have been well-documented for decades yet barely heeded. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers issued an infrastructure “report card”⁠ on which U.S. dams were given a grade of “D”— the same grade dams have received in every ASCE report card since the first in 1998⁠.

    A February 2023 study by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimated that rehabilitating 65,000 of the U.S.’s large- and medium-sized dams would cost $157.5 billion⁠—a price tag that will continue⁠ to mount as repair work is deferred. And a 2022 Associated Press analysis identified 2,200 U.S. dams that need repairs and would threaten downstream populations if they fail. State and federal funding for repairs has been increasing⁠ but nowhere near the amount needed to ensure safety. Politicians once took delight in a new dam’s ribbon-cutting, but they have always shown far less interest in providing funding for the un-sexy job of dam maintenance.

    In other countries, where government budgets are far more strained than in the U.S., the situation is much worse. In Libya, the failing dams’ weaknesses were well-known. A study⁠ of the two dams published last year presciently warned that “immediate measures must be taken for regular maintenance… because in the event of a huge flood, the result will be disastrous” for downstream residents. One reason repairs didn’t take place is that Libya is still reeling from the 2014-2020 civil war and is plagued by two rival administrations. In fact, according to a report⁠ last week in Foreign Policy, more than $2 million was allocated for maintenance of the two dams in 2012 and 2013, but no work ever took place. Libya is one of dozens of countries where dysfunction stymies dam maintenance.

    Climate change also makes dam collapse more likely. The design of virtually all the world’s large dams was based on hydrological records that were often insufficient to begin with and certainly didn’t take climate change into account. Now, not only are those records out-of-date, but the huge variability that climate change has introduced into precipitation levels complicates all dam planning. By making both extended droughts and unprecedented floods more frequent, climate change has forced reductions and even stoppages of hydropower generation of some dams, while also subjecting many to floods bigger than they were designed to withstand. Floods presumed to occur once in 1,000 years may now happen once or twice a decade⁠. On top of all this, as climate change intensifies, it will generate even bigger storms and floods.

    The risk that dams pose to humans⁠ can be partially offset by more carefully monitoring weather forecasts, releasing water behind dams if necessary⁠, and installing warning systems that alert imperiled people of the need to evacuate. 

    But the best way to eliminate the danger is to remove dams entirely. This is especially true for older dams, whose reservoirs become filled with sediment that displaces water and reduces their effectiveness as electricity generators and water storers—and removal often costs less than repairs. Yet dam removal is still in its infancy. Out of the U.S.’s several million dams⁠ of all sizes, about 2,000⁠ mostly small dams have been dismantled. Still, the movement is gaining momentum in the U.S. and Europe.

    Removal’s greatest benefit is environmental: in returning rivers to free-flowing conditions, it reunites rivers with their floodplains, restores riparian habitat, improves water quality, and re-enables circulation of migrating fish.

    Removal also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The idea that dams are “clean” is a widespread misconception, still endlessly promoted by international dam builders and sometimes cited erroneously even by environmentalists. But reservoirs—particularly in tropical and sub-tropical regions—emit methane, sometimes copiously, mostly as a byproduct of decomposing plants and other organic matter near reservoir bottoms. A 2021 study in Global Biochemical Cycles found that the world’s reservoirs emit every year the equivalent of more than a gigaton of carbon dioxide—more greenhouse gas than Germany, the world’s sixth largest emitter.

    As dams’ immense environmental damage has surfaced in recent decades, it has become apparent that dams and fossil fuels share many of the same attributes. For a time both delivered a bounty that transformed the world, while their environmental liabilities were hidden. They’re poster children for the seductive allures of technology and its transience—of top-down, growth-at-all-costs economic development and the illusion that humans are exempt from nature’s dominion. Now we measure their costs in bodies swept out to sea.

    ]]>     Needles gets safe drinking water https://sdgtalks.ai/needles-gets-safe-drinking-water https://sdgtalks.ai/needles-gets-safe-drinking-water Thu, 08 May 2025 01:02:26 -0500 Aaron Farrar

    What you need to know: A state grant of $14 million has secured safe drinking water for the severely disadvantaged community of Needles.

    After years of struggling with poor water quality and aging facilities, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the completion of a new water system for the City of Needles in eastern San Bernardino County. This system will ensure reliable access to safe drinking water for Needles’ 5,000 residents.

    Today’s announcement of the new clean water system in Needles furthers the state’s goal to provide all Californians with clean and safe drinking water. Since 2019, thanks to state efforts, the number of Californians without safe drinking water has been reduced by half, from 1.6 million to about 800,000 people.

    “I’m proud of the state’s work to expand clean water access to more Californians than ever before. With today’s announcement, the City of Needles now joins the 98% of Californians served by clean drinking water systems – and we won’t stop until we achieve safe water for all.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    The state fully funded the planning and construction of Needles’ new water system through a $14 million grant from its Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program. The project is part of Governor Newsom’s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades and creating thousands of jobs across the state. Find projects building your community at build.ca.gov. 

    The program was launched after Governor Newsom signed SB 200 in 2019, establishing funding for drinking water projects through the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. The city of Needles sought help from the State Water Board after a burst pipe and lightning strike caused its 80-year-old water system, already contending with contamination issues, to fail completely in 2020.

    Needles’ experience illustrates the challenges that small, rural disadvantaged communities often face in providing safe drinking water. With a median household income of $40,000, the city was reluctant to raise water rates to pay for improvements to its prior water system, which fell into disrepair over time.

    “This project represents more than a milestone — it’s a generational investment in the future of Needles,” said Patrick Martinez, Needles City Manager. “The $14.3 million SAFER grant provided a critical opportunity to turn long-standing infrastructure challenges into a model of resilience and sustainability. In strong partnership with the State Water Resources Control Board, we are restoring public confidence, strengthening regional capacity, and positioning our community for long-term economic growth. This is the kind of forward-looking, outcomes-driven investment California needs, and the City Council is proud to help secure a stable, reliable water future for the residents of Needles.”

    California’s SAFER drinking water program

    Today, 98% of Californians are served by water systems that consistently meet state and federal drinking water standards. Through the SAFER program, the state works to establish access to safe drinking water for the remaining 2% of Californians who predominantly reside in disadvantaged communities and communities of color with drinking water contamination and aging infrastructure. 

    SAFER leverages the State Water Resources Control Board’s regulatory authorities and funding from the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, Propositions 1, 68, and 84, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and other sources to support strategies to develop and implement sustainable solutions for these disadvantaged communities and communities at risk of lacking access to safe drinking water. 

    https://sdgtalks.ai/needles-gets-safe-drinking-water-thanks-to-state-investment-governor-of-california-gov

    ]]>     What is climate change mitigation and why is it urgent? https://sdgtalks.ai/what-is-climate-change-mitigation-and-why-is-it-urgent https://sdgtalks.ai/what-is-climate-change-mitigation-and-why-is-it-urgent Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:44:33 -0500 Winter What is climate change mitigation?

    Climate change mitigation refers to any action taken by governments, businesses or people to reduce or prevent greenhouse gases, or to enhance carbon sinks that remove them from the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun in our planet’s atmosphere, keeping it warm. 

    Since the industrial era began, human activities have led to the release of dangerous levels of greenhouse gases, causing global warming and climate change. However, despite unequivocal research about the impact of our activities on the planet’s climate and growing awareness of the severe danger climate change poses to our societies, greenhouse gas emissions keep rising. If we can slow down the rise in greenhouse gases, we can slow down the pace of climate change and avoid its worst consequences.

    Reducing greenhouse gases can be achieved by:

    • Shifting away from fossil fuels: Fossil fuels are the biggest source of greenhouse gases, so transitioning to modern renewable energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power, and advancing sustainable modes of transportation, is crucial.
    • Improving energy efficiency: Using less energy overall – in buildings, industries, public and private spaces, energy generation and transmission, and transportation – helps reduce emissions. This can be achieved by using thermal comfort standards, better insulation and energy efficient appliances, and by improving building design, energy transmission systems and vehicles.
    • Changing agricultural practices: Certain farming methods release high amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, which are potent greenhouse gases. Regenerative agricultural practices – including enhancing soil health, reducing livestock-related emissions, direct seeding techniques and using cover crops – support mitigation, improve resilience and decrease the cost burden on farmers.
    • The sustainable management and conservation of forests: Forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide and reducing the overall concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation are key for climate mitigation and generate multiple additional benefits such as biodiversity conservation and improved water cycles.
    • Restoring and conserving critical ecosystems: In addition to forests, ecosystems such as wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands, as well as coastal biomes such as mangrove forests, also contribute significantly to carbon sequestration, while supporting biodiversity and enhancing climate resilience.
    • Creating a supportive environment: Investments, policies and regulations that encourage emission reductions, such as incentives, carbon pricing and limits on emissions from key sectors are crucial to driving climate change mitigation.
    What is the 1.5°C goal and why do we need to stick to it?

    In 2015, 196 Parties to the UN Climate Convention in Paris adopted the Paris Agreement, a landmark international treaty, aimed at curbing global warming and addressing the effects of climate change. Its core ambition is to cap the rise in global average temperatures to well below 2°C above levels observed prior to the industrial era, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.

    The 1.5°C goal is extremely important, especially for vulnerable communities already experiencing severe climate change impacts. Limiting warming below 1.5°C will translate into less extreme weather events and sea level rise, less stress on food production and water access, less biodiversity and ecosystem loss, and a lower chance of irreversible climate consequences.

    To limit global warming to the critical threshold of 1.5°C, it is imperative for the world to undertake significant mitigation action. This requires a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent before 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century.

    What are the policy instruments that countries can use to drive mitigation?

    Everyone has a role to play in climate change mitigation, from individuals adopting sustainable habits and advocating for change to governments implementing regulations, providing incentives and facilitating investments. The private sector, particularly those businesses and companies responsible for causing high emissions, should take a leading role in innovating, funding and driving climate change mitigation solutions. 

    International collaboration and technology transfer is also crucial given the global nature and size of the challenge. As the main platform for international cooperation on climate action, the Paris Agreement has set forth a series of responsibilities and policy tools for its signatories. One of the primary instruments for achieving the goals of the treaty is Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These are the national climate pledges that each Party is required to develop and update every five years. NDCs articulate how each country will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience.
     
    While NDCs include short- to medium-term targets, long-term low emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) are policy tools under the Paris Agreement through which countries must show how they plan to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. These strategies define a long-term vision that gives coherence and direction to shorter-term national climate targets.

    At the same time, the call for climate change mitigation has evolved into a call for reparative action, where high-income countries are urged to rectify past and ongoing contributions to the climate crisis. This approach reflects the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which advocates for climate justice, recognizing the unequal historical responsibility for the climate crisis, emphasizing that wealthier countries, having profited from high-emission activities, bear a greater obligation to lead in mitigating these impacts. This includes not only reducing their own emissions, but also supporting vulnerable countries in their transition to low-emission development pathways.

    Another critical aspect is ensuring a just transition for workers and communities that depend on the fossil fuel industry and its many connected industries. This process must prioritize social equity and create alternative employment opportunities as part of the shift towards renewable energy and more sustainable practices.

    For emerging economies, innovation and advancements in technology have now demonstrated that robust economic growth can be achieved with clean, sustainable energy sources. By integrating renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal power into their growth strategies, these economies can reduce their emissions, enhance energy security and create new economic opportunities and jobs. This shift not only contributes to global mitigation efforts but also sets a precedent for sustainable development.

    What are some of the challenges slowing down climate change mitigation efforts?

    Mitigating climate change is fraught with complexities, including the global economy's deep-rooted dependency on fossil fuels and the accompanying challenge of eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. This reliance – and the vested interests that have a stake in maintaining it – presents a significant barrier to transitioning to sustainable energy sources.

    The shift towards decarbonization and renewable energy is driving increased demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth metals. Since new mining projects can take up to 15 years to yield output, mineral supply chains could become a bottleneck for decarbonization efforts. In addition, these minerals are predominantly found in a few, mostly low-income countries, which could heighten supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical tensions.

    Furthermore, due to the significant demand for these minerals and the urgency of the energy transition, the scaled-up investment in the sector has the potential to exacerbate environmental degradation, economic and governance risks, and social inequalities, affecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and workers. Addressing these concerns necessitates implementing social and environmental safeguards, embracing circular economy principles, and establishing and enforcing responsible policies and regulations.

    Agriculture is currently the largest driver of deforestation worldwide. A transformation in our food systems to reverse the impact that agriculture has on forests and biodiversity is undoubtedly a complex challenge. But it is also an important opportunity. The latest IPCC report highlights that adaptation and mitigation options related to land, water and food offer the greatest potential in responding to the climate crisis. Shifting to regenerative agricultural practices will not only ensure a healthy, fair and stable food supply for the world’s population, but also help to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    What are some examples of climate change mitigation?

    In Mauritius, UNDP, with funding from the Green Climate Fund, has supported the government to install battery energy storage capacity that has enabled 50 MW of intermittent renewable energy to be connected to the grid, helping to avoid 81,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. 

    In Indonesia, UNDP has been working with the government for over a decade to support sustainable palm oil production. In 2019, the country adopted a National Action Plan on Sustainable Palm Oil, which was collaboratively developed by government, industry and civil society representatives. The plan increased the adoption of practices to minimize the adverse social and environmental effects of palm oil production and to protect forests. Since 2015, 37 million tonnes of direct greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided and 824,000 hectares of land with high conservation value have been protected.

    In Moldova and Paraguay, UNDP has helped set up Green City Labs that are helping build more sustainable cities. This is achieved by implementing urban land use and mobility planning, prioritizing energy efficiency in residential buildings, introducing low-carbon public transport, implementing resource-efficient waste management, and switching to renewable energy sources. 

    UNDP has supported the governments of Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Indonesia to implement results-based payments through the REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries) framework. These include payments for environmental services and community forest management programmes that channel international climate finance resources to local actors on the ground, specifically forest communities and Indigenous Peoples. 

    UNDP is also supporting small island developing states like the Comoros to invest in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. Through the Africa Minigrids Program, solar minigrids will be installed in two priority communities, Grand Comore and Moheli, providing energy access through distributed renewable energy solutions to those hardest to reach.

    And in South Africa, a UNDP initative to boost energy efficiency awareness among the general population and improve labelling standards has taken over commercial shopping malls.

    What is UNDP’s role in supporting climate change mitigation?

    UNDP aims to assist countries with their climate change mitigation efforts, guiding them towards sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient development. This support is in line with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to affordable and clean energy (SDG7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), and climate action (SDG13). Specifically, UNDP’s offer of support includes developing and improving legislation and policy, standards and regulations, capacity building, knowledge dissemination, and financial mobilization for countries to pilot and scale-up mitigation solutions such as renewable energy projects, energy efficiency initiatives and sustainable land-use practices. 

    With financial support from the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund, UNDP has an active portfolio of 94 climate change mitigation projects in 69 countries. These initiatives are not only aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also at contributing to sustainable and resilient development pathways.

    ]]>     Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies to Reduce Climate Vulnerabilities and Maintain Ecosystem Services https://sdgtalks.ai/mitigation-and-adaptation-strategies-to-reduce-climate-vulnerabilities-and-maintain-ecosystem-services https://sdgtalks.ai/mitigation-and-adaptation-strategies-to-reduce-climate-vulnerabilities-and-maintain-ecosystem-services Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:38:08 -0500 Winter

    Abstract

    Increasing temperatures and altered precipitation regimes associated with human-caused changes in the earth s climate are having substantial impacts on ecological systems and human well-being. Maintaining functioning ecosystems, the provision of ecosystem services, and healthy human populations into the future will require integrating adaptation and mitigation strategies. Adaptation strategies are actions that help human and natural systems accommodate changes. Mitigation strategies are actions that reduce anthropogenic influences on climate. Here, we provide an overview of what will likely be some of the most effective and most important mitigation and adaptation strategies for addressing climate change. In addition to describing the ways in which these strategies can address impacts to natural and human systems, we discuss the social considerations that we believe must be incorporated into the development and application of mitigation or adaptation strategies to address political situations, cultural differences, and economic limitations.

    ]]>     The Infrastructure of Racial Justice Is Under Attack. We Must Fight for It https://sdgtalks.ai/the-infrastructure-of-racial-justice-is-under-attack-we-must-fight-for-it https://sdgtalks.ai/the-infrastructure-of-racial-justice-is-under-attack-we-must-fight-for-it Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:34:13 -0500 Winter President Donald Trump began February with a proclamation that Black History Month offered “an occasion to celebrate the contributions of so many Black American patriots who have indelibly shaped our nation’s history.” In the closing days of the month, he hosted a Black History Month reception at the White House where he promised he would fight for Black Americans. What he did not mention during his remarks was that the proclamation and reception came amidst a systemic crusade to dismantle the civil rights infrastructure that Black Americans helped build and that sustains our hopes for equal citizenship.

    One of the first moves Trump made after his inauguration was to issue a wide-ranging executive order ending the federal government’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and firing the public servants who lead that work. He has moved to end affirmative action programs in federal procurement. He has threatened colleges and universities, intimidated non-profit organizations, and removed Black and women leaders from the nation’s military leadership.

    Across the country, Black History Month proceeded against the backdrop of relentless attempts to erase Black history. Enemies of justice have sought to erase history so that past injustices cannot be connected to present inequities. Those who fear racial equality have always understood the importance of silencing stories that give people the hope and the means to build a better future. This whitewashing is a clear and present danger to an inclusive democracy. If Americans do not reflect on slavery’s enduring legacy, on Reconstruction and its violent backlash, on Jim Crow and its transformation into modern mass incarceration, then they cannot fully understand why racial injustice persists today and they will not be equipped to fight it. Now, with President Trump in office, the wind is at their back as he and his allies attempt to bludgeon Black history and Black futures at the highest levels.

    But this is not just about how we study history. Much of American history can be understood as the struggle to build an infrastructure of racial justice. That includes the fight to end residential segregation and connect communities of color to opportunity, and the fight to pass and enforce laws like the Reconstruction amendments and the Civil Rights Movement-era laws that sought to move Black Americans closer to the American dream. What we are seeing today is a full-scale attack on that infrastructure; the deeply interconnected systems that make racial justice victories real. This infrastructure includes laws grounded in the 14th Amendment’s promise of equal protection under the law and the benefits of citizenship regardless of race; enforcement structures like the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission or the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice; pathways to upward mobility like the federal workforce; social norms that ensure fair treatment in businesses; the network of activists, educators, and journalists who inform and organize; and, yes, the teaching of Black history. The very laws and policies that sought to bring us closer together are being rapidly dismantled.

    The fight for racial justice has never been won by laws alone. Legal rulings can declare rights, but they cannot enforce them. Legislation can assert equality, but it cannot guarantee justice. What makes racial justice victories real is the broader infrastructure that brings together the power and rights embodied in law, the enforcement mechanisms of both our laws and our social norms and customs, and the strength of communities to fight threats to their families and neighbors. This was the infrastructure that allowed Charles Hamilton Houston and other pioneers to lay the legal groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education. It was the infrastructure that allowed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to not just outlaw discriminatory voting practices, but also mobilize communities to claim their right to vote. It was the infrastructure that opened doors to education and economic opportunities that had long been denied to Black people. It is this infrastructure that continues to hold up communities around the country who are fighting against industrial projects that would pollute their air and transportation projects that threaten to flatten their homes.

    Yet, this infrastructure—built over centuries—is fragile. Today, the news is full of stories about attacks on affirmative action,DEI and people of color who have managed to find some measure of success in traditionally white spaces. Legal decisions, particularly from Chief Justice John Roberts’ Supreme Court have undermined the effectiveness of laws such as the Voting Rights Act, which is responsible for broadly expanding the right to vote in the face of vicious restrictions on Black voting; and policies such as affirmative action in higher education, which has increased access to higher education for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups who face systemic barriers to education and admissions criteria that capture and magnify racial bias.

    In many ways, this has always been the way of history. Progress has always been met with retrenchment. We take two steps forward, and then one step back. Yet throughout the country, activists, political leaders, lawyers, and everyday Americans are organizing to resist the retrenchment, as they have throughout American history. The infrastructure of racial justice is fragile, yes. But it is not broken. If we protect it, it will remain standing.

    ]]>     Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions https://sdgtalks.ai/peace-justice-and-strong-institutions https://sdgtalks.ai/peace-justice-and-strong-institutions Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:26:29 -0500 Winter As the rallying cry “No Justice, No Peace” reverberates around the world in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, we are once again reminded that the two can only exist in tandem. Peace is more than the absence of conflict—it is a mode of behavior that reflects a deep-rooted commitment to principles of justice and equality. These principles, in turn, must be supported by strong institutions that continuously reinforce the rule of law. Through Sustainable Development Goal 16, the United Nations aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build effective and accountable institutions at all levels.

    Global Violence

    Millions of people remain deprived of their security, rights and opportunities. Exceeding previous records from the past 70 years, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported 70 million people fleeing war, persecution, and conflict in 2018. People displaced by conflict are consequently more vulnerable to various forms of abuse, including trafficking, violence, and non-inclusive decision-making. 

    With SDG 16, the UN aims to significantly reduce all forms of violence—this includes conflict-related deaths as well as intentional homicides, human-trafficking, and sexual exploitation. 

    In recent years the global homicide rate has remained relatively stable, with slight upticks observed in Latin America, the Caribbean, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. While young men are at higher risk of murder, the majority of victims of intimate partner homicide are women.

    Violence against women and girls is among the most widespread human rights violations in the world. While these violations are often underreported, the UN stated in 2019 that a third of all women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

    sdg16 img1

    2019 illustrated an overall increase in the detection of victims of human trafficking. Sexual exploitation remains the main driver of human trafficking and children now account for 30 per cent of those being trafficked. 

    A peaceful society is one in which people can live free from all forms of violence. At the same time, a peaceful society cannot exist where there is a systematic denial of rights and liberties. Access to justice, a basic principle of the rule of law, is critical in addressing fundamental drivers of inequality and reducing risks of violent conflict.

    Access to Justice

    sdg16 img2

    The burden of injustice is not randomly distributed and access to justice often remains elusive for marginalized groups. The UN system works with national partners to develop national strategic plans and programs for service delivery and justice reform. 

    Among institutions most affected by corruption, the judiciary and police consistently rank the highest. Every year corruption, bribery, theft, and tax evasion cost developing countries around $1.26 trillion– an amount that could lift those who are living on less than $1.25 a day above the global poverty line for at least six years.

     isdg16 img3

    For institutions tobe effective, they must be accountable, transparent, and inclusive. Since 2013, 31 countries have adopted binding laws and policies that give individuals a right to access information (RTI) held by public authorities—raising the global tally to 125 countries.

    Nevertheless, with every passing week at least eight people are murdered at the front lines of efforts to forge more inclusive societies. Of the total number of victims killed, journalists and bloggers constituted one quarter. Unless Member States fulfill their international obligation to protect those who advocate for the freedoms of others, these individuals will continue to be targeted around the world.


    READY TO TAKE ACTION?

    We’re taking the fight to Congress. Email takeaction@unanca.org for more info on how you can join us on Capitol Hill and beyond. 

    Text RIGHTS to 738-674.

    ]]>     How Can We Reduce Gender Gaps? Strategies for Real Change https://sdgtalks.ai/how-can-we-reduce-gender-gaps-strategies-for-real-change https://sdgtalks.ai/how-can-we-reduce-gender-gaps-strategies-for-real-change Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:22:38 -0500 Winter Gender bias is a pervasive issue that affects nearly every aspect of our society. It influences decisions in the workplace, the opportunities available to individuals, and even how people perceive one another.

    Addressing gender bias is essential for creating a more equitable and inclusive world. In this article, we’ll explore the key issues related to gender bias and outline effective strategies to bring about change.

    What is gender bias?

    Gender bias refers to the preferential treatment or discrimination against individuals based on their gender. It’s often subtle and can manifest in various ways, impacting people differently depending on their gender identity.

    differently depending on their gender identity.There are two types of gender biases:

    • Unconscious bias. Unconscious gender bias are the biases we hold without realizing it. They can influence decisions and behaviors without us even being aware.
    • Implicit bias. Similar to unconscious bias, implicit bias involves attitudes or stereotypes that unconsciously affect our understanding, actions, and decisions.

    For example, a manager might unknowingly favor male candidates over female candidates during the hiring process because of unconscious stereotypes about gender roles.

    Impact on different genders

    Gender bias affects everyone differently:

    • Women in the workplace often face challenges, including the gender pay gap, limited access to leadership roles, and sexual harassment.
    • Men might be discouraged from pursuing careers in caregiving or other roles traditionally seen as “female.”
    • Non-binary individuals face a unique set of challenges, as traditional gender roles don’t accommodate their identities, leading to exclusion or misunderstanding.

    Understanding these differences is crucial for addressing gender bias in an inclusive and effective way.

    7 Key issues in gender bias

    Gender discrimination is a complex issue with many facets. Let’s look at some of the most significant challenges contributing to the pervasive problem of biases.

    1. Gender pay gap and wage disparities

    The gender pay gap is one of the most talked-about issues related to gender bias. Despite progress, women still earn less than men for the same work in many industries.

    • On average, women earn about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men in the United States.
    • The wage gap is even wider for women of color, with Black women earning only 63 cents and Latina women earning 55 cents for every dollar earned by white men.

    These disparities have a broad economic impact, limiting women’s financial independence and contributing to overall gender inequality.

    2. Gender inequality in leadership

    Leadership roles remain predominantly occupied by men, with women often underrepresented at the top levels of organizations. This is partly due to the glass ceiling – an invisible barrier that prevents women from rising to leadership positions despite their qualifications.

    In Fortune 500 companies, women hold only about 8.2% of CEO positions. Societal expectations and gender stereotypes often lead to women being overlooked for leadership roles, perpetuating gender inequality.

    3. Sexual harassment and microaggressions

    Sexual harassment and microaggressions are pervasive issues that significantly impact women’s experiences in the workplace.

    • 81% of women report experiencing some form of sexual harassment during their careers.
    • Microaggressions – subtle, often unintentional, discriminatory comments or actions – can undermine women’s confidence and contribute to a hostile work environment.

    These issues not only affect women’s mental health but also their career advancement, leading to a vicious cycle of inequality.

    4. Intersectional gender bias

    Intersectional gender bias considers how gender intersects with other identities, such as race, ethnicity, and sexuality. Women of color, in particular, face compounded discrimination that can be more challenging to address.

    Black women and Latina women often experience bias not just because of their gender but also due to their race and ethnicity. These biases manifest in various ways, including hiring discrimination, pay disparities, and limited access to career advancement opportunities.

    5. Bias in hiring, promotions, and evaluations

    Gender bias in the hiring process, promotions, and performance evaluations is a significant barrier to gender equality in the workplace.

    Job descriptions may be written in a way that subtly discourages women from applying, while resumes from male candidates are often viewed more favorably.

    Promotion processes can also be biased, with men being more likely to be promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on proven performance.

    Biases like these contribute to disparities in career advancement and the persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership roles.

    6. Impact of gender bias in STEM fields

    Gender bias is particularly pronounced in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), where women are significantly underrepresented.

    Stereotypes that portray STEM as a “male” field deter many young women from pursuing careers in these areas.

    Women in STEM often face additional challenges, such as isolation, lack of mentorship, and bias in hiring and promotions.

    These factors contribute to the ongoing gender gap in STEM, limiting the diversity of thought and innovation in these critical fields.

    7. Gender roles and stereotypes

    Traditional gender roles and stereotypes play a significant role in reinforcing bias. Society often expects men and women to behave in certain ways, which can limit opportunities and perpetuate inequality.

    • Women might be seen as more nurturing, leading to assumptions that they should take on caregiving roles.
    • Men are often perceived as more assertive, leading to a preference for male candidates in leadership positions.

    These stereotypes don’t just affect men and women; they also impact non-binary and other gender identities. People who don’t conform to traditional gender roles can face additional biases and challenges.

    Strategies for reducing gender bias in your company

    Addressing gender bias requires proactive strategies and a commitment to change. Here are some effective approaches that organizations can take to mitigate gender bias and promote gender equity.

    Bias training and DEI initiatives

    Bias training and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are essential tools for addressing unconscious and implicit gender biases.

    Bias training helps individuals recognize and mitigate their biases, leading to more equitable decision-making, while DEI initiatives focus on creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of gender.

    Successful DEI programs often include:

    • Regular training sessions to keep bias awareness top of mind.
    • Inclusive hiring practices that focus on diversity.
    • Employee resource groups (ERGs) that provide support and advocacy for underrepresented groups.

    Promoting gender diversity and equal opportunities

    Promoting gender diversity in leadership and decision-making roles helps create a more equitable workplace.

    • Organizations can implement gender quotas to ensure women are represented in leadership positions.
    • Initiatives like blind recruitment can help eliminate bias in the hiring process, ensuring that candidates are evaluated solely on their skills and qualifications.

    Providing equal opportunities for women and other genders is not just about fairness – it also benefits organizations by bringing diverse perspectives and ideas to the table.

    Mentorship and professional development

    Mentorship and professional development programs are powerful tools for supporting women’s career advancement.

    • Mentorship programs pair women with experienced leaders who can provide guidance, support, and advocacy.
    • Professional development opportunities, such as leadership training and skill-building workshops, help women overcome barriers to advancement.

    These programs are particularly important for female leaders who may face unique challenges in navigating their careers.

    Parental leave, childcare, and caregiver support

    Providing adequate parental leave, childcare options, and caregiver support also help promote gender parity in the workplace.

    • Parental leave policies that are equitable and accessible to all genders encourage both parents to share caregiving responsibilities.
    • On-site childcare or childcare subsidies can alleviate the burden on working parents, allowing them to focus better on their careers.

    Supporting caregivers also involves recognizing the value of caregiving roles and ensuring they don’t impede career advancement.

    Addressing bias in evaluations and promotion processes

    Bias in performance evaluations and promotion processes can perpetuate gender inequality. To address this, organizations can:

    • Implement standardized evaluation criteria so that all employees receive a fair assessment.
    • Create diverse promotion committees to minimize bias in decision-making.

    Transparency in these processes helps everyone have an equal opportunity to advance in their careers.

    Real-world examples for addressing gender bias

    Here are some real-world examples of companies that have successfully implemented initiatives to address gender bias:

    1. GoDaddy. GoDaddy implemented a “small wins” model to tackle gender bias within its organization. By rethinking its performance review process and ensuring clear, consistent evaluation criteria, GoDaddy closed the gender gap in performance ratings and significantly increased the number of women in senior leadership positions. As a result, women now make up 33% of senior leadership, and in 2018, 50% of promotions to vice president and above went to female employees.
    2. Netflix. Netflix has proactively promoted diversity and inclusion through intentional hiring practices and employee resource groups (ERGs). The company focuses on identifying representation gaps and has implemented training for recruiters to recognize bias. Netflix also supports underrepresented communities through initiatives like a technical boot camp in partnership with Norfolk University to increase Black representation in tech roles.
    3. California. The Golden State has been a leader in promoting gender equity. Initiatives like the California Fair Pay Act and gender quotas for corporate boards have set precedents for other regions.

    These examples demonstrate that significant progress toward gender equality can be made with commitment and strategic action.

    The role of leadership in driving change in the workplace

    Effective leadership is needed to foster a culture of gender equity and drive change within organizations. Leaders must be committed to gender equity and actively model inclusive behaviors. They should support DEI initiatives and make sure they are well-funded and integrated into the organization’s overall strategy.

    Leaders are also responsible for holding themselves and others accountable for progress on gender equity goals. By prioritizing gender equity, leaders can create a more inclusive and innovative workplace, which will benefit both the organization and its employees.

    Building a future free from gender bias

    Gender bias is a complex and pervasive issue, but it’s one that we can address with the right strategies and a commitment to change. By understanding the key issues related to gender bias and implementing effective solutions, we can create a more equitable and inclusive society.

    At IMD, we believe in the power of leadership to drive change. Our programs help participants gain the skills and knowledge they need to lead with purpose and promote gender equity in their organizations. Explore our “Women On Boards” program to learn more about inclusive leadership so you can make a difference in your workplace and beyond.

    Gender bias won’t disappear overnight, but by taking proactive steps and fostering a culture of inclusion, we can build a future where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.

    ]]>     27 actionable ways to improve gender equality https://sdgtalks.ai/27-actionable-ways-to-improve-gender-equality https://sdgtalks.ai/27-actionable-ways-to-improve-gender-equality Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:18:22 -0500 Winter Humanity's capacity to thrive depends on women. That may seem obvious, given that women and girls comprise half of the population — yet discrepancies persist in earning potential, healthcare access, civil rights, and economic justice for women in every pocket of the planet. These disparities can be even greater among individuals who identify as gender-diverse or non-binary.

    Working to improve gender equality is one of the most important ways we can make life better for everybody on earth — all 7.9 billion of us and counting.

    Here's why.

    Why support gender equality?

    There are billions — about 4 billion to be more specific — of reasons to support gender equality: All the women-identified farmers, doctors, caretakers, and leaders across the world, so many of whom are still seeking access to basic human rights. Women suffer from political and social inequities, and despite their economic potential and capacity for innovation, they continue to earn 20 percent less than men.

    Lack of access to education, equal pay, and healthcare doesn't only affect individual women and girls — it stifles the success of society itself. Poverty and gender inequality have been shown time and again to be linked; conversely, countries where girls receive equal education to boys reflect reliable rates of economic growth and lower rates of domestic and cultural violence.

    Studies show that when women have access to participate in local and regional economies and to own homes and other assets, the health and nutrition of their children increases. It is projected that if employment rates for women matched those of men, it could increase world GDP by trillions of dollars.

    In short, gender equality represents a safer, healthier, more prosperous society for all.

    Read more: Why gender equality is so important

    Ways to promote gender equality in daily life

    More than 80% of Kiva loans go to women, many of whom live in developing countries.

    While advancing gender inequity can seem insurmountable, there are actions you can take to help close the gender gap and support the success of women and girls around the world.

    1. Help individual women succeed.

    According to a report by Kiva and USAID on global gender lens investing, over a billion women around the world are excluded from financial systems. Financial inclusion can help increase women's incomes, which can lead to increases in household spending on food and education and an improved quality of life.

    Promoting financial inclusion among women can help provide women with the opportunities to start businesses, get an education, and increase their independence and agency. It is a practice that helps one woman at a time gain traction to improve their lives while creating benefits that reverberate throughout communities.

    More than 80 percent of Kiva loans go to women, many of whom live in developing countries. These loans are facilitated through the work of on-the-ground lending partners like Caurie Microfinance, working to bring their services to women living in remote locations. Based in Senegal, Caurie has raised over US$23.5 million in loans for women, not only disbursing funds but also developing improved tech and mobile platforms that make it possible for its clients to repay loans, conduct transactions, and save money without having to travel to a branch office.

    Other Kiva lending partners often include business training, healthcare access, and wraparound services that help individual women succeed.

    Read more: Access to finance is critical to help women entrepreneurs around the world improve their earnings

    2. Discuss gender equality with family members and children.

    In many developed countries and societies, it can be tempting to take women's freedom for granted. Yet there is still a tremendous chasm to cross in order to achieve gender equality around the world — and closer to home. Talk about the ways women continue to be underrepresented in government and commerce and the positive potential impact of closing the gender gap.

    3. Encourage financial inclusion.

    Over a billion women are excluded from traditional banking services such as credit, savings, and money transfers that foster independence. More than 70 percent of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have inadequate access to financial services like banking and credit, many with no access at all. Often they don't have access to these services because of social barriers and systemic poverty — even in developed countries like the U.S. Making microloans through organizations like Kiva helps women access capital to build credit, start businesses, fund education for themselves and their daughters, and support gender equality.

    Support financial inclusion for women with a Kiva loan

    4. Support women-owned businesses.

    Where we choose to spend our money matters. Seeking out small businesses owned by women directly supports them and their families or communities. It also improves local economies and surrounding communities: Studies show that women-owned companies are more likely to create jobs in healthcare, food services, and other social sector industries than those owned by men. Seeking out women-owned companies and small businesses in your area is an effective way not only to support gender equality but also to help your community — for every dollar spent at a small business, 67 cents remains in local circulation.

    5. Shop from companies and businesses that promote gender equality.

    Across corporations and industries, statistics show the positive effects of including women in executive leadership positions:

    • Executive teams that are gender-diverse generate better financial performance

    • Value chains that are gender-diverse are more agile and create new business opportunities

    • Diversity leads to improved decision-making

    There is so much power in how we spend our dollars — and where we don't. There are dozens of big corporations making huge strides in equalizing the workplace for all their employees, with a few global titans leading the way. Make a habit of researching where your dollars are going before making big purchases so you can be sure you're shopping from companies you feel good about supporting.

    6. Promote gender equality at home.

    Encourage the fair division of labor for household chores. Everyone is capable of contributing to the cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other unpaid labor it takes to keep a home and family. Not only does sharing the load between women and men break down stereotypes, it also makes caring for a household easier — many hands make light work.

    Read more: How microfinance providers can improve outcomes for women entrepreneurs

    Ways to improve gender equality in society

    If women had the same agricultural rights and resources as men, they could reduce world hunger by up to 17%.

    All of us live and work in a larger context, and we often encounter people different from us in greater society. We can promote gender equality by acting with kindness and courage:

    7. Keep in mind that gender is not the same as biological sex.

    While someone's biological sex refers strictly to biology, gender covers a host of social constructs and expectations that comprise an individual's identity. Even if a person was not born 'female', if they identify as a woman, as gender-diverse, or as non-binary, they will face social and economic risks even greater than those that people born female do. It's important to keep in mind that these groups need even more support and consideration when discussing gender equality.

    Read more: The glass ceiling still looms above for women business owners in the U.S.

    8. Speak out against gender-based violence.

    Almost one in three women and girls have experienced physical and/or emotional abuse in their lifetime, most often at the hands of a spouse, partner, or relative. Lower-income women are at the highest risk for violence against women, and a lack of reporting violent acts, due to lack of safety and trust with current systems, affects women across all economic and social strata.

    Ways to improve gender equality in the workplace

    Globally, women earn 77 cents compared to every dollar made by men.

    Given the tremendous contributions of women to business, tech, science, government, and every other sector of commercial and cultural importance, it's hard to believe that gender equality remains an issue in the workplace. However, one only needs to look at the statistics to realize that imbalances still exist:

    While many companies now implement diversity and inclusion measures in their hiring practices and human resources departments, few can boast they've closed the gender gap. Since it is still so rare, it bears asking the question: What does gender equality actually look like at work?

    • It means every employee has access to the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities within the organization

    • All employees feel safe from discrimination

    • Training and education are made available to all

    • Rewards and promotions are based on merit

    • Merit and evaluation systems are unbiased

    • Everyone is treated with equal respect

    So what can we do to promote gender equality in the workplace, improve working conditions, and provide access to more opportunities for women? Each of us can help, whether we are entrepreneurs, in entry-level positions, gig workers, or climbing the corporate ladder.

    9. Check your bias.

    Many people don't realize the implicit ways they have internalized cultural biases of gender and race, which can affect all levels of the workplace. Many employers provide implicit bias training to help dissipate unconscious perceptions.

    10. Use gender-inclusive language.

    Referring to workers as 'individuals'; rather than as 'men' or 'women' in job descriptions, employee handbooks, and other company materials decreases bias, even — especially — in roles that have traditionally been held by one particular gender.

    11. Advocate for equity.

    Addressing the places and issues within company culture that create barriers for women and non-binary employees brings attention to where the work needs to be done. Often, leadership needs to be made aware of gender disparity before anything can change.

    12. Ask for better.

    Flexible hours, paid family and medical leave, and even offering childcare benefits are ways that some companies are creating a more equitable environment for working mothers (and parents in general!).

    13. Focus on performance.

    When it comes to promoting gender equality in the workplace, the best way to close the gap is to reward those who create results, bring in revenue, and achieve company goals —regardless of any perceived notions of their abilities.

    Ways to advocate for gender equality

    It is estimated that over seven million people participated worldwide in Women's March Day 2020.

    While there are myriad actions we can take to promote gender equality at school, at work, and in our everyday lives, gender equality advocacy takes that commitment to a higher level. If you're passionate about closing the gender gap, creating more opportunities for women and non-binary individuals, and forging a more equitable and just world, here are a few suggestions.

    14. Listen and learn.

    All of us stand on the shoulders of those who have been doing the work of advocating for gender equality for generations. Read fundamental materials by organizations to understand the progress as well as the pitfalls that have been made. Seek out the past and present leaders of the movement, and have faith in yourself as a future leader.

    15. Educate others.

    Share what you know in private conversations and public forums. Use facts, statistics, and relevant anecdotes to make your case. While it's not always easy to remain patient with those who don't agree, and it is first and foremost an individual responsibility to educate ourselves, sticking to the point that gender equality improves life for everyone can help diffuse uncomfortable conversations.

    16. Become an activist.

    It is projected that it will take another 132 years for the world to achieve gender equality, but we can speed things up by getting involved. Make sure policymakers at local, regional, national, and international levels know that creating opportunities for women is the way to improve economies. Present gender equality issues as front and center for elections, and grill candidates on their positions. Better yet, run for office yourself!

    Related: How Phearong became a women's rights leader in Cambodia

    17. Support reproductive freedom.

    Access to healthcare and sex education, including birth control and the right to choose when and if a woman wants to have children and how many, are a vital pillar of gender equality. Economic development, educational opportunities, and social progress depend on the right of women to control their bodies.

    Ways to promote gender equality in school

    Enrollment of women in higher education tripled worldwide from 1995 to 2018.

    We know that educating girls is key to economic development and creating women leaders and entrepreneurs. The good news is that global enrollment of women in higher education has tripled from 1995 to 2018. However, ensuring gender equality in the classroom doesn't come automatically or easily — it takes conscious action.

    18. Make sure learning materials represent everyone.

    The selection of books, references, and other resources for a class can draw from a diverse group of authors. When the subject matter precludes the inclusion of women or non-binary contributors, address the reasons why that particular resource may not have favored such diversity.

    19. Stick with gender-inclusive language.

    As in everyday life and in the workplace, the use of gender-inclusive language in the classroom is an important way to ensure everyone feels supported. The use of 'you guys' and 'ladies and gentlemen' in the classroom favor traditional gender roles and binaries and can make young women and non-binary students feel excluded. When speaking to a group, the use of 'students', 'class', or even 'you all' are worthy gender-inclusive alternatives.

    20. Challenge gender stereotypes.

    While teaching anything from math to writing to science, choose examples that go against staid perceptions of gender: Women construction workers, stay-at-home dads — showing people of all genders in various roles helps students realize they need not be limited by anything.

    21. Respect preferred pronouns.

    When a young person expresses their wish to be referred to by a specific pronoun, honoring that wish affirms the student's identity to others and promotes gender equality in the classroom.

    22. Help fund education for girls.

    While women have now surpassed men in the U.S. for college graduation rates, in many places around the world, social norms prevent young women from pursuing college degrees or advanced training. Kiva helps women-identified students crowdsource tuition and living expenses from lenders all over the world, enabling them to advance their opportunities.

    Lend to a woman today

    Read more: How Kiran bucked traditional gender roles to pursue her education in Kathmandu

    Ways to promote gender equality in sports

    90% of colleges and universities discriminate against women in sports.

    The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, which Kiva is proud to partner with, made history in 2022 by demanding and receiving the same pay as the men's team, inspiring women and girls everywhere to seek out equality in sports. But even though women athletes achieved tremendous victories and the 1972 passage of Title IX was meant to guarantee equal representation in U.S. school sports, gender inequalities continue. An unacceptable 90 percent of colleges and universities discriminate against women in sports, and women are still underrepresented in leadership roles in the professional sports sector

    Here are some key ways to promote gender equality in sports and level the playing field.

    23. Be a fan.

    Support women's and girls' athletic teams by watching games in person or on television, following their social media, buying season passes, and sporting their merch. This goes for professional, international, and college-level teams as well as high school and younger —cheering from the sidelines encourages young players to stick with it.

    24. Be a player.

    Not everyone has the prowess to pursue professional sports, but there are plenty of local, low-key athletic opportunities for women of all ages. Even if it's a workplace softball team or helping coach a kindergarten soccer team, women's presence matters at every level.

    25. Demand better policy.

    While gender equality is finally getting attention at the professional level, there is plenty of room for improvement in school and recreational sports organizations. Women and girls deserve equal consideration when it comes to financial aid, funding and participation opportunities.

    26. Protect whistleblowers.

    Coming forward with examples of gender inequality, discrimination, and sexual harassment is courageous and often the only way to move the needle towards equality. Help establish anonymous programs to report such instances and protect privacy.

    27. Use appropriate language.

    When speaking or writing about women's sports, focus on skills and performance, not the way uniforms fit or what an athlete does in their private life. Achieving gender equality in sports depends on all athletes receiving the same kinds of respectful treatment from the media, fans, coaches, industry executives, and other players.

    Every action counts

    To paraphrase Kiva's Executive Chairwoman Julie Hanna, our work has just begun in achieving gender equality around the world. While the barriers may seem overwhelming, they are not insurmountable — especially when we see that there are so many actionable ways to support women — those who live in our communities and those in cultures across the globe.

    ]]>     How to Improve Education Quality: Proven Methods for Tangible Results https://sdgtalks.ai/how-to-improve-education-quality-proven-methods-for-tangible-results https://sdgtalks.ai/how-to-improve-education-quality-proven-methods-for-tangible-results Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:06:50 -0500 Winter Some strategies for improving education quality include investing in teacher training and professional development, promoting innovation and technology integration in the classroom, and enhancing student engagement and motivation.

    Education is a crucial component of building a better society. However, in many parts of the world, students face various challenges when it comes to accessing quality education. Whether it is a lack of resources, poorly trained teachers, or inadequate infrastructure, these challenges can significantly impact the quality of education that students receive. As a result, improving education quality has become a top priority for policymakers, educators, and parents alike.

    Thankfully, there are various strategies and initiatives that can be implemented to enhance the quality of education and ensure that students are receiving the best possible learning experiences. This is where charities for education play a pivotal role. They often provide resources, funding, and programs specifically designed to tackle these educational challenges, making a significant difference in communities where government support may be lacking. In this blog, we will explore nine such strategies that can be implemented to improve education quality. From teacher training and professional development to personalized learning experiences and incorporating technology in the classroom, we will discuss the various ways in which education can be made more effective and accessible for all students.

    Improving education quality is not just about academic success, but it is also about shaping future generations of responsible and informed individuals who can contribute positively to society. With that in mind, let's dive into the nine strategies for improving education quality and explore how we can work together to build a brighter future for students around the world.

    The importance of teacher training and professional development

    Teachers play a vital role in shaping the minds of the next generation. They are responsible for not only imparting knowledge but also for guiding and inspiring students to become lifelong learners. Therefore, it is crucial that teachers receive the necessary training and professional development to enhance their teaching skills and knowledge.

    Teacher training and professional development programs can provide educators with the skills and knowledge needed to create engaging, effective, and personalized learning experiences for students. These programs can include workshops, seminars, and training sessions on subjects such as classroom management, assessment and evaluation, pedagogy, and technology integration.

    One of the primary benefits of teacher training and professional development is that it can help teachers stay up-to-date with the latest educational trends and best practices. As technology continues to evolve and new research emerges, teachers need to adapt and 

    incorporate these advancements into their teaching methods. Professional development programs can provide teachers with the tools and resources needed to stay current and improve their teaching techniques.

    Moreover, teacher training and professional development can also improve teacher morale and job satisfaction. By providing teachers with opportunities to learn and grow professionally, they feel valued and supported, which can have a positive impact on their overall job performance and motivation.

    It is also important to note that teacher training and professional development should not be limited to new teachers. Even experienced teachers can benefit from ongoing training and development opportunities to enhance their skills and stay up-to-date with the latest educational trends.

    Investing in teacher training and professional development can have a significant impact on the quality of education that students receive. By providing teachers with the necessary tools and resources, they can create engaging and effective learning experiences that inspire students to become lifelong learners. Additionally, professional development can boost teacher morale and job satisfaction, ultimately leading to a positive impact on the entire education system.

    Providing access to high-quality teaching materials and resources

    Access to high-quality teaching materials and resources is essential for improving the quality of education. Teachers require access to resources that align with the curriculum, are relevant, engaging, and provide opportunities for learning beyond the classroom.

    High-quality teaching materials and resources can come in various forms, such as textbooks, online resources, multimedia resources, and teaching aids. Access to these resources is particularly crucial in underprivileged communities where students may not have access to quality educational materials at home.

    One effective strategy for providing access to high-quality teaching materials and resources is to encourage collaboration between teachers and curriculum specialists. This collaboration can ensure that teaching materials and resources are aligned with the curriculum and are tailored to meet the needs of the students.

    Moreover, providing access to digital resources can help to level the playing field and provide equal access to education. Digital resources such as online textbooks, videos, and interactive learning activities can provide students with engaging and personalized learning experiences. They can also help to bridge the gap between students who have access to technology and those who do not.

    Another strategy for providing access to high-quality teaching materials and resources is to encourage partnerships with businesses and organizations that specialize in educational resources. These partnerships can provide teachers with access to the latest educational technology, equipment, and resources that they may not otherwise have access to.

    It is also essential to ensure that teachers have the necessary training and support to effectively use the teaching materials and resources. Teachers need to understand how to integrate the resources into their lessons and how to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students.

    Creating a positive and inclusive learning environment

    Creating a positive and inclusive learning environment is essential to improving education quality. When students feel valued and respected, they are more likely to engage in learning, feel motivated, and achieve their academic goals. Therefore, it is crucial for educators and school administrators to establish a supportive and welcoming atmosphere in the classroom.

    One way to create a positive and inclusive learning environment is to promote diversity and inclusivity in the classroom. Educators can celebrate and recognize the different cultures and backgrounds of their students and encourage them to learn from each other's experiences. Additionally, teachers can modify their lesson plans to be culturally responsive and provide opportunities for students to share their perspectives.

    Another way to foster a positive learning environment is to establish clear expectations and routines in the classroom. This includes setting expectations for behavior, participation, and academic performance. By establishing a clear set of guidelines, students understand what is expected of them and feel more comfortable in their learning environment.

    Additionally, teachers can create a safe space for students to express their thoughts and emotions without fear of judgment or ridicule. This can be accomplished by using positive language, promoting empathy and kindness, and encouraging students to respect each other's opinions.

    It is also important to provide access to resources and support for students who may need additional assistance. This includes providing academic support, counseling services, and accommodations for students with disabilities or special needs. By offering these resources, students can receive the support they need to succeed academically and emotionally.

    Overall, creating a positive and inclusive learning environment requires effort and commitment from educators and administrators. However, the benefits of such an environment are invaluable, as students are more likely to feel engaged, motivated, and successful in their academic pursuits.

    Personalizing learning experiences to meet individual student needs

    Personalizing learning experiences to meet individual student needs is a critical strategy for improving education quality. Every student has unique learning styles, strengths, and challenges, and providing tailored learning experiences can help them reach their full potential.

    One way to personalize learning is through differentiated instruction. This approach involves creating different lesson plans and activities based on each student's learning style, ability level, and interests. By providing a variety of activities, teachers can help students engage in the learning process and build skills at their own pace.

    Another way to personalize learning is through technology. Educational technology, such as adaptive learning software, can provide students with individualized instruction and feedback based on their performance. This technology can help identify areas where students need additional support and adjust the difficulty level of activities to match their abilities.

    Project-based learning is another effective way to personalize learning. This approach involves giving students the opportunity to work on projects that align with their interests and passions. This can increase engagement and motivation and help students develop real-world skills that are relevant to their future careers.

    Teachers can also use formative assessments to personalize learning. These assessments provide ongoing feedback on student progress and can help teachers identify areas where students need additional support. By using this feedback, teachers can adjust their instruction to meet individual student needs and provide targeted support.

    Finally, student-centered learning approaches can also help personalize learning experiences. This approach involves giving students more control over their learning, allowing them to explore topics that interest them, and providing opportunities for student-led discussions and activities. By focusing on the student's needs and interests, teachers can create a more engaging and effective learning experience.

    Implementing technology in the classroom to enhance learning

    In today's digital age, technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. From smartphones to laptops, technology has transformed the way we communicate, work, and even learn. In education, technology has the potential to enhance the learning experience of students and provide new opportunities for teachers to engage their students.

    Implementing technology in the classroom can offer several benefits. For example, digital textbooks and online resources can provide students with access to a wealth of information and knowledge from anywhere and at any time. Online platforms and apps can offer interactive activities, games, and quizzes that can engage students and promote active learning. Additionally, video conferencing tools can enable teachers to connect with experts and other classrooms around the world, giving students a broader perspective on different topics and cultures.

    However, implementing technology in the classroom requires careful planning and consideration. Teachers need to ensure that the technology they choose aligns with their teaching goals and objectives. They also need to be trained in the use of the technology and provided with ongoing support and professional development opportunities.

    Moreover, it is essential to ensure that technology does not replace traditional teaching methods entirely. Instead, technology should be used to complement and enhance teaching, making it more engaging and effective. Teachers must also ensure that the technology they use is accessible and inclusive, taking into account the different learning styles and abilities of their students.

    Encouraging parental involvement and engagement

    Encouraging parental involvement and engagement is crucial for improving education quality. Parents play a vital role in their child's education and can greatly contribute to their success. When parents are involved in their child's education, it not only benefits the student but also the school and community as a whole. Here are some strategies for encouraging parental involvement:

    1. Open communication channels: Schools should establish open communication channels with parents, making it easy for them to get in touch with teachers, counselors, and administrators. Regular communication through email, newsletters, or parent-teacher conferences can help keep parents informed about their child's progress and any issues that may arise.
    2. Provide opportunities for involvement: Schools can offer a variety of opportunities for parents to get involved, such as volunteering in the classroom, chaperoning field trips, or participating in school events. This can help parents feel more connected to the school and invested in their child's education.
    3. Offer resources and support: Many parents may not know how to get involved or may feel intimidated by the school environment. Schools can offer resources and support to help parents feel more comfortable, such as workshops on how to help their child with homework or navigating the school system.
    4. Recognize and appreciate parents: Schools should recognize and appreciate the contributions of parents, whether it's through a thank-you note, a public acknowledgment, or a volunteer appreciation event. This can help build positive relationships and encourage continued involvement.
    5. Emphasize the importance of education: Schools can work with parents to emphasize the importance of education and encourage them to support their child's learning outside of school. This can include setting aside time for homework, reading together, or engaging in educational activities as a family.

    By encouraging parental involvement and engagement, schools can create a collaborative and supportive learning environment that benefits students, parents, and the community as a whole.

    Incorporating project-based learning and hands-on activities

    Project-based learning and hands-on activities are effective ways to improve education quality. These approaches promote active learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills among students.

    In project-based learning, students work on long-term projects that address real-world problems or challenges. This approach requires students to use their creativity, research, and analytical skills to develop innovative solutions to complex problems. Project-based learning also provides students with opportunities to collaborate, communicate, and present their ideas to an audience, which builds their confidence and communication skills.

    Hands-on activities, on the other hand, involve active engagement and manipulation of materials or tools to learn new concepts or skills. Examples of hands-on activities include experiments, simulations, role-playing, and field trips. These activities provide students with opportunities to explore, experiment, and discover new ideas in a safe and supportive environment.

    Incorporating project-based learning and hands-on activities in the classroom requires teachers to create a student-centered learning environment. Teachers need to act as facilitators, guiding and supporting students in their learning journey. This approach also requires teachers to design relevant and engaging projects and activities that align with the curriculum and learning objectives. Additionally, education through technology is becoming an increasingly important tool. It allows for a more engaging and interactive learning experience, and can greatly facilitate individualized learning and access to a broader range of information.

    The benefits of project-based learning and hands-on activities are numerous. These approaches promote deeper learning, enhance retention, and improve student engagement and motivation. Furthermore, project-based learning and hands-on activities prepare students for the 21st century workforce, which requires individuals to be innovative, creative, and problem-solvers.

    Therefore, educators should consider incorporating project-based learning and hands-on activities in their teaching practice to improve education quality and prepare students for the future.

    Developing strong assessment and evaluation processes

    Assessment and evaluation processes are critical to the improvement of education quality. It allows educators to identify areas where students are excelling and where they need improvement. However, developing strong assessment and evaluation processes can be a challenging task. Here are some strategies for improving assessment and evaluation processes to enhance education quality:

    1. Clearly define learning objectives: The first step in creating a strong assessment and evaluation process is to define clear learning objectives. Teachers need to know what students are expected to learn, and students need to know what they are expected to achieve. Objectives should be measurable and aligned with the curriculum.
    2. Use a variety of assessment methods: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to assessment. Teachers should use a variety of assessment methods, such as tests, quizzes, projects, and portfolios. This helps to ensure that students are being evaluated in different ways and that their strengths and weaknesses are being accurately measured.
    3. Use formative assessments: Formative assessments are ongoing assessments that are used to monitor student learning throughout a unit or lesson. They provide feedback to both the teacher and the student, allowing them to adjust their approach as needed.
    4. Align assessments with learning objectives: Assessments should be aligned with the learning objectives. This ensures that students are being evaluated on the skills and knowledge they are expected to learn.
    5. Provide timely and actionable feedback: Feedback is critical to student learning. Teachers should provide timely and actionable feedback to students to help them improve. Feedback should be specific, highlighting areas where the student needs to improve and offering suggestions for improvement.
    6. Involve students in the evaluation process: Students should be involved in the evaluation process. They should be given the opportunity to self-assess and reflect on their learning. This helps students take ownership of their learning and develop metacognitive skills.
    7. Use data to inform instruction: Assessment data should be used to inform instruction. Teachers can use the data to identify areas where students are struggling and adjust their instruction to better meet the needs of their students.

    Prioritizing mental health and well-being in education

    In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of prioritizing mental health and well-being in education. This is not only important for the individual well-being of students but also for the quality of education that they receive. Schools and education systems that prioritize mental health and well-being are likely to have happier, healthier, and more engaged students who are better equipped to succeed academically and in life.

    There are several strategies that schools and educators can implement to prioritize mental health and well-being in education. Firstly, it is important to create a supportive and inclusive school environment that promotes positive relationships, provides social-emotional support, and encourages open communication. This can be achieved through programs such as peer support, counseling services, and social-emotional learning programs.

    Secondly, schools should provide opportunities for students to engage in physical activity and exercise. Physical activity has been shown to be a powerful tool in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, and can also improve cognitive function and academic performance. Schools can incorporate physical activity into their curriculum through physical education classes, after-school sports programs, and active transportation initiatives. Moreover, integrating lessons on education and economic development within the curriculum can provide students with a deeper understanding of the role of education in driving economic growth and social progress.

    Thirdly, educators can prioritize mental health and well-being by incorporating mindfulness and relaxation techniques into their teaching. Mindfulness practices, such as meditation and breathing exercises, can help students develop skills to manage stress and anxiety, improve focus and attention, and promote emotional regulation.

    Fourthly, schools can support mental health and well-being by providing access to mental health resources and services. This can include on-site counseling services, mental health awareness campaigns, and partnerships with local mental health organizations.

    Finally, schools can prioritize mental health and well-being by addressing and reducing sources of stress and pressure in the education system. This can include reducing excessive testing and homework assignments, promoting a healthy work-life balance for educators, and fostering a culture of support and collaboration among students and staff. In addition to these measures, understanding how to achieve quality education is fundamental in structuring policies and practices that support student learning and wellbeing.

    Conclusion

    Improving education quality requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses various aspects of the learning process. From teacher training and professional development to prioritizing mental health and well-being, each strategy plays a vital role in providing students with the best possible education. 

    Education is a fundamental human right, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that all learners have access to high-quality education that prepares them for success in a rapidly changing world. By implementing these strategies and continuing to innovate and improve our education systems, we can build a brighter future for all.

    ]]>     Top Strategies for Creating an Effective School Improvement Plan https://sdgtalks.ai/top-strategies-for-creating-an-effective-school-improvement-plan https://sdgtalks.ai/top-strategies-for-creating-an-effective-school-improvement-plan Tue, 22 Apr 2025 01:02:43 -0500 Winter

    School improvement plans are structured efforts to enhance a school’s effectiveness through actionable steps. They focus on identifying strengths, addressing challenges, and creating a roadmap for success. At the school level, these plans emphasize the importance of addressing needs and implementing strategies tailored to each unique school community. The essence of these plans is to pinpoint areas needing enhancement, set ambitious goals, implement targeted strategies, and meticulously monitor progress.

    School improvement planning focuses on identifying needs and creating a unified strategy to address them. This process involves comprehensive data analysis, engaging various stakeholders, and continuously refining strategies to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

    By understanding and implementing these plans, school communities can foster an environment that promotes student achievement and overall school performance.

    The Importance of School Improvement Planning

    The significance of school improvement planning is paramount. Principals can provide direction by synthesizing data and selecting strategic priorities, ensuring that everyone in the school community is aligned with the improvement goals. These plans serve as clear strategies to enhance educational outcomes, emphasizing fairness and equal opportunities for all learners.

    They guide schools through a cyclical process of:

    1. Data analysis
    2. Goal setting
    3. Implementation
    4. Evaluation

    This ensures continuous improvement and accountability.

    Moreover, these plans are grounded in research-based best practices, promoting continuous improvement that adapts to new challenges and opportunities. Tools like NCStar further enhance these efforts by providing a structured approach to track progress and foster accountability.

    Effective partnerships and a shared vision among stakeholders are crucial, as they collectively work towards improving educational experiences and outcomes for students.

    Key Components of a School Improvement Plan

    A school improvement plan serves as a strategic framework to boost student learning and refine educational practices. Addressing needs and implementing strategies at the school level is crucial for the plan’s success. Its effectiveness relies on several key components, including setting ambitious goals, leveraging data analysis for informed decisions, and engaging the broader school community.

    Each of these elements plays a vital role in ensuring the plan’s success and sustainability.

    Setting Ambitious Goals

    Setting ambitious yet achievable goals is the cornerstone of any effective school improvement plan. These goals should align with the broader objectives of the school district to ensure coherence and collective success. They must be challenging enough to inspire effort and commitment from all stakeholders, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence. The ultimate goal is to ensure effective frameworks typically recommend targeting two to five key areas for improvement, such as academic achievement and school climate.

    Focusing on priorities that will have the most significant impact on student achievement is essential when setting these goals. This involves a commitment to strategic planning and a clear vision. By doing so, schools can ensure that their efforts are directed towards meaningful and measurable outcomes, driving progress and fostering a culture of high expectations and accountability.

    Data Analysis for Informed Decisions

    Data analysis is integral to school improvement planning, providing the evidence needed to make informed decisions. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data allows schools to identify areas for improvement and monitor progress. This comprehensive approach ensures that all aspects of the school’s performance are considered, from academic achievement to stakeholder perceptions.

    Effective school improvement requires an evidence-based framework that emphasizes data analysis and stakeholder collaboration. Needs assessments should be thorough, involving comparable questions posed to different groups to gather meaningful insights.

    Understanding the root causes of performance gaps allows schools to design targeted strategies that address underlying issues and drive positive change.

    Engaging the School Community

    Engaging the school community is crucial for the success of any school improvement plan.

    Involving various stakeholders, including:

    • teachers
    • parents
    • students
    • community members

    Enhances commitment and accountability towards the improvement efforts.

    When everyone has a role and a voice, shared responsibility fosters a collective drive towards common goals.

    A successful school improvement plan incorporates diverse perspectives, ensuring that the needs and insights of all stakeholders are considered. This collaborative approach strengthens support for the initiatives and builds a sense of ownership and investment in the outcomes. Effective engagement strategies might include regular meetings with the school council, community forums, and feedback sessions with students and families.

    Involving community stakeholders, such as local organizations and families, further strengthens the support network for school improvement initiatives. These partnerships can provide valuable resources and expertise, helping to create a more holistic approach to education that benefits all students. Fostering a culture of collaboration and shared responsibility builds a strong foundation for enduring success.

    Best Practices for Developing a School Improvement Plan

    Developing a school improvement plan requires a systematic, data-driven approach aimed at enhancing school performance. Integrating diverse elements into a cohesive strategy, involving educational leadership throughout the process, and fostering an environment of continuous improvement are essential practices for creating an effective plan.

    School leaders play a pivotal role in this process, guiding instructional decisions and supporting teachers to improve student outcomes.

    Conducting Needs Assessments

    Conducting thorough needs assessments is foundational to school improvement planning. This process involves gathering input from various stakeholders, such as teachers, students, and families, through surveys and focus groups to understand specific areas requiring improvement. Analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data allows schools to identify performance gaps and tailor their improvement strategies accordingly.

    Assessing the technological capabilities of the district and individual schools, including internet access and available devices, is also important. Regular evaluations of progress, coupled with measurable goals, ensure that the school remains focused and accountable in its improvement efforts.

    This comprehensive approach helps schools implement targeted strategies that address specific issues identified during the assessment phase.

    Establishing a Vision and Culture

    Establishing a clear vision and fostering a positive school culture are essential for a successful school improvement plan. A vision statement serves as a guiding light, aligning efforts and resources towards common goals. This vision should focus on desired teaching and learning outcomes, ensuring that all stakeholders are working towards the same objectives.

    Cultivating a positive school culture involves creating an environment where goals are strategic, measurable, ambitious, realistic, time-bound, inclusive, and equitable (S.M.A.R.T.I.E.). Effective goals should be specific, actionable, and time-bound, providing a clear direction for the school’s improvement efforts.

    Schools must also be adaptable, responding to emerging needs and changes in evidence-based practices to maintain a relevant and effective improvement plan.

    Implementing Targeted Strategies

    Implementing targeted strategies is critical for addressing the specific needs identified during the assessment phase. Schools should utilize data-driven insights to guide the selection of these strategies, ensuring they align with the overall goals and vision of the improvement plan. By logically grouping these strategies, schools can create a clear path for implementation and ensure that all efforts are coordinated and focused.

    Establishing metrics and benchmarks is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies in enhancing student outcomes. Schools should use both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the impact of the implemented strategies on overall performance. Continuous monitoring and necessary adjustments ensure improvement efforts remain effective and relevant.

    Steps to Create a School Improvement Plan

    Creating a school improvement plan involves a systematic improvement process focused on evaluating and enhancing school performance over time. At the school level, it is crucial to address the unique needs and implement strategies tailored to each school community. The plan outlines targeted objectives for enhancement, actionable steps to achieve them, and criteria for tracking progress.

    This structured approach ensures that all aspects of the school’s performance are considered and addressed.

    Identifying Opportunities for Improvement

    Identifying opportunities for improvement is the first step in school improvement planning. This involves using diverse data sources to identify performance gaps and measure the effectiveness of current strategies. A thorough review of student performance data, including graduation rates and absenteeism, helps pinpoint key areas needing improvement.

    Gathering qualitative insights from various stakeholders, such as teachers, students, and families, provides a comprehensive understanding of the school’s challenges. This information is crucial for articulating strategic priorities, performance metrics, and opportunities for stakeholder feedback.

    Identifying these opportunities allows schools to focus their efforts on areas that will have the most significant impact on student achievement and overall performance.

    Developing Measurable Goals and Objectives

    Developing measurable goals and objectives is essential for driving progress in school improvement efforts. These goals should be specific, actionable, and tied to the identified priorities. They must be ambitious yet attainable, focusing on two to five priority areas such as reading and math achievement. This approach ensures that the school’s efforts are directed towards meaningful and measurable outcomes.

    Regular assessments of the school’s current state and data provide a basis for refining improvement strategies. Establishing measurable goals helps schools articulate specific objectives linked to their strategic priorities, making it easier to track progress and make necessary adjustments. This continuous evaluation process is crucial for maintaining focus and accountability in school improvement efforts.

    Planning Logistics and Resources

    Planning logistics and resources is a critical step in implementing a successful school improvement plan. This involves defining timelines, assigning responsibilities, and detailing the necessary resources for successful implementation.

    A well-structured improvement plan should outline strategic priorities, performance metrics, required resources, and responsibilities for implementation. Organizing these elements clearly ensures that improvement efforts are coordinated and effective.

    Monitoring and Adjusting Your School Improvement Plan

    Regular evaluations of a school improvement plan ensure alignment with improvement targets and provide direction for the school’s efforts. This involves continuous monitoring and adaptation to address emerging needs and improve student outcomes.

    Regularly assessing progress allows schools to make necessary adjustments to keep strategies effective and relevant.

    Continuous Improvement Cycles

    Continuous improvement cycles are crucial for maintaining the effectiveness of a school improvement plan. Regular monitoring enables schools to identify areas needing adjustments and enhances overall effectiveness. Establishing shorter interim goals helps maintain focus and adjust the approach as needed. This evolving document should be revisited and updated periodically to ensure it remains relevant and effective.

    Effective school improvement requires ongoing evaluation and modifications based on data-driven insights. A web-based platform can guide districts and schools in their continuous improvement journey, providing a structured approach to track progress and foster accountability.

    Tracking Progress and Outcomes

    Tracking progress and outcomes is essential for assessing the effectiveness of school improvement initiatives. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data allows schools to make informed decisions and effectively respond to identified challenges. Consistent metrics enable schools to monitor progress and make necessary adjustments to improvement plans as they are implemented.

    Quarterly reviews of measurable goals facilitate informed discussions on progress and necessary adjustments. Ongoing data collection, including walkthroughs, is critical for assessing the implementation of school improvement plans.

    By tracking progress and outcomes, schools can ensure their improvement efforts remain focused and effective.

    Roles of School Leaders and Administrators

    The roles of school leaders and administrators are pivotal in the success of school improvement plans. Transformational leadership is essential for creating an environment conducive to substantial educational improvements. Effective school improvement plans emphasize leadership at every level to ensure sustainable change. School leaders should consistently provide direction by communicating the school’s vision to ensure collective understanding and commitment from the staff.

    The school improvement team, typically composed of administrators, teachers, and other key stakeholders, is responsible for developing and monitoring the progress of the improvement plan. This team plays a crucial role in guiding the implementation of strategies, tracking progress, and making necessary adjustments to ensure the plan’s success.

    By fostering a culture of leadership and collaboration, school leaders can drive significant positive changes in student outcomes and overall school performance.

    Building Strong Community Partnerships

    Building Strong Community Partnerships

    Building strong community partnerships is a vital component of successful school improvement planning. Addressing needs and implementing strategies at the school level is crucial for tailoring solutions to each unique school community. Collaborative partnerships can provide students with access to resources like mentorships and internships that may not be found in traditional educational setups. These partnerships help students connect theoretical learning with practical, real-world experiences, enhancing skills like problem-solving and critical thinking.

    Community partnerships also enhance school improvement efforts by integrating external resources and expertise into the educational landscape. Schools can benefit from the support of local organizations, businesses, and families, creating a network of shared responsibility and collaboration. By fostering these community partners, schools can enrich the educational experience for students and ensure that their improvement efforts are supported and sustained by the broader community.

    Wrapping Up School Improvement Plans

    In summary, creating an effective school improvement plan involves a systematic, data-driven approach that integrates various components and strategies aimed at enhancing educational outcomes. By setting ambitious goals, leveraging data for informed decision-making, engaging the school community, and continuously monitoring and adjusting the plan, schools can create a roadmap for success. School leaders and administrators play a critical role in guiding these efforts, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

    As we conclude, it’s essential to remember that school improvement planning is an ongoing journey. By embracing a model of continuous improvement and building strong community partnerships, schools can ensure their efforts remain relevant and effective. Let’s commit to this journey together, striving to provide the highest quality education for all our students and fostering an environment where every student can thrive.

    Common Questions On School Improvement Plans

    What is a school improvement plan?

    A school improvement plan is a structured initiative aimed at enhancing school effectiveness at the school level by identifying areas for improvement and setting specific, ambitious goals to boost student achievement. This focused approach ensures that all efforts are directed towards meaningful progress in educational outcomes.

    Why is school improvement planning important?

    School improvement planning is essential because it creates a focused approach to enhance educational outcomes and address inequalities, ensuring all learners have equal opportunities to succeed.

    How do you set ambitious goals in a school improvement plan?

    To set ambitious goals in a school improvement plan, ensure they align with district objectives and focus on key areas like academic achievement and school climate. This approach will foster challenges that remain attainable, driving meaningful progress.

    What role does data analysis play in school improvement planning?

    Data analysis is crucial for school improvement planning as it informs decision-making, identifies performance gaps, and helps develop targeted strategies for enhancing educational outcomes.

    How can schools engage their community in the improvement process?

    Engaging the community in the improvement process requires involving stakeholders like teachers, parents, and students, which fosters a sense of shared responsibility and enhances support for initiatives. This collaborative approach not only strengthens relationships but also leads to more effective improvements.

    ]]>     10 Things To Do to End Extreme Poverty by 2030 https://sdgtalks.ai/10-things-to-do-to-end-extreme-poverty-by-2030 https://sdgtalks.ai/10-things-to-do-to-end-extreme-poverty-by-2030 Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:58:53 -0500 Winter We know there are 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty. As global citizens, we want to make poverty history by 2030, and here are 10 things the world needs to do to make this happen:

    1. Continue to support the poorest people.

    Official development assistance (ODA) remains the largest resource flow for most of the countries with the lowest domestic resources, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Here – where governments often have little ability to raise tax revenue and mobilise other financial resources – aid should be used to create favourable conditions for catalysing other forms of resources for ending poverty, such as private investment and development finance.

    2. End all forms of poverty.

    Ending poverty is not just about people’s income but also their access to things like water, health, education, housing and security. Bringing everyone above the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day is only the first step.

    3. Commit governments to ending poverty.

    Governments of developing countries should commit to lifting their citizens above the line of $1.25 per day. This needs to be underpinned by national mechanisms that target and support people living in poverty.

    The Bolsa Familia programme in Brazil transfers cash directly to poor households, and decisions about allocation are based on assessments of depth of poverty rather than household composition. More than 48 million people are now enrolled in the programme. Thanks to the contribution of Bolsa Familia, extreme poverty in Brazil dropped from 20.4 million in 2003 to approximately 11.9 million in 2009.

    Only five governments have commited publically to ending poverty (Brazil, Colombia, Malawi, UK and USA), and approximately 50 have made similar commitments at World Bank meetings. But ALL countries need to make this commitment if we are going to end extreme poverty by 2030.

    4. Focus aid on economic potential.

    Predicting and relying on sustained growth is not always possible and the benefits of growth are often not shared equally to benefit the poorest people. The benefits of growth need to be shared with the poorest people - in sub-Saharan Africa where 80% of the world’s extremely poor people are expected to live by 2030 - but also with those living in ‘pockets’ of poverty in ‘middle income countries’ like India.

    5. Go country by country.

    The governments of developing countries must follow their commitments with action through national poverty reduction plans. Strategic and joined-up approaches to ending extreme poverty would enable ownership over the way that public, private and aid resources are allocated and used.

    6. Get everyone involved.

    The governments must work with partners across different sectors – including businesses, private sector institutions, donors, aid agencies, public departments and ministries. Coordination is critical for transparent, accountable, and effective delivery. 

    7. Support national efforts with international aid.

    International aid can provide a basic minimum where domestic governments cannot, or will not. The UN should put ending extreme poverty at the very heart of the post-2015 agenda.

    8. Get creative with investments.

    To address the wider dimensions of poverty, we must harness and join-up all financial resources flowing to developing countries with the potential to reduce poverty. This includes all forms of private and public sector flows, as well as aid.

    9. Improve data on poverty. 

    Most developing countries use inadequate and out-of-date data. If governments are going to meet the needs of their poorest citizens, they need to know where these people live and what their needs are. We need to monitor wider, multi-dimensional aspects of poverty alongside income, and ask poor people themselves what their priorities are.

    10. Demand action as global citizens. 

    Everyone can play a role in ending poverty. Please get involved and ask governments and international institutions to transform commitments into action today. 

    “Extreme poverty has been cut in half in the last 20 years, and the facts show that we can get it to virtually zero within a generation – but only if we act.” - Bono, musician and global activist, February 2013.

    Ian Townsend, Lead Analyst & Sarah Dalrymple, Advocacy & Engagement Advisor.

    ]]>     The Top 12 Solutions To Cut Poverty in the United States https://sdgtalks.ai/the-top-12-solutions-to-cut-poverty-in-the-united-states https://sdgtalks.ai/the-top-12-solutions-to-cut-poverty-in-the-united-states Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:48:10 -0500 Winter Since the 1960s, America has made major strides in poverty reduction, and yet, there are still 35 million people living in poverty in the United States. What’s more, poverty would be twice as high if not for decades of significant investments through Social Security, unemployment insurance, nutrition assistance, and low-income tax credits, among other successful anti-poverty programs. However, the concerning reality is that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic fallout obliterated those gains, putting individuals and families at a greater risk of being pushed into poverty.

    As of May 2021, more than 9 million Americans were unemployed, 19 million adults and up to 8 million children had experienced food insecurity, and more than 10 million renters were behind on rental payments. Communities of color and other underserved families have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities have seen higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and death as well as unemployment. Likewise, the disability community has been disproportionately affected by high rates of mortality at congregate facilities, inequitable vaccine rollouts, and delayed stimulus payouts to individuals on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income.

    Navigating through the current crisis and rebuilding better and stronger requires policymakers to take immediate action to provide equitable economic relief to all. Equitable rebuilding not only addresses systemic and institutional racism of past policy decisions but also focuses on inclusive economic transformation that can strengthen the U.S. economy and resilience in the long run. When the government invests in meeting peoples’ basic needs and economic security through a robust safety net and jobs that help build financial security, children, families, and other vulnerable populations see improved outcomes in both the short and long term. The good news is that policymakers already have a range of tools that can prevent further increases in poverty and put all people on a pathway to economic mobility and resilience.

    This column outlines 12 policy solutions that Congress can use to cut poverty and boost economic security for all in an equitable way.

    1. Expand safety net programs to benefit all in need

    Safety net programs can help people weather a variety of economic crises by meeting basic needs and providing stability. Yet the pandemic has exposed just how woefully inadequate America’s safety net structure is.

    For example, before the pandemic, state unemployment insurance (UI) did not cover monthly expenses anywhere in the country and excluded millions of others due to their work classification, previous earnings, length of employment, or immigration status.

    The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided a temporary $600 weekly boost to UI, lifting millions out of poverty before that provision was allowed to expire at the end of July 2020. The American Rescue Plan continued a $300 weekly supplement to UI that started in December 2020, providing an income to millions of long-term unemployed and self-employed workers, independent contractors, gig workers, and others. Unfortunately, this supplement and the other temporary federal UI expansions are set to expire nationally on September 6, 2021. To make matters worse, at least 26 governors have pledged to end some or all of these programs even sooner, cutting benefits for 4.7 million people and severely affecting their ability to recover from the pandemic.

    Similarly, programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), intended for those with the lowest incomes, have not done enough to prevent hunger and food insecurity in America. Even before COVID-19 hit, the inadequate benefit amounts forced 45 percent of SNAP recipients to limit the food they ate or skip meals just to make it through the month; and nearly a third of SNAP recipients had to visit a food pantry to keep themselves fed. From December 2019 to December 2020, the demand for charitable food assistance rose by nearly 50 percent. This was especially prevalent for households of color, households with children, and people with disabilities. Fortunately, the American Rescue Plan contained significant expansions in food assistance programs to help mitigate the high levels of hunger seen throughout the crisis. But more must be done. Lawmakers must expand eligibility for SNAP, ensuring that currently excluded groups—including undocumented immigrants and many college students—are able to receive necessary food assistance. Burdensome work requirements that only serve to push people away from assistance, rather than encourage work, should also be eliminated.

    Temporary expansions of the safety net are not enough to help the millions of Americans who are still struggling with the economic and health fallout from the pandemic. Congress must continue to invest in and modernize safety net programs, ensuring that benefit levels are expanded and more accessible than they were before the crisis. It should also consider implementing automatic triggers that would expand benefits during future economic shocks, such as recessions, without the need for legislative intervention. Not only would this prevent people from falling into poverty while Congress argues over how much relief is necessary, having a system that automatically triggers expanded benefits would also help soften the blow of future recessions and stimulate the economy by giving money to people who desperately need it in a timely fashion.

    For more information on UI and SNAP, see “You Can’t Afford to Live Anywhere in the United States Solely on Unemployment Insurance” and “The Basic Facts About Children in Poverty.”

    2. Create good-paying jobs that meet family needs

    Rebuilding the economy in an equitable way requires the creation of millions of new, good-paying jobs in key industries, with significant worker protections to ease the burden on working families. Before the pandemic shut down much of the country, unemployment stood at 3.5 percent, but by April 2020, unemployment had risen to almost 15 percent. A year later, hiring is on an upward trajectory, but unemployment is at 5.8 percent, which is still considerably higher than pre-pandemic numbers.

    While the uptick in employment is a good sign, the same people who struggled before the crisis are still being left behind: The unemployment rates for Black and Hispanic individuals stand at 9.1 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, compared with a 5.1 percent unemployment rate for white people. Similarly, the disability community continues to experience difficulty regaining employment, with 10.2 percent remaining unemployed as of May 2021. It is not the first time these communities have seen large unemployment gaps compared with their white and nondisabled peers, as such gaps were consistently present even in the months leading up to the pandemic, when unemployment was low.

    Women have particularly borne the brunt of job loss because they are overrepresented in the hardest-hit service sector jobs. From February 2020 to May 2021, women lost a net of 4.2 million jobs. Furthermore, since April 2020, the labor force participation rate for women has hovered between 54.6 and 56.2 percent—the lowest observed rate since the late 1980s.

    Even though pandemic-related stimulus packages have helped bolster the economy, labor market growth is sluggish, as many Americans are still unable to come back to work due to caregiving challenges or are taking more time to find safe and decent jobs that support their basic needs.

    Creating the jobs needed to build an equitable U.S. economy requires federal investment. The American Jobs Plan is centered on investing $2.3 trillion to create new jobs by rebuilding roads and bridges, creating a green energy economy, expanding essential jobs in the caregiving sector, supporting domestic manufacturing, and ensuring that these jobs provide decent wages and benefits and are accessible to Americans from all walks of life. If passed, the American Jobs Plan could reform and rebuild the economy by significantly shrinking the gap of 7.6 million jobs lost since February 2020 and by allowing people to build financial security and save for the future.

    For more information on the job market, see “The Path to Higher, More Inclusive Economic Growth and Good Jobs” and “When Women Lose All the Jobs: Essential Actions for a Gender-Equitable Recovery.”

    3. Raise the minimum wage to ensure economic stability for all

    It is time for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to meaningfully improve living standards for millions of Americans. Today’s federal minimum wage is just $7.25 per hour, which is about $15,000 annually for a full-time job. It has not been raised in more than a decade and is not enough to keep a one-adult, one-child household out of poverty. This is not how the minimum wage was intended to work: In the late 1960s, a full-time worker earned $1.60 per hour at minimum wage, which is equivalent to more than $12 per hour in today’s dollars.

    There are also many workers who earn less than minimum wage, or a “subminimum wage.” Tipped workers are only guaranteed a subminimum wage of $2.13 federally, despite evidence from states demonstrating that ending the subminimum wage nationwide would significantly decrease poverty and inequality without hurting employment.

    Subminimum wages are also an issue for disabled workers. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act authorized employers, after receiving a certificate from the Wage and Hour Division, to pay below minimum wages to workers with disabilities. Workers who fall under this classification are paid an estimated average of $2.15 per hour. This is just one of the many reasons why in 2019, at least 1 in 4 disabled people lived under the poverty line.

    The Raise the Wage Act would gradually lift the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 and index it to median wage growth thereafter so that the minimum wage would automatically increase when wages rise nationally. The bill would also phase out the subminimum wage for tipped employees, teenagers employed for 90 days or less, and disabled workers. These changes would lift up to 3.7 million Americans out of poverty and especially benefit people of color, women, and people with disabilities, who are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs.

    For more information on the minimum wage, see “Building an Economy That Supports All Children Requires Raising the Minimum Wage, ” “Ending the Tipped Minimum Wage Will Reduce Poverty and Inequality, ” and “Raising the Minimum Wage Would Be Transformative for Women.”

    4. Provide permanent paid family and medical leave and paid sick days

    The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world to not guarantee workers access to any paid leave. As of March 2020, an estimated 25 percent of private sector workers—and 69 percent of workers earning less than $11 per hour—did not have access to a single paid sick day. Additionally, in 2020, 4 in 5 private sector workers lacked access to any paid family leave for longer-term family caregiving needs; and the disparity was worse among the lowest-wage workers, where 95 percent did not have access to paid time off.

    This puts workers in the impossible position of having to forgo needed income, or even their job, to recover from an illness or care for a sick family member. Every year, workers and their families lose an estimated $22.5 billion in wages due to a lack of access to paid family and medical leave. While Congress addressed this need during the pandemic by providing temporary emergency paid sick leave and emergency paid child care leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, loopholes and exemptions excluded millions of workers. The program also became voluntary in 2021, meaning employers can now refuse to offer paid leave again.

    Congress must prioritize passing paid sick leave and permanent paid family and medical leave, particularly to support the lowest-income earners. Several proposals—including the American Families Plan, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, and the Healthy Families Act—have been introduced to address this issue. They include comprehensive paid family and medical leave, allowing workers to take time off work to recover from a health condition, care for a child or loved one, or grieve the loss of a loved one.

    For more information on paid leave, see “Quick Facts on Paid Family and Medical Leave” and “The Rising Cost of Inaction on Work-Family Policies.”

    5. Increase worker power to rebalance the labor market

    Union representation is a key protection against the exploitation of and discrimination against workers. Unions help their members to negotiate with employers for decent wages and benefits and to ensure that working people have a voice in U.S. democracy by promoting progressive priorities, including state and local minimum wage increases. Research shows that unions increase workers’ wages and benefits, boost economic mobility in future generations, decrease poverty, improve workers’ general well-being, and close gender and racial wage and wealth gaps. In the midst of mass layoffs as states shut down last year, unions were able to negotiate furlough and work-share arrangements with employers to help members keep their jobs. Yet in 2020, only 12 percent of essential workers were covered by a union contract, and workers seeking to unionize face an uphill battle.

    Passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would increase worker power by creating new penalties for employers who retaliate against workers trying to organize, banning forced arbitration agreements that prevent workers from pursuing collective litigation, adopting a new set of employer guidelines to prevent employees from being misclassified as independent contractors, and ensuring that workers can bargain in the modern economy. In addition, the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act would provide essential protections for millions of public sector workers to organize and bargain collectively. By ensuring that employers are responsible to their workers during the pandemic, they can share the benefits of recovery as the economy opens back up.

    Furthermore, policymakers must build worker protections into at-will employment and just-in-time scheduling to ensure fair labor and workplace standards.

    For more information on worker power, see “American Workers Need Unions,” “Combating Pay Gaps with Unions and Expanded Collective Bargaining,” and “Unions Help the Middle Class, No Matter the Measure.”

    6. Make permanent increases to the child tax credit and earned income tax credit

    Two of the nation’s most effective anti-poverty tools, the child tax credit (CTC) and earned income tax credit (EITC), lifted 7.5 million Americans out of poverty in 2019.

    Both programs provide a reliable source of income to parents, helping them meet immediate needs and plan for the future while making them more financially stable on a day-to-day basis. These programs also pay long-term dividends by improving infant and maternal health outcomes while boosting the educational, health, and income potential of future generations.

    The American Rescue Plan Act was able to close some glaring holes within the tax credits by:

    • Making the CTC fully refundable so low-income parents can get the full credit if their tax liability is less than their credit amount by paying them the difference
    • Increasing the amount of the CTC to $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17
    • Distributing the CTC monthly instead of all at once at tax time
    • Nearly tripling the maximum EITC for workers who are not raising children in their home
    • Revising the eligibility requirements to make EITC accessible to workers ages 19 to 24, as well as workers who are 65 and older
    • Extending the credits or providing supplemental funding to Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories

    However, these changes are temporary and will expire in 2022. Considering that the changes to the CTC alone were estimated to lift nearly 4 million children out of poverty, the best way to ensure that these credits continue to support low-wage workers and families with children is to make them permanent. Policymakers must also make the CTC as accessible as possible by removing barriers for immigrant families.

    For more information on the CTC and EITC, see “Now Is the Time To Permanently Expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit.”

    7. Support pay equity to create a fair labor market

    Equal pay ensures that workers are paid fairly. In 2019, women working full time, year-round earned just 82 cents for every $1 earned by their male counterparts. This pay gap is even worse for women of color: For every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men in 2019, Black women earned 63 cents, Native women earned 60 cents, and Latinas earned 55 cents. And while Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, on average, earned 85 percent of what white, non-Hispanic men earned, there were much wider gaps for many AAPI sub-populations. Disabled women also struggle with a pay gap, receiving 80 cents for every dollar earned by men with disabilities. If women in this country received equal pay to men, poverty for working women would be reduced by half and $512.6 billion would be added to the economy through additional wages.

    What’s more, equal pay is essential to helping workers attain the stability and savings necessary to weather current and future crises. The pandemic has stalled women’s economic progress, as a lack of access to child care and paid leave, coupled with mass job losses, has forced many women out of the workforce entirely, exacerbating the gender wage gap. For example, mothers of young children have lost jobs at three times the rate of fathers during the crisis. This is on top of ever-present compounding factors such as bias and discrimination that may deflate women’s earnings.

    Passing the Paycheck Fairness Act would enhance existing equal pay protections, further combat discriminatory practices, and better hold employers accountable for pay discrimination. Pandemic or not, securing equal pay has always been essential to the economic security of women and families.

    For more information on pay equity, see “Quick Facts About the Gender Wage Gap” and “When Women Lose All the Jobs: Essential Actions for a Gender-Equitable Recovery.”

    8. Invest in affordable, high-quality child care and early childhood education

    More than half of all Americans live in a child care desert, where child care shortages lead to waiting lists, job disruptions, and fewer mothers in the paid labor force. Child care in the United States is prohibitively expensive, with infant and toddler care often costing between $800 and $1,230 a month. While there are subsidies for low-income families, in most states, they reach fewer than 1 in 10 eligible children under the age of 6. As a result, low-income families can spend more than one-third of their income on child care just to be able to work.

    Not surprisingly, the pandemic has eviscerated child care across the United States. About 700,000 parents left the workforce in 2020 to care for young children who were not able to go to school or have access to child care. Since then, only half of the nearly 400,000 child care jobs lost at the start of the pandemic have returned, leading to a 144 percent increase in the number of parents who have missed work to care for children compared with 2019.

    The $39 billion for subsidized child care that was already included in the American Rescue Plan will help providers recover from a year of unprecedented revenue losses, but additional funding is needed to expand these services to everyone who needs them. The American Families Plan would make significant investments in universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, which would help more struggling families obtain the child care they need to work, better meeting their families’ basic needs and building future economic stability. The plan would also cap child care costs for low- and moderate-income families at 7 percent of their income, making it far more affordable and manageable as they juggle other needs.

    Another bill currently introduced in Congress, the Child Care for Working Families Act (CCWFA), would ensure free or affordable child care for 76 percent of working families with children under the age of 6, expanding quality care for millions of families. As Congress deliberates future funding, it must invest in affordable, high-quality child care and early education, providing parents with the means to foster family security and healthy child development.

    For more information on child care and early childhood education, see “Understanding the True Cost of Child Care for Infants and Toddlers,” “Working Families Are Spending Big Money on Child Care,” and “Saving Child Care Means Preserving Jobs and Supporting Working Families and Small Businesses.”

    9. Expand access to health care

    Since it was signed into law in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has expanded access to high-quality, affordable health coverage for millions of Americans, especially those with preexisting conditions. Today, 31 million Americans are enrolled in coverage through the ACA marketplaces or the law’s expansion of Medicaid. However, 12 states continue to refuse to expand their Medicaid programs to cover adults making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty guideline—placing a heavy burden on families already on the brink. About 2.2 million uninsured people are without an affordable option for health insurance because they live in nonexpansion states and have incomes too low to qualify for marketplace premium tax credits.

    Expanding Medicaid would mean more than just access to health care; it would give people financial protection from unexpected medical costs and free up limited household income for other basic needs such as paying rent and putting food on the table. Increases in Medicaid enrollment are associated with reduced rates of medical debt and other unpaid bills among low-income individuals. Studies also link Medicaid coverage to improved access to health care services, greater financial security, lower mortality rates, reduced racial health care disparities, and lower rates of eviction.

    While the American Rescue Plan included increased federal Medicaid funding for two years as an incentive to encourage more states to expand their programs, it is unlikely that the remaining nonexpansion states will take up this option. Congress has an opportunity to enact federal policies that ensure people in the Medicaid coverage gap can gain access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance.

    For more information on Medicaid, see “The Pandemic and Economic Crisis Are Wake-Up Call for State Medicaid Expansion,” “Expanding Medicaid in All States Would Save 14,000 Lives Per Year,” and “Building On the ACA To Reduce Health Insurance Disruptions.”

    10. Reform the criminal justice system and enact policies that support successful reentry

    Robust changes are needed to restructure and reform a U.S. criminal justice system that incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world, holding about 2.3 million people in prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities. If not for the rapid increase in mass incarceration since 1980, poverty rates would have dropped by 20 percent by 2009. The impact on communities of color is particularly staggering: Black and Latino men are, respectively, 6 times and 2.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than white men; and Black and Latina women are, respectively, 1.7 times and 1.3 times more likely to be incarcerated than white women. Likewise, Native Americans are incarcerated at more than twice the rate of white Americans.

    Mass incarceration is a key cause and consequence of poverty. When a person is incarcerated, their family must find a way to make ends meet without a necessary source of income. Additionally, even a minor criminal record or an arrest without a conviction can prevent an individual from getting a job, housing, or certain benefits, contributing to cycles of multigenerational poverty. Currently, there are more than 44,000 legal sanctions that create barriers to housing for people with criminal records. Moreover, various restrictions prohibit justice-involved individuals’ access to SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits if they have prior felony drug convictions, unless additional requirements are fulfilled. This can include being required to wait for months after completion of a sentence to be considered eligible or to participate in mandatory periodic drug testing, both of which are unnecessary obstacles that hinder successful reentry.

    Sentencing reform is essential to addressing mass incarceration. Policymakers should also implement clean slate laws, which help expand access to automated criminal record clearing, and explore alternatives to incarceration, such as diversion programs for individuals with mental health and substance abuse challenges. Additionally, it is critical to review the role of policing in public safety, health, and well-being. There has been a recent move across the nation to divert away from police certain health, public safety, and community care emergency responses and funds—such as responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis—that better fit agencies and social workers. Barriers to employment, housing, education, and public assistance must also be removed. A decades-old criminal record should not consign an individual to a life of poverty.

    For more information on criminal justice, see “A Criminal Record Shouldn’t Be a Life Sentence to Poverty” and “Criminal Records Create Cycles of Multigenerational Poverty.”

    11. Invest in affordable, accessible housing

    One in 4 renter households in the United States is extremely low income, and half of renters are moderately or severely cost-burdened, meaning that they pay more than a third to half of their income on rent and utilities.

    Overall, Native American, Black, and Latinx renters are more likely to be extremely low income. A long history of racially targeted policies has worsened housing security for people of color, who are more cost-burdened and face more discrimination in obtaining and maintaining housing. Facing and experiencing eviction, which also disproportionately affects communities of color—and Black women in particular—can lead to negative mental and physical health outcomes, difficulty obtaining future housing, and exacerbated financial hardship, all of which can fuel cycles of multigenerational poverty.

    Disparities have persisted during the pandemic, as renters of color and disabled renters report higher rates of housing insecurity. These and other measures of housing insecurity contribute to the ongoing homelessness crises and continue to put the most vulnerable community members at risk. Rates of homelessness, and particularly chronic homelessness, are on the rise. The 2020 point-in-time count conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that more than 580,000 people experience homelessness on any given night, a number that is likely a vast undercount. Strikingly, of those experiencing homelessness, nearly 25 percent are people with disabilities.

    Investments in permanent housing programs, such as Housing First and a national Homes Guarantee, should be supported to provide a path for people experiencing homelessness or living in transitional housing to obtain and maintain long-term, stable housing, while also addressing the shortage of more than 7 million affordable housing units.

    Policymakers should also increase renter protections by guaranteeing a right to counsel, investing in tenant-landlord mediation, regulating the use of background checks in rental housing applications, and making the Housing Choice Voucher and rental assistance programs an entitlement that does not sunset. Furthermore, policymakers should prohibit source-of-income discrimination, which creates barriers to obtaining rental housing for households that receive housing vouchers. To further prevent housing discrimination and build more inclusive communities, the disparate impact rule under the Fair Housing Act should be reinstated alongside the revised Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which is currently set to go into effect at the end of July.

    For more information on housing, see “The Pandemic Has Exacerbated Housing Instability for Renters of Color” and “Recognizing and Addressing Housing Insecurity for Disabled Renters.”

    12. Modernize the Supplemental Security Insurance program

    Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) is an essential anti-poverty program for the disability community, providing monthly cash assistance for those with little or no income and assets. Nearly 8 million people received benefits in May 2021, and in 2019, 57 percent of recipients reported SSI being their sole source of income. However, little has been done to maintain this program, leaving millions of disabled people farther and farther behind.

    Numerous policy adjustments could update SSI and help pull the disability community out of poverty. Raising the minimum benefit to at least the poverty level is a great first step. In 2021, the maximum benefit for individuals was raised to $794 per month, which is well below the federal poverty guideline of $1,073 per month. Asset limits also need to be increased, as they have not been updated since 1989. Currently, individuals and couples are allowed limits of $2,000 and $3,000, respectively, in assets, such as money in joint or personal bank accounts, investments in stocks or bonds, and life insurance policies with a total face value of more than $1,500. Asset limits have become deadly poverty traps, particularly in times of disaster such as the pandemic, as they prevent recipients from being able to save, forcing them into economic precarity. Other rule changes, including the elimination of penalties for in-kind support from family and friends and an update to income disregards that have not been changed since the program began in 1974 would go a long way toward ensuring that this program remains a strong safety net for disabled adults and children.

    The continued disinvestment in SSI has essentially reduced its efficacy, putting disabled people on the brink of poverty and destitution. Prioritizing the economic security of such marginalized communities helps ensure the security of all communities. Congress must act now to help the disability community not only weather the pandemic but also build a stable financial future.

    For more information on SSI, see “A Deadly Poverty Trap: Asset Limits in the Time of the Coronavirus.”

    Conclusion

    It is possible for America to dramatically cut poverty. From 1959 to 1973, a strong economy, along with investments in family economic security, helped cut the U.S. poverty rate in half. Investments in nutrition assistance have resulted in improvements in educational attainment, food insecurity, and health outcomes. Expansions of public health insurance have contributed to lower infant mortality rates and better overall health and health care access for children at a reduced out-of-pocket cost. Rental assistance programs have been shown to decrease stress, eviction, and homelessness among low-income renters. And expansions in tax credits for poor families have helped boost incomes for the next generation, on top of improving educational and health outcomes.

    Poverty is preventable. America has the power and ability to ensure that all people residing within its borders can build financial stability and live their lives with dignity. The policy priorities detailed above are essential for preventing poverty and promoting economic opportunity for all. As a nation, we simply need to build the political will to enact these intersectional policies so that all residents can attain their American dream.

    ]]>     Greenhushing: When Doing Good Gets Quiet https://sdgtalks.ai/greenhushing-when-doing-good-gets-quiet https://sdgtalks.ai/greenhushing-when-doing-good-gets-quiet Sat, 12 Apr 2025 12:45:50 -0500 Claudia greenwashing, greenhushing, greenshifting, sdgs, sustainability, education, SDGtalks, allies, universities What is Greenhushing?

    Greenhushing refers to the practice where companies underreport or deliberately withhold information about their environmental efforts and achievements. Unlike greenwashing—where companies exaggerate or fabricate their eco-credentials—greenhushing is more about keeping things hush-hush. Companies may choose to stay silent about their sustainability initiatives out of fear of criticism, skepticism, or simply the desire to avoid the spotlight until they have substantial results to show.

    This trend often leaves stakeholders in the dark about a company’s actual environmental impact and initiatives, which can be a double-edged sword.

    The Difference Between Greenwashing and Greenhushing

    At first glance, greenwashing and greenhushing might seem like two sides of the same coin. The key difference lies in their approach to communicating sustainability efforts.

    Greenwashing: This is when a company overstates or fabricates its environmental initiatives to appear more eco-friendly than it actually is. Think of it as the loud, flashy marketing that promises the world but delivers little.

    Greenhushing: On the flip side, this involves downplaying or concealing genuine sustainability achievements. It’s the quiet cousin who’s doing great things but prefers to keep them under wraps.

    While both practices distort the truth, they do so from opposite ends of the spectrum. One is all about the spotlight, while the other prefers to linger in the shadows.

    Are there any benefits of Greenhushing?

    You might wonder if there are any upsides to greenhushing. Some argue that this strategy can shield companies from undue scrutiny or criticism until their sustainability projects bear fruit. It’s like waiting until you have a finished product before showing it off—no one wants to be judged prematurely!

    This cautious approach allows businesses to refine their environmental strategies without the pressure of public expectations. However, the silence can also hinder stakeholder engagement and transparency, which are essential components of trust and corporate responsibility. In other words, while it might protect a company in the short term, it could damage credibility in the long run.

    What is Greenshifting?

    Now, let’s introduce another term: greenshifting.

    This refers to the practice of shifting responsibility for environmental sustainability from corporations to consumers or other stakeholders. In this scenario, companies divert attention from their own environmental impacts and place the onus on individuals to drive change.

    While related to greenhushing, greenshifting focuses more on redirection rather than under-communication. It’s like saying, “Hey, we’re not doing enough, but it’s your job to fix it!”


    An Example of Greenhushing

    Picture this: a company has made significant strides in reducing its carbon footprint or has invested heavily in renewable energy sources. Instead of sharing this breakthrough news with the public, the company opts for silence. Why? Perhaps they fear backlash or accusations of greenwashing. So, they practice greenhushing, keeping their achievements under wraps.

    Why Do Companies Greenhush?

    So, why do companies resort to this silent approach? Often, it stems from a genuine concern about being labeled as greenwashers. The competitive nature of the market and stringent scrutiny of environmental claims can also prompt businesses to downplay their sustainability credentials. Additionally, some organizations prefer to achieve substantial, measurable results before publicizing their efforts, wanting to ensure they have something solid to show for their initiatives.

    The Bottom Line

    Greenhushing may sound innocuous, but it poses risks to transparency and stakeholder trust. As consumers become more aware and concerned about sustainability, companies need to strike a balance between being cautious and being open about their environmental efforts. The more we talk about sustainability—whether it’s good news or bad—the better equipped we all are to make informed choices for a greener future.

    So, the next time you hear about a company doing something good for the environment, ask yourself: Are they greenwashing, greenhushing, or genuinely committed to sustainable practices?

    The answers might surprise you!

    This article was created with the support of the SDGtalks.ai AI Writer, using crafted prompts designed to educate and clarify the differences in how companies approach sustainability disclosures. It’s part of an ongoing series of AI-powered educational publications by the SDGtalks.ai team and its allies. If you're part of an educational institution or platform and interested in exploring innovative ways to integrate ethical AI practices into sustainability learning, we'd love to connect - reach out to us at  hello@sdginvestors.com.

    Check the original article that sparkled this conversation by clicking Check Original Source
    ]]>     New, Super-Efficient Commercial Aircraft Are The Path To Net Zero 2050 https://sdgtalks.ai/new-super-efficient-commercial-aircraft-are-the-path-to-net-zero-2050 https://sdgtalks.ai/new-super-efficient-commercial-aircraft-are-the-path-to-net-zero-2050 Sun, 08 Dec 2024 19:04:11 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1 The lady in the question line at SXSW aggressively questioned the aerospace panel, “Why don’t we just put more pressure on the airlines to cut emissions?” Tough question to answer as operational efficiency, the only piece the airlines control, represents about 4% of the Net Zero solution. The airline industry and the financial community have made extraordinary investments to decarbonize aviation. These efforts include pledges, accelerated investment in modernized aircraft, venture investments in new technologies, and synthetic hydrocarbons - Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) offtake agreements. Most of this investment has focused on electric aircraft, hydrogen propulsion and aircraft, and substituting SAF for aviation fuel.

    Although pressure for decarbonization remains unrelenting, this investment approach has clear limitations for commercial aviation – the business of flying aircraft with more than 100 seats. Battery-electric aviation and hydrogen propulsion remain long-term propositions unlikely to replace conventional propulsion at scale for decades in commercial aviation. Large-scale SAF implementations look like they will have serious economic and scalability challenges. Air New Zealand, for example, recently walked back from its commitment to cut emissions 29% by 2030 due to challenges in fleet availability and SAF capacity constraints.

    Perhaps more alarming, airlines are starting to price in the costs of SAF policies. Lufthansa recently announced surcharges of up to €72 per ticket to cover part of the costs of increasing environmental requirements. The policies driving these price hikes are just getting started. Today, France mandates 1% SAF and EU ETS allowances trade at €65 a ton. By 2030, France’s SAF mandate will grow tenfold and EU ETS allowances are expected to more than double to €150 a ton. Expect more, larger price increases if the current policy trajectory continues.

    All of this belies the underlying reality that commercial aviation’s medium-term future won’t scale or pencil out financially to “Net Zero 2050” (the goal to have all aviation emissions directly or indirectly mitigated by 2050). The airlines don’t control the most important levers and real progress will require dramatic changes to how aerospace dollars get invested. To get those dollars invested, policymakers need to change gears and focus on promoting the development of new aircraft with radically better fuel efficiency.

    Aviation’s Current Sustainability Route

    Commercial aviation realized a 52% decline in fuel burn per passenger mile (and therefore emissions) between 1980 and 2012 – much faster than the auto sector, where fuel burn only dropped 26%. These steady efficiency gains have made commercial aviation far more efficient than ground transportation in terms of both cost and carbon produced, with aviation moving people at the equivalent of 90-120 miles per gallon – the equivalent of electric cars. These advantages and others contributed to a more rapid rate of growth for aviation than ground transportation over the last 40 years.

    The industry challenge looks different by type of aircraft. Small aircraft that serve mostly regional routes generate less than 10% of the industry’s emissions. It should benefit from the widespread adoption of hybrid-electric propulsion, which has the potential to reduce fuel burn and costs by up to 50% on regional routes. Although they will take longer to get into service, hydrogen and battery-powered aircraft developed could also eventually contribute to improved efficiency and reduced fuel burn.

    Larger aircraft that serve primarily commercial aviation routes over 500 miles generate 90% or more of total emissions of the sector and have seen less innovation. Based on historical rates of improvement as depicted in the chart below, traditional tube and wing airframes using turbo-fan engines cannot meet the challenge of full decarbonization by 2050. Fuel represents around 25% of the typical airline’s cost bar and the industry consumes vast amounts of it. Unfortunately, the promising clean technologies for smaller aircraft—hybrid electric, electric, and hydrogen—do not scale easily to larger commercial aircraft.

    In the absence of those new solutions for commercial aviation, policy support and investment have overwhelmingly favored the development of synthetic hydrocarbons, also called sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). These fuels promise to address all aviation emissions, not just those from regional flying. Commitments from airlines, including some of the world’s largest carriers, have led to global SAF offtakes to date totaling 14BN gallons. Figure 2 represents the typical plan you would see published by major airlines or industry groups (FAA, IATA) to reach NetZero 2050 for commercial aviation. Most of the projected carbon savings relevant to commercial aviation come from SAF assuming equipment-based improvements consistent with traditional rates of performance improvement. Yet, as we will see, without new equipment solutions, SAF solutions themselves become far less attractive and potentially unviable.

    The Uncomfortable Economic Realities

    SAF won’t come cheap. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates the total cost of the industry’s projected Net-Zero 2050 route at $4.6T (the route illustrated above). Nearly 95% of that incremental cost will come from SAF and most of the cost will accrue to commercial aviation. The WEF doesn’t expect these new fuels will reach price parity to jet fuel. The remaining ~5% will come from investment in battery electric and hydrogen aircraft that address primarily the regional aviation markets. The $184BN of new investment per year for this route represents six times the industry’s expected profits of $30.5BN in 2024.

    These challenges will impact the regional market differently than commercial aviation. The former should benefit from the widespread, medium-term adoption of hybrid-electric propulsion, which has the potential to reduce fuel burn and costs by up to 50% on regional routes. Hydrogen and battery-powered aircraft developments could also contribute to improved efficiency and reduced fuel burn in the long-term. The negative abatement costs (i.e., operators are accruing cost savings for every ton of CO2 they avoid) associated with these new equipment solutions and the reduction in need for fuel overall should help the regional segment of the aviation industry grow even as it pays for increased SAF penetration and radically reduces emissions.

    Commercial aviation poses a much greater challenge. Theoretically, hydrogen, hybrid-electric and battery electric could contribute to more carbon efficient commercial aircraft. Practically, these technologies won’t have the weight, power or volume profiles to meet commercial aviation’s on-wing power needs in the medium term. The aerospace industry is making insufficient progress to manage this problem for larger commercial aircraft.

    Yet, SAF programs will struggle to succeed without more fuel, and therefore carbon, efficient commercial aircraft. To understand why, look at the scale of the need, how SAF will increase airline costs and how higher costs will influence demand for air services. Commercial aviation uses about 100 billion gallons of fuel per year. Given the scale of the need, SAF will likely come from several different technologies, cost profiles, and feedstocks as seen below. These technologies are expected to cost 2-3 times their traditional substitutes.

    These estimates may understate the impact on prices. Many SAF technologies rely on electricity for cost-efficient production. However, the electrification of the economy will likely dramatically accelerate the demand for power and put strains on existing transmission infrastructure. Many expect electricity prices to increase at the point of use over the next decade even if prices for some types of power fall at the point of generation. Indeed, recent reports say Microsoft has contracted green power at $0.10 to $0.14 cents per kwh. Not a problem for high value added data centers that sell Nvidia processing time to AI companies, but perhaps more challenging for synthetic fuel plants that sell to a price sensitive industry.

    How high AI demand will push electricity prices remains unclear. The optimistic end of the range for 2050 SAF production assumes unprecedented breakthroughs in energy production efficiency: $0.02 per KwH production cost. This price is nearly two-thirds the cost of today's lowest-cost energy projects, a much lower fraction of the cost of renewable energy available today at scale and 20% or less of Microsoft’s contracted price noted above.

    Prices will become increasingly challenging for airlines and governments to manage as volumes increase. Prices typically get set by costs of the marginal producer/technology. The higher SAF penetrates into aviation fuel markets, the more SAF production will need to rely on less attractive, higher cost technologies. This will push up the prices for key feedstocks and ultimately the price of SAF.

    For governments, the size and cost of the subsidies required to support a mostly SAF led transition could cost hundreds of billions of dollars per year. If governments impose mandates, forcing airlines and consumers to pay the cost of increased prices, they could unravel the global economy by creating economic dislocation in the tourism industry, which contributes $8.8 trillion to world GDP (10.4% of the global economy), and other aviation dependent sectors. Combine this with the fact that higher fares disproportionately impact the least expensive seats on the aircraft, and you have a recipe for significant backlash from the traveling public.

    Traditional airline economic modeling tells us that cost increases at this scale will lead to unprecedented demand destruction. Historically, about 25% of airline costs come from fuel. If SAF were to replace jet fuel at the prices above, fuel costs would increase to 40-50% of airline costs. The resulting increase in ticket costs means the industry could lose 9 trillion revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) in 2050—about the same total as all industry RPKs flown in 2019. In addition to the direct loss of revenue, this unprecedented cost pressure could cut industry margins by a third as airlines manage the transfer of SAF premiums to passengers. Higher exposure to fuel prices would also increase the volatility of cash flows forcing airlines to increase working capital to mitigate risk.

    This scenario would cripple the investment case for the aviation industry AND the SAF industry lowering the amount of capital available to both sectors from investors and taxpayers needed to drive decarbonization. An impoverished aviation industry would have little capital to invest in the new, fuel-efficient aircraft already in production. As some government’s push back their climate goals and others do not, the commercial aviation industry could balkanize with different variants of aircraft for each region further increasing costs. SAF plants could become difficult to finance given this economic uncertainty and an unstable customer base.

    In short, Net Zero 2050 looks upside down at the moment. The relatively small, regional sector should have good prospects for dramatic GHG reductions and growth based on significant innovation in multiple break-through, negative-abatement-cost technologies that should also make using SAF attractive. The larger commercial aviation sector, where most of the fuel is burned, has fewer prospects for breakthrough technologies and limited ability to absorb the economic premium associated with SAF as a result.

    The Great Misallocation

    How did the industry get itself into this position? The flow of capital should have followed the biggest financial opportunities with the biggest carbon footprint and prioritized projects with medium term payoffs while seeding longer-term opportunities. So far, that isn’t what has happened.

    Nearly all “sustainable aviation” investment from private capital markets and airlines has been put toward SAF or short-haul aircraft technologies. Over the last eight years, nearly 70% of total venture investment in the sector has gone to electric, hybrid electric or hydrogen technologies that will help decarbonize regional aviation. Oddly, most of that investment has gone into battery electric or hydrogen technologies with longer-term payoff cycles, limited impact on industry passenger growth and limited reduction in medium-term GHG production. About 30% has gone into SAF investments that could help decarbonize both regional and commercial aviation.

    Commercial aviation CVCs have a similar profile, with a higher emphasis on SAF, which reflects a pragmatic response to the pressure investors have put on airlines for sustainable flying. Surprisingly, investments in new commercial aircraft that could help solve the biggest part of the Net Zero challenge and unlock the value of existing SAF investments received almost no investment at all.

    Given the scale of the crisis, it seems remarkable that Airbus and Boeing have no breakthrough airframe programs underway that will solve the industry’s sustainability and demand destruction issues. The last generation of narrowbody aircraft, the A320neo and 737MAX families, realized ~20% fuel savings largely based on advances in turbo-fan technology. However, the difficulties the LEAP and GTF engines have experienced demonstrate how challenging the OEMs will find it to maintain historical rates of improvement without changing the tube-and-wing airframe model they have relied on for the last six decades. Nevertheless, both have publicly stated their intention to release new narrowbody or widebody class aircraft based on tube and wing designs in the mid 2030s. Nearly all publicized Net Zero 2050 plans including those outlined in the charts above take for granted the OEMs will realize an additional 20% in efficiency improvements per historical trends, leaving unsolved the industry’s sustainability and demand destruction issues.

    The OEM’s have begun exploration of more transformational concepts. Take Boeing’s advanced development program, the X66 Truss Braced Wing concept. It targets up to a 30% fuel efficiency improvement from airframe advancements, propulsion and materials, with additional efficiency coming mostly from open rotor engine technology. This reliance on engine efficiency is consistent with the industry’s strategy to date and may face challenges in implementation.

    The sluggish response of the airframe OEMs to commercial aviation’s challenges has its roots in the complexity of designing and building new aircraft and the regulatory framework for certification that supports safety and other social objectives. Designing and manufacturing new passenger aircraft can require $10B or more of capital to develop and deep expertise to start and scale. Exacting safety standards and the complex nature of aerospace systems creates high capital and time requirements. (E.g., even a small aircraft like Joby’s eVTOL has taken years, $3.5B of invested capital and has yet to be certified to fly passengers.) The regulatory system demands manufacturers to complete nearly all capital investment in its manufacturing and engineering before their aircraft is certified for operation. Together, these factors mean airframe OEMs can release derivatives of existing aircraft for a much lower cost than developing a clean sheet aircraft.

    These structural elements incent the current OEMs to limit product line breadth and create derivatives that stretch existing product lines across multiple use cases. In effect, this creates a financial bias towards product line consolidations and against airframe innovation. Mid-market aircraft represent a good example of how these incentives operate. Narrowbody aircraft typically have up to 200 seats and up to 3,000 miles of range powered by lighter engines with up to 34,000 pounds of thrust. Widebody aircraft typically have many more seats and often have a range of over 9,000 miles and heavy engines with 80,000 pounds of thrust or more. A mid-market aircraft would have more seats than a narrowbody and a range of 5,000 to 6,000 miles to fly over the Atlantic. This type of aircraft would save fuel, even if configured in a tube-and-wing design, for North Atlantic flights and other mid-range flying. However, OEMs could understandably find it hard to make the capital economics for developing a new, more efficient aircraft for the mid-range use case pencil out. That aircraft would cannibalize existing product lines and result in significantly higher capital costs than creating a new derivative of an existing aircraft. This puts into perspective why David Calhoun’s may have canceled Boeing’s New Midmarket Airplane project in 2020 and why the last mid-market aircraft, the Boeing 757, was launched over 40 years ago. Today, the existing OEM’s face an innovator’s dilemma accentuated by a set of regulatory incentives unique to aviation.

    Given the limited support from the financial community and the OEMs, the aviation industry’s focus on SAF allows it to manage the risks of the transition without over-extending itself. Decades of crises, narrow margins, and an over-consolidated supply chain have made airlines cautious with respect to capital outlays. SAF investments allow the industry to trade capex for operating expense (opex) with the option to avoid that opex if the technology doesn’t pan-out. When that opex is low, airlines can experiment and innovate with smaller-scale partnerships and agreements with SAF companies or find the customer segments willing to fund the premium. These investments in SAF create signaling value that can facilitate larger investments from financial investors. If airlines want to make their CVC investments in SAF relevant they need to do the same with breakthrough commercial aircraft that make SAF economically affordable.

    A New Policy Emphasis

    Airlines’ primary mission remains safe, low cost transportation. That mission requires the industry to cut fuel consumption to reduce costs and thereby cut emissions. Yet, without more efficient commercial aircraft, SAF will increase fuel costs, shrink the market, undermine public support for decarbonization and kill off the investments that will make SAF available.

    Creating policies that open up commercial aerospace to innovation via new competition would help. The military has done some of this in regional aviation with its Stratfi contract with Electra and its tanker contract with JetZero. (My venture capital firm DiamondStream is an investor in JetZero and I sit on the board.) However, military contracts, though helpful, can’t take the place of a broader commercial aerospace policy.

    Policy needs to address competition and innovation at the same time. For example, accelerated depreciation on new, fuel efficient aircraft could increase demand for new aircraft. Without competition, existing competitors would benefit by increasing prices as demand increases whereas a competitive market might lead to larger supply increases. Similarly, providing research funding to established competitors can result in interesting findings that don’t turn into deployed products. Boeing and NASA spent close to 20 years and hundreds of millions of dollars researching blended wing body aircraft before Boeing dropped the concept. Whatever the financial merits of the decision, Boeing clearly faced significant disincentives to introduce a BWB aircraft given the potential for cannibalization of its existing wide-body offering. In addition to airframes, the current regulatory environment also protects current competitors at the expense of innovation at the supply chain level. An airframes policy could be the first step to a broader policy that helps mitigate some of the anti-competitive impact that regulatory policy has created within the commercial aerospace overall.

    Ideas for radical improvements of airframes are available. Otto Aerospace claims a 60% reduction in fuel consumption from its airframe design that promotes laminar flow and Boeing’s Truss Wing aircraft has already been mentioned. Start-ups have launched multiple blended wing body (BWB) aircraft projects with similar step change improvements to fuel efficiency including: JetZero, Natilus and Outbound. At the higher end of the regional business, aircraft powered by hybrid electric systems could see deployment in the next decade.

    Governments have helped make aviation the world’s safest business — they should make sure that stifling innovation is not its price. Catalyzing the development of 4-5 fuel-efficient, next generation aircraft projects with negative abatement costs with the goal of 1-2 successes might cost $50-100B. That looks cheap compared to $4-5T of SAF investments and like a bargain compared to the economic costs of shrinking the aviation industry and other related sectors like tourism.

    Importantly, the negative abatement costs of these new aircraft don’t compete with SAF projects, they enable them. Investment cases for high capital cost technologies like SAF that depend on government mandates for adoption instead of core economics often struggle to raise funding. As noted above, the negative abatement costs new airframes provide can make SAF affordable and make investment in SAF facilities more financially rational. For example, hybrid-electric powered aircraft running all SAF can operate inter-island routes more cheaply than a turbo-prop version of the same aircraft using JetA.

    As highly visible consumer businesses, airlines tend to take the heat for the lack of commercial aerospace innovation and occupy the best position to explain these issues to the public. Explaining the realities of decarbonizing to less expert audiences with strongly held views takes determination, patience and leadership. Many have and will continue to demonize the industry for speaking forthrightly on this issue.

    Yet the airlines have little choice. Airbus and Boeing will develop SAF enabled, traditional aircraft with evolutionary improvements that don’t solve the problem. In doing so and consistent with their financial incentives, they will push de facto responsibility for decarbonization issues back to the airlines. It also will saddle governments and airlines with a choice between undermining the financial stability of the air transportation system by aggressively switching to SAF or slowing progress on climate goals. Airlines need to explain to their airframe partners, policymakers and the public the best path to solving these issues in the medium term are better airspace utilization, fleet renewal and policies that facilitate accelerated commercial aerospace innovation, even while they continue to seed and explore longer term solutions like SAF and hydrogen.

    After all, what is the alternative? Massive capital investment in a SAF industry that will cause the core market for that technology to shrink dramatically and shrink tourism, one of the world’s largest sectors? An inconsistent regulatory regime around mandates that creates geographic aerospace silos out of a global industry and makes it less efficient? Do nothing and watch emissions grow?

    The time to take action is now before policy drift creates a policy mess.

    ]]>     Enhanced Geothermal Systems: Unlocking Earth&apos;s Hidden Energy Potential https://sdgtalks.ai/enhanced-geothermal-systems-unlocking-earths-hidden-energy-potential https://sdgtalks.ai/enhanced-geothermal-systems-unlocking-earths-hidden-energy-potential Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:57:07 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1

    Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are quietly transforming how we think about renewable energy, turning one of the Earth's most underutilized resources—its internal heat—into a reliable and sustainable power source. The DOE Department of Energy (DOE) has estimated that there is approximately 100,000 megawatts of clean, baseload power possible through EGS technology in the United States

    The beauty of this technology, which extracts thermal energy from deep beneath the surface, is that it is widely applicable, and may be of particular interest in regions where wind and solar face limitations.

    Harnessing Earth's Internal Heat

    EGS operates by drilling deep into the Earth's crust to access hot, dry rock formations. By injecting water into these formations and creating fractures, a closed-loop system is established. The water circulates through the hot rock, absorbing thermal energy and transforming into steam. This steam is brought to the surface to drive turbines, generating electricity. The cooled fluid is reinjected underground, minimizing environmental impact and sustaining the process.

    This differs from traditional geothermal energy, which relies on natural reservoirs of hot water or steam. EGS's ability to artificially create geothermal reservoirs means it can be deployed in regions where conventional geothermal resources are unavailable, dramatically expanding the potential application of this renewable technology.

    Reliable Baseload Power

    One of EGS's standout features is its ability to provide baseload power. Unlike wind and solar, which are intermittent and depend on weather conditions, EGS generates firm power, producing electricity around the clock.

    Companies and institutions are demonstrating the potential of EGS to reshape the energy landscape.

    Fervo Energy is pioneering advanced techniques adapted from the oil and gas industry, including horizontal drilling and well stimulation. Its Utah project, set to produce 320 megawatts of electricity by 2028, is a landmark in renewable energy innovation. This project has already attracted attention from Southern California Edison, which has committed to integrating Fervo's geothermal energy into its grid.

    Ormat Technologies has received a nearly $3.4 million grant from the DOE to demonstrate the viability of EGS at its Brady facility near Reno, Nevada. The project aims to improve non-commercial wells by applying EGS stimulation techniques to develop fracture networks that will enable communication with productive reservoirs and enhance electricity generation.

    The project builds on Ormat's previous EGS work, including a demonstration at the Desert Peak geothermal power plant, which is set to be the first application of EGS technology to supply a producing power project in the U.S. Ormat's air-cooled power plants are particularly well-suited for EGS developments due to their compatibility with typical production temperatures and their water-conserving design, which re-injects all geothermal fluid back into the ground.

    Cornell University is exploring EGS for district heating with its Earth Source Heat Project. This initiative aims to provide carbon-neutral thermal energy to the university’s campus, demonstrating how EGS can serve localized heating needs while supporting decarbonization goals.

    Advancements and Opportunities

    Recent advancements in drilling technology have significantly reduced the costs associated with EGS, making it more competitive with other renewable energy sources. Innovations like synthetic diamond drill bits and horizontal well systems have enhanced efficiency, enabling faster project development.

    Additionally, federal and state policies promoting renewable energy integration are creating opportunities for EGS expansion. Enhanced mapping of geothermal potential by agencies like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has revealed viable sites across much of the U.S., further broadening EGS's appeal.

    A Critical Component for the Future of Energy

    Enhanced Geothermal Systems represent a potentially intriguing component of future clean energy production. Their scalability, reliability, and minimal environmental footprint make them a valuable addition to the renewable energy mix.

    As technology continues to advance and costs decline, EGS has the potential to play a leading role in the global shift toward sustainable energy, providing solutions that meet both electricity and heating needs while combating climate change.

    ]]>     Regenerative food systems can change the story of how agriculture impacts climate change https://sdgtalks.ai/regenerative-food-systems-can-change-the-story-of-how-agriculture-impacts-climate-change https://sdgtalks.ai/regenerative-food-systems-can-change-the-story-of-how-agriculture-impacts-climate-change Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:42:40 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1
    • Farmers often carry the heaviest burden to access the capital, technology and knowledge needed for the climate transition.
    • All actors in the value chain, from brand owners to retailers to distributors to consumers, have a role in supporting farmers with this transition.
    • Through initiatives like the First Movers Coalition for Food, companies and countries are coming together to show demand for sustainably produced foods and giving farmers the market confidence to transition.

    Embracing regenerative farming globally could help provide a third of the land-based climate action needed by 2030. By scaling regenerative agriculture, the global food system has the potential to play a significant role in tackling greenhouse gas emissions while delivering additional environmental benefits. However, a significant transformation of how food is grown and produced is needed to bridge the gap to that ambition.

    A market-wide transition to low-emission food commodities using sustainable and regenerative farming practices is needed. PepsiCo previously shared that three action areas were required to transform food systems, including strategic partnerships to scale impact. PepsiCo and other organizations convened by the World Economic Forum have since announced the First Movers Coalition for Food (FMC for Food), which seeks to build demand for sustainable and regenerative methods by harnessing the collective efforts of industry leaders.

    Leveraging the power of aggregated demand

    All actors in the food value chain can play a role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, this needs to happen around shared principles of sustainability to maximize the potential environmental and economic benefits. Together, at the FMC for Food, we can build consensus on sustainable sourcing of foods and create demand for climate smart commodities. Through collective action, the FMC for Food can help the world’s food systems hit net zero by 2050, while also bringing other positive impacts including for the planet, food security and improving farmer livelihoods.

    An essential consideration for this new coalition is to minimize the costs and demands required of farmers to switch to sustainable growing practices. Currently, the financial, technical and social costs of transitioning land heaviest on farmers. They face challenges like access to trusted and objective technical advice and new technologies, upfront costs for new equipment, seeds and other inputs and the potential reduction in short-term yields. They also often see gaps in financing due to the perceived risk of these investments. Farmers consistently express worries about the increasing obligations imposed on them, coupled with the lack of clear demand for regenerative and sustainable products.

    This needs to change, and all actors in the value chain have a role in enabling this transition.

    To accelerate the adoption of sustainable production methods and technologies to reach tipping points for systems-level change within the agri-food system, FMC for Food aims to leverage demand signals. Alongside new and existing investments to support the transformation towards sustainable production, this will provide the de-risking required to scale up emerging innovations and farming transition towards more low carbon practices.

    Shaping change to benefit consumers

    We can leverage the deep connections that consumers have with brands to help them understand the relationship between what they eat, how it’s grown and how it impacts the planet.

    For example, Lay's and Walkers are highlighting the role farmers and regenerative agriculture play in sourcing ingredients for their products and contributing to a more sustainable food system.

    Golden Grows Here is a campaign showcasing Lay's sustainably sourced potatoes and the farms that cultivate them. This campaign demonstrates that every bag of Lay's is made from real potatoes, sustainably sourced from over 100 farms across the US. In India, Lay’s launched Project Farm Equal in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development. This project not only aims to boost yields but provides holistic support for female farmers, including technical and financial training programmes. In the UK, Walkers recently featured farmers in We Love Potatoes commercials and in Brazil, Lay’s showcased the farmers who grow potatoes for the brand on packs.

    PepsiCo is not the only company making these connections for consumers. The power of the FMC for Food is that we can help catalyze impact by encouraging more companies to take similar actions. By building demand, we can give farmers the market confidence to transition and enable the additional support (e.g., transition financing) needed to further the transformation of our food systems.

    How others can follow suit

    We are just at the beginning; as we see more partnerships forming to reshape food systems sustainably, FMC for Food will continue to champion sustainable procurement. What’s special about FMC for Food is that it’s about coming together to rethink how we procure and buy in a different way so we can help enable this transition through the power of an aggregated market demand.

    The FMC for Food will be convening stakeholders at a regional level in China at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in June. The coalition will also gather in New York, USA at the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings in September, and B20 in Brazil in October, to focus on exchanging knowledge about procurement and cross-commodity challenges such as the regeneration of agricultural landscapes.

    Together, we can help drive a global shift towards net-zero food production and procurement and, at the same time, build a brighter future for our farmers. Sustainable food systems can change the story of agriculture in climate change.

    PepsiCo’s latest progress on scaling regenerative and sustainable agriculture can be reviewed in its 2023 ESG Summary.

    ]]>     Connecting nature, climate and the economy to create global sustainability solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/connecting-nature-climate-and-the-economy-to-create-global-sustainability-solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/connecting-nature-climate-and-the-economy-to-create-global-sustainability-solutions Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:40:45 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1
    • The complex interrelationships between climate and nature are recognized by scientists but are still being insufficiently prioritized by policymakers and businesses.
    • With the right strategies, prioritizing nature and climate can be compatible with economic growth and value creation.
    • This coming season of UN Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings and other sustainable development gatherings offers an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate integrated action for nature, climate and land.

    Nature is the colour of our lives, encompassing all that exists in the natural world: our ecosystems, natural resources, countless flora, microbes and species that dwell everywhere – from the highest mountaintops to the bottom of the ocean. This variety of life in nature, or biodiversity, makes up the genes and DNA of our planet.

    But nature is more than a beautiful backdrop to our lives. Businesses also rely on healthy natural systems – $44 trillion of economic value generation is currently at risk from nature loss due to moderate or high dependence on nature and its services. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 warns that environmental risks make up half of the top 10 global risks over the next decade, with extreme weather events, critical changes to Earth systems and biodiversity loss or ecosystem collapse ranked as the top three.

    While many scientists focus their work on creating Earth-systems-based frameworks that show the complex and tight interrelationships between climate and nature, this nexus is still insufficiently prioritized in the policy and business arenas.

    The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was the latest to confirm the critical role that the protection and restoration of nature play in achieving the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C degrees. The report highlights that halting the destruction of intact ecosystems – forests in particular – constitutes the third most impactful climate solution we have at hand today, right after wind and solar energy.

    In fact, the relationship between biodiversity and climate is at play across all of the impacts and dependencies that economic activities have on nature. Land and ocean overuse are among the largest drivers of biodiversity loss and also heavily contribute to carbon emissions. Tropical deforestation in commodity supply chains continues to exacerbate climate-related hazards. And while greenhouse gas emissions lead to record temperature rises, their effects also contribute to ecosystem degradation and further weakens the planet’s ability to cope with emissions and temperature rises.

    We will not reach the goals of the Paris Agreement without halting and reversing nature loss. So, it is critical to position the nature-positive transition firmly alongside net-zero strategic pathways.

    Protecting and restoring nature under the Paris Agreement

    The ocean and land have absorbed more than half of the world’s carbon emissions over the past decade, according to the IPCC. But Earth systems science suggests that their capacity to continue acting as a buffer is in jeopardy. As we breach multiple planetary tipping points, large, accelerating and often irreversible changes are affecting the global climate system. More than just altering the Earth's ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain, climate change directly risks increasing species extinction increasing with every degree of warming. The difference between a 2 and 4°C temperature rise, for example, could risk the survival of coral reefs.

    There is a silver lining, however. Both terrestrial and ocean environments have an incredible ability to recover, benefiting both nature and climate. And the current UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is mobilizing stakeholders to protect and revive ecosystems around the world to achieve global goals, including counteracting climate change.

    For example, mangroves are coastal systems that provide critical habitats for species and flood protection worth $65 billion annually. They are also considered carbon champions – protecting even 1% mangroves from degradation and land loss could secure 200 million tonnes of stored carbon. On land, large-scale restoration and afforestation efforts, coupled with the expansion of non-forest carbon sinks, have expanded the global terrestrial carbon sink.

    Focusing on nature and biodiversity restoration is the best long-term plan for building a sustainable climate and resilient socio-economic systems. However, this will require moving from a carbon-only approach to a more systemic understanding of the nature-related dependencies, risks and opportunities that affect business.

    A nature-positive net-zero transition

    In this context, more businesses are developing nature-positive business strategies. This typically includes assessing impacts and dependencies on nature across the value chain and implementing policies that actively restore and enhance natural ecosystems as part of business operations. Furthermore, ahead of this year’s Convention on Biodiversity (COP16) in October, more than 180 companies and financial institutions are calling for renewed policy ambition to implement the global Biodiversity Plan.

    To accelerate these transitions and show that alternative pathways are possible, the World Economic Forum is convening business leaders and others through its Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, CEOs for Nature, Champions for Nature and Friends of Ocean Action. These leaders will be tackling the biodiversity and climate crises by developing their own nature strategies alongside their plans for the net-zero transition. The World Economic Forum is also developing series of sector-specific priority actions to help companies transform their operations and value chains.

    As well as helping the planet, businesses that seize these opportunities could boost their resilience, create long-term value and strengthen their climate and sustainability goals. Between 2019 and 2022, the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders reduced its aggregate emissions by 10%, while increasing revenues by 18% in the same period. More generally, nature-positive transitions are expected to create 395 million jobs by 2030, with some 300 million additional “green collar jobs” emerging under rapid and coordinated decarbonization efforts on the road to net zero.

    Aligning net-zero and nature-positive strategies

    With the right strategies in place, prioritizing nature and climate can be compatible with economic growth and value creation. In the coming months, the UN COPs and other gatherings such as the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings will provide an opportunity to develop an integrated approach to creating strategies for protecting nature and climate across business and policy decision-making.

    Only with joined up strategies, policies, language and engagement – and a unified vision of the future – can we successfully overcome the crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. The future is net-zero and nature-positive, it cannot be one without being the other. We are an intrinsic part of nature and we cannot survive, let alone stay cool, without it.

    ]]>     Circularity in energy-efficiency retrofits: Why it’s time to act https://sdgtalks.ai/circularity-in-energy-efficiency-retrofits-why-its-time-to-act https://sdgtalks.ai/circularity-in-energy-efficiency-retrofits-why-its-time-to-act Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:37:44 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1
    • The energy-efficiency retrofit market is expected to grow by 8% year over year from 2024 to 2050, from $500 billion to $3.9 trillion.
    • The built environment ecosystem must recirculate materials and reduce virgin material extraction before this extensive wave of energy-efficiency retrofits.
    • There are four circular ecosystem actions that materials and parts manufacturers can take to capture more value in this growing market.

    The built environment consists of buildings and infrastructure that touch all aspects of human life—from our houses and apartments to the commercial and industrial spaces where we work, shop, and socialize. This ecosystem accounts for around 26% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

    Energy-efficiency retrofitting – also called upgrading or renovating – can reduce these GHG emissions and enhance climate resilience to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events on these structures. It involves upgrading existing assets to improve operational energy efficiency, extend useful life, reduce embodied carbon emissions and ensure regulatory compliance.

    Retrofitting can also reduce the total cost of ownership and shorten construction times compared to new construction.

    Unsurprisingly, then, the energy-efficiency retrofit market is expected to grow by 8% year over year between 2024 and 2050, increasing from a $500 billion to a $3.9 trillion market, according to an analysis by McKinsey*. This analysis includes heating, ventilation, and cooling systems, external envelopes (roofing, insulation, windows, doors, and cladding), lighting, and appliances. More substantial retrofits address structural and civil elements but aren’t included in this analysis.
    Renovation targets to meet net zero will drive market uptake for energy-efficiency retrofits.Image: McKinsey, IEA, European Commission, UN Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, market reports

    That said, energy-efficiency retrofitting may use virgin raw materials (resources extracted directly from nature without processing) and often presents a waste challenge because existing materials, which may still have a functional lifespan, are removed.

    This is where circularity – optimizing resources and minimizing waste during production and consumption – can help by creating a closed-loop system.

    What materials are required by the growing energy-efficiency retrofit market?

    To achieve net zero, renovation rates must increase to approximately 3% to retrofit 20% of existing assets by 2030. This means that from 2023 to 2050, tens of billions of tonnes of materials will be required for energy-efficiency retrofits. These materials include plastic, mineral wool, glass, aluminium, flat steel and concrete, for example, according to the McKinsey analysis*.

    Recent examples, such as the Entopia Building in Cambridge, UK, show the benefits of circular retrofit principles and the reuse of material on-site. Over 5,000 items were diverted from landfills during its construction, and approximately 3.8 tonnes of steel sections were reused, saving 2,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. Overall, 84% of carbon was saved per square metre compared with a standard office fitout.

    How can the energy-efficiency retrofit industry create a circular value chain?

    The anticipated savings of energy-efficiency retrofitting cannot be realized unless the industry creates a circular value chain. There are seven key parts of the retrofit value chain that can capture value from the move to circularity:

    How materials and parts manufacturers can capture more value as the energy-efficiency retrofit market grows.Image: McKinsey & Company

    Today, materials and parts manufacturers generate revenue by selling materials to upgraders and renovators, with the cost of goods driven by virgin raw material costs and substantial energy consumption. With the move to a circular ecosystem, four initial actions could help materials and parts manufacturers capture some of the value of the growing energy-efficiency retrofit market:

    1. Increase product transparency

    This includes providing lifecycle information such as Environmental Product Declarations and material passports. Manufacturers could also develop “green parts” with high levels of recycled material or create a dedicated “reuse” parts line to increase revenues.

    Depending on the material, there could be an increased willingness to pay for green materials and parts with full lifecycle information that allows for end-to-end traceability. A recent McKinsey survey, which has not been published, shows that nearly 80% of decision-makers are willing to pay premiums for green glass, for example.

    2. Create value-add retrofit services for existing customers

    Incumbent manufacturers can provide retro-first services such as repairing and remedying existing materials to extend their useful life. For example, a cladding material manufacturer could replace a product that does not meet new standards or needs repair with an alternative that uses recirculated material.

    3. Integrate horizontally across the retrofit value chain

    Horizontal integration could increase a company's market share. It could include offering both upstream services, such as specification and procurement of circular materials for engineers, and downstream offerings, like specialist installation services. The McKinsey analysis* also shows that some organizations have seen a 10% to 20% uplift in revenue after incorporating a circular offering that includes circular business models and repair, care, and refurbishment services.

    Providing specialized retrofit services can also address pain points in the market, such as a shortage of labour specializing in insulation installation for real estate.

    4. Set up take-back mechanisms

    Collaborations with other retrofit materials and parts manufacturers can help reduce virgin materials costs and secure circular feedstock material. Such arrangements often involve urban mining and reverse logistics, such as aluminium and glass organizations partnering to deconstruct and extract valuable materials from building façades.

    This creates closed material loops. It reduces costs, environmental impact and reliance on virgin materials.

    Circularity in energy-efficiency retrofitting is not just about financial value. Implementing these actions can also create environmental value via less reliance on virgin materials and lower energy costs. It creates social value, too, in the form of new jobs and reduces the impact of heavy industry on communities.

    The key to all of this will be regulation and stability. Circularity in retrofitting represents a significant opportunity for the built environment, but industry players must be able to take action now to seize this opportunity.

    ]]>     Balancing growth and biodiversity: Why we need policy coherance on nature-based solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/balancing-growth-and-biodiversity-why-we-need-policy-coherance-on-nature-based-solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/balancing-growth-and-biodiversity-why-we-need-policy-coherance-on-nature-based-solutions Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:21:38 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1
    • Two years after the landmark UN Biodiversity Plan was adopted in 2022, biodiversity loss continues unabated on an unprecedented scale.
    • Governments are revising their national biodiversity strategies and action plans as the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Colombia approaches, providing opportunities to take a whole-of-government approach.
    • Effective implementation of biodiversity commitments requires coherent policies and a connection between biodiversity commitments and green jobs, climate transition, sustainable production, plastics and more.

    It is a recurring dilemma: airports are crucial infrastructure for cities, regions, and entire economies. As air travel grows and flight safety demands increase, expanding airports seems inevitable. However, the land surrounding airfields often support vital ecosystems. These areas may provide nesting grounds for birds, breeding habitats for marine life or wetlands that play a key role in natural processes such as water filtration or flood protection.

    Biodiversity is often at the heart of this conflict. Most agree that biodiversity, as our life support system, is essential, yet it is under immense pressure from land development, pollution, overexploitation and such activities. Immediate needs, such as housing, infrastructure development and agriculture, frequently lead to biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystem services.

    For example, urban expansion converts natural landscapes into built environments, while agricultural and aquaculture intensification can pollute surrounding areas. The global cost of lost ecosystem services due to land use changes is estimated to be $4.3-20.2 trillion per year. The decline in genetic diversity also has profound effects, with 70% of cancer drugs derived from natural sources or inspired by nature.

    We need smart solutions to address these conflicts. Coherent policies and laws are critical to guiding decision-making that benefits people, nature and economies.

    Conflicting policies undermine biodiversity commitments

    Over 150 national constitutions have provisions for safeguarding nature, and almost all countries have adopted environmental laws. India, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Panama are among the countries with constitutions that give nature its rights, while others, such as New Zealand, have such rights in national legislation.

    But the world is losing biodiversity faster than ever, weakening people’s ability to thrive. This loss impacts our societies, economies and our ability to handle extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, which have become five times more frequent in the last 50 years. It also reduces our capacity to respond to climate change.

    However, investing in biodiversity conservation and restoring ecosystems can open up economic opportunities, improve human and planetary health, reduce the cost of adapting to climate change and provide nature-based solutions to many of our challenges.

    There should be no question. However, conflicting interests and short-term thinking often prevent us from fully utilizing nature-based solutions, such as creating green spaces to reduce urban heat.

    With initiatives like Business For Nature’s “It’s Now for Nature” campaign and the TNFD Early Adopters programme, businesses are stepping up their efforts to protect biodiversity. Governments are also investing more in biodiversity and multilateral banks are exploring new ways to fund nature-based projects. However, the repurposing of subsidies harmful to biodiversity remains largely unaddressed.

    The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies – adopted on 17 June 2022 – is a promising exception. It prohibits, among other things, subsidies that contribute to overfishing. While countries have been slow to ratify this agreement, it can inspire efforts to repurpose subsidies in other areas, notably agriculture.

    Approaches for solving the policy coherence conundrum

    We need more coherence between global, regional and national biodiversity, agriculture, trade, development and other economic policies. To strengthen policy coherence, we need integrated policy frameworks and interministerial coordination led by the highest level of government to weigh different interests, taking long-term effects into account.

    Engaging the private sector and civil society early on in these consultation processes will help address conflicts at the outset. An example is Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, which combines optimizing land use with green building standards and creating more green open spaces, such as rooftop gardens and biodiversity-rich nature parks.

    Another example of businesses leading the way on policy coherence is the Global Tuna Alliance. This alliance of independent coalitions of retailers and supply chain companies works closely with regional fisheries management organizations to ensure that their tuna meets the highest standards of environmental performance and social responsibility.

    “

    To strengthen policy coherence, we need integrated policy frameworks and interministerial coordination led by the highest level of government to weigh different interests, taking long-term effects into account.

    ”
    — Andreas Obrecht, Lead Policy, Nature Action Agenda, World Economic Forum | Akanksha Khatri, Head, Nature and Biodiversity, Nature Positive

    Reflecting policy coherence in commitments and action

    The focus of COP16 in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November 2024, is to review progress towards implementing the Biodiversity Plan (otherwise known as the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework). Achieving the 23 global biodiversity targets will largely depend on coherent and effective national policies and the level of alignment with the Plan.

    Governments are setting their national biodiversity targets and revising their national biodiversity strategies and action plans. This is an opportunity to strengthen policies, incentives and legislation that will drive the necessary action to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, as called for by the Business for Nature coalition in its policy recommendations.

    It is also an opportunity to align biodiversity policies with and integrate biodiversity in other policy areas. One obvious step would be reconciling national biodiversity strategies and action plans with the nationally determined contributions – commitments required under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change – as climate change and biodiversity are closely interconnected.

    The World Economic Forum looks forward to working with committed actors to convene dialogues and conduct economic and policy research to advance this conversation.

    ]]>     For manufacturers, the circular economy strengthens supply chains. Here&apos;s how https://sdgtalks.ai/for-manufacturers-the-circular-economy-strengthens-supply-chains-heres-how https://sdgtalks.ai/for-manufacturers-the-circular-economy-strengthens-supply-chains-heres-how Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:13:11 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1

    In an era defined by globalization and the pursuit of efficiency, supply chains have become essential yet vulnerable networks within the global economy.

    This vulnerability, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, environmental challenges and trade conflicts, underscores the critical need for resilience — not just for risk mitigation but as a strategic imperative that can serve as a competitive advantage in an uncertain world.

    Integrating circular economy principles offers a solution. Circular economy principles bolster sustainability and transform these vulnerabilities into strengths. Circular economy principles help supply chains adapt to and maintain operations amidst unforeseen disruptions, fostering sustainable growth and resilience in an interconnected world.

    The circular economy can strengthen supply chains

    The circular economy represents a paradigm shift from the traditional linear model of "take-make-dispose" to a regenerative approach that emphasizes the restoration and regeneration of products, materials and energy. It challenges conventional metrics of value creation and encourages manufacturers to design products and business models with durability, repairability and recyclability in mind.

    Through recycling, part harvesting and remanufacturing, repair, refurbishment and recommerce circular economy principles can reduce dependency on scarce resources and component suppliers, building adaptable and resilient supply chains.

    For manufacturers, this means ensuring parts and materials within their control never unintentionally exit their sphere of influence. By retaining control over the lifecycle of products, materials and components, manufacturers can prevent resource loss, ensure efficient reuse, enable capitalization of circular practices and reduce their environmental impact.

    The 5 Rs of the circular economy — recycling, remanufacturing, repair, refurbishment and recommerce — bolster supply chain resilience.
    The 5 Rs of the circular economy: recycling, remanufacturing, repair, refurbishment and recommerce.Image: DXC Technology

    By prioritizing the management and recovery of materials and components, manufacturers can maintain a degree of control over their resources, ensuring that materials remain in use and within their control for as long as possible. This approach not only helps to decouple economic growth from resource consumption but also fosters a more sustainable and resilient supply chain.

    The circular approach compels manufacturers to consider the end-of-life stage of their products, facilitating a smoother transition of materials back into the supply chain, thereby conserving value and reducing environmental impact.

    Discover

    What is a circular economy?

    Incorporating circular economy principles aligns with growing political pressures to develop local production capabilities. This movement towards localization is driven by the desire for economic resilience, job creation and reduced dependencies on global supply chains.

    The circular economy fosters the development of local circular service provider markets by encouraging the design of products for longevity, repairability and recyclability. This approach supports local businesses and encourages the growth of repair services, remanufacturing facilities and recycling centers. By investing in local ecosystems that support the circular economy, regions can reduce their reliance on imported goods and materials, leading to more resilient local economies.

    Governments around the world are beginning to implement measures to encourage businesses to adopt these practices. This includes incentives for sustainable product design, support for local recycling and remanufacturing industries and regulations that favour the use of recycled materials in new products.

    This focus on creating local circular product and service markets provides a strategic response to supply chain vulnerabilities, fostering economic resilience, reducing environmental impacts and supporting the transition to more sustainable and self-sufficient local economies.

    Overcoming circular economy barriers

    Companies looking to integrate circular economy principles into their operations must navigate a complex landscape of regulatory, market and financial hurdles.

    Navigating regulatory hurdles

    Regulations regarding waste, product standards and cross-border movement of materials can inadvertently hinder recycling and remanufacturing efforts. For instance, certain materials classified as “waste” under current legislation may face strict controls or prohibitions on their reuse or transport, even for recycling or remanufacturing purposes.

    Building market acceptance

    Consumers and business customers alike may have reservations about products made from recycled materials or remanufactured products, perceiving them as inferior to new ones. Overcoming this perception requires substantial efforts in education and communication to demonstrate the benefits of circular products.

    Addressing cost implications

    The initial costs associated with transitioning to circular economy models can be prohibitive. Investing in the necessary infrastructure for recycling, remanufacturing or setting up product-as-a-service models requires upfront capital. Additionally, the operational costs of collecting, sorting and processing used products and materials can be higher than sourcing new materials, at least in the short term.

    Fostering mindset shifts

    Transitioning to a circular economy requires overcoming entrenched resistance at multiple levels. Internally, organizations may face inertia from established linear processes, with the prevailing “this is how we've always done it” mentality posing a significant barrier to change.

    Upstream in the supply chain, the shift can disrupt the value propositions of some players, leading to resistance from those who stand to lose from the transition away from linear models. While downstream, altering customer habits and preferences to align with circular practices requires concerted effort and engagement, as it challenges traditional behaviour patterns.

    Building a market for services

    Building a market for circular service providers requires creating demand for such services and ensuring a supply chain that supports the repair, refurbishment and recycling of products. Establishing this market requires overcoming consumer skepticism, adapting existing business models and fostering partnerships across industries.

    Navigating the parts and recycling market

    Establishing a competitive market for part harvesting and material recycling is crucial. Relying on single entities for these phases can undermine resilience. It is essential to cultivate a diverse ecosystem of partners to ensure flexibility and reliability in supply chain recovery processes.

    Digitization's investment requirements

    Digitizing the circular economy presents challenges such as integrating technology into traditional systems, ensuring data security and managing the complexity of tracking products and materials across their lifecycle. Effective digitization requires substantial investment in technology and skills development.

    Manufacturers and the circular economy: the path forward

    Manufacturers, in embracing circular economy principles, have the opportunity to lead this transformation, building supply chains that are resilient to the shocks and stresses of the global market and sustainable and beneficial for society and the environment.

    The adoption of digital technologies such as Internet of Things, Digital Product Passports and Artificial Intelligence offers potential innovative solutions for manufcaturers, enabling transparent, efficient and adaptable supply chains that can support circular practices.

    The path forward calls for a fundamental reimagining of how products are designed, produced and consumed. To do this, manufacturers should start with a thorough audit of current practices, developing a strategic vision for circularity and implementing pilot projects to test and refine circular initiatives. This is a journey that requires a shift in mindset, from viewing waste and end-of-life products as problems to seeing them as opportunities for value creation and innovation.

    Overcoming this resistance requires persistence, leadership and a clear vision for the future — a future where circular economy principles are a central pillar of supply chain strategy. For manufacturers willing to lead the way, it offers the promise of a future where business success is aligned with environmental stewardship and societal well-being. The time to start is now.

    ]]>     Stockholm&apos;s Bold Strides in Sustainable Construction https://sdgtalks.ai/stockholms-bold-strides-in-sustainable-construction https://sdgtalks.ai/stockholms-bold-strides-in-sustainable-construction Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:11:13 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1
    Stockholm's Slakthusområdet achieves 50% electric operation with Volvo, showcasing sustainable construction and significant emissions reductions

    Construction is widely recognised as a challenging industry to decarbonise.

    Combined with manufacturing, construction contributes to more than half of the global emissions.

    The UN's Environment Programme further identifies construction as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

    However, a transformative project in central Stockholm's Slakthusområdet, a meat-packing area, is making significant strides towards reducing these emissions.

    Slakthusområdet: Revolutionising sustainable construction

    In Stockholm, the Slakthusområdet district is undergoing an ambitious redevelopment that aspires to set new benchmarks in sustainable construction.

    Initially aiming for 10% electric machine operation, the project has escalated its goals and now targets a 50% electric operation.

    This initiative increasingly integrates electric machines from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE).

    Volvo says the project is “a testbed for more sustainable construction and demonstrates the enormous and often untapped potential of fossil-free procurement contracts as a driver for change”.

    Projected to complete by 2025, the redevelopment has already made notable p,rogress.

    By June 2024, just the initial phase had cut down 2,759 tonnes of CO₂ aligning with Stockholm City's wider environmental targets.

    The city endeavours to become climate positive by 2030 and fossil-fuel free by 2040.

    The project's next phase involves a trio partnership among Volvo CE, Skanska and Swecon, which introduces carbon calculations at the tender phase, further enhancing the accountability and innovation in sustainable building practices.

    Key sustainability targets for phase two include:
    • 100% fossil-fuel free site operations using HVO100 fuel
    • Increasing electric operation from 10% to 50%
    • Utilisation of climate-reduced concrete
    • Adherence to strict carbon calculation guidelines

    “The first phase showed the effectiveness of electric machines in performing tasks while significantly reducing CO₂ emissions,” Fredrik Tjernström, Head of Electromobility Solutions Sales at Volvo CE, says.

    Fredrik Tjernström, Head of Electromobility Solutions Sales at Volvo CE

    “This is invaluable for city centre projects to help municipalities meet their emission reduction targets and enhance air quality, as well as reducing noise levels for everyone’s benefit.”

    Anna Göransdotter, Project Manager at Skanska, adds: “When municipalities like Stockholm City prioritise carbon reduction in contract awards, it not only sets an inspiring precedent for other regions, but also drives innovation across the construction industry.

    Anna Göransdotter, Project Manager at Skanska

    “This proactive approach creates a ripple effect throughout the entire value chain, pushing all stakeholders to explore new possibilities and expand the boundaries of what can be achieved in sustainable construction.” 

    Electric machinery leading the charge

    Volvo CE pioneers the move towards sustainable building sites by supplying advanced electric machinery for the Slakthusområdet project. The fleet consists of:

    • Two Volvo EC230 Electric crawler excavators
    • One L120H Electric Conversion wheel loader
    • Two electric trucks with trailers
    • Various electric-powered tools for sorting and compaction

    These machines, affectionately named Electra, Ellen and Elton, receive power from a robust charging infrastructure, courtesy of Eviny.

    This setup includes two fast chargers and three battery packs, preparing the site for extensive electric-powered operations.

    Breaking it down: The impact

    The true impact of such pioneering projects stretches beyond emissions figures.

    This initiative targets a drastic cut in emissions to below 3.5 tonnes of CO₂ per SEK 1 million (US$92,000) turnover, compared to the typical 11 to 29 tonnes in similar projects.

    More regions and sectors watching Stockholm's advancement could spark a broader change, influencing global strategies for urban development and sustainability in construction.

    Anders Österberg, Deputy Mayor of Stockholm and Chair of the City Development Committee, says: “In the City of Stockholm, we recognise the vital role we must play in accelerating the transition to fossil-free construction sites.

    “The City of Stockholm has a goal of becoming climate positive by 2030. To reach this goal we need to continue to require the use of electrically powered construction vehicles and fossil-free construction sites in our procurement.”

    ]]>     WSU Scientists Transform Agricultural Waste into Sustainable Jet Fuel https://sdgtalks.ai/wsu-scientists-transform-agricultural-waste-into-sustainable-jet-fuel https://sdgtalks.ai/wsu-scientists-transform-agricultural-waste-into-sustainable-jet-fuel Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:03:06 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1 Lignin: An Untapped Resource for Sustainable Aviation Fuel

    Lignin is a class of complex structural molecules that give plants their woody characteristics, making them rigid and resistant to degradation. It is derived from agricultural byproducts such as corn stover—the stalks, cobs, and leaves left after harvest—and is considered a waste product in many agricultural processes.

    According to Professor Bin Yang, the lead researcher and a professor in WSU’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering, this development represents a critical step forward in utilizing agricultural waste to create renewable aviation fuel.

    The aviation industry has significantly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, consuming nearly 100 billion gallons of fuel in 2019. As global fuel demand is expected to increase by 32% by 2030 and potentially more than double by 2050, the need for alternative fuels is more pressing than ever.

    In response, the aviation sector has focused on sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) derived from renewable resources like plant-based biomass. However, despite the progress made in biofuels, current technologies still face challenges in meeting the aviation industry’s strict performance and volume requirements.

    Lignin, often discarded or underutilized in biorefining processes, presents a promising new pathway for sustainable fuel production. It is produced in large quantities—about 300 million tons annually—and its aromatic structure makes it a viable candidate for jet fuel. However, converting lignin into fuel continuously has been a challenge until now. The WSU team’s research builds on this potential by demonstrating a novel process that could overcome many technical hurdles.

    Innovative Technology: Simultaneous Depolymerization and Hydrodeoxygenation

    The WSU researchers developed "simultaneous depolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation" (SDHDO), which breaks down the lignin polymer into smaller molecules while simultaneously removing oxygen. This process converts lignin into hydrocarbons, which can be used to produce lignin-based jet fuel.

    The key innovation in this research is the ability to perform this conversion continuously, making it more feasible for commercial-scale production. The industry prefers Continuous processes because they can operate without interruptions, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

    The research was conducted at WSU’s facility in Richland, Washington, where the scientists introduced dissolved lignin polymers into a hydrotreating reactor to produce jet fuel. This continuous process contrasts with previous research that used batch processing, which is less efficient for large-scale production. The WSU team’s success in creating a continuous process marks a significant milestone toward commercializing lignin-based aviation fuel.

    “This achievement takes this technology one step closer to real-world use by providing data that lets us better gauge its feasibility for commercial aviation,” said Professor Yang. “We now have a clearer understanding of how this process can be scaled up, making it a strong candidate for sustainable aviation fuel production.”

    The Potential of Lignin-Based Jet Fuel in Aviation

    Aviation is a notoriously difficult sector to decarbonize due to its heavy reliance on energy-dense liquid fuels and the challenges of electrifying aircraft. Sustainable aviation fuels are a key solution to reducing the industry’s environmental impact, and lignin-based fuels offer several advantages.

    One of the primary benefits is that lignin-derived hydrocarbons can replace aromatics. These fossil fuel-derived compounds enhance fuel density and contribute to contrail formation and other environmental impacts. Aromatics are still widely used in jet fuel because they help swell O-rings in metal-to-metal joints, making them critical to fuel system performance. However, they are also a significant soot source, which has environmental and health consequences.

    Lignin-based fuels could offer a cleaner alternative to fossil fuel-derived aromatics, helping to reduce the formation of contrails and improve fuel performance. In addition, the hydrocarbons produced from lignin are dense, efficient, and compatible with existing aviation infrastructure. These characteristics make lignin-based jet fuel a strong contender for use in commercial aviation, as it can be blended with conventional jet fuels to increase the renewable content while maintaining the performance characteristics required by airlines.

    Overcoming Challenges for Commercialization

    One of the most significant challenges facing the aviation industry is the need for “drop-in” fuels—fuels that can be used without modifying existing aircraft engines or fueling infrastructure. Lignin-based jet fuels have the potential to meet this requirement, as they offer sealing properties, energy density, and emissions profiles similar to conventional jet fuel. The WSU team’s research demonstrated that lignin-based jet fuel could be blended with conventional fuels to create a drop-in solution, moving the industry closer to producing 100% renewable aviation fuels.

    The research also addressed another critical challenge: the cost and complexity of producing sustainable fuels. Using a less processed form of lignin, known as “technical lignin,” the team could reduce the cost and energy input required to produce the fuel. This contrasts with other studies that used highly processed lignin bio-oils, which are more expensive and energy-intensive.

    The continuous process developed by WSU also used engineered catalysts, including a ruthenium-based catalyst (Ru-HY-60-MI), which proved effective in converting lignin into jet fuel range hydrocarbons. The researchers were able to achieve a carbon yield of 17.9%, producing a fuel rich in mono cycloalkanes and poly cycloalkanes, which are critical components for aviation fuel performance.

    A Sustainable Path Forward for Aviation

    The WSU team’s research represents a critical step toward making sustainable aviation fuels commercially viable. The successful demonstration of a continuous process for producing lignin-based jet fuel shows that agricultural waste can be transformed into a valuable resource for the aviation industry. By utilizing lignin, which is often discarded or burned, this technology not only provides a renewable alternative to fossil fuels but also contributes to waste reduction and more efficient resource use.

    In the broader context of global sustainability goals, the aviation industry has set ambitious targets to reduce its carbon footprint. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and sustainable aviation fuels will play a crucial role in meeting this goal. Lignin-based jet fuel offers a promising pathway to achieving these targets by reducing emissions, improving fuel efficiency, and providing a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.

    The research was supported by several prominent organizations, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Advanced Refining Technologies LLC.

    With continued support and further refinement of the technology, lignin-based jet fuel could become a vital component of the aviation industry’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact and transition to a more sustainable future.

    ]]>     Scientists develop diamond battery that could last 5,000 years https://sdgtalks.ai/scientists-develop-diamond-battery-that-could-last-5000-years https://sdgtalks.ai/scientists-develop-diamond-battery-that-could-last-5000-years Sun, 08 Dec 2024 17:57:28 -0500 Aneurin Toomey 1 British scientists at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol developed a diamond battery that could last thousands of years. The carbon-14 diamond battery, as reported by The Telegraph, harnesses the radioactive decay of carbon-14 to produce a continuous and stable energy source, potentially revolutionizing energy use in medical devices and space exploration.

    The battery operates by encapsulating carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, within a synthetic diamond structure. This encapsulation not only prevents radioactive leakage but also utilizes the betavoltaic effect, where the diamond converts the emitted electrons from the carbon-14 decay into electricity. The battery is the size of a conventional wristwatch battery, measuring 10mm across and just 0.5mm thick.

    The Telegraph, Bild, IFLScience, BBC, Newsweek, PCWorld, TechCity, O Globo, TheNextWeb, and News18 reported on the new technology, among other outlets.

    Sarah Clark, Director of Tritium Fuel Cycle at UKAEA, highlighted the innovative approach behind the technology. “Diamond batteries provide a safe and sustainable way to provide continuous power levels in the microwatt range. They are an emerging technology that uses manufactured diamond to safely encapsulate small amounts of carbon-14,” she stated, according to Newsweek.

    The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, meaning the battery could potentially provide energy for thousands of years without the need for replacement. News18 reported that this longevity makes it especially useful for devices where durability and reliability are crucial, such as pacemakers, hearing aids, and other implantable medical devices. Patients would not need to undergo battery replacements throughout their lifetime, significantly simplifying their lives and reducing stress.

    “Our micro-power technology can support a wide range of important applications, from space technologies and security devices to medical implants. We are excited to explore all these possibilities, collaborating with partners in industry and research in the coming years,” said Professor Tom Scott from the University of Bristol, as reported by The Telegraph.

    The diamond battery also offers a solution for managing nuclear waste. The carbon-14 used in the batteries is extracted from graphite blocks, which are waste products in nuclear power stations. By extracting carbon-14 from the graphite, the radioactivity decreases, alleviating costs and challenges for the safe storage of nuclear waste.

    The battery's potential extends beyond medical applications. TechCity highlighted its suitability for powering devices in extreme environments, such as space exploration and deep-sea missions, where conventional batteries are not viable due to the difficulty of replacement or maintenance. The stable and long-lasting energy source could keep systems and instruments operating for extended periods without the need for maintenance.

    "The diamond battery would revolutionize the battery industry," said Fatimah Sannie, a senior process engineer at UKAEA who worked on the project, "We can use it in small satellites, in computer chips, and remote control wrist watches," she added.

    Newsweek reported that the radioactive carbon-14 is securely encased within the diamond structure, ensuring safety for humans and the environment. The diamond casing not only prevents radioactive leakage but also helps increase the durability of the battery.

    "Carbon-14 was chosen as the starting material because it emits short-range radiation, which is quickly absorbed by any solid material. This would make it dangerous to ingest or touch with bare skin, but if kept safely inside the diamond, no short-range radiation can escape," said Neil Fox from the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol.

    The Telegraph reports that work is underway to upscale production and improve power performance.

    ]]>     $3.8M Awarded for Habitat Restoration in Teanaway, Upper Columbia, and Wenatchee Regions https://sdgtalks.ai/38m-awarded-for-habitat-restoration-in-teanaway-upper-columbia-and-wenatchee-regions https://sdgtalks.ai/38m-awarded-for-habitat-restoration-in-teanaway-upper-columbia-and-wenatchee-regions Sat, 07 Dec 2024 18:37:53 -0500 Rose Ganshert Federal funding totaling $18.5 million has been awarded to six tribal and natural resource organizations in Washington state to support habitat conservation projects, including significant investments in the Teanaway River, Sanpoil River, and Upper Wenatchee areas. These projects, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) America the Beautiful Challenge, aim to conserve critical habitats and enhance ecosystem resilience.

    Teanaway Forks Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Restoration

    The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) received $3,805,400 to revitalize five miles of steelhead, Chinook, and coho salmon spawning and rearing habitat in the West and Middle Forks of the Teanaway River. The project will involve berm removal and the installation of up to 2,500 large wood structures, transforming the river corridors into diverse and productive habitats while enhancing groundwater storage.

    WDFW will contribute $423,200 in matching funds to support this effort.

    “The Teanaway River watershed has some of the best and coldest streams for steelhead, Chinook, and coho in the Yakima River Basin. This funding will help remove barriers to salmon migration and improve habitat to support fish spawning and rearing,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell.

    Sen. Patty Murray added, “This project will be transformative for endangered salmon and steelhead in the Teanaway River—revitalizing miles of spawning habitat and helping to create a healthier and more robust ecosystem.”

    Sanpoil River Redband Trout Habitat Restoration

    The Colville Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department was awarded $3,486,400 for habitat restoration in the Upper Columbia and Sanpoil River areas. The project will restore redband trout and other native fish habitats through the use of large woody debris, engineered log jams, livestock fencing, and riparian plant restoration.

    “Redband trout are culturally significant to the Colville Tribes, and restoring populations is important to meeting the Tribes’ subsistence needs,” said Sen. Cantwell. “This funding will support the Tribes’ efforts to revitalize Redband trout and other native fish species in the Upper Columbia River Basin.”

    Sen. Murray emphasized the project’s cultural and ecological importance, stating, “This grant will make a big difference in restoring native trout populations and habitat in the Upper Columbia and Sanpoil River, which is absolutely critical for Colville Tribal Members who rely on redband trout as an essential part of their culture, diet, and way of life.”

    Upper Wenatchee Forest Health and Habitat Improvements

    The Chelan County Natural Resource Department (CCNRD) secured $1.5 million to address forest health and aquatic restoration in the Upper Wenatchee Landscape. Efforts will include forest health treatments on 5,000 acres, 30 miles of aquatic restoration, and nine aquatic-organism passage projects across 15,000 acres in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

    “The Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest is a hotspot every wildfire season—improving the health of the forest makes the habitat more resilient,” noted Sen. Cantwell.

    Sen. Murray highlighted the forest's importance, saying, “The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is one of Washington state’s natural treasures. I’m glad we’re able to deliver this funding to invest in the long-term health of the forest, sustain local species and habitat, and ensure that generations to come can continue to enjoy and rely on this majestic natural resource.”

    Investing in Washington’s Natural Resources

    These projects are part of a larger effort under the America the Beautiful Challenge, which aims to conserve 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. The funding will not only protect critical ecosystems but also support local economies, Tribal communities, and collaborative conservation efforts across the state.

    ]]>     Scientists Release Five Hawaiian Crows on Maui, Giving the Imperiled Birds a Second Chance—on a New Island https://sdgtalks.ai/scientists-release-five-hawaiian-crows-on-maui-giving-the-imperiled-birds-a-second-chanceon-a-new-island https://sdgtalks.ai/scientists-release-five-hawaiian-crows-on-maui-giving-the-imperiled-birds-a-second-chanceon-a-new-island Sat, 07 Dec 2024 18:34:32 -0500 Rose Ganshert On the slopes of the Haleakalā volcano in the Kīpahulu Forest Reserve, Hawaiian crows, known as ʻalalā, are flying free. The species has been extinct in the wild since 2002, and past efforts to reintroduce them to their native range were unsuccessful. Now, employing a new strategy, scientists released five crows in November to a new island—Maui.

    “They are shouldering all of the hopes of their species,” says Alison Greggor, an ecologist who led the reintroduction for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, to the New York Times’ Catrin Einhorn. “They are the future.”

    In the past, attempts to reintroduce ‘alalā to Hawaii’s Big Island during the 1990s and late 2010s did not turn out as well as scientists hoped. The crows were preyed upon by the Hawaiian hawk, or ʻio, its natural predator. With only about 110 Hawaiian crows remaining on Earth, conservationists built upon the lessons of those past reintroductions to try to secure hope for the species once more. On Maui, there are no ʻio, so the crows’ chance of survival is better.

    “Conservation doesn’t happen overnight,” says Hannah Bailey, conservation program manager for the Hawaiian Endangered Birds Program at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, to Scientific American’s Elizabeth Anne Brown. “We’re still learning, and so are the birds.”

    Conservationists selected the Kīpahulu Forest Reserve for its semi-isolation and vegetation, an ideal space for the birds. Over the past several months, the five crows—three males and two females—have formed a close-knit group, a bond that scientists hope will enhance their chance of survival in the wild. The birds were also evaluated based on their foraging success and predator response.

    ʻAlalā is a species of crow that is about the size of the carrion crow, though it is presently extinct in the wild. (The individuals in this photo are not among the five individuals involved in the pilot release on Maui.) San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

    With so few living individuals, ‘alalā is the most endangered species in the crow family. The threats to their survival range from habitat loss to predation and disease. Their population numbers have dwindled since the 1970s. Now, this collaboration between nonprofit, state and federal partners has brought the species back to its forest home.

    In Hawaiian culture, ‘alalā are spirit guardians, or ‘aumakua, per Scientific American. They often appear in dreams or visions to warn people of danger and act as protectors.

    For Keanini Aarona, an avian recovery specialist at Maui Bird Conservation Center, it holds a special significance to care for ‘alalā, according to a statement from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. “To me, and in my culture, the ‘alalā are like our ancestors—our kūpuna. The forest wouldn’t be there without these birds.”

    There is a shared ecology among the forest and its animals, and the ‘alalā have historically been part of it. They are also highly intelligent and charismatic creatures. Research has shown the crows even know how to use tools like sticks to bring food out of crevices.

    “When you are in the presence of an ‘alala, it is a humbling moment,” says biologist Jacqueline Gaudioso-Levita, coordinator for the ‘Alalā Recovery Project, to Ke Kalahea’s Daisy Stewart. “Their intelligence and uniqueness is very apparent.”

    The previous reintroduction effort between 2016 and 2020 saw a total of 30 ‘alala reintroduced on the Big Island. Initially, it was a success. Most survived for the first year, but their numbers started to dwindle, and in 2020, conservationists returned the remaining birds to human care. The effort, however, was not in vain—it proved essential for informing this new phase on Maui.

    Reintroduction projects always come with some type of risk. In this case, as Maui is not the bird’s native range, introducing them to the habitat involves a risk of ecological consequences. For this reason, researchers chose a site where there were few animals of great concern, like rare snails and forest birds, to minimize the potential damage, per the Washington Post’s Dino Grandoni.

    “We didn’t want to risk native species on Maui just in pursuit of finding a better path for ‘alalā,” says Michelle Bogardus, a deputy field supervisor at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to the Washington Post. “We would not be doing this if we thought that this action was going to risk all of the other species that are also within our stewardship.”

    On release day in early November, the five ‘alalā hesitantly made their way out of the aviary, where they had been acclimating for six weeks. The birds took their time, climbing atop the aviary first, then going from tree to tree. With time, they spread their wings and joined the forest.

    ]]>     Conservation group buys 44,000 acres in northwest Maine for $44.4M https://sdgtalks.ai/conservation-group-buys-44000-acres-in-northwest-maine-for-444m https://sdgtalks.ai/conservation-group-buys-44000-acres-in-northwest-maine-for-444m Sat, 07 Dec 2024 18:29:38 -0500 Rose Ganshert The Conservation Fund, an Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit with a Maine office in Freeport, bought a 44,000-acre swath of mountain and forestland along the Canadian border in northern Maine.

    It paid $44.4 million in a transaction that was finalized Oct. 15 and announced Nov. 29.

    The Hilton Family Forest, as the parcel is known, is in Somerset and Franklin counties, according to a news release. The forest supports the local timber and maple sugar industries, and is a hub for recreational use, including hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, trapping, snowmobiling and ATV riding. It includes a segment of Maine's Interconnected Trail System.

    The Conservation Fund said its goal with the deal is to safeguard wildlife habitat and its landscape connectivity, recreation access and economic benefits.

    The fund is now working with the community to shape a permanent conservation solution.

    “This land has long helped sustain the people of Jackman and Moose River and beyond, and it will continue to do so,” said Tom Duffus, fund’s vice president and Northeast representative based in Freeport. “The Conservation Fund is in the business of conservation — and we bought this land because we want to ensure it remains a working forest, supporting the local economy and community, all while maintaining the incredible habitats and recreation access that so many people enjoy.”

    The organization said it targeted the forestland for acquisition when it faced possible conversion, subdivision and development.

    The Hilton Land

    The property is located along the Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway of Route 201 north of Jackman.

    “The Hilton Land is a valued resource for the Jackman community,” said Kirstie Hale, Jackman’s town manager.

    The land was on the market because the family decided after 70 years to sell, Duffus told Mainebiz.

    The fund used capital from its Working Forests initiative, which includes some of the organization’s green bond funds.

    Through the Working Forests initiative, when forestland becomes available, the fund can purchase “at-risk" forests, secure public and private funding to permanently protect them and resell the forests back to the private market, forever protected as working forests. 

    Using the model, the fund has protected more than 1 million acres of working forests in 21 states.

    Green bonds are an impact investment instrument. In 2019, the organization raised capital by issuing $150 million in taxable green bonds underwritten by Goldman Sachs. The 10-year bonds are a financing instrument dedicated to land conservation.

    The property was marketed by LandVest, a real estae firm headquartered in Boston with multiple offices in Maine.

    Features include a long-term, sustainably managed forest resource composed of natural hardwood and softwood types, with areas naturally well suited to regenerate and grow sugar maple and productive in maple sap, resulting in several commercial maple sugaring outfits operating on the property, according to marketing information.

    “There are 10 commercial sugar producers working their sugar bushes and the balance of the forest will also continue to be managed sustainably,” said Duffus. “These activities are critical to the local economy and employment.”

    The land contains populations of rare plant and animal species, including the golden eagle and peregrine falcon.

    “Defining and implementing a sustainable, sensible conservation solution for the forest will take time, collaboration and financial support,” Duffus said. “We anticipate owning and managing this land for several years and eventually passing it, with permanent protections in place, to a private owner committed to advancing the forest’s conservation and economic benefits.”

    The organization said it is working to raise funds to permanently safeguard the property and its benefits.

    The amount to be raised is still to be determined. 

    “We have about five to seven years to raise private funds to match Forest Legacy and other funds,” said Duffus.

    Forest Legacy is a conservation program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service in partnership with state agencies to encourage the protection of privately owned forest lands through conservation easements or land purchases. Since its creation in 1990, Forest Legacy has conserved over 3 million acres of forestland and expanded across the country to 53 states and territories.

    Safeguarding the land will like mean establishing a conservation easement, possibly through the Forest Legacy program, said Duffus. 

    “This will keep the land in private ownership, open for traditional recreation access, managed sustainably and on the tax rolls as it is under our ownership,” he said.

    ]]>     California conservation efforts have raised Lake Mead by 16-feet in two years, regulators say https://sdgtalks.ai/california-conservation-efforts-have-raised-lake-mead-by-16-feet-in-two-years-regulators-say https://sdgtalks.ai/california-conservation-efforts-have-raised-lake-mead-by-16-feet-in-two-years-regulators-say Sat, 07 Dec 2024 18:26:31 -0500 Rose Ganshert Water users in California have conserved enough water since 2022 to raise Lake Mead water levels by 16 feet — an effort that has provided temporary stability to the Nevada reservoir, as western states negotiate how to split the Colorado River’s dwindling water supply over the next decade. 

    Conservation measures implemented by California water regulators have collectively added more than 1.2 million acre-feet of water — the equivalent of 16 feet —  to Lake Mead’s water storage, according to the Colorado River Board of California. 

    The Colorado River Board of California highlighted the state’s conservation progress during the annual Colorado River Water Users Association’s conference in Las Vegas Wednesday. 

    Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — the federal agency that manages the Colorado River basin — said “California has been an incredible partner” in the federal government’s efforts to stabilize the Colorado River. 

     “The conservation that California is contributing to the river is unprecedented. It is an example of what needs to happen in the river. It’s all of us together. It’s agriculture, it’s tribal nations, it’s municipalities,” Touton said.

    After federal officials gave western states an ultimatum in 2022 to either voluntarily reduce water use, or be forced to by the federal government, several states agreed to voluntarily cut use.

    Nevada, Arizona, and California committed to collectively reduce water use by at least 3 million acre-feet through the end of 2026, when the Colorado River’s current water management rules are set to expire.

    The temporary water savings measure was implemented to balance the Colorado River while the seven states that rely on the river — Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming — work with the federal government on a new long-term water sharing agreement.

    California water agencies took the largest water cuts, committing to conserve 1.6 million acre feet of water in Lake Mead by 2026. 

    As of December, the state has reached about three-fourths of its water saving commitments ahead of the 2026 deadline – with 500,000 acre-feet of water conserved in 2024 and 700,000 acre-feet saved in 2023. 

    Together, Nevada, Arizona, and California have managed to increase water elevation in Lake Mead by nearly 20 feet compared to two years ago, and conserved more water in 2023 than any previous year since 1984. Lake Mead still has a long way to full recovery, sitting at 33% capacity as of Wednesday. 

    California water regulators argued that their efforts have not only improved levels in Lake Mead, but also reduced downstream water releases from the troubled Lake Powell reservoir, which serves Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

    Western states along the Colorado River have been split into two camps for months over how to manage the river after 2026: Arizona, California, and Nevada in the lower basin; and Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the upper basin.

    “Every user, sector, state, and basin must do their part to protect this river. No one has shown that more than California’s cities, farms, and tribes,” said JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California and Colorado River Commissioner for California.

    “Actions speak louder than words, and we are proud to lead by example on the river,” Hamby continued.

    Last month, the Bureau of Reclamation finally offered the clashing states four different management options for the river’s post-2026 operations agreement. The Reclamation proposals will serve as the foundation of new water management rules to replace the current ones.

    California water savings over the past two years were produced through on-farm conservation programs, temporary and seasonal land-fallowing programs, curtailment of replenishment water for groundwater basins, turf replacement programs, and urban water efficiency efforts.

    “Mother Nature provided us a helping hand over the last couple of years,” said Jim Madaffar, the vice chair of the Colorado River Board of California. 

    Robust water years gave the state time to establish the collaborations and partnerships needed to conserve water for Lake Mead, said Madaffar.

    “We know we still face challenges on the river due to drought in our changing climate, but the collaborations that you’ve seen really provide a benchmark for how we’re moving forward to ensure that the river continues to serve all users,” Madaffar continued.

    ]]>     A Circuit Board Grown From Leaves Could Set a New Standard in Electronics https://sdgtalks.ai/a-circuit-board-grown-from-leaves-could-set-a-new-standard-in-electronics https://sdgtalks.ai/a-circuit-board-grown-from-leaves-could-set-a-new-standard-in-electronics Sat, 07 Dec 2024 18:09:07 -0500 Rose Ganshert
  • As e-waste continues piling in landfills, toxic sludge from rare earth metals leaches into the ground, propelling a growing environmental disaster.
  • To combat this, scientists at the Dresden University of Technology have created a biodegradable circuit board using a tree leaf.
  • Although not currently as robust as typical printed circuit boards, this research shows that the electronics industry isn’t somehow exempt from finding ways to make their products more sustainable.

    • According to recent estimates, there are nearly 7 billion smartphones in the world. With many tech companies avidly hoping you’ll upgrade your pocket computer annually ad nauseum, that means a lot of electronic waste (e-waste) in landfills leaking toxic chemicals detrimental to human and environmental health. And that’s only smartphones. The U.N. estimates that in 2022, the world produced 62 billion kilograms of e-waste—an 82 percent increase from just a decade earlier.

    While other industries have started transitioning toward biodegradable products, electronics is more complicated, as it often relies on rare earth metals that produce toxic waste But now, the industry may be turning over a new leaf… literally. An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) in Germany, have leveraged the quasi-fractal lignocellulose structures—essentially the veiny scaffolding of a leaf—in leaves to create biodegradable polymer films. In other words, they’ve made leaf-based electronics, or “leaftronics,” as the researchers called it. The details of this process were published in the journal Science Advances in November.

    “We were surprised to find that these natural quasi-fractal lignocellulose skeletons not only support living cells in nature, but can also hold solution-processable polymers together, even at relatively high temperatures where these polymers should begin flowing,” TU Dresden’s Hans Kleemann, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement.

    These natural quasi-fractal structures thermomechanically stabilized polymers films, but crucially did not impact their biodegradability along the way. Furthermore, the researchers demonstrated that these polymer films can withstand soldered circuitry and support organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDS.

    ]]>     AMP Robotics raises $91M to accelerate deployment of recycling systems https://sdgtalks.ai/amp-robotics-raises-91m-to-accelerate-deployment-of-recycling-systems https://sdgtalks.ai/amp-robotics-raises-91m-to-accelerate-deployment-of-recycling-systems Sat, 07 Dec 2024 17:59:13 -0500 Rose Ganshert AMP Robotics Corp. today said it has  has raised $91 million in corporate equity in a Series D financing. The Louisville, Colo.-based company plans to use its latest funding to accelerate deployment of its AMP ONE systems, which uses artificial intelligence and robotics to sort municipal solid waste, or MSW.

    “Recycling rates have stagnated in the United States, despite the positive benefits recycling offers local economies and the environment,” said Matanya Horowitz, founder of AMP. “This latest investment enables us to tackle larger projects and deliver real outcomes for waste companies and municipalities – by lowering sortation costs, capturing more material value, diverting organic waste, and extending landfill life – all while helping the industry optimize its strategic assets.”

    Founded in 2014, AMP Robotics said its AI platform has identified 150 billion items and guided the sortation of more than 2.5 million tons of recyclables. The company said its technology can help modernize and change the economics of resource recovery. It has three full-scale facilities and more than 400 AI systems deployed across North America, Asia, and Europe.

    From sortation to AMP ONE

    AMP Robotics said its AI uses deep learning to continuously train itself by processing millions of material images into data. The software uses pattern recognition of colors, textures, shapes, sizes, and logos to identify recyclables and contaminants in real time, enabling new offtake chemistries and capabilities, it added.

    The company noted that its first products were a series of sorting robots deployed with minimal retrofit into existing recycling facilities. AMP then developed facilities that it claimed involve almost no manual sorting, are reliable, and provide “pervasive data.”

    “These facilities make the recovery of commodities safer and more cost-effective than ever and have grown to encompass MSW sorting, an offering out of reach to the industry prior to the advent of AMP’s technology,” it said. “AMP ONE provides a full-scale facility solution to sort various material streams and capture more of the billions of dollars in value otherwise lost to landfills or incinerated annually.”

    AMP Robotics marks recent deployments, new CEO

    Recycling and Disposal Solutions demonstrated AMP ONE’s ability to cost-effectively sort MWS at its facility  in Portsmouth, Va. It has processed 150 tons per day of local waste with more than 90% uptime, said the company.

    Last month, AMP Robotics entered into an agreement with Waste Connections Inc. to equip and operate one of Waste Connections’ single-stream recycling facilities in Colorado. 

    “AMP provides meaningfully lower-cost, higher-performance systems to recover commodities and increase landfill diversion, and we’re uniquely positioned to reshape the waste and recycling landscape at a critical time,” said Tim Stuart, CEO of AMP. “We’re grateful to our longstanding and newest investors for their support in helping us chart a new path for sustainable materials management and resource efficiency.”

    AMP last month augmented its leadership team with the appointment of Stuart, former chief operating officer for Republic Services Inc. Horowitz transitioned from CEO into the role of chief technology officer.

    Congruent Ventures leads round

    Congruent Ventures led AMP Robotics’ Series D round. Current and new investors participated, including Sequoia Capital, XN, Blue Earth Capital, Liberty Mutual Investments, California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS), Wellington Management, Range Ventures, and Tao Capital Partners.

    “AMP’s AI sortation systems enable consumers to recycle both with and without curbside separation and communities to benefit from the recovery of recycled commodities while reducing dependence on landfills,” added Abe Yokell, co-founder and managing partner of Congruent Ventures. “AMP is an example of the real-world impacts of AI; solutions like AMP’s will divert billions of tons of recyclable material from landfills while reducing emissions.”

    Congruent Ventures is a leading early-stage venture firm focused on partnering with entrepreneurs to build companies addressing climate and sustainability challenges. The firm has more than $1 billion in assets under management across early-stage climate tech funds and 59 companies in its portfolio.

    ]]>     How Singapore is using technology to solve its water shortage https://sdgtalks.ai/how-singapore-is-using-technology-to-solve-its-water-shortage https://sdgtalks.ai/how-singapore-is-using-technology-to-solve-its-water-shortage Sat, 07 Dec 2024 17:11:58 -0500 Rose Ganshert Singapore (CNN Business) — Singapore uses about 430 million gallons of water every day — a number it expects could double in the next four decades.

    That kind of consumption is piling pressure on the Asian city state to address growing concerns about global water scarcity. So it’s building new technology to prepare itself for a future where obtaining clean water will be even more difficult.

    “Singapore truly has become a global water hub,” said Shane Snyder, executive director of the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. “But as it stands, it imports approximately 40% of its water today. And with climate change, that water has become far less dependable.”

    Rapid urbanization and rising global temperatures are making access to natural water sources increasingly hard to come by. Today, a quarter of the world lives in areas of high water stress. Experts say we’re consuming natural resources faster than the earth can replenish them.

    Singapore, meanwhile, is home to more than five million people and is covered in fountains, reservoirs and other water features — including the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, a 130-foot Rain Vortex that pumps 10,000 gallons of water per minute.But it has no natural water sources of its own, instead relying heavily on recycled water and imports from its neighbors.

    Singapore is home to the world's tallest indoor waterfall, which pumps 10,000 gallons of water per minute.

    Snyder’s research facility is one of several places developing solutions for Singapore’s water dependency. The hope is to create projects that could be used across the city.

    “What we have become used to as reliable water, may quickly change — so we have to be prepared, we have to be thinking about the infrastructure in advance,” Snyder said. “There’s a big drive to become water independent — to control our own future — and that is largely dependent on the technologies we’re developing.”

    One development: a small, black sponge called carbon fiber aerogel that the university says can clean waste water on a mass scale. The sponge absorbs 190 times its weight in waste, contaminants and microplastics.

    The material is being further developed for commercial use by Singapore-based startup EcoWorth Technology. CEO Andre Stoltz said the company will first enter Singapore’s waste water market before eventually developing this material for use on a global scale.

    “We believe it’s potential impact is very big,” Stoltz said, adding that the product allows the company “to convert waste products to something of worth.”

    EcoWorth Tech says carbon-fiber aerogel can remove 190 times its weight in waste, contaminants and microplastics. 
    EcoWorth

    Another company, WateRoam, is already taking innovation from Singapore to the rest of the region. Founded in 2014, WateRoam says it has developed a lightweight, portable filtration device that they say has already provided clean drinking water to more than 75,000 people across Southeast Asia.

    WateRoam CEO David Pong said one of the most innovative aspects of the product is its simplicity.

    “We’re going with a no-frills approach because we’re looking at water as a basic problem and a basic commodity … and as a result, we needs basic technology to solve this problem,” Pong said. “We want people who are laymen— not specialists or engineers — to be able to pick up this product and intuitively know how to use it.”

    The water filtration device is no bigger than a bicycle pump, yet it can provide clean water to villages of 100 people for up to two years, according to the company.

    WateRoam's filtration device is designed to be as simple as possible. 
    WateROAM

    “We’ve been very blessed to have access to clean drinking water,” Pong said. “It’s a privilege that we should be able to bring forth to the rest of the region, and advocate that clean water is an essential aspect for life on earth.”

    ]]>     An organism used as fire starter for centuries could replace some plastics, study finds https://sdgtalks.ai/an-organism-used-as-fire-starter-for-centuries-could-replace-some-plastics-study-finds https://sdgtalks.ai/an-organism-used-as-fire-starter-for-centuries-could-replace-some-plastics-study-finds Sat, 07 Dec 2024 16:58:31 -0500 Rose Ganshert (CNN) — A tough, bell-shaped fungus that grows on the rotting bark of trees has been used as a fire starter for centuries, earning it the nickname “tinder fungus.”

    Now, researchers are taking a closer look at the molecular structure of this oddly powerful organism — and they’ve found that it could hold the secrets to replacing some types of plastics.

    Parts of the fungus, formally called Fomes fomentarius, were found to have similar structural strength to plywood or leather but at a lower weight, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

    “F. fomentarius fruiting bodies are ingeniously lightweight biological designs, simple in composition but efficient in performance,” the study noted. “Growing the material using simple ingredients is an alternative solution to overcome the cost, time, mass production, and sustainability of how we make and consume materials in the future.”

    What makes F. fomentarius so strong

    Humans have long used F. fomentarius — also sometimes called “hoof fungus” because of its visual resemblance to a horse’s hoof — harvested in the wild to feed fires. It’s also been used to create some clothing items, including hats. But the fungus has only recently piqued the interest of the scientific community, according to the study.

    Researchers at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland sought to analyze the internal structure of F. fomentarius more in depth, getting a glimpse of the microstructures that give the fungus its uniquely strong yet lightweight consistency. What they found was extremely promising, said study coauthor Dr. Pezhman Mohammadi, a senior scientist at VTT.

    The fungus has structural integrity similar to certain grades of plastic and could be used to replace shock-absorbing materials used in things like football helmets and other sporting equipment; heat and sound insulators; and even consumer product parts, such as headset parts, Mohammadi said via email.

    F. fomentarius “has a very stiff and hard protective outer layer, has softer spongy mid-layer, and a strong and tough inner layer each (of which) could outperform a different class of man-made and natural materials,” Mohammadi added.

    Potential use of F. fomentarius

    The researchers are not suggesting that tinder fungus should be harvested from the wild and funneled into the industrial process. That wouldn’t be economically viable, Mohammadi noted, and F. fomentarius takes seven to 10 years to grow to a significant size. The fungus, which is very common across the Northern Hemisphere, also plays a crucial role in its ecosystem, blooming on the bark of rotting beech and birch trees to aid the decomposition process.

    But researchers have made promising steps toward growing the fungus or a similar species in a lab environment, Mohammadi said.

    “With the advances in industrial biotechnology, we forecast the production of Metric Tons in a matter of weeks in contrast to wild-type mushrooms that take years to grow,” Mohammadi wrote in an email. “For example in our research institute, we have 1000-liter pilot scale bioreactors where this could be carried out.

    “However, like any starting technology, it would take some years of R&D to be realized fully.”

    ]]>     A polluting, coal-fired power plant found the key to solving America’s biggest clean energy challenge https://sdgtalks.ai/a-polluting-coal-fired-power-plant-found-the-key-to-solving-americas-biggest-clean-energy-challenge https://sdgtalks.ai/a-polluting-coal-fired-power-plant-found-the-key-to-solving-americas-biggest-clean-energy-challenge Sat, 07 Dec 2024 16:20:44 -0500 Rose Ganshert Becker, Minnesota(CNN) — The smokestacks on the aging Sherco coal power plant tower over gleaming solar panels that stretch across thousands of acres of farmland.

    The polluting coal plant is on its way out, scheduled for retirement in the next five years. It’s generated billions of dollars’ worth of electricity in its 50-year life, but the most valuable of its parts is the plug — how it connects to the grid that powers our homes.

    Instead of letting it go to waste as the fossil fuel plant closes, Xcel Energy is going to leave it plugged in to connect the largest solar project in the Upper Midwest, and one of the largest in the entire country, directly to the grid.

    Repurposing the so-called interconnection system is short-circuiting what could have been seven years of bureaucracy and red tape to get this electricity distributed to its customers.

    Experts say this is the secret to solving America’s clean energy dilemma: There is more electricity from clean energy waiting to get connected to the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. The years-long delays are an existential threat to many projects’ chances of getting built.

    A view of Sherco power plant, which has been operating since the 1970s and is slated for full retirement by 2030. Julian Quinones, CNN
    Xcel Energy's Ryan Long explains how the company is leap-frogging the system to transition from coal to solar. Evelio Contreras/CNN

    “It allows us to move much more quickly,” said Ryan Long, Xcel Energy’s Minnesota president, who called reusing the plant’s infrastructure “a real key to our strategy here.”

    The US could essentially double the capacity of its electrical grid overnight by plugging renewables projects into old fossil fuel power plants, University of California Berkeley researchers found, whether they be coal, gas or oil. And projects could be plugged into existing plants, not just ones that are retiring.

    “This should be one of the main strategies that we adopt going forward, because we already have so many existing assets, so much grid infrastructure and we don’t want to just throw them away,” said Umed Paliwal, a senior scientist at UC Berkeley and a lead author of the study.

    Julian Quinones/CNN

    It is far faster to build a project like Sherco solar right now than it is for that project to connect to the electric grid. That’s because room needs to be made on the grid to add new sources of energy, which requires lengthy engineering studies and uncertain project timelines. A cheap, clean energy boom is now running up against this complex, regional bureaucracy.

    Rob Gramlich, CEO of consulting firm Grid Strategies LLC, likens plugging renewable projects into existing interconnection sites to using a fast pass to skip the long lines at Disney.

    “There’s a line everybody wants to get on, and then somebody just has this Disney pass to skip the line,” Gramlich said. “It’s a sensitive topic to talk about, jumping around the interconnection queue. But the reality is, it’s there.”

    From super-polluters to clean energy juggernauts

    The answer to supercharging clean energy could lie inside some of the most polluting power plants in the US.

    Sherco has been Minnesota’s largest coal-fired power plant — and its biggest polluter — since it was built over the course of the 1970s and 80s. Its smokestacks emitted around 10.5 million tons of planet-warming pollution in 2022 alone, the equivalent of over 2 million cars spewing emissions in a year.

    CNN's Bill Weir looks at the coal fire that generates energy for thousands of customers through a protective welder's mask. Julian Quinones, CNN
    Outside the plant, solar panels span acres of farmland. Sherco — a fossil fuel behemoth — looks small in comparison. 
    Julian Quinones, CNN

    But as Berkeley researchers found, plants like Sherco that are either gradually retiring or even still operating are good candidates for renewables to plug into their infrastructure.

    “Any fossil fuel power plant does not operate every single hour of the day,” said Sonia Aggarwal, CEO of clean energy think tank Energy Innovation, and a former White House climate official. “The other hours — that big plug, this really valuable resource that everyone is waiting years to get access to — that’s just sitting there, not being used.”

    Aggarwal and Paliwal argue this method allows utilities to have the best of both worlds; they can build wind and solar farms nearby, put that clean energy on the grid during the hours a coal or gas plant isn’t producing electricity, and not have to entirely shut down a plant.

    Doing so brings a multitude of benefits. It helps save jobs at a plant that might otherwise be threatened by closure and helps increase the local tax base around the plants. In Minnesota, Xcel is promising no layoffs for workers at the Sherco coal plant.

    “We really need them to stay at those coal plants until the end of (the plant’s) life because they do provide critical reliability and energy for our communities,” Long said. “When the time is right, we’ll find them a job at Xcel Energy and we’ll retrain them and position them for success in that role.”

    Julian Quinones/CNN

    It can also result in savings for electric customers, as the plants ramp down coal and switch to wind and solar, which are far cheaper sources of energy.

    The Berkeley study considered several factors to determine good candidates for interconnection: whether there was land nearby a thermal plant suitable for wind and solar; how much energy could be generated by the sun or wind; and how much renewable energy could be fed into a plant’s interconnection system.

    The answer to that last question? A lot.

    Paliwal and his colleagues found that by 2032, utilities could install a whopping 1,000 gigawatts of new clean energy near power plants that checked all three boxes. And those are the big numbers America needs; energy analysts believe data centers, AI and the increased demand as people electrify homes and cars.

    Several power plants in Illinois are attempting something similar, and in Virginia, a new solar array is plugging into the interconnection at a nearby gas plant.

    Solar panels sit on acres of old farmland in Becker, Minnesota — part of Xcel Energy's massive Sherco solar project. Julian Quinones, CNN

    For Pete Wyckoff, who serves as the Minnesota Commerce Department’s deputy commissioner of energy resources, the Sherco solar farm represents a chance to produce energy locally.

    “We’re a good wind and solar state,” Wyckoff said. “Anything we burn that’s fossil fuel, we are importing. We are making the wind and solar electricity here.”

    It’s also a huge step forward for Minnesota’s climate and clean energy goals. Under its Democratic governor and 2024 vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, the state is aggressively trying to decarbonize its power sector — getting to 100% clean electricity by 2040.

    “That is a key driver for how we’re going to decarbonize the rest of the economy,” Wykoff said. “We’re aiming to be clean economy-wide by 2050. And I think we can get there.”

    ]]>     Scientists find huge trove of rare metals needed for clean energy hidden inside toxic coal waste https://sdgtalks.ai/scientists-find-huge-trove-of-rare-metals-needed-for-clean-energy-hidden-inside-toxic-coal-waste https://sdgtalks.ai/scientists-find-huge-trove-of-rare-metals-needed-for-clean-energy-hidden-inside-toxic-coal-waste Sat, 07 Dec 2024 15:34:11 -0500 Rose Ganshert Millions of tons of coal ash left over from burning the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel are sitting in ponds and landfills, able to leach into waterways and pollute soil. But this toxic waste may also be a treasure trove for the rare earth elements needed to propel the world toward clean energy.

    Scientists analyzed coal ash from power plants across the United States and found it could contain up to 11 million tons of rare earth elements — nearly eight times the amount the US has in domestic reserves — worth around $8.4 billion, according to recent research led by the University of Texas at Austin.

    It offers a huge potential source of domestic rare earth elements without the need for new mining, said Bridget Scanlon, a study author and research professor at UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences. “This really exemplifies the ‘trash to treasure’ mantra,” she said. “We’re basically trying to close the cycle and use waste and recover resources in the waste.”

    These so-called rare earths are a cluster of metallic elements, with names like scandium, neodymium and yttrium, which exist in the Earth’s core. They have a critical role in clean technology, including electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

    Despite their name, these metals are not rare in nature, but can be hard to extract and separate from the ore that surrounds them such that demand is outpacing supply.

    As the world moves away from planet-heating fossil fuels, more rare earths will be needed. Demand for the metals is expected to soar up to seven times current levels by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency.

    Yet US supply remains small. Its only large scale rare earths mine is Mountain Pass in California. The country currently imports more than 95% of its rare earth elements, the vast majority of which come from China, posing supply chain and security issues.

    “We need to improve the situation,” Scanlon told CNN. That’s why there has been a move to look at unconventional sources of rare earths, she said, “and one of these sources is coal and coal byproducts.”

    Coal ash contains relatively low concentrations of rare earth elements compared to what can be mined directly from underground deposits. The advantage is that it’s readily available. Around 70 million tons of coal ash is produced each year in the US.

    “There’s huge volumes of this stuff all over the country. And the upfront process of extracting… is already taken care of for us,” said Davin Bagdonas, a study co-author and research scientist at the University of Wyoming.

    The aftermath of the collapse of a coal ash pond at the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tennessee, on December 22, 2008. Wade Payne/AP
    The Dallman coal ash pond in Springfield, Illinois, in November 2021. 
    Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register/USA Today Network/Imagn Images

    Where the coal is from determines how straightforward rare earth extraction would be, the study found.

    Coal ash from the Appalachian Basin contains the highest amounts of rare earth elements, but only 30% can be extracted. Coal ash from the Powder River Basin, which straddles Wyoming and Montana, has the lowest average concentration of elements but more than 70% can be extracted.

    The extraction process from coal ash could be costly, said Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the Water Research Institute at West Virginia University, who was not involved in the study. The costs of mining need to be weighed against how much product can be recovered, he told CNN.

    “Strong acids and bases are needed to extract rare earth elements. Both are expensive,” Ziemkiewicz said. Coal ash from the West can contain higher concentrations of alkaline minerals, he added, which would increase costs as alkalinity neutralizes the acid.

    The more chemicals required for the process, the higher the potential environmental impacts.

    Rare earth elements also only make up a tiny proportion of coal ash, Ziemkiewicz added, so their extraction “wouldn’t change the volume requiring disposal and storage.” Coal ash contains contaminants like mercury, arsenic and lead, making it a very risky waste stream.

    The study authors, however, suggest the value from extracting rare earth metals could be used to offset the costs of improving the way coal ash is stored and managed.

    In April, the Biden administration announced a $17.5 million investment into projects to extract rare earths from coal and its waste.

    The funding “will increase our national security while helping rebuild America’s manufacturing sector and revitalize energy and mining communities across the country,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement at the time.

    Some have expressed concerns that transforming coal ash into something valuable could be used to push for more coal, the dirtiest of the planet-heating fossil fuels.

    It’s not something Scanlon is too concerned about. “We will be using legacy waste for the most part,” Scalon said. There are currently more than 2 billion tons of coal ash stored across the US, according to the Department of Energy. “There is no indication that future reliance upon coal ash as a feedstock for critical materials will incentivize coal power,” said a DOE spokesperson.

    The broader aim is to find out ways to get a range of products from coal in addition to rare earths, Scanlon said, to extract value from it without burning it.

    ]]>     The hunt for heat: Drilling the deepest holes on Earth https://sdgtalks.ai/the-hunt-for-heat-drilling-the-deepest-holes-on-earth https://sdgtalks.ai/the-hunt-for-heat-drilling-the-deepest-holes-on-earth Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:21:25 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    Beneath our feet is an almost limitless source of energy, but while a few lucky locations have geothermal heat close to the surface, the rest of the world will need to dig a lot deeper. The challenge is how to get deep enough.

    There are some spots around the world where energy literally bubbles to the surface. In Iceland, home to more than 200 volcanoes and dozens of natural hot springs, tapping into this energy isn't hard. Dotted around the country are steaming pools of water, heated by the geothermal fires that burn just below the crust. Boiling jets of water and steam are thrown into the air by geysers.

    Iceland now heats 85% of its houses with this geothermal energy, while 25% of the country's electricity also comes from power stations that harness this heat from underground. It's an appealing prospect – an almost limitless supply of energy waiting to be tapped.  

    But geothermal energy offers an essentially inexhaustible green energy source across the planet. And it's "always on'', unlike wind or solar power, since the heat is continually emitted from the Earth's molten core and the decay of naturally occurring radioactive elements in our planet's crust. Indeed, the Earth emits such enormous amounts of energy as it cools that the heat lost into space each year is enough to meet the world's total energy demands many times over.

    The challenge is tapping into that energy. 

    Currently only 32 countries in the world have geothermal power plants in operation. There are fewer than 700 power plants around the world, generating around 97 Terawatt hours (TWh) in 2023 between them. That is less than half the amount of electricity generated by solar in the US alone and far short of estimates for the potential contribution that geothermal could make to the global energy mix. Some estimate that geothermal could contribute around 800-1400TWh of electricity annually by the middle of the century with a further 3,300-3800TWh per year of heat. 

    "The Earth itself has the potential to address a variety of hurdles in the transition to a clean energy future," argued Amanda Kolker, geothermal programme manager at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US, when releasing a report on the potential of geothermal energy in 2023. 

    But not every country is as lucky as Iceland, where reservoirs of hot water at temperatures of around 120-240C (248-464F) can be easily accessed close to the surface. In other areas of the country, wells drilled to depths of up to 1.5 miles (2.5km) provide access to temperatures of up to 350C (662F). Iceland's main geothermal site at Reykjanes, for example, has drilled experimental wells down 2.9 miles (4.6km) to access superheated fluids as hot as 600C (1112F). Already, day-to-day heat extraction is taking place using shallower wells that draw on temperatures around 320C (608F) to generate 720 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year.

    One reason geothermal is not more widespread is the high upfront investment needed to extract that energy. But physically reaching it has also been beyond us so far.  

    For other parts of the world to enjoy a part of this geothermal bonanza of clean energy, we need to drill deeper to reach the temperatures needed to generate electricity or provide large-scale heating for nearby neighbourhoods.

    Getty Images Tapping into the heat emitted by the Earth is relatively easy in places such as Iceland where it is close to the surface (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    Tapping into the heat emitted by the Earth is relatively easy in places such as Iceland where it is close to the surface (Credit: Getty Images)

    Across much of the planet, temperatures increase by 25-30C (77-86F) on average every kilometre you go down through the Earth's crust. In the UK, for example, the subsurface temperature at around 5km (3 miles) down is about 140C (284F), according to the British Geological Survey.

    Drill down far enough, though and it is possible to reach a point where water temperatures surpass 374C (705F) at pressures above 220 bars (one bar being average pressure on the Earth's surface at sea level). This is where water enters an energy-intense state known as supercritical, where it exists in a form that is neither liquid or gas. The hotter and more pressurised it is, the greater energy it contains. 

    In fact, a single superhot geothermal well could produce five to 10 times the energy that commercial geothermal wells produce today, according to the NREL. 

    One major hurdle, however, is that conventional rotary drills – even those tipped with diamond – are ill-equipped to excavate to the kind of depths needed to access these kinds of temperature. In the mysterious deep underworld of uncertain geology, extreme temperatures and huge pressures, drill components can fail frequently, while keeping holes from becoming blocked is a constant battle. 

    In 2009, for example, a team working on the Iceland Deep Drilling Project inadvertently tapped supercritical conditions when it drilled into a magma chamber at the Krafla volcano, about 1.2 miles (2km) below the surface. The superheated steam emitted from this well was highly acidic, making it difficult to use. The high pressures and temperatures involved also made it difficult to control, and it had to be intermittently discharged for around two years before a valve failure forced the hole to be sealed. 

    Deep drilling can also be an expensive and time-consuming endeavour.

    The deepest hole ever dug by humans dates back to the Cold War, however, when there was a race between the superpowers to drill as far into the Earth's crust as possible. The Soviets managed to plough their way through 7.6 miles (12.2km) of rock – creating the Kola Superdeep Borehole, on the Kola Peninsula, high in the Arctic Circle. It took them almost 20 years to reach that depth and it remains the deepest humans have managed to delve into the Earth. (Read more about the Kola Superdeep Borehole in this article by Mark Piesing.)

    The NREL estimates that the cost of drilling a 1km deep well is around $2m (£1.57m) while drilling four times that depth can cost between $6m-$10m (£4.7m to £7.87m) with current technology.

    These depths will allow nearly universal access to geothermal power – Igor Kocis

    Yet deep geothermal energy could provide some considerable cost savings when compared to conventional geothermal, due to the higher temperatures and pressures that can be accessed further into the Earth's crust. Some studies have suggested deep geothermal energy could supply heating for communities at costs similar to other forms of heating, such as using gas, but with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

    With this in mind, some pioneering researchers and companies are turning to new types of drills and drilling techniques to bore some of the deepest holes ever created in the hope of bringing geothermal energy to parts of the world that never thought it was possible.

    Quaise Energy, a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for example, are aiming to drill holes as deep as 12 miles (20km) to access temperatures of 500C (932F) or more. To do so, they are turning to a tool that draws on years of research into nuclear fusion power. "While others are putting shovels in the ground, we're putting microwaves in the ground for the first time," says the company's co-founder Matt Houde. 

    He and his colleagues are experimenting with millimetre-wave directed energy beams that vaporise even the hardest rock. It focuses high-powered beam of radiation similar to microwaves but at a higher frequency onto a segment of rock, heating it up to 3,000C (5,432F) so that it melts and vaporises. By directing the beam so it bores through the rock, holes can be created without the debris and friction created by traditional drilling techniques.

    "Millimetre-wave drilling is a process that can operate largely independent of depth," says Houde. "And millimetre-wave energy can also transmit through dirty, dusty environments."

    The technology has grown out of nuclear fusion plasma experiments conducted by Paul Woskov, an engineer at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Centre. Millimetre-wave directed energy has been explored as a way of heating up plasma in nuclear fusion reactors since the 1970s, but a few years ago Woskov hit upon another use for the technology. He started using millimetre-wave beams generated by a device known as a gyrotron to melt through rock.

    But so far the technology has only been tested in the laboratory, drilling shallow holes in relatively small samples of rock, but the company claims it can drill through rock at around 3.5m (11.5ft) per hour. While this is slow compared to traditional drilling techniques, there are other benefits as the "drill bit" isn't physically grinding through the rock, it should not wear out or need replacing. Quaise Energy are now at the final stage of laboratory testing of millimetre-wave technology prior to beginning field trials in early 2025. 

    Quaise Energy Millimetre-wave directed energy has been shown in the laboratory to be capable of drilling through solid rock (Credit: Quaise Energy)Quaise Energy
    Millimetre-wave directed energy has been shown in the laboratory to be capable of drilling through solid rock (Credit: Quaise Energy)

    But transferring the millimetre-wave drilling technology from the laboratory to a full-scale drilling operation will still be a challenge.

    "They have never been used before in the deep high-pressure subsurface environment," says Woskow. "Changes due to intense energy-matter interaction applied to drilling require a new learning curve." 

    Slovakia-based GA Drilling, meanwhile, is exploring a different high-energy drill technology to bore into the Earth's crust. It is using a pulse plasma drill, based on very short high energy electric discharges that disintegrate rock without causing it to melt. This avoids creating any viscous molten rock, which can be difficult to remove and can stop drill bits penetrating further. "Since the process is very swift with short shocks crumbling the rock, there isn't time for melt to form – so the need to pull up and replace the bit is greatly reduced," says Igor Kocis, chief executive and chairman of GA Drilling. "Five to eight kilometres (3-5 miles) is a target for our current development programme – and later 10km-plus," he adds. "These depths will allow nearly universal access to geothermal power."  

    Research into pulse plasma drills – using very short energy pulses that disintegrate rock using ionised gas as hot as 6,000C (10,832F) – is another avenue being explored by a European consortium led by the Geothermal Energy and Geofluids (GEG) group, with partners in Germany and Switzerland.

    GA Drilling has also been collaborated with Konstantina Vogiatzaki, associate professor of engineering science at the University of Oxford to adapt advanced mathematics looking at how  supercritical fluids can be controlled when tapping deep earth energy sources accessed via plasma drilling. "We worked on defining the optimum combustion system for a full-scale drilling tool, opening new horizons in controlling ultra-high pressure combustion through plasma drilling," says Vogiatzaki. 

    Others are looking beyond our own planet for ways to help us drill down into it. Technology developed for planetary exploration missions on the scorching surface of Venus, where temperatures can reach 475C (887F), are being adopted by geothermal drilling companies. Ozark Integrated Circuits – an electronics manufacturer based in Fayetteville, Arkansas – has been adapting circuits capable of withstanding extreme temperatures that can be used on deep Earth geothermal drilling rigs.

    Getty Images The Iceland Deep Drilling Project in Reykjanes, Iceland, has drilled wells as deep as 2.9 miles (4.6km) (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    The Iceland Deep Drilling Project in Reykjanes, Iceland, has drilled wells as deep as 2.9 miles (4.6km) (Credit: Getty Images)

    For its own part, the NREL has turned to AI to analyse complex subterranean environments to try to find the best places to drill for supercritical water, as well as helping to predict and detect faults with drills before they cause major issues.

    And some companies are already making inroads into the deep Earth. Geothermal company Eavor told the BBC that in 2024 it reached a depth of three miles (5km) with two vertical wells at a site in Gerestried, Bavaria, Germany. It has been using two of the largest land-based drilling rigs in Europe in an effort to create a commercial-scale plant in Geretsried that aims to bring geothermal heat to the surface by circulating water inside a closed loop design it calls the Eavor Loop. The system works like a giant radiator, with cold water in the loop being heated underground and then coming back to the surface where it will be used to generate electricity and piped into nearby homes through a district heating system. Eavor expectes to begin generating energy at the site in the first half of 2025, says John Redfern, Eavor's CEO and president.

    "Our technology is looking to drill up to 11km (6.8 miles) in the future," says geologist and Eavor co-founder Jeanine Vany. "I believe we can make meaningful progress towards unlocking superhot rock in the next three to five years."    

    Their closed-loop approach also helps to avoid some of the contamination problems that can occur when superheated water is extracted from deep geothermal wells – as the Iceland Deep Drilling Project discovered in 2009. It can also help to reduce the emissions of hazardous gases, such as hydrogen sulphide, that open-loop geothermal systems can emit.

    Vany also points out that deep geothermal energy doesn't need a lot of space on the surface, which means it could be slotted into urban locations in the future. 

    MIT Millimetre-wave directed energy can cope with different types of rock but have yet to be proven out in the field (Credit: MIT)MIT
    Millimetre-wave directed energy can cope with different types of rock but have yet to be proven out in the field (Credit: MIT)

    But there are other problems to be overcome. It isn't yet clear how easy it will be to maintain deep geothermal wells and keep them from becoming blocked.

    The drive to tap deep geothermal energy could also bring new life to ageing fossil fuel power stations as countries look to switch off their traditional carbon-emitting energy sources. Retrofitting old coal power stations into geothermal plants could be a way of giving the steam-powered generators a second life and help to speed up the construction of geothermal plants by taking advantage of existing electricity transmission lines. Woskov has identified an abandoned coal power plant in upstate New York, which he hopes could be reopened before the end of the decade to generate electricity from the heat deep underground.

    There would be a certain poetry in that switch – a power station that once ran on a dirty fuel dug out of the ground finding new life in the clean energy revolution with an energy source from even deeper underground.

    The question is – will they be able to dig deep enough?

    ]]>     The world&apos;s fastest electric vehicles could spark widespread innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/the-worlds-fastest-electric-vehicles-could-spark-widespread-innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/the-worlds-fastest-electric-vehicles-could-spark-widespread-innovation Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:17:36 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    The common electric vehicle doesn't need to hit lightning speed – but Formula E race cars could usher in a new era for all.

    When Formula E's Season 10 kicked off at Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in January, the roar of 40,000 spectators easily drowned out the mosquito whine of the 24 all-electric race cars zipping off the starting grid. Hurtling along at speeds upwards of 300km/h (186mph), some of the best drivers in the world jockeyed for position along the circuit.

    Dreamed up in 2011 on the back of a napkin at a Paris restaurant, Formula E is now a decade old. It has 11 teams, with 22 drivers total, operating single-seater race cars similar in appearance to the famed open-cockpit vehicles of Formula One.

    "The standard of driving is very high," says Graham Evans, director of auto supply chain and technology for S&P Global Mobility, an automotive intelligence firm. "These are very good guys who are also very experienced professional drivers."

    Since its first season in 2014, Formula E has grown into a lucrative business. Intelligence company GlobalData estimates the championship's total sponsorship for the 2023-2024 season at $102.5m (£81.36m), with international viewership and attendance estimated at 344 million worldwide in 2023.

    The batteries in the current generation of Formula E cars deliver up to 350kW of power, and can propel a driver to a maximum top speed of 320km/h (199mph), approaching the top speed of traditional F1 cars. And while the racing series may not have the pedigree – or budget – of F1, it does provide a unique and important testing ground for new battery technology that could benefit the entire EV industry. 

    Getty Images The companies investing in advanced technology for Formula E cars may cascade into consumer vehicles (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    The companies investing in advanced technology for Formula E cars may cascade into consumer vehicles (Credit: Getty Images)

    'Sustained high performance'

    The competition among engineering firms to design batteries for Formula E is fierce, says Ashley Nunes, an associate and researcher at Harvard University's department of economics, who studies the electric vehicle market. Only a handful of elite companies can build these batteries to the specifications required to compete in a world-renowned race. 

    The companies who've won bids include WAE, McLaren, Podium Advanced Technologies and Atieva, the technology arm of luxury EV brand Lucid Motors. Most of these companies already have a pedigree of building high-performance tech, including batteries, for the biggest internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered racing series in the world, Formula 1. While designing this technology may bring in more revenue for these companies in the short term, there's plenty of money to be made in engineering battery technology for Formula E.

    The technology is far more expensive than the batteries found in a typical road EV, and for good reason. A Tesla Model S going all-out on a racetrack will start slowing down as the battery charge gets depleted, says Evans. That's because the battery isn't capable of handling sustained race performance. By contrast, any petrol or diesel-powered car can stay at top speed even on a quarter of a tank. A Formula E battery needs to behave more like its ICE kin at all times. "It's got to deliver sustained high performance," says Evans.

    On top of offering enough power for incredible bursts of speed, a Formula E battery needs to remain as light as possible. Race regulations require it to weigh just 284kg (626lbs), roughly a third of the car's total weight including the driver, and be capable of ultra-fast charging during a race. Plus, batteries get hot when overused, so they need an elaborate cooling system. All those requirements create tremendous engineering challenges (and capital requirements) for whichever company is tapped to build a Formula E battery. 

    Getty Images Many innovations for everyday cars, like tire pressure gauges, had their origins in racing (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    Many innovations for everyday cars, like tire pressure gauges, had their origins in racing (Credit: Getty Images)

    "The margins are probably relatively small, but because there aren't many producers, you can charge a premium for them," says Evans. According to the Fédération Internationale De L'Automobile (Fia) – the regulatory body for both Formula 1 and Formula E – the GEN3 battery system's total cost for Formula E's 2022-2023 season was €264,812 ($268,000; £226,442). "The people who are paying that price are multi-billion-dollar companies like Mercedes and Ferrari," says Nunes." They have deep pockets."

    From the track to the motorway

    Formula E battery suppliers don't just earn money from the batteries themselves. The process of developing new battery pack configurations, cooling systems and fast-recharge techniques can all be patented. If a Formula E supplier creates a revolutionary new technology for the track, says Evans, and licenses it to a mainstream EV automaker building millions of units a year, the licensing fee alone could be well worth the investment.

    Plenty of innovations for everyday cars, like tire pressure gauges, had their origins in F1. But Nunes points out that the battery requirements for road EVs are very different from their ultra-competitive cousins. Drivers want high range, large capacity and longevity that simply aren't necessary for Formula E, whose batteries don't need to last for a decade or more of driving.

    Experts are already watching some new battery developments. One is fast charging. Formula E vehicles use ultra-fast DC charging to reach top speeds, while passenger EV's use a slower AC charge that provides greater range. Still, many automakers in the commercial EV industry are keen to gain insight into Formula E charging technology as it rapidly evolves.

    To Evans, the biggest innovation might come through immersion cooling, a system where Formula E batteries are immersed in a refrigerant called dielectric fluid. The result is a significantly cooler battery capable of long-lasting high performance. Combined with ultra-fast charging, he says the racetrack can serve as an incubator for EV development overall.

    "In terms of being able to deliver that really high-powered challenge, Formula E can help us understand the art of the possible," says Evans. 

    ]]>     The cement that could turn your house into a giant battery https://sdgtalks.ai/the-cement-that-could-turn-your-house-into-a-giant-battery https://sdgtalks.ai/the-cement-that-could-turn-your-house-into-a-giant-battery Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:15:31 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    Concrete is perhaps the most commonly used building material in the world. With a bit of tweaking, it could help to power our homes too.

    On a laboratory bench in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a stack of polished cylinders of black-coloured concrete sit bathed in liquid and entwined in cables. To a casual observer, they aren't doing much. But then Damian Stefaniuk flicks a switch. The blocks of human-made rock are wired up to an LED – and the bulb flickers into life.

    "At first I didn't believe it," says Stefaniuk, describing the first time the LED lit up. "I thought that I hadn't disconnected the external power source, and that was why the LED was on. 

    "It was a wonderful day. We invited students, and I invited professors to see, because at first they didn't believe that it worked either."

    The reason for the excitement? This innocuous, dark lump of concrete could represent the future of energy storage.

    The promise of most renewable energy sources is that of endless clean power, bestowed on us by the Sun, wind and sea. 

    Yet the Sun isn't always shining, the wind isn't always blowing, and still waters do not, in megawatt terms, run deep. These are energy sources that are intermittent, which, in our energy-hungry modern world, poses a problem.

    It means that we need to store that energy in batteries. But batteries rely on materials such as lithium, which is in far shorter supply than is likely to be needed to meet the demand created by the world's quest to decarbonise its energy and transport systems. There are 101 lithium mines in the world, and economic analysts are pessimistic about the ability of these mines to keep up with growing global demand. Environmental analysts note that lithium mining uses a lot of energy and water, which nibble away at the environmental benefits of switching to renewable energy sources in the first place. The processes involved in extracting lithium can also sometimes lead to toxic chemicals leaking into local water supplies.

    Despite some new discoveries of lithium reserves, the finite supply of this material, the over-reliance on just a handful of mines around the world and its environmental impact have driven the search for alternative battery materials.

    This is where Stefaniuk and his concrete come in. He and his colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a way of creating an energy storage device known as a supercapacitor from three basic, cheap materials – water, cement and a soot-like substance called carbon black.

    Damian Stefaniuk Damian Stefaniuk has been able to use a carbon cement supercapacitor to power a handheld gaming device (Credit: Damian Stefaniuk)Damian Stefaniuk
    Damian Stefaniuk has been able to use a carbon cement supercapacitor to power a handheld gaming device (Credit: Damian Stefaniuk)

    Supercapacitors are highly efficient at storing energy but differ from batteries in some important ways. They can charge much more quickly than a lithium ion battery and don't suffer from the same levels of degradation in performance. But supercapacitors also release the power they store rapidly, making them less useful in devices such as mobile phones, laptops or electric cars where a steady supply of energy is needed over an extended period of time.

    Yet according to Stefaniuk, carbon-cement supercapacitors could make an important contribution to efforts to decarbonise the global economy. "If it can be scaled up, the technology can help solve an important issue – the storing of renewable energy," he says.

    He and his fellow researchers at MIT and Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, envisage several applications for their supercapacitors. 

    One might be to create roads that store solar energy and then release it to recharge electric cars wirelessly as they drive along a road. The rapid release of energy from the carbon-cement supercapacitor would allow vehicles to get a rapid boost to their batteries. Another would be as energy-storing foundations of houses – "to have walls, or foundations, or columns, that are active not only in supporting a structure, but also in that energy is stored inside them", says Stefaniuk.

    But it is still early days. For now, the concrete supercapacitor can store a little under 300 watt-hours per cubic metre – enough to power a 10-watt LED lightbulb for 30 hours. 

    The power output "may seem low compared to conventional batteries, [but] a foundation with 30-40 cubic metres (1,060-1,410 cubic feet) of concrete could be sufficient to meet the daily energy needs of a residential house", says Stefaniuk. "Given the widespread use of concrete globally, this material has the potential to be highly competitive and useful in energy storage."

    Cement production is responsible for 5-8% of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity globally

    Stefaniuk and his colleagues at MIT initially proved the concept by creating cent-sized 1V supercapacitors from the material before connecting together in series to power a 3V LED. They have since scaled this up to produce a 12V supercapacitor. Stefaniuk has also been able to use larger versions of the supercapacitor to power a handheld games console.

    And the research team are now planning to build larger versions, including one up to 45 cubic metres (1,590 cubic feet) in size that would be able store around 10kWh of energy needed to power to power a house for a day. 

    The supercapacitor works due to an unusual property of carbon black – it is highly conductive. This means that when carbon black is combined with cement powder and water, it makes for a kind of concrete that is full of networks of conductive material, taking a form that resembles ever-branching, tiny roots.

    Capacitors are formed of two conductive plates with a membrane in between them. In this case, both plates are made of the carbon black cement, which were soaked in an electrolyte salt called potassium chloride.

    When an electric current was applied to the salt-soaked plates, the positively-charged plates accumulated negatively charged ions from the potassium chloride. And because the membrane prevented charged ions from being exchanged between the plates, the separation of charges created an electric field. 

    As supercapacitors can accumulate large amounts of charge very quickly, it could make the devices useful for storing excess energy produced by intermittent renewable sources such as the wind and solar. This would take the pressure off the grid at times when the wind is not blowing, nor the Sun shining. As Stefaniuk says, "A simple example would be an off-grid house powered by solar panels: using solar energy directly during the day and the energy stored in, for example, the foundations during the night."

    Supercapacitors are not perfect. Existing iterations discharge power quickly, and are not ideal for steady output, which would be needed to power a house throughout the day. Stefaniuk says he and his colleagues are working on a solution that would allow their carbon-cement version to be tuned by adjusting the mixture, but they will not disclose the details until they have finalised the tests and published a paper.

    Getty Images The researchers at MIT are working on scaling up their carbon cement supercapactor so it can be used in a number of different applications (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    The researchers at MIT are working on scaling up their carbon cement supercapactor so it can be used in a number of different applications (Credit: Getty Images)

    There could be other issues to overcome too – adding more carbon black allows the resulting supercapacitor to store more energy, but it also makes the concrete slightly weaker too. The researchers say any uses that have a structural role to play as well as energy storage would need to find an optimum mix of carbon black.

    And while carbon-cement supercapacitors could help to reduce our reliance on lithium, they come with their own environmental impact. Cement production is responsible for 5-8% of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity globally, and the carbon-cement needed for the supercapacitors would need to be freshly made rather than retrofitted in existing structures.

    Nevertheless, it seems to be a promising innovation, says Michael Short, who leads the Centre for Sustainable Engineering at Teesside University in the UK. The research "opens many interesting potential avenues around the use of the built environment itself as an energy storage medium", he says. "As the materials are also commonplace and the manufacture relatively straightforward, this gives a great indication that this approach should be investigated further and could potentially be a very useful part of the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future."

    But more research will be needed to move this from the laboratory into the real world.

    "Often, new discoveries are problematic when considerations are made to move from lab or bench scale to wider deployment at larger scales and volumes. This can be due to manufacturing complexities, resource scarcities, or sometimes due to the underlying physics or chemistry. Desirable properties occurring at smaller scales may reduce or even vanish when attempts are made to make it larger."

    But there may be a way of overcoming the problem of environmentally-unfriendly cement, adds Short. His colleagues at Teesside University are already working on low-emissions cement that is made from the by-products of the steel and chemical industries.

    Projects such as low-emissions cement and energy-storing concrete raise the prospect of a future where our offices, roads and homes play a significant part in a world powered by clean energy.

    ]]>     How small islands are confronting existential climate threat https://sdgtalks.ai/how-small-islands-are-confronting-existential-climate-threat https://sdgtalks.ai/how-small-islands-are-confronting-existential-climate-threat Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:13:45 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    From erecting seawalls to selling citizenship, vulnerable small islands are taking sometimes drastic measures to protect themselves from rising seas, storms and economic devastation.

    For decades now, scientists have been warning that without action to combat emissions, some low-lying islands will literally disappear beneath the waves. Many others will become uninhabitable as extreme weather increasingly batters their coastlines.

    As the world edges closer to a long-term average of 1.5C warming, these warnings are becoming a seriously imminent prospect for some island nations. Five islets in the Solomon Islands, a nation of hundreds of islands in the South Pacific, have already been completely lost to sea level rise. And many small island developing states are seeing substantial annual economic losses due to coastal floods. By 2050, coastal flooding is set to triple across these nations, increasing annual economic damages by nine to 11 times.

    Small islands have become a strong voice in international forums, pushing for more ambitious climate policies to curb global temperature rise, and were key to the 2015 Paris Agreement to pursue efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5C. But they are increasingly facing some stark choices about how to physically stay above the waves, as well as in their diplomatic pushes for money to weather an increasingly uncertain climate.

    Speaking at the closing plenary of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, the Samoan chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), told delegates that "time is not on our side" and urged them to implement ambitious climate plans. "[We] cannot do this alone," he said, adding that small islands required "transformational change" in access to climate finance. (Read more about the trillion-dollar climate puzzle that's become a diplomatic nightmare).

    From reclaiming land from the sea to selling citizenship, the BBC looks at some of the measures already being taken to save these low-lying nations.

    Make more land

    With sea-levels rising, one obvious response is to create new land. This has been the approach of the Maldives, a low-lying 1,200-island archipelago some 400 miles (644km) south of India.

    The Maldives has the lowest terrain of any country in the world, and studies have concluded flooding here could eventually become too high for it to sustain habitation, leading to inevitable migration away from the islands. In a bid to protect itself, support a growing population and develop its economy, the Maldives has for decades now been working on a huge project of land reclamation. According to one paper, at least 186 of its 1,149 islands have some reclaimed land. More projects are on the way.

    Land reclamation consists of dredging up sediment from the ocean floor to extend coastlines. But there has been concern from scientists, locals and human rights groups about the environmental and social impacts of the practice. Land reclamation can be harmful for natural coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves, themselves hugely important for the coastal resilience of low lying islands. Natural shorelines are transitioning to artificial ones, resulting in even greater coastal erosion.

    Getty Images The Seychelles is constructing sea walls to protect its residents from climate impacts (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    The Seychelles is constructing sea walls to protect its residents from climate impacts (Credit: Getty Images)

    With these natural protections destroyed or undermined, flooding risk can go up. According to one paper, most of the inhabited islands in the Maldives now exhibit an "altered-to-annihilated capacity to respond to ocean-climate pressures". A 2023 paper found that land reclamations in the Maldives "lack a systematic approach" to anticipate sea-level rise and fail to account for local flood risk in their design and location choices.

    The UN's climate body, the IPCC, has warned that land reclamation can become "a vicious cycle" for islands. By degrading ecosystems such as reefs and mangroves, land reclamation can compromise the protection they offer to island communities, and thus actually increase their exposure and vulnerability, according to the IPCC.

    Responding to these concerns, Ali Shareef, the Maldives' special envoy for climate change, told the BBC that with 99% of the country's territory being ocean, land scarcity remains among its most pressing challenges. "As such, reclamation has become a necessary strategy to cater the needs of our growing population and to create new economic opportunities," he says. "However, we have regulations in place to minimise the impacts and damages."

    Shareef adds that in recent years the Maldives has placed "a strong emphasis" on nature-based solutions, including mangrove and coral reef restoration, as well as attempting to minimise the impacts of construction on shorelines.

    However, he acknowledges that there are still knowledge gaps. "We recognise the critical importance of balancing development with environmental sustainability," he says. "This has led us to integrate climate resilience and ecosystem protection into our reclamation projects. A key example is the Ras Malé eco-city, designed to be raised 3m (10ft) above sea level and powered entirely by renewable energy."

    Sea defences

    The most common measure used on islands to protect coasts, however, are seawalls. These promise a dual benefit of preventing soil sliding away (coastal erosion) and protecting the shoreline from waves and flooding.

    However, poorly constructed seawalls can collapse: on Indian Ocean islands such as Seychelles, the shorelines are "littered with broken seawalls and groynes", according to the IPPC (groynes are protective structures which lie perpendicular to the shore). Seawalls can shift problems of shoreline erosion and lowland inundation elsewhere: in one case, a seawall erected to protect a village in Samoa was not long enough to protect all the houses, leading some families to face increasing impacts from large waves.

    Nature-based defences, such as restoring mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass meadows which can protect people from coastal flooding and storms, are also becoming a priority for  many small islands. Other ways of weathering disasters are also getting higher interest, such as improving weather monitoring and early warning systems, or strengthening infrastructure to better weather extreme weather.

    Selling citizenship

    All this takes money, however, and where to get the rising amounts needed for such protection is not an easy challenge. Nor is sea-level rise the only climate threat to low-lying island nations. The highly disaster-vulnerable Caribbean island of Dominica is one country with an unusual, and potentially risky, strategy here.

    Back in September 2017, shortly after Dominica was hit by the rapidly intensifying, category five Hurricane Maria which cost it some $1.3bn (£1bn), or 226% of its GDP, the country pledged to become "the world's first climate-resilient" nation.

    "Our devastation is so complete that our recovery has to be total," prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit told the UN General Assembly at the time. The situation, he said, presented a unique, if unchosen, opportunity to be an example to the world of how "an entire nation rebounds from disaster" and "can be climate resilient for the future".

    Getty Images After Dominica was hit by Hurricane Maria, the country pledged to become Getty Images
    After Dominica was hit by Hurricane Maria, the country pledged to become "the world's first climate-resilient" nation (Credit: Getty Images)

    Dominica quickly drew up a plan to improve its climate resilience and better manage future disaster response. The country focused on developing its infrastructure for monitoring weather and water and early warning systems for disasters. It installed huge tankers to supply clean water in case of another hurricane or drought. It also rebuilt its seismic monitoring network, destroyed during Hurricane Maria: an essential step for one of the most seismically and volcanically active islands in the Caribbean. A landslide-prone country, it began planting more native plants and building other infrastructure to help stabilise slopes.

    The unusual part, though, is the source of cash it is using to fund much of this: selling citizenship. Dominica has been selling passports – including to people who have never set foot on Dominica – since the 1990s. After recently doubling the price, it now costs $200,000 (£160,000), via a donation to its Economic Development Fund, or a real estate investment. The programme has ballooned in recent years, with revenues reaching 25-30% of its entire GDP.

    Not all this money is going into resilience, and Dominica has other sources of funds too, but the long-term viability of relying on the passport income as a strategy to increase resilience against climate change is not assured. Concern is growing internationally around such citizenship schemes, which promote visa-free travel to a number of countries as one of the main benefits to customers. In 2023, the UK withdrew visa-free travel for citizens of Dominica over security concerns about citizenship being granted to people who posed a risk to the UK. A 2023 EU Commission report concluded Dominica had issued far more passports than officially stated. The EU commission raised security concerns about the trade, proposing a suspension in its visa-free regime for countries selling citizenship.

    A 2024 report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Dominica noted that recent international scrutiny of citizenship-by-investment schemes "threatens the viability" of financial flows for post-disaster reconstruction and development.

    The government of Dominica did not respond to a request for comment.

    Climate cash

    So where else can these small developing island countries get the money needed to fight climate impacts?

    Climate-vulnerable nations have long been pushing for more access to money from historically large economies to help them reduce emissions and deal with the impacts of climate change. Such climate finance, delivered via grants and low-interest loans, has become a key tenet of climate justice for impacted countries less responsible for global emissions. It currently amounts to just over $100bn (£79.8bn) per year.

    Many island states are becoming increasingly frustrated with slow progress at UN climate talks, especially when it comes to delivering money to support countries vulnerable to climate impacts.

    A key focus for COP29 was for countries to agree on a promised new target for climate finance going forwards, with many developing countries pushing for at least $1.3tn (£1.03tn) and small island states pushing for $39bn (£31bn) within this specifically for them. In the final hours of the conference, Aosis temporarily walked out of the finance talks. Speaking just after COP29 concluded in late November 2024, Michai Roberts, lead negotiator on finance for Aosis, told the BBC that other countries were "laughing at them" for asking for larger sums of money to help them tackle climate change. "The size of the damage to our economies [from climate change] outweighs any sort of per capita calculation of how much money we're getting," he said, adding that Aosis has always been "pragmatic" in the UN talks.

    The final agreement landed on $300bn (£238bn) a year, less than a quarter of the suggested, more ambitious target.

    In a statement, Marshall Islands climate envoy Tina Stege said the conference had seen "the very worst of political opportunism". "We are leaving with a small portion of the funding climate-vulnerable countries urgently need," she said. "It isn't nearly enough, but it's a start."

    In August 2024, Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape announced the country was pulling out of COP29 as a "protest at the big nations" with large carbon footprints for their "lack of support" to climate victims and forest and ocean nations.

    Along with the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea is home to the world's third largest rainforest, the biggest in Asia. It's also highly vulnerable to climate change, with a dispersed population highly reliant on subsistence farming and susceptible to climate-induced natural disasters such as extreme weather, storm surges, sea-level rise and coastal inundation.

    "Our economy needs money yet we are preserving trees as the lungs of the Earth, whilst industrialised nations keep on emitting," Marape said. "You have not paid for any conservation."

    Getty Images Papua New Guinea’s prime minister pulled out of COP29 over a Getty Images
    Papua New Guinea’s prime minister pulled out of COP29 over a "lack of support" for climate victims (Credit: Getty Images)

    But climate advocates have warned a move to stop attending such talks could have the opposite effect, isolating the country from climate discussions and weakening its ability to access climate finance. And in the end, Papua New Guinea did send a delegation, although Marape did not attend. From Papua New Guinea, he urged "genuine action on preserving the world's rainforests", adding that he hopes rainforest nations will have a stronger voice at next year's COP30 in Brazil.

    Other islands frustrated with the lack of movement on climate finance have been taking a different tack. Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley has become a well known name at climate talks due to her campaign to reform international finance, especially with regards to debt cancellation and restructuring, to help vulnerable countries better afford measures to cut emissions, adapt to climate change and deal with climate disasters.

    At an opening speech at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024, Mottley urged delegates to loosen the "economic noose of tightening fiscal space" by delivering "urgently needed financial reforms". She called for developed countries and carbon producers to boost climate money without increasing debt in "already burdened" developing countries using global levies on stock and bond trades, shipping and fossil fuel extraction.

    Rethinking debt

    Barbados, a Caribbean nation of 280,000 people vulnerable to sea level rise and intensified tropical storms due to climate change, has already launched an ambitious adaptation plan to protect people and infrastructure from extreme weather. Mottley has previously warned that migration from Caribbean states will soon become a reality without emissions cuts and finance for resilience projects.

    Her Bridgetown Initiative, launched in 2022, calls for a host of changes to multilateral money lenders such as the IMF and World Bank, including "natural disaster clauses" to automatically suspend debt servicing when climate disasters hit. Barbados has also joined other islands such as Belize and the Seychelles in setting up "debt-for-nature" swaps, where foreign debt is cancelled in exchange for local investments in conservation. (Read more about the deal that saved the Seychelles' troubled waters.)

    Alamy Without access to more international climate finance, small island states say they will struggle to adapt to mounting climate threats (Credit: Alamy)Alamy
    Without access to more international climate finance, small island states say they will struggle to adapt to mounting climate threats (Credit: Alamy)

    Public debt levels in developing countries reached $29tn (£23tn) in 2023, and has grown twice as fast as in developed countries since 2010. Small island developing states are particularly exposed: they had an average external debt of 48-51% of gross national income from 2011 and 2019, and 40% of are either highly indebted or are pushing towards debt distress, according to a report last year.

    A higher frequency of climate disasters is just one reason why many are urging a rethink on how money is lent to poorer countries. And Mottley is not the only leader calling for a step change on debt when it comes to climate impacts. A joint letter signed by the prime ministers of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada in July 2024 outlined this need following the "horrific devastation wrought by Hurricane Beryl" on small island economies.

    Addressed to the UK government, the letter called for immediate debt cancellation in all three countries and a "Marshall Plan" for small island states, in reference to the US programme of support to postwar Europe in the late 1940s.

    "Many small islands are struggling with insupportable debt burdens caused not by fiscal profligacy, but the elevated cost of repeated rebuilding after intensifying climate-related shocks for which they bear no responsibility," the letter read.

    "Rich and big countries are largely responsible for accumulated emissions, and most able to evade their debilitating consequences. So they owe it to small islands to drastically change this palpably unfair and inequitable settlement."

    Legal battles

    Some small island states are now taking to international courts as another avenue to push richer countries to act on emissions and deliver climate finance, including the requests for money to cover the loss and damage from climate impacts, long a topic of fierce tension at climate talks.

    In 2023, Vanuatu, a Pacific nation made up of around 80 low-lying islands, won its bid for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal obligation of states to reduce their impact on the climate and wider environment. The case is set to open in early December 2024, and while the legal view will be non-binding, it could be cited in climate court cases around the world.

     

    Getty Images Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley says climate migration will become a reality for many island states without adequate finance (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley says climate migration will become a reality for many island states without adequate finance (Credit: Getty Images)

    Other court rulings brought about by islands have already been given. In September 2022, eight Torres Strait Islander people won a legal action against Australia at the UN's Human Rights Committee for climate-induced damages to their ancestral lands. It was the first legal action brought, and won, by climate-vulnerable inhabitants of low-lying islands against a nation state.

    And in a May 2024 advisory opinion, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea expanded the definition of marine pollutants to include greenhouse gases. In a ruling requested by a coalition of nine small island states led by Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu, the tribunal stated that countries have a legal obligation to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions due to their current legal obligations to reduce marine pollution. This advisory opinion has "no binding force", but could be cited in other domestic and international court rulings. (Read about the other legal battles changing the course of climate change.)

    Facing loss

    Some islands are acknowledging, though, that there are some places that no amount of money will be able to save. In Fiji, an archipelago of more than 300 islands where dozens of coastal villages may soon be underwater, for example, the government has begun a careful village relocation programme. One local community has mandated that young adults building their family home should do so up-slope from the existing village, which is regularly flooded, to allow it to slowly transition away from danger.

    Other nations are planning for relocation outside their historic islands. Tuvalu, an atoll nation of nine coral islands in the Pacific Ocean, is already facing the fact that, within decades, much of its land mass may no longer lie above sea level. Yearly damages due to flooding by the end of the century could amount to over 70% of its GDP, one paper found. Confronting the possibility of disappearing as a nation altogether, its leaders have decided to build the world’s first digital copy of a country, backing up everything from its houses to its beaches to its trees. (Read more about Tuvalu's race to upload itself to the metaverse).

    As its citizens leave the island, Tuvalu hopes that the project could help to preserve its sovereignty. It has even enshrined a new definition of statehood in its own constitution, which is being increasingly recognised by other countries.

    At a high level UN meeting in September 2024, small-island states issued a joint declaration affirming their right to retain statehood, sovereignty and UN membership, regardless of the course of sea level rise. Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, prime minister of Samoa and chair of Aosis, said in a release that island states have "stayed firm" for over 20 years and that "our states, maritime zones, and rights remain intact under international law, no matter the rising seas: we are here to stay".

    There may always be a way to keep something of the islands set to be lost to climate change. But few are ready to give up the fight for their territories to remain as real, liveable islands for their citizens.

    ]]>     The future of a controversial waste wood incinerator looks in doubt after an investment company pulled out of the site. https://sdgtalks.ai/the-future-of-a-controversial-waste-wood-incinerator-looks-in-doubt-after-an-investment-company-pulled-out-of-the-site https://sdgtalks.ai/the-future-of-a-controversial-waste-wood-incinerator-looks-in-doubt-after-an-investment-company-pulled-out-of-the-site Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:10:20 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    The future of a controversial waste wood incinerator looks in doubt after an investment company pulled out of the site.

    Aviva Investors said the decision had been made because of significant cost and technology-related challenges at the Barry Biomass plant in the Vale of Glamorgan.

    Campaigners have fought for years for the wood incinerator in Barry Docks to be shut due to pollution fears.

    The plant's developers, Barry Biomass, and the Welsh government have been asked for comment.

    Pollution fears over incinerator plan

    Q&A: What is biomass?

    Vale of Glamorgan council said it was seeking urgent clarification from Aviva for its plans for the site.

    The privately-run venture, which was backed by Aviva Investors, was given the go-ahead in 2018, despite protests and petitions over pollution fears.

    But since then, it has been at the centre of a long-running planning row, remaining idle while waiting for the go-ahead to start operating.

    In 2021, it faced an order to shut down.

    In a statement, Aviva Investors said it had "made the decision to divest from the assets" in Barry, plus English sites at Hull and Boston.

    A spokesperson for Aviva Investors said: "Since the original investment, it has become apparent that the gasification technologies at these plants have significant challenges in their current form.

    "The assets have therefore not performed as we expected."

    Following an independent review earlier this year, and informing investors of the situation, the decision was taken to move away from the sites.

    Protestors stand outside the incinerator in a line in Barry Docks. They are holding signs in protest, with the most visible being a sign saying 'No incinerator, no toxic ash'.
    Campaigners have fought for years for the wood incinerator to be shut

    The Docks Incinerator Action Group (DIAG) which has opposed the plant, said it was happy with the decision. It said it hoped no other company would take on the project.

    Council leader Lis Burnett said the plant had "failed to conform" with its original planning permission.

    “Two retrospective planning application were refused in March, decisions that are currently being appealed," she said.

    “We will now seek urgent clarification from Aviva regarding those appeals and its plans for the site.”

    Barry Biomass has previously described the Barry site as environmentally responsible, safe and with a positive long-term impact on the local community.

    ]]>     The biggest oil spill in US history: What we&apos;ve learned since Deepwater Horizon https://sdgtalks.ai/the-biggest-oil-spill-in-us-history-what-weve-learned-since-deepwater-horizon https://sdgtalks.ai/the-biggest-oil-spill-in-us-history-what-weve-learned-since-deepwater-horizon Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:08:28 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    Fourteen years after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, would we fare any better at cleaning up another huge oil spill? Jocelyn Timperley examines the latest science of ocean clean-ups.

    On April 20, 2010, a blowout caused a huge explosion on the offshore drilling rig operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven people were killed. Two days later, the rig collapsed. Oil began seeping into the sea, and it continued to flow for almost three months.

    The Deepwater Horizon disaster is among the most lamented environmental catastrophes of the past century. It's hard to comprehend how incredibly huge the spill was. It was the world's largest ever marine oil spill, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil (779 million litres, or over 300 Olympic swimming pools-worth). Up to a million seabirds were killed outright, and the human health and socioeconomic effects are still being felt today.

    BP, rig operator Transocean, and several government agencies immediately tried to limit the damage, with BP's chief executive saying the company was "determined to do everything in our power" to contain the spill. Booms were deployed to try to contain the oil, skimmer ships nibbled at the edges of the widening slick and fires were set to try to burn it off the sea surface. Various devices were deployed deep below the surface to try to contain or capture the oil. BP also began to spray the oil with enormous amounts of dispersants both on the sea surface and 1.5km (0.9 miles) underwater, where oil was gushing from the wellhead.

    However, it is thought that these measures recovered or dispersed only around a third of the spilled oil. The BP spill sparked a huge amount of research into oil spills and their impacts. But 14 years on, what hope is there for better measures should another oil spill occur?

    I knew immediately that this would be ecologically and economically disastrous – Jeffrey Short

    Jeffrey Short, an expert in oil spills and now-retired scientist from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), was working for Oceana, a marine conservation organisation when the BP spill occurred. When a colleague told him about the spill at lunchtime, he felt sick.

    "I knew immediately that this would be ecologically and economically disastrous, that it would wreck tens of thousands of people's lives, and that it would dominate my professional life for the next several years," he says. "All of which proved true."

    Oil spills are the third largest source of oil in the sea, after land-based runoff (largely from cities and vehicles) and natural oil seeps. The problem with spills, of course, is the sheer volume of oil that enters the sea all at once. This means that oil spills – especially big ones – are "much, much more dangerous per unit oil released", says Short.

    While no spill has since surpassed Deepwater Horizon's in sheer volume, Noaa responds to more than 150 oil spills every year. Just last month, oil began spewing from a submerged oil tanker and at least two other sunken vessels in Manila Bay, in the Philippines, after they were hit by monsoon rains and Typhoon Gaemi. Another oil tanker hit by projectiles from Yemen's Houthi movement remains in a precarious position in the Red Sea. However, the number of oil spills from tankers is today far lower than in the 1970s, due to improved standards.

    When oil spills occur, the first step is to control the source, "whether that be a ship, pipeline, or leaking well", says Doug Helton, regional supervisor of the emergency response division at Noaa's Office of Response and Restoration. "The second priority is recovering oil at sea."

    The major priority is to avoid the oil reaching the shoreline, where it can do the most damage. Shoreline cleanups can last days to years, depending on the type of oil and severity of contamination, says Helton.

    Spilt oil tends to spread quickly into a thin layer on the sea surface. Within days, centimetres-thick layers become a film of a millimetre or less, spread in drifting patches over a wide area. Efforts to scoop up the oil from the sea surface therefore offer diminishing returns as time goes on. "Floating oil spreads very quickly and there is a limited window of time – days – when at-sea tools are effective," says Helton.

    Getty Images Workers attempt to clean up an oil-contaminated beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana, June, 2010 (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    Workers attempt to clean up an oil-contaminated beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana, June, 2010 (Credit: Getty Images)

    Hundreds of skimmers were deployed to clean up the BP Deep Horizon spill. Skimmers are boats that scoop up spilled oil from the water's surface, usually after the slick is first surrounded with floating booms to keep it from spreading. They do this in various ways – some, for example, suck up the oil like a vacuum cleaner, while others use oil-attracting "conveyor belts" or gravity to carry the spilled oil into a reservoir.

    But hopes at the time that the skimmers could pick up oil "like a lawnmower cutting grass" proved to be overblown. They only recovered an estimated 3% of the oil. "At sea, the oil may spread more rapidly than the skimming vessels trying to capture oil," says Helton. "Going faster is not an easy option because the bow wave from the ship will push the oil away."

    The satellite photos of the BP disaster "speak volumes", says Short. "You'll see a half a dozen surface skimming boats that, from the sea surface next to the boat, look quite large and quite effective. But from a satellite, you realise that you are [...] just having a nearly negligible effect on the size of the spill."

    In fact, a 2020 review of 30 large offshore oil spills found only 2-6% of oil was recovered using mechanical methods like skimmers. Short says that mechanical recovery has improved in recent decades, with better booms to corral the oil and better systems to remove it from the sea surface. But even with improvements, mechanical methods can't have much impact on a large spill, he says.

    In recent years a plethora of studies and reports have emerged looking at different ways to soak up oil spills, from laser-treated cork and textiles based on leaves to graphene, magnets and even hair and fur. These mostly rely on the oil-attracting and water-hating properties of the material, with various forms of oil-attracting sponges a particularly common solution. But the difficulty of handling oil-soaked materials means these techniques are typically only useful for small spills.

    Noaa/BBC Best estimates of what happened to the oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster (Credit: Noaa/BBC)Noaa/BBC
    Best estimates of what happened to the oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster (Credit: Noaa/BBC)

    When Guihua Yu, a professor of materials science at the University of Texas at Austin, and his team began considering whether a new material his lab was working on could be used to help clean up oil spills, he says he was surprised about the lack of focus on how these innovative materials could be used in practice.

    One central problem, he says, is that most can only be used in a non-continuous way, requiring processing to remove the oil before the same material can be used again.

    Yu and his team landed on a solution which he thinks could help. In a 2023 paper, his lab developed a prototype with a collection speed 10 times faster than current clean up rates.

    The lab produced their own super oleophilic gel capable of 99% separation of oil from water, which they used to cover a mesh filter. But they also designed a continuous roller system, which Yu says would be attached to the front of a ship. This conveyer belt picks up oil from the water surface, then rolls it round to beside an induction heater, which heats the oil, detaching it and allowing it to drip down to a collector in the middle. The roller is freed up to be directly reused as it rolls down to the water again.

    "The most important [innovation in our work] is probably higher throughput," says Yu. "I personally felt it's very unique and very different from what is conventional."

    The invention has so far only been tested on a small motor oil spill in a lake in China using a metre-scale prototype, but Yu says he has had conversations with industry potentially interested in scaling it up. The overall costs, he believes, would be reasonable. However, he admits his current design does not address the bow-wave issue of oil being pushed away from the ship, noting that how to balance collection and bow wave is "worthy of further investigation".

    But Short says that, for large spills which require more than a day to clean up, movement of oil during the night (when operations can usually not be carried out) will always limit the efficacy of collecting oil on the sea surface.

    "The following day, the oil must first be located before response equipment can be effectively deployed," he says. "For large spills, especially when response equipment is limited, these challenges may limit the amount of recoverable oil to less than 10% of the initial spill volume."

    Still, improvements have been made in tracking the oil too. Noaa now uses drones and satellites to help find and track oil spills, and tools for mapping and coordination have advanced. Undersea manned and autonomous tools that can tap into sunken vessels to extract oil have also been developed since the Deepwater Horizon spill, says Helton.

    Getty Images A worker pulls up an oil-soaked absorbent boom after the Deepwater Horizon spill (Credit: Getty Images)Getty Images
    A worker pulls up an oil-soaked absorbent boom after the Deepwater Horizon spill (Credit: Getty Images)

    Burning is another, more controversial, way to remove floating oil at sea. An estimated 5% of the BP oil spill was burnt off the surface.

    Burning requires concentrating the oil on the sea surface to at least 2-3mm – relatively thick for an oil spill. It also requires quick action, and lucky weather conditions. In the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989, a storm dispersed the oil over a wide area into a film too thin to catch alight.

    Improved boom designs to better corral oil have improved the effectiveness of burning over the years, says Short. But successful burning also has its own problems for the environment and human health in the form of air pollution.

    The impacts of air pollution on the workers attempting to clean up the BP oil spill are still being investigated today. A major 2022 study found that workers involved in cleaning up the spill were 60% more likely to be diagnosed with asthma or experience asthma symptoms one to three years after the spill, compared with those who did not work on the cleanup.

    Aggressive cleanup of some environments can cause more harm than the oil – Doug Helton

    Burning is not the only culprit for air pollution. The evaporation of the oil itself is also highly toxic, as is another controversial way to try to dissipate the impacts of oil spills: dispersants.

    During the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP sprayed roughly 1.84 million gallons (8.37 million litres) of the dispersant Corexit on the surface and deep into the water column – the largest volume of dispersant ever used for an oil spill.

    Dispersants work by breaking down the oil into smaller droplets that can mix with the water below, which both helps it to degrade and removes it from the surface, where it tends to do most damage (especially to diving seabirds, surfacing marine mammals, turtles and young fish). But it needs to be added quickly after oil spills.

    Little was known about exactly how this quantity of dispersant would affect the environment in the BP spill, but the hope was that it would stop the oil from reaching shoreline habitats. But the sheer volume used has been widely criticised as largely ineffective as well as harmful to the environment and humans. It's thought just 8% of the oil was dispersed using Corexit.

    In Short's view, prior knowledge about oil spills meant that in the Deepwater Horizon spill "you can be quite certain in advance" that the continued application of dispersants on parts of the oil slick which had already emulsified was "a waste of time" beyond the first few days. "But it shows the public that you're doing something."

    Environmentalists and scientists have a term for these kinds of reactions to oil spills – "response theatre". It describes when companies responsible for a spill focus more on being seen to do something about the spill than necessarily doing the best thing.

    Some researchers, however, say the dispersants were relatively effective and may have helped avoid further air pollution by getting rid of the oil. A 2019 report from the US National Academies found that dispersants can help cope with oil spills in some circumstances, but that limitations in the research make it hard to make conclusions about whether it improves the human health aspect compared to not using dispersants.

    Wade Jeffrey Philippe Lebaron and Sabine Matallana-Surget position experiments to test the response of microbial communities to oil, Corexit, and sunlight (Credit: Wade Jeffrey)Wade Jeffrey
    Philippe Lebaron and Sabine Matallana-Surget position experiments to test the response of microbial communities to oil, Corexit, and sunlight (Credit: Wade Jeffrey)

    Still, counterintuitive as it may sound, there are occassions where some interventions could be a worse option than leaving an oil spill alone. In many places, ocean microbes have developed to eat the oil seeping naturally into the environment. These same bacteria and fungi can munch away at oil spills too – albeit relatively slowly and some more than others – but if they are impacted by chemicals, such as those in dispersants, this process could be disrupted.

    Bioremediation – such as adding nutrients to encourage oil-degrading bacteria – has a long history of use in oil spills. But scientists are still at the beginning of understanding the complex interactions between microbial communities and chemical dispersants, as well as how these interact with environmental factors like temperature and sunlight. Research, for example, has shown that sunlight levels impact oil degradation in different microbes differently.

    A study published in 2024 became the first to use an advanced microbiology technique to look at these interactions. Rather than look at the DNA of microbes, as previous studies have done, the scientists examined the protein expression of microbes in waters off the coast of Florida – a technique usually only used in medical or clinical science.

    Using these techniques can show far more detail than looking at DNA alone, says Sabine Matallana-Surget, an associate professor of environmental and molecular microbiology at the University of Stirling, Scotland, who led the study. If she did a similar study on humans, for example, she would be able to tell when they had lunch by tracking the enzymes involved in food digestion.

    Her team found that Corexit induces a high expression of proteins involved in oxidative stress in oil-degrading bacteria. "I have never seen so many proteins involving DNA damage [and] repair, [as] when you introduce the Corexit to your microbial community," says Matallana-Surget. More sunlight also increased the toxicity of Corexit and oil in their experiment, creating a "double pill effect", she adds.

    The team plan to conduct similar experiments in other places with natural seepages of oil, with different microbes, temperature and sunlight levels. If there is another oil spill in one of these places, Matallana-Surget says, these findings could inform the optimum level of Corexit to use in that particular location for maximum oil recovery. "I'm hoping that in the near future, if there was an accident somewhere else, we would be able to say, 'Well, listen, no, you shouldn't apply Corexit in that region, or not as much, or maybe this concentration.'"

    Dispersants aren't the only intervention after oil spills that have caused concern. "We have found after lengthy research that aggressive cleanup of some environments can cause more harm than the oil," says Helton. "Marshes and sheltered intertidal habitats, for example, are often treated very carefully."

    The high-pressure, hot-water washing used to clean the ecologically sensitive shorelines of Prince William Sound in Alaska after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, for example, sterilised the beaches, inadvertently killing bacteria as well as larger animals. Research has shown that areas not cleaned by the hot water recovered faster than the treated sites.

    Cleaning seabirds

    Oil-soaked birds are often one of the most immediate and visible impact of oil spills, and depressing survival rates – which can be lower than 1% – led experts such as German biologist Silvia Gaus to argue euthanasia is a more humane option.

    But wildlife rescuers say these rates may be improving as they learn better animal husbandry, such as allowing rest and hydration before embarking on the stressful process of removing oil from feathers. Guidelines have also been developed for cleaning turtles and marine mammals.

    If a spill like Deepwater Horizon happened today, says Matallana-Surget, the reaction would be completely different. "There have been huge conversations around what happened with applying tonnes of [a] chemical [where] we have no idea what's going in the environment. I think nobody in any part of the world would do that."

    Ultimately, since spills are so hard to clean up, avoiding them happening in the first place remains the most important thing. "Prevention is going to be the most fruitful line of approach," says Short. "Continuing to implement safety measures and especially being vigilant." The problem is that standards are expensive to maintain, he says. If years go by without a spill, they "tend to start slipping".

    Major changes have been made to US regulations governing offshore oil and gas operations, as well as advances in preventing blowouts in the first place. New performance measures and enforcement mechanisms have been introduced to improve pipeline safety. However, there are also new potential risks for oil spills: deeper drilling, ageing infrastructure, transport of new types of oil and through different routes such as the Arctic, and climate impacts like sea-level rise and more intense and frequent storms.

    A report released by BP in September 2010 concluded that decisions made by "multiple companies and work teams", including BP and others, had contributed to the spill. The unprecedented costs – over $65bn (£49bn) – to BP of the Deepwater Horizon has acted as an incentive to companies maintain the vigilance to avoid future disasters, says Short. "I think that's really got a lot of attention in the industry, that this is not a trivial operating expense that you can just write off as business as usual."

    BP also quickly announced $500m (£380m) for a 10 year research programme, which has been credited with galvanising advancement in oil spill science.

    But while risks can be reduced, so long as oil is being produced, "you're not going to get rid of [spills]", adds Short. Oil supply is set to reach a record high this year, with the US last year producing more oil than any country ever has before. Until oil dependence begins to fall, sadly the risks of another oil spill will stay with us.

    ]]>     The vehicles pushing the limits of electric power https://sdgtalks.ai/the-vehicles-pushing-the-limits-of-electric-power https://sdgtalks.ai/the-vehicles-pushing-the-limits-of-electric-power Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:04:38 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    How much energy you can pack into a battery is one limit on how big an EV can get – but meet the EVs ditching batteries altogether to attain mammoth proportions.

    This is no golf cart. This is one of the biggest mining excavators in the world. The clawed bucket it uses for tearing at mineral-laced rock is so big that you could fit more than 3,000 footballs in it. The driver sits in a cab roughly as high up as the roof on an average two-storey British house. And the excavator's hefty caterpillar tracks alone are just shy of 3m (10ft) tall – and about as long as a London bus.

    It weighs 778 tonnes in total and you might be forgiven for thinking that this beast, the PC8000-11 surface mining excavator made by Komatsu, could only run on a fossil fuel like diesel. Surely such a behemoth demands all the raw, dirty power of combustion to function? Well, there is a diesel model – but Komatsu have recently brought out an electric equivalent. And it works just the same.

    "We are not sacrificing performance when you go electric," says Thomas Jordan, marketing manager at Komatsu Germany. While the diesel excavator guzzles more than 400 litres (88 gallons) of fuel per hour, according to Komatsu, the electric alternative relies instead on a chunky power cable – meaning the vehicle itself produces zero emissions.

    When comparing diesel and electric versions of the excavator used by one Swedish customer, well-to-wheel emissions are 95% lower for the electric type, according to Komatsu. This customer has access to electricity from nuclear and hydro sources. Mining companies are increasingly interested in options like this, says Jordan. "We see a trend for more electrification, that's definitely the case."

    BBC Future Planet recently went on a hunt for some of the biggest electric vehicles in the world – by size and weight. There is no shortage of impressive examples, from giant mining machines to trains and cargo ships.

    Can you dig it?

    Bigger electric excavators than the PC8000-11 exist, but Komatsu's vehicle is worth noting for the particularly tough job it does, stresses Jordan. The excavator's hydraulics system allows it to tackle rock – in this class of machinery, the PC8000-11 was the biggest we could find in terms of tonnage. "If you go to the big copper mines and gold mines, you will find hard material where you need that kind of hydraulic excavator," says Jordan.

    For a larger electric excavator still, consider one of the biggest vehicles ever built, regardless of fuel type. It holds the Guinness World Record for heaviest land vehicle and it's not even new, having been manufactured way back in the 1990s by the German mining equipment firm Takraf. The colossal Bagger 293 bucket-wheel excavator is used for strip-mining operations in Germany and it weighs a barely believable 14,200 tonnes. That's about the same as 78 empty Boeing 747-400s.

    Although the Bagger 293 dwarfs the PC8000-11 in raw tonnage, its job is a little less intense – moving earth and soil instead of rock. Nevertheless, the Bagger 293 requires so much energy that, just like the PC8000-11, it is connected to an electric power source by a cable, rather than using an on-board battery.

    Something as large as the PC8000-11 can't run on a battery yet because, with today's technology, the battery pack would weigh more than half as much as the vehicle itself

    Ironically, the adoption of electric vehicles in mining has been going on for decades partly because coal mines tend to have their own small power plants, says Jordan. It means they can power electric vehicles on-site at a low cost – albeit using a very polluting power source.

    Today, many different kinds of mines are turning to electric vehicles as a way of reducing carbon emissions from their operations. Some mines now even claim to run their machinery largely on renewable electricity. However, reducing emissions from operations only gets you so far – when it comes to coal mining, for instance, the climate-warming emissions from burning its products aren't reduced at all by electrifying the equipment used for extraction.

    Mining remains a polluting and dangerous activity in many parts of the world. Globally, extractive industries, including mining, cause an estimated €400bn to €5tn ($440bn to $5.5tn/£340bn to £4.3tn) in environmental damage each year by one estimate. That's even before products such as fossil fuels are burned. But mining is also important for the extraction of minerals such as nickel, copper and gold, which can be used in consumer electronics, solar panels and, yes, electric vehicles.

    "For large mining countries like Chile and Australia, they are all looking to the potential to electrify their mining industry," says Zhenying Shao, senior researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation. She and colleagues have interviewed mine workers who recently started using electric trucks and excavators. Their comments tend to be positive – particularly about the reduction in air pollution and noise made by the vehicles, she says. "They're the ones who drive those machines, [so] that really counts."

    Komatsu notes that there are limitations to cable-powered vehicles. The PC8000-11's electric cable is 300m (980ft) long. It's a considerable range, but when the excavator needs to go somewhere else, a small electrical sub-station also has to be relocated in order to power it.

    On the road

    Outside of mining, there are plenty of other examples of mighty electric vehicles. How much they are capable of dragging behind them can matter for certain applications, as well as their own size and weight. Take the Iveco electric van that, although not large itself, managed to tow 153.58 tonnes. The towed load comprised of a lorry carrying a digger, a truck filled with rocks and an airport fire engine all strung together, one behind the other.

    In 2015, I'm pretty sure at some point I said heavy goods vehicles will never be battery electric and five years later I was working on it – Chris Thorne

    But in terms of weight, heavy goods vehicles are among the largest EVs you might yourself sharing the road with. Volvo's FH Electric truck, if you include its double trailer and load, is among contenders for the heaviest battery-powered electric road vehicle. One currently being trialled in Gothenburg, Sweden, features a 74 tonne, 13m-long (43ft) version of this truck and trailer system. "They are running in commercial traffic every day," says Niklas Andersson, director of electric solutions at Volvo Trucks of the tests.

    Alamy The Volvo FH Electric is one of the larger HGVs to be powered by a battery (Credit: Alamy)Alamy
    The Volvo FH Electric is one of the larger HGVs to be powered by a battery (Credit: Alamy)

    A slightly lighter, 68-tonne version of this setup is also running in Finland on a 160km (99 mile) route. Although the truck's battery can usually power the vehicle across that entire distance without requiring a recharge, weather conditions can affect performance, says Andersson. "When it's cold you have like 10cm [4in] of slush on the road, which means that the rolling resistance is really bad. Then we have to charge during the way."

    He notes that the batteries for these trucks have become rapidly more energy-dense over time. The first version of the battery launched by Volvo Trucks in 2019 weighed about 500kg (1,100lb) and offered 49 kWh of energy. Last year, the company came up with a new battery that is roughly the same size and weight but offers nearly twice as much power – 94 kWh, says Andersson.

    The rate of improvement of electric vehicle batteries in recent years has surprised Chris Thorne, director of strategy and operations at UMAS, a maritime consultancy, and advises on various power sources for marine industries.

    "In 2015, I'm pretty sure at some point I said heavy goods vehicles will never be battery electric and five years later I was working on it. It taught me a hard lesson," he jokes. Electric drivetrains are actually well-suited to heavy duty machines because they don't require the system of shafts and gears used in petrol and diesel vehicles – these can require higher maintenance over time.

    "You have a lot of flexibility in how you lay the vehicle out. You can have a motor on each wheel if you want to," adds Thorne. And he points out that batteries are helpfully modular. You can just keep adding modules until you get the amount of power you need.

    There are practical limits, of course. Something as large as the PC8000-11, for example, can't run on a battery yet because, with today's technology, the battery pack would weigh more than half as much as the vehicle itself, according to Komatsu.

    Is the sky the limit?

    Energy density, the amount of power you can pack into a given volume, is still a barrier for electrifying some vehicles – notably, large aircraft. Though research suggests we might one day see electric passenger aircraft capable of carrying as many as 90 people. The biggest electric planes today can accommodate a maximum of around nine passengers.

    MagniX So far, battery-powered electric planes are still minuscule compared with their fossil-fuel-powered rivals (Credit: MagniX)MagniX
    So far, battery-powered electric planes are still minuscule compared with their fossil-fuel-powered rivals (Credit: MagniX)

    The energy density problem also limits electrification of ships, though some surprisingly hefty vessels are beginning to run on battery power. In Incat Tasmania, an Australian shipyard, a ferry currently known as Incat Hull 096, is under construction. When complete, it is planned to have capacity for 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles – and will be 130m (427ft) long. It was ordered by a Uruguay-based ferry operator.

    Carbon Count

    The emissions from travel it took to report this story were 0kg CO2. The digital emissions from this story are an estimated 1.2g to 3.6g CO2 per page view. Find out more about how we calculated this figure here.

    Finally, the most powerful electric train in the world is perhaps the Shen24 in China. It is capable of carrying more than 10,000 tonnes – of coal – at up to 120km/h (75 mph).

    Thorne notes that it isn't really surprising that electric vehicles are becoming so common in heavy industry. These machines have long service lives, tough jobs and cost a lot to buy upfront. So if you can make them cheap to run, say on locally-sourced renewable electricity, and easier to maintain with fewer moving parts than the fossil-fuel-powered alternatives, then they soon become attractive.

    On the other hand, not every company or industry is ready to embrace these vehicles just yet. There may be questions over the safety of giant batteries in certain contexts where vehicles might be involved in collisions, for example. Shao says that, while heavy-duty battery electric vehicles are clearly highly capable, some companies may still hesitate about switching to them.

    "It's a new technology," she says. "The industry has been dominated by diesel for so long."

    ]]>     In a tribe in southern India, a group of women are working hard to revive the country&apos;s ancient native tubers, and bring them back into everyday culture. https://sdgtalks.ai/in-a-tribe-in-southern-india-a-group-of-women-are-working-hard-to-revive-the-countrys-ancient-native-tubers-and-bring-them-back-into-everyday-culture https://sdgtalks.ai/in-a-tribe-in-southern-india-a-group-of-women-are-working-hard-to-revive-the-countrys-ancient-native-tubers-and-bring-them-back-into-everyday-culture Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:15 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    In a tribe in southern India, a group of women are working hard to revive the country's ancient native tubers, and bring them back into everyday culture.

    Lakshmi spends several hours each day digging out large lumpy and hairy yam tubers, starchy roots that grow below the soil.

    Some weigh an unwieldy 5kg (11lb) and are 4.5ft-long (1.4m), almost as tall as she is. It's painstaking work, says 58-year-old Lakshmi, who goes by one name.

    First, she has to cut out the thick shoot above the ground. Then, she uses shovels to dig up the earth around the buried stem and a paddle-like flat chisel to gently pry out the tuber. She uses her hands to dig the tuber out of the ground to avoid damaging its delicate roots. When the tuber finally emerges from the ground, it is the colour of the earth, and holds the promise of spring, she says.

    Lakshmi, who lives in the Wayanad district in the southern Indian state of Kerala, isn't working alone. She's part of an all-women group called Noorang, short for Nuru kilangu, a popular local variety of tuber.

    Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme The tubers can grow to a prodigious size (Credit: Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme)
               Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme
    The tubers can grow to a prodigious size (Credit: Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme)

    The Noorang members all belong to one of Kerala's oldest indigenous tribes, the Vetta Kuruman, a nomadic community of hunters and food gatherers. They are on a mission to save the kilangu, which means "tuber" in Betta kurumba language, a mix of the South Indian languages of Kannada and Malayalam. These ancient tubers have grown on their land for centuries.

    As a child, Lakshmi foraged for food in the forests, gathering edible roots, leaves, honey and fruit." [The kilangu] at the time, was a substantial meal in itself and there were so many varieties that we never got bored," says Lakshmi. "We would have different kinds of yams and sweet potatoes for at least one meal a day. My family would eat it boiled, steamed and roasted. It's a vital part of my childhood memories."

    The goal is to save as many varieties of rare seeds that we can find – Sarasu

    But tubers are no longer a dietary staple among tribal communities in Kerala due to their rapidly changing lifestyle and eating habits. Younger people who have ready access to a wide variety of other foods, especially rice and wheat, no longer consider the tubers that once nourished their ancestors as anything special, says TV Sai Krishnan, the coordinator of the Thirunelly Tribal Comprehensive Development Project in Wayanad, which focuses on the wellbeing of tribal people in the state.

    Extreme weather has also destroyed tuber harvests in recent years. Although the tubers are fairly resilient to heat, Wayanad's frequent flooding and deadly landslides, an annual occurrence since 2019, have caused many waterlogged crops to rot.

    Between 2005 and 2015, there was a steep decline in lands dedicated to tuber production in Kerala, with many of these being diverted to the more lucrative rubber cultivation instead, according to a report by the Central Tuber Crop Research Institute of Kerala.

    Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme (Credit: Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme).               Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme

    Conserving these tubers, most of which are roughly 2-3ft long (60-90cm), isn't just an endeavour to preserve old ways and habits, it's also about boosting nutrition, says V Shakeela, director of the Community Agrobiodiversity Centre of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, based in Wayanad.

    "It's the solution to many mounting problems that these tribal communities are facing in the present, especially malnutrition and providing food security in the face of [worsening] climate change," says Shakeela. National data shows that the health of indigenous people is significantly poorer than other groups.

    "Primarily, the women growing these tubers are doing so to nourish their own families, and to ensure that these ancient rare varieties don't fade away," Shakeela says.

    Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme Irumbupallam in Wayanad, home to the Noorang Tuber Conservation Centre (Credit: Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme).               Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme
    Irumbupallam in Wayanad, home to the Noorang Tuber Conservation Centre (Credit: Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme)

    Women in her community have always taken the lead in gathering tubers, Lakshmi says. They didn't have to venture too far into the forests to find them, and they were easy to stack and store, providing plenty of food for a growing family.

    "We believe in the medicinal value of these indigenous tubers," says Shantha, another member of the Noorang group. "Most mothers here will swear by its ability to cure digestive and stomach problems, especially if you cook it with turmeric."

    A disappearing lifestyle

    The Vetta Kuruman community once lived in small scattered settlements deep in the forests of Wayanad, which were vulnerable to floods and landslides.

    In 2003, the community of roughly 700 people was resettled by the Keralan government and made their new homes on the outskirts of the forests in which they once lived.   

    In 2016, the government gave each family half an acre of land to use how they saw fit – with the majority using it for agriculture and raising cattle. That change marked a distinct shift in dietary habits for the tribal communities, says Sai Krishnan.

    The Thirunelly Tribal Comprehensive Development Project founded the Noorang group during the Covid-19 pandemic, in May 2022, with the aim of improving food security for tribal communities and to deal with their shift away from foraging tubers in the forests to cultivating rice, banana, vegetables and other crops on their lands.

    CARBON COUNT

    The emissions from travel it took to report this story were 0kg CO2. The digital emissions from this story are an estimated 1.2g to 3.6g CO2 per page view. Find out more about how we calculated this figure here.

    The project is part of the Kudumbashree Mission in Kerala (kudumbashree means "the prosperity of family" in the local Malayalam language), a government farming initiative to eradicate poverty, provide agricultural training and empower women in vulnerable tribal communities.

    "During Covid-19, we conducted an educational programme for the children of tribal members. We mapped the food they ate, and that's when we learned that many of them weren't really aware of the rich tuber varieties that once used to be the mainstay of their communities," says Saikrishnan.

    The survey showed that dietary habits were changing, he says. Children showed a preference for rice, which the state government provides free to low-income families through a public distribution system.

    "Tubers were always a quick, rich source of protein for us in the past," says Lakshmi. "If our children were to move away from our traditional source of food, that would be a great loss indeed. Losing the nutrition that we have relied on for generations would be like losing part of our identity."

    It's the solution to many mounting problems that these tribal communities are facing in the present – V Shakeela

    Since their formation in 2022, the 10 members of the Noorang group have planted and brought back to the community 180 varieties of wild tubers, including 15 varieties of wild yam (noorang), three varieties of elephant yam, eight types of Colocasia (also known as elephant ears, a potato-like tuber), 16 species of turmeric, four kinds of tapioca, seven varieties of sweet potato, two of ginger, three of arrow root and one Chinese potato.

    "The goal is to save as many varieties of rare seeds that we can find and to cultivate and nurture more tubers," says Sarasu, a member of Noorang.

    When they first began clearing the land for planting, they faced a Herculean task, says Sarasu, because they couldn't afford to hire labour and many the thorny scrubs and plants that dotted the land, including invasive species like Lantana camera. This scrambling shrub can grow 2-4m (6.6-13.1ft) tall and forms dense thickets, full of sharp, thorny prickles.

    "Our hands would bleed at the end of a day clearing… [they were] all raw and sore," says Sarasu. "We do everything ourselves, without the help of tractors that big farmers use. And we cannot afford to pay for help yet." Inadequate funds have also hampered their own efforts, she says.

    Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme Tourists visit the women during their annual harvest festival (Credit: Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme).               Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme
    Tourists visit the women during their annual harvest festival (Credit: Sai Krishan, Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme)

    The Noorang group operates on a tight budget. The land is provided by Noorang member Shantha's family and is leased to the other members for five years. In return, the other women pay her a sum of 5,000 rupees per year, which works out to roughly 3.5% of the collective's 150,000-rupee yearly revenue (£1,400/$1,800).

    In addition to foraging for wild tuber seeds in the forest, members are also using seeds provided by local farmers for free, who have been eager to help them. 

    "The tubers must be planted during the peak summer months in April and May before the monsoons set in so that the crop can benefit the most from the rainy weather. The harvest season is from December to March," says Sai Krishnan. 

    The tubers the women have collected and sown have grown rapidly. The women take turns weeding the land on alternate days, while juggling their role as wives and mothers, caring for poultry and doing odd jobs to earn extra income.

    "We need to keep up paying work as well, so we have enough income for our families,” says Sarasu. "In spite of the hardships, growing tubers is something we do for ourselves, regardless of how little we receive from it. To me, it's like embracing a part of our heritage."  

    Knowing that the work we do is important and useful, that's kept us going – Shantha

    The women sell their produce in local markets themselves, and at fairs across Kerala, with each earning an average of 9,000-15,000 rupees (£80/$107) a year. "Since we cannot pay for [agricultural] labour, there are limitations to how much we can produce at the moment," says Lakshmi.

    The women face other challenges as well. Monkeys and wild boars tend to snack on their produce. Wild elephants cause great damage to crops as well.

    While tubers are hardy crops, resistant to heat and don't require too much water, the women say floods and landslides pose a threat to these crops. While flooding is a problem during the monsoons, severe drought in the summer months can be just as damaging.  The lack of water can impact the development of the tuber, causing it to shrivel up and shrink, affecting the quality of the crop.

    At the beginning of every year, during the harvest festival called Thiragali, the women display their produce at the Thirunelly Seed Festival, alongside many other farmers who showcase their own climate-resistant seeds and farm produce. "Interacting with a wider community of farmers has always given us new insights and inspiration," says Shantha. "It makes us feel that we aren't working alone, in isolation. Knowing that the work we do is important and useful, that's kept us going."

    Locally, their labour has not gone unrecognised. During the harvest festival, local authorities come to see their tubers and survey their agricultural practices, says Sarasu. Sometimes, the women have the opportunity to meet other farmers or interact with foreign tourists who sample their tubers. "This interaction and exchange of ideas has been so empowering," says Sarasu. But there's another reason why the women persevere.

    "We think of our project as something special that we're doing for the next generation," says Shantha. "And that's what makes it so meaningful."

    ]]>     Should rich countries and fossil fuel companies pay for the climate losses and damages they have caused? https://sdgtalks.ai/should-rich-countries-and-fossil-fuel-companies-pay-for-the-climate-losses-and-damages-they-have-caused https://sdgtalks.ai/should-rich-countries-and-fossil-fuel-companies-pay-for-the-climate-losses-and-damages-they-have-caused Tue, 03 Dec 2024 23:53:49 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    Should rich countries and fossil fuel companies pay for the climate losses and damages they have caused?

    There have been a huge number of deadly weather events in 2024. Floods, heatwaves, droughts, storms and wildfires have wreaked havoc on climate vulnerable countries including India, Brazil, Nigeria, the Philippines, and through much of West and Central Africa, claiming lives and destroying homes and livelihoods.

    Climate change is making severe events more frequent. Another country to face huge climate damage in recent years: Pakistan. In August 2022, the country was devastated by catastrophic flooding.

    The unprecedented monsoon rains killed more than 1,500 people and left the inundated country with economic damages exceeding $30bn (£27bn). Within a month, a scientific study had concluded the high rainfall was "likely increased" by climate change.

    The link between greenhouse gas emissions and extreme weather events already happening today is now well established. Events such as Pakistan's floods, Madagascar cyclones  and Somalia's drought are becoming more intense and more frequent due to climate change. They have led to death and destruction and left countries facing immense economic damages, plunging them into debt and diverting funds away from other critical areas, such as healthcare and education.

    What's more, these impacts are only set to get worse. If global temperatures were to rise by 2.9C, the average GDP of the world's 65 most climate-vulnerable countries will fall by 20% by 2050 and 64% by 2100.

    The US states making polluters pay

    In May 2024, Vermont became the first US state to require oil and gas companies to pay for the climate damages they have caused, after signing the Climate Superfund Act into law. The law mandates polluting companies to be financially accountable for their share of climate impacts. New York is currently deliberating a similar mechanism, which would charge fossil fuel companies $3bn (£2.3bn) a year for 25 years to pay for climate damages.

    The discussion of who should pay for climate losses and damages has become a major geopolitical issue and is expected to be high on the agenda at the upcoming Cop27 climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.

    By 2030, vulnerable nations are likely to face $290-580bn (£260-520bn) in annual climate "residual damages" – damages that cannot be prevented with measures to adapt to climate threats. By 2050, the total cost of loss and damage could rise to $1-1.8tn (£890bn-1.6tn).

    UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who has become increasingly more outspoken on the injustices of climate change in recent years, has described the climate crisis as a "case study in moral and economic justice". He argues "polluters must pay" because "vulnerable countries need meaningful action."

    As such climate threats become a larger part of our lives, many argue that the countries and companies responsible for the pollution in the first place should be the ones footing bill.

    So what if we lived in a world where polluters really did pay for the climate damage they have caused? How much would they need to cough up, and would these payouts signal the end of the fossil fuel industry? Would this funding ever be able to alleviate the harm done? And could it mean the world's most vulnerable countries recover from climate disasters and adapt to looming threats?

     

    Who should pick up the bill for climate damage?

    Responsibility for climate change can be seen on several different levels – the actions of governments, companies, communities and individuals can all be linked to emissions.

    A study published earlier this year by Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, in the US, provided the first assessment of countries' liability in fuelling the climate crisis. It concluded that emissions from the US, the world's largest historical emitter, cost the world more than $1.9tn (£1.6tn) in climate damages between 1990 and 2014. The next four largest emitters – China, Russia, India and Brazil – caused a further $4.1tn (£3.6tn) in global economic losses in the same time period. Combined, these losses are equivalent to around 11% of yearly global GDP.

    "We show that there is a scientific basis for [climate] liability claims," says Justin Mankin, co-author of the study and assistant professor of geography at Dartmouth College. "The science shows that if one country can have detectable damages; one country's foregoing [of] emissions can have detectable benefits. That's really essential… it overturns this narrative of 'what can one country do?'"

    If governments were serious about covering the damage from this harm, countries could establish a loss and damage finance facility under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – the UN's climate change body – which they would pay into in line with their fair share, says Sadie DeCoste, an organiser for Tipping Point UK, a non-profit working on climate justice. The fair share could be calculated based on their historical and ongoing contribution to global emissions, she says.

    Having the fund as part of the UNFCCC process, rather than an external body, would help it to be "accountable and transparent" and ensure it is a "collective commitment to reach an agreed-upon sum", adds DeCoste. Such a fund should not be based on voluntary commitments made only by the countries that are more willing to pay, she says.

    The world's most climate-vulnerable nations have called for such a facility to be set up, which would assess countries' needs after a climate disaster and request specific funds from governments based on factors including their contribution to global heating. To date, rich countries have strongly resisted these calls, insisting that humanitarian aid is enough to deal with the issue.

    Gokhan Balci / Getty Images Funds put forward by polluters would allow vulnerable countries to invest in resilient infrastructure protecting them from extreme events (Credit: Gokhan Balci / Getty Images)Gokhan Balci / Getty Images
    Funds put forward by polluters would allow vulnerable countries to invest in resilient infrastructure protecting them from extreme events (Credit: Gokhan Balci / Getty Images)

    Fossil fuel companies are also increasingly being held accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions. A 2017 report from the CDP, a non-profit, found just 100 fossil fuel companies are responsible for producing 71% of all global greenhouse gases emitted since 1988. Another report from consultancy Profundo and non-profit Transport and Environment concluded that Europe's five biggest oil majors are responsible for some $13tn (£11.5tn) of damage in the past 30 years, including pollution, deteriorating public health and carbon emissions. These companies make enormous profits from extracting and selling fossil fuels, which have fuelled rising temperatures and exacerbated extreme weather events.

    If the world's biggest fossil fuel companies were held accountable for these emissions, they could be forced to pay an annual sum, based on their share of global carbon pollution that has been emitted over the past 20 years, into a polluters-pay climate fund. This could help developing countries deal with climate impacts and the costs of transitioning to clean energy.

    Polluters could also be made to pay for any ongoing emissions via an international tax on fossil fuel extraction, as proposed by a coalition of climate vulnerable nations. Here, companies would be taxed for each tonne of coal, oil or gas they extract. Starting at a low rate and increasing every year, such a tax could raise billions to help countries rebuild and recover from disasters.

    "[A climate damages tax] is a way of establishing accountability and responsibility," says DeCoste. It opens up a conversation about how polluters can provide vulnerable countries with enough funding to adapt to the climate threats they are facing, she says.  

    Some governments today are already considering taxing the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies that benefit from high energy prices. Some of the revenues raised by such a tax could help vulnerable communities recover from extreme events, such as droughts and floods. However, a major limitation of this in the long run is that windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies are only intended to be temporary. "We need to ensure fossil fuel companies are taxed effectively and consistently all the time, not just with one-off windfall taxes," says Olivia Hanks, climate justice lead at the faith group Quakers in Britain.

    However, since governments also need to set a timeline for rapid phaseout of coal, oil and gas, fossil fuel taxes could only fund climate losses and damages temporarily, says Hanks – meaning other sources of finance will also be needed to pay for climate damages.

    Industries which use a lot of fossil fuels, such as aviation and bunker shipping, could also be taxed to generate the necessary funds to pay for those suffering the impacts of climate change. Unsustainable behaviours, such as frequent flying and eating red meat, could also be taxed to raise finance for countries devastated by climate change, says DeCoste. The most polluting behaviours tend to be associated with the lifestyle of a small numbers of people with very high incomes – just 1% of the global population is responsible for 50% of flying emissions, for example, while 90% of people have never flown.

    Airline travel levies, which would increase with each additional flight the individual takes, are a "fair, feasible, and suitable" way to raise loss and damage funds, some researchers say. They could generate up to $5-10bn (£4-9bn) each year, be easily collected at international flight departures, and be channelled to vulnerable communities through international bodies like the Green Climate Fund, which was set up to help developing countries reduce their emissions and adapt to climate impacts.

    Joe Sohm / Getty Images Industries which use a lot of fossil fuels, such as aviation, could be taxed to generate the necessary funds for climate disaster victims (Credit: Joe Sohm / Getty Images)Joe Sohm / Getty Images
    Industries which use a lot of fossil fuels, such as aviation, could be taxed to generate the necessary funds for climate disaster victims (Credit: Joe Sohm / Getty Images)

    Redirecting public money which currently supports polluting activities towards supporting those suffering the impacts of climate change could also make a huge difference. A recent report estimated that governments around the world currently spend a staggering $1.9tn (£1.3tn) each year on environmentally harmful subsidies, such as support for fossil fuel production and for intensive agriculture. This is equivalent to around 2% of annual global GDP – money that in many cases could instead be used to support victims of climate disasters.

    Governments would play an important role in redistributing money in these ways, but the courts are another important avenue through which victims of climate disasters could compensated. Recent advances in the science of "climate attribution" are especially important here.

    "Climate attribution allows us to quantify the contributions of particular fossil fuel producers on impacts such as global average temperature increase, sea level rise, and ocean acidification," says Kathy Mulvey, climate accountability campaign director at the Union of Concerned Scientists in the US.

    Ongoing scientific advances in this area will enable lawyers to bring more cases against polluters, says Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, an advocacy organisation in the US that works to hold polluters accountable. (Read more about why climate lawsuits are surging).

    One 2014 study has been particularly influential in bringing more court cases against polluters, says Wiles. The study, written by Richard Heede from the Climate Accountability Institute, established a causal link between the actions of fossil fuel companies and climate impacts. It identified 90 fossil fuel and cement producers, dubbed the "carbon majors", as being collectively responsible for 63% of global emissions since the industrial revolution, and pinpointed the share of emissions each of these companies are responsible for.

    "This was critical to getting [legal] cases off the ground," says Wiles. "[As a lawyer], you needed to be able to say that Exxon was responsible for a portion of those damages with data and that the company you're accusing of crimes can actually be proven to have contributed to the damage."

    A spokesperson for ExxonMobil says the company has "long acknowledged the reality and risks of climate change and has devoted significant resources to addressing those risks."

    "We have announced our ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions for operated assets by 2050," he says, adding that the company is developing roadmaps for reducing emissions from its facilities and assets.

    A climate damages tax is a way of establishing accountability and responsibility – Sadie DeCoste

    An important case which aims to use attribution science to sue for climate damages is a lawsuit brought by a Peruvian farmer against Germany's largest utility company, RWE. The lawsuit is the first case of its kind and could set a precedent for whether polluters should provide compensation for climate damages on a pro rata basis.

    In the case, which is ongoing, farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya aims to hold RWE accountable for the role of its emissions in melting a glacier above his hometown, Huaraz, in the Peruvian Andes. Lliuya says RWE should pay 0.47% of the cost of building flood defences to protect Huaraz – which would amount to around €20,000 (£17,600;, $19,600). The amount is based on an update to Heede's study by the Climate Accountability Institute which attributes this share of global emissions to RWE.

    Lliuya's lawyers are building their case on climate attribution science, including a 2021 study which concluded that the melting of the Palcaraju glacier is "entirely attributable" to rising temperatures and that the change geometry of the glacial lake and valley has "substantially increased the outburst flood hazard".

    "We have a very clear picture of climate change being responsible for creating this very large lake that now threatens a city," says Rupert Stuart-Smith, the study's lead author and a research associate in climate science and the law at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme.

    The power of precedent "could mean that we will see more and more successful claims being brought before courts," he says. These could potentially be in jurisdictions across the globe and target a great number of companies, he adds. "If corporations with large emissions can be held responsible for their impact, then it could really be a game changer for pay action [polluters paying for climate damages] in many ways."

    Luka Gonzales / Getty Images Farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya is suing RWE for the role of its emissions in melting a glacier above his hometown in the Peruvian Andes (Credit: Luka Gonzales / Getty Images)Luka Gonzales / Getty Images
    Farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya is suing RWE for the role of its emissions in melting a glacier above his hometown in the Peruvian Andes (Credit: Luka Gonzales / Getty Images)

    If court cases and taxes which made fossil fuel companies more accountable for the impact of their emissions did pile in, would this be the death knell for the industry – the end of coal, oil and gas?

    It would certainly incentivise fossil fuel companies to switch to producing clean energy, such as wind and solar, instead of producing more carbon-intensive fuels, says Hanks. "If polluters knew they had to pay the full cost of their activities, we'd see the energy transition happen much faster."

    Could this bankrupt fossil fuel companies? "If polluters are held responsible for the harm done as a result of their emissions, then you could be looking at vast sums of money," says Stuart-Smith. "I don't think it is unreasonable to talk about numbers in the billions of dollars. We could see payouts large enough that they would substantially impact [fossil fuel companies'] profits."

    The fossil fuel industry is estimated to have made $2.8bn (£2.5bn) in profits per day over the last 50 years – $1tn (£891bn) a year and a staggering total of $52tn (£46tn). In a scenario where fossil fuel companies were asked to foot the entire bill of climate damages (projected to reach $290-580bn (£260-520bn) per year by 2030), this is equivalent to roughly 30-60% of their current annual profits.

    Lawsuits can also directly impact a polluter's business model going forwards, adds Stuart-Smith. "We're seeing cases brought, for instance, challenging corporate and national emission reduction plans as inadequate," he says. A 2021 Dutch court ruling, for example, ordered Shell to reduce its emissions in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change. In November 2024, the oil giant won a landmark case after the Hague Court of Appeal overturned the earlier ruling requiring Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45%, stating that it could not establish that the company had a "social standard of care" to reduce its emissions by any amount.

    The ramifications of lawsuits go beyond any direct damages paid by the companies, says Wiles. "[The real damage] is the reputational risk and the loss of their social license." He compares this to the reputational damage the tobacco and opioid industries suffered after they were forced to disclose the health risks associated with their products and make public key documents which highlighted these. In the case of opioids, this disclosure led to hundreds of new lawsuits seeking to hold the industry accountable. This could also happen to the fossil fuel industry, Wiles notes.  

    For climate-vulnerable countries, funds put forward by polluters would be a lifeline. The long-term finance would allow them to invest in resilient infrastructure protecting them from extreme events, such as hurricanes and floods, as well as slow-moving threats, such as rising seas.

    Funds put forward by polluters would be a lifeline for climate vulnerable nations

    The money would also enable countries to strengthen their public health systems and cover the climate-related health costs, such as waterborne diseases, which are increasing due to climate change.

    It could also provide compensation for workers losing jobs in polluting industries. The global coal industry, for example, is estimated to lose 4.7 million jobs in the clean energy transition, while the mining industry is expected to lose 4 million jobs. Compensation could also support workers who have lost their jobs due to climate impacts, such as farmers and fishers, says Mulvey.

    Arroyo Fernandez / Getty Images Advances in the field of climate attribution are enabling lawyers to bring more cases against polluters (Credit: Arroyo Fernandez / Getty Images)Arroyo Fernandez / Getty Images
    Advances in the field of climate attribution are enabling lawyers to bring more cases against polluters (Credit: Arroyo Fernandez / Getty Images)

    Many developing countries are heavily reliant on fossil fuels to meet their energy needs and grow their economies. "But the path to development is dirty; it's industrialisation," says Mankin.

    Mankin says it is unclear whether loss and damage funding would put these countries on a cleaner path and allow them to develop and at the same time adapt to climate threats.  But Hanks says loss and damage finance would create "financial and decision-making space" for developing countries to focus on the energy transition, rather than  having to "relentlessly deal with disaster after disaster with no money to do so".

    Loss and damage finance could also make a huge difference for people who have been permanently displaced due to climate change. It is estimated that by 2050 up to 216 million people will be forced to leave their homes due to climate impacts such as water scarcity, declining crop productivity and sea-level rise.

    The money could also pay for the restoration of vital ecosystems, such as mangroves and coral reefs, which have been damaged or destroyed by storms and floods and can provide vital protection against climate impacts.

    CARBON COUNT

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    In a world where polluters did pay their fair share, would it be enough to compensate communities for the losses they have suffered? Wiles says no matter what is paid it will "never be enough", because many communities will continue to see climate impacts into the future.

    What's more, there are some climate impacts which polluters could never pay for – because they cannot be quantified or recovered at any cost, says Mulvey. "No amount of money can compensate for some climate loss and damage: lost human lives, cultural heritage, animal and plant species, and ancestral lands are among the most profound impacts," she says. "The sovereignty of a country that has lost its physical territory [due to rising seas, for instance] can't be brought back with money."

    Still, polluters paying for damages would help redress global climate injustice and recognise that those who are disproportionately harmed by climate change tend to not be the ones who are responsible for causing it.

    "It would help us think differently about responsibility," says Hanks. "It's about calling out the moral wrong, [and] also imagining the world and those power relations differently."

    Capitalism teaches us a competitive mindset where as a country we shouldn't give money to another country and thus risk our strategic advantage, she adds. "But it is possible to think in more cooperative terms and realise that if [vulnerable nations] are thriving it makes [rich countries] more likely to thrive."

    ]]>     Atmospheric river storms have wreaked havoc on the West Coast, and are getting bigger. https://sdgtalks.ai/atmospheric-river-storms-have-wreaked-havoc-on-the-west-coast-and-are-getting-bigger https://sdgtalks.ai/atmospheric-river-storms-have-wreaked-havoc-on-the-west-coast-and-are-getting-bigger Tue, 03 Dec 2024 23:51:37 -0500 Eoghan Cowley

    Atmospheric river storms have wreaked havoc on the West Coast, and are getting bigger. These scientists chase them in the sky to predict where they will strike.

    In January 2024, Anna Wilson was sitting aboard a Gulfstream IV jet, observing a deceptively calm-looking sea of white clouds over the northern Pacific Ocean. Through her headphones, Wilson – an atmospheric scientist and extreme weather expert – could hear her colleague give a countdown. At the back of the plane, another colleague dropped slim, cylindrical instruments through a chute, into the brewing storm below them, to measure its strength as it approached the US West Coast.

    The type of storm they were tracking is known as an atmospheric river – a weather phenomenon that has been attracting more and more attention in recent years, as scientists and the public race to understand its sometimes devastating impact. Research suggests that atmospheric rivers are getting bigger, more frequent and more extreme, due to climate change; and the damage they cause is getting worse.

    Often described as rivers in the sky, atmospheric rivers are a huge, invisible ribbons of water vapour. Each can be several hundreds of kilometres wide, and transport 27 times as much water as the Mississippi River. They are born in warm oceans, as seawater evaporates, rises and moves to cooler latitudes. When the vapour reaches a coast, such as California, it flows up a mountain, cools, and comes down as rain or snow – enough to wash down hillsides causing landslides, and bring torrential rain, floods and deadly avalanches.

    On the US West Coast, atmospheric rivers bring the heaviest rains, warmest storms, major floods, extreme coastal winds, and landslides. They can come in groups – known as "families" – with several of them striking a place within days. The brewing family of storms Wilson and her colleague were flying over was in fact formed by four atmospheric rivers, which later caused heavy snowfall in California and floods in Oregon in January 2024.

    The basic questions remain the same for each atmospheric river, says Wilson, a field research manager at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. "Where is it going to make landfall? How strong will it be? How long will it last? And we continue to get better at [answering] that," she says.

    The flight Wilson was on in January was part of Atmospheric River Reconnaissance, or AR Recon, a joint project with the US Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and other partners. Using "hurricane hunter" aircraft normally deployed for observing hurricanes – the NOAA Gulfstream jet, as well as two or more Air Force aircraft – teams of scientists fly over atmospheric rivers, and drop instruments called dropsondes into them.

    "Atmospheric rivers are interesting and cool but you can't see them, actually, because it's water vapour," Wilson says. "And they're really close to the surface, they are usually focused on the lowest few kilometres of the atmosphere."

    Wilson points out that they tend to travel under cloud cover, which hides them from conventional weather observation tools like satellites. "It's really hard for the satellites to sort of see through that, to what's going on at the near-surface. So the point of flying the aircraft through them is to be able to drop our sensors, and get these foundational meteorological measurements – temperature, air pressure, wind and moisture," she says.

    We tend to highlight the hazardous side but we have to remember that they provide important water supply in dry regions, such as California – Bin Guan

    The atmospheric rivers Wilson and her team were monitoring in January were part of a series of 51 atmospheric rivers that hit Washington, Oregon and California between autumn 2023 and spring 2024, 13 more than the previous season. Knowing when and where such a storm will arrive, and how powerful it is, helps people on land prepare for what's coming, and for example, empty the right reservoirs in time. But Wilson and her colleagues' flights, which started in 2016, are also part of a wider scientific effort to better understand atmospheric rivers – including their surprising benefits.

    As extreme weather specialists are quick to point out, atmospheric rivers are not necessarily destructive. On the contrary, they can be life-sustaining.

    "We need [atmospheric rivers] – without them in the West we have droughts," Wilson says. Up to two-thirds of the West Coast's droughts are brought to an end by the arrival of an atmospheric river – they are known as drought busters.

    "There is a beneficial side of atmospheric rivers," agrees Bin Guan, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We tend to highlight the hazardous side but we have to remember that they provide important water supply in dry regions, such as California." Overall, they contribute up to 50% of California's rain and snow.

    The global frequency of atmospheric rivers could almost double by the end of this century

    On the west coast of the US and Canada, atmospheric rivers have been known as the "Pineapple Express" due to their presumed origins near Hawaii. However, Guan says that name is rarely used amongst experts, since atmospheric rivers are a global phenomenon, and many of the ones hitting the West Coast in fact originate much further away than Hawaii. In October 2017, an unusually long atmospheric river extended roughly 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometres) from Japan to Washington.

    In 2019, researchers created a scale to rank atmospheric rivers from one (weak, producing modest rainfall) to five (exceptional, primarily hazardous) to give a more nuanced picture of them.

    "The mild ones are considered beneficial for the water supply, only the very extreme ones are hazardous," says Qian Cao, a hydrologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "So it has both good sides and downsides, it doesn't only lead to bad events here."

    Predicting atmospheric rivers is key to limiting their destructive side, but is difficult, Cao says. For a start, they develop over the ocean, where there are fewer ways of observing them than on land. They then travel thousands of kilometres, and during that journey, can stall, intensify, weaken, get warmer or cooler, and interact with other atmospheric rivers, or remnants of them. Any of these changes will affect their impact, she says.

    Strategies such as forecast-informed reservoir operations, which use weather and water forecasting to help water managers decide whether to empty their reservoirs in expectation of massive rainfall, can help cope with them, she says.

    "If we can forecast or predict these atmospheric rivers better, if we can predict them more accurately, with longer lead times, then we have more time to make operational decisions, for example, whether we want to release water or save water in the reservoirs," says Cao. Forecasts are most accurate in the short term, for lead times of three to five days, she says, and their accuracy decreases with longer lead times. "Researchers are working very hard to improve forecasts beyond week two," she adds, since having a month or more to prepare would give people on the ground more options.

    This is where the AR Recon flights come in, looking inside the sky rivers, where other instruments can't reach.

    For Wilson's team, each flight begins with a forecast meeting in the morning, discussing existing forecasts of rain and snow in the US in the coming days. They identify areas of uncertainty that could be improved through more data on the atmospheric river that is bringing the expected rain or snow. They then fly to that atmospheric river, and collect the required data with the dropsondes.

    "The purpose of these targeted reconnaissance flights is to fill gaps, when we know the satellites have a difficult time seeing," Wilson says.

    Each Gulfstream flight lasts around eight hours – and as Wilson says, one vital bit of practical preparation is to bring your own food. The instruments transmit the data to the team aboard the aircraft, who check it and transmit it to the Global Telecommunications System, a World Meteorological Organization service that collects and distributes global weather-related data. It is then picked up by forecasting models, which use the data together with hundreds of millions of other observations, including from satellites. The now more accurate forecasts, enhanced by the dropsonde data, are shared with reservoir operators and emergency responders.

    Studies suggest that the dropsonde data indeed helps improve forecasts, with a recent analysis recommending that future missions involve daily flights and both the Gulfstream jet and Air Force aircraft, to gather as much data as possible. The team are also using other technologies to collect information, as well as working on modelling systems, to further improve forecasts and deepen their understanding of individual storms.

    This race to understand atmospheric rivers is especially urgent, researchers say, as studies suggest they are changing, and becoming more frequent – and potentially, becoming more devastating.

    Mengqian Lu is an associate professor in hydrometeorology and water resources at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She and her team published a global study in January 2024 projecting their future intensity, frequency and associated rainfall and snowfall around the world. According to their projections, the global frequency of atmospheric rivers could almost double by the end of this century. But what exactly that means on the ground varies from region to region, the study suggests.

    "In general, the more frequent and stronger [the atmospheric river], the more frequent and stronger rainfall it brings – but the translation is not one-to-one because the climate system is non-linear, rather chaotic," Lu says.

    What seems likely is that as the atmosphere warms with climate change, it will be able to hold increasing levels of moisture. "As a result we expect to see more frequent and stronger atmospheric rivers," she says.

    Because of their role in transporting heat as well as moisture, knowing how atmospheric rivers will change as climate continues to warm up is essential for understanding the broader impact of global warming, Lu says. For instance, atmospheric rivers bringing warmth have triggered the melting of ice shelves in West Antarctica.

    A growing body of research highlights their impact around the world. In East Asia, they contribute up to 90% of extreme rainfall in the warm seasons, and have caused floods and landslides. They can affect multiple locations, with several places experiencing disastrous weather at the same time, or in close succession, as atmospheric rivers might bring snow and blizzards to one region, and rain and severe floods to another.

    They can also form vicious cycles with other disasters, such as wildfires, causing mudslides in areas scarred by fire where the lack of vegetation makes the soil less absorbant and vulnerable to erosion. They can also drive fast plant growth that turns into fuel for the next fire, leading to an increase in the burned areas the following season, research suggests.

    Back-to-back atmospheric rivers – one after the other, bringing seemingly endless rain – are also becoming more common, studies suggest. From late December 2022 to mid-January 2023, nine atmospheric rivers hit California in a row, resulting in floods, landslides and power outages. As the authors of one study point out, such clusters can mean the drenched soil cannot dry out in between the storms, making flooding more likely. (Read more about how climate change could bring megafloods to California.)

    "In the western US, atmospheric rivers account for nearly 90% of the flood damages, totalling more than $1bn (£80m) a year. This number could double or even triple by the end of this century based on climate model projections of changes in atmospheric rivers," Guan says.

    Nor do they always carry water vapour alone. In 2021, they drove Saharan dust from Africa to Europe, darkening the snow in the Alps, reducing its reflectiveness, bringing heat, and reducing snow depth by 50%.

    Given this global scale and complexity, how can we cope with atmospheric rivers?

    Cao says we need to recognise how climate change is altering them, and adopt more sustainable development measures to fight global warming. Early warning systems, public awareness and more accurate and sophisticated forecasts are also crucial in helping us be prepared, she says – as well as understanding which weather patterns and climate conditions help generate atmospheric rivers in the first place.

    Meanwhile, it may be at least some comfort to know that hundreds of dropsondes are falling through these mysterious storms each year, collecting data that makes them more predictable.

    Wilson says the mission gives her hope, especially the work with responders on land, such as the emergency operations centre in California: "It's a really awesome feeling as a scientist to work on something that is so immediately applicable. This is making an impact right now for people on the ground," she says.

    ]]>     For the first time ever, Taliban reps were invited to the big U.N. climate conference https://sdgtalks.ai/for-the-first-time-ever-taliban-reps-were-invited-to-the-big-un-climate-conference https://sdgtalks.ai/for-the-first-time-ever-taliban-reps-were-invited-to-the-big-un-climate-conference Tue, 03 Dec 2024 15:28:49 -0500 Jeremy Utt For the first time since the Taliban takeover in 2021, a delegation from Afghanistan has been invited to the United Nations signature climate conference: the 29th Conference of Parties (COP).

    Following U.N. protocol, this year's host nation — Azerbaijan — issued the invite.

    It's not a full-blown invitation. Because the U.N. does not recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan due to its repressive policies, the Afghan delegates — members of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA — cannot participate in decision-making events.

    Nonetheless, the Taliban has said it is eager to participate. "The Afghan delegation will discuss strengthening international cooperation in the field of environmental protection and climate change," stated a Taliban press release prior to the U.N. event.

    Afghan climate scientists and activists, even those critical of the Taliban, welcome this development. "I consider it a very important move because it paves the path to the negotiation with climate change funds, which halted their [Afghan] projects in the past three years," says Assem Mayar, a water resources expert and former lecturer at Kabul Polytechnic University.

    "Afghanistan is not officially in the agenda, but having NEPA delegates as observers makes a difference," says Abdulhadi Achakzai, a climate activist with a Kabul-based environmental nonprofit who participated in the summit as an observer.

    "Their participation initiates a trust-building effort between international stakeholders," he says, which is imperative if the world "is committed to combating the climate crisis."

    A hard-hit country

    Afghanistan is among the countries worst impacted by climate change, according to the U.N.; droughts and extreme temperatures have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in recent years.

    In 2019, Afghanistan was ranked sixth among countries most affected by climate impacts on the Global Climate Risk Index. And it is among the least prepared to cope with the crisis according to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index.

    And funding from international groups has been largely halted — part of the sanctions levied to protest Taliban policies that restrict human rights and women's rights.

    Since the Taliban takeover, Mayar said climate adaptation projects worth $826 million have been suspended, reducing the capacity of Afghans to respond to increasing climate disasters, including irrigation projects and renewable energy.

    Meanwhile, climate shocks have continued to batter Afghans. The country is currently experiencing its third consecutive drought in three years, punctuated by periods of deadly flash floods. According to U.N. data, about 120,000 people were affected by flash flooding and mudslides across the country so far this year.

    More specifically, extreme weather — including droughts, extreme temperature, floods, landslides, avalanches and storms— displaced at least 38,000 people in the first half of this year. Save The Children reports about half of those were children.

    "Mass migration is, in fact, one major concern and consequence of climate shocks," says Najibullah Sadid, an Afghan climate researcher from the University of Stuttgart. "People will abandon their land and even the country in search of livelihood."

    The poppy problem

    Severe droughts can also disrupt agriculture, which is the primary occupation in Afghanistan, driving farmers to turn to drought-resistant poppy cultivation instead of food crops. Poppy crops fetch higher prices, and so despite the Taliban's ban, Afghanistan has been among the leading producers.

    Sadid says he worries if more fields are dedicated to growing poppies instead of food crops, the food shortage will only worsen.

    The majority of the country already lives in poverty. And as climate change is expected to bring increasingly frequent and severe disasters, many Afghans face serious risk.

    Achakzai hopes to communicate the urgency of the crisis to stakeholders at the COP summit, which ends on Friday. Climate activists from Afghanistan organized a side event on Wednesday, where Afghan scientists and civilians spoke about the climate stresses facing Afghans.

    Various international agencies attended, says Achakzai, who observed some positive changes in international stakeholders' attitudes towards Afghanistan. 

    "We hope the participants were [persuaded into] thinking that they can work with the Taliban to fight against the climate change crisis," he says.

    Running out of water

    Extreme drought has exacerbated the challenge of finding drinking water in many communities, Achakza says. "Underground water tables, which most Afghans rely on, are drying faster than they can be replenished."

    In a survey in Kabul conducted by Achakzai's organization, Environmental Protection, Training and Development Organization, researchers found that many communities were digging deeper wells to access groundwater — the primary source of water in the Afghan capital.

    Additionally, the study found that many people had migrated to Kabul, abandoning their land and agriculture due to lack of water. But in the city, they find that water isn't exactly plentiful.

    An October 2022 feasibility report from the Afghan Ministry of Water and Energy confirmed that the current underground water levels only meet about 40% of the city's expanding needs.

    As a result, families, especially children, spend considerable time and effort to procure water, "often having to walk for miles everyday, only to find water in contaminated sources or buy them from private tankers," Achakzai says.

    The next year is predicted to be drier than average, Mayar says, "and will result in more droughts in the country." A USAID-funded global network called the Famine Early Warning Systems confirmed this prediction with below average precipitation expected in coming months.

    What next for Afghanistan?

    With these predictions of prolonged droughts, Achakzai says it's imperative that the international community work to engage the current Afghan government to mitigate the impact of climate change.

    Mayar agrees it's critical for the world to find a way to work with or around the Taliban because the loss of international aid has been devastating. The U.S., for instance, reduced its financial support to humanitarian projects in the country from from $1.26 billion in 2022 to $377 million in 2023. What's more, many countries limit aid that can be sent to Afghanistan to only humanitarian needs and won't fund development projects.

    Mayar says developing a decentralized system that doesn't require Taliban involvement or approval to deliver aid could help support much-needed projects in the country.

    "I propose the accreditation of [Afghan] national NGOs [by international climate fund donors] to receive and implement projects within communities," he says. "In a scenario where the government isn't recognized, such a mechanism could be very helpful in ensuring climate finances reach those affected."

    The alternative — isolating Afghanistan from climate action — is grim, says these Mayar. "If we fail to facilitate a mechanism to help these communities, not only will the Afghan civilians bear the heaviest cost of climate change, but the impact of it will be felt across its borders."

    Sadid agrees. "If the world is sincere with Afghans, they will find a way to deliver climate funds to Afghanistan, as they found ways to deliver emergency aid in the last three years," he said, adding that "ignoring Afghanistan's climate crisis could prove expensive to the world."

    Ruchi Kumar is a journalist who reports on conflict, politics, development and culture in India and Afghanistan. She tweets at @RuchiKumarRuchi Kumar is a journalist who reports on conflict, politics, development and culture in India and Afghanistan. She tweets at @RuchiKumar

    ]]>     Satellite images show the devastation from Spain&apos;s deadly floods https://sdgtalks.ai/satellite-images-show-the-devastation-from-spains-deadly-floods https://sdgtalks.ai/satellite-images-show-the-devastation-from-spains-deadly-floods Tue, 03 Dec 2024 15:20:15 -0500 Jeremy Utt Satellite images show a devastating transformation of eastern Spain, where catastrophic flash floods have killed more than 200 people and upended entire towns.

    NASA Earth Observatory captured the image from its Landsat 8 satellite a day after the historic downpour. It showed parts of the eastern province of Valencia submerged in floodwaters. Meanwhile, the channel of the Turia river and the L'Albufera coastal wetlands were filled with the sediment-laden deluge.

    An image of Valencia, Spain on Oct. 25, 2022, taken from NASA's Landsat 8 satellite.

    An image of Valencia, Spain on Oct. 25, 2022, taken from NASA's Landsat 8 satellite.

    Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Observatory

    The flood was one of the deadliest weather events in modern Spanish history. Climate scientists say they see a clear connection between the flash flood and human-caused global warming, adding that climate change made this week's rainfall heavier and twice as likely.

    Across Valencia, areas exceeded 11 inches of rain. One area that was particularly hard hit was the town of Chiva near Valencia, which accumulated nearly 20 inches in the span of 8 hours — the equivalent to what it usually receives in an entire year, according to Spain's meteorological agency.

    Rescue teams are still searching for dozens of missing individuals, but their efforts, along with recovery operations, have been hindered by the wreckage left in the wake of the flood. Photos and videos from Valencia shows cars stacked on top of each other, streets filled with debris and people's belongings covered in brown mud.

    Maria Isabel Albalat, the mayor of one of the impacted towns, Paiporta, said that many streets were still blocked, so rescuers could not fully access her town. She added that when they do get access to a location where one person has been reported dead, they end up discovering three or four bodies.

    Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the government will deploy 5,000 more troops and 5,000 additional police officers to the region. Meanwhile, local authorities are facing criticism for failing to respond sooner.

    There had been some warnings to Valencia residents in the days leading up to the storm but the direct alert to people's cellphones — that typically comes from the regional government of Valencia — came the night of the flash floods just past 8 p.m. By that time, floodwaters had risen up to 6 feet in some areas. The phone alert also came during rush hour in Spain while most people were on their way home.

    ]]>     Climate change plays a role in global rise of dengue fever https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-plays-a-role-in-global-rise-of-dengue-fever-103201 https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-plays-a-role-in-global-rise-of-dengue-fever-103201 Tue, 03 Dec 2024 15:01:30 -0500 Jeremy Utt In 2023, some 6 million cases of dengue fever were reported worldwide — more than ever before. Then, 2024 blew that record away. More than 12 million cases have been reported worldwide so far this year.

    Case numbers had been rising for years before that, though. Now, a new study awaiting peer review suggests that climate change has likely played a significant role in the expansion of the disease from 1995 to 2014, according to an analysis presented in November at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference in New Orleans. Over that time period, climate change increased the caseload by roughly 20% across the 21 countries in the study — all places where dengue fever was already established, like Indonesia, India and Brazil.

    The numbers could skyrocket with further climate change, even beyond the record-breaking case numbers from the past few years, says Erin Mordecai, an infectious disease expert at Stanford University and one of the authors of the new analysis.

    "Many of the places in the study region are going to more than double their projected dengue incidence" if human-caused climate change continues to aggressively heat up the planet, she says. But the growth could be contained — not stopped, but at least minimized — if climate action keeps global temperatures in check, she stresses.

    Dengue fever is the most common tropical disease in the world. In about a quarter of cases, it can drive painful fever and the sensation of aching joints and bones leads to its common name "breakbone fever." In a small percentage of cases — and most often when someone contracts the disease for a second time — it can be fatal.

    Millions of cases of dengue fever play out every year worldwide. But there is currently no commonly available vaccine for adults, and little beyond palliative care to manage the disease once contracted.

    Climate fingerprints on dengue fever

    Dengue fever is spread between people by two species of mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti.

    "Mosquitoes are exothermic," or cold-blooded, Mordecai explains. "So when the temperature gets warmer, everything that their body does speeds up."

    Adult females of a species of dengue-fever-spreading mosquito, Aedes albopictus, are examined under a microscope.

    Dengue fever is spread by two species of mosquito. Adult females of one of those species, Aedes albopictus, are examined under a microscope. Each species thrives under particular weather conditions. Climate change is expanding those ideal zones into many new parts of the world, increasing the number of cases.

    Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    Mosquitoes grow faster. They more effectively replicate the virus in their guts. They even bite more aggressively as temperatures warm toward those ideal levels.

    Previous research in laboratories showed that those species of mosquitoes thrived within a predictable temperature range. For Aedes albopictus, the ideal Goldilocks temperature was roughly 79 degrees Fahrenheit. For Aedes aegypti, it was slightly higher, a balmy 84 degrees.

    There is a built-in limit, says Mordecai: Too far past those Goldilocks temperatures and mosquitoes suffer and start to die. And a dead mosquito can't spread disease.

    The researchers could track changes in temperature over time in tandem with changes in reported disease cases. And using climate models, they could tease out how much of the temperature rise in each location could be blamed on human-caused climate change — a technique called attribution. Then, using sophisticated statistical techniques borrowed from economics, they could link the human-driven temperature increases with increased caseloads.

    Similar strategies are now commonly used to diagnose human-caused climate change's fingerprint on extreme weather like heat waves or hurricanes. But the new analysis is one of the first to explicitly link climate change to changes in infectious disease cases.

    "Understanding how much of the increase in disease can be attributed to climate can give us more confidence in our predictions for how infections are going to respond to future climate changes," says Marta Shocket, a disease ecologist at Lancaster University in the U.K. "And this can help us do better long-term planning for how we allocate different public health resources."

    Overall, the researchers found that temperature conditions generally favor the expansion of the disease, especially in areas like highland Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil. Hotter areas, like Thailand and Cambodia, have seen growth as well, but smaller marginal increases because temperatures were already near the mosquitoes' upper limits.

    They could also look into the future to see where risks might emerge — and how many cases could be in store in an even hotter future. Many parts of South America, particularly those that are at the cooler end of the mosquitoes' preferred temperature range now, could see their caseloads double by the middle of the century if warming continues on its current trajectory. Only Cambodia was projected to see a drop in cases.

    "A lot of regions that are more temperate will become more suitable — and what's scary is that it happens to overlap a lot with really densely populated cities," says Jamie Caldwell, an infectious disease researcher at Princeton University who was not involved in the study.

    A health worker dispense insecticide with fogging machines to kill mosquitoes spreading dengue fever ahead of the Day of the Dead celebrations

    A health worker dispenses insecticide with fogging machines to kill mosquitoes spreading dengue fever ahead of the Day of the Dead celebrations in Merida, Mexico. 2024 broke records for the number of dengue fever cases reported worldwide.

    Hugo Borges/AFP via Getty Images

    The study did not include countries where dengue fever is still rare, a category which includes the U.S. But the number of cases within U.S. borders has also risen sharply in recent years, in hot, humid regions like Florida and southern Texas. But in 2023, several cases of locally acquired dengue fever were reported for the first time in Southern California. More were identified this year in Los Angeles County.

    When dengue caseloads are high in the rest of the world, it increases the chances the disease can make its way into new areas, like the U.S., says Katharine Walter, an epidemiologist at the University of Utah.

    "The world is more connected than ever before, and country borders are artificial," she says. "Unchecked viral transmission doesn't stay in one place."

    Public health efforts still matter — a lot

    A hotter planet contributes to the expansion of the disease — but it is far from the only reason, says Benny Rice, a disease ecologist at Princeton University. Dengue fever, like other diseases spread by "vectors" like mosquitoes or ticks, is controlled by a vast array of factors.

    Urbanization — particularly in unplanned developments like those springing up on the outskirts of cities worldwide — often creates mosquito havens, leading to a higher likelihood of disease outbreaks. Global travel also allows the disease to spread quickly and easily between regions. Other weather factors, like the frequency and intensity of rainfall or extreme weather, also influence the dynamics of dengue outbreaks.

    In some ways, all that complexity represents opportunity, says Rice. He points out that even if climate change influences 20% of dengue cases — or even more — that leaves 80% of cases that could be reined in. "The public health interventions that have existed for years are more important than ever," he says — from efforts like aggressive efforts to curb mosquito populations to developing strong local networks of medical care.

    Nonetheless, the study shows that "the climate really gives context for where and when outbreaks could occur," Caldwell says.

    The analysis suggests dengue cases will continue to skyrocket as Earth's climate continues to warm. By the middle of the century, the number of cases could rise by 60% as more parts of the world enter the mosquito-friendly temperature zone.

    But Mordecai says that points to a clear solution: alongside the other public health measures, any success at slowing Earth's warming by reducing planet-warming emissions will lessen the risks.

    ]]>     California’s first plastic bag ban made things worse. Now it’s trying again https://sdgtalks.ai/californias-first-plastic-bag-ban-made-things-worse-now-its-trying-again https://sdgtalks.ai/californias-first-plastic-bag-ban-made-things-worse-now-its-trying-again Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:55:14 -0500 Jeremy Utt Ten years after California approved a plastic bag ban that’s been blamed for making its plastic bag problem worse, the state is banning single-use plastic grocery bags entirely.

    In 2014, California became the first state to pass a plastic bag ban. It’s one of at least 12 states that now have some form of ban on single-use plastic bags.

    But because of a loophole in its initial ban that allowed grocers to charge for thicker plastic bags, California still dumped 231,072 tons of plastic grocery and merchandise bags in landfills in 2021, according to the state’s recycling agency, CalRecycle. That was a sharp increase from the year the ban took effect — and nearly 100,000 more tons than in 2018.

    California officials are saying that there's a perception that plastics — especially plastic bags — can be easily recycled. But they say that this is not the reality and that consumers have been deceived for decades.

    “CalRecycle has not identified facilities that recycle plastic bags in the state of California,” the agency told NPR this week.

    The state filed a suit on Sunday alleging that ExxonMobil promoted recycling while knowing that it was technically and economically challenging and wouldn't make much of a dent in the plastic waste problem.

    Here’s a rundown of California’s new ban and similar measures:

    Why did California’s initial bag ban backfire?

    The state’s ban on thin single-use bags had a loophole that let grocers sell shoppers thicker plastic bags for a small fee: just 10 cents. In theory, the heavier bags were reusable. But in practice, they became a more substantial form of waste.

    “A plastic bag has an average lifespan of 12 minutes and then it is discarded, afflicting our environment with toxic microplastics that fester in our oceans and landfills for up to 1,000 years,” Sen. Catherine Blakespear, an author of the new ban, said in a news release issued after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the ban into law on Sunday.

    The initial ban was also undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic. When it was still unknown how the coronavirus spread, shoppers were barred from bringing reusable bags into grocery stores out of fear that their bags might be contaminated.  

    “California kind of took one for the team as the first to pass a statewide ban on plastic bags,” Melissa Valliant, communications director for the advocacy group Beyond Plastics, told NPR. “It ended up providing a lesson for other state and even local governments to learn from and to not allow loopholes like thicker plastic bags.”

    What does the new California law do?

    Starting on Jan. 1, 2026, customers at most grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retailers will have three main options: Pay at least 10 cents for a paper bag; use a reusable bag; or hand-carry their purchase.

    “Stores may offer paper bags at the point-of-sale, and they can also sell the canvas-style reusable bags in other areas of the store,” Nate Rose of the California Grocers Association, which supports the new ban, told NPR.

    “These are the bags many shoppers are already accustomed to bringing with them to carry their groceries,” Rose added.

    And starting in 2028, stores’ paper bags will be required to be composed of at least 50% postconsumer recycled materials.

    More than 70 organizations supported the legislation, member station LAist reports, saying it “would prevent plastic waste, which releases toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil.”

    California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, has filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, alleging the oil and gas corporation misled consumers by telling them that recycling was a viable solution for plastic waste. In 2021, some 231,072 tons of plastic grocery and merchandise bags went to landfills, according to the state’s recycling agency, CalRecycle.

    California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, has filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, alleging that the oil and gas corporation misled consumers by telling them that recycling was a viable solution for plastic waste. In 2021, some 231,072 tons of plastic grocery and merchandise bags went to landfills, according to the state’s recycling agency, CalRecycle.

    Muhammad Owais Khan/Getty Images

    What’s so bad about plastic bags?

    Despite industry claims about their recyclability, the thin bags are notoriously difficult and expensive to process and recycle. Instead, they often wind up in landfills, where they will persist for centuries, or in incinerators.

    For a sense of the scale of the problem, consider Philadelphia. An evaluation commissioned by the city said last year that in Philadelphia, “an estimated 1 billion single-use disposable plastic bags are used annually,” adding to waste, litter and emissions challenges.

    Municipal systems, the evaluation stated, “are unable to recycle plastic bags and the soft material causes equipment jamming at recycling centers, leading to dangerous and costly repairs that account for 150 hours of lost staff time and $300,000 in city costs.”

    In contrast, restrictions like bag bans “can be expected to eliminate almost 300 single-use plastic bags per person per year, on average,” according to an analysis by Environment America and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund that was published in January.

    What does the plastic industry say?

    Bag manufacturers are against bans on their products and they insist that the thin plastic film bag, made of polyethylene, makes more sense than the alternatives.

    “A polyethylene bag is 100% recyclable and can be recycled into itself, is produced with low carbon emissions, and the PE is made domestically from natural gas,” a general manager of bag supplier Crown Poly said in a 2023 report prepared by Freedonia Custom Research on behalf of an industry group, the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance.

    “Conversely, PP [polypropylene] bags are produced overseas and imported, produce higher emissions than film bags, and are not recyclable. In fact, 99% of PP is virgin and does not contain post-consumer recycled material,” the report states.

    Note: While single-use bags can technically be recycled, it’s not an easy or cost-effective process.

    “To the extent they get recycled, a lot of polyethylene plastics get turned into low-grade materials. You can’t take a plastic bag and then make another plastic bag with the same properties out of it,” chemistry researcher John Hartwig of the University of California, Berkeley said in 2022, as he worked on ways to reuse the ubiquitous material. 

    The American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance and another industry group, the Plastics Industry Association, did not respond to NPR’s request for comment on the new California ban before this story was published.

    California will require shoppers to use paper bags or a reusable bag. In this photo from 2007, a woman loads plastic bags of groceries into her car at a Safeway store in San Francisco, before the city — and later, the state — adopted a ban on plastic checkout bags.

    California will require shoppers to use paper bags or a reusable bag. In this photo from 2007, a woman loads plastic bags of groceries into her car at a Safeway store in San Francisco, before the city — and later, the state — adopted a ban on plastic checkout bags.

    David Paul Morris/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

    Should people just use paper bags?

    When bans on single-use plastic bags haven’t also included a fee on paper bags, their use has soared. In Portland, Ore., for instance, paper bag use shot up by nearly 500% after the city enacted a ban (and before the state imposed its own ban with a fee for paper alternatives).

    A similar dynamic has played out in Philadelphia, where the proportion of supermarket shoppers using at least one paper bag tripled after a plastic-bag ban took effect without a fee for paper. A recent bid to tack on a 15-cent fee for paper bags was axed by a pocket veto.

    Paper bags are easier to recycle than plastic, and more degradable. But environmental advocates want retailers and shoppers to move away from single-use bags of any type. They argue that a few minutes of convenience isn’t enough to justify cumbersome networks of bag collection, processing and production needed to recycle single-use bags.

    “The whole goal is to get people to switch from disposable options — especially plastic, but disposable options altogether — to reusable and refillable options,” Valliant said. “Because ultimately that is going to be the most sustainable and the best for both environment and human health.”

    Which 12 states have banned plastic bags? 

    In 2024, Colorado and Rhode Island enacted statewide bans on single-use plastic bags, joining 10 states that already had restrictions in place: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

    At their core, such bans are attempts to shift responsibility for plastic waste from consumers upstream — to retailers and, by extension, plastic producers.

    The same week California’s new ban became law, the state opened another front in its battle with plastic waste by filing a lawsuit against oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, a leading producer of the polymers used to make single-use plastics.

    “For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.

    Bonta accused ExxonMobil of profiting from “convincing consumers that they were responsible for the proliferation of plastic waste through their own personal habits, rather than through Mobil’s and Exxon’s efforts to produce an increasing number of plastic products designed for single-use.”

    ]]>     Negotiators fail to reach an agreement on a plastic pollution treaty. Talks to resume next year https://sdgtalks.ai/negotiators-fail-to-reach-an-agreement-on-a-plastic-pollution-treaty-talks-to-resume-next-year https://sdgtalks.ai/negotiators-fail-to-reach-an-agreement-on-a-plastic-pollution-treaty-talks-to-resume-next-year Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:49:07 -0500 Jeremy Utt BUSAN, South Korea — Negotiators working on a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution for a week in South Korea won't reach an agreement and plan to resume the talks next year.

    They are at an impasse over whether the treaty should reduce the total plastic on Earth and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics.

    The negotiations in Busan, South Korea, were supposed to be the fifth and final round to produce the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024. But with time running out early Monday, negotiators agreed to resume the talks next year. They don't yet have firm plans.

    More than 100 countries want the treaty to limit production as well as tackle cleanup and recycling, and many have said that is essential to address chemicals of concern. But for some plastic-producing and oil and gas countries, that crosses a red line.

    For any proposal to make it into the treaty, every nation must agree to it. Some countries sought to change the process so decisions could be made with a vote if consensus couldn't be reached and the process was paralyzed. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and others opposed changing it, arguing consensus is vital to an inclusive, effective treaty.

    On Sunday, the last scheduled day of talks, the treaty draft still had multiple options for several key sections. Some delegates and environmental organizations said it had become too watered down, including negotiators from Africa who said they would rather leave Busan without a treaty than with a weak one.

    Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic. Plastic production could climb about 70% by 2040 without policy changes.

    In Ghana, communities, bodies of water, drains and farmlands are choked with plastics, and dumping sites full of plastics are always on fire, said Sam Adu-Kumi, the country's lead negotiator.

    "We want a treaty that will be able to solve it," he said in an interview. "Otherwise we will go without it and come and fight another time."

    At Sunday night's meeting, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the committee chair from Ecuador, said that while they made progress in Busan, their work is far from complete and they must be pragmatic. He said countries were the furthest apart on proposals about problematic plastics and chemicals of concern, plastic production and financing the treaty, as well as the treaty principles.

    Valdivieso said the meeting should be suspended and resume at a later date. Many countries then reflected on what they must see in the treaty moving forward.

    Chair of the International Negotiating Committee, Luis Vayas Valdivieso (right), speaks with Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP, before the start of a plenary of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Busan, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024.

    Chair of the International Negotiating Committee, Luis Vayas Valdivieso (right), speaks with Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP, before the start of a plenary of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Busan, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024.

    Ahn Young-joon/AP

    Rwanda's lead negotiator, Juliet Kabera, said she spoke on behalf of 85 countries in insisting that the treaty be ambitious throughout, fit for purpose and not built to fail, for the benefit of current and future generations. She asked everyone who supported the statement to "stand up for ambition." Country delegates and many in the audience stood, clapping.

    Panama's delegation, which led an effort to include plastic production in the treaty, said they would return stronger, louder and more determined.

    Saudi Arabia's negotiator said chemicals and plastic production are not within the scope of the treaty. Speaking on behalf of the Arab group, he said if the world addresses plastic pollution, there should be no problem producing plastic. Kuwait's negotiator echoed that, saying the objective is to end plastic pollution, not plastic itself, and stretching the mandate beyond its original intent erodes trust and goodwill.

    In March 2022, 175 nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024. The resolution states that nations will develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.

    Stewart Harris, a spokesperson for the International Council of Chemical Associations, said it was an incredibly ambitious timeline. He said the ICCA is hopeful governments can reach an agreement with just a little more time.

    Most of the negotiations in Busan took place behind closed doors. Environmental groups, Indigenous leaders, communities impacted by plastic pollution and scientists who traveled to Busan to help shape the treaty said it should've been transparent and they felt silenced.

    "To a large degree, this is why the negotiation process is failing," said Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator for the International Pollutants Elimination Network. "Busan proved that the process is broken and just hobbling along."

    South Korea's foreign affairs minister Cho Tae-yul said that though they didn't get a treaty in Busan as many had hoped, their efforts brought the world closer to a unified solution to ending global plastic pollution.

    ]]>     Atmospheric rivers aren&apos;t new. Why does it feel like we&apos;re hearing about them more? https://sdgtalks.ai/atmospheric-rivers-arent-new-why-does-it-feel-like-were-hearing-about-them-more https://sdgtalks.ai/atmospheric-rivers-arent-new-why-does-it-feel-like-were-hearing-about-them-more Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:30:26 -0500 Jeremy Utt California is in the midst of a strong atmospheric river that's caused flooding, evacuations, road closures, and mention of it is all over the news and social media. And this comes on the heel of two previous winters where the Golden State saw damaging storms of the same kind. If you have the feeling that in the past few years, you've started hearing the term a lot more, you are not alone. You're not even wrong.

    In recent years, "atmospheric river" has become used much more frequently in scientific papers and in media coverage. According to experts who study climate and weather, a couple reasons may explain why.

    Technical weather terms in general are now more used in the news. Atmospheric rivers are a thriving area of research, more of which may be filtering into media coverage. And these storms are also expected to intensify and become more damaging as the climate warms – which means there's more attention on them.

    What is an atmospheric river anyway?

    Before we get into why we're hearing about them more, let's go over the basics of what an atmospheric river is.

    These storms have always existed. They occur around the world, often on the west coasts of the mid-latitudes, where an ocean meets a landmass. They're long filaments of concentrated water vapor in the lower atmosphere occurring along with strong winds – and they're the primary way water is moved horizontally. In California, a normal winter might see five of these kinds of storms and as many as 20 could occur during wet winters. A typical one can be 300 miles wide, a mile deep and 1,000 miles long. When plotted on a map or looked down upon from a satellite in space they looked just like rivers.

    For a long time, they were colloquially and scientifically referred to as things like the Pineapple Express or Rum Runner Express. Those turned out to be just a subset of atmospheric rivers however, ones that originated near Hawaii or in the Caribbean heading toward Europe. Not all ARs are particularly warm or begin in those locations.

    "So the 'atmospheric river' term is the broader envelope," says Daniel Swain, climate scientist at the University of California.

    The term was coined in a 1994 paper by two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    "And it turns out that they are very comparable to terrestrial rivers in terms of how much water is moving in them," Swain said. "In fact, sometimes they're significantly greater even than some of the flow of the largest terrestrial rivers on earth," including the Mississippi or Amazon River.

    How we talk about the weather has changed

    Swain believes that one reason people are suddenly hearing about atmospheric rivers more is because those who communicate about weather to the public have made a shift to using terms that the scientific community uses.

    "I think a lot of it probably has to do with the media landscape and the popularization of certain technical weather terms," he said, pointing to "bomb cyclone" and "bombogenesis" as other examples. These are formal, quantitatively defined meteorological terms, "and everyone assumes that's just some invention of the social media hype era."

    In fact, he says, these seem to date back to the 1940s during World War II when meteorologists were advising Allied forces in the North Atlantic Theater.

    Atmospheric river, he says, is similar.

    "Instead of just making something up out of the ether," Swain says, "there's been an interest in what are actually meaningful, technically correct scientific terms to describe various weather phenomena, which I'm not so sure is a bad thing."

    Scientists have done a lot to understand atmospheric rivers better

    In recent years, ARs have been a blooming area of research, some of which is filtering into media coverage.

    Marty Ralph, director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has been a pioneer in the field and is frequently cited in the press.

    Researchers like Ralph have helped discover how important atmospheric rivers are, both for California but also for storms around the country and world. Back in 2004, the topic had fallen out of favor, says Ralph. But with new data collected by aircraft and satellites he showed researchers how to see the storms in a new way, allowing scientists to observe them from the inside and out.

    "I sort of resurrected the topic after an early pullback," Ralph said.

    This now-vibrant area of research has made some recent discoveries, says Ralph, including how to better predict their effects, how they impact both snowfall and snowmelt in the polar regions and links between AR intensity and climate change.

    "Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor and water vapor is the fuel in atmospheric rivers, ARs can carry more water vapor," Ralph says. "And there are studies now that show we can expect to see somewhat more extreme ARs and more common, in some cases, just because of that."

    The weather news in California has flipped from being about drought to being about storms

    What may increase the impression that atmospheric rivers are a new thing is that for a good part of the past decade, California was in serious drought and wasn't getting them. Then in early 2023, multiple AR storms followed one after another, resulting in flooding around California and 22 deaths.

    "In both cases, it's a story about atmospheric rivers, in one case a deficit of atmospheric rivers, not enough of them, and the other case overabundance – too many atmospheric rivers all at once," said Swain. "California water lives and dies by this."

    Atmospheric rivers are at fault in more than 80 percent of flooding across the West. On average these storms cause $1 billion in damage each year.

    A look at Google Trends, reveals an early blip of interest in atmospheric rivers in early 2011, hardly anything during the drought years of 2012-2016, then more blips in 2017, 2019 and 2021 coinciding with West Coast storms and flooding. And finally large spikes in interest in 2023 and 2024. So far this fall has only brought one AR to California, but it is a record-breaking one.

    A major development for the future of atmospheric river research, says Ralph, is the possibility of improving our forecasting up to two weeks before a storm.

    Legislation introduced on Wednesday by Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) seeks to secure funding to increase airborne reconnaissance – using planes to fly through the storms – to learn more about atmospheric rivers.

    "The more we sample these storms, the more accurate the forecasts become," said Ralph.

    Felt around the country

    Lest you think these storms are purely a West Coast phenomenon, researchers are increasingly appreciating ARs role in fueling and directing nor'easters, strong storms that impact the East Coast.

    "It's quite possible that AR recon in the Gulf of Mexico and off the East Coast will actually be able to improve the forecast scale of the track and intensity of nor'easters," Ralph said, "which people in the East know full well, is a very important detail in order to determine if the big cities are impacted."

    NPR audiences first heard about atmospheric rivers in 2013, when Jon Hamilton offered "Tips for Surviving a Mega Disaster."

    ]]>     Plastic waste is everywhere. Countries have one more chance to agree on a solution https://sdgtalks.ai/plastic-waste-is-everywhere-countries-have-one-more-chance-to-agree-on-a-solution https://sdgtalks.ai/plastic-waste-is-everywhere-countries-have-one-more-chance-to-agree-on-a-solution Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:27:01 -0500 Jeremy Utt Negotiators from dozens of countries are in Busan, South Korea, trying to hammer out a global treaty to cut down on plastic pollution. It's their last chance before an end-of-year deadline to agree on a plan to stem a crisis that threatens the environment and human health.

    The world produces about 400 million metric tons of plastic waste every year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. That's about the sum total of how much every human on the planet weighs. Most plastic ends up in places like oceans, shorelines and landfills, where it breaks down into tiny pieces called microplastics that have been found in every corner of the environment and inside human bodies. The problem is getting worse, with plastic pollution expected to soar in the coming decades. So in 2022, U.N. member states said they'd write a legally binding agreement to keep plastic waste out of the environment.

    But for months, the talks have been deadlocked. Plastic is made from fossil fuels. Environmental groups, scientists and human rights activists say the oil and gas industry, along with major producers like Russia and Saudi Arabia, have delayed progress and blocked measures that could hurt demand for their products.

    However, some observers of the negotiations now see a path for countries to broker a deal. That's due in part to signals from the Biden administration in recent months that the U.S. might support more aggressive actions to reduce plastic pollution.

    "We have all the right conditions at play," says Erin Simon, head of plastic waste and business at the World Wildlife Fund. "Can the chair [of the U.N. negotiating committee] finish the job? And will these countries stand up and speak for what they have been saying they are committed to doing when the time is right? Will they drown out the few and speak for the majority?"

    A volunteer collects plastic waste that washed up on the shores and mangroves in the Philippines.

    A volunteer collects plastic waste that washed up on the shores and mangroves in the Philippines.

    Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

    Talks open in the shadow of a U.S. election

    The final round of talks is getting underway weeks after U.S. voters reelected Donald Trump as president. For years, Trump has cast doubt on the scientific consensus that the Earth is getting hotter mainly because of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, which come primarily from burning fossil fuels. And Trump has promised to pursue policies in his second term that support the United States' oil and gas industry.

    Trump's transition team did not respond to messages seeking comment about the incoming administration's stance on plastic pollution.

    Simon says U.S. politics could have some impact on the plastic negotiations, but she says the goal isn't to set U.S. policy or design a treaty that can be ratified immediately by the United States.

    "The target is, how do we mobilize globally," Simon says. "And how do we make sure that no matter what [happens] in the U.S., we're taking action?"

    Even before Trump's reelection, observers of the negotiations were reluctant to count on U.S. leadership. The Biden administration faced sharp criticism for backing policies that aligned with the interests of the plastics industry. And the U.S. historically has been a laggard in global environmental initiatives, says Carroll Muffett, executive director of the Foundation for International Law for the Environment.

    There's a pattern of the U.S. "advocating for very weak agreements that it then ends up not participating in anyway," Muffett said ahead of a prior round of plastic negotiations in Canada this spring.

    A sculpture titled

    A sculpture titled Giant Plastic Tap by Canadian artist Benjamin Von Wong is displayed outside the fourth session of the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Ottawa, Canada, in April.

    Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images

    Scientists say the solutions to plastic waste are clear

    A major sticking point in these negotiations has been a measure to limit the production of new plastic. Scientists and environmental advocates, along with attorneys general from New York, California and eight other states, say that the world manufactures too much plastic to manage effectively and that countries need to cap production to have any hope of making a dent in pollution.

    Plastic-makers see that sort of regulation as a threat to their business. The industry wants negotiators to focus on creating what's called a circular economy, where plastic is recycled and reused to prevent waste.

    But investigations, including by NPR, have found that the plastics industry promoted recycling for decades even though officials long knew that it probably wouldn't work on a large scale. Former industry officials have said the goal was to avoid regulation and ensure demand for plastics kept growing.

    Current officials have said those investigations don't accurately portray today's industry.

    Matt Seaholm, chief executive of the Plastics Industry Association, a trade group, said in a statement that his organization supports an "ambitious" treaty but warned against policies like production caps that he said would hurt plastic manufacturers "without reaching our shared sustainability goals."

    Countries are also debating whether to regulate the chemicals that go into plastics. A study this year found that plastics contain more than 4,200 hazardous chemicals, the vast majority of which aren't regulated globally, according to the researchers. The plastics industry argues that chemicals should be regulated by national governments, not by a global treaty on plastic pollution. But scientists and environmentalists calling for global chemical regulations note that plastic waste — as well as the chemicals the plastic is made from — doesn't stay in the country where it's produced. It travels around the world in rivers and oceans.

    Other issues under consideration include setting design standards to ensure plastic is safe to reuse and recycle, requiring companies to use some recycled material in their plastic products and raising money to help pay for waste management infrastructure, especially in developing countries.

    "From the vantage point of science, it's very clear what actions we need. So, there's no ambiguity there. It's just a matter of political will," says Douglas McCauley, a professor of environmental science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who has studied ways to cut plastic pollution.

    And McCauley says world leaders have plenty of reasons to act. "If you care about fighting cancer, well, there's a win here. If you care about environmental justice, there's a win here. If you care about the environment — oceans, rivers, all the rest — there's a win. If you care about climate change, there's a win," McCauley says.

    A spokesperson for the White House Council on Environmental Quality said in a statement that the U.S. supports measures that address plastic supplies and the chemicals the industry uses. "Global plastic production is projected to triple by 2060, overwhelming solid waste management systems and contributing to pollution," the statement said. "An outsized proportion of that increase will be in the growth of single-use plastic products that will ultimately lead to more plastic pollution."

    People look for reusable material at a garbage dump filled with plastic and other waste on the outskirts of Jammu, India.

    People look for reusable material at a garbage dump filled with plastic and other waste on the outskirts of Jammu, India.

    Channi Anand/AP

    Time is of the essence

    Observers of the negotiations say countries could produce a strong treaty in South Korea even if they leave some details to be worked out later.

    "You can't get everything concluded in Busan," says Magnus Løvold, a project manager at the Norwegian Academy of International Law. "But you can set a starting point that is credible for [the] governance of plastics internationally" in the coming years.

    But time appears to be running short to lay that groundwork. When countries agreed to write a treaty to end plastic pollution, they set a goal to finish this year. Negotiators often extend talks when they run into gridlock. However, McCauley says participants in these deliberations seem committed to sticking to the original timeline.

    For developing nations especially, letting the talks drag out could sink their efforts to get a strong treaty, Simon says. The negotiations are scheduled to conclude Dec. 1.

    "Those countries will run out of resources to be a major player in negotiations," Simon says. "The political pressure, the public pressure will wane as other things come into the picture."

    ]]>     O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, which is more sustainable: real or plasticky? https://sdgtalks.ai/o-christmas-tree-o-christmas-tree-which-is-more-sustainable-real-or-plasticky https://sdgtalks.ai/o-christmas-tree-o-christmas-tree-which-is-more-sustainable-real-or-plasticky Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:18:51 -0500 Jeremy Utt It's time to discuss one of the perennial debates of the holiday season: Which are more eco-friendly, real trees or their fake counterparts?

    If you ask Tim O'Connor, executive director of the National Christmas Tree Association, the answer is obvious.

    "I think it's just a no-brainer that real Christmas trees are far superior for the environment," he said. "Let's just start with a product of nature versus a product that's made from oil."

    Of course, O'Connor's organization represents Christmas tree farmers. Here's what studies and environmentalists say.

    The studies

    The most recent U.S. analysis of the issue is from 2018, when a life cycle assessment — measuring the environmental impact of real and fake trees over the course of production to disposal — was published. (It's worth noting that the study was done by a consulting firm contracted by the American Christmas Tree Association, which represents the artificial-tree industry.)

    The analysis took into account things like the netting around real Christmas trees and the water used to keep them alive in homes, versus the plastic packaging tape used on fake-tree boxes and transportation from manufacturers in China.

    It concluded that artificial trees have a more favorable effect on the environment if reused for at least five years.

    It's worth noting, though, that with all these variables, the study says that transportation accounts for around 15% of total global warming potential for artificial Christmas trees and 10% to 12% for real ones. So if that tree farm or big-box store is a long drive away, it can really sway things.

    "Neither a farm-grown tree or a faux tree has a superlarge environmental impact compared to some daily activities like commuting a long way in a gas-powered car," said Mac Harman, the CEO of Balsam Hill, which makes high-end fake trees and offers an eco-friendly line of trees made from recycled plastics and plant-based plastic. "One long commute could be about the impact of having a Christmas tree for a year."

    Environmentalists, meanwhile, suggest studies shouldn't be the only evidence consumers take into account.

    "Studies can really vary on anything depending on who's funding the study, what parameters they're looking at, which elements are the most important, or are they just looking at carbon impacts? Are they looking at other resource impacts? Are they considering extraction? Are they considering disposal?" said Darby Hoover of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

    In this photo, a man who's holding a child in his arms is looking at artificial Christmas trees standing on display in a Home Depot store in Miami in 2021. The man's and child's backs are to the camera.

    A man and child look at artificial Christmas trees on display at a Home Depot in Miami in 2021.

    Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    An environmentalist's take

    Several environmental groups have waded into the debate, and for many of them, real trees are the winner.

    "For me, it's not just carbon," said Hoover. "One of the things about the artificial trees is that they're made of plastic almost entirely. And the by-far-most-common polymer used to make artificial trees is PVC, polyvinyl chloride, which is a particularly toxic form of plastic that's toxic in production, use and disposal."

    It's worth noting the endgame for both options: If real trees end up in a landfill and don't break down, they're still storing all the carbon they absorbed in life. And if they're mulched, they're being reused for greener purposes. Most artificial trees aren't recyclable.

    "If [people] want to do what's better for the environment, if they want to support a family farmer, if they want to have the kind of Christmas experience for their family that is authentic, that includes something from nature rather than something from plastic, it's a pretty simple decision to have a real Christmas tree," O'Connor of the real-Christmas-tree association said.

    How to be tree-mendously green for Christmas

    Want to take it a step further? Let's go back to the tree's roots — as in letting the tree keep its actual roots.

    In this photo, the official White House Christmas tree, a 20-foot Fraser fir, stands tall in a cone shape among shorter trees at Cartner's Christmas Tree Farm in Newland, North Carolina, on November 13. In the background is hilly terrain.

    The official White House Christmas tree, a 20-foot Fraser fir, is seen at Cartner's Christmas Tree Farm in Newland, N.C., on Nov. 13.

    Erik Verduzco/AP

    "I think the best option is using a plant that's already in your life or that you want to purchase and have stay in your life," said Hoover. "So rather than buying a plant that's going to be cut down, why not repurpose a tree that's already on your property or a really fancy potted plant that's already in your home?"

    And if your wilted snake plant isn't Christmassy enough for you, there's another option. There are companies that allow you to rent a live Christmas tree that returns to the nursery when the holidays are over.

    And if you already have a fake tree, keep using it. Harman of Balsam Hill says he knows people who still have trees from his company's early days nearly two decades ago.

    "It doesn't make business any easier for us selling more trees when they last so long, but it's certainly good for the environment," he said.

    ]]>     California Forever: Silicon Valley billionaires are secretively planning a new utopian tech city https://sdgtalks.ai/California-Forever%3A-Silicon-Valley-billionaires-are-secretively-planning-a-new-utopian-tech-city https://sdgtalks.ai/California-Forever%3A-Silicon-Valley-billionaires-are-secretively-planning-a-new-utopian-tech-city Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:06:30 -0500 Jacob Altizer Silicon Valley billionaires - with some European investment - have bought up large swathes of land in California for a secretive new city project.

    Silicon Valley billionaires behind a secretive $800 million (€740 million) land-buying spree in Northern California in the US have finally released some details about their plans for a new sustainable tech city - but they still must win over sceptical voters and local leaders first.

    After years of ducking scrutiny, Jan Sramek, the former Goldman Sachs trader spearheading the effort, launched a website on Thursday about "California Forever". 

    The site billed the project as "a chance for a new community, good-paying local jobs, solar farms, and open space" in Solano, a rural county between San Francisco and Sacramento that is now home to 450,000 people.

    He also began meeting with key politicians representing the area who have been trying unsuccessfully for years to find out who was behind the mysterious Flannery Associates LLC as it bought up huge swaths of land, making it the largest single landholder in the county.

    An all-star roster of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are backing the project, including philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. 

    The New York Times first reported on the group's investors and plans.

    Voters must approve any plans

    California Forever, the parent company of Flannery, has purchased more than 202 square km of farmland in Solano County since 2018, largely in the southeastern portion of the county, with parcels stretching from Fairfield to Rio Vista. 

    According to the website, Sramek fell in love with the area over fishing trips and he and his wife recently purchased a home in the county for their growing family.

    The project issued a poll to residents last month to gauge support for "a new city with tens of thousands of new homes," solar energy farms, and new parks funded entirely by the private sector.

    But to build anything resembling a city on what is now farmland, the group must first convince Solano County voters to approve a ballot initiative to allow for urban uses on that land, a protection that has been in place since 1984. 

    Local and federal officials still have questions about the group's intentions.

    Two area congressmen who sought for years to find out whether foreign adversaries or investors were behind the buying spree around a US Air Force base vital to national security and the local economy are furious that Flannery kept its identity hidden for so long. 

    The website says 97 per cent of its funding is from US investors and the rest are from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    "The FBI, the Department of Treasury, everyone has been doing work trying to figure out who these people are," US congressman Mike Thompson, who represents much of the county, said this week after meeting with Sramek. 

    Their secrecy has caused a "lot of problems, a lot of time, and a lot of expense".

    The investment group said secrecy was required until enough land was purchased, in order to avoid short-term speculation, but that it is now ready to hear from Solano households via a mailed survey and creation of a community advisory board. Past surveys showed parents were most concerned about their children's future, the website said.

    Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP
    Mayor Ron Kott looks over a map of rural Solano County at City Hall in Rio Vista, California, Wednesday, August 30, 2023.Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP

    "Instead of watching our kids leave, we have the opportunity to build a new community that attracts new employers, creates good-paying local jobs, builds homes in walkable neighbourhoods, leads in environment stewardship, and fuels a growing tax base to serve the county at large," it said.

    Need for more housing

    California is in dire need of more housing, especially affordable homes for teachers, firefighters, service and hospitality workers. But cities and counties can't figure out where to build as established neighbourhoods argue against new homes that they say would congest their roads and spoil their quiet way of life.

    In many ways, Solano County is ideal for development. It is 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco and 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of California's capital city of Sacramento. Solano County homes are among the most affordable in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a median sales price of $600,000 last month.

    But Princess Washington, mayor pro tempore of Suisun City, said residents deliberately decided to protect open space and keep the area around Travis Air Force Base free of encroachment given its significance.

    She’s suspicious that the group’s real purpose is “to create a city for the elite” under the guise of more housing.

    “Economic blight is everywhere. So why do you need to spend upwards of a billion dollars to create a brand new city when you have all these other things that can be achieved throughout the Bay Area?” she said.

    Flannery further infuriated locals in May when it sued several landowners in court, accusing them of conspiring to fix prices for their properties. The company disclosed it had purchased or was under contract to buy about 140 properties for more than $800 million.

    Then last week, residents began receiving a push poll gauging voter support for “a major new project” that would include “a new city with tens of thousands of new homes." The poll asked if they would be more likely to support the project if county residents were given priority and financial assistance to lease or purchase one of the new homes.

    Related

    'He's not there yet'

    Thompson, the congressman, was unimpressed after meeting with Sramek, saying that the developer was vague on details and failed to display an understanding or appreciation of the county or its values.

    Asked how he would help residents finance new homes, Thompson said Sramek told him he planned to use “all of his knowledge as a finance guy” to generate savings. Development in California is convoluted, but Thompson said Sramek told him they're hoping for expedited permitting "because their project is so good and their intentions are so great.”

    "He doesn’t have a plan, he’s not there yet," Thompson said.

    Congressman John Garamendi, whose district includes Travis and immediate areas around it, said base and county officials reached out roughly five years ago for help in figuring out who was buying up land. Garamendi, who is scheduled to meet with Sramek Friday, was appalled to learn who was backing the project.

    "You big wealthy Silicon Valley billionaires, you’re party to all of this. This is the kind of people you are? This is how you want to operate?" he said. "What they’ve managed to do is to totally poison the well".

    Hoffman and Andreessen did not respond to emailed requests for comment, nor did Jobs through her business Emerson Collective.

    Project developers said they will protect the military base and farmers who want to keep farming on their parcels can do so.

    Flannery has purchased virtually all the land surrounding the small city of Rio Vista, said Mayor Ron Kott.

    He suspects older people who make up half of the city's 10,000 residents won't appreciate the added congestion and noise, but others might like the improved medical care, nightlife, and shopping that a sophisticated city nearby might bring.

    “If it’s done correctly, I think there’s a lot of opportunities for the county. Their tax revenue base will increase quite a bit. So there’s going to be a big windfall from that. Property values would probably go up around here as well even further. And so I think from those perspectives it’s good," Kott said.

    "But again, I think you’re giving up a quality of lifestyle that’s kind of unique to this area".

    ]]>     Sustainable development goals: What are they and what do they mean for the planet? https://sdgtalks.ai/Sustainable-development-goals%3A-What-are-they-and-what-do-they-mean-for-the-planet https://sdgtalks.ai/Sustainable-development-goals%3A-What-are-they-and-what-do-they-mean-for-the-planet Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:05:45 -0500 Jacob Altizer Is sustainable development an oxymoron? Eight years on from the launch of the SDGs, little progress has been made.

    The United Nations’ sustainable development goals declare lofty ambitions.

    The 17 SDGs - and the hundreds of targets they encompass - aim to “free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet”.

    From reducing social inequality to building new hospitals to rapid decarbonisation, the suite of objectives seek to “transform” the world for future generations.

    In September 2015, leaders from 193 countries set out this agenda. By 2030, the UN wants to end hunger, grant all children a quality education for free, halve extreme poverty, and rapidly expand the rollout of renewable energy.

    But eight years on from their launch, we are falling behind on several key indicators - especially when it comes to ‘healing the planet’.

    So why are we falling behind - and what needs to change?

    Are the SDGs on track?

    No one would dispute that ending poverty and inequality are important goals. But progress is stalling in these key areas, warns UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

    “Hunger has increased and is back at 2005 levels. Gender equality is some 300 years away. Just 26 people have the same wealth as half of the world’s population,” he said in April.

    The SDG Progress Report released in April shows that just 12 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goal targets are on track.

    The environmental picture is particularly dire. 

    Enric Sala/National Geographic Pristine
    The SDGs call for urgent action to tackle global heating, conserve the ocean, and encourage responsible consumption.Enric Sala/National Geographic Pristine

    The SDGs call for urgent action to tackle global heating, conserve the ocean, and encourage responsible consumption.

    Yet concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest level in 2 million years, while more than one species in five is now threatened with extinction.

    “Our war on nature is accelerating. Emissions continue to rise - unbelievably,” Gutterres said.

    These failures can be partly attributed to a lack of funding - described by the UN as a “financing black hole” - driven by rampant global inflation.

    Before the pandemic, the annual SDG funding gap was €2.3 trillion. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), that figure is now at least €3.7 trillion. Climate finance commitments in particular are far below promised levels, with loss and damage funding missing in action.

    When it comes to enforcing SDG funding, the UN does not have a very big stick to wield. The SDGs are not legally binding.

    According to research published in 2021, there is “little evidence” that governments are actively pursuing the SDGs.

    “Our research has shown that the SDGs lack any sizeable impact on political systems,” said Frank Biermann, professor at Utrecht University and the lead author of the 2021 study.

    Without legislative incentive or adequate funding, it’s difficult to convert high-minded talk into action.

    Can the SDGs become a form of greenwashing?

    Many of the SDGs articulate noble ambitions. But the risk is that they become a form of greenwashing, a Trojan horse for non-sustainable practices.

    “Mere talk can backfire by conferring legitimacy on unsustainable behaviour, letting corporate leaders wave colourful SDG flags while prizing profits above all else,” Biermann wrote in an article for The Conversation.

    Mere talk can backfire by conferring legitimacy on unsustainable behaviour.

    The SDGs also exhibit “mainstream” thinking about the climate crisis, claims Professor Karl Johan Bonnedahl of Umeå University.

    In short, this is the idea that we can continue to pursue rampant growth and save the planet at the same time.

    “In the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, there is a commitment to achieve sustainable development ‘in its three dimensions - economic, social and environmental - in a balanced way,’” he said.

    “But the idea of ‘balance’ is impossible here…there are conflicts between some of the goals.”

    Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP
    Somalis displaced by drought wait in line to fill jerrycans with water. The world is falling well short of the progress needed to meet the UN's sustainable development goals.Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP

    For example, building a massive road project might help a country reach goal 8 - which calls on governments to “sustain per capita economic growth.” But such an infrastructure project could also wreak havoc on a local ecosystem and increase emissions by encouraging driving.

    Often, the countries that score highest on the SDG index - the ranking system marking countries on their overall SDG performance - have vast ecological footprints.

    Finland, for example, tops the SDG Index. But Finnish people consume around 29.5 tonnes of stuff every year. We would need the material resources of four earths if everyone in the world consumed at this rate.

    The country also emits 13 metric tons of carbon dioxide per capita per year - around 13 times the amount emitted by the average person in Africa.

    So how can the country perform so well on the SDG index? Because it scores highly on the ‘development’ metrics even as it falls down on ‘sustainability’ ones.

    This is not to say that the development goals like ending poverty and achieving gender equality aren’t vital too, of course. But when it comes to economics, the obsession with growth - baked into UN SDG 8, and throughout agenda 2030 - isn’t good for the planet.

    Can development and sustainability coexist?

    Gross Domestic Product is a measure of all the final goods and services produced in a country. It’s the metric by which many international organisations (including the UN) measure growth and development.

    But GDP doesn’t take environmental impact into account. For example, pouring money into weaponry or fossil fuels would increase a country’s GDP. Indeed, US military expenditure accounts for 3 per cent of the country’s GDP.

    But in a research paper published in March last year, Bonnedahl and co-authors describe GDP as ‘blind’ to the environment.

    Sustainable development discourse is not always about sustainable development. It’s about sustaining development.

    It’s a prime example of how ‘development’ and ‘sustainability’ aren’t always easy bedfellows.

    “There is a phrase I like. It goes: sustainable development discourse is not always about sustainable development. It’s about sustaining development,” Bonnedahl said.

    Bonnedahl and colleagues call for new SDGs which prioritise “strong sustainability” - taking into account ecological limits in terms of affluence and the growth of human population.

    “The goals you choose aren’t neutral. They reflect particular values,” says Bonnedahl.

    “So do we value saving the planet?”

    ]]>     Will North Macedonia be able to quit coal? https://sdgtalks.ai/Will-North-Macedonia-be-able-to-quit-coal https://sdgtalks.ai/Will-North-Macedonia-be-able-to-quit-coal Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:04:52 -0500 Jacob Altizer North Macedonia is bathed in sunlight, so, phasing out coal should be easy. But because of the energy crisis, the exact opposite is currently happening: ancient coal-fired power plants are blowing huge amounts of toxic emissions into the air and new lignite mines are even being opened up.

    Despite a pledge to become the first coal-free country in the Western Balkans, North Macedonia has extended the closing date of its coal-fired power plants several times. Click on the video above to watch the report.

    A cloud of thick smoke continuously escapes from the Bitola coal-fired power station. North Macedonia has two coal hubs - REK Bitola and REK Oslomej. 47 per cent of the country’s electricity is produced by burning dirty lignite. 

    The brown material is extracted from huge opencast pits close to the coal power stations built some 40 years ago. According to Pece Matevski, director of REK Bitola, another coal mine is expected to open: "Soon, we are going to open Zivojno. In the next 30 years we will have enough coal for the power plant to work and to function!"

    Pece Matevski, director of REK Bitola
    Pece Matevski, director of REK BitolaEuronews

    Coal phase-out postponed from 2027 to 2030

    North Macedonia intended to phase out coal by 2027. But the energy crisis has prompted the country of 2 million inhabitants to change its plans. It is now expected to quit coal by 2030.

    In the capital, Skopje, Nevena Smilevska is an energy transformation campaigner at the NGO CEE Bankwatch. She is worried about the impact of further delays on the country’s potential accession to the European Union.

    “The date of closure needs to remain 2030. It is very unlikely that we will be allowed to disregard the European Green Deal,” she explains.

    Nevena Smilevska, energy transformation campaigner at Bankwatch
    Nevena Smilevska, energy transformation campaigner at BankwatchEuronews

    “If the EU accession does happen, we will have to close the (coal) power plants before we accede,” Smilevska adds. "It does not make sense to get a grant for 'Just Transition' away from coal - and to open a new coal mine. This is unacceptable and would completely destroy the coal exit strategy."

    The highest SO2 emissions in the Western Balkans

    As lignite reserves (referred to as brown coal) are running out, the country has to import coal from neighbouring countries. A strong reliance on fossil fuels does not improve air quality.

    In 2022, the Bitola coal plant had the highest SO2 and dust emissions in the Western Balkans region. 111.000 tons of SO2 were emitted - 17 times more than allowed.

    Yet, the country’s average of 280 days of sunshine provides ideal conditions for the production of solar energy. 120 km away from Skopje, in North Macedonia’s oldest coal power plant, Oslomej, the production of energy is set to change. Solar power stations are being built on top of the opencast lignite mine.

    Yet, the manager of the photovoltaic power plant has been waiting for its electricity to be fed to the grid for a year and a half.

    “We are still waiting for some licences from authorities,” says Cedomir Arsouski.

    Cedomir Arsouski, Manager of the Oslomej photovoltaic power plant
    Cedomir Arsouski, Manager of the Oslomej photovoltaic power plantEuronews

    However, the recent agreement reached at the COP28 could accelerate North Macedonia’s energy transition.

    International lenders have announced they will finance a €3 billion plan to completely shut down the country's coal-fired power plants by 2030, and replace them with solar, hydro, wind and gas-powered units. 

    The goal is to ensure a ‘Just Transition’, deploying 1.7 gigawatts of renewable energy and multiplying energy storage capacities whilst upgrading grid connections. 

    Will North Macedonia’s green ambition be achieved this time? If the country succeeds to exit coal by 2030, it could be a role model for all of the Western Balkans region - and for some EU members too...

    ]]>     How Europe can support its food and drink industry to remain competitive and sustainable https://sdgtalks.ai/How-Europe-can-support-its-food-and-drink-industry-to-remain-competitive-and-sustainable https://sdgtalks.ai/How-Europe-can-support-its-food-and-drink-industry-to-remain-competitive-and-sustainable Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:03:17 -0500 Jacob Altizer From 6 to 9 June 2024, millions of EU citizens undertook the important task of electing the new 720 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who will shape the course of the EU over the next five years. It was noteworthy to see so many EU voters strongly engaged in these elections, leading to a considerable rise in overall voter turnout.

    The European elections are a crucial moment for assessing and redefining the direction of the EU’s policies that affect every aspect of our businesses and lives, from environmental regulations to economic and social policies.

    In our view, the outcome does send a strong signal that the EU should continue prioritising a sustainable, growth-oriented agenda to maintain the competitiveness of European businesses and advance environmental sustainability. However, at the same time we also see a strong call for policymakers to renew engagement with industry through deeper collaboration while focusing on the proper implementation of existing legislation. 

    What policy support does our sector need?

    For many years, the European soft drinks sector has demonstrated leadership in promoting a more sustainable and healthier food and drink system in Europe and we remain committed to making a positive impact, as we outlined boldly in our 2024-2029 Manifesto.

    We see the new EU legislative term as an opportunity to drive further progress through strengthened collaboration with policymakers to create a supportive regulatory framework. In our view, here’s what is essential to consider:

    1. Ensuring Europe’s competitiveness is key to our sector’s sustainable growth

    With more than 500 production facilities across Europe supporting over 1.8 million jobs, the European soft drink sector is a key player in the future of Europe. For every job in soft drinks production, another seven jobs are created in our value chain, in a range of sectors including agriculture, raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, transport, retail and catering. 

    We are a distinctive local sector that proudly supports thousands of European agricultural communities and businesses: we manufacture 97% of soft drinks within Europe and we source more than 85% of our ingredients from Europe as well. 

    Our contribution to the EU’s economy and society is nothing short of significant with our value chain estimated to be worth €242 billion annually. Therefore, staying a competitive sector is vital. To achieve this, policymakers should provide regulatory certainty and secure a strong single market at the heart of EU policy, with uniform implementation of EU food and environmental legislation. It is now time to prioritise the implementation of current legislation over new policies to provide businesses with legal predictability to incentivise investments. 

    In addition, ensuring new legislation is science-based and built upon thorough and high-quality impact assessments couldn’t be more important.

    2. Supporting balanced diets through evidence-based policies and reliable EU-wide data

    Our sector stands firmly committed to encouraging Europeans towards healthier lifestyles through our intensified efforts to reduce the average sugar content in our soft drinks, and not to market and advertise our beverages to children under 13. To support us in these actions, policymakers should promote balanced diets based on a multi-stakeholder approach and science-based policies that do not discriminate against ingredients approved as safe by health authorities, and which enable food innovation, such as low/no-calorie sweeteners. These ingredients provide a sweet taste with no or hardly any calories, making them an effective tool in helping consumers to manage their sugar intake.

    It is also fundamental that policies are grounded in comparable, robust and EU-wide food and drink consumption data. Based on our own research, it is clear that existing food and drink consumption data is outdated and inappropriate to design effective policies. Establishing a robust and accurate dataset is critical to gain reliable insights into consumption patterns across Europe, thus ensuring informed decision-making.

    3. Driving environmental sustainability

    Our sector is taking concrete steps in environmental stewardship throughout our value chain with a particular focus on reducing our carbon footprint, protecting water resources, improving energy efficiency and achieving packaging circularity.

    Greater strides in these areas are possible with the support of policymakers for a proper and harmonised implementation of key environmental laws. When it comes to packaging circularity, we also need support for well-designed collection systems and a stable supply of recycled materials, enabling beverage containers to be recycled into new beverage containers. Last but not least, it is necessary to prioritise water policies promoting the conservation and restoration of water resources and providing fair and equitable access to water for citizens and businesses.

    As a sector known for our proactive and constructive approach, we stand ready to engage with all stakeholders, and are prepared to work hand in hand with policymakers to ensure a stable and enabling regulatory environment that helps us drive meaningful change.

    ]]>     Massive Attack outline how their upcoming gig will set the bar for low emission concerts https://sdgtalks.ai/Massive-Attack-outline-how-their-upcoming-gig-will-set-the-bar-for-low-emission-concerts https://sdgtalks.ai/Massive-Attack-outline-how-their-upcoming-gig-will-set-the-bar-for-low-emission-concerts Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:02:20 -0500 Jacob Altizer British trip hop collective Massive Attack are about to play their first performance in the UK in five years and to mark the occasion, they’re making the event as sustainable as possible.

    Massive Attack are planning an all-day “Act 1.5” event in their hometown of Bristol next month (25 August) and the show aims to set the standard for the decarbonisation of live music.  

    “Act 1.5” coincides with the news from climate scientists that temperatures 1.5°C greater than their average have occurred for 12 consecutive months.  

    The band has billed it as a “large-scale climate action accelerator event” unlike any other – celebrating 25 years of climate activism.

    Indeed, Massive Attack – helmed by Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall – talk the talk and walk the walk when it comes to the climate emergency, having commissioned a group of researchers to explore ways the emissions from touring could be reduced in 2019. This led to a ‘Super-Low Carbon Live Music’ roadmap report in 2021. 

    Now, they have shared details of their decarbonisation measures and how they plan on making the August gig a low emission event.

    They include a pre-sale for people living in the local region; special trains and incentives for fans to travel by rail; 100% renewable energy powering the site and its operations; 100% plant-based foot outlets using local suppliers; reusable cups and compostable serveware; 100% compostable toilets, and many more. 

    “The ACT 1.5 event in August may be the last time we play Bristol, so we’ve put a lot of attention into making sure the experience is as rich as possible,” stated Robert Del Naja. “The show itself is a transgressive leap in our collaboration with Adam Curtis and United Visual Artists that we’re really excited to present.” 

    “The show production is pioneering in all aspects of decarbonisation and will create a blueprint for the way live shows can be produced,” he continued. “The scale of innovations and emissions reductions will speak for themselves. It’s a special moment for multiple reasons, and we cannot wait to see you all there.” 

    “The UK festival community uses in excess of 12 million litres of diesel annually,” said Steven Meersman, the Founding Director of ZENOBE Energy. “We are excited to collaborate with Massive Attack to deliver a truly zero emission live event together. Our Second Life Batteries will provide clean power to on-site equipment. At the same time, our first life batteries will power Newport Bus’ vehicles to provide a zero-emission way to get to and from the venue, continuing a long-standing partnership we have with the operator.  This live music event will set a precedent for more carbon-free shows to take place in the years ahead.”  

    The band will be joined by Run The Jewel’s Killer Mike, as well as Lankum, Sam Morton with producer Richard Russell and Wild Bunch’s DJ Milo for their 25 August event at Clifton Downs, Bristol. 

    Here’s an itemised list of their plans for the August event:  

    1. 48-hour pre-sale period for Bristol region postcodes. 
    2. 5 x show special trains operating one hour after the Network Rail schedule is closed – with routes predicated on anonymised ticket holder postcode data.  
    3. Rail incentivisation scheme offering any ticket holder travelling outside Bristol wristband access to a VIP (VERY IMPORTANT PROCESS) bar and toilets.  
    4. Entire festival site and all operations powered by 100% renewable energy & battery.  
    5. Free show electric bus shuttles to and from both Bristol Temple Meads and Parkway. 
    6. No private vehicle car parks on or adjacent to festival site.      
    7. Meticulous spec’ing of energy and energy efficient equipment chosen to reduce overall demand. 
    8. 100% plant-based food outlets, using localised food supply chain. 
    9. Reusable cup system on all bars, encouraging audience to bring their own reusables containers. 
    10. Food Waste prevention plan + Redistribution of any surplus food.   
    11. 100% zero to landfill waste policy. 
    12. Food waste separation to be composted – all serve ware to be 100% compostable 
    13. Biomethane / Verified HVO (100% waste product/no virgin land use) vehicle waste removal.  
    14. 100% compostable toilets. 
    15. All site infrastructure shared with an existing festival on the same site – no “new build” emissions.  
    16. Long wheelbase fully electric trucks to assist all build and battery movement. 
    17. Lighting 100% solar and electric battery  
    18. LED and low energy / efficient lighting prioritised for all stage production and artistic lighting. 
    19. All feasible Massive Attack tour routes taken by rail.  
    20. All ground transport 100% electric vehicle fleets.  
    21. All support acts encouraged to travel by rail 
    22. Supplier Transport 100% Electrified or 100% waste product – RFAS verified drop in HVO fuel. (the show will operate a refuelling tank on site for vehicle departures).  
    23. Advance prioritising fewest trucks, shortest journeys and lowest mileage. Prioritising lightweight, space efficient and local equipment. 
    24. The ACT1.5 show legacy measures include: Creation of a new, permanent climate resilient woodland of 19,150 native oak trees in James Wood, near Taunton – 44 miles from Bristol. The land comprises 85 acres of former farmland and unmanaged woodland and provides education, carbon capture, flood resilience and a rich area of biodiversity. 
    25. Development of power substation + feeder pillars to offer all festival, event, show and film production activities on Bristol Downs (plus new vehicle charging capacity) electrification via 100% renewable energy.

      

    “This gig is seriously pulling out all the stops and has assembled excellent forward-thinking organisations and individuals to make this the lowest carbon event possible, setting a new green standard to aspire to,“ said Claire O’Neill, CEO of A Greener Future.  

    “It’s no small undertaking, and impressive to see what can be achieved when the people in charge really mean it.”

    The “large-scale climate action accelerator event”will take place on 25 August at Clifton Downs in Bristol.

    ]]>     Children face unprecedented challenges by 2050, UNICEF report warns https://sdgtalks.ai/Children-face-unprecedented-challenges-by-2050%2C-UNICEF-report-warns https://sdgtalks.ai/Children-face-unprecedented-challenges-by-2050%2C-UNICEF-report-warns Mon, 02 Dec 2024 20:01:11 -0500 Jacob Altizer ‘The State of the World’s Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a Changing World’, explores three megatrends young people face including climate disasters, demographic shifts and technological disparities that will dramatically reshape childhood by 2050.

    “It is shocking that in the 21st century, any child still goes hungry, uneducated, or without even the most basic healthcare,” UN Secretary António Guterres said in his World Children’s Day message.

    “It is a stain on humanity’s conscience when children’s lives are caught in the grinding wheels of poverty or upended by disasters”.

    Climate emergency threatens lives

    In a stark warning the report reveals children will face eight times more exposure to extreme heatwaves and triple the risk of extreme river floods compared to the 2000s.

    Following 2023’s record-breaking temperatures, projected climate hazards will disproportionately affect children based on their socioeconomic settings and access to resources.

    “Children are experiencing a myriad of crises from climate shocks to online dangers, and these are set to intensity in the years to come,” warned UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

    “Creating a better future in 2050 requires more than just imagination, it requires action. Decades of progress, particularly for girls, are under threat”.

    Shifting demographics

    The report also projects significant population changes, with Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia hosting the largest child populations by the 2050s.

    While still high, Africa’s child population will drop below 40 per cent – down from 50 per cent in 2000s. East Asia and Western Europe’s data show a 17 per cent drop compared to 29 perc cent and 20 percent for those regions during the 2000s.

    These demographic shifts create challenges, with some countries under pressure to expand services for large child populations, while others balance the needs of a growing elderly population.

    Digital divide

    While artificial intelligence and frontier technologies offer new opportunities, the report reveals the digital gap remains stark: In 2024 over 95 percent of people in high-income countries have internet access compared to merely 26 percent in low-income countries.

    The report notes that youth in developing countries particularly struggle to access digital skills, impacting their educational and workplace prospects.

    Signs of hope

    Despite these concerns, some positive trends have emerged. Life expectancy at birth continues to rise, and nearly 96 per cent of children globally are expected to receive primary education by the 2050s.

    Increased investment in education and public health, and more stringent environmental protection could narrow the gender gap and reduce exposure to environmental hazards, the report reveals.

    UNICEF recommends urgent investment in education, services and sustainable and resilient cities for children.

    The agency aims to boost climate resilience in infrastructure, technology, essential services and social support systems as well as delivering connectivity and safe technology design for all children.

    “The decisions that world leaders make today – or fail to make – define the world children will inherit, Ms. Russell emphasised. 

    ]]>     The Philippines brace for more storms amid devastating typhoon season https://sdgtalks.ai/The-Philippines-brace-for-more-storms-amid-devastating-typhoon-season https://sdgtalks.ai/The-Philippines-brace-for-more-storms-amid-devastating-typhoon-season Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:59:27 -0500 Jacob Altizer

    Typhoons Kristine and Leon caused widespread damage in the Philippines, leaving thousands of families and children without access to safe water and sanitation facilities.

    The 11th and 12th tropical cyclones to hit the country this year affected at least 4.2 million individuals – approximately 1.3 million of them children – and displaced over 300,000.  

    Worsening water and sanitation crisis

    The recent typhoons have exacerbated pre-existing fragilities where access to safe water and sanitation services was already limited. In some communities, open defecation has been reported with facilities washed away, raising concerns about disease outbreaks.

    “We are working with our partners to provide water, sanitation and hygiene supplies to affected families and children to ensure their access to critical measures against the spread of diseases,” she stressed.

    Since October 31, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and partners have distributed 2,950 hygiene and water kits to families in the hardest-hit provinces of Camarines Sur and Albay in the Bicol Region.

    An additional 350 kits will be delivered in the coming days through partnerships with Action Against Hunger and Plan International Pilipinas.

    Education disrupted

    The Department of Education estimates that at least 500 schools in the Bicol Region need urgent assistance, with the recent typhoons disrupting learning for 20 million children nationwide.

    “UNICEF strongly urges that schools remain dedicated to education and not used as evacuation centres so that children continue to have a stable learning environment,” said UNICEF Philippines Education Chief, Akihiro Fushimi.

    In collaboration with local education authorities, UNICEF is set to provide educational supplies to 14,594 learners and 765 teachers in 25 schools and five Community Development Centres.

    “Ensuring that children’s learning is not disrupted is a priority for UNICEF,” Mr. Fushimi further emphasised, highlighting the importance of providing children with a sense of normalcy amid the chaos.

    A season of uncertainty

    The Philippines, already Southeast Asia’s most disaster-prone country, faces increasingly frequent and severe weather events due to climate change.

    With storms Marce and Nika impacting many of the same regions last weekend and a new weather system forming that could become Tropical Storm Ofel, recovery efforts are under immense strain.

    Despite these challenges, the government has ramped up its response, while UNICEF and its partners continue to support communities with critical resources and interventions.

    UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines Gustavo González recently explained in a blog on the growing risk posed by natural hazards for UN News: “As we see, the exposure to disasters and the vulnerability to climate change have compelled Filipinos to cultivate a unique sense of resilience. The ‘saving lives’ spirit is widely spread within local communities.”

    “As Filipinos frequently say, ‘as long as there is life, there is hope,’” he added.

    ]]>     COP29: ‘Now is the time to fast-track, not backtrack’ on the path to net-zero https://sdgtalks.ai/COP29%3A-%E2%80%98Now-is-the-time-to-fast-track%2C-not-backtrack%E2%80%99-on-the-path-to-net-zero https://sdgtalks.ai/COP29%3A-%E2%80%98Now-is-the-time-to-fast-track%2C-not-backtrack%E2%80%99-on-the-path-to-net-zero Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:57:52 -0500 Jacob Altizer

    “We need a massive global effort to steer our world onto a path to safety; you are out in the front…helping consumers, investors and regulators understand what credible net-zero looks like,” said the Secretary-General.

    As violent weather inflicts human tragedy and economic destruction worldwide and with efforts to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius slipping away, Mr. Guterres convened the high-level meeting of non-State actors to spotlight their actions and strategies since 2022, in line with key recommendations issued in a report he launched at COP27 in Shram-el-Sheikh.

    ‘The path to safety’

    The report, Integrity Matters, set out 10 recommendations that serve as a “how-to” guide for credible, accountable net-zero pledges. They detail what non-State actors need to consider at each stage of their progress towards achieving net-zero ambitions and tackling the climate crisis.

    Put simply, net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount that is removed from the atmosphere. Reaching this goal requires cooperation between businesses and financial institutions, and other entities working alongside governments.

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres pictured onscreen at the COP29 High-Level event: Implementation of the report “Integrity Matters” by the High-level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities (HLEG).
    UNFCCC/Kiara Worth
    UN Secretary-General António Guterres pictured onscreen at the COP29 High-Level event: Implementation of the report “Integrity Matters” by the High-level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities (HLEG).

    ‘Fast-track, not backtrack’

    On Thursday, the Secretary-General thanked the non-State actors for taking the lead in the global efforts towards the net-zero goal, but said: “Now, we need others to follow.”

    He first urged all non-State actors to create robust, accountable transition plans by COP30 next year. The plans must be consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C, and chart a course to net zero by 2050, through milestones in 2025, 2030, 2035, and beyond.

    “They must chart a course to fossil fuel phase-out – based in the science. They must disclose policies on lobbying and policy engagement. And they must commit to deep decarbonization across the entire value chain,” said Mr. Guterres

    He also stressed that all such plans must not rely on dubious offsets, including for so-called Scope 3 emissions, or indirect emissions, such as those produced by purchased goods and services, business travel or waste disposal.

    “Now is the time to fast-track, not backtrack; the time for ambition and transparency. Not greenwashing,” he stated.

    Work together with governments

    Mr. Guterres called for moving from voluntary pledges to mandatory rules. “The future of humanity is at stake. Action cannot be optional. Disclosing credible transition plans, that align with 1.5 degrees must be mandatory for corporates and financial institutions.”

    The UN chief also urged businesses, financial institutions, cities, regions and more, to work with governments on their national climate action plans, or NDCs, due by COP30.

    “Help governments ensure that they provide policy and regulatory certainty on a 1.5[C]-aligned future. We must make sure that governments facilitate the work of other actors in this regard, and not that they complicate the work of other actors in compliance with the 1.5[C] aligned future,” said the UN chief.

    Later in the day, Mr. Guterres is expected to meet with a group of climate scientists and civil society actors, including young climate activists. 

    Want to know more? Check out our special events page, where you can find all our coverage of COP29, including stories and videos, explainers and our newsletter.

    ]]>     ‘Breaking point’ reached on climate, while ‘outdated’ global system needs urgent reform: Guterres https://sdgtalks.ai/%E2%80%98Breaking-point%E2%80%99-reached-on-climate%2C-while-%E2%80%98outdated%E2%80%99-global-system-needs-urgent-reform%3A-Guterres https://sdgtalks.ai/%E2%80%98Breaking-point%E2%80%99-reached-on-climate%2C-while-%E2%80%98outdated%E2%80%99-global-system-needs-urgent-reform%3A-Guterres Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:56:48 -0500 Jacob Altizer

    Speaking at the G20 Summit – a forum that brings together 19 countries and the European Union, accounting for 85 percent of the world economy – Mr. Guterres delivered a stark assessment.

    “Our climate is at a breaking point,” he told the gathering of industrial powers. “Unless we limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, spiraling disasters will devastate every economy,” he told world leaders at the Brazil hosted summit.

    Critical role on climate

    In relation to COP29 which continues in Baku, Mr. Guterres stressed that “failure is not an option” warning of irreversible tipping points.

    The success of the UN Climate Conference is largely in the hands of G20 members: “The G20 is responsible for 80 percent of global emissions. So, we need you out front,” he said, calling for emission cuts of nine percent annually this decade.

    The Secretary General welcomed recent climate commitments from Brazil and the United Kingdom, while announcing a new Global initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, partnering with Brazil and UNESCO to combat climate disinformation.

    “The preservation of the Amazon is a case in point,” Mr. Guterres noted, linking Brazil’s hosting of COP30 in a year’s time to the urgent need for climate finance agreements at COP29. “We must succeed in Baku, build trust and incentivize the preparation of high ambition national climate plans next year”.

    Secretary-General António Guterres (4th left) in a group photo with the participants of the G20 Summit taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
    UN Photo/Gustavo Stephan
    Secretary-General António Guterres (4th left) in a group photo with the participants of the G20 Summit taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    Global governance in crisis

    The climate crisis, Mr. Guterres stressed, is compounded by challenges to global institutions. The Secretary-General pointed to the mounting global challenges, emphasising a deepening crisis in international cooperation.

    “We face a global governance deficit and global trust deficit. Poverty, inequalities and the climate crisis are getting worse, and peace is getting further out of reach,” he stated.

    His remarks come at a critical juncture following the recent UN Summit of the Future, which adopted the Pact for the Future aimed at strengthening multilateralism and global governance mechanisms.

    Reforms ‘must not become a mirage’

    “As wars grind on, innocent people are paying a terrible price and the Security Council is unable to stop them,” he said, urging that “reform must be pursued with determination and not become a mirage”.

    The UN chief challenged G20 nations to overhaul what he termed an “outdated and unfair” international financial architecture.

    “The world looks to you to act on the Pact’s commitments to accelerate reform,” he told leaders, emphasising the need to give fair representation to developing countries and shield vulnerable economies from global shocks.

    Path forward

    As the two-day Summit draws to an end, world leaders are focusing on addressing challenges ahead of July’s major UN Financing for Development conference in Spain, COP29, and next year’s COP30 in Brazil.

    The Secretary-General emphasised that the success of these upcoming meetings largely depends on G20 leadership and commitment to reform.

    Mr. Guterres concluded that “we must make sure that we support the necessary reforms of global governance because they are absolutely essential to rebuild trust in today’s world”. 

    ]]>     What’s desertification? Experts hopeful devastating trend can be reversed https://sdgtalks.ai/What%E2%80%99s-desertification-Experts-hopeful-devastating-trend-can-be-reversed https://sdgtalks.ai/What%E2%80%99s-desertification-Experts-hopeful-devastating-trend-can-be-reversed Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:43:17 -0500 Jacob Altizer On 2 December, countries from around the world will meet in Riyadh under the auspices of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, (UNCCD) to discuss how to turn the corner from degradation to regeneration.

    Here are five things you need to know about desertification and why the world needs to stop treating the planet like dirt to protect the productive land which supports life on Earth.

    No life without land

    It is perhaps to state the obvious, but without healthy land there can be no life. It feeds, clothes and shelters humanity.

    A member of an indigenous group in the Amazon, in Brazil, works to reforest the land.
    © UNEP/Florian Fussstetter
    A member of an indigenous group in the Amazon, in Brazil, works to reforest the land.

    It provides jobs, sustains livelihoods and is the bedrock of local, national and global economies. It helps to regulate climate and is essential for biodiversity.

    Despite its importance to life as we know it, up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, affecting around 3.2 billion people; that’s almost half of the global population.

    From deforested mountains in Haiti, to the gradual disappearance of Lake Chad in the Sahel and the drying up of productive lands in Georgia in eastern Europe, land degradation affects all parts of the world.

    It is not an exaggeration to say our very future is at stake if our land does not stay healthy.

    Degraded land

    Desertification, the process by which land is degraded in typically dry areas, results from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities, such as over-farming or deforestation.

    100 million hectares (or one million square kilometres), that’s the size of a country like Egypt, of healthy and productive land is lost each year.

    The soils on these lands which can take hundreds of years to form are being depleted, often by extreme weather.

    Droughts are hitting harder and more often, three out of four people in the world are projected to face water scarcity by 2050.

    Temperatures are increasing due to climate change further driving extreme weather events, including droughts and floods, adding to the challenge of keeping land productive.

    Land loss and climate

    There is clear evidence that land degradation is interconnected with broader environmental challenges like climate change.

    A man looks across a desert in Mauritania.
    © World Bank/Andrea Borgarello
    A man looks across a desert in Mauritania.

    Land ecosystems absorb one-third of human CO2 emissions, the gas that is driving climate change. However, poor land management threatens this critical capacity, further compromising efforts to slow down the release of these harmful gasses.

    Deforestation, which contributes to desertification, is on the rise, with only 60 per cent of the world's forests still intact, falling below what the UN calls the “safe target of 75 per cent.”

    What needs to be done? – the ‘moonshot moment’

    The good news is that humankind has the knowhow and power to bring land back to life, turning degradation into restoration.

    Robust economies and resilient communities can be cultivated as the impacts of devastating droughts and destructive floods are tackled.

    A community in Mexico comes together to work on improving their lands.
    © UNCCD/Juan Pablo Zamora
    A community in Mexico comes together to work on improving their lands.

    Crucially, it is the people who depend on land who should have the biggest say in how decisions are made.

    UNCCD says that to “deliver a moonshot moment for land,” 1.5 billion hectares of degraded lands need to be restored by 2030.

    And this is happening already with farmers adopting new techniques in Burkina Faso, environmentalists in Uzbekistan planting trees to eliminate salt and dust emissions and activists protecting the Philippines capital, Manila, from extreme weather by regenerating natural barriers.

    What can be achieved in Riyadh

    Policy makers, experts, the private and civil society sectors as well as youth will come together in Riyadh with a series of goals, including:

    • Accelerate restoration of degraded land by 2030 and beyond
    • Boost resilience to intensifying droughts and sand and dust storms
    • Restore soil health and scale up nature-positive food production
    • Secure land rights and promote equity for sustainable land stewardship
    • Ensure that land continues to provide climate and biodiversity solutions
    • Unlock economic opportunities, including decent land-based jobs for youth
    ]]>     A landmark climate change case will open at the top U.N. court https://sdgtalks.ai/a-landmark-climate-change-case-will-open-at-the-top-un-court https://sdgtalks.ai/a-landmark-climate-change-case-will-open-at-the-top-un-court Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:12:33 -0500 Jeremy Utt THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court will take up the largest case in its history on Monday, when it opens two weeks of hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact.

    After years of lobbying by island nations who fear they could simply disappear under rising sea waters, the U.N. General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice last year for an opinion on "the obligations of States in respect of climate change."

    "We want the court to confirm that the conduct that has wrecked the climate is unlawful," Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, who is leading the legal team for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, told The Associated Press.

    In the decade up to 2023, sea levels have risen by a global average of around 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches), with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels.

    Vanuatu is one of a group of small states pushing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis.

    "We live on the front lines of climate change impact. We are witnesses to the destruction of our lands, our livelihoods, our culture and our human rights," Vanuatu's climate change envoy Ralph Regenvanu told reporters ahead of the hearing.

    Any decision by the court would be non-binding advice and unable to directly force wealthy nations into action to help struggling countries. Yet it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits.

    On Sunday, ahead of the hearing, advocacy groups will bring together environmental organizations from around the world. Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change — who first developed the idea of requesting an advisory opinion — together with World Youth for Climate Justice plan an afternoon of speeches, music and discussions.

    From Monday, the Hague-based court will hear from 99 countries and more than a dozen intergovernmental organizations over two weeks. It's the largest lineup in the institution's nearly 80-year history.

    Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

    Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

    Richard Drew/AP

    Last month at the United Nations' annual climate meeting, countries cobbled together an agreement on how rich countries can support poor countries in the face of climate disasters. Wealthy countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035 but the total is short of the $1.3 trillion that experts, and threatened nations, said is needed.

    "For our generation and for the Pacific Islands, the climate crisis is an existential threat. It is a matter of survival, and the world's biggest economies are not taking this crisis seriously. We need the ICJ to protect the rights of people at the front lines," Vishal Prasad, of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, told reporters in a briefing.

    Fifteen judges from around the world will seek to answer two questions: What are countries obliged to do under international law to protect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? And what are the legal consequences for governments where their acts, or lack of action, have significantly harmed the climate and environment?

    The second question makes particular reference to "small island developing States" likely to be hardest hit by climate change and to "members of "the present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change."

    The judges were even briefed on the science behind rising global temperatures by the U.N.'s climate change body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ahead of the hearings.

    The case at the ICJ follows a number of rulings around the world ordering governments to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    In May, a U.N. tribunal on maritime law said that carbon emissions qualify as marine pollution and countries must take steps to adapt to and mitigate their adverse effects.

    That ruling came a month after Europe's highest human rights court said that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change, in a landmark judgment that could have implications across the continent.

    The ICJ's host country of The Netherlands made history when a court ruled in 2015 that protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change is a human right and that the government has a duty to protect its citizens. The judgment was upheld in 2019 by the Dutch Supreme Court.

    ]]>     Richer countries are starting to pay poorer ones for climate change damages https://sdgtalks.ai/richer-countries-are-starting-to-pay-poorer-ones-for-climate-change-damages https://sdgtalks.ai/richer-countries-are-starting-to-pay-poorer-ones-for-climate-change-damages Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:05:21 -0500 Jeremy Utt Climate payment progress It was 2 a.m. when floodwaters started pouring into Christopher Bingala's house. Cyclone Freddy, the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded, brought a deluge of rain to southern Malawi in 2023. He managed to get his six kids to higher ground but lost his house and livestock.

    As a subsistence farmer, Bingala didn't have the resources to start over. But then he got a payment of about $750, which he used to build his family a new house.

    The payment is one of the first examples of "loss and damage" compensation, a new kind of funding specifically for climate change-related disasters. Low-income countries are bearing the brunt of more intense storms and droughts but have done little to produce the pollution that's heating up the planet. So last year, wealthier countries agreed to create a fund specifically to pay for the damages from climate change.

    So far, about $720 million has been pledged from countries, like the European Union, U.S. and United Arab Emirates. But climate experts warn that with hurricanes and floods only getting worse, that amount will fall far short.

    At the COP29 climate summit underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, countries are negotiating how much is owed to developing nations, as part of a larger "climate finance" package that includes loans and investments.

    "We just hope that the global north and the nations whose economy is fueled by the emissions — they come to the plate and take up their responsibility to look at what they're causing us," says Philip Davis, prime minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

    Finding a way to start over

    The havoc from Cyclone Freddy was widespread across several countries, displacing 650,000 people from their homes in Malawi alone. The country received six months of rain in just six days.

    After their house collapsed in the floodwaters, Bingala and his family took refuge on higher ground, but the situation quickly deteriorated. They started running out of food.

    Christopher Bingala, a farmer in Malawi, stands outside his new home. After losing his house in Cyclone Freddy, he received a payment from a new fund for the damages from climate-related disasters.

    Christopher Bingala, a farmer in Malawi, stands outside his new home. After losing his house in Cyclone Freddy, he received a payment from a new fund for the damages from climate-related disasters.

    Henderson Mhone

    "We got to a point where we would eat meat from animals that had died from the cyclone because we lacked food," Bingala says. "This was a very difficult moment in my life."

    Along with thousands of others, he and his family were relocated to temporary camps. But as a small-scale farmer and fisherman, Bingala had no safety net to fall back on. Then he received the cash payment, which allowed him to move to a new village and build a better house. There are still challenges — Bingala is still trying to get his kids back in school and he's hoping to get a few livestock again. But he's glad his family is living in a less flood-prone region.

    "They are better off here because they are not in danger of the water challenges we had back in Makhanga," Bingala says. "This is a dry and upper land, so my children are ok and they're happy. They're living a happy life."

    Piloting a system to pay damages

    The payment Bingala received came from the government of Scotland, the first country to dedicate funding specifically for loss and damage. The funds have gone to several countries so far. In Malawi, they were given out by GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that specializes in providing cash grants to those in need with no strings attached.

    About 2,700 families got payments of around $750, which can be equivalent to two years of income in Malawi. Many used the money to rebuild homes, while others invested in seeds, fertilizers and livestock, or putting their kids back in school.

    "Low-income households in low-income countries have far less protections from extreme events," says Yolande Wright, vice president of partnerships at GiveDirectly. "They may not have any sort of insurance. There may not be any insurance products available, even if they wanted to buy them."

    The program in Malawi is a pilot, in a sense, for a larger system to pay for loss and damage. Last year, countries agreed to create the fund as a way to compensate lower-income countries, which have low greenhouse gas emissions overall. Almost half of all emissions since the Industrial Revolution have come from the U.S. and Europe.

    "The very poor, low-income households in Malawi have contributed the least to the climate problem," Wright says. "Many of them are not connected to electricity. They don't own a car or even a motor bike."

    A ballooning need for loss and damage funding

    Increasingly severe hurricanes, storms and droughts pose a massive financial burden on developing countries, especially those already in debt. In the Bahamas, Prime Minister Davis says his country's national debt went up after Hurricane Dorian hit in 2019.

    "For me to recover and rebuild, I have to borrow," Davis says. "Forty percent of my national debt could be directly attributed to the consequences of climate change."

    So far, the majority of $720 million pledged for loss and damage has yet to start flowing. At the COP29 summit, countries finalized the paperwork to create the fund, which will be housed at the World Bank. The fund's guidelines have yet to be set up, like determining which countries will receive funding and for what kinds of damages.

    Many low-income countries have argued the funding should go to more than just disaster recovery. Some could be used to relocate villages in the path of sea level rise, or to compensate countries for the loss of important cultural sites or ecological resources, like coral reefs.

    The need for loss and damage funding is only expected to balloon as disasters get more extreme. One recent study found it will reach $250 billion per year by 2030. Davis says he hopes richer countries will contribute more in "enlightened self-interest," since many humanitarian crises do not stay confined to country borders.

    "If they do nothing, they will be the worst for it," Davis says. "When my islands are swallowed up by the sea, then what do my people do? They'll either become climate refugees or they'll be doomed to a watery grave."

    ]]>     Supreme Court refuses to interfere in EPA litigation, for now https://sdgtalks.ai/supreme-court-refuses-to-interfere-in-epa-litigation-for-now https://sdgtalks.ai/supreme-court-refuses-to-interfere-in-epa-litigation-for-now Sun, 01 Dec 2024 22:37:31 -0500 Eadyn Thompson
    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block a set of Biden administration regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants while the rule was being challenged in lower courts.

    The court’s order is a boost for the Biden administration’s efforts to tackle climate change. A coalition of Republican-run states and businesses had challenged the rule, citing the financial cost of compliance. Wednesday’s order comes weeks after the court refused to block new anti-pollution rules that impose tougher standards on mercury emissions from coal-fired plants and that regulate methane emissions from crude-oil and natural gas facilities.

    Unlike the court’s refusal to intervene in those anti-pollution rules, Wednesday’s decision was not unanimous. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the order, saying that he would have paused the regulations while the case played out. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, wrote separately, saying that while the plaintiffs “are unlikely to suffer irreparable harm before the Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit decides the merits” they believe that challengers did show a strong likelihood of success in some of their challenges to the rule. Kavanaugh and Gorsuch indicated that they may be sympathetic to the case were it to be brought after the D.C. Circuit’s ruling.

    These recent decisions not to intervene break from the Court’s previous handling of EPA litigation. Last summer, the court temporarily blocked the EPA's "Good Neighbor Plan" in a 5-4 vote, ruling that the emissions-reductions standards set by the plan were likely to cause "irreparable harm" to almost half the states unless the court halted the rule pending further review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

    ]]>     When will greenhouse gas emissions finally peak? Could be soon. https://sdgtalks.ai/when-will-greenhouse-gas-emissions-finally-peak-could-be-soon https://sdgtalks.ai/when-will-greenhouse-gas-emissions-finally-peak-could-be-soon Sun, 01 Dec 2024 22:29:14 -0500 Eadyn Thompson
      For almost two centuries, greenhouse gas emissions have climbed steadily as humans have burned increasing amounts of oil, gas and coal. Now, climate scientists believe those emissions may finally be reaching a peak.

    Thanks to the rapid growth of renewable energy, global emissions from fossil fuels could soon start to decline. The long-awaited peak is a key milestone in the effort to limit how hot the planet will get. Studies show emissions must peak and then rapidly decline to limit impacts like more intense heat waves and storms.

    Many climate researchers speculated that annual emissions could fall in 2024, indicating global emissions had already peaked. But a new study finds emissions from burning fossil fuels are still likely to increase slightly this year, driven by growing demand for electricity.

    Global leaders are currently discussing efforts to cut emissions at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. Despite countries' pledges to transition away from fossil fuels, global emissions have risen almost every year since the talks began. A decline in emissions could be a sign the negotiations are finally having an effect.

    Even when emissions start to fall, the Earth will still be on track for extreme impacts from climate change. Any added greenhouse gases will keep warming the planet. Emissions would need to be cut roughly in half by 2035 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the key benchmark countries agreed to pursue in climate negotiations.

    "We know that peaking is the start of the journey," says Neil Grant, a senior climate and energy analyst at Climate Analytics, a climate think tank.

    "But peaking emissions would be a real sign of human agency. If we could say: look, we can turn the corner, that would highlight to me that we do have power and so it would be a hopeful thing for me."

    Good news and bad news

    The boom in renewable energy has largely been the result of economics: it's now generally cheaper to build a new solar project than a power plant that runs on coal or natural gas. Last year, countries deployed almost twice as much renewable energy capacity as the year before. China is leading the charge, accounting for around 60% of the new renewable energy capacity added worldwide in 2023.

    The growing supply of solar and wind energy has begun to displace fossil fuels, but so far in 2024, it's been counteracted by a growing need for electricity. Economies are growing and airline and shipping traffic is on the rise. The increased use of artificial intelligence also requires intensive amounts of electricity to run data centers. Severe heat waves around the globe this year also raised the demand for air conditioning, a sign of how worsening climate impacts can make it even harder to cut emissions.

    Much of this growing energy demand is being met with oil and natural gas. That means fossil fuel emissions are not yet dropping, despite the major expansion in renewable energy. As a result, global emissions are expected to rise by 0.8% in 2024, according to the Global Carbon Budget.

    "Bad news: we are not declining yet," says Pierre Friedlingstein, one of the authors of the report and a professor at the University of Exeter.

    "Good news: the growth rate is much lower than it was 10 years ago."

    Emissions in the U.S. and the European Union have been declining for years, as those countries have shifted away from burning coal. In India, emissions are expected to grow by 4.6% this year, as the country industrializes and a growing middle class uses more energy. In China, emissions are expected to increase by only 0.2%, leading some to speculate the country's emissions will soon peak, ahead of the government's 2030 goal.

    Peaking is only the beginning

    While a peak in global emissions from burning fossil fuels may only be a few years away, it doesn't mean global temperatures will start falling. Countries will continue to add greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, just at a slower rate. Those emissions will keep raising global temperatures. To stop temperatures from rising, greenhouse gas emissions need to fall to zero.

    "At this point of peaking, your emissions are at the all-time high," Grant says. "That means that you're actually doing the most damage possible to the climate system per year. And so what matters most is how quickly you can get out of that high-damage zone."

    It's like driving a car at dangerous speeds, Friedlingstein says. Hitting peak emissions is like taking your foot off the gas pedal.

    "You still have to brake if you want to stop at some point, because there is a wall there and you're driving toward the wall," Friedlingstein says. "If you want to stop before the wall, you have to start braking."

    At the COP29 climate summit, countries are negotiating new pledges to cut future emissions, in the hope of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100. Beyond that level, the world could see much more destructive storms and floods, as well as irreversible damage to ecosystems like coral reefs. Reaching that goal would require cutting emissions to zero by 2050, though countries' current pledges fall well short of that goal.

    Still, a peak in emissions would mark an important turning point in global negotiations.

    "We are still, to some extent, masters of our fates and we can control how much warming there is," Grant says.

    ]]>     This soil is slowly burning, releasing CO2. The solution? Let water reclaim it! https://sdgtalks.ai/this-soil-is-slowly-burning-releasing-co2-the-solution-let-water-reclaim-it https://sdgtalks.ai/this-soil-is-slowly-burning-releasing-co2-the-solution-let-water-reclaim-it Sun, 01 Dec 2024 21:45:35 -0500 Eadyn Thompson
    In the middle of Jörg Espig's hay field, along Germany's Baltic Sea coast, there's a spot where two worlds meet.

    "Here's the dividing line," says Espig, a farmer who still talks with the accent and big-city brashness of his native Berlin. He takes just a few more steps through the knee-high grass, and suddenly the ground underfoot feels softer, like a giant sponge.

    He's stepped from ordinary "mineral soil" composed of sand and clay into a realm of peatland, made from old vegetation—centuries worth of moss or reeds that grew here when this was a marsh.

    Peatlands like this are surprisingly common and represent a wild card for the world's climate. They contain vast amounts of carbon, more than all the world's forests. They also are fragile. When drained, like Jörg Espig's field, they release carbon dioxide, accelerating climate change. Scientists are now calling for a global campaign to protect and restore these peatlands.

    "Peatlands suffer from a Cinderella syndrome; they are often overlooked," says Franziska Tanneberger, who leads the Greifswald Mire Center at the University of Greifswald in Germany. Peatlands are found around the world, especially alongside streams and in coastal areas. They're common across northern Europe, the east coast of the U.S., Canada, Siberia, and many Pacific islands. They cover about 3% of the planet's land surface.

    But these carbon vaults are vulnerable, as Espig's field demonstrates. The peatland section of this field is sunken. In some places, it's 3 feet lower than the regular mineral soil. The soil has vanished into the air.

    Jörg Espig, a farmer in Usedom, Germany, grows hay and grazes cows on several hundred acres of drained peatlands.

    Jörg Espig, a farmer in Usedom, Germany, grows hay and grazes cows on several hundred acres of drained peatlands.

    Dan Charles for NPR

    The reason, in a word, is drainage. Many decades ago, this land was claimed for agriculture using techniques pioneered by Dutch experts. A system of drainage ditches, pumps, and dikes removed water from the land so farmers could graze cattle or drive tractors across it to harvest hay. "If that dike weren't there," Espig says, gesturing toward the earthen wall at the far end of the field, "this area in front of us would be covered with water."

    But peatlands need water to survive. "In a natural peatland, the water is like a protective layer. Once you remove the water, it's no longer protected," Tanneberger says. Oxygen in the air reacts with the carbon-rich soil, breaking it down in a kind of slow-motion combustion, releasing carbon dioxide.

    It's almost like burning coal, but it doesn't get the same attention, Tanneberger says. "If that would be, like, black smoke coming out of the soil, you would immediately see it, and you would say, 'Oh, you have to do something," she says. "But you do not see the CO2 that's emitted right now."

    Those planet-warming emissions add up. An average acre of drained peatland releases about 12 tons of carbon dioxide every year, roughly the equivalent of driving 25,000 miles in a typical gas-powered car. When such soil is tilled and used to grow crops, as is often done, for instance, in a drained section of the Florida Everglades, the emissions—and the loss of soil—are even higher. In parts of the Everglades Agricultural Area, roughly six feet worth of carbon-rich soil has vaporized over the past century.

    In the northeast German state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, which includes much of the Baltic coast, "a stunning fact for many people here, including farmers, is that the drained peatlands make up 40% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of our region," Tanneberger says. Peatlands account for roughly 7% of the total greenhouse emissions of Germany.

    These emissions can be stopped. One of Tanneberger's favorite examples is a windswept section of the Baltic coast near the city of Greifswald. Thirty years ago, environmental advocates persuaded local authorities here to move the dikes back from the coast and turn off the pumps that were required to keep the land dry. Water has now returned to part of this peatland. The carbon dioxide releases have stopped. New wetland vegetation might actually start capturing carbon from the air and start storing it again in new layers of peat.

    "This site gives me hope that it is possible that people jointly agree on making the peatlands wet again," Tanneberger says. "This is something that I'm really convinced, deep in my heart, that we need."

    Franziska Tanneberger, director of the Greifswald Mire Center, at a restored area of peatland called Karrendorf meadows, near the city of Greifswald.

    Franziska Tanneberger, director of the Greifswald Mire Center, at a restored area of peatland called Karrendorf meadows, near the city of Greifswald.

    Dan Charles for NPR

    At the ongoing international climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, peatland experts will push for the "rewetting" of peatlands around the world that have been drained and the preservation of those that remain in a natural state. People who can't attend in person can visit a "Virtual Peatlands Pavilion" online. Tanneberger won't be there herself; she's stopped traveling by air, for the most part, in an effort to reduce fossil fuel use.

    Almost all of Germany's peatlands have been drained. Returning water to that land is essential, Tanneberger says, to achieve the country's climate goals.

    Yet it's politically difficult to reverse practices that have been in place for many decades. Much of that drained peatland is now owned by farmers who are using it as pasture or hay fields. Most of them want to keep that land dry.

    "It's a matter of property," Espig says. "The farmer didn't buy this land to protect the climate. He bought it to earn his daily bread. And his daily bread is milking cows. Or grazing cows. Or making hay."

    Tanneberger thinks there's a way to preserve both wetlands and agriculture. She has been carrying out research on ways that farmers could still use that land when it's wet. They could, for instance, use tractors that are built to navigate on wet soil, harvesting hay even from soggy fields. Even better, she says, they could grow traditional wetland crops, like reeds that are used to make thatched roofs.

    A ditch allows water to drain from a peatland near Greifswald, Germany.

    A ditch allows water to drain from a peatland near Greifswald, Germany.

    Dan Charles for NPR

    Espig, who also chairs the farmers' association in this region, is skeptical. Farming in wet conditions, he says, is complicated, often impractical, and generally doesn't make economic sense.

    But he does see room for compromise. Perhaps 10% of the area's drained peatlands, he says, are not very profitable to farm; they could be returned to nature without causing much disruption. Local authorities could organize land swaps, rewetting peatlands and compensating farmers with publicly owned land elsewhere. And many farmers would be open to a buyout because farming has generally been in decline in this area. "You have to offer the farmer an alternative, and then he'd be ready to take it," Espig says.

    Germany has been a leader worldwide when it comes to making such deals. Federal and local governments have helped pay to rewet about 5,000 acres of peatlands per year. But that's only a tiny slice of what's needed, Tanneberger says.

    Germany has set a goal of cutting its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero before 2050. Meeting that goal, Tanneberger says, would require rewetting more than 100,000 acres of peatland each year.

    Dan Charles is a freelance writer in Washington, DC. He was a visiting journalist at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research in Leipzig during the summer of 2024.

    ]]>     How will China impact the future of climate change? You might be surprised https://sdgtalks.ai/how-will-china-impact-the-future-of-climate-change-you-might-be-surprised https://sdgtalks.ai/how-will-china-impact-the-future-of-climate-change-you-might-be-surprised Sun, 01 Dec 2024 21:43:02 -0500 Eadyn Thompson

    The two biggest climate polluters in the world are China and the United States.

    The U.S. is preparing for a second presidential term for Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax and federal investments in climate solutions a "green new scam".

    In China, it's a different story. China has made it clear it plans to be at the forefront of manufacturing climate solutions–and selling them around the globe.

    China is the world's largest producer of renewable energy, now constructing almost two thirds of all large-scale wind and solar power, according to nonprofit Global Energy Monitor.

    And China is spreading climate solution technologies across the developing world. Walk into an electric vehicle showroom in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, or Kenya these days, and the car on offer is likely made in China.

    "They've set up a situation where it's good for them to sell clean energy technologies to the world," says Alex Wang, a professor of law at UCLA focused on Chinese climate policy. "It's very good economically, and it's good reputationally, and it's good environmentally."

    But while China is now the largest producer and distributor of climate solutions technologies — a key moneymaker for its troubled economy — the country still gets more than half its power from coal. "Which happens to also be the dirtiest fossil fuel," says Li Shuo, director of the China climate hub at the Asia Society, a nonprofit.

    As global leaders gather at the annual United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan, countries see the U.S. under a lame-duck Biden administration with less clout. Meanwhile, China is signaling an increased role in climate diplomacy and continued leadership in international climate investments, despite its complicated relationship with coal.

    China's steady, long-term investments in climate solutions will make it harder for the U.S. to compete in these industries, Li says. "The U.S. does not want to get into a table tennis game with China, because that game the U.S. cannot win," he says.

    A Chery Exceed LX car is displayed at the Beijing auto show.

    A Chery Exceed LX car is displayed at the Beijing auto show. Chinese electric vehicle companies like Chery are selling their cars across Latin America.

    WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

    Good for the planet, and the Chinese economy

    For the Chinese government and its private sector, investing in climate technologies makes business sense. China's economy is in a slowdown, but the country's climate and energy sector is a bright spot driving economic growth.

    The Chinese government made investments 15 to 20 years ago in climate technologies that are paying off now, Wang says. "They dominate solar, wind, batteries, electric vehicles," he says.

    In September alone, China installed about 20 gigawatts of solar energy, according to the Chinese government. That's enough electric power for about 3.6 million U.S. homes. In all of 2023 the U.S. added roughly the same amount of solar power - 19 gigawatts, according to the U.S. government.

    Now China is making profits selling climate technologies like electric vehicles in Southeast Asian, African, and Latin American markets.

    There's a business strategy and a diplomatic strategy here, Li says. In addition to being moneymakers, climate investments and technology sales help China build diplomatic ties.

    In a speech at the U.N. climate summit in Azerbaijan, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said China mobilized more than $24 billion for developing countries since 2016 to help their response to climate change.

    Li says China is signaling it will take more of a leadership role to ensure developing countries — which did the least to cause global warming — get much-needed climate funds.

    Meanwhile, under Trump, the U.S is expected to retreat from climate diplomacy. Under his first term, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the global climate treaty, the Paris agreement. President Biden signed an order his first day in office returning the U.S. to the agreement. Climate experts expect Trump to remove the U.S. again.

    The renewable energy plus coal equation

    As part of the Paris climate treaty, countries have to announce targets to make deeper cuts to their own climate pollution by 2035. The hope is that all the pollution cuts combined will limit the world's warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to average global temperatures from the late 1800s. Beyond that limit, extreme weather like heat waves and storms is expected to get far worse, scientists say.

    For the world's biggest polluter, the size of China's pollution cuts will have global consequences, Li says. "It's really, I think, the single most important issue to decide whether the world has a chance to stay at 1.5 degrees," he says.

    There are some good indicators China will make big cuts. In 2020 the country promised to build 1,200 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, roughly the same electricity generating capacity of the whole United States. China recently announced it reached the goal, six years ahead of schedule.

    On the other hand, China has built many coal plants domestically in recent years, says Ye Huang, China researcher at Global Energy Monitor. Last year China was responsible for 95% of coal power construction that broke ground.

    Still, she says, China isn't using all that planet-heating coal power to its full potential. Instead the country increasingly uses coal plants as backup when solar or wind plants aren't working, or when there is less hydropower available because of droughts, says Jeremy Wallace, professor of China studies at Johns Hopkins University.

    "You might think that if you built a big power plant, you would run it all the time," Wallace says. "In fact, the average Chinese coal plant is run at about 50 percent capacity. That is, half the time it's operating and half the time it is not operating."

    But there are regional forces pushing to maintain coal as a big part of China's energy mix, and keep millions of coal jobs. To meet climate goals, China will have to reckon with those forces, Li says.

    "In this regard China is not that different from the United States. China has its own West Virginia," Li says. "You have local interests, you have important provinces that are heavily reliant on coal."

    Many China energy experts expect China's climate pollution levels to peak maybe this year or next.

    Many China energy experts expect China's climate pollution levels to peak maybe this year or next.

    STR/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

    A global green race

    Despite headwinds from coal interests, many climate experts are optimistic China will adopt an ambitious target for reducing climate pollution.

    China's climate pollution is projected to rise only 0.2% this year, leading many to speculate its pollution levels will peak soon, maybe even next year. Wallace and Li expect China to announce a 2035 target that reduces climate pollution 25%-30% from the country's peak.

    Whether the U.S. will announce its target in the remaining weeks of the Biden administration is unclear.

    Li says an ambitious Chinese target would be a win for the planet, China's economy, and climate solution technology. "It will actually facilitate further growth and deployment of renewable energy and other clean technologies," Li says, "put China even further ahead of the global green economic race."

    ]]>     Climate change plays a role in global rise of dengue fever https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-plays-a-role-in-global-rise-of-dengue-fever https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-plays-a-role-in-global-rise-of-dengue-fever Sun, 01 Dec 2024 21:15:23 -0500 Eadyn Thompson
    In 2023, some 6 million cases of dengue fever were reported worldwide — more than ever before. Then, 2024 blew that record away. More than 12 million cases have been reported worldwide so far this year.

    Case numbers had been rising for years before that, though. Now, a new study awaiting peer review suggests that climate change has likely played a significant role in the expansion of the disease from 1995 to 2014, according to an analysis presented in November at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference in New Orleans. Over that time period, climate change increased the caseload by roughly 20% across the 21 countries in the study — all places where dengue fever was already established, like Indonesia, India and Brazil.

    The numbers could skyrocket with further climate change, even beyond the record-breaking case numbers from the past few years, says Erin Mordecai, an infectious disease expert at Stanford University and one of the authors of the new analysis.

    "Many of the places in the study region are going to more than double their projected dengue incidence" if human-caused climate change continues to aggressively heat up the planet, she says. But the growth could be contained — not stopped, but at least minimized — if climate action keeps global temperatures in check, she stresses.

    Dengue fever is the most common tropical disease in the world. In about a quarter of cases, it can drive painful fever and the sensation of aching joints and bones leads to its common name "breakbone fever." In a small percentage of cases — and most often when someone contracts the disease for a second time — it can be fatal.

    Millions of cases of dengue fever play out every year worldwide. But there is currently no commonly available vaccine for adults, and little beyond palliative care to manage the disease once contracted.

    Climate fingerprints on dengue fever

    Dengue fever is spread between people by two species of mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti.

    "Mosquitoes are exothermic," or cold-blooded, Mordecai explains. "So when the temperature gets warmer, everything that their body does speeds up."

    Dengue fever is spread by two species of mosquito. Adult females of one of those species, Aedes albopictus, are examined under a microscope. Each species thrives under particular weather conditions. Climate change is expanding those ideal zones into many new parts of the world, increasing the number of cases.

    Mosquitoes grow faster. They more effectively replicate the virus in their guts. They even bite more aggressively as temperatures warm toward those ideal levels.

    Previous research in laboratories showed that those species of mosquitoes thrived within a predictable temperature range. For Aedes albopictus, the ideal Goldilocks temperature was roughly 79 degrees Fahrenheit. For Aedes aegypti, it was slightly higher, a balmy 84 degrees.

    There is a built-in limit, says Mordecai: Too far past those Goldilocks temperatures and mosquitoes suffer and start to die. And a dead mosquito can't spread disease.

    The researchers could track changes in temperature over time in tandem with changes in reported disease cases. And using climate models, they could tease out how much of the temperature rise in each location could be blamed on human-caused climate change — a technique called attribution. Then, using sophisticated statistical techniques borrowed from economics, they could link the human-driven temperature increases with increased caseloads.

    Similar strategies are now commonly used to diagnose human-caused climate change's fingerprint on extreme weather like heat waves or hurricanes. But the new analysis is one of the first to explicitly link climate change to changes in infectious disease cases.

    "Understanding how much of the increase in disease can be attributed to climate can give us more confidence in our predictions for how infections are going to respond to future climate changes," says Marta Shocket, a disease ecologist at Lancaster University in the U.K. "And this can help us do better long-term planning for how we allocate different public health resources."

    Overall, the researchers found that temperature conditions generally favor the expansion of the disease, especially in areas like highland Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil. Hotter areas, like Thailand and Cambodia, have seen growth as well, but smaller marginal increases because temperatures were already near the mosquitoes' upper limits.

    They could also look into the future to see where risks might emerge — and how many cases could be in store in an even hotter future. Many parts of South America, particularly those that are at the cooler end of the mosquitoes' preferred temperature range now, could see their caseloads double by the middle of the century if warming continues on its current trajectory. Only Cambodia was projected to see a drop in cases.

    "A lot of regions that are more temperate will become more suitable — and what's scary is that it happens to overlap a lot with really densely populated cities," says Jamie Caldwell, an infectious disease researcher at Princeton University who was not involved in the study.

    A health worker dispense insecticide with fogging machines to kill mosquitoes spreading dengue fever ahead of the Day of the Dead celebrations

    A health worker dispenses insecticide with fogging machines to kill mosquitoes spreading dengue fever ahead of the Day of the Dead celebrations in Merida, Mexico. 2024 broke records for the number of dengue fever cases reported worldwide. Hugo Borges/AFP via Getty Images


    A nurse takes care of a patient at a hospital near Lima, Peru.

    A nurse takes care of a patient at a hospital near Lima, Peru. The country experienced an outbreak of dengue fever in 2024 — a pattern that was replicated in many countries around the world. A new study suggests climate change may be contributing to the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. Juan Carlos Cisneros/AFP via Getty Images

    The study did not include countries where dengue fever is still rare, a category which includes the U.S. But the number of cases within U.S. borders has also risen sharply in recent years, in hot, humid regions like Florida and southern Texas. But in 2023, several cases of locally acquired dengue fever were reported for the first time in Southern California. More were identified this year in Los Angeles County.

    When dengue caseloads are high in the rest of the world, it increases the chances the disease can make its way into new areas, like the U.S., says Katharine Walter, an epidemiologist at the University of Utah.

    "The world is more connected than ever before, and country borders are artificial," she says. "Unchecked viral transmission doesn't stay in one place."

    Public health efforts still matter — a lot

    A hotter planet contributes to the expansion of the disease — but it is far from the only reason, says Benny Rice, a disease ecologist at Princeton University. Dengue fever, like other diseases spread by "vectors" like mosquitoes or ticks, is controlled by a vast array of factors.

    Urbanization — particularly in unplanned developments like those springing up on the outskirts of cities worldwide — often creates mosquito havens, leading to a higher likelihood of disease outbreaks. Global travel also allows the disease to spread quickly and easily between regions. Other weather factors, like the frequency and intensity of rainfall or extreme weather, also influence the dynamics of dengue outbreaks.

    In some ways, all that complexity represents opportunity, says Rice. He points out that even if climate change influences 20% of dengue cases — or even more — that leaves 80% of cases that could be reined in. "The public health interventions that have existed for years are more important than ever," he says — from efforts like aggressive efforts to curb mosquito populations to developing strong local networks of medical care.

    Nonetheless, the study shows that "the climate really gives context for where and when outbreaks could occur," Caldwell says.

    The analysis suggests dengue cases will continue to skyrocket as Earth's climate continues to warm. By the middle of the century, the number of cases could rise by 60% as more parts of the world enter the mosquito-friendly temperature zone.

    But Mordecai says that points to a clear solution: alongside the other public health measures, any success at slowing Earth's warming by reducing planet-warming emissions will lessen the risks.

    ]]>     Disappointed by this year&apos;s climate talks, Indigenous advocates look to Brazil in 2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/disappointed-by-this-years-climate-talks-indigenous-advocates-look-to-brazil-in-2025 https://sdgtalks.ai/disappointed-by-this-years-climate-talks-indigenous-advocates-look-to-brazil-in-2025 Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:58:27 -0500 Eadyn Thompson

    Indigenous women of Amazonia speak to the media at a press conference during United Nations Climate Change Conference COP29.

    Some Indigenous advocates at this year's international climate negotiations in Baku, Azerbaijan say the deals made fall short of what's needed to stave off the worst impacts of a warming planet, from sea level rise to catastrophic storms. COP29 ended with wealthy countries agreeing to help poorer nations with at least $300 billion annually to address global warming in a last-minute deal.

    Advocates are now looking to next year's climate talks in Brazil, which some are calling the "Indigenous peoples" COP, to push for further inclusion in climate negotiations and support the global Indigenous movement.

    This year, a group within COP known as the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform came to Baku with a set of priorities, which included advocating for a formal seat at the negotiating table for climate initiatives. They also wanted more Indigenous knowledge incorporated into climate science and policies. Leaders also called for protecting the human rights of Indigenous people and to safeguard tribal nations feeling the most adverse effects of climate change.

    "Broadly speaking, the COP outcomes failed on all four of those [priorities]," explains Graeme Reed, who is Anishinaabe from the Great Lakes region. He was the North American representative to what's called the Facilitative Working Group, which carries out the platform's climate priorities by advising state party representatives that are willing to listen. These representatives can then bring ideas up in formal negotiations.

    Reed called the final agreement out of COP29 "drastically insufficient."

    Janene Yazzie, who is Diné (Navajo), also expressed disappointment. She joined Reed in the Facilitative Working Group as a North American representative. She says, despite the outcome, it's important for Indigenous people to build solidarity during the talks.

    "It's very important for us to be here [in Baku] to advocate for our people to hold the line for effective and meaningful climate action and to continue to fight for the ability to access available climate finance that exists on the global scale," Yazzie says.

    The climate finance deal nearly didn't happen after some developing nations walked out of negotiations over the weekend. Still, some have called the $300 billion a step in the right direction. Among them, President Biden, who said in a statement that the agreement was "ambitious" and that the money will help "mobilize the level of finance – from all sources – that developing countries need to accelerate the transition to clean, sustainable economies, while opening up new markets for American-made electric vehicles, batteries and other products."

    Indigenous participation

    Around 170 Indigenous people from around the world traveled to Baku. Groups representing Indigenous people across national borders do not have an official role when it comes to negotiating climate policy at COP. But they can advise countries willing to hear them out.

    Eriel Tchekwie Deranger is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta, Canada and the executive director of the nonprofit Indigenous Climate Action.

    "[We have] to really hope that sort of sympathetic states will listen to our desires and needs," Deranger says. "It's been really difficult, to be honest."

    Protesters demonstrate for indigenous land rights and climate justice on day six at the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference this November in Baku, Azerbaijan.

    Protesters demonstrate for Indigenous land rights and climate justice on day six at COP29 this November in Baku, Azerbaijan.

    Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    Indigenous organizations have become a growing part of COPs. But Deranger says participation was down this year. She points to Azerbaijan being so far away for many groups, expensive flights and concerns about the country's human rights record.

    A recent analysis revealed that at least 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists registered to attend COP29. Deranger said that far outnumbered Indigenous representation in Baku.

    A just transition

    Many Indigenous leaders at COP29 acknowledged the need for the renewable energy transition. However, many worry about mining for critical minerals that's needed for technologies that reduce climate pollution, like batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles. Mines are often on or near tribal lands. In the U.S., an analysis found more than 75% of lithium, copper and nickel reserves in the U.S. are located within 35 miles of Indigenous communities. Another study found that globally, 54% of all the minerals needed for the green energy transition are located on or near Indigenous lands.

    Reed worries that the current demand for critical minerals legitimizes what he calls "sacrifice zones"— critical mineral sites near Indigenous and poor communities that can bring an increased risk of sexual violence for Native women, contaminate waterways and create more air pollution.

    "We have all these technocrats who come to these gatherings, and they advance these solutions without really actually thinking about what is the future they're creating," Reed says. "For me, that future that they're creating is increasing inequity."

    Not all tribal nations oppose mineral extraction on their territories. "Some want the mining, some don't want the mining," says David Kaimowitz, who's the chief program officer at the Tenure Facility, an organization that supports Indigenous people's land rights and forest management.

    "I would say they want the right to decide what's going to happen in their ancestral territories, where their forefathers and foremothers are buried, where they hope to raise their grandchildren and their grandchildren's grandchildren," Kamowitz says.

    Under international law, Indigenous people have the right to free, prior, and informed consent, which allows tribal nations to decide what's going to happen on their territories, such as mining, solar and hydroelectric projects.

    Heavy trucks drive through a nickel mining area in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A recent study found that globally, 54% of all the minerals needed for the green energy transition are located on or near Indigenous lands.

    Heavy trucks drive through a nickel mining area in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A recdnt study found that globally, 54% of all the minerals needed for the green energy transition are located on or near Indigenous lands.

    Hariandi Hafid/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    A Seat at the table

    The 16th United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia this fall formerly recognized Indigenous people for their expertise. Reed says that's a step in the right direction.

    But getting "tangible decision-making participation" at the formal negotiations at COP, he says, is still a long shot given that negotiations happen between governments, nations and states.

    Indigenous people, Kaimowitz says, have had some success raising awareness and significant funds outside the formal UN climate talks, such as a $1.7 billion commitment to protect Indigenous peoples rights and forests. This agreement came together during COP26 in Scotland in 2021 and was established by five governments and 25 public and philanthropic donors. According to the Forest Tenure Funders Group, nearly $1.3 billion has been distributed already.

    A recent report by the group, found a majority of that money – over a billion dollars – has gone to consulting firms, governments and NGO's. Reed says the funds that actually go to Indigenous people are minuscule compared to what government and conservation organizations receive.

    "While those things are good, and I appreciate the advocacy that Indigenous peoples have brought," explains Reed, "the underlying system is still deeply colonial and is still unwilling to share power."

    Direct access to funds

    The U.S. election also loomed over this year's COP. Indigenous advocates are concerned over whether President-elect Donald Trump will withdraw the U.S. again from the Paris Agreement, something he did during his first term. Trump has said he will likely withdraw the country again from an agreement that set a global goal to limit warming to certain levels.

    Yazzie also worries Trump's second term will lead to fewer federal dollars for tribes in the U.S.— money that could address the effects of climate change such as sea level rise.

    That's a concern Fawn Sharp shares. She's a Quinault Indian Nation tribal member and a board member of the Nature Conservancy Global. Her tribe is feeling the effects of sea-level rise in Washington state and needs funds to relocate to higher ground.

    The tribe received $25 million to relocate some villages through the Biden administration. But Sharp says Quinault Nation needs $500 million more to move all the villages.

    "We knew it was quite clear we're not going to see that coming out of the United States Congress any time soon," Sharp says. That's why, she says, they're looking internationally for partnerships "to move to higher ground, to restore our salmon habitat and build our ecosystems."

    Looking to next year's COP

    Brazil hosts next year's United Nations climate summit and already some are calling it the "Indigenous Peoples" COP.

    That's because Brazil is where 305 ethnic groups and 1.7 million Indigenous people call home. Indigenous people are also included in government representation including establishing the Brazilian Ministry of Indigenous Peoples in 2023.

    COP30 will mark the first time the climate summit will be held in the Amazon basin — home to the world's largest tropical rainforest which naturally stores planet-warming pollution. The Amazon continues to face significant challenges, including deforestation and human-caused climate change, which has brought increased temperatures and drought.

    Deranger and Yazzie say they are already preparing for Brazil, where they plan to continue advocating for Indigenous rights and representation.

    "Brazil's gonna definitely be the largest Indigenous participation in COP history," Yazzie says.

    ]]>     Millions are heading home from the holiday to face snow and an Arctic blast https://sdgtalks.ai/millions-are-heading-home-from-the-holiday-to-face-snow-and-an-arctic-blast https://sdgtalks.ai/millions-are-heading-home-from-the-holiday-to-face-snow-and-an-arctic-blast Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:54:40 -0500 Eadyn Thompson

    Millions are heading home from the holiday to face

    snow and an Arctic blast

    Motorists on I-89 near Lebanon, N.H., deal with the first snowstorm of the season on Thursday.

    Travelers heading home from the Thanksgiving holiday this weekend could face severe weather and travel delays.

    An arctic blast will bring the "coldest air since last winter" to Eastern portions of the county, the National Weather Service (NWS) said on Friday. The air mass from the Arctic is moving across the U.S. and will stay for the weekend, while the northern Plains will see temperatures in the single digits and teens.

    Northeast parts of the country will see 30 to 40-degree temperatures while 20 and 30-degree temperatures will impact the Midwest. Wind chills will dip below zero in upper portions of the Midwest and northern Plains, with Minnesota and North and South Dakota seeing wind chills below -15 degrees.

    "This will pose an increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite on exposed skin. While not quite as dangerous, wind chills will also still be bitterly cold across the Midwest and the Northeast Saturday with breezy winds expected," according to the NWS.

    The Arctic blast, along with the lake effect snow blanketing upper portions of the Northeast and Midwest, is leading to dangerous conditions for travel and delays. Lake effect snow happens when cold air, including from Canada, moves across warm waters of the Great Lakes. Once this happens, moisture and heat rise into the atmosphere creating clouds that can produce more than 2 inches of snow an hour. 

    Southern states are also expected to feel "subfreezing" temperatures in the morning stretching from the Atlantic coast in the southeast to the Gulf Coast, including possible frost in northern parts of Florida, the NWS says. The subfreezing temperatures can "kill crops and other sensitive vegetation as well as damage unprotected outdoor plumbing," the NWS says.

    Weather officials in Buffalo, N.Y., on Friday warned that travel conditions are "poor" within areas where lake effect snow is falling and said to avoid travel in those areas. The lake effect snow is expected to continue through the weekend and some cities, including Watertown, are forecast to receive at least 6 feet of snow.

    While parts of the country will see a not-so-wintery wonderland, rain and thunderstorms will fall in southern Texas and Florida. The rest of the country is expected to be mainly dry with normal or above-normal temperatures for this time of year.

    Flights into and out of Erie International Airport were canceled Friday and its operating status was listed as "closed" as of 4:56 p.m. ET until 12 p.m. ET Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Authority's (FAA) National Airspace System. More than 2,300 flights on Friday have been delayed into, within and out of the United States, according to FlightAware.

    Travel bans along I-86 from the Pennsylvania state line to I-390 and other roadways went into effect Friday afternoon, with lake-effect snow warnings in effect across parts of New York through Monday. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul urged residents to prepare for the lake-effect snow and her office advised residents of "hazardous to impossible travel conditions" because of reduced visibility and snow-covered roads in west, central and northern parts of the state.

    A public service campaign by the U.S Department of Homeland Security also urged travelers in areas with heavy snow to "limit the time outdoors & avoid driving if possible."

    "If you must drive, clear ice & snow from your car, pack an emergency kit, drive slowly, and leave extra space between vehicles," the agency said in a post.

    ]]>     SunFed cucumbers and Costco eggs recalled for potential salmonella contamination https://sdgtalks.ai/sunfed-cucumbers-and-costco-eggs-recalled-for-potential-salmonella-contamination https://sdgtalks.ai/sunfed-cucumbers-and-costco-eggs-recalled-for-potential-salmonella-contamination Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:46:35 -0500 Eadyn Thompson

    Cucumbers shipped to the U.S. and Canada, and organic eggs sold in 25 Costco stores in five southern U.S. states, were recalled this week for potential salmonella contamination.

    The cucumber outbreak sickened 68 people, including 18 who were hospitalized, in 19 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. No one has died. Produce grown in Sonora, Mexico, by Agrotato S.A. may be the culprit, the agency said.

    A recall announced Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was tied to the outbreak. SunFed Produce, based in Arizona, recalled cucumbers sold between Oct. 12 and Nov. 26, the FDA said.

    The recall happened after SunFed was told by the FDA that there were associated illnesses reported between Oct. 12 and Nov. 15. People who bought cucumbers during the window should check with the store where they purchased them to see if the produce is part of the recall.

    The egg recall involved nearly 11,000 cartons of 24-count organic eggs sold under Costco's Kirkland Signature brand that landed on shelves in Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee starting Nov. 22, according to the company's announcement posted Wednesday on the FDA website.

    No illnesses were immediately reported. Handsome Brook Farms said the cartons included eggs that were "not intended for retail distribution." Shoppers should check to see whether their egg cartons have Julian code 327 printed on the side and have a use-by date of Jan. 5, 2025. If the eggs are included in the recall, throw them out or take them back to the store for a refund.

    Customers who had either of the recalled food products should wash items and surfaces that may have been in contact with the foods using hot, soapy water or a dishwasher.

    Salmonella can cause symptoms that begin six hours to six days after ingesting the bacteria and include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Most people recover without treatment within a week, but young children, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems can become seriously ill.

    Earlier this summer, a separate salmonella outbreak in cucumbers sickened 450 people in the U.S.

    A U.S. Food and Drug Administration building is seen behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md., in 2018.

    A U.S. Food and Drug Administration building is seen behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md., in 2018. Cucumbers shipped to the U.S. and Canada, and organic eggs sold in 25 Costco stores in five southern U.S. states, were recalled this week for potential salmonella contamination.

    ]]>     Barry Biomass: Incinerator future in doubt as investors pull out https://sdgtalks.ai/barry-biomass-incinerator-future-in-doubt-as-investors-pull-out https://sdgtalks.ai/barry-biomass-incinerator-future-in-doubt-as-investors-pull-out Sat, 30 Nov 2024 22:54:49 -0500 Eadyn Thompson
    Ade Pitman An aerial shot of Barry Docks: in the foreground is a body of water, behind that waste wood incinerator in and amongst industrial equipment. In the background, rows of houses in Barry
    Aviva Investors say they have pulled out of the site because of significant cost and technology-related challenges

    The future of a controversial waste wood incinerator looks in doubt after an investment company pulled out of the site.

    Aviva Investors said the decision had been made because of significant cost and technology-related challenges at the Barry Biomass plant in the Vale of Glamorgan.

    Campaigners have fought for years for the wood incinerator in Barry Docks to be shut due to pollution fears.

    The plant's developers, Barry Biomass, and the Welsh government have been asked for comment.

    Pollution fears over incinerator plan

    Q&A: What is biomass?

    Vale of Glamorgan council said it was seeking urgent clarification from Aviva for its plans for the site.

    The privately-run venture, which was backed by Aviva Investors, was given the go-ahead in 2018, despite protests and petitions over pollution fears.

    But since then, it has been at the centre of a long-running planning row, remaining idle while waiting for the go-ahead to start operating.

    In 2021, it faced an order to shut down.

    In a statement, Aviva Investors said it had "made the decision to divest from the assets" in Barry, plus English sites at Hull and Boston.

    A spokesperson for Aviva Investors said: "Since the original investment, it has become apparent that the gasification technologies at these plants have significant challenges in their current form.

    "The assets have therefore not performed as we expected."

    Following an independent review earlier this year, and informing investors of the situation, the decision was taken to move away from the sites.

    Protestors stand outside the incinerator in a line in Barry Docks. They are holding signs in protest, with the most visible being a sign saying 'No incinerator, no toxic ash'.
    Campaigners have fought for years for the wood incinerator to be shut

    The Docks Incinerator Action Group (DIAG) which has opposed the plant, said it was happy with the decision. It said it hoped no other company would take on the project.

    Council leader Lis Burnett said the plant had "failed to conform" with its original planning permission.

    “Two retrospective planning application were refused in March, decisions that are currently being appealed," she said.

    “We will now seek urgent clarification from Aviva regarding those appeals and its plans for the site.”

    Barry Biomass has previously described the Barry site as environmentally responsible, safe and with a positive long-term impact on the local community.

    ]]>     From Data to Dialogue: Transforming Oncology With Real-World Evidence https://sdgtalks.ai/from-data-to-dialogue-transforming-oncology-with-real-world-evidence https://sdgtalks.ai/from-data-to-dialogue-transforming-oncology-with-real-world-evidence Sat, 30 Nov 2024 22:05:23 -0500 Eadyn Thompson Sandra Cuellar, PharmD, from the University of Illinois Chicago, highlights the critical role of real-world data in shaping reimbursement models for oncology therapies and emphasizes the growing importance of patient-centered care through shared decision-making, precision medicine, and patient-reported outcomes.

    The role of real-world data (RWD) and patient-centered care in oncology is evolving, said Sandra Cuellar, PharmD, clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Illinois Chicago.

    RWD is essential for assessing the effectiveness of high-cost cancer therapies in diverse, real-world patient populations, influencing the development of flexible reimbursement models. She also emphasizes the growing importance of patient-centered care, where patient-reported outcomes (PROs), precision medicine, and shared decision-making play a critical role in tailoring treatment options to individual patients. This shift marks a move away from one-size-fits-all approaches toward personalized care that considers patients’ unique circumstances, preferences, and quality of life.

    This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

    Transcript

    How do you foresee the use of real-world data influencing the development of new reimbursement models for high-cost therapies in oncology?

    I think real-world data is absolutely critical. So, when you look at the these drugs in clinical trials, [researchers] identify the best of the best patients in terms of their tolerability, their ECOG performance status. But giving these therapies in the real world in a more diverse population—maybe not as healthy—what does that look like in a more broader scheme? And I think real-world data gives us that: what does this treatment look like in the real world with maybe not such healthy patients, and what are the outcomes, and what do those metrics look like? And I think when you have more of that data that can influence how we're looking at reimbursement and have some more say in what we can do.

    In terms of outpatient basis, is this really something that we're seeing benefits in the real world, or was this something that we just saw in the clinical trial? Having that real-world data allows us to have more comparative data too in order to really have more leeway in different reimbursement models. So I think real-world data is really critical.

    How has the approach to patient-centered care changed in oncology in recent years, and what more can be done to put patients at the center of their treatment journey?

    Yeah, so I've been working in oncology for 21 years, and patient-centered care has really been something that's, I think, more and more evolving and becoming more important. A lot of the clinical trials and data incorporate patient-reported outcomes. Sometimes we also are seeing patients be a part of the tumor board, or having their voice as a part of "Well, this is what the physician thinks for [my] therapy. But really, is this something that is for [me], the patient?"

    So not only from the patient's perspective, but even patient-centered care in terms of the precision medicine that we offer, I think that is critical now in oncology as we're looking at precision medicine, looking at the unique biological features of the tumor and having specific drug therapy. We're looking at patient-reported outcomes so when we have 2 different treatment options, a lot of these clinical trials are looking at PROs and looking at them like, "Well, this [treatment] has better quality of life metrics, or this [one] has better patient-reported outcomes. And perhaps of these 2, efficacy looks the same, safety looks seem looks the same, but the PROs are better with this particular treatment vs the other."

    So, I think that that is something that is becoming more incorporated. It's more a part of our thought process. Where is this patient in their journey, and where they're at in their life? And how does that influence our treatment making decisions? Before, I think 20 years ago, the physician would say, "This is a treatment we're prescribing you," and really not having a lot of that dialog between the patient and the provider.

    Now, I think that it's about like, "These are your options. We can go systemic therapy. We can go [with this type]." We're getting them more involved in their treatment and what it entails. [For example], you [may] have to be hospitalized and if the patient is unable to be hospitalized because they have small children at home, what does that look like? So I think the conversation is there, and the patient has more of a voice and a say in their treatment options. And it's good to know that in 2024 we have a lot of things that we can offer these patients. It's not just systemic therapy, one-size-fits-all. We're looking at not only precision tumor medicine, but also incorporating the voice of the patient and what what their say is in their treatment. So I think that that's what we're seeing.

    ]]>     How Smart Packaging Reduces Food Waste and Preserves Resources https://sdgtalks.ai/how-smart-packaging-reduces-food-waste-and-preserves-resources https://sdgtalks.ai/how-smart-packaging-reduces-food-waste-and-preserves-resources Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:21:05 -0500 Kat Sarmiento When we think of food waste and resource management, we often assume the solution lies in using fewer materials. However, simply reducing resources doesn’t automatically lead to less waste. Mismanagement can increase waste rather than reduce it.  In the food industry,  it’s even more crucial for people to take waste reduction seriously.

    With billions facing hunger annually, every industry must strive to reduce food waste. After all, every job is a climate job now, especially as corporations refuse to take responsibility for their wasteful processes. One such industry that needs a change is food shipment, and smart packaging is a step in the right direction.

    What Is Smart Packaging?

    Unlike traditional packaging, which typically exists solely to keep the stuff inside for just long enough without falling out, smart packaging actively improves food preservation. That could mean advanced materials, electronic sensors, or clever packaging design. Either way, the end goal is preventing food from spoiling needlessly.

    Active Packaging

    Active packaging deals directly with food to extend freshness and slow spoilage. It engages with the food’s environment by releasing or absorbing specific substances, particularly those that encourage food spoilage. Good examples include oxygen scavengers, eco-friendly foam alternatives, and antimicrobial agents. These innovations create an ideal atmosphere inside the package, helping preserve food quality.

    Intelligent Packaging

    Intelligent packaging lets people see food quality in real time, allowing consumers and suppliers to make informed decisions about freshness, safety, and usability. It integrates advanced sensors, indicators, or labels to monitor various conditions within the package. This technology goes beyond "use-by" or "sell-by" dates, offering valuable data on temperature, freshness, and ripeness. Naturally, it may cost a bit, so it’s best to use it for large-scale undertakings.

    How Smart Packaging Reduces Waste

    As for how smart packaging actually impacts food waste, there’s a whole host of benefits, ranging from food freshness to adaptability:

    Maintaining Food Freshness

    Keeping food fresh is one of the most difficult aspects of getting foodstuff from point A to point B. After all, the food has a built-in time limit, and bad packaging speeds up the clock surprisingly quickly. Keeping food in airtight containers built for preservation, with easy ways to monitor its quality, ensures food arrives at peak quality.

    Adapting to Environmental Conditions

    Shipping can experience some surprisingly sudden climate and environmental changes. Sure, those cardboard might be okay for dry summers. However, the moment it’s exposed to any humid climate, it starts to rot faster than the food. Smart packaging is typically built to last in a variety of environments, with some advanced packaging even allowing for temperature control.

    Enhancing Supply Chain Management

    Smart packaging enables real-time tracking, helping suppliers detect delays or issues in the supply chain. Maintaining a consistent environment during food transport is challenging, but intelligent packaging can record storage conditions and alert suppliers to potential problems. By improving supply chain efficiency, smart packaging reduces the risk of spoiled food reaching consumers.

    Minimizing Environmental Impact

    Reducing food waste also means reducing the resources—such as water, energy, and labor—used in food production. A longer shelf life, thanks to packaging, helps reduce demand for food production, conserving resources and lowering the overall environmental footprint of food production.

    Reducing Packaging Waste

    Many smart packaging solutions are now designed to be recyclable or biodegradable. Companies increasingly experiment with sustainable materials, which minimize the environmental impact of packaging waste. Combining these materials with the waste reduction achieved by preventing spoilage makes smart packaging an eco-friendly choice.

    Integrating Smart Packaging into Existing Workflows

    Integrating smart packaging into a current workflow offers benefits like extended shelf life, enhanced supply chain visibility, and improved food safety. However, the transition requires careful planning to prevent workflow disruptions. Here’s how to integrate smart packaging effectively.

    Choosing the Right Smart Packaging Technology

    Selecting the appropriate smart packaging technology is essential. Different products have unique requirements: temperature-sensitive goods benefit from temperature-monitoring capabilities, while fresh produce may need ripeness indicators. 

    Compatibility with existing packaging designs is also crucial. Size, shape, and material must align with the chosen technology to avoid disruptions Some packages may need slight modifications to accommodate sensors or indicators, making these details important during the design phase.

    Updating Supply Chain Processes and Training

    Smart packaging can enhance inventory management by providing real-time product condition data, though this may require inventory process adjustments. Integrating smart packaging data with inventory systems improves overall inventory control and product quality by tracking freshness, temperature, and other key factors.

    Training employees on the new technologies is essential. Warehouse staff need to interpret and respond to indicators, while store employees should understand freshness or ripeness indicators to assist customers effectively. Even if the packaging is bulletproof, if an employee leaves it open, then it’s all for naught.

    Building Partnerships with Suppliers and Distributors

    Collaboration with packaging suppliers ensures that chosen smart packaging solutions meet specific product needs. Packaging suppliers offer valuable guidance on customizing technology and implementing best practices, easing the transition.

    Coordination with distributors and retailers is equally important. Smart packaging data benefits all partners in the supply chain. Open communication ensures everyone understands how to handle packaging.

    Final Thoughts

    Smart packaging for the food chain won’t stop evolving anytime soon, but thankfully, it’s already tenable for many suppliers. That said, it can cost a lot if not properly understood. Make sure your business is ready for any major changes to its workflow by focusing on the right technology and training people correctly. By doing so, you help the industry take one more step towards sustainability.

    ]]>     Trees suffocated by concrete are being ‘liberated’ by an army of community activists in Mexico City https://sdgtalks.ai/trees-suffocated-by-concrete-are-being-liberated-by-an-army-of-community-activists-in-mexico-city https://sdgtalks.ai/trees-suffocated-by-concrete-are-being-liberated-by-an-army-of-community-activists-in-mexico-city Thu, 28 Nov 2024 06:08:01 -0500 Micaiah Will These vigilante citizens are making up for government inaction by ‘liberating’ trees with sledgehammers.

    Scooting on his electric skateboard through a southern Mexico City neighbourhood, Arturo Hernández spots a likely target for his next action and uploads a photo to social media calling his followers to help.

    A couple of days later, he and several of them are swinging sledgehammers at a thick layer of concrete suffocating the roots of an ash tree when a pair of police officers arrive and ask to see a permit.

    “We do not need permits to liberate the tree,” Hernández tells one of the officers with a grin. "It’s as if you asked me to have a permit to pick up trash from the street.”

    The officer responds with his own smile, turns to his partner and they walk away. The hammering resumes.

    What is Mexico City's Tree Army?

    Hernández, a community activist who developed a following over years of tackling the city's problems in humorous online posts, launched The Tree Army in May in response to growing complaints from his followers about vandalised trees in their neighbourhoods.

    Its mission is to protect and improve Mexico City's urban forest, whether it's chipping away at unauthorised concrete, confronting illegal cutting or planting trees in areas of need.

    “I always tell people, if we can’t take care of the tree in front of our home, how can we expect to save a place like the Amazon?” Hernández said.

    Trees are essential assets in cities, where they provide cooling shade, reduce pollution and contribute to green space. They take up water, helping to prevent flooding at a time when climate change is leading to more intense rainfall events.

    All this is especially welcome in Mexico City, which has dealt with flooding in recent weeks and which suffers from severe air pollution in a metropolitan area that sprawls to some 22 million people.

    Supporters follow The Tree Army on social media

    Launching The Tree Army was a natural move for Hernández, who a decade ago founded Los Supercivicos, a social media-based campaign that takes on community issues through humour and satire.

    Los Supercivicos videos have featured him taunting cars obstructing bike lanes, performing skits on the subway to promote voter participation and returning garbage to people who litter, for example.

    Hernández said he drew more than 100,000 views for each of his first few Tree Army videos.

    The 'army' itself is small - an informal core group of five or six people, ranging from environmental activists to arborists to residents - but Hernández is always quick to recruit bystanders to swing a sledgehammer or otherwise help. He has a GoFundMe page to raise money for the work.

    Tackling tree vandalism in Mexico City

    He said he's responded to about a dozen cases of tree vandalism since starting the group, and now fields more than 15 messages a day from people reporting vandalised trees throughout the city.

    Common complaints include businesses cutting down trees to improve their visibility, people incorrectly trimming trees and people pouring concrete over the soil at a tree's base, perhaps to add parking or to avoid maintenance headaches like picking up after dogs or clearing out litter.

    Hernández said the ash tree he and his followers were trying to free was suffering from concrete that a nearby food preparation business poured on its roots to add parking area for delivery motorcycles. Workers at the business declined to comment to an Associated Press journalist.

    After 20 minutes of intense hammering, the roots of the tree began to appear through the broken concrete. A neighbourhood resident brought water for the workers, who sipped, then wiped their foreheads and resumed hammering. Some people walking past took an interest in the action and began to crowd around.

    “Do one of you guys want to take a swing?” Hernández said to the observers. “The people that are most affected by this is you."

    Making up for a lack of urban forest management

    Not everyone supports The Tree Army's work. Hernández said he has been chased and threatened. He said he always approaches a negative encounter with humour and views it as an opportunity to educate those opposing their work.

    “We are called The Tree Army because sometimes these are battles," he said.

    María Toledo Garibaldi, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Ecology (INECOL) and an urban tree expert, praised The Tree Army's work, and said such groups are making up for government inaction.

    “I think it is important that the authorities begin to make clearer and stricter regulations on what can be cut, what can be trimmed, what can be planted, where you can plant it," Garibaldi said. The city should establish an urban forest management plan, she said.

    The city’s Secretariat of the Environment said the city has developed programs to care for trees, but that care along secondary roads depends on the various borough governments.

    When the ash tree was finally free of concrete, The Tree Army carried the rubble to a truck to be carried away, then applauded each other and exchanged hugs in the tree's shade.

    Humberto Cruz, a resident of the neighbourhood, had joined the action after seeing Hernández’s call on social media.

    “I have a son, and I want the best for him. One of the few things I can do is take care of the environment for him. He’s the future and he is going to be able to enjoy this,” Cruz said, pointing to the ash tree.

    ]]>     In despair about Earth’s future? Look for green shoots https://sdgtalks.ai/in-despair-about-earths-future-look-for-green-shoots https://sdgtalks.ai/in-despair-about-earths-future-look-for-green-shoots Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:58:40 -0500 Micaiah Will As species go extinct and a habitable climate teeters, it’s understandable to feel despair.

    Some of the world’s top climate scientists have expressed their mounting hopelessness at the prospect of reaching 3°C by 2100. This hellish scenario, well in excess of the 1.5°C countries agreed to aim for when they signed the 2015 Paris agreement, would indeed spell disaster for much of life on Earth.

    As a lecturer in sustainability, I often hear my anxious students bemoan the impossibility of building a way out of ecological collapse. However, the greatest danger is fatalism, and assuming, as Margaret Thatcher claimed, that “there is no alternative”.

    There is a vast ocean of possibility for transforming the planet. Increasingly, cities are in the vanguard of forging more sustainable worlds.

    Car-free futures

    Since the early 1900s, the car has afforded a sense of freedom for some while infringing on the freedoms of others.

    Cars, particularly SUVs, are a major source of air pollution and CO₂ emissions globally. Motorways and car parking spaces have transformed Earth’s terrain and monopolised public space. For those of us in industrialised societies, it is difficult to imagine life without cars.

    Global sales of electric vehicles are projected to continue rising. Yet even these supposed solutions to an unsustainable transport sector require a lot of space and materials to make and maintain.

    With cities set to host nearly 70% of all people by 2050, space and livability are key concerns. As such, cities across Europe and beyond are beginning to reclaim their streets.

    Between 2019 and 2022, the number of low-emissions zones, areas that regulate the most polluting vehicles in order to improve air quality and help to protect public health, expanded by 40% in European cities. Research suggests that policies to restrict car use such as congestion charges and raised parking fees can further discourage their use. However, providing viable and accessible alternatives is also crucial: as such, many cities are also widening walkways, building bike lanes and making public transport cheaper and easier to access.

    An estimated 80,000 cars used to pass daily through the centre of Pontevedra, a city in north-west Spain. Mayor Miguel Anxo Fernandez Lores instituted a ban on cars in 1999 and removed on-street parking spaces. The city has since drastically reduced air pollution and hasn’t had a vehicular death in over a decade.

    Living cities

    Cement and concrete are widely used to make major infrastructure such as roads, bridges, buildings and dams. The cement industry accounts for up to 9% of global emissions. Moreover, the open-pit quarrying of limestone, a key ingredient in cement, involves removing topsoil and vegetation which rips up ecosystems and biodiversity and increases flooding risks.

    A burgeoning “depaving” movement originated in Portland, Oregon in 2008 and has removed concrete and asphalt from cities including Chicago, London and several cities across Canada, replacing it with plants and soil.

    Depaving is an example of the wider urban rewilding movement which aims to restore natural habitats and expand green spaces in cities for social and ecological wellbeing.

    Multispecies coexistence

    A new report by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has documented an average 73% decline in the abundance of monitored wildlife populations globally since 1970. Despite such unfathomable losses, many cities are being transformed into oases of multispecies life.

    Prized for their fur, beavers were hunted to extinction in the UK by the 16th century. Their water damming activities create homes for other species such as birds and invertebrates and help prevent flooding. Eurasian beavers have been thriving in Sweden, Norway and Germany since their reintroduction in the 1920s and 1960s, respectively.

    In 2022, beavers were designated a protected species in England. In October 2023, London saw its first baby beaver in over 400 years.

    Melbourne has launched a project to create a 18,000 square-metre garden in the city by 2028, with at least 20 local plant species for each square metre. An 8-kilometre long pollinator corridor is also being created to allow wildlife to travel between 200 interconnected gardens and further help local pollinators flourish.

    Living alongside larger predators brings unique challenges. However, as with any functional relationship, respect is key for coexistence. Los Angeles and Mumbai are two major cities that are learning to live alongside mountain lions and leopards. Local officials have launched public education initiatives urging people to, for instance, maintain a safe distance from the animals and not walk alone outside at night. In cases where wildlife conflicts occur, such as between wolves and farmers who have lost livestock, non-lethal methods such as wolf-proof fences and guard dogs have been found to be more effective solutions than culls.

    Environmental justice now

    Cities, particularly in wealthy countries, are only a small part of the story.

    At just over 500 years old, the modern capitalist system, imposed globally through European colonialism, is a relatively recent development. Despite its influence, the visionary author Ursula K. Le Guin reminded us that “any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings”.

    Indigenous peoples numbering 476 million across 90 countries represent thousands of distinct cultures that persist as living proof of the enduring possibilities of radically different ways of living.

    An online database tracks 4,189 environmental justice movements worldwide. From multi-tribe Indigenous Amazonian alliances keeping illegal miners at bay, to countless local communities and activist groups resisting the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure. Over the last few years, these place-based struggles have either stopped, stalled or forced the suspension of at least one-quarter of planned extractive projects.

    These examples demonstrate hope in action, and suggest that the radical changes required to avert climate and ecological breakdown are often a simple question of will and collective resolve.

    Reality, like the future, is never fixed. Whether the world is 2, 3 or 4-degrees warmer by 2100 depends on actions taken today. The terrain ahead will be full of challenges. But, glimmers of a better world are already here.

    ]]>     How our regions can help make Australia’s growing cities more sustainable https://sdgtalks.ai/how-our-regions-can-help-make-australias-growing-cities-more-sustainable https://sdgtalks.ai/how-our-regions-can-help-make-australias-growing-cities-more-sustainable Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:50:20 -0500 Micaiah Will Megacity Regions The way we organise our cities and regions creates problems everywhere. We’re facing difficult and polluting drives to work, a lack of affordable housing, and urban designs that lead to car dependency and are bad for our health.

    For example, poor levels of walkability are associated with higher rates of obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Parks and greenery are associated with better mental and cognitive health.

    Australian cities sprawl. Many suburbs are hard to get to by public transport or cycling and walking.

    Our sprawling cities use a lot of land per person. Their resource use and carbon footprints are massive. They also produce huge amounts of waste.

    To resolve such issues, government planners should think beyond our capital cities. Australia needs to develop strategies that connect these capitals with surrounding regional cities to create “megacity regions”.

    It’s a settlement model that could work better than our big cities do now, making urban growth more sustainable. The emergence of hybrid work, fast internet and high-speed rail favours this form of settlement.

    What are megacity regions?

    A megacity region, according to the OECD, is a network of urban areas linked to a capital city by home-to-work commuting. Megacity regions connect these urban centres more efficiently to make them more sustainable and productive.

    An early example is the Bos-Wash corridor (including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC) in North America that emerged around the mid-20th century. Megacity regions are now common across Europe (for example, Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr region including Dortmund, Essen, Duesseldorf and Cologne, and the Netherlands’ Randstad region including Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht). The Taiheiyō Belt in Japan (including Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka) is one of many Asian examples.

    How ready is Australia for megacity regions?

    The 2019 CSIRO Australian National Outlook explored the question “What will Australia be like economically, socially and environmentally in 2060?” Its modelling showed “stronger regions” created major benefits across transport, health, education, jobs and housing. One scenario involved 16 million people living in regional Australia by 2060, with 10 million in regional cities.

    CSIRO concluded that “investing in the growth of regional satellite cities with strong connectivity to those capitals” creates many opportunities. This growth would benefit the regions while easing pressures on the capitals.

    In recent years, the New South Wales government has developed ideas for Sydney to grow into a Six Cities Region from Newcastle to Wollongong.

    The Committee for Melbourne has called for an Australian East Coast Megaregion to boost economic growth and attract foreign investment.

    In 2023, the Victorian government indicated a statewide strategy, Plan Victoria, would replace Plan Melbourne.

    However, without robust regionalisation policies, Melbourne and Sydney are likely to become sprawling megacities of ten million people or more this century. This will add to the strain on transport, infrastructure and housing.

    What makes change possible?

    Cities and their central business districts are important for their agglomeration effects – the accumulated benefits of concentrated social and economic activity. But this also often leads to social, economic and environmental problems.

    Integrating regional cities into the economic life of their capital cities can reduce some of these problems. It can also produce many benefits, including new and more efficient industries, enhanced communication networks and stronger labour markets.

    Settlement systems have evolved throughout history. Walking cities became rail-oriented cities, which became car-based cities. All these models in their day supported a daily return commute averaging one hour (Marchetti’s constant).

    Our research explores how new technologies and work practices can enable a fourth transition to the megacity region. The drivers of this change include ubiquitous fast internet, hybrid work and high-speed rail.

    Ubiquitous fast internet

    NBN broadband data from 2012 to 2021 showed little difference between Melbourne and Victorian regional cities in the uptake of typical residential internet connections. There was a major difference for higher-speed business connections.

    Major capital cities continue to act as engines of bandwidth-hungry, information economy industries in Australia. They have more high-skilled workers and higher uptake of fast internet.

    Overall, the data reflected that regional cities in Victoria mostly house “population-serving” rather than “producer-services” industries. Fast internet can open up job opportunities, but is not by itself enough to decentralise knowledge industries.

    Hybrid work

    Working both from home and in the office has become established since COVID. Hybrid work improves sustainability, mostly by reducing car use and road congestion.

    Today, only 18% of Australian knowledge workers work “only in the office”.

    Not having to go into work every day means knowledge workers can live further from their workplace. This changes the employment landscape in regional centres. Many information economy jobs can be done in non-metropolitan locations where housing costs less.

    High-speed rail

    Fast rail systems have long been debated in Australia, with various options proposed.

    Victoria introduced “faster” regional rail in 2005-06. The populations of urban centres served by these lines have since grown faster than “off-line” ones.

    The gap in job growth rates between on-line and off-line centres was greater for producer services than people-serving jobs. The latter are tied more closely to demand from local residents.

    Designated growth areas on the outer fringes of Melbourne had much higher population and employment growth rates, indicating that current transport polices have supported urban sprawl. High-speed rail can help urban growth to “leap over” outer suburbs to the regional cities.

    What could high-speed rail lead to? In England, the advent of high-speed rail (speeds of more than 200km/hr) resulted in notably higher population growth in on‑line local area districts compared to off-line. The on-line districts, across the board, experienced a stronger shift towards information and knowledge-based industries than off-line ones. Some even outperformed outer metropolitan London districts.

    Why is this important now?

    Both federal and Victorian governments are preparing strategic plans to guide long-term urban development. Both have issued discussion documents for public feedback.

    These documents are long on planning principles but short on mission-scale programs capable of transformative change. This sort of change is now the focus of long-term planning internationally. Land-use planning of megacity regions needs to feature strongly in Australian urbanisation plans too.

    We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to achieve urban development at a scale and in a form that can transform Australia’s settlement system.

    ]]>     Fight against global hunger set back 15 years, warns UN report https://sdgtalks.ai/fight-against-global-hunger-set-back-15-years-warns-un-report https://sdgtalks.ai/fight-against-global-hunger-set-back-15-years-warns-un-report Wed, 27 Nov 2024 23:08:24 -0500 Micaiah Will Hunger “The bottom line is that we are still far off-track towards the goal of ridding the world of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030,” said Maximo Torero, Chief Economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in reference to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically SDG 2: Zero Hunger.

    Mr. Torero noted that if current trends persist, around 582 million people will still face hunger in 2030, half of them in Africa.

    Despite progress in combating stunting and in promoting breastfeeding, global hunger levels have remained stubbornly static for three consecutive years. 

    Between 713 million and 757 million people were undernourished in 2023, around 152 million more than in 2019, according to the report, a joint publication by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

    Africa, Asia, Latin America in focus

    Regional trends show a stark contrast with hunger continuing to rise in Africa, affecting 20.4 per cent of the population, while remaining stable in Asia at 8.1 per cent. This is a significant concern given that the region houses more than half of those facing hunger worldwide. Latin America has shown some progress with 6.2 per cent of its population facing hunger. However, from 2022 to 2023, hunger increased in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and most African subregions.

    FAO’s Mr. Torero highlighted that Africa faces a unique challenge as it is the only region where hunger has risen owing to all three major drivers: conflict, climate extremes and economic downturns. 

    Of them all, he emphasized that war remains “a major driver” of hunger, exacerbating the food crisis across countries.

    Getting enough food is out of reach

    The report's other key findings include that access to adequate food remains out of reach for billions. In 2023, approximately 2.33 billion people globally were moderately or severely food insecure, almost the same number as during the COVID pandemic. 

    Over 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity, meaning having to go for periods without food. While Latin America has seen some improvement in food security, in Africa, a full 58 per cent of the continent’s people are moderately or severely food insecure.

    The economic reasons for global remain a major issue, too: the report found 2.8 billion people couldn’t afford a healthy diet in 2022. The contrast between high-income and low-income countries is stark, with just 6.3 per cent of people in the former unable to afford a healthy diet, compared to 71.5 per cent in poorer nations. And although Asia, North America and Europe saw improvements, the situation worsened in Africa.

    Coronavirus link to hunger

    COVID-19 remains a significant marker in the fight against global hunger, with the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet by 2022 falling below pre-pandemic levels in upper-middle and higher-income countries.

    On the other hand, in low-income countries by 2022, the number of people unable to buy enough healthy food reached its highest level since 2017. In 2020, 1.68 billion people globally could not afford a healthy diet, with a 59 per cent increase in lower-middle-income countries. Mr. Torero attributed this disparity to "the significant increase of inequalities among countries and regions caused by COVID-19".

    Targets hit – and missed

    Progress in child nutrition has been mixed, the UN report shows.

    Although exclusive breastfeeding rates have increased to 48 per cent, low birthweight levels remain stagnant at around 15 per cent and stunting in children under five decreased to 22.3 per cent - still short of targets.

    There was little movement in combating wasting and anaemia in women, while adult obesity continued to rise, reaching 15.8 per cent in 2022, with projections of more than 1.2 billion obese adults by 2030.

    These numbers show the complexity of malnutrition in all its forms and the need for targeted interventions, the report’s authors maintained, amid a backdrop of persistent food price inflation, conflicts, climate change and economic downturns that is making food insecurity and malnutrition worse globally.

    Digging deep to end hunger

    In line with the theme of this year’s report - “Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity and All Forms of Malnutrition” – its recommendations focus on a comprehensive approach to achieving SDG 2: Zero Hunger. This includes transforming agrifood systems, addressing inequalities and making healthy diets affordable and accessible. 

    The report calls for increased, cost-effective financing and a standardised approach to food security and nutrition.

    Mr. Torero explained: “One of the major recommendations is to come up with a common definition so that we understand what we are financing and the key elements to include in this definition. This will enhance accountability for donors and provide a clearer picture of financial flows.”

    UN agency heads, including FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell, stressed that closing the financing gap is crucial. They emphasized that substantial investment is required to end hunger and malnutrition, framing it as both a future investment and a fundamental obligation.

    Of the 119 low and middle-income countries featured in the report, 63 per cent have limited access to financing. These countries are also affected by multiple factors of food insecurity. Better data coordination, higher risk tolerance and more transparency are key to bridging the financing gap and strengthening global food security efforts, the report maintains.

    “We need to understand that our agri-food systems are under increasing risk and uncertainty due to climate change…donors must adopt greater risk tolerance to activate effective finance,” Mr. Torero said.

    ]]>     Seven of nine planetary boundaries breached, and other nature and climate stories you need to read https://sdgtalks.ai/seven-of-nine-planetary-boundaries-breached-and-other-nature-and-climate-stories-you-need-to-read https://sdgtalks.ai/seven-of-nine-planetary-boundaries-breached-and-other-nature-and-climate-stories-you-need-to-read Wed, 27 Nov 2024 23:00:46 -0500 Micaiah Will Climate Change

    1. Planetary health check shows Earth nearing many critical thresholds

    Scientists have issued a red alert for the health of the planet, in a first-of-its-kind report.

    There are nine key systems and processes that contribute to stable, healthy life on Earth for all organisms, according to the report's authors at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

    At present, six of them have crossed the threshold to a point where they are deemed to not be able to function properly.

    Just three planetary boundaries remain within the "safe operating space": ocean acidification; atmospheric aerosol loading; and stratospheric ozone depletion.

    "The interconnectedness of planetary boundary processes means that addressing
    one issue, such as limiting global warming to 1.5°C, requires tackling all of them collectively."

    —Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

    2. SDIM24: Coverage on Climate and Nature

    Coinciding with the general debate of the 79th UN General Assembly (UNGA) and Climate Week NYC, the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Development Impact Meetings (SDIM) took place last week in New York, from 23-27 September.

    Climate and nature were under the spotlight at this year's meeting, in a critical period where elections, geopolitical tension and economic challenges could slow momentum for climate action. 

    Global decision-makers are set to convene at three COPs this year, focusing on Biodiversity, Climate and Desertification. With this in mind, an expert panel discussed how public- and private-sector stakeholders can overcome current geo-economic tensions and take essential actions to curb carbon emissions, halt biodiversity loss and foster a more inclusive economy. 

    3. News in brief: Other top nature and climate stories this week

    Windfall taxes on fossil fuels, ending harmful subsidies and a wealth tax on billionaires, could enable rich countries to raise five times the amount of money developing nations need in climate finance, a new report shows.

    In California, a new measure will see all plastic bags banned at grocery stores across the state from 2026, The Guardian reports. As an alternative, shoppers will only be offered paper bags.

    The COP28 agreement to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 is "within reach", thanks to favourable economics, ample manufacturing potential and strong policies, according to a new International Energy Agency report.

    The European Central Bank is now issuing fines to banks that do not meet expectations on disclosing and managing climate risk, Reuters reports.

    A recent study reveals that global warming doubled the likelihood of the extreme flooding experienced in Europe throughout September, which affected nearly two million people.

    The UK has appointed Rachel Kyte as its new climate envoy. In this role, she will represent the nation at major global climate talks, leveraging her decades of experience in the field.

    In the summers of 2022 and 2023, the Hebrides saw the highest numbers of minke whales and the lowest numbers of basking sharks for 20 years, new research shows, suggesting a possible association between these two species.

    According to Generation Investment Management's Sustainability Trends Report 2024, which analyzes the state of the world's fight against the climate crisis, "Climate promises are starting to resemble New Year’s resolutions: easy to make, hard to keep". While the report acknowledges progress made in recent years, in the form of global climate agreements and the rise of renewable energy capacity, it stresses the need for greater accountability.

    ]]>     Developing countries face $4 trillion investment gap in SDGs https://sdgtalks.ai/developing-countries-face-4-trillion-investment-gap-in-sdgs https://sdgtalks.ai/developing-countries-face-4-trillion-investment-gap-in-sdgs Wed, 27 Nov 2024 22:41:41 -0500 Micaiah Will According to a new UNCTAD Report, developing countries actually face a staggering $4 trillion gap in sustainable development investments.

    UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said that a “significant increase” in material support for renewable energy in developing countries is “crucial” for the world to reach its climate goals by 2030.

    Poorer countries left behind

    While investment in renewables has nearly tripled since the adoption of the Paris Agreement almost eight years ago, poorer nations have been largely left out.

    Ms. Grynspan said that more than 30 developing countries have not registered a single international investment in utility-size renewable energy generation since the landmark climate change treaty was adopted in 2015.

    According to UNCTAD, the amount of foreign direct investment in clean energy attracted by developing countries in 2022 stood at $544 billion – well below needs.

    Slowdown in SDG financing

    Some good news from the report is that energy companies among the top 100 multinationals have been increasingly turning towards renewables and divesting fossil fuel assets at a rate of about $15 billion per year. 

    However, the report also shows an overall slower pace of investment in renewable energy in 2022, “as international project finance deals declined”.

    In developing countries, the largest gaps in Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs)-related investments were in energy, water and transport infrastructure, UNCTAD said.

    Challenges to foreign direct investment

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) is also on the decline, according to UNCTAD, as global flows fell by 22 per cent in 2022, to $1.3 trillion. In Least Developed Countries, the vast majority of which are in Africa, FDI inflows dropped by as much as 16 per cent.

    UNCTAD’s report says that the slowdown was driven by “overlapping crises”: the war in Ukraine, high food and energy prices and debt pressures. 

    With these factors still in play during 2023, the agency said that it expects “downward pressure on global FDI” to continue this year.

    New ‘compact’ for investment

    The report calls for a series of policies and financing mechanisms to be put in place to help developing countries attract the necessary investments.

    UNCTAD stressed the importance of debt relief for developing economies, to provide them with the fiscal space needed for clean energy spending and to help lower country risk ratings, a prerequisite for attracting private investment.

    The agency also recommended reducing the cost of capital for clean energy investment through partnerships between international investors, the public sector and multilateral financial institutions – a measure that can reduce the spread on borrowing costs for energy investment projects in developing countries by up to 40 per cent.

    ‘The only show in town’

    Ms. Grynspan insisted that investment played a “huge part” in achieving the SDGs.

    She said they were simply “too big to fail”, calling them “the only game in town” which requires collective action and global solidarity.

    ]]>     More Than 1 Billion People Live in Acute Poverty. Half Are Children and Many in Conflict Zones https://sdgtalks.ai/more-than-1-billion-people-live-in-acute-poverty-half-are-children-and-many-in-conflict-zones https://sdgtalks.ai/more-than-1-billion-people-live-in-acute-poverty-half-are-children-and-many-in-conflict-zones Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:10:18 -0500 Micaiah Will

    UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 1 billion people in the world live in acute poverty, over half are children and nearly 40% live in conflict-torn and fragile countries, according to a report released Thursday.

    The report by the U.N. Development Program and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at the University of Oxford also said that more than 83% of poor people live in rural areas — and the same percentage live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

    The U.N. Development Program and Oxford have been publishing the Multidimensional Poverty Index, known as the MPI, since 2010 using 10 indicators including health, education and standard of living. This year’s index included data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people.

    According to the index, 1.1 billion people live in acute poverty, with nearly half in five countries: India with 234 million impoverished people, Pakistan with 93 million, Ethiopia with 86 million, Nigeria with 74 million and Congo with 66 million.

    Over half of the people living in poverty — 584 million — are children under the age of 18, with 317 million in sub-Saharan Africa and 184 million in South Asia, it said. In Afghanistan, where poverty has increased, the proportion of impoverished children is even higher — nearly 59%.

    UNDP and Oxford said this year’s report focused on poverty amid conflict because 2023 saw more conflicts than at any time since World War II and that an all-time high of 117 million people were forced to flee their homes due to conflict, disasters and other factors.

    Pedro Conceição, director of the U.N. Development Program office that produces its annual Human Development Report, said: “By overlaying conflict data with global MPI data for the first time, the report reveals the stark realities of those simultaneously enduring conflict and poverty.”

    “A staggering 455 million people, both multidimensionally poor and living in contexts of conflict, face significantly harsher deprivations — three to five times more severe — when it comes to basic needs like nutrition, water and sanitation, electricity, and education, compared to those in poverty who live in more peaceful settings,” he said in a statement to The Associated Press.

    Sabina Alkire, director of the Oxford initiative, said it’s intuitive that reducing poverty is easier in peaceful settings than for these 455 million people, representing nearly 40% of the 1.1 billion poor.

    “But the sheer proportions of the populations in our study also fearing for their safety is staggering and points to a real need for fostering and investing in peace,” she said in a statement to the AP.

    Alkire said the MPI can show which regions are poorest so anti-poverty efforts can be targeted.

    For example, in Burkina Faso, which is ruled by a military junta and faces increasing attacks by extremists, nearly two-thirds of the population are poor, Alkire said.

    The MPI shows that poverty ranges from 21% to 88% in different regions of the West African nation — and how deprivations in school attendance, nutrition and years of schooling contribute most to poverty, she said.

    This enables anti-poverty investments to be tailored to places in greatest need, “which saves money and augments impact,” Alkire said.

    ]]>     The blue-green sustainable proteins of seaweed may soon be on your plate https://sdgtalks.ai/the-blue-green-sustainable-proteins-of-seaweed-may-soon-be-on-your-plate https://sdgtalks.ai/the-blue-green-sustainable-proteins-of-seaweed-may-soon-be-on-your-plate Mon, 25 Nov 2024 00:46:06 -0500 Micaiah Will The protein in sea lettuce, a type of seaweed, is a promising complement to both meat and other current alternative protein sources. Seaweed also contains many other important nutrients, and is grown without needing to be watered, fertilised or sprayed with insecticides. However, the proteins are often tightly bound, and their full potential has not yet been realised on our plates. But now researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have found a new way to extract these proteins three times more efficiently than before -- and this progress paves the way for seaweed burgers and protein smoothies from the sea.

    "It tastes like umami with a certain salty flavour, despite not containing such high levels of salt. I would say it's a great flavour enhancer for seafood dishes and products, but the possibilities to explore are endless. Why not protein smoothies or 'blue burgers' from the sea?" says João Trigo, PhD in Food Science at Chalmers, about the dark green powder, which is a concentrate of proteins from sea lettuce, scientifically known as Ulva fenestrata. Sea lettuce is a type of macroalgae, commonly called seaweed, which grows on rocks in calm waters, or free-floating on the surface, and resembles ordinary lettuce leaves in appearance.

    The so-called protein shift -- switching from red meat to more sustainable and healthy protein sources -- is a way to reduce the climate impact of food production while providing everyone with a nutritious diet. Many alternative protein sources, mainly based on pea, soy and mushroom, are common in our grocery stores. But all the vegetarian protein that is found under the sea is still an untapped source.

    The CirkAlg-project, led by Chalmers University of Technology, has explored the possibilities of developing processes that can create a new, "blue-green" food industry in Sweden, and make use of seaweed as a promising source of protein. Within the framework of the project, a newly published scientific studyshows a unique way of extracting proteins from sea lettuce, so that it is now possible to extract three times more protein from the seaweed than was possible with previous methods.

    "Our method is an important breakthrough, as it brings us closer to making it more affordable to extract these proteins, something that is done with pea and soy proteins today," says João Trigo.

    Contains several essential nutrients

    In addition to essential proteins, sea lettuce contains several other substances of great nutritional value for humans, such as vitamin B12 and the same kind of omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish, like salmon. People who do not eat animal products are at risk of developing a deficiency of vitamin B12, which is necessary for the body to form red blood cells, among other things. And the cultivation of sea lettuce has several advantages compared to land-growing proteins -- such as the fact that the seaweed does not need to be watered, fertilised or sprayed with insecticides. Sea lettuce is also hardy and grows well under many different conditions, such as different salinity and access to nitrogen.

    "Humanity will need to find and combine the intake of many more diversified protein sources than we have available in our diet today, to meet sustainability and nutritional requirements. Algae is a good addition to many of the products already on the market. We need all these solutions and so far, the sea-based possibilities, the so-called blue proteins, have been overlooked," says Ingrid Undeland, Professor of Food Science at Chalmers and coordinator of CirkAlg.

    In addition to the newly published extraction method, the Chalmers researchers are working together with the University of Gothenburg to increase the actual protein content in the seaweed. By cultivating sea lettuce in process water from the seafood industry, the protein content can be increased significantly, while nutrients that would otherwise be lost are circulated back into the food chain. At Tjärnö Marine Laboratory (part of the University of Gothenburg) in northern Bohuslän in Sweden, a large number of successful cultivation experiments have been carried out within the CirkAlg-project, based on industrial water side currents.

    "In the future, we also want to be able to make use of the parts of the algae that are not proteins, and that could be used in food, materials or for medical applications. The goal is that no molecules should go to waste, to achieve both sustainability and commercial opportunities," says Ingrid Undeland.

    More about the extraction method

    In addition to proteins that are water-soluble, sea lettuce also contains plenty of fat-soluble so-called membrane proteins. This means that the seaweed proteins are more complex to extract than, for example, soy and pea protein. In a first-step of the new process, the cell membranes of the sea lettuce are opened up in order to access the fat-soluble proteins. The different types of proteins are then extracted with water adjusted to a high pH, and in the next step, by making the solution acidic, the proteins are precipitated into aggregates that could then be separated from the water and utilised as a protein-rich ingredient. It was also seen that the marine omega-3 fatty acids were enriched in the protein ingredient, and a follow-up study confirmed that the same was true for vitamin B12. The new algae protein ingredient can thus help meet a wider range of nutritional needs compared to soy protein.

    ]]>     Progress on basic energy access reverses for first time in a decade https://sdgtalks.ai/progress-on-basic-energy-access-reverses-for-first-time-in-a-decade https://sdgtalks.ai/progress-on-basic-energy-access-reverses-for-first-time-in-a-decade Sun, 24 Nov 2024 01:23:06 -0500 Micaiah Will A new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), released today, finds that the world remains off course to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for energy by 2030.

    SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. The goal includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historic levels of efficiency improvements, and substantially increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix. Attaining this goal will have a deep impact on people’s health and well-being, helping to protect them from environmental and social risks such as air pollution, and expanding access to primary health care and services.

    The 2024 edition of Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report warns that current efforts are not enough to achieve the SDG 7 on time. There has been some progress on specific elements of the SDG 7 agenda – for example, the increased rate of renewables deployment in the power sector – but progress is insufficient to reach the targets set forth in the SDGs.

    The latest report confirms that the number of people without access to electricity increased for the first time in over a decade, as population grew—mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa—at a higher rate than that of new electricity connections, leaving 685 million people without electricity in 2022, 10 million more than in 2021. A combination of factors contributed to this including the global energy crisis, inflation, growing debt distress in many low-income countries, and increased geopolitical tensions. However, promising trends in the rollout of decentralised energy solutions, largely based on renewable energy, are helping accelerate progress, particularly in rural areas where eight in ten people without access live today.

    Meanwhile, 2.1 billion people still live without access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, with the number remaining largely flat last year. This carries with it huge implications for health, gender equality, and the environment, contributing to 3.2 million premature deaths each year. Renewed political momentum within the context of G7, G20, and new financial commitments made at the Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa are buoying prospects for stronger progress later this decade. Still, efforts remain insufficient to reach universal access to electricity or clean cooking by 2030.

    Other parts of the SDG 7 agenda have fared better recently. Renewable energy has seen robust growth over the past two years, and energy efficiency improvements is gradually improving after a drop-off during the pandemic, albeit still not enough to meet the SDG 7 target. New global targets pledged by over 130 countries in the UAE Consensus reinforce the objectives of SDG 7 by aiming to triple renewable generating capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency. Immediate concrete actions are required to fulfil these targets, especially in addressing the large disparity in clean energy investment, of which 80% remains concentrated in just 25 countries in 2022.

    Key findings of the report:

    • 2022 saw a reversal in progress, with the number of people living without electricity growing for the first time in over a decade. Today, 685 million people live without access – 10 million more than in 2021. In 2022, 570 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are living without electricity, accounting for more than 80% of the global population without access. The access deficit in the region has seen an uptick relative to 2010 levels.
    • The world remains off track to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2030. Up to 2.1 billion people still use polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, largely in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The traditional use of biomass also means households spend up to 40 hours a week gathering firewood and cooking, which makes it difficult for women to pursue employment or participate in local decision-making bodies and for children to go to school.
    • Household air pollution created by using polluting fuels and technologies for cooking results in 3.2 million premature deaths each year.
    • Renewable electricity consumption grew more than 6% year-on-year in 2021, bringing the share of renewables in global electricity consumption to 28.2%.
    • Installed renewable energy-generating capacity per capita reached a new record in 2022 at 424 watts per capita globally. However considerable disparities exist. Developed countries (at 1,073 watts per capita) have 3.7 times more capacity installed than developing countries (at 293 watts per capita).
    • The rate of energy intensity improvement saw a slight advance of 0.8% in 2021 compared with 0.6% a year earlier. However, this remains well below the long-term average. The slow progress in 2021 occurred amidst the robust economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the largest annual rise in energy consumption in 50 years. Average annual improvements through 2030 must now accelerate to over 3.8 percent to meet the SDG 7.3 target.
    • International public financial flows in support of clean energy in developing countries rebounded in 2022, to USD 15.4 billion, a 25% increase over 2021. However, it is still around half of the 2016 peak of USD 28.5 billion.
    • By 2030, under current policies there are still 660 million people lacking electricity access and around 1.8 billion without access to clean cooking technologies and fuels. Progress in energy efficiency rates also lags, reaching just 2.3%, well below the level needed to reach the SDG 7 target.

    The report will be presented to top decision-makers at a special launch event on 15 July at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, which oversees progress on the SDGs. The authors urge the international community to refocus efforts on providing the required financial, technological and policy support to close the access deficit and ensure that all countries and communities can benefit from accelerated renewable energy deployment and improved energy efficiency.  

    Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency: “To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7, we will need much more investment in emerging and developing economies to expand access to electricity and to clean cooking technologies and fuels. Today, only a fraction of total energy investment is going to the countries where the problems of electricity access and clean cooking are critical, not least in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to climate and environmental benefits, addressing these challenges will bring a range of societal and economic advantages, linked to gender equality, health, education and employment. Our recent Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa mobilised USD 2.2 billion, building momentum for further progress”

    Francesco La Camera, Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency: “Year after year, renewables prove to be a leading player in increasing energy and electricity access through steady expansion of renewable power capacity. But distribution disparity remains stark, as reflected in the international public financial flows in support of clean energy. The rebound in the flows does indicate a positive signal, but it is nowhere near the needed amount to achieve SDG7. This should serve as a strong reminder that not only we are racing against time to reach the goal, but we also still fail the most underserved in the world. There must be a strong sense of urgency from the international community to accelerate investments in renewables infrastructures and sustainable technologies, with a focus on the least developed and developing economies.”

    Stefan Schweinfest, Director, United Nations Statistics Division: “Sustainable Development Goal 7 has been a guiding star in the mobilization of efforts to provide affordable and clean energy to more and more people, while current trends make the SDG 7 targets seem elusive. Access to electricity and to clean cooking has advanced since 2015, but now it seems most low-hanging fruits have been picked. Deployment of renewable electricity is on a growing trend, whereas other kinds of renewable are lagging, and energy efficiency improvements seem to have reached a bottleneck. Time is running short and more focused policies and investment are fundamental to ensure the provision of sustainable energy for all by 2030.”

    Guangzhe Chen, Vice President for Infrastructure, World Bank: “Electricity access is essential for development, and we need to work extra hard for the 685 million people deprived of this resource – 10 million more than the year before. There are solutions to reverse this negative trend, including accelerating the deployment of solar mini grids and solar home systems. The World Bank is actively working to support this acceleration, and jointly with the African Development Bank we have committed to providing electricity to an additional 300 million people by 2030.”

    Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization: “Air pollution and energy poverty are claiming lives, inflicting suffering and hindering development. Transitioning more rapidly to clean energy and cooking technologies is essential for protecting the health of the 2.1 billion people without access, and the health of the planet on which all life depends.”

    ]]>     Environmental Benefits of Public Transit https://sdgtalks.ai/environmental-benefits-of-public-transit https://sdgtalks.ai/environmental-benefits-of-public-transit Thu, 21 Nov 2024 22:49:05 -0500 Micaiah Will Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and CO2 with public transit

    Approximately 85 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector are related to the surface transportation system.

    Public transportation use is one of the most effective actions individuals can take to conserve energy. Riding public transportation far exceeds the benefits of other energy-saving household activities, such as using energy-efficient light bulbs, adjusting thermostats, or using energy-efficient appliances.

    A single person who switches from a 20-mile commuting alone by car to existing public transportation, can reduce their annual CO2 emissions by 20 pounds per day, or more than 48,000 pounds in a year. That is equal to 10% reduction in all greenhouse gases produced by a typical two-adult, two-car household.

    By eliminating one car and taking public transportation instead of driving, a saving of 30% of carbon dioxide emissions can be realized.

    U.S. public transportation saves 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to the emissions resulting from the electricity generated for the use of 4.9 million households or every household in Washington DC; New York City; Atlanta; Denver; and Los Angeles combined.

    Public transportation in Kansas City

    Locally, RideKC buses have used the equivalent of 1,000,000 diesel gallon equivalents (DGEs) of compressed natural gas (CNG) since starting to use the fuel in August 2014.

    The move from diesel to CNG fuel is creating cost savings and environmental benefits. By reaching the milestone of 1,000,000 DGEs of CNG, KCATA reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 1,870 metric tons. This is the equivalent of taking 395 passenger cars off the road for one year.

    Reducing fuel dependency

    Public transportation use saves the U.S. the equivalent of 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline annually — and more than 11 million gallons of gasoline per day.

    Public transportation use saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer automobile fill- ups every day.

    Public transit use saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer automobile fill-ups every day

    Reducing congestion

    Public transportation has a proven record of reducing congestion.

    The latest research shows that in 2011, U.S. public transportation use saved 865 million hours in travel time.

    Without public transportation, congestion costs in 2011 would have risen by nearly $21 billion from $121 billion to $142 billion in 498 urban areas.

    ]]>     Are we really ready to tackle the climate crisis? Yes, here are 6 reasons how https://sdgtalks.ai/Are-we-really-ready-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis-Yes%2C-here-are-6-reasons-how https://sdgtalks.ai/Are-we-really-ready-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis-Yes%2C-here-are-6-reasons-how Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:53:57 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian, Doctors, Health, Education, Gender Since the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, global momentum to tackle the climate crisis has been building. Progress has been made on almost every front, from bold corporate emissions-reduction targets and investors shifting a

    From wildfires in Australia and the western United States to this year’s record-breaking hurricane season, communities around the world continue to face devastating extreme weather events, many exacerbated by the climate crisis. A lot of work lies ahead of us.

    The coronavirus pandemic, while first and foremost a health, employment, and economic crisis, will also impact efforts to advance climate action. On the one hand, most leaders are not focused on climate action these days, and the COP26 climate summit originally scheduled for November 2020 in Glasgow was postponed until next year. On the other hand, this health crisis shows that countries can respond rapidly to a global emergency.

    Here are six ways the world has shown it’s ready for more ambitious climate action since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015:

    1. Over 1,000 big companies pledged major emissions reductions

    Private sector leaders increasingly recognize that transitioning our high-carbon economy to one built on low-carbon activities is not only essential to limit dangerous climate change crises; it’s also good for companies’ bottom lines.

    Under the Science Based Targets initiative, over 1,000 companies have committed to set emissions reduction targets based on the science, and more than 340 have committed to set net-zero targets across their operations and value chains. The net-zero targets align with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F).

    Collectively, these high-ambition companies — including many globally recognized brands, from Chanel to Nestlé — represent $3.6 trillion and have an annual carbon footprint larger than the annual emissions of France.

    Companies’ approaches to cutting their emissions vary. For example, 270 are committed to transitioning to 100% renewable energy. This includes Nike, which already powers all its North American facilities through renewables. The Consumer Goods Forum recently launched an initiative leading major brands, retailers and manufacturers in an effort to eliminate deforestation and forest degradation from supply chains of commodities including soy, palm oil and paper. Ninety-two companies — including Air New Zealand, Baidu and HP — have joined EV100, a worldwide initiative seeking to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles by 2030. And IKEA and H&M — companies known globally for the affordability of their products — are exploring ways they could profit from repairing and reselling products in a circular economy.

    Many of these companies are leaders within their sectors and are setting a new standard for what corporate climate action should look like. Microsoft, one of the world’s largest companies, will shrink its carbon footprint and invest in carbon removal solutions to become carbon negative by 2030.

    2. Major cities are improving urban life while building climate resilience

    Major cities are improving urban life while building climate resilience
    Major cities are improving urban life while building climate crisis resilience.  Image: Open Street Map

    For the interactive chart visit: https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/12/paris-agreement-progress-climate-action

    More than half the world’s population lives in cities, and the U.N. predicts that percentage to grow to two-thirds of humanity by 2050. As a result, how cities act now against climate crisis will directly affect the lives of billions.

    Worldwide, around 400 cities have committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and more than 10,500 have joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. In the United States, cities are a major player in America’s Pledge, a coalition of cities, states and businesses committed to fulfilling the Paris Climate Agreement’s target despite the Trump administration’s withdrawal. Together, these entities account for almost 70% of the U.S. economy. If they were a country, their economy would be larger than China’s and second only to the full United States.

    Many individual cities worldwide are also taking commendable action to reduce emissions and create better lives for their residents. In Medellín, Colombia, the installation of an aerial tram system called Metrocableis linking low-income hillside communities with the center of the city and thus boosting access by residents to jobs, education and other services. The mayor of Paris made her plan for a “15-minute city,” where residents can meet all their needs within 15 minutes of traveling from home, a cornerstone of her re-election campaign. And in China, the city of Shenzhen more than tripled its number of electric buses since 2015, making it the first city in the world to electrify 100% of its bus fleet.

    Others are focused on adapting to a changing climate. In the northern Indian city of Gorakhpur, city officials are encouraging a range of tactics — from reducing monoculture to protecting water bodies — to reduce flooding and boost resilience as monsoons get stronger and more unpredictable. To help all cities reduce emissions and weather climate impacts, WRI and C40 have created a roadmap for equitable city climate action that will include and benefit all residents without leading to unintended burdens on poor and otherwise vulnerable communities.

    3. Financial institutions recognize that funding fossil fuels is a bad investment

    To shift onto a more sustainable path, the world’s leading public and private financial institutions need to not only invest more in the new clean alternatives, but also stop investing in the old polluting technologies. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, governments are providing unprecedented levels of investment to reflate economies and generate jobs. As they do so, there is strong evidence that these investments should be targeted to projects that are low carbon and climate resilient.

    South Korea provides a good example; after the 2008-09 economic crisis, the country invested more in green stimulus measures than any other OECD country — and was one of the countries that rebounded the quickest. As a recent WRI paper revealed, the countries that invested in green measures after the Great Recession can show what worked, what didn’t and how to apply these lessons to green COVID-19 recovery.

    So far, the European Union is leading the pack when it comes to investing in green recovery. About 30% of its €750 billion ($891 billion) EU-wide stimulus plan and its €1.1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) 2021-2027 budget will be dedicated to climate-friendly investments. The European Investment Bank (EIB) aims to align its strategy with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees C goal by the end of 2020 and plans to stop funding oil, gas and coal projects at the end of 2021 — both pioneering moves for multilateral development banks. In addition, the bank’s new “climate roadmap” promises to invest €1 trillion ($1.2 trillion) in climate and other green actions by 2030.

    Meanwhile, more than 130 private banks — representing one-third of the global banking sector — signed onto the Principles for Responsible Banking. This framework that seeks to align banking practices with the Paris Agreement.

    Through the United Nations-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, 33 major institutional investors with $5.1 trillion in assets committed to net-zero investment portfolios by 2050. In January 2020, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm which alone manages $7 trillion, announced that it was shifting its financial strategy to center around climate change progress. With this move, it joined more than 370 other investors in an initiative called Climate Action 100+, whose members are engaging companies that produce two-thirds of global industrial emissions.

    4. Technological advances make renewable energy and other solutions more attainable

    Renewable energy is increasingly cost-competitive with coal. Between 2010 and 2019, solar energy prices dropped 90%. In sunny regions around the world, it’s already cheaper to get electricity from solar than fossil fuels. Similarly, the cost of wind energy has declined significantly in recent years and is cheaper than natural gas in some regions, including parts of the United States.

    As prices drop and the adoption of renewable energy expands, so does the industry behind it. In the United States, clean energy already employs almost 3.3 million Americans, more than fossil fuel generation.

    The last few years have also seen further signs of technological progress toward tipping points for a zero-carbon future. Electric vehicle technology improved so quickly that an increasing number of major automakers, including Toyota and Daimler, are planning to stop making internal combustion engines.

    Iron and steelmakers, which have struggled to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, are now exploring using hydrogen as a clean fuel to replace carbon within their industrial processes. Knowledge about the opportunities to sequester carbon in trees and soil, as well as how to sequester carbon industrially, is also advancing rapidly.

    5. Expanding social movements reflect the public’s growing demand for climate change action

    In 2019, Greta Thunberg and other young climate activists exploded onto the global stage with their weekly school strikes, known as Fridays for Future, protesting the lack of climate action by world leaders. Bolstered by other youth-fueled activist groups — including the Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion — more than 7 million people across 185 countries joined the world’s largest climate strike in history in September 2019 to demand stronger governmental action. And during the 2020 protests for racial justice in the United States and around the world, participants frequently spoke out about the disproportionate threats that climate change and other environmental hazards pose for communities of color and other vulnerable groups.

    But activists aren’t the only ones who want climate action. According to a September 2019 poll taken in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Brazil, France and Poland, climate change ranks ahead of migration and terrorism as the most important issue facing the world. In a separate U.S. poll conducted in April 2020, two in three Americans are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming; the majority of both Republicans and Democrats support the United States’ participation in the Paris Climate Agreement.

    6. Country-level action against climate crisis is starting to accelerate

    way from coal to a surge of support for net-zero targets and a rising movement of youth activists from Uganda to India, culminating in Greta Thunberg being recognized as Time Magazine’s 2019 “Person of the Year.”

    At the same time, the progress on climate action has not been anywhere near fast enough.

    The climate movement faced plenty of troubling headwinds over this period. President Donald Trump officially withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement in November 2020 — the only country to do so — although President-elect Joe Biden has promised to rejoin on his first day in office in January 2021.

    While the coronavirus pandemic led to a historic drop in global emissions this year, this drop will be a blip in the ongoing trend of ever-climbing GHG emissions unless backed up by changes in policy and business practices. Last year was the second-hottest on record globally, and 2020 is on track to be the warmest year ever.

    Business executives, city mayors, investment bankers, technological innovators and young people everywhere have spoken: They want greater global action on climate change progress. Now countries need to step up.

    Twenty-five countries and the EU are currently working toward some sort of net-zero commitment (in many cases by 2050, though some countries such as Denmark and Finland have earlier deadlines). This year several Asian economic powers made net-zero commitments, including South Korea and Japan (by 2050) and China — the world’s largest emitter — by 2060.

    However, all these goals are purely aspirational if they are not reflected in ambitious actions that countries begin to take now, Including their economic recovery plans from COVID-19 and the 2030 national climate plans countries are slated to update under the Paris Agreement this year. So far, 15 have already done so, and 130 others have promised to follow suit. Ensuring that they follow through by COP26 will be critical to get global climate action on track.

    Achieving a net-zero future

    Slashing greenhouse gas emissions can’t be done overnight; countries should use their short-term climate plans as steppingstones that can help them reach a net-zero future. As countries around the world now start to consider how to approach their economic recovery following the coronavirus crisis, they can use this turning point to accelerate investments in a low-carbon, inclusive and resilient economy to build back a better future for all.

    ]]>     Projects that Made Cities Greener https://sdgtalks.ai/Projects-that-Made-Cities-Greener https://sdgtalks.ai/Projects-that-Made-Cities-Greener Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:50:56 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian, Doctors, Health, Education, Gender Has 2021 been a great year for the planet? Well, almost certainly not – and that’s putting it lightly. The climate crisis is worsening and governments around the world are continuing to dither and delay. Despite another year of stern warnings and worrying predictions, we’re all severely and irreversibly damaging the planet.

    But things aren’t all bad. There are still plenty of reasons to be cheerful – or if not exactly cheerful, to be not that miserable. Cities are still innovating and doing their best to embark on green initiatives. And all around the world, people, businesses and local governments have found ways to do their bit to be more sustainable.

    From mass reforestation projects and sustainable department stores to cooperative housing and revolutionary urban planning, cities are transforming their citizens’ way of life. Indeed, the bright side of the current crisis isn’t just bright: it’s blindingly promising. There are obviously plenty of people around the world who want to create real change, and they definitely deserve a bit of recognition.

    As part of this year’s Time Out Love Local Awards, we asked you to name the best green city projects that you heard about in 2021. Here are all the award winners, along with a handful of other standout works that cropped up across the globe this year.

    Amazing projects that made cities around the world greener in 2021

    1. London’s Restart Project teaches us how to reduce waste

    London’s Restart Project teaches us how to reduce waste
    Photograph: Mark Sepple

    Reducing waste from electronic devices requires a pretty niche skillset, but the Restart Project is trying to rectify that – one community event at a time. It is helping Londoners learn more about sustainable electronics and how to reduce consumption of everything from smartphones and tablets to toasters and vacuum cleaners. This year, the Project went further and launched Materials Matter, an educational site that aims to help children across the UK understand the environmental impact of a smartphone.

    2. Making NYC’s gardens greener with the Restoration Project

    Making NYC’s gardens greener with the Restoration Project
    Photograph: The New York Restoration Project
    The New York Restoration Project, founded founded by actress/singer/icon Bette Midler, has been working on regreening NYC for almost a quarter of a century, but in 2021 the team’s programmes really caught our eye. The Jefferson Houses in East Harlem, Cauldwell Youth Garden in the South Bronx and Hill Street Community Garden in Staten Island were just a few of the places spruced up by the NYRP’s trellises, terraces, shrubs, raised beds, composts and rainwater harvesting systems. 

    3. Superblocks are transforming the city streets in Barcelona

    Superblocks are transforming the city streets in Barcelona
    Photograph: Shutterstock

    Barcelona’s glorious superilles continue to swallow up greater areas of the city, greenifying and pedestrianising as they go. In 2021, the Catalan capital completed the transformation of streets in Sant Martí, extending the overall superblock area by more than 14,000 square kilometres, and started work on the streets of Rector Triadó and Torre d’en Damians. One of the twenty-first century’s most ambitious urban-planning projects grows more impressive by the year.

    4. The pioneering cooling measures in Tokyo

    The pioneering cooling measures in Tokyo
    Photograph: Hirohito Takada / Shutterstock.com

    Keeping cities naturally cool reduces the need for air conditioning and so lowers energy consumption. In the lead-up to the 2021 Olympics, Tokyo needed to find ways to make its sweltering, 40C summer more bearable. The result was an ingenious array of cooling tech, from wooden architecture (like the cedar National Stadium) to solar paint (on running surfaces and roads) and water spray systems.

    5. Milan’s 35km of new cycle lanes

    Milan’s 35km of new cycle lanes
    Photograph: Alessandro Perazzoli / Shutterstock.com

    Milan’s been investing a lot in green initiatives over the past few years, but 2021 saw the rise and rise of the city’s cycle lanes. After being announced in 2020, the Strade Aperte (Open Roads) project has built more than 35km of new bike paths, stretching all the way to the outskirts and totally transforming central streets like the Corso Buenos Aires. As such a flat and compact city, Milan could one day be a cyclist’s paradise – and that potential is starting to be fully realised.

    6. The foodie revolution of Écotable in Paris

    The foodie revolution of Écotable in Paris
    Photograph: MIKA COTELLON

    Écotable doesn’t just point the general public towards eco-friendly restaurants (although that’s useful enough on its own) – it also trains and supports establishments that are involved in sustainable catering. But in 2021 it succeeded in something else: the Écotable Community (La Communauté Écotable) rallied to support those in need. From March through June, it mobilised a network of 24 restaurants throughout Paris to provide more than 12,000 meals to students with food insecurity. Santé!

    7. Sustainable building tech at the Sara Cultural Centre in Sweden

    Sustainable building tech at the Sara Cultural Centre in Sweden
    Photograph: Jonas Westling

    What’s a better way to beat back misconceptions that wood is a poor building material than to build an enormous, gorgeous skyscraper out of it? At 75 metres and 20 storeys tall, the Sara Cultural Centre in Skellefteå, Sweden, shows that reinforced timber can be the sustainable building material of the future. The ‘plyscraper’ opened its doors to the public in September, but it’s just the latest in a long line of green projects in Skellefteå, a town that is already full of wooden buildings and soon aims to be 100 percent powered by renewable electricity.

    8. The cooking bags changing lives in Durban

    The cooking bags changing lives in Durban
    Photograph: Wonderbag

    Durban’s Wonderbags are essentially big slow-cookers made out of cloth. Not only are they great for the environment – limiting fuel consumption, pollution and water usage – but they also help families save money and reduce the amount of time women have to spend doing dangerous things like collecting fuel alone (that in itself is a sobering thought, we know). Throughout 2021, a year of power cuts and social unrest in the third-biggest city in South Africa, Wonderbags really came into their own.

    9. Design beauty plus wind tech at Rotterdam’s Flower Turbines

    Design beauty plus wind tech at Rotterdam’s Flower Turbines
    Photograph: Flower Turbines

    Pledging to make wind turbines that ‘you want to live and work next to’, Flower Turbines are small, quiet and, if we’re being honest, strikingly beautiful works of design. Throughout 2021 they’ve been popping up all over Rotterdam, from the Kleinpolderplein transport hub to a Roodhart warehouse in the city’s harbour district. Tulip-shaped and often fitted with solar panel ‘leaves’, they’re perfect examples of how cities can combine environmental tech with stunning design.

    10. In Reykjavik, the Orca consumes carbon by the tonne

    In Reykjavik, the Orca consumes carbon by the tonne
    Photographs: Climeworks

    Just half an hour’s drive from Reykjavik lies the Transformer-like Orca, the world’s largest climate-positive direct air capture plant. Made by Climeworks, it was turned on in September and, put simply, it absorbs carbon – 4,000 tonnes of it – from the air every year. While that might not seem like much (in the grand scheme of things, we’d need 10 million of these things to absorb as much carbon as we currently pollute), it’s the most exciting hint yet that, one day, carbon-capture technology might find a solution to global warming. 

    11. We Park’s community spaces are changing Bangkok

    We Park’s community spaces are changing Bangkok
    Photograph: Nontawat Sutthikorn / Time Out Bangkok

    We Park takes Bangkok’s abandoned and idle urban spaces and rejuvenates them into delightful community parks. The first of those parks opened in September in Wat Hua Lamphong and features not just lush greenery but exercise machines, benches and a colourful children’s playground. There’s due to be four pilot We Parks throughout Bangkok and hopefully many, many more in the years to come.  

    12. Tower block = green haven at Ørsted Gardens in Copenhagen

    Tower block = green haven at Ørsted Gardens in Copenhagen
    Photograph: Hampus Berndtson / Tegnestuen LOKAL

    How do you turn a harsh, tired and frankly dull building into a glorious environmental statement? It’s simple, really. You add plants – lots of them. Danish architecture studio Tegnestuen LOKAL saw a tower block in Copenhagen and thought: this has the potential to be transformed into a green residential haven. They added a façade of shared balconies, complete with trellises of plants, huge windows, wooden decking and flower beds. The result was Ørsted Gardens, a marvellous work of upcycling.

    13. The Green Pea eco shopping centre is transforming Turin

    The Green Pea eco shopping centre is transforming Turin
    Photograph: Green Pea

    While most of us are lucky to find an eco-friendly aisle in a supermarket, Turin has an entire shopping centre dedicated to green goods and services. Since opening at the very end of last year, Green Pea has quickly established itself as the mall of a sustainable future. All of the retail park’s five floors and 60-plus shops are focused on reusable, recyclable, locally-sourced goods. One day, we might all be lucky enough to have a Green Pea on our doorstep.

    ]]>     The Clean Energy Economy is Gaining Ground https://sdgtalks.ai/The-Clean-Energy-Economy-is-Gaining-Ground https://sdgtalks.ai/The-Clean-Energy-Economy-is-Gaining-Ground Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:47:43 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian, Doctors, Health, Education, Gender

    IEA’s Tracking Clean Energy Progress update finds only EVs and lighting advancing quickly enough in 2021 – but positive signs are growing in renewables, heat pumps and elsewhere

    Despite encouraging signs of progress across a number of sectors, stronger efforts are needed to bring the world on track to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, according to the IEA’s latest appraisal of global progress on clean energy technologies.

    The annual Tracking Clean Energy Progress (TCEP) update assesses 55 components of the energy system – sectors, technologies, infrastructures and cross-cutting CO2 mitigation strategies – and evaluates their progress in 2021 towards reaching key medium-term milestones by the end of this decade that are set out in the IEA’s pathway to Net Zero Emissions by 2050. The TCEP analysis is available as a comprehensive online resource on the IEA’s website.

    Recent technology developments and policy actions suggest momentum is accelerating in some important regions and sectors. Initial estimates point to 2022 being a record year for renewable electricity capacity additions, with an increase of about 340 gigawatts, roughly equal to the entire installed power capacity of Japan. China accounts for about half of those additions. This year is also expected to see another all-time high for electric vehicle sales, lifting them to 13% of total light duty vehicle sales globally. The pipelines for both hydrogen projects and carbon capture and storage facilities continue to expand, and last year saw record sales of heat pumps. A pilot project last year used hydrogen to produce fully fossil-free steel, and the first commercial production of sodium-ion batteries without lithium is set to start next year.   

    “There are more signs than ever that the new global energy economy is advancing strongly,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “This reaffirms my belief that today’s global energy crisis can be a turning point towards a cleaner, more affordable and more secure energy system. But this new IEA analysis shows the need for greater and sustained efforts across a range of technologies and sectors to ensure the world can meet its energy and climate goals.” 

    On the policy front, the United States’ historic Inflation Reduction Act – enacted in August – provides USD 370 billion in energy security and climate change investments, giving a boost to a huge array of clean energy technologies, from solar, wind and electric vehicles to carbon capture and hydrogen. Meanwhile, with its REPowerEU plan, the European Union is raising its renewables and energy efficiency targets and putting significant resources behind achieving them.

    Governments are also spending more on clean energy research and development, which could reach USD 35 billion in 2022, while venture capital investments in clean energy start-ups reached an all-time high in 2021. Governments are supporting major R&D and demonstration projects through measures such as the US Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the EU Innovation Fund, Japan’s Green Innovation Fund and China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, with an increasing focus on heavy industry, hydrogen, and carbon capture.

    Despite these positive signs, this year’s TCEP, which evaluates the state-of-play in 2021, found that only two components – electric vehicles and lighting – were fully on track for their 2030 milestones in the IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 Scenario, the same two as the previous year. EV sales doubled worldwide last year to account for almost 9% of the car market, while over 50% of the global lighting market now uses LED technology. Of the remaining tracking areas, 30 were rated as “more efforts needed” and 23 were “not on track”. Areas not on track include improving the energy efficiency of building designs, developing clean and efficient district heating, phasing out coal-fired power generation, eliminating methane flaring, shifting aviation and shipping to cleaner fuels, and making cement, chemical and steel production cleaner.

    Along with TCEP, the IEA is also releasing an expanded clean energy innovation tracker, which includes an update of the Clean Technology Guide, as well as a new publicly available global database of clean energy demonstration projects that provides project-by-project information including location, sector, technology, technology readiness, status, funding and timeline of operations. The database responds to the need to monitor how public and private support for demonstration projects translates into projects on the ground.

    Clean energy transitions will require a diversity of technologies and fuels across all parts of the energy system, calling for comprehensive and ambitious policy packages that adequately support transitions in all sectors, the TCEP analysis shows. This current decade is a critical time for laying a strong foundation for achieving longer-term goals.

    ]]>     Mind the Water Gap https://sdgtalks.ai/Mind-the-Water-Gap https://sdgtalks.ai/Mind-the-Water-Gap Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:44:17 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian, Doctors, Health, Education, Gender

    Mapping the world’s water shortages

    Human water consumption has soared. In some parts of the planet, the demand is greater than rivers or groundwater can sustain.

    Schoolbooks show a simple picture of the water cycle—water evaporates from the ocean, drifts in clouds over land, falls as rain, flows in rivers to the sea—that is no longer accurate. Humans intrude on the cycle now: Each year we extract 4,000 cubic kilometers of water, eight times more than a century ago. We consume it in kitchens and bathrooms, factories and power plants; we use it to irrigate our crops. Growing populations and aspirations drive a growing demand for water.

    The result is a water gap in an increasing number of places. Humans are using more water than the water cycle can provide, and so we deplete shallow aquifers, and may need to tap into deep ones that will not be renewed in our lifetime. In the process we threaten not only our own health, peace, and well-being, but also the health of ecosystems and wildlife.

    The information presented in the world water map is based on a global model developed at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Led by National Geographic Explorer Marc Bierkens, this World Water Map helps us understand where and why water gaps arise, how climate change might aggravate them—and even how they might be managed.

    Click here for the full article experience at National Geographic

    ]]>     15 Strategies Helping to Close the Gender Gap Around the World https://sdgtalks.ai/15-Strategies-Helping-to-Close-the-Gender-Gap-Around-the-World https://sdgtalks.ai/15-Strategies-Helping-to-Close-the-Gender-Gap-Around-the-World Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:41:55 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian, Doctors, Health, Education, Gender
    ]]>     Universal Access to Education: We can Do Better https://sdgtalks.ai/Universal-Access-to-Education%3A-We-can-Do-Better https://sdgtalks.ai/Universal-Access-to-Education%3A-We-can-Do-Better Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:38:31 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian, Doctors, Health, Education Education is a fundamental human right. Yet millions of children and adults remain deprived of educational opportunities.

    Linda Klaassen

    UNESCO

    Everywhere, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the most vulnerable and marginalized the hardest – affecting 1.6 billion learners at its peak, when the majority of the world’s schools were temporarily closed. It has widened inequalities and could erode decades of hard-won progress. About 24 million children and youth – from pre-primary to tertiary education – are at risk of dropping out because of the pandemic’s economic impact alone, according to UNESCO’s estimates.

    Girls and women constitute a particularly vulnerable group regarding the right to education. They account for 131.7 million out-of-school children and for two-thirds of the 773 million illiterate adults. The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated already existing inequalities – it is estimated that 11 million girls may not return to school. Girls aged 12 to 17 are especially at risk of dropping out in low and lower-income countries.

    This is particularly alarming as education is one of the most powerful tools by which marginalized children and adults can lift themselves out of poverty and fully integrate into society. 

    Source: Guidelines to strengthen the right to education in national frameworks, UNESCO, 2021. #HerEducationOurFuture: Keeping girls in the picture during and after the Covid-19 crisis, 2021.

    ]]>     Vaccine Inequity Undermining Global Recovery https://sdgtalks.ai/Vaccine-Inequity-Undermining-Global-Recovery https://sdgtalks.ai/Vaccine-Inequity-Undermining-Global-Recovery Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:35:11 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian, Doctors, Health New Global Dashboard on COVID-19 Vaccine Equity finds low-income countries would add $38 billion to their GDP forecast for 2021 if they had the same vaccination rate as high-income countries. Global economic recovery at risk if vaccines are not equitably manufactured, scaled up and distributed.  

    COVID-19 vaccine inequity will have a lasting and profound impact on socio-economic recovery in low- and lower-middle income countries without urgent action to boost supply and assure equitable access for every country, including through dose sharing, according to new data released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Oxford.

    An acceleration in scaling up manufacturing and sharing enough vaccine doses with low-income countries could have added $38 billion to their GDP forecast for 2021 if they had similar vaccination rates as high income countries. At a time when richer countries have paid trillions in stimulus to prop up flagging economies, now is the moment to ensure vaccine doses are shared quickly, all barriers to increasing vaccine manufacturing are removed and financing support is secured so vaccines are distributed equitably and a truly global economic recovery can take place.

    A high price per COVID-19 vaccine dose relative to other vaccines and delivery costs – including for the health workforce surge – could put a huge strain on fragile health systems and undermine routine immunization and essential health services and could cause alarming spikes in measles, pneumonia and diarrhea. There is also a clear risk in terms of foregone opportunities for the expansion of other immunization services, for example the safe and effective rollout of HPV vaccines. Lower income countries need timely access to sustainably priced vaccines and timely financial support.

    These insights come from the Global Dashboard for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity, a joint initiative from UNDP, WHO and the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, which combines the latest information on COVID-19 vaccination with the most recent socio-economic data to illustrate why accelerating vaccine equity is not only critical to saving lives but also to driving a faster and fairer recovery from the pandemic with benefits for all.

    “In some low- and middle-income countries, less than 1 per cent of the population is vaccinated – this is contributing to a two-track recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”, said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. “It’s time for swift, collective action – this new COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Dashboard will provide Governments, policymakers and international organisations with unique insights to accelerate the global delivery of vaccines and mitigate the devastating socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.”

    According to the new Dashboard, which builds on data from multiple entities including the IMF, World Bank, UNICEF and Gavi, and analysis on per capita GDP growth rates from the World Economic Outlook, richer countries are projected to vaccinate quicker and recover economically quicker from COVID-19, while poorer countries haven’t even been able to vaccinate their health workers and most at-risk population and may not achieve pre-COVID-19 levels of growth until 2024. Meanwhile, Delta and other variants are driving some countries to reinstate strict public health social measures. This is further worsening the social, economic and health impact, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalised people. Vaccine inequity threatens all countries and risks reversing hard won progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

    “Vaccine inequity is the world’s biggest obstacle to ending this pandemic and recovering from COVID-19,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “Economically, epidemiologically and morally, it is in all countries' best interest to use the latest available data to make lifesaving vaccines available to all.”

    Designed to empower policy makers and development partners to take urgent action to reduce vaccine inequity, the Global Dashboard breaks down the impact of accessibility against a target for countries to vaccinate their at-risk populations first to reduce mortality and protect the health system and then move on to vaccinating larger shares of the population to reduce disease burden and re-open socio-economic activity.

    The Dashboard is facilitated by the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All (SDG3 GAP), which aims to improve collaboration across the multilateral system to support an equitable and resilient recovery from the pandemic and drive progress towards the health-related SDGs.

    Notes to editors

    https://data.undp.org/vaccine-equity/ 

    ]]>     6 Solutions for Zero Hunger https://sdgtalks.ai/6-Solutions-for-Zero-Hunger https://sdgtalks.ai/6-Solutions-for-Zero-Hunger Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:31:32 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People, Hunger, Humanitarian 1. Break the Cycle of Conflict and Hunger

    With almost 60% of the world’s hungriest people living in conflict affected zones, conflict is the greatest challenge to Zero Hunger.

    Conflict and hunger create a vicious cycle. When war erupts, instability forces people to find illicit and sometimes violent means of acquiring their necessities. In this unstable period where access to food is fought over, the risk of social unrest heightens.

    The U.N. World Food Programme is on the frontlines of the world’s worst conflicts, going where others can’t to deliver lifesaving food in the hardest-to-reach areas. The agency’s work to solve hunger has contributed to improving prospects for peace – effectively breaking the conflict and hunger cycle. In conflict zones, the U.N. World Food Programme is there to provide food and cash assistance, keep kids in classrooms with school meals and rebuild infrastructure through community projects.

    In 2020, the U.N. World Food Programme became the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and was recognized by the Nobel Committee “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.” The U.N. World Food Programme’s Nobel Peace Prize is a powerful call to action, recognizing the important link between conflict and hunger and the critical role of food assistance as a building block to peace and stability.

    2. Increase Sustainability and Build Resilience to Climate Change

    Climate extremes are one of the main drivers of severe hunger. We have entered a ‘new normal’ where consecutive and extreme weather events – like droughts, flooding, hurricanes and cyclones – decimate farming and drive displacement. As a result, communities constantly operate in recovery mode: Diminished economies, destroyed infrastructure and disrupted access to food significantly reduce people’s capacity to rebuild their livelihoods and prepare for the next imminent disaster.

    The U.N. World Food Programme helps communities build resilience to climate change through long-term solutions including:

    • Reforestation and land rehabilitation projects
    • Climate insurance for small-scale farmers
    • Providing local institutions with access to sustainable energy solutions

    To tackle the challenges of climate change, food availability and food access, we must also help farmers grow a more diverse range of crops and livestock. That’s why the U.N. World Food Programme teaches farmers new techniques, equips them with tools and educates their communities about the nutritional importance of eating a wide range of foods.

    3. Address Poverty & Inequality Through Social Safety Nets

    Poverty and inequality are the root causes of global hunger. Imagine being a mother who must forgo her daily meals to feed her children, or a farmer who must sell food rations in exchange for farming equipment.

    The U.N. World Food Programme helps governments strengthen national safety nets that safeguard their citizens from poverty, inequality and hunger. By 2030, the U.N. World Food Programme aims to substantially increase people’s access to their national social protection systems – thereby promoting equitable economic growth.

    The U.N. World Food Programme is the world’s largest provider of humanitarian cash, distributing cash to over 40 million people across 70 countries. The global food crisis is mainly one of access where record-high prices mean people cannot buy what they need. Where markets are functioning, the U.N. World Food Programme can provide cash-based assistance in the form of bank notes, vouchers, debit cards, e-money or mobile money. Cash transfers empower families to decide how to spend their money while supporting local markets and economies.

    Through Food for Assets projects, the U.N. World Food Programme offers food or cash assistance while participants work on community assets like roads, dams and irrigation systems. The community-centered approach of coming together to reinvigorate participants’ environment has extra benefits like promoting nutrition, gender equality and social protection. For example, in Mozambique, the Food For Assets program provides female farmers with opportunities to test out innovative farming techniques designed to build their harvests’ resilience to climate change. Participants may also receive agricultural training, which boosts their income and access to food.

    4. Help Rural Farmers Connect to Markets

    One of the cruelest ironies of hunger is its disproportionate impact on small-scale farmers—the very people who grow food for a living. Small-scale farmers make up the majority of people living in poverty. Their economic losses come from lack of access to production inputs like proper storage, fertilizer and farming equipment as well as constant challenges from climate extremes.

    The U.N. World Food Programme works to connect small-scale farmers to local economies while providing them with the resources to improve production, reduce their post-harvest losses, develop business skills and gain access to financial tools.

    In over 40 countries the U.N. World Food Programme connects small-scale farmers to markets so that they can supply their own communities with lifesaving food. The program Purchase for Progress (P4P) partners farmers with the private sector, encouraging investments that diversify their crops and expand their business prospects.

    5. Reduce Food Waste & Food Loss

    The world produces more than enough food to feed everyone, and yet 828 million people still go to bed hungry each night. In high-income countries, 40% of food is wasted because people buy more food than they can consume. In low-income countries, where the vast majority of the world’s hungriest people live, most food loss occurs during the early stages of growth, harvest and storage.

    The U.N. World Food Programme is working to eliminate food loss and waste by:

    • Providing farmers with modern storage equipment like silos and air-tight bags
    • Offering long-lasting foods like flour, dried beans and salt – all properly packaged in sturdy containers
    • Investing in innovations like hydroponics that allow communities to grow, sell and store food in the harshest conditions
    • Selling and storing food in impossible places due to exposure of extreme temperatures, excess dust and general pollution
    • Advocating for policy that distributes American-grown crops to people in need – like the U.S. Farm Bill which supplies the U.N. World Food Programme with U.S. agricultural commodities like rice, corn, wheat and soybeans for people abroad.

    6. Eliminate Malnutrition in Mothers & Children

    5% of deaths among children under age 5 are caused by malnutrition. The first two years of a baby’s life are critical when it comes to receiving the nourishment they need to grow into a healthy adult. From Fortified Blended Foods to High Energy Biscuits, the U.N. World Food Programme ensures millions of children and pregnant and nursing women have access to specialized nutritious food. Last year, the U.N. World Food Programme reached more than 17 million mothers and children with programs to prevent and treat malnutrition.

    What You Can Do to End World Hunger

    Zero Hunger may seem like an impossible goal, but through these six solutions we can make this dream a reality. The U.N. World Food Programme plays a vital role in that work by:

    • Ensuring people in conflict-affected areas will not have food weaponized against them
    • Anticipating, responding to and building resilience against the shocks and stresses of climate extremes
    • Leveraging social safety nets, cash assistance and infrastructure to financially empower communities and local markets
    • Connecting small-scale farmers with the tools they need to maintain sustainable agriculture for their country’s food security
    • Making sure that the ample food that is grown across the world does not go to waste due to improper management or redistribution
    • Protecting groups affected by or at risk of malnutrition (primarily mothers and children) by supplying them with specialized nutritious foods

    You also play a vital role in ending world hunger. There are a lot of ways you can be part of creating a Zero Hunger world like playing the Freerice game, signing advocacy petitions or starting a fundraising campaign. Discover how you can be part of the solution for global hunger.

    Unless action is taken now, millions of people have the potential to fall into deeper levels of hunger. We can respond to this global emergency by addressing hunger at its root causes. We all have an obligation to build a future that better serves our planet and all the people that live on it.

    ]]>     Solutions to Poverty that Actually Work https://sdgtalks.ai/Solutions-to-Poverty-that-Actually-Work https://sdgtalks.ai/Solutions-to-Poverty-that-Actually-Work Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:25:43 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy, Poverty, Planet, People Last year, the United Nations announced that the world is “nowhere near” meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, a series of humanitarian targets to reach by 2030. This includes the number one goal: “End poverty in all its forms everywhere.” 

    However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t end poverty. Every day, countless initiatives, interventions, and projects are led by Concern, our partners, and the communities we work with that help thousands of families break the cycle of poverty, once and for all. Here are nine solutions to poverty that actually work.

    1. Foster equality

    One of the main causes of poverty is inequality — the systemic barriers that lead to groups of people going without representation in their communities. For a community or country to work its way out of poverty, all groups must be involved in the decision-making process — especially when it comes to having a say in the things that determine your place in society. 

    One key example of this is gender equality. According to the UN, the cost of women’s unpaid labor adds up to $10 trillion per year. That’s 13% of the global GDP. In parts of Africa and Asia, women own less than 20% of agricultural land, yet make up 60% of the agricultural workforce. Former FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in 2016 that “women are the backbone of our work in agriculture… when women have opportunities, the yields on their farms increase – also their incomes. Natural resources are better managed. Nutrition is improved. And livelihoods are more secured.”

    Gender is just one of the many inequalities, and many people face more than one form of marginalization at a time. While correcting these inequalities won’t be a solution to poverty in and of itself, it’s essential to every other solution we work towards.

    Since partaking in the Umodzi gender equality program with Concern Malawi, Forty Sakha helps his wife Chrissy with household chores like drying maize. (Photo: Chris Gagnon / Concern Worldwide)
    Since partaking in the Umodzi gender equality program with Concern Malawi, Forty Sakha helps his wife Chrissy with household chores like drying maize. (Photo: Chris Gagnon / Concern Worldwide)

    2. Build resilience

    Poverty is most likely to occur when there is a high combination of inequality and risk. In this case, risk being the hazards a person or a group faces, combined with their level of vulnerability within a community. 

    For instance, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has suffered decades of ongoing conflict. Millions of Congolese have been displaced to temporary camps and shelters, and still face the threat of violence. Those hazards are compounded when you take into account other crises currently affecting the country, and are even greater for internally-displaced women and children, as well as the elderly and disabled. 

    This is why emergency and humanitarian responses are key to fighting poverty in fragile contexts such as the DRC. With health and nutrition emergencies, such as the protracted hunger crisis in the DRC or the rising cholera epidemic in the country, we work to ensure that communities (and especially the most vulnerable members of each community) have the resources they need, including food assistance, cash transfers, and medical care, as well as longer-term development solutions that help build resilience — giving even displaced communities the material and financial safety nets they need to handle uncertain situations. 


    3. Focus on communities most affected by the climate crisis

    When we talk about “resilience” in the context of Concern’s work, more often than not we are speaking about climate resilience. According to the World Bank, climate change could force an additional 100 million people into extreme poverty over the next decade without any urgent action taken. Climate resilience comprises a series of responses to climate change that help the communities most affected by the crisis to weather the storms (and every other weather event that may threaten their safety and way of life). 

    At Concern, many of the communities where we respond to the climate crisis are affected largely through agriculture and pastoralism, which they rely on for both their livelihoods and food. Solutions like Climate Smart Agriculture are proven to help farmers adapt to the changing ecosystem on their land and improve both the quality and quantity of their harvests. Early warning/early action (EWEA) and other disaster risk reduction strategies help communities avoid excessive loss and damage when a disaster hits.

    4. Increase access to education

    According to UNESCO, if all students in low-income countries had just basic reading skills (and nothing else), an estimated 171 million people could escape extreme poverty. If all adults completed secondary education, we could cut the global poverty rate by more than half. Education develops skills and abilities, corrects some of the inequities that come from marginalization, and decreases risk and vulnerability. 

    Some of the key areas of focus for making sure that education is truly for all involve breaking down the barriers to education — creating access in remote areas and supporting teachers in their work to deliver quality education. We also ensure that education is available to children living in fragile contexts, which often adapts to the events that they’ve faced (such as violence, conflict, and displacement) to ensure that they have the proper psychosocial support to really learn, rather than fall behind. 

    Students attending classes at Jalaqsan School. (Photo: Mustafa Saeed/Concern Worldwide)
    Students attending classes at Jalaqsan School. (Photo: Mustafa Saeed/Concern Worldwide)

    5. Improve food and nutrition security

    Poverty is fueled by inequality, vulnerability, and hazards, and hunger is a driving force behind vulnerability. When a person doesn’t have enough to eat, their immune system is more easily compromised, they don’t have the physical or cognitive strength to make it through the day, and they often lack enough energy to work. This creates a vicious cycle between poverty and hunger. 

    Stark evidence now demonstrates the enormous scale of nutritional issues in low-income countries, as well as their human and financial costs. As a result, Concern — along with many other NGOs and governments — has made an unprecedented commitment to prioritizing nutrition in the fight to end poverty. Many of our livelihood programs also include nutrition components, such as our recent work in Ethiopia and Kenya with Lifesaving Education and Assistance to Farmers. Getting the right amount of calories and nutrients every day can go a long way to ending poverty. 

    Ramya* (29) prepares food for her family of nine people. She rolls out the dough to prepare the famous Syrian dish shashbark, in which the dough is stuffed with meat and onions, but the poverty that the family suffers from has forced her to use less expensive fillings. (Photo: Ali Haj Suleiman/DEC/Fairpicture)
    Ramya* (29) prepares food for her family of nine people. She rolls out the dough to prepare the famous Syrian dish shashbark, in which the dough is stuffed with meat and onions, but the poverty that the family suffers from has forced her to use less expensive fillings. (Photo: Ali Haj Suleiman/DEC/Fairpicture)

    6. Increase access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene services

    Like hunger and malnutrition, contaminated water can lead to debilitating illnesses. What’s more, over the last 20 years, the lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation has gone up — from affecting 197 million people in 2004 to 211 million people in 2024. This adds up: The waterborne illnesses that result from this shortage contribute to 1.4 million deaths per year, as well as 50% of global malnutrition. 

    The link between improved water access and declining poverty rates goes beyond health. When communities have better access to safe and clean water, those who often spend their time collecting water from further away will have more time to spend on other, more meaningful pursuits. Water is also an issue of gender equality: Current estimates suggest that women and girls collectively spend 200 million hours every day walking long distances to fetch water.

    Rebecca Sarwah supervises the use of the community water point in Kaytor Town, Grand Bassa, Liberia. (Photo: Kieran McConville/Concern Worldwide)
    Rebecca Sarwah supervises the use of the community water point in Kaytor Town, Grand Bassa, Liberia. (Photo: Kieran McConville/Concern Worldwide)

    7. Provide quality and affordable healthcare for all

    One of the knock-on effects of nutritional or waterborne diseases is that the most vulnerable people — people who are often more likely to get these illnesses in the first place — usually lack affordable and quality healthcare options, both for treatment and preventative care. This is also true for people who sustain injuries that may prevent them from working. 

    What’s more, maternal health is a huge link in the chain of how we end poverty. Pregnant people need regular checkups and more nutritional care to ensure that their child is born with the best possible future for their health and development (malnourished mothers often pass that on to their unborn child). Concern helps to train local healthcare workers who in turn work within their communities, monitoring childhood nutrition, and providing health demonstrations. We’ve also found mobile clinics to be an effective way of providing regular care in hard-to-reach communities, whether they’re in the remote Lake Chad Basin or on one of Bangladesh’s many islands. 

    Tasnu lives in Rahmanpur, Bhola district, Bangladesh. A midwife visits Tasnu and her baby by speedboat for check ups. (Photo: FrameIn Productions/Concern Worldwide)
    Tasnu lives in Rahmanpur, Bhola district, Bangladesh. A midwife visits Tasnu and her baby by speedboat for check ups. (Photo: FrameIn Productions/Concern Worldwide)

    8. Achieve lasting peace

    While estimates around data for the country vary, Syria’s poverty rate has increased from approximately 12% in 2007 to 83% in 2019. On the other hand, the end of conflict in Cambodia helped to grow its middle class: The country’s poverty rate dropped from 47.8% in 2007 to 13.5% by 2014. 

    Ending all wars and conflicts is a tall order, but conflict is one of the biggest contributors to poverty, and ending poverty will ultimately become a political issue and part of a larger peacekeeping mission.

    9. Give people cash

    Cambodia’s transition from wartime to peace included the repatriation of over 300,000 refugees. This could have been a disaster, placing a strain on resources and creating financial dire straits. One of the reasons the transition was so smooth, however (and one of the reasons that Concern worked itself out of a job in Cambodia) was cash and credit. 

    Concern worked with many Cambodian returnees and local governments to establish a microfinancing model in the country, including village savings and loans and cash transfer services. People were able to get the tools and resources they needed to rebuild their lives and homes, without falling into further debt due to high interest rates. Between 1998 and 2018, Cambodia’s economy grew by an average of 8% each year, and its middle class began to flourish. This is an example of how Concern was able to hand over its programming entirely to local partners to continue the work to end poverty. 

    Programme participant Aboubacar Magagi presents his received cash and his distribution card during the cash distribution activity funded by ECHO as part of the lean season response project, Tahoua. (Photo: Concern Worldwide)
    Programme participant Aboubacar Magagi presents his received cash and his distribution card during the cash distribution activity funded by ECHO as part of the lean season response project, Tahoua. (Photo: Concern Worldwide)

    While the traditional image of humanitarian aid may be crates of supplies like food, water, and tents, distributing cash has become more common. It’s cheaper and faster to get into a country, gives its recipients the autonomy to make their own purchasing decisions, and supports local and national economies. Sometimes, a small startup grant (even as small as $100) is all it takes to help a family living below the poverty line to launch a new business, while keeping on top of their bills and keeping their children fed and in school. 

    Ultimately, this is the theory that underscores all of our solutions to poverty: Help people get the resources they need to offset risks and work with communities to reduce the inequalities and vulnerabilities that many of their members face, so that when emergencies strike, they aren’t left further behind.

    Concern’s work to end poverty

    At Concern, we work to sustainably end poverty by addressing inequality and risk, tailoring solutions that support the specific forms of inequality and vulnerabilities faced within each community. 

    Equality, particularly gender equality, is a pivotal part of all of our programs, and we work with community members and leaders to question and challenge the underlying assumptions that perpetuate equality gaps while designing solutions that accommodate people of all genders, levels of ability, ages, races, social status, and more. We aim for equality of outcomes, not equality of inputs. 

    From there, we look at the specific risks and conditions that cause poverty in a specific country, region, or community. Often our solutions to poverty work with families to build livelihoods that include more than one source of income. We mentor program participants and train them on business management, marketing, bookkeeping, and other essential skills. We also provide cash grants and help to establish local Village Savings and Loans Associations (and other similar committees) to help create community safety nets. 

    What we have found through more than 55 years of work is that the communities and individuals we work with already know what they want to do, they just need a few resources to make it happen. We provide those resources, along with some sustainable means of keeping them up long after we’re needed.

    ]]>     What are the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)? https://sdgtalks.ai/What-are-the-SDGs-Sustainable-Development-Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/What-are-the-SDGs-Sustainable-Development-Goals Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:19:10 -0500 Karuna Owens Sustainable, Development, Engineering, Water, Energy History

    The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

    The SDGs build on decades of work by countries and the UN, including the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

    Today, the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) provides substantive support and capacity-building for the SDGs and their related thematic issues, including water, energy, climate, oceans, urbanization, transport, science and technology, the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), partnerships and Small Island Developing States. DSDG plays a key role in the evaluation of UN systemwide implementation of the 2030 Agenda and on advocacy and outreach activities relating to the SDGs. In order to make the 2030 Agenda a reality, broad ownership of the SDGs must translate into a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals. DSDG aims to help facilitate this engagement.

    ]]>     The movement to end hunger https://sdgtalks.ai/the-movement-to-end-hunger-99725 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-movement-to-end-hunger-99725 Mon, 30 Sep 2024 19:39:44 -0500 hallu Zero Hunger, SDG2, UN, walmart

    This article talks about a continuing partnership between Walmar, Sam's Club, and Feeding America. The initative is an ongoing attempt to combat hunger in the US and drive change. The initiative has 3 pieces to it. Walmart and Sam's Club run a fundraising campaigin where customers have the option to donate to the charity. Employees and volunteers will participate in food banks in the communities. And then finally they work to raise public awareness.

    To conclude, the article emphasizes the importance of the collabaritive efforts of these three organizatoins, and states what the importance of this project is.

    Walmart, Sam's Club and Feeding America Partner Again to Fight Hunger.

    Spark Change in the Movement to End Hunger

    Now in its 11th year, the annual cause marketing campaign has helped Feeding America® food banks secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger in local communities.

    CHICAGO, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 11th consecutive year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs are teaming up with their customers, members, suppliers and associates for the annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign to support the Feeding America® network of partner food banks.

    Since its inception in 2014, Fight Hunger. Spark Change. has generated more than $186 million for Feeding America and local food banks, helping to secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger.

    "Walmart and Sam's Club have demonstrated extraordinary commitment over the course of our partnership. With partnerships like this, we can end hunger in this country," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Feeding America's CEO. "They understand the importance of fresh, nutritious food for thriving communities, and their support transcends beyond dollars and pounds - together with people facing hunger, our teams are helping to build new pathways to equitable food access for all."

    The campaign will run online and in stores from April 1-April 29. Shoppers have three easy ways to support neighbors in need:

    • For every participating product purchased in store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam's Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.
       
    • Donate at check-out in stores or clubs or online at Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
       
    • Donate at Feeding America's Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign site at either www.FeedingAmerica.org/Walmart or www.FeedingAmerica.org/SamsClub.

    During the campaign, all donations stay local. Sales-activated supplier donations and register donations are directed to a local Feeding America partner food bank located within a store or club's community.

    "Serving communities and expanding access to affordable, healthy food lies at the heart of Walmart and Sam's Club's purpose to help people live better," said Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart and President, Walmart Foundation. "Our annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign is a way that we invite our customers, members and suppliers to fight hunger alongside us. The funds raised through this campaign go toward local Feeding America food banks, meaning we can all make a difference in our own neighborhoods."

    For nearly 20 years, Walmart, Sam's Club and the Walmart Foundation have worked with Feeding America, local food banks, food pantries and meals programs to transform the charitable food experience, supporting Feeding America and local food banks with more than $240 million in investments – nearly $160 million from the company and the Walmart Foundation and nearly $85 million from customers and members.

    The 20 participating suppliers for Walmart include: Bush Brothers & Company; CELSIUS® Essential Energy Drink; The Coca-Cola Company; Conagra Brands; Dole Packaged Foods; Ferrara; Ferrero; General Mills; The Hain Celestial Group; Hershey Salty Snacks; Hidden Valley Ranch; Kellanova; W.K. Kellogg Company; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kodiak; Kraft Heinz; Monster Energy; Pepsi-Cola Advertising & Marketing, Inc.; Unilever

    The 8 participating suppliers for Sam's Club include: General Mills; W.K. Kellogg Company; Kraft Heinz; Nestlé; Nissin; Nongshim; Palmetto Gourmet Foods, A Borealis Foods Company; Unilever

    To learn more about the campaign, visit https://www.feedingamerica.org/campaigns/fight-hunger-spark-change. 

    *Currently, $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local partner food banks.

    ]]>     Impact of the Current Election Race on International Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) https://sdgtalks.ai/impact-of-the-current-election-race-on-international-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs https://sdgtalks.ai/impact-of-the-current-election-race-on-international-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs Tue, 09 Jul 2024 10:33:50 -0500 Camila Thomas ### Keywords - Current election race - International SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals - Climate action policies - Economic equity - Healthcare strategies - Education investment - Innovation and technology - Global partnerships - Multilateralism - Environmental sustainability - Election outcomes - Policy shifts - Social welfare programs - International cooperation The outcomes of election races in major countries have significant implications for international efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current election cycle is no exception, with its potential to reshape policies, funding priorities, and international collaborations that drive sustainable development.

    Policy Shifts and Environmental Commitments

    Elections can lead to shifts in environmental policies, which are critical for SDG 13 (Climate Action). Candidates with strong environmental platforms may bolster commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in renewable energy, and supporting international climate agreements like the Paris Agreement. Conversely, a win for candidates less committed to environmental protection could slow progress, affecting global climate targets and efforts to combat climate change.

    Economic Policies and Inequality

    Economic policies are at the heart of several SDGs, including SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality). Election outcomes influence fiscal policies, social welfare programs, and international trade agreements, which can either alleviate or exacerbate economic disparities. A government that prioritizes social equity and inclusive growth can enhance efforts to reduce poverty and inequality, both domestically and globally.

    Healthcare and Pandemic Response

    The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). Election results can affect national healthcare strategies and international cooperation on public health. Leaders committed to robust healthcare systems and global health initiatives can enhance pandemic preparedness and response, ensuring better health outcomes worldwide.

    Education and Innovation

    SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) are influenced by education policies and investments in innovation. Elections determine funding for education systems and research institutions, impacting the quality and accessibility of education. Governments that prioritize education and technological advancement contribute to global progress in these areas.

    International Relations and Multilateralism

    Elections also impact SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), which emphasizes the importance of global partnerships. Leaders with a strong commitment to multilateralism and international cooperation can foster partnerships that enhance global efforts to achieve the SDGs. Conversely, isolationist policies and strained international relations can hinder collaborative efforts and progress.

    Conclusion

    The current election race holds significant implications for the international SDGs. Policy directions set by new or incumbent leaders will shape the global landscape, affecting environmental sustainability, economic equity, healthcare, education, innovation, and international cooperation. As the world watches the election outcomes, the international community hopes for leadership that will champion sustainable development and foster a collaborative approach to achieving the SDGs.

    ]]>     Shop Locally: The Sustainable Practices of Farmers Markets https://sdgtalks.ai/shop-locally-the-sustainable-practices-of-farmers-markets https://sdgtalks.ai/shop-locally-the-sustainable-practices-of-farmers-markets Mon, 01 Jul 2024 13:40:48 -0500 saffron@socialimpactmovement.org Farmers Markets, Miami, Sustainability Farmers Markets are some of the best small businesses to support as they are not only premiere destinations to find fresh produce and handmade products, but they also apply dozens of sustainable practices to their businesses. 

     

    Shopping locally at farmers markets is a great way to practice sustainable living due to the many benefits it offers not only to ourselves, but to the environment as well. Supporting farmers markets and other small businesses helps to reduce carbon footprint and unnecessary waste as two prime examples. With decreased transportation energy, less resources are utilized to get products from the site of production to buyers themselves. This greatly reduces any additional exhaust fumes and air pollution associated with mass means of product transportation, as well as the reduction of food waste. Additionally, farmers markets help to decrease the amount of packaging material used to store products, such as cardboard boxes or even the plastic bags given to customers after purchases–customers are instead encouraged to bring reusable shopping bags with them to store their purchases. 

     

    In terms of health benefits, farmers markets offer a variety of fresh produce and products that are homemade and rely on more traditional and sustainable production methods, making them healthier and more valuable than other mass methods you’d find in chain markets. With crops in particular, small vendors are less reliant on chemical agents and/or pesticides in their farming process, and instead employ more traditional methods. As a result, the fruits and vegetables grown have much higher nutritional values as they do not require preservatives or any added chemicals to stay fresh. These methods make locally grown crops much more nutritious to the average buyer than the products one would normally find in stores. 

     

    Here in Miami, we have many great farmers markets, two of the most notable being the Coconut Grove and Pinecrest farmers markets which are open every Saturday from midday to late afternoon. Both offer dozens of vendors with a variety of edible or handmade products anyone can enjoy with their friends and family. Practice sustainable living and stimulate your health by supporting a local farmers market!

    ]]>     Electronic Paper For Science and Technology Education | The Publication Office https://sdgtalks.ai/100732 https://sdgtalks.ai/100732 Thu, 06 Jun 2024 02:42:20 -0500 Joshua About the Publication Office

    The Electronic Paper for Science and Technology is a double-blind peer-reviewed and open-access electronic prints on Education. The e-print is intended to provide academic forums for researchers, students and all educators who are interested in the discussion of current and future issues on education and teacher training. All articles will be reviewed by experts before accepted for publication. The e-print is open to authors around the world regardless of nationality. The e-print is published once a year in the months of May.

    Mission: Our primary aim is to bridge the gap between complex scientific concepts and learners at all levels. By leveraging the latest in electronic paper technology, we offer an immersive, interactive, and environmentally friendly learning experience. Our publications are designed to cater to the educational needs of both the academic and the curious mind, fostering a global community of informed and engaged scientists, technologists, educators, and students.

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    For Educators and Students: We offer a platform that not only disseminates scientific knowledge but also encourages the active participation of its users. Educators can find resources to supplement their curriculum, engage with a community of peers, and contribute their own insights and materials. Students, from K-12 to higher education and lifelong learners, can access a wealth of information tailored to their educational level and interests.

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    • Interactive Textbooks: Utilizing electronic paper’s unique capabilities, our textbooks offer interactive diagrams, simulations, and quizzes, making learning more engaging and effective.
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    Join Us: Whether you’re an educator seeking innovative teaching materials, a student pursuing knowledge in science and technology, or an enthusiast eager to explore the latest research, Electronic Paper for Science and Technology Education – The Publication Office is your go-to resource. Together, we can inspire a new generation of scientists, technologists, and educators equipped with the knowledge and skills to tackle the challenges of the future.

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    Climate Change Education, Robotics, Coding, Educational Leadership, Teaching and Learning process, Technological Education and all aspects of Science Education: Biology, Earth and Life Science, Chemistry, Physics.

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    Recommended font size is 11, this could be reduced to 10 if necessary.

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    1. Ding, W. and Marchionini, G. 1997 A Study on Video Browsing Strategies. Technical Report. University of Maryland at College Park.
    2. Tavel, P. 2007 Modeling and Simulation Design. AK Peters Ltd.
    3. Sannella, M. J. 1994 Constraint Satisfaction and Debugging for Interactive User Interfaces. Doctoral Thesis. UMI Order Number: UMI Order No. GAX95-09398., University of Washington.
    4. Brown, L. D., Hua, H., and Gao, C. 2003. A widget framework for augmented interaction in SCAPE.
    5. Y.T. Yu, M.F. Lau, “A comparison of MC/DC, MUMCUT and several other coverage criteria for logical decisions”, Journal of Systems and Software, 2005, in press.
    6. Spector, A. Z. 1989. Achieving application requirements. In Distributed Systems, S. Mullende
    7. Forman, G. 2003. An extensive empirical study of feature selection metrics for text classification. J. Mach. Learn. Res. 3 (Mar. 2003), 1289-1305.
    8. Fröhlich, B. and Plate, J. 2000. The cubic mouse: a new device for three-dimensional input. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
    9. Bowman, M., Debray, S. K., and Peterson, L. L. 1993. Reasoning about naming systems.

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    ]]>     UN World Oceans Day 2024, a poem for the Magic City https://sdgtalks.ai/celebrating-ocean-day-2024 https://sdgtalks.ai/celebrating-ocean-day-2024 Tue, 04 Jun 2024 16:13:01 -0500 Claudia AI, image, ocean day 2024, selva ozelli, art, sdgtalks Waves of Learning

     

    Beneath the azure skies of Miami's shore,

    World Ocean Day whispers secrets of the deep.

    As we gather by the gentle roar,

    Into the ocean of knowledge, we eagerly leap.

     

    Let's dive beneath the surface, bold and wise,

    Where hidden truths and mysteries blend.

    Each wave a lesson, before our eyes,

    Revealing wonders that never end.

     

    In coral cities and forests of kelp,

    We find the stories of Earth’s grand ballet.

    A world beneath waves, a hidden whelp,

    Urging us to protect it, come what may.

     

    So as we celebrate, let minds entwine

    With marine life’s delicate, profound embrace.

    Discovering how oceans are a sign,

    Of nature’s resilience, beauty, and grace.

     

    On this World Ocean Day, let’s make a vow,

    To cherish and defend the blue below.

    For the health of our seas reflects, somehow,

    The future we craft, the seeds we sow.

    Explore more about UN World Oceans Day 2024

    ]]>     UN Secretary-General’s Report Assesses Progress Made on SDGs Since 2015 https://sdgtalks.ai/un-secretary-generals-report-assesses-progress-made-on-sdgs-since-2015 https://sdgtalks.ai/un-secretary-generals-report-assesses-progress-made-on-sdgs-since-2015 Thu, 30 May 2024 11:13:55 -0500 Claudia SDGtalks, UN report, SDGs The UN has released the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on SDG progress. The report updates on progress made since 2015 against the global SDG indicator framework. It will inform discussions during the July 2024 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

    Dated 2 May 2024, the report (A/79/79-E/2024/54) underscores that “governments remain united behind the 2030 Agenda.” It highlights progress that is being made on reducing the global infant mortality rate, the incidence of HIV infections, and the cost of remittances, as well as on increasing access to water and sanitation, energy, and mobile broadband.

    Yet, the report warns, in the past 12 months, little has changed in terms of trends. Only 15% of the SDG targets are on track to be achieved, 49% show minimal or moderate progress, and 36% of the targets show signs of stagnation or regression.  

    The report finds that while the early years of SDG implementation saw “slow but steady” progress, since 2019, “severe global headwinds,” including the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and climate change, have left the SDGs in peril, with the world’s most vulnerable people “bearing the brunt.”

    According to the report, 23 million more people were living in extreme poverty in 2022 compared to 2019, and 123 million more experienced hunger. Greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations “hit record highs” in 2022, surging to 150% above pre-industrial levels. Civilian casualties in armed conflict increased by 72% between 2022 and 2023

    At USD 223.7 billion in 2023, official development assistance (ODA) was the highest ever, and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows reached USD 1.37 trillion. However, sustainable development grants to developing countries fell in 2022, and while debt levels decreased slightly, they remained “exceptionally high.” The report calls attention to the USD 4 trillion annual investment gap for developing countries to achieve the SDGs.

    To “deliver transformative progress between now and 2030,” the report underscores the need to:

    • Ensure peace;
    • Unlock greater financing and fiscal space for developing countries and secure a more equitable, representative, and effective international financial system; and
    • Unlock transformative progress across the Goals by doubling down on key transitions around energy, food, digital connectivity, social protection and decent jobs, education, and the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

    The Secretary-General’s report is one of several SDG assessments released each year in the lead-up to the HLPF. The Sustainable Development Goals Report by the UN Statistics Division and the Sustainable Development Report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) – both forthcoming – will also inform HLPF deliberations in July. [Publication: Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals]

    ]]>     Doomsday Plane Purchase: Balancing Security, Innovation, and Global Cooperation for Sustainable Development https://sdgtalks.ai/doomsday-plane-purchase-balancing-security-innovation-and-global-cooperation-for-sustainable-development https://sdgtalks.ai/doomsday-plane-purchase-balancing-security-innovation-and-global-cooperation-for-sustainable-development Fri, 10 May 2024 14:23:07 -0500 Clark Howard

    From an economic standpoint, this purchase reflects substantial investment in defense infrastructure, aligning with Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. The development and production of these aircraft, under a $13 billion contract awarded to Sierra Nevada, will likely create jobs and stimulate economic activity in the aerospace industry.

    Furthermore, the upgrade to newer 747-800 airframes signifies a commitment to modernization and innovation in military technology, fitting Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. By investing in advanced aircraft technology, the US military aims to enhance its strategic capabilities while promoting advancements in aerospace engineering.

    However, the implications of these developments extend beyond economic and technological domains, touching upon broader questions of security and global stability. The existence of Doomsday planes underscores the persistent threat of nuclear conflict and the need for robust defense mechanisms, implicating Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. Ensuring effective command and control capabilities in times of crisis is essential for maintaining international peace and security.

    Moreover, the potential use of these aircraft in nuclear scenarios highlights the urgent need for diplomatic efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and mitigate the risk of conflict, aligning with Goal 17: Partnerships. International cooperation and diplomacy are crucial for addressing complex security challenges and fostering a safer, more stable world.

    In summary, while the acquisition of Doomsday planes represents a significant step in enhancing military capabilities, it also underscores the interconnectedness of security, innovation, and global cooperation in achieving sustainable development goals. As nations navigate the complexities of modern warfare and security threats, it becomes increasingly imperative to prioritize collaborative efforts towards peace, stability, and sustainable development.

    Former passenger jets bought by US firm tasked with creating

    next generation of nuclear ‘Doomsday’ planes

    Seoul, South KoreaCNN — 

    That economy-class seat you once occupied while flying in Asia might one day be the very place from where the United States nuclear weapons arsenal is controlled.

    That’s because five Boeing 747 passenger jets once operated by the South Korean flag carrier Korean Air have been purchased by the Sierra Nevada Corporation, the contractor for the replacements for the US Air Force’s current fleet of strategic command and control military aircraft, more commonly known as “Doomsday” planes.

    Also known as the E-4B “Nightwatch,” the Doomsday planes are designed to be command-and-control centers for the US military in the event of a national emergency that sees command facilities on the ground destroyed or incapacitated, such as nuclear war.

    They could become what amounts to a Pentagon in the sky, taking aboard the US president, secretary of defense and members of the Joint Chiefs among more than 100 other people with the ability to control US forces worldwide from the aircraft, according to an Air Force fact sheet on the E-4Bs.

    The Doomsday planes are built to withstand the effects of an electromagnetic pulse, the burst of energy released by a nuclear explosion that can “disrupt and permanently damage electrical components and entire systems within most critical infrastructure sectors and impact large-scale infrastructure,” according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

    At least one Doomsday plane is on alert 24/7 at a US military base somewhere in the world, the Air Force says.

    On Friday, a spokesperson for the Colorado-based Sierra Nevada confirmed the purchase of the Korean Air jets but would not give any further details.

    A Korean Air Boeing 747-800 landing at Rome Fiumicino airport. 
    Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

    However, on April 26 the Air Force awarded Sierra Nevada a $13 billion contract to develop and produce the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, the official name of the new Doomsday plane. Work on the project is to be completed by 2036, according to a Defense Department release.

    On Friday, an Air Force spokeswoman confirmed the contract had been awarded in April.

    “The development of this critical national security weapon system ensures the Department’s Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications capability is operationally relevant and secure for decades to come. To satisfy operational requirements, the weapon system will be comprised of a Commercial Derivative Aircraft that will be hardened and modified to meet military requirements,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told CNN.

    Last year, Sierra Nevada opened a 100,000-square-foot aircraft repair, maintenance and overhaul facility at Dayton International Airport in Ohio, and construction on a second hangar of similar size has begun.

    An artist’s rendering of the Dayton facility showed a 747-800 inside.

    The 747-800s would be an upgrade on the older and smaller 747-200 airframes of the current Doomsday fleet, which entered Air Force service in the 1980s.

    Earlier this week, Korean Air announced the $675 million sale of five of its aircraft to Sierra Nevada. The decision to sell the jets was part of a “mid- to long-term introduction plan for new aircraft,” the airline said in a statement, adding it expects the deal to be completed by September 30, 2025.

    Korean Air had nine 747-800 passenger jets in its fleet as of October 2023, according to its website.

    By Brad Lendon, CNN

    CNN’s Yoonjung Seo and Haley Britzky contributed to this report.

    ]]>     Mexico&apos;s Presidential Race and the Path to Sustainable Development https://sdgtalks.ai/mexicos-presidential-race-and-the-path-to-sustainable-development https://sdgtalks.ai/mexicos-presidential-race-and-the-path-to-sustainable-development Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:59 -0500 Clark Howard

    The article highlights the narrowing lead of Claudia Sheinbaum, the former Mexico City mayor and candidate of the ruling Morena party, ahead of Mexico's presidential election. Sheinbaum's lead has decreased slightly according to an opinion poll conducted by Parametria between April 25 and 29, 2024. Despite this decrease, she remains the frontrunner with 44% support, ahead of Xochitl Galvez, the candidate of a right-left alliance, who garnered 31% support.

    One notable aspect of the poll is the increase in support for Jorge Alvarez Maynez of the opposition center-left Citizens' Movement, who saw a three-point increase in backing compared to the February survey, reaching 8%. This suggests a potential shift in voter preferences towards Maynez, indicating a dynamic and competitive electoral landscape.

    In the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), several goals are relevant to this article:

    1. Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The narrowing lead in the presidential race reflects the dynamics of political and economic aspirations in Mexico. The outcome of the election could impact the country's economic policies and growth trajectory, influencing the creation of quality jobs and economic opportunities for its citizens.

    2. Goal 5: Gender Equality: Claudia Sheinbaum's potential presidency could mark a significant milestone as she could become the first woman to rule the country. Her leadership would contribute to advancing gender equality and empowering women in political leadership roles, aligning with the SDG's aim of promoting gender equality as a fundamental human right.

    3. Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The electoral process and the eventual outcome are crucial for ensuring stability, justice, and effective governance in Mexico. A peaceful transition of power and the establishment of strong, accountable institutions are essential for sustainable development and achieving peace and justice for all citizens.

    Overall, the evolving political landscape in Mexico, as reflected in the narrowing lead of presidential candidates, holds implications for various aspects of sustainable development, including economic growth, gender equality, and the strength of institutions. As the election date approaches, the focus will remain on how these developments align with Mexico's progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

    Mexico's Presidential Frontrunner Sheinbaum's Lead Narrows

    Slightly, Poll Shows

    MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Former Mexico City mayor and ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum's lead has narrowed slightly ahead of Mexico's presidential election scheduled for June 2, an opinion poll showed on Friday, even as she remains the clear frontrunner.

    The April 25-29 survey by polling firm Parametria showed Sheinbaum of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) with 44% support, well ahead of Xochitl Galvez, candidate of a right-left alliance of three parties, with 31%.

    A survey in February by the same firm showed Sheinbaum with 49% support and Galvez with only 29%.

    The poll gave a third contender, Jorge Alvarez Maynez of the opposition center-left Citizens' Movement (MC), backing of 8%, a three-point increase over the February survey.

    It showed 17% of respondents offered no preference.

    The face-to-face poll of 800 people had a 3.5% margin of error.

    Francisco Abundis, head of Parametria, said the increase in Maynez's support was notable and suggested he may ultimately capture a double-digit percentage of the vote in the election.

    Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old scientist who has been a close ally of the current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for decades, could become the first woman to rule the country.

    (Reporting by Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey; Editing by Chris Reese)

    Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

    ]]>     Pro-Palestinian Student Protests: Navigating Campus Activism and the Path to Global Equity https://sdgtalks.ai/pro-palestinian-student-protests-navigating-campus-activism-and-the-path-to-global-equity https://sdgtalks.ai/pro-palestinian-student-protests-navigating-campus-activism-and-the-path-to-global-equity Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:54 -0500 Clark Howard The article delves into the intensifying pro-Palestinian student protests on college campuses across the United States and globally, particularly in response to Israel's actions during the war in Gaza. It highlights the multifaceted nature of the protests, the responses of universities, and the broader societal implications.

    Relating this to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), several goals are relevant:

    1. Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities: The protests reflect students' concerns about inequality and injustice, particularly regarding the treatment of Palestinians. By advocating for divestment from Israel and raising awareness about the Palestinian cause, students aim to address systemic inequalities and injustices.

    2. Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The protests raise questions about justice, freedom of speech, and the role of institutions in managing conflicts and upholding human rights. They also highlight the need for peaceful resolutions to conflicts, including the Israel-Palestine conflict.

    3. Goal 4: Quality Education: The article mentions resources provided to help students better understand the protests and the underlying issues. This aligns with Goal 4, which emphasizes the importance of quality education in promoting understanding, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence.

    4. Goal 5: Gender Equality: While not explicitly mentioned in the article, student activism often intersects with gender equality issues. Therefore, efforts to address inequalities and promote justice in the context of the protests can contribute to advancing gender equality.

    5. Goal 17: Partnerships: The article mentions various perspectives, resources, and strategies used to understand and address the protests. This highlights the importance of collaboration and partnerships among stakeholders, including educators, students, activists, and institutions, to address complex challenges and promote sustainable solutions.

    Overall, the article underscores the interconnectedness of social, political, and humanitarian issues, and the role of education, activism, and collaboration in addressing them in alignment with the UN SDGs.

    Teaching and Learning About the Pro-Palestinian Student

    Protests on College Campuses

    A collection of resources and critical-thinking questions to help students better understand the protest movement and consider the complex issues it raises.

    By The Learning Network

    Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, students at scores of colleges and universities across the United States and in other countries have protested in support of Palestinians and called for their schools to divest from Israel.

    As the war in Gaza has escalated, universities have been caught in an often bitter debate over how to handle the protests. And over the past few weeks, students at many universities have intensified their protests and built encampments on campus. Several universities have begun calling in the police to arrest the protesters and to clear these encampments.

    In this teaching resource, we draw on recent articles, photos, audio, video and maps to help students understand what is happening and why. Use the list below to choose the topics and materials that are right for your students. (For instance, some teachers may wish to begin with the personal questions we pose in our final section, about high schools, rather than to end with them.)

    You might also borrow from the advice and strategies suggested by Facing History and Ourselves in centering humanity while following news of the Israel-Gaza war, or via the many teacher guides on the conflict offered by Solutions Not Sides.

    Image
    Protesters sit in a circle on a lawn, linking arms. Several tents are shown in the background, with a Palestinian flag.
    Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University this month.Credit...C.S. Muncy for The New York Times

    Over the past few weeks, tensions have escalated over pro-Palestinian student encampments at college campuses nationwide, with a growing number of colleges and universities turning to the police to remove protesters and threatening them with disciplinary action.

    Here are some Times resources to help students understand these events:

    Overview: An explainer article “What to Know About the Campus Protests Over the Israel-Hamas War” addresses some basic questions: who, why, where and how.

    Photos and videos: The collection “Scenes From the Student Protests Churning Across the Country” is regularly updated.

    Audio: “The Crackdown on Student Protesters,” the April 25 episode of “The Daily,” features both a Times reporter and the editor in chief of Columbia’s college newspaper. A May 4 episode, “The Protesters and the President,” includes President Biden’s response.

    Map: See where protesters have been arrested or detained on U.S. college campuses since April 18.

    Voices of student journalists: If your students are already familiar with what is happening and why, perhaps the best way to get fuller context is to hear from student reporters on the ground. Below, some places to start:

    Responding and Discussing

    Students might begin by “noticing” and “wondering” about what they read and saw, using questions like the ones below. They can do this privately in their journals, as partners, via small group discussions, as a whole class — or in some combination:

    • What do you notice? What quotes or images stand out for you, and why?

    • What do you wonder? What questions do you have about what is happening and why it is happening?

    • What connections can you make? How does this issue relate to you and your community?

    However you handle class discussion of these sensitive topics, Facing History has additional ideas for protocols. You might consider trying strategies like Save the Last Word for Me; Head, Heart, Conscience; or Big Paper.

    Image
    Handmade signs are laid on the grass, with messages including “Columbia funds genocide,” “Bold beautiful censorship” and “Ireland for a free Palestine.”
    Students who are not themselves Palestinian say they have joined the demonstrations for a wide variety of reasons.Credit...Bing Guan for The New York Times

    To give your students a bit more context for what is happening on college campuses, and to help them appreciate some of the underlying issues and questions, we provide brief explanations of various topics as well as links to related Times articles. (Please remember that all links from The Learning Network to Times content are free, but only if you access them by clicking directly from our site.)

    Background

    Hamas’s attack on Israel: On Oct. 7, Hamas, the Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, mounted a highly coordinated invasion of Israel, with terrorists attacking towns and killing people in their homes and on the streets. More than 1,200 Israelis died, including more than 100 young revelers who were dancing at an outdoor rave. Over 240 Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas, around 100 of whom remain in Gaza. The attack was the deadliest on Israel since its founding.

    Israel’s war in Gaza and the ensuing humanitarian crisis: In response, Israel launched in Gaza one of the most intense military campaigns in modern history. So far, Israel’s forces have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, a majority of them women and children, according to Gaza health officials, and have displaced more than 80 percent of the enclave’s surviving population, according to the United Nations. The leader of the World Food Program recently said that parts of the Gaza Strip were experiencing a “full-blown famine” that is spreading across the territory.

    A long, contested history: The current war is part of a long history of conflict in the region. Students can learn more in this detailed Times explainer from The Times. It uses as a starting point 1920, when the British mandate for Palestine was established: “Over the following decades, two nationalisms, Palestinian and Jewish, took root on the same land and began to compete in a way that has ever since proved irreconcilable. The Arab population wanted what every native majority wants — self-determination. Jews who immigrated in growing numbers wanted what persecuted minorities almost never attain — a haven, in their ancient homeland.”

    Understanding the Protests

    Calls for a cease-fire: Most immediately, protesters are demanding an end to Israel’s war in Gaza. They say that Israel is committing what they see as genocide against the Palestinian people, and they aim to keep a spotlight on the suffering in Gaza. (Facing History provides an explainer for what genocide means.)

    Demands for university divestment: Students are also calling on their colleges and universities to make transparent all financial holdings and to divest from, or cut financial ties with, Israel or companies they say are profiting from its invasion of Gaza. But, as the Times has reported, divesting can be challenging for universities to do, even if they want to.

    Links to a broader global struggle: In many activists’ eyes, the Gaza conflict is a struggle for justice, tied to issues closer to home, such as policing, mistreatment of Indigenous people, discrimination toward Black Americans and the impact of global warming.

    Key Issues and Questions

    Charges of antisemitism: Many Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe on campus — either because of overt threats or attacks, or because of speech that the students consider offensive and antisemitic. Part of the problem for universities is defining when pro-Palestinian political speech during a time of war crosses the line into antisemitism. And the question is made even more complicated because there is no consensus about what, precisely, constitutes antisemitism. Students can read this article about how universities are struggling to define what makes a protest antisemitic, and this article about how even the definition of antisemitism is the subject of bitter debate.

    Concerns about freedom of speech: Protesters on college campuses have often cited the First Amendment as grounds for allowing their protests to continue unhampered. But while college administrators have called the right to free speech “vital,” they have also pointed out that it is not unlimited. And universities have said that they needed to call in the police, arrest students and clear encampments to restore order. Students can read this article to learn more about the thorny issues related to freedom of expression on college campuses. And they can read this Opinion piece about freedom of speech and prohibitions of harassment, including against students because of their identity.

    Campus disruption and the police response: Protests have been taking place at college campuses since the war began in October. However, the nature and tenor of the protests and of universities’ responses changed on April 18, when Columbia University called in the police, who arrested more than 100 protesters and removed dozens of tents that protesters had set up. Within hours, a new group of protesters pitched tents at Columbia, and within days, protesters at other schools across the country established their own pro-Palestinian encampments. The demonstrations have also attracted counterprotesters, and clashes between the two groups have occasionally become violent, as seen at U.C.L.A. In the weeks since, universities have cracked down on these escalating protests and encampments, citing issues of safety and campus disruption, and more than 2,700 people have been arrested or detained on campuses so far. Students can read this article about how administrators at some of the country’s most influential universities have struggled to calm campuses torn by this conflict.

    After reading, students might discuss the following questions:

    • In your own words, what did you learn?

    • What questions do you still have?

    • What might you need to research further to better understand?

    • How does what you read change your understanding of or thinking about these issues?

    ]]>     Alleged Hate Crime in Lockport Township Exposes Persistent Inequalities and Justice Gaps https://sdgtalks.ai/alleged-hate-crime-in-lockport-township-exposes-persistent-inequalities-and-justice-gaps https://sdgtalks.ai/alleged-hate-crime-in-lockport-township-exposes-persistent-inequalities-and-justice-gaps Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:46 -0500 Clark Howard

    The incident reported in Lockport Township, Illinois, where a woman was allegedly shot by her neighbor, highlights several critical aspects related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities, and Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

    The victim, Melissa Robertson, and her family have endured years of harassment from the accused, John P. Shadbar, allegedly culminating in this violent act. According to reports, Shadbar subjected the family to racial slurs and intimidation, targeting them because of their race. The victim's son recounted instances where Shadbar used racial epithets and brandished firearms, creating a hostile environment for the family.

    This tragic incident underscores the persistence of racial inequalities and the urgent need to address systemic discrimination. Goal 10 aims to reduce inequalities by advocating for universal policies that consider the needs of marginalized populations. However, the failure to effectively address the reported harassment despite previous complaints reflects a gap in achieving this goal.

    Furthermore, the shooting incident raises concerns regarding access to justice and the functioning of institutions. Despite the family's repeated attempts to seek intervention from authorities, the harassment allegedly persisted without resolution. Goal 16 emphasizes the importance of building effective, accountable institutions and ensuring access to justice for all. The fact that the victim's family felt unheard and unprotected suggests a failure in meeting these objectives.

    In conclusion, the alleged hate crime in Lockport Township underscores the ongoing challenges in addressing racial inequalities and ensuring justice and security for all individuals, as outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Efforts to combat discrimination and strengthen institutional frameworks are imperative to creating a more equitable and peaceful society.

    Illinois man who allegedly shot neighbor, a white woman with

    Black sons, charged with hate crime

    John Shadbar was also charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

    By Minyvonne Burke

    An Illinois man was arrested and charged with a hate crime after he allegedly shot his neighbor several times in what authorities say is a racially motivated incident.

    Around 5:37 p.m. Tuesday deputies were called to an area in Lockport Township for reports of shots fired. The responding deputies were told that the victim, a 45-year-old woman, had been shot by her neighbor, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Facebook.

    Witnesses identified the shooter as John P. Shadbar and said he had "shot the victim outside and was walking around his property with a rifle," according to authorities. They said he allegedly fired dozens of rounds at the woman "from different outside locations."

    The shooting was captured on video from security cameras in the area. The sheriff's office said they believe it was racially motivated.

    John P. Shadbar in court.
    John P. Shadbar is facing nine felony charges, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, felony possession of a firearm and a hate crime after he allegedly shot his neighbor.WMAQ

    Deputies provided life-saving measures to the woman and she was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Authorities said she had been shot in the chest and hand and underwent surgery. She is currently recovering, the sheriff's office said.

    The victim was identified by family members as Melissa Robertson. The family told NBC Chicago that they have been harassed by Shadbar since they moved in 10 years ago. Robertson is white and her sons are Black.

    Mikeal Johnson, one of Robertson's sons, told the news station that during one incident Shadbar allegedly yelled slurs like "dead n-words, n-word this, n-word lover."

    "[He] called me the n-word straight to my face," Johnson said. "My mom made him apologize. A few days later he comes out holding a gun in his underwear."

    Other times, Shadbar would allegedly fire his gun in his yard and toss fireworks between the homes, the family said.

    During Tuesday's incident, he was yelling "dead n-word" and was trying to get into the family’s backyard, Robertson’s aunt, Jeanne Beyer, told NBC Chicago. Robertson’s 8-year-old son witnessed the shooting, the family said.

    Authorities said Shadbar, 70, barricaded himself inside his residence after the shooting. After speaking with him on the phone, a crisis negotiator convinced him to exit with his hands up, according to the news release.

    Deputies said Shadbar made "several incriminating statements" while speaking to the crisis negotiator.

    He was transported to the Will County Adult Detention Facility and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and a hate crime. The sheriff's office said additional charges are likely.

    The family said that they contacted authorities several times over the years about the alleged harassment, but nothing was ever done about it. NBC News reached out to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

    "This did not need to happen at all. Not just our lives, but his life and his wife’s and our neighbors are all affected by it," Johnson told NBC Chicago.

    Shadbar appeared in court on Thursday and was denied pretrial release.

    ]]>     Northern Lights Spark Reflection on Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/northern-lights-spark-reflection-on-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/northern-lights-spark-reflection-on-sustainable-development-goals Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:41 -0500 Clark Howard


    The recent announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center regarding a severe solar storm expected to supercharge the northern lights on Friday has drawn attention to both the marvels of nature and the potential risks associated with such events. This celestial spectacle, while awe-inspiring, also raises concerns about its impact on various aspects of life on Earth, particularly in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Firstly, the forecasted severe geomagnetic storm underscores the significance of Goal 13: Climate Action. Solar storms, driven by fluctuations in solar activity, remind us of the interconnectedness of Earth's systems and the urgency of addressing climate-related challenges. While the northern lights themselves are a natural wonder, the underlying solar events highlight the need for proactive measures to mitigate the broader impacts of climate change.

    Furthermore, the potential disruption to communication and power grids due to strong geomagnetic storms underscores the importance of Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. In an increasingly interconnected world reliant on technology and communication networks, ensuring the resilience of infrastructure is paramount for sustainable development. Adequate investment in infrastructure and innovative technologies can help mitigate the risks posed by such natural phenomena.

    Moreover, the mention of potential disruptions to satellites in space highlights the relevance of Goal 17: Partnerships. Collaborative efforts between space agencies, meteorological organizations, and governments are essential for monitoring and managing the impacts of space weather events. By fostering global partnerships and information-sharing mechanisms, we can better prepare for and respond to such challenges.

    Lastly, the article serves as a reminder of the intricate relationship between human activities and the broader natural environment, emphasizing the importance of Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Responsible stewardship of resources and sustainable production practices can contribute to minimizing our ecological footprint and enhancing resilience to natural hazards.

    In summary, while the anticipated display of the northern lights offers a moment of wonder and awe, it also prompts reflection on the imperative to address climate-related challenges, bolster infrastructure resilience, foster global partnerships, and promote responsible consumption and production practices in pursuit of sustainable development.

    Severe solar storm expected to supercharge northern lights

    on Friday

    The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued its first "severe geomagnetic storm watch" since 2005. Auroras might be seen as far south as Alabama.

    By Denise Chow and Evan Bush

    A severe solar storm is expected to supercharge the northern lights on Friday, with forecasts indicating that auroras could be seen as far south in the United States as Alabama.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center said Thursday that a series of solar flares and eruptions from the sun could trigger severe geomagnetic storms and “spectacular displays of aurora” on Earth from Friday evening through the weekend.

    It was the first severe geomagnetic storm watch the agency has issued since 2005.

    “We have a rare event on our hands,” said Shawn Dahl, a service coordinator at the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. "We're a little concerned. We haven't seen this in a long time."

    People view the northern lights, or aurora borealis over a lake in Washington
    People view the northern lights, or aurora borealis over Lake Washington, in Renton, Wash. on Saturday.Lindsey Wasson / AP

    Because strong geomagnetic storms have the power to disrupt communications and power grids on Earth, as well as satellites in space, Dahl said satellite and grid operators have been notified to prepare.

    He said forecasters predict the storm could arrive as soon as about 8 p.m. ET on Friday.

    "We’re less certain on the timing of these events, because we’re talking about something for 93 million miles away," Dahl said, referring to the distance from the sun to the Earth.

    A NASA spacecraft orbiting about 1 million miles from Earth, called the Advanced Composition Explorer, will help forecasters measure the solar wind and understand the timing and potential effects more precisely.

    The northern lights, or aurora borealis, come from charged particles that spew from the sun during solar storms. The colorful displays are created when clouds of these energetic particles slam into Earth’s magnetic field and interact with the atoms and molecules in the planet’s upper atmosphere.

    The northern lights typically light up the night sky at high latitudes, but during intense periods of solar activity, they can be spotted farther south than usual.

    The Space Weather Prediction Center’s forecast said it’s possible that auroras on Friday night could be seen “as far south as Alabama and Northern California.”

    Northern Lights are seen in Fredericton, Canada
    Northern Lights are seen in Fredericton, Canada on Saturday.Hina Alam / The Canadian Press via AP

    The agency maintains an aurora dashboard that provides short-term forecasts of the northern lights. If conditions are clear, auroras are best viewed from locations that are dark and far from city lights.

    As night descended on parts of Australia and Europe, early photos began to emerge of dramatically colorful skies.

    Dahl said smartphones might even be able to capture imagery of the aurora at southern locations where the human eye can't see anything unusual.

    According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, several “moderate to strong” solar flares have been detected since Wednesday morning. Solar flares unleash clouds of plasma and charged particles, called coronal mass ejections, into space. At least five flares and their associated coronal mass ejections appear to be directed at Earth, the center said.

    “Additional solar eruptions could cause geomagnetic storm conditions to persist through the weekend,” it said in a statement.

    When directed at Earth, this geomagnetic and solar radiation can induce currents on high-voltage transmission lines and cause problems for transformers on the power grid.

    One of the most damaging geomagnetic storms occurred in 1989, when roughly 6 million people in Montreal, Canada, lost power for nine hours, according to NASA. Some parts of the northeastern U.S. and Sweden were also affected in that event.

    Northern Lights In Barcelona
    The northern lights are visible from Berga, near Barcelona, Spain on Saturday. Albert Llop / AP

    In 2002, a coronal mass ejection knocked out 38 commercial satellites.

    The sun goes through 11-year cycles from minimum to maximum activity. The current cycle, which began in late 2019, is predicted to peak with maximum activity in July 2025, according to NOAA and NASA forecasts.

    ]]>     Tesla&apos;s German Gigafactory: Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Concerns in Pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/teslas-german-gigafactory-balancing-economic-growth-and-environmental-concerns-in-pursuit-of-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/teslas-german-gigafactory-balancing-economic-growth-and-environmental-concerns-in-pursuit-of-sustainable-development-goals Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:36 -0500 Clark Howard

    This incident resonates particularly with several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, and Goal 13: Climate Action. Tesla's Gigafactory represents a significant investment in clean energy technology, aligning with the aim of Goal 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. However, the expansion plans have faced opposition from environmental activists who argue that the factory's construction involves clearing acres of forest, raising concerns about its impact on biodiversity and local ecosystems.

    Moreover, the protests raise questions about Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. While economic development projects like Tesla's Gigafactory can bring opportunities for job creation and infrastructure development, they must also ensure that communities have a say in decision-making processes and that development is carried out in a sustainable manner, balancing economic growth with environmental and social considerations.

    Additionally, the clashes between protesters and authorities highlight the importance of Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. Effective governance and access to justice for all are essential for resolving conflicts and addressing grievances in a fair and transparent manner. The involvement of police forces from neighboring states and national levels underscores the need for coordinated responses to maintain public order while upholding fundamental rights.

    In summary, the events at Tesla's Gigafactory in Germany illustrate the intricate interplay between economic development, environmental conservation, social equity, and governance, highlighting the challenges and opportunities inherent in pursuing sustainable development goals.

    Protesters attempt to storm Tesla’s factory in Germany

    LondonCNN — 

    As many as 800 activists gathered outside Tesla’s factory near Berlin Friday to protest its expansion plans, and some of them clashed with police as they attempted to break into the plant.

    “There are currently 800 activists on the Tesla Gigafactory site as part of the Disrupt Tesla Action Days,” Disrupt, a coalition of self-declared anti-capitalist groups that organized the protest, said in a statement on its website.

    Police officials said in a press release Friday that, “people from the previous protest march ran through the forest towards the Tesla company premises. As they were in the immediate vicinity of the Deutsche Bahn railroad tracks at the time and partially entered them, rail traffic between Erkner and Fürstenwalde had to be temporarily stopped.”

    Police also said they had prevented the group from entering the Tesla premises.

    Ole Becker, a Disrupt spokesperson, told CNN: “It was a good day for activists. We saw a lot of police violence unfortunately,” he added. “I saw a lot of injured people… I have seen things today which I haven’t seen for many years.”

    Tesla's factory in Grünheide, Brandenburg seen in April 2024.

    RELATED ARTICLETesla tells its German factory workers to stay home as more protests loom

    Neither Tesla (TSLA) nor police in the German state of Brandenburg, where the plant is located, have responded to a CNN request for comment.

    But Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a post on X Friday: “Protesters did not manage to break through the fence line. There are still two intact fence lines all around (the factory).”

    Disrupt argues that Musk’s plans to more than double the production capacity of Tesla’s only factory in Europe would damage the local environment.

    The group says the expansion would require clearing swathes of the surrounding forest and would further strain local water supply. It has planned four days of protests, which started Wednesday.

    Police officers stand in front of activists protesting against the expansion of the Tesla factory near Berlin, Germany on May 10, 2024. 
    Christian Mang/Reuters

    Tesla shut the factory Friday to all employees in anticipation of crowds gathering outside in protest against the planned expansion.

    A stoppage of the plant’s production lines this Friday was announced back in January, CNN affiliate RTL reported earlier this week, quoting a Tesla spokesperson. But with the protests “in mind,” the electric vehicle maker has decided that all other workers at the factory should also stay at home, RTL said.

    In early March, Tesla was also forced to close the plant, that time for a week, after a high-voltage electricity pylon delivering power to the factory was set on fire. A group of far-left activists claimed responsibility for the arson attack.

    A police officer tries to push back protesters running toward the Tesla factory near Berlin on May 10, 2024. 
    Christian Mang/Reuters

    Police in Brandenburg said Wednesday that they had prepared for “extensive” operations, noting that they would be supported by federal police and several other state police forces.

    “Disruptive protests as well as criminal acts typical of this kind of gathering cannot be ruled out,” they said in a statement. “Consequently, the police are prepared for both a peaceful and non-peaceful outcome. If crimes are committed, the police will intervene resolutely.”

    - CNN’s Chris Stern contributed to this report

    ]]>     Colorectal Cancer Trends Among Youth: A Call to Action for Health Equity and Innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/colorectal-cancer-trends-among-youth-a-call-to-action-for-health-equity-and-innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/colorectal-cancer-trends-among-youth-a-call-to-action-for-health-equity-and-innovation Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:29 -0500 Clark Howard

    First and foremost, the increase in colorectal cancer cases among individuals under 50 years old intersects with Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being. This goal emphasizes the importance of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages. The rising incidence of colorectal cancer in younger demographics signifies a significant public health challenge that demands attention and action to safeguard the well-being of individuals across all age groups.

    Furthermore, the study's findings prompt considerations related to Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. While the exact causes behind the uptick in colorectal cancer cases among younger generations remain uncertain, the speculation regarding environmental factors, such as changes in food processing methods or exposure to plastics, underscores the need for further research and innovation in understanding the complex interplay between environmental factors and human health.

    Additionally, the article touches upon the importance of timely screening and access to healthcare services, resonating with Goal 3 and Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities. Ensuring equitable access to screening and healthcare services is essential to mitigate disparities in cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes among different demographic groups, thereby advancing the overarching objective of reducing inequalities and promoting universal health coverage.

    Moreover, the study's implications extend to Goal 17: Partnerships. Addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by rising colorectal cancer rates among younger individuals requires collaborative efforts among healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers, and communities. By fostering partnerships and knowledge-sharing initiatives, stakeholders can enhance prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies to mitigate the impact of colorectal cancer on public health.

    In conclusion, the findings of the study underscore the interconnectedness between health outcomes and broader sustainable development objectives. Addressing the rising rates of colorectal cancer among younger populations necessitates a holistic approach that aligns with the principles and targets outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

    Colon cancer rates have been rising for decades in younger

    people, study finds

    Researchers saw a sharp increase among teenagers but noted that the overall number of cases in that age group are very low.
    By Kaitlin Sullivan

    Colorectal cancer rates have been rising for decades among people too young for routine screening, new research finds.

    Routine screening is recommended every 10 years starting at age 45; the new study focused on rates of the disease in children and adults ages 10 to 44, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Cases of colorectal cancer were on the rise in all age groups, the researchers found.

    “It means that there is a trend,” said Dr. Islam Mohamed, an internal medicine resident physician at the University of Missouri-Kansas City who led the research. “We don’t know what to make of it yet, it could be lifestyle factors or genetics, but there is a trend.”

    The findings, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, will be presented later this month at the Digestive Disease Week conference in Washington, D.C. 

    Despite the increases, the overall number of cases in people younger than 40 was still low. In people under age 30, cases remained exceedingly rare.

    But with such low rates to begin with, any increase can take on a larger significance.

    The study found that colorectal cancer diagnoses in children ages 10 to 14 jumped from 0.1 cases per 100,000 in 1999 to 0.6 per 100,000 in 2020, a 500% increase. Cases among 15- to 19-year-olds jumped by more than 300%, from 0.3 per 100,000 to 1.3 cases per 100,000 people. In people ages 20 to 24, cases rose from 0.7 to 2 per 100,000 people, a 185% rise. 

    “When you are starting off with a very rare disease in 15-year-olds and you add a couple cases, you are going to have a huge percentage increase,” said Dr. Folasade May, an associate professor of medicine in the University of California, Los Angeles Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases. 

    The increases were smaller for people over 25, but they also started with higher rates in 1999 than the younger groups. People older than 25 saw a more moderate, but still significant, rise in cases. The age group that was just too young to be routinely screened — those ages 40 to 44 — saw an increase of 45%, from about 15 per 100,000 people to about 21 cases per 100,000 people in 2020.

    “We know this disease is age-related, as you get older you are more likely to develop polyps and those polyps are more likely to develop into cancer,” said May. 

    May said that although the overall trend is alarming, it’s reassuring to see that the oldest group had the smallest percentage increase, since that group started with the largest number of cases. The data is still important, she said.

    “Anybody who is 15 to 19 years old getting a colorectal cancer diagnosis is bad,” May said. 

    ‘Changing the face of colorectal cancer’

    Colorectal cancer rates have been rising in people younger than 50 over the last few decades. At the same time, cases and deaths from the cancer that was once thought to only affect older people is decreasing in people in their 60s and beyond. 

    “This reflects the changing face of colorectal cancer,” said Dr. Christopher Lieu, co-director of gastrointestinal medical oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

    The increasing rates in younger people means that the greater risk for the disease will likely stick with them for the rest of their lives, a phenomenon called the birth cohort effect, Lieu said.  That means that a 40-year-old born in 1984 has a higher risk of colorectal cancer than someone born in 1950 did when they were 40.  

    “It’s not like when you become a 50-year-old that risk diminishes, you carry that risk with you,” he said. “As younger people age, I worry that we will see increases in colorectal cancer cases in the groups that are getting screened.”

    Doctors are still searching for answers as to why colorectal cancer cases are on the rise among younger generations. But the reason does not appear to be genetic, May said. 

    “There are a few cancers where we are now seeing an earlier onset and they are probably linked. We don’t know why, but I think what we all agree on is that it is something environmental over something genetic,” she said, noting that it may be tied to more recently developed food processing methods or exposure to plastics. 

    The experts agreed that the increases in colorectal cancer rates among younger generations were alarming, but did not support lowering the screening age for people who have an average risk. In 2018, the American Cancer Society dropped its recommendation for routine screening from age 50 to 45. 

    “Before we talk about lowering the screening age from 45, we need to get those people screened. Less than 60% of people 45 and over have been screened,” May said. 

    Lieu said the data reinforces the importance of everyone, in every age group, being aware of the warning signs of colorectal cancer, and that doctors understand the importance of screening even their young patients if symptoms arise. 

    “Young patients wait longer to go to the doctor and also have to wait longer to establish their diagnosis because many of our patients get told they are too young to have colorectal cancer,” Lieu said. “We don’t want our patients to experience that any more, especially based on this data.” 

    The most common symptoms patients in the study diagnosed with early onset colorectal cancer reported were changes in bowel habits — either constipation or diarrhea — abdominal pain, rectal bleeding and signs of anemia. Lieu said if anyone, especially a young person, has blood in their stool, that is reason to schedule an appointment with a doctor. 

    One of the most powerful things a person can do for their health is to understand their family history, Mohamed said. 

    “Knowing their family history can provide them with valuable insights into their own health,” he said, noting that people who have a family history of colorectal cancer should start getting screened 10 years before a sibling or parent was diagnosed.

    ]]>     Greek Court Sentences Former Turkish Consulate Official on Spying Charges: Implications for Regional Stability https://sdgtalks.ai/greek-court-sentences-former-turkish-consulate-official-on-spying-charges-implications-for-regional-stability https://sdgtalks.ai/greek-court-sentences-former-turkish-consulate-official-on-spying-charges-implications-for-regional-stability Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:21 -0500 Clark Howard

    The recent sentencing of a former official at the Turkish Consulate by a Greek appeals court on spying charges underscores the delicate diplomatic relations between Greece and Turkey, both NATO allies. The court's decision, which sentenced the Greek national employed with the Turkish consulate on the island of Rhodes to five years in prison, aligns with the principles of Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

    The case, which dates back to 2020, highlights the tensions between the two nations, rooted in longstanding issues such as the divided island of Cyprus and disputes over exploration rights in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. The accused, along with another Greek national who worked as a cook on a passenger ship, were under surveillance for months before their arrest. They were charged with photographing the movements of Greek armed forces in the Aegean Sea, reflecting concerns over national security and territorial integrity.

    Despite these tensions, both Greece and Turkey have made recent efforts to improve relations. In December, they agreed to reboot their relations, aiming to establish a roadmap for closer ties. However, incidents like this underscore the challenges in achieving sustainable peace and cooperation between the two nations, highlighting the importance of Goal 17: Partnerships in revitalizing global partnerships for sustainable development.

    Greek Court Sentences Former Official at Turkish Consulate

    to Prison on Spying Charges

    ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek appeals court has sentenced a man who worked for a Turkish consulate to five years in prison on spying charges, legal sources said on Friday, in a case that had strained relations between the NATO allies.

    The man, a Greek national employed with the Turkish consulate on the island of Rhodes, was arrested in 2020.

    He had denied any wrongdoing and Turkey's foreign ministry had condemned the arrest, saying it violated the then consular official's rights.

    A second Greek national, who worked as a cook on a passenger ship operating the Rhodes-Kastelorizo line, and who was arrested at the same time, has also been sentenced to three years in prison. He had also denied any wrongdoing.

    Kastelorizo is a small Greek island just off the Turkish coast.

    The two had been under surveillance for months before their arrest and they were accused of photographing the movements of Greek armed forces in the Aegean Sea.

    Greece and Turkey have long-running issues that divide them, ranging from the divided island of Cyprus to exploration rights in the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea.

    In December, both countries agreed to reboot their relations, establishing a roadmap designed to usher in a new era of closer ties between them.

    ]]>     Biden&apos;s Weapons Pause in Israel Conflict: Impact and UN SDG Perspective https://sdgtalks.ai/bidens-weapons-pause-in-israel-conflict-impact-and-un-sdg-perspective https://sdgtalks.ai/bidens-weapons-pause-in-israel-conflict-impact-and-un-sdg-perspective Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:16 -0500 Clark Howard


    The article discusses President Joe Biden's decision to pause shipments of bombs to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. While this move has garnered praise from some critical Democrats, it's unlikely to quell the protests against Israel's actions, according to organizers and strategists.

    The protests, largely led by a coalition of young voters and people of color, demand a suspension of military aid to Israel, a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and divestment from companies supporting Israel's actions. Despite Biden's temporary ceasefire call and support for a two-state solution, billions more in weapons shipments remain in the pipeline.

    From the lens of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this situation primarily relates to Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. The ongoing conflict in Gaza underscores the need for access to justice for all and the establishment of effective, accountable institutions to address such conflicts. Additionally, it highlights the importance of Goal 17: Partnerships, as revitalizing global partnerships is crucial for sustainable development and resolving conflicts like the one between Israel and Gaza.

    Biden's Israel Weapons Pause Won't Dent Gaza Protests,

    Organizers Say

    By Nandita Bose, Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason

    WASHINGTON (Reuters)

    Biden's decision last week marks the first time he has withheld U.S. military aid from Israel since the country began attacking Gaza seven months ago, pursuing Hamas militants. Republicans and some Democrats have accused Biden of putting the security of the U.S.'s closest ally in the region at risk.

    It is also too little, too late, to satisfy the left-leaning coalition of young voters and people of color who have led the protests against Israel's attacks, many say.

    Pro-Palestinian protests have swept college campuses across the country, followed Biden at private events and pushed Democrats in key battleground states to vote "uncommitted" to signal their unhappiness as deaths in Israeli-occupied Gaza climbed to 35,000.

    "We welcome Biden's words and this gesture toward taking responsibility for U.S. complicity in these crimes," said Stephanie Fox, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, a group whose members are involved with protests around the country, including on college campuses.

    "If his words are to mean anything, rather than a one off pause, this needs to be the start of a sea change in U.S. policy," Fox said.

    Protesters are seeking suspension of military aid

    "I think Biden's comments yesterday moves the needle... but what we don't know is if it's a PR move to try to placate some of his opponents on this issue or if it's real because he has also said his support for Israel is ironclad," said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, another group whose members have been participating in protests all over the country.

    "We will continue protesting," Benjamin said.

    to Israel, a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for universities to divest from companies that support Israel's actions in Gaza. Israel is retaliating for Hamas militants attacks on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200.

    Biden has called for a temporary ceasefire and said he supports an eventual two-state solution. While he has been increasingly critical of the Israeli government, billions more in weapons shipments remain in the pipeline.

    On Friday, Israeli troops took their ground war with Palestinian fighters into city of Rafah, as the United Nations warned that aid for the devastated Gaza Strip could grind to a halt in days.

    ISRAEL IS A TOP ISSUE FOR SMALL GROUP

    Stanley Greenberg, a veteran pollster who has worked for top U.S. Democrats and Israelis, held a focus group on Wednesday with voters under 45 years old, and Gaza was one of the top issues raised after rising prices.

    "It was top of mind for them," he said about Gaza. Asked whether "the U.S. has gone too far in support of Israel, a plurality say yes."

    Some pollsters and the Biden reelection campaign believe the issue only resonates for a small group of people. "It's very important to some people, but they're in the minority in the electorate," said Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University.

    The campaign’s message is that Biden is experienced in diplomatic matters and going to make tough and necessary decisions regardless of the polls, according to a person familiar with their thinking.

    Americans' support for military aid to Israel has dropped in recent months, as has young voter support for Biden, polls show. He has struggled with tepid approval for most of his term in a sharply divided country.

    Biden's margin of victory in some key battleground states was slim, and it would not take much of a slip in support from many such voters who backed him in 2020 to throw his reelection bid into question, analysts say.

    Waleed Shahid, a Democratic adviser to the national "uncommitted" movement asking voters to pick another candidate in state primaries, called Biden's comment a "small step forward" and said it shows the U.S. has leverage in its dealings with Israel.

    Shahid, however, said "until actions are taken to stop the arms sales for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's war, a lot of Biden's base, a lot of the Democratic Party is going to continue to be fractured on this issue."

    Other groups urged Biden to act more decisively in confronting Israel instead of looking for a middle ground if he wants to put the Democratic coalition back together.

    (Reporting by Nandita Bose, Trevor Hunnicutt, Jeff Mason. Editing by Heather Timmons and Josie Kao)

    ]]>     Conflict Escalation in Ukraine Highlights Urgent Need for Peace and International Cooperation https://sdgtalks.ai/conflict-escalation-in-ukraine-highlights-urgent-need-for-peace-and-international-cooperation https://sdgtalks.ai/conflict-escalation-in-ukraine-highlights-urgent-need-for-peace-and-international-cooperation Fri, 10 May 2024 14:22:08 -0500 Clark Howard

    This war escalation development directly relates to several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those focused on peace, justice, and strong institutions (Goal 16), as well as partnerships (Goal 17).

    Goal 16, which emphasizes the importance of access to justice for all and the need for effective, accountable institutions at all levels, is particularly relevant in the context of the ongoing conflict. The situation underscores the necessity of resolving disputes through peaceful means and upholding international laws and agreements. The UN's involvement in mediating conflicts and promoting dialogue between conflicting parties is crucial for achieving lasting peace and stability.

    Furthermore, Goal 17 emphasizes the revitalization of global partnerships for sustainable development. The conflict in Ukraine highlights the interconnectedness of global security and development, emphasizing the need for international cooperation and collaboration to address conflicts and their underlying causes. Sustainable development cannot be achieved in regions affected by conflict, making peacebuilding efforts essential for progress towards all SDGs.

    The article also indirectly touches upon other SDGs such as Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). The escalation of conflict can disrupt economic activities, undermine stability, and threaten the well-being of communities. Therefore, efforts to resolve conflicts and promote peace are essential for fostering sustainable economic growth and ensuring the well-being of affected populations.

    In summary, the recent escalation of conflict between Russia and Ukraine underscores the importance of international efforts to promote peace, justice, and cooperation, as outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving these goals requires a concerted global effort and a commitment to resolving conflicts through peaceful means.

    Russia mounts surprise assault on northern Ukraine in most

    serious cross-border offensive in two years

    CNN — By Victoria Butenko, Olga Voitovych, Andrew Carey, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Nick Paton Walsh and Zahid Mahmood

    Russian forces have made two cross-border assaults inside northern Ukraine, according to information from Ukrainian sources and officials, in what President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling a “new wave of counteroffensive actions” by Russia.

    In the first development, Russian soldiers penetrated at least one kilometer towards the town of Vovchansk, a Ukrainian military source told CNN. The aim, the source said, “was to get 10 km deep and create a buffer zone at the border to secure Russian territory from feeling the war.”

    In an official statement, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russian soldiers supported by armored vehicles had moved across the border at about 5 a.m. Friday, following a day of stepped-up attacks on the border area with guided aerial bombs and artillery.

    The statement added that Ukrainian reserve units had been deployed to strengthen defenses in the area. On Saturday, local authorities said more than 20 air glide KAB bombs had been launched at the town and its surrounding settlements. The region’s governor Oleh Syniehubov said two civilians were killed when the bombs hit private houses.

    Servicemen of the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine fire a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova

    RELATED ARTICLEUS announces $400 million military aid package for Ukraine

    A second Ukrainian source with direct knowledge of frontline developments told CNN that Russian forces had also penetrated 5 kilometers inside Ukraine towards the village of Krasne, which lies about 75 km along the border, west of Vovchansk.

    The source said the Russian ground assault towards Krasne was carried out by four Russian battalions - about 2,000 men.

    Ukrainian officials have not given much information about the second Russian push, though Ukraine’s General Staff, in its Friday evening update, did note Russian attacks in the area of Krasne and two neighboring villages.

    It is also noteworthy that DeepStateMap, a Ukrainian monitoring group which updates frontline developments daily, showed four villages next to each other - including Krasne - in the grey area, representing territory currently contested rather than under full Ukrainian control.

    DeepStateMap also noted on its Telegram channel that the number of Russian forces deployed in the two cross-border pushes was not enough for a deeper advance into Ukrainian territory, but it also drew attention to the fact Moscow has many more troops positioned along the border - estimated to be around 40,000.

    Asked about developments, Zelensky did not downplay their seriousness but said Ukraine’s military had been expecting such a move.

    “Russia launched a new wave of counteroffensive actions in [northern Kharkiv region]. Ukraine met them there with our troops, brigades and artillery,” he told reporters early Friday afternoon.

    Serhii Rud is pictured during the presentation of the commemorative coin

    RELATED ARTICLEZelensky sacks bodyguard chief after foiled assassination plot

    “But our military and military command were aware of this and anticipated their forces to meet the enemy with fire. Now there is a fierce battle in this area […] I think as of now we have stopped the enemy with artillery fire,” Zelensky said.

    In an address Saturday evening local time, Zelensky said Ukraine was “strengthening our positions” and adding forces to the Kharkiv region.

    Residents of border villages have been told to evacuate by authorities. National police posted photos and a video on social media showing officers helping people pack their belongings into police vehicles ahead of being driven to safer locations.

    A total of 1,775 people have so far been evacuated from Kharkiv region, a day after Russia’s surprise assault, the head of the region’s military administration said Saturday.

    The developments mark the most serious cross-border ground assault by Russia since Ukraine re-captured the northern Kharkiv region in the late summer of 2022, after it was first taken by Russia in the opening weeks of its full-scale invasion.

    It also comes after several months of increased Russian air attacks on the city of Kharkiv, which have knocked out all the city’s power-generating capacity, as well as its sub-stations.

    Governor Syniehubov insisted the latest Russian ground assaults did not put the city, which lies just 30 km south from the Russian border, under heightened risk.

    “The enemy group does not pose a threat to Kharkiv city, its forces are only enough for provocations in the northern direction.”

    However, analysts note that if Russian forces were able to push much further south, that could bring the northern edge of the city within range of Russian artillery, which can fire about 20 km.

    ]]>     Human Rights Abuses in Israeli Detention Centers: Undermining Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/human-rights-abuses-in-israeli-detention-centers-undermining-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/human-rights-abuses-in-israeli-detention-centers-undermining-sustainable-development-goals Fri, 10 May 2024 13:58:23 -0500 Clark Howard

    First and foremost, the treatment described in the article directly contravenes Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being. The conditions within the detention center, including lack of proper medical care, neglect of wounds, and even allegations of amputations without proper medical justification, contribute to the deterioration of the detainees' physical and mental health.

    Moreover, Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions are undermined by the reported abuses. Access to justice for all, as outlined in this goal, is clearly lacking for the Palestinian detainees described in the article. The secrecy surrounding the detention camps, refusal to disclose the number of detainees, and the suppression of information through censorship and military control all undermine the principles of justice and transparency.

    Furthermore, Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities is starkly contradicted by the treatment of the detainees. The article highlights the disproportionate power dynamics at play, with detainees subjected to abusive treatment by Israeli guards. Such disparities in power and treatment perpetuate and exacerbate existing inequalities.

    Additionally, Goal 4: Quality Education is undermined by the reported mistreatment. The denial of basic human rights, including the right to education, contributes to a cycle of deprivation and marginalization, hindering opportunities for personal and societal development.

    Lastly, Goal 17: Partnerships is compromised by the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the detention centers. True progress towards sustainable development requires collaboration and partnership between governments, civil society, and international organizations. However, the secretive nature of the facilities and the lack of cooperation in addressing allegations of abuse hinder the possibility of meaningful partnerships to address these issues.

    In conclusion, the reported abuses in the detention center not only violate fundamental human rights but also undermine key principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the urgent need for accountability, transparency, and respect for human dignity in all aspects of governance and conflict resolution.

    Strapped down, blindfolded, held in diapers: Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of Palestinians in shadowy detention center

    By CNN's International Investigations and Visuals teams
    Sde Teiman, IsraelCNN — 

    At a military base that now doubles as a detention center in Israel’s Negev desert, an Israeli working at the facility snapped two photographs of a scene that he says continues to haunt him.

    Rows of men in gray tracksuits are seen sitting on paper-thin mattresses, ringfenced by barbed wire. All appear blindfolded, their heads hanging heavy under the glare of floodlights.

    A putrid stench filled the air and the room hummed with the men’s murmurs, the Israeli who was at the facility told CNN. Forbidden from speaking to each other, the detainees mumbled to themselves.

    “We were told they were not allowed to move. They should sit upright. They’re not allowed to talk. Not allowed to peek under their blindfold.”

    Guards were instructed “to scream uskot” – shut up in Arabic – and told to “pick people out that were problematic and punish them,” the source added.

    A leaked photograph of the detention facility shows a blindfolded man with his arms above his head.
    A leaked photograph of the detention facility shows a blindfolded man with his arms above his head. 
    Obtained by CNN

    CNN spoke to three Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the Sde Teiman desert camp, which holds Palestinians detained during Israel’s invasion of Gaza. All spoke out at risk of legal repercussions and reprisals from groups supportive of Israel’s hardline policies in Gaza.

    They paint a picture of a facility where doctors sometimes amputated prisoners’ limbs due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing; of medical procedures sometimes performed by underqualified medics earning it a reputation for being “a paradise for interns”; and where the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot.

    According to the accounts, the facility some 18 miles from the Gaza frontier is split into two parts: enclosures where around 70 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are placed under extreme physical restraint, and a field hospital where wounded detainees are strapped to their beds, wearing diapers and fed through straws.

    “They stripped them down of anything that resembles human beings,” said one whistleblower, who worked as a medic at the facility’s field hospital.

    “(The beatings) were not done to gather intelligence. They were done out of revenge,” said another whistleblower. “It was punishment for what they (the Palestinians) did on October 7 and punishment for behavior in the camp.”

    Responding to CNN’s request for comment on all the allegations made in this report, the Israeli military, known as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said in a statement: “The IDF ensures proper conduct towards the detainees in custody. Any allegation of misconduct by IDF soldiers is examined and dealt with accordingly. In appropriate cases, MPCID (Military Police Criminal Investigation’s Division) investigations are opened when there is suspicion of misconduct justifying such action.”

    “Detainees are handcuffed based on their risk level and health status. Incidents of unlawful handcuffing are not known to the

     authorities.”

    The IDF did not directly deny accounts of people being stripped of their clothing or held in diapers. Instead, the Israeli military said that the detainees are given back their clothing once the IDF has determined that they pose no security risk.

    Reports of abuse at Sde Teiman have already surfaced in Israeli and Arab media after an outcry from Israeli and Palestinian rights groups over conditions there. But this rare testimony from Israelis working at the facility sheds further light on Israel’s conduct as it wages war in Gaza, with fresh allegations of mistreatment. It also casts more doubt on the Israeli government’s repeated assertions that it acts in accordance with accepted international practices and law.

    CNN has requested permission from the Israeli military to access the Sde Teiman base. Last month, a CNN team covered a small protest outside its main gate staged by Israeli activists demanding the closure of the facility. Israeli security forces questioned the team for around 30 minutes there, demanding to see the footage taken by CNN’s photojournalist. Israel often subjects reporters, even foreign journalists, to military censorship on security issues.

    Detained in the desert

    The Israeli military has acknowledged partially converting three different military facilities into detention camps for Palestinian detainees from Gaza since the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel, in which Israeli authorities say about 1,200 were killed and over 250 were abducted, and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza, killing nearly 35,000 people according to the strip’s health ministry. These facilities are Sde Teiman in the Negev desert, as well as Anatot and Ofer military bases in the occupied West Bank.

    The camps are part of the infrastructure of Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, an amended legislation passed by the Knesset last December that expanded the military’s authority to detain suspected militants.

    The law permits the military to detain people for 45 days without an arrest warrant, after which they must be transferred to Israel’s formal prison system (IPS), where over 9,000 Palestinians are being held in conditions that rights groups say have drastically deteriorated since October 7. Two Palestinian prisoners associations said last week that 18 Palestinians – including leading Gaza surgeon Dr. Adnan al-Bursh – had died in Israeli custody over the course of the war.

    The military detention camps – where the number of inmates is unknown – serve as a filtration point during the arrest period mandated by the Unlawful Combatants Law. After their detention in the camps, those with suspected Hamas links are transferred to the IPS, while those whose militant ties have been ruled out are released back to Gaza.

    CNN interviewed over a dozen former Gazan detainees who appeared to have been released from those camps. They said they could not determine where they were held because they were blindfolded through most of their detention and cut off from the outside world. But the details of their accounts tally with those of the whistleblowers.

    “We looked forward to the night so we could sleep. Then we looked forward to the morning in hopes that our situation might change,” said Dr. Mohammed al-Ran, recalling his detainment at a military facility where he said he endured desert temperatures, swinging from the heat of the day to the chill of night. CNN interviewed him outside Gaza last month.

    Al-Ran, a Palestinian who holds Bosnian citizenship, headed the surgical unit at northern Gaza’s Indonesian hospital, one of the first to be shut down and raided as Israel carried out its aerial, ground and naval offensive.

    He was arrested on December 18, he said, outside Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, where he had been working for three days after fleeing his hospital in the heavily bombarded north.

    He was stripped down to his underwear, blindfolded and his wrists tied, then dumped in the back of a truck where, he said, the near-naked detainees were piled on top of one another as they were shuttled to a detention camp in the middle of the desert.

    The details in his account are consistent with those of dozens of others collected by CNN recounting the conditions of arrest in Gaza. His account is also supported by numerous images depicting mass arrests published on social media profiles belonging to Israeli soldiers. Many of those images show captive Gazans, their wrists or ankles tied by cables, in their underwear and blindfolded.

    Al-Ran was held in a military detention center for 44 days, he told CNN. “Our days were filled with prayer, tears, and supplication. This eased our agony,” said al-Ran.

    “We cried and cried and cried. We cried for ourselves, cried for our nation, cried for our community, cried for our loved ones. We cried about everything that crossed our minds.”

    A week into his imprisonment, the detention camp’s authorities ordered him to act as an intermediary between the guards and the prisoners, a role known as Shawish, “supervisor,” in vernacular Arabic.

    According to the Israeli whistleblowers, a Shawish is normally a prisoner who has been cleared of suspected links to Hamas after interrogation.

    The Israeli military denied holding detainees unnecessarily, or using them for translation purposes. “If there is no reason for continued detention, the detainees are released back to Gaza,” they said in a statement.

    However, whistleblower and detainee accounts – particularly pertaining to Shawish – cast doubt on the IDF’s depiction of its clearing process. Al-Ran says that he served as Shawish for several weeks after he was cleared of Hamas links. Whistleblowers also said that the absolved Shawish served as intermediaries for some time.

    They are typically proficient in Hebrew, according to the eyewitnesses, enabling them to communicate the guards’ orders to the rest of the prisoners in Arabic.

    For that, al-Ran said he was given a special privilege: his blindfold was removed. He said this was another kind of hell.

    “Part of my torture was being able to see how people were being tortured,” he said. “At first you couldn’t see. You couldn’t see the torture, the vengeance, the oppression.

    “When they removed my blindfold, I could see the extent of the humiliation and abasement … I could see the extent to which they saw us not as human beings but as animals.”

    A leaked photograph of an enclosure where detainees in gray tracksuits are seen blindfolded and sitting on paper-thin mattresses. CNN was able to geolocate the hangar in the Sde Teiman facility. A portion of this image has been blurred by CNN to protect the identity of the source. 
    Obtained by CNN

    Al-Ran’s account of the forms of punishment he saw were corroborated by the whistleblowers who spoke with CNN. A prisoner who committed an offense such as speaking to another would be ordered to raise his arms above his head for up to an hour. The prisoner’s hands would sometimes be zip-tied to a fence to ensure that he did not come out of the stress position.

    For those who repeatedly breached the prohibition on speaking and moving, the punishment became more severe. Israeli guards would sometimes take a prisoner to an area outside the enclosure and beat him aggressively, according to two whistleblowers and al-Ran. A whistleblower who worked as a guard said he saw a man emerge from a beating with his teeth, and some bones, apparently broken.

    That whistleblower and al-Ran also described a routine search when the guards would unleash large dogs on sleeping detainees, lobbing a sound grenade at the enclosure as troops barged in. Al-Ran called this “the nightly torture.”

    “While we were cabled, they unleashed the dogs that would move between us, and trample over us,” said al-Ran. “You’d be lying on your belly, your face pressed against the ground. You can’t move, and they’re moving above you.”

    The same whistleblower recounted the search in the same harrowing detail. “It was a special unit of the military police that did the so-called search,” said the source. “But really it was an excuse to hit them. It was a terrifying situation.”

    “There was a lot of screaming and dogs barking.”

    Strapped to beds in a field hospital

    Whistleblower accounts portrayed a different kind of horror at the Sde Teiman field hospital.

    “What I felt when I was dealing with those patients is an idea of total vulnerability,” said one medic who worked at Sde Teiman.

    “If you imagine yourself being unable to move, being unable to see what’s going on, and being completely naked, that leaves you completely exposed,” the source said.  “I think that’s something that borders on, if not crosses to, psychological torture.”

    Another whistleblower said he was ordered to perform medical procedures on the Palestinian detainees for which he was not qualified.

    “I was asked to learn how to do things on the patients, performing minor medical procedures that are totally outside my expertise,” he said, adding that this was frequently done without anesthesia.

    “If they complained about pain, they would be given paracetamol,” he said, using another name for acetaminophen.

    “Just being there felt like being complicit in abuse.”

    The same whistleblower also said he witnessed an amputation performed on a man who had sustained injuries caused by the constant zip-tying of his wrists. The account tallied with details of a letter authored by a doctor working at Sde Teiman published by Ha’aretz in April.

    “From the first days of the medical facility’s operation until today, I have faced serious ethical dilemmas,” said the letter addressed to Israel’s attorney general, and its health and defense ministries, according to Ha’aretz. “More than that, I am writing (this letter) to warn you that the facilities’ operations do not comply with a single section among those dealing with health in the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law.”

    An IDF spokesperson denied the allegations reported by Ha’aretz in a written statement to CNN at the time, saying that medical procedures were conducted with “extreme care” and in accordance with Israeli and international law.

    The spokesperson added that the handcuffing of the detainees was done in “accordance with procedures, their health condition and the level of danger posed by them,” and that any allegation of violence would be examined.

    Whistleblowers also said that medical team were told to refrain from signing medical documents, corroborating previous reporting by rights group Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHRI).

    The PHRI report released in April warned of “a serious concern that anonymity is employed to prevent the possibility of investigations or complaints regarding breaches of medical ethics and professionalism.”

    “You don’t sign anything, and there is no verification of authority,” said the same whistleblower who said he lacked the appropriate training for the treatment he was asked to administer. “It is a paradise for interns because it’s like you do whatever you want.”

    CNN also requested comment from the Israeli health ministry on the allegations in this report. The ministry referred CNN back to the IDF.

    Concealed from the outside world

    Sde Teiman and other military detention camps have been shrouded in secrecy since their inception. Israel has repeatedly refused requests to disclose the number of detainees held at the facilities, or to reveal the whereabouts of Gazan prisoners.

    Last Wednesday, the Israeli Supreme Court held a hearing in response to a petition brought forward by Israeli rights group, HaMoked, to reveal the location of a Palestinian X-Ray technician detained from Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza in February. It was the first court session of its kind since October 7.

    Israel’s highest court had previously rejected writs of habeas corpus filed on behalf of dozens of Palestinians from Gaza held in unknown locations.

    The disappearances “allows for the atrocities that we’ve been hearing about to happen,” said Tal Steiner, an Israeli human rights lawyer and executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.

    “People completely disconnected from the outside world are the most vulnerable to torture and mistreatment,” Steiner said in an interview with CNN.

    Since October 7, more than 100 structures, including large tents and hangars, appeared within these areas of the Sde Teiman desert camp. Planet Labs PBC

    Satellite images provide further insight into activities at Sde Teiman, revealing that in the months since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, more than 100 new structures, including large tents and hangars, have been built at the desert camp. A comparison of aerial photographs from September 10, 2023 and March 1 this year also showed a significant increase in the number of vehicles at the facility, indicating an uptick in activity. Satellite imagery from two dates in early December showed construction work in progress.

    CNN also geolocated the two leaked photographs showing the enclosure holding the group of blindfolded men in gray tracksuits. The pattern of panels seen on the roof matched those of a large hangar visible in satellite imagery. The structure, which resembles an animal pen, is located in the central area of the Sde Teiman compound. It is an older structure seen among new buildings which have appeared since the war began.

    CNN reviewed satellite images from two other military detention camps – Ofer and Anatot bases in the occupied West Bank – and did not detect expansion in the grounds since October 7. Several rights groups and legal experts say they believe that Sde Teiman, which is the nearest to Gaza, likely hosts the largest number of detainees of the three military detention camps.

    “I was there for 23 days. Twenty-three days that felt like 100 years,” said 27-year-old Ibrahim Yassine on the day of his release from a military detention camp.

    He was lying in a crowded room with over a dozen newly freed men – they were still in the grey tracksuit prison uniforms. Some had deep flesh wounds from where the handcuffs had been removed.

    “We were handcuffed and blindfolded,” said another man, 43-year-old Sufyan Abu Salah. “Today is the first day I can see.”

    Several had a glassy look in their eyes and were seemingly emaciated. One elderly man breathed through an oxygen machine as he lay on a stretcher. Outside the hospital, two freed men from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society embraced their colleagues.

    For Dr. Al-Ran, his reunion with his friends was anything but joyful. The experience, he said, rendered him mute for a month as he battled an “emotional deadness.”

    “It was very painful. When I was released, people expected me to miss them, to embrace them. But there was a gap,” said al-Ran. “The people who were with me at the detention facility became my family. Those friendships were the only things that belonged to us.”

    Just before his release, a fellow prisoner had called out to him, his voice barely rising above a whisper, al-Ran said. He asked the doctor to find his wife and kids in Gaza. “He asked me to tell them that it is better for them to be martyrs,” said al-Ran. “It is better for them to die than to be captured and held here.”

    Credits
    Executive producer: Barbara Arvanitidis
    Senior investigations writer: Tamara Qiblawi
    Chief global affairs correspondent: Matthew Chance
    OSINT reporter: Allegra Goodwin
    Photojournalist: Alex Platt
    Reporters: Abeer Salman, Ami Kaufman, Kareem Khadder, Mohammad Al Sawalhi and Tareq Al Hilou
    Visual and graphic editors: Carlotta Dotto, Lou Robinson and Mark Oliver
    3D designer: Tom James
    Photo editor: Sarah Tilotta
    Video editors: Mark Baron, Julie Zink and Augusta Anthony
    Motion designers: Patrick Gallagher and Yukari Schrickel
    Digital editors: Laura Smith-Spark and Eliza Mackintosh
    Executive editors: Dan Wright and Matt Wells

    Editor’s note: Tamara Qiblawi wrote and reported from London. Matthew Chance, Barbara Arvanitidis and Alex Platt reported from Sde Teiman; Ami Kaufman and Allegra Goodwin reported from London; Abeer Salman and Kareem Khadder reported from Jerusalem; and journalists Mohammad Al Sawalhi and Tareq Al Hilou reported from Gaza.

    ]]>     SDG development in India https://sdgtalks.ai/sdg-development-in-india https://sdgtalks.ai/sdg-development-in-india Thu, 09 May 2024 21:07:16 -0500 hallu

    This article talks about the new initiative from the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors aimed at SDG's in India. There are a few key points the article emphasizes with the initiative. The initiative emphasizes the importance of working in collaboration with local government to roll out SDG plans. The focus areas for this initiative are: healthcare, education, geneder equality, and environmental sustainability. The initiative also aims to track the impact of different projects in order to make sure that they are being as effecient as possible. It's a long term comittment from the RPA toward advancing SDG's in India.

    A new initiative to achieve the Sustainable Development 

    Goals in India

    As India marked its national holiday of Diwali, the SDG Philanthropy Platform, a growing collaborative promoting sustainable development, announced its second founding supporter for the initiative in India – the Avasant Foundation. The Platform in India will connect and catalyze partnerships between philanthropic organizations, grantees and partners, the UN system, government, academia, impact investors and the broader business community in order to accelerate achievement of Agenda 2030 – a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – agreed by all the world’s governments in September 2015. The Platform’s website www.sdgfunders.org will also document how philanthropy is investing in the SDGs across India and promote exchange across those working on shared goals.

    Work in India will focus on ending poverty, ensuring inclusive, quality education, achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. The Platform was launched in 2014 with support from the Conrad N. Hilton, Ford and The MasterCard Foundations, with a number of other funders joining over the last year, including Oak Foundation support for the work in India. Kevin Parikh, Chairman of Avasant Foundation, noted that “advancing the Sustainable Development Goals is critical to Avasant Foundation’s mission of empowering disadvantaged youth across the globe. The partnership with the SDG Philanthropy Platform illustrates how we are aligned in our mission for India given our focus on quality education, gender equality, and decent work and economic growth.” Avasant Foundation’s Executive Director Chitra Rajeshwari sees the “challenges, but even more the opportunities, to make real progress working together – not only in India but in other countries around the world,” and is helping to plan the 2017 launch.

    Radhika Shah, Co-President of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs and an Advisor to the Platform, linked the vision of Agenda 2030 with India’s most famous visionary – Mahatma Gandhi. “We are excited to launch the SDG Philanthropy Platform in the land of Mahatma Gandhi to advance his vision of a world that respects the dignity of every human being via self-reliance. We aim to bring together very different but equally committed stakeholders from within India and outside. We will draw on outstanding entrepreneurial and systems-change approaches from Stanford University and UCLA, and link technology innovation from networks such as Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs, the South Asian diaspora in Silicon Valley, and universities in India including the IITs.” Heather Grady, a Vice President at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, welcomed Avasant Foundation into the SDG Philanthropy Platform. “We applaud Avasant Foundation for being the first member of the India Founders Circle and, along with the Oak Foundation, helping to catalyze philanthropy’s commitment to collaborative approaches to the SDGs in India.”

    This week’s announcement follows a commitment made by the Platform team at the 7th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit, hosted by President Obama, in Silicon Valley in June 2016. The 8th Summit in 2017 will be held in India. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/24/fact-sheet-global-entrepreneurship-summit)

    For more information, and to find out how to become a supporter of the SDG Philanthropy Platform in India, contact Radhika Shah at radhika@cs.stanford.edu or Karolina Mzyk-Callias at karolina.myzk@undp.org.

    Follow the discussion on Twitter: #phil2015 @philSDGs

    About The SDG Philanthropy Platform

    The SDG Philanthropy Platform informs and catalyzes collaboration through building awareness and connections between those working in the philanthropy sector and beyond. Launched by the United Nations Development Program, Foundation Center, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in 2014, the Platform has brought together hundreds of foundations and philanthropists across many countries to create new partnerships to increase funding and create programs that will have greater, and more sustainable, impact on people’s lives. For more information, visit sdgfunders.org.

     

    ]]>     United Kingdom global health efforts https://sdgtalks.ai/united-kingdom-global-health-efforts https://sdgtalks.ai/united-kingdom-global-health-efforts Thu, 09 May 2024 21:02:26 -0500 hallu

    This article covers the UK's commitment to providing a substantial boost in support of global health efforts. The UK's announcment had a few key points. They pledged to provide increased financial and technical assistance to global health initiatives. Some emphasized areas were combatting infectious diseases, improving access to healthcare services, and strengthening health systems. The UK is committing long term to working with global health agencies to tackle health challenges.

    UK announces “transformational” support to boost global 

    health at the UK General Assembly

    New UK funding will help achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals by boosting health security and improving health and wellbeing around the world.

    From:Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department of Health and Social Care, Will Quince MP, and The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP

    • new UK government funding will help tackle future pandemics, boost research into vaccines and reduce deaths from infectious diseases and end preventable deaths of mothers, new-borns and children
    • package shows commitment to helping achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a set of key targets to make the world a better place by 2030
    • funding announced by UK delegation at United Nations in New York will support resilient and inclusive health systems and help to save lives

    The UK is investing in ground-breaking research and development programmes to tackle the world’s most pressing health challenges.

    International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell and Health Minister Will Quince announced at a series of health meetings at the UN General Assembly this week how UK scientific expertise will be harnessed to boost health security around the world.

    This includes up to £103.5 million for developing affordable new vaccines through the UK Vaccine Network and other health products and treatments which will halt the spread of infectious diseases, as well as programmes to protect women’s sexual and reproductive health and ultimately reduce preventable deaths.

    The UK is also supporting research and development into cutting-edge technology to respond quickly to disease outbreaks and improve the health of mothers, babies and children in low- and middle-income countries. Among other things this funding of £295 million will help develop new methods of administering drugs to help ensure life-saving care can reach the most remote-areas.

    A further £95 million will be allocated to the Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme II, which partners with Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to help detect and tackle future epidemics, drug resistant infections and climate change.

    Minister for International Development, Andrew Mitchell said:

    The UK is committed to reinvigorating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The UK’s significant support for global health announced at the UN General Assembly this week will be truly transformational in creating more resilient and inclusive health systems worldwide.

    Health Minister Will Quince said:

    This investment in global health research is vital for saving lives – both at home and abroad.

    Vaccines, drugs and diagnostics can help prevent outbreaks in the developing world, while also limiting spread and protecting populations at home.

    This UK Vaccine Network investment will help deliver effective and accessible vaccines for populations threatened by infectious diseases and cements the UK’s status as a leader in global health research.

    The third goal of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals was set up to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

    New research and development funding announced by the UK this week will help partners to prepare for, prevent and respond rapidly to disease outbreaks with pandemic potential, including Ebola.

    Investment in new vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics, as well as partnerships, will also allow us to accelerate the availability of a new vaccine or treatment the next time there is a pandemic.

    In addition, the UK will also provide £5 million of additional funding to the TB Alliance to support the development and testing of new or improved tuberculosis treatments, including for multi-drug resistant TB, that further reduce the time to cure TB.  This will bring our funding for the TB Alliance up to nearly £70 million since 2017.

    This week’s UK government health announcements build on our extensive track record of investing in health security through international development.  Since 2017, UK-supported efforts have resulted in over 30 new products coming to market, the distribution of more than 1 billion courses of malaria treatments helping to save an estimated 13 million lives, and the development of life-saving diagnostics for diseases like drug-resistant tuberculosis.

    Further information

    The UK’s health package includes:

    • up to £295 million of funding for health research and development partnerships, as part of our commitment to promoting open and collaborative science. This new package of R&D will bolster the world’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to disease outbreaks, alongside a new research centre focused on the most dangerous infectious diseases. This will support the development of accessible and affordable new vaccines, drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics, and provide the evidence we need to reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries. This includes £80 million from FCDO to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), previously announced
    • £5 million of additional funding for the TB Alliance for 2023 to 2024
    • up to £103.5 million for the UK Vaccine Network (UKVN) Project to support critical research into combating infectious diseases that cause epidemics in developing countries, and ensure vaccines are accessible to everyone in need. UKVN funding was key for the foundational research and progression of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the first in the world that was authorised for COVID-19
    • £95 million for a Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme II to partner with Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi and Democratic Republic of Congo and strengthen their ability to detect and tackle future epidemics, drug resistant infections and climate change
    ]]>     Pandemic and Inequality https://sdgtalks.ai/pandemic-and-inequality https://sdgtalks.ai/pandemic-and-inequality Thu, 09 May 2024 20:46:31 -0500 hallu

    This article examines how the United State's pandemic response policies impacted income inequalities across the board. The pandemic relief measures that were implemented have affected income distribution and have had some effect on low income households. The biggest thing that comes to mind is stimulus payments. This was primarily targeted toward lower income families and worked to help alleviate financial hardship. Another improvement was unemployment benefits, which helped alleviate some financial burden from unemployed indiviuals during the pandemic.

    The article ends by acknowledgint the importance of all of these steps, but als emphasizing that more can be done to help alleviate income disparities.

    New CBO Report Shows Pandemic Response Sharply

    Reduced Inequality, Increased Progressivity in 2020

    By: Alex Durante

    The pandemic led to one of the largest fiscal responses in U.S. history, impacting households across the income distribution. A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) finds that these temporary policies, along with other fixtures of our tax and transfer system, reduced income inequality in 2020 by more than any other year since 1979 when the CBO began measuring household income. The analysis also shows that the federal tax system is markedly progressive, even when excluding the most recent pandemic policies, echoing our own research on this topic and other recent academic evidence.

    In response to the pandemic, policymakers significantly expanded employment compensation and issued recovery rebate credits (stimulus checks) to households. Together, the two policies increased income by more than $800 billion, or more than $6,000 per household on average. In contrast to other federal means-tested programs targeted toward low-income households, expanded unemployment and stimulus checks benefited households across the distribution. Just over half of the benefits went to the top three quintiles. However, as a percentage of income, the policies had the largest benefit for the bottom quintile, representing more than one-third of their incomes before taxes and transfers. Legislation also expanded Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the two largest means-tested transfer programs, further boosting the incomes of households in the bottom quintile.

    On net, the policies made the federal tax code more redistributive and reduced income inequality to a 14-year low. The bottom quintile saw the largest gains in income after taxes and transfers compared to 2019, rising by about 15 percent. Since 1979, the bottom quintile’s income has increased by 126 percent.

    High-income households continue to pay a large share of federal taxes, including individual income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes, and excise taxes. In 2020, the top quintile earned about 56 percent of all income, but paid 81 percent of federal taxes—12 percentage points more than in 2019, despite earning about the same share of income. The top 1 percent of households alone paid 31 percent of all federal taxes.

    Top 1 percent of US taxpayers pay about 31 percent of all federal taxes

    Average federal tax rates (inclusive of all individual income, corporate, payroll, and excises taxes) barely changed for the top quintile but declined notably for everyone else, mostly due to the recovery credit rebates, which reduce tax liabilities. The bottom quintile saw its average tax rate fall by 17 percentage points and become negative, meaning households received more in tax credits than they paid in taxes. Even without the rebate recovery credits, the bottom quintile would have faced close to zero in federal tax liabilities due to other credits and lower pre-tax incomes more generally.

    Lowest quintile of taxpayers receive more in benefits than paid in federal taxes Average federal tax rates by income

    The overall distribution of average tax rates, where the top quintile faces the largest burden and the burden declines for each subsequent quintile, indicates the U.S. federal tax and transfer system is progressive. A recent academic paper affirmed this finding by looking not only at the CBO data but also two other measures of income constructed by Treasury economists and other academics. Though all three sources use different measures of income, they all show that the “tax system has become more progressive and more redistributive over the last several decades, with much of that change occurring in recent years.” The increase in progressivity is primarily due to an increase in transfers to households in the bottom half of the income distribution.

    Altogether, the data presented in the latest CBO report lends itself to three main takeaways:

    • COVID fiscal stimulus policies significantly increased incomes for people in the bottom quintile.
    • The COVID policies made an already progressive federal tax and transfer system even more progressive.
    • The federal tax system continues to rely heavily on high-income taxpayers to raise revenue.

    Policymakers should keep these facts in mind as they continue to debate how progressive our tax system should be and weigh the benefits and costs of expanding federal transfer programs going forward.

    ]]>     Reducing NY Carbon Footprint https://sdgtalks.ai/reducing-ny-carbon-footprint https://sdgtalks.ai/reducing-ny-carbon-footprint Thu, 09 May 2024 20:27:39 -0500 hallu

    This article covers the Governors initiative of reuducing the carbon footprint of hospitals. It has a few key points. The initiative is targetting hospitals as they are significant energy sinks that produce a fair bit of waste. The initiative wants to limit the waste production from hospitals. The initative also wants to implement sustainable practices that reduce greenhouse emissions. Finally, the initiative wants to increase the amount of people in leadership positions related to climate action at the state level.

    Hochul launches climate action pilot for New York hospitals

    Governor Kathy Hochul announced a pioneering climate action pilot program aimed at New York hospitals, marking a first-in-the-nation initiative. The voluntary program offers up to $1 million in premium credits to hospitals insured by the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) that commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and bolstering their resilience against extreme weather events. This initiative is part of Hochul’s broader commitment to creating a sustainable future for New Yorkers, complemented by recent fiscal allocations in the FY 2025 budget to advance state climate goals.

    During the announcement, NYSIF Executive Director and CEO Gaurav Vasisht highlighted the critical role of the healthcare sector in addressing the climate crisis. He pointed out the sector’s substantial greenhouse gas contributions and the public health challenges posed by rising temperatures, which have been linked to an increase in workplace injuries and illnesses.

    The program not only incentivizes hospitals to reduce their environmental impact but also provides them with financial and strategic support to develop and implement comprehensive climate action plans. These plans are expected to cover both direct and indirect emissions, including those from the supply chain, and emphasize enhancing hospital resilience to climate-related disruptions. NYSIF will also offer risk control services to aid hospitals, particularly those in rural areas, in implementing effective climate strategies.

    ]]>     Mayors addressing Climate change https://sdgtalks.ai/mayors-addressing-climate-change https://sdgtalks.ai/mayors-addressing-climate-change Thu, 09 May 2024 20:15:05 -0500 hallu

    This article talks about the Bloomberg Philanthropies 200 million dollar committment to supporting mayors that are tacking climate change. The initative is aiming to increase the impact of local governments progress toward climate goals by empowering local officials. The funding is going to primarily be directed towards climate related initatives that are doing things like: reducing carbon emissions, increasing urban sustainability, and alleviating risks of extreme weather events. The article heavily emphasizes the importance of collaborating with local governments to increase effectiveness and address the right needs.

    Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces $200 Million

    Commitment to Support U.S. Mayors Taking on Climate

    Change

    Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities will support 25 U.S. cities leading the way in reducing emissions and building more prosperous communities

    New funding aims to ensure cities fully seize the opportunity to access billions of federal dollars on the table to implement transformative local solutions

    New York, NY – Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities, a three-year initiative to turbocharge 25 U.S. cities’ efforts to leverage historic levels of federal funding to proactively build low-carbon, resilient, and economically thriving communities. Building on the longtime leadership of U.S. cities to confront the crisis of climate change which disproportionately impacts disadvantaged communities, the $200 million Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative will provide deep support to selected cities to pursue transformative solutions in the buildings and transportation sectors through partnerships with PolicyLink, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University, and Natural Resources Defense Council. Today’s announcement follows more than fifteen years of Mike Bloomberg championing the role of mayors and local leaders in the global climate fight. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ commitment to supporting cities in reducing emissions is over $650 million to date.

    Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities is the newest Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative to support local climate action in the United States. In 2019, Mike Bloomberg launched the American Cities Climate Challenge to provide resources and support to 25 of the largest U.S. cities to scale proven high-impact urban climate solutions in the buildings and transportation sectors. With Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support, the 25 Climate Challenge cities passed 54 major buildings, energy, and transportation policies and launched 71 new climate programs and initiatives, which are projected to reduce 74 million metric tons of carbon emissions through 2030.

    In 2022, Bloomberg Philanthropies galvanized a consortium of nonprofit and expert groups to establish the Local Infrastructure Hub, a national program providing more than 1,200 municipalities with pro-bono expertise to navigate historic funding opportunities made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, develop competitive grant applications, and bring investment home to address essential infrastructure needs. To date, participating municipalities have already been awarded more than $1 billion in federal funding.

    “Tackling climate change and building stronger and more equitable cities go hand in hand,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Mayors have bold ideas for how to take on both challenges at once, and we’re looking forward to expanding our support for them.”

    Globally, Mike Bloomberg helps champion local climate action as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, as President of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, and Co-Chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

    The cities selected to participate in the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative are:

    Akron, OH

    Atlanta, GA

    Birmingham, AL

    Buffalo, NY

    Charlotte, NC

    Chattanooga, TN

    Cincinnati, OH

    Cleveland, OH

    Columbus, OH

    Dayton, OH

    Hampton, VA

    Jackson, MS

    Kansas City, MO

    Lansing, MI

    Memphis, TN

    Montgomery, AL

    Nashville, TN

    Newport News, VA

    Oakland, CA

    Philadelphia, PA

    Pittsburgh, PA

    Raleigh, NC

    Rochester, NY

    Savannah, GA

    St. Louis, MO

    With over $400 billion in federal funding available to local governments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, U.S. cities have a historic opportunity to access and implement new investments that combat climate change and improve lives. Potential projects in the 25 cities announced today include developing affordable energy-efficient housing, increasing access to clean energy, investing in electric vehicles and infrastructure, and more.

    “The Inflation Reduction Act creates unprecedented opportunities for communities nationwide to not only transition to clean energy, but stimulate local economies, generate quality jobs, and improve air quality and health outcomes. This is especially true for people of color who are disproportionately impacted by climate change and harmful pollution in their communities,” said Gina McCarthy, Managing Co-Chair of America Is All In and former White House national climate advisor. “Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities is such an important initiative because it’s investing in our cities, where the magic of change happens. It’s at the ground level where people are working together to install clean energy, clean up the air, demand clean buses for our kids, rethink our food systems, and ensure that no community is left behind. I cannot wait to see the creative solutions these cities develop to ensure that safe water, clean air, and healthy communities are rights shared equally by all Americans.”

    Selected cities are already in the process of applying for, have submitted applications for, or have received 100+ federal grants aligned with Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities’ goals. The initiative aims to ensure the participating cities – collectively representing over 10 million people – can leverage and implement federal funds to advance local projects, especially in disadvantaged communities historically overburdened by pollution. 

    The disproportionate impact of climate change on communities of color in the United States magnifies long standing historic inequities. Black, Hispanic, and Native American households spend twenty to forty-five percent more of their income on energy costs in comparison to white non-Hispanic households. Further, the Black Wealth Data Center shows that in Southeastern U.S. counties with Black and Hispanic populations over 30 percent, those households have heightened exposure and risk to natural hazards – emphasizing their increased vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Effective climate action must not only cut emissions but also solve for these deep disparities.

    The cities selected for Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities will receive a Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded innovation team (i-team) with up to three dedicated staff with expertise in data analysis, insight development, human-centered design, systems thinking, and project management to bolster city capacity in driving progress on climate mitigation and promoting equitable outcomes. Cities will also receive multi-year, in-depth, customized policy and technical assistance in collaboration with community-based organizations and local stakeholders to mobilize public, private, and philanthropic investments to achieve their goals. Work has already started in each of the 25 cities, helping them incubate policies and projects while building local capacity through recruitment for i-team staff. Cities’ ambitious actions will be highlighted on an ongoing basis.

    “I’m excited Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities is helping cities, including Akron, tackle climate change and racial wealth gaps,” said Shammas Malik, Mayor of Akron, OH. “The innovation team will help us tackle real issues in the lives of Akronites – leveraging philanthropic funding to create and grow a truly sustainable and equitable Akron. With the added staff capacity and the network of other cities working towards similar solutions, we will be more innovative and engaged with the community in ideating, developing, and executing projects that create local solutions to the problems facing not only our city but the entire world.” 

    “Charlotte will lead as a global city by continuously improving, protecting, and preserving the environment, its community, and economy, while ensuring equity and resilience for today’s and future generations. With the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, we are empowered to continue tackling the pressing challenges of climate change and racial wealth inequity head-on, furthering the implementation of our Strategic Energy Action Plan in building a resilient, equitable future for all Charlotteans,” said Vi Lyles, Mayor of Charlotte, NC.

    “With the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies is once again supporting Cincinnati in making a transformational impact on our future. Climate-forward cities, that are investing right now in resiliency and innovative solutions, will be best-positioned to thrive in the generations to come. The expertise and direct support provided by the innovation team will be an essential part of this work, and we are exceptionally proud to take part in this program,” said Aftab Pureval, Mayor of Cincinnati, OH.

    “The City of Cleveland is honored to participate in the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities program,” said Mayor Justin Bibb of the City of Cleveland, OH. “Cleveland has long embraced the responsibility of acting on climate change and environmental stewardship. From former Mayor Carl B. Stokes’ historic efforts in 1969 to address environmental injustices, to our present-day climate action planning and implementation initiatives, our city stands as a testament to resilience and innovation. The BASC program in Cleveland will support equitable and more rapid implementation of historical funding at the neighborhood level, enhancing resources in our historically disadvantaged communities and reducing the racial wealth gap. Through this collaborative effort, we will continue to work with residents and key stakeholders to achieve a more equitable and environmentally resilient city for all Clevelanders.”

    “Every day, the residents of Columbus are already feeling the impacts of climate change,” said Andrew Ginther, Mayor of Columbus, OH. “I’m proud to join other cities through the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative to step up our efforts in reducing emissions and enhancing climate resilience, particularly in our most vulnerable communities.”

    “Hampton has worked with Bloomberg Philanthropies through a multitude of the organization’s programs, and each one has proven beneficial to our city,” said Mayor Donnie Tuck of the City of Hampton, VA. “We are innovative and data-driven in our efforts to reduce damage from flooding, especially in historically underserved communities, and we look forward to participating in the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative to take this work and more to the next level for our residents.”

    “The City of Jackson is proud to participate in the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative to create and sustain a city committed to the crises of climate change and racial wealth inequity,” said Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Jackson, MS. “We are directly aware of the effects of climate change in Jackson. Extreme fluctuations in temperatures have had a major impact on our infrastructure, and it has disproportionately affected historically-disadvantaged communities. We stand with Bloomberg in pursuit of smart policies and solutions to these issues.”

    “We are honored to be selected as one of the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative participants,” said Paul Young, Mayor of Memphis, TN. “With this support, we have a unique opportunity to make the most of federal funding to advance sustainable and affordable housing, reduce emissions, and make Memphis more resilient. We are energized by the opportunity to better our city.”

    “I’m thrilled about Nashville’s participation in Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities and eager for the capacity it will bring to advance equity, sustainability, and resilience goals in our city,” said Freddie O’Connell, Mayor of Nashville, TN. “We’ll be deeply engaging in communities across Nashville that have had chronic underinvestment, helping them shape their own futures to be healthier, affordable, more equitable, and more sustainable.”

    “We are honored that Raleigh has been selected for the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities program, recognizing the many innovative ways we are already tackling today’s biggest challenges,” said Mary-Ann Baldwin, Mayor of Raleigh, NC. “The dedicated i-team will boost our work with community partners to deliver climate change solutions that close the racial wealth gap, address affordability and entrepreneurship, and build a more equitable and resilient community.”

    “Rochester, New York is proud to join cities across the country as a Bloomberg American Sustainable City,” said Malik D. Evans, Mayor of Rochester, NY. “We’re working to grow a safe, prosperous Rochester for all of our citizens today and in generations to come. By prioritizing our environment and investing our efforts in sustainability today, we’re ensuring this vision will be built to last.”

    “We are thrilled to collaborate to launch this transformative initiative that offers cities a definitive solution, removing the burden of choosing between competing priorities,” said Amanda Daflos, Executive Director of the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. “Through Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities, we look forward to helping spur new funding, cultivating innovative thinking, and building capacity to support cities in addressing the dual challenges of the climate crisis and wealth inequity. With all 25 cities united in this common goal, this collaborative effort is poised to enhance the quality of life for all as we pave the way toward a more sustainable and equitable future.”

    “Through the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge, we saw how mayors are leading by example to take ambitious action that cuts pollution and creates healthier communities,” said Manish Bapna, president and CEO of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “The Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative will help solidify cities as the nexuses of change by providing opportunities for marginalized communities in the emerging zero-carbon economy and making them more resilient to climate impacts. NRDC is proud to be working with Bloomberg Philanthropies, PolicyLink and other national and local partners to increase public and private investments in cities that address climate change while building racial wealth equity.”

    “Climate resilience and racial equity are deeply intertwined, and we can’t fight climate change without addressing the ways in which racial inequity has harmed all people in this country, particularly those who face barriers of structural oppression,” said Dr. Michael McAfee, President and CEO of PolicyLink. “Our commitment to collaborating with these 25 cities is rooted in our foundational pillars: creating opportunities, advancing economies, and building just societies where everyone can flourish. As we forge ahead, we believe that collectively we can create a nation where we can all thrive. Our goal is to extend these principles to as many cities as possible.”

    “Bloomberg Philanthropies’ new commitment helps recognize that true sustainability emerges when economic prosperity and environmental stewardship are woven together seamlessly,” said Denise Fairchild, President Emerita of Emerald Cities Collaborative. “It’s an honor to partner with Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities’ supporting partners on this initiative. By taking on holistic and innovative approaches to building sustainable communities burdened by profound wealth disparities and pollution, we’re not simply addressing climate change—we’re creating community wealth by nurturing resilient, flourishing communities for generations to come.”

    ]]>     California Clean Energy Grid https://sdgtalks.ai/california-clean-energy-grid https://sdgtalks.ai/california-clean-energy-grid Thu, 09 May 2024 20:05:49 -0500 hallu

    This article analyzes some recent data that's come out related to Califronia's initatives for clean energy. Califronia has increased it's capability for clean energy sources, and seen a substantial growth in installations of clean energy like solar or wind. California has also worked on changing/improving their grid to maximize the outputs of clean enrgy. California has also seen some economic boosts with these initiatives in the form of job creation and cost saving.

    All of this data is in line with Californias continued goal of climate actions.

    New Data Shows Investments to Build California’s Clean 

    Energy Grid of the Future are Paying Off

    ACRAMENTO — Non-fossil-fuel sources now make up 61 percent of retail electricity sales in California thanks to historic investment that has led to an extraordinary pace of development in new clean energy generation, according to the latest data compiled by the California Energy Commission (CEC). Sources eligible under the Renewables Portfolio Standard such as solar and wind make up 39 percent of the state power mix, an increase of 2 percent compared to the previous year, while large hydro and nuclear made up a combined 22 percent. 

    “Nearly every week, new clean energy projects are being added to the grid, moving us closer and closer to our goal of a clean, affordable and reliable energy system in California,” said CEC Chair David Hochschild. 

    Ahead of National Infrastructure Week, the CEC and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are highlighting the state’s progress to build the clean energy grid of the future.

    • Since 2020, new energy projects statewide have brought more than 16,000 MW of new energy resources online, mostly solar and battery storage.
    • Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom celebratedthe state’s build-out of storage resources, which now exceeds 10,000 MW.
    • To maintain progress, the CPUC has ordered 18,800 MW of new clean resources to come online by 2028.

    “I want to congratulate the many agencies, groups and organizations whose work has led to the success of California’s clean energy efforts,” said CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda. “Your tireless work is helping us march forward toward a more sustainable future.”

    WHY IT MATTERS: California is in the middle of the biggest transformation of its power grid in a century. The continued rise in renewables and decline in fossil fuel use comes as the state experiences an unprecedented barrage of climate impacts, from heat waves to drought and wildfires.

    WHERE DOLLARS ARE GOING: One way the CEC has invested infrastructure dollars recently is to develop advancements in storage of clean energy.

    wer grid – storing energy from renewable sources like solar during the day to use when solar drops off in the evening hours. 

    Most of the battery energy storage systems online today can discharge to the grid for four hours, however the CEC is looking to the future by investing in battery projects that discharge for longer periods. The following grants have been issued for long-duration battery storage projects around the state:

    Thanks to state budget investments and funding from the Biden-Harris administration, California has $41 billion at work to help build a 100 percent clean electric grid, strengthen the state’s water resiliency and boost water supply, and modernize our transportation system.  to explore the many projects happening throughout the state. 

    RELATED RESOURCES: To help visualize the state’s progress toward 100 percent clean electricity, the CEC maintains a suite of interactive tools with downloadable data on the following topics: 

    Chart showing estimated clean energy goal progress.

    ]]>     Pittsburgh Water Developments https://sdgtalks.ai/pittsburgh-water-developments https://sdgtalks.ai/pittsburgh-water-developments Thu, 09 May 2024 19:56:02 -0500 hallu

    This article addresses some concerns in Pittsburgh about the drinking water in public schools based on recent tests. Recent tests have shown an elevated level of lead in the waters of multiple school buildings across the city. To combat this, the district has come up with a couple different initiatives. They have shut down water sources with increased lead contamination, as well as offering clean alternative like water bottles. In the mean time, the city is communicating with it's citizens about the progress of fixing this lead contamination.

    Pittsburgh Public School officials unveil new initiatives to

    limit lead in drinking water

    Hundreds of non-filtered water fountains across Pittsburgh Public Schools have been replaced in a districtwide project aimed at minimizing the threat of lead in drinking water.

    Standing in the brightly painted playground at Dilworth PreK-5 in East Liberty, district officials along with those from PennEnvironment, a Pittsburgh-based environmental program, celebrated the project, officially completed last summer, which brought 904 chilled lead filtering drinking fountains and 391 filtered bottle filling stations to 70 Pittsburgh Public facilities.

    The $5.5 million project first started in 2016 as part of the district’s Drinking Water Quality Management Initiative, which aimed to change out water filtration systems and test for lead.

    “Our schools are places where our kids go to learn, achieve, build lifelong friendships and grow up to be productive citizens in society,” David Masur, PennEnvironment’s executive director, said during the event, which fell during National Drinking Water Week.

     

    Baldwin High School assistant principal Brandon Whitfield fist bumps student Imani Anderson as he arrives to school at Baldwin High School in Whitehall on Thursday morning, April 25 2024.
    Megan Tomasic
    How Pittsburgh-area principals greet students every morning to welcome them to school

    But, he said, Pennsylvania children who spend the majority of their time in school buildings are often faced with lead in their drinking water throughout the school day.

    “With the proactive and comprehensive steps taken by the Pittsburgh Public Schools to get the lead out, children, parents, teachers, other school staff and community members now receive the highest standards of protection from this dangerous and pervasive contaminant,” Mr. Masur said.

    In all, school buildings, field houses and administrative facilities are now fitted with new filter systems in all water foundations. Water bottle filling stations have also been attached to drinking fountains, featuring a sensor that automatically fills a bottle when it is placed in the station. The district also added 175 lead-filtering sink outlets to early childhood education classrooms and some nurses offices throughout the district.

    The goal is to fight against lead, which can seriously harm a child’s health and cause adverse effects such as damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, and problems with learning and behavior as well as hearing and speech, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Those impacts can cause a lower IQ, decreased ability to pay attention and underperformance in school.

    But as things currently stand, Pennsylvania districts are not required to test for lead in drinking water under the Public School Code, which instead encourages them to test, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The code does require districts to implement a plan if results exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards stating that lead levels cannot exceed 15 parts per billion. It also says schools that do not test need to discuss lead issues at public meetings.

    But according to a 2021 report by Women for a Healthy Environment, of 65 Pennsylvania school districts surveyed, 91% found lead in their water.

    Lawmakers have been working to change standards around lead testing in schools. Last year, state Sen. Devlin J. Robinson, a Bridgeville Republican, along with two other state senators introduced legislation that would require old drinking fountains get replaced with lead-filtering water stations by 2025. The legislation was referred to the education committee.

    At Pittsburgh Public, officials first launched the Drinking Water Quality Management Initiative in 2016, which required testing for lead every three years and the replacement of water filtration systems throughout school buildings. The decision, Sanjeeb Manandhar, Pittsburgh Public’s environmental and sustainability manager, said, was a “proactive measure.”

    Under that initiative, district officials began conducting comprehensive testing of all drinking water fountains, as well as other outlets throughout school buildings. At the time, 2.8% showed lead levels exceeding standards then set by the Environmental Protection Agency of 20 parts per billion. Testing is now done every three years, with the last samples taken during the 2022-23 school year. At that time, 2.4% of the 2,364 samples taken showed lead levels above 15 parts per billion, the new EPA standard. Any faucet or fountain exceeding those levels was shut off and action was taken by the district to remediate, replace or repair the fixtures.

    The second part of the initiative focused on replacing filtration systems at all district fountains to “ensure the availability of clean, high-quality water that has zero lead,” Mr. Manandhar said.

    Superintendent Wayne Walters said the completion of that goal is a “monumental achievement.”

    “By prioritizing water safety through our filter-first approach we reaffirm our commitment to providing nurturing school environments that facilitate learning and growth,” Mr. Walters said.

    Onya Baek, a fifth grader at Dilworth, added that she uses water bottle filling stations daily.

    “It’s very nice that we get to drink clean water,” Onya said. “I wish everybody in the world could drink clean water. Everybody in the district, the whole country and the whole world.”

    Officials are now hopeful Pittsburgh Public will become a “national leader” in the fight against lead in school drinking water and will serve as a role model for other districts across the region and state.

    Mr. Masur, noting that Pittsburgh Public is the state’s second-largest district that is also a high-needs district, said the project is “totally achievable” and is not a “pie in the sky idea. The technology exists today and it’s just a question of will school districts have the desire and will to follow the leadership of PPS to make these projects possible.”

    For Mr. Walters, putting students first in both academics and health is a “no brainer.”

    “Take the lead,” Mr. Walters said. “Take the lead on something that is important to the lives of our children that we serve daily.”

    MEGAN TOMASIC
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    mtomasic@post-gazette.com
    ]]>     Gender Equality in South Africa https://sdgtalks.ai/gender-equality-in-south-africa https://sdgtalks.ai/gender-equality-in-south-africa Thu, 09 May 2024 19:47:14 -0500 hallu

    This article talks about the South African governments pilot program (Gender equality framework) across it's different agencies. The GEF is trying to promote gender equality in the work place. It does this by addressed different gender disparities going on. The government is trying to bridge the gender pay gap, as well as give more opportunities for women in the work place. They are also working on increasing equality in the workplace as far as treatment of employees goes.

    Tackling the persistent gender pay gap, South African

    government departments pilot gender equality framework, 

    and more

    By  on 09/05/2024 

    Evidence-based tools to tackle the persistent gender pay gap

    At a recent Global Government Forum webinar, experts from the UK and Canada shared thoughts on why the gender pay gap has proved so tough to tackle, and what needs to happen now.

    Information is power: In February, the Government of Canada launched the Equi’Vision online tool, which provides information on representation rates and pay gaps in the federally regulated private sector for the four groups covered by the Employment Equity Act: women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, and members of visible minorities.

    Renée Roussel, director general, Federal Programs – Labour Program, Employment and Social Development Canada, called it a “first of its kind” and said: “This initiative provides the information needed so that employers and employees can find solutions to recognise the value of all workers.”

    A complex problem: Analysis finds that the gender pay gap in the UK now stands at 14.3%. “And this gets worse as you get older,” said Lucille Thirlby, assistant general secretary of the FDA, a trade union representing senior civil servants. Further, disabled women face the highest pay gap at 35% compared to non-disabled men, which Thirlby said is the equivalent of £7,000 a year.

    She highlighted the “complex, varied and long-term” root causes of gender pay gaps, from direct discrimination to structural factors, such as occupational segregation, the part-time pay penalty, women’s disproportionate responsibility for unpaid caring, and women’s concentration in “low-paid, highly feminised sectors”.

    What works: Kadie Philp, commissioner and chief administrative officer, Pay Equity Commission of Ontario, observed that: “In countries, provinces or sub-national governments that have some form of reporting requirements, we see the gender wage gap closing much quicker.”

    She highlighted work the province is doing to tackle some of the systemic issues raised, such as Ontario’s Pay Equity Act, established in 1987, and outlined how Ontario was the first globally to introduce the concept of pay equity as equal pay for work of equal value. The Pay Equity Office also provides a range of tools to support employers.

    Read the full webinar summary and replay the event.

    South African government departments to pilot gender equality framework

    South Africa’s Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has launched a pilot project where select departments will implement the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Gender Equality Seal.

    Gender mainstreaming: The framework enables public institutions to assess their gender responsiveness and take measures to enhance performance in key areas such as gender mainstreaming, leadership and accountability, gender-responsive service delivery, and workplace gender equality.

    Practical measures include capacity-building, self-assessment, action plan development, and a final assessment.

    Public service reform: Yoliswa Makhasi, the director-general of the DPSA, said that the Gender Seal is an integral part of broader interventions aimed at reforming the public service to effectively address societal challenges. “By integrating gender considerations into our policies and practices, we aim to foster a more equitable and prosperous society for all,” she commented.

    Pilot departments: Selected national and provincial departments will participate in the pilot phase of the Gender Equality Seal Project. At the national level, these include but are not limited to: the Department of Public Service and Administration, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and the Department of Transport.

    Roadmap: Gabriel Dava, deputy resident representative of the UNDP, said the Gender Equality Seal will serve as a roadmap for South Africa’s public institutions to accelerate programmes towards gender equality while also strengthening service delivery and accountability to national development goals.

    Webinar: Hybrid working and women civil servants

    3 October: Online

    This webinar will look at the benefits of fitting work around caring responsibilities at home and the potential risk that women who are not in the office as often have less influence in team decisions.

    Register now

    Fears that women could bear the brunt of New Zealand’s public service cuts

    As job cuts continue across New Zealand government departments, the Public Service Association (PSA) has warned that women could be hit hardest.

    Behind the cuts: The conservative coalition government, elected in October, asked agencies to make savings of between 6.5% and 7.5% as it attempts to reduce spending on public services by around NZ$1.5 billion (US$890 million).

    Tertiary Education Commission announcement: In April, staff at the Tertiary Education Commission were told that the organisation is cutting 28 roles including administration and clerical roles like executive assistants, administrators, executive officers and the business support team.

    Of the 28, nine roles are vacant, and three-quarters of the remaining roles are filled by women, the PSA said.

    ‘Disproportionate’ impact: “Every day we are seeing the price public service workers are paying to fund the government’s tax cuts, and these fall disproportionately on work largely carried out by women at TEC,” said Kerry Davies, national secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

    “We’re concerned that this pattern will be replicated across the public service as agencies cut staff.”

    In February, PSA assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons warned that “the history of public sector cuts in New Zealand is that women suffer disproportionately”.

    Back-office roles: The National Party, which leads the government, campaigned on cutting “back-office expenditure” in public agencies, as part of its ‘Back Pocket Boost’ tax plan.

    Data from the Public Service Commission shows that women are more likely to work in clerical and administrative positions, and HR, legal, and policy-related roles.

    Finance minister Nicola Willis has said that “women have everything to gain from a government that takes care to spend their tax dollars wisely”.

    Training: Women into leadership

    Global Government Forum is running two stand-alone but complementary seminars that look at a wide range of issues affecting women who are either looking to move into leadership roles, or who are already in such roles, and who wish to equip themselves for a further upwards move.

    Find out more about session one on 24 October and session two on 7 November.

    UK government urged to address local elections gender gap

    As local elections took place in the UK last week, analysis from women’s rights charity The Fawcett Society and election data provider Democracy Club revealed that just 34% of local election candidates were women.

    No progress: The organisations said the findings reflect “a worrying lack of progress” since they last released these figures in 2021, when 33% of candidates who stood were women, and no progress following their last analysis of women’s representation on councils which found that 36% of councillors were women.

    “It is clear that without significant and urgent further action, women will continue to remain under-represented when crucial decisions are made about their daily lives,” a statement said.

    The data also revealed that just 26% of police and crime commissioner candidates and 27% of mayoral candidates in the latest elections were women.

    Way down the list: No party had gender parity in its candidates standing for local election in England, with Labour and the Green Party doing best at 41% and Reform UK having just 22% female candidates. In a list of the most common names of candidates, a woman’s name does not appear until position 17.

    Where are all the women? Alesha De-Freitas, Fawcett Society head of policy, research and advocacy, said: “51% of the population but just 34% of the candidates – where are all the women?

    “Despite knowing that women tend to be more significantly impacted by local decisions, as we are more likely to rely on council-run services like social care, we are failing to make real progress on women’s representation at local level.

    “We urgently need government to collect candidate diversity data – we simply don’t even have the numbers on how bad the situation is for Black and minoritised women. And we need to make being a local councillor accessible to representatives who have caring responsibilities.”

    Call to action: The Fawcett Society is calling for government, political parties and local councils to act now to increase women’s representation.

    It calls for the government specifically to require political parties to collect their own candidate diversity data; introduce a statutory England-wide, comprehensive parental leave policy for councillors; and introduce a four-term limit for councillors to tackle the problem that more men tend to remain councillors for longer, limiting the opportunities for women to stand. It also calls for a formalised funding scheme for disabled candidates in England to be reinstated.

    ]]>     The movement to end hunger https://sdgtalks.ai/the-movement-to-end-hunger https://sdgtalks.ai/the-movement-to-end-hunger Thu, 09 May 2024 19:39:40 -0500 hallu

    This article talks about a continuing partnership between Walmar, Sam's Club, and Feeding America. The initative is an ongoing attempt to combat hunger in the US and drive change. The initiative has 3 pieces to it. Walmart and Sam's Club run a fundraising campaigin where customers have the option to donate to the charity. Employees and volunteers will participate in food banks in the communities. And then finally they work to raise public awareness.

    To conclude, the article emphasizes the importance of the collabaritive efforts of these three organizatoins, and states what the importance of this project is.

    Now in its 11th year, the annual cause marketing campaign has helped Feeding America® food banks secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger in local communities.

    CHICAGO, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 11th consecutive year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs are teaming up with their customers, members, suppliers and associates for the annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign to support the Feeding America® network of partner food banks.

    Since its inception in 2014, Fight Hunger. Spark Change. has generated more than $186 million for Feeding America and local food banks, helping to secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger.

    "Walmart and Sam's Club have demonstrated extraordinary commitment over the course of our partnership. With partnerships like this, we can end hunger in this country," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Feeding America's CEO. "They understand the importance of fresh, nutritious food for thriving communities, and their support transcends beyond dollars and pounds - together with people facing hunger, our teams are helping to build new pathways to equitable food access for all."

    The campaign will run online and in stores from April 1-April 29. Shoppers have three easy ways to support neighbors in need:

    • For every participating product purchased in store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam's Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.
       
    • Donate at check-out in stores or clubs or online at Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
       
    • Donate at Feeding America's Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign site at either www.FeedingAmerica.org/Walmart or www.FeedingAmerica.org/SamsClub.

    During the campaign, all donations stay local. Sales-activated supplier donations and register donations are directed to a local Feeding America partner food bank located within a store or club's community.

    "Serving communities and expanding access to affordable, healthy food lies at the heart of Walmart and Sam's Club's purpose to help people live better," said Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart and President, Walmart Foundation. "Our annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign is a way that we invite our customers, members and suppliers to fight hunger alongside us. The funds raised through this campaign go toward local Feeding America food banks, meaning we can all make a difference in our own neighborhoods."

    For nearly 20 years, Walmart, Sam's Club and the Walmart Foundation have worked with Feeding America, local food banks, food pantries and meals programs to transform the charitable food experience, supporting Feeding America and local food banks with more than $240 million in investments – nearly $160 million from the company and the Walmart Foundation and nearly $85 million from customers and members.

    The 20 participating suppliers for Walmart include: Bush Brothers & Company; CELSIUS® Essential Energy Drink; The Coca-Cola Company; Conagra Brands; Dole Packaged Foods; Ferrara; Ferrero; General Mills; The Hain Celestial Group; Hershey Salty Snacks; Hidden Valley Ranch; Kellanova; W.K. Kellogg Company; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kodiak; Kraft Heinz; Monster Energy; Pepsi-Cola Advertising & Marketing, Inc.; Unilever

    The 8 participating suppliers for Sam's Club include: General Mills; W.K. Kellogg Company; Kraft Heinz; Nestlé; Nissin; Nongshim; Palmetto Gourmet Foods, A Borealis Foods Company; Unilever

    To learn more about the campaign, visit https://www.feedingamerica.org/campaigns/fight-hunger-spark-change. 

    *Currently, $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local partner food banks.

    About Feeding America 
    Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry. We support tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. We also invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment.

    We partner with people experiencing food insecurity, policymakers, organizations, and supporters, united with them in a movement to end hunger. Visit www.FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.

    Walmart 
    Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 265 million customers and members visit approximately 11,500 stores under 56 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2020 revenue of $524 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmart. 

    Sam's Club 
    Sam's Club®, a division of Walmart, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is a leading membership warehouse club offering superior products, savings and services to millions of members in nearly 600 clubs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Now in its 37th year, Sam's Club continues to redefine warehouse shopping with its highly curated assortment of high-quality fresh food and Member's Mark items, in addition to market leading technologies and services like Scan & Go, Club Pickup and home delivery service in select markets. To learn more about Sam's Club, visit the Sam's Club Newsroom, shop at SamsClub.com, and interact with Sam's Club on Twitter and Facebook.

    ]]>     Fighting Poverty https://sdgtalks.ai/fighting-poverty https://sdgtalks.ai/fighting-poverty Thu, 09 May 2024 19:28:08 -0500 hallu

    This article talks about the GiveDirectly program, which is an initiative that focuses both on combatting poverty and researching the best strategies to combat poverty. GiveDirectly stands out because they don't proxy through projects, but instead give the money directly to the citizens. This falls in line with the theory that indiviuals with low income will tend to spend their money more wisely (on neccessities). The program has a few different control groups and test groups to monitor the impacts of the cash transfer and measure which method helps combat poverty best.

    Overall, the article states the significance of ongoing experimentation in the realm of poverty alleviation. By embracing innovative approaches like cash transfers and continuously assessing their impacts, researchers can better understand what works and change their  interventions accordingly to address the challenges of global poverty.

    It's an unprecedented – and massive – experiment: Since 2017 the U.S.-based charity GiveDirectly has been providing thousands of villagers in Kenya what's called a "universal basic income" – a cash grant that's the equivalent of about $50, delivered every month, with the commitment to keep the payments coming for 12 years. It is a crucial test of what many consider one of the most cutting-edge ideas for alleviating global poverty. This week a team of independent researchers who have been studying the impact released their first results.

    Their findings cover the first two years of the effort and compare the outcomes for about 5,000 people who got the monthly payments to nearly 12,000 others in a control group who got no money. But, just as significantly, the researchers also compared the recipients to people in two other categories: nearly 9,000 who received the monthly income for just two years, without the promise of another decade of payments afterward; and another roughly 9,000 people who got that same two years' worth of income but in a lump-sum payment.

    NPR has been covering this effort from the start — traveling to Kenya early into the launch at a village near Lake Victoria. During a community meeting that day people's phones suddenly began to ping with a text alert, notifying them that their monthly grant had just been sent to their mobile bank accounts. The crowd erupted in cheers. Some of the younger women broke into song. The joy was a reflection of just how much people in the community had been struggling: The year before this experiment started, 85% of recipients reported experiencing hunger.

    So how much of a difference has the experiment made so far? Here are five takeaways from the first batch of findings:

    1. Giving cash aid in a lump sum has some major advantages over parceling it out.

    When it came to measures of well-being such as consumption of protein or spending money on schooling, all of the groups who were given cash were better off than people in the control group who got no money. This fits with previous studies of no-strings cash aid, which find that poor people generally use the money productively rather than wasting it on alcohol, cigarettes or other vices.

    But the big news came on a different measure: people's likelihood of starting a business. On this front, those who got the money in a lump sum vastly outperformed people who were promised the same amount for just two years but received it in monthly installments. For instance lump-sum recipients had 19% more enterprises – businesses such as small shops in local markets, motorbike taxis and small-scale construction concerns. And the lump sum recipients' net revenues from their businesses were a whopping 80% higher.

    A member of the research team, MIT economist Tavneet Suri, says these results add to the evidence that many poor people are trapped in poverty by a lack of capital for precisely the kinds of transformative investments they would need to vault them into higher incomes.

    "I might have this amazing opportunity to invest that's going to get me great returns," says Suri. "But there's no way to borrow. I don't have title to my land, so I can't use my land as collateral. Or I just don't have great ways to save money – because putting it under my mattress is not a great way to save." In short, without an intervention like the lump-sum grants, she says, an individual struggling with poverty might think, "I can't make this investment that would help get me out of poverty."

    2. Lump sums are so useful that even those who didn't get them have banded together to create their own version.

    GiveDirectly's head of research, Miriam Laker-Oketta, notes that it wasn't all that surprising that the study team, which worked independently of her organization, found that the lump-sum recipients were more likely to make investments compared with those who got paid in monthly installments. Prior studies of smaller scale cash-aid programs — including an earlier experiment arranged by GiveDirectly itself — have pointed to similar results.

    But this new experiment tests, for the first time, both the lump sums and the two years worth of monthly installments against the much larger promise of 12 years of income, again delivered in monthly installments.

    So it's notable that here too, the lump-sum recipients did best in the matchup – opening more businesses and earning more money from them even when compared to those who knew they'd be getting monthly payments for the full 12 years.

    Andrew Zeitlen, an economist at Georgetown University who studies cash aid, says it's an impressive finding of a "well-executed study." After all, says Zeitlin, who was not involved with the research, "the long-run value of that universal basic income substantially exceeds the value of the lump sum transfers. It's an order of magnitude difference." So, the fact that lump sums had more impact even than this much bigger eventual payout points to the advantage of giving money at once instead of piecemeal.

    A 2017 meeting of a rotating savings club formed in a village near Lake Victoria soon after every adult there was chosen to receive a monthly through GiveDirectly's experiment. The clubs have enabled recipients to convert their grants into lump sum payments: Each month the members put $10 into the communual pot — for a total of $100 — and a different person takes it home.

    Nichole Sobecki for NPR

    Just as important, says Suri, is a second twist: Those who were promised 12 years of monthly payments still out-performed people who could only count on two years of payments. And – here's the key – the way that the 12-year-group was able to invest more in their enterprises was by effectively converting their monthly payments into a lump sum.

    They did this by making use of a creative financing tool known as a "rotating savings club." Every month members of the club pool their money and then take turns getting the entire payout from that pot.

    Rotating savings clubs are enormously popular among Kenyans who don't have access to traditional banking. Even people who got the monthly income for just two years managed to put about 8% more money in a rotating savings club than those who got no aid.

    But people in the 12-year-monthly income group used the clubs at an astonishing rate – contributing nearly 70% more money than those in the control group.

    Suri says one explanation could be that people who were promised a full 12 years of monthly income knew their neighbors would also be getting the income because every adult in the village was made that same promise. This expectation of years of income to come for everyone involved likely provided people the confidence needed to invest in a savings club: After all, says Suri, you're relying on your fellow members to keep contributing to the pot after they've gotten their own payout.

    A meeting of another rotating savings club in the same village, this one founded by Denis Otieno (third from the right). People who were promised the monthly income grants for 12 years used such clubs at an astonishing rate – contributing nearly 70% more money than those in the control group that got no aid.

    Nichole Sobecki for NPR

    3. Making the benefit 'universal' – by paying every adult in the village – seems to have greatly increased the impact.

    This broad-based, "universal" nature of the aid may also help explain another surprising finding, says Suri: The fact that people who chose to invest their cash grants did so by starting businesses.

    "I thought we would see tons of investment in agriculture" – basically improvements to the tiny plots on which many villagers raise subsistence crops, she says. "Go buy fertilizer. Go buy a pump to bring in more water."

    That's what earlier studies suggested.

    But the prior interventions that those studies had analyzed were not "universal" in the sense that, instead, the aid was given to only a subset of people in a community. By contrast, this experiment – by providing the aid to every adult in a given village – "allows us to learn about the interdependence between people," says Zeitlin. In particular, he says, it shows how the aid could boost businesses not just with capital but also by creating a large pool of new potential customers.

    Suri says anecdotal evidence suggests this is precisely what happened. "It's everybody getting the aid, and everybody knows that," she says.

    4. The grants did not seem to fuel inflation

    Despite the sudden influx of money into these impoverished communities, Suri says that so far the data suggests that inflation there did not go up.

    One possible reason, she says, is that while people did buy more things, this extra spending was distributed over a wide range of products, depending on the relative wealth of the person getting the aid.

    "So it's not all going into one commodity," says Suri. "And that's the advantage of spreading it universally."

    5. The big remaining question is whether the benefits of lump-sum payments actually last.

    Suri says the findings thus far already have potential implications for policy. For instance, at present, "a lot of cash transfers that the World Bank runs in poor countries tend to be of the monthly-for-two-years kind of style." And this new data adds substantial evidence to the view that, in fact, "the short-term [parceled out aid] is probably not such a smart policy. Because you could take the money and give it in a lump sum and get much bigger effects."

    What remains to be seen, she says, is whether the relative benefits of the lump-sum payments endure. Are the businesses that people start durable? Do they generate enough income to actually lift people out of poverty?

    "The lump sum and the long term [monthly payments] look similar at two years," Suri says. "But the question is, does the lump sum [impact] fade after year five? Year six? Does it just disappear? Or was this enough to keep [the impacts] going forever?"

    Because if so, she adds, "Then we're good. I don't have to spend 12 years of money. I just have to spend two years' worth and just structure it correctly."

    To find the answers, Suri says she's committed to continuing this study for as long as it takes.

    "For the rest of my life," she says, laughing. "You know, most people want to write a will for their assets – like, who are they going to leave their money to? I'm like, 'Who am I going to leave the universal basic income project to?' It's maybe the most valuable thing I have as a researcher."

    ]]>     Arctic Changes: Where my polar bear go? https://sdgtalks.ai/arctic-changes-where-my-polar-bear-go https://sdgtalks.ai/arctic-changes-where-my-polar-bear-go Sun, 05 May 2024 23:36:15 -0500 Cole Baggett Arctic, global warming

    This paper represents a synthesis of conceptual analyses, case study analyses, and practical thoughts on the application of convergence science in Arctic change studies. During a virtual workshop in 2020, a diverse, multi-national team of authors consisting of social scientists, engineers, earth system scientists, and ecologists came together to formulate broad, scientifically, and societally important questions on how the Arctic system in the Yamal Peninsula of Western Siberia responds to pressures of rapidly changing climate and increasing industrialization. The team “engineered” a novel approach for expert (representing a disciplinary domain) and non-expert (representatives of other disciplines) communication and at the workshop conclusion developed several convergence science questions of high appeal. Three of such questions are presented in this manuscript to illustrate how the search and identification of appropriate mechanistic linkages are critical to the development of system-level understanding of stressor impact propagation. The need to understand underlying disciplinary and cross-disciplinary mechanisms connecting Arctic system elements is viewed to be an inherent part of the convergence science approach. Through pursuit of such understanding, the approach naturally leads to other novel emerging questions, thereby stimulating further application of the process of integrative thinking.

    Abstract

    Science, engineering, and society increasingly require integrative thinking about emerging problems in complex systems, a notion referred to as convergence science. Due to the concurrent pressures of two main stressors—rapid climate change and industrialization, Arctic research demands such a paradigm of scientific inquiry. This perspective represents a synthesis of a vision for its application in Arctic system studies, developed by a group of disciplinary experts consisting of social and earth system scientists, ecologists, and engineers. Our objective is to demonstrate how convergence research questions can be developed via a holistic view of system interactions that are then parsed into material links and concrete inquiries of disciplinary and interdisciplinary nature. We illustrate the application of the convergence science paradigm to several forms of Arctic stressors using the Yamal Peninsula of the Russian Arctic as a representative natural laboratory with a biogeographic gradient from the forest-tundra ecotone to the high Arctic.

    Key Points

    • Arctic research demands convergence science as essential method to understand impacts from novel stressors

    • An integrative approach is developed by a diverse team to formulate questions that cannot be fully addressed within disciplinary studies

    • A convergence science analysis is illustrated for three questions applicable to Yamal, Russian Arctic, a microcosm of the changing Arctic

    Plain Language Summary

    This paper represents a synthesis of conceptual analyses, case study analyses, and practical thoughts on the application of convergence science in Arctic change studies. During a virtual workshop in 2020, a diverse, multi-national team of authors consisting of social scientists, engineers, earth system scientists, and ecologists came together to formulate broad, scientifically, and societally important questions on how the Arctic system in the Yamal Peninsula of Western Siberia responds to pressures of rapidly changing climate and increasing industrialization. The team “engineered” a novel approach for expert (representing a disciplinary domain) and non-expert (representatives of other disciplines) communication and at the workshop conclusion developed several convergence science questions of high appeal. Three of such questions are presented in this manuscript to illustrate how the search and identification of appropriate mechanistic linkages are critical to the development of system-level understanding of stressor impact propagation. The need to understand underlying disciplinary and cross-disciplinary mechanisms connecting Arctic system elements is viewed to be an inherent part of the convergence science approach. Through pursuit of such understanding, the approach naturally leads to other novel emerging questions, thereby stimulating further application of the process of integrative thinking.

    1 Introduction

    Given the drastic, rapid, and concurrent changes in the high latitudes and their impacts on global processes and peoples of the North, the Arctic represents a complex system that warrants urgent integration of research efforts. The necessity for integrative approaches addressing cumulative and compound effects of multiple drivers of changes has been highlighted in recent reports (AMAP, 2021; Arctic Council, 2016) emphasizing the need for the Arctic research community to step away from the relative comfort of disciplinary silos and move toward the development of holistic system views and novel paradigms.

    Arctic research demands convergence science.

    How can convergence science be construed? In contrast to the plain meaning of its etymon (the Latin convergere) to “incline together,” convergence research as a novel type of scientific endeavor encompasses not just passive integration of knowledge or a cascade of boundary conditions from one disciplinary group to another. On the contrary, it calls for the identification of fruitful research areas of opportunity to foster the emergence of new views, scientific principles, and even disciplines—the process in which diverse participants operate with a common language and reference points (Sharp & Langer, 2011; Thompson et al., 2023). In theory, a true application of the convergence science approach, individual disciplines and traditional concepts intersect, fuse, and cross-pollinate to gain novel insights and to understand emergent complexity, while accelerating solutions to big, complex problems (Stokols et al., 2008).

    How can convergence science approach be implemented, given the various cognitive and social barriers (Wagner et al., 2011) associated with the number of and relative separation among the disciplines? In practice, convergence science enhances research through interdisciplinary teams of scientists and stakeholders working together to push the scope of scientific inquiry beyond the typical boundaries of their respective fields, to foster mutual learning and novel collaborations, and develop a transdisciplinary language and knowledge consolidation to solve specific problems and respond to demands from society. For the purposes of this paper, we use the definition of transdisciplinary research offered by Rosenfield (1992) (“researchers work jointly using shared conceptual framework drawing together disciplinary-specific theories, concepts, and approaches to address common problem”) and view it as a required element of convergence science (Thompson et al., 2023) that focuses on big, complex socially-relevant problems. The implementation is not without challenges and tensions: identifying disciplines needed to address complex system-level problems, selecting compelling questions that will emerge as research foci, and integration and application of diverse methodologies require “engineering of communication” among experts and distillation of integrative perspectives.

    The central objective of this paper is to illustrate finely grained objectives and processes of convergence science, moving away from the “generalist,” broad contemplation level, to the application of the concept to specific Arctic stressors and mechanisms they imply. We seek to showcase how this approach allows the identification of linkages critical to the development of system-level understanding of stressor impact propagation. In the process of developing that understanding, we uncover knowledge gaps falling within the scope of both interdisciplinary and discipline-specific research. Concurrently, this paper also aims to demonstrate how a diverse group of author-scientists, who were trained largely within the niche of their single discipline, can through integrative thinking advance questions and understandings in ways that cannot be achieved with studies in their “host” disciplines alone.

    To provide an intuitive application of the concept, we use the Yamal peninsula in the Western Siberia (Russia) as a case study region for this synthesis, as evidence indicates increasingly intertwined processes caused by multiple stressors on the abiotic, biotic, and socioeconomic systems over the past four decades. Combining responses to these multiple drivers of change, Yamal is a vivid illustration of the need for convergent scientific understanding of Arctic change. Three representative convergence science threads are developed in this paper.

    2 Facets of Convergence Science of Arctic Change

    The Arctic is subject to several types of novel stressors that evince multiple levels of interaction with its environment and inhabitants. Here, we focus on two specific stressors that likely incorporate the larger fraction of unknowns and concerns across scientific and stakeholder groups and therefore constitute immediate research needs: climate change and industrialization. We explore how convergence science can trace the effects of stressor impacts across systems and may support genuine synthesis and shared understanding across disciplines.

    2.1 Climate Change

    Decadal changes in temperature of the near-surface atmosphere in the Arctic have profound implications for the loss of snow and ice and thus their feedback to regional and global climate (Hinzman et al., 2013). Surface temperature changes are related to the air energy content (Graversen et al., 2008), which is an approximation of air heat content (i.e., the sum of enthalpy and latent heat, which are the respective functions of air temperature and humidity) (Pielke et al., 2004). Due to profound effects of the latter on the various dynamics, we use heat content as the metric of “environmental conditions.” We consider this climactic driver a primary forcing factor of change in the abiotic, biotic, and human systems.

    An increase in near-surface heat can be conveyed via weather, event-scale impacts due to heat waves characterized by peak temperature and humidity as well as duration above a threshold. Gradual increase in the warming and duration of the above-freezing period leads to climate-scale changes, such as the timing of season onset and termination, their average heat content and duration. We consider changes for both types as external, that is, without accounting for how the Arctic land-surface will feedback to them. Even with this simplified view, we can distinguish two concepts. First (a), there can be temporal persistence of processes triggered by both pulse-scale and climate-scale changes (e.g., a brief heat wave may trigger an over-a-threshold behavior with long-term consequences; likewise, gradual changes in annual seasonalities may cause incremental but continuous changes in the Arctic system under consideration). Second (b), the impacts of heat content changes are often overlapping, and may lead to multiple feed-forward and feedback loops in the systems of impact, among which we target those that have longer-term implications. Arguably, mechanistic, process-level understanding of linkages generated in (a) and (b) constitute the core of Arctic climate change impacts that are of interest to science and society (Hinzman et al., 2013; Meier et al., 2014; Overland et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2020). We consider the complexity of relevant pathways by using both temporal scales associated with an increase in the atmospheric heat content and consider questions that require a convergence science approach.

    2.2 Industrialization

    The second stressor about which we are concerned is industrial development. Globally, industrialization is defined as a period of social and economic change during which people's means of gaining subsistence shifts to minimize human drudgery and improve predictability of resource availability via systematization and simplification of processes, an extensive division of labor, substitution of mechanical for human energy, and replacement of small, localized, and uncertain sources of supply by large, networked and controllable ones (Shimkin, 1952). Industrialization is a complex phenomenon with many regional and temporal elements that result in particular histories and complex constellations of identities and socio-political groupings. Industrialization is also an accelerator of acculturation that has affected every society across the globe, as people in less industrialized societies borrow or adapt to features of more industrialized cultures. Industrial societies have all experienced dramatic increases in the per capita production of food, services and goods through the mechanization of manufacturing and agriculture. Industrialization depends on the social systems that provide labor (Robertson, 1991). A social system consists of individual human beings interacting with one another within certain continuing associations and institutions.

    Russian industrialization of the Arctic is characterized by large-scale operations associated with the exploitation of non-renewable resources, and the construction of cities built around extraction cites and transportation networks (Zamyatina, 2023). This was accompanied by a large-scale influx of workforce who settled first temporarily, then permanently in such cities (Bolotova & Stammler, 2010). Alongside the development of non-renewable resources, indigenous peoples across Siberia, the Russian Arctic, and the Far East were incorporated into the state agricultural system, first through trading cooperatives linked to state procurement agencies, and then in the 1930s into collective farms (kolkhoz), and 1960s state farms (sovkhoz and gospromkhoz) for exploitation of renewable resources (mainly reindeer, fish, and fur) (Ziker, 2002). Oil and gas resource development, intensifying after the breakup of the USSR, is more distributed and reliant on the construction of linear infrastructures, such as pipelines, and exploitation of shift-worker regimes, rather than construction of industrial cities (Saxinger, 2016). Although recent expansion of oil/gas and mining associated infrastructure in the arctic has mostly occurred in Russia, there are also significant developments in the US and Canada (Bartsch et al., 2021).

    3 Arctic Microcosm—Yamal, Western Siberia

    We regard the Yamal Peninsula as a natural laboratory with Pan-Arctic explanatory relevance, because of the concentration of a large variety of pertinent components in the earth and social-ecological systems. These characteristics of the Arctic environment include various types of the permafrost, abundance of water, sharp changes in vegetation forms, snow and ice seasonalities, migrating animals (reindeer and birds), the high sensitivity of natural systems to climate change as well as the presence of relevant socio-economic-cultural aspects such as strong indigenous culture and livelihood, industrial development, a large non-indigenous population, and affluence of the region because of the natural resource extraction industries. These same features can be found in other regions of the Arctic such as Alaska, Arctic Canada and Fennoscandia. However, only in Yamal do they occur in such a high density, which makes this region exemplary and suitable for the development of convergence science frameworks.

    3.1 Eco-Gradient

    The Yamal Peninsula, West Siberia, Russia represents a microcosm of the changing Arctic, where the two novel stressors described in Section 2 interact with a dynamic social ecological system. The peninsula is a clearly bounded natural laboratory with a biogeographic gradient from the forest-tundra ecotone to the high Arctic (Figures S1a–S1c in Supporting Information S1) and extends over 700 km south-north (240 km east-west) from the northern terminus of the Polar Urals to the Kara sea, presenting four of the five Arctic bioclimatic subzones, from subzones E, D, and C in the main land of the peninsula, to subzone B in the adjacent Belyi Island (Walker et al., 2005). Yamal is predominantly underlain by the continuous and in the south by discontinuous permafrost (Figure S1b in Supporting Information S1). Yamal evinces variation in both plant and animal communities along a latitudinal gradient. For vegetation, there is a general decrease in productivity, height and biodiversity of plant types; and there is an increase in the ratio of mosses to vascular plants from south to north (Walker et al., 2009). There is also a decreasing number of animal species from south to north (Ryzhanovsky et al., 2016). These plant and animal gradients mirror those seen elsewhere in the Arctic across bioclimatic subzones.

    3.2 Rapid Climate Change

    The region is a hotspot of surface air temperature warming: June–July warming over the period 1991–2020 has led to an increase of +1.32°C as compared to the climate normal period of 1961–1990, or +2.02°C, relative to preindustrial levels (1850–1900), far exceeding the range of natural climate variability (Hantemirov et al., 2022). Mean annual temperature changes from 1961 to 1990 to 1991–2020 are about +1.5°C (Malkova et al., 2022). There is a positive trend in liquid precipitation (mean total annual is 390 mm, 2000–2019), accompanied by a decrease in snowfall (mean total is 223 mm), and an increased likelihood of rain-on-snow events (Forbes et al., 2016). Rapid warming increases the vulnerability of the permafrost to thawing (Malkova et al., 2022; Shpolyanskaya et al., 2022). Borehole measurements indicate one of the fastest warming rates of ground temperatures across the Arctic regions with continuous permafrost (Biskaborn et al., 2019), although this can vary with the type of landscape (Kaverin et al., 2017). As in much of the Arctic, warming has been linked to an increase in height and abundance of tall shrubs and a shift of the forest-tundra ecotone in the southern half of the peninsula (Frost & Epstein, 2014; Hantemirov et al., 2008; Mazepa, 2005; Shiyatov et al., 2007).

    Considerably less data have been published to date concerning responses of terrestrial fauna in Yamal to climate change. However, studies do suggest that animal species' ranges have shifted northward with climate change, leading to the “borealization” of small rodent and bird (Sokolov et al., 2012) communities, and expansion of breeding ranges of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) and hooded crows (Corvus cornix L.) (Sokolov, Sokolov, & Dixon, 2016). These have important consequences for food web structure and functioning (Ims et al., 2013a, 2013b).

    3.3 The Built Environment

    The built environment on Yamal includes towns and villages developed over the last 90 years, as well as a network of trading posts (faktoria), industrial extraction sites, and slaughterhouses. Linear infrastructures include a railway, and some short concrete roads. Long distance roads are maintained as ice-roads during the winter season. Industrial development has increased rapidly since the 1990s (Stammler, 2011). The largest industrial facilities situated in Yamal are Bovanenkovo, Sabetta, Noviy Port and Kharasavey, with several thousand workers each. The footprint of infrastructure and urban development in Yamal is not large in a spatial context, but much of the new infrastructure is linear and connects previously remote and relatively isolated communities (Kumpula et al., 2012). The 572 km Obskaya–Bovanenkovo railway (Figures S1b–S1c in Supporting Information S1), completed in 2011, is the world's northernmost railway (Terekhina & Volkovitskiy, 2020). Industrial activity brings large numbers of shift workers, commuting between urban centers in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO) and other cities of Russia and fly-in/fly-out settlements, such as Sabetta and Bovanenkovo. Industrial commuters, thus now outnumber the permanent population of native villages. Important for this paper are new stressors associated with industrialization, specifically the growing presence of industrial activities, such as construction in previously hard-to-access places, maintenance and transport of equipment and supplies for the gas industry, resulting in the continued development of infrastructure in the tundra. The challenge of complex, intertwined natural, social, and built environments on Yamal exemplifies why convergent science is necessary to tackle associated research questions.

    3.4 Social System

    Within this rapidly changing natural environment on Yamal is a complex social system including indigenous Nenets families living as nomadic reindeer herders and semi-nomadic fishermen, small majority-indigenous villages, and shift workers at infrastructure facilities. The number of permanent residents in Yamal is ca. 17,000 people, and almost 13,000 of them are indigenous peoples (mainly Nenets). The official number of shift workers is 25,000, but we assume that this data is underestimated (Loginov et al., 2020). Approximately 5,500 indigenous people engage in reindeer herding and fishing in the tundra, in a fully nomadic lifestyle with yearly migrations on reindeer sledges of up to 1,200 km (Terekhina & Volkovitsky, 2023). Yamal is one of the few places on the planet where people maintain the kind of nomadic pastoralism where moving is the norm rather than the exception. From the 1960s to present, the domestic reindeer population has grown from between 103,100 and 175,300 in 1990 (Makeev et al., 2014) to approximately 225,000 today (Terekhina & Volkovitsky, 2023). Previous studies (Forbes et al., 2009; Stammler, 2005) argued for strong resilience of reindeer herding lifeways within Yamal socio-ecological systems.

    Today, independent households privately manage 80–90% of domestic reindeer in Yamal, while the rest of the herds belongs to a municipal enterprise (one former collective soviet “sovkhoz” that still remained in 2021). While the herding families spend most of their time migrating, most tundra people are registered in one of the villages of Yamalskiy district and children attend school there: Yar-Sale (the district center), Salemal, Syunai-Sale, Panayevsk, Novyi Port, Mys Kamenniy, and Seyakha (Figure S1c in Supporting Information S1). These villages contain core social institutions and infrastructure including administrators, schools, and clinics (Stammler, 2005; Ziker, 2002). Villagers maintain social and cultural relations with their nomadic relatives (Liarskaya, 2016; Volzhanina, 2017). Larger municipalities, such as Salekhard (the capital of YaNAO), have more complex social organization and infrastructure and indigenous leaders (natsional'naia intelligentsia) often reside there.

    Beyond the growing development of infrastructure in the tundra, industrialization of Yamal has affected indigenous peoples living in Yamal in other profound ways such as through improved connectivity (expanded cellular network coverage (Stammler, 2009; Stammler, 2016), abundance of government sponsored satellite phones provided for the tundra families, transportation options and government sponsored train tickets) as well as expanded options for goods delivery, fuel supply, healthcare, veterinary services, and selling reindeer meat and fish to shift workers, etc.

    Rapid climate change is increasingly impacting reindeer herders (Stammler & Ivanova, 2020). One type of event, rain-on-snow, leads to icing on pastures and inaccessibility of forage for reindeer in winter (Bartsch et al., 2010; Forbes et al., 2016; Sokolov, Sokolova, et al., 2016; Volkovitskiy & Terekhina, 2020). The most prominent of these entailed a loss of approximately 60,000 reindeer on the south Yamal Peninsula during the 2013–2014 winter. In 2018/2019, herds experienced local icings. In the winter of 2020–2021, up to 15,000 domestic and an unknown number of wild reindeer perished in northern Yamal, despite supplemental feed delivered to tundra by the regional authorities using specially chartered aircrafts. A convergent science approach lends itself to understanding the trade offs for various strategies that Nenets reindeer herders employ for dealing with these increasing climatic challenges.

    4 Convergence Science Method

    The research questions considered here are examples of multi-disciplinary convergence science questions, which resulted from a multi-stage brainstorming process undertaken by the author group. We pose it as an example of “engineering” an approach to facilitate effective and productive communications and generate a convergence science approach to research. This method, while not without its shortcomings, illustrates the value of an explicit structure for interactions within a heterogeneous expert group to yield integrative thinking—a prerequisite for the development of convergence science. We believe this method may be applicable to any group seeking to generate broad, important questions that rest on pillars of disciplinary knowledge. We describe it below, starting with an outline of our strategically structured workshop and “rules” of discussions that led to drafting convergence science questions, some of which are presented in this article.

    In March of 2020, the rapidly evolving COVID-19 epidemic resulted in travel restrictions that disrupted plans of our team for an in-person meeting. We thus organized an online workshop. We set the goal of identifying high impact convergence science questions that spanned the breadth of disciplines represented by the group in social, natural, and built-environment systems. Specifically, we consisted of social scientists (4), engineers (4), earth system scientists (7), and ecologists (12) from across Russia (11), Europe (4), Middle East (1), and the US (11) and one logistical issue limiting our day-to-day interactions was that the team members were separated by as many as 11 time zones. Beyond discipline and space boundaries, we were scholars of various cultural identities and, described broadly, the team consisted of North Americans of European, Russian, and Asian descent, Western Europeans, Asians, and Russians. While the workshop team did not include non-scholar participants, several co-authors had conducted long-term studies (for more than a decade) in the communities of Yamal and developed broad social networks that included indigenous reindeer herders, public organizations of indigenous peoples of Yamal, leaders of reindeer herding communities as well as various Yamal government departments. These stakeholder groups therefore furnished information input for the exemplary research questions of this manuscript—as mediated by our co-author experts who provided the necessary competence for translating the knowledge and needs of the non-scholar stakeholders into a culturally appropriate discourse during the convergence science process. The topics encompassed climate change, reindeer herding management, burgeoning industrial development, and others.

    Our key challenge was to find the grounds for science questions that emerge far beyond the disciplinary expertise of any single group member or subset of the larger group. This required systematic efforts that would push workshop discussions out of disciplinary silos and concentrate them on the development of views and questions in which no single expert group could claim dominant expertise. As a result, we structured the workshop to start within our disciplinary comfort zones, then to gradually integrate disciplines in a hierarchical manner, to culminate in a drawn diagram of connections between elements of the Arctic system from which we could distill high-impact convergence science questions (Figure 1). Our goal at each phase of the workshop was to identify critical elements within multiple disciplines (such as reindeer, arctic fox, herders, permafrost, shrubs, etc.), and then determine connections among these elements defined by explicit mechanisms—even if they remained elusive or unknown due to missing expertise in the team. The focus on elements connected by mechanisms kept all discussions grounded in practical rather than abstract terms. This facilitated discussions in which element-mechanism interconnections would be converted into concrete research objectives driven by testable science hypotheses and questions. The workshop participants also regulated discussions to prevent their swaying toward non-actionable science (i.e., too remote from team's expertise or too uncertain due to current inability to observe or measure relevant processes). This prevention emerged as a social norm during workshop discussions by the participants, rather than imposed as a “rule of the conduct” (which would have probably limited brainstorming and original thinking by individuals to some extent).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 1
    Open in figure viewerPowerPoint

    The diagram shows a hierarchical design for structuring a Workshop to discover convergence science questions that emerge from multi-discipline integration. The workshop began with disciplinary presentations (“EP”) grouped by science themes (“Theme”). Disciplines were integrated by identifying “linkages” defined as mechanistic connections between elements, first within Themes, then across Themes, and finally throughout a unified network model of the study system. Remote Breakout Groups were structured geographically to accommodate time-zone variation. Full Group Discussions at beginning, middle, and end of the workshop encouraged full scientific and cultural integration.

    We began with recorded 15-min expert presentations (Figure 1, “EP” elements at the base of the workshop pyramid) by select members to present key disciplinary questions to non-experts of the discipline (i.e., representatives of other disciplines). Presentations were grouped into four “themes” combining similar fields: Theme I—“Arctic climate, weather, hydrology, permafrost, landscape vegetation,” Theme II—“Herbivory, predator-prey interactions, birds,” Theme III—“Plants, productivity, nutrients, dendrochronology, paleo-botany, ontology, ecology,” and Theme IV—“Social anthropology: human-environment interactions, reindeer herding in Yamal.” These expert summaries were foundational for building a collective language of communication among the participant scientists. Overall, we had 11 expert presentations within the context of the four Themes. Indeed, the act of summarizing key disciplinary questions in a language that non-experts could understand forced each expert to break down those questions to their most fundamental and important elements. This allowed each to step into the shoes of the other participants–to consider the question, “why is this important to others?” That in itself turned out to be an important key to our convergence science approach, one challenged to integrate ideas from vastly different disciplines.

    The first challenge for each participant was to identify one mechanistic linkage between two elements of high scientific interest drawn from different presentations within each theme. By initially bridging related disciplines, these linkages formed the foundation for the gradual building of cross-disciplinary networks. Two such example linkages could be: shrubs (element 1) elevate winter soil temperature (element 2) by trapping snow (mechanism); linear infrastructure (element 1) increases fox abundance (element 2) via human-discarded food subsidies (mechanism). It was critical to keep linkages transparent and formulaic, avoiding abstraction or grouping of concepts. Thereby, when linkages were later connected into networks crossing disciplines, they could represent manageably sized research questions containing measurable elements and mechanisms.

    Within the subsequent breakout groups corresponding to geographic regions of the team (Figure 1, “B” elements), each group discussed the individual linkage choices, and attempted to modify and distill two top linkages that crossed disciplines (within themes) and appeared to present opportunities for novel science. For example, while the effect of shrubs on snow retention has been well studied in the plant and biophysical sciences, the effect of shrub distributions (element 1) on ptarmigan population structure (element 2) via landscape snow redistribution (mechanism) is more likely approaching novel scientific territory by bridging related biological and biophysical disciplines. Most groups also opted to create thematic network diagrams to gain a more holistic understanding of the emerging science in preparation for later integration across themes. In a desire to avoid established questions of disciplinary interest and facilitate our forging into novel convergence science territory—in which no group member could claim expertise—we chose to have each breakout session led by a non-expert of the theme, while thematic experts were assigned rapporteur roles and were directed to express their opinions last.

    Our next challenge was to consolidate the regional consensuses on linkages that were identified to have potentially novel science. We worked through two full-group meetings (Figure 1, “G” elements) to debate and edit the 12 linkages from two Themes identified by the breakout groups, and ultimately integrate them into two “spaghetti diagrams” (an example of one is in Figure 2a). This step required the identification of missing links, especially between science themes, thereby expanding the emerging convergence science pathways. During this integration process, the team also contextualized the developed spaghetti diagrams from a regional perspective: we explicitly considered the question of what makes Yamal a scientifically appealing place to study questions of interest (Figure S1 in Supporting Information S1). At this stage we also filtered out what was viewed as apparently non-actionable science (still, this was done in a conservative fashion to minimize a disregard for high-risk, high-yield research areas).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 2
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    (a) A “spaghetti diagram” illustrating one outcome of group discussions (Figure 1, “G1” element) of Theme 1 and 2. (b) A “Unified Model” of Arctic elements and linkages achieved during the Great Spaghetti Cook-Off, the culmination of our convergence science workshop. Bubbles are “elements” of high interest identified and distilled throughout the workshop, colored by category (see Key). Arrows represent connections with explicit mechanisms identified during the workshop. After generating the fully integrated network model, three Breakout Groups each determined two science threads, each containing five linkages, depicted as colored connection-arrows. With each science thread, we aimed to represent integrated science questions of high impact that were plausibly testable and could not be addressed within any single discipline. The Unified Model and science threads are products of rapid brainstorming and iterated distillation, which formed a useful foundation for later work to formalize specific science questions and work plans.

    After synthesizing pairs of Themes, we divided again into regional breakout groups tasked to “distill” the two spaghetti diagrams (Figure 1, “D” elements). Distillation entailed applying “Occam's razor” to diagrams overpopulated with elements, and highlighting key linkages leading to apparently novel convergence science (Figure 2a). We again made a concerted effort to avoid the tendency for abstraction, and maintain networks made of observable elements connected by explicitly hypothesized mechanisms. At this stage we began to formulate higher-level science questions that could be informed by an integrated study across a trans-disciplinary chain of elements.

    Our final challenge via full-group discussions was to integrate the distilled spaghetti diagrams into a single unified network diagram and identify high-impact and actionable convergence science questions that arise from that network (Figure 2b)—a process that we referred to as “The Great Spaghetti Cook-Off” (Figure 1, the top of the workshop pyramid). Prior to this meeting, the distilled spaghetti diagrams were integrated into a single network containing all of the elements and their connecting arrows (as presented in group distillations), with elements color-coded by themes, ready for live editing during the full-group meeting. First, the full group debated and refined the network structure and labels. Then, we divided into three sub-groups, each of which was tasked over 45 min to develop two science Threads—a sub-network of five elements connected by mechanistic linkages within the integrated spaghetti diagram. Each Thread was to represent elements and processes of high scientific interest, with perceived strong mechanistic interactions between elements from different disciplines. We then reconvened as a full group to discuss and refine the Threads, ensure their mutual distinction, and critically re-evaluate the elements and mechanisms that had not been assigned to any Thread. Our final product was a cohesive network diagram with six color-coded Threads (Figure 2b). At the workshop closure, by tracing mechanistic pathways in each of the Threads, our team thus drafted tractable convergence-science questions of highest interest that were best informed by cohesive inputs from multiple disciplinary studies. We felt that these questions, by the nature of their construction through our workshop design, necessarily forged into novel scientific territory, successfully producing convergence science objectives.

    Our convergence science questions were further refined in post-workshop activities led by team sub-groups, whose composition continued to represent diverse areas of expertise. For each Thread and its corresponding science question, the sub-groups were tasked to refine and detail hypothesized conceptual models of mechanistic pathways connecting Arctic stressors to their direct impacts. They were also called to consider effects exerted on elements of natural, social, and built-environment systems, as well as triggered responses and adaptive strategies. Three examples of such convergence science questions are provided in the next section.

    Overall, the described method proved successful as a foundation for the convergence science questions presented here and for a subsequently funded grant proposal (through the National Science Foundation “Navigating the New Arctic” program). In addition, the group members found the process highly stimulating, enhancing cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary connectivity, broadening each of our knowledge bases, and improving understanding of how each of our research foci fits into a broader picture of Arctic processes.

    5 Convergence Science Threads

    During a workshop in 2020 and subsequent synthesis activities, the authors co-developed several convergence science questions whose causal mechanisms were perceived to be of high priority to understand. The objective for the selected three research threads below is to illustrate how a given question relating a certain stressor (i.e., climate change and industrialization) and an Arctic system agent(s) (e.g., reindeer, herders, tall shrubs) can be addressed via the development of a holistic view of system interactions and their spatial and temporal scales. Specifically, we illustrate how the integration of disciplinary knowledge of processes and the relevant linkages can lead to conceptual models of interactions in a network of interlinked elements. Such models can then serve to identify specific causal connections that can be addressed in research to further our understanding of overarching mechanisms. We also formulate Emerging Questions (denoted as EQ) that are important for the overarching research thread question and currently represent knowledge gaps.

    Research question 1.How does expansion of increasing human presence and the built environment impact animals?

    The growing presence of an indigenous population (with their reindeer) and newcomers (with their infrastructure) has complex impacts on local animal species (Figure 3). For example, food subsidies grow following an increased number of reindeer (Ehrich et al., 2017; Sokolov, Sokolova, et al., 2016). Additionally, more people in tundra potentially means an increase in food waste and anthropogenic food subsidies. On the other hand, domestic dogs can prevent endemic mammalian scavengers from accessing subsidies in settlements of hydrocarbon extraction fields.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 3
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    A conceptual diagram of agents and effects (ovals) and processes (arrows) linking the built environment with ecosystem elements in Yamal: stressors (gray), direct impacts (yellow), and faunal responses (orange).

    Infrastructure can reduce and fragment natural habitats, but at the same time can create new habitats for some species. This may benefit generalist predators, such as corvids and foxes and alter predator-prey relationships, potentially leading to an increased predation pressure on wild prey species, such as ground-nesting birds and rodents. This can also lead to a discussion of the context of arctic fox in relation to reindeer (Terekhina et al., 2021). Effects are further complicated by climate-related phenomena, such as prolonged winters (late springs) leading to delay in arrival of migratory birds, another important fox food source. This highlights the complexity of relationships between infrastructure and increased human presence on the one hand, and wildlife on the other.

    The Obskaya-Bovanenkovo railroad (Figure S1b in Supporting Information S1) presents an example of how infrastructure development impacts wildlife on Yamal (Sokolov et al., 2017). The railroad extends from the forest tundra in the south to the high Arctic in the north and crosses numerous rivers. Bridges associated with the railroad have allowed the expansion of new species into the Arctic zone. Ravens and gyrfalcons did not breed in Yamal outside of forested areas and rocky cliffs prior to 2011, when the railroad was constructed. Bridges associated with the railroad provide elevated nesting sites previously unavailable to ravens. Gyrfalcons followed the ravens northward, utilized their nests, and flourished. This led to the first documented gyrfalcon breeding in Yamal, where the flat landscape does not provide sufficiently high natural rock cliffs or tall trees for this species to breed. Expansion of this top predator along the Yamal railroad potentially has an impact on prey populations too, especially ptarmigans. The raven population, which preys on nests of numerous birds, could likewise have a negative effect on avian species, such as grouse and waders (Henden et al., 2021; Rød-Eriksen et al., 2020).

    EQ (Emerging Question): How does human activity modify top-down control of trophic interactions in tundra food webs? How does climate change impact the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on ecosystem dynamics?

    Research question 2.How do warmer winters and seasonal shifts transform human and reindeer lives in the tundra?

    Changing seasonality of winters affects both reindeer herding and systems that provide services to communities in the region. We hypothesize that warm spells throughout winter make mobility and transportation on Yamal more difficult. The start of the winter season with snow and ice determines the pace of reindeer herders' migration and camp movement to meat processing facilities where herders get their main yearly income. These migratory patterns, where timing is key, are such that some rivers need to be solidly frozen to be crossed with camps and herds. Research question 2 explores how warmer winters and seasonal shifts affect both reindeer herding and mechanized transportation (Figure 4).

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    Figure 4
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    A conceptual diagram of the mechanistic linkages between the stressor (gray), direct impacts (yellow), effects (orange), and adaptive strategies (green) taken by reindeer herders facing warming winters. The arrows represent the direct and bidirectional effects of the linkages.

    Unpredictable winter seasonality results in bottlenecks for larger households during autumn and spring Nenets migration schedules. These delays create herbivory pressure along transit routes on both sides of the major water bodies, where nomads are “stuck” waiting for the ice. This, in turn, can lead to conflicts. Smaller private herders that rely on these pastures for their winter grazing close to villages (Yar-Sale, Ports-Yakha, Salemal, Panaevsk) complain that big herds that are supposed to go to the other side of the wide Ob’ River destroy their winter grazing areas. Now, more Nenets aim to leave the peninsula for winter, as they are not satisfied with tundra pastures during winter. This leads to a higher concentration of herds waiting on the banks to cross rivers, resulting in high pressure on pastures. EQ: What is the role of concentrated urine and defecation resulting from concentration of herds? What are the resulting changes in biomass of plant communities and how are they altered, potentially reducing, or improving overall pasture quality?

    On the other hand, herders report that some of this grazing pressure will be “taken back by nature” (Russian: priroda voz'met svoyo), when large iced-covered patches of pastures caused by rain-on-snow (ROS) events become inaccessible for longer periods. EQ: To what extent does ROS allow the pastures in those areas to recover, by reducing the density of animals grazing and moderating the negative impact of trampling?

    The most obvious disturbance for herding migration patterns and danger for nomadism as a livelihood as well as for herding as an economy is the impact of the increased frequency of ROS events and thaws (Serreze et al., 2021; Stammler & Ivanova, 2020). Recent publications have already shown these tremendous impacts (Forbes et al., 2016), and how herders respond to them (Golovnev, 2017; Stammler & Ivanova, 2020). These events do not necessarily increase competition among herders for scarce resources. A smart Nenets strategy relies on the animals' autonomous survival skills in the times of crises (Stépanoff et al., 2017). In Yamal, this is known as free grazing, where herders release their herds to roam freely, refrain from any herd control, and hope that the animals find pastures somewhere, even if it results in mixing with other herds. When a herd moves on their own, the owners can avoid direct confrontation with other herders by arguing that the herds are not driven by the people on purpose. EQ: Given increasing controversy about supplemental feeding in Fennoscandia (Horstkotte et al., 2021; Pekkarinen et al., 2021), how might a switch to intensive supplemental feeding change dependencies on state subsidies and affect reindeer health on Yamal? Would supplemental feed help vegetation recovery or reduce reindeer mortality? What combination of meteorological events leads to an ice crust critical for winter reindeer grazing?

    Early winter road melting in spring means the danger of winter roads collapsing under big trucks that carry heavy loads. In extreme years, some winter roads do not open. For example, in 2019–20, the winter road from Salekhard, the district center, to Yar-Sale, the administrative center of the Yamal Peninsula, remained closed leading to increasing prices of all goods in the village. Reindeer herders responded to these pressures by purchasing more in Nadym, a town in the forest zone in the area of winter campsites and transporting goods on snowmobiles to the Peninsula. Some even took it as a business opportunity and hauled barrels of petrol from Nadym for sale in Yar-Sale. Not every family has the opportunity for such plastic responses to weather.

    EQ: What is the effect of such events on equality of access to mobility and goods for the residents of remote villages lacking the formally established communications? How much warming will it take to cause a shift in the kind of transportation that is needed in winter along the Ob’ River?

    Research question 3.How does summer heat affect reindeer herding?

    Increased heat content in the atmosphere during snow-free summers in particular has significant impacts on reindeer due to the higher rate of biotic and human activities during this season (Figure 5). We hypothesize that the increased summer heat alters reindeer migratory patterns via impacts on landscape fragmentation by novel processes (shrubification, permafrost wasting, fire, and shifts in vegetation composition) that affect foraging, disease, insect harassment, and mobility. We additionally hypothesize that landscape constraints interact with socially negotiated access to migration routes of herding groups, leading to reduced flexibility in adaptation choices.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 5
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    A conceptual diagram of the mechanistic linkages between the stressor (gray), direct impacts and process amplification (yellow), effects (orange), and adaptive strategies and reindeer health impacts (green) due to increase in summer heat. The arrows represent the direct and bidirectional effects of the linkages.

    The direct implications of weather-scale change in the atmospheric heat content are well-characterized (Figure 5, “Reindeer heat stress”): reindeer have poor tolerance for high ambient temperatures and they avoid overheating through reduced metabolism and foraging only during night hours (Klokov & Mikhailov, 2019), often leading to animal weight loss. Furthermore, according to the Nenets, extreme summer heat leads to calves' lung disease (pers. comm.). Less apparent effects of heatwaves are due to the acceleration of frozen ground thaw (Figure 5, “Soil thaw; wet substrate”), which may create conditions of foraging in high wetness conditions. In combination with high temperatures and reduced mobility, this may force the herd to stay in trampled, boggy grazing pastures, that is, favorable conditions for hoof bacterial infections via scratches or wounds (Riseth et al., 2020). Heat waves are also associated with weather patterns during which low, calm winds can promote animal stress due to mosquito, warble flies, and nose bot flies harassment that inhibit reindeer foraging (“Low wind conditions”). Hagemoen and Reimers (2002) argued that the resultant decrease in feeding and resting and increase in demanding activities may compromise reindeer physical fitness, with possible consequences for winter survival. Excess summer heat therefore affects reindeer and nomads by reducing their mobility, with at least three negative effects: inhibiting efficient foraging to develop fat stores needed for winter survival (Nilssen et al., 1984); by increasing the spread of pathogens among dense, stationary reindeer; and by reducing the survival rate of calves in winter.

    EQ: How will the continued increase in summer heat affect reindeer health, body conditions and their winter survival? Is there a particular migration or pasturing pattern that is more conducive to hoof infections (e.g., a rapid south-north migration on partially thawed surface vs. summer pasturing phase on warmer but wet soil)? Can these local, landscape-niche level effects of thaw feedback onto nomad migration patterns?

    Furthermore, hot weather increases flammability of vegetation, making tundra (summer pastures) and boreal forest (winter pastures) more susceptible to ignition (Figure 5, “Tundra and forest fire”). Tundra fire has been observed to increase in the Arctic (Witze, 2020), likely due to the combination of lightning activity and frequent dry tundra conditions (He et al., 2022). Studies in Siberia are infrequent but indicate massive fires in the forest areas of mixed genesis, citing anthropogenic impacts (Moskovchenko et al., 2020). Fires can increase ecosystem productivity in tundra ecosystems, and may promote biodiversity (Heim et al., 2022) and active recruitment of shrub species (Myers-Smith et al., 2011) that can partly offset the fire depletion of biomass. However, fires also lead to the loss of slowly growing, energy-rich lichen—the preferred, if not dominant, winter nutritional element of reindeer (Turunen et al., 2009), highlighting specifically the vulnerability of winter reindeer pastures.

    EQ: Can the loss of lichen due to the changing fire regime in the forest and tundra place additional pressures on the mobility of nomads and reindeer and social negotiations among herders, during both summer and winter periods? Can fire patchiness in the landscape impose violations of traditional reindeer foraging boundaries? Can the patchiness of fires impact the size of grazing herds as larger herds need larger pastures not impacted by fires?

    Wind is one of the key determinants of mosquito relief (Skarin et al., 2004) and heat stress relief and higher coastal winds in Yamal are a strong enough feature of attraction for the migrating nomads. Coastal areas also have herbaceous plants of higher nutritious content that are forage for the reindeer. EQ: Will productivity of forbs in northern coastal areas increase with summer warming?

    The effects of long-term, climate-scale changes in the atmospheric heat content are less understood, as they may initiate and convey processes that evolve over similarly long time scales (Ims, Jepsen, et al., 2013). Warmer summers, a deepening of the soil active layer due to the increased permafrost thaw, and the lengthening of the phenological period of photosynthesis have facilitated the growth of tall, woody shrub vegetation in tundra, though the main areas of growth cluster around water tracks and more severe active layer erosion (Elmendorf et al., 2012; Myers-Smith et al., 2011) (Figure 5, “Tall shrub expansion”). Studies in Fennoscandia showed that reindeer foraging can hold back shrubification of tundra (Horstkotte et al., 2017) but once sufficiently mature, shrubs may create localized impacts on herding practices. Herders typically avoid guiding reindeer through tall shrub thickets, so as to avoid reindeer feet and hoof injuries and excessive insect harassment, but they may also choose winter campsites in proximity to these thickets, which are a source of firewood and auxiliary subsistence material.

    EQ: Can choices of pasture areas feed back onto the regional-scale vegetation cover by limiting shrub spread or mediating their distribution, for example, due to increased animal nitrogen enrichment via excreta? Overall, will the direct impacts of high ambient temperatures on reindeer and the indirect implications stemming from heat-induced changes in landscape lead to shifts in nomadic reindeer herding practices?

    6 Discussion and Conclusions

    The objective of this paper is to illustrate how convergence science—an approach that has seen increasing in interest over the past decade across a spectrum of disciplines (Thompson et al., 2023)—can be applied to the terrestrial Arctic system. While there has been general understanding that a convergence science approach bringing together earth systems scientists, social scientists, ecologists, and the affected stakeholders is needed, and science funding bodies over the world have recognized this and committed enormous resources to it (e.g., the US National Science Foundation's Navigating the New Arctic initiative), there are shockingly few publications on how to “do” convergence science, and none focused on studying the terrestrial Arctic system.

    This paper presents a framework for breaking down disciplinary silos in bringing together social scientists, natural scientists, and engineers, and integrating the knowledge of non-scholar stakeholders. Our team, representing vastly different disciplines, countries, and cultural identities, came together to focus attention on climate change and industrialization and their impacts on the Yamal Peninsula of Arctic Siberia. This paper relays our process of design of convergence science questions and lessons learned during a hierarchically designed workshop in March 2020 that began with disciplinary perceptions of importance of Arctic system elements, and progressively integrated these views via specifically structured discussions into a unified network model. The latter served as a basis for the development of several convergence science questions, three of which were used as examples in this paper, aiming to showcase the identification of linkages critical to generating system-level understandings of stressor impact propagation. Overall, the discussed approach provides a foundation of value to a very wide audience—not just researchers and stakeholders interested in Arctic climate change or even climate change in general, but many interested in the convergence science thinking.

    The exemplified convergent science approach has identified research questions that are broad in nature. As illustrated in their discussions, they do not have direct and immediate answers and cannot be fully addressed within a single disciplinary study because of numerous linkages conveyed as feed-forward connections between stressors, processes, and effects, and feedback mechanisms that are expressed as adaptive adjustments or strategies exhibited by Arctic elements. Nonetheless, because these questions were the result of integration, they can also be “differentiated,” that is, parsed into material links and tangible inquiries of disciplinary and interdisciplinary nature. While we present Yamal as a case-study region, many of the elements and their mechanistic connections presented here are broadly representative of the Arctic, and we believe our methodology for the discovery of convergence science can be applied to integrate disciplines in other systems of high complexity.

    Even though not demonstrated in this paper explicitly, the process of mapping tangible questions onto a space of practical implementation is the next vital stage of the convergent science process. The illustrated development of question formulation is already tremendously useful for setting priorities among study elements and contemplating about the issues of research feasibility. But it is in the implementation stage that the research team may appreciate their gaps in expertise, methodology, and instrumentation. The team may further feel compelled to formulate additional—what we call here “emerging questions” (EQs), which can enrich and expand the scope of the overarching research thread. EQs are current knowledge gaps and stimulate a recursive (and iterative) assessment of thread linkages and content, particularly as new data and analyses start coming in to provide novel insights. It is also at that stage of the convergence science process that the relative importance of thread elements and their interactions and relevant mechanisms are re-assessed and convergence science questions are further scrutinized. Overall, a traversal of the entire convergent science pathway may characterize it not as an ultimately terminal endeavor, but as a learning process with ever-expanding dimensions of scientific inquiry.

    Acknowledgments

    V. Ivanov, P. Ungar, A. Sheshukov, D. Liu, and J. Wang acknowledge the support by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Navigating the New Arctic Program Track-II team planning Grant 1928014, 1927793, 1928020, 1928040, 1928061 and Track-I Grant 2126792 (Ivanov), 2126796 (Ungar), 2126794 (Ziker), 2126793 (Sheshukov), 2126797 (Wang), 2126798 (Liu), and 2126795 (Heskel). Additionally, Ivanov, Wang, Sheshukov, and Liu acknowledge the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) Grant 1725654, 1724633, 1724633, and 1724868. A. Sokolov, N. Sokolova, O. Pokrovskaya, P. Orekhov, A. Terekhina, A. Volkovitskiy, S. Abdulmanova, and I. Fufachev (all co-authors from Yamal) were supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program, Grant 122021000089-9. V. Valdayskikh was supported by the state task of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, project no. FEUZ 2024-0011.

    ]]>     Contrasting Shifts in Vegetation &quot;Greenness&quot; https://sdgtalks.ai/contrasting-shifts-in-vegetation-greenness https://sdgtalks.ai/contrasting-shifts-in-vegetation-greenness Sun, 05 May 2024 23:32:29 -0500 Cole Baggett vegetation, greenness

    Vegetation greenness changes year to year in response to climate variability and reflects the stability of ecosystems. How the interannual variability (IAV) of vegetation greenness has changed in the past decades, however, remained uncertain with recent studies reporting conflicting IAV trends using different satellite remote sensing products. Here, we investigated the greenness IAV trends of global vegetation using multiple mainstream satellite remote sensing products. We found that the changes in greenness IAV are conflicting on half of the global vegetated surface, while the differences in background climate, greening trends and nitrogen deposition rates account for either positive or negative trends in greenness IAV on the remaining half of the vegetated surface.

    Abstract

    Changes in the interannual variability (IAV) of vegetation greenness and carbon sequestration are key indicators of the stability and climate sensitivities of terrestrial ecosystems. Recent studies have examined the changes in the vegetation IAV using atmospheric CO2 observations and dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs), however, reported different and even contradictory IAV trends. Here, we investigate the changes in the IAV of vegetation greenness, quantified as coefficient of variability (CV), over the past few decades based on multiple satellite remote sensing products and DGVMs. Our results suggested that, on half of the global vegetated surface (mostly in the tropics), the CV trends detected by different satellite remote sensing products are conflicting. We found that 22.20% and 28.20% of the global vegetated surface (mostly in the non-tropical land surface) show significant positive and negative CV trends (p ≤ 0.1), respectively. Regions with higher air temperature and greater aridity tend to have increasing CV trends, whereas greater vegetation greening trend and higher nitrogen deposition lead to smaller CV trends. DGVMs generally cannot capture the CV trends obtained from satellite remote sensing products, while the inconsistency among satellite remote sensing products is likely caused by their process algorithms rather than the sensors utilized. Our study closely examines the changes in the IAV of global vegetation greenness, and highlights substantial uncertainty when using satellite remote sensing to study the response of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change.

    Key Points

    • On half of the global vegetated surface, the changes in the vegetation greenness interannual variability (IAV) are conflicting

    • 22.20% and 28.20% of the global vegetated surface show significant positive and negative trends of vegetation greenness IAV, respectively

    • Warmer and drier places lead to greater greenness IAV whereas greater greening trend and higher nitrogen deposition make IAV smaller

    Plain Language Summary

    Vegetation greenness changes year to year in response to climate variability and reflects the stability of ecosystems. How the interannual variability (IAV) of vegetation greenness has changed in the past decades, however, remained uncertain with recent studies reporting conflicting IAV trends using different satellite remote sensing products. Here, we investigated the greenness IAV trends of global vegetation using multiple mainstream satellite remote sensing products. We found that the changes in greenness IAV are conflicting on half of the global vegetated surface, while the differences in background climate, greening trends and nitrogen deposition rates account for either positive or negative trends in greenness IAV on the remaining half of the vegetated surface.

    1 Introduction

    Changes in the interannual variability (IAV) of vegetation greenness indicate the stability of terrestrial ecosystems (Berdugo et al., 2022; De Keersmaecker et al., 2014; Huang & Xia, 2019) and is critical for tracking the progression of vegetation-climate feedback under climate change (Alkama & Cescatti, 2016; Zeng et al., 2017). When climate variability remains unchanged, a larger IAV suggests that the vegetation is more sensitive to climate change, while a smaller IAV suggests that vegetation is less sensitive. Several recent studies have examined the IAV changes of carbon sequestration using atmospheric observations and dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) (Fernández-Martínez et al., 2023; Luo & Keenan, 2022) and reported an increase in the IAV from the 1950–1980s, however, they disagreed on the direction of the IAV trends from the 1980s onwards. Additionally, the conflicting evidence on the changes in climate sensitivities of vegetation greenness in recent decades (Zeng, Hu, et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2023) adds further debates to the unresolved understanding of the changes in the IAV of vegetation over the past 40 years.

    Multiple factors in the global change can be linked to the changes in the IAV of vegetation activities. The greening of the earth indicates that terrestrial ecosystems hold more green leaves for carbon fluxes, which is more likely to demonstrate larger IAV in greenness and carbon fluxes. If the climate sensitivity of individual leaves remains unchanged, then climate variation would lead to a larger variation in greenness, simply because there are more leaves that can respond to climate variation. Therefore, the reasons for the greening, for example, CO2 fertilization effect and nitrogen deposition (N deposition) (Piao et al., 2015; Zhu et al., 2016) are potential factors for the changes in IAV. Aridity is another potential factor, as the droughts have been reported to either induce the changes in the trend of vegetation greenness (and therefore, a change in the IAV assuming a constant trend) (Berdugo et al., 2022), or directly enhance the variability of carbon cycle by increasing tropical extreme droughts (Luo & Keenan, 2022). Land cover and land use changes (e.g., expansion of croplands), temperature or CO2 induced the changes of respirations (Forkel et al., 2016; Piao et al., 2018), have been linked to the increase in seasonal amplitude of atmospheric CO2 (i.e., an indicator of intra-annual variability of the carbon cycle) (Gray et al., 2014), and may thus further imply the changes in the IAV of vegetation activities.

    Although the changes in the vegetation IAV have been investigated and examined using atmospheric CO2 and DGVMs (Fernández-Martínez et al., 2023; Luo & Keenan, 2022), they have rarely been investigated using satellite-based observations. Two previous studies examined the changes in the temporal variability of vegetation greenness using a single satellite remote sensing product but reported different IAV trends (Chen, Chen, et al., 2019; Luo & Keenan, 2022). In this study, we used an ensemble of multiple satellite remote sensing products, covering different types of vegetation indicators, to investigate the changes in the IAV (i.e., CV; coefficient of variability) of global vegetation activities over the past 40 years. We primarily focus on the IAV of vegetation greenness including leaf area index (LAI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), but also examine other indicators, such as, solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) and vegetation optical depth (VOD). The use of CV aims to standardize the indicators, removing the differences in magnitude to ensure comparability among the results from different indicators. Beyond conducting a data intercomparison, we further collected LAI estimates from 12 DGVMs for a model-observation comparison, explored the potential factors driving the CV trends and quantified their respective contributions to the CV trends. Our study aims to improve our understanding of the IAV changes of the global vegetation greenness and identify the potential factors driving the changes in the IAV.

    2 Materials and Methods

    2.1 Satellite Remote Sensing Data

    We used six long-term and three short-term satellite remote sensing datasets in this study, covering four types of vegetation indicators - NDVI, LAI, SIF and VOD (Table 1). These remote sensing products include: (a) VIP15 NDVI product (1981–2014), which has 0.05° and 15-day resolutions and is developed by harmonizing the observations of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) from 1981 to 1999 and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) C5 from 2000 to 2014 (Didan et al., 2015); (b) GIMMS NDVI3g (1981–2015), which has 15-day and 1/12° resolutions, and was produced by aggregating daily AVHRR surface reflectance (Pinzon & Tucker, 2014); (c) GIMMS LAI3g product (1981–2015), which was further produced by GIMMS NDVI3g product using a neural network algorithm (Zhu et al., 2013); (d) PKU GIMMS NDVI (1982–2020), which is a new version of GIMMS NDVI product produced by a machine learning model incorporating Landsat images (Li et al., 2023); (e) GLASS LAI product (1981–2018), which has 8-day temporal resolution and 0.05° spatial resolution, and was reconstructed by combing AVHRR LAI from 1981 to 1999 and MODIS LAI from 2000 to 2018 using a bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) model (Ma & Liang, 2022); (f) GLOBMAP LAI (1982–2019) dataset at a spatial resolution of ∼0.07°, covering the period from 1982 to 2019, has half-month (1982–2000) and 8-day (2001–2019) temporal resolutions, and was produced by establishing a pixel-level AVHRR Simple Ratio (SR)-MODIS LAI relationship (Liu et al., 2012); (g) MOD13C1 NDVI (2000–2020) product (C61), which has a 0.05° spatial resolution and a 16-day temporal resolution (Didan & Munoz, 2019); (h) OCO2 SIF product (2000–2020) at resolutions of 0.05° and 4 days, which was generated from MODIS surface reflectance and OCO2 SIF data using a neural network approach (Zhang et al., 2018); and (i) VOD (1987–2017) dataset, which was produced by merging observations from multiple microwave sensors at daily temporal resolution and 0.25° spatial resolution (Moesinger et al., 2020). We standardized these satellite remote sensing products to a 0.5° spatial resolution by using pixel aggregation (PA) method and to a monthly temporal interval by using maximum value composite (MVC) method (Ma et al., 2022; Tian et al., 2021). Considering the high similarity among GIMMS-version datasets (Figure S1 in Supporting Information S1), we only used GIMMS NDVI3g, along with other three independent long-term satellite remote sensing products (i.e., VIP15 NDVI, GLASS LAI and GLOBMAP LAI) for the main analysis.

    Table 1. Satellite Remote Sensing Datasets Used in This Study
    Dataset Spatial resolution Temporal resolution Available period Ref
    VIP15 NDVI 0.05° 15-day 1981–2014 (Didan et al., 2015)
    GIMMS NDVI3g 1/12° 15-day 1981–2015 (Pinzon & Tucker, 2014)
    GIMMS LAI3g 1/12° 15-day 1981–2015 (Zhu et al., 2013)
    PKU GIMMS NDVI 1/12° 15-day 1982–2020 (Li et al., 2023)
    GLASS LAI 0.05° 8-day 1981–2018 (Ma & Liang, 2022)
    GLOBMAP LAI ∼0.07° half-month (1982–2000) and 8-day (2001–2019) 1982–2019 (Liu et al., 2012)
    MOD13C1 NDVI 0.05° 16-day 2000–2020 (Didan & Munoz, 2019)
    OCO2 SIF 0.05° 4-day 2000–2020 (Zhang et al., 2018)
    VOD 0.25° Daily 1987–2017 (Moesinger et al., 2020)

    2.2 LAI Estimates

    We used monthly LAI estimates of 12 DGVMs from TRENDY v9 (Friedlingstein et al., 2022; Sitch et al., 2015) to check the consistency of the changes in the vegetation IAV derived from satellite remote sensing products and model measurements. The 12 DGVMs include CABLE, CLASSIC, CLM5, ISAM, ISBA, JULES, LPJ, LPX, ORCHIDEE, SDGVM, VISIT and YIBs (Table S1 in Supporting Information S1), which were driven by monthly CRU or 6-hourly CRU-JRA gridded climate datasets, as well as dynamic atmospheric CO2 concentrations. These models provide LAI estimates under four different scenarios, namely no change (S0), varying CO2 only (S1), varying CO2 and climate (S2), and varying CO2, climate and land cover change (S3). We analyzed CV trends from LAI estimates of S3 scenario in this study. To match the period of data availability with satellite remote sensing observations, we used LAI estimates from 1982 to 2014.

    2.3 Quantifying the Vegetation IAV Changes

    We used the coefficient of variation (i.e., CV), the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean, to indicate vegetation IAV for each dataset. The use of CV is meant to remove the differences in magnitude between datasets (i.e., NDVI, LAI, SIF and VOD) to ensure the comparability among the results. To further quantify the CV changes, we first defined the growing season as the period when the mean daily air temperature is above zero (Jiang et al., 2017; Smith et al., 2019) for each vegetated pixel (Figure S2 in Supporting Information S1). We adopted a “methodological growing season” (Körner et al., 2023) as it allows for easy extraction and reproducibility without incurring uncertainties from more complex definitions of phenology. Meanwhile, this definition effectively eliminates the frozen period when there is no vegetation growth, and aligns well with the phenological dates extracted by MODIS NDVI (Leeper et al., 2021). We obtained yearly composites by summing all values within the growing season (Piao et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2016). Subsequently, we calculated the CV for every 10-year moving window and assigned the CV value to the middle year of the window. The Theil-Sen method was used to estimate the CV trend (i.e., slope) (Wang et al., 2019), and its significance (i.e., p value) was determined using a two-tailed Student’s t-test (Jiang et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2022). Lastly, the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test was used to detect whether a significant monotonic increasing or decreasing trend exists (Jiang et al., 2019).

    2.4 Classifying the Levels of Consistency of Remote Sensing-Based CV Trends

    Considering potential inconsistency of CV trends across four long-term satellite remote sensing products (i.e., VIP15 NDVI, GIMMS NDVI3g, GLASS LAI and GLOBMAP LAI), we classified the levels of consistency of CV trends for each vegetated pixel using the following criterion (Kause et al., 2022; Xu et al., 2022): (a) “virtually certain” (CER) means the signs of CV trends derived from all four long-term satellite products are the same and significant (Mann-Kendall test, p ≤ 0.1); (b) “likely” (LIK) if the signs of the CV trends are the same and significant in any three satellite products; (c) “about likely as not” (ALN) if the signs of the CV trends are the same and significant in any two satellite products; (d) “possibly” (POS) if only one satellite product yields significant CV trend, and others are insignificant; (e) “no change” (NOC) if no significant CV changes were detected in all four satellite products; and (f) “conflicting” (CON) if the observed CV trends are conflicting with each other (i.e., significant positive and negative CV trends were detected simultaneously across the four products). We further assigned “+” and “−” signs to the consistency levels that refer to the direction of CV trends (i.e., positive and negative trends, respectively). Overall, the levels of consistency were classified into four types, positive, that is, CER (+), LIK (+), ALN (+) and POS (+), negative, that is, CER (−), LIK (−), ALN (−) and POS (−), no change (NOC), and conflicting (CON), respectively. Based on previous studies, NDVI and LAI are both indicators of canopy structure and greenness, and they are strongly related (Wang et al., 2022; Zeng, Hao, et al., 2022). Therefore, we deem that there is a clear physiological and statistical basis to treat them equally. In addition, we used both indicators to augment the number of available long-term datasets for our analysis, as some datasets (e.g., VIP15) only contain NDVI, while others (e.g., GLOBMAP) only include LAI.

    2.5 Identifying Factors Driving the IAV Changes

    Based on the findings from previous studies (Baldocchi et al., 2016; Berdugo et al., 2022; Forkel et al., 2016; Gray et al., 2014; Luo & Keenan, 2022; Piao et al., 2015; Zhu et al., 2016), we investigated several factors that may serve as potential drivers for the IAV changes. These factors are aridity index (AI), mean annual air temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), land use and land cover change (LUCC), mean monthly LAI, the trend of LAI (LAItrend) and nitrogen deposition (N deposition). AI was obtained from the Global Aridity Index dataset at a 30 arc-second resolution from 1970 to 2000 (Zomer et al., 2022), in which lower AI values mean drier conditions. MAT and MAP data were extracted from the gridded CRU-JRA V2.1 dataset (6-hr and 0.5° resolutions) (Harris et al., 2020). LUCC intensity was obtained using a 300-m ESA CCI land cover type product with 22 land cover classes from 1992 to 2019. We first determined whether land cover change occurred in each 300-m pixel from 1992 to 2019, and then quantified the LUCC intensity as the proportions of land cover change in each 0.5° spatial grid. The mean annual LAI was the average of GLASS LAI and GLOBMAP LAI from 1982 to 2014, and the LAItrend (i.e., slope) was estimated using Mann-Kendall and Theil-Sen method for each vegetated pixel. Most global vegetated regions show significant greening trends (i.e., LAItrend > 0) over the past decades (Chen, Chi, et al., 2019; Zhu et al., 2016). This implies that terrestrial ecosystems have accumulated more green leaves for carbon fluxes and in response to climate change, which may induce IAV changes. The N deposition was the average of the nitrogen deposition dataset (2° × 2.5° grid resolution) from 1984 to 2016 (Ackerman et al., 2019). All the above datasets were resampled into a 0.5° spatial grid.

    We first assessed the significance of each factor in driving the vegetation IAV by using a two-sample t-test method, in which we examined whether the high and low values of each factor caused statistically different CV trends. For each factor, we used different criteria for the binary classification of high and low values, that is, the 50% for LUCC, the zero for LAItrend, and the global average for other drivers. After that, we selected the four factors (i.e., AI, MAT, LAItrend and N deposition; see Results) that have significant impacts on the CV trend and quantified their respective impacts using a multiple regression method: ]]> I had to look up what Mariculture meant too, guys, don&apos;t worry. https://sdgtalks.ai/i-had-to-look-up-what-mariculture-meant-too-guys-dont-worry https://sdgtalks.ai/i-had-to-look-up-what-mariculture-meant-too-guys-dont-worry Sun, 05 May 2024 23:28:34 -0500 Cole Baggett food production, mariculture

    Mariculture has gradually become a proposed solution to address the global food production crisis, prompting it to become the fastest growing food production sector in recent years. Therefore, mariculture's environmental and ecological influences have also been paid more attention, including both negative and positive aspects. At present, a comprehensive evaluation of mariculture's ecological performance is still lacking, so we propose an evaluation framework with China as a case study. We find that both cultured species and cultivation patterns determine the performance of mariculture. At present, mariculture in Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang performs better than that in other regions. Offshore mariculture will be paid more attention in the future. By identifying priority areas for offshore mariculture development, ecological benefits such as carbon sequestration and water purification can be significantly improved, while environmental impacts such as water contamination can be reduced. If the local cultured species can be properly matched, ecological burden such as water contamination can be reduced and even converted into ecological benefit. The goal of the study is to provide a way of comprehending the complexity of the mariculture system, thus providing reference and theoretical support for the sustainable development of mariculture both in China and around the world.

    Abstract

    Mariculture has been gradually regarded as an important solution to the global food production crisis. Increasing scientific evidence reveals that mariculture can provide a large number of ecologic benefits, in accordance with several United Nations sustainable development goals. However, previous studies mostly focused on the negative impacts of mariculture, which may impede its increased production. Here, based on Emergy Accounting (EMA), we propose a comprehensive “Multiple Inputs-Ecosystem Service Multifunctionality-Multiple Environmental Impacts” (MI-ESM-MEI) evaluation framework, trying to describe mariculture's overall environmental performances beyond just limiting to the production of seafoods. As the world's largest mariculture producer, China is taken as an example for evaluation. Our results show that both cultured species and cultivation patterns determine the environmental performance of mariculture: seaweed-raft, shellfish-raft, shellfish-hanging cage, shellfish-bottom sowing and others-bottom sowing mariculture could be more influential in environmental support. By identifying priority areas for offshore mariculture development, ecological benefits can be significantly improved using about 27% of China's territorial sea area. At present, mariculture in Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang performs better than that in other regions. Under the condition of recognizing nonnegligible ecological benefits of mariculture, additional improvements for more sustainable development are urgently needed. In addition, mariculture activities especially seaweed mariculture can help solve water contamination problem and alleviate the effects of eutrophication on coastal ecosystems. For most China coastal regions, if integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) mode can be promoted, the ecological burden of mariculture can be reduced and even converted into ecological benefit.

    Key Points

    • Mariculture can bring plenty of ecological benefits and even transform ecological burdens such as water contamination into ecological benefits in some cases

    • Both cultured species and cultivation patterns determine the environmental performance of mariculture

    • In China, mariculture's ecological benefits can be significantly improved if offshore mariculture can be developed in the future

    Plain Language Summary

    Mariculture has gradually become a proposed solution to address the global food production crisis, prompting it to become the fastest growing food production sector in recent years. Therefore, mariculture's environmental and ecological influences have also been paid more attention, including both negative and positive aspects. At present, a comprehensive evaluation of mariculture's ecological performance is still lacking, so we propose an evaluation framework with China as a case study. We find that both cultured species and cultivation patterns determine the performance of mariculture. At present, mariculture in Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang performs better than that in other regions. Offshore mariculture will be paid more attention in the future. By identifying priority areas for offshore mariculture development, ecological benefits such as carbon sequestration and water purification can be significantly improved, while environmental impacts such as water contamination can be reduced. If the local cultured species can be properly matched, ecological burden such as water contamination can be reduced and even converted into ecological benefit. The goal of the study is to provide a way of comprehending the complexity of the mariculture system, thus providing reference and theoretical support for the sustainable development of mariculture both in China and around the world.

    1 Introduction

    With the continuous growth of global population and the shortage of land and fresh water resources, mariculture has gradually become a proposed solution to address the global food production crisis, prompting such an economic sector to become the fastest growing food production sector in recent years (FAO, 2016). It is estimated that by 2050, the increase of edible seafood will be equivalent to 12%–25% of the increase in all meat needed to feed 9.8 billion people in the world, and the contribution of mariculture to seafood will be about 44%–76% (Costello et al., 2020). Almost all of the coastal countries have large areas suitable for the development of mariculture, and the annual finfish production potential will be over 100 times of the current global seafood consumption under the condition that all suitable areas are developed (Gentry, Froehlich, et al., 2017). Besides, a form of mariculture called “marine ranching” has received wide attention in the past few years (Yu & Zhang, 2020). Countries such as Japan, South Korea, the United States and China, etc., have vigorously carried out marine ranching implementation (Lee & Zhang, 2018; Qin et al., 2020), and treat it as a robust tool for resource enhancement and ecological restoration.

    Since mariculture has gained in popularity, its environmental and ecological influences have also been paid more attention, including both negative and positive aspects. In most cases, mariculture is better known for its negative environmental impacts and socio-economic conflicts (Alleway et al., 2019), such as water pollution (Islam, 2005), biodiversity reduction (Diana, 2009), coastal wetlands destruction (Richards & Friess, 2016), alien species invasion (Naylor et al., 2005), disease or parasite outbreak (Krkosek et al., 2007), etc. In addition, fed mariculture relies on large amounts of feed input such as fish meal, fish oil and forage fish. As these feed materials are mainly obtained from wild fishing, the rapid growth of mariculture may lead to the depletion of wild fish resources (Cao et al., 2015; Naylor et al., 2000). In terms of socio-economic impacts, mariculture may aggravate social inequality and lead to poverty traps (Abdullah et al., 2017). Sometimes the economic losses caused by unsustainable mariculture even exceed the economic incomes (Malik et al., 2015).

    Recently, however, environmental and social benefits of mariculture have been identified and pointed out, and researchers are committed to maximizing benefits through effective management (Alleway et al., 2019). Although its ultimate goal is seafood provision, mariculture is capable of providing important ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration (Tang et al., 2011), water purification (Xiao et al., 2017), coastal protection (Jackson et al., 2020), tourism and leisure (Liu et al., 2019), habitat provision (Theuerkauf et al., 2022), etc. In addition, employment opportunities can be offered to coastal residents to help maintain livelihoods (McCausland et al., 2006). Although mariculture is usually regarded as a food industry, mariculture activities align with a much broader spectrum of ecological concepts (Theuerkauf et al., 2022). It has been suggested that shellfish and seaweed cultivation can support the restoration of oyster reefs and seaweed forests, thus avoiding the loss of corresponding ecosystem services due to habitat degradation (Tang et al., 2011). Furthermore, mariculture may also be associated with a series of sustainable development goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015). For example, it helps to achieve SDG1 (no poverty) and SDG2 (zero hunger) by offering employment opportunities and ensuring seafood supply (Blanchard et al., 2017). The healthy development of mariculture can support the long-term sustainable utilization of marine resources, which is closely related to SDG12 (responsible consumption and production) and SDG14 (life below water) (Theuerkauf et al., 2022). Moreover, seafood is an important source of protein and micronutrients (SDG3: good health and well-being) (FAO, 2016) and climate-friendly seafood may contribute to greenhouse gases (GHGs) reduction and carbon sequestration (SDG13: climate action) (Jones et al., 2022).

    As mentioned above, mariculture is a “double-edged sword” (Meng & Feagin, 2019), that is, the development of mariculture not only may cause ecological burdens, but also could bring ecological benefits. However, ecological benefits and burdens often operate in an overlapping or synchronous manner. Although individual benefits or burdens elicit their own suite of environmental responses, their interactions within and between may have yet-unpredictable influence on marine ecosystems. In some cases, ecological burdens can even be transferred to ecological benefits, which is beneficial to the ecosystems and the species, including humans. Therefore, one of the goals of the present study is to figure out these benefits and burdens, and the transformation potential between them.

    At present, a comprehensive evaluation of mariculture's ecological performance is still lacking, which has become the core and the difficulty of current research (Weitzman, 2019). Common approaches for mariculture's environmental performance assessment mainly include three categories: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Ecological Footprint (EF) and Emergy Accounting (EMA). Oriented to environmental impact, LCA is often used to assess the environmental burden, and material and energy consumption of products or processes across their whole life (Pelletier & Tyedmers, 2008; Rebitzer et al., 2004), which has been widely recognized and implemented in aquaculture sector (Bohnes et al., 2019; Cao et al., 2013). The framework for LCA includes: definition of the goal and scope of the LCA, the life cycle inventory analysis (LCI), the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), and the life cycle interpretation (ISO, 2006), among which LCIA matters the most. Common LCIA indicators of mariculture implementation are global warming, eutrophication, acidification, energy use and ecological toxicity (Cao et al., 2013). However, as a mostly anthropocentric approach, LCA focuses on the processes occurring in the technical field and the environment in which these processes are built. The resources considered in LCA are mainly non-renewable or abiotic resources, while the quantification of renewable resources supporting the production process is still lacking. In addition, LCA very seldom accounts for most of the ecosystem services that are required for emissions dissipation and impact absorption (Zhang et al., 2010). Ecological footprint (EF) reflects the areas (land or sea) needed to support the current resource consumption and waste discharge level of a specific population, product, or economic activity (Wackernagel & Rees, 1996), under the implicit assumption that all resource uses can be assessed and translated into needed areas (Zhao et al., 2005). EF transforms different land use types for both supply and demand of ecological resources into a common unit, the “global hectare,” thus comparing the discrepancy between areas needed for sustainable resource consumption and actual biological carrying capacity. At present, this approach has been applied to some extent in mariculture of different types and regions (Bala & Hossain, 2010; Folke et al., 1998). Nevertheless, ecosystems are complex systems with nonlinearities, thresholds and discontinuities (Costanza et al., 1993), while EF is a static measurement, with some difficulty to capture the dynamic characteristics of the ecosystems (Folke et al., 1998). Moreover, one ecosystem can provide several ecosystem services, while the EF concept assumes that the ecosystem is only associated to provide one service only, in so generating double counting problems in the calculation process (Roth et al., 2000). Therefore, under an eco-centric perspective, Emergy Accounting (EMA) can be used to calculate the natural capital needed to provide products and services within the evolutionary trial-and-error framework and preventing the risk for supporting areas double-counting (Odum, 1996). This approach views any given environment/system as a complex available energy (exergy) flow network, quantifies all the efforts made by nature to provide these flows, and unifies them into the (virtual) common denominator of solar emergy (Odum, 1996). The advantage of EMA lies in considering not only the non-renewable resource inputs, but also the free environmental inputs, which are also necessary for each production process. In most cases, environmental inputs have no market value and are hardly measured by money, while EMA provides a basis for quantitative evaluation (Brown & Ulgiati, 2004). Another advantage of the EMA approach is that it can help quantify a variety of ecosystem services and disservices, so as to better support discussions and proposals for more sustainable systems (David et al., 2021). At present, although some studies have applied EMA to evaluate mariculture systems such as fish (Vassallo et al., 2007), shrimp (Lima et al., 2012), shellfish (Shi et al., 2013), etc., also comparing with results from other approaches, the application of EMA to mariculture environmental performance evaluation is still in the initial stage (David et al., 2021).

    Therefore, this study proposes a comprehensive “Multiple Inputs-Ecosystem Service Multifunctionality-Multiple Environmental Impacts” (MI-ESM-MEI) evaluation framework, constructs an emergy-based evaluation method, and takes the largest mariculture producer worldwide—China as a telling case study for evaluation. The goal of the present manuscript is to provide a way of comprehending the complexity of the mariculture system, and evaluate—in terms of varying environmental performances—the multifaceted responses of marine ecosystems to dynamic environmental perturbations, thus providing reference and theoretical support for the sustainable development of mariculture both in China and around the world.

    2 Materials and Methods

    2.1 Mariculture “MI-ESM-MEI” Framework

    The normal operation of mariculture systems often involves multiple inputs (MI), which can be roughly divided into two parts: renewable environmental inputs and human inputs. Among them, renewable inputs are often associated to positive environmental benefits brought by mariculture activities, while the increase of human inputs most often leads to the aggravation of negative environmental impacts. Meanwhile, the mariculture ecosystem multifunctionality has also received increasing attention (Popp et al., 2019), in which the ecosystem service multifunctionality (ESM) represents the co-supply of multiple human-related ecosystem services (Manning et al., 2018). The assessment of ESM reveals the multidimensional nature of ecosystem services, allowing for the weighting of individual ecosystem services from distinct categories, so as to decouple the comprehensive indicator of ESM from individual services and embrace the complexity of ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies (Custer & Dini-Andreote, 2022; Power, 2010). In addition, the mariculture activities also bring multiple environmental impacts (MEI). Similar to the interactions between ecosystem services, synergies and trade-offs may exist between different types of environmental impacts and even between environmental impacts and ecosystem services. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand the interactions within and between resources input, ecosystem services and environmental impacts. Combining the assessment of MI, ESM, and MEI is an important step to maximize mariculture's social and ecological benefits.

    Based on this, this study proposes a comprehensive “MI-ESM-MEI” evaluation framework (Figure 1), which helps understand the complexity of marine ecosystem and its multiple responses to dynamic environmental perturbations, with focus on mariculture in China as a case study. The evaluation framework includes: (a) MI evaluation: including renewable inputs and human inputs; (b) ESM evaluation: including carbon sequestration, water purification, erosion control, biodiversity conservation and cultural value; (c) MEI evaluation: including GHGs emission, water contamination, coastal erosion, biodiversity reduction and cultural value reduction.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 1
    Open in figure viewerPowerPoint

    Conceptual diagram displaying the “MI-ESM-MEI” evaluation framework. (a) Emergy diagram of mariculture system. (b) Interactions between ecosystem services. This diagram suggests that synergy relationship mainly exists between five types of ecosystems services. (c) Interactions between environmental impacts. This diagram shows the synergy relationship existing between five types of environmental impacts. (d) Interactions between ecosystem services and environmental impacts. This diagram highlights the trade-off relationship existing between ecosystem service and corresponding environmental impact. (e) Interactions between resource inputs, ecosystem services and environmental impacts. This study points out the synergy relationship between renewable input and ecosystem service, as well as between human input and environmental impact. Further, a trade-off relationship exists between renewable input and environmental impact, as well as between human input and ecosystem service.

    Although there is significant diversity in mariculture systems, all types of mariculture fall into three broad categories (Figure 2): fed mariculture (e.g., fish, most crustaceans, etc.), autotrophic mariculture (e.g., seaweed), and unfed mariculture (e.g., shellfish). Each category of mariculture interacts with the environment in different ways, both in terms of the external inputs required and the influence on the surrounding environment (Gentry, Lester, et al., 2017).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 2
    Open in figure viewerPowerPoint

    The interactions between mariculture and surrounding environment. (a) Fed mariculture. (b) Autotrophic mariculture. (c) Unfed mariculture.

    For fed mariculture (Figure 2a), renewable resources drive the photosynthesis of marine phytoplankton, which later becomes a part of natural feed. The growth of cultured species mainly depends on human feed input. In order to ensure the normal progress of mariculture activities, plenty of non-renewable resources are also put into the mariculture system, and many unused feed, chemicals and generated wastes are discharged into marine environment, causing water contamination. During the production, processing and transport of feed as well as on-farm energy use, GHGs will also be emitted. In addition, if the cultivation pattern is pond mariculture, it may cause the destruction of coastal wetlands, thus leading to the aggravation of coastal erosion.

    For autotrophic mariculture (Figure 2b), renewable resources such as solar, wind, rain and tidal energy drive the photosynthesis of seaweed, in which CO2 is sequestrated by plant organisms. In the meanwhile, human inputs such as infrastructure, machinery, fishing boats, fuels, fertilizers, disinfectants, labor, seeds, are also invested into the mariculture system and support the seaweed production together with renewable resources. However, during the seaweed growing process, organic carbon will be deposited and exported, thus playing the role of carbon sequestration. Furthermore, seaweed can absorb and enrich nutrients and wastes brought in by tides and runoff, contributing to water purification. Seaweed-raft mariculture can also reduce waves energy and alleviate coastal erosion by its canopy structure.

    For unfed mariculture (Figure 2c), renewable resources drive the photosynthesis of marine phytoplankton, while shellfish assimilate the energy in phytoplankton and other organic substances through biological filtration process. A large number of external resources are also put into the mariculture system to jointly support the shellfish production. However, shellfish may produce feces and pseudo-feces in the growing process, and these biological sediments can be buried for a long time, contributing to carbon sequestration. Moreover, nutrients such as N and P are absorbed for the growth of shells and tissues, which will be removed from the marine ecosystem during shellfish harvest, thus playing a role of water purification. In addition, shellfish-raft and hanging cage mariculture may also rely on the physical barrier of farm facilities and the biological barrier of shellfish itself to buffer water flow and reduce the coastline retreat. However, on-farm energy use and aquatic N2O generation may lead to GHGs emission.

    2.2 Mariculture's Environmental Performances Accounting Methods

    Mariculture's environmental performances accounting methods is composed of the following parts: (a) Multiple inputs (MI) accounting methods; (b) Ecosystem service multifunctionality (ESM) accounting methods; (c) Multiple environmental impacts (MEI) accounting methods. Based on this, two comprehensive indicators, greenness (GN) and total ecological benefit (TEB), are also proposed for further evaluation.

    In order to make the relationships of the environmental performance accounting methods easily understood, Table 1 is provided to briefly explain the meaning and calculation of each index, and the detailed description can be found in Text S1 and Table S1 of the Supporting Information S1.

    Table 1. Explanation of Index in This Study
    Abbreviation Full title Unit Formula Meaning
    MI Multiple inputs solar equivalent joule (sej)/yr MI = ∑(EmRi + EmHi) MI is defined as the sum of renewable (EmRi) and human inputs (EmHi). The larger a MI index value, the more resources are needed to maintain the normal operation of the mariculture system
    ESM Ecosystem service multifunctionality sej/yr ESM = EmCS + EmWP + EmEC + EmBC + EmCV ESM is defined as the sum of the five ecosystem services including carbon sequestration (EmCS), water purification (EmWP), erosion control (EmEC), biodiversity conservation (EmBC), and cultural value (EmCV). Higher ESM index values represent a greater capacity of the mariculture systems to provide more ecosystem services
    MEI Multiple environmental impacts sej/yr MEI = EmGE + EmWC + EmCE + EmBR + EmCR MEI is defined as the sum of the five environmental impacts including GHGs emission (EmGE), water contamination (EmWC), coastal erosion (EmCE), biodiversity reduction (EmBR), and cultural value reduction (EmCR). Higher MEI index values represent greater negative environmental impacts caused by mariculture activities. For the sake of clarity, measuring MEI in emergy terms means to assess the minimum amount of emergy that would be needed to fix the damages caused by the different impacts
    GN Greenness % GN is defined as the proportion of renewable inputs to total resource inputs. Larger value indicates higher environmental-friendly degree
    TEB Total ecological benefit sej/yr TEB = ESM − MEI TEB is defined as the difference between ESM and MEI. Positive indicator value indicates that the environmental benefits of mariculture activities are relatively higher, while negative indicator value has the opposite meaning

    2.3 Constraints of Offshore Mariculture Priority Areas

    The delivery of mariculture ecosystem services can be affected by biotic, abiotic and socio-economic factors, and a suitable marine spatial planning may help to release this service potential (Alleway et al., 2019). Traditionally, mariculture activities are mostly concentrated in the coastal regions with shallow water depth (<20 m). Recently, however, offshore mariculture has gradually been paid more attention due to space and resources limitation (Gentry, Froehlich, et al., 2017). Compared with nearshore and land-based mariculture, offshore mariculture has less freshwater demand, less land occupation, higher nutrient assimilation capacity, and less pollution and disease occurrence (Froehlich et al., 2018).

    In order to identify the priority areas for offshore mariculture development in China, this study makes the overall assumptions: mariculture activities are not allowed in marine protected areas in most cases, so these areas are excluded. Meanwhile, since seaweed and shellfish mariculture have been proved to be more environmental-friendly and have higher environmental benefits in this study, they are regarded as the first choice for offshore mariculture development. The negative environmental impacts of nearshore and land-based fish mariculture cannot be ignored, and the development of fish offshore mariculture is equally urgent with increasing demand for fish consumption. The fish, shellfish and seaweed offshore mariculture priority areas are limited to conservative thresholds for each of the environmental variables, which are shown as follows:

    For fish mariculture, water depth is limited to 30–100 m, which is based on the current practical experience of offshore mariculture (Lester et al., 2018). In addition, the seawater flow rate is limited to 10–100 cm/s, because the low flow rate leads to the weak pollutants removal capacity, while the excessive flow rate damages the farm infrastructure and affects the growth of fish (Oyinlola et al., 2018). Dissolved oxygen concentration is another key factor affecting fish survival, so fish mariculture activities are limited in areas with dissolved oxygen concentration ≥4.41 mg/kg (Gentry, Froehlich, et al., 2017).

    For shellfish mariculture, water depth is limited to 20–80 m (Lester et al., 2018). Moreover, shellfish needs sufficient natural food supply for growth, and Chlorophyll a concentration is considered to be the most reliable measure of food availability. Only areas with Chlorophyll a concentration ≥2 mg/m3 can carry out shellfish mariculture activities (Gentry, Froehlich, et al., 2017).

    For seaweed mariculture, water depth is also limited to 20–80 m (Lester et al., 2018). Besides, the environmental conditions with low salinity may inhibit the growth of seaweed, so it is assumed that the salinity should be ≥25‰ (Kerrison et al., 2015).

    We use ArcGIS 10.2 software for data analysis. By adding data layers and performing intersection analysis, areas that meet all the constraints can be identified.

    2.4 Study Areas

    China is the largest mariculture producer worldwide, of which the mariculture production ranked first in 2020 (Xu et al., 2022), contributing more than 65% to the global mariculture production (Zhou et al., 2022). The main characteristics of mariculture in China are wide variety, rich diversity, low trophic levels, high ecological efficiency and large biological output (Tang et al., 2016). In addition, affected by river input, atmosphere deposition and submarine groundwater discharge, etc., China is facing a serious coastal eutrophication problem (Wang et al., 2021), but mariculture provides a solution to alleviate the effects of eutrophication on coastal ecosystems. The scale and production of seaweed mariculture in China ranks first in the world (FAO, 2022), which plays an important role in eliminating nutrients in coastal waters. It is estimated that total N removal by seaweed mariculture represents about 5.5% of N inputs to Chinese coastal waters in 2014 (Xiao et al., 2017). Therefore, China is taken as a typical case study of this investigation.

    Cultured species and cultivation patterns are key factors determining the input and environmental performance of various kinds of mariculture (Alleway et al., 2019). According to the difference of cultured species, China’s mariculture can be roughly divided into five categories: shellfish, seaweed, crustaceans, fish, and others (including sea cucumber, sea urchin, jellyfish, seawater pearls, etc.). According to the difference of cultivation patterns, mariculture can be divided into six categories: raft, hanging cage, bottom sowing, common cage, deep-water cage, and pond. According to the main cultivation patterns of different mariculture species, 12 types of typical mariculture systems are divided in this study (Figure 3).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 3
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    The characteristics and performance of different types of mariculture system. (a) Major characteristic of six categories of mariculture cultivation patterns. Raft mariculture sets floating rafts in shallow water or intertidal zones and hangs seedlings on the raft. Hanging cage mariculture sets floating rafts in shallow water or intertidal zones, hangs cages on the raft, and puts seedlings in the cage. Bottom sowing mariculture sows and breeds seedlings in intertidal or subtidal zones so as to make them grow naturally. Common cage mariculture sets cages in shallow water and puts seedlings in the cage. Deep-water cage mariculture sets anti-wind and wave cages in deep sea areas (usually water depth>20 m). Pond mariculture uses artificially excavated or natural ponds in intertidal or supratidal zones and makes seedlings grow in ponds. (b) The performance of mariculture systems under the “MI-ESM-MEI” framework. Note that “√” represents that the mariculture system have the corresponding environmental performance, while “*” represents the indeterminate situation.

    Among 11 coastal regions in China, most regions have reported their mariculture activities except for Shanghai. The basic situation of China's mariculture in 2020 is shown in Figure 4.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 4
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    China's mariculture production status in different coastal regions in 2020. Note: SW-R, Seaweed-Raft; SW-P, Seaweed-Pond; SF-BS, Shellfish-Bottom sowing; SF-R, Shellfish-Raft; SF-HC, Shellfish-Hanging cage; O-BS, Others-Bottom sowing; O-HC, Others-Hanging cage; O-P, Others-Pond; C-P, Crustacean-Pond; F-CC, Fish-Common cage; F-DC, Fish-Deep-water cage; F-P, Fish-Pond.

    2.5 Data Sources

    The data used in this study mainly include:
    • (1)

      Basic data: mariculture production, area, fishing boats and labor input data are from China Fisheries Statistical Yearbook 2021 (China Fisheries Statistical Yearbook Editing Committee, 2022).

    • (2)

      External input data: feed coefficient data related to feed input come from Research Report on the Utilization of Marine Fishery Resources by China’s Aquaculture provided by Greenpeace (2017); fuel and energy use data in mariculture activities are from Muir (2015); other input related data (such as infrastructure, machinery, fertilizers, disinfectants, seedlings, etc.) come from extensive literature research.

    • (3)

      Renewable input data: the solar radiation data come from Global Solar Atlas (2019); the precipitation data come from China Water Resources Bulletin 2020 (China Ministry of Water Resources, 2021); the wind speed data come from Global Wind Atlas (2019); the evaporation data come from Objectively Analyzed air-sea Fluxes (OAFlux) provided by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) (Yu et al., 2006).

    • (4)

      Environmental impact related data: the GHGs emission data are from MacLeod et al. (2020); the production coefficient of pollutants in mariculture activities comes from First National Pollution Source Census Handbook of Pollution Production and Discharge Coefficient of Aquaculture (Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 2010).

    • (5)

      Offshore mariculture related data: the water depth data are from ETOPO1 (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 2022); the salinity data are from Zweng et al. (2018); the dissolved oxygen concentration data are from Garcia et al. (2018); Chlorophyll a concentration data are from Li et al. (2021).

    In this study, the global emergy baseline is 1.2E + 25 sej/yr (Brown & Ulgiati, 2016). Besides, typical cases are selected to show the detailed “Multiple Inputs-Ecosystem Service Multifunctionality-Multiple Environmental Impacts” calculation process, and the results are shown in Text S2 of the Supporting Information S1.

    It should be noted that although mariculture activities can bring positive or negative influences on biodiversity and cultural value, due to the lack of relevant research and the difficulty in obtaining data (Gentry et al., 2020), these two aspects will not be evaluated in this study.

    3 Results

    3.1 Performance of Mariculture Systems in China

    Figure 5a shows the MI of different types of mariculture systems to produce seafood per ton. Among them, the MI of shellfish mariculture is obviously lower than that of the rest, followed by seaweed mariculture and crustaceans mariculture, while the MI of fish and others mariculture is relatively higher. The cultivation patterns also affect MI: for seaweed, the MI of pond mariculture is obviously higher than that of raft mariculture. The MI order of others is pond mariculture > hanging cage mariculture > bottom sowing mariculture. However, for shellfish and fish, there is no significant difference in MI between each cultivation pattern.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 5
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    Comparison of different types of mariculture systems' performance (Unit: sej/t/yr). (a) Multiple inputs. (b) Ecosystem service multifunctionality. (c) Multiple environmental impacts.

    As shown in Figure 5b, only seaweed and shellfish mariculture have ESM when three ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, water purification, erosion control) are evaluated, and the ESM versatility of seaweed mariculture is significantly higher than that of shellfish mariculture. The cultivation patterns also affect ESM: for seaweed, the ESM of pond mariculture is significantly higher than that of raft mariculture, but the latter provides more abundant ecosystem services. However, for shellfish, the ESM of cage and raft mariculture is higher than that of bottom sowing mariculture and provides more types of ecosystem services. In addition, cultured species is another important factor affecting ESM: water purification is the main service provided by seaweed mariculture, while both water purification and erosion control are main services provided by shellfish mariculture.

    Under the condition that only three environmental impacts (GHGs emission, water contamination, coastal erosion) are evaluated (Figure 5c), the MEI of others-pond mariculture is the highest, followed by others-hanging cage mariculture and fish-pond mariculture, while that of shellfish mariculture, others-bottom sowing mariculture and fish-deep-water cage mariculture is relatively lower. Besides, seaweed-raft mariculture doesn't show MEI. What's more, the cultivation patterns affect MEI: for others, the MEI of pond mariculture is significantly higher than that of cage and bottom sowing mariculture as well as causing more types of environmental impacts. For fish, the MEI of pond and common cage mariculture is higher than that of deep-water cage mariculture, and the impact categories caused by pond mariculture is also more. In addition, the main environmental impacts differ from type to type: water pollution is the main impact of others-hanging cage, fish-common cage and fish-pond mariculture, while coastal erosion is the main impact of seaweed-pond and crustaceans-pond mariculture. Besides, water pollution and coastal erosion are two main impacts of others-pond mariculture, while GHGs emission is the main impact of shellfish-raft, shellfish-hanging cage, shellfish-bottom sowing, others-bottom sowing and fish-deep-water cage mariculture.

    3.2 Performance of Mariculture Activities in China Coastal Regions

    Figure 6a shows that the MI of mariculture in Hainan and Tianjin is much higher than that in other regions, while the MI of mariculture in Liaoning and Shandong is relatively lower.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 6
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    Comparison of mariculture's performance in different regions (Unit: sej/t/yr). (a) Multiple inputs. (b) Ecosystem service multifunctionality. (c) Multiple environmental impacts.

    When only three ecosystem services are evaluated, the ESM of mariculture in all regions shows positive values except for Tianjin (Figure 6b); Fujian has the highest ESM, while Guangxi has a relatively lower ESM. Moreover, the mariculture in Hebei keeps erosion control as its main ecosystem service, while water purification is the main ecosystem service provided in other regions.

    If only three environmental impacts are considered (Figure 6c), the MEI of mariculture in Hainan records the highest value, while the MEI in Shandong and Liaoning is relatively lower. Water pollution is the main environmental impact in all regions.

    3.3 Performance of Comprehensive Mariculture Indicators

    If the environmental performance is compared according to the ranking of indicators, interesting results can be identified in both mariculture systems and mariculture regions. The results are summarized in Figure 7, and the indicator values are shown in Table S2 and Table S3 of the Supporting Information S2.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 7
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    The scatter plot of ranking of mariculture's greenness and total ecological benefit indicators. (a) Different types of mariculture system in China. (b) Mariculture in different regions of China.

    Figure 7a reveals the ranking of indicators in different types of mariculture systems in China. By comparing the greenness (GN) indicator, it can be found that others-bottom sowing and shellfish-bottom sowing mariculture rank as the two top-performing systems, with indicator values greater than 11%, suggesting that these two types of mariculture systems are more environmental-friendly. Instead, fish-common cage, deep-water cage and pond mariculture rank at the bottom with indicator values lower than 0.6%, revealing that fish mariculture generally depends on the external inputs, and the environmental protection degrees are very low. From the ranking of total ecological benefit (TEB) indicators, it can be found that seaweed-pond, seaweed-raft, shellfish-hanging cage, shellfish-raft and shellfish-bottom sowing mariculture rank in the top five, and the indicator values are greater than 0, showing their overall positive ecological benefits. The TEB indicator values of the remaining types of mariculture systems are less than 0, and others-pond, others-hanging cage and fish-pond mariculture rank at the bottom with relatively highly negative ecological impacts. Considering the overall performance, 12 types of mariculture systems can be divided into three categories: the first category includes others-bottom sowing, shellfish-raft, shellfish-hanging cage, shellfish-bottom sowing and seaweed-raft mariculture, of which both TEB and GN indicators rank in the top 50%. The second category includes seaweed-pond and others-pond mariculture with only one indicator ranking in the top 50%, among which the former performs better in TEB, while the latter performs better in GN. The third category includes others-hanging cage, crustaceans-pond and fish-common cage, fish-deep-water cage and fish-pond mariculture, with both indicators ranking much lower.

    Figure 7b reflects the indicator ranking of mariculture in different China coastal regions. Based on the GN indicator, it can be found that the mariculture in Liaoning ranks first, with the indicator value greater than 14%, showing the highest environmental-friendly degree. Instead, mariculture in Hainan, Guangxi and Guangdong rank at the bottom with indicator values less than 1.3%, reflecting their high dependence on external inputs. When the comparison is based on the TEB indicator, it can be noticed that mariculture systems in Fujian, Liaoning, Shandong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu rank among the top five, with indicator values greater than 0, confirming that mariculture activities in these regions provide positive ecological benefits. Nonetheless, the indicator values in the remaining regions are less than 0, with Hainan and Tianjin ranking at the bottom, revealing that mariculture in these two regions has caused serious negative ecological impacts. Considering the overall performance, 10 mariculture regions can be divided into three categories: the first category includes Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang with two indicators ranking in the top 50% group. The second category includes Hebei and Fujian, among which only the former ranks in the top 50% in terms of GN, while the latter only ranks in the top 50% in terms of TEB. The third category includes Tianjin, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan, which perform poorly in both indicators ranking.

    3.4 Priority Areas for Offshore Mariculture Development

    The priority areas for offshore mariculture in China are shown in Figure 8, of which the areas for fish, seaweed and shellfish are 1.31E + 07, 5.65E + 07, 1.10E + 07 ha, respectively, covering about 4.37%, 18.84%, 3.65% of China's territorial sea area. In addition, the overlapping area of fish and seaweed is 7.91E + 06 ha, and that of fish, shellfish and seaweed is 1.11E + 05 ha, indicating that these areas may have the potential for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) development.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 8
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    The distribution of priority areas for offshore mariculture in China.

    For seaweed and shellfish, if these regions can be developed in the future, by multiplying the priority area data and the ESM per area (3.05E + 15 sej/ha/yr for seaweed; 1.77E + 14 sej/ha/yr for shellfish), it can be preliminarily estimated that the ESM increase potential of seaweed and shellfish may be 1.73E + 23 and 1.94E + 21 sej/yr, equivalent to about 398 times and 16 times of the ESM of current seaweed and shellfish mariculture. For fish, as the development of offshore mariculture may reduce the impact of water contamination, by multiplying the priority area data and the impact of water contamination per area (3.42E + 16 sej/ha/yr for fish), it can be estimated that the impact reducing potential of water contamination will be 4.49E + 23 sej/yr, which is capable of counteracting the impact of water contamination caused by 1,758 times expansion of current fish mariculture. However, since the offshore farm is always far away from the land and the cultivation environmental conditions are relatively poor, the impact of GHGs emissions related to transport fuel use and on-farm energy consumption may greatly rise (Holmer, 2010). This impact cannot be quantitatively assessed at present due to data limitations, which may lead to the underestimation of the environmental impact of offshore mariculture, requiring further investigation. In addition, we have not estimated the role of IMTA system in increasing ESM and reducing water contamination for the time being, which needs to be considered in the future.

    Although our preliminary assessment results show that there are still large potential areas for offshore mariculture, some important environmental and socio-economic factors are still not considered, which may contribute to the exclusion of more seemingly suitable mariculture spaces. For example, the distance-related cost-effectiveness of offshore mariculture needs to be taken into account, so areas that are far away from ports or shoreside infrastructure should be excluded. Offshore regions for shipping, industry, mineral development, military and other purposes also need to be excluded. In addition, areas with high environmental sensitivity and biodiversity (such as coral reefs and seagrass beds) may not be suitable for large-scale mariculture. Therefore, the actual potential areas would result definitely to be smaller than the above-mentioned evaluation areas.

    4 Discussion

    4.1 Transformation Potential of Mariculture From Ecological Burden to Ecological Benefit

    Our study shows that water contamination is one of the most severe negative environmental impacts caused by mariculture. The main reason lies in excessive feed input and high cultivation density, which makes a large number of wastes enter the water body, translating into an “ecological burden” to the marine environment (Cao et al., 2007). On the other side, seaweed and shellfish can improve the water quality by absorbing Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) during their growth (Gentry et al., 2020), thus providing an “ecological benefit.” In this study, it is found that the impact of water contamination (i.e., the environmental cost of this damage) caused by mariculture activities in China is about 3.04E + 20 sej/yr, while the water purification service (i.e., the increased environmental support to water quality) provided by seaweed and shellfish mariculture is about 4.84E + 20 sej/yr. If an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) mode can be vigorously developed, it is possible to turn the ecological burden into ecological benefit. Typical IMTA systems include fish-seaweed, fish-shellfish-seaweed, shellfish-seaweed-sea cucumber, etc. IMTA can transform the inedible feed and waste of one species into feed, fertilizer and energy for another species, by making full way to the material utilization capacity of species with different trophic levels, so as to reduce waste discharge (Buck et al., 2018). Jiang et al. (2010) showed that fish-seaweed co-cultivation is an effective way to alleviate the eutrophication in Nansha Bay. In order to balance the N absorption of seaweed mariculture and the N emission of fish mariculture, harvesting 1 kg of fish will also yield 8.28–10.08 kg of seaweed. Huo et al. (2012) also estimated that in order to maintain the N balance of fish-seaweed IMTA system in Xiangshan Harbor, the optimal co-cultivation proportion was 1 kg fish to 7.27 kg seaweed. Stemming from such results, this study also takes N flows as an example to preliminary illustrate the transformation potential from ecological burden to ecological benefits through IMTA in different regions.

    In addition to solve the water contamination problem mentioned above, mariculture activities especially seaweed mariculture can also alleviate the effects of eutrophication on coastal ecosystems. Although the N inputs to seas are affected by multiple sources such as river export, atmospheric deposition, submarine fresh groundwater discharge and mariculture, river export is the largest source, constituting over 80% of the total N inputs to Chinese coastal waters (Wang et al., 2021). Therefore, this study also preliminary estimate the role of seaweed mariculture in removing river N export.

    As shown in Table 2, the mariculture N emissions in Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Shandong are lower than mariculture N absorption, indicating that if these regions can promote IMTA and reasonably match the types of local mariculture species, the ecological burdens can be reduced and transformed into ecological benefits. In addition to eliminating the nitrogen emission from mariculture, mariculture activities in these regions can also help absorb the river N export, thus alleviating eutrophication. However, the complete removal of river N export in these regions requires the seaweed production to be expanded to 2.94–2,261.83 times of the original production. For Guangxi, it can be found that the mariculture N absorption is greater than the sum of mariculture N emission and river N export, meaning that mariculture activities may be limited by the background nutrient pools, but artificial upwelling has been proposed as a possible solution to overcome this limitation (Duarte et al., 2021).

    Table 2. N Budget in Different China Coastal Regions
    Mariculture N absorptiona (t/yr) Mariculture N emissionb (t/yr) River N exportc (t/yr) N net budgetd (t/yr)
    Tianjin 0.00E + 00 1.90E + 01 1.05E + 04 1.05E + 04
    Hebei 2.20E + 03 3.39E + 02 4.31E + 04 4.13E + 04
    Liaoning 2.79E + 04 7.30E + 02 1.53E + 05 1.26E + 05
    Jiangsu 5.38E + 03 8.93E + 02 8.24E + 04 7.79E + 04
    Zhejiang 9.91E + 03 1.23E + 03 1.01E + 05 9.28E + 04
    Fujian 5.69E + 04 1.60E + 04 1.14E + 05 7.29E + 04
    Shandong 4.38E + 04 2.11E + 03 1.61E + 05 1.19E + 05
    Guangdong 1.30E + 04 1.49E + 04 1.65E + 04 1.84E + 04
    Guangxi 6.25E + 03 2.25E + 03 3.17E + 03 −8.38E + 02
    Hainan 1.97E + 02 1.53E + 03 1.00E + 04 1.14E + 04
    • a Shellfish and seaweed mariculture have the capacity of N absorption. Based on the N content of shellfish and seaweed biomass, this study calculates that the N absorption capacity of seaweed is about 30.43 g N/kg dry weight, while that of shellfish is about 5.94 g N/kg.
    • b Fish, crustaceans and others mariculture generate N emissions. Based on the pollution production coefficient of different types of cultured species, this study calculates that the N emissions of fish-cage and fish-pond mariculture are 75.68 and 9.71 g N/kg respectively. N emission of crustacean mariculture is 2.30 g N/kg, while that of others-cage and others-pond mariculture is 4.66 g N/kg.
    • c This study converts the published inventory of riverine N export to Chinese seas from Wang et al. (2021) into N flux (t/km2/yr), and then multiply N flux by the coastal water areas (km2) of different coastal regions as river N export. For Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Shandong and Jiangsu, the N flux in the Yellow sea and Bohai Sea (6.64 t/km2/yr) are used for Calculation; For Zhejiang and Fujian, the N flux in the East China Sea (5.74 t/km2/yr) are used for Calculation; For Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, the N flux in the South China Sea (0.597 t/km2/yr) are used for Calculation.
    • d N net budget = (Mariculture N emission) + (River N export) − (mariculture N absorption).

    However, for Tianjin, Guangdong and Hainan, the mariculture N emissions are relatively higher, indicating that mariculture can cause overall negative impacts on the local marine environment. Even if IMTA is fully applied in these regions, other measures must be taken. In order to balance the mariculture N absorption and emission, it is necessary to expand the seaweed production in Guangdong and Hainan to 1.93 times and 10.31 times of the original production, and increase the seaweed production in Tianjin to 6.23E + 02 t/yr (currently there is no seaweed production in Tianjin). Furthermore, in order to remove river N export, the seaweed production in Guangdong and Hainan should be expanded to 9.95 times and 80.38 times of the original production, and the seaweed production in Tianjin should be increased to 3.47E + 05 t/yr.

    At present, China is at the forefront of IMTA development, and this mode has been practiced in some regions: fish-shellfish-seaweed and fish-seaweed IMTA are popular in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong; shrimp-shellfish IMTA is popular in Shandong and Jiangsu; shellfish-seaweed IMTA has been deployed in almost all coastal regions of China; mangrove-restoration-based IMTA has been developed in Guangxi (Zhou et al., 2022). On this basis, some studies have estimated the ecological benefits of the IMTA system based on ecosystem services evaluation: Tang et al. (2013) investigated the service value of food provision and climate regulation under different mariculture modes in Sanggou Bay, and their results showed that the service value provided by IMTA was much higher than that of single mariculture mode. Zhang et al. (2007) showed that the provision, regulating and cultural service value of mariculture in Sanggou Bay was 607 million yuan, and the mariculture activities made great contributions to local social economy and environmental regulation. However, although IMTA mode can bring plenty of benefits, it is still in the initial stage of development. The reasons mainly lie in that the related theory is still insufficient and the management is difficult with high cost, indicating the urgency of further research on IMTA mode (Ma et al., 2016).

    In addition, mariculture may also bring some negative impacts (Bath et al., 2023; Krkosek et al., 2007), such as entanglement risk to marine wildlife, obstacles to marine animal migration, and disease spread, etc. These negative impacts can hardly be converted into positive benefits, so it is necessary to construct responsible mariculture policies and strictly supervise and regulate mariculture activities, so as to promote the development of ocean-friendly mariculture (Naylor et al., 2023). For example, mariculture facilities should be set up outside sensitive areas and wildlife migration corridors, in order to reduce entanglement and maintain animal migration. The use of antibiotics, pesticides and harmful chemicals should be strictly supervised, so as to avoid their risks to the ocean and human health, etc.

    4.2 Interaction Between Climate Change and Mariculture Activities

    Climate change is affecting the production and development of mariculture, of which the influence can be divided into direct and indirect aspects (Maulu et al., 2021): Direct influence refers to the impact of climate change on the metabolism, growth rate, resistance to diseases and toxins and other biophysical characteristics of mariculture species, while indirect influence means that climate change first alters the marine primary productivity, feed supply and the normal mariculture operations, and then affects the mariculture production. Shellfish and seaweed are main providers of mariculture ecosystem services, but climate change has brought a series of impacts on them. The growth of shellfish may be threatened by temperature change, primary production fluctuation, ocean acidification and other multiple threats (Froehlich et al., 2017), and these threats may hinder shellfish's filtering, calcification and other behaviors, thus affecting its water purification and carbon sequestration services. What's more, the growth of seaweed can also be affected by climate change. For example, ocean acidification may lead to the descent of calcified macroalgae's growth rate, but this view has not been appeared as a unified conclusion at present (Kroeker et al., 2010). Seawater temperature change has direct impacts on the metabolism of seaweed, and related phenomenon of seawater stratification can limit the supply of nutrients required for seaweed growth (Chung et al., 2017).

    However, mariculture systems are not only victims of climate change, but also potential contributors to climate mitigation. Krause-Jensen and Duarte (2016) figured out that although the carbon sequestration capacity of global cultured seaweed (0.68 TgC/yr) is only 0.4% of wild seaweed (173 TgC/yr), the current area of cultured seaweed is only 0.04% of the wild seaweed and 0.004% of the coastal regions, indicating the great potential to expand seaweed mariculture. Mongin et al. (2016) showed that seaweed mariculture help reduce the impact of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems by reducing CO2 concentration in seawater and increasing aragonite saturation (used to describe coral calcification capacity). In addition, ocean warming and stratification caused by global climate change may also lead to ocean deoxidation (Keeling et al., 2010), but seaweed cultivation contributes to oxygen content improvement, thus reducing the impact of anoxia and eutrophication (Duarte et al., 2017). Moreover, seaweed mariculture can also contribute to indirect carbon reduction. On one hand, seaweed converted into biofuels or biogas can be treated as a substitute for fossil fuels (Sondak et al., 2017), and later by combining with the technology of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), it is possible to realize the negative emission of CO2 (Moreira & Pires, 2016). On the other hand, methane emissions can be inhibited by adding certain seaweed into ruminant feed, of which the effectiveness has been proved in some in vitro experiments (Machado et al., 2016). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) proposed to include seaweed mariculture in the international carbon accounting framework (IPCC, 2019), and the High-level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy also adopted seaweed mariculture as an ocean-based climate change mitigation strategy (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2019). Moreover, seaweed mariculture can also be combined with artificial upwelling, as an ecological-engineering-based climate change adaptation scheme: artificial upwelling driven by green energy such as tidal and wave energy can pump deep nutritious seawater to photic zone, which can not only meet the nutrient and dissolved inorganic carbon need of seaweed photosynthesis, but also alleviate the acidification and anoxia occurring in natural upwelling system (IPCC, 2019).

    Shellfish mariculture is also able to contribute to climate change mitigation. Shellfish can sequester carbon in organisms, but the carbon storage cycle depends on how carbon is processed afterward: the biomass carbon for edible purpose will be quickly converted into CO2 (Zhang et al., 2017). However, if shells can be used as building materials, the contained carbon can be stored for a long time, and they can also be used as a substitute for limestone to reduce the carbon emissions associated with limestone mining (Jones et al., 2022). In addition, biodeposition during shellfish growth is more likely to contribute to long-term carbon sequestration (Smaal et al., 2019). However, the respiration and calcification of shellfish will release CO2, which is one of the important reasons why the function of shellfish carbon sink is questioned at present (Zhang et al., 2017). Co-cultivation of shellfish and seaweed helps to reduce CO2 emission in a single shellfish system: seaweed can utilize CO2 released by shellfish through photosynthesis, and its released oxygen can improve the environmental conditions for shellfish growth (Han et al., 2017).

    In conclusion, mariculture systems and their services can support climate mitigation and adaptation, but they will also be affected by climate change. However, since many unknowns and uncertainties still lie in their interactions, when it comes to incorporating mariculture and its services into climate mitigation practices, the pace is still slow (Druckenmiller, 2022). Scaling up mariculture activities and enhancing corresponding ecosystem services will not come without costs, and poorly designed plans or assessments can pose a threat to local ecosystems. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that mariculture-based climate actions are consistent with broader social and ecological goals, and the involved ecosystems must remain healthy and resilient (Fankhauser et al., 2022).

    5 Conclusion

    The multiple effects of mariculture have been recognized recently, but the overall evaluation of its environmental performances has been a difficult problem in current research. A comprehensive “Multiple Inputs-Ecosystem Service Multifunctionality-Multiple Environmental Impacts” (MI-ESM-MEI) evaluation framework is proposed in this study, and an emergy-based method is proposed to help understand the complexity of the mariculture systems. As the largest mariculture producer in the world, China is taken as a typical case study to evaluate the multiple responses of marine ecosystems to the disturbance of mariculture activities, so as to provide reference for the development of a more comprehensive mariculture policy both in China and around the world. This study finds that:
    • (1)

      In terms of different types of mariculture systems in China, the multiple input (MI) performance of shellfish mariculture is obviously lower, while the MI of fish and others mariculture are relatively higher. Under the condition that three ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, water purification and erosion control) are evaluated, only seaweed and shellfish mariculture show ecosystem service multifunctionality (ESM), and the former has a significantly higher ESM value. When only three environmental impacts (GHGs emission, water contamination and coastal erosion) are considered, others-pond mariculture has the highest multiple environmental impacts (MEI), while the MEI of shellfish-raft, shellfish-hanging cage, shellfish-bottom sowing, others-bottom sowing, and fish-deep-water cage mariculture is relatively lower. Besides, seaweed-raft mariculture doesn't show MEI.

    • (2)

      In terms of mariculture activities in different China coastal regions, the MI of mariculture in Hainan and Tianjin is significantly higher than that in other regions, while that in Liaoning and Shandong is relatively lower. The ESM of mariculture in all regions has positive values except for Tianjin, among which Fujian and Guangxi get the highest and lowest ESM respectively. The MEI of mariculture in Hainan is quite higher than that in other regions, while the MEI in Shandong and Liaoning is lower.

    • (3)

      By analyzing the performance of two comprehensive mariculture indicators, it can be found that the mariculture systems in China with both total ecological benefit (TEB) and greenness (GN) indicator ranking in the top 50% include others-bottom sowing, seaweed-raft, and shellfish-raft, shellfish-hanging cage, and shellfish-bottom sowing mariculture. The mariculture regions in China with two indicators ranking in the top 50% include Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.

    • (4)

      Offshore mariculture will be paid more attention in the future. By identifying priority areas for offshore mariculture development, ecological benefits can be significantly improved and the environmental impacts can be reduced, using about 27% of China's territorial sea area.

    • (5)

      Water contamination is one of the most severe negative environmental impacts caused by mariculture activities. However, for most China coastal regions, if integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) mode can be promoted and the local cultured species can be properly matched, this ecological burden can be reduced and even converted into ecological benefit. In addition, expanding the scale of seaweed mariculture can also eliminate river N export, thus alleviating coastal eutrophication.

    • (6)

      Mariculture activities such as seaweed and shellfish mariculture can contribute to climate mitigation, but they will also be affected by climate change. It is necessary to ensure that mariculture-based climate actions are corresponding to broader social and ecological goals, and the involved ecosystems must remain healthy and resilient.

    Compared with previous studies, this study comprehensively considered the resource input and associated environmental benefits and impacts in different regions, of different cultured species and cultivation patterns, by means of the Emergy Accounting approach applied to different dimensions of mariculture performance. However, some limitations still exist in this study: due to the lack of basic data and insufficient research, some positive ecosystem services (such as acidification regulation, biodiversity conservation, cultural values, etc.) and negative environmental impacts (such as disease outbreak, benthic environment degradation, biological invasion, etc.) are not yet considered, which may affect the overall benefits of mariculture. In addition, industrial mariculture is another common form, but it was excluded from this study, which may also lead to the underestimation of resource consumption and negative environmental impacts. Moreover, cross-scale issues have not been well discussed in this study, such as regional impacts caused by local systems, and these issues should be carefully considered in the future.

    All in all, this study strives to provide new methods and ideas for the overall assessment of mariculture. In the future research, multi-channel data should be combined to make the assessment results refined and dynamic, so as to promote the healthy development of mariculture and the sustainable utilization of marine resources.

    Acknowledgments

    This paper is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52070021) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

    ]]>     Increases in Italian Landslides https://sdgtalks.ai/increases-in-italian-landslides https://sdgtalks.ai/increases-in-italian-landslides Sun, 05 May 2024 23:23:50 -0500 Cole Baggett landslides, Italy, precipitation Most natural catastrophic events are caused by a sequence in time of multiple not-independent precipitation events, also called temporal clustering of precipitation. This is related to the process of saturation of the soil that in most cases is not saturated by a single precipitation event. For example, soil moisture is important in the occurrence of landslides, since it causes instability of the slope, or in floods, since it prevents water from infiltrating. When an extreme event is caused or amplified by the occurrence of multiple meteorological events in time or space we talk about climate-related compound events. In this work we look at the characteristics of temporal clustering of precipitation in Italy, where and when it occurs and its relation with large scale circulations. Then, we investigate its role, together with the role of single intense precipitation events and temperature, as a trigger of different landslide types (complex, debris flow, fall, flow, and sliding). In this work we bring a clearer understanding of the trigger of landslides in Italy, and we highlight the role of temporal clustering of precipitation for hazards related with a saturation process.

    Abstract

    The occurrence of multiple precipitation events not-independent in time, that is, a temporal clustering, is an example of a temporal compounding event. This type of forcing is of great relevance for the occurrence of different natural hazards, like floods and deep-seated landslides, for which previous soil saturation plays an important role in shaping the associated hazard. Using ERA5-Land data set and E-OBS, we firstly investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of temporal clustering of precipitation over the Italian territory, and we relate it with two oscillation patterns, namely North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI), and with common synoptic conditions. Then, we explore the role of temporal compounding of precipitation in the generation of different movement types (complex, debris flow, fall, flow, and sliding) using the database of landslides from the Aree Vulnerate Italiane project (in Italian AVI, meaning Areas Affected by Landslides or Floods). From this study it emerges that below average values of NAO and MOI increase the probability of having clustered precipitation events. For all types of landslides, except rock falls, we observed that the majority of the events are preceded by a temporal clustering of precipitation, over longer time windows for complex events, shorter for debris flows. For rock falls, we found also a link with low minimum temperature and freeze-thaw cycles for winter events and high maximum temperature for summer events. This work contributes to the investigation of temporal clustering of precipitation in connection with natural hazards characterized by a mechanism of saturation.

    Key Points

    • We introduced a statistical method to detect temporal clustering of events, for example, precipitation

    • Negative dependence between some teleconnection indices and temporal clustering of precipitation in winter in Italy

    • Temporal clustering of precipitation is a significant trigger of landslides in Italy. Temperature is also relevant for rock falls

    Plain Language Summary

    Most natural catastrophic events are caused by a sequence in time of multiple not-independent precipitation events, also called temporal clustering of precipitation. This is related to the process of saturation of the soil that in most cases is not saturated by a single precipitation event. For example, soil moisture is important in the occurrence of landslides, since it causes instability of the slope, or in floods, since it prevents water from infiltrating. When an extreme event is caused or amplified by the occurrence of multiple meteorological events in time or space we talk about climate-related compound events. In this work we look at the characteristics of temporal clustering of precipitation in Italy, where and when it occurs and its relation with large scale circulations. Then, we investigate its role, together with the role of single intense precipitation events and temperature, as a trigger of different landslide types (complex, debris flow, fall, flow, and sliding). In this work we bring a clearer understanding of the trigger of landslides in Italy, and we highlight the role of temporal clustering of precipitation for hazards related with a saturation process.

    1 Introduction

    Compound climate-related, or weather-related, events are “the combination of multiple drivers and/or hazards that contributes to societal or environmental risk” (Zscheischler et al., 2018). The concept of compound climate-related event is relatively recent, introduced in 2012 with the IPCC special report on extremes (IPCC, 2012) and furtherly advanced by Leonard et al. (2014) and Zscheischler et al. (2018). The attention to these events is related to the fact that climate change could exacerbate the occurrence and effects of these events. Compound climate-related events have been categorized in four general classes (Zscheischler et al., 2020): (a) multivariate events where multiple drivers and/or hazards lead to an impact; (b) preconditioned events where a weather-driven precondition worsen the impacts of a hazard; (c) spatially compounding events where a co-occurrence of hazards leads to an aggregated impact; and (d) temporally compounding events where a succession of hazards leads to an impact. The emergence of compound events highlighted the need for interdisciplinary studies of extreme events, starting from the climatological variables up to the impacts. In this way it is possible to properly predict and reduce the resulting damages.

    In this work we focus on temporally compound events and in particular on temporal clustering of precipitation and its role on landslides occurrence. Landslides are quite impactful natural hazards, which may cause severe damages to structures and infrastructures, and losses of human lives (Froude & Petley, 2018; Petley, 2012). Different types of landslides can be distinguished depending on the movement type and materials involved. Here we will refer to the classification of Varnes (1978).

    • Fall and topple: detachment, fall, rolling, and bouncing of masses of geologic materials, such as rocks and boulders. They are strongly related to gravity, interstitial water, and mechanical weathering.

    • Sliding: mass movement where a distinct zone of weakness separates the stable underlying material from the sliding one. It can be distinguished in rotational slide, where the surface of rupture is curved, and translational slide, where the surface is planar.

    • Flow: they are landslides with a narrow and elongated shape that evolve due to the saturation of materials, mainly clayey and/or marly, by meteoric water.

    • Debris flow: rapid mass movement due to the mobilization of a combination of granular material and water. They are commonly caused by the erosion and mobilization of loose soil on steep slope due to intense surface-water flow.

    • Complex: combination of two or more of the above types.

    This type of hazard can be caused by a variety of triggers: rainfall, snowmelt, stream erosion, changes in water or ground water level, volcanic activity, earthquakes, human induced disturbances or a combination of them. However, for these events, rainfall represents one of the most important triggering factors (Guzzetti et al., 2007). Sometimes short and high-intensity episodes are enough to trigger a landslides other times long-lasting episodes are required (Van Asch et al., 1999). Shallow landslides, with a slip surface not deeper than about 1.5 m, occur under a broad range of rainfall conditions, even though they are often related to short-duration and high-intensity rainfall events (Corominas & Moya, 1999). Deep landslides, with a slip surface deeper than about 1.5 m, on the contrary are usually driven by multiple moderate-intensity storms, occurring over weeks or months (Trigo et al., 2005). Recurrent wet periods generate high soil moisture and pore water pressure, that are required to trigger deep movements (Chen et al., 2017). The literature is abundant of contributions assessing the antecedent rainfall and rainfall thresholds initiating the landslides (Brunetti et al., 2010; Guzzetti et al., 2007; Peruccacci et al., 2017; Zezere et al., 2015). Less investigated is the dynamics of rainfall before landslides, that is, if it is possible to recognize the occurrence of particular temporal sequences of rainfall events, associated for example, with cyclone clustering (Dacre & Pinto, 2020) and/or atmospheric rivers (Ramos et al., 2015). In addition, the same rainfall total may occur concentrated or spread in time, in few intense events, or in several lower intensity ones, thus resulting in different run-off and soil saturation. Deep landslides may often be associated with monthly to seasonal fluctuations of the groundwater table. When the water table is high, also light to moderate rainfall may provide sufficient water to trigger slope movement (Fuhrmann et al., 2008). This means that not only rainfall triggers landslides directly but it also contributes to soil saturation up to the point where additional rainfall water induces the failure. Nevertheless, this knowledge is not always taken into account or integrated in the management of landslides risk. For example, in Campania region (southwestern Italy), the early warning system is based on simple rainfall thresholds, that look at accumulated rainfall on duration of 1–3 days (Reder & Rianna, 2021). A better understanding of the meteorological characteristics, precipitation, circulation patterns or temperature, triggering landslides in Italy may therefore be of help in better shaping the risk of landslide events.

    Interesting results about the relation between the dynamics of rainfall and landslides were provided by Bevacqua et al. (2021), studying landslides in North of Lisbon region. They showed that about 70%–83% of deep landslides were preceded by a temporal cluster of precipitation events (over 23–90 days before the event), while only 7%–9% of shallow landslides were preceded by a cluster of precipitation (over 4–25 days before the event).

    Moved by these results in this work we (a) investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of temporal compounding of precipitation over the Italian territory, and whether its frequency can be related to some circulation patterns, and (b) analyze how far the temporal clustering of precipitation events may have a role in the occurrence of the main landslide types. In particular, following Bevacqua et al. (2021), we want to investigate if landslides can be viewed as the consequence of the temporal compounding or clustering of precipitation events. In this respect, we have (a) considered a statistical criterion in order to detect the presence of temporal clustering of precipitation events in a time series in a fixed temporal window (following Bevacqua et al. (2021) and Banfi and De Michele (2022)); then (b) applied this criterion to the Italian territory, a country where landslides are widespread natural phenomena; (c) assessed the synoptic conditions more prone to temporal clustering of precipitation; (d) investigated the connection between the temporal compounding of precipitation and the occurrences of different types of landslides. Thus, in Section 2, we present data sets and the methodology used; in Section 10 we illustrate our results; and in Section 13 we give our conclusions.

    2 Data and Methods

    2.1 Study Area

    The analysis was performed considering all the Italian territory. Italy is located in Southern Europe with a total area of 301,230 km2. It is crossed by two mountainous range, the Apennines to the south and the Alps to the North, and by the large Po plain and it comprises two main islands, Sicily and Sardinia. A total of 68% of the Italian municipalities is exposed to high levels of hydrological and geological hazards, which are often caused by intense rainfall events, causing severe damage (Messeri et al., 2016b). From the geodynamic point of view, Italy is in fact an extremely active region, with frequent earthquakes and active volcanoes (Bosellini, 2017). Italy encompasses a broad range of climatic regimes: 14 of the 35 climatic regions occurring in Europe are there present. Alps and Northern Apennines are dominated by temperate climates while Southern Apennines have a so-called Mediterranean mountainous climate. Po Plain and the adjacent low hills are characterized by intermediate climates, that is, Mediterranean suboceanic to subcontinental. The former is widespread also in central Italy and it extend toward the South of Italy inlands leaving place to more characterized Mediterranean climates, reaching also Mediterranean to subtropical climates, either partly semiarid or influenced by mountains (Costantini et al., 2013).

    2.2 Meteorological Data

    Precipitation series over Italy was obtained from the reanalysis product, ERA5-Land (Muñoz Sabater, 2019). The data is a replay with a finer spatial resolution of the land component of the ERA5 climate reanalysis (Hersbach et al., 2020). The data set has a spatial resolution of 0.1° × 0.1° and a temporal resolution of one hour (resampled to one day for the present purposes) with a temporal coverage that spans the period from 1950 to present. In order to have an idea of the performance of the data set, the spatial distribution of temporal clustering of precipitation was compared with the one obtained using E-OBS (Cornes et al., 2018). The latter is a daily gridded observational data set covering Europe, with a 9 km spatial resolution. It is based on the blended time series of the stations collected by the European Climate Assessment and Data set (ECA&D) initiative. Finally, maximum and minimum daily temperature from E-OBS were used to explain the occurrence of some landslide phenomena. The investigated period goes from 1950-12-01 up to 2020-11-30.

    To investigate the synoptic conditions associated with temporal clustering of precipitation, we collected the classification of circulation types and weather patterns (WT) proposed by the LaMMa Consortium (in Italian Laboratorio di Monitoraggio e Modellistica Ambientale, Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Laboratory) using COST 733 methodology (Philipp et al., 2016; Salinger et al., 2015). The series of daily WT was obtained from Messeri et al. (2016b) and it covers the period 1948–2010. Based on this classification, eight different circulation types can be identified (Messeri et al., 2016b).

    • WT1: Marked northward expansion of the Azores anticyclone with blocked anticyclonic circulation over the North Atlantic and northerly winds over Italy.

    • WT2: Moderate northward expansion of the Azores anticyclone with cyclonic circulation over south Scandinavia and northwesterly winds over Italy.

    • WT3: Marked cyclonic circulation over Iceland with anticyclonic circulation over northern central Europe accompanied with increased precipitation over Italy, generated by intermittent Atlantic perturbations.

    • WT4: Cyclonic circulation over the North Atlantic and cyclonic circulation over west Mediterranean Europe and central Mediterranean Europe with decreased precipitations over central Mediterranean Europe.

    • WT5: Cyclonic circulation over the north-west Atlantic with marked anticyclonic circulation over west Mediterranean Europe and central Mediterranean Europe, inducing warm and dry conditions over Italy.

    • WT6: Anticyclonic circulation over Iceland and cyclonic circulation over central Europe, with higher precipitation over Tuscany fueled by intrusions of Arctic and polar continental air.

    • WT7: Southwesterly flow over the North Atlantic with ridging over the British Isles toward Scandinavia, with easterly wind over central Mediterranean Europe resulting in very cold dry conditions.

    • WT8: Cyclonic circulation over West Europe with a ridge over the eastern Mediterranean.

    Finally, the series of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index and of Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI) (Conte et al., 1989; Palutikof, 2003; Palutikof et al., 1996) were obtained from the NOAA CLimate Prediction Center (https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/pna/nao.shtml) and the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/moi/), respectively. The MOI index was computed as the normalized pressure difference between Algiers and Cairo.

    2.3 Landslides Data

    Landslide events over Italy were obtained from the Aree Vulnerate Italiane (AVI) database, an inventory of landslides and floods occurred in Italy until 2001 by the National Group for Prevention of Hydrological Hazards (GNDCI) of the National Research Council (CNR) (http://avi.gndci.cnr.it). It is a point data set in which landslides and related characteristics were identified from newspaper articles (Guzzetti et al., 1994).

    From the database, we extracted only the landslides occurred in the period 1950–2001. We disregarded all the events with missing information about date of occurrence, type of movement, or location and with a regional or provincial spatial accuracy. For the events with multiple locations associated, the average of the coordinates was computed. This may occur since the positions of landslides were identified looking at locations' names reported in the news, therefore multiple locations may be present. In addition, when a road is identified as location, the average between the end points of the road is used. Considering the selected events, we only investigated landslides that were triggered by precipitation. We also included events with unknown trigger. Since rainfall is the main driver of landslides, we assumed that when it was missing this was the trigger. Large precipitation systems may cause multiple landslides in connected locations. The data set used reports each of them as a separate record. Since the main purpose of the analysis is the investigation of landslides triggers, keeping all of them may bias the results, adding redundant information and resulting in a biased predominance of a trigger, We therefore grouped event together when they were occurring in the same or adjacent days and closer than 55 km, considering size of small to medium precipitation systems (Zhang & Wang, 2021). For each group we than retained only one record for landslide type, chosen as the most central event in space. In this way, we retained 895 events (99 flow events, 64 debris flow, 43 complex events, 562 fall events, 127 sliding events).

    The AVI inventory, despite the remarkable effort beyond its construction and the amount of data that contains, suffers of some limitations due to the available technology at the time of its collection. The spatial distribution may be biased by the availability of local newspaper reports, and some area may be more covered than others. Collecting landslides appearing in the news means that only events that attracted public attention are present, that is, events that likely resulted in some kind of damages or losses. This however does not imply that only large landslides are reported since also minor ones can cause damages. If we assume that there is not a significant difference in the mechanisms triggering landslides occurring far from the human infrastructures and landslides hitting human infrastructures (once we excluded the ones triggered by human activities) this limitation should not greatly influence the results. Also, the yearly number of landslides is influenced by an improvement in the methodologies with which events after 1990 were collected, that results in a higher number of identified events. In the present analysis therefore no considerations about the evolution of the number of landslides or the most affected areas are carried out.

    2.4 Methods

    2.4.1 Temporal Clustering of Precipitation

    The identification of temporal clustering of precipitation follows the methodology proposed by Bevacqua et al. (2021), with the modifications of Banfi and De Michele (2022). The idea is to calculate the number of precipitation events within a specified time window and determine whether this count is the result of a Bernoulli process. If not, in this latter case, we infer the presence of temporal clustering of precipitation (Figure 1).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 1
    Open in figure viewerPowerPoint

    Visualization of the method used to identify the presence of a temporal clustering of precipitation in a given time window. The precipitation series is first transformed into an independent binary series, that is, event or non event. Then a statistical test is applied on the number of events inside the window.

    To apply the method correctly, a series of distinct precipitation events above a given threshold is needed. This was obtained removing the high frequency clustering with a run decluster procedure (Coles, 2001). High frequency clustering can be seen as the dependence of precipitation exceedances inside a single meteorological event, while low frequency clustering (the one we are interested in) is related to multiple subsequent precipitation events. The procedure is as follows: (a) thresholding the precipitation series, (b) clustering together events closer than r days (here r = 2 days following Barton et al. (2016)), and (c) retaining only the first exceedance in each cluster and setting to NA all other ones. From the declustered series, the probability of exceedance p was computed, disregarding the days in which precipitation events were removed, that is counting the exceedances in the series and dividing it for the total length of the series minus the days with a NA. Here, we chose a threshold equal to the 0.7 quantile of daily precipitation, considering only wet days, following Bevacqua et al. (2021). This corresponds to values between 1.16 up to 10.54 mm, with an average of 3.5 mm.

    To check for the presence of temporal clustering, we selected a time window w, and we counted the number of exceedances inside w, called n. In the absence of temporal clustering, events should be independently distributed inside the window. We performed therefore a statistical test with the null hypothesis that there is no clustering, that is, the number of events inside the window is distributed like a Binomial distribution, with parameters p and weff. Here, weff is an effective window equal to w minus the days in which precipitation was removed with high frequency declustering. The test is a one side test, where the hypothesis is rejected if n is higher than what expected from a Binomial distribution. In this work, we considered a 0.05 significant level.

    We checked the presence of temporal clustering in each day of the time series considering three different time windows, centered on that day: 15, 30, and 90 days. The presence of temporal clustering was tested on each cell over the Italian territory on each day, therefore a multiple testing correction was needed to keep the overall significance at 0.05. In addition, the discreteness of the p-values needed to be considered as well. Regarding the latter, we computed mid-p-values as suggested by Heller and Gur (2011). Concerning the former, we disregarded the choice of using the classical methodologies proposed in literature. Most of them are designed for continuous variables and independent tests, like the well-known Benjamini–Hochberg (Benjamini & Hochberg, 1995), and they may lose power for an increasing number of tests, like the Bonferroni correction (Armstrong, 2014). Here, not only p-values were discrete and the number of tests was large, but tests were also spatially dependent. The spatial dependence of the tests implies that several contiguous p-values relatively high in the basin are a stronger evidence of the presence of temporal clustering than few sparse very low p-values, since the probability of finding significant p-values, which are spatially contiguous, only by chance, is in fact very low. A similar consideration was presented also by García (2004) in ecological studies. Moved by this, we proceeded by considering not significant all the p-values that were lower than 0.05, but that were not adjacent (including the diagonal cells) to at least three other cells with p-values lower than 0.05.

    2.4.2 Correlation Between Temporal Clustering of Precipitation and Synoptic Conditions

    A composite analysis was performed in order to understand the synoptic conditions more prone to temporal clustering of precipitation. For each year and season, we computed the average value of MOI and the number of days with temporal clustering of precipitation. Then, the maps of the average seasonal number of days with cluster were produced separating between seasons with above or below average MOI values. The same analysis was performed using NAO index.

    In addition to looking at teleconnections, we investigated the WT associated with the highest probability of temporal clustering. Given a weather type, a cell and a season, we selected all the days with that specif WT in that specific season. Considering only the selected days, we computed the frequency of days with temporal clustering of precipitation. Then, we selected all days belonging to the same specific season, but without separating based on weather types. Considering only the newly selected days, we computed again the frequency of days with temporal clustering of precipitation. Finally, we obtained the maps of frequency anomalies for each weather type and season as the difference between the second and the first frequency. Negative (positive) anomalies therefore means a lower (higher) probability of temporal clustering of precipitation than the average during that specific weather type. The significance of the computed frequency anomalies was assessed reshuffling 1,000 times the series of WT and computing the 0.99 quantile of frequency anomaly for each cell. Only higher values were significant.

    2.4.3 Association Between Landslides and Precipitation Types

    To link precipitation clusters and landslide events, we started considering four possible precipitation conditions as drivers of landslides: (a) an intense precipitation event (above the 0.90 quantile) in the 2 days before the landslide, (b) a temporal clustering of precipitation in a window of 15 days, ending the day of the landslide or up to 2 days before, (c) same as before but over 30 days, (d) same as before but over 90 days. For each landslide, we checked the presence of one or more of these triggers. The two days tolerance was chosen following the results of Chien-Yuan et al. (2005) that found a time lag for rainstorm induced debris flow initiation within −13 hr (prior to the peak hourly rainfall) up to 45 hr (after the peak hourly rainfall).

    To asses the statistical significance of the results we performed a resampling procedure over the date of occurrence of landslides. We randomized the dates of occurrence of landslides 1,000 times, fixing the season, and we performed the same analysis each time, re-assessing the presence of the identified triggers for each new data set. When we look at the precursor of an event, it is important to look not only at how many times this is observed before the event, but also at how many times it occurs without an event following it. If the occurrence of a trigger preceding the event is due to chance and not to a physical mechanism, then we should observe similar frequencies if we change the date of occurrence of that event.

    In order to understand the relative role of the temporal dynamic of precipitation and the precipitation total, we computed the total precipitation over 15, 30 and 90 days preceding each landslide. Then, for each landslide, we computed the total precipitation over the same windows starting the same day and month of the event but for all the other years. In this way we were able to compute the ranking for each sum preceding each event. We then computed how many times it was higher then the 0.9 quantile.

    The occurrence of some landslide types may be influenced by temperature as well as precipitation. This is true for rock falls, that may be favored by a stability reduction of rocks due to freeze-thaw cycle. This reduction is related to thermal expansion and contraction as well as frost wedging from moisture inside rock fractures (Strunden et al., 2015). In order to check for this, we computed the distribution of daily maximum and minimum temperature during the days of occurrence of a certain category of landslide events. Then, we selected all the dates with the same day and month of the ones when events occurred but with different years. The maximum and minimum temperature associated with these dates were collected and the distributions compared with the previous ones. To identify freeze-thaw cycle we checked whether in the month previous to the rock fall we had maximum and minimum daily temperature with opposite sign. The frequency of freeze-thaw cycle before rock fall was compared with the one before the dates with the same day and month but with different years.

    3 Results

    3.1 Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Temporal Clustering of Precipitation

    Figure 2 shows the spatial distribution of the seasonal number of days with temporal clustering of precipitation over a 30 days window and the seasonal precipitation amount over Italy. The area more prone to temporal clustering of precipitation is the Alpine area, mainly the eastern part, during the summer months. Temporal clustering is important also in the western coast and south of Italy during the winter months. During Autumn and Spring, the spatial distribution is more even over the territory. Compared with the total precipitation, we observe similar patterns but also some differences. For example, the western part of Piedmont, that is characterized by the highest values of total precipitation from Spring to Autumn, does not emerge when we look at the maps of temporal clustering. Also during winter, the spatial distribution has some differences, with a high number of days with temporal clustering in Sardinia and Sicily, that is not matched in the total precipitation maps. During summer, the meteorological conditions are on average more stable than in autumn and spring due to the persistence of the Azores High pressure over Italy, thus resulting in less precipitation, mainly related to convective events.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 2
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    Spatial distribution of total precipitation, temporal clustering of precipitation over Italy, and their correlation. Note that the color scale is not linear in the upper part. Panel (a) Average number of days with temporal clustering over a 30 days window for each season from ERA5-Land. Panel (b) Average total precipitation in each season from ERA5-Land. Panel (c) Kendall's tau between the variables in panels (a and b). Panel (d) Average number of days with temporal clustering over a 30 days window for each season from E-OBS data set.

    The comparison of ERA5-Land with E-OBS data set (Figure 2) shows a lower frequency of temporal clustering in the latter, in all seasons except from autumn. ERA5 data set, from which ERA5-Land is derived, is known to overestimates mean precipitation systematically in most of the domain and periods of the year, due to overestimation of wet days, with a stronger discrepancy in high mountain catchments in the convective summer period (Bandhauer et al., 2022). They also observed an underestimation of precipitation peaks in ERA5 in October and November in the Tagliamento catchment (north of Italy). These results may explain part of the difference observed in this study between the two data sets. Qualitatively, however, ERA5 reproduces the precipitation patterns well (Bandhauer et al., 2022). The performances of E-OBS are, on the other hands, much more dependent on the area considered, due to the varying spatial densities of point stations, with worse performances in areas with few meteorological stations, like the Alpine ones. Turco et al. (2013) compared E-OBS with other gridded data set over the Great Alpine Region and a subregion in northwest Italy (NWI). They concluded that E-OBS does not reproduce reliably the climatology over NWI and that the use of E-OBS in these regions should be done with caution. This brought us to prefer the use of ERA5-Land in the study analysis.

    The composites of seasons with above and below average MOI show a marked difference in winter in South-Central Italy, thus suggesting a connection between MOI and temporal clustering of precipitation (Figure 3). A similar pattern was observed also using the NAO index (Figure 3). The two indexes are correlated due to the common influence of the Northeast Atlantic low systems forcing Mediterranean cyclogenesis. The MOI can be seen as a sea level pressure anomalies oscillation in the Western-Central Mediterranean. It correlates with different climatic variables, like evaporation, precipitation, and heat flux. Its negative phase is associated with a dipole of low see level pressure anomalies between Central Europe and Turkey, resulting in the movement of continental cold and dry air masses to the Mediterranean, with an increase in evaporation. During its positive phase, the dipole is located between North Africa and Central Europe, with a movement of warm and moist air masses to Central and Western Mediterranean and a decrease in evaporation (Criado-Aldeanueva & Soto-Navarro, 2020).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 3
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    Influence of teleconnections on temporal clustering of precipitation: Panel (a) Composites of the average number of days with temporal clustering of precipitation for above and below average Mediterranean Oscillation Index in each season. Panel (b) same as (a) but for North Atlantic Oscillation.

    The association between precipitation and global scale oscillation indices in Italy was observed by other authors (Brunetti et al., 2002; Caloiero et al., 2011). For example, Caloiero et al. (2011) found a strong correlation between teleconnection patterns and precipitation in Southern Italy, that was particularly evident on the west side and in winter. From this work emerged that similar conclusions can be drawn also regarding the temporal compoundness in addition to the seasonal amount.

    Moving to the synoptic conditions, we can observe that the frequency of temporal clustering associated with the different WTs is variable depending on the region and season (Figure 4). WT8 is in general the weather type associated with the highest frequency of temporal clustering of precipitation, in all seasons. This WT is characterized by a cyclonic circulation over west Europe and a ridge over the eastern Mediterranean and it causes abundant precipitation over Northern Italy. Already Messeri et al. (2016b) found that this synoptic condition is the one associated with the highest landslide and flood risk in Italy. Also WT4 is a cyclonic circulation over northern Italy, despite being associated with stable conditions over central and southern Italy due to the persistence of a subtropical high pressure. In fact, we can observe two different anomaly signs moving from south to north of Italy for this WT. An important weather type for temporal clustering of precipitation in South of Italy, mainly in winter, is WT3. This WT is characterized by a cyclonic circulation over Iceland and an anticyclonic one over northern central Europe. WT2 is instead characterized by a partial displacement of the Azores High Pressure to the Northern Atlantic Ocean that lets the maritime polar air masses to reach Central Europe and to some extent the Mediterranean area. This WT is associated with higher frequencies of temporal clustering of precipitation over central Italy and lower over northern Italy. WT5 and WT7 are both associated with anticyclonic conditions and this explains the low occurrence of temporal clustering of precipitation observed during them.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 4
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    Anomaly in the frequency of days with temporal clustering of precipitation for different weather types and seasons. Weather type six is not reported due to very low number of days with this circulation type. Only significant values are reported.

    3.2 Precipitation Events Triggering Landslides

    The spatial distribution of landslide events is reported in Figure 5 for each season and type of movement. Among the different classes of landslides, fall events show less evident seasonal or spatial patterns. On the contrary, flow, sliding and debris flow during summer occurred mostly in the alpine areas while during winter they were more frequent in central or southern Italy, mimicking therefore the precipitation pattern (Figure 2).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 5
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    Distribution of landslides over Italy, for different movement types and seasons. The colors of the cross identify the triggering precipitation type: an event in the preceding 5 days above the 0.9 quantile, a temporal clustering over 15, 30, or 90 days preceding the landslide or none of the previous ones.

    Temporal clustering of precipitation was a significant triggers for all the landslide types with percentage, excluding rock falls, of around 50% (Figures 6 and 7). The results about the characteristics of precipitation events preceding each landslide type give us also the possibility to distinguish different generating mechanisms (Figure 6). For debris flows, the temporal clustering over small windows explains a good amount of events (39% over a 15 days window). This is in line with the work of Bevacqua et al. (2021) that observed temporal clustering of rainfall over small windows before shallow movements. A high influence of temporal clustering of precipitation over large windows was found for complex and sliding events (30%–39% over a 90 days window, respectively). However, it is interesting to point out that for complex movements the presence of temporal clustering over small windows was very low compared with the others. In contrast to the other types, fall events are not predominantly associated with none of the two triggers. Looking at precipitation totals, we can observe similar patterns between them and temporal clustering for debris flow and flow. However they are fairly different for complex events. In fact we observed high precipitation totals for short duration but a very low presence of temporal clustering of precipitation, suggesting that the obtained totals are due to few intense events. A similar behavior can be observed also for slidings.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 6
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    Association between precipitation events and landslide types. Panel (a) Frequency of different triggering precipitation types generating landslides: a precipitation event in the preceding 5 days above the 0.9 quantile without temporal clustering of precipitation, a temporal clustering of precipitation over 15, 30, or 90 days preceding the landslide or none of the previous ones. The colors represent the values of the observed frequency and correspond to the numbers in the cells. Panel (b) Frequency of temporal clustering of precipitation over 15, 30, or 90 days preceding the landslide. The colors represent the values of the observed frequency and correspond to the numbers in the cells. Note that the three conditions can occur simultaneously, thus the frequencies do not sum to the ones in panel (a). Panel (c) Frequency of precipitation totals over 15, 30, or 90 days preceding the landslide above the 90th quantile.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 7
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    Boxplots of the frequency of different triggering precipitation types generating the landslides, obtained after the reshuffling of the date of occurrence of landslides 1,000 times. In addition the frequency in the original data is reported (x).

    From both Figures 5 and 6 it is evident that rock falls are much less linked with precipitation events, either isolated and intense, or clustered, than the other types. In South Central Italy, in summer, they are almost the only typology observed. Different authors identified an association between the temporal distribution of rock falls and freeze–thaw cycles (Bajni et al., 2021; Nissen et al., 2022; Pratt et al., 2019), that may therefore explain winter events. The presence of a high number of events in summer, not related to precipitation, suggests that also high temperatures may play a role, for example, causing deformation of the materials, thus favoring rock fall processes in summer. In Figure 8a we report the distribution of maximum temperature (a) during summer days with rock fall not associated with precipitation and (b) during the same calendar days but for the other years. This to compare meteorological conditions driving or not rock fall. What appears is that rock fall occurrence is associated with higher maximum daily temperature with respect to normal days. The same can be observed for winter rock falls and minimum temperature (Figure 8b), with a left shift of the distribution in case of rock fall occurrence. In addition, we looked for the presence of freeze–thaw cycles in the 2 weeks preceding a rock fall in winter, or preceding the same calendar days but for the other years (Figure 8c). A clear difference in the frequency is visible, with the presence of one or more freeze–thaw in almost 80% of the weeks before a rock fall.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 8
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    Rock fall and temperature relationship. Panel (a) the distribution of maximum temperature during summer days with rock fall not associated with precipitation and during the same calendar days but for the other years. Panel (b) same as panel (a) but for winter events and minimum temperature. Panel (c) frequency of having at least one freeze–thaw cycle in the 2 weeks preceding a rock fall in winter, or preceding the same calendar days but for the other years.

    The occurrence of landslides is often a non isolated phenomenon, since a precipitation event may trigger movements in multiple locations. Here, we clustered together landslides close in time and space and we considered only one event for each cluster to investigate the drivers, to avoid biases due to the dependence between events (Figure 9). However, the information on cluster size was also explored in relation with temporal clustering of precipitation. The largest events occurred in the Campania region and in the Alpine area and they were driven by a temporal clustering of precipitation.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 9
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    Landslides clusters. Panel (a) Distribution of clusters of landslides events. Panel (b) Distribution of clusters of landslides events with size greater than 2 (the marker size corresponds to the legend in panel (a)), divided between clusters preceded or not by a temporal clustering of precipitation.

    4 Discussion and Conclusions

    Understanding the meteorological variables that have a role in shaping the occurrence of landslides is important to improve their prediction and risk evaluation. Here, we first investigate the occurrence of temporal clustering of precipitation over Italy. The occurrence of multiple precipitation events has proven to be important in the occurrence of some natural hazards like lake floods (Banfi & De Michele, 2022; Barton et al., 2016) or landslides (Bevacqua et al., 2021). Indeed, investigating the conditions more prone to the clustering of precipitation allows, in turn, to understand the conditions more prone to that natural hazards driven by multiple precipitation events. From the study, it emerges that below average values of the MOI teleconnection index, an index developed for the Mediterranean area, increases the likelihood of having clustered events. This likelihood was also related to some circulation patterns. The presence of a cyclonic circulation over west Europe with a ridge over the eastern Mediterranean resulted in the highest frequency of days with temporal clustering. In south central Italy, in winter, one of the most severe circulation pattern is characterized by a cyclonic circulation over Iceland and an anticyclonic one over northern central Europe.

    The association between temporal clustering of precipitation and a specific hazard, namely landslides, was then investigated over Italy. We observed that for all types of landslides, except rock falls, the majority of the events are preceded by a temporal clustering of precipitation. For complex events and slidings, this occurs mainly over longer time windows. For debris flows over short ones. The presence of a weaker connections between precipitation and rock falls implies that other important triggers play a role in their occurrence. We found this to be low minimum temperature and freeze-thaw cycles for winter events and high maximum temperature for summer events. This may bring to the consideration that the saturation process is less important for rock fall type, that is probably more influenced by rock deformation and fractures.

    Despite to a less extent, we also found other landslide types that were not preceded by either a temporal clustering of precipitation or an intense event. A potential additional trigger, not included in the analysis, is snowmelt, that is known to have triggered landslide events in Central Italy (Guzzetti et al., 2003). Some uncertainties may also derive from the data set processing. Here, we disregarded all events in the AVI data set associated with a trigger either than meteorological, but we also included all the events with unknown trigger. This assuming that if it was not specified it was likely related with precipitation. However, some non rainfall-triggered events may have remained in the subset used. From the agnostic point of view we have preferred to keep the information of the landslides with unknown trigger. This assumption will result in an underestimation of the effects of rainfall on landslides, rather than an overestimation that would be much more critical, in fact it will increase the percentage of landslides falling in the “Not identified” category and it will decrease the number of landslides falling in the “Intense event” or “Temporal clustering” category.

    Another limitation of the data set is the daily temporal resolution. Some shallow landslides, like debris flows, well correlate with peak hourly rainfall (Chien-Yuan et al., 2005), while in our study we considered daily sum, since the exact time of the day in which landslide events occurred is not known. In this way, we may underestimate the return period of the precipitation events preceding it. For landslides related with sustained precipitation, like complex events, a sub-daily temporal resolution is instead less important. An approximation was introduced also regarding the lag for rainstorm induced landslides initiation, since we extended the value found for debris flow to all types of landslide.

    The use of more updated data sets or inventories of other countries could confirm and extend the results obtained in this study. The difficulty of using landslides data sets is the lack of an homogeneous structure and the presence of different variables and descriptors in each of them. As an example there is not, to the authors' knowledge, an European data set of landslides. In addition, the data set used reports only landslides that attracted public attention, other data sets with a less biased sample may also be considered. Also improving the spatial resolution of the precipitation data set could provide an improvement of the analysis, like the VHR-REA_IT data set recently developed by CMCC (in Italian Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change) over Italy, with a 2.2 km spatial resolution and hourly temporal resolution (Raffa et al., 2021).

    Other assumptions of the study are the circular radius used to group single landslides into events, and the minimum number of days used to group days with precipitation into a single event. Regarding the latter a proper study should be carried out to evaluate the optimum parameter over Italy since this assumption could change the resulting presence of clustering. Regarding the former, the subdivision between multiple landslide events and single ones is getting consensus in a growing number of works. However precipitation events are not circular neither of the same shape, as we assumed. Let's think about stratiform or convective events. An interesting study could identify precipitation events over Italy as 3D objects as already done for drought in Europe by Cammalleri et al. (2023) or for tropical cyclone precipitation by Skok et al. (2013). This would allow a precise and interesting association between impacts and driver.

    In this study, we related temporal clustering of precipitation with the occurrence of landslides. In the presence of more information about landslides characteristics, a useful follow up could add a further step, linking temporal clustering of precipitation to the severity for example, volume and area of the slides, or to the number of landslides triggered together. In addition, the analysis could be extended to future scenarios, in order to asses if we must expect an increase in the frequency of temporal clustering of precipitation, maybe due to an increase in the frequency of the identified circulation patterns, and therefore an increase in the probability of occurrence of some landslide types. These results can help us to better understand the risk of landslides associated with temporal compounding of precipitation but could also be of interest for other types of hazards that require a saturation process.

    Acknowledgments

    This study was carried out within the RETURN (multi-risk science for resilient communities under a changing climate) Extended Partnership and received funding from the European Union Next-GenerationEU (National Recovery and Resilience Plan—NRRP, Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.3—D.D. 1243 2/8/2022, PE0000005).

    ]]>     European Flood Causes https://sdgtalks.ai/european-flood-causes https://sdgtalks.ai/european-flood-causes Sun, 05 May 2024 23:20:31 -0500 Cole Baggett floods, Europe

    Extreme storm surges, rainfall or river discharge can cause flooding. When these events happen at the same time, even more severe flooding may follow. Climate change could affect the odds that drivers of flooding coincide, potentially leading to larger flood risk. However, few scientists have tried to compute such changes, using only a few different computer models of our climate. Here, we use a much larger set of climate models to compute how the odds that an extreme storm surge coincides with extreme precipitation could change in the future. We find that at the coasts of northwestern Europe, those odds will increase, whereas in southwestern Europe, they will mostly decrease. On average, the changes will be as large as 36%–49% of the current odds, depending on whether the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will increase by a medium or a large amount. When we use smaller sets of climate models for our calculations, we get substantially different results in some cases. In conclusion, by using a larger set of climate models than previous studies, we have made more robust computations of how the odds that extreme storm surges and precipitation coincide will change in Europe.

    Abstract

    When different flooding drivers co-occur, they can cause compound floods. Despite the potential impact of compound flooding, few studies have projected how the joint probability of flooding drivers may change. Furthermore, existing projections may not be very robust, as they are based on only 5 to 6 climate model simulations. Here, we use a large ensemble of simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) to project changes in the joint probability of extreme storm surges and precipitation at European tide gauges under a medium and high emissions scenario, enabled by data-proximate cloud computing and statistical storm surge modeling. We find that the joint probability will increase in the northwest and decrease in most of the southwest of Europe. Averaged over Europe, the absolute magnitude of these changes is 36%–49% by 2080, depending on the scenario. The large-scale changes in the joint probability of extreme storm surges and precipitation are similar to those in the joint probability of extreme wind speeds and precipitation, but locally, differences can exceed the changes themselves. Due to internal climate variability and inter-model differences, projections based on simulations of only 5 to 6 randomly chosen CMIP6 models have a probability of higher than 10% to differ qualitatively from projections based on all CMIP6 simulations in multiple regions, especially under the medium emissions scenario and earlier in the twenty-first century. Therefore, our results provide a more robust and less uncertain representation of changes in the potential for compound flooding in Europe than previous projections.

    Key Points

    • We project changes in the joint probability of storm surge and precipitation extremes based on a large ensemble of model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6

    • The joint probability will increase in the northwest and decrease in the southwest of Europe, with an average absolute magnitude of 36%–49%

    • Especially under lower emissions, often more than 5 or 6 climate model simulations are needed to draw robust conclusions on these changes

    Plain Language Summary

    Extreme storm surges, rainfall or river discharge can cause flooding. When these events happen at the same time, even more severe flooding may follow. Climate change could affect the odds that drivers of flooding coincide, potentially leading to larger flood risk. However, few scientists have tried to compute such changes, using only a few different computer models of our climate. Here, we use a much larger set of climate models to compute how the odds that an extreme storm surge coincides with extreme precipitation could change in the future. We find that at the coasts of northwestern Europe, those odds will increase, whereas in southwestern Europe, they will mostly decrease. On average, the changes will be as large as 36%–49% of the current odds, depending on whether the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will increase by a medium or a large amount. When we use smaller sets of climate models for our calculations, we get substantially different results in some cases. In conclusion, by using a larger set of climate models than previous studies, we have made more robust computations of how the odds that extreme storm surges and precipitation coincide will change in Europe.

    1 Introduction

    The co-occurrence or close succession of different flooding drivers like storm surges, rainfall and river discharge has the potential to affect coastal communities more severely than the separate occurrence of these drivers (e.g., Bevacqua et al., 2017; Emanuel, 2017; Kumbier et al., 2018; Paprotny et al., 2018; Ruocco et al., 2011; van den Hurk et al., 2015). For instance, extreme precipitation or river discharge may increase the depth and/or area of flooding due to storm surges and high coastal water levels may hamper storm-water drainage and cause backwater effects. Such combinations of hazard drivers are called compound events (Zscheischler et al., 2018). Since the more traditional univariate analyses that neglect the compounding effects of flooding drivers may underestimate flood risk and the lifetime of adaptation measures to flooding (e.g., Leonard et al., 2014; Moftakhari et al., 2017; Wahl et al., 2015), compound events have received increased attention in the past decade. For instance, the historical dependence between and joint probability of various combinations of flooding drivers has been assessed at local (e.g., Couasnon et al., 2022; Kew et al., 2013; Santos et al., 2021; Zheng et al., 2014), national (e.g., Hendry et al., 2019; W. Wu et al., 2018), continental (e.g., Camus et al., 2021; Ganguli & Merz, 2019; Nasr et al., 2021; Paprotny et al., 2018, 2020; Wahl et al., 2015) and global scales (e.g., Bevacqua, Vousdoukas, Zappa, et al., 2020; Couasnon et al., 2019; Eilander et al., 2020; Lambert et al., 2020; Ridder et al., 2020; Ward et al., 2018), using observations and/or model hindcasts.

    In comparison, fewer studies have projected how the potential for compound flooding may change in the future. For instance, a global study projected the joint probability of extreme storm surges and precipitation to decrease in parts of the subtropics and to increase at higher latitudes (Bevacqua, Vousdoukas, Zappa, et al., 2020). For the United States, the joint probabilities of various flooding drivers were projected to increase due to sea-level rise, changes in extreme river discharge and changes in tropical cyclones (Ghanbari et al., 2019; Gori et al., 2022; Moftakhari et al., 2017). For most of Europe, the joint probability of extreme storm surges and precipitation was projected to increase by Bevacqua et al. (2019), predominantly due to the increasing probability of extreme precipitation. However, Ganguli et al. (2020) projected a decrease in the dependence and joint probability of extreme storm surges and river discharge in northwestern Europe. The differences between the projections of these studies are inconsistent with the finding that the joint probability of extreme storm surges and precipitation is generally comparable to that of extreme storm surges and river discharge at small to medium river catchments (Bevacqua, Vousdoukas, Shepherd, & Vrac, 2020).

    A common limitation of existing projections of the joint probability of flooding drivers is the small ensembles of global and/or regional climate model simulations on which they are based. For instance, Bevacqua, Vousdoukas, Zappa, et al. (2020) and Ganguli et al. (2020) based their projections on only 5 to 6 models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5; Taylor et al., 2012), using only a single, high-emissions scenario simulation per model. Consequently, these projections may be sensitive to the specific models that were used and provide a limited view of the uncertainties related to future emissions, internal climate variability and structural differences between models, especially since the skill of climate models in capturing the atmospheric conditions that may cause compound flooding varies (Ridder et al., 2021; Y. Wu et al., 2021). Some studies used larger multi-model ensembles to project changes in the joint probability of extremes (e.g., Bevacqua et al., 2023; Ridder et al., 2022; Sun et al., 2023), but none included storm surges as a driver.

    Furthermore, most projections of the joint probability of extremes in general are based on climate model ensembles that include only one initial-condition simulation per model. However, since co-occurring extremes are rare, estimates of their joint probability are sensitive to internal climate variability when derived from a single simulation, even when using a 50-year period from that simulation (Santos et al., 2021). Hence, as advocated by Bevacqua et al. (2023), projections of the potential for compound extremes would benefit from using single model initial-condition large ensembles (SMILEs). These are ensembles of simulations generated with the same external forcing but initialized at different times, so that internal climate variability has a different phase in each simulation and can be partially averaged out. Consequently, SMILEs can be used to develop more robust projections of the joint probability of extremes (Bevacqua et al., 2023) and to partition the total uncertainty of projections into uncertainties due to emissions scenarios, inter-model differences and internal climate variability (Lehner et al., 2020).

    Many global climate models from the current, sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) (Eyring et al., 2016) provide simulations for multiple initial-condition members. Including all these simulations for the analysis of compound flooding is challenging as storm surges and river discharge are not a direct output of global climate models but need to be derived from their simulations offline. This is typically done using computationally demanding hydrodynamic and hydrological models, respectively (e.g., Bevacqua, Vousdoukas, Zappa, et al., 2020; Ganguli et al., 2020). However, as a computationally more efficient alternative to hydrodynamic modeling, data-driven models have recently been developed to compute storm surges at large spatial scales (Bellinghausen et al., 2023; Bruneau et al., 2020; Tadesse & Wahl, 2021; Tadesse et al., 2020; Tiggeloven et al., 2021). Such statistical models, based on multi-linear regression (MLR) or other machine learning techniques, have been shown to perform similarly to or better than high-resolution hydrodynamic models such as the Global Tide and Surge Model (GTSM) of Muis et al. (2016, 2020, 2023) (Tadesse et al., 2020; Tiggeloven et al., 2021). Therefore, they may also be useful for projecting changes in the joint probability of extreme storm surges and other flooding drivers.

    Here, we project changes in the joint probability of extreme storm surges and precipitation and analyze their uncertainty using the simulations of a large ensemble of CMIP6 models, including all initial-condition members available for each model. To derive storm surge information from each simulation, we use the data-driven statistical model of Tadesse et al. (2020), which we will show is well suited for the analysis of the joint probability of storm surge and precipitation extremes. We limit our study to Europe, where data-driven storm surge models generally perform well (Bruneau et al., 2020; Tadesse et al., 2020; Tiggeloven et al., 2021). Storm surges are mainly caused by wind and sea-level pressure. Therefore, the probability of joint extreme wind speed and precipitation events, which can disrupt transport and power systems (e.g., Jaroszweski et al., 2015), is closely related to that of joint storm surge and precipitation extremes and helps to interpret the changes in the latter physically. Therefore, we consider changes in the probability of joint wind speed and precipitation extremes alongside changes in the probability of joint storm surge and precipitation extremes and compare them. Finally, we exploit the large ensemble of CMIP6 simulations to compare the ensemble mean changes to the effect of internal climate variability, partition the uncertainty of our projections and compute the ensemble size required for qualitatively robust projections in different locations.

    2 CMIP6 Data and Joint Extremes Analysis

    In this section, we explain which CMIP6 simulations we use and how we analyze the changes in the joint probability of extremes in these simulations.

    2.1 CMIP6 Data Used

    We analyze future changes in the joint probability of extremes for an intermediate and a high emissions scenario (shared socio-economic pathway scenarios SSP2-4.5 & SSP8.5, respectively; Meinshausen et al., 2020). As only few CMIP6 models provide simulations at a sub-daily frequency, we use daily mean CMIP6 simulations. Models are required to provide daily mean sea-level pressure (variable “psl”), surface wind speed (variable “sfcWind”) and precipitation flux (variable “pr”) output for the historical period (1850–2014) and at least one of the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios (2015–2100). To obtain time series for 1850–2100, each SSP simulation is appended to its corresponding historical simulation. Daily mean wind speed and precipitation flux time series (converted to daily accumulated precipitation) are used to analyze (changes in) the joint probability of wind speed and precipitation extremes (as explained in Sections 3 and 4), whereas daily mean wind speed and sea-level pressure time series are used as input to the statistical storm surge model (as explained in Section 9). Like Ridder et al. (2022), we use daily mean instead of daily maximum wind speed, as more CMIP6 simulations are available for the former.

    For several CMIP6 models, multiple realizations (denoted with “r” in the “ripf” variant label) are available that have been branched off from their preindustrial control run at different times. Because the phase of internal climate variability differs between these realizations, they can be used to average out part of the changes due to internal climate variability and better isolate the changes due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. In contrast to previous projections, we therefore include all available realizations of each CMIP6 model providing the output described above. The resulting data set includes over 20 terabytes of data from 27 different CMIP6 models (see Table 1 for an overview). To process this data efficiently and reproducibly, we use the Analysis-Ready Cloud Optimized CMIP6 data produced by the Pangeo/Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) Cloud Data Working Group (https://pangeo-data.github.io/pangeo-cmip6-cloud/), held in public Google Cloud Storage. The data sets summarized in Table 1 reflect data sets that were available to download and ingest via the pangeo-forge feedstock (Busecke & Stern, 2023) at the time of writing of this manuscript. The data is analyzed using the code in the CMIP6cex repository (Hermans & Busecke, 2024a), for which the xarray (Hoyer & Hamman, 2017) and xMIP (Busecke et al., 2023) python packages are important building blocks.

    Table 1. Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 Simulations Used
    Model SSP2-4.5 [#] SSP5-8.5 [#] Both [#] °Lon × °Lat Reference
    1 ACCESS-CM2 5 6 4 1.875 × 1.25 Bi et al. (2020)
    2 ACCESS-ESM1-5 38 35 33 1.875 × 1.25 Bi et al. (2020)
    3 CanESM5 25 25 25 2.8 × 2.8 Swart et al. (2019)
    4 CESM2 2 2 2 1.25 × 0.9 Danabasoglu et al. (2020)
    5 CESM2-WACCM 3 3 3 1.25 × 0.9 Danabasoglu et al. (2020)
    6 CMCC-ESM2 1 1 1 1.25 × 0.9 Lovato et al. (2022)
    7 CMCC-CM2-SR5 1 1 1 1.25 × 0.9 Cherchi et al. (2019)
    8 EC-Earth3 59 1 1 0.75 × 0.75 Döscher et al. (2022)
    9 EC-Earth3-Veg 1 0 0 0.75 × 0.75 Döscher et al. (2022)
    10 FGOALS-g3 1 0 0 2 × 2 L. Li et al. (2020)
    11 GFDL-CM4 1 1 1 1 × 1 Held et al. (2019)
    12 GFDL-ESM4 1 1 1 1 × 1 Dunne et al. (2020)
    13 HadGEM3-GC31-LL 5 4 4 1.875 × 1.25 Andrews et al. (2020)
    14 HadGEM3-GC31-MM 0 4 0 0.83 × 0.56 Andrews et al. (2020)
    15 INM-CM4-8 1 1 1 2 × 1.5 Volodin and Gritsun (2018)
    16 INM-CM5-8 1 1 1 2 × 1.5 Volodin et al. (2017)
    17 IPSL-CM6A-LR 11 7 6 2.5 × 1.3 Boucher et al. (2020)
    18 KACE-1-0-G 3 3 3 Not reported Lee et al. (2020)
    19 MIROC6 43 50 43 1.4 × 1.4 Tatebe et al. (2019)
    20 MIROC6-ES2L 10 1 1 2.8 × 2.8 Hajima et al. (2020)
    21 MPI-ESM1-2-LR 24 24 24 1.88 × 1.88 Mauritsen et al. (2019)
    22 MPI-ESM1-2-HR 2 2 2 0.93 × 0.93 Mauritsen et al. (2019)
    23 MRI-ESM2-0 1 1 1 0.75 × 0.75 Yukimoto et al. (2019)
    24 NorESM2-LL 3 1 1 2.5 × 1.88 Seland et al. (2020)
    25 NorESM2-MM 2 1 1 1.25 × 0.94 Seland et al. (2020)
    26 TaiESM1 1 1 1 1.25 × 0.9 Wang et al. (2021)
    27 UKESM1-0-LL 5 5 5 1.875 × 1.25 Sellar et al. (2020)

    Prior to the analysis, we bilinearly interpolated the simulations of each model to a common grid with a 1.5° × 1.5° resolution, using xESFM (Zhuang et al., 2023). A 1.5° × 1.5° grid roughly corresponds with the average resolution of the CMIP6 models (Table 1). The effects of orography and coastlines and mesoscale processes such as fronts and convection may be better resolved by models with a higher resolution, but these typically provide fewer simulations. Ensemble statistics are computed and displayed on the common 1.5° × 1.5° grid. The regridded simulations are also used as input to the statistical storm surge model (as described in Section 9).

    2.2 Definition of Joint Extremes

    In this study, we consider two types of compound extremes: (a) the combination of extreme daily mean wind speed and extreme daily accumulated precipitation, and (b) the combination of extreme daily maximum storm surge and extreme daily accumulated precipitation. While compound events can already be impactful if only one of their drivers is extreme (Wahl et al., 2015), we focus on the case in which both drivers are extreme, similar to previous studies (Bevacqua et al., 2019; Bevacqua, Vousdoukas, Zappa, et al., 2020; Ganguli et al., 2020; Ridder et al., 2022). We define extreme events using a peak-over-threshold (POT) analysis instead of using annual maxima, because this allows us to consider multiple extremes occurring in a single year and avoids including annual maxima that are not extreme.

    Previous POT analyses have often used the same threshold percentile or used thresholds resulting in the same number of declustered extremes for each location and variable (e.g., Bevacqua, Vousdoukas, Zappa, et al., 2020; Camus et al., 2021; Ganguli et al., 2020; Hendry et al., 2019; Ridder et al., 2020); a pragmatic approach which we also adopt here. For Europe, Camus et al. (2021) found that using 3 vs 6 declustered extremes per year resulted in similar bivariate dependence patterns for several combinations of compound flooding drivers. Therefore, we use the 98th percentile of daily values as a threshold, which results in a number of extremes slightly higher than 6 per year. Hence, wind speed (w), storm surge (s) and precipitation (p) extremes are defined as P = p ≥ p98, W = w ≥ w98 and S = s ≥ s98, respectively, and joint extreme wind speed and precipitation and joint extreme storm surges and precipitation events as days on which those extremes co-occur (W ∧ P and S ∧ P, respectively). As a baseline, we only consider extremes that occur on the same day and do not decluster the extremes prior to the analysis. The sensitivity of our projections to these methods is discussed in Section 17.

    2.3 Future Changes in the Joint Probability of Extremes

    We analyze the joint probability of extremes empirically by counting the number of joint extremes (NW∧P and NS∧P) and standardizing those numbers by the length of the time period considered, as done by Camus et al. (2021), Couasnon et al. (2019), Hendry et al. (2019), and Ridder et al. (2020, 2022).

    2.3.1 Computing Future Changes

    To compute the changes in the number of joint extremes that the CMIP6 models simulate (ΔNW∧P and ΔNS∧P), we define two 40-year periods centered around 2000 (1981–2020) and 2080 (2061–2100) as the historical and future periods, respectively. We then compute ΔNW∧P (and similarly, ΔNS∧P) as the difference in the number of joint extremes between these periods:
    Δ⁢
    ]]>     Coastal Area Storm Intensification https://sdgtalks.ai/coastal-area-storm-intensification https://sdgtalks.ai/coastal-area-storm-intensification Sun, 05 May 2024 23:16:35 -0500 Cole Baggett Storms, Coastal

    Tropical cyclones (TCs) that intensify close to the coast pose a major socio-economic threat and are a substantial challenge from an operational standpoint. Therefore understanding historical trends in nearshore storm intensification and how they may change in future is of considerable significance. Despite this, few studies examined this key aspect of TCs at the global scale. Here we show, using an analysis of observations and atmospheric reanalyses, that the mean TC intensification rate has increased significantly over the period 1979–2020 primarily aided by increases in relative humidity and decreases in vertical wind shear. Further, high-resolution climate models, which explicitly resolve TCs, suggest that nearshore TC intensification will continue to increase in future. These increases in coastal TC intensification rates can mainly be attributed to stronger projected decreases in vertical wind shear. To better understand wind shear projections, a suite of idealized numerical experiments with an intermediate complexity model were conducted. The experiments indicate that enhanced warming in the upper-troposphere and changing heating patterns are likely responsible.

    Abstract

    Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, few studies explored nearshore storm intensification and its response to climate change at the global scale. Here, we address this using a suite of observations and numerical model simulations. Over the historical period 1979–2020, observations reveal a global mean TC intensification rate increase of about 3 kt per 24-hr in regions close to the coast. Analysis of the observed large-scale environment shows that stronger decreases in vertical wind shear and larger increases in relative humidity relative to the open oceans are responsible. Further, high-resolution climate model simulations suggest that nearshore TC intensification will continue to rise under global warming. Idealized numerical experiments with an intermediate complexity model reveal that decreasing shear near coastlines, driven by amplified warming in the upper troposphere and changes in heating patterns, is the major pathway for these projected increases in nearshore TC intensification.

    Key Points

    • Tropical cyclone (TC) intensification rates have increased in near coastal regions over the 42-year period 1979-2020

    • Increases in relative humidity along with decreases in vertical wind shear are responsible

    • Climate models project a continued increase in nearshore TC intensification rates with decreasing wind shear playing a crucial role

    Plain Language Summary

    Tropical cyclones (TCs) that intensify close to the coast pose a major socio-economic threat and are a substantial challenge from an operational standpoint. Therefore understanding historical trends in nearshore storm intensification and how they may change in future is of considerable significance. Despite this, few studies examined this key aspect of TCs at the global scale. Here we show, using an analysis of observations and atmospheric reanalyses, that the mean TC intensification rate has increased significantly over the period 1979–2020 primarily aided by increases in relative humidity and decreases in vertical wind shear. Further, high-resolution climate models, which explicitly resolve TCs, suggest that nearshore TC intensification will continue to increase in future. These increases in coastal TC intensification rates can mainly be attributed to stronger projected decreases in vertical wind shear. To better understand wind shear projections, a suite of idealized numerical experiments with an intermediate complexity model were conducted. The experiments indicate that enhanced warming in the upper-troposphere and changing heating patterns are likely responsible.

    1 Introduction

    Tropical Cyclones (TCs) rank among the most destructive natural hazards, causing considerable socio-economic damages annually worldwide (Cerveny et al., 2017; K. Emanuel, 2003; Noy, 2016). With studies suggesting that the impacts from TCs will rise under climate change (Gettelman et al., 2018; Mendelsohn et al., 2012; Peduzzi et al., 2012), it is pertinent to understand how TCs may change close to the coast, where their societal influence is most profound. Recent studies have shown that under global warming, several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts upon landfall will likely change. For instance, TCs may traverse more slowly and cause more flooding (Hall & Kossin, 2019; Kossin, 2018), increase in strength and produce more rainfall (Patricola & Wehner, 2018; Scoccimarro et al., 2017; Wright et al., 2015), achieve their lifetime maximum intensity closer to the coast (S. Wang & Toumi, 2021) and decay more slowly over land (L. Li & Chakraborty, 2020). Further, the ocean surface has warmed more over the past century along the western boundaries of the global ocean basins near major coastlines (Wu et al., 2012). However, it remains unclear how storm intensification may change in the important nearshore region.

    TCs that undergo rapid intensification shortly before landfall pose a major threat to coastal communities, and theory suggests such events are expected to become more frequent and severe as the climate continues to warm (K. Emanuel, 2017). For example, Typhoon Rai (2021) intensified rapidly to Category five strength just before making landfall over the southern islands of Philippines with devastating impacts, including hundreds of fatalities (Mata et al., 2023). In May 2023, Cyclone Mocha intensified rapidly in the Bay of Bengal to become the strongest cyclone on record in the North Indian Ocean and caused severe human losses in Bangladesh and Myanmar (World Health Organization, 2023). Similarly, Hurricanes Ida (2021) and Ian (2022) underwent phases of rapid intensification before striking the coasts of Louisiana and Florida, respectively, resulting in catastrophic damage (Reinhart, 2023; Zhu et al., 2022). Studies have shown that the magnitude and frequency of TC rapid intensification have increased in the Atlantic (Balaguru et al., 2018; K. T. Bhatia et al., 2019; K. Bhatia et al., 2022) and the northwestern Pacific (K. Bhatia et al., 2022; Song et al., 2020). Furthermore, it was found that during the past 40 years TCs approaching the US Atlantic coast and the East Asian coast have experienced stronger intensification (Balaguru et al., 2022; Garner, 2023; X. Li et al., 2023; R. C. Li et al., 2017; Mei & Xie, 2016; Park et al., 2014). In a recent study, Y. Li et al. (2023) conducted a global analysis, revealing a notable rise in the frequency of rapid intensification events within coastal regions. Nevertheless, a comprehensive examination of TC intensity changes in the critical nearshore region has not been conducted at the global scale. Additionally, the majority of these studies concentrated on historical observations, without taking into account future projections of TCs. In this study, we examine observed changes in nearshore TC intensification and the large-scale environment over the historical period, project changes into the future using climate model simulations and delve into the responsible mechanisms using idealized numerical model experiments.

    2 Data, Model, and Methods

    2.1 Data

    TC track data obtained from the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) (Knapp et al., 2010) are used to estimate 24-hr TC intensification rates for the 42-year period 1979–2020. Similarly, TC track data based on the Advanced Dvorak Technique-Hurricane Satellite record (ADT-HURSAT) (Kossin et al., 2020) are also used to compute TC intensification rates and validate the signal based on IBTrACS. ADT-HURSAT data are available for the 40-year period 1978–2017 (Kossin et al., 2020). We obtain monthly mean sea surface temperature (SST) from the UK Met Office's Hadley Center (Rayner et al., 2003) for the period 1979–2020. We also obtain monthly mean winds, relative humidity (RH), sea-level pressure and air temperature for the same period from NCEP-DOE II reanalysis (Kanamitsu et al., 2002). These data are used to understand changes in various TC environmental parameters, including SST, vertical wind shear (VWS), RH and potential intensity. Monthly mean SST, winds and RH are also obtained from ERA5 reanalysis (Hersbach et al., 2020) to further support our main findings based on Hadley SST and NCEP-DOE II reanalysis.

    2.2 Model

    TC track data are obtained for five fully coupled climate models belonging to the High Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) and used to compute projected changes in TC intensification rates. The various models, including the number of ensembles (shown in brackets), are: CNRM-CM6-1-HR (1), EC-Earth3P-HR (2), HadGEM3-GC31-HH (1), HadGEM3-GC31-HM (3) and MPI-ESM1-2-XR (1). The models selected have an atmospheric spatial resolution of about 50 km or higher (Roberts et al., 2020). Tracks from the “hist-1950” simulations covering the 36-year period 1979–2014, and tracks from the “highres-future” simulations covering the 36-year period 2015–2050 are used. The TC tracks from HighResMIP that we use in this study are based on TempestExtremes (Ullrich & Zarzycki, 2017), a scale-aware feature tracking software that operates on the model's native grid. Projections of TC activity using TempestExtremes, which tracks TC vortices based on sea-level pressure anomalies, are broadly consistent with those using a tracker that operates on vorticity anomalies (Roberts et al., 2020), suggesting that our results may not be overly sensitive to the choice of the TC tracking algorithm. Monthly mean data from a single ensemble member realization of these five models are also employed to analyze trends in the TC environment over the 72-year period spanning from 1979 to 2050. Furthermore, monthly mean data from 15 climate models, which are part of the Scenario Model Intercomparison Project (ScenarioMIP)—a subset of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), are utilized to project future trends in VWS. This data is assessed for the 86-year timeframe from 2015 to 2100, considering the “SSP585” emissions scenario. The various models used are: ACCESS-CM2, BCC-CSM2-MR, CESM2, CMCC-CM2-SR5, CNRM-ESM2-1, CanESM5, E3SM-1-1, EC-Earth3, GFDL-CM4, INM-CM5-0, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MIROC6, MPI-ESM1-2-LR, MRI-ESM2.0, and UKESM1-0-LL. Further details regarding the various CMIP6 and HighResMIP models used in this study have been provided previously (Balaguru et al., 2022).

    To better understand projected VWS changes in the nearshore regions of the Northern Hemisphere, we apply a time-dependent, primitive equation anomaly model to conduct numerical sensitivity experiments. The Stationary Wave Model (SWM) (Ting & Yu, 1998) used in this study is the dry dynamical core of the NOAA/GFDL spectral model, with R30 horizontal resolution (roughly 2.25° latitude × 3.75° longitude) and 24 vertical sigma layers. Furthermore, various damping terms including Rayleigh friction, Newtonian cooling, and biharmonic diffusion are used in the SWM to prevent model-generated baroclinic instability and obtain a quasi-steady solution. The damping coefficients used here are the same as those employed by previous studies (Chang et al., 2023; Held et al., 2002; Ting et al., 2001). More details about the model equations can be found in the appendix of Ting and Yu (1998). All SWM simulations are run for 100 days, and a quasi-steady state is reached by day 30. The average from days 31 to 100 is presented for the following results.

    Following a previously used experimental design (Balaguru et al., 2023a), here we perform five independent integrations using the SWM. Our control experiment (CTRL) solves deviations in surface pressure, three-dimensional temperature, and winds from the zonally symmetric climate during the near-future period of 2015–2034. In the SWM, zonally asymmetric circulation features arise due to longitudinal asymmetries in topography, diabatic heating, and transient eddies. It is worth noting that synoptic eddies cannot be explicitly simulated by the SWM, and their aggregated effects are considered as a fixed forcing term (see Text S1 in Supporting Information S1 for more details). The experiment that simulates the steady, zonally asymmetric circulation response to the imposed forcings superimposed on a zonal-mean basic state during the late 21st century (2081–2100) is referred to as “Future.” Additionally, we investigate the individual contributions of the anomalous basic state, diabatic heating, and transient forcing to the projected response in VWS through a series of sensitivity runs, labeled as: CTRL + ΔBS, CTRL + ΔDH, and CTRL + ΔTranF, respectively. In each sensitivity experiment, only the Future input of interest is used, and all other inputs remain the same as those in the CTRL run. Table S1 in Supporting Information S1 provides a summary of the various experiments performed in this study. Equations used to calculate the imposed forcing terms, including diabatic heating and transient momentum fluxes, are shown in Text S1 in Supporting Information S1.

    2.3 Methods

    The TC intensification rate is estimated as the linear regression coefficient of the storm maximum wind speed over five successive 6-hr track locations, including the current location. Locations where the center of the TC crosses land at any point during this period are excluded from our analysis. Also, we only consider TC track locations that are at least 18 hr apart to ensure that they are independent (Kossin et al., 2020). In this study, we define “nearshore” as a distance within approximately 3° or about 200 nautical miles of the coastline (Balaguru et al., 2022). Besides being a definition adopted by the United Nations for economic reasons, this is the approximate distance traveled by a TC in a day, based on the global mean translation speed of about 4.8 m s−1 (Yamaguchi et al., 2020). In addition to using a “distance from the coast threshold,” we also use thresholds for wind and translation speeds to sub-sample data. This is to ensure that distributions of storm state for the two comparative periods are statistically similar. For the global observational and HighResMIP TC intensification analysis, the distance from coast (d), wind speed (w) and translation speed (t) thresholds used to identify “nearshore” TC track locations are as follows: d ≤ 3.0°, 35 kt ≤ w ≤ 75 kt, 3 ms−1 ≤ t ≤ 10 ms−1. On the other hand, “offshore” is simply everywhere else in the basin where the distance threshold is not satisfied. Note that the corresponding wind speed and translation speed thresholds are also applied to subsample the offshore data in various basins. For all probability distributions of TC intensification rates, uncertainty or error bars are estimated based on the “Monte Carlo” method of repeated random sampling (Balaguru et al., 2022). From a given distribution, we randomly select approximately half of the samples to generate a Probability Distribution Function (PDF), a process that is repeated a thousand times. Following this, the mean and standard deviation estimated across the PDFs produced yield the corresponding mean PDF and error bar magnitudes, respectively.

    For computing trends in environmental parameters, the domains used for the various coastlines are as follows: US East and Gulf coasts (10°N–45°N, 100°W–20°W), Mexican west coast (10°N–45°N, 140°W–100°W), East Asian coast (10°N–45°N, 100°E−180°E), South Asian coast (10°N–30°N, 50°E−100°E), Southeast African coast (30°S–10°S, 30°E−80°E) and Australian coast (30°S–10°S, 80°E−160°W). In each domain, locations that are within 3° of the coastline are considered “nearshore” and the other locations are treated as “offshore.” On the other hand, note that terms such as “North Atlantic” or “Northwest Pacific” refer more generally to the various ocean regions, which include the nearshore and offshore regions. VWS is estimated as the magnitude of the vector difference in horizontal winds between 200 and 850 hPa. All parameters are averaged over the months of Jun–October in the Northern Hemisphere and December-April in the Southern Hemisphere when 90% of TCs tend to occur. Finally, thermodynamic potential intensity (K. A. Emanuel, 1999) is used to support results based on SST.

    3 Results

    We begin by analyzing observed changes in global 24-hr TC intensification rates (see “Methods”) in the nearshore region over the period 1979–2020 (Figure 1). This coincides with the satellite era, when TC data is more reliable (Moon et al., 2019), and with modern reanalyses that resolve the ambient environment with higher fidelity (Gerber & Martineau, 2018). Probability distributions of nearshore TC intensification rates reveal a noticeable shift toward higher values of intensification for the second half of the 42-year period (Figure 1b). The global mean TC intensification rate for 1979–1999 is 0.37 kt 6-hr−1. However, for the later period of 2000–2020, the intensification rate is 1.15 kt 6-hr−1, which roughly translates to a 3 kt increase in intensity over a 24-hr interval. This increase in nearshore TC intensification, statistically significant at the 5% level, indicates that storms have intensified more quickly in the later period close to the coast. Over the same period, the mean offshore TC intensification rate has not increased significantly (Figure S1 in Supporting Information S1). These results are in good agreement with those of Y. Li et al. (2023) who showed a larger increase in instances of TC rapid intensification in coastal regions relative to offshore regions over a similar period. Note that the results are not contaminated by variations in storm state, since the TC data have been subsampled so that the distributions of storm initial intensity and translation speed are statistically similar for the two periods (Balaguru et al., 2018, 2022). While these are results based on best track data from IBTrACS (Knapp et al., 2010), similar results are obtained (Figure S2 in Supporting Information S1) when using TC track data derived from a homogenized record of geostationary satellite images (Kossin et al., 2020), highlighting their robustness.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 1
    Open in figure viewerPowerPoint

    (a) Nearshore TC track locations used in this analysis. (b) Probability distributions of 24-hr TC intensification rates for the initial period (1979–1999) in blue, later period (2000–2020) in orange and the difference in green. The mean TC intensification rates for the two periods and the corresponding sample sizes, and the mean difference including the p-value, are shown in the figure legend. A Student's t-test for difference of means is used to ascertain statistical significance. The error bars have been estimated using the Monte Carlo method of repeated random sampling. Note that the data have been sub-sampled to ensure that distributions of storm state are statistically similar for the two periods (see “Methods”). TC track data are based on IBTrACS (Knapp et al., 2010).

    The results for individual basins (Table 1) are broadly consistent with global mean changes. For all regions except the west coast of Mexico, the change in nearshore intensification rate is larger than the change over the rest of the corresponding basin. However, changes for the Mexican west coast, which has the least number of landfalls among all major TC basins (Weinkle et al., 2012), are not statistically significant. Changes are also insignificant for the South Asian coast, likely due to the limited number of TCs in the North Indian Ocean (Weinkle et al., 2012). For the US East and Gulf coasts, Southeast African coast and Australian coast, the changes in the nearshore TC intensification rates are about 1–3 kt 6-hr−1 larger than in the corresponding offshore regions. Despite a smaller difference in the northwestern Pacific (0.5 kt 6-hr−1), the nearshore TC intensification rate still shows a stronger increase compared to regions away from the coast (Table 1). To better understand these changes in TC intensification rates, we now examine the evolution of certain large-scale environmental parameters that play critical roles in storm intensification (Tao & Zhang, 2014).

    Table 1. Observed Changes in the Mean Nearshore and Offshore TC Intensification Rates for Major Coastlines of the World and for the 42-Year Period 1979–2020
    US East and Gulf coasts Mexican West coast East Asian coast South Asian coast Southeast African coast Australian coast
    Nearshore Intensification rate (kt 6-hr−1) 2.72 −0.73 1.03 1.44 1.88 1.69
    Offshore intensification rate (kt 6-hr−1) −0.35 −0.24 0.53 0.60 0.58 0.83
    • Note. TC track data from IBTrACS (Knapp et al., 2010) are used for the analysis. The values in bold indicate that the change in the mean intensification rate is statistically significant at the 95% level based on a Student's t-test for difference of means. Note that the global thresholds for sub-sampling provided in “Methods” have been slightly modified in each basin to account for regional variations in storm state.

    Trends in observed SST, based on data from the UK Met Office's Hadley Center (Rayner et al., 2003), indicate that a broad warming of the upper ocean has occurred over the North Atlantic, northern and southwestern Pacific, and tropical Indian Ocean regions (Figure 2a) from 1979 to 2020. In the eastern tropical Pacific, however, there is a La Niña-like cooling trend (Kohyama et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2011). Next we evaluate trends in VWS and 600-hPa RH derived from the NCEP-DOE atmospheric reanalysis II (Kanamitsu et al., 2002). Over the period of 1979–2020, VWS decreased broadly in the tropical Indian Ocean, near the US coast and over the subtropical North Pacific, including the coastal regions of East Asia (Figure 2b). On the other hand, strong increases in VWS are visible over the central and eastern tropical Pacific. RH shows a decrease in the tropics, particularly south of the equator and across the subtropical North Pacific (Figure 2c). Conversely, positive RH trends are observed near the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the northeastern tropical Pacific, the Mexican west coast, parts of the East Asian coast, the northwestern Arabian Sea coast, near Madagascar, and over the Maritime Continent near the Australian coast. To discern the role of these environmental changes in TC intensification noted earlier (Figure 1 and Table 1), we computed their global mean nearshore and offshore trends (Figure 3).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 2
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    Spatial pattern of trends in (a) SST (°C year−1), (b) VWS (m s−1 year−1) and (c) RH (% year−1) for the 42-year period 1979–2020. The parameters have been averaged over the months of June-October in the Northern Hemisphere and December-April in the Southern Hemisphere. While the SST data are from the UK Met Office's Hadley Center, atmospheric winds and humidity are from NCEP-DOE II reanalysis. Stippling indicates that trends are statistically significant at the 5% level.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 3
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    Coastal and offshore trends in (a) SST (°C year−1), (b) Vertical Wind Shear (m s−1 year−1), and (c) Relative Humidity at 600 hPa (% year−1). The parameters have been averaged over the months of June–October in the Northern Hemisphere and December–April in the Southern Hemisphere. The trend values and the p-values for statistical significance, based on the Student's t-test, are shown in the figure legends. For further details regarding the domains used for averaging, please see “Methods.” Trends are based on Hadley SST (Rayner et al., 2003) and NCEP-DOE II atmospheric reanalysis (Kanamitsu et al., 2002). In each panel, shading represents the 95% confidence intervals.

    Globally, nearshore SST keeps pace with offshore SST. The rate of SST warming in both the nearshore and offshore regions is about 0.014°C year−1 (Figure 3a). The use of Potential Intensity, an estimate of the maximum intensity that a TC can attain under the given ocean-atmosphere conditions (K. A. Emanuel, 1999), yields consistent results (Figure S3 in Supporting Information S1). These results are in good agreement with (Y. Li et al., 2023) who showed similar rates of increase for maximum potential intensity near coastal and offshore regions. Trends in VWS are negative for both the nearshore and offshore regions, with the magnitude of the nearshore trend (−0.026 m s−1 year−1) considerably larger than the offshore trend (−0.011 m s−1 year−1). A stronger weakening of global nearshore VWS is primarily driven by substantial decreases of VWS near the East Asian and Australian coasts (Table S2 in Supporting Information S1). In addition, for the nearshore region, the RH trend is positive and significant (0.057% year−1), in contrast to the offshore region where the trend is positive but weak. The nearshore RH trend is dominated by increases near the US and Australian coasts (Table S2 in Supporting Information S1). These results, which imply that the large-scale environment has become more favorable for storm development in the nearshore region compared to the offshore region, are in excellent agreement with those of Y. Li et al. (2023). Despite the initial use of Hadley SST and NCEP-DOE Reanalysis II for the storm environment analysis, substituting ERA5 reanalysis data (Hersbach et al., 2020) leads to consistent conclusions. This indicates that our findings are not sensitive to specific data sources (Figure S4 in Supporting Information S1).

    We have shown a significant rise in the average intensification rate of nearshore TCs on a global scale during 1979–2020, and this increase is likely driven by an interplay of various environmental changes occurring over the same time frame. The findings raise questions about the probability that the trends will persist into the future and the possible contribution of anthropogenic forcing. To address this, we computed changes in TC intensification based on simulations from HighResMIP (Haarsma et al., 2016). In HighResMIP, a subset of CMIP6 (Eyring et al., 2016), climate models are run at a spatial resolution that is high enough to allow explicit simulation of TCs (Roberts et al., 2020). See “Methods” for further information related to the various models used in our analysis. It's noteworthy that the HighResMIP models, despite their high resolution, simulate weaker changes in TC intensity compared to the best track data (Figure S5 in Supporting Information S1). Therefore, we only use HighResMIP in this study for a qualitative assessment of the impacts of climate change on TC intensification but not for a direct comparison with observations. Again, TC track locations near all major coastlines are considered in our analysis (Figure 4a). Locations where the intensity of the TC is below “Tropical Storm” strength (34 kt) are excluded from our analysis. The historical period covers the years 1979–2014, while the future period spans 2015–2050. The future climate is based on the “SSP585” emissions scenario in which the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases is expected to reach 8.5 W m−2 by the end of 21st century (O’Neill et al., 2016). Also, TC track data is subsampled to ensure that the distributions of TC initial intensity and translation speed are statistically similar for the two comparative periods and that any two track locations are at least 18 hr apart for sample independence.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 4
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    (a) Nearshore TC track locations used in this analysis. (b) Probability distributions of 24-hr TC intensification rates for the historical period (1979–2014) in blue, later period (2015–2050) in orange and the difference in green. The mean TC intensification rates for the two periods and the corresponding sample sizes, and the mean difference including the p-value, are shown in the figure legend. The error bars have been estimated using the Monte Carlo method of repeated random sampling. Note that the data have been sub-sampled to ensure that distributions of storm state are statistically similar for the two periods (see “Methods”). TC track data are obtained from five fully coupled climate models belonging to HighResMIP (Haarsma et al., 2016). See “Methods” for more details regarding the various models and simulations used.

    Probability distributions of TC intensification rates based on HighResMIP suggest that in the nearshore region TCs will continue to strengthen faster in the future climate (Figure 4b). The mean intensification rate for the historical period of 1979–2014 is −0.07 kt 6-hr−1, and it increases to 0.03 kt 6-hr−1 for the future period of 2015–2050. Note that the mean intensification rate is weaker in HighResMIP relative to observations, likely because of limitations simulating intense storms. Further, there are increases in mean intensification rate in all coastal areas except near the west coast of Mexico and the Australian coast, and in those basins where there is an increase, the change in the nearshore region is greater than in the offshore region (Table 2). For the Mexican west and Australian coasts, the changes in nearshore TC intensification rates are insignificant. Throughout the study, we used a distance threshold of ∼3° to identify “nearshore” regions. Further sensitivity analysis with a varying distance threshold (Figure S6 in Supporting Information S1) shows that our results are not overly dependent on the exact choice of the threshold. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that the most significant increase in TC intensification occurs in proximity to the coastline, with a diminishing effect as one moves away from it, reinforcing the notion that the signal is predominantly coastal in nature and does not represent a basin-wide shift.

    Table 2. Projected Changes in the Mean Nearshore and Offshore TC Intensification Rates for Major Coastlines of the World and for the 72-Year Period 1979–2050
    US east and Gulf coasts Mexican West coast East Asian coast South Asian coast Southeast African coast Australian coast
    Nearshore Intensification rate (kt 6-hr−1) 0.27 −0.11 0.21 0.14 0.10 0.02
    Offshore Intensification (kt 6-hr−1) 0.00 0.03 0.02 −0.08 −0.02 −0.00
    • Note. TC track data are based on 5 fully coupled climate models from HighResMIP (Haarsma et al., 2016). See “Methods” for further details regarding the various models used. While data for the period 1979–2014 are from the “hist-1950” simulations, data for the period 2015–2050 are from the “highres-future” simulations. The values in bold indicate that the change in the mean intensification rate is statistically significant at the 95% level based on a Student's t-test for difference of means. Note that the global thresholds for sub-sampling provided in “Methods” have been slightly modified in each basin to account for regional variations in storm state.

    To better understand these projections of TC intensification rate, we computed multi-model ensemble mean trends in SST, VWS and RH based on the same HighResMIP models (see “Methods”). Trends are computed over the 72-year period 1979–2050 and under the SSP585 emissions scenario. Again, as in observations, the trend in global mean nearshore SST aligns with the offshore SST trend (Figure S7 in Supporting Information S1). While VWS exhibits a decreasing trend in the nearshore region, the corresponding trend for the offshore region is insignificant. Similarly, a stronger increasing RH trend is obtained for the nearshore region compared to the offshore region. These results are in line with those of Y. Li et al. (2023), who showed that increasing anthropogenic forcing is likely contributing to a relatively more favorable nearshore environment for TC intensification. Thus far, our analysis of multiple observations and multi-model ensembles indicates that a stronger decrease in VWS and a larger increase in RH near the coast relative to offshore regions are responsible for the greater increase in nearshore TC intensification. Several prior studies have suggested that RH will rise in oceanic regions owing to enhanced surface evaporation as the climate warms (Laîné et al., 2014; Lorenz et al., 2010; Schneider et al., 2010; Zhou et al., 2023). Based on energetic and hydrological balances, global-mean precipitation and oceanic evaporation must increase at a similar pace, approximately 2% per K, in response to global warming. Further, when it comes to a larger increase in coastal RH, increasing land-sea thermal contrast, and the consequent enhancement of lower-level cyclonic vorticity near the land-sea boundary, may play a role in some regions (Balaguru et al., 2022). However, in contrast to the extensively studied RH response in a warmer world, how VWS will change at the global scale and the underlying physical rationales have not been systematically investigated.

    To address this, we examine projected long-term trends in VWS using a larger multi-model ensemble including 15 CMIP6 models under the SSP585 emissions scenario (Figure S8 in Supporting Information S1). Consistent with previous findings, the CMIP6 multi-model projects significant decreasing and increasing trends in VWS for nearshore and offshore regions, respectively (Figure S8a in Supporting Information S1). A closer examination of future trends in VWS for different coastal regions reveals that the global mean decrease is primarily due to changes in the Northern Hemisphere (Figure S8b in Supporting Information S1). More specifically, near the US, East Asian and South Asian coasts, there are substantial decreasing trends in VWS of about −0.01 to −0.02 m s−1 year−1. Therefore, to explain the observed and projected changes in nearshore TC intensification, we need to understand the physical mechanisms driving changes in atmospheric circulation and how they affect VWS. To answer this, we performed a set of idealized numerical sensitivity experiments with a nonlinear SWM (Ting & Yu, 1998). The SWM computes deviations from a zonally symmetric mean state when forced with asymmetric forcings, such as diabatic heating (see “Methods” for further details). Here we force the SWM with projected changes in zonal mean basic state, diabatic heating, and transient momentum forcings derived from CMIP6 models.

    When all changes are applied simultaneously, the SWM broadly replicates the shear response of CMIP6 models to anthropogenic forcing (Figures 5a and 5b). The SWM successfully captures the broad decline in VWS across various regions, including over the continental US (including near the US East and Gulf coasts) (Balaguru et al., 2022; Kossin, 2017; Ting et al., 2019), and along the East Asian coast between 20°N and 40°N (Hsu et al., 2021; Lee et al., 2019). However, deviations emerge in regions where the SWM either underestimates or overestimates the magnitude of changes. For example, it simulates a weaker decrease in VWS near the central Pacific Ocean around 20°N and a more pronounced increase in VWS over regions including northern Eurasia, the tropical northeast Pacific, and the northern parts of the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea (Figure 5b). On the other hand, CMIP6 models project a weak increase in shear (Figure 5a and Figure S7b in Supporting Information S1) and decreasing 600-hPa RH (not shown) over the northern parts of the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. In other words, the nearshore environment will not become more favorable for TC intensification over these regions. A plausible explanation for these discrepancies is that zonal-mean flows, transient eddies, and diabatic heating are coupled together and interact with each other in the full-physics CMIP6 models, but such interaction is prohibited in the SWM. Additionally, inaccuracy of the dissipation parameterization (Held et al., 2002) or other missing physical processes, such as nonlinear interactions between land and atmosphere (Douville, 2010; Koster et al., 2016; Teng et al., 2019), could contribute to disparities in the shear response. Nevertheless, regions where the SWM overestimates the shear increase, such as the central-to-eastern tropical Pacific and northern Eurasia, are far away from our region of interest (i.e., the coastal areas of the US and Asia). Therefore, the driving mechanisms responsible for shear changes over these regions are not the main focus of this study. Furthermore, despite the biases, the pattern correlation coefficient of VWS changes between the CMIP6 ensemble mean (Figure 5a) and the SWM's solution (Figure 5b) is 0.63 over the northern tropical-extratropical (0°–60°N) oceans. Given the SWM's ability to reproduce the overall spatial pattern of VWS changes, particularly over the coastal areas characterized by decreasing VWS, we can further decompose the effect of each forcing mechanism and investigate their relative importance.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 5
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    (a) Changes in VWS between the near-future (2015–2034) and late 21st century (2081–2100) periods based on 15 CMIP6 models. White stippling denotes the areas where the changes in are statistically significant at 95% level based on the Student's t-test. (b) Same as (a), but for changes simulated by the Stationary Wave Model (SWM). (c) Contribution from the anomalous heating to changes in the VWS. (d) and (e) are same as (c), but for contributions from the anomalous zonal-mean basic state and transient forcing, respectively. The future climate is based on the “SSP585” emissions scenario. See “Methods” for further details regarding the various models used in this analysis and the various experiments performed with the SWM.

    Examining the effects of individual forcings (Figures 5c–5e), it is clear that changes in diabatic heating (Figure 5c) and basic state (Figure 5d) are dominant in shaping the spatial pattern of shear response over the Northern Hemisphere, whereas the contribution of anomalous transient forcing is small (Figure 5e). Much of the shear response along the US coast and Mexican west coast is linked to anomalous heating forced by anthropogenic warming (Figure 5c). The meridional dipole-like response of VWS over the Central and North American region is mainly excited by enhanced heating over the tropical eastern Pacific, with a secondary contribution from anomalous diabatic cooling over the tropical North Atlantic (Figure S9a in Supporting Information S1) (Balaguru et al., 2023a). Circulation responses at different levels are largely consistent with Gill's model solution (Gill, 1980). Furthermore, the projected changes in heating patterns over the tropical Pacific and Atlantic are predominantly governed by the spatial distribution of future SST warming (Chadwick et al., 2014; Kent et al., 2015; Xie et al., 2010). On the other hand, climate change-induced anomalous heating has contrasting effects on the VWS in various regions of Asia. It contributes to a decrease in VWS near Taiwan and the southeastern coast of China, but tends to strengthen VWS over northeast Asia and the northern Indian Ocean (Figure 5c). Further investigation reveals that the meridional tripole-like pattern of VWS change over the Asian continent and the western North Pacific (Figure 5c) is mainly driven by the formation of a heat-induced stationary baroclinic Rossby wave (Figure S10 in Supporting Information S1). The circulation response exhibits a phase reversal in its vertical structure (Figure S10 in Supporting Information S1) and is likely reinforced by intensified heat sources over the western North Pacific and the Indian sub-continent (Figure S9a in Supporting Information S1) (Ting, 1994), consistent with the projected increases of monsoon precipitation over these regions (B. Wang et al., 2020; Z. Chen et al., 2020; He et al., 2020; Seo et al., 2013; Sun & Ding, 2010). At 200 hPa, the anomalous high contributes to an acceleration of the jet on its northern and southern flanks (Figure S10a in Supporting Information S1), which causes the VWS to increase between 40°N and 50°N and above the northern Indian Ocean (Figures 5b and 5c). On the other hand, the strengthened easterly wind between 20°N and 30°N (Figure S10a in Supporting Information S1) counteracts the weak westerlies above Taiwan and the coastal region of southeastern China, reducing the shear over these regions (Figure 5c).

    An altered zonal mean basic state is acting to decrease the VWS over Northeast Asia and the North Indian Ocean, while simultaneously causing a slight increase in shear near 40°N over North America (Figure 5d). In accordance with the anomalous cyclone centered near the Tibetan Plateau, the westerly jet near Korea and Japan, as well as the upper-level easterlies on the southern side of the Asian monsoon anticyclone both weaken (Figure S11 in Supporting Information S1). Meanwhile, anomalous anticyclones above Hawaii and the tropical-subtropical North Atlantic result in a slight enhancement of extratropical westerlies over the northern US (Figure S11 in Supporting Information S1). These upper-level circulation changes are consistent with the observed reductions in VWS over Northeast Asia and the North Indian Ocean, as well as the slight enhancement of shear near 40°N over North America (Figure 5d). Upon closer examination, it is observed that the changes in basic states cause an overall weakening in stationary wave circulations, especially south of 40°N (Figure S11 in Supporting Information S1). This outcome aligns with the slowdown of tropical convective circulations that is anticipated to occur in a warmer climate (Held & Soden, 2006; Vecchi & Soden, 2007). The coupling between vertical motion and rotational winds occurs through Sverdrup balance (Wills et al., 2019; T.-C. Chen, 2003). Alternatively, the upper tropospheric vorticity can be altered by the divergent winds through vortex stretching and vorticity advection, and one may interpret convectively forced upper-level divergence as a source for Rossby waves (Sardeshmukh & Hoskins, 1988). Decreased convective mass fluxes in the tropics, along with the slower overturning circulation, can be primarily attributed to the heightened static stability of the tropical-subtropical troposphere (Figure S9b in Supporting Information S1), which is a robust consequence of the quasi-moist adiabatic adjustment to surface warming (Held, 1993; Knutson & Manabe, 1995; Manabe & Wetherald, 1975). From the perspective of energy balance, the strength of the atmospheric overturning circulation must decrease as the climate warms because precipitation changes are constrained by small variations in radiative fluxes and cannot increase as fast as lower tropospheric moisture content (Betts, 1998; Held & Soden, 2006; Vecchi & Soden, 2007). An additional sensitivity experiment was conducted to further investigate the impact of increased warming in the upper troposphere on shear changes. The experiment only retains the enhanced upper-level warming (not shown). Interestingly, as compared to Figure 5d, the spatial pattern of VWS response over the Northern Hemisphere remains largely unchanged (not shown). Thus, we conclude that the enhanced static stability plays a crucial role in reducing the VWS across Northeast Asia and the North Indian Ocean.

    4 Discussion

    The results from our study have profound implications for populations living in coastal regions, operational forecasters, and decision makers. Under global warming, a heightened nearshore intensification rate implies a potential strengthening of landfalling TCs' destructive capacity, primarily determined by their maximum intensity and inner-core precipitation (Hsu et al., 2021). Changes in these factors are closely associated with the intensification rate of TCs within coastal regions (Chih et al., 2023; Hsu et al., 2021; R. C. Li et al., 2017; Park et al., 2014). The stronger winds and heavier precipitation produced by landfalling TCs can exacerbate the impacts of storm surge and increase the risk of coastal flooding (Timmermans et al., 2017, 2018; Woodruff et al., 2013). Combined with anticipated growth of coastal population and wealth, TCs striking coastal areas are likely to result in more substantial economic losses, fatalities, and property damages during the late 21st century (Hu et al., 2023; Huang et al., 2022). In our study, we only considered the coastlines of major continental landmasses affected by TCs as “nearshore.” However, several island regions across the world remain vulnerable to the disastrous effects of landfalling TCs. For instance, an examination of observed TC data for Philippines and Madagascar indicates that the mean nearshore TC intensification rate may also have increased for those regions (Figure S12 in Supporting Information S1). Future studies focusing on changing nearshore TC intensification for such regions, including the responsible mechanisms, are needed.

    In examining the large-scale circulation changes contributing to enhanced TC intensification, we observe a significant role played by the decrease in VWS near coastal areas, both over the historical period as well as in future projections (Figure 3 and Figure S7 in Supporting Information S1). This is partly because the US coastlines are situated in the subtropics (about 20°N–45°N) where changes in diabatic heating act to reduce VWS. Also, the nearshore regions over the Northwest Pacific and the North Indian Ocean are located on the eastern and southern flanks of the Asian monsoon anticyclone, respectively. Here, the weakening of the anticyclonic circulation near the Tibetan Plateau (Figure S11 in Supporting Information S1) can effectively reduce VWS (Ma & Yu, 2014; C. Wang & Wang, 2021; Zang et al., 2023). Past studies suggested that a poleward shift of the extratropical westerlies could decrease VWS and potentially increase TC risk near the populated midlatitude regions in Asia and North America (Kossin et al., 2014; Lee et al., 2019). Nevertheless, our SWM experiments reveal that the primary factor responsible for reducing shear over Northeast Asia is the enhanced tropical upper-level warming (Figure 5d and Figure S9b in Supporting Information S1). Additionally, inter-basin changes in diabatic heating are shown to play a critical role in contributing to the weakened VWS along the US coastlines (Figure 5c and Figure S9a in Supporting Information S1).

    Satellite measurements have revealed that the upper atmosphere has been warming at a faster rate than the surface since the year 2000, and the observed tropical tropospheric temperature trends have been accurately captured by current CMIP6 models (Vergados et al., 2021). The faster warming in the tropical upper troposphere is expected to continue during the late 21st century and is regarded as a robust climate projection across different models (Kumar et al., 2022). Therefore, to improve our confidence in future VWS projections, it is essential to understand the uncertainty of projected heating trends, which is closely related to inter-model spread in SST warming pattern (Chadwick et al., 2014; Kent et al., 2015; Xie et al., 2010). Previously, CMIP5 models did not have consensus regarding an El Niño-like warming pattern in the future (Dong et al., 2021). Although the potential for enhanced future warming in the eastern Pacific has emerged more clearly in the CMIP6 multi-model ensemble, considerable inter-model spread remains (Balaguru et al., 2023a; Dong et al., 2021). Further work is needed to reduce uncertainty in model projections of the tropical ocean-atmosphere mean state.

    Acknowledgments

    This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research as part of the Regional and Global Model Analysis (RGMA) program area through the Water Cycle and Climate Extremes Modeling (WACCEM) project and the collaborative, multiprogram Integrated Coastal Modeling (ICoM) project. The research used computational resources from the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a U.S. DOE User Facility supported by the Office of Science under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated for U.S. DOE by Battelle Memorial Institute under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. For CMIP5 and CMIP6, the U.S. DOE's Program for Climate Model Diagnostics and Intercomparison provides coordinating support and led the development of software infrastructure in partnership with the Global Organization for Earth System Science Portals. We acknowledge the World Climate Research Program's Working Group on Coupled Modeling, which is responsible for CMIP5 and CMIP6, and thank the climate modeling groups for producing and making available the model output. G.R.F. was funded by base funds to NOAA/AOML's Physical Oceanography Division.

    ]]>     Watershed Upkeep in Chile https://sdgtalks.ai/watershed-upkeep-in-chile https://sdgtalks.ai/watershed-upkeep-in-chile Sun, 05 May 2024 23:13:04 -0500 Cole Baggett Wetland loss, water management

    Cities are growing and the decisions that cities make about what they will either build in or exclude from their environments may put them at greater risk of flooding. Decisions to destroy wetlands to make room for new developments may be major causes of this greater flood risk. Flood risk in cities may also increase as the climate continues to change. Flooding severity might be reduced by taking advantage of or restoring natural wetlands, or even by constructing new wetlands. In Valdivia, Chile, a city with extensive wetland cover, we had city employees and community members create positive scenarios of development in Valdivia through the year 2080. Additionally, we used climate models to estimate rainfall volume during an extreme storm event in the year 2080. We modeled how the scenarios would change the wetlands in the city, and how those changes might in turn change the amount of flooding the city experiences under climate change. We found that flooding was worse in scenarios where more wetlands were lost than in scenarios where fewer wetlands were lost. We find clear benefits in conserving, restoring, and/or constructing wetlands to reduce flooding now and into the future.

    Abstract

    The relationship between cities and wetland cover varies across the globe, with some cities converting wetlands to low- and high-density urban cover and others preserving, conserving, or restoring wetlands, or constructing new ones. However, the scientific literature lacks studies relating changes in systemic flood risk in an urban stormwater management systems to changes in wetland cover. Furthermore, whether and how such relationships are affected by changing storm intensity under climate change is unknown. We present a case study on the effects of changes in urban wetland extent and storm intensity on flooding in an urban drainage system in Valdivia, Chile, under several co-produced future scenarios and historical trends of development. We used data derived from stakeholder workshops and historical landcover to determine four plausible scenarios of urban development, plus one business-as-usual scenario, in Valdivia through the year 2080. Additionally, we used historical precipitation data and downscaled climate data to estimate event rainfall from extreme storms in the year 2080. We found that system flood volume and time the system was flooded increased with increasing wetland loss and rainfall volume. Mean rate and hour of peak discharge were unaffected by wetland loss. Infiltration's relative role in reducing flooding diminished as wetland loss increased. Cities may still experience dangerous and/or unacceptable flooding even with extensive wetland coverage and will likely need to pair conservation with additional improvements in their stormwater management systems and contributing watersheds.

    Key Points

    • System flood volume increased with inland urban wetland loss under present-day and future extreme storms

    • The contribution of infiltration to flood mitigation decreased with wetland loss and overall wetland area

    • Visions of urban development created in stakeholder workshops resulted in lower flood risk than default development pathways

    Plain Language Summary

    Cities are growing and the decisions that cities make about what they will either build in or exclude from their environments may put them at greater risk of flooding. Decisions to destroy wetlands to make room for new developments may be major causes of this greater flood risk. Flood risk in cities may also increase as the climate continues to change. Flooding severity might be reduced by taking advantage of or restoring natural wetlands, or even by constructing new wetlands. In Valdivia, Chile, a city with extensive wetland cover, we had city employees and community members create positive scenarios of development in Valdivia through the year 2080. Additionally, we used climate models to estimate rainfall volume during an extreme storm event in the year 2080. We modeled how the scenarios would change the wetlands in the city, and how those changes might in turn change the amount of flooding the city experiences under climate change. We found that flooding was worse in scenarios where more wetlands were lost than in scenarios where fewer wetlands were lost. We find clear benefits in conserving, restoring, and/or constructing wetlands to reduce flooding now and into the future.

    1 Introduction

    Pluvial flooding is a major concern for residents of cities. Pluvial flooding is surface ponding or overland flow that occurs when rates of precipitation exceed the capacity of drainage systems and/or surfaces to remove it (Falconer et al., 2009). Pluvial floods can lead to loss of life, damage to property, and disruption of transportation networks (Chang et al., 2010; Douglas et al., 2010; Falconer et al., 2009; Yin et al., 2016). As a physical phenomenon, pluvial flooding results from interactions between rate of precipitation, urban stormwater management practices, and biophysical characteristics of the urban and peri-urban landscape (Westra et al., 2014). In many cities, one or all three of these interacting factors are changing in ways that may increase pluvial flood frequency, area, and damage. Even subdaily extreme rainfall has become more frequent and intense due to anthropogenic climate change (Westra et al., 2014; Wuebbles et al., 2014). Cities have historically prioritized mitigating the risks of fluvial and coastal flooding over pluvial flooding (Guerreiro et al., 2017). However, in recognition of pluvial flooding has in recent years garnered the attention of researchers and planners because understanding how to mitigate its causes and effects in urban areas is underdeveloped (Rosenzweig et al., 2018).

    The conservation, restoration, and construction of wetlands have all been suggested as measures to mitigate the risk of various forms of flooding in many different ecosystem types. The ability of coastal wetlands to reduce coastal flooding has been explored in depth and in a diverse array of ecosystems (Arkema et al., 2013; Narayan et al., 2017; Nicholls et al., 1999; Rojas et al., 2019; Van Coppenolle & Temmerman, 2019, 2020). The effects of wetland presence on riverine flooding have received notable attention as well. Neri-Flores et al. (2019) modeled the capacity of wetland preservation to reduce riverine flooding caused by hurricane storm surges. Pomeroy et al. (2014) modeled how preserved inland wetlands can reduce riverine flooding driven by snowmelt. Yang et al. (2010) modeled how the restoration of wetlands in a Canadian prairie watershed can reduce peak river discharge and flooding. In a review of 28 modeling and empirical studies of the effects of wetlands on flow regimes in rivers, Kadykalo and Findlay (2016) found that wetlands generally reduced the frequency and magnitude of flooding, with one exception in a forest wetland system (Lundin, 1994). Historically, attributions of the positive water regulation services of wetlands have their bases in studies in non-urban riverine or coastal wetlands (Costanza et al., 1997; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).

    Only recently has research explored the abilities of inland urban wetlands to reduce urban pluvial flood risk, or how the incorporation of wetlands in an urban stormwater management system might alter the system's performance. The theory and practice of inland wetland restoration and construction in urban areas to reduce pluvial flood risk is relatively new in academia and among stormwater managers (Chan et al., 2018; Elmqvist et al., 2015), and modeling and empirical studies of the effects of wetland restoration and construction in urban areas are rare. Some cities have added inland wetlands to their portfolios of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI; otherwise referred to as a form of green infrastructure, urban ecological infrastructure (Childers et al., 2019), or, more broadly, nature-based solutions) or suggested that the construction, restoration, or incorporation of inland wetlands be included in sustainable urban drainage systems or low-impact development strategies to reduce pluvial flooding (Chan et al., 2018; Fletcher et al., 2015; Y. Li et al., 2020).

    Wetlands may provide water-regulation services to cities through a variety of hydrologic processes. Depending on wetland morphology, wetland vegetation, environmental conditions, soil characteristics, water-table depth, and connectivity to drainage systems to which wetlands may be connected, wetlands may manage stormwater via some combination of impoundment (the temporary storage of water), infiltration (the removal of surface water via percolation into wetland soils), evapotranspiration (the removal of surface and soil water from the system via evaporation or plant-mediated transpiration), and conveyance (the movement of water through and out of the drainage system via passive flow; Bullock & Acreman, 2003). For many cities considering the use of wetland GSI, the key hydrologic functions of wetlands are those of detention and infiltration (Y. Li et al., 2020). Detention of stormwater in wetlands delays or reduces stormwater release to downstream waterways (Kadykalo & Findlay, 2016). Infiltration, facilitated by wetlands through their pervious soils, reduces the proportion of precipitation that converts to runoff (Fletcher et al., 2013). Widespread impervious cover in cities leads to high rates of conversion of precipitation to runoff, which in turn increases peak rates of discharge in drainage systems and can overwhelm the drainage system flood connected areas (Ogden et al., 2011).

    Critically absent from the literature on the flood-mitigation services of wetlands are city-wide studies on how performance of the urban stormwater management system changes when urban wetlands are constructed, restored, or incorporated. Change in the value of water-regulation service of urban wetlands over is often estimated using simple land-use or land-cover change and look-up tables of water regulation service values according to regional wetland area (G. Li et al., 2022; Mukherjee et al., 2021). Such estimates assume water regulation services absent any details or consideration of the stormwater management system to which they are connected (C. Wang et al., 2018; Y. Wang et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2020). But outside of an urban context, it is widely recognized that system-specific knowledge is necessary to accurately estimate effects of wetlands on the water regulation services that wetlands may provide (Acreman & Holden, 2013; Kadykalo & Findlay, 2016). Wetland dimensions, extent, antecedent storage conditions, rates of infiltration and evapotranspiration, and configuration within a stormwater management system are all likely to influence the performance of urban stormwater management systems.

    While wetland GSI is often recommended to increase resilience against floods in cities under a changing climate (Stefanakis, 2019), its efficacy should not be taken for granted. Climate change will shift storm intensity and timing away from the conditions for which stormwater management systems, even those with wetland GSI, were designed, which are generally historical storms (ASCE/Environmental & Water Resources Institute, 2006). Sensitivity of the drainage system response to changes in precipitation intensity from climate change depends on, for example, the size of the contributing watershed and the size and configuration of wetland GSI within the system. Yet studies that espouse the benefits of wetland GSI for increasing resilience in the face of climate change rarely contextualize those benefits in terms of the scale of the flood risk that climate change poses, or examine how performance of systems with wetland GSI might also change with the climate.

    In the present study, we modeled the coupled effects of inland wetland loss and impervious watershed expansion on stormwater management system performance under different scenarios of climate change. For the study system, Valdivia, Región los Ríos, Chile, we asked the following question: How does the loss of wetland GSI in an urban stormwater management system change the system's flood volume, peak discharge rate, and peak discharge timing? We hypothesized flood volume and rate of peak discharge would increase, and the hour of peak discharge would arrive earlier, with wetland loss. Additionally, we asked: how do the effects of wetland loss on flooding compare to the effects of changing rainfall during extreme storms? We hypothesized that there would be more systemic flooding, longer periods of flooding, and that peak discharge would be greater and arrive earlier due to increasing rainfall than by wetland loss. Finally, we asked: how much does infiltration contribute to flood reduction as wetland loss increases? We hypothesized that infiltration would contribute to lower flood volume and reduce flood duration under all extents of wetland loss.

    2 Materials and Methods

    2.1 Study Site

    Valdivia, Chile (area: 93.94 km2) is a city of approximately 166,000 people in the southern half of Chile, 850 km south of the capital Santiago, in the Región de los Ríos (Figure 1). Citizens and stormwater managers in Valdivia must contend with a high risk of pluvial flooding owing to high average annual precipitation, a long rainy season, the city's location 12 km inland from the Pacific Ocean, at the confluence of three rivers, and patterns of land development. Valdivia's ecosystem is classified as a temperate rainforest (Amigo & Ramirez, 1998; Hajek & Di Castri, 1975). Wetlands are a characteristic feature of Valdivia, covering 20.64 km2 (22.7%) of the municipal area but are at risk from continued development.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 1
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    Left: Location of study site, Valdivia, Chile (39.8336°S, 73.2154°W). Right: Valdivia's land cover based on spectral analysis of a 2010 orthophoto, and drainage system, as described in 2012 by the Chilean Ministry of Public Works.

    Valdivia's average annual rainfall was approximately 1719.48 mm between 1990 and 2021 (Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil, 2020), with pronounced droughts in the last decade. In 2015, rainfall in the region and snowpack in the Andés were low enough that the riverine potable water supply became too saline for treatment due to tidally forced saltwater intrusions from the nearby ocean, and the city was forced to pump groundwater for nearly all of its supply (Garcés-Vargas et al., 2020). In 2021, for the first time since the city began measuring precipitation at the nearby Pichoy Airport meteorological station in 1969, the city registered less than 1,000 mm of precipitation (Sepúlveda, 2021). This extreme departure from the prevailing rainfall patterns has added to concerns about sustainability and resilience in Valdivia under climate change (Garcés-Vargas et al., 2020; Sepúlveda, 2021).

    Valdivia's stormwater management system is composed primarily of gray infrastructure components (e.g., pipes and canals), wetlands, and the rivers into which the system ultimately discharges. As of 2012, Valdivia's stormwater management system consists of roughly 245.7 km of drainage infrastructure, of which 41.2 km (16.8%) is wetland GSI. The origin of most of wetland cover in the city is a 1960 earthquake of magnitude 9.5, which caused up to 20 m of uplift in some areas and subsidence and rifting in others (Barrientos & Ward, 1990). Since the earthquake, the city has deliberately incorporated many of these wetlands into its stormwater management system (CMOP, 2012). In addition, the presence of wetlands in the city is owed in part to local conservation movements to maintain the cultural services of wetlands (Correa et al., 2018) and their function as habitat to charismatic species (e.g., Cygnus melancoryphus) tied to Valdivian identity (Silva et al., 2015).

    2.2 General Approach

    We used model estimates of future land cover change and estimates of future extreme rainfall as inputs to a 1-dimensional model of Valdivia's stormwater management system, and ultimately produced estimates of flood volume and flood location for a range of land cover and climate conditions (Figure 2). This process began by convening an in-person workshop in Valdivia, Chile to co-develop with practitioners the goals and objectives of four different scenarios of development for the city to achieve by the year 2080. We then combined historical data on land-cover change in Valdivia and scenario goals and objectives into rules governing land-cover change in the Dinamica EGO cellular automata-based model (Soares-Filho et al., 2002). The outputs of this model were five land-cover maps: one for each of the four scenarios developed in the workshop at the start of this process, along with an additional “business-as-usual” scenario estimating land-cover change in the absence of interventions to the status quo. We then used ArcGIS Pro (ESRI) to estimate changes in wetland volume and subcatchment area as a result of the changes in land cover areas in the five land cover maps. Separately, we used daily precipitation estimates from downscaled climate models to estimate rainfall of 100-year return period, 24-hr duration storms in the year 2080 under various climate conditions. Estimated changes in wetland volume and subcatchment area, as well as estimated changes to rainfall during extreme storms, were used to construct a 1-dimensional model of Valdivia's stormwater management system under various land-cover and climate configurations in the year 2080. This 1-dimensional model was then used to estimate flood characteristics that varied by land-cover and climate configurations.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 2
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    Process diagram detailing convergent processes used in this study to produce estimates of flood characteristics under a range of land cover and climate conditions. The left branch represents work done to produce spatial estimates of land cover change by the year 2080 and to translate these changes to land cover to changes in the morphology of wetlands and watershed areas. The right branch represents work done to produce estimates of rainfall during 100-year interval, 24-hr duration storms.

    2.3 Stormwater Management Model Characteristics and Calibration

    In 2002, Chile's Ministry of Public Works (CMOP) commissioned the development a hydrologic model of the city's surface and stormwater management system flows using the Environmental Protection Agency's Stormwater Management Model (CMOP, 2012; EPA SWMM; Rossman, 2015). EPA SWMM is a 1-dimensional hydrologic model that converts rainfall to runoff for each subcatchment and routes this water through conduits and nodes. The model is commonly used to design and assess the performance of stormwater management systems in urban areas (Choo et al., 2021; Gülbaz et al., 2019; Iffland et al., 2021). Valdivia's stormwater management model (SWMM) was updated in 2012 to include system expansions and observational delineation of the city's urban subcatchments, among other updates and improvements (CMOP, 2012). The 2012 SWMM also included a tidal outfall curve to account for changing water levels in the rivers to which the stormwater management system interacts, peaking on hour two of simulation at 1.46 m above invert elevation, and on hour 14 lowering to 0.28 m above outfall invert elevations, and repeating every 12 hours until simulation completion. This curve was designed to represent an annual average difference in water levels at the outfalls under historical river and ocean-level conditions. This curve was conserved in our final models.

    Valdivia's SWMM was calibrated using observed stormflow data from seven storms of different return periods, ranging from 0.67 to 24.52 years, in a sub-section of the larger SWMM (CMOP, 2012). The model was optimized to achieve similar rates of peak discharge and flood volume to those observed through manipulating parameters like Manning's roughness and rates of infiltration for pervious and impervious surfaces for the observed storms (Table 1). These calibrated values were conserved in our final models. The absolute differences between the simulated and observed flood volume and rate of peak discharge for each storm for the final values of these parameters range from 1% to 74% for flood volume and from 5% to 86% for peak discharge rates (Table 2; CMOP, 2012). Notably, the model was not calibrated using observed events with return periods greater than 24.5 years. Published reports of EPA SWMM models that estimated flooding for whole urban watersheds are uncommon, particularly those that estimate the effects of large magnitude storms (e.g., 10-year or greater) over long durations (e.g., 24-hr); however, for context, two studies examining the effects of storms of much lesser magnitude than we examined, but nonetheless in whole urban watersheds, reported relative errors between simulation and observation flood volumes between 5% and 20% (Wu et al., 2018) and between 1% and 100% (Barco et al., 2008) depending on the range of input storm magnitudes and the method of optimization.

    Table 1. Calibrated Parameter Values Used in EPA SWMM Models for Valdivia (CMOP, 2012)
    Parameter Value
    Manning's n, impervious (N-Imperv) 0.03
    Manning's n, pervious (N-Perv) 0.09
    Depression storage-impervious (Dstore-Imperv; mm) 1.25
    Soil moisture retention, pervious (S-pervious; mm) 5
    Percent with no depression storage (% Zero-Impervious; %) 80
    Rate of infiltration, minimum 3
    Rate of infiltration, maximum 4
    Decay rate (seconds−1) 2
    Drying time (day) 7
    Evaporation (mm day−1) 2
    • Note. EPA SWMM parameter names and units in parentheses.
    Table 2. Differences Between Simulated Model and Observational Flood Volume and Peak Discharge Rate for Storms of Different Return Periods (CMOP, 2012)
    Storm return period (years) Simulated flood volume (%) Simulated peak rate of discharge (%)
    0.67 +1 +20
    0.88 −3 +5
    0.94 −29 −36
    1.78 +24 −15
    2.40 +74 +86
    6.56 −3 −5
    24.5 +1 +20

    2.4 Estimating Future Land Cover Scenarios and Wetland Dimensions

    In May of 2017, the Urban Resilience to Extremes (UREx) Sustainability Research Network (SRN) hosted a workshop in Valdivia, Chile, to envision a series of long-term (2080) future scenarios and desirable future pathways of urban development. Participants in the workshop represented a diverse array of Valdivia's stakeholders, such as municipal and regional government employees, university professors, students, and members of community action groups. Participants collaborated to develop a suite of visions and strategies to undertake in order to achieve four unique, plausible scenarios for a future Valdivia: Inclusive City, Friendly City, Eco-Wetland City, and Resilient-to-Flood City. The scenario themes emerged from the concerns of the citizens of Valdivia and an analysis of Valdivia's governance documents as well as a publication from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, 2015). The visioning and scenario development process in the workshop followed methods described by Iwaniec et al. (2020).

    The qualitative strategies of four scenarios—Inclusive, Flood Resilient, Friendly, and Eco-Wetland—developed in Valdivia's workshops were translated by the UREx SRN modeling team into quantitative spatial and temporal rules and introduced into cellular automata-based models of land-use/land cover (LULC). This phase represents an iterative process in which the modeling team gathered feedback from various stakeholders on the four co-produced scenarios, adjusted the quantitative rules based on that feedback, and released updated simulations. Paired with historical information on LULC changes (observed 1983 and 2010 LULC maps) in Valdivia, the cellular automata-based Dinamica Environment for Geoprocessing Objects GO model (Soares-Filho et al., 2001, 2002), hereafter Dinamica, generated predictions of LULC configuration in Valdivia in 2080 for each scenario, as well as for a “Business-as-usual” (BAU) scenario, which assumes LULC proceeded entirely according to historical patterns of development. Dinamica has been used to simulate LULC change in many studies (e.g., Gago-Silva et al., 2017; Kolb et al., 2013; Pathirana et al., 2014). Dinamica estimates LULC change quantity using a transition matrix obtained from the cross-tabulation of the observed LULC data. The transition matrix is then transformed into a Markovian Chain Probability Matrix, which computes the average percentage of each land class that changes to another class at each time-step (in our case, 1 year) which is the transition rate. Dinamica then spatially allocates the quantity of LULC change according to a transition rule with two components. The first component calculates transition probabilities of LULC-change global drivers (explanatory variables such as accessibility, elevation, and slope). The second component considers the influence of local neighbors on the transition of the LULC state of a cell. Dinamica adopts the Weights of Evidence method (Soares-Filho et al., 2002, 2004) to quantify the influence, or the weight for a set of explanatory variables, based on the occurrence of each LULC in specific ranges. Dinamica calculates the influence of local neighbors on each cell in the landscape using two complementary functions: Expander and Patcher, one to expand/contract previous LULC patches and one to generate new ones, as described in depth in Soares-Filho et al. (2002).

    In all scenarios, wetland cover declined compared to the 2010 base map (Figure 3). However, co-developed scenarios showed lower wetland loss rates than the BAU scenario. Stakeholder proposals from the workshops played a significant role in determining the loss rate. For example, in the Inclusive scenario, for example, the proposal to “create a network of wetlands for connectivity within the city, and wetlands are protected and an important part of mitigating climate change impacts” by 2050 led us to introduce new wetland corridors and stop converting wetlands to other uses. Although some wetlands were lost (converted to other land uses-especially built-up) before 2050, the addition of new wetland corridors helped reduce overall loss over time. The Eco-wetland scenario did not include this specific role, resulting in a slightly higher wetland loss rate compared to the Inclusive scenario. Also in the Eco-wetland scenario, a proposal of declaring wetlands as protected zones and implementing a 100% prohibition of wetland filling by 2040 was essential for preserving more wetlands. However, some wetlands were still converted to other land uses before 2040 before the prohibition toggled on. Finally, many wetlands within the present-day and scenario land-cover maps are not included within the city's stormwater management model. As a result, the change in wetland area in the subset of wetlands in the SWMM differed from the change in wetland area for the whole city in the cellular automata-based models. In scenarios like Eco-wetland, where wetland cover overall was greater than in other scenarios like Friendly, much of its conserved or gained wetland cover was in the northwest and west where the SWMM model did not extend, while the wetland cover it lost was within the wetlands included in the SWMM model (Figure 3).

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    Figure 3
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    Land cover in the present day (2010) and under five scenarios of development by the year 2080. Wetland loss generally increases from left to right, and from top to bottom, compared to the present day. City-wide wetland loss for each scenario was: 9.72% in Inclusive, 13.3% in Resilient-to-flood, 18.3% in Friendly, 23.98% in Eco-wetland, and 37.3% in Business-as-usual compared to Present Day wetland coverage.

    We determined change in wetland area by overlaying present-day land cover with scenario land cover in ArcGIS Pro (ESRI, 2019) and removed wetland area that existed in the present day that converted to low- or high-density urban land cover in the future scenarios. Conversion of wetland area to either form of urban land cover necessitates the in-filling and elevating of the former wetland's surface and reduces wetland storage capacity. In contrast, conversion of wetland area to either pasture/green or forest land cover types does not necessitate in-filling or affect storage capacity.

    We then calculated wetland volume and change in wetland volume that resulted from change in wetland area. A 2019 contour map (1-m vertical resolution) of Valdivia was converted into a triangulated irregular network (TIN), which characterized the three-dimensional topography of the landscape. For each of the wetlands in the SWMM, for the present day and each scenario, wetland boundaries were used to generate pseudo-surfaces every 0.25 m from the base of each wetland to their lowest bank, and the volume of the TIN underneath the pseudo-surface was calculated using the Surface Volume tool in ArcGIS Pro.

    The wetlands included in the SWMM were modeled as one of two elements in EPA SWMM: storage units or conduits. Wetlands with single inflows from subwatersheds, and wetlands that were spatially isolated from connecting wetlands, were generally modeled as single storage units with shape and volume determined by the previous step (Figure 4). Wetlands with multiple inflows, and that were only separated from other wetlands by short pipe segments under roadways, were generally modeled as a series of conduits linked by nodes (Figure 4). Modeling wetlands as storage units or as a series of conduits and nodes affects flow timing in the model, as a parcel of water moves in and out of a storage unit instantaneously but requires time to move through a conduit, but it is nonetheless accepted practice to model wetlands as storage units (Knighton et al., 2016).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 4
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    Example wetlands in Valdivia illustrating differences in the construction of storage unit and conduit wetlands in EPA SWMM. The wetland on the left receives water from a single subcatchment and was modeled as a storage unit. The wetland on the right receives water from multiple subcatchments and was modeled as a series of conduits and nodes.

    Owing to a high natural water table, proximity to three rivers, and high annual rainfall, the model developers assumed no infiltration in Valdivia's wetlands. While this may be an acceptable assumption during the rainy season (June–September) when the water table is particularly high, our own observations indicated substantial potential for infiltration in Valdivia's wetland soils during the summer months (December–February) when temperature and insolation are high and months may pass without rain. In Section 8, we attempted to account for this potential for infiltration in an experimental model subsection. Initial water levels in the calibrated model were set to zero, which may reflect summer conditions but not winter conditions. Data on groundwater inputs to wetlands were not available for this investigation, though our field data collected for as-yet unpublished research indicated primarily unidirectional flow from wetlands outward to the city's rivers. While wetlands in Valdivia are typically depressional they nonetheless are perched higher than river water levels, even at high tide.

    Changes to wetland volume, as calculated in the previous step in ArcGIS Pro, were translated to the SWMM by conserving bank elevation, depth, and length, but, in the case that the wetland was modeled as a conduit its length, by altering cross-sectional width (referred to in EPA SWMM as station), such that the overall wetland volume was the same between ArcGIS and EPA SWMM. Subcatchment areas in the SWMM were increased by the amount of wetland area lost to low- and high-density urban land cover between the present day and the scenarios. In the case that a wetland was only connected to a single subcatchment, all lost wetland area was added to the subcatchment. In the case that multiple subcatchments were connected to a wetland, the subcatchments expanded according to the amount of nearby wetland lost. No other subcatchment properties, such as imperviousness or rates of infiltration, were changed, as it was assumed that new low- and high-density urban subcatchment area would be roughly the same as the present-day low- and high-density subcatchment area.

    2.5 Downscaling Climate Models to Valdivia, Chile

    We employed asynchronous regional regression models to downscale precipitation estimates from atmosphere-ocean general circulation models to Valdivia, Chile (Stoner et al., 2012). Input data were historical observational data on rainfall from the Pichoy Airport meteorological station, located roughly 32 km (22 miles) from Valdivia's centroid. This station has the most consistent and longest rainfall record of any station either within or around the city. These downscaled models produced estimates of daily precipitation for the years 1969–2080. Additional information on the downscaling methods can be found in Supporting Information S1.

    2.6 Estimating Rainfall Volume of a 100-Year Return Period, 24-hr Storm

    Estimated rainfall of historical and future 100-year return interval, 24-hr duration storms were derived from the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution. The GEV distribution is commonly employed for modeling extremes in rainfall such as extreme events of various return periods (Bella et al., 2020; Reiss & Thomas, 2007). It is the combination of three extreme value distributions (Gumbel, Fréchet, and Weibull distributions), and can be represented by the following equation:
    ]]>     Standardization of Practices https://sdgtalks.ai/standardization-of-practices https://sdgtalks.ai/standardization-of-practices Sun, 05 May 2024 23:09:18 -0500 Cole Baggett

    Scenarios are visions of how the world might unfold. They can consist of stories, numerical projections, or both. Typically scenarios describe trends in drivers of change—factors like population and economic growth, how fast technological progress occurs, and changes to the climate system. Historically, small sets of common scenarios have been widely used by the global change research community. Researchers use the scenarios as inputs to project the consequences of the drivers, for example, for agricultural production, water availability, or the costs of decarbonization. We propose that new scenarios are needed that include outcomes (consequences) not just for physical or managed systems, but also for human well-being and resilience, including health, poverty, and household food, water, and energy security. Further, the scenarios should not only include well-being outcomes, but be organized around them. That is, scenarios should be designed not necessarily to span a wide range of drivers, but rather to span a wide range of well-being and resilience outcomes. Designing scenarios around the ultimate outcomes of interest will improve the assessment of risks and responses related to well-being and resilience. New quantitative methods for generating and identifying scenarios can facilitate this process. Also, making them more easily accomplished or standardized can streamline their application.

    Abstract

    Shared community scenarios of societal and environmental system changes have underpinned a broad range of research and assessment studies over the past several decades. These scenarios have largely aimed to address specific questions within broad issue areas like climate change or biodiversity and generally provided information on the drivers of change. The consequences of those drivers, such as impacts on society and policy responses, have tended to be left to the research community to investigate, using scenarios of drivers as inputs to their studies, producing projections of a disparate set of relevant output metrics. While this approach has had many benefits, it has fallen short of producing a robust, comparable literature describing outcomes across studies in common metrics. We argue that new scenarios are needed that extend current approaches to be organized around common outcome metrics for the well-being and resilience of society and ecosystems. We propose an approach that would focus on agreed upon outcomes for well-being and resilience as well as critical drivers of change, cut across issues and scales in multiple sectors, and draw on new systematic methods of scenario generation and discovery to highlight scenarios that are most critical in understanding societal risks and responding to them. Research derived from this outcome-based scenario development approach would facilitate improved assessment of risks of and responses to a range of stressors and the multi-sector interactions they generate.

    Key Points

    • Community scenarios facilitate research and assessment but have fallen short of producing a literature with comparable outcomes

    • New scenarios are needed that are organized around outcomes for human well-being and resilience

    • We propose an outcome-based scenario development approach that would cut across issues, scales, and sectors

    Plain Language Summary

    Scenarios are visions of how the world might unfold. They can consist of stories, numerical projections, or both. Typically scenarios describe trends in drivers of change—factors like population and economic growth, how fast technological progress occurs, and changes to the climate system. Historically, small sets of common scenarios have been widely used by the global change research community. Researchers use the scenarios as inputs to project the consequences of the drivers, for example, for agricultural production, water availability, or the costs of decarbonization. We propose that new scenarios are needed that include outcomes (consequences) not just for physical or managed systems, but also for human well-being and resilience, including health, poverty, and household food, water, and energy security. Further, the scenarios should not only include well-being outcomes, but be organized around them. That is, scenarios should be designed not necessarily to span a wide range of drivers, but rather to span a wide range of well-being and resilience outcomes. Designing scenarios around the ultimate outcomes of interest will improve the assessment of risks and responses related to well-being and resilience. New quantitative methods for generating and identifying scenarios can facilitate this process.

    1 Introduction

    Scenarios developed for wide use in the climate and global change research community have played a prominent role for decades. Community scenarios reduce the duplication of effort that would occur if all research groups were left to develop their own projections of societal and environmental conditions on which to base their analyses. They also encourage the development of a broad scientific literature that shares common assumptions about future underlying trends, making it possible to synthesize results from a large number of studies to draw conclusions about possible future conditions.

    However, research needs have evolved over time, and scenario frameworks need to evolve with them. Most current frameworks, including the SSP-RCP scenarios (O’Neill et al., 2020; van Vuuren et al., 2014) and the SRES framework (Nakicenovic et al., 2000), focus on providing a common set of qualitative and quantitative inputs to models and other analyses. The broader research community then uses these inputs to investigate implications for various outcomes—that is, the model outputs or results that are of interest in a given study. These outcomes may be related to climate change impacts, societal response options such as energy or land policies, or adaptation.

    While this approach has been successful in facilitating a wide range of studies, it leaves several gaps. In particular, most studies do not project future outcomes for human well-being, but rather stop short at outcomes for biophysical systems (e.g., effects on the climate system, land cover, or water supply), managed systems (effects on energy, agriculture, and water systems), and economic systems (effects on GDP, prices, or output levels). While researchers, such as those within the MultiSector Dynamics (MSD) Community of Practice (Reed et al., 2022), have been advancing the study of such systems and their complex interactions, less work has built on that foundation to extend our understanding to associated outcomes for societal well-being. Well-being is a broad concept that we discuss in more detail in the next section, but briefly it refers to the conditions that allow individuals to live a meaningful life. These include conditions that are amenable to modeling, such as health; education; energy, water, and food security; and living standards. Many more studies project outcomes for global average temperature, national-level GDP, or crop yields (all measures of systems) than for numbers of cases of a particular disease, the burden placed on households by energy expenditures, or the numbers of people in poverty (all measures of well-being). This imbalance is particularly noteworthy given the fact that well-being outcomes are arguably what ultimately motivates research into many systems (Figure 1).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 1
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    Well-being outcomes are ultimately what motivate the study of human-earth system interactions, including MultiSector Dynamics. The outer ring represents factors that may act as stressors or influences on the inner ring, representing managed systems that each contain interconnected elements while simultaneously interacting with other systems. Both rings affect outcomes for well-being. The circle to the left contains a selected set of dimensions of well-being meant to be illustrative. Figure adapted from Clarke et al. (2018).

    In addition, as noted above, current scenario frameworks provide common inputs to other studies, including trends in population, economic growth, and rates of technological change. Researchers use them to drive projections of whatever type of outcome they may be interested in. Thus, inputs to models are coordinated (through scenarios), while outcomes for societal conditions are not. As a result, the production of outcomes of interest in common metrics across studies has been limited. By “metrics” we mean measures of the extent or degree of a broader category of outcomes, such as under-nourishment as a metric of food security.

    Existing scenario frameworks have also generally focused on particular issues, such as climate change (SSPs, SRES, NGFS (Network for Greening of the Financial System)) or biodiversity and ecosystem services (MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment), IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)), rather than explicitly accommodating multiple issues of interest (climate, biodiversity, air quality, water quality, sustainable development, national security, etc.) and multiple stressors. In addition, they have been primarily developed at the national to global scale, with more ad hoc extensions to the sub-national scale, where adaptation and decision options come to the fore. Finally, these frameworks have also been developed with a limited range of methods, mainly traditional storyline and simulation approaches, while more systematic and quantitative approaches (including exploratory modeling and scenario discovery) have played an ancillary role.

    There are exceptions to these general tendencies. Individual studies may focus on well-being outcomes such as food security (van Meijl et al., 2020) or poverty (Crespo Cuaresma et al., 2018), or evaluate a range of outcomes (Creutzig et al., 2022). Model comparison exercises may even coordinate across multiple models to address such topics (Hasegawa et al., 2018). But these analyses employ scenario frameworks that were designed for other purposes and that generally aim to cover a wide range of drivers, rather than being designed to cover a wide range of well-being outcomes. Some past scenario efforts, such as those for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005), incorporated outcomes into their design, and recently the Sustainable Development Pathways (SDPs) have been developed to explore scenarios that attempt to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement goals jointly (Soergel, Kriegler, Weindl, et al., 2021), and therefore have a strong orientation toward well-being outcomes. However the SDPs focus on how the world might achieve specific goals rather than exploring future well-being outcomes more broadly. Outcome-driven community scenarios remain a gap in research.

    As such, we propose the need for an outcome-based scenario development process that would address these gaps by being organized around outcomes for well-being, allowing for the analysis of multiple issues at multiple scales, and employing new systematic techniques for developing and exploring scenarios and characterizing their uncertainty. We use “scenario” in an integrated sense: a vision of how the future may unfold that accounts for both socio-economic and climate/environmental change, and in particular that includes not only drivers of those changes but also the outcomes for societal well-being and resilience.

    The new scenario framework we envision would be designed from the outset to explore key well-being outcomes, such as water, food, and energy security from subnational to global scales. By taking a multisector, multiscale approach to scenario design, the framework would produce a greater diversity of well-being outcomes than existing scenario databases which were not designed for this purpose. Furthermore, the proposed framework would leverage large scenario ensembles and emergent data-driven scenario generation methods, like scenario discovery, to allow a thorough exploration of uncertainty, investigation of tradeoffs between metrics of well-being, and selection of scenarios most relevant for specific applications.

    2 Vision

    The scenario development process we envision would be organized around the goal of understanding future outcomes for societal well-being and resilience, and sensitivities of these outcomes to multiple possible stressors. Well-being is an inherently multidimensional concept that broadly refers to what constitutes a “good life” (Stiglitz et al., 2009). While it can include subjective elements, it can also include dimensions amenable to analysis in the multi-sector dynamics field including food, water, and energy security; health; living standards; and quality of the environment. Resilience typically refers to the ability to cope with and respond to a disturbance such as an event or a change in a trend. Thus, within this scenarios framework, the goal would be to understand how various factors may affect the well-being of society and how resilient society is; that is, when stressed by any biophysical (e.g., climate, air quality) or socioeconomic (e.g., technological change, policy change) factor, how much is well-being impacted and how difficult is it to recover? As discussed in the introduction, while some studies and scenarios may share these goals, the framework we propose is explicitly designed around these aims.

    We believe that both well-being and resilience are important goals for the scenario framework to encompass. However, considering them both from the outset presents substantial challenges. They may have different determinants; the human and earth system dynamics that shape them may be different, and therefore require different types of model development; and the metrics used to measure them likely differ, with resilience, reflecting the capacity for a particular kind of dynamic behavior, being harder to capture. Indeed resilience has alternative definitions capturing different types of dynamics (Irwin et al., 2017), and so choices would need to be made even in its definition. We therefore propose to focus initially on well-being for the purpose of the proposed framework, with the anticipation of extending it to resilience at a later stage in the process.

    Well-being itself has been defined in many ways that identify a large number of possible dimensions of the concept. Broadly speaking, these can be divided into “subjective” and “objective” dimensions (Voukelatou et al., 2021). Subjective well-being is a psychological concept that reflects an individual's judgment of their quality of life. It is often equated with happiness, although happiness can include not only the predominance of positive over negative feelings and high life satisfaction, but also feelings of living a life with meaning and purpose (Kashdan et al., 2008).

    In contrast, objective well-being measures external factors that reflect conditions that can foster a good life. In the capabilities approach of Amartya Sen, dimensions of well-being are factors that can enhance the capabilities and freedoms of people to choose the life they value (Stiglitz et al., 2009). The choice of any particular set of dimensions of well-being is a value judgment. A range of dimensions of objective well-being have been proposed. For example, many of the SDGs and their associated targets can be seen as dimensions of objective well-being (Lamb & Steinberger, 2017), as they include material conditions (poverty), quality of life factors (health; education; climate; food, water, and energy security), and social factors (gender equality, reduced inequality, peace, justice). The OECD, in its own set of dimensions of well-being, also identifies material conditions (e.g., income, wealth, and housing), quality of life factors (e.g., health, knowledge and skills, environmental quality, and safety), and social factors (e.g., social connections, civic engagement) (OECD, 2020).

    We focus here on a subset of objective aspects of well-being that are amenable to quantitative analysis and most directly relevant to human-earth system interactions. Table 1 shows a number of possible outcomes characterizing different dimensions of well-being that could potentially be quantified in models.

    Table 1. Illustrative Outcomes for Various Dimensions of Well-Being That Could Potentially Be Quantified in Models
    Well-being outcomes
    Energy security Living standards Education
    Energy burden Income Mean years of schooling
    Energy poverty Consumption % completed primary, secondary, tertiary
    Access Economic welfare Education quality
    Reliability Wealth Social conditions
    Unmet demand Poverty Conflict
    Water security Income inequality Shelter
    Exposure to water stress Livelihoods Migration
    Flood damages Employment Environmental conditions
    Flood mortality Health Biodiversity
    Drought damages Mortality Ecosystem integrity, functioning
    Access to clean water Morbidity Ecosystem services
    Food security Health care costs
    Food burden
    Malnutrition
    Micronutrient deficiency
    • Note. For most outcomes, multiple metrics could be used to quantify them. For example, income inequality could be measured by the Gini coefficient, the Palma ratio, the share of income going to the top 1% of households, or other measures.

    Scenario development would involve a combination of exploratory modeling and scenario discovery, representing a new systematic and quantitative way of generating and conceptualizing scenarios. Existing scenarios were generally designed to span a wide range of a set of input drivers based on narratives of different potential futures, which may or may not span an interesting range of outcomes for well-being metrics. In contrast, our proposed process uses exploratory modeling specifically designed to span a relevant range of those outcomes. Exploratory modeling is an approach that uses computational experiments to systematically explore the implications of varying assumptions and hypotheses to assist in reasoning about systems where there is significant uncertainty (Bankes, 1993; Kwakkel & Pruyt, 2013). It involves running large ensembles of model simulations under different assumptions, which can then be analyzed using scenario discovery techniques to provide valuable insights. Scenario discovery involves screening databases of model simulations using machine learning classification algorithms to identify outcomes of interest and their conditions for occurring (Bryant & Lempert, 2010; Groves & Lempert, 2007; Lempert, 2003). Combining exploratory modeling and scenario discovery enables the identification of relevant scenarios by working backwards from the outcomes of interest to the conditions that would produce those outcomes. This enables a shift in focus from “what if” scenarios that attempt to predict outcomes for given sets of assumptions to scenarios specifically designed to explore the plausible ranges of outcomes for well-being and the conditions that lead to certain desired or undesired outcomes.

    This framework would need to be flexible to facilitate multi-scale analysis. We propose to focus initially on national to global scales, but including regionally-differentiated US scenarios. Our ambition is that these scenarios would support the extension of this framework to regionally-differentiated scenarios in other countries (e.g., China, India), and to even finer, sub-national scales within the US (e.g., to individual cities, states, or bioregions). Timescales would extend at least through the end of the century. These spatial and temporal scales allow the incorporation of the influence of global conditions and international teleconnections on national and sub-national patterns of change, the exploration of long-term consequences of short-term changes, and vice-versa.

    We envision this framework as complementary to, not a replacement for, existing frameworks such as the SSPs and these scenarios could be mapped to, and incorporated into, the SSP framework (and vice-versa). The SSPs themselves are alternative socio-economic development pathways without climate change impacts or policy that describe worlds with different levels of challenges to adaptation and mitigation (Kriegler et al., 2012; O’Neill et al., 2014). They include qualitative descriptions of some well-being outcomes (O’Neill et al., 2017), and extensions to the scenarios have quantified some measures of well-being such as poverty (Soergel, Kriegler, Bodirsky, et al., 2021) and inequality (Rao et al., 2018). In our framework, the scenarios would be developed to span a wide range of well-being outcomes, rather than focusing on challenges to adaptation and mitigation. Well-being quantification would be part of the design of the scenarios rather than being added afterward. Drivers for the two scenario sets would likely differ.

    Because this framework is organized around outcomes for well-being, it would be suitable for analysis of multiple issues with different drivers, including climate change but also including air quality, demographic change, potentially disruptive technological changes, trade regimes, and security issues. It would facilitate addressing questions such as: what factors would promote, or put at risk, human well-being? What are synergies and tradeoffs across different dimensions of well-being? What types of interventions could improve well-being?

    The development of this framework would have a number of benefits for the research community, including improved analysis and modeling frameworks (especially for capturing various aspects of well-being), collaboration across the MSD and international communities, and stronger connections between the MSD community and scenario users, including at federal agencies.

    3 Objectives and Process Overview

    The overarching goal of the proposed scenarios framework is to provide scenarios that can help structure research and inform assessment of the role of various factors in promoting, or putting at risk, human well-being and societal resilience. We envision a scenarios framework (Figure 2) that will generate two main scenario products: (a) a large, searchable database of scenarios with various combinations of alternative driving forces and stressors, and their associated outcomes for well-being and resilience and (b) a small set of community scenarios selected from the database spanning a relevant range of outcomes. The scenario database would be available to the community for direct analysis and for individual research projects to select and use scenarios tailored to their specific needs. It would differ from existing databases by including outcomes for well-being and resilience. The small set of community scenarios would be identified with scenario discovery methods and proposed for common use across a wide range of MSD studies. Wide use of these community scenarios would facilitate the development of a larger body of literature characterizing the well-being and resilience of alternative futures.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 2
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    Elements of the MSD Scenario Framework and Process. The lower panel represents key framework elements including the concept of well-being outcome-focused scenario design, a large scenario database, a small set of community scenarios, and research studies from the larger community. The research studies would include efforts that generate scenarios as part of their work that could then be added to the database, analyses of the scenario database itself, and studies based on the community scenarios. Scenario discovery, as described in the text, is a method for identifying scenarios of interest from a large number of candidate scenarios. The upper panel indicates key elements of the scenario process that would continuously interact with the framework.

    Generating an initial large database of scenarios would involve conducting exploratory modeling (i.e., running large ensembles of model simulations) designed to span a wide range of outcomes for well-being by systematically varying underlying uncertain drivers and assumptions about societal choices (e.g., the level and design of policy, the availability of carbon dioxide removal technologies, characteristics of governance, social trends, the rate of population and economic growth, the cost of technologies, fossil resource availability, and other important assumptions in a model). Conducting exploratory modeling allows for the systematic exploration of a wide range of uncertainty and scenarios from which insights about the well-being outcomes of interest can be drawn. We foresee initial pilot projects using the Global Change Analysis Model and the MIT Integrated Global System Model, two global-to-regional coupled human-Earth systems models that are well established within the MSD research community.

    Researchers would use exploratory modeling to generate ensembles of model runs to generate an initial scenario database, which would consist of the full set of modeled ensemble results and would be publicly available and searchable. The database would include scenarios that consist of the assumptions and the parameter values that generated them, plus all model outcomes, including metrics of well-being as well as intermediate outcomes. Individual research projects could use the database to identify and use scenarios tailored to their specific needs. The database would also be useful for direct analysis, for example, of the tradeoffs between outcomes for different dimensions of well-being or of the distribution of outcomes across different regions or socio-economic groups.

    We imagine that with the engagement of more researchers, additional models, including those at finer sub-national scales, can be used to add scenarios to the database, and the scenario database would grow as researchers from the broader community add both individual scenarios and ensembles of their own. It will also be essential for models to evolve over time to be able to model more metrics of well-being. Since many models were not designed with such metrics in mind, they may lack adequate representation of the important dynamics contributing to certain outcomes. One important function of the early stages of the process will be to identify and highlight where we have the largest gaps in our ability to model well-being metrics and what model advancements are needed. As an example, most global models are unable to distinguish between different socio-economic groups, which would be needed to capture certain well-being metrics related to equity as well as to analyze how any given well-being outcome is distributed across groups. We imagine an iterative process in which the models and metrics advance over time, contributing new scenarios to the database, enabling new analyses, and potentially producing new sets of community scenarios.

    The application of scenario discovery techniques to the scenario database can stimulate creative thinking about the conditions, dynamics and tradeoffs behind outcomes for well-being. For example, after identifying metrics of well-being of interest, scenario discovery can be used to search the scenario database to identify scenarios that have particularly high or low values for the outcome metrics and find the conditions/input drivers behind those outcomes, including alternative pathways that lead to the same outcomes. In addition, these techniques can be used to explore relationships between different model outcomes and identify individual scenarios of interest, including those defined by specific combinations of outcomes. This facilitates the exploration of tradeoffs, their drivers and potential options for resolving them. For example, there may be several different pathways that lead to the same outcomes for well-being metrics related to food and water security, but very different outcomes for energy security metrics, and scenario discovery can find where those tradeoffs exist and the conditions that enable better outcomes across multiple well-being metrics.

    Producing small sets of scenarios for wide use by the community would involve: (a) applying scenario discovery techniques to identify scenarios of interest from the database (e.g., scenarios with certain combinations of outcomes for different dimensions of well-being) and the conditions that produced them; and (b) conducting a model intercomparison exercise using the small set of scenarios identified in (a) to produce the best quantification of each scenario, and characterization of uncertainties, for community use. This comparison would also produce new insights and identify key areas for further model development. The process would not necessarily be linear; for example, identifying community scenarios could inform new ideas for generating additional scenarios for the database. The drivers, assumptions, and results for the community scenarios would be publicly available, along with qualitative storylines that interpret in narrative form the set of assumptions underlying the quantitative outcomes. Unlike most existing frameworks, this storyline would be developed after the model runs, rather than before them.

    It is also important to recognize that outcomes will vary over time and space. A strength of the framework is that applying scenario discovery to the scenario database enables the identification of individual scenarios that meet some criteria for human well-being at a given time and place. However, the fact that outcomes change across time and space makes selecting a small set of community scenarios challenging. Community engagement will be needed to think through the best ways to approach this step. Potential options include focusing on end-of-century outcomes for the world in order to select a small scenario set, or potentially developing multiple small scenario sets for different purposes.

    For this approach to developing outcome-focused scenarios to be successful, the process must involve continuous interaction with other activities, namely community engagement, metric identification and selection, and model advancements (Figure 2). The MSD and related research communities, as well as scenario users and impacted communities, should be engaged to flesh out this plan and provide expertise and input to the different stages of scenario development. Researchers will need to be engaged to carry out modeling and other analyses within the framework, and to make the model advancements needed to expand the representation of metrics of well-being. We imagine this will be an iterative process that will evolve and expand over time to accommodate new and diverse perspectives and models. The development of metrics for well-being will be a key activity shaping the scenarios and needed model development. While initial consultation on specific metrics can start with the MSD and related research communities, it will be important to extend stakeholder engagement to include different impacted communities and social scientists to capture diverse values and perspectives on what constitutes well-being, for whom, and what metrics to explore. While metrics will initially be limited by model capabilities, we expect the process to generate ideas of metrics we ideally want to investigate but cannot currently produce, thereby spurring model advances to better reflect the dynamics needed for different outcome metrics. Similarly, we expect that analysis of the scenario database would generate insights that would influence wider research activities and motivate model advancements to better capture the intended outcomes of interest, and those advancements will in turn shape further scenario development. This is a very iterative process, one that could benefit from a working group and could be expanded over time to include new perspectives.

    We believe this proposed scenarios framework would fill an important research gap and help drive and facilitate collaborative research on outcomes of well-being and (ultimately) resilience in a multi-sector context while also providing a useful resource to other researchers looking for individual scenarios that fit their needs. Priorities for work toward achieving this vision include (a) developing metrics for well-being and resilience, (b) expanding the ability of modeling frameworks to capture aspects of well-being and resilience, (c) carrying out more scenarios of well-being outcomes at a variety of scales, (d) exploring ways to enhance the usefulness of scenarios to studies at smaller geographic scales, and (e) developing infrastructure for capturing comparable results and scenarios in a user-friendly database.

    Acknowledgments

    This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, as part of research in MultiSector Dynamics, Earth and Environmental System Modeling Program, including John Weyant's participation under Cooperative Agreement DE-SC0022141 and a portion of Jennifer Morris' participation under Award Number DE-FG02-94ER61937. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated for DOE by Battelle Memorial Institute under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors alone.

    ]]>     Dude, not the rice! https://sdgtalks.ai/dude-not-the-rice https://sdgtalks.ai/dude-not-the-rice Sun, 05 May 2024 23:04:52 -0500 Cole Baggett Rice, depletion

    Uttar Pradesh is the most populated state in India, with most of the population working in the agriculture sector and having a low income. The state's vulnerability to climate change is high due to inadequate infrastructure and heavy dependence on agriculture. Rice is a crucial crop for the state, but this study shows that climate change will decrease rice yields in the future, especially for irrigated rice, due to higher temperatures and shorter growing seasons. While rainfed rice yields may increase in some regions due to increased rainfall, rice production is expected to decline overall. Following current population growth trends, especially in a country as heavily populated as India, this could lead to dangerous food shortages.

    Abstract

    Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 237 million, is the largest agrarian state in India, located in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Rice cultivation is widespread across all districts of Uttar Pradesh, which have varying climate regimes, irrigation infrastructures, crop management practices, and farm sizes. The state is characterized by different agroecological zones (AEZs) with semi-arid to sub-humid climates with significant variability in monsoon rainfall. In this study, the impact of climate change on Kharif-season rice is estimated using crop-climate scenarios in Uttar Pradesh. A process-based Crop Simulation Model, Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis-Rice, was simulated with bias-corrected and downscaled climate data for historical (1995–2014) and three future periods (the 2030s, 2050s, and 2090s) for two mitigation pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6. Phenology, irrigation amount, crop evapotranspiration, yield, and water use efficiency were evaluated and assessed for all AEZs. Based on the ensemble of 16 climate models, rainfed rice yield increased in the AEZs of western Uttar Pradesh due to increased rainfall, while in eastern Uttar Pradesh yield decreased, under both shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). Irrigated rice yield decreased in all AEZs under both SSPs due to an increase in temperature and a decrease in the length of the growing period, with reductions of up to 20% by the 2090s. Irrigation requirements decreased from the 2030s to the 2090s due to increased rainfall and decreased crop evapotranspiration. Despite the projected increase in rainfed yield, the overall rice yield is expected to decrease in the future under both SSPs.

    Key Points

    • Rice yield (combining irrigated and rainfed) in Uttar Pradesh, India, is projected to decrease in the future for SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5

    • With a projected increase in rainfall, rainfed rice yield increases in rainfall deficit zones, and irrigation decreases under both shared socioeconomic pathways

    • Planting in the early season could reduce the amount of yield loss for irrigated rice

    Plain Language Summary

    Uttar Pradesh is the most populated state in India, with most of the population working in the agriculture sector and having a low income. The state's vulnerability to climate change is high due to inadequate infrastructure and heavy dependence on agriculture. Rice is a crucial crop for the state, but this study shows that climate change will decrease rice yields in the future, especially for irrigated rice, due to higher temperatures and shorter growing seasons. While rainfed rice yields may increase in some regions due to increased rainfall, rice production is expected to decline overall.

    1 Introduction

    India is the second-largest rice-growing country and has the highest area under rice cultivation (∼43 million ha) in the world (Guha et al., 2021; India at a Glance, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations India, 2024). Rice contributes more than 40% of India's total food grain production. In 2019–2020, the area under rice cultivation was 43.7 million ha, with a total production of 118.4 million tonnes and average productivity of around 2,705 kg/ha. Kharif (summer monsoon) rice has a significant share in total rice production in India. In 2019–2020, the Kharif rice production was estimated to be 102.4 million tonnes (Guha et al., 2021).

    Uttar Pradesh (situated in the Indo-Gangetic plain) is the second-largest rice-producing state with almost 5.87 million hectares of land (∼13.5% of rice cultivated land of India) used for rice cultivation, producing about 19.9 million tonnes per year (11%–12% of rice grown in India). The average rice productivity of Uttar Pradesh (∼2,150 kg/ha) is below the national average (∼2,700 kg/ha). The average farm size in India has almost halved (2.28–1.08 ha) from 1970 (Saxena et al., 2015) due to the growing population. The average size of landholding in Uttar Pradesh is 0.80 ha (below India's average), and for the small farm category, it is only 0.55 ha. Across regions, the average size of farm holdings is lowest in the eastern region (0.64 ha), and highest in the Bundelkhand region (1.49 ha). A large portion of the state's rice is produced by small-scale farmers and is consumed locally. With approximately 65% of the Uttar Pradesh workforce engaged in the agriculture sector, contributing around 26% to the state's GDP (see Figure 1), even minor disruption in the rice production would adversely affect the already marginalized farmers.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 1
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    Agro-Ecological Zones and socioeconomic characteristics of Uttar Pradesh (Guha et al., 2021).

    Rice is cultivated in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh, which have diverse climate regimes, irrigation infrastructures, crop management practices, and farm sizes (0.55–1.49 ha). Different agroecological zones (AEZs) of the state have different climates (semi-arid to sub-humid) and large variability in monsoon rainfall (Figure 1). Rice production in Uttar Pradesh also varies in different AEZs due to different irrigation infrastructure, technology, and crop management practices. There is also interannual variability in rice yield (Guha et al., 2021), which can be linked to monsoonal rainfall variability, also seen in other parts of India (Suneetha & Kumar, 2013). Interannual variability in rainfall also affects groundwater levels that affect the irrigation in Uttar Pradesh, which depends primarily on groundwater. Further, the cost and accessibility of groundwater vary in different AEZs due to differences in irrigation infrastructure (Mall et al., 2006; Zaveri et al., 2016). Hence, small farm sizes, diverse crop management practices, and constrained irrigation infrastructure are the primary limiting factors affecting crop production in different AEZs of Uttar Pradesh (Mall et al., 2006; Mishra et al., 2013; Zaveri et al., 2016).

    In the past two decades, the frequency and magnitude of agricultural losses due to climate-related hazards (floods, droughts, heatwaves, cold waves and weather-related pests and diseases) have increased significantly in various parts of India (Soora et al., 2013; R. K. Srivastava et al., 2021). Increased temperature and changes in rainfall frequency and distribution in the future are expected to affect crop production and productivity over space and time (Donohue et al., 2013; Gupta & Mishra, 2019; Mishra et al., 2013). Small and marginal farmers in Uttar Pradesh often operate with incomes insufficient for their daily needs, leading to a reliance on borrowing for survival. The high costs associated with crop management, such as fertilizers, irrigation, and high-yield varieties, compound their financial challenges (Beriya, 2020). With many of these farmers living below the poverty line, their ability to access advanced water extraction technologies or alter cropping patterns in response to climate change is limited. As a result, the poor and marginalized small farm holders of Uttar Pradesh will be hit hardest by the consequences of the increasing frequency and magnitude of climate hazards.

    Field experiments to understand the crop growth processes under various climate and management conditions are time-consuming and costly, so they are limited in capacity. Hence, it becomes difficult to evaluate and extrapolate site-specific crop experiments under changing climate, CO2 concentration and diverse management practices. On the other hand, crop models are a practical and efficient tool to simulate crop growth and yield to understand the impact of climate variables and CO2 in the absence of conventional field experiments (J. W. Jones et al., 2003; Rosenzweig et al., 2002; White et al., 2011).

    CERES-Rice embedded in Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer (DSSAT) is a process-based and management-oriented model that can simulate the growth and development of rice for varying weather, water, nitrogen, and cultivar characteristics (J. W. Jones et al., 2003). (CERES is an acronym for Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis, and Ceres was the Roman goddess of agriculture.) CERES-Rice considers the effects of elevated CO2 concentrations, change in climatic parameters (e.g., temperatures, rainfall, and solar radiation) and crop management practices, and simulates water requirement and yield. CERES-Rice has been calibrated, validated and extensively used to simulate rice growth process under different climates, crop management practices, and soil conditions over India, and had been found to perform satisfactorily (Gupta & Mishra, 2019; Mall et al., 2018; Mishra et al., 2013; Rao et al., 2016; Satapathy et al., 2014; K. Singh et al., 2017). However, most of these studies were carried out by taking a few coarse-resolution general circulation model (GCM) outputs for limited sites and have been extrapolated for a larger region.

    Studies on the impact of climate change on rice yields have confirmed that an increase in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns will adversely impact rice production (Agarwal, 2007; Guo et al., 2019; Rao et al., 2016; Teng et al., 2016; Varghese et al., 2020). Rice is the most important crop of India, and an increase in rice yields during the green revolution helped gain India food security. However, the production and productivity of rice have reached a steady level in many regions (Aggarwal et al., 2006; Milesi et al., 2010).

    An increase of ∼1°C has been observed in average global surface temperature since pre-industrial times. Moreover, it is reported that Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall has been declining since 1950, with the highest significant trends found over the Indo-Gangetic plains and increasing extreme rainfall events over central India (Goswami et al., 2006; Kulkarni, 2012; Roxy et al., 2015, 2017). A study over the Indo-Gangetic plains depicts a change in rice yield, ranging from −120 to +50 kg/ha/yr from 1985 to 2000 (Pathak et al., 2003). For 2009–2010, India's rice production reduced by ∼10 Mt due to late onset of monsoon and its intra-seasonal variability (Soora et al., 2013). Interannual variability in India's rice yield suggests dependence of rice production on monsoonal rainfall that is affected by changing climate, especially in areas like the Indo-Gangetic plains (Soora et al., 2013). The mean temperature during the crop season is already above the optimal range in Uttar Pradesh, and further increase in temperatures will only increase the extent of crop damage (Bhatt et al., 2019). The altered rainfall pattern, increased frequency of drought and increased temperature can translate to a loss of up to 40% in annual crop yield (T. Li et al., 2015), and it may lead to a severe income loss of about 58% (Pandey & Bhandari, 2009). These adverse changes in the climate system and the declining rice yield trend may lead to food insecurity in already stressed and vulnerable regions like Uttar Pradesh (situated in the Indo-Gangetic plains). Simultaneously, the addition of approximately 40 million people (equivalent to the population of Canada) per decade to Uttar Pradesh (as seen in the last two decades), is further jeopardizing the future of food security.

    The challenges mentioned earlier are sure to be affected by future climate change, which will impact crop production in space and time through direct or indirect interactions with an increases in temperature and CO2 concentration, and changes in water availability and other climatic variables (Agarwal, 2007; Cammarano et al., 2016; Donohue et al., 2013; Korres et al., 2017; J. Singh et al., 2020; White et al., 2011). Without the efforts of reducing fossil fuel emissions, the average global temperature will surpass 1.5°C by 2030 (Allen et al., 2018). Fan et al. (2020) have reported a global mean land temperature increase in the range of 1.2°C–7.2°C by the end of the 21st century. A substantial rise in mean, extreme and interannual variability of JJAS rainfall under global warming over India has been reported in recent studies (Katzenberger et al., 2021; Kitoh, 2017; Yaduvanshi et al., 2019, 2021). Although increased CO2 concentrations will enhance photosynthesis efficiency, adverse impacts on crops through the change in water availability and increasing temperature (above optimal) will exceed the CO2 fertilization effect (Donohue et al., 2013; Korres et al., 2017; Toreti et al., 2020).

    Conventionally, studies over India have mostly concentrated on understanding the changes in crop processes by changing the average temperature, CO2 amounts, rainfall, and irrigation and have not considered the projected climate data from GCMs (Mishra et al., 2013). There are a few studies over India (see Table S1 in Supporting Information S1) using crop models and climate projections from GCMs to understand the impact on rice production. However, most of these studies are site-specific, using limited crop management practices, few GCM outputs and few Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP, Eyring et al., 2016) scenarios. These studies suggest a need for a high-resolution gridded crop model simulation using the latest climate scenarios, a large ensemble of GCMs, and a combination of crop management practices to understand the underlying uncertainties, sensitivity and impacts in a more comprehensive manner. Apart from this, most of these studies have concentrated on assessing the effects of climate change on rice yield. However, other factors such as change in phenology, crop water requirement and water use efficiency (WUE) are also important (Bouras et al., 2019; R. K. Srivastava et al., 2021). Therefore, this research assessed the effects of climate change on rice phenology, crop water requirement, irrigation, yield, and WUE for various crop-climate scenarios (16 CMIP6 GCMs, 2 SSPs, 4 rice varieties, 3 planting dates, and 2 irrigation scenarios over 342 sites (at 25 × 25 km resolution) over the nine AEZs of Uttar Pradesh (Figure 1).

    2 Materials and Methods

    2.1 Study Region

    Uttar Pradesh is a northern state of India situated in the Indo-Gangetic plains, located between 23°52′N and 31°28′N latitudes and 77°3′E and 84°39′E longitudes (Figure 1). The total area of the state is 24.1 million hectares (∼7.34% of India). The population of Uttar Pradesh was 166 million in 2001, 199 million in 2011, and was estimated to be 237 million (∼17.2% of India's population) in 2020. The population density of the state was 690, 829, and 983 people/km2 for 2001, 2011, and 2020, respectively. The state has a total area of 24.1 Mha, out of which 16.81 Mha is cultivated, constituting around 70% of the total geographical area, having an annual cropping intensity of 153% (sown more than once a year). The primary crops are rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane, chickpea, and pigeon pea.

    Hot summers and sub-tropical monsoon define the characteristics of Uttar Pradesh's climate. However, the weather conditions vary significantly with location. Uttar Pradesh falls under three major agroecological zones of India (based on climate and soil), namely, middle Gangetic plain, upper Gangetic plain, and central plateau. The Middle Gangetic plain is further divided into the North-Eastern Plain Zone (NEZ), the Eastern Plain Zone (EPZ), and the Vindhyan Zone (VZ). The Upper Gangetic plain is the largest agroecological zone with the highest share of population, covering 32 districts out of total 83 districts, and is further divided into the Central Plain Zone (CPZ), the Mid-western plain Zone (MWZ), the Bhabhar and Tarai Zone (BTZ), the Western Plain Zone (WPZ), and the Southwestern semi-arid plain Zone (SWZ). The central plateau zone contains the Bundelkhand Zone (BKZ). The description of these nine AEZs is given in Figure 2, describing their climate and percentage of cultivated and irrigated land. It can be seen in Figure 2 that the EPZ (80%) has the highest irrigated land, and the BKZ has the lowest (25%).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 2
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    Climate type, percentage of cultivated and irrigated land for each agroecological zone (AEZ) of Uttar Pradesh (Guha et al., 2021). We estimated the percentage of AEZ-wise irrigated land from the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (I.W.M.P) in 2009 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, India for Perspective and Strategic Plan (http://dolr.gov.in/sites/default/files/SPSP_Uttar%20Pradesh.pdf); for details see Table SPSP-10 of the report.

    2.2 Climate and Crop Data

    We acquired observed daily climate data (maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum temperature (Tmin), rainfall and solar radiation (srad)) to be used as input in the CERES-Rice model. Data for Tmax and Tmin are available at 1° × 1° resolution from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for 1995–2014 (A. K. Srivastava et al., 2009). Daily rainfall data are available at 0.25° × 0.25° resolution for 1995–2014, also retrieved from IMD (Pai et al., 2014). Daily srad (0.5° × 0.5°) data are retrieved from NASA's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER, obtained from https://power.larc.nasa.gov/data-access-viewer) for the period 1995–2014 (Stackhouse et al., 2015).

    The shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) runs are part of ScenarioMIP which is one of the main activities of CMIP6 and is a combination of SSPs and RCPs that makes future scenarios more reasonable (Eyring et al., 2016; O’Neill et al., 2016). For future climate, SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 from CMIP6 are used in this study. SSP2-4.5 consists of a medium radiative forcing category of 4.5 W/m2 by 2100 and medium land use and aerosol pathways also called “middle of the road” SSP (Figure S1 in Supporting Information S1). SSP5-8.5 is the high end of the range of future scenarios having the combination of the highest forcing (8.5 W/m2) and fossil-fueled development of SSP5. SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 are relevant for impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability studies because combining these two scenarios covers the medium to worst societal vulnerability (SSP2 and SSP5) with medium to high forcing (O’Neill et al., 2016).

    CERES-Rice (v4.6) is a process based (dynamic) crop model and is a module of the Cropping System Model of DSSAT (v4.6) (J. W. Jones et al., 2003). A dynamic model simulates the changes in the system's state as a function of external factors (e.g., weather, soil, and crop management practices) influencing it. These dynamic models also simulate the interaction among the various components of the system. A crop model simulates the crop growth process and yield by taking soil parameters, crop management, weather and crop genetic coefficients and has the potential to simulate the impact of climate change on crops (Rosenzweig et al., 2002). CERES-Rice uses daily weather data (minimum and maximum temperature, rainfall, and solar radiation), soil profile characteristics, crop management, and cultivar-specific genetic inputs. To simulate rice growth, development, and yield, the model considers the following processes:

    1. Rice growth process as a function of genotype, weather, soil, and management,

    2. Phenology (anthesis and maturity) as a function of temperature and photoperiod,

    3. Biomass accumulation based on radiation use efficiency approach and considers the impact of different concentration of atmospheric CO2,

    4. Partitioning of biomass among leaves, stems, roots, and reproductive parts based on phenology, and

    5. Soil water balance that simulates the daily evaporation, runoff, percolation, and crop water uptake under irrigated and rainfed conditions.

    2.3 Crop Management Data

    Crop management data consist of rice cultivar, planting dates, fertilizer application frequency and amount, and irrigation frequency and amount. These crop management practices were provided by the Agromet division of IMD. The CERES-Rice model was calibrated and validated with these management practices for a few districts of Uttar Pradesh by the Agromet division (details can be found in Appendix A). The experimental data used in the process of calibration and validation are maximum leaf area index, panicle initiation date, anthesis date, physiological maturity date, grain yield at maturity, grain weight, grain number, planting depth, row spacing and plant population at seeding, planting method, and fertilizer and irrigation application. The details of calibrated genetic coefficients values of the rice varieties are given in Table S3 in Supporting Information S1 and the explanation of genetic coefficients are given in Table S4 in Supporting Information S1 (Buddhaboon et al., 2018). Soil data for 70 sites from various AEZs of Uttar Pradesh were also provided by the IMD Agromet division. Physical and chemical description of the soil profile with separate information for each master horizon, for example, depth, organic carbon, sand, clay and silt percentage, drainage upper and lower limits, and saturated hydraulic conductivity, are included in a soil profile. Soil drainage upper and lower limits correspond to the field capacity and permanent wilting point, respectively.

    Transplantation of rice in Uttar Pradesh generally commences with the onset of the monsoon, that is, mid-June to early July. However, transplanting is done even before the monsoon onset by farmers with adequate irrigation infrastructure and availability. In the regions of Uttar Pradesh having inadequate irrigation infrastructure and electricity, transplanting is delayed and continued until the end of July. In the literature, we found a wide range of transplanting dates and conducted an online survey by providing a questionnaire to farmers regarding the management practices for rice cultivation. Based on the literature and farmers survey, we chose three planting dates (25 June, 5 July, and 15 July).

    Irrigated and rainfed rice were simulated using fertilizer application of 120 kg NPK/ha (N:P:K ratio is 120:60:60) in three divided doses of 60 kg/ha (at basal), 30 kg/ha (at active tillering), and 30 kg/ha (at panicle initiation) at 0, 25, and 55 days after planting. Three planting dates, early season (25 June), mid-season (5 July), and late season (15 July) are considered to cover approximate cropping window for rice planting in Uttar Pradesh. We evaluated two irrigation scenarios: rainfed and irrigated (automatic irrigation). For the automatic irrigation scenario, irrigation within the CERES-Rice model is activated once the soil moisture level drops below a specified threshold. We utilized a flood depth (mm) irrigation method, assuming 100% irrigation efficiency where there is no water loss through the irrigation process, representing an idealized scenario.

    2.4 Crop-Model Simulation Design

    To evaluate the performance of 20 selected CMIP6 GCMs (Table S2 in Supporting Information S1), we have taken 20 years (1995–2014) of IMD and model historical data. We have examined the performance for seasonal mean (JJAS) rainfall, Tmax and Tmin over Uttar Pradesh. After the performance evaluation, 16 GCMs were selected and the data from these GCMs were bias corrected and statistically downscaled (at 0.25°) using IMD data. Quantile mapping is used to bias correct and downscale the climate variables. The details of the statistical downscaling are explained in the Text S3 in Supporting Information S1. These downscaled climate data from the 16 GCMs are used to force the CERES-Rice crop model. Details of the GCM performance evaluation, bias-correction and downscaling are provided in Supporting Information S1.

    The CERES-Rice model simulates crop growth, development, and yield by taking weather data, soil conditions, crop management practices and crop cultivar characteristics as input. The calibrated version of the CERES-Rice model is assumed to simulate rice growth, development, and yield with reasonable accuracy in Uttar Pradesh, provided the same genetics and management practices are used. CERES-Rice is a site-based model; however, consistently evaluating crop productivity and growth-related parameters at the global and regional levels is crucial to assess the possible impacts of climate change and identify system vulnerabilities and potential adaptations. Uttar Pradesh is a big state (24.5 million ha; including 345 grid boxes of 0.25° × 0.25° resolution), and hence a software framework was developed to run DSSAT in a gridded environment. Although Uttar Pradesh's vast area necessitates a gridded approach to model deployment, the adaptation to a gridded environment does not incorporate plant-atmosphere feedback or grid-to-grid interactions, thereby functioning similarly to its original point-based design.

    In CERES-Rice simulations, crop management practices (rice varieties, irrigation, fertilizer applications) provided by IMD's Agromet division were used. Figure 3 describes the crop model experiments for various climate-crop scenarios. As seen in Figure 3, a total of 1,152 (16 × 4 × 2 × 3 × 3) experiments were designed with the combination of planting dates (3), rice cultivar (4), GCMs (16), irrigation conditions (2), and CO2 concentration (3; historical, SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) for a total of 342 grids. Phenology (anthesis and maturity), irrigation amount, evapotranspiration (ET), transpiration (EP) and evaporation (ES), yield and WUE obtained as CERES-Rice outputs are evaluated for every AEZ. For historical runs (1995–2014), GCM-forced simulations were evaluated with IMD-forced simulations for early, mid, and late planting (25 June, 5 July, and 15 July) averaged for the four rice varieties.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 3
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    Design and flow of Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis-Rice model inputs and simulation.

    CO2 sensitivity analysis experiments were designed for mid planting by taking the 2005 representative atmospheric CO2 concentration (373 ppm: an average of 1995–2014) as the base value and taking climate information from SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 for the 2030s, 2050s, and 2090s. The different climate-crop scenarios for CO2 sensitivity are defined by combining the climate data (16), rice varieties (4), irrigation (2), planting dates (1), and CO2 amount (2), making a total of 256 scenarios (16 × 4 × 2 × 1 × 2). The impact of CO2 fertilization on yield, ET, and WUE are assessed by comparing the CO2 experimental simulation to that of SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 for mid planting.

    For assessing the impact of climate change on rice cultivation, an average of all 4 rice varieties and 16 GCMs (multi-model mean) from DSSAT output is computed for seasonal temperature, rainfall, irrigation amount, transpiration, evaporation, yield and WUE, and changes are assessed for each planting season, irrigation condition, future period, and SSP. The uncertainty in the outputs of CERES-Rice forced with the 16 GCM climates is assessed by computing the inter-model standard deviation. Robustness of projected changes in CERES-Rice outputs (e.g., yield, ET, WUE) is assessed by stippling the grid points that have at least 75% of GCMs agreeing on the sign of projected change.

    3 Results and Discussion

    3.1 Change in Temperature

    Bias adjusted and downscaled CMIP6 daily temperatures (Tmax and Tmin) were used to project changes in Tmax and Tmin for different growing seasons over Uttar Pradesh under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5. Figures S3(I) and S3(II) in Supporting Information S1 show Tmax for historical and their differences for 2026–2035, 2046–2055, and 2090–2099 under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, respectively.

    Historical seasonal Tmax ranges from 28 to 35°C (see Figure S3 in Supporting Information S1), having the highest temperature in the semi-arid western plains (WPZ, SWZ) and lowest in Tarai region (BTZ). The magnitude of Tmax decreases from early to late planting and standard deviation among the models is approximately 0.3°C in the historical period. For the 2030s (2026–2035), the changes are within 0.5°C for both SSPs and planting season, except in the mid-planting of SSP2-4.5. For the 2050s (2046–2055), the changes are between 0.5–1°C and 1–1.5°C (for all the planting seasons) under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, respectively. By the 2090s (2090–2099), temperature increases by 2.5°C in mid planting and 2°C in early and late planting under SSP2-4.5. The lowest changes are seen in the southwestern region (WPZ, SWZ, western CPZ, and BKZ). Under SSP5-8.5, the increase is between 3–3.5°C in eastern and 2.5–3°C in western Uttar Pradesh.

    Tmin for the historical period ranges from 19 to 27°C (see Figure S4 in Supporting Information S1) and decreases from early to late planting. The lowest seasonal Tmin is observed in the Tarai region (BTZ, MWZ) and southern Uttar Pradesh that are part of the Vindhya Mountain ranges (BKZ, VZ). For the 2030s, Tmin increases by 0.5–1.5°C in mid planting season and is under 0.5°C for early planting under both SSPs. The late planting season changes in the 2030s are below 0.5°C under SSP2-4.5 and between 0.5 and 1.5°C under SSP5-8.5.

    Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2050s, changes are between 1.5–2°C in BTZ and 1–1.5°C in other AEZs, with the magnitude of change intensifying from early to late planting. Under SSP5-8.5, the pattern and characteristics of changes are similar to SSP2-4.5 but have magnitudes higher by around 0.5°C. Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2090s, the increase in Tmin ranges between 2 and 3.5°C, with the highest increase in mid-planting followed by late and early planting. Under SSP5-8.5, the increase in Tmin ranges from 3 to 5°C, increasing in magnitude from early to late planting.

    For early and mid-planting, the highest changes are in Tarai and western parts of Uttar Pradesh, however, in late planting, the changes are of similar magnitude over the entire region except for the Tarai region (highest increase in Tmin). Contrary to what was seen for Tmax, the highest changes in Tmin are projected in western parts of the state. The range of diurnal temperature is projected to diminish more for the western than the eastern part of the state because the change for Tmax is high and for Tmin it is low over eastern parts and vice-versa for western parts of the state.

    3.2 Change in Phenology (Anthesis and Maturity)

    Anthesis is the period of opening of flower buds, which is a function of Tmax and Tmin computed in the form of growing-degree days (GDD) in CERES-Rice. If the temperatures are above optimal, the anthesis duration decreases. In Uttar Pradesh, temperatures are already on the verge of or higher than optimal, hence further increase in temperature will result in reduced anthesis duration. In Figure S5 in Supporting Information S1, we can see that anthesis duration in the baseline period ranges from 60 to 64 dap (days after planting), except in the Tarai region (up to 80 days). The decrease is below 3% (less than 2 days) under both SSPs in the 2030s, with the highest agreement on the sign of change for mid-planting. In the 2050s, the decrease ranges between 3% and 5% for most regions under both SSPs, and there is no disagreement among models on the sign of change, however, in SSP5-8.5, the reduction is more prominent (5%–7%) in BTZ and northern MWZ and CPZ. Under SSP2-4.5, by the 2090s, the decrease is 1%–3% in semi-arid western plains, 7%–9% in the Tarai region, and 5%–7% in the rest of the state. Under SSP5-8.5, the reduction is 5%–13%, with the lowest in semi-arid western plains, and the intensity of change increases from early to late planting.

    Maturity is the period from planting to the end of ripening when the water content in the plant is less than 14% and is computed in the form of GDD in CERES-Rice. Once maturity is reached the crop is ready to be harvested. However, in actual practice, the crop's maturity varies from harvesting time from place to place. Maturity defines the length of growing period (LGP) and affects the yield of crops. Figure 4 shows the maturity duration in historical and changes for various future periods under SSP2-4.5 (Figure 4(I)) and SSP5-8.5 (Figure 4(II)). Maturity ranges from 92 to 120 days after planting in BTZ and upper MWZ and 87–92 days after planting in the rest of the state. In the 2030s, maturity duration reduces 2%–5% in BTZ, MWZ and NEZ and less than 2% for the rest of the AEZs. The intensity of reduction increases from early to late planting. Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2050s, the reduction is 5%–9% in the Tarai region (BTZ and upper MWZ) and 3%–5% in other AEZs. Under SSP5-8.5, these changes range between 5% and 11%, with the highest change in Tarai. By the 2090s, the decrease in maturity duration reaches 7%–13% and 7%–15% in SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, respectively. The decreases are highest in late planting and lowest in early planting for both SSPs. The lowest decrease is witnessed over semi-arid western plains of the state.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 4
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    Changes in seasonal maturity duration for (I) SSP2-4.5 and (II) SSP5-8.5 are shown. (a, e, and i) Subfigures I and II show historical, and (b, f, and j) changes for 2026–2035, (c, g, and k) 2046–2055, and (d, h, and l) 2090–2099 for early planting (first and fourth row), mid-planting (second and fifth row), and late planting (third and sixth row). Overlaid black dots represent model agreement (75% of models) on sign of change. Black contours show inter-model standard deviation of 16 CMIP6 general circulation models.

    3.3 Change in Rainfall

    Historical seasonal rainfall ranges from 200 to 1,400 mm over the state, with the lowest rainfall over semi-arid western plains (SWZ, WPZ) and lower CPZ and highest over BTZ, MWZ, and NEZ (see Figure S6 in Supporting Information S1). In the baseline period, seasonal rainfall decreases from early to late planting, and the standard deviation among the 16 GCMs is approximately 60 mm. Under SSP2-4.5, the increase in rainfall for the 2030s and the 2050s is up to 90 mm (15%), and for the 2090s, it is 90–180 mm (15%–25%). The lowest changes are projected in early planting and the highest in late planting. The inter-model standard deviation ranges from around 120 mm for the Tarai region, 60 mm for semi-arid western plains and 90 mm for the other AEZs. Under SSP5-8.5, the increase in rainfall for the 2030s and the 2050s is up to 90 mm (15%), and for the 2090s, it is 90–300 mm (15%–40%). During the 2090s, changes are large over BTZ, MWZ, NEZ, and upper CPZ. Standard deviation among the models increases from the 2030s (70–100 mm) to the 2090s (130 mm). As the magnitude of changes is high, there is no ambiguity in the sign of change among the models under both SSPs.

    3.4 Change in Crop Water Requirement

    Crop water requirement is defined as the amount of water (mm) required to meet the water demand through ET consumption for the entire crop growth period. The crop water requirement assumes that the crop is grown under optimal management and environmental conditions (uniform crop, actively growing, completely shading the ground, free of diseases, and favorable soil conditions). Seasonal evapotranspiration (sum of daily ET) is influenced by its growth stages, climatic conditions, and crop management practices. The concept of crop water requirement and ET is applied for both irrigated and rainfed rice. For irrigated rice, the crop water requirement is fulfilled by irrigation, which is the amount of water (mm) required to satisfy its specific crop water requirement fully. Irrigation required is the fraction of crop water requirement not satisfied by rainfall and soil moisture.

    This section discusses the irrigation amount (dependent on ET and rainfall) for irrigated rice, and ET for rainfed rice. Rice ET is the sum of rice transpiration (major component) and soil evaporation. Temperature, rainfall, CO2 and LGP (based on phenology) affect crop ET. Increased temperatures may cause a higher vapor pressure deficit resulting in increased crop ET rates (Walter et al., 2004). We have already discussed that global warming will advance the rice crop's anthesis and shorten the maturity period, hence, shortening the rice LGP leading to crop ET decline. Further, enrichment in atmospheric CO2 reduces leaf stomatal conductance, consequently reducing water loss through transpiration. Assessing the crop ET response to climate change is non-linear and complex because various mechanisms and parameters influence it (Mo et al., 2013).

    3.4.1 Irrigated Rice ET

    Seasonal irrigated rice ET ranges from 250 to 450 mm for all the growing season over Uttar Pradesh, with an inter-model standard deviation of 30 mm for the historical (see Figure S7 in Supporting Information S1). Semi-arid plains and Tarai region has highest and eastern part of the state has lowest ET amounts showing similar magnitude and spatial pattern for all the planting seasons. ET is a combination of EP and ES, transpiration being the dominant component. EP ranges from 140 to 270 mm, with the highest transpiration in semi-arid to dry sub-humid AEZs (WPZ, SWZ, and western CPZ) with similar characteristics in all planting seasons. ES ranges between 90 and 220 mm, with lowest evaporation in semi-arid AEZs and highest in sub-humid AEZs (upper CPZ and NEZ), and increases from early to late planting.

    Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2030s, ET decreases by 4%–8%, and change intensifies from early to late planting. EP (1%–10%) and ES (1%–8%) decrease in the 2030s; for EP, the decrease is highest in late planting and for ES in early planting. Since EP is the dominant component, ET shows a spatial pattern similar to EP. Under SSP5-8.5, the changes in ET range between −4% and −6% in most of the AEZs, with MWZ (−6% to −8%) showing higher change. Changes in EP are similar to that under SSP2-4.5, however, the magnitude of change is lower for ES in SSP5-8.5. In the 2050s, the decline ranges between 4% and 10% for both SSPs and has a similar pattern of change (highest in BTZ, WPZ, MWZ, and VZ). Under SSP2-4.5, EP decreases by 4%–10%, and the change intensifies from early to late planting; ES reduces between 1% and 4% uniformly over all AEZs. Under SSP5-8.5, change in EP is more prominent (4%–12%) than that under SSP2-4.5; ES decreases over MWZ and NEZ (1%–4%), and for the rest of the AEZs, change is negligible or positive (less than 4%). By the end of the century, under SSP2-4.5, the magnitude of changes declines in WPZ, BKZ, CPZ, NEZ, and EPZ, however, under SSP5-8.5, the changes intensify over western parts and decline over eastern parts of the state. The 2090s changes in EP are similar to the 2050s under SSP2-4.5 and intensifies (up to 20%) under SSP5-8.5. Changes in ES are positive (1%–8%) except the Tarai region under SP245 and have a similar pattern with an increase in intensity (1%–12%) under SSP5-8.5.

    Overall, irrigated rice EP decreases for all the periods under both SSPs; the percentage of change is highest in the 2090s under SSP5-8.5, reaching up to 20% (CO2 ∼1,000 ppm). Irrigated rice EP does not show any specific correlation with temperature, probably because of the trade-off between the impacts of increased temperature and CO2 and a decrease in LGP on EP. The lowest soil evaporation for irrigated rice is over semi-arid AEZs and the highest over sub-humid AEZs (upper CPZ, NEZ). Under SSP2-4.5, soil evaporation decreases for the 2030s and the 2050s and increases for the 2090s. Under SSP5-8.5, soil evaporation decreases for the 2030s, increases for the 2090s, and shows a mixed spatial pattern in the 2050s. Soil evaporation is positively correlated with rainfall. Under both SSPs, for all periods, crop ET decreases (−1% to −12%) for irrigated rice. For the 2090s, the decline in ET under SSP2-4.5 is lower than in previous periods; however, under SSP5-8.5, the decline in ET intensifies compared to previous periods, because in the 2090s soil evaporation increases for both SSPs, however, the decline in crop transpiration is intensified under SSP5-8.5 but not under SSP2-4.5.

    3.4.2 Irrigation Requirement

    Irrigation is a function of soil moisture in the CERES-Rice model. Soil moisture is a function of rainfall, root water uptake, runoff, and soil evaporation. Crops utilize only a small portion of root water uptake amount, while most of it is lost through transpiration. The irrigation use efficiency is taken as 100%, assuming no water is wasted in the field and the plant utilizes every drop in our experiments of CERES-Rice. However, in reality, irrigation efficiency for flood irrigation is 60%; approximately 40% of the irrigation is wasted in most parts of India. The irrigation amount for historical ranges between 60 and 200 mm, with the highest irrigation amount in late planting (see Figure 5). The highest irrigation is triggered in western parts of the state (semi-arid and dry sub-humid) and lowest in sub-humid parts of the state. Inter-model standard deviation in irrigation is 30–50 mm, with highest in western plains. Overall, soil moisture is increasing (due to an increase in rainfall) for all the periods, and SSPs, and crop water requirement (function of ET) decreases. As a result, irrigation demand decreases for all the periods and SSPs, with spatially varying magnitudes. The percentage decrease in irrigation ranges from 3% to 25% and 3% to 35% for the 2030s and the 2050s, respectively, under both SSPs. For the 2090s, the percentage decrease in irrigation is 10%–45% and 10%–55% under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, respectively. Overall, the decline in irrigation requirement is highest for late planting during the 2090s under both SSPs.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 5
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    Changes in seasonal irrigation amount for (I) SSP2-4.5 and (II) SSP5-8.5. (a, e, and i) Subfigures I and II show historical, and changes for (b, f, and i) 2026–2035, (c, g, and k) 2046–2055, and (d, h, and l) 2090–2099 for early planting (first and fourth row), mid-planting (second and fifth row), and late planting (third and sixth row). Overlaid black dots represent model agreement (75% of models) on sign of change. Black contours show inter-model standard deviation of 16 CMIP6 general circulation models.

    3.4.3 Rainfed Rice ET

    Historical rainfed rice ET ranges from 250 to 330 mm for all planting seasons over Uttar Pradesh which is significantly less than irrigated rice ET (350–450 mm), because water is a limiting factor for rainfed rice, therefore, it is far below the potential ET, unlike irrigated rice (Figure S8 in Supporting Information S1). ET partitioning between plant transpiration and soil evaporation is similar (with transpiration being the major component) for irrigated and rainfed rice. For rainfed rice, soil evaporation is highest in eastern Uttar Pradesh (sub-humid AEZs), and plant transpiration is highest in the Tarai regions. The decrease in rainfed rice ET is lower (∼4%) than irrigated rice ET for all periods and SSPs. ET is affected by temperature, rainfall, CO2, and LGP, and all these factors are the same for rainfed and irrigated rice. However, with an increase in rainfall, rainfed rice ET increases, leading to a lower decline of rainfed ET than irrigated ET. R. K. Srivastava et al. (2021) also reported that crop ET for rainfed and irrigated crops are sensitive to different parameters, hence their patterns of projected change under future climate may not be identical.

    Under both SSPs, rainfed rice ET decreases from 1% to 8% over Uttar Pradesh. The magnitude of the decline is smallest in semi-arid western Uttar Pradesh for the 2030s and the 2050s. Western Uttar Pradesh has low soil evaporation and high plant transpiration amount in the historical period. Over western Uttar Pradesh, the overall change in soil evaporation and plant transpiration is positive and negative (lowest change compared to the rest of the domain), respectively, under both SSPs. This trade-off between soil evaporation and plant transpiration minimizes the net change in rainfed rice ET over western Uttar Pradesh. Eastern Uttar Pradesh shows the highest magnitude of change in rainfed rice ET. Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2090s, change is either negligible or positive in BTZ, WPZ, SWZ and western CPZ and negative in all other AEZs. Under SSP5-8.5, in the 2090s, change is negligible/positive in SWZ, western CPZ and NEZ and negative in remaining AEZs.

    3.5 Change in Crop Yield

    Rice yield is a function of temperature, LGP, rainfall and CO2. If the temperature increases beyond a threshold for a certain amount of time, then the growth and development of the plant are damaged irreversibly (Khan et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2021). Shorter LGP associated with higher temperature due to a decline in cumulative intercepted radiation leads to a reduced biomass and grain yield (Mearns et al., 1997). Change in rainfall will impact soil water balance, soil evaporation, and rice transpiration (Kang et al., 2009). Changes in rainfall would not significantly impact irrigated rice yields because soil moisture is not a limiting factor for irrigated rice.

    3.5.1 Irrigated Rice Yield

    To assess the potential impact of climate change and overall uncertainty associated with the projected changes on irrigated rice yield, the multi-GCM ensemble of the yield change projected by individual GCMs for SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 for three future periods is shown in Figure 6. The overlaid contour on the plots shows the standard deviation among the CMIP6 GCMs. CERES-Rice simulated historical (1995–2014) rice yield ranges from 3,500 to 5,000 kg/ha, with yield decreasing from early to late planting. The standard deviation among the CMIP6 GCMs is 300 kg/ha in Tarai region and 200 kg/ha in rest of the AEZs. For both SSPs and all periods, irrigated rice yield decreases due to increased seasonal mean daily maximum and daily minimum temperatures beyond the optimal range (as seen in Figures S3 and S4 in Supporting Information S1). For both SSPs and all periods, yield decline is associated with decreased LGP and increase due to increased CO2 concentration (shown in the CO2 sensitivity experiments, discussed in Section 20). The reduction in yield is about 1%–5% in the 2030s under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5. In the 2050s, the decrease in yield is similar to the 2030s under both SSPs. However, under SSP2-4.5, the reduction in yield is higher for WPZ (5%–10% in mid planting) and MWZ (5%–10% in late planting).

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 6
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    Changes in irrigated rice yield for (I) SSP2-4.5 and (II) SSP5-8.5. (a, e, and i) Subfigures I and II show historical, and changes for (b, f, and j) 2026–2035, (c, g, and k) 2046–2055, and (d, h, and l) 2090–2099 for early planting (first and fourth row), mid-planting (second and fifth row), and late planting (third and sixth row). Overlaid black dots represent model agreement (75% of models) on sign of change. Black contours show inter-model standard deviation of 16 CMIP6 general circulation models.

    In the 2090s, under SSP2-4.5, the changes are almost similar to the 2050s, with parts of BKZ and VZ showing higher reductions (5%–10%). Under SSP5-8.5, the reduction is between 5% and 15% by the 2090s, with the highest decrease in late planting. Absolute changes in mean yield from 16 CMIP6 GCMs is aggregated for each AEZ and is shown in the form of box plots (Figure S9 in Supporting Information S1). The figure shows that uncertainties are highest in BTZ and WPZ for all the periods and SSPs. Under SSP5-8.5, by the 2090s, the model uncertainties increase for all the AEZs.

    3.5.2 Rainfed Rice Yield

    Historical yield for rainfed rice ranges between 2,000 and 3,500 kg/ha, with the highest yield in mid planting and lowest in early planting. The lowest yield (2,000–2,500 kg/ha) is in semi-arid plains (WPZ and SWZ) and the western part of NEZ for all the planting seasons. On the contrary, eastern parts of NEZ, EPZ and central BKZ have the highest rainfed yield (3,000–3,500 kg/ha) for the mid planting, followed by late planting. The early season has the highest inter-model standard deviation of 700 kg/ha, followed by mid and late planting (500 kg/ha).

    Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2030s, an increase of 1%–10% is projected in western and a decrease of up to 5% in eastern Uttar Pradesh (see Figure 7). Under SSP5-8.5, in the 2030s, the positive changes in yield (1%–10%) are more widespread than SSP2-4.5, but with negative changes in BKZ (up to 5%) in early planting and in late planting, and higher positive change (10%–15%) in BTZ and WPZ. In the 2050s, under both SSPs, the positive changes are projected to spatially shrink to SWZ, WPZ, BTZ, and MWZ (1%–10%), and all the other AEZs show negative (1%–5%) or minor changes (−1%–1%) for early and mid-planting. However, all the AEZs show positive changes (1%–20%) except for northern CPZ and eastern NEZ under both SSPs in the late-planting season. In the 2090s, under SSP2-4.5, changes are similar to the 2050s. Under SSP5-8.5, by the 2090s, the negative changes between 1% and 10% are widespread, and positive changes have reduced in magnitude and coverage. The increases in yield become more pronounced as the planting period shifts from early to late, and models show higher agreement on positive changes than negative and negligible changes under both SSPs. The model uncertainties are highest in projecting the changes over BTZ, WPS, and SWZ under both SSPs in the 2030s (Figure S10 in Supporting Information S1). The uncertainties in projecting rainfed rice yield are lowest in the late-planting season for the 2030s and the 2050s under both SSPs. By the 2090s, the uncertainties in sign of change are lowered for all the planting seasons and SSPs.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 7
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    Changes in rainfed rice yield for (I) SSP2-4.5 and (II) SSP5-8.5 are shown. (a, e, and i) Subfigures I and II show historical, and changes for (b, f, and j) 2026–2035, (c, g, and k) 2046–2055, and (d, h, and l) 2090–2099 for early planting (first and fourth row), mid-planting (second and fifth row), and late planting (third and sixth row). Overlaid black dots represent model agreement (75% of models) on sign of change. Black contours show inter-model standard deviation of 16 CMIP6 general circulation models.

    In contrast to irrigated rice, the spatial distribution of changes in rainfed rice yield displays a mix of both positive and negative values. Under both SSPs, an increase in rainfall has a positive impact on yield, indicating that beneficial effects of rainfall compensate for negative impacts of temperatures in rainfed rice (in line with Kang et al. (2009)). Under both SSPs, an increase in Tmax and Tmin have a negative impact on rainfed rice yield, and a decrease in rice ET is associated with a decrease in yield for rainfed rice (Figure S11 in Supporting Information S1). The yield reduction is higher in irrigated compared to rainfed conditions indicating rainfed rice yield is more sensitive to changes in rainfall than that in temperature (Kang et al., 2009; R. K. Srivastava et al., 2021).

    3.6 Change in Water Use Efficiency (WUE)

    WUE is an important metric used to understand the coupling between the water cycle and carbon assimilation in plants. In this study, WUE is computed as a ratio between yield (kg) and crop ET (m3), which describes the trade-off between the water loss and carbon sequestration in plant photosynthesis carbon assimilation (H. Jones, 2004). Photosynthesis and transpiration are affected by leaf stomatal conductance, hence have a critical linkage between the carbon and water cycles in crop growth processes (Beer et al., 2009; Niu et al., 2011).

    3.6.1 Irrigated Rice WUE

    Irrigated WUE is 0.6–1.2 kg/m3, with the highest WUE seen in western CPZ and upper BKZ (Figure S12 in Supporting Information S1). WUE reduces from early to late planting. Under both SSPs, WUE increases approximately 6% for the 2030s and the 2050s, except for the Tarai region, where projected changes are higher (6%–12%) in the 2050s. The model agreement on the sign of change is significant over the entire state in the 2030s and the 2050s. Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2090s, the change in irrigated rice WUE is relatively small for early and late planting and higher (up to 12%) for mid planting that has the highest agreement on the sign of change. Under SSP5-8.5, in the 2090s, WUE decreases (−12%), except in BTZ and MWZ, which shows an increase (up to 12%). The primary reason for the increased WUE in the 2030s and the 2050s is elevated CO2 concentrations, reducing leaf stomatal conductance and increasing biomass accumulation (Q. Li et al., 2010). As a result, water flux reduces considerably, leading to decreased transpiration (Q. Li et al., 2010). However, by the 2090s, the changes in WUE are either negligible or negative under both SSPs because of higher decreases in yield than evapotranspiration.

    3.6.2 Rainfed Rice WUE

    Historical WUE for rainfed rice ranges from 0.6 to 1.0 kg/m3 and is highest for mid planting and lowest for late planting over the entire region (Figure S13 in Supporting Information S1). Water use efficiency is lower for rainfed rice compared to irrigated rice. It is highest for eastern Uttar Pradesh (sub-humid) and lowest for western Uttar Pradesh (semi-arid). Under both SSPs, WUE is projected to increase by as much as ∼18% (e.g., BTZ) for the 2030s and the 2050s. Under SSP2-4.5, in the 2090s, change in WUE is insignificant/low for sub-humid regions (e.g., NEZ, EPZ, and VZ). Under SSP5-8.5, in the 2090s, WUE decreases (up to ∼12%) over eastern Uttar Pradesh and increases (up to ∼24%) over western Uttar Pradesh. Overall, the increase in WUE for rainfed rice is higher than irrigated rice. Thus, rainfed rice is projected to transpire less water per assimilated carbon, and hence use water more efficiently than irrigated rice.

    3.7 Role of CO2 Fertilization

    CO2 concentration will increase for both SSP5-8.5 and SSP2-4.5, and it has a direct impact on plant growth processes. This process is known as the CO2 fertilization effect and has been recognized and studied at both small scale (through laboratory field experiments; e.g. Garbulsky et al., 2010) and global scale (through satellite observations; e.g. Donohue et al., 2013). Experiments and observations revealed that elevated CO2 would increase plant biomass and enhance WUE due to reduced transpiration (because of reduced stomatal conductance). Higher increases in photosynthesis than transpiration increases water-use efficiency. However, as the temperature increases in future climate above the crop's threshold, the rate of evapotranspiration increases, and as a result, water-use efficiency decreases. For a given crop, optimal temperature for evapotranspiration differs from the optimal temperature for photosynthesis (Bhattacharya, 2019). The CO2 fertilization effect amplifies photosynthetic CO2 fixation. However, as the temperatures cross a threshold, leaf photosynthesis starts to decline.

    The change in irrigated (Figure 8(I)) and rainfed (Figure 8(II)) rice yield is compared for SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 CO2 concentration with 2005 CO2 levels (∼378 ppm; average for 1995–2014). For the early 21st century (the 2030s), under SSP2-4.5 (∼443 ppm) and SSP5-8.5 (∼455 ppm), if not for CO2 fertilization, the average yield could potentially further reduce by 5%. In the 2050s, yield increases by 5% and 10% due to CO2 increase under SSP2-4.5 (∼512 ppm) and SSP5-8.5 (∼572 ppm), respectively. By the end of the century, CO2 fertilization reduces the adverse impact on yield by 10% and 25% under SSP2-4.5 (∼599 ppm) and SSP5-8.5 (∼1,065 ppm), respectively.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 8
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    Comparing CO2 fertilization effect (percentage change in yield) from historical in irrigated (I) and rainfed rice (II) for mid-season planting. (a, e, and i) Subfigures I and II show rice yield for transient CO2 concertation and climate of SSP2-4.5, (b, f, and j) 2005 CO2 concertation and climate of SSP2-4.5, (c, g, and k) transient CO2 concertation and climate of SSP5-8.5, and (d, h, and l) 2005 CO2 concertation and climate of SSP5-8.5 for 2026–2035 (first and fourth row), 2046–2055 (second and fifth row), and 2090–2099 (third and sixth row). Overlaid black dots represent model agreement (75% of models) on sign of change. Black contours show inter-model standard deviation of 16 CMIP6 general circulation models.

    The CO2 fertilization effect on rainfed rice is not uniform like for irrigated rice over the study region. CO2 fertilization for the semi-arid western region is higher compared to sub-humid eastern regions of the state. For the 2030s, the positive effects are about 5% for both SSPs. In the 2050s, the positive effects are 10%–15% over the western region and 10% for the eastern region. In the 2090s, the positive effect of CO2 fertilization is higher in western parts (20% (SSP2-4.5), 30% (SSP5-8.5)) than in eastern parts (15% (SSP2-4.5), 20%–25% (SSP5-8.5)) of the state. The results show that increased CO2 increases rice productivity for both rainfed and irrigated conditions. However, the combination of increased rainfall and CO2 levels seems to be more beneficial for rainfed rice as compared to irrigated rice and exhibits spatial variations for different AEZ climates.

    4 Summary

    Temperature and rainfall are projected to increase over Uttar Pradesh under global warming associated with increased CO2 concentrations. Projections from CERES-Rice show that irrigated and rainfed rice yield increases with increasing CO2 (see Section 20). However, the overall impact on yield due to the associated increase in temperature is detrimental for irrigated conditions. Our analysis shows that seasonal daily average maximum temperatures are already above 32°C (above optimal) in most of the AEZs of Uttar Pradesh, and the projected temperature increases further, which negates the positive effects of CO2 fertilization. On the other hand, for rainfed conditions, CO2 fertilization combined with increased rainfall compensates for the adverse impacts of increased temperatures in rain deficit regions of the state. Increased CO2 reduces stomatal conductance, and increased rainfall reduces the vapor pressure deficit, reducing crop water demand in irrigated and rainfed rice. As a result, WUE is projected to increase for rainfed and irrigated conditions under higher CO2 concentrations. The higher WUE results from the increased efficiency of photosynthesis (hence more biomass accumulation) than crop water losses through ET. Although WUE increases in the 2030s and the 2050s under both SSPs, its magnitude decreases in SSP2-4.5 and becomes negative in SSP5-8.5 by the 2090s because the CO2 fertilization effect diminishes with increasing temperatures.

    In Figure 9, percentage changes (averaged for 16 GCMs, 3 planting dates, 4 rice varieties, and 342 grids) along with range in GCM uncertainty (in square brackets) over Uttar Pradesh are shown for rainfed and irrigated conditions for each future period under both SSPs. We found in our analysis that under SSP2-4.5, in the 2030s, with an increase in CO2 (18%), rainfall, Tmax, and Tmin increase by 6%, 0.5°C, and 1°C, respectively, leading to a reduction of 2% in LGP over Uttar Pradesh (see Figures 5 and 6). For irrigated rice, ET (−6%), irrigation (−10%), and yield (−2%) decrease with an increase in WUE (4%). For rainfed rice, ET (−4%) decreases with an increase in yield (1.5%) and WUE (6%). Under SSP5-8.5, for the 2030s, changes are similar to that of SSP2-4.5 but with a higher magnitude.

    Details are in the caption following the image
    Figure 9
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    Average percentage changes in Tmax, Tmin, rainfall, CO2, length of growing period, ET, irrigation (IR), yield (YD), and water use efficiency for the 2030s, 2050s, and 2090s under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 over Uttar Pradesh. Adjacent to mean percentage change are range of general circulation model uncertainties in Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis-Rice outputs.

    In the 2050s, temperature, rainfall, and CO2 are further increased, with a higher magnitude of changes under SSP5-8.5. The increase in temperature leads to a higher decrease in LGP under SSP2-4.5 (−4%) and SSP5-8.5 (−5%) compared to the 2030s. For rainfed rice, the increase in yield is below 1%, WUE is 5%, and the decrease in ET is around −4% under both SSPs. For irrigated rice ET, irrigation and yield decrease further under both SSPs. The increase in ET (3%) under SSP2-4.5 is reduced in comparison to the 2030s and remains the same for SSP5-8.5 (4%).

    By the 2090s, under SSP2-4.5, rainfall, Tmax, Tmin, and CO2 increase by 11%, 2.5°C, 3.5°C, and 48%, respectively, and LGP decreases by −7%. As a result of interaction between temperature, rainfall and CO2, ET, irrigation, and yield decrease by −4%, −18%, and −4%, respectively, and WUE increases by 1.3%. For irrigated rice, the yield and WUE increase by 1.7% and 4%, respectively, and ET decreases by −1.5%. Under SSP5-8.5, the changes in Tmax (3.4°C), Tmin (4.5°C), rainfall (20%), CO2 (182%), and LGP (−11%) are intensified. These changes lead to a higher decline in ET (−5%), IR (−19%), YD (−6.5%), and WUE (−3.3%) for irrigated rice. There is a marginal decline in rainfed yield (−0.1%) with increasing WUE (1.5%) and decreasing ET (−2%).

    The highest Tmax and Tmin values in the historical period are for early planting and lowest for late planting. The increase in Tmax in future is highest in early planting, however, the increase in Tmin is highest for late planting, and the changes in LGP are dominated by Tmin changes, hence, showing the highest shortening of LGP in late planting. The changes in LGP are the same for irrigated and rainfed rice because it depends on temperature and photoperiod (day length and solar radiation). Historical irrigated rice yield is highest for early planting and lowest for late planting, with the highest projected reduction in late planting yield. The historical Tmax and Tmin are lowest for late planting and highest in early planting, however, the increase in Tmin (night-time temperature) under climate change in the early planting is lower than for late planting. Hence, the increase in night-time temperature for late planting is higher compared to other planting dates. Rice plants are highly susceptible to increase in night-time temperatures, and this may be another reason for the higher decline of irrigated rice yields in late planting. Therefore, early planting for irrigated rice is projected to become comparatively beneficial in the future. Rainfed rice ET is lowest in the early planting season; however, if we see ET for irrigated conditions (no water deficit), the value of crop ET is comparable for all the planting seasons. That means the water deficit is highest in the early season for rainfed rice leading to the lowest rainfed rice yield compared to other planting dates. Historical seasonal rainfall is lowest in the late planting season, however, the projected positive changes in rainfall are highest for late planting leading to a reduced water deficit for rainfed rice. Hence, the most significant positive changes in rainfed yield are projected for late planting.

    The CO2 fertilization effect for rainfed rice is not uniform like it is for irrigated rice. The positive impacts of elevated CO2 are highest in semi-arid and dry sub-humid AEZs as compared to sub-humid AEZs. Overall, the rainfed rice yield is projected to increase in rain deficit western parts of Uttar Pradesh, with the highest positive increase in yield for late planting (15 July). Irrigated rice yield is projected to decrease monotonically with an intensified decrease by the 2090s, with the highest decrease associated with the late planting season.

    5 Conclusions

    Overall, both SSPs indicate a projected decrease in rice production in Uttar Pradesh. Approximately 60% of rice farms are irrigated, and the expansion of irrigated land is ongoing. However, with the anticipated decline in rice yields and the population growth (approximately 40 million each decade), the food security of Uttar Pradesh and regions that rely on the state's export will face a severe threat. We found that the primary cause for the decrease in the yield of irrigated rice is due to the rising temperatures. Planting in the early season can reduce the negative impacts on yields. The negative impacts can also be mitigated using rice varieties that can tolerate high temperatures. A further examination of climate intervention strategies, such as solar radiation management (J. Singh et al., 2020), could reveal whether yield losses can be reduced or avoided. This study also projects a future decrease in irrigation requirements. Nevertheless, the anticipated expansion of irrigated rice cultivation will likely intensify the demand for groundwater resources, the primary irrigation source in the state (Zaveri et al., 2016). Despite the reduced need for irrigation, a discrepancy between the irrigation supply and demand could emerge, potentially leading to increased yield losses for irrigated rice. The findings of this study are relevant not only to other regions of India but also to other parts of the world with a current temperature close to or above the optimal range for irrigated rice cultivation. While we have attempted to minimize uncertainties by selecting climate data from 20 GCMs and implementing thorough bias correction and downscaling, the possibility of error remains. The diverse crop management practices among Uttar Pradesh's smallholder farmers add complexity, making it difficult to capture every scenario within the model. Moreover, our study is based on a single crop model lacking plant-atmosphere and grid-to-grid interactions. Although we incorporated various GCM outputs, rice varieties, and management practices, future studies should consider using multiple crop models to bolster the robustness of the findings.

    Acknowledgments

    Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences are gratefully acknowledged for providing research scholarship and access to the Hybrid High-Performance Computing Facility for conducting this research. We thank Prof. S. K. Mishra for valuable discussions. Jyoti Singh, Alan Robock, and Lili Xia are supported by US National Science Foundation Grants AGS-2017113 and ENG-2028541, and by SilverLining's Safe Climate Research Initiative. We acknowledge India Meteorological Department (IMD, https://cdsp.imdpune.gov.in), Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP, https://esgf-node.llnl.gov/projects/cmip6/), and the NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center (https://power.larc.nasa.gov/) for making the data available.

      Appendix A: Creating DSSAT Treatment Options for (Uttar Pradesh, India) Provided by Agromet, IMD

      *Cultivar.

      ! Genotype data (Table A1).

      Table A1. Genetic Coefficients of Rice From Calibrated and Validated CERES-RICE Model by Agromet Division of India Meteorological Department for Uttar Pradesh
      VAR# VAR-NAME ECO# P1 P2R P5 P2O G1 G2 G3 G4 PHINT
      UP0201 SARJOO52 .IB0001 450 170 365 12.2 47 0.0238 1 0.80 83
      UP0202 NDR-97 .IB0001 385 085 448 11.9 52 0.0220 1 1.00 83
      UP0203 NDR-359 .IB0001 520 140 470 12.0 52 0.0245 1 1.00 83
      UP0204 PANT-14 .IB0001 620 160 300 12.0 45 0.0200 1 0.80 83
      • Note: Definition of rice genetic coefficients can be found in Table S4 of the Supporting Information S1.

      *Fertilizer.

      Fertilizer-amount and time 120:60:60—N:P:K kg/ha.

      N-at Basal (60 kg), Equal Split-Active Tillering and Panicle Initiation (30 kg).

      Panicle Initiation (PI) is the start of the reproductive phase of rice development. It is when the actual panicle or head begins to form in the base of the shoots or stems, just above the soil surface.

      A1 Inorganic Fertilizer in DSSAT Experiment File

      *FERTILIZERS (INORGANIC)
      @F FDATE FMCD FACD FDEP FAMN FAMP FAMK FAMC FAMO FOCD FERNAME
      1 0 FE005 AP002 5 40 −99 −99 −99 −99 −99 −99
      1 21 FE005 AP002 5 40 −99 −99 −99 −99 −99 −99
      1 43 FE005 AP002 5 40 −99 −99 −99 −99 −99 −99

      A2 Definition of the Fertilizers in DSSAT

      • FE016 Potassium chloride (MOP is Muriate of Potash)

      • FE006 Di ammonium phosphate (DAP) (*DYE is basically the term for DAP)

      • FE005 Urea

      • FE014 Triple super phosphate (TSP)

      • P2O5 is phosphoric acid.

      • Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P2O5), and potassium (K2O)

      • FE015 Liquid phosphoric acid (P2O5)

      ]]>       Hope For CO2 Removal https://sdgtalks.ai/hope-for-co2-removal https://sdgtalks.ai/hope-for-co2-removal Sun, 05 May 2024 22:56:01 -0500 Cole Baggett Carbon dioxide, Removal

      Countries aiming to achieve net-zero emissions will have to remove the remaining carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through carbon dioxide removal (CDR). However, current assessments of CDR options rarely consider socio-cultural or institutional aspects or set the CDR options in the specific context of their implementation. In this study, researchers conducted the first context-specific feasibility assessment of CDR options in Germany, considering six dimensions, including technological, economic, environmental, institutional, and social-cultural aspects. The study assessed 14 CDR options, including chemical carbon capture options, bioenergy combined with carbon capture and storage, and options to increase ecosystem carbon uptake. The study found that CDR options like cover crops or seagrass restoration face low implementation hurdles but have small CO2 removal potentials, while options like woody-biomass combustion or mixed-feedstock biogas production have high CDR potentials but face large economic and institutional hurdles. The analysis aims to provide comprehensive information on CDR options for use in further research and as an effective decision support basis for a range of actors. While Germany has been one of the most forward-thinking countries on the topic, they have to significantly increase their efforts to achieve their goals on Carbon emissions by 2045. Options to do so include peatland rewetting, afforestation and seagrass restoration.

      Abstract

      To reach their net-zero targets, countries will have to compensate hard-to-abate CO2 emissions through carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Yet, current assessments rarely include socio-cultural or institutional aspects or fail to contextualize CDR options for implementation. Here we present a context-specific feasibility assessment of CDR options for the example of Germany. We assess 14 CDR options, including three chemical carbon capture options, six options for bioenergy combined with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), and five options that aim to increase ecosystem carbon uptake. The assessment addresses technological, economic, environmental, institutional, social-cultural and systemic considerations using a traffic-light system to evaluate implementation opportunities and hurdles. We find that in Germany CDR options like cover crops or seagrass restoration currently face comparably low implementation hurdles in terms of technological, economic, or environmental feasibility and low institutional or social opposition but show comparably small CO2 removal potentials. In contrast, some BECCS options that show high CDR potentials face significant techno-economic, societal and institutional hurdles when it comes to the geological storage of CO2. While a combination of CDR options is likely required to meet the net-zero target in Germany, the current climate protection law includes a limited set of options. Our analysis aims to provide comprehensive information on CDR hurdles and possibilities for Germany for use in further research on CDR options, climate, and energy scenario development, as well as an effective decision support basis for various actors.

      Key Points

      • More context-specific assessments of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) options are needed to guide national net-zero decision making

      • Ecosystem-based CDR options with comparably low implementation hurdles in Germany show relatively small CO2 removal potentials

      • High CDR potential options in Germany face high institutional, technological and societal hurdles linked in many ways to geological storage

      Plain Language Summary

      Countries aiming to achieve net-zero emissions will have to remove the remaining carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through carbon dioxide removal (CDR). However, current assessments of CDR options rarely consider socio-cultural or institutional aspects or set the CDR options in the specific context of their implementation. In this study, researchers conducted the first context-specific feasibility assessment of CDR options in Germany, considering six dimensions, including technological, economic, environmental, institutional, and social-cultural aspects. The study assessed 14 CDR options, including chemical carbon capture options, bioenergy combined with carbon capture and storage, and options to increase ecosystem carbon uptake. The study found that CDR options like cover crops or seagrass restoration face low implementation hurdles but have small CO2 removal potentials, while options like woody-biomass combustion or mixed-feedstock biogas production have high CDR potentials but face large economic and institutional hurdles. The analysis aims to provide comprehensive information on CDR options for use in further research and as an effective decision support basis for a range of actors.

      1 Introduction

      For Germany to reach its national climate targets of achieving net zero emissions by 2045 significant emission reductions are required (KSG, 2021). According to Mengis et al. (2021) the carbon budget Germany is allowed to emit to not exceed the goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, equals 6.25 Gt from 1 January 2022 until net-zero. However, avoided (∼645 Mt CO2/year) and reduced (∼50 Mt CO2/year) emissions alone will not be sufficient for achieving those targets and approximately 60 Mt CO2 per year will need to be removed from the atmosphere through so-called carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods (Mengis et al., 2022). CDR options—classified by the capturing process—include biological, chemical, and hybrid options, which either aim to enhance ecosystem productivity and related carbon sinks, chemical uptake mechanisms combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS), or point-source carbon capture from bioenergy plants (Borchers et al., 2022; see Section 2 for details). For CDR options to make a contribution to the national net zero target in Germany, significant upscaling of CDR options would be required (Mengis et al., 2022). Currently, Germany mentions three CDR options in their climate law: peatland rewetting, afforestation and seagrass restoration (KSG, 2021). The estimated scale of carbon removals from land-use, land-use change and forestry options in Germany amounts to 3 to 41 Mt CO2 per year by 2045 (see e.g., dena, 2021; Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne, 2021). The question of scale is a complex issue that can be considered on many levels, including, but not limited to natural resources availability, land-use patterns, technical maturity, or storage potentials (Borchers et al., 2022; Fridahl et al., 2020). Thus, understanding the feasibility of reaching a particular scale of CDR options within their national context is crucial (Thoni et al., 2020).

      The feasibility of deploying CDR options varies widely, for example, they come at different technology readiness levels (TRLs), are characterized by different CO2 removal potentials, and efficiencies, demand different types and amounts of resources, require variable investments, and generate different costs. They also impact the environment in different ways, and their public perception and legal framework for their deployment also vary. Selected aspects have been addressed in earlier CDR assessments (e.g., Dooley et al., 2020; Dow et al., 2015; Forster et al., 2020; Fuss et al., 2018; Honegger et al., 2021). When aiming for an extensive evaluation of CDR options, different aspects, for example, environmental, techno-economic, social, and institutional should be considered in conjunction. For this reason, we use a comprehensive assessment framework developed by Förster et al. (2022), which allows us to assess the feasibility of selected CDR options (Borchers et al., 2022) by identifying potential hurdles involved in CDR deployment (“effort for implementation”) and thereby also identifying potential “low-hanging-fruits” for possibly short-term implementation.

      2 Methods

      This assessment addresses the feasibility of CDR options for generating negative carbon emissions with the objective of achieving net-zero emissions in Germany. It includes CDR concepts that have been identified to be of relevance for achieving net-zero emissions in Germany by 2050 (Mengis et al., 2022) and are described in detail by Borchers et al. (2022). This assessment follows the framework developed by Förster et al. (2022) for assessing the feasibility of CDR options. The framework provides a comprehensive set of criteria and indicators together with a traffic light system for assessing the feasibility of CDR options related to environmental impacts and dependencies, their technological and economic requirements and consequences, social and institutional implications and the systemic contribution of CDR to climate change mitigation. Given the comprehensiveness of the addressed criteria and the diverse knowledge required for assessing the feasibility of CDR options, experts from multiple disciplines contributed to the assessment through the Net-Zero-2050 cluster of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative. This includes experts with knowledge of bioenergy with carbon capture (BECC), direct air carbon capture (DACC), enhanced rock weathering (ERW), geological carbon storage (S), and enhancing natural carbon sinks. Based on information from the literature and expert elicitation, the assessment was conducted in an iterative process using the indicators and traffic light system defined by the assessment framework (Förster et al., 2022). In total, the assessment and review process involved 24 experts with a background relevant for the CDR options including natural sciences (in particular related to physics, environment and climate), social science (in particular related to economics, policy and law) and interdisciplinary expertise in engineering, business management and sustainability. Where necessary, external experts were involved in the assessment (see Supporting Information S1 for further information). The CDR options used by Mengis et al. (2022) and described by Borchers et al. (2022) were jointly assessed by two groups of experts. The first group consisted of scientists with expertise in the respective disciplines of the dimension related to the feasibility of CDR options. The second group consisted of scientists with expertise in the development and application of the respective CDR option. In an iterative process, the two groups assessed the feasibility of CDR options for each of the respective dimensions. Thereby, the first group of disciplinary experts facilitated the assessment process for their respective dimension in order to ensure the consistency of the assessment process across the CDR concepts. The second group of CDR experts reviewed the ranking of each indicator according to the traffic light system, building on knowledge and literature including the CDR options described in Borchers et al. (2022). The BECC and DACC options were assessed separately from the component of the geological carbon storage (S). The reason for this differentiation is that there are multiple options for BECC and DACC that are applied and tested, while options for geological carbon storage (S) are limited within Germany. The fully combined BECCS and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) concepts have not been applied in Germany yet. This assessment approach ensured that the main components of CDR options were adequately addressed.

      2.1 Selected CDR Options

      Following the scoping of CDR options from Borchers et al. (2022), we here give only a short overview of the general features of 14 selected CDR options for Germany, with detailed information and description of the options to be found in the aforementioned publication. First, we include two DACC and one ERW CDR options, which use chemical processes to capture CO2 out of the atmosphere. Furthermore, we include six bioenergy combined with carbon capture (BECC) options, which combine biological and chemical carbon capture and are therefore called hybrid options. To complete the BECC and DACC options, we added one concept for geological storage solutions for Germany, again based on Borchers et al. (2022). Finally, CDR options that capture CO2 through photosynthetic processes and accumulate carbon in above or below-ground biomass are described in the biological carbon capture section, which incorporates three concepts that involve changes in agricultural practices, and two concepts of ecosystem restoration (peatlands and seagrass meadows).

      2.1.1 Chemical CDR Options

      DACC and storage is a method of filtering CO2 from the ambient air in a two-step process: CO2 capture and regeneration (Heß et al., 2020). In our study, we evaluated two types of application of DACC systems: (a) in a rather novel, small scale use in existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems (DACC-HVAC; Dittmeyer et al., 2019), and (b) in more conventional, industrial-scale DACC farms. Since DACC options are energy-intensive processes, the technologies are most effective if supplied with carbon-emission-free energy.

      ERW captures CO2 through chemical reactions of atmospheric CO2 with carbonate and silicate minerals spread on agricultural soils in the form of powdered limestone or silicate rocks (Beerling et al., 2020). This CDR option is an acceleration of the weathering process of silicate rocks that occurs in nature on geologic time scales (Archer, 2005; Walker et al., 1981). Carbon sequestered in soils is expected to eventually leach out and be transported to the sea.

      2.1.2 Hybrid CDR Options—Bioenergy With Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)

      Bioenergy with CCS encompasses a wide range of technological options, all based on the same principle: First, CO2 is captured from the atmosphere by plants as they grow, then the biomass is converted by combustion, fermentation, biomass gasification or pyrolysis into energy or energy carriers, for example, electricity, heat, biofuels. The CO2 produced during these processes is chemically captured at the point source (i.e., the bioenergy plant) and can subsequently be stored in geological formations or long-life products. While BECCS is considered one of the most viable CDR options (Babin et al., 2021), there are still reservations regarding its potential impacts on land use and biodiversity (IPBES-IPCC, 2021), which is why the biomass source considered for BECCS options is of relevance. In the following, we will present six different applications of BECC, each to be combined with geological carbon storage.

      Combustion of woody biomass for heat and power cogeneration (CHP) combined with carbon capture (BECC-WCom), repurposes previous coal-fired power plants to use woody biomass feedstock. The CO2 released as the exhaust is then chemically captured and can be concentrated and transported to geological storage sites. This option allows for repurposing existing infrastructure, continued central power and heat provision and the use of technologies, which has already been demonstrated in other countries (e.g., in United Kingdom the example of Drax Group (2018) might be appealing given the impending coal phase-out in Germany (KVBG, 2020)).

      The same woody biomass could be used for slow pyrolysis for biocoal production (BECC-WPyr) at around 500°C (Tripathi et al., 2016). To increase the CDR potential of this option, the biocoal can be used in soil applications, where the carbon is stored for centuries (assuming production temperatures that support a high stability of the biocoal). The gas generated during the pyrolysis as a by-product (Tripathi et al., 2016) which can be chemically filtered for CO2 and further used for storage.

      A third BECC option that uses woody biomass is gasification of biomass for biofuels production combined with carbon capture (BECC-WGas). In this concept, biomass is converted into syngas using dual fluidized bed technology. From synthesis gas liquid hydrocarbons are synthesized in the Fischer-Tropsch process. The by-produced heat is used to provide process heat and generate electrical power, covering the energy demand of the concept. The CO2 emitted during the production process is captured and made available for storage. The provision of biofuels provides the opportunity for fossil CO2 emission abatement, but here it is considered to be stored. The availability of sustainable lignocellulosic biomass limits the overall potential of wood-based BECC technologies, like woody biomass combustion, woody biomass pyrolysis, and woody biomass gasification, especially if importing biomass is not considered to be an option (Thrän & Schindler, 2021).

      Another BECC option to consider is biogas production for the generation of heat and electricity combined with carbon capture. With the highest number of biogas plants in operation in Europe (∼9,000, FNR, 2020), it appears sensible to investigate this option as a potential technology for BECCS in Germany. In our study, we further distinguish three biogas-based options, each using different type of biomass: (a) A mixed biomass biogas plant based on 50% of waste and residues, 20% of cattle manure, and 30% of energy crops (BECC-MxBG; as described in Thrän, 2019). (b) The use of wet ecosystems like peatlands for paludiculture harvesting for biogas and bioenergy production combined with carbon capture (PalBG) (Wichtmann et al., 2015). (c) Macroalgae farming for bioenergy production with carbon capture (BECC-MABG) that uses “offshore rings” located in the German North Sea exclusive economic zone (Buck & Buchholz, 2004; Fernand et al., 2017) for cultivation of brown macroalgae. The biomass would be harvested once a year and transported to biogas plants close to the coast. For the latter two biogas-based BECC options, limitations are related to location, as BECCS in combination with macroalgae and paludiculture can preferentially be used in areas that provide respective biomass, that is, marine areas or rural areas with specific biophysical conditions.

      2.1.3 Geological CO2 Storage Solutions

      According to the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), deep saline aquifers and depleted gas fields are regarded as Germany's most relevant offshore and onshore solutions for storage.

      Given the study's boundary conditions, we considered onshore CO2 storage. To ensure permanent storage, CO2 must be kept at depths >800 m in a supercritical state (IPCC, 2005). The injected CO2 remains trapped in the reservoir through various mechanisms, which vary depending on the specific storage location, and support long-term secure and effective CO2 storage (Kempka et al., 2014). Germany's Carbon Dioxide Storage Act (KSpG, 2012) currently prohibits underground CO2 storage. However, the law has recently been evaluated, and lifting the existing limitations is being considered (Bundesregierung, 2022). An alternative for permanent CO2 storage in Germany is transporting CO2 abroad to large-scale offshore projects in the North Sea (e.g., in Norway, Denmark or the Netherlands).

      2.1.4 Biological CDR Options

      Practices that either restore or manage ecosystems aim to increase biological CO2 capture and sequestration. Changing agricultural practices has a large potential to increase soil carbon sequestration. An example is the afforestation of croplands (agricAFF). This conversion increases the annual carbon sequestration of unproductive lands that currently hold winter crops. Soil carbon accrual can also be enhanced by improving crop rotations (agricCR) to crops with a higher humus balance (Kolbe, 2012). This involves increasing crop residues and favoring crop varieties with deep and dense root systems (Don et al., 2018; Kell, 2011). Finally, including cover crops (agricCC) in the cropping cycle can increase soil carbon (Poeplau & Don, 2015). In Germany, about 2.2 million ha of arable land are already cultivated with cover crops (DESTATIS, 2018; Griffiths et al., 2019). A further 2 million ha of arable land (for potatoes, sugar beet, summer cereals, and maize) could be suitable for intercropping.

      Peatlands are wetland areas in which water-saturated conditions facilitate natural accumulation of thick layers of decayed organic matter (peat) (Joosten & Clarke, 2002; Rydin & Jeglum, 2013). More than 98% of organic soils in Germany (approximately 1.8 Mha) are drained mostly for agricultural use. That results in 43 Mt of CO2 emissions each year (Tanneberger et al., 2021; Trepel et al., 2017). Hence recent efforts for peatland restoration were increased, since rewetting peatlands (PReW) offers the potential to increase carbon sequestration with additional benefits to the ecosystems.

      Seagrass meadows are already mitigating emissions by absorbing CO2 through photosynthesis and by trapping particulate organic matter from the water, which gets buried in the sediment. They occur on the tidal flats of the southeastern North Sea (mostly the dwarf seagrass Zostera noltii) and the German Baltic coast (sublittoral seagrasses, here Zostera marina). An expansion of seagrass meadows, induced by human intervention (like planting or seeding) (SeaGr) to enhance the seagrass area can contribute to enhanced carbon burial (Lange et al., 2022) with benefits to marine biodiversity.

      2.2 Assessment Framework

      The assessment of the CDR options for Germany follows the suggested framework by Förster et al. (2022) along six dimensions. In the following, we will give a short overview of the indicators considered in the environmental, technological, institutional, economic, societal and system utility dimensions (for an overview of the assessment framework and the respective evaluation scale, see Förster et al., 2022).

      The environmental dimension assesses how the deployment of a CDR option could potentially affect the atmosphere and terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems. The impact variables are in line with commonly used impact assessment metrics (UBA, 2020). Effects on the atmosphere include emissions from changes in terrestrial and marine ecosystems, local climatic effects and noise. Effects of CRD deployment on terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems are assessed in terms of spatial demands and related trade-offs, effects on biodiversity and soils as well as effects on water quality and quantity.

      The technological dimension assesses the potential for deployment and upscaling of CDR options based on technological performance. This includes the efficiency of a CDR option in particular in terms of energy use (net energy balance) and capacity for CO2 removal (CO2 reduction and removal efficiency per energy unit). Market maturity is determined by the TRL as well as the compatibility with existing infrastructure. Lastly, the compatibility with the future energy system is evaluated with respect to the CO2 collecting effort and the ability to access low carbon energy carriers.

      The economic dimension relates to costs of deploying CDR options, the effects this has on the domestic economy and possible barriers for CDR investments. Accordingly, the marginal cost for removing CO2 from the atmosphere is included in the assessment of the market costs, that is, the business cost of a given CDR option at this point in time. As costs of a CDR option can change over time, this is likely to alter also their relative cost vis-à-vis other CDR options, which is considered by also assessing the dynamic cost efficiency. This is done by including future cost reductions due to technological enhancements, cost reductions per unit of CDR when upscaling the production (economies of scale), and the marketability of co-produced goods (indicating economies of scope). External effects of CDR options, that is, impacts on third-party actors that are not taken into account by the actor causing them (e.g., negative or positive impact on water quality) are also considered in the economic dimension but are assessed in the environmental dimension to avoid double consideration in the assessment. Another cost category analyzed is transaction costs related to CDR deployment (e.g., for market screening, access and transaction, insurance and meeting regulatory requirements). The assessment includes transaction costs occurring for regulators and for actors involved in deploying CDR measures. The effects on the domestic/regional economy are assessed in terms of additional domestic value and employment. Investment barriers to CDR options are assessed by the share of capital cost in total cost (capital intensity), the specificity of the investments, and the revenue risk.

      The institutional dimension addresses the policy landscape in which CDR options have to operate, taking a political and legal perspective on the maturity of CDR options and the feasibility of deploying CDR within existing laws and regulations, administrative capacities and accounting frameworks. Political (and institutional) maturity assesses the CDR options' position in the policy cycle (e.g., agenda setting, adoption of legislation, policy evaluation). The political acceptability is assessed by public and policy support for CDR options within the political debate, governmental support for research of a specific CDR option, as well as by the level of recognition of the role of CDR climate strategies at national and regional scale. Legal and regulatory feasibility addresses possible legal conflicts related to CDR options. It may be assessed by potential conflicts with existing legal requirements, the CDR options' conformity with human rights, and various environmental and conservation laws, particularly with climate laws. The assessment also addresses the demand for additional regulatory effort. Finally, transparency and institutional capacity include the assessment of existing monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems, the integration of CDR in national reporting of carbon emissions, and the integration of CDR in carbon markets. Beyond that, the institutional capacity is also assessed by the presence of capabilities for using adaptive and responsive approaches for governing the deployment of CDR technologies and whether the deployment of a CDR option requires additional administrative effort.

      The social dimension assesses how CDR options are perceived by the public, the social context, associated costs or benefits in societal terms, the extent to which stakeholders are included and can participate in CDR deployment, as well as ethical implications. The public perception of CDR options evaluates the perceived risk of a CDR option, and the trust in institutions, as this has been shown to be a cause for resistance to technology deployment (Markusson et al., 2020; Waller et al., 2020; Winickoff & Mondou, 2017). The assessment of social co-benefits or costs includes potential impacts on health and employment. Inclusiveness and participation are found to increase public trust in technological projects and are assessed by the participation of the public during the planning and execution steps, the dialog on national and regional levels, and the transparency throughout the process. Ethical considerations are assessed by evaluation of the discursive legitimation, the CDR options' effect on intergenerational equity/justice, as well as regarding ethical reservations of resource use. The social context of CDR implementation is assessed by previous experiences with large-scale development projects and the corresponding local narrative.

      The system utility dimension describes the potential of CDR options to remove emissions necessary to close the gap for achieving a net-zero CO2 system in 2050. Taking factors like the availability of biomass and the number of bioenergy plants attainable for retrofitting (relevant for BECC), costs and access to renewable energy supply (relevant for DACC), and available area (relevant for biological options) into account, we attempted to estimate the CDR potential within the German context. CO2 emissions avoidance potential is assessed by the amount of avoided current emissions to the system in the short and long term, respectively. Emissions potentially avoided in the future are not considered. For assessing the permanence of CO2 storage of a CDR option the natural persistence of the respective storage reservoir is considered in terms of decades, centuries to millennia (including risks due to natural and human-caused disturbances). CDR options are also assessed for the possibility to measure and verify their contribution to removing and storing CO2 as well as possible uncertainties involved in such estimates.

      2.3 Evaluation Scales

      To present the results in an easy-to-read way, we introduce a traffic light system (see Förster et al., 2022) to indicate the effort required to overcome hurdles for the deployment of the assessed CDR options. Green indicates that the implementation of a CDR option is likely to be possible under current conditions (high feasibility) involving no or few hurdles for implementation. Yellow means that there are hurdles of medium magnitude to the implementation that require additional effort to be overcome. Red indicates that the implementation of a CDR option is currently not feasible (low feasibility) with considerable hurdles for implementation. In addition, we indicate if an indicator was “not applicable” for certain CDR options (gray), or if insufficient or ambiguous data was found for the assessment (white).

      3 Assessment of the Individual Dimensions

      3.1 System Utility Assessment

      We find that relative to the removal need based on estimates of remaining emissions between 32 and 70 Mt CO2/year for Germany by mid-century (Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne, 2021; Mengis et al., 2022; UBA, 2021), seven out of 14 options are estimated to provide significant annual removal in the order of magnitude of 10% or more of remaining emissions (F1 is yellow or green, Figure 1). More specifically, our estimates for BECC-based CDR potentials range from 0.5 to 29.9 Mt CO2/year, where paludiculture and macroalgae for biogas CHP (0.5 and 0.8 Mt CO2/year, respectively) show the lowest removal potential, and mixed biomass for biogas CHP, wood biomass for pyrolysis for biochar production and woody biomass for combustion CHP (12.6, 14, 29.9 Mt CO2/year, respectively) show the highest removal potential (Borchers et al., 2022; see Supporting Information S1 for details). If we assume that DACC in heat, ventilation and air-conditioning systems are installed in 15% of the largest buildings in Germany, the CO2 capturing potential would amount to 15 Mt CO2/year. If constrained by renewable energy supply by mid-century DACC-farms carbon removal potential would be limited to about 16 Mt CO2/year (Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne, 2021). All BECC and DACC options would have to be combined with geological storage for which the storage capacity in discontinued oil and gas fields amounts to an order of magnitude of 2.200 Mt CO2 (Michael et al., 2011). In addition, saline aquifers on and off-shore could hold another 20,000 Mt CO2 (Knopf & May 2017). Finally, the scaled potential of natural sink enhancement (NSE) CDR options in Germany was estimated to range from 0.1 to 6.3 Mt CO2/year, where seagrass restoration and cover crops on agricultural soils show the lowest removal potential (0.1 and 1.7 Mt CO2/year, respectively), and terrestrial enhanced weathering, and improved crop rotation on arable soils show the highest removal potential (4 and 6.3 Mt CO2/year, respectively; Borchers et al., 2022; see Supporting Information S1 for details).

      Some of these CDR options bring about the additional systemic effect of emissions avoidance (F2, Figure 1). This is true for almost all biomass- and biogas-based bioenergy CHP options, where fossil coal or gas can be replaced by biogenic fuels thereby reducing emissions for electricity and heat production (Borchers et al., 2022). For the rewetting of peatlands the systemic effect of emissions avoidance could be up to 43 Mt CO2/year by 2050 (Tanneberger et al., 2021), which is found to be more relevant than the removal potential. Noteworthy is the opposite effect of emissions avoidance for the chemical carbon capture options, for which their high energy demand especially in the near term would likely cause an increase in fossil emissions (F2 is red, Figure 1).

      Concerning the durability of carbon storage and risks by anthropogenic or natural perturbations (F3, Figure 1), the DACC and BECC options rely on geological storage, for which several thousands of years of storage with close to zero leakage and low natural risk of perturbations are found (Banks et al., 2021; Kempka et al., 2014). Noteworthy is the higher risk of anthropogenic recovery of the stored CO2 for later usage, if depleted oil and gas fields were to be used for CO2 storage. Both pyrolysis and gasification of biomass produce products, for which we assume storage, but which bear a risk of anthropogenic usage. For the CDR options that do not depend on geological storage, durability ranges from thousands of years for enhanced weathering and rewetted organic soils (Löschke & Schröder, 2019; Borchers et al., 2022, respectively), over centuries to millennia for the seagrass meadows (Borchers et al., 2022), to decades to centuries for different agricultural practices to increase top soil carbon (Dynarski et al., 2020; Mutegi et al., 2013; Poeplau & Don, 2015). CDR removal based on natural ecosystems is more prone to carbon storage disturbances (e.g., Fuss et al., 2018; Poeplau et al., 2011). Climate change impacts and anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., changes in the occurrence of pest infestations, forest fires and land use change) may alter carbon permanence. For seagrass meadows, carbon storage is sensitive to storm events, ocean warming, and seawater depth and quality. Hence the degradation of seagrass could lead to large losses in its function of storing carbon.

      All CDR options seem to be monitorable in principle (see F4, Figure 1). For CO2 storage in geological reservoirs, geophysical methods are widely employed to monitor possible leakages. For marine and terrestrial options increasing carbon stock, well-established measuring options for soil/sediment carbon stock changes exist. However, the uncertainty due to temporal and spatial variability within the carbon stocks reduced the overall accuracy with which CO2 sequestration and therefore gross negative emissions can be reported.

      Details are in the caption following the image
      Figure 1
      Open in figure viewerPowerPoint

      Evaluation matrix of systemic and environmental dimensions. Carbon dioxide removal options are described in the table “Abbreviations,” and the color code and ikons are given in the right corner.

      3.2 Environmental Assessment

      We find that for all biomass-based CDR options the indicator for area demand (A2.1) is key to determine environmental impacts: the higher the area demand for biomass production the more land use competition and environmental impacts are to be expected. This is in particular the case for the BECC option involving biomass combustion in power plants (WCom), which is expected to increase biomass demand and thereby area demand (A2.1 is red, Figure 1) to meet the combustion capacity. As a consequence, it is to be expected that WCom has negative environmental impacts in particular for biodiversity (A2.2; Birdsey et al., 2018; Schlesinger, 2018). In contrast, the BECC options of gasification of woody biomass to liquid fuel (WGas) and the pyrolysis of woody biomass for biochar production (WPyr) assume to be integrated in the current use of fuelwood without the need of increasing biomass production, likely causing no additional environmental impacts (A2.1 is yellow, Figure 1). The CDR concept of retrofitting available biogas plants with carbon capture technology (MxBG) includes the assumption that biomass use was to stay within current levels. However, competition for land and water (e.g., for irrigation) would persist and together with the use of fertilizers and pesticides, MxBG is expected to involve a range of negative environmental impacts (A2 and A3 are red, Figure 1). This concerns in particular negative impacts on water quality and biodiversity (e.g., Babin et al., 2021; Haakh, 2017; Kirschke et al., 2019; UBA, 2014).

      CDR options involving changes in agricultural practices by introducing changing the land-use to forest (agricAFF), cover crops (agricCC) and adjusted crop rotation for enhancing soil carbon storage (agricCR) are expected to have a range of positive environmental effects by potentially enhancing biodiversity and water and soil quality (A2 and A3 mostly green, Figure 1; e.g., Thapa et al., 2018). In particular CDR options focusing on enhancing the carbon sink potential of ecosystems such as paludiculture for biogas and bioenergy production combined with carbon capture (BECC-PalBG), and the restoration of peatlands (PReW) or seagrass meadows (SeaG) are expected to have positive environmental impacts in particular for biodiversity, soil and water quality (A2.2, A3.1–A3.4 are green, Figure 1; e.g., Gaudig et al., 2014; Joosten et al., 2013; Reusch et al., 2021). This indicates that ecosystem-based CDR options are likely to create multiple benefits to the environment.

      Synergies between CDR options could possibly be harnessed when combining CDR options involving ecosystem restoration with BECCS. Peatland restoration (PReW) combined with paludiculture for biogas and bioenergy production with carbon capture (BECC-PalBG) is an example, where ecosystems are restored and managed for enhancing soil carbon and biodiversity conservation, while at the same time also providing options for biomass production that can be used for BECCS. However, shortly after rewetting peatlands a peak in emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide occurs (Tanneberger et al., 2021).

      There are knowledge gaps and research needs in particular related to indirect environmental impacts related to indirect land use effects in the case of BECCS and indirect impacts from energy use in the case of DACCS.

      In particular for biomass-based CDR options environmental impacts are site-specific and dependent on local conditions and the type of management practices applied. For this assessment, we assume that the applied CDR options would follow sustainable management practices that are in line with environmental regulations (e.g., not exceeding thresholds for the use of pesticides and fertilizers or avoiding leakage of chemical substances of technical appliances). However, already current land management practices come with significant environmental impacts and related negative impacts are therefore likely to continue to persist, as it is the case, for example, for the leakage of nitrogen to water bodies (Kirschke et al., 2019; UBA, 2014). As environmental conditions differ locally, the environmental impacts of CDR measures will have to be reassessed at site-level when moving from national feasibility studies to local scale implementation. The presented assessment using the traffic-light system indicates trends in environmental impacts that can be expected from CDR implementation. These will have to be complemented with site-based assessments in order to understand the location specific implications.

      3.3 Technological Assessment

      The energy requirement differs significantly between the CDR approaches (B1, Figure 2). Chemical CDR options are most energy consuming, as they must cover their energy demand by external supplies (e.g., Fasihi et al., 2019; Heß et al., 2020; Moosdorf et al., 2014). Although the carbon capture processes for both BECC and DACC are energy intensive, part of the heat and/or power production in bioenergy plants may be used on site to cover the demands of energy generation and CO2 capture processes, so that no additional energy input is needed. Furthermore, DACC comes with higher effort for CO2 capture than BECC, as almost its whole energy demand is related to the capture process, whereas in case of BECC only a part of produced energy is used for CO2 capture—from 15% to 33%, depending on the option: 15% for gasification (WGas), 20% for biogas options (**BG), 24% for biomass combustion (WCom), and 33% for pyrolysis (WPry) (e.g., Thrän et al., 2020). If combined with CO2 storage, the technology efficiency of BECCS and DACCS will further decrease, as there is energy demand associated with geological storage as well (e.g., Wiese & Nimtz, 2019). In comparison, biological CDR options have a very low energy demand, mainly needed for the initial implementation of the CDR option (e.g., Smith, 2016). Additionally, they do not have energy needs for capture and storage of carbon as those take place via natural processes (e.g., photosynthesis).

      Biological CDR options also present the highest degree of maturity (B2 is green, Figure 2), as they are already deployed on different scales. Also, most of the BECC options are technically mature (B2 mostly green, Figure 2) and may build on already established bioenergy and infrastructure (Thrän et al., 2020). However, in case of macroalgae and paludiculture based BECC, the infrastructure for biomass supply would still need to be substantially developed (e.g., rewetting peatlands, launching offshore rings for macroalgae farming) (B3 is yellow/light red, Figure 2; e.g., Buck & Buchholz, 2004). Further development effort is also needed for DACC options to enhance their cumulative CO2 capture capacity (B2 is light green and light red, Figure 2). There are 19 DACC pilot plants in operation in other countries (e.g., in Iceland and the US; IEA, 2021), but only few small low-temperature-DACC modules (as necessary for DACC-HVAC) tested in laboratories, which makes this option ready for deployment within a decade or later (Dittmeyer et al., 2019; Heß et al., 2020). ERW have been tested in a few field studies, however, achieved mixed results indicate a need for further investigations (Andrews & Taylor, 2019; Löschke & Schröder, 2019).

      Additionally, BECC and DACC need the integration of the carbon storage elements (see GEOSTOR, Figure 2), whether it be domestically or abroad. In Germany, many elements of storage infrastructure would still need to be developed, including determining the storage sites and construction of injection wells, preparation of the monitoring system around the storage location, and establishing CO2 collection networks to deliver CO2 to storage sites (B3, B4.1 are red, Figure 2).

      Details are in the caption following the image
      Figure 2
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      Evaluation matrix of technological and economic dimensions. Carbon dioxide removal options are described in the table “Abbreviations,” and the color code and ikons are given in the right corner.

      3.4 Economic Assessment

      The business or market cost of CDR options can be a first indication of their value and is usually expressed as cost per unit of carbon removed (Fridahl et al., 2020). Marginal CO2 removal costs tend to be lower for biological options (C1.1 are mostly green in Figure 2), sometimes even negative costs are indicated, as in the case for cover crops (Fuss et al., 2018). Peatland rewetting is assumed to involve relatively low costs (Couwenberg & Michaelis, 2015), while afforestation of croplands shows a very wide range in cost estimates (Fuss et al., 2018). However, the marginal removal costs of biological options are highly side specific and thus cannot simply be transferred to the German context. Furthermore, ecosystem-based CDR options often require scarce land resources, with the exception of agricCC, which means that they tend to have high opportunity costs (see C1.2 mostly red, Figure 2). Similar considerations also translate to biomass-based hybrid options. In general, chemical and hybrid options are characterized by comparably higher marginal removal costs (Beerling et al., 2020; Heß et al., 2020; IEAGHG, 2013; Kearns et al., 2021; Strefler et al., 2018) as they rely on technological equipment and recurring costs for inputs (energy, feedstock etc.). Due to the hypothetical nature of some of the analyzed CDR options and/or incomplete, ambiguous or lacking information on their market costs in general, for the specific (technological) setting of the CDR options, or for the German context, it reveals to be difficult to give definite estimates on the marginal removal costs for a number of CDR options (C1.1 are mostly white for tech CDR options, Figure 2). However, the notion “no data” should not automatically be interpreted as there being no data at all on the cost of the respective CDR option (see details in Supporting Information S1).

      In the evaluated CDR options, cost reduction potential by technological progress seems to be limited (C2.1 is red and yellow, Figure 2). In case of BECC higher potential is seen for CO2 capture, rather than the bioenergy generation, as the latter is delivered by mature technologies (e.g., combustion, pyrolysis). Moreover, part of the cost may also be covered by revenues coming from sales of jointly produced goods, for example, heat and electricity produced by BECC (C2.3 yellow for BECC, Figure 2). For DACC options, cost reductions of scaling up operations (economies of scale) are expected to be quite significant, since mass production of installations is likely to reduce its cost (Heß et al., 2020). In comparison, such aspects of technological progress and economies of scale are expected to have less potential for reducing costs in biological options.

      Private transactions costs, for example, for using relevant markets, setting up necessary contracts and complying with regulations, tend to be moderate to high for most of the CDR options (see C3.2, Figure 2). For chemical and hybrid options transaction costs for the erection of plants as well as for establishing supply chains/markets for inputs and outputs play a major role. For biological options often the high number of actors involved drives the transaction costs if new regulations have to be complied with and new markets need to be used, which is partially caused by the scattered ownership of private forest and agricultural land in Germany. The same applies for example, to decentralized DACC in HVAC systems which includes a high number of actors when applied on a larger scale as well as a larger number of relevant regulations.

      The potential for increases in domestic value added provided by the deployment of the CDR options seems rather limited. This is due to little value added potential in general (as e.g., in the case of cover crops or the management of (existing) seagrass meadows) or the fact that the manufacturing and/or installation of equipment is (partially) done by companies from abroad (which might apply e.g., for DACC and BECC options).

      An important barrier to investments in the CDR options can be caused by the expectation of a high amount of sunk costs in case the investment fails. This risk increases with the capital intensity of the CDR option (i.e., the overall costs of the CDR measure involves a high share of capital cost), the specificity of the investment (i.e., the financial loss when assets would be applied for other purposes than the envisaged CDR option) as well as with the risks of the expected revenues. Due to low investment needs, biological options tend to possess a rather low capital intensity while hybrid and chemical options that require the erection of technical facilities come along with rather high capital intensity. However, as DACC appliances show high operating cost (due to their high energy consumption) their capital intensity tends to be lower compared to BECC options. Meanwhile, they show a very high specificity of investment, since the technical facilities can barely be used for other purposes and hence would be a stranded investment if DACC turns out to have no economic viability. The same applies to the equipment of existing bioenergy plants with carbon capturing facilities. Biomass-to-liquid plants could switch to the production of other gases for industrial use which makes their investment less specific than those of other BECC options. Since for biological options the carbon is often fixed in (marketable) biomass, selling off the biomass if the CDR case fails remains an option and reduces the specificity of the investment.

      The assessment of the revenue risk is challenged by the fact that many of the CDR options do not generate CDR related revenues (as e.g., seagrass meadows) or are not established yet. Thus, the institutional setting of a potential revenue scheme is unclear by now (e.g., DACC or ERW). This puts a high revenue risk on such options from today's perspective. The revenue risk is lower for options that are remunerated for climate protection contributions by a fixed payment scheme such as the EU's common agricultural policy (which applies to afforestation of croplands (agricAFF) and cover crops (agricCC)). BECC options are assessed to have a moderate revenue risk, as technology-related risks are rather low due to the high maturity of these technologies. However, BECC revenues partially are dependent on the development of the EU emissions trading system, which has shown a high volatility in the past and is subject to political discretion, thereby putting a certain risk on the revenues of these facilities. In the case of macroalgae as a feedstock the revenue risk can be assumed to be higher since failing algae yields in Germany (e.g., due to pests or technical challenges) can barely be substituted as established markets are missing.

      3.5 Institutional Assessment

      In general, institutional arrangements, policies, and laws are more developed for established measures considered as CDR options. For example, land use practices involving paludiculture for biogas and bioenergy production combined with carbon capture (BECC-PalBG), afforestation (agricAFF), enhancing soil carbon sequestration through peatland rewetting (PReW) and cover crops (agricCC) are already practiced and implemented today. These options are also characterized by greater acceptance in the policy debate (E2.1), conformity with existing regulations concerning human rights (E3.2), environmental laws (E3.3) and climate laws (E3.4). Hence, the regulatory effort related to these CDR options is comparatively low (E3.5) (see Figure 3).

      Details are in the caption following the image
      Figure 3
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      Evaluation matrix for institutional and social dimensions. Carbon dioxide removal options are described in the table “Abbreviations,” and the color code and ikons are given in the right corner.

      However, this is not the case for CDR options involving carbon capture and storage (CCS). BECCS and DACS options consist of multiple components with BECCS including land use for biomass production, bioenergy generation and DACCS requiring technologies for air capture and ultimately technologies for CCS. Different institutional arrangements apply for each of these components. Accordingly, these more complex CDR options require a diversity of institutional arrangements that can pose hurdles to CDR implementation.

      In the case of BECCS, the components of bioenergy generation are already well established. Hence the current policy landscape and institutional arrangements facilitate the implementation of the bioenergy component of BECCS. However, this is not the case for the carbon storage (S) component. For example, the federal states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein have completely excluded carbon dioxide storage for their territories (Deutscher Bundestag, 2018). The reason is that carbon storage is highly contested in the public and policy debate in Germany (E2.1), with policies and institutional arrangements currently not supporting the implementation of carbon storage. Hence, the geological storage of carbon (GEOSTOR, Figure 3) is rather in an early stage of the policy cycle (E1.1). This is also true for DACCS: while the technologies for DAC are being tested, the CCS component is restricted by the lack of implementation options for carbon storage. Accordingly, the CCS component of BECCS and DACCS is currently limiting the application of these CDR options in Germany. This is reflected in the German National Climate Strategy, which indicates that the potential for CCS options should be examined but it does, however, not explicitly call for the implementation of BECCS and DACCS options (BMUB, 2016) (E2.3). Nevertheless, all CDR options are currently assessed through government-supported research (E2.2).

      The same applies to the Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for CDR options (E4.1). While components of MRV systems exist for land-use related CDR options (paludiculture-based biogas CHP—PalBG, afforestation of croplands—agricAFF, peatland rewetting—PReW), there is no MRV system for BECCS and DACCS options. Hence these options are also not integrated into the carbon market (E4.3).

      Knowledge gaps exist in particular with a view to those CDR approaches which are in an early stage of development such as ERW or seagrass restoration (SeaG) (Figure 3). Empirical research on other technologies whose results can be used for extrapolation is largely missing. In addition, the institutional aspects are difficult to quantify and the assessment remains tentative.

      3.6 Social Assessment

      Assessment of the social criteria is challenging, as societal dimensions affected by the different CDR options are subject to diverging definitions and inherent heterogeneity. The public perception of CDR approaches for instance results from different perspectives of stakeholders as that can be classified as individuals, households, industries and economic sectors, or the government. Individual perspectives are shaped by different preferences and circumstances and are furthermore dynamic and can change out of intrinsic or external motivators. In most cases, policy shapes the framework in which the different CDR concepts are presented, but diverging preferences about or exposure to concepts, knowledge or availability (from a technological or economic side) influences perception, acceptance, participation, and contexts the options can be assessed in.

      As a result, the assessment is often lacking data or providing ambiguous information about CDR options. This applies especially to the social context (D5), where, due to the different TRLs, assessment of previous experience or local narratives is not available, although it is stated that for example, acceptance of technology options increases if there is exposure and past experience (Wüstenhagen et al., 2007). Acceptance, which can be understood as a consequence of successfully considering the social dimension (Figure 3), is crucial for successful implementation of options. For inclusiveness/participation, data is sparse and ambiguous for for example, paludiculture-based biogas CHP (PalBG), where national dialogues exist. Still, transparency is high only for the biomass part, but low for carbon capture, which leads to the category classified as medium (D3.3 yellow). Also, participation is, as it is a key measure to foster acceptance (Stadelmann-Steffen & Dermont, 2021), difficult to assess due to data availability and implementation status.

      As for the hybrid and chemical solutions co-benefits can be found for gasification and paludiculture-based options regarding health and economic co-benefits for employment through increased business opportunities. This is also the case for macroalgae-based biogas CHP (MABG), ERW, and geological carbon storage (GEOSTOR). Employment co-benefits can also help in lowering societal barriers to acceptance, but ambiguous or economically detrimental effects from losing jobs, often indicating a structural change, can societally affect options negatively. Perceived risk for hybrid options and for storage options is also rather high, which is partly mirrored in issues with ethical considerations. This applies especially for geological storage, where social reservations are high, possibly due to no exposure and lacking knowledge and transparency. Looking at BECC options, there exist considerable barriers, as uncertainty regarding the effects, which are often paired with significant negative actions (e.g., competition for land use among options and natural resources in general), harm acceptance. Ethical resource use is the major issue here, as treating hybrid CDR options as a mitigation deterrence shifts the mitigation burden away from other sectors (Carton et al., 2020). For DACC, the resource use can compromise energy security, which is also an ethical concern that as a last consequence, affects acceptance negatively.

      Regarding tendencies of the assessment of the options, the social dimension of biological options involving NSE is overall more positive than for hybrid or chemical options, where no clear-cut picture can be made. Health as a co-benefit of the options, meaning additional recreational use or better air or water quality often goes hand in hand with options also posing lower perceived risk. This applies for example, to afforestation (agricAFF) or restoration of seagrass meadows (SeaG). CDR options like these are also rated better considering ethical matters of intergenerational equity (D4.2) or through discursive legitimation (D4.1). This is something that applies to most nature-based solutions, as they are societally less invasive, so acceptance is granted easier. Among the hybrid options, paludiculture- and macroalgae-based biogas CHP (PalBG and MABG) are the ones with the overall most positive outlook, as co-benefits and inclusiveness increase the feasibility of the social dimension. However, such options for more ecosystem-based solutions also require land, which can lead to land use conflicts and lower acceptance by certain land user groups. Tampering with nature is socially frowned upon, which can be an additional reason for barriers in acceptance (Wolske et al., 2019).

      4 Cross-Dimensional Assessment of CDR Options for Germany—Insights Into Hurdles, Opportunities, and Research Needs

      The extent to which emissions are reduced and avoided in the coming years and decades strongly determines the amount of annual CO2 removal that is necessary to reach net-zero CO2 by mid-century (Mengis et al., 2022; Merfort et al., 2023; UBA, 2020). And while the implementation of CDR options is already part of the national climate strategy in Germany (KSG, 2021), currently CDR options considered in Germany's climate protection law remain limited. This is undoubtedly related to considerable knowledge gaps on the implications of CDR implementation and upscaling (BMUB, 2016). In an attempt to fill some of the knowledge gaps, we present here a holistic assessment of 14 CDR options in Germany, pointing to possible opportunities (green in the evaluation matrix), hurdles (red) as well as research needs (blank) (see Figure 4). Selecting relevant CDR options for Germany, we aimed to provide insights into their possible implementation, yet acknowledging that the local (sub-national) contexts of implementation can differ greatly (Rhoden et al., 2021).

      Details are in the caption following the image
      Figure 4
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      Overview of the assessment. The assessment indicators of each dimension and carbon dioxide removal option were sorted according to their feasibility assessments from high implementation hurdles (red), over medium (yellow) to low or no implementation hurdle (green).

      For BECCS options, we found that the CDR potential within Germany is significant, reaching up to 60% of Germany's residual emissions if combined (assuming residual emissions of 60 Mt CO2/yr, Mengis et al., 2022). Furthermore, owing to the heat and energy provision these concepts would allow for further emissions avoidance by displacing fossil emissions. Most bioenergy concepts have a comparably high TRL, with the exception of marine- and paludiculture-biomass feedstock options, which require further on-site development and testing. Concerning the infrastructure compatibility, we found low hurdles for implementation, especially for the biogas concepts as the existing infrastructure in Germany could be retrofitted with CO2 capture units, lowering the initial investment costs. However, the upscaling of related technology and infrastructure will require time and resources.

      Environmental impacts of BECCS options are mainly related to resource demand. Where the demand for land, the type and intensity of land use involved, and the quantity of biomass or energy the upscaling of the CDR technology requires, would determine such impacts. Small-scale solutions within the current regime of biomass use from forests, would likely not increase environmental impacts of current biomass use. However, biomass production involving intensive agricultural land uses (e.g., growing bioenergy crops) for bioenergy generation, would have detrimental environmental effects from the use of fertilizers and pesticides. In particular, biodiversity, soil and water quality are impacted, which means external costs might be associated with these options. What is more, an increase in biomass demand poses the risk of causing indirect land use change effects within and outside Germany, as it would increase area demand for biomass production that might displace other land uses like food production or nature conservation. This would negatively impact the enjoyment of certain rights such as the right to food and water, as well as the right to property (Mayer, 2019).

      A major caveat of the assessment is the inability to account for resource competition between the different CDR options. While some of the options could be implemented simultaneously without having obvious mutual interference, others might compete for the same resources. This is true for some of the BECC concepts that rely on wood as a feedstock, and it especially applies to the competition for land—a resource that is extremely scarce in densely populated Germany. Such resource competition not only means that not all of the CDR options might be applicable to their entire theoretical potential but also that there may accrue price effects from resource competition by the different CDR options that are not considered when estimating future costs of the CDR options separately.

      For the DACCS options we identified a significant carbon removal potential in the order of magnitude of Germany's residual emissions. Its high scalability provides the possibility for economies of scale for DACC options. However, this potential is constrained by external factors, which in turn impact the feasibility within other dimensions. In contrast to bioenergy-based CDR options, technology readiness is lower for chemical CDR options, including ERW. While the technology for DACC and ERW exists and is being implemented in pilot sites, investments required for upscaling these technologies and the high energy demand are considerable hurdles. Energy supply plays an important role in particular for big DACC farms with typical size of approximately 1 Mt CO2/year. If deployed at large scale (tens to hundreds of farms), associated energy demand, preferably coming from low-carbon sources, could possibly outnumber supply. For DACC, the direct environmental impacts from the technical installations are considered low as their spatial demand is low. However, the main environmental impact from DACC will be determined again by their high energy demand and the type of energy source used. Environmental impacts are expected from the additional energy needs that come with impacts on air and water quality and water demand.

      Most crucially, BECCS and DACCS options would need to be combined with new CO2 transport and storage infrastructure to provide negative emissions. Now, within the German context, geological storage is a highly contested topic among the public and within climate policy debates. Engaging the public in a debate on CDR and using approaches for the co-creation of respective projects may generate more acceptance. In addition, laws are currently restricting underground CO2 storage at pilot-scale sites with no new storage sites being proposed at the moment (KSpG, 2012). Geological CO2 storage might be less contested by the public if considered outside of Germany. Currently, the lack of public acceptance as well as regulation prohibiting the implementation of geological storage within German territory, pose a substantial hurdle for BECCS and DACCS implementation. Furthermore, if these hurdles were to be overcome, the need for expanding CO2 transport and storage infrastructure is likely to cause additional delays in deployment. This also poses a risk for sunk cost due to the specific nature of the investment which might translate into investment restraint. Such delays negatively impact the short-term deployment of the CDR options with most “high-tech” options likely to require five to 10 years for achieving market readiness. Given the expected cumulative contributions by BECCS and DACCS to CDR until 2050, any delay in implementation is increasing their expected contribution over time. Furthermore, we identified a high risk of anthropogenic disturbance related to carbon capture methods involving products like bio-coal, biofuels, or synthetic fuels with lower permanence as compared to geological storage for carbon removal. Environmental impacts of geological storage are partially uncertain, as they are strongly related to risks associated with underground storage, like leakage from wellbores or hydraulic fracturing of caprocks and contamination of drinking water due to pressure buildup in the storage reservoir (Kelemen et al., 2019). From a societal point of view, the possibility for large-scale CDR deployment like BECCS and DACCS options poses a risk for mitigation deterrence (e.g., Bellamy et al., 2021; Grant et al., 2021; McLaren, 2020).

      For ecosystem-based CDR options in the German context, we find one option (improved crop rotation—agricCR) with the potential to cover 10% of the remaining emissions (assuming residual emissions of 60 Mt CO2/yr, Mengis et al., 2022), but most struggle to reach significant CDR potentials. This is not surprising given the area and hence upscaling limitations within Germany. Due to their area demand, competition over land-use and related opportunity costs can be a considerable hurdle. Again, a major challenge of the evaluation scheme is that the separate assessment of the CDR options cannot account for resource competition between the different CDR options. Furthermore, several ecosystem-based CDR options (afforestation of croplands—agricAFF, cover crops—agricCC and seagrass restoration—SeaG) were assessed to have a high risk related to climate change impacts as well as natural and human-caused disturbances, which enhance the uncertainties in the permanence of carbon storage in ecosystems.

      Nevertheless, ecosystem-based CDR options (such as peatlands rewetting -PReW, changes in agricultural management of cover crops—agricCC, etc.) are already practiced, while others are awaiting routine use (seagrass restoration—SeaG). The analyzed ecosystem-based CDR options are already established, commercialized options (e.g., afforestation, agricultural practices, peatland rewetting) that can be upscaled within relatively short-term.

      The market-readiness is likely linked to the fact that ecosystem-based CDR options have been seen as favorable compared to “high-tech” CDR options, as they are often perceived as less invasive or even beneficial in their nature. The environment assessment supports this, as ecosystem-based CDR options are found to have a low environmental impact and even improve some environmental indicators (e.g., biodiversity, soil and water quality) surrounding local areas of their implementation. However, competition for land can be a key constraint for ecosystem-based CDR options and ensuring that these options provide additional benefits is likely to be critical for their acceptance and economic viability.

      4.1 Limitations of the Study

      This analysis provides a first comprehensive assessment of selected CDR options for Germany across multiple thematic areas and disciplines. However, the focus of the study comes with inherent limitations, which we would like to point to in this section.

      First, given the rather coarse assessment scale of the traffic light system, this analysis often provides qualitative information on general trends related to the feasibility of CDR options within the German context. As the analysis is in part based on expert judgments, subjective views and biases cannot be excluded, and might deviate from other relevant stakeholder perspectives. Furthermore, as environmental conditions differ between sites, locally specific assessments could identify regional differences in the feasibility of CDR options. Therefore, site-specific assessments (e.g., as part of environmental impact assessments) are needed for better understanding the location specific implications. Locally more specific assessments of CDR options within a particular local context (e.g., pilot sites) might lead to different conclusions.

      The comparability of the selected CDR options' assessment is limited due to the differences in the implementation scales with respect to their annual removal rate. While the maximum removal scale for each option was chosen, the fact that the annual rates vary substantially impacts among others the options environmental assessment for example, with respect to area demand and its associated impacts. Beyond that, a thorough assessment of the socio-political and legislative dimension would benefit from the development of context-specific implementation scenarios, including information on relevant actors, stakeholders and impacted communities.

      Finally, the selected options are not a comprehensive list of possible CDR options for Germany, but was chosen based on the available CDR option portfolio from Borchers et al. (2022). In particular marine-based CDR options are under-represented in this exercise.

      5 Outlook—Lessons Learned

      The direct environmental impacts of CDR options can be anticipated based on information already available for the different land management practices related to biomass production. However, for future assessments it is critical to address potential indirect environmental impacts across regional and global scales in particular when upscaling CDR measures.

      In terms of technological maturity of analyzed CDR options, biological options represent the highest readiness for a near-term upscaling. Some of the BECC options are also technically ready but face legal constraints and lack of infrastructure for CO2 transportation and geological storage in Germany. DACC concepts additionally involve a high renewable energy demand, which is expected to be accessible only in the longer term.

      With respect to the cost of CDR options, our analyses show that non-market costs like transaction costs and opportunity costs related to the implementation of CDR measures pose an important barrier to many of the CDR options. Their potential “invisibility” compared to market costs (e.g., for energy, labor, feedstocks and other inputs) bears the risk of being overlooked in the evaluation of CDR options. Therefore, (political) decision-makers should be aware of this potential evaluation bias and make sure that these non-market costs are carefully considered as well.

      Public acceptance is a key aspect for successful implementation of CDR options. However, the assessment of social impacts of CDR options is difficult due to their heterogeneity, uncertainty, as well as largely missing data. The heterogeneity of the social dimension originates from the multiformity of the “public,” which includes different stakeholders with diverse preferences and experiences: citizens, industries, government. In politics, re-election matters, which is only possible, if concerns of the citizens are heard, which is also likely to influence decision-making on upscaling CDR options. Industry also has interest in favorable economic conditions, which might not align with the preferences of citizens. Hence politics plays an important role in shaping the framework for the implementation of CDR options.

      Investigating support within the policy landscape, determining transparency and governance requirements and assessing the legal and regulatory feasibility of CDR options need to be addressed. For many CDR approaches this is more complex as they are at an early stage of development and there is uncertainty on how they will work in practice, at what scale they will operate and where they will get their energy from. Therefore, there remain important factors that could lead to conflicts with other policy goals. Potential future conflicts will hence depend on many other unforeseeable variables and will be difficult to predict. The law, however, usually responds reactively to social issues and conflicts that have gained a certain structure and clearly require legislative intervention. While guidance on future conflicts can at best be provided by extrapolating from similar cases and past experience, this could carry a potential for errors.

      In total, about 5–15 Mt CO2/year could potentially be removed through ecosystem-based CDR measures, 15–20 Mt CO2/year by chemical capturing CDR options and 20–40 Mt CO2/year by BECCS CDR options by 2050 within the German context. Determining the short- and long-term CDR potential, as well as the avoided emissions potential of the CDR options, is a challenging part of their assessment, due to many assumptions related to their deployment. However, compared to the overall German CO2 emissions in 2020 of 644 Mt CO2, it becomes clear that the removal potential is still found to be relatively small and underlines the need for fast and effective emission reduction measures. While challenging, it is necessary to distinguish between removed and avoided emissions since the effects on the carbon accounting in the context of net-zero CO2 are very different. This distinction, together with separation of natural from anthropogenic sinks, allows for clearer communication of the net removal potential of CDR options and should be picked up by any national reporting system when implementing CDR.

      Acknowledgments

      The Helmholtz-Climate-Initiative (HI-CAM) is funded by the Helmholtz Associations Initiative and Networking Fund. The authors are responsible for the content of this publication. N.M. is funded under the Emmy Noether scheme by the German Research Foundation “FOOTPRINTS—From carbOn remOval To achieving the PaRIs agreemeNt's goal: Temperature Stabilisation” (ME 5746/1-1). NM thanks Christeena Babu for help with references and SI formating. MB, JF, DT are also grateful for funding provided by the BMBF Grant 01LS2107A (BioNet). We would like to thank anonymous external experts who assessed the social criteria based on their expertise by filling out a survey with queries about the social criteria and indicators. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

        Conflict of Interest

        The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this study.

        ]]>         The current status of the sustainable development goals in the world https://sdgtalks.ai/the-current-status-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-in-the-world https://sdgtalks.ai/the-current-status-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-in-the-world Thu, 02 May 2024 17:35:45 -0500 Jillian Buck

        1. Introduction

        The 17 sustainable development goals established in 2015 incorporate several dimensions, which represent a political commitment to achieving by 2030 economic and human progress in the world’s countries through viable actions that will endure over time. As Rickels et al. (Citation2016) indicated, the SDGs have been integrated into international and national policies, looking for coordination, monitoring, and assessment of sustainable development policies. Additionally, the SDGs may provide helpful assistance for the inclusion advocates, a common language, and a framework to bolster international collaboration, and space for contestation (Siegel and Bastos-Lima Citation2020).

        The SDGs are global and represent an indivisible set of international priorities. However, at the same time, they can be adjusted to the different national realities, cultures, demographic dynamics, and ways of life of the various societies in the world, respecting the targets set by each country to advance in the framework of the 2030 Agenda. Thus, each SDG is an umbrella term that can be multi-faceted and contain numerous policy goals (Kroll, Warchold, and Pradhan Citation2019). The aim is to perform annual monitoring of the progress made towards the various aspects that are measured, and in the 15 years since the establishment of the SDGs, substantial progress has been observed in industrialized countries (Lange et al. Citation2019).

        This more significant progress has resulted of their high purchasing power and the effectiveness of their governmental policies to assess, monitor, and control SDG performance on its various fronts. Instead, in developing countries, the assessment of the progress made in the 2030 Agenda is less encouraging, and corruption looms large as one of the main risks for achieving the goals related to economic growth and the reduction of poverty because of the diversion of resources further accentuates inequality (Lalama-Franco and Bravo-Lalama Citation2019).

        Regarding the countries’ current progress in achieving the SDGs, it is also necessary to consider that the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 has forced many countries to reset their priorities and reallocate investments to care for their populations’ health. The full impact the pandemic will have on achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda is not yet known, but the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a poverty-related neglected disease on at least two fronts. First, is its significant impact on low-income regions and rural areas. Second, its affects poor South America, Asia, and African urban areas. On both fronts, the pandemic contributes heavily to the loss of public health gains that we achieved globally during the last two decades (Mejia, Hotez, and Bottazzi Citation2020).

        Despite preliminary studies, reports, and the data presented to date (Cardoso et al. Citation2022; Özsoy and Gürler Citation2022; Yildirim Citation2022), the United Nations has not yet estimated or officially reported the impact that COVID-19 will have on achieving the SDGs, and efforts by all the governments of all countries in the world will be required to assess it. The 2021 Sustainability report indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic is a setback for sustainable development everywhere. For the first time since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, the global average SDG Index score for 2020 has decreased from the previous year. Nevertheless, the decline in SDG performance globally is likely underestimated in this year’s report, with many indicators for 2020 not yet available due to time lags in international statistics (Sachs et al. Citation2021).

        Given all the above, this study assesses 40 SDG indicators reported in 2021 by 125 countries, intending to determine, based on the existing interdependencies between the goals of the 2030 Agenda, the opportunities the countries have to achieve them. For this reason, this study is exploratory, descriptive, and correlational because it seeks to determine how the indicators are related to each other from a comparative perspective between countries, and without setting predefined hypotheses on the causes for their covariations nor their possible effects on a given group of countries.

        From a practical point of view, the analyzes are carried out using the HJ-Biplot technique, seeking to contribute to the existing literature on the interrelationships between the SDGs with data analysis. It seeks not to emphasize the significance of the bivariate correlation between the different aspects examined but to analyze the variations and covariations between the indicators, interpreting the results by countries, regions, and their economic level.

        2. Literature review

        2.1. The SDGs as a framework to promote the progress of nations

        In 2015 the UN member states agreed to a universal call to adopt seventeen integrated goals, commonly known as sustainable development goals (SDGs), to end poverty protect the planet, and upgrade the living standard of the member countries by 2030 (UNSDS Citation2015). This action has sought to conceive of sustainable development as a way to promote the progress of nations by meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

        The 2030 Agenda is organized around ‘the 5 P’s of development’, people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships, which, as specified by Santika et al. (Citation2019), are essential for humanity and represent a call to take action in the eradication of hunger, seek the protection of the planet and ensure that all people live in peace and prosperity. The 17 SDGs consist of 169 specific targets that can be clustered into three main pillars of sustainability, including economic (SDGs 1–3 and SDGs 8–9), social (SDGs 4–5, SDGs 10–11, and SDGs 16–17), and environmental (SDGs 6–7 and SDGs 12–15) pillars (Kostoska and Kocarev Citation2019).

        This multidimensional approach to sustainable development creates the possibility of understanding it broadly and comprehensively because it integrates aspects historically considered alien to development -for example, the recognition of women’s unpaid work and reproductive rights -alternatively, the need to curb unsustainable patterns of production, consumption, and management of resources. As indicated by Telleria and Garcia-Arias (Citation2022), the SDGs propose a set of multidimensional and multi-actor development goals that aim to build a new development model that ‘leaves no one behind’. Additionally, from a political and international cooperation point of view, the SDGs offer an extensive framework for coordinating and shaping government policies and engaging people with sustainability (Bain et al. Citation2019).

        All the SDGs are presented as equally important, and these do not prioritize any particular objective. However, the wide range of aspects addressed, and the integrated nature of the different SDGs presents a challenge to implementing the 2030 Agenda (Di Lucia, Slade, and Khan Citation2022). To the point that some authors have criticized its viability and fulfillment. For example, Hepp, Somerville, and Borisch (Citation2019) argue that without some form of prioritization, it is clear that the global agenda of 17 goals, 169 targets, and 230 individual indicators, is unattainable in the stipulated timeframe.

        Also, Naidoo and Fisher (Citation2020) indicate that there is unlikely to be enough money or attention to banish poverty and inequality, expand health care, and reverse biodiversity loss and climate change, all by 2030. This scenario is relatively critical among the least developed countries, where the idea of combating poverty and inequality by promoting sustainable economies and policies differs from the realities of poverty and human rights fulfillment as we move into the last ten years of the SDGs (Glenn Citation2022).

        Therefore, the global development agenda expresses the political and economic asymmetries between countries and social groups and the conventions, ideas, values, norms, and institutions that make up the international system (Sanahuja and Tezanos-Vázquez Citation2017). In particular, least developed countries may find it more challenging to achieve the SDGs due to their low level of socioeconomic development (Aust, Morais, and Pinto Citation2020). Oladele (Citation2022) adds that the SDGs must frame development ‘beyond aid’ and beyond an aid industry based on North–South transfers, through which economic cooperation between regions and countries with higher and lower incomes has historically been founded.

        The SDGs play an essential role at the political level in mobilizing support for international cooperation and generating solidarity awareness of global citizenship. However, they do not adequately contemplate that these may prove unattainable by 2030 for many low-income or less developed countries, even less so if the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the economy and the well-being of populations continue.

        2.2. The effect of COVID-19 on the 2030 Agenda

        Since 2020, the COVID-19 scenario has shown how the compliance plans of the SDGs have been altered in the short and medium term (Sapaico-Del Castillo, Martínez-Puma, and Gonzales-Portugal Citation2021). The COVID-19 pandemic implications for the governments, industries, and business activities worldwide have seriously challenged the SDGs’ achievement (Ameli et al. Citation2022). Thus, the need to continue thinking about sustainable paths for the planet becomes a priority in generating spaces for cooperation to achieve the objectives.

        Different authors argue regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in regions and continents (Trupp and Dolezal Citation2020; Dube and Nhamo Citation2021; Ekwebelem et al. Citation2021; Heffron et al. Citation2021; Siddikee et al. Citation2022), among the poorest populations in the world (Afriyie et al. Citation2020; López-Feldman et al. Citation2020; Gonzalez Citation2021); its effects on the slowdown in achievement in SDG compliance trends recorded by countries (Shulla et al. Citation2021; Elavarasan et al. Citation2022; Sten Citation2022); and its positive benefits to the environment in the short term (Wang and Su Citation2020; Wang et al. Citation2022).

        For example, Flores and Rubin (Citation2022) affirm that, COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inequities and inequalities suffered by marginalized and vulnerable communities worldwide. Gonzalez (Citation2021) add that people who live in poverty, most of whom are small farmers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (the global South), currently do not earn sufficient income or possess enough land to purchase or grow the food they need. Siddikee et al. (Citation2022) argue that in Asia, where most countries are in the middle-income group, accelerating economic growth and reducing the unemployment rate is the biggest challenge for the nations and the SDG achievement.

        COVID-19 is slowing or reversing global health and development gains. With the presence of so many different negative aspects due to COVID-19 pandemic, SDGs are expected to take much longer to achieve (Nundy et al. Citation2021). Therefore, to be successful and achieve global goals (including controlling pandemics), we must rely on solid leadership leading to impactful public policies and international collaborations (Mejia, Hotez, and Bottazzi Citation2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged and forced out the ephemeral conventional developmental approaches.

        Thus, the post-COVID world indicates the need to transform the sustainable development and strategies to achieve the 2030 Agenda ecosystem (Elavarasan et al., Citation2022). For this it is necessary to understand that the current situation could be an opportunity to learn from lessons taught, plan a more efficient agenda, and adapt to the changing times (Clemente-Suárez et al. Citation2022). It is urgent to learn from the past and avert or slow down the potential rebound effect of the pandemic (Wang, Wang, and Jiang Citation2021).

        2.3. SDG studies through modeling techniques

        Different authors (Bekele, Dadi, and Tesfaye Citation2019; Kroll, Warchold, and Pradhan Citation2019; Sinha, Sengupta, and Alvarado Citation2020; Weerakkody et al. Citation2021) study the interactions between the SDGs, the interlinkages between their different dimensions, and how these, in an integrated way, could favor or limit the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda. As specified by Anderson et al. (Citation2021), to meet all goals and targets, the actions taken to progress toward one goal or target should not detract from the progress of others. Instead, these actions should be mutually reinforcing or at least neutral.

        Recent studies analyze the SDGs from multivariate techniques (De la Hoz-Maestre, Montes-Escobar, and Salas-Macías Citation2021; Cling and Delecourt Citation2022; Zhang et al. Citation2022). These references contextualize the technical work carried out in this study and show how the techniques for data analysis and representation are helpful in sustainability and development research. Thus, for example, De la Hoz-Maestre, Montes-Escobar, and Salas-Macías (Citation2021) exemplifies the HJ-Biplot technique to analyze sustainability indicators in the Americas region; therefore, this work justifies the choice of HJ-Biplot as the multivariate technique used to obtain the results in this study.

        For its part, the studies of Cling and Delecourt (Citation2022) and Zhang et al. (Citation2022), which are developed through the Multiple Factor Analysis technique, serve as a reference to exemplifying the usefulness of analyzing in a multivariate way the interrelationships between the different types of SDGs, and how these determine the progress and challenges of countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

        3. Materials and methods

        3.1. Data in analysis

        This study explores the current values of the indicators included in , analyzing the performance of 125 countries of the world, grouped into four regions: Africa (35 countries), Americas (23), Asia-Oceania (33), and Europe (34). The HJ-Biplot multivariate technique is used to obtain the results and provide a multidimensional representation of the relationships between indicators and countries. For the effects of presenting the countries and indicating their similarities and differences, the ISO 3166-1 alpha3 coding scheme is used, abbreviating the countries’ names as 3-letter codes. The detail of the countries in analysis and their codification is included in the Appendix.

        Table 1. SDG indicators in the analysis.

        3.2. Method of reference: the HJ-Biplot technique

        The Biplot methods were proposed by Gabriel (Citation1971) as a means to facilitate the representation of interdependencies between two or more variables in a Figure that summarizes the dispersion of the data in a combined and reduced manner, usually on a two-dimensional plane. Galindo-Villardón (Citation1986) proposed the HJ-Biplot as an alternative to simultaneously analyze the rows of a data matrix (in this case, countries) and the variables (SDG indicators) by displaying the measured characteristics as vectors and the behavior of the observations as points.

        To interpret the associations displayed in a Biplot Figure, the vectors close to each other indicate a high positive correlation, while vectors running in opposite directions and at flat angles reflect high negative correlations. The proximity between points reflects common patterns or similarities between individuals, whereas points far from each other imply dissimilarities and very different scores in measured characteristics.

        The Biplot methods, and especially the HJ-Biplot, have been used in recent research studies to assess the performance of the various dimensions of sustainability in cross-national studies (Tejedor-Flores, Vicente-Galindo, and Galindo-Villardón Citation2017; Amor-Esteban, Galindo-Villardón, and García-Sánchez Citation2018; Martínez-Regalado et al. Citation2021; Medina-Hernández, Fernández-Gómez, and Barrera-Mellado Citation2021). These have also been used in studies where the comparative perspective between regions suggests how the positive and negative correlations between SDG indicators help to identify particular global patterns (Pradhan et al. Citation2017, Citation2021).

        4. Results

        4.1. Descriptive results

        To exemplify the current status of the SDGs in the world,  displays a comparison between countries and their income levels for three indicators: universal health coverage index of service coverage (% G3.UHC), population with access to electricity (% G7.PAE), and mean an area that is protected in terrestrial sites important to biodiversity (% G15.PTB).

        Figure 1. Comparison of the SDG indicators by countries income level (UHC, PAE, and PTB).

        Figure 1. Comparison of the SDG indicators by countries income level (UHC, PAE, and PTB).

        In , the first aspect that stands out is the lower variability observed as the countries’ income levels increase. Especially among African countries for all the graphed indicators, the variability between counties is high, which reflects the major challenges faced by the region in advancing toward the SDG goals due to the low-income level of most of its countries. Instead, in Europe, greater uniformity is observed between countries, although some of its middle-income countries face challenges in specific aspects to improve the life quality of their populations.

        Regarding the universal access to healthcare indicator, the best performance is currently observed in high-income countries. In European countries and the countries of the Americas region, over 74% of the population has medical coverage. In the countries of Asia and Oceania, the average percentage of indicator G3.UHC is 69.2%, and this value is only 47.9% in Africa. A similar pattern is observed in terms of the percentage of the population with access to electricity, where coverage is high in most countries except in Africa, where further work must be done to make this essential service available to households, given that it is estimated that only 53% of the population has access to electricity. This percentage is 38% in low-income African countries.

        Lastly, regarding the description of the patterns observed in , opportunities are observed throughout the world in terms of the percentage of mean area that is protected in terrestrial sites important to biodiversity, particularly in countries where the G15.PTB indicator is below 10%, as in the case of Moldova (MDA), Iraq (IRQ), China (CHN), Turkey (TUR), Mauritius (MUS) and Mali (MLI).

         presents the matrix of bivariate correlations between the 40 studied SDG indicators. Positive associations are colored orange and negative ones are colored green, and the intensity of the color reflects the strength of the correlation, where the lightest shades indicate correlations that approach zero.

        Figure 2. Bivariate correlations between SDG indicators.

        Figure 2. Bivariate correlations between SDG indicators.

        In the context of the development indicators analysis, the associations can be interpreted as aspects that jointly contribute to or mutually limit the attainment of sustainability, whereas inverse relationships represent offsets, i.e. aspects that should not have high values simultaneously. For example, a country should not destroy the environment for economic development.

         displays high covariations between the SDG indicators. Of the 780 pairs of correlations that were calculated, 434 (55.6%) were positive. The highest correlation found was 0.946 between the mortality rate of children under the age of 5 and the neonatal mortality rate (G3.MRU5 and G3.NEOM), both of which are indicators of Goal 3, related to ensuring the health and well-being of the world’s population. The strongest inverse correlation found was −0.885 between G7.PAE and G1.PHR3 indicates that when a country’s poverty rate is high (percentage of people who live on less than $3.20/day), the percentage of the population without access to electricity is also high.

        Regarding the indicators on conservation of the environment and economic growth, the correlations found in this study indicate that the countries with the highest purchasing power are the ones that most contribute to the degradation of the environment. For example, a high correlation of 0.671 is observed between the indicators G17.GSHE and G12.PNE implies that the higher the investment in education and healthcare as a percentage of GDP, the higher the production-based nitrogen emissions and, therefore, lower responsible production.

        4.2. Results of the multivariate analysis

        Below are the interpretations of the multiple associations found between the indicators, the countries, and both, using Biplot representations ( and ).  presents the variation and covariation structure of the studied SDG indicators (variables) represented by vectors. The position of the countries (observations) is graphed as points in different colors depending on whether they belong to the global North or the global South. Initially, the names of the countries are not shown to focus on the interdependencies between the indicators.  displays the positions of the 125 studied countries to draw conclusions on their relative proximity and relative positions compared to the distribution of the variables.

        Figure 3. Plane 1–2 in the HJ-Biplot analysis of the SDG indicators by global North and South.

        Figure 3. Plane 1–2 in the HJ-Biplot analysis of the SDG indicators by global North and South.

        Figure 4. Countries by regions in the JK-Biplot of the SDG indicators (plane 1–2).

        Figure 4. Countries by regions in the JK-Biplot of the SDG indicators (plane 1–2).

         indicates that the variability explained by the first axis is 47% of everything that the data could explain, so it can be said that the first axis represents sustainable development, given that the vectors located towards the left (in quadrants II and III) are the SDG indicators on conditions that limit progress towards the 2030 Agenda.

        On the other hand, most of the indicators located in the direction of axis 1 favor the countries’ economic and human growth. Quadrant II of the plane includes four conditions measured under Goal 3, closely associated with a target of Goal 2 and with Goal 1. This high covariance between the vectors G3.MATM, G3.MRU5, G3.NEOM, G3.AFR, G2.PSC5 and G1.PHR3 is associated with the countries of the global South with high poverty levels because maternal, neonatal, and under-5 death rates, stunted child growth, and adolescent pregnancy are highly related to each other in populations with a high percentage of people living on less than 3.2 USD per day.

        Quadrant III of the plane in  displays the targets that belong to the goals that characterize middle-income countries, in which challenges are still found for achieving sustainable development. It is in aspects such as inequalities in salaries and between people, differences in the quality of life between the country’s rich and poor (measured through the indicators G10.GINI and G10.PAL); death rate due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory disease in adults aged 30–70 years (indicator G3.DCCD); high homicide rate (G16.HOM); and limitations in freedom of the press or expression (G16.PFI).

        Quadrant IV of the plane displays a combination of medium and high-income countries from the global North and global South that have made efforts in advancing towards achieving the 2030 Agenda, which stand out, among other aspects, for their populations’ access to essential services such as electricity, gas, clean water, sewage, internet, and healthcare coverage (indicators G6.PWS, G6.PSS, G7.PAE, G7.CFC, G9.INT and, G3.UHC). These countries feature high percentages of people who complete their secondary education (G4.SEC), women have the opportunity to study in similar conditions as men (G5.FME); children receive the vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization (G3.I2VA), and infrastructure has been arranged so that the population is satisfied with public transportation (G11.TRA). An opportunity observed in this group of countries is to promote a healthy diet to control the prevalence of obesity (G2.OBES).

        To conclude the description of the patterns observed in the plane of , in the developed countries of the global North, the people do not perceive high levels of corruption or misappropriation of public funds (G16.CPI). A substantial percentage of GDP is allocated to education and health (G17.GSHE), and the trade and transport-related infrastructure are highly quality (G9.LPI). However, urgent measures are required to mitigate the adverse effects of the production and importation of consumer goods and services that produce high emissions of nitrogen or CO2 (G12.PNE, G12.NEI, G13.CO2I). These countries also display a high indicator of fatal work-related accidents embodied in imports (G8.FWI).

        Lastly, it is important to mention the vectors that are observed to contribute to axis 2 of the plane, which explains 10% of the variability of the information. G5.FML, G8.UNE, G15.REDL and G15.PTB display small angles compared to this axis and, consequently are the indicators that most contribute to this second multidimensional characteristic, which is associated with the search for gender equality in the labor market (G5.FML), the unemployment rate of the population (G8.UNE), the survival of endangered species (G15.REDL) and the protection of biodiversity (G15.PTB). All these characteristics promote equality between people and all living beings inhabiting the planet.

        To complement the description made up to this point, the plane in  includes the names of the countries, color-coded by continent. Their positions on the plane indicate the challenges they face in their search for sustainable development. For example, of the 140 studied countries, the greatest contrast can be seen between Chad and United Arab Emirates (TCD and ARE), which are on the opposite ends of axis 1. This difference results from the behavior of several SDG indicators: Whereas in Chad currently, 67.9% of the population lives on less than 3.2 USD per day, this percentage in the United Arab Emirates is only 0.28%. Chad reports 1,140 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, whereas, in the United Arab Emirates, this indicator is about three women.

        The difference between both countries in terms of the percentage of female members of parliament is 15% compared to 50%. In terms of the availability of potable water services for households, the percentages are 38.7% versus 98.04%, respectively. Regarding accessibility to internet service, the contrast is 5.6% vs. 99.15%, among other aspects that contribute to the considerable difference between both countries.

         shows that most African countries are in quadrant II of the plane. The countries from Asia, Oceania, Latin America, and the Caribbean are observed covarying in the opposite direction of axis 2, near the axis. The European countries are seen in quadrants IV and I of the plane, in the direction of axes 1 and 2 (from left to right and from bottom to top), depending on their purchasing power and development level, where eastern European countries are located in quadrant IV, and the countries with high SDG performance are located in quadrant I (in the top right of the plane), including Norway (NOR), Netherlands (NLD), Switzerland (CHE) and Denmark (DNK).

        5. Discussion

        Huan, Li, and Liang (Citation2019) reported that since 2015 there had been a substantial increase in methods and indices for measuring sustainable development. Many scholars and research institutions have been adopting a series of sustainable development indicators and composite indices in different countries and regions to track the development progress. The SDGs offer an interdisciplinary approach to measuring progress and development in the world’s countries, even though, as mentioned by Van-Zanten and Van-Tulder (Citation2020), the SDG agenda is not without flaws.

        Even before the pandemic, progress towards achieving the SDGs has been too slow. COVID-19 presents a stress test for the current SDG approach. It requires rethinking the possibility of achieving the proposed goals by 2030, given the major disparities between countries with high purchasing power and those with less stable economies, particularly considering that the sustainable development approach forces world leaders to make a balance between economic, social, and environmental elements when achieving economic development (Yildirim Citation2022).

        This study’s results confirm that the countries of the global North currently display solid characteristics of sustainability that favor economic growth, the end of poverty, and the reduction of inequality. However, they face challenges related to protecting the environment, the conservation of biodiversity, and responsible production and consumption. The emerging countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, Southern Africa, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia, although located in very different regions, currently display similar sustainability indicators. These regions have similar conditions for long-term sustainable economic growth, including the social aspects and quality of life (Rajnoha, Lesníková, and Vahančík Citation2021), which reflect medium and high levels of progress in achieving specific targets of the 2030 Agenda.

        In contrast, the poorest countries, mainly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (Dentinho, Kourtit, and Nijkamp Citation2021), must continue to work on policies and strategies that promote the health and well-being of their populations. It enables access to essential household services (clean water, electricity, sanitation, and internet, among others), reducing hunger and unemployment, promoting peace, and developing partnerships to achieve the goals. For this reason, developing countries should evaluate strategies to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the SDGs and promote international cooperation to achieve sustainable development.

        Aust, Morais, and Pinto (Citation2020) argue that one of the strategies that less developed countries should implement is to increase foreign direct investment because it leads to an increase in the SDG scores, which indicates that foreign investors play a fundamental role in the achievement of SDG in developing countries. Regarding aspects that depend less on economic factors, this study’s findings are consistent with the views of Siegel and Bastos-Lima (Citation2020). These authors argue that despite the SDGs’ emphasis on inclusion and the broad participatory process that led to their formulation, there are no specific mechanisms to ensure inclusiveness in the domestic-level processes on which actual impact ultimately depends.

        In this sense, as in the case of the need to protect biodiversity and rein in the climate change that is affecting the planet, all countries in the world must continue to promote equality between people and promote their well-being. This is vital for development, and even more so considering the contraction produced by the coronavirus pandemic in the different dimensions of the beliefs and values related to the concept of sustainable development among the states and civil society, including the business sector (Cardoso et al. Citation2022).

        For all the above, we can summarize that compared to other studies in which data is analyzed to interpret the existing associations between SDG indicators, the novelty of this research lies in the fact that through the results of the HJ-Biplot analysis, it was represented and described at the same time: (i) the aspects that differentiate the countries of the global north and south in the search for sustainable development; (ii) the SDGs’ current particularities between low-income countries and those with high purchasing power; and (iii) specific needs in specific nations.

        6. Conclusion

        This study demonstrates the usefulness of multivariate techniques, particularly the Biplot methods, to represent and describe the existing relationships between the SDGs expressed as positive and negative covariations. Cling and Delecourt (Citation2022) specified that the United Nations considered these interlinkages, and the integrated nature of the SDGs would be a prerequisite for achieving these goals. Then, the interlinkages between the SDG can contribute to or limit the countries’ progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.

        Consistent with the results of Kostetckaia and Hametner (Citation2022), trade-offs (negative or inverse associations) between goals may prevent countries from achieving all 17 SDGs simultaneously, but their synergies (direct correlations) represent an opportunity for progress. Therefore, to achieve the SDGs, it is crucial not only to exploit the synergies between the objectives but also to overcome trade-offs, and the results of this analysis showed trade-offs differentiated by region and income level of the countries.

        One limitation of this analysis is that We did not compare the SDGs’ situation before COVID-19 and after it. Therefore, it is necessary to propose future lines of research to study from a multidimensional perspective the consequences of COVID-19. Because although the pandemic has perceived the precarious conditions in which many people live and work, and it has profoundly affected and changed the global and regional SDGs, it has also positively affected other dimensions, such as the environment (Wang and Huang Citation2021).

        Therefore, inferential evaluations are necessary for future research to analyze the SDGs associations between different indicators and goals, estimating the impact of COVID-19 on the slowdown in compliance with the 2030 agenda. This considering that empirical data and descriptive models estimated based on past relationships will not be sufficient to evaluate sustainable development. Additionally, these investigations require evaluations of how policies might contribute to transforming large sociotechnical systems (food, energy, mobility, and housing, among others) (Mickwitz et al. Citation2021).

        ]]>         World well short of pace needed to meet UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals https://sdgtalks.ai/world-well-short-of-pace-needed-to-meet-uns-2030-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/world-well-short-of-pace-needed-to-meet-uns-2030-sustainable-development-goals Thu, 02 May 2024 17:27:57 -0500 Jillian Buck The world is falling well short of the progress needed to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goals by 2030 in areas ranging from poverty to clean energy to biodiversity, with a growing gap between wealthy and developing nations, according to a report Tuesday from the nonprofit tracking the goals.

        The coronavirus pandemic stalled the limited progress made in the years after United Nations member states adopted the goals in 2015. Now, halfway through the 15-year time frame, not a single one of the goals is on target to be met.

        “We’re at the risk of a lost decade for sustainable development,” said Guillaume Lafortune, a lead author of the report and vice president and head of the Paris office of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the nonprofit launched by the UN to foster and track sustainable development. “And there’s actually a risk that the gap between rich and poor countries on sustainable development might be bigger in 2030 than it was in 2015.”

        The goals, which the authors described as “an ethical imperative,” cover a range of areas, including threats to the climate and environment but also basic human rights such as food, health and education.

        The authors noted that goals for reducing hunger, improving health, and protecting biodiversity are particularly off-track. They said changing global governance mechanisms and global finance architecture are critical for improving progress on all the goals.

        Lafortune pointed to the global finance summit that opens Thursday in Paris as an important moment for the world. The main focus of the summit is how international finance can be reformed to help the developing nations that are often most vulnerable to climate change but least able to raise capital for things like transitioning to renewable energy.

        The report analyzed countries’ progress on the sustainability goals by assigning them scores from zero to 100. They examined factors like poverty, hunger, disease, carbon dioxide emissions, subjective well-being scores, and dozens of other indicators. Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Austria ranked highest. South Sudan ranked lowest, followed by the Central African Republic, Chad, Yemen, and Somalia.

        Lafortune called particular attention to the “disappointing” United States scorecard, which he said was below average for developed countries. He said the U.S. was one of the worst performers in terms of its commitment efforts and was one of only five member countries that did not present action plans and priorities to the international community. But Lafortune did note that some U.S. cities voluntarily provided local reviews.

        Kimberly Marion Suiseeya, an associate professor of political science and environmental policy and culture at Northwestern University who did not work on the report, said that while she sees pressing global development shortfalls on issues like the climate emergency, she thinks the Biden administration is taking climate seriously. She also saw signs of optimism in China’s progress on renewable energy. Though the country ranked below the U.S. in the report, it has invested more in clean energy, according to research firm BloombergNEF.

        Anita Ramasastry, a law professor and director of the Sustainable International Development graduate program at the University of Washington, said she wasn’t surprised that the sustainable development goals are off track. Ramasastry, who had no part in the report, said she doesn’t think many governments with more advanced economies, like the U.S., have embraced the goals or made them relevant to citizens’ daily lives.

        She questioned whether the goals were overly ambitious and added that it will be important to examine how the 2030 agenda is financed, as well as the role of the private sector.

        “Business has been asked to fill a role. And I think there’s just an ultimate question, which is, should we have asked business to fill that role?” she asked. “Because ultimately, the SDGs are meant to be about governments and states.”

        The report made the same point repeatedly, singling out several “basic failures” in global governance. Those included voluntary implementation of the goals with no enforcement mechanisms when countries fall short, international trade and finance rules not geared to sustainability, and national governments not coordinating well with smaller units of government on the goals.

        Lafortune called for countries to keep the sustainable development goals in mind as they approach the Paris summit and other global conferences. He said Paris has the opportunity to act as an “accelerator” toward reforming international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which he sees as possible elements of a global strategy for investment in tackling climate change and other sustainable development goals.

        “Despite all the fragmentation right now in geopolitics, the many crises and so on, we still need to keep that sort of long-term vision and this idea of multilateralism and global cooperation alive. I think this is absolutely crucial,” Lafortune said. “I don’t think the world will be better off if we just forget about these goals because we won’t achieve them.”

        BY MELINA WALLING
        Published 6:06 PM EDT, June 20, 2023

        Follow Melina Walling on Twitter at @MelinaWalling

        ]]>         To Thrive Amid Climate Change, We Must Turn to Agriculture for Solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/to-thrive-amid-climate-change-we-must-turn-to-agriculture-for-solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/to-thrive-amid-climate-change-we-must-turn-to-agriculture-for-solutions Thu, 02 May 2024 17:20:28 -0500 Jillian Buck By Kaveh Zahedi, Director, FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment

        The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its ‘State of the Global Climate 2023’ report this week, with information from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Climate Risks team. It’s a chilling read – a graphic demonstration of runaway climate change and its impacts.

        The year 2023 broke records, but for all the wrong reasons. Many countries experienced heatwaves and wildfires, droughts, and flooding rains, in greater numbers and intensity than ever before. The impact often on the most vulnerable was dramatic. Extreme weather events worsened food and water shortages and environmental degradation, forcing millions of people to take to the road to survive.

        There are 333 million people who are acutely food insecure, more than double the number before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

        These records matter. We can’t just passively observe the changing climate. Reversing this trend will require major investments in solutions that can help countries and communities build resilience, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and protect lives and livelihoods all at once.

        Nowhere are these solutions more abundant and impactful than in agriculture and food systems. More sustainable and efficient farming and agriculture hold a huge potential for positive climate action. FAO is working with countries to develop and implement these solutions, including: agroforestry; restoring degraded agricultural land; supporting better soil and water management; developing more resilient crop varieties, efficient biofertilizers, and sustainable biofuels; and reducing food loss and waste, among many others. 

        We have hard evidence from the field of how effective these can be.

        In El Salvador, for example, the FAO-led RECLIMA project helps communities replenish water sources and improve food production by restoring degraded lands and planting native fruit trees. In 2022, more than 13,000 hectares of critical ecosystems had been restored. And we estimate the project has already reduced around 2.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

        In Senegal, FAO and other partners are working to restore degraded mangroves, threatened by rising sea levels and a growing demand for smoked fish. The project is regenerating land and replanting large areas of mangroves, while also training communities to rethink how they utilize and conserve these biodiverse environments.

        FAO’s climate and weather information services are also practical and cost-effective tools, assisting adaptation to the effects of climate change. Translating scientific data available worldwide into accessible information, they improve farm management from farm to fork. Farmers and other agricultural producers can access short-term and seasonal weather forecasts to help decide in advance which crops to plant in the next season, whether and when to apply fertilizer and irrigate, and how to sell products in a more strategic way. All this builds resilience while also improving the quality and quantity of food produced and sold at market, and minimizing food loss and waste along the production process.

        Collaborating since 2016, FAO and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have significantly increased investment in projects in low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs), enhancing the sustainability and resilience of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors to climate change, with a portfolio surpassing USD 1 billion.

        Similarly, as a partner agency for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), FAO has helped more than 120 countries in projects that deliver global environmental benefits and advance the SDGs. The partnership supports countries to sustainably manage millions of hectares of land and reduce GHG emissions by over of CO2e, bringing real benefits in terms of green jobs and livelihoods.

        But even though the array of solutions offered by agrifood systems have been tried and tested, they have not so far been implemented at a scale that matches their potential. Finance is not flowing towards the solutions that can make a real difference and deliver multiple benefits for climate resilience and food security.

        Global climate-related finance for development has increased over the last decade, but financial support to agrifood systems is small and diminishing. As the WMO report also mentions, adaptation finance falls well short of the estimated USD 212 billion per year needed up to 2030 in developing countries alone. The majority of this is directed to the water and wastewater sector, while agriculture and other sectors with wide-ranging adaptation potential continue to receive only a minimal share.

        We need to close this financing gap. We need to scale up the solutions that bring multiple benefits, building resilience, mitigating emissions, and achieving food security. The potential for agrifood solutions in the face of an increasingly unpredictable future is enormous. The alternative, continuing to watch as climate extremes and weather events break records, is simply unacceptable.

        ]]>         Rachel Carson’s Legacy: A Call to Embrace Nature-based Solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/rachel-carsons-legacy-a-call-to-embrace-nature-based-solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/rachel-carsons-legacy-a-call-to-embrace-nature-based-solutions Thu, 02 May 2024 17:05:54 -0500 Jillian Buck

        By Olcay Ünver and Haley Laird, Arizona State University

         As we commemorate the anniversary of Rachel Carson’s passing on 14 April 1964, it is a poignant moment to reflect on her enduring influence. Her seminal work, ‘Silent Spring,’ not only unveiled the perils of chemical pesticides but also ignited a pivotal global discourse on our environmental stewardship. Today, amidst the escalating threats of climate change, rampant environmental degradation, and the relentless emergence of new pollutants, Carson’s clarion call for ecological harmony is more pertinent than ever.

        Carson’s vision transcended the mere exposure of chemical pesticide dangers. She implored the public to reconsider the prevailing environmental management paradigms and to aspire for a symbiotic coexistence with nature. This includes seeking out solutions that harness natural systems to balance development and ecological integrity.

        A beacon of hope shines in the realm of biopesticides. These pest control agents, derived from natural substances or organisms, present a viable alternative to conventional chemical pesticides, which often leave indelible scars on ecosystems and human health.

        Take, for instance, the recent field trials by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), which showcased the efficacy of fungus-based biopesticides against locust swarms in East Africa. This exemplifies the untapped potential of biopesticides for sustainable pest management.

        The merits of biopesticides are manifold. They typically exhibit specificity towards target pests, sparing beneficial insects and mitigating environmental collateral damage. Moreover, their rapid biodegradation curtails the risks of enduring contamination.

        Biopesticides are merely one facet of the burgeoning array of nature-based solutions (NbS) championed in the quest for environmental vitality. Researchers are delving into diverse strategies, from bolstering biodiversity to deploying beneficial insects for pest regulation. Enhancing biodiversity within agricultural landscapes can amplify pest control services through a variety of mechanisms. This encompasses nurturing natural pest adversaries, cultivating habitat complexity to disrupt pest populations, and promoting ecosystem resilience to withstand pest incursions.

        The USDA also acknowledges the promise of biological control methods and is actively supporting research to refine and apply these strategies across agricultural contexts.

        By embracing these innovative approaches, we heed Rachel Carson’s plea for a world that collaborates with nature rather than contends against it. Nurturing a healthy environment is tantamount to safeguarding our well-being and that of future generations.

        As we honor Rachel Carson’s legacy, let us pledge to explore and adopt nature-based solutions, with the burgeoning field of biopesticides at the forefront. Together, we can forge a future where the health of our planet and the prosperity of humanity are inextricably linked.

        ]]>         Focus on Innovation Can Provide Needed New Approaches in Forestry https://sdgtalks.ai/focus-on-innovation-can-provide-needed-new-approaches-in-forestry https://sdgtalks.ai/focus-on-innovation-can-provide-needed-new-approaches-in-forestry Thu, 02 May 2024 16:53:11 -0500 Jillian Buck Forests help us fight climate change, conserve biodiversity, and many other things. UNFF stresses that forest-based solutions are essential for achieving a handful of SDGs, including 3% forest cover by 2030. With the help of other organizations with similar goals, the innovations we so desperately need may come to fruition just in time.

        By Malgorzata Buszko-Briggs, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO

        The world’s countries, and many international organizations and forest stakeholders, will meet next week in New York, US, for the 19th session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF). This crucial meeting will seek to inject new ideas and further urgency into the quest to scale up forest-based solutions to global challenges.

        Forests and trees are our allies in fighting climate change, conserving biodiversity, and transforming agrifood systems to make them more sustainable. Forest-based solutions are an essential ingredient for achieving SDGs 1 (no poverty), 2 (zero hunger), 13 (climate action), 15 (life on land), and many others.

        UNFF 19 will review what is known as the International Arrangement on Forests and its contributions to implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030 (UNSPF). This plan sets out six Global Forest Goals to be achieved by 2030. Progress has been made towards these goals, but there is still a long way to go.

        For example, despite recent significant reductions in deforestation in some countries, the world is still far short of the target of increasing forest cover by 3% by 2030. Moreover, forests themselves are under pressure from climate change and other stressors, such as increasingly severe wildfires and pest attacks.

        There is an urgent need to confront the threats to forests while scaling up solutions to match the magnitude of the challenges. This, in turn, will need innovative approaches and ever-stronger partnerships.

        At UNFF 19, ministers and other high-level representatives responsible for forests are expected to adopt a ministerial declaration and what is called an “omnibus” resolution.

        The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), which is part of the International Arrangement on Forests, is an inter-agency partnership of 16 international organizations, institutions, and secretariats working on substantial programmes and initiatives around forests. At UNFF 19, it will reaffirm its commitment to the CPF Joint Call to Action, issued last year, which is a clarion call for heightened commitment and concerted efforts to fortify forest-based solutions for achieving the SDGs and the Global Forest Goals by 2030.

        Fostering responsible innovation will be central to the 27th session of FAO’s highest statutory body on forests, the Committee on Forestry (COFO), which will be held in July in conjunction with the ninth World Forest Week.

        COFO sessions, which are held every two years, bring together heads of forest services and other senior officials from governments around the world to identify emerging policy and technical issues and seek solutions.

        COFO 27 will focus on accelerating the contributions of forests to the SDGs through innovation, led by debate on FAO’s flagship report, ‘The State of the World’s Forests’ (to be launched during the session), which analyzes forest sector innovations towards a more sustainable future.

        Innovations have the potential to scale up forest conservation, restoration, and sustainable use as solutions to global challenges. They are already leading to fast-moving changes in forestry – ranging from technological innovations in data for improving forest monitoring, assessment, reporting, and management, through new means for organizing smallholders and enabling them to scale up their economic power, to astonishing advances in wood use.

        There is no shortage of global challenges that forests and trees can help address, and no shortage of threats they themselves face. Fortunately, we can take steps now towards a better future. To accelerate the contributions of forests to the SDGs, the Global Forest Goals, and other commitments, we need robust policy debate that leads to the deployment of more innovative solutions on the ground. Complementing each other, UNFF 19 and COFO 27 will play important roles towards this end.

        ]]>         American Beverage https://sdgtalks.ai/american-beverage https://sdgtalks.ai/american-beverage Thu, 02 May 2024 16:44:28 -0500 Jillian Buck The American Beverage company is actively taking steps for a better use of plastic. They are working with companies like Pepsi and Coke to use 100% recyclable bottles. They are also supplying communites with more recycling bins as well as educational materials. Their commitments have resulted in the collection of 914 million pounds of PET over the next 10 years. They will be able to reuse the plastic from these bottles again, and again, and again!

        Made To Be Remade from American Beverage Association on Vimeo.

        ]]>         Sustainable Development goals https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals Thu, 02 May 2024 16:33:23 -0500 Jillian Buck

        These 17 goals were defined in 2015 by the United Nations with the goal of them being completed by 2030. They are a continuation and build off of the Millenium Development Goals that were in practice from 2000 to 2015. The MDGs were incredibly successful and we are seeing success even now with the SDGs.

        In 2015, the 193 countries that make up the United Nations (UN) agreed to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The historic agenda lays out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets for dignity, peace, and prosperity for the planet and humankind, to be completed by the year 2030. The agenda targets multiple areas for action, such as poverty and sanitation, and plans to build up local economies while addressing people's social needs.

        In short, the 17 SDGs are:

        Goal 1: No Poverty: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

        Goal 2: Zero Hunger: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

        Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

        Goal 4: Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

        Goal 5: Gender Equality: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

        Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

        Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

        Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

        Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.

        Goal 10: Reduced Inequality: Reduce inequality within and among countries.

        Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

        Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

        Goal 13: Climate Action: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

        Goal 14: Life Below Water: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.

        Goal 15: Life on Land: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

        Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

        Goal 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goal: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

        The SDGs build on over a decade of work by participating countries. In essence, the SDGs are a continuation of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which began in the year 2000 and ended in 2015. The MDGs helped to lift nearly one billion people out of extreme poverty, combat hunger, and allow more girls to attend school. The MDGs, specifically goal seven, helped to protect the planet by practically eliminating global consumption of ozone-depleting substances; planting trees to offset the loss of forests; and increasing the percent of total land and coastal marine areas worldwide. The SDGs carry on the momentum generated by the MDGs with an ambitious post-2015 development agenda that may cost over $4 trillion each year. The SDGs were a result of the 2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit, which demanded the creation of an open working group to develop a draft agenda for 2015 and onward.

        Unlike the MDGs, which relied exclusively on funding from governments and nonprofit organizations, the SDGs also rely on the private business sector to make contributions that change impractical and unsustainable consumption and production patterns. Novozymes, a purported world leader in biological solutions, is just one example of a business that has aligned its goals with the SDGs. Novozymes has prioritized development of technology that reduces the amount of water required for waste treatment. However, the UN must find more ways to meaningfully engage the private sector to reach the goals, and more businesses need to step up to the plate to address these goals.

        Overall, limited progress has been made with the SDGs. According to the UN, many people are living healthier lives now compared to the start of the millennium, representing one area of progress made by the MDGs and SDGs. For example, the UN reported that between 2012 and 2017, 80 percent of live births worldwide had assistance from a skilled health professional—an improvement from 62 percent between 2000 and 2005.

        While some progress has been made, representatives who attended sustainable development meetings claimed that the SDGs are not being accomplished at the speed, or with the appropriate momentum, needed to meet the 2030 deadline. On some measures of poverty, only slight improvements have been made: The 2018 SDGs Report states that 9.2 percent of the world's workers who live with family members made less than $1.90 per person per day in 2017, representing less than a 1 percent improvement from 2015. Another issue is the recent rise in world hunger. Rates had been steadily declining, but the 2018 SDGs Report stated that over 800 million people were undernourished worldwide in 2016, which is up from 777 million people in 2015.

        Another area of the SDGs that lacks progress is gender equality. Multiple news outlets have recently reported that no country is on track to achieve gender equality by 2030 based on the SDG gender index. On a scale of zero to 100, where a score of 100 means equality has been achieved, Denmark was the top performing country out of 129 countries with score slightly under 90. A score of 90 or above means a country is making excellent progress in achieving the goals, and 59 or less is considered poor headway. Countries were scored against SDGs targets that particularly affect women, such as access to safe water or the Internet. The majority of the top 20 countries with a good ranking were European countries, while sub-Saharan Africa had some of the lowest-ranking countries. The overall average score of all countries is a poor score of 65.7.

        In fall of 2019, heads of state and government will convene at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to assess the progress in the 17 SDGs. The following year—2020—marks the deadline for 21 of the 169 SDG targets. At this time, UN member states will meet to make a decision to update these targets.

        In addition to global efforts to achieve the SDGs, according to the UN, there are ways that an individual can contribute to progress: save on electricity while home by unplugging appliances when not in use; go online and opt in for paperless statements instead of having bills mailed to the house; and report bullying online when seen in a chat room or on social media.

        ]]>         To eliminate waste we need to rediscover thrift https://sdgtalks.ai/to-eliminate-waste-we-need-to-rediscover-thrift https://sdgtalks.ai/to-eliminate-waste-we-need-to-rediscover-thrift Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:22:37 -0500 Jillian Buck He described the many ways we can reuse materials. He talked about how wasteful our processes of building are. We build to construct and demolish, rather than take apart and reuse. Things like this already happen in the automotive industry, we must model after them, 90% of vehicles can be reused again and again. His final point was about plastic. Plastic cannot be reused over and over again on its own, instead we need to introduce microbes to ‘refresh’ the plastic.

        ]]>         A circular economy for salt that keep rivers clean https://sdgtalks.ai/a-circular-economy-for-salt-that-keep-rivers-clean https://sdgtalks.ai/a-circular-economy-for-salt-that-keep-rivers-clean Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:19:54 -0500 Jillian Buck This woman had lived along the Mississippi river most of her life and explained the importance of protecting the rivers from pollution, more specifically, salt. Her proposition had three parts but the most interesting one for me was the circle of salt. Instead of mining more and more salt for industry and roads, we can simply reuse it. We can capture the runoff and put it through a series of membranes in order to reuse the salt and keep the water free of it.

        ]]>         Ink made of Air Pollution https://sdgtalks.ai/ink-made-of-air-pollution https://sdgtalks.ai/ink-made-of-air-pollution Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:16:41 -0500 Jillian Buck A group of scientists captured pollution from cars and used the pigment for ink. Their process uses up to 90% of the captured pollution to make inks for pens, printing, and tshirts. A group of scientists captured pollution from cars and used the pigment for ink. Their process uses up to 90% of the captured pollution to make inks for pens, printing, and T-shirts. 

        ]]>         Over 500 factories commit to safer workplace LABS Initiative https://sdgtalks.ai/over-500-factories-commit-to-safer-workplace-labs-initiative https://sdgtalks.ai/over-500-factories-commit-to-safer-workplace-labs-initiative Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:54:01 -0500 Ana Poland

        The Life and Building Safety (LABS) Initiative spokesperson and global director of textile and manufacturing at The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) Pramit Chanda believes the achievement of reaching over 500 factories reflects the industry’s strong intention to embed a safety culture.

        He stated: “LABS remains steadfast in its mission to create safer working conditions, and we are proud to witness the positive transformation of the sector.”

        Chanda added that it is thanks to the collaborative efforts and commitment of all stakeholders involved.

        LABS is the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH)’s worker safety programme for apparel. It is made up of various stakeholders, including fashion brands Gap Inc., NIKE, Target, VF Corporation, and Walmart, as well as government agencies and non-profit organisations that have teamed up to mitigate preventable fire, electrical, and structural building safety risks in key apparel and footwear-producing countries.

        LABS noted that it places a strong emphasis on implementing rigorous safety protocols and continuous improvement practices to promote safe working environments. This includes training programmes, safety assessments, and the implementation of best practices to ensure a sustainable safety culture.

        Since its launch in 2019, LABS is reported to have made significant progress, conducting over 492 assessments in factories, over 924 safety training sessions and achieving a 77% remediation rate. LABS also offers capacity-building support through training programmes and technical assistance to enhance stakeholders’ knowledge and skills in life and building safety.

        ]]>         Projects to Expand Access to Safe Drinking Water in Brazil https://sdgtalks.ai/projects-to-expand-access-to-safe-drinking-water-in-brazil https://sdgtalks.ai/projects-to-expand-access-to-safe-drinking-water-in-brazil Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:51:13 -0500 Ana Poland WASHINGTON, August 23, 2023 /CSRwire/ - During World Water Week 2023, Global Water Challenge (GWC) and Cargill announced the launch of new projects in Brazil in partnership with Brazilian-based non-profit organizations. This initiative supports Cargill’s global commitment to addressing local water challenges and specifically improving access to safe drinking water in communities in priority regions.

        Cargill and GWC launched its Cargill Currents platform in 2021 to address water challenges faced by local communities. The program supports access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and enhanced water security in priority regions by tailoring to the specific needs of the target communities. The global program is expected to benefit more than 150,000 people by the end of 2024. Building on this partnership, Cargill and GWC are expanding their efforts across Brazil by constructing sanitation facilities and water supply systems, which will significantly improve drinking water provision, community health and the overall well-being of Brazilian community members throughout seven projects across five municipalities and watersheds.

        The new projects in Brazil, managed by GWC through the Cargill Currents platform, are designed to build community resilience, promote economic development and deliver multiple socio-economic and sustainability co-benefits beyond water access alone. These initiatives will prioritize efforts to promote community health and livelihoods by improving access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). 

        “Because of our position as a connector of the food system, Cargill has the unique ability to develop holistic water solutions that drive impact-at-scale. That’s why we’ve set a global ambition to enable a water positive impact across our operations, supply chains and communities by 2030,” said Michelle Grogg, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at Cargill. “Partnering with organizations like Global Water Challenge is just one way we are working to strengthen local water systems. Together we will continue to drive sustainable change in communities where it is needed most.”

        Following a Call for Proposals and a rigorous review process, Cargill and GWC have selected and partnered with the following organizations to drive and implement the in-country execution of the project’s goals and initiatives:

        • ChildFund is a child-focused international development organization that helps deprived, excluded and vulnerable children to have the capacity to improve their lives and the opportunity to become young adults, parents and leaders who bring lasting and positive change in their communities. In Brazil, ChildFund has been working since 1966 to address challenges impacting Brazilian children living below the international poverty line. These challenges include inadequate education, poor health care and lack of access to safe drinking water. ChildFund works with local partners to provide support, protection and care for children so that they grow up healthy and strong. This work also includes improving water quality and preventing water-borne diseases and infant mortality.
        • Instituto de Projetos e Pesquisas Socioambientais (IPESA) is a Brazilian NGO comprising experts and environmental activists working to build a sustainable society that balances economic growth, preservation of natural resources and social justice. IPESA has worked extensively in Brazil to train on appropriate water management and improving water and sanitation access in rural communities.

        These two organizations will play an instrumental role in ensuring that project activities are implemented in collaboration with the local communities in the following Brazilian municipalities: Luís Eduardo Magalhães, São Desidério, Santarém, São Félix do Xingu and Rio Verde. Key interventions include community upliftment and improving clean water access through the construction and rehabilitation of water supply and distribution systems, the development of water treatment systems, the promotion of effective water systems management, WASH education and training – particularly to reduce water-borne diseases and the empowerment of communities through training in financial and entrepreneurship skills.

        “This World Water Week, we celebrate the power of collective action and partnerships that galvanize sustainable solutions to address water access challenges,” said Monica Ellis, CEO of Global Water Challenge. “Cargill’s global commitment to addressing critical needs in priority regions and building community resilience is commendable. As the partnership is at the core of GWC’s water stewardship programs, we are excited to be a part of these continued efforts through the expansion of our partnership with Cargill into Brazil. Brazil will form part of a growing list of countries and communities where livelihoods are being positively impacted through our partnership.”

        The Cargill Currents platform is one example of how Cargill is working toward its global ambition to enable water-positive impacts across their operations, supply chains and communities by 2030, in alignment with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6. The Cargill Currents program, in partnership with GWC, started in 2021 and has implemented 13 projects in Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, India and the United States, positively impacting nearly 48,000 people to date. The newly launched projects in Brazil are expected to benefit an estimated 41,000 people with improved water access, sanitation and hygiene. By the end of 2024, Cargill Currents initial investments aim to benefit up to 150,000 people with improved WASH in priority communities and basins around the world. Additional projects are in development for Europe, North America and West Africa.

        Across the world, Cargill is dedicated to effectively balancing and addressing the shared water challenges of availability, quality and access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, using an approach that is informed by local context. You can learn more about Cargill’s commitment to water here.

        # # #

        Cargill


        About Cargill

        Cargill helps the world's food system work for you. We connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and families with everyday essentials – from the food they eat, to the ground they walk on. Our 160,000 team members worldwide innovate purposefully, empowering our partners and communities as we work to nourish the world safely, responsibly, and sustainably raise feed. This includes our 11,000 colleagues in Brazil, where we have worked since 1965 to make our global vision a local reality. The possibilities are limitless, from feeds that reduce methane emissions to renewable fuels based on waste from feeds meal synergies. But our values remain the same. We put people first. We got further. We do the right thing. And that's how Cargill meets the changing needs of the people we call neighbors and the planet we call home – today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com.

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        About Global Water Challenge (GWC) 

        Global Water Challenge (GWC) is a coalition of leading organizations deploying expertise and networks to advance global water security and achieve universal access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in communities around the world. Since 2006, GWC has positively impacted over 3 million across Africa, the Americas and Asia with clean water access, and its campaigns, tools, data, and best practices reach millions more. In collaboration with multi-sector partners, GWC engages in action – catalyzing financial resources and driving innovative programming for sustainable, local solutions. For more information, please visit globalwaterchallenge.org.

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        Press Information 
        Emily Webster – media@cargill.com 
        Madeline Flamik – madeline.flamik@globalwaterchallenge.org

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        Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF)

        Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF)

        The Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF), established in 1988, is a leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to accelerate sustainable development through partnerships that deliver impact at scale. GETF builds and manages high impact public-private partnerships improving the lives of over 10 million people in 65 countries through water access, sanitation and hygiene, health systems strengthening, entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. Partnership platforms under GETF’s management include the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), The Coca-Cola Foundation’s signature community water initiative, the Water and Development Alliance (WADA) and Project Last Mile Partnership (PLM) both partnerships between The Coca-Cola Company and USAID. GETF serves as the Secretariat for two high-impact water coalitions – Global Water Challenge and the US Water Partnership.  For more information visit http://www.getf.org.

        ]]>         USAID Energizes Uzbekistan’s First Green Hydrogen Hub https://sdgtalks.ai/usaid-energizes-uzbekistans-first-green-hydrogen-hub https://sdgtalks.ai/usaid-energizes-uzbekistans-first-green-hydrogen-hub Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:49:34 -0500 Ana Poland Development (USAID) introduced a new initiative to support Uzbekistan’s clean energy objectives – the development of a Green Hydrogen Hub. Green hydrogen is defined as hydrogen energy developed by using renewable energy resources. Hydrogen is emerging as one of the leading options for storing and potentially transporting energy from renewables over long distances.

        Uzbekistan set a 25 percent target for renewable energy (solar, wind, and hydro) generation by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. To support the government’s efforts to achieve these goals, USAID is working with the Ministry of Energy and energy sector stakeholders to launch a Green Hydrogen Hub. The Hub will help improve the energy sector workforce’s expertise in emerging clean energy technologies to shape the region’s future energy landscape and contribute to Uzbekistan’s “Strategy for the Development of Renewable and Hydrogen Energy”.

        During the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Umid Mamadaminov, and Acting Director of USAID Mission to Uzbekistan Edward Michalski, alongside key stakeholders from the energy sector discussed the initial phase of the Hydrogen Hub concept, such as the priorities and action steps.

        In his remarks, Edward Michalski underscored the importance of clean energy initiatives. “USAID is committed to supporting the Central Asian countries in the pursuit of clean energy development and other energy priorities, as this is not just a goal, but a necessity. Our commitment is rooted in the belief that a sustainable future depends on our collective efforts to transition to cleaner, more efficient energy sources.”

        Previously, USAID established a partnership between the University of Delaware, USA, and Tashkent State Technical University to introduce a new curriculum on green hydrogen, which has been incorporated into a master’s degree program at the university.

        The Green Hydrogen Hub concept will assess key aspects to successful implementation including renewable energy potential, water availability, clean hydrogen production methods, and export potential. Site evaluation, storage design, logistics planning, market analysis, regulatory assessments, and environmental impact considerations are among other components in determining optimal locations for operation.

        This work is made possible through USAID’s flagship regional energy project, Power Central Asia. With a total budget of $39 million over a five-year period, the project aims to improve performance of the energy sector, expedite clean energy development, and enhance energy security and resiliency through greater regional connectivity and expanded cross-border electricity trade. Through this project alone, USAID has leveraged $2.2 billion in clean energy investments and facilitated the installation of 2,241 megawatts of clean energy capacity across Central Asia to date.

        ]]>         United Front, Clean Future: South Asia’s Path to Sustainable Energy https://sdgtalks.ai/united-front-clean-future-south-asias-path-to-sustainable-energy https://sdgtalks.ai/united-front-clean-future-south-asias-path-to-sustainable-energy Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:48:25 -0500 Ana Poland Amid escalating climate concerns and pressing environmental challenges, South Asia stands at a critical juncture. Recent initiatives, such as commitments forged at COP28 and ongoing efforts to combat air pollution, underscore the region’s steadfast commitment to steering toward a sustainable future. 

        Internationally, endeavors persist to ensure coherence between last year’s COP28, this year’s COP29 in Azerbaijan, and next year’s COP30 in Brazil. Notably, the recent intensified collaboration between the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) exemplifies the concerted efforts toward monitoring energy-related outcomes, fostering consensus on aligned energy transitions, and supporting the formulation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

        As nations navigate the challenges of transitioning energy sources and promoting regional cooperation, a promising perspective emerges – one defined by collaboration, innovation, and collective responsibility. Citizens across South Asia, particularly in Pakistan and India, are eager for their governments to explore the diverse landscape of the region’s journey toward a cleaner energy future. This entails scrutinizing crucial initiatives, navigating obstacles, and seizing opportunities that influence the trajectory towards greater environmental sustainability and prosperity.

        The urgent challenge of air quality facing South Asia is starkly evident in major cities like Delhi, Dhaka, and Lahore, where levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) consistently exceed World Health Organization guidelines. Swift collective action is crucial to address the root causes and protect public health.

        The haze enveloping South Asian cities originates from various sources, including industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, agricultural burning, and energy inefficiencies. These factors exacerbate health issues and contribute to climate change. Incorporating climate change mitigation strategies into national policies and promoting sustainable practices are crucial steps forward. Both India and Pakistan persist in using coal, despite the suffocating air quality in their major cities, as both nations are grappling with developmental challenges and energy deficits.

        Addressing air pollution requires a comprehensive strategy that gives priority to climate resilience and addresses related inequalities. Despite geopolitical tensions, fostering dialogue and mutual understanding can create a foundation for collaborative efforts. Strong political determination is essential for overcoming logistical hurdles and implementing effective solutions.

        Recently, significant developments have unfolded regarding longstanding energy initiatives in South Asia. Pakistan has at long last authorized the construction of its segment of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Initially proposed in 1995 as the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline to transport Iranian natural gas to the region, the project faced numerous challenges. These obstacles included India’s withdrawal in 2008 due to security concerns and regional tensions. 

        Despite reaching an agreement with Iran in 2009, construction on Pakistan’s portion has only recently commenced. Given the looming deadline and potential penalties, completing the project by September 2024 is crucial. However, persistent challenges, such as external factors like U.S. sanctions on Iran, continue to impede progress.

        Similar challenges confront another significant energy initiative in the region: the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, stretching over 1,800 kilometers. Launched in 2015, the TAPI pipeline aims to facilitate the transportation of natural gas. However, security concerns in Afghanistan and the logistical intricacies of the project have led to delays. Despite these challenges, efforts continue to advance this vital energy initiative, which holds significant potential for enhancing regional energy security and fostering economic development.

        Much like the Gulf Cooperation Council and European Supergrid, the potential of an electricity grid linking South and Central Asia is immense for both regions. Such an interconnected system would have the capability to revolutionize regional collaboration and enhance energy security. Picture a future where cleaner energy sources are plentiful, reducing the dependency on fossil fuels. This vision encompasses goals such as decarbonization, improved energy efficiency, and the transition toward a sustainable, low-carbon energy system.

        This diversification of energy sources offers increased security and reliability for all nations involved. Through collaborative efforts, more efficient energy demand management can be achieved, alleviating power shortages and fostering sustainable regional development.

        Moreover, the establishment of trade routes among Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan, and India presents significant opportunities. These routes could become bustling conduits for goods, opening new markets and stimulating economic growth across diverse regions. By expanding trade horizons, this network would contribute substantially to overall economic development among participating nations.

        In addition to the advantages provided by the power grid and trade routes, improved connectivity offers benefits that reach beyond the realm of electricity. Strengthened relationships can promote increased regional integration, leading to closer diplomatic ties and collaboration across diverse sectors, such as infrastructure development and security.

        These endeavors not only tackle air pollution directly but also stimulate economic growth and promote regional integration. By nurturing new markets and enhancing cross-border trade, they contribute significantly to the region’s economic development.

        China’s Belt and Road Initiative serves as a model for successful South-South cooperation, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and joint efforts against climate change. South Asian nations can glean valuable insights from China’s experiences in renewable energy development and green technology implementation. In turn, South Asia can offer expertise in areas like sustainable agriculture and waste management, fostering a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge.

        The international community plays a pivotal role in unlocking South Asia’s clean energy potential. By providing technical expertise and resources, they can expedite the region’s transition to sustainable practices. This collective endeavor against environmental challenges underscores the interconnected nature of our world and necessitates a global approach transcending borders.

        Developed nations, especially, must reassess past approaches that may have inadvertently hindered progress in South Asia. Focusing solely on ideological differences has proven insufficient in fostering long-term stability and prosperity in the region.

        A more nuanced approach, emphasizing diplomacy and multilateral cooperation, presents a promising future for South Asia. Through mutual respect and understanding, nations in the region, with constructive international support, can make significant progress in addressing air pollution and ensuring a healthier environment for all citizens. This collaborative endeavor will not only foster regional stability and prosperity but also pave the way for a more sustainable South Asia.

        In summary, the profound health and environmental crisis gripping South Asia underscores the urgent need for a unified regional approach that transcends political divisions. Despite historical conflicts, cooperation on critical issues like air pollution is indispensable. South-South collaboration emerges as a viable solution, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices. Establishing a regional air quality monitoring network and harnessing international support are pivotal steps toward achieving a cleaner energy future. 

        Through collective action to address shared challenges, South Asia can pave the way for a healthier environment, enhanced stability, and economic development. Ultimately, it is through collaboration and innovation that the region can secure a sustainable and prosperous future. Strong political resolve is paramount for surmounting logistical obstacles and implementing effective solutions.

        ]]>         Montour Falls secures $175,000 grant for clean energy projects https://sdgtalks.ai/montour-falls-secures-175000-grant-for-clean-energy-projects https://sdgtalks.ai/montour-falls-secures-175000-grant-for-clean-energy-projects Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:47:06 -0500 Ana Poland Montour Falls Mayor James Ryan announced that the village has been awarded a $175,000 grant from the NYSERDA Clean Energy Initiative. This funding boost is a result of the village amassing 7,000 points within the initiative, showcasing its commitment to sustainable practices. The grant will support ongoing efforts under the Sustainable Montour Falls initiative, which has garnered $1.5 million in total funding since its launch in 2017.

        The village has made significant strides in clean energy and sustainability since the inception of the Sustainable Montour Falls and Clean Energy Communities (CEC) program. Initiatives have included upgrades to municipal buildings, the acquisition of electric vehicles, and the installation of the county’s first Electric Vehicle Charging Station, contributing to substantial cost savings and environmental benefits.

        Montour Falls achieved its Clean Energy Community designation in October 2018 and was recognized as a Bronze Climate Smart Community in October 2019. Mayor Ryan highlighted the collaborative efforts with local and regional partners that have propelled the village towards these achievements, with over $700,000 in projects completed and an additional $1.2 million slated for the next 18 months. These initiatives underscore the village’s dedication to transforming into a sustainable community for future generations.

        ]]>         How the Healthy Cities initiative is paving the way for health and well-being in Indonesia https://sdgtalks.ai/how-the-healthy-cities-initiative-is-paving-the-way-for-health-and-well-being-in-indonesia https://sdgtalks.ai/how-the-healthy-cities-initiative-is-paving-the-way-for-health-and-well-being-in-indonesia Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:45:10 -0500 Ana Poland ·  Indonesia has taken several proactive and innovative steps to address urban health conditions that impact people’s lives through the ‘Healthy Cities’ approach.
        ·  Key aspects of the Healthy Cities Forums include involving communities to discuss urgent problems, find solutions and mobilize community participation. 
        ·  A review conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2018 indicated a positive association between acquiring the designation of ‘Healthy City/Regency’ and having better access to essential health services.
         

        More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities. By 2030, 5 billion people, or 2 out of every 3 people, are likely to be living in urban centres. About 90% of the shift from rural to urban areas will happen in Africa and Asia. This global trend of urbanization is having a significant impact on health and leading to huge social, economic and environmental transformations.

        The WHO South-East Asia Region is home to over a quarter of the world’s population and currently, 750 million people in the Region live in urban areas. This population is growing on average by 3.5%.

        While urbanization can bring health and economic benefits, rapid and unplanned urban growth is leading to many negative health, social and environmental impacts. Globally, almost 40% of urban dwellers do not have access to safely managed sanitation services and many do not have access to adequate drinking water. An estimated 91% of people in urban areas breathe polluted air.

        The COVID-19 pandemic has also shown that cities often bear the brunt of emergencies. Overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and safe water sources increase the spread of the virus. Evidence has shown that in areas of existing health inequities, including access to quality health services, COVID-19 cases and deaths in these deprived areas are double compared to those in more advantageous areas.

        The World Health Organization conceived the Healthy Cities initiative in 1986. The goal was to respond to health issues that have emerged due to urbanization and place health high on the social and political agenda of cities. In addition, the initiative aimed to promote health, equity and sustainable development through innovation and multisectoral changes.

        While countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region have been taking steps to promote health, equity and sustainable development, in Indonesia, the efforts to promote health through the Healthy Cities approach have been ongoing for more than two decades. The country has taken several proactive and innovative steps to address urban health conditions that impact people’s lives. 

        Birth of the Healthy City pilot project in Indonesia

        In Indonesia, there are two types of administrative areas: City (Kota) and Regency (Kabupaten), and the Healthy Cities initiative targets both cities and regencies.

        A Healthy City in Indonesia is defined as a clean, comfortable, safe and healthy city (or regency), which is manifested in multiple settings through integrated activities agreed upon by the community and local government.

        Inspired by the WHO-designated theme for the 1996 World Health Day, “Healthy Cities for Better Life”, the Ministry of Health in Indonesia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, organized a series of seminars and meetings that led to the initiation of the Healthy City pilot project in 1998.

        The pilot project involved six cities and regents (head of regency) from six provinces in Indonesia, namely Bandar Lampung City (Lampung Province), East Jakarta Administrative City (Jakarta Province), Pekalongan City (Central Java Province), Malang City (East Java Province), Balikpapan City (East Kalimantan Province) and Cianjur Regency (West Java Province). In 1999, eight more cities/regents participated in implementing the Healthy Cities approach. 

        Taman Swasti Saba, Semarang, Indonesia (Photo credit: Semarang city government)

        At the National Convention of Mayors and Regents of Indonesia held from 26 to 28 July 2000, subnational government leaders reached a consensus on adopting the Healthy City approach as a strategy to achieve the national health development goal of “Healthy Indonesia 2010”.

        The national government backed this commitment by issuing a joint regulation with the home and health ministries. The joint Ministerial regulation establishes the concept of Indonesia’s Healthy City/Regency and helps to define it.

        Indonesia Healthy Cities comprise nine pillars: (1) self-sufficient and healthy people; (2) offices and industrial places; (3) transportation and road safety; (4) residential and religious places; (5) marketplaces; (6) social protection; (7) educational/schooling practices; (8) tourism places; (9) disaster prevention and management. 

        ‘Going local’ – the key to success

        The active involvement of mayors and other local political and community leaders in all aspects of Healthy Cities is crucial. 

        The implementation of a healthy city is important in improving the quality of community health. But this will happen only if there is a commitment from the local government. The key for successful implantation of healthy cities is when four elements – the government, stakeholders, reporters  and entrepreneurs work together.
        - Mrs Krisseptiana Prihardi, Chairperson of Healthy Cities Forum

        As the first step toward becoming a Healthy City, local governments are required to facilitate the establishment of a Healthy City Forum in their respective city/regency. The Healthy City Forum consists of representatives from different sectoral government offices, civil society/ nongovernment organizations and academia, who are interested in contributing to the advancement of health, social well-being, and the development of their city/regency.

        The Healthy City/Regency Forum is responsible for formulating and coordinating Healthy City/Regency activities as well as mobilizing community resources to support these activities.

        Every two years, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Home Affairs appraise the performance of the cities/regencies to evaluate improvements in the nine domains. Awards are given to the cities based on the outcome of these appraisals.

        During 2005 and 2019, the number of cities and regencies voluntarily enrolling in the bi-annual appraisal of Healthy Cities/Regencies increased from 20 to 366. 

        However, despite the commitment, the number of cities/regencies that participated in the Healthy City/Regency appraisal in 2021 declined as local governments’ focus was on controlling the spread of COVID-19 and mitigating its impact.

        Number of cities and regencies participating in Healthy City/Regency appraisal 2005–2021 

        Source: Ministry of Health, Indonesia 

        In March 2022, once the COVID-19 pandemic had relatively de-escalated, mayors/regents and leaders of Healthy City/Regency forums convened at the National Healthy City Summit hosted by the Government of Semarang City.

        The Summit sought to revive and strengthen the approaches toward the Healthy Cities initiative, taking the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaders of the Healthy City/District also agreed to form a national forum for Healthy Cities. Mrs Krisseptiana Prihardi, the Chair of Semarang Healthy City Forum, was elected as the first chair of the National Forum for Healthy Cities.

        WHO’s regional and country offices provided technical support to this event, sharing WHO’s guidance on emergency preparedness and recovery for cities/communities, the updated global principles for Healthy Cities, designation criteria, action domains, and indicators of a Healthy City.

        WHO also shared the aspiration to establish a South-East Asia Regional Healthy Cities Network as a means to enhance the capacities of urban leaders in urban governance for health and well-being.

        A new initiative of the Regional Office, Regional Networks of Healthy Cities, has existed since some time in other regions. Taking the lead from the regional offices of Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific and the Pan American Health Organization, the Regional Office for South-East Asia established the Healthy Cities Network, which is a platform to support cities to take actions on health and carry out agendas that enhance well-being. It is part of WHO’s health promotion actions and provides standard guidance for implementation, accreditation of cities, and acts as a learning hub for intercity sharing of experiences, innovation, and practices. The Urban Governance for Health and Well-being and urban leadership training are key contributions of the Regional Office to the regional Healthy Cities Network. 

        The transformation of Semarang city as a Healthy City: a case study in point

        Semarang is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. In 2010, Semarang City’s public health system was burdened with a large number of maternal and child deaths and a high incidence of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). The city’s incidence of DHF surpassed 5000 in 2010, which made the city one of the epicentres of DHF in Indonesia.2

        Mrs Krisseptiana Prihadi, who was then the lead of the Family Welfare Programme in Semarang City, discussed comprehensive actions that needed to be taken to improve the situation with the Semarang City health officials. They learned that these actions were already accommodated in WHO’s Healthy Cities initiative.

        Health officials held discussions with various sectoral government offices, academia, and civil society organizations to generate interest and commitment to establish the Healthy City concept in Semarang City. As a result, the Semarang Healthy City Forum was formed in 2014.

        The Healthy City Forum consists of representatives of nongovernment stakeholders, including academia, health professional organizations,

        journalists, and informal community leaders. Their role is to empower the community to recognize the need to protect and promote their health; to advocate for community health needs in the city’s development planning and budgeting, and to mobilize community support for the implementation of government programmes to address the determinants of health.

        While the Healthy City Forum sits at the city level, its role extends down to the kelurahan (urban village) level through the Kelurahan Health Forum. Essentially, the Healthy City Forum consists of city-/regency- level stakeholders, while the Kelurahan Health Forum consists of subcity or subregency stakeholders.

        One of the important functions of the Healthy City Forum and Kelurahan Health Forum is to organize community meetings to discuss various situations that impact the health of the local population with the purpose of looking for solutions and mobilizing participation. These are then taken up during the annual city development planning process as proposals from the local village community.

        It is through such ongoing consultations that the Healthy City Forum mobilized community participation for the eradication of mosquito larvae for the prevention and control of DHF.

        More recently, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Healthy City Forum and Kelurahan Health Forum spearheaded the risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) activities.

        Youth groups were engaged by the forums to promote awareness among local communities about COVID-19 risk prevention measures, including wearing face masks, keeping a safe social distance, and ensuring hand hygiene. Once the COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched, youth groups were roped in to encourage community members to get vaccinated.

        The forums also initiated a community collective support model for the self-isolation of people with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19. This includes arranging a dedicated place and provision of food for such patients. 

        The implementation of healthy city activities has been very beneficial for our community. All levels of the community have been empowered, from the grass-roots level up to the policy-makers. For example, school students are involved in the dengue prevention activity; young people are enabled to initiate and lead the promotion of COVID-19 prevention protocols. We can feel that our community’s health and well-being are improving as the result of healthy city activities.
        - Ms Ibu Gondowati, social worker and resident of Semarang City

         

        Addressing challenges such as equitable access to health care, vulnerability, the determinants of health and sustainability is an important part of the initiative’s uniqueness and success. By holding regular public consultations and seeking solutions from the local communities, the Healthy City Forum and Kelurahan Health Forum in Semarang, ensured that the most pressing health concerns of the local communities were taken up on priority.

        Involving community members also helped instil a sense of ownership and pride in the developmental works and initiatives backed by community action. Between 2016 and 2021, public infrastructure and facilities in 250 neighbourhoods were upgraded through the Thematic Kampung programme. The Thematic Kampung (neighbourhoods) programme provides funds for groups that commit to improving their environmental conditions and developing small–medium businesses supporting tourism such as making handicrafts and selling traditional food. 

        Kampung residents collectively decide which environmental and/or social determinants affecting their health they want to prioritize and design the intervention in a way that also improves the local economy. Then, the community shares a budget proposal for funding the interventions with the city government. The funding can cover all or a fraction of the budget needed. 

         

        The move toward becoming a Healthy City has benefited Semarang City and its people in many ways. People’s participation both in planning and implementation has resulted in a cleaner environment, lower incidence of DHF, and the ability to quickly gain control of the COVID-19 situation. Multisectoral efforts in manifesting Healthy City features in Semarang City have also contributed to improved tourism and small–medium enterprises. Human settlements along the banks of the river have improved. The upgraded neighbourhood resulting from the Thematic Kampung Programme not only provides residents with cleaner and healthier living conditions but also helps improve economic opportunities from tourism and small–medium enterprises.

                                           

        Some examples of improvement in the living environment resulting from neighbourhood upgrading as part of the Thematic Kampung programme (Photo credit: Semarang Healthy City Forum, Semarang city authorities)

        For its efforts, Semarang City has earned a number of national and regional recognitions, including being awarded the Healthy City award four times from the Government of Indonesia (in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021)3 as well as the title of Cleanest Tourist Destination in South-East Asia 2020–2022 from the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard (ACTCS).4

        The ultimate recognition of Semarang City’s efforts toward becoming a Healthy City was the selection of Semarang City as the venue for the Indonesia Healthy City Summit 2021 and the election of the chair of the National Forum for Healthy Cities established during the Summit.

        Healthy cities – paving the way towards better health and well-being

        A review conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2018 indicated a positive association between the designation as a Healthy City/Regency and better access to services essential for health.

        The study found that cities/regencies that earned Healthy City/Regency awards have 14–23% higher access to improved sanitation and 20–28% higher access to clean water.

        These results suggest that the Healthy Cities designation is an effective advocacy tool to expedite implementation of the public health agenda in urban development.

        A number of disease prevention measures and protection of the population’s health were achieved through the implementation of Healthy Cities such as reduction of dengue in cities due to mayors’ leadership, multisectoral actions, engagement with local youth to clean up the neighbourhood, and improved drainage and sewage systems in local communities.

        The cities that participated in this initiative were also able to improve urban planning along with nature conservation, and were able to create more active spaces for people to walk and do physical activity. The improved surroundings and spaces with the cultural uniqueness of each area also made the local neighbourhoods more attractive to tourists.

        While there has been a qualitative improvement, a nationwide systematic analysis of the Healthy Cities initiative effect on these conditions is yet to be made available.

        Urban planning and water conservation efforts between 2017 and 2021 (Photo credit: Semarang Healthy City Forum, Semarang city authorities)

        The COVID-19 pandemic also showed that cities/regencies designated as Healthy Cities/Regencies did not cope better in emergencies (including public health emergencies) than the rest of the cities/regencies. The implementation of mentoring and assessment activities for the Healthy Cities programme is heavily dependent on the budget and human resources of the health sector.

        In addition, health equity, in terms of access to essential health services and achievement of the desired health outcomes, has not been fully addressed in the current concept of Indonesia’s Healthy City programme.

        In response to some of these challenges, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Home Affairs have initiated the process of developing a Presidential Regulation on the implementation of Healthy City/Regency in 2022, which will expand the scope of the Healthy City/Regency initiative to include health equity as a core principle. The regulation will also provide a stronger policy basis for the formulation of multisectoral interventions and budgeting.

        The interlinked nature of urban health challenges has shown that action in one sector can have benefits for many other sectors. The achievements of the Healthy Cities programme in Indonesia have highlighted the importance of investment in sustainable development with people’s health at the centre of multisectoral actions and good urban governance for health and well-being in cities. 

        ]]>         Samia champions clean cooking energy initiative in Africa https://sdgtalks.ai/samia-champions-clean-cooking-energy-initiative-in-africa https://sdgtalks.ai/samia-champions-clean-cooking-energy-initiative-in-africa Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:43:06 -0500 Ana Poland TANZANIA: THE global clean cooking energy campaign received a massive boost at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in November of last year with the launch of the African Women Clean Cooking Support Programme (AWCCSP).

        The groundbreaking initiative, championed by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, was launched on the sidelines of the conference and aims to provide clean cooking technologies to women and girls in Africa to reduce the use of wood, charcoal, and other traditional forms of biomass.

        In Africa, almost 80 per cent of the population uses wood and charcoal for cooking, the leading cause of indoor pollution which has devastating effects on the health of women and children.

        President Samia rallied fellow African leaders and representatives to accelerate clean cooking solutions in the region and help transition some 900 million Africans from biomass fuels to more affordable and environmentally friendly options over the next couple of years.

        Promoting clean cooking energy solutions will help prevent the deaths of millions of women and children, foster social stability, and unlock significant labor market productivity, she said. “Women and girls are disproportionately affected when there is no access to clean cooking solutions.

        Exposure to toxic fumes affects their health and wellbeing, and the programme will ensure that the long hours they spend fetching firewood are spent on productive economic activities,” she said.

        President Samia explained the environmental impact due to the growing use of wood and charcoal for cooking, noting the most commonly cited impact is deforestation.

        “This has led to the loss of 3.9 million hectares of forest between 2010 and 2020 in Africa,” she said and pointed out that while access to clean cooking had increased across the world, in Africa, it is the use of wooden biomass that is growing.

        President Samia said the private sector had a significant role to play in promoting clean cooking energy solutions.

        “We call on the private sector to establish a commercial supply chain for clean cooking alternatives, including improved stoves and facilitating access to electricity in rural areas.”

        She said the newly launched programme was “not just about stoves and emissions, but to usher in a clean and sustainable future.”

        Global leaders at the conference rallied around the programme and committed to providing clean cooking energy by 2032 to nearly a billion people in Africa who still cook using firewood and other forms of biomass.

        African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said, “300,000 women and 300,000 children die every year due to respiratory diseases simply by trying to cook a meal what is taken for granted in developed economies.”

        Adesina said the global economic cost of women’s hours spent fetching firewood is estimated at 800 billion US dollars annually and the health cost for that is estimated at 1.4 trillion US dollars annually.

        “The risk of women dying from a lack of clean cooking solutions is three times higher than the risk of dying from malaria,” he said.

        “Africa requires 4 billion US dollars a year in investment to provide clean cooking equipment to 250 million women by 2030,” he said and outlined how sub-Saharan Africa could achieve 100 per cent access to clean cooking solutions.

        “This requires that governments direct at least 5 per cent of the current 70 billion US dollars energy investments annually into the provision of clean cooking solutions. That would provide close to the required 4 billion US dollars annually. This is not too much to ask.”

        “Second, accessibility and affordability to clean cooking solutions should be assured through the development of liquefied petroleum gas upstream capacity, especially for production, storage, and distribution infrastructure.”

        “Third, multilateral finance institutions should set aside a significant share of their annual energy financing specifically for providing clean cooking solutions at scale.

        This should include concessional blended financing, as well as guarantees to de-risk lending by commercial banks and other financial institutions,” said Adesina.

        South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa described his country’s experience in transitioning rural communities from firewood and cow dung to coal-generated electricity and now to renewable energy “on an equitable basis.

        ”He said even though access to electricity had increased to 93 per cent from about 50 per cent over the past nearly 30 years, the electricity was generated from coal, a fossil fuel.

        “We are beginning the transit route to cleaner energy. It is a necessary journey that addresses gender equality and poverty.”

        Norwegian Minister for International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim pledged support for the program and said: “It takes women to truly drive these gender-related issues.”

        ]]>         Dr. Sandra McCoy and partners secure $6 million to study HIV interventions in sub-Saharan Africa https://sdgtalks.ai/dr-sandra-mccoy-and-partners-secure-6-million-to-study-hiv-interventions-in-sub-saharan-africa https://sdgtalks.ai/dr-sandra-mccoy-and-partners-secure-6-million-to-study-hiv-interventions-in-sub-saharan-africa Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:40:12 -0500 Ana Poland Colorado School of Mines A coalition made up of UC Berkeley School of Public Health’s Dr. Sandra McCoy; Dr. Mackfallen Anasel of Mzumbe University, Tanzania; and Dr. Prosper Njau of the Tanzania Ministry of Health have been awarded $6 million to study HIV interventions among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. The award is part of a larger initiative of the U.S. National Institutes of Health to support clinical and implementation research to improve health outcomes among adolescents with or at risk for HIV in Africa.

        The grant will fund a  five-year project co-led by the three researchers, which will establish one of eight funded Clinical Research Centers focused on adolescent health in Africa. Specifically, their Mwotaji (“Dreamer” in Kishwahili) Clinical Research Center in Tanzania will study methods to deliver HIV prevention, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP, medication taken to prevent the transmission of HIV), to young women at community pharmacies to increase healthcare access and reduce stigma.

        This project is an extension of Dr. McCoy’s collaborative work in epidemiology to design, implement, and rigorously evaluate new implementation strategies for HIV prevention, as well as to support the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV. Her emphasis in recent years has been studying HIV treatment and low-cost ways to improve engagement in care and treatment adherence.

        McCoy’s work is particularly relevant because it has been well documented that girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa are at a disproportionately high risk of HIV compared to their male counterparts. Little awareness of sex education and stigma around reproductive health have contributed to this, in addition to barriers to accessing prevention medication such as PrEP.

        The award will also allow the center to create a certificate program in implementation science at the Centre of Excellence in Health Monitoring and Evaluation at Mzumbe University, which will facilitate the study of policy methods and their use every day. This will create a sustainable network of researchers, implementers, and government officials trained in implementation science to serve the needs of adolescents in the future.

        ]]>         China Tries To Censor Data About Nearly 1 Billion People in Poverty https://sdgtalks.ai/china-tries-to-censor-data-about-nearly-1-billion-people-in-poverty https://sdgtalks.ai/china-tries-to-censor-data-about-nearly-1-billion-people-in-poverty Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:31:20 -0500 Ana Poland

        Internet censors in China worked around the clock this week to suppress online discussions about poverty in the country after an economist revealed nearly 1 billion people were living off less than $300 a month.

        A hashtag on Weibo, China's X-like microblogging app, pointed to the ongoing income inequality by stating that "964 million people" were surviving on monthly incomings of 2,000 Chinese yuan, or about $280.

        On Tuesday, the hashtag about China's economic woes briefly reached the No. 1 spot on Weibo's trending page before it was taken down. A day earlier, Li Xunlei, chief economist at Zhongtai Securities, had published an article that highlighted the data.

        Despite signs of stress appearing across various sectors, Beijing has not come up with a stimulus package as part of its post-pandemic economic recovery. The country's major property giants, Evergrande and Country Garden, defaulted on their debt this year as help from the government failed to materialize.

        Chinese leader Xi Jinping has instead made calls for improving income distribution through a campaign of "common prosperity," with the censorship once again revealing just how sensitive Beijing is to any debate about China's economic performance—a metric tied directly to Xi's legitimacy and right to govern.

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        On Weibo, searches for the now disabled hashtag returned a notice reading: "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations and policies, the content of this topic cannot be displayed."

        It is a common censorship tactic that stops popular topics from gaining traction among the website's 600 million monthly active users, who have recently been sent automated messages advising them not to badmouth the economy, a message that has been driven home by China's spy agency, the Ministry of State Security.

        In his article for the business outlet Yicai, Li cited data from a 2021 research paper by the China Institute of Income Distribution at Beijing Normal University, which placed the number of people living on less than 2,000 yuan a month at 964 million, or nearly 70 percent of the population.

        Li assessed the state of the Chinese economy and discussed pressing challenges as well as the potential for growth.

        His article, which was later taken down, said China was at an "inflection point" because of its population structure, which was once declining and aging. Li nonetheless concluded that competent government leadership could enable further economic growth, possibly doubling China's GDP by 2035.

        In June 2020, Wang Haiyuan and Meng Fanqiang, the authors behind the income study cited by Li this week, published an article in China's leading financial news magazine Caixin, in which they quoted late Premier Li Keqiang's comments about the estimated 600 million Chinese people who were living on less than 1,000 yuan, or $140, a month.

        "Although 40 years of reform and opening up have greatly improved the country's comprehensive strength and level of national income, as of today, the fact that we have a large population, few resources and very uneven development is still obvious, and a considerable number of residents are still close to the poverty line," Wang and Meng wrote.

        Their old article was also deleted from Caixin's website in the aftermath of efforts to suppress Li's more recent analysis.

        At the end of 2020, China's President Xi declared a "complete victory" over absolute poverty in the country, which Beijing defines as living off 2,300 yuan a year. He said the last remaining 99 million people were lifted out of the category, but the message arrived to little fanfare at the time.

        Uncommon Knowledge

        Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

        Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

        ]]>         Spark &amp; Sustain: How all of the world’s school systems can improve learning at scale https://sdgtalks.ai/spark-sustain-how-all-of-the-worlds-school-systems-can-improve-learning-at-scale https://sdgtalks.ai/spark-sustain-how-all-of-the-worlds-school-systems-can-improve-learning-at-scale Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:29:22 -0500 Ana Poland Spark & Sustain: How all of the world’s school systems can improve learning at scale

        Jake Bryant, Felipe Child, Ezgi Demirdag, Emma Dorn, Stephen Hall, Kartik Jayaram, Charag Krishnan, Cheryl Lim, Emmy Liss, Kemi Onabanjo, Frédéric Panier, Juan Rebolledo, Jimmy Sarakatsannis, Doug Scott, Roman Tschupp, Seckin Ungur, Pierre Vigin29-37 minutes 2/8/2024

        It is more important today than ever before to improve the quality and equity of education systems around the world. Automation is expected to increase demand for highly educated workers, creating a greater need for technological, socioemotional, and cognitive skills. The rise of generative AI is accelerating these workforce transitions. In addition to preparing students for the workforce, education systems are increasingly being asked to participate in resolving broader societal issues, from rising mental health challenges among young people1 to political polarization2 to combating climate change.3

        Student learning improvements are not keeping up with these demands. More children than ever are in school, but many are not mastering basic skills. The World Bank estimates that seven in ten students in low- and middle-income countries are living in “learning poverty,” unable to read a simple text by the end of elementary school. The same is true for nearly nine in ten students in sub-Saharan Africa. This means that the majority of the world’s children are born into education systems where they will not learn to read by the end of elementary school.4

        More children than ever are in school, but many are not mastering basic skills.

        Much of the global discussion about educational performance revolves around a small subset of mostly high-income countries that get relatively high scores on the three major assessments: the Programme for International Assessment (PISA), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). In our schema below, we classify those countries as having “good” or “great” performance.

        However, more than 90 percent of children live in countries where average educational outcomes are below poor, poor, or fair.5 Historically, many of these countries have not taken international assessments, but more recently, the introduction of regional assessments6 and the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) has enabled a broader global comparison of learning outcomes. The OECD suggests that approximately 20 PISA points are equivalent to a year of learning. By that measure, high school students in many sub-Saharan African countries may be ten or more years behind their peers in Europe, North America, or East Asia (Exhibit 1).7

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        In the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, student performance in most school systems globally stagnated—or declined. Of the 73 countries with longitudinal data over the past decade, only 23 managed to achieve significant, sustained, and consistent improvements in student outcomes. In 17 systems, student performance declined by half a year of learning or more.8 Systems that historically performed at the highest levels were most likely to experience declines (Exhibit 2). Even in high-performing countries, overall system performance may mask significant inequities; every system that participates in PISA shows gaps in performance correlated with socioeconomic status.

        Over the past decade, most school systems have stagnated or declined in performance.

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        In the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, student performance in most school systems globally stagnated—or declined.

        The pandemic only exacerbated these challenges. Lost learning time widened equity gaps within and between countries, with students ending up, on average, eight months behind where they would have been absent the pandemic. Meanwhile, the pandemic’s shift to remote work and e-commerce accelerated changes in the workforce. This is creating a scissor effect: learning losses are colliding with an increasing need for higher-order skills.

        The stakes are high: if historical trends continue, more than 700 million children will remain in learning poverty in 2050. The pandemic wiped out decades of educational improvements, and we cannot wait decades to make up these losses. The world’s population is growing fastest in the places where learning is the furthest behind.9 If we do nothing, the implications for economic growth and political stability worldwide will be tremendous. However, this grim future is not inevitable. If all systems could improve student outcomes at the rate of the top improvers, an additional 350 million students could be lifted out of learning poverty in the next 30 years (Exhibit 3). This report considers what it would take to make that happen.

        If all school systems improved at the rate of top improvers, nearly 350 million children could emerge from learning poverty by 2050.

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        Systems beating the odds

        At first glance, the lack of progress may seem puzzling. Over the past decades, the education community has researched, developed, and codified strong evidence on what students need to master foundational skills such as reading, writing, and critical thinking. We know what interventions work to move most students to proficiency. Over the past decade, per-capita education spending has increased in countries of all income levels.10 And yet our global survey of 400 education leaders globally found that only 20 percent of education improvement efforts meet their stated goals (Exhibit 4).

        Only 20 percent of surveyed school systems achieved their learning and system outcome objectives.

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        To understand how school systems globally can reignite growth and recover from the learning losses of the pandemic, McKinsey examined the decade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted research across both improving and declining school systems; analyzed global data; and spoke with more than 200 system leaders, donors and philanthropists, not-for-profit leaders, academics, and educational consultants.

        Our interviews all pointed to the complexity of the implementation challenge. Most school systems struggle to turn improvements into action at scale. Our research demonstrates that to make changes stick, it is not enough for leaders to know “what” interventions to use. It also requires understanding “how” to implement them well at scale. In many systems, well-intentioned changes fizzle out. Stagnating school systems tend to get stuck in a few “failure modes”:

        • Conflicting directions. Education is not seen as a priority, resulting in an inability to raise the donor or domestic funds needed to deliver. Goals are too numerous, too far out in the future, and hard to measure, and there is a lack of coherence across the individual elements of reform.
        • Leadership discontinuity. Educational change requires more time than politics often allows. Rapid electoral cycles and short tenures for ministers of education can lead to a whipsaw of priorities, which can in turn confuse and disillusion educators and families. This is exacerbated when reform efforts are tied to political structures, rather than more deeply embedded within institutions.
        • Organ rejection of reform. Improvements may falter in the face of pushback from communities and educators who feel they were not consulted. Top-down policies may not actually work once they reach the classroom.
        • Insufficient coordination and pace of change. Too much time is spent on developing strategy and not enough on creating an implementation road map with aligned budgets, timelines, and accountability.
        • Limited implementation capacity. A lack of program management and analytical capacity within government undermines reform efforts—great educators do not always make great managers. Donor technical assistance ends up overly dependent on international consultants, who leave, rather than local players.
        • Flying blind. Leaders at all levels operate without sufficient data, missing key opportunities to create transparency and to intervene.
        • Standing still. Systems try to solve today’s problems with yesterday’s solutions. Leaders may pilot new ideas but without a plan for how to measure impact and take them to scale.

        Yet failure is not inevitable. The good news is that some systems are beating the odds and producing meaningful gains in student learning year after year. These outlier school systems exist on every continent and at every level of national development. The global education community can chart a new path by learning from these systems.

        To identify improving systems, we looked at national systems that had achieved sustained, consistent, and significant improvements in student outcomes as measured by international assessments,11 as well as at lower-income systems with emerging evidence of improvement on regional assessments.12 We also identified relevant subnational improvers using national assessment data.13 None of the 14 systems that we profiled is perfect, and in some, the absolute level of achievement is still low, but each has meaningful lessons to impart at different stages of the educational improvement journey from below poor to poor to fair to good to great (Exhibit 5).14

        We researched 14 systems that are beating the odds to understand why.

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        Some systems are beating the odds and producing meaningful gains in student learning year after year.

        Our analysis suggests that successful systems, at every level of spending and national development, use reinforcing strategies to create a virtuous cycle, enabling significant, long-term gains in student learning (Exhibit 6):

        • Anchor in the evidence. Based on clear research into what improves outcomes, successful school systems ground changes in the classroom, focusing first and foremost on teachers and the content they deliver. They choose evidence-backed strategies relevant to their starting place and prioritize foundational learning, particularly in systems with limited resources. They use technology as a tool to enhance learning, not as an end in itself.
        • Build a durable coalition for change. Successful school systems focus on a few coherent priorities, rallying stakeholders around them to ensure that everyone—from system leadership to principals to teachers—is on board. They invest in authentic, two-way communication with families, educators, and communities to design better policies and build deeper buy-in.
        • Create delivery capacity to scale. Successful systems move quickly from strategy to implementation, pacing reforms to show early traction while building stamina for the long road to impact. They build dedicated delivery teams with the organizational structures and individual skills to execute on plans over time.
        • Drive and adapt with data. Successful systems rigorously measure what matters—student learning outcomes—and use transparent data to improve their interventions. As they roll out tried-and-true methods, they also create space for innovation and measure what they innovate, which feeds back into the evidence base of what works.
        Improving school systems use reinforcing strategies to create a virtuous cycle of outsized gains in learning.

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        Individually, these strategies may seem obvious or incremental. Together, they are transformative. Our survey suggests that systems that used all seven of the “how” levers above were six times more likely to be successful in meeting their goals for student outcomes and system transformation than those that used four or fewer (Exhibit 7).

        School systems that use all seven levers are about six times more likely to be successful than those that implement four or fewer.

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        Anchor in the evidence

        Ground system strategy in better classroom instruction. The global education community knows what strategies drive learning outcomes. Successful systems focus on interventions closest to students and work outward, starting with the classroom (what is taught, how it is taught), then the school (what supports exist for students and teachers), and finally aligning the system supports (performance management, infrastructure, funding) to what is needed in the classroom (Exhibit 8).

        Successful school systems anchor change in the classroom.

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        For example, Singapore invests heavily in its instructional core throughout the curriculum and across teacher recruitment, development, and retention. Teacher candidates are drawn from the top 30 percent of their graduating class and must demonstrate core content knowledge. Once in the system, teachers complete 100 hours of professional development annually and receive coaching and weekly collaborative sessions with master and senior teachers. Professional development is practical and tailored, offered in digestible modules, and delivered in classrooms.15

        In Poland, reforms in the early 2000s focused on redesigning the national curriculum—first in elementary grades and later in secondary schools—and on investments at the teacher, principal, and school level to reinforce adoption. Based on research about learning and comprehension, the curriculum was redesigned to prioritize critical thinking and reasoning where there had previously been a content overload. Teachers were engaged in the redesign to inform what strategies might lead to the best uptake; expert coaches worked with teachers to build their skills around the new curriculum.16

        Start the journey where you are. To select the best interventions, school systems need to consider their starting student performance, their financial resources, and the capabilities of their teachers and school leaders. One of the biggest mistakes that school systems can make is to “lift and shift” best practices from a system that operates in a vastly different context. In our methodology, we group school systems into five performance bands, based on student learning levels: below poor, poor, fair, good, and great. While the elements of school system excellence remain the same, the interventions differ.

        As school systems progress toward good and great performance (for example, Poland and Singapore), increasing levels of school and teacher autonomy are possible, paired with effective accountability, capability building, and peer learning. Systems in the poor or below-poor performance bands (for example, Malawi and South Africa), by contrast, may be best advised to focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, ensure that instructional materials are available on a one-to-one basis, scaffold teachers through structured (or even scripted) lesson plans and in-situ coaching, and put effective assessment for instruction in place to account for greatly varying student achievement levels—a package of interventions sometimes referred to as structured pedagogy. Systems in the fair category (for example, Kenya) need to ensure the basics are in place, but they then can begin to expand selective earned autonomy, broader competency-based curricula tied to economic pathways, and incentives for teachers and school leaders to develop top talent (Exhibit 9). These imperatives to “start in the classroom” and “tailor to journey” apply equally to technology use (see sidebar, “Education technology—great potential but mixed results”).

        For school systems, the journey to improvement starts where you are.

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        For example, Ceará in Brazil, where performance was poor, prioritized Portuguese literacy and math in the curriculum, with a focus on elementary school, and invested heavily in supporting teachers to deliver quality content. All teachers received regular practical professional development, including classroom observations. The state government also led a long and sustainable journey to improve the quality of municipal education leaders, empowering them to provide better support for teachers and schools. From 2009 to 2019, Ceará registered an increase of nearly 12 percentage points on the National Assessment of Basic Education (Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Básica), moving from poor to fair. Ceará also saw the highest increase of any Brazilian state on the national index of educational quality in elementary education (Index of Development of Basic Education) between 2005 and 2017.17

        In Punjab, India, where performance was below poor, leaders used Teaching at the Right Level to group students by level rather than age to reduce targeted learning gaps in primary school. Leaders used simple, quick one-on-one assessments to group students into levels at the start of the intervention, administered assessments throughout to track progress and adapt instruction based on students’ results, and reviewed aggregate data to make programmatic decisions.18 Teachers received training and support to change behaviors. While the share of students in India who could read a grade two text as measured by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) declined from 2006 to 2014, the share in Punjab surpassed the national average and grew by 13.2 percentage points.19 Punjab moved from below poor to poor in the decade prior to the pandemic.

        The journey is not perfectly linear for any system, and there are multiple paths to system improvement. In addition, in many systems, overall performance may mask inequities within the nation or region. In a single system, there can be schools ranging from below poor to great. This may require system leaders to consider a range of approaches to drive improvement based on schools’ starting points.

        Build a durable coalition for change

        Set fewer priorities to get more done. Education leaders are regularly pulled in too many directions. To counteract this, leaders of successful school systems define a North Star vision and choose a limited set of coherent, sustained, and evidence-based priorities (typically no more than three to six). They define these nonnegotiables based on the evidence of what works and ensure that donors and partners support this short list, channeling money and energy to what matters most.

        For example, Mississippi reorganized its state education department and board to align their work against six core goals, started every meeting with a recap of these goals, and interrogated every new initiative against these priorities.20 From 2010 to 2014, Kenya introduced 25 different interventions to address literacy rates and saw limited impact.21 Starting in 2014, leaders pivoted and prioritized a singular evidence-based approach: Tusome. By relentlessly targeting the country’s low literacy rates through a proven approach, the initiative nearly doubled the share of students who met the government’s literacy benchmarks from 2014 to 2021.22

        If everything is a priority, nothing is.

        Carey Wright, Former State Superintendent of Mississippi

        Cultivate leadership beyond a single leader. True transformation can take a decade, but few leaders have that much time. Successful systems invest in civil servants who outlast political leaders and build a deep bench of talent at the central office (especially at the n-2 level23), at the middle layer, and across schools. Leaders foster institutions beyond the ministry, insulating education from politics by distancing the work from political structures and enabling a greater ecosystem of experts who can support policy development and implementation. Longevity also comes from embedding educational change into policies and procedures that are harder to reverse.

        In Norway, for example, policy continuation was facilitated by the stability of senior civil servants from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and Directorate for Education and Training. These trusted institutions provided a common set of evidence-based research that both parties relied on as the fact base for policy. When the 2012 PISA results were released, leaders in both political parties called the same senior civil servant to understand the data and implications for policy.24 In Morocco, ministry leaders enshrined reforms in a framework law with bipartisan support and created binding mechanisms for new leadership to manage implementation.

        My initiative is now being fulfilled by a conservative government. This kind of continuity gives me hope for the future.

        Kristin Halvorsen, Former Minister of Education of Norway

        Engage educators and families authentically. Authentic engagement is hard to do well, but successful school systems treat it as nonnegotiable. Successful systems actively collect diverse stakeholder input at the outset and throughout implementation to design and refine policies that will resonate and work in the classroom. In practice, this includes engaging teacher, principal, and student advisory boards; conducting regular surveys of parents, students, and educators to keep a pulse; and ensuring that every member of the executive cabinet visits a diverse range of schools at least twice a month. Successful systems then create compelling change stories and use a broad tool kit to influence changes at the school and classroom level.

        For example, during Kaya Henderson’s tenure as school chancellor in Washington, DC, the public school system worked closely with communities to communicate how school closures would lead to more resources in remaining schools, and it sought community input on how to transform school communities. When the district made subsequent closure decisions, there was less pushback from the community than otherwise expected. Overall, public school enrollment grew during this time period for the first time in decades, pointing to strengthened public confidence in the system.25 Cecilia María Vélez White, former minister of education in Colombia, held monthly meetings with principals, convened more than 1,500 teachers, shared information with unions, and went on a listening tour to a different region every week.26

        We asked people, ‘Ten years from now, what should DCPS look like? What are your hopes and your dreams for the district and for your students?’

        Kaya Henderson, Former Chancellor of DC Public Schools

        Create delivery capacity to scale

        Create coordination and a cadence for change. Successful systems move quickly to turn their plans into action. They create a concrete road map, pressure-test their implementation plans, and ensure the budget is oriented around priorities. They pace their changes to show quick wins in the first six months to demonstrate momentum. At the same time, they design for scale to ensure that changes have their intended impact.

        For example, as part of the London Challenge initiative, London appointed dedicated advisers who were deployed to the schools that were struggling the most. The advisers provided on-the-ground coaching and brought immediate recommendations back to the central department so resources could be deployed rapidly.27 South Africa created free literacy workbooks, adapted them to native languages, and distributed copies to 6.5 million students across 20,000 schools. A dedicated delivery team oversaw the entire process, from development to printing and delivery of the workbooks, and 40,000 trained teachers provided support for adoption.28 From 2011 to 2015, more than 150 million workbooks were delivered to schools.29

        You can be nimble and agile. The fact that you can work at a ridiculously higher speed than government normally works makes people believe in you in a completely different way.

        Sir Jon Coles, Former Director of the London Challenge

        Build implementation structures and skills. Many school systems struggle to access the in-house talent to implement major changes. In addition to great educators, school systems need great project managers and implementors to translate strategy at the ministry into implementation in every classroom across the system. Successful systems ensure dedicated implementation capacity within the central team, at the middle layer, and across schools. This involves establishing clear roles and responsibilities for making decisions and approving investments, as well as creating an army of changemakers in the field to bring changes to fruition. Systems can then assess their delivery capacity across this structure and hire or build missing capabilities.

        For example, under Jaime Saavedra’s leadership in Peru, the ministry brought in experienced managers from within and outside of government, with a specific goal of improving management and the pace of change. At the same time, Peru also reformed the process for selecting its 15,000 school principals to ensure high-caliber management talent in schools.30 In Ceará, Brazil, the 150 highest-performing schools adopted the 150 lowest-performing schools. If the lower-performing school improved, both schools in the pair were financially rewarded. This pairing of successful and struggling schools has also worked in London and in Shanghai. In Shanghai, deputy school leaders of successful schools can only be promoted to principal or school leader if they first lead the turnaround of a struggling school.31

        I ended up changing most of the top 60 positions in the ministry to ensure the right managerial skills and implementation capacity, including attracting people from the Ministry of Finance.

        Jaime Saavedra, Former Minister of Education of Peru

        Drive and adapt with data

        Measure student outcomes and make them transparent. Successful school leaders build robust data systems, identify trends, and use the data to build a shared culture of continuous improvement. They make important information public to build momentum, segment schools for accountability and support, and use data to drive improvement at every level, from system strategy to instruction in schools.

        For example, in Estonia, student outcome data is linked with broader social data. The government maintains a centralized data system for all public services with a unique ID for each citizen. Families can look at their own child’s achievement data within this broader context. The ministry makes school-level data transparent to the public and regularly uses this data to support policy making. Data is sufficiently protected, and there is a high degree of trust among citizens.32 In Sierra Leone, the ministry has built data systems from the ground up, digitalizing the school census and linking it to student performance data, enabling data to become the reference point for all interventions. Data on gender inequities in access has informed new policies, which have helped increase enrollment among girls.33

        I made sure that we had data to inform everything we did. From day one, all policies had to be grounded in data and evidence.

        David Moinina Sengeh, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Chief Innovation Officer for Sierra Leone

        Roll out what works, but create space for innovation. Successful systems create space for innovation and, critically, measure what they innovate to add to the existing evidence base of what works. Most innovation in education systems will likely be oriented toward continuous improvement and sustaining practices. However, there is also a need for more-disruptive innovation, especially in systems where performance is poor or below poor and where exponential growth in achievement is needed. Innovation is needed both to improve the effectiveness of existing interventions and to create more-scalable models.

        For example, structured pedagogy approaches currently provide the best evidence base for improving literacy and numeracy across low-income countries—but financial and human capital constraints mean that systems will not be able to roll out and scale such approaches rapidly enough to reach this generation of students. In Malawi, education leaders are scaling up a foundational literacy and numeracy program that uses robust, solar-powered, offline tablets in primary-school education. The intervention was first tested as a pilot with external partners, and the government has built a team strictly focused on the rollout. A big part of the innovation is in the streamlined implementation—schools and teachers can be set up to run the program within weeks. The program is being measured and tested as it scales.34

        Singapore has demonstrated that even the most successful school systems need to keep innovating, particularly as the needs of students change. This has led to new experiments and investments in social-emotional learning and 21st century skills to complement the already-strong approach to math and literacy instruction, based on emerging research on the importance of student mindsets on educational outcomes.35 Singapore’s system is unique among top PISA scorers in that it continues to grow while others have stagnated.

        When we talk about professional learning, we can never say we have arrived. . . . The moment we say we have arrived, that will cause our downfall.

        Yen Ching Chua-Lim, Deputy Director-General of Education (Professional Development), Singapore

        Individually, these strategies may seem obvious or incremental. Together, they are transformative. The slow and steady work of implementation sets improving school systems apart from the rest. This is not really a story about beating the odds. It is a story about the systems that were able to change the odds. Education leaders can—and must—learn from them.

        Download the executive summary in Arabic, French, Portugese, or Spanish.

        About the author(s)

        Jake Bryant is a partner in McKinsey’s Seattle office; Felipe Child is partner in the Bogota office; Ezgi Demirdag is a partner in the Istanbul office; Emma Dorn is a senior knowledge expert and associate partner in the Silicon Valley office; Stephen Hall and Roman Tschupp are partners in the Dubai office; Kartik Jayaram is a senior partner in the Nairobi office; Charag Krishnan is a partner in the New Jersey office; Cheryl Lim is a partner in the Kuala Lumpur office; Kemi Onabanjo is an expert associate partner in the Lagos office; Frédéric Panier is a partner in the Brussels office, where Pierre Vigin is an expert associate partner; Juan Rebolledo is an associate partner in the Mexico City office; Jimmy Sarakatsannis is a senior partner in the Washington, DC office; Doug Scott is a senior expert in the Chicago office; and Seckin Ungur is a partner in the Sydney office. Emmy Liss is a senior adviser to McKinsey’s Education Practice

        The authors wish to acknowledge the tireless work of school system leaders, school principals, and particularly classroom teachers, who have dedicated their lives to educating youth and who are working every day to close gaps in student achievement. This research benefited from the contributions of hundreds of global education experts and McKinsey team members. Please see the larger report for a complete set of acknowledgments.

        Explore a career with us
        ]]>         Brazil&apos;s Ecological Transformation Is Pioneering Sustainable Development https://sdgtalks.ai/brazils-ecological-transformation-is-pioneering-sustainable-development https://sdgtalks.ai/brazils-ecological-transformation-is-pioneering-sustainable-development Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:26:46 -0500 Ana Poland Brazil is at a pivotal moment in its ecological journey. As the world grapples with the pressing need for climate action, Brazil's Ecological Transformation Plan emerges as a testament to the country's commitment to sustainable development.

        The Brazilian government, in collaboration with various stakeholders, has embarked on an ambitious plan to transition toward a greener economy. This plan encompasses a wide range of initiatives and will create sectoral roadmaps aimed at reducing carbon emissions in its robust agriculture and industrial sectors, fostering renewable energy sources, building new green industries, and preserving its diverse biomes. As Brazil hosts the G20 this year and prepares to host COP30 in 2025, the Ecological Transition Plan plays a central role in leveraging Brazil's international influence on combating climate change.

        During the 2024 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C., the Brazil-U.S. Business Council hosted a roundtable with Minister Fernando Haddad, Brazil’s Minister of Finance, and Ilan Goldfjan, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to discuss investment opportunities in Brazil’s climate transition. For these opportunities to transform into viable investments, Brazil needs to balance robust regulatory frameworks with the right market incentives and security.

        Setting Priorities

        Legislation currently being debated in Congress will enable the plan and other national priorities, creating regulatory frameworks and determining the future landscape of industries. Now is the time for the business community, as key stakeholders, to actively participate in shaping these policies and upcoming regulations so that they are structured to foster innovation, investments, and environmental sustainability while at the same time being both effective and implementable.  

        Agriculture 

        One of the most significant pieces of legislation is the proposed framework for climate-smart agriculture. This policy aims to promote agricultural practices that are not only productive and low carbon but also environmentally friendly, including an emphasis on restoring degraded farmland. By prioritizing frameworks that ensure productivity growth, traceability of commodities and livestock, and precision and regenerative agriculture, Brazil is positioning itself as a leader in sustainable agriculture. 

        Strategic cooperation between the United States and Brazil in agriculture is pivotal for advancing models that balance sustainability with food security. This collaboration should aim to incentivize sustainable agricultural practices, enhance producer access to innovative technologies, and effectively address growing barriers in food and commodities markets. By jointly developing and implementing agricultural models that prioritize ecological farming practices and technological integration, both nations can significantly boost productivity and sustainability. Such bilateral cooperation not only strengthens the agricultural sectors in both countries but also sets a global standard for sustainable and secure food production systems. 

        Carbon Markets

        Brazil is also betting on regulating its carbon market as a key source of financing. As these efforts move forward, it is crucial to look to the global discussions taking place to ensure transparency and accountability, as well as prevent market manipulation and fraud.

        By the business community working together with Brazil, we can help create a carbon market that is more harmonized with its regulations and standards to international markets, as well as technological integration for reporting and verifying carbon credits. 

        Energy Transition  

        Another critical area of focus is the development of renewable energy sources. Brazil's vast potential for producing biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable power generation, low-carbon hydrogen, and critical minerals should be harnessed through appropriate government policies and market signals. Under the right conditions, Brazil should be well-positioned to become an important global supplier of clean energy. Toward this aim, the business community can be helpful by providing examples of regulatory best practices, as Brazil is considering introducing and expanding the incentives for establishing renewable energy industries and gaining a competitive advantage.  

        The Brazil-U.S. Business Council is also actively participating in ongoing discussions across the other key pillars of the plan, which include technological development, bioeconomy, circular economy, infrastructure, and adaptation to climate change. 

        Challenges Ahead 

        The Ecological Transformation Plan is not without its challenges, however. In addition to smart regulations, ensuring access to climate financing and catalyzing investments from the private sector is essential for Brazil's climate transition. Brazil is calling for reforms of multilateral development banks to provide increased capital to developing and emerging countries, a priority topic that was discussed during the Spring and G20 meetings in the finance track.  

        Under the leadership of Ilan Goldfajn, IDB is focusing on innovative financial solutions, such as the creation of a hedging platform to attract green investments in Brazil. This platform aims to mitigate currency fluctuations on investments tied to Brazil’s Ecological Transformation Plan. It is part of a broader strategy to foster environmentally responsible development through secure investment returns. 

        A Path Forward 

        Brazil's Ecological Transformation Plan is a comprehensive effort to align the country's economic aspirations with environmental stewardship. With thoughtful legislation and strategic partnerships, Brazil is poised to pave the way for a future that is both economically inclusive and ecologically sustainable. As the world watches, Brazil's journey toward sustainability can serve as a model for other nations seeking to balance development with the responsible use of our planet's natural resources.  

        The Brazil-U.S. Business Council calls for strategic partnerships at the highest levels between Brazil and the United States, which include the active collaboration of the business community. The upcoming U.S.-Brazil High-Level Dialogue in May is an opportunity not to be missed. Let us seize this moment to advance a partnership with a global impact.

        ]]>         Leave No Trace for the Urban Environmentalist https://sdgtalks.ai/leave-no-trace-for-the-urban-environmentalist https://sdgtalks.ai/leave-no-trace-for-the-urban-environmentalist Fri, 26 Apr 2024 12:51:09 -0500 kagonz Plan ahead & prepare +> Inform yourself on the daily products and services you use in order to make appropriate substitutions or reductions. Planning lessens convenience purchases!

        Walk & camp on durable surfaces +> Walk more! Exploring your community can expose you to new places, reduce stress, and eliminate some transportation emmisions.

        Dispose of waste properly +> On top of never littering, try to pick up dropped trash during everyday activites. Backpackers will pack out their own waste, so it's a little less scary thinking about carrying someone else's used wrapper in your pocket.

        Take only pictures +> Share information about your favorite sustainable products, services, and tips with the people you care about. Having a community behind you while making difficult habit changes can be a world of difference!

        Minimize campfire impacts +> Don't create more fire than you need. When you hear "reduce, reuse, repair, and recycle," remember that reducing the quantity of consumed products and services to a minimum is a gold star effort!

        Respect wildlife +> Encourage safer driving for the safety of urban animals, plant native plants to improve ecological conditions, and advocate for displaced and endangered species when possible.

        Engage with and be kind to other hikers +> Most importantly, shaming others into sustainable practices never works. Understand that progress takes time and people will make mistakes. Be unconditionally supportive, kind, and passionate in all efforts.

        ]]>         Sustainable App Recommendation: Yuka https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-app-recommendation-yuka https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-app-recommendation-yuka Fri, 26 Apr 2024 12:17:15 -0500 kagonz Yuka is a platform where you can scan everyday products and food to garner information on the ingredients and their effects on health, the environment, and effectiveness. 

        My personal use has been limited to the scanning of cosmetic products, but the food-scanning utility seems just as developed. Once a barcode has been scanned, a page including user-submitted information from ingredient labels is listed with an assosciated score of health risk by ingredient and overall. All ingredients contain a information page detailing specific regulations and effects.

        ]]>         Plastic pollution(++) across ASEAN, from terrains to ocean depths, threatens diverse ecosystems. https://sdgtalks.ai/plastic-pollution-across-asean-from-terrains-to-ocean-depths-threatens-diverse-ecosystems https://sdgtalks.ai/plastic-pollution-across-asean-from-terrains-to-ocean-depths-threatens-diverse-ecosystems Tue, 23 Apr 2024 18:47:35 -0500 Joshua Plastics Pollution, Microplastics, Ocean, Terrestrial Jakarta, Indonesia — The presence of plastic pollution in the ASEAN region poses a substantial environmental problem that has far-reaching consequences for marine life, human health, and economic viability. Moreover, this plastic pollution is exacerbated as two added (++) variables, the macro and micro plastics, appear in the equation.

        To add, Asian countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, contribute about 85% of mismanaged plastic waste globally. These countries lack complete waste management systems, which would require significant government, intergovernmental, and private-sector funding.

        Source: McKinsey & Company

        This is true in the Philippines, which produces less waste, has the highest number of mismanaged plastic waste per person, with 37.23 kg per person in 2019.

        Most of this mismanaged plastic ends up in water sources and the ocean, with seven out of the top ten rivers releasing debris into the ocean. Indeed, ASEAN’s endeavors to solve these problems should collaborate, and co-generate regional action plans, strengthen global partnerships, and continue community-driven activities that emphasize the gravity of the situation and the proactive measures being implemented to tackle pollution.

        On the same hand, plastic waste generation in ASEAN is substantial, with over 31 million tons of plastic waste produced annually by six of the ten member states alone. This volume emphasizes the urgent need for effective waste management and recycling strategies to mitigate environmental impact​ [1]. Economically, the ASEAN region faces considerable losses due to inefficient plastic waste management, with approximately $6 billion [2] annually lost from the material value of discarded single-use plastics. These figures highlight significant opportunities for economic recovery through enhanced recycling and the adoption of circular economy principles.

        ASEAN’s Strategic Initiatives to Combat Plastic Pollution

        The ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris (2021–2025) [3] outlines comprehensive measures aimed at minimizing plastic waste. These measures include phasing out single-use plastics, harmonizing recycling policies across member states, and enhancing regional cooperation in monitoring and managing plastic pollution. This plan builds upon earlier commitments and emphasizes the need for sustainable coastal and marine development [4].

        Local Actions and Community Engagement

        Actions taken at the local level are very important for reducing plastic waste. Koh Panyi in Thailand, for example, people regularly hold clean-up days to get rid of plastic trash, which has a direct impact on their environment and on tourists​ [5].

        Innovative solutions and technology development are also critical to ASEAN’s strategy. The region is fostering technological solutions and promoting investments in plastic recycling technologies. Additionally, studies supported by international organizations like the World Bank have underscored the untapped economic potential of plastic circularity, identifying substantial economic benefits from improving plastic recycling rates [6]​​.

        However, the problem extends to the deepest part of the ocean[7] and to the tallest mountain[8] in the world — Microplastics are getting prevalent!

        The term “microplastics” was used in 2004 to refer to tiny plastic particles that result from the degradation of bigger materials or are purposely produced in a very small size range. Plastic pollution is increasingly widespread in marine and freshwater habitats, as well as on highest land, deepest ocean [9] and in the atmosphere [10]. Furthermore, recent studies on microplastics in the ASEAN region and their impacts highlight significant concerns regarding both environmental and human health. Research has shown that microplastics are ubiquitous in our environment, permeating marine and coastal ecosystems and even entering the human body, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes, and starting to appear in any parts of the world whether by marine or terrestrial. Alongside, this article presents some significant studies that talk about microplastics and similar studies.

        Environmental Impact: Microplastics are found extensively in coastal and inland water systems, where they pose a severe threat to marine life and ecosystems. These tiny particles can serve as vectors for toxic pollutants, which may then enter the human food chain through seafood consumption​ [11]. Furthermore, in ASEAN waters, significant contamination levels have been reported, with studies noting that a large proportion of marine species, including fish and invertebrates like oysters, have ingested microplastics. This ingestion not only harms these marine organisms but also poses risks to the larger ecosystem and human health through bioaccumulation [12]​.

        Human Health Risks: Exposure to microplastics has been linked with various health risks in humans, including inflammatory diseases and oxidative stress due to their potential to carry and transfer harmful chemicals. The long-term health impacts of microplastics are still being researched, but the current evidence suggests significant potential for harm [13] ​​[14] . To add, microplastics have been detected in essential human organs and tissues, pointing to widespread exposure and accumulation. The implications of this on human health are profound, with ongoing studies aimed at understanding the full scope of these risks [15]​.

        Economic and Social Implications: The presence of microplastics in fishing areas threatens the productivity and economic viability of fisheries and aquaculture, which are vital for the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. The damage extends beyond the immediate environmental impact, affecting food security and economic stability in coastal communities [16]​​.

        Addressing the issue of microplastics, and other pollutants require concerted action at both the local and global levels. ASEAN is urged to strengthen regulations and policies that limit pollution, promote public awareness, and support research into alternative materials and sustainable waste management practices [17] [18]​. Finally, ASEAN must establish robust monitoring mechanisms to evaluate the impact of its policies and initiatives, allowing real-time adjustments and ensuring the region meets environmental goals. These systems can inform future policies and highlight areas needing further research. By addressing both macro and microplastic challenges, ASEAN can protect its biodiversity, ensure citizens’ health, and maintain member states’ economic vitality. The journey towards a plastic-free ocean is complex, but achievable with regional cooperation.

        ]]>         In Colorado, Residents Seek to Protect Their Dream Homes From a Fracking Nightmare https://sdgtalks.ai/in-colorado-residents-seek-to-protect-their-dream-homes-from-a-fracking-nightmare https://sdgtalks.ai/in-colorado-residents-seek-to-protect-their-dream-homes-from-a-fracking-nightmare Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:39:10 -0500 Elias Shiffman fracking Distributed by Trice Edney Newswire

        “Forever home.” That’s how folks from Aurora, Colorado, whom I met last week describe the houses they bought outside Denver. 

        Now those dream homes are caught in what may be America's most dire urban fracking nightmare. 

        Over the last year, Aurora residents have discovered, and began a grassroots challenge against, a plan to erect 174 10-story-high oil wells that stretch horizontally underground for thousands of feet. 

        The project is to be built next to a pristine, vital reservoir that hugs the city’s edge and shares its name. Nearby communities without reservoirs buy their water from Aurora. The snowmelt-fed water is so clean you can drink it while you swim in it.  

        That all could change fast. Civitas, an oil company whose biggest investor is the Canadian equivalent of the Social Security Administration, wants to frack under the reservoir, nearby neighborhoods, and close to a Superfund toxic waste site. (“Fracking” is the process by drilling companies inject water, sand, and toxic chemicals underground to extract oil and gas.) The entire area in the proposal is more than 33,000 acres, with one drilling pad within 3,000 feet of a neighborhood.

        What started as a Facebook page grew into a full-fledged campaign involving residents and allied environmental groups pushing city, county, and state officials to stop the fracking proposal from moving forward. Residents only learned of the plan when Civitas started trying to acquire the mineral rights under their houses and common areas controlled by homeowners’ associations.

        At public hearings, “it’s the suits versus the T-shirts” says Marsha Goldsmith Kamin, referring to the blue shirts she and other fracking opponents wear. Kamin and her husband learned about the fracking proposal after they moved to the area in November to be closer to their three grandchildren. Opposing the wells amounts to a full-time job for the retiree now.

        In Colorado, like most Western states, access to water remains a contentious issue. As its name suggests, the leading opposition group, Save the Aurora Reservoir, leads with the threat to drinking water for much of metro Denver. 

        Beyond the direct threat of fracking under and around the reservoir, the proposed wells will demand billions of gallons of water that end up so polluted they’re lost to other uses. So Aurora, which has experienced recent droughts, would see precious water used to produce fossil fuels that are accelerating climate change that can make water even more scarce.  

        The fracking would worsen Denver’s poor air quality as well. The Environmental Protection Agency raised its concern about ozone levels in the Rockies’ Front Range from serious to severe last year. The proposed wells would emit thousands of tons of “volatile organic compounds” and nitrogen oxide that make up ozone. 

        A nearby Superfund site, created by a now-closed US Air Force base and city and county dumping, could be an unlikely hero in the story. The EPA won’t allow fracking under the unlined landfill, and more recently has raised questions about the impact of fracking on the already-leaking site’s structural integrity. Opponents hope that federal concern will help sway regulators in Colorado.

        Opponents have made progress. Civitas agreed to move five well sites. The county commission, which narrowly defeated a drilling halt, this week is considering closing loopholes to its oil and gas ordinances to ensure no development within a mile of the reservoir. US representative Jason Crow wrote to commissioners reiterating residents’ concerns.

        But Save the Aurora Reservoir activists are learning how far powerful interests can tilt the playing field. Civitas needs mineral rights from fewer than half of the property owners to force fracking on the rest. While the city has a one-mile setback preventing drilling near the reservoir, opponents must fight for the same from the county. 

        “We think it’s so obvious that the downside is so much greater than the upside,” says Julie Huygen, an air force veteran who moved to Aurora two years ago. “But it feels like so much of the structure—the laws and regulations and approval process—are really working against us.” 

        Kamin said she’s fighting for the grandchildren she relocated for. She’s energized by her eight-year-old granddaughter’s desire to take part. “She asked me, 'If they do that to the ground, where are the prairie dogs going to go?'”

        ]]>         Water-Stressed Arizona Says State Will End Leases to Saudi-Owned Farm https://sdgtalks.ai/water-stressed-arizona-says-state-will-end-leases-to-saudi-owned-farm https://sdgtalks.ai/water-stressed-arizona-says-state-will-end-leases-to-saudi-owned-farm Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:25:49 -0500 Elias Shiffman

        An Arizona farm owned by a Saudi Arabian company that grows alfalfa for export is set to lose its access to state land in a move Gov. Katie Hobbs said would “protect Arizona’s water future.”

        The farm, in Butler Valley in western Arizona, has been mired in controversy over its pumping of unlimited amounts of groundwater, free of charge, to irrigate its water-thirsty alfalfa crop. The company then ships the alfalfa to Saudi Arabia, where the crop is fed to dairy cows.

        Arizona is moving to immediately terminate one lease held by Saudi-owned Fondomonte Arizona, which operates the farm, and will not renew three other leases that are set to expire in February, Governor Hobbs said in a statement this week.

        The action by Arizona is the latest sign of a worsening groundwater crisis affecting farmers and communities nationwide. A recent New York Times investigation found that America is depleting its reserves of groundwater at a dangerous rate. The majority of the nation’s drinking-water systems rely on groundwater, as do many farms, particularly in the West.

        Arizona, in particular, has seen an explosion of wells, which are getting deeper as users chase falling water levels downward. The state, home to some of the country’s fastest growing communities, said in June that it would stop granting permission to housing projects in the Phoenix area that rely on groundwater.

        Alfalfa, grown year-round in Arizona, is a particularly thirsty crop that relies on irrigation. It is mainly used to feed dairy cows and other livestock, which has increasingly made milk and meat products a burden on the nation’s water supply.

        Saudi Arabia banned growing alfalfa and other green fodder crops within its own borders in 2018 in a bid to relieve pressure on the kingdom’s water resources.

        Arizona’s decision to cancel the Fondomonte leases was triggered by violations by the company, including longstanding equipment problems confirmed during a state inspection earlier this year, the governor said. But the underlying concerns have gone beyond technical violations in a state contending with worsening drought and water scarcity, driven by decades of over-pumping, as well as climate change.

        Fondomonte did not immediately return a request for comment.

        Fondomonte’s leases, which covered more than 3,000 acres west of Phoenix, had given the Saudi firm license to pump the region’s dwindling groundwater for free. Governor Hobbs had been under pressure to curtail that access.

        “It’s unacceptable that Fondomonte has continued to pump unchecked amounts of groundwater out of our state while in clear default on their lease,” Governor Hobbs said. She said she was determined to do “everything in my power to protect Arizona’s water so we can continue to sustainably grow for generations to come.”

        Hiroko Tabuchi is an investigative reporter on the Climate desk, reporting widely on money, influence and misinformation in climate policy. More about Hiroko Tabuchi

        ]]>         Japan&apos;s thirst for biomass is having a harmful impact on Canada&apos;s forests https://sdgtalks.ai/japans-thirst-for-biomass-is-having-a-harmful-impact-on-canadas-forests https://sdgtalks.ai/japans-thirst-for-biomass-is-having-a-harmful-impact-on-canadas-forests Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:17:49 -0500 Elias Shiffman BIOMASS, FORESTS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, ENERGY, EMISSIONS, CLIMATE CHANGE When you walk through a fresh clearcut in British Columbia, you are surrounded by a “one-dimensional, dead landscape,” says Michelle Connolly of Conservation North, a volunteer conservation group based in the Canadian province.

        The forest’s soft, mossy ground, the birdcalls and the cool moisture in the air are gone. In their place, twigs and debris lay everywhere, occasionally interspersed with pieces of garbage. Sound and movement from plants or animals have almost ceased, except for the buzzing of insects. The smell of burned piles of slash — wood debris not profitable enough to bring to a mill — hangs in the air.

        “That’s the story of conventional forestry in BC,” Connolly says.

        Last month, Connolly visited Japan to share how such scenes are linked to the nation’s “green” energy: A portion of BC’s razed forests are being used to make wood pellets, a type of biofuel that Japan is importing and burning in increasing quantities as an alternative to fossil fuels.

        The Japanese government claims wood pellets are “carbon neutral” because trees absorb carbon dioxide throughout their lives and, therefore, do not result in a net increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide when burned. The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, which is in charge of Japan’s biomass policy, did not respond to a request for comment.

        Experts in the field, however, warn that this kind of carbon accounting is dangerously misguided.

        Drax’s Meadowbank pellet mill in British Columbia in 2022. Piles of logs and, in the background, what appears to be woodchips await processing into wood pellets.
        Drax’s Meadowbank pellet mill in British Columbia in 2022. Piles of logs and, in the background, what appears to be woodchips await processing into wood pellets. | MIGHTY EARTH

        Research by British think tank Chatham House details how woody biomass fuels like wood pellets release a large amount of carbon dioxide during combustion — even more than coal — due to having lower energy density. Burning trees for electricity increases atmospheric carbon dioxide in the near term, precisely when the world most needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And when forests are cut, their ability to absorb and sequester carbon is halted for decades.

        The Japanese government plans to have biomass contribute 5% of Japan’s power needs by 2030, putting it on par with wind. Hydrogen and ammonia, the government and industry’s controversial long-term bet to decarbonize the power sector, are expected to only contribute 1% by that year.

        Japan began seriously investing in woody biomass after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered a sudden shortage of zero-emission energy, as the nation took all of its reactors offline. Beginning in 2012, generous government support for renewable energy projects led to 434 approvals for power plants designed to run either partially or fully on woody biomass, although only 191 had come online as of June 2022 and many don’t use imported pellets.

        Still, the country’s wood pellet imports from Canada shot up accordingly, from 76,000 metric tons in 2013 to 1.4 million in 2022, representing 31% of Japan’s total pellet imports that year (other top sources of pellets include Vietnam, the U.S. and Malaysia).

        Japan received 40% of all Canadian wood pellet exports in 2022, according to Canadian government statistics. Over the first 10 months of 2023, that figure rose to 55%, with practically all of that coming from BC.

        However, Connolly and other experts warn that BC’s overstretched and declining forestry sector may not be able to provide Japan with a steady supply of wood pellets for long — and, for the present, it is leaving a trail of environmental destruction in its wake.

        Conservation North’s Michelle Connolly stands in front of an under-construction storage tank at Sumitomo Corp.’s Sendai biomass power plant.
        Conservation North’s Michelle Connolly stands in front of an under-construction storage tank at Sumitomo Corp.’s Sendai biomass power plant. | MIGHTY EARTH

        Unknown exploitation

        Wood pellets are enmeshed in BC’s forestry industry, and proponents claim that pellets help utilize waste generated from producing other products, such as lumber. The catch, according to Connolly, is that “BC’s forestry system is fundamentally unsustainable.”

        The province has experienced roughly a century “of forest exploitation, and the last 60 years of that has been ultra-aggressive,” she adds.

        Forest land accounts for roughly two-thirds of BC’s total area, and that’s a large area — the province is three times the size of all of Japan. It’s unknown exactly how much of the province’s 600,000 square kilometers of forest remain untouched by logging, but experts and activists warn that such “primary forests” are dwindling. Although BC does release figures for “old growth” logging, primary forests represent a wider category of ecosystems that don’t contain signs of human disturbance but whose trees might not fit the definition of “old growth.”

        The results of a government-initiated strategic review of old-growth forests in BC noted in 2020 that the province’s “economy is heavily dependent on trees harvested from primary forests of old trees.” This is especially true of logging in the province’s interior, where “large-scale commercial cutting of primary forests” began 50 or fewer years ago and where it can take “several decades” for replanted trees to be ready for a second harvest.

        BC’s pellet industry is located in the interior. As a result, wood pellet feedstock likely comes from clearcut primary forest, whether a pellet mill uses byproducts such as sawmill waste or whole trees sourced directly from a logging site.

        Connolly’s home city, Prince George, lies in an area of the BC interior where forests are currently being harvested — in part, for pellets.

        Primary forest near Revelstoke, British Columbia. Forest land accounts for roughly two-thirds of the province's total area.
        Primary forest near Revelstoke, British Columbia. Forest land accounts for roughly two-thirds of the province's total area. | MIGHTY EARTH

        From 2017, 9% of the output of the 80,000-square-kilometer Prince George timber supply area has been set aside for “bioenergy stands” — trees fit for logging for pellets — defined as “mature, damaged pine-leading stands” with relatively low marketability as saw logs.

        However, Andrew Weaver, a professor at the University of Victoria’s School of Earth & Ocean Sciences and a former member of the province’s Legislative Assembly, told The Japan Times that even harvesting such “damaged” stands could set a dangerous precedent. After being cut, replanted trees will take decades to grow, during which time the wood pellet industry will need more raw materials. The impacts of climate change also make a future second harvest less predictable, Weaver added.

        Connolly argues that BC’s remaining primary forest would be better left as-is.

        Primary forests are the best habitat for much of BC’s wildlife, especially large-bodied mammals, including critically endangered caribou, as well as bears that make dens in large tree trunks. They also keep watersheds clean, an essential ecosystem service that benefits both animals and people (Vancouver, the province’s economic capital, has banned logging in its watersheds since the 1990s).

        In addition, primary forests contribute significant carbon sinks, with much carbon dioxide stored in large, old trees and undisturbed soil and peat. Scientists note that primary forests are more effective at storing carbon than single-species plantation forests; it can take centuries for a replanted forest to store as much carbon as the primary forest it replaced.

        Currently, U.K.-headquartered Drax — a utility at home and a pellet producer in Canada and the U.S. — controls eight of 12 BC pellet mills, roughly 80% of the province’s total wood pellet production capacity.

        At its mills, huge piles of trees await processing. Although the company previously claimed to only use “sawdust and waste wood,” a 2022 investigation by BBC Panorama found evidence that Drax was also sourcing directly from primary forests. Drax responded to the BBC investigation by saying that 80% of its source material is “sawmill residues” and the rest is “waste material” from forests at risk of fire or disease.

        A pile of timber waste following a clearcut near Mackenzie, British Columbia, that had been designated for Pinnacle Renewable Energy, a pellet producer that was later taken over by Drax.
        A pile of timber waste following a clearcut near Mackenzie, British Columbia, that had been designated for Pinnacle Renewable Energy, a pellet producer that was later taken over by Drax. | CONSERVATION NORTH

        “In Canada, good forest management includes managed removals, which create less dense stands of trees and reduce what’s left lying on the forest floor, helping to protect from fires, pests and diseases, and preserving biodiversity,” a Drax spokesperson told The Japan Times in an email. “We support good forest management by providing a market for this material and turning it into something useful — sustainable biomass — which can be used as fuel for renewable, low carbon power.”

        During her trip to Japan, Connolly felt that Japanese audiences — including wood pellet stakeholders, media and members of the general public — were puzzled and disappointed to learn how BC’s primary forests are being turned into wood pellets.

        “It was actually really emotional for me to see people’s faces fall,” Connolly says.

        A finite amount of wood

        Although wood pellets are often billed as a “sustainable” resource, there may be a limit on the amount of pellets BC can provide Japan, warned Ben Parfitt, a resource policy analyst for the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives who also covered forestry in BC for many years as a journalist. Parfitt traveled to Japan with Connolly to speak about wood pellets.

        BC’s logging industry, which pellet manufacturers rely on, is shrinking. Roughly 51.3 million cubic meters of timber were logged in 2022, down from 76.6 million in 2013, according to data Parfitt compiled from government statistics. Many companies are moving their operations to the southern U.S., where trees grow faster in a milder climate on already extensive forest plantations. The number of sawmills in BC is also decreasing, down from 111 in 2005 to 64 in 2023.

        In Parfitt’s view, the logging industry is contracting primarily because it logged too much, too quickly. “They have run out of the easiest-to-access and cheapest fiber,” he said.

        Ben Parfitt (right) stand outside Renova’s Sendai Gamo Biomass power plant. The round tanks on the left are for storing biomass fuel.
        Ben Parfitt (right) stand outside Renova’s Sendai Gamo Biomass power plant. The round tanks on the left are for storing biomass fuel. | MIGHTY EARTH

        With logging in decline, Parfitt predicted increasing competition for resources going forward.

        “That’s pretty much where, I think, the rubber hits the road,” he concludes. “There’s a finite amount (of wood) out there.”

        In a public event during his visit to Japan, Parfitt highlighted both Drax’s overwhelming control of BC’s wood pellet industry and the fact that the company itself consumes vast quantities of wood pellets at its own power plant in the U.K. As competition for resources intensifies, the decisions Drax makes going forward could potentially have a big impact on Japan’s wood pellet supply, Parfitt warned.

        The company itself brushed off such concerns, saying in its statement to The Japan Times that it responsibly manages its commercial agreements and closely analyzes market issues affecting itself and its suppliers.

        “The majority of the sustainable biomass we supply to Japan is sourced from British Columbia in Canada where the forests are sustainably managed and subject to environmental regulation, careful management and third-party certification,” the Drax representative wrote.

        Still, Parfitt is not alone in his concern over the future of Japan’s supply of BC wood pellets. Weaver too sees BC’s relatively slow-growing forest resources as “mismatched” with the wood pellet industry and its eager customers in Japan. Wood pellets aren’t anything more than a “short-term fix” for the country’s energy needs, he said.

        Going forward, Weaver suggested that Japan, known abroad as a nation of innovators, could show more international leadership in renewable energy.

        “Burning wood is literally what our ancestors and Neanderthals did many hundred thousands of years ago,” he says. “Surely we’re better than that.”

        A satellite view of clearcuts in the vicinity of Prince George, British Columbia.
        A satellite view of clearcuts in the vicinity of Prince George, British Columbia. | GOOGLE EARTH
        ]]>         Take out dams and keep the Snake River salmon’s last, best place https://sdgtalks.ai/take-out-dams-and-keep-the-snake-river-salmons-last-best-place https://sdgtalks.ai/take-out-dams-and-keep-the-snake-river-salmons-last-best-place Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:06:45 -0500 Elias Shiffman
        In the face of relentlessly dire headlines for Pacific salmon and steelhead — 28 populations listed as threatened or endangered, emergency fisheries closures in California, Oregon and Washington, tribal assessments that some wild Chinook runs are approaching “quasi-extinction” levels — the Snake River’s thousands of miles of pristine wilderness habitat make it the last, best place for America to save wild Pacific salmon and steelhead.

        But until the White House and Congress tackle the heart of the problem — four dams on the Snake in Eastern Washington that are, quite literally, blocking the way to recovery — these once-epic populations will continue to slide toward extinction.

        A famous theologian once said, “Not to decide is to decide.” That seems to be the approach of these policymakers as they ignore the free-falling decline on the Snake.  

        Three years ago, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said what conservationists have long known. We can remove the dams, reopen hundreds of miles of rivers to salmon and steelhead, and replace the dams’ socio-economic benefits: irrigation, power, barging for agricultural products. Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray affirmed this conclusion.   

        But building on decades of senseless inaction, their fellow elected leaders and policymakers are fumbling away the most promising opportunity to recover imperiled salmon and steelhead, and in the process failing to make good on America’s treaty obligations to tribal nations.

        The Snake is a five-star hotel for salmon and steelhead. Forty percent of its lands and waters are wilderness quality, and it possesses 50% of the remaining habitat for these fish in the West.

        The four dams on the lower Snake are relics of the 1950s, concrete anchors locking us into anachronistic thinking and destined to be tombstones for wild salmon and steelhead runs if we do not change course.

        My life in conservation began many years ago when I witnessed the wonder-inspiring journey that salmon make, returning sometimes thousands of miles from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn and die, their decaying bodies providing the nutrients that power the cycle of life.

        In a free-flowing system, their progeny, known as smolts, would be flushed downstream by high spring flows in a few days.

        Instead, they face a two-week journey through 140 miles of warm reservoirs created by the Snake dams.

        These small fish — carrying genetic code thousands of generations old — die in turbines. They are attacked by predators in the stagnant water above the dams. They perish in the tanks of barges that attempt to move them past the dams. More than 50% never make it past the dams. Fewer than 1% return to spawn, which is not a sustainable number.

        We have spent $25 billion in a failed effort to recover these fish. For 50 years, we have barged salmon past the dams, created fish ladders, spilled more water over the dams, built hatcheries and deployed dozens of other mitigation strategies.

        But we now know that the only way to recover wild Snake River salmon and steelhead is to remove the dams. So say scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service, calling dam-breaching “the centerpiece action.”

        We could keep waiting. We could conduct more studies. We could stand by as elected leaders issue platitudes praising salmon but refuse to aid in their recovery and refuse to make good on treaties with tribes that relied on these fish for thousands of years.

        Or we can decide to demand dam removal and salmon recovery. We can decide to stand with the tribes. We can decide to act.

        Something will have been lost from our humanity if we allow these fish to slip into extinction. Will we walk away as a nation knowing we could have intervened? What a loss. What a stain on our nation; to humanity, really.

        We can replace every social and economic benefit provided by the Snake River dams.

        But the salmon and steelhead? They need a free-flowing river. We just need to decide — decide that we want to give them one.

        By 
        Special to The Seattle Times
        Chris Wood worked on the roadless rule for the Forest Service and is now president and CEO of Trout Unlimited.
        ]]>         Nowhere for the water to go: Dubai flooding shows the world is failing a big climate change drainage test https://sdgtalks.ai/nowhere-for-the-water-to-go-dubai-flooding-shows-the-world-is-failing-a-big-climate-change-drainage-test https://sdgtalks.ai/nowhere-for-the-water-to-go-dubai-flooding-shows-the-world-is-failing-a-big-climate-change-drainage-test Tue, 23 Apr 2024 11:56:42 -0500 Elias Shiffman The Dubai flooding last week illustrated how urban engineering is failing a major climate change test. In a world marked by the increasing possibility of extreme weather events, no matter how big and modern expanding urban environments around the globe get, they don’t have enough places for all the water to go when there’s too much of it. 

        The United Arab Emirates’ city and others like it built on previously uninhabitable areas reflect 20th century urban development ideas that result in the blocking of natural water absorption systems. Add increased populations, bringing with them more waste — and more need for landfills and other waste disposal methods — and the drainage challenge will continue to bedevil major global cities like Dubai facing more frequent, massive rainfalls.

        Last Tuesday, the UAE received more than 10 inches of rainfall in some places, and roughly half of that level in Dubai, amounts equal to annual rainfall averages in the UAE. More frequent rain in recent years in the UAE is expected to get even worse in the years ahead, in particular, intense daily rainfall accumulations. Claims were made last week that experiments the UAE has been conducting with cloud seeding contributed to the rainfall, but the government told CNBC that was inaccurate, and other experts have dismissed those claims.

        What’s known is that Dubai was built on sand, a natural environment which lets water seep into the soil very easily. But by pouring massive amounts of concrete on top of Dubai’s natural terrain, the developers effectively blocked the soil from absorbing water. Last week’s rainfall was the largest amount of precipitation recorded since the country began keeping tabs in 1949. 

        “We have natural drain places that bring water directly to the aquifers and then inside our water stocks,” said architect Ana Arsky, CEO of environmental startup 4 Habitos Para Mudar o Mundo, one of several climate experts interviewed by CNBC about Dubai at last week’s Web Summit Rio. “When we pave, it’s not there anymore.”

        The rapid rise of populations tied to global urbanization trends adds to waste, and while trash isn’t visible on Dubai’s streets, it has to go somewhere, often ending up in less than ideal locations. Plastic products don’t absorb water well, and when they end up in landfills around the world, massive piles of trash contribute to a global backup of natural drainage systems.

        Even older cities with established drainage systems are facing similar issues, as residents of New York City discovered last fall, with flooded schools, roads and homes, and subway and railroad service halted after a single day’s rainfall reached between 5 and 8 inches in some places. Without proper preparations, manmade drains full of debris and pollution can’t absorb the increased water, leading to backups and flooding.

        “Rainwater drainage systems, they are not adapted for the flows that we are seeing currently with climate change and with extremely concentrated rainfall,” said Tiago Marques, co-founder and CEO of Greenmetrics.AI. “You get a saturation of the drainage system that doesn’t have any way of draining the amounts water that have been falling recently. This ends up coming to the surface and causing urban flooding, whether you’re talking about tunnels, highways or the lowest parts of the city.”

        Greenmetrics.AI installs sensors and uses data analytics to predict rainfall impact and help advise communities on water consumption, and is currently working with civil authorities in six cities in Portugal.

        Marques said that citizens tends to blame municipal officials when flooding occurs for not properly cleaning drainage systems, but in Porto, Portugal, there was serious flooding in several parts of the city last year and the drainage systems had been cleaned. “The amount of water was so high and so unusual that it basically swept all the branches and even trash into the drainage systems that were previously clean, and blocked them,” Marques said. “When all this water starts to pile up, it’s very hard for the authorities to know exactly what’s happening everywhere at the same time.”

        TOPSHOT - Cars are stranded on a flooded street in Dubai following heavy rains on April 18, 2024. Dubai's giant highways were clogged by flooding and its major airport was in chaos as the Middle East financial centre remained gridlocked on April 18, a day after the heaviest rains on record. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
        Cars are stranded on a flooded street in Dubai following heavy rains on April 18, 2024. 
        Giuseppe Cacace | AFP | Getty Images

        Greenmetrics places smart sensors with LIDAR – the same technology that is used to direct self-driving cars – in areas that are vulnerable to flooding to warn if levels are getting too high to manage. Coupled with better understanding weather patterns, authorities can clear drains and debris before flooding hits. In cases where flooding is inevitable, the technology can give people time to evacuate or for leaders to shut down locations to minimize casualties.

        “What you used to have every 100 years ... starts to happen every 10 years,” Marques said. “Then the floods that have been happening once every 10 years now are starting to happen every couple of years. Climate change adaptation means building resilience technologies.”

        Vapar, a startup that builds sewer drain and pipe-inspecting robots to find issues before major storms hit, has partnered with governments in Australia and the U.K. 

        Arsky’s 4 Habitos Para Mudar o Mundo, helps companies, including AB-InBev and bank Banco Itaú in Brazil, as well as consumers categorize waste with the help of artificial intelligence so it can be disposed in appropriate areas to minimize impact on drainage. It is also working on developing building materials strong enough for structures, but porous enough to allow water to still be absorbed by the area’s natural soils.

        More frequent flooding in more of the world’s most-densely populated environments is another reminder, Arsky says, of the underlying message being sent to the world in events like the Dubai flooding: “Climate change has no specific address.”

        ]]>         Net Zero Regulations for &apos;Green&apos; Marketing https://sdgtalks.ai/net-zero-regulations-for-green-marketing https://sdgtalks.ai/net-zero-regulations-for-green-marketing Mon, 22 Apr 2024 19:05:55 -0500 kagonz The term is called Greenwashing: promoting false solutions to the climate crisis that distract from and delay concrete and credible action.

        Traversing the grocery store, shoppers are faced with a new decision when choosing between brands or even between different products of the same brand. Should they buy the cheaper, original, but possibly environmentally  controversial product or the new, more expensive, 'clean, green,' product to hit the shelf? It's a tough decision, especially if the shopper is extra cautious of recently inflated product prices.

        Without regulations, there's no backing to classifying products as green or helping the climate crisis in any way. Misinformation and redirection can help boost product sales, but our Earth and consumers suffer in response.

        ]]>         Earth Day 2024: What does it really take? https://sdgtalks.ai/earth-day-2024-what-does-it-really-take https://sdgtalks.ai/earth-day-2024-what-does-it-really-take Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:50:06 -0500 kagonz Determining what sustainability means on a personal level can be an environmentalist's biggest lifetime goal. On an Earth with over 8 billion other people, how can we make sure that our personal efforts towards a better future for communities across the globe are worthwhile and not for naught? A Malthusian outlook can corner all hopeful efforts into discouragement, and though we must continue for larger bodies (corporations, governments, etc.) to pull their weight, we must not neglect the power of a single person to influence others to treat our Earth just a little better each day.

        ]]>         Navigating Climate Change in 2024 https://sdgtalks.ai/navigating-climate-change-in-2024-97320 https://sdgtalks.ai/navigating-climate-change-in-2024-97320 Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:48:52 -0500 Todd Osborn Climate Change, Global Warming, Greenhouse Gases, Environmental Impact, Sustainability, Renewable Energy, Carbon Emissions, Climate Action, Climate Policies, Net-Zero Emissions As we delve deeper into 2024, the specter of climate change looms large, impacting industries, communities, and ecosystems worldwide. From the disruption of business operations to the devastating aftermath of natural disasters exacerbated by global warming, the effects of climate change continue to shape life on Earth.

        Understanding Climate Change

        Climate change refers to the long-term alterations in temperature and weather patterns, primarily driven by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While natural climate shifts occur, human activities such as industrialization and urbanization have accelerated these changes, disrupting the delicate balance of our planet's climate system.

        Interplay with Global Health and Sustainable Practices

        Recognized as one of the greatest threats to global health by the World Health Organization, climate change poses significant risks to both the environment and human well-being. The rise in global temperatures, fueled by the burning of fossil fuels, not only affects weather patterns but also exacerbates health issues and challenges sustainable business practices.

        Distinguishing Climate Change from Global Warming

        While often used interchangeably, climate change encompasses broader shifts in climate patterns, including extreme weather events, while global warming specifically denotes the increase in Earth's average temperature. The relentless burning of fossil fuels intensifies global warming, trapping heat within the Earth's atmosphere and driving temperature spikes.

        Impact on Biodiversity and Natural Resources

        Climate change poses a dire threat to biodiversity, ecosystems, and vital natural resources essential for human survival. Melting ice caps, rising sea levels, and altered weather patterns disrupt habitats, forcing wildlife to adapt or face extinction. Additionally, shifts in weather cycles disrupt agricultural patterns, jeopardizing food security and exacerbating resource scarcity.

        Root Causes and Historical Context

        The roots of climate change trace back to the industrial revolution of the 19th century, with significant acceleration observed since the mid-20th century. Scientific measurements of ocean temperatures and atmospheric composition have revealed a direct correlation between human activities and rising global temperatures.

        Exploring Solutions and Mitigation Efforts

        While reversing the damage inflicted by climate change remains a monumental challenge, innovative technologies like carbon capture and storage offer glimpses of hope. However, achieving global consensus and implementing sustainable practices are essential for meaningful progress. Initiatives such as the Paris Climate Agreement and efforts towards net-zero emissions signify crucial steps towards mitigating climate change's impact.

        Forecast for Climate Change in 2024

        Despite ongoing efforts, the outlook for climate change in 2024 appears grim. Record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather events, as witnessed in recent years, underscore the urgency of the situation. Projections indicate a high likelihood of surpassing the 1.5°C threshold, signaling an alarming escalation in global temperatures and associated risks.

        Policy Measures and Global Initiatives

        International collaborations like the Conference of Parties (COP) and the Paris Climate Agreement play pivotal roles in coordinating efforts to combat climate change. These forums facilitate discussions on mitigation strategies, adaptation measures, and financial assistance for vulnerable nations. However, concerted action at both local and global levels is imperative to address the multifaceted challenges posed by climate change.

        Individual and Collective Action

        While the scale of the climate crisis may seem daunting, individual and collective action can drive meaningful change. Transitioning towards climate-positive practices, reducing carbon footprints, and embracing sustainable lifestyles offer tangible avenues for combating climate change. By prioritizing renewable energy, sustainable consumption, and environmental stewardship, we can collectively steer towards a more resilient and sustainable future.

        Aligning with SDG Goals

        Efforts to address climate change directly contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Goal 13 (Climate Action) and Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). By promoting sustainable practices, mitigating emissions, and safeguarding ecosystems, we advance towards a more equitable and environmentally sustainable world.

        Conclusion

        As we navigate the challenges posed by climate change in 2024 and beyond, the urgency of collective action cannot be overstated. By fostering global solidarity, embracing innovation, and prioritizing sustainability, we can forge a path towards a more resilient and prosperous future for generations to come.

        ]]>         The Latest Advances in Solar Energy and Their Impact on Clean and Affordable Energy Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/the-latest-advances-in-solar-energy-and-their-impact-on-clean-and-affordable-energy-goals-97318 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-latest-advances-in-solar-energy-and-their-impact-on-clean-and-affordable-energy-goals-97318 Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:40:35 -0500 Todd Osborn Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Innovation, Sustainability, Clean Energy, Solar Technology, Energy Efficiency, Environmental Impact, SDG 7 In recent years, the solar energy sector has experienced a remarkable transformation characterized by groundbreaking innovations and technological advancements. These strides have propelled solar power into the forefront of the renewable energy revolution, paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient energy future.

        One of the most notable achievements in the field has been the significant improvement in solar cell efficiency. Commercial silicon solar cells now boast efficiencies exceeding 22%, thanks to advancements in design, materials like perovskites, and refined manufacturing processes. This relentless pursuit of higher efficiency continues to drive innovation within the industry, promising even greater gains in the future.

        Another groundbreaking development is the emergence of solar shingles, which seamlessly integrate solar cells into roofing materials. Offering both aesthetic appeal and space efficiency, solar shingles represent a significant leap forward in residential solar integration. They not only enhance the visual appeal of buildings but also contribute to grid resilience, making solar energy more accessible to homeowners.

        Similarly, transparent solar panels, or solar windows, offer a novel approach to energy generation in buildings. By converting sunlight into electricity while maintaining transparency, solar windows promise sustainable energy without compromising architectural aesthetics or natural light. These innovative solutions are reshaping the way we think about energy generation and consumption in urban environments.

        Recent breakthroughs such as solar power plants capable of generating electricity at night and solar cells equipped with sun-tracking capabilities further underscore the transformative potential of solar energy. Additionally, printable solar cells offer flexibility and versatility, enabling solar energy deployment in unconventional settings.

        The significance of these advancements extends beyond technological innovation; they align closely with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of clean and affordable energy (SDG 7). By enhancing solar efficiency, expanding deployment options, and driving down costs, solar energy becomes more accessible to communities around the world, contributing to a sustainable energy future for all.

        Looking ahead, the future of solar energy appears brighter than ever. As technology continues to evolve and costs decline, solar power is poised to play a pivotal role in global energy transition efforts. With ongoing research and investments, the journey towards a clean, sustainable energy future powered by the sun is well underway.

        In conclusion, while the journey of solar energy is far from over, the destination holds the promise of a brighter, more sustainable tomorrow for generations to come.

        ]]>         Navigating the State of Recycling in 2024 and Beyond https://sdgtalks.ai/navigating-the-state-of-recycling-in-2024-and-beyond https://sdgtalks.ai/navigating-the-state-of-recycling-in-2024-and-beyond Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:31:51 -0500 Todd Osborn recycling, sustainability, environment, waste management, marine conservation, reduce reuse recycle, innovation, government regulations, consumer awareness As the world grapples with the environmental challenges of today, recycling stands out as a key solution to mitigate waste and protect our planet. Here's a breakdown of the current state of recycling and what lies ahead:

        Key Insights:

        • Governments worldwide are ramping up recycling targets and diversion goals to combat landfill overflow and address growing environmental concerns.
        • China's 'National Sword' policy continues to impact the global recycling industry, prompting countries to find new solutions for managing recyclable materials.
        • While the United States has made strides in recycling, there's still ample room for improvement, particularly in reducing waste generation.
        • Not all products are equal in their recyclability or environmental impact, emphasizing the importance of understanding and prioritizing reuse and donation over traditional recycling methods.
        • Consumer demand for sustainability is driving businesses to adopt eco-friendly practices, leading to the rise of brands committed to environmental stewardship.

        Protecting Life Below Water: One crucial aspect of recycling is its impact on marine ecosystems. With millions of tons of plastic waste ending up in oceans each year, recycling plays a vital role in mitigating this environmental threat. By properly managing and recycling plastic waste, we can prevent further pollution of marine habitats and protect marine life.

        Incorporating the principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle into everyday life can significantly contribute to this effort. For example, opting for shampoo and conditioner bars eliminates the need for plastic bottles, reducing plastic waste that could eventually find its way into the ocean.

        Changing Government Regulations: As public awareness of environmental issues grows, governments are responding with stricter regulations on recycling and waste management. Cities and states are implementing ambitious goals to reduce waste and increase recycling rates, signaling a shift towards more sustainable practices.

        New Technologies and Processes: Innovative technologies are emerging to improve recycling efficiency and handle sustainability challenges. From advanced sorting robots to chemical recycling processes, these innovations offer promising solutions to enhance recycling capabilities and reduce environmental impact.

        What You Can Do: Individuals and businesses alike can take action to support recycling efforts and promote sustainability:

        • Reduce waste by minimizing consumption and opting for eco-friendly alternatives.
        • Reuse products whenever possible to extend their lifespan and reduce the need for new materials.
        • Recycle responsibly and educate others about the importance of proper waste management.
        • Support brands and initiatives that prioritize sustainability and environmental stewardship.

        By embracing these principles and incorporating sustainable practices into daily life, we can all contribute to a healthier planet for future generations.

        ]]>         Towards SDG 16: Navigating Global Challenges for Peace and Justice https://sdgtalks.ai/towards-sdg-16-navigating-global-challenges-for-peace-and-justice https://sdgtalks.ai/towards-sdg-16-navigating-global-challenges-for-peace-and-justice Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:23:42 -0500 Todd Osborn SDG 16, violence, homicide rates, conflict casualties, fragile states, conflict-affected areas, peacebuilding, global security, development challenges In today's interconnected world, the quest for peace and justice is more pressing than ever. From political upheavals to armed conflicts, the challenges we face are complex and multifaceted. Violence, in its myriad forms, poses a significant obstacle to progress and prosperity. In 2022 alone, over 116,000 violent events shook societies worldwide, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. Beyond mere numbers, these events erode trust, hinder development, and exact a profound economic toll.

        While there have been modest declines in global homicide rates over the past decade, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Regions like Latin America and the Caribbean continue to grapple with endemic violence, fueled in large part by gang-related activities. Despite strides in some areas, the disparity in homicide rates between men and women underscores the persistent challenges we face.

        Armed conflicts, whether protracted or sudden, unleash untold suffering and upheaval. From Afghanistan to Yemen, the toll of war extends far beyond the battlefield, robbing communities of lives, livelihoods, and hope. The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia stands as a stark reminder of the human and economic cost of conflict, with millions displaced and economies left in tatters.

        Fragile and conflict-affected situations present unique hurdles to development efforts, compounding poverty, food insecurity, and social instability. Concentrated primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, these situations demand targeted interventions aimed at breaking the cycle of violence and building resilience.

        In the face of these challenges, the pursuit of peace and justice remains an ongoing journey. By fostering social cohesion, strengthening institutions, and promoting inclusivity and accountability, we can chart a path towards a more peaceful and just world. As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, it is imperative that we unite in our commitment to building a future where every individual can thrive in safety and dignity.

        Summary: The road to peace and justice is fraught with challenges, from endemic violence to armed conflict and fragility. However, by addressing these issues head-on and fostering collaboration at local, regional, and global levels, we can pave the way for a more peaceful and just world. It requires concerted efforts to build resilient societies, strengthen institutions, and promote inclusivity and accountability. Ultimately, our collective commitment to these goals will determine the future we leave for generations to come.

        ]]>         How You Can Protect Life Below Water https://sdgtalks.ai/how-you-can-protect-life-below-water https://sdgtalks.ai/how-you-can-protect-life-below-water Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:13:59 -0500 Todd Osborn Conservation, Marine resources, Sustainable development, Ocean health, Pollution reduction, Ecosystem protection, Responsible fishing, Coastal conservation, Sustainable practices, International sea law

        Our oceans and seas, covering 70% of the Earth's surface, are vital to our survival. They provide us with food, energy, and water, yet we've inflicted significant harm upon these invaluable resources. It's imperative that we take action to protect them, combatting pollution and overfishing while implementing responsible management strategies to safeguard marine life worldwide.

        Targets for Action

        The Global Goals outline ten targets aimed at conserving and sustainably utilizing the oceans. These targets include reducing marine pollution, protecting and restoring ecosystems, and conserving coastal and marine areas. Additionally, there are goals to end subsidies contributing to overfishing, increase economic benefits from marine resources, and support small-scale fishers.

        Taking Action

        Individuals can contribute to achieving these targets by taking simple yet impactful steps. By reducing waste, avoiding plastic consumption, and supporting local fisheries, we can all play a part in preserving our oceans. Organizing cleanup projects and staying informed about ocean-related issues are also essential actions individuals can take to support ocean conservation efforts.

        Educational Initiatives

        Educational initiatives, such as the World's Largest Lesson, aim to inspire young people to become informed and active citizens in ocean conservation. By engaging students in learning about the importance of ocean health, we can cultivate a new generation of environmental stewards committed to protecting marine ecosystems.

        Business Engagement

        Businesses also have a crucial role to play in advancing ocean sustainability. Whether through developing sustainable practices or supporting initiatives aligned with the Global Goals, businesses can contribute to the conservation and responsible use of marine resources.

        In conclusion, conserving and sustainably using the oceans is vital for achieving sustainable development. By working together and taking proactive steps to protect marine ecosystems, we can ensure a healthier future for our planet and generations to come.

        ]]>         The Path to Sustainable Agriculture https://sdgtalks.ai/the-path-to-sustainable-agriculture https://sdgtalks.ai/the-path-to-sustainable-agriculture Tue, 16 Apr 2024 23:55:38 -0500 Todd Osborn Sustainable Agriculture, Farming Practices, Soil Health, Water Management, Energy Efficiency, Air Quality, Livestock Integration, Diversification, Input Efficiency, Policy Reforms, Land Use Planning, Labor Rights, Community Development, Consumer Education What is Sustainable Agriculture?

        Sustainable agriculture aims to meet present food and textile needs without compromising future generations' ability to do the same. It integrates three main objectives: a healthy environment, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. This holistic approach involves everyone in the food system, from growers to consumers, in ensuring sustainability.

        Practices and Effects of Sustainable Agriculture

        Practitioners of sustainable agriculture employ various methods to promote soil health, minimize water use, and reduce pollution levels on farms. Consumers and retailers can support sustainability by choosing foods grown using environmentally friendly methods. Researchers in sustainable agriculture often collaborate across disciplines to address complex challenges in food production.

        Key Sustainable Farming Practices and Their Effects

        1. Soil Health: Practices like cover cropping, composting, and reduced tillage help maintain soil fertility and structure, reducing erosion and improving long-term productivity.

        2. Water Management: Techniques such as improved irrigation systems, drought-resistant crop selection, and water conservation measures help mitigate water scarcity and contamination.

        3. Energy Efficiency: Sustainable farming reduces reliance on non-renewable energy sources by optimizing resource use and transitioning to renewable energy where feasible.

        4. Air Quality: Strategies like reducing tillage, incorporating crop residues, and planting windbreaks help minimize air pollution from agricultural activities.

        5. Livestock Integration: Integrating livestock with crop production enhances soil fertility, reduces waste, and improves overall farm sustainability.

        6. Diversification: Growing a variety of crops enhances farm resilience economically and ecologically, reducing vulnerability to pests and market fluctuations.

        7. Efficient Input Use: Sustainable agriculture emphasizes natural, renewable, and on-farm inputs, reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals and minimizing environmental impacts.

        The Economic, Social & Political Context of Sustainable Agriculture

        Achieving sustainability in agriculture requires changes in public policies, economic institutions, and social values. Policy reforms, land use planning, labor rights, rural community development, and consumer education are crucial aspects of creating a more sustainable food system. Collaboration among stakeholders is essential to address these challenges effectively.

        In summary, sustainable agriculture is not just a set of practices but a comprehensive approach to food production that balances environmental, economic, and social considerations. By adopting sustainable farming practices and promoting supportive policies, we can build a more resilient and equitable food system for future generations.

        ]]>         Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 1 https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals-goal-1 https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals-goal-1 Tue, 16 Apr 2024 23:29:32 -0500 Todd Osborn SDG1, PovertyEradication, UnitedNations, SocialProtection The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a global commitment to addressing pressing issues by 2030. Each goal addresses a critical aspect of human and planetary well-being. Here, we delve into Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

        Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

        Eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 stands as a pivotal objective of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Despite remarkable declines in extreme poverty over recent decades, the emergence of COVID-19 posed a significant setback, reversing gains and increasing the number of individuals living in extreme poverty by almost 90 million. If current patterns persist, an estimated 575 million people could still find themselves trapped in extreme poverty by 2030, with a notable concentration in sub-Saharan Africa.

        Exploring the Dimensions of Poverty: Poverty encompasses various dimensions, including unemployment, social exclusion, and vulnerability to disasters and diseases. Understanding its causes is crucial for effective intervention.

        Interconnectedness and Why it Matters: Our well-being is intricately linked. Growing inequality hampers economic growth, undermines social cohesion, and can lead to political and social tensions.

        The Role of Social Protection: Strong social protection systems are vital for preventing people from falling into poverty. Despite expansions during the COVID-19 crisis, a significant portion of the global population remains entirely unprotected.

        Taking Action: Individual engagement in policymaking can drive change by ensuring rights are promoted, voices are heard, and innovation is encouraged. Governments and the private sector play crucial roles in creating inclusive growth and economic opportunities. Science also contributes significantly to poverty alleviation by enabling access to essential services and improving health outcomes.

        Key Facts and Figures:

        • If current trends persist, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030.
        • Despite social protection expansions, over 4 billion people remain entirely unprotected.
        • Advanced economies allocate significantly more government spending to essential services compared to emerging and developing economies.

        In conclusion, addressing poverty requires a surge in action and investment to enhance economic opportunities, improve education, and extend social protection to all, particularly the most excluded, to fulfill the central commitment of leaving no one behind.

        By comprehensively tackling poverty, the global community can move closer to achieving sustainable development and ensuring a better future for all.

        [Source: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals]

        ]]>         The 17 Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgtalks.ai/the-17-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/the-17-sustainable-development-goals Tue, 16 Apr 2024 23:19:48 -0500 Todd Osborn SDGs, Sustainablility, United Nations The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), introduced by the United Nations in 2015, encompass 17 global objectives aimed at enhancing the planet and the quality of human life by 2030. These goals span diverse areas including poverty eradication, health, education, gender equality, clean energy, economic growth, sustainable infrastructure, climate action, and more. Despite progress in certain areas, challenges persist in achieving these goals within the specified timeframe.

        Expanding on Each Sustainable Development Goal:

        1. No Poverty (Goal 1): This goal aims to eradicate poverty in all its forms by ensuring social protection systems and access to basic services for all individuals.

        2. Zero Hunger (Goal 2): Targeting food security and improved nutrition, this goal seeks sustainable agriculture practices to end hunger and ensure access to nutritious food for all.

        3. Good Health and Well-being (Goal 3): Focused on ensuring healthy lives for all, this goal aims to provide universal access to healthcare services, reduce maternal and child mortality rates, and combat major diseases.

        4. Quality Education (Goal 4): By promoting inclusive and equitable education, this goal strives to ensure access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for everyone.

        5. Gender Equality (Goal 5): Seeking to empower women and girls, this goal advocates for equal rights, opportunities, and participation in all spheres of life.

        6. Clean Water and Sanitation (Goal 6): Addressing water scarcity and sanitation issues, this goal aims to ensure access to clean water and adequate sanitation facilities for all.

        7. Affordable and Clean Energy (Goal 7): Focusing on sustainable energy sources, this goal aims to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services.

        8. Decent Work and Economic Growth (Goal 8): Promoting inclusive economic growth, this goal aims to provide decent employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, and sustainable livelihoods for all.

        9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (Goal 9): Targeting sustainable industrialization and infrastructure development, this goal aims to foster innovation and build resilient infrastructure for sustainable development.

        10. Reduced Inequality (Goal 10): Addressing social, economic, and political inequalities, this goal aims to reduce inequalities within and among countries.

        11. Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11): Focused on creating inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and communities, this goal aims to improve urban planning and management.

        12. Responsible Consumption and Production (Goal 12): Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, this goal aims to minimize waste generation and ensure sustainable resource use.

        13. Climate Action (Goal 13): Urging action to combat climate change and its impacts, this goal emphasizes mitigation, adaptation, and resilience-building measures.

        14. Life Below Water (Goal 14): Aimed at conserving and sustainably using marine resources, this goal seeks to protect and restore ocean ecosystems.

        15. Life on Land (Goal 15): Focused on land ecosystem conservation and restoration, this goal aims to combat desertification, land degradation, and biodiversity loss.

        16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (Goal 16): Advocating for peaceful and inclusive societies, this goal aims to promote justice, rule of law, and effective institutions at all levels.

        17. Partnerships to Achieve the Goals (Goal 17): Recognizing the importance of global collaboration, this goal aims to strengthen partnerships and mobilize resources for sustainable development.

        While progress has been made in some areas, challenges persist in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Collective efforts from governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals are essential to accelerate progress and address the complex interlinkages between these goals. Through concerted action and partnership, the vision of a sustainable and prosperous future for all can be realized.

        ]]>         WASH Conference - Boulder CO https://sdgtalks.ai/wash-conference-boulder-co https://sdgtalks.ai/wash-conference-boulder-co Tue, 16 Apr 2024 18:55:04 -0500 kagonz An entirely student-organized event, the WASH symposium gives students and proffessionals who are passionate and active in engineering access to various environmental and personal health systems in communities across the globe. The event was first organized in 2012, with speakers from all over the globe who came to give talks on issues in water, health, and sanitation. The event is hosted at CU Boulder, but is organized by students across the Denver area and open to all.

        ]]>         Computer Vision and Sustainability https://sdgtalks.ai/computer-vision-and-sustainability https://sdgtalks.ai/computer-vision-and-sustainability Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:31:01 -0500 kagonz machine learning, sustainability, computer vision Computer vision is a heirarchical (meaning, it can break things down into parts of parts) machine learning algorithm that can identify and extrapolate data from images. Images are how we communicate a lot of data about the state of Earth's ecosystems, so there are plenty of examples on how the subfield could help us in the field of sustainable development.

        Here are some examples of the most groundbreaking computer vision and sustainability efforts:

        Using satellite imagery to monitor changes and assess the health of forest cover, including pest and disease outbreaks.

        Identification of species on trail cam footage to count animal populations and understand long-term trends.

        Implement in 'Digital Serious Games' where games powered by computer vision promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills related to addressing and mitigating environmental challenges. These player will make better-informed decisions on how to address climate change.

        ]]>         Meal Prepping Isn&apos;t as Scary as You Think https://sdgtalks.ai/meal-prepping-isnt-as-scary-as-you-think https://sdgtalks.ai/meal-prepping-isnt-as-scary-as-you-think Wed, 10 Apr 2024 19:48:26 -0500 kagonz Food waste, responsible consumption, meal prep Meal Prepping: it doesn't have to be intimidating. AND it can be an amazing personal step towards sustainable living.

        Take a few minutes each week to jot down when and what, generally, you're going to eat over the 7 days. 'What' doesn't have to be spot on or concrete, maybe it's just whether you're cooking, eating out, or having leftovers. Motivate yourself by keeping personal goals in mind, like eating healthier, spending less money, building a routine, or trying new recipes.

        Take another step by planning out what recipes or items you'll use with each meal, if applicable. Planning these out ahead of time makes grocery shopping easier and also reduces the amount of uneaten or expired food that ends up in landfill. 

        If you want to prep meals to take to work, school, etc., you could also help the earth. Investing in long-lasting, multipurpose containers can reduce the overall amount of takeout and packaging waste that also clogs landfills.

        ]]>         150 Years of What? Colorado School of Mines Removes Slogan https://sdgtalks.ai/150-years-of-what-colorado-school-of-mines-removes-slogan https://sdgtalks.ai/150-years-of-what-colorado-school-of-mines-removes-slogan Wed, 10 Apr 2024 19:32:10 -0500 kagonz higher education, engineering, marketing, advocacy In 2024, public engineering university Colorado School of Mines will celebrate its 150th year as an institution, and celebrated by a rebranding campaign called '150@Mines.' A subtle, almost unnnoticed change happened to Mines' brand marketing: 'Earth, Energy, Environment' was removed from the school logo, motto, and eventually the mission entirely.

        When prompted, most students didn't even realize it was happening, much less permanent. Sustainability organizations brought attention to it during a mid-semester discussion, and the criticisms have started to pile.

        Mines prides itself on it's body of well-rounded, ethical engineers, who care dearly about the state of the world and people around them. What happens when we take away the verbal motivation? Are we conceding to pressures from oil & gas, tech, and defense funding?

        ]]>         OPINION | EDUCATION IN THE TIME OF HEATWAVES… and BEYOND https://sdgtalks.ai/opinion-education-in-the-time-of-heatwaves-and-beyond https://sdgtalks.ai/opinion-education-in-the-time-of-heatwaves-and-beyond Tue, 09 Apr 2024 23:03:40 -0500 Joshua 10 years ago, during my time as student, typhoons and floods were one major reasons for cancellation of classes. Heat waves are something naive to hear as the reason to cancel classes, however earlier than this, covid-19 changed and made the department of education being caught off-guard. Are we learning from these experiences?

        Both the pandemic and heat times are waving the academic performance of the students resulting in learning loss. These major crises exacerbate the social and educational aspect of our nation and widening the gap that the children should learn. 

        The Philippines, an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia, and sits at the pacific ring of fire, is characterized as a tropical maritime climate, and vulnerable to disasters like earthquake and typhoons. Philippines experiences two primary seasons: a wet season from June to November, when the island faces the brunt of typhoons and heavy rains, and dry season from December to May (PAGASA, 2024), which is divided into cool dry season and the hot dry season. The hot dry season, particularly from March to May  (PAGASA, 2024), is when heat waves are most likely to be experienced. However, with the advent of global climate change, the country is experiencing an increase in temperature extremes. Although heatwaves are not traditionally common in the country, human activities are able to shift the planet's warming and the urban heat island effect, where urban areas become significantly warmer than the rural counterparts (PAGASA, 2024).

        Heatwaves bring a cascade of challenges to educational settings, particularly affecting physical classrooms, the health of students, and staff. As temperatures rise significantly, classrooms can get too hot, particularly in regions lacking sufficient cooling equipment. In addition to making it harder for students to focus and interact, the high temperature makes the learning environment less safe and poses serious health risks. Students, teachers, and staff  may get dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, and high temperatures and humidity can make these situations worse. Due to these health problems and the chance that students will not be able to think as clearly, school officials have to stop classes to make sure everyone is safe. 

        To switch to online learning tools, we need to get past some technical, educational, and logistical problems. Schools have to make sure that both teachers and students have the right hardware and internet connection, which can be hard to do in places where digital technology isn't readily available. When it comes to technology, schools need strong platforms that can handle all of their dynamic and different needs. However, making or buying these platforms can be expensive and difficult. Teachers have to change the way they teach in order to keep students interested in a virtual setting, which can be very different from interacting with students in person. Concerns have also been raised about keeping educational standards high and accurately judging student success during this change. 

        Opportunities and Benefits

        Even with these problems, there are some good things about online learning. It gives students more scheduling options, lets them learn at their own pace, and works with all kinds of learning styles. Another big benefit is that students from remote or underserved areas can now get high-quality learning materials that they couldn't get before. Online learning is also digital, which makes it easier to include climate education in the lessons. For example, real-time data and virtual simulations can be used to help students learn more about climate problems and how to care for the environment. 

        Long-term Educational Strategies

        To create a strong school system that can handle disruptions caused by climate change, it is necessary to have a broad plan that includes improving facilities, changing policies, and involving the community. As part of improving infrastructure, green buildings and renewable energy sources could be bought to make learning spaces that are more relaxed and last longer. Policy changes could include climate resilience in plans for education, making sure that schools are ready for how climate change will affect them. To do this, teachers might need to make their lessons more adaptable so they can be changed quickly, like switching to online learning during bad weather. Parents, teachers, and students should all be involved in the planning process to make sure that the solutions fit the wants and abilities of the community. This will help build support for the changes. Participating in local communities can also help people feel like they own and are responsible for the world and the school system. 

        ]]>         Air pollution may be a new form of redlining https://sdgtalks.ai/air-pollution-may-be-a-new-form-of-redlining https://sdgtalks.ai/air-pollution-may-be-a-new-form-of-redlining Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:03:12 -0500 Noah Link

        Metro Denver air pollutants hit minority areas hardest in a new form of redlining, study shows

        by: Michael Booth

        Map
        On overlay of metro Denver’s census tracts with the highest minority populations with air pollution data shows a modern form of redlining, a new study shows. (CU Boulder/CIRES)

        Air pollutants from auto and industrial sources concentrate in metro Denver’s most Hispanic and Native American neighborhoods, in part because of historic redlining that denied minority housing in whiter communities, according to a new study from University of Colorado scientists. 

        While statewide policy efforts focus on air pollution from a wide geographic area, including oil and gas wells in Weld County and agricultural sources of methane and nitrogen, Denver’s more urban neighborhoods are heavily impacted by nitrogen dioxide and particulates from vehicles and highways, the study says. 

        Policymakers could focus air pollution cuts more precisely and have a greater impact on historically exposed neighborhoods, according to scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES. Policy changes could include redirecting heavy truck traffic, accelerating the switch to clean electric vehicles, or addressing pollution from single industrial sources having the most impact, they said. Suncor’s Commerce City refinery is one of the heavily polluting industrial complexes at the heart of the study’s most impacted areas. 

        “They shouldn’t have to breathe more pollution there, just because that’s where they’ve lived for generations,” said lead author Alex Bradley, a doctoral student in chemistry and environmental sciences. 

        “Perhaps we should go beyond sort of the standard approach to address ozone pollution,” said co-author and CIRES/CU chemistry professor Joost de Gouw. “And think about these intra-city differences.”  

        The study, published Wednesday in the journal “Environmental Science and Technology,” used satellite-based images and models to focus on concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5, an EPA-regulated category of microscopic particles toxic to the lungs. Variants of the nitrogen oxides come from fossil fuel vehicle exhaust and power generation by coal and natural gas. Particulate matter is created by a mix of vehicle exhaust, wildfires and cooking, causing millions of worldwide deaths annually, according to the study. 

        The researchers then overlaid those pollutant maps with historical records from housing finance agencies like the Federal Housing Administration, which for decades denied loans for homes given lower letter grades correlated with heavily minority populations. 

        “We find districts that were graded A in 1939 have lower air pollution than the districts that were graded D,” Bradley said. He also pointed to other historical sources of pollution in the most heavily impacted neighborhoods, including a series of metal smelters in the Globeville-Swansea area that laid down layers of toxins that later became a Superfund site. 

        The researchers applied the same layers to hundreds of other U.S. cities and found similar patterns in most of them. 

        “People of color fare worse today, while non-Hispanic whites fare better,” according to a CU release accompanying the study. 

        The study also added a layer looking specifically at transportation impacts, as the most heavily polluted neighborhoods show up on the map in triangles roughly surrounded by heavily-trafficked Interstate 70, Interstate 25, Interstate 76 and Interstate 270. That core also includes extensive warehousing, fueling and repair operations for industrial vehicles. 

        Fellow researchers tracking vehicle emissions by fuel used showed higher concentrations in the areas with more residents of color. 

        “It definitely won’t be surprising to the people who live in these communities,” Bradley said of the study. “They know the air that they breathe is of worse quality, and they know that they’re experiencing worse health effects because of it and they’re trying to do what they can to help mitigate that.”


        The legislature is expected to take up soon a new package of air pollution bills, though Democrats have made similar attempts in recent years that have been watered down or rejected altogether under pressure from oil and gas trade groups and Polis administration officials who want time for other recent measures to take effect.

        Type of Story: News

        Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

        ]]>         Norwegian scientists are feeding Arctic foxes to protect them for future generations https://sdgtalks.ai/norwegian-scientists-are-feeding-arctic-foxes-to-protect-them-for-future-generations https://sdgtalks.ai/norwegian-scientists-are-feeding-arctic-foxes-to-protect-them-for-future-generations Sun, 07 Apr 2024 22:29:01 -0500 Noah Link ENVIRONMENT

        Hungry like the fox

        Climate change is starving out the iconic Arctic foxes of Scandinavia, so Norway is giving them dog food – and facing dilemmas that will be increasingly common in a warming world

        PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISI NIESNER

        REPORTING BY GLORIA DICKIE AND LISI NIESNER

        REUTERS

        OPPDAL, NORWAY

        PUBLISHED APRIL 7, 2024

        Title photo

        One by one, the crate doors swing open and five Arctic foxes bound off into the snowy landscape.

        But in the wilds of southern Norway, the newly freed foxes may struggle to find enough to eat, as the effects of climate change make the foxes’ traditional rodent prey more scarce.

        In Hardangervidda National Park, where the foxes have been released, there hasn’t been a good lemming year since 2021, conservationists say.

        That’s why scientists breeding the foxes in captivity are also maintaining more than 30 feeding stations across the alpine wilderness stocked with dog kibble – a rare and controversial step in conservation circles.

        “If the food is not there for them, what do you do?” said conservation biologist Craig Jackson of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, which is managing the fox program on behalf of the country’s environment agency.

        Arctic foxes runs off into Hardangervidda National Park on Feb. 8. Conservation biologist Craig Jackson, far left, manages a program to breed the animals in captivity.

        COURTESY OF CRAIG JACKSON VIA REUTERS

        That question will become increasingly urgent as climate change and habitat loss push thousands of the world’s species to the edge of survival, disrupting food chains and leaving some animals to starve.

        While some scientists say it’s inevitable that we’ll need more feeding programs to prevent extinctions, others question whether it makes sense to support animals in landscapes that can no longer sustain them.

        As part of the state-sponsored program to restore Arctic foxes, Norway has been feeding the population for nearly 20 years, at an annual cost of around 3.1-million kroner ($391,000) and it has no plans to stop any time soon.

        Since 2006, the program has helped to boost the fox population from as few as 40 in Norway, Finland, and Sweden, to around 550 across Scandinavia today.

        With feeding programs, “the hope is that you can perhaps get a species over a critical threshold,” said wildlife biologist Andrew Derocher at the University of Alberta, who has worked in Arctic Norway but is not involved in the fox program. But with the foxes’ Arctic habitat now warming roughly four times faster than the rest of the world, he said: “I’m not sure we’re going to get to that point.”

        Pups play in their enclosure and receive parasite medication at the research station near Oppdal last July, after the spring breeding season got off to a shaky start. Of the eight pairs of foxes at the station, only four females gave birth and two lost their litters.

        Through the winter, the station’s staff feed the foxes frozen meat and leave caches of dried dog food in the wild. Normally, foxes would hunt lemmings in the colder months, but the rodents have been scarcer than usual recently.

        Feeding animals to ensure a population survives – known as “supplementary feeding” – can be contentious. Most instances are temporary, providing food for a few years to help newly released or relocated animals adapt, such as the Iberian lynx in Spain during the 2000s. In other cases, governments might assist animals in acute peril, such as Florida’s decision to feed romaine lettuce to starving manatees from 2021 to 2023 after agrochemical pollution wiped out their supply of seagrass.

        There are some exceptions. Mongolia’s government, for example, has been putting out pellets containing wheat, corn, turnip and carrots for critically endangered Gobi brown bears since 1985. But for predators living close to human communities, that can be risky. Bears are known to change their behaviour and can associate people with food, said Croatian biologist Djuro Huber, who has advised European governments on the feeding of large carnivores.

        Feeding wild animals can also propagate diseases among the population, as animals cluster around feeding stations where pathogens can spread.

        For each fox it releases into the wild, Norway has spent the equivalent of $50,000.

        Bjorn Rangbru, a senior adviser on threatened species with the Norwegian Environment Agency, said the supplementary feeding – together with the breeding program – was crucial in raising the numbers of Arctic foxes in the wild. “Without these conservation measures, the Arctic fox would surely have become extinct in Norway.”

        The government has so far spent 180-million kroner ($23-million) on the program, or about $50,000 for every released fox. Some of those foxes have crossed the Swedish border. After Norwegian scientists released 37 foxes near the Finnish border from 2021 to 2022, Finland saw its first Arctic fox litter born in the wild since 1996.

        But the program is not even halfway to the goal of around 2,000 wild foxes across Scandinavia, which scientists say is the population size needed to be able to withstand low rodent years naturally.

        A diagram helps the station keep track of the mating pairs. Arctic foxes reach sexual maturity when they are nine to 10 months old, and can live up to three or four years in the wild. 

        This fox is being shipped 500 kilometres south to be set free. Two other pups will remain at the station for breeding purposes. The scientists say they have far to go before the foxes can be considered saved. 

        To eagle-proof the enclosure, Mr. Jackson and colleague Kristine Ulvund set up a network of bamboo sticks and ropes. Like the foxes they prey on, golden eagles were once badly depopulated by hunting, but bounced back after Norway made them legally protected in 1968.

        Arctic foxes are not the only species in trouble in the Far North. Polar bears are fast losing their hunting habitat as Arctic sea ice melts away. Migrating caribou sometimes arrive in summer pastures only to find that they missed the plant green-up because of a warmer-than-usual spring.

        The foxes had been driven to near extinction across Scandinavia by hunters seeking their winter-white fur, before they gained some reprieve in hunting bans and protections introduced in the 1920s and 1930s.

        The Arctic fox has since emerged as a symbol of the Far North. It is featured in the logos for both the Arctic Council and Swedish outdoor brand Fjallraven.

        In Finnish Lapland, the Northern Lights are called revontulet, which means “fox fires.” Legend says the lights were ignited by the great fox spirit sweeping its tail against the snow and spraying it up into the night sky.

        But as rodent populations have fallen away, Arctic foxes have struggled to recover on their own. And it’s been a particularly tough year for the captive breeding program. Normally, Mr. Jackson and fellow project leader Kristine Ulvund would have had about 20 pups to release. But of the eight breeding pairs in captivity, only four females gave birth last spring – two of which then lost their entire litters.

        Nine pups were ultimately raised in the outdoor fenced enclosure near Oppdal, a remote site some 400 kilometres north of Oslo. Two pups were kept to be part of future breeding efforts. Then, golden eagles snatched another two just weeks before their Feb. 8 release, leaving only five.

        For the foxes let loose in Hardangervidda National Park, the challenge is to find food for winter and avoid any predators in the process.

        Surviving in the wilderness can be tough. While the wild population now stands at around 300 in Norway, the scientists have bred and released nearly 470 foxes since the program’s start. Foxes only live three to four years in the wild.

        Aside from dodging predators, the foxes need to hunt enough lemmings to make it through the long winters.

        Climate change is making this tough, as warming temperatures cause precipitation to fall more often as rain instead of snow. When that rain freezes, it can block the lemmings from burrowing into dens for their own warmth and reproduction.

        The rodents’ once-reliable population cycles – which saw numbers of the rodents swell and fall in regular three- to five-year intervals – have become unpredictable and population peaks are lower.

        The foxes seem to prefer to hunt for themselves. “We’ll see them passing the feeding stations with mouths full of rodents,” Ms. Ulvund said – the rodents presumably being juicier and tastier than dry dog kibble.

        'We need to get the populations up to a sustainable level before we stop feeding them,' Ms. Ulvund says of the fox breeding program.

        The scientists said the foxes still only breed really well when there is a peak in the rodent population. But a 2020 study in the Journal of Wildlife Management found that foxes in dens located near the feeding stations were more likely to successfully breed than those located farther away.

        “We need to get the populations up to a sustainable level before we stop feeding them,” said Ms. Ulvund.

        At the current growth rate, scientists said it could take another 25 years to reach the program’s goal of 2,000 Arctic foxes running free through Scandinavia – provided the foxes’ bellies are kept full.

        “We’ve come a long way,” said Ms. Ulvund. “But I still think we have some way to go before we can say that we’ve really saved the species.”

        ]]>         Nuclear Energy: 3 Quick Facts You Should Know https://sdgtalks.ai/nuclear-energy-3-quick-facts-you-should-know https://sdgtalks.ai/nuclear-energy-3-quick-facts-you-should-know Sun, 07 Apr 2024 17:50:23 -0500 kagonz nuclear energy, renewables, fusion, fission Nuclear energy has been scrutinized over decades for safety concerns, but people in the renewable energy industry want you to know that nuclear energy:

        • Both fission and fusion processes create waste that is far lesser in quantity and toxicity than most non-renewable energy in use today.
        • Nuclear plants take up a fraction of the land that other renewable energy sources (wind, solar, etc.) do while producing the same amount of energy. 
        • While the nuclear fusion (combining particles) industry shows promise, nuclear fission is much more developed and reliable as a large-scale energy production system.
        • Has far less risk associated with plant operations than non-renewables, despite reputation for disaster. Injuries and death are extremely rare, but often used to overshadow the dangers associated with mining operations.
        ]]>         A Quick Guide to a Sustainable Wardrobe: How to Shop Ethically https://sdgtalks.ai/a-quick-guide-to-a-sustainable-wardrobe-how-to-shop-ethically https://sdgtalks.ai/a-quick-guide-to-a-sustainable-wardrobe-how-to-shop-ethically Sun, 07 Apr 2024 17:31:19 -0500 kagonz fast fashion, thrifting, ethical shopping, second-hand First and foremost: the best thing you can do for the environment related to fashion is to buy as little as you can. It's not the materials that harm the Earth necessarily, but the rate at which we buy and discard our clothes. Changing your mindset to resist trendy and short-lived purchases is important, but it doesn't mean you can't love clothes or buy anything new:

        If you do decide a new item of clothing is desired or necessary, look towards second-hand first. It may take more work to thrift than to online shop, but the activity can be fun and much less expensive, as well as supportive of a local economy.

        Consider repairable items of clothing. Small tears, broken zippers, or slightly large/long pieces of clothing are easily repaired at home or by a tailor. Most people don't know that local tailors specialize in these small adjustments and are affordable!

        Embrace clothing exchanges with friends. Breaking stigmas about hand-me-downs or out-of-season clothing can be better for your wallet and your friendships! 

        If you must buy something new, know what you're buying beforehand. Infrequent purchasing habits allow a buyer to save up for higher-quality, longer-lasting items that may not need to be replaced for up to a lifetime. Use this time to determine exactly what item fits you and your needs.

        If shopping online, research sustainable brands and order in as few shipments as possible. Less deliveries means less resources expended delivering a purchase.

        ]]>         Oregon’s Rural Power Utility Has Become a Big Polluter https://sdgtalks.ai/oregons-rural-power-utility-has-become-a-big-polluter https://sdgtalks.ai/oregons-rural-power-utility-has-become-a-big-polluter Sun, 07 Apr 2024 13:09:31 -0500 Elias Shiffman

        Oregon’s Rural Power Utility Has Become a Big Polluter

        Umatilla Electric Cooperative is responsible for 1.8 million tons of carbon emissions annually despite having just 16,000 customers. One of those customers is Amazon, which has data centers in areas where renewable energy access is limited.

        Feb. 20, 2024 
         
        Mike Rogoway, oregonlive.com
        The rolling hills along the Columbia River in northeastern Oregon boast golden fields and farms, quiet valleys and rippling creeks — and very few people.

        Yet the region also bears an enormous, and growing, carbon footprint.

        The rural area’s power utility became one of the state’s big polluters beginning in 2018. By 2020 its carbon emissions had doubled. In 2021, it doubled again.
        The Umatilla Electric Cooperative is responsible for 1.8 million tons of carbon emissions annually, according to newly released state data, even though it has just 16,000 customers. It’s now the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases among all Oregon utilities because of one of those customers: Amazon.

        The soaring greenhouse gases are a byproduct of Oregon tax policy and represent a profound setback for the state’s energy aspirations. Amazon has capitalized on hundreds of millions of dollars in local tax breaks to subsidize a constellation of enormous, power-hungry data centers around the cities of Boardman and Hermiston, areas where the regional power grid has little access to renewable energy.

        Data centers’ power demands have upended Oregon’s fight against global warming, exposing the limitations of the state’s electrical grid and the state’s hope to move toward clean power.

        Oregon is many years away from meaningfully expanding its transmission capacity, and with Amazon planning at least 10 more data centers in the region, eastern Oregon’s carbon footprint is poised to continue soaring.

        “It is really concerning and emblematic of the broader issue that we’re seeing in terms of Oregon’s ability to achieve its climate goals,” said Nora Apter, climate program director for the Oregon Environmental Council. She said Oregon regulators and lawmakers haven’t created policies and incentives that encourage economic growth powered by renewable energy.

        Both Amazon and Umatilla Electric say they’re committed to fighting climate change and to finding clean energy to power the data centers. Just this month, Amazon announced a deal to start buying renewable power from a wind farm in neighboring Gilliam County.

        While that purchase will meet as little as 4 percent of Amazon’s existing electricity needs, climate advocates say the data centers might ultimately become powerful forces in the drive to upgrade Oregon’s transmission networks for renewable energy.

        If data center operators are truly committed to renewable energy, some environmental advocates say, they could lobby for an upgraded energy grid, and their large loads could serve as a powerful economic incentive for generating new clean power and the transmission lines to carry it to major customers like Amazon.

        “They’re willing to pay the price for clean energy and the access to power to make sure that happens,” said Nicole Hughes, the executive director of Renewable Northwest, a Portland organization backed by clean-energy producers. “These are the anchor tenants that we want because they’re willing to make that investment. So we should figure out how to work with them on this.”

        Big Data, Big Tax Breaks


        Online shoppers think of Amazon as the “everything store,” the place to buy books, laundry detergent, furniture and fashion. But data centers are the Seattle-based company’s most profitable and fastest-growing business.

        The company hosts data for podcasts and video streamers, corporate bookkeepers and government agencies. It’s all housed in enormous digital warehouses like those in eastern Oregon, with thousands of high-end computers humming steadily around the clock as they process information and stream it to Amazon’s clients.

        Umatilla Electric used to rely on renewable hydropower from federal dams to meet the modest energy needs of its clients, which were mostly families, farms and food processors. Amazon’s arrival transformed the landscape over the past decade.

        Amazon clustered in eastern Oregon because local governments there offered it some of the most valuable tax breaks in the world. Amazon saved nearly $100 million in property taxes alone in Morrow and Umatilla counties last year, and local officials have promised incentives worth more than $1 billion to keep Amazon growing.

        Hulking, windowless, concrete data centers stretch along the highways and fields around Boardman and Hermiston. Their computers rely on tremendous amounts of electricity to operate and to keep cool.

        Federal hydropower had already been largely allocated to Umatilla Electric’s existing customers. So the rural cooperative must buy on the open market to meet Amazon’s needs — and nearly all the available power is generated by fossil fuels like natural gas.

        That’s made the utility’s power much dirtier. Its emissions per megawatt hour are 2,000 percent more carbon-intensive than a decade ago, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

        The issue of Oregon data centers’ growing carbon cost is not limited to Amazon.

        Apple, Facebook, Google and Elon Musk’s X social media company operate large data centers in Prineville, The Dalles and Hillsboro, creating enormous new power demands. They buy energy from large utilities and power authorities that have many other customers, so it’s hard to discern how much power those companies use.

        Last summer, though, Portland General Electric and two regional power agencies issued reports dramatically increasing their forecasts for data center power demand. The Bonneville Power Administration estimates that data centers’ electricity use in Oregon and Washington will more than double by 2041, requiring power equivalent to a third of all the homes in the two states.

        Transmission Squeeze


        While data centers have huge energy loads, they don’t employ nearly as many people as other major Northwest industries, like aircraft manufacturing and semiconductor production. But the server farms do have a big economic impact in small communities.

        Amazon has become a major force in Morrow and Umatilla counties. Though the company won’t say how many people work for Amazon in the region, local employment has grown by 14 percent over the past decade amid Amazon’s rapid expansion.

        It’s not clear how much of that growth is directly tied to the data centers, but the company has surely created hundreds of local jobs, and probably a few thousand.

        Amazon has paid more than $73 million in local taxes since the middle of 2020. It’s the largest taxpayer in both counties, though its tax exemptions are worth at least triple what it actually paid during that time.

        The company says it’s committed to “net-zero carbon emissions” across its operations by 2040. But when Oregon lawmakers considered a bill last year to make data centers subject to the state’s clean energy rules, Amazon mounted a furious lobbying campaign to kill it.

        Amazon and Umatilla Electric were among the biggest lobbyists in Salem last year, collectively spending more than $500,000 during 2023. The data center clean energy bill died in committee.

        Across the Columbia River in Washington, lawmakers quietly passed a similar bill last year without vocal opposition from anyone. Amazon doesn’t have major data centers in its home state.

        Oregon lawmakers have opted not to try again this year. Instead, Rep. Pam Marsh, who led last year’s unsuccessful clean-energy campaign, said she’s now committed to working with Amazon. She hailed the company’s wind power purchase this month.

        “It’s great news that Amazon is actively pursuing renewable energy for its data centers — and these projects need to be followed by more,” Marsh said in an email. “The company will need to look for clean energy in every corner and from every source. As a legislator, I’ll be watching closely, and looking for ways for us to support Amazon’s efforts.”

        Amazon, like most other large technology businesses, accepts the scientific consensus that human activity is changing the climate in potentially catastrophic ways. The company says it is financing clean power projects in other parts of the western U.S. to compensate for its growing impact in Oregon and says it’s among the world’s largest corporate buyers of renewable electricity.

        Amazon says it would like to build more renewable power supply in Oregon, too, and is backing legislation during the state’s current legislative session to support offshore wind power, battery storage and clean energy incentives.

        But the company says the regional power grid doesn’t have the capacity to carry that electricity from wind farms and solar arrays to its data centers near Boardman and Hermiston.

        “It’s a growing pipeline and we need more transmission infrastructure. We’ve been talking about that for some time to policymakers,” said Shannon Kellogg, an Amazon vice president for public policy.

        Amazon has identified a genuine problem with the transmission bottlenecks, said Aseem Prakash, a political science professor at the University of Washington and director of the UW Center for Environmental Politics.

        “The big problem is these transmission lines. How do you move a larger volume of electricity through the transmission lines?” Prakash said.

        It can take a decade or more to win approval for major new power lines and longer still to build them. That renders many proposed renewable energy projects useless, because there’s no way to get wind or solar power to the customers like Amazon who want the electricity.

        However, Prakash said these bottlenecks don’t let Amazon off the hook on clean power. He said the company ought to take a more proactive role in developing the transmission capacity so it has access to the renewable energy Amazon says it wants.

        Instead, Prakash said Amazon is pointing to renewable energy certificates – a controversial measure of accounting for clean energy purchases elsewhere – to mask its carbon impact.

        “They want to go to green,” Prakash said. “But there are obviously some perverse things happening where they are resorting to these shenanigans.”

        Missing Targets


        Amazon, which has been operating server farms in Oregon for well over a decade, is only now beginning to buy some clean power directly for its local data centers.

        The company announced this month that it will purchase 200,000 megawatt-hours of electricity from a wind farm in Gilliam County, one county over from its data centers near Boardman. Amazon will pay the wind farm’s owner, Avangrid, to replace blades on aging turbines with more efficient ones.

        “Those are the acts of a modest corporation acting modestly,” chided Angus Duncan, former chair of the Oregon Global Warming Commission.

        Umatilla Electric’s power sales have increased by 5 million megawatt-hours annually during Amazon’s data center buildout over the past decade, so Amazon’s wind power deal represents a tiny fraction of total power demand. And Duncan noted Amazon is buying power from an existing wind farm, rather than financing new power generation as it prepares to build several more data centers in the area.

        While Amazon is correct that the Northwest lacks enough transmission capacity to meet the region’s renewable power goals, Duncan said the company is asking too much from others to overcome the problem.

        “Does it think that the world owes it a transmission system that will deliver the power from the resource to the load?” Duncan asked.

        While he acknowledged Amazon could be a powerful ally in pushing for an expanded power grid, he said Amazon has failed to lay out how it plans to achieve its pathway to renewable power in Oregon and the resources it will use to accomplish that.

        “Folks like Amazon will set a goal, a decarbonization goal, but frequently their intermediate actions seem to operate contrary to that goal,” Duncan said.

        Oregon Rep. Mark Gamba, D- Milwaukie, is working with Amazon, state regulators and environmental and industry groups on legislation to accelerate the expansion of the regional power grid. He said transmission constraints will make it impossible for private Oregon utilities to transition off of fossil fuels by 2040.

        “We have what I would call mediocre climate goals in this state around energy, and we’re not going to hit any of them,” Gamba said, “because of transmission.”

        New transmission lines require coordination among utilities, private landowners, state regulators and the Bonneville Power Administration, among many others. The result, Gamba said, is a torturous process that lags far behind the state’s climate goals and new energy demands from data centers and other industrial customers.

        “It’s basically a 20-year process at this point to get new transmission sited,” Gamba said.

        Next year, Gamba hopes to introduce legislation that would begin the process of creating a regional transmission authority that could accelerate the work of expanding the electric grid. Amazon has been helpful in the process, Gamba said, but he said there’s an overarching lack of urgency among utilities, power authorities and lawmakers.

        Climate change is a ticking clock, and Gamba said the current pace of change is woefully inadequate.

        “The physics of climate change don’t really care about our scurrying along,” he said. “It is happening at its own pace, and it is up to us to meet that.”
        ]]>         Wild Idea Buffalo Co.: A sustainable approach to bison farming and grassland regeneration https://sdgtalks.ai/wild-idea-buffalo-co-a-sustainable-approach-to-bison-farming-and-grassland-regeneration https://sdgtalks.ai/wild-idea-buffalo-co-a-sustainable-approach-to-bison-farming-and-grassland-regeneration Sun, 07 Apr 2024 12:46:07 -0500 Elias Shiffman In South Dakota, a remarkable endeavor is taking place, one that merges sustainability, humane practices and environmental restoration. The Wild Idea Buffalo Co., founded by Dan O'Brien, stands as a testament to the possibilities of a new approach to buffalo ranching.

        The Birth of Wild Idea

        Wild Idea Buffalo Co. isn't just another meat company; it's a reflection of a profound commitment to ethical ranching and the revitalization of our ecosystems. The story began when Dan O'Brien, the founder of Wild Idea Buffalo, introduced 100% grass-fed, grass-finished buffalo meat to a local restaurant.

        The aim was clear: create a product that not only satisfied the taste buds but also upheld the principles of sustainability, humane treatment and overall environmental well-being.

        A Unique Approach to Buffalo Ranching

        Wild Idea Buffalo Co. isn't your typical commercial meat production facility. It's a place where the well-being of the buffalo takes center stage.

        The innovative "field harvest" process allows buffalo to be humanely and respectfully harvested directly in their native habitat. This approach ensures that the animals don't experience the stress and fear associated with traditional slaughter methods, leading to better-quality meat and a more humane process.

        Certified Humane and Regenerative Agriculture

        One of the core values at Wild Idea Buffalo Co. is to be different – and they've certainly succeeded. The ranch holds certifications in humane treatment, organic practices and regenerative agriculture.

        These distinctions showcase a commitment to responsible animal husbandry and the restoration of our environment.

        A Focus on Soil Health

        Wild Idea Buffalo Co.'s primary emphasis is on soil health. They understand that healthy soil is the foundation for a flourishing ecosystem.

        By practicing large landscape grazing and maintaining a hands-off approach, Wild Idea Buffalo Co. ensures the vitality of the soil, which, in turn, promotes the growth of diverse grasses essential for both buffalo and the environment.

        Mobile Harvesting Unit

        A key innovation at Wild Idea Buffalo Co. is the mobile harvesting unit, a concept that's been in place for over 30 years. This 53-foot semi-trailer with a tractor is the heart of the operation, allowing for humane, in-field harvesting.

        The mobile unit sets Wild Idea Buffalo Co. apart and is at the core of their commitment to a less stressful, more ethical approach to buffalo ranching.

        Wild Idea Buffalo 26.png

        Sustainable Availability

        Wild Idea Buffalo Co.'s products are available online, making them accessible to a broader audience. Additionally, their presence in health food stores and local markets allows consumers to support sustainable practices and enjoy high-quality buffalo meat without compromising their values.

        Revitalizing the Ecosystem

        The unique approach to buffalo ranching at Wild Idea Buffalo Co. isn't just about producing delicious meat; it's also about restoring and maintaining the natural balance of the land. By running buffalo, rather than cattle, they're working towards replicating the historical role that these majestic creatures played in the ecosystem.

        ]]>         The First Chinese Edited Babies: A Leap of Faith in Science https://sdgtalks.ai/the-first-chinese-edited-babies-a-leap-of-faith-in-science https://sdgtalks.ai/the-first-chinese-edited-babies-a-leap-of-faith-in-science Sun, 07 Apr 2024 12:32:54 -0500 Elias Shiffman In November 2018, media from all over the world reported that two twin girls had been born with modified genes to make them HIV immune. Their birth was the result of an ‘experiment' (presently it can only be called that) conducted by He Jiankui with couples in which the males were HIV carriers. Using CRISPR technology to immunise the babies against the HIV virus, He Jiankui managed to disable the CCR5 gene that enables the HIV infection (although he still did not present complete evidence of this achievement). However, Chinese existing regulation, thought not very detailed, does not provide legal basis for the experiment carried out by He Jiankui and his team (; ). In particular, the 2003 “Ethical Guiding Principles for Research on Embryonic Stem Cell” issued by China's Ministry of Science and Technology and then Ministry of Health (now National Health Commission), very clearly bans research to be performed on human in vitro embryos after the 14th day of existence, and its subsequent implantation into a human uterus. Furthermore, in spite of the alleged reason for the genetic intervention related with the prevention of HIV, the scientific community also knows that the CCR5 gene is related with major brain functions. He Jiankui might have done some kind of human enhancement by created two especially intelligent human beings, with better memory and higher IQ (Joy et al., 2016).

        This event has subsequently fuelled debate over CRISPR-Cas9, the most recent gene editing technique.

        Genetic engineering has been around from some time. Pretty much every argument for and against it has already been presented, and national and international regulations tried to provide a legal and ethical answer to it, even if dubious and incomplete. Nonetheless, CRISPR-Cas9 has changed the way genetic engineering is done and this revolution might transform the entire perception on gene editing.

        CRISPR-Cas9 is much simpler, cheaper and more precise than the previous methods of handling genes (). On the other hand, while the previous methods have only allowed new elements to be added to the human genome, CRISPR-Cas9 has made it possible to add, delete or replace genes, thereby opening the door to new types of genetic interventions. One of its most promising achievements might be the possibility of reversing the effects of faulty procedures, to deal with eventual errors.

        The technical improvements reached by CRISPR-Cas9 are far from irrelevant. The higher the level of precision and efficiency of CRISPR-Cas9, the greater the change in the general perception of genetic modification. Thus, in the future CRISPR-Cas9 might be considered as any other medical procedure.

        Up until now, however, the objections raised against it have been multiple and diverse. Some are associated to the technical aspects of the procedure. Despite its increased precision, safety has continued to be a pressing concern. The risk of unexpected and undesired changes to a gene that is able to carry unpredictable consequences cannot be controlled. For instance, interventions with CCR5 genes, as in the case of the Chinese twins, carry a higher risk of infection from the West Nile virus and severe flu (). Additionally, according to the scientists that analysed Jiankui's materials, gene editing was incomplete in at least one of the babies. Therefore, some issues for the children's future health may resulted from the outcomes of this procedure. Alternatively, even when the procedure is successful, it can only handle genetic disorders caused by a single gene and the fact is that most of the existing disorders are multigenetic. Nonetheless, one cannot rule out that further development of this technique will enable it to deal with several genes, even thousands of genes, at the same time. More importantly, it is expected that further research will make the procedure much more reliable, efficient and, therefore, safe.

        The Chinese episode has also generated other issues. Several notes demonstrate that this was an experiment and not a therapeutic intervention (even He Jiankui called it a 'clinical trial'). The babies were not at risk of being born with HIV, given that sperm washing had been used so that only non-infected genetic material was used. Further, even though one of the parents (or both) was infected, it did not mean the children were more prone to becoming infected. The risk of becoming infected by the parents' virus was very low (). In sum, there was no curative purpose, nor even the intention to prevent a pressing risk. Finally, the interventions were different for each twin. In one case, the two copies of CCR5 were modified, whereas in the other only one copy was modified. This meant that one twin could still become infected, although the evolution of the disease would probably be slower. The purpose of the scientific team was apparently to monitor the evolution of both babies and the differences in how they reacted to their different genetic modifications. This note also raised the issue of parents' informed consent regarding human experimentation, which follows a much stricter regimen than consent for therapeutic procedures.

        Moreover, if indeed the genetic intervention in place enhanced the twins this opens the door to an all new discussion: can we use gene editing to create "better" (whatever that may be...) human beings, maybe even a super race of humans? The scenario, when presented like that, seems terrifying, but actually the story of mankind is nothing more than one of enhancement, so probably in the future we won't look at human amelioration with such suspicion ().

        Ethical concerns have long been asserted against genetic interventions. However, most of the objections have been based more on prejudice than substantive arguments. Critics have invoked the sanctity of the human genome, as if changing it would equate to playing God (). However, protecting the human genome should not prevent genetic interventions that can improve our lives. What brings real value to our lives is having a genetic code that allows us to live free of severe diseases, not to have an unmodified but unhealthy genetic code. Some have argued the perils of genetic discrimination () and eugenics (), but if that were truth no medical treatment would be allowed under the suspicion of discriminating the ones not that are not treated and of aspiring to create a “superior” society of healthy people. The risk of undermining the human genetic pool () is also a recurrent concern, but “there are more than six billion humans on the planet. Absent some kind of magic wand, it is initially difficult to see how any given genetic intervention could change human nature” (). The eventual loss of our human nature () has been also invoked, but changing our genes does not change our human nature. Humanity does not reside in a specific genetic code, but in a certain perception of the world and our role in it. That role adds to the story of how we overcome the surrounding environment and ourselves.

        Until now, the scientific community has been quite critical of this procedure. What is in place right now is a precautionary principle (). Research has not been completely banned. It has been allowed when its aim has been to obtain additional data on the procedure's safety. Likewise, somatic gene editing (that is, genetic interventions that will not pass to offspring) has been allowed in humans, and germinal gene editing (genetic interventions that will be transmitted to progeny) has been allowed in non-humans. In sum, there has been a restriction on the kind of research permitted, and for the latter the requisites have been quite demanding (). Most likely, it could not have been any other way. If not for the restrictions, the chances are that CRISPR-Cas9 would have been totally banned. Accordingly, the precautionary principle has been the alternative to absolute prohibition (; ).

        I believe it is still too early to perform germinal gene editing (even resorting to CRISPR-Cas9) as a regular therapeutic procedure (; ; ; ). We still need to decode the amazing mysteries of genomics to understand how to safely use this procedure in human beings. The problem with the Chinese episode is not so much the use of gene editing, but its untimely use, without scientific evidence supporting the safety of CRISPR-Cas9. According with analysis done to Jiankui's work, “neither Lulu nor Nana possessed the 32-base pair deletion desired in the CCR5 gene, and each embryo instead expressed variants of various lengths. These novel mutations have not been previously shown to prevent HIV infection and may even be harmful. Some of He's data also suggest the presence of both edited and unedited cells, leading to a phenomenon called mosaicism, as well as off-target effects of the edit that could cause other unanticipated changes in the genome” ().

        It is a fact that the technique has already been used in somatic therapeutic interventions with success, reaching goals that regular medical treatments cannot achieve (). Nonetheless, somatic interventions and the risk of passing genetic modifications, including genetic errors, to offspring raise several technical and ethical issues that must be addressed.

        The Chinese experience was even more daunting, because in addition to being a somatic intervention it was not ‘necessary' to the embryos' well-being, i.e., the embryos were healthy and the experiment merely performed a health enhancement and eventually also a non-health related enhancement.

        In the future, when they are properly developed, CRISPR-Cas9 and gene editing in general can become very useful tools to deal with health-related issues. This not only includes purely therapeutic (curative) interventions, but also health-related enhancements, such as immunising a person against certain viruses (similarly to what currently happens with vaccines), just like in the Chinese experiment. If or when CRISPR-Cas9 is properly developed, it can be used as a regular medical treatment (in broad terms, including preventive measures).

        Therefore, we cannot impose a ban on research in this domain, even in spite of this episode. If scientific accuracy is the goal, and indeed, it is, this goal can only be achieved by investing in more research. I do understand that some caution is required, not only to prevent genetic mistakes that we may be unable to undo, but also to allow enough time to find better answers to the legal and ethical dilemmas involved. Nonetheless, we need to continue. Stopping here would mean to waste decades of investigation and lose a brilliant opportunity to provide greater well-being for humankind. People now and in the future could be spared the pain and suffering caused by the many diseases for which we still do not have a cure. The answer may well be in the genes.

        ]]>         Colorado School of Mines and Carbon America awarded $32.6M from U.S. Department of Energy CarbonSAFE Initiative https://sdgtalks.ai/colorado-school-of-mines-and-carbon-america-awarded-326m-from-us-department-of-energy-carbonsafe-initiative https://sdgtalks.ai/colorado-school-of-mines-and-carbon-america-awarded-326m-from-us-department-of-energy-carbonsafe-initiative Sun, 07 Apr 2024 12:21:43 -0500 Elias Shiffman

        Colorado School of Mines and Carbon America awarded $32.6M

        from U.S. Department of Energy CarbonSAFE Initiative

        The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support the development of a regional CO2 storage hub in concert with local stakeholders in Pueblo, Colorado area

        GOLDEN, Colo.--()--Colorado School of Mines, Carbon America and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have been awarded $32.6 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) initiative to advance the development of a potential carbon storage hub for the Pueblo, Colorado area.

        “We want to set a new high bar for industry-community compatibility and for this project to become the model for successful community relations for potential CCS projects on a national scale”

        CarbonSAFE Eos was one of nine projects selected by DOE as part of a $242 million nationwide investment to accelerate the development of large-scale, commercial carbon storage projects with capacities to securely store 50 or more million metric tons of carbon dioxide deep underground.

        The goal of CarbonSAFE Eos, named after the Greek goddess of the dawn and new beginnings, is to reduce industrial emissions from cement, hydrogen and power plant operations and at the same time, create a model for responsible, community-centric carbon capture and storage (CCS) from the ground up, inclusive of community feedback in support of sustainable economic and social development goals. Mines, Carbon America and LANL officially announced the funding today during the Carbon Management Symposium hosted by the Mines Global Energy Future Initiative.

        “Given the urgency and scale of our climate challenge, we have to accelerate the buildout of CO2 storage hubs region-by-region across the country,” said Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy. “The Colorado School of Mines project represents an important step toward that goal, and we look forward to working with them in this critical effort.”

        “This is a positive plan for our higher education system, for students in Golden and Pueblo, and for our air, climate, and planet. I was proud to sign new laws in partnership with the legislature to save people money on energy and reduce carbon emissions and pollution,” said Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

        The DOE funding will cover data collection, detailed site characterization, planning, permitting and significant community and stakeholder engagement for the project, as well as training for the next generation of CCS professionals. The project will be co-led by Manika Prasad, director of the Mines Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Innovation Center, and Carbon America Senior Geologist Chris Cassle.

        “To meet our global climate goals, we need to do so much more than we’re currently doing,” Prasad said. “Large-scale carbon sequestration sites, like the one we hope to build with the community of Pueblo, are an important piece of the puzzle, capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by millions of metric tons, and enabling communities to transition toward zero-emissions energy generation.”

        “This grant represents a significant milestone in our commitment to mitigating climate change and developing sustainable energy solutions,” said Brent Lewis, CEO of Carbon America. “By collaborating with the exceptional researchers at Colorado School of Mines and Los Alamos National Lab, we aim to unlock new possibilities for carbon capture and storage, helping to build a cleaner and more resilient future.”

        The Eos project aims to be an exemplar of community-centered carbon capture and storage, focused on how CCS in Pueblo can advance quality jobs, enable further business investment, and promote environmental justice and community partnership. The CarbonSAFE initiative falls under the DOE’s Justice 40 goals of ensuring that 40 percent of the benefits of federal clean energy investments flow to disadvantaged communities and help enhance energy equity. Should the project proceed to operations, it will also help fund education in Colorado.

        “Pueblo has remarkable potential to demonstrate a new energy future. We are excited to create a community decarbonization solution anchored in vibrant community engagement and input for long-term social and economic success,” said Ashleigh Ross, Vice President of Strategic Engagements and Policy at Carbon America.

        In the coming weeks, in addition to technical work, the project team will start early pre-planning outreach activities to support community engagement for the project. Community workshops will be held in the region to engage in two-way dialogue about the project and what community-centric CCS could look like in the area.

        “We want to set a new high bar for industry-community compatibility and for this project to become the model for successful community relations for potential CCS projects on a national scale,” said Jessica Smith, professor of engineering, design and society at Mines and key member of the project team. “We will be developing the engagement strategy with key stakeholders in Pueblo to make sure it's done in a way that's locally responsive.”

        About Colorado School of Mines

        Colorado School of Mines is a public university focused on science and engineering, dedicated to educating and inspiring students, advancing knowledge, and innovating to address the great challenges society faces today—particularly those related to earth, energy and the environment. Founded in 1874 with specialties in mining and metallurgy, Mines’ scope and mission have expanded to meet the needs of industry and society, producing distinctive graduates and revolutionary innovations, and becoming a world leader in advancing sustainable use of the Earth’s resources. Learn more at mines.edu.

        About Carbon America

        Carbon America is a vertically integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) developer, owner, and operator with a mission to quickly and safely capture and store as much carbon dioxide as possible. The company’s team of world-class experts cover the entire CCS value chain, including capture processes; geology, geoscience, reservoir engineering; project development; commercial, finance, and tax equity structuring; regulatory and advocacy engagement; and acquisition of necessary land and sequestration site management for CO2 storage. The company is currently developing CCS projects at three ethanol plants that combined would reduce CO2 emissions by 525,000 metric tons annually. For more information, visit carbonamerica.com.

        About Los Alamos National Laboratory

        Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a senior laboratory in the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory complex and executes work in all of DOE’s mission areas: national security, science, energy, and environmental management. The Laboratory has a long history of leveraging its core science and technology capabilities to support the nation’s energy security mission—a symbiotic relationship that enables an agile response to some of the nation’s toughest energy challenges. Today, the Laboratory leads and collaborates on R&D initiatives across DOE programs, including hydrogen and fuel cells, geothermal, fossil energy and carbon management, grid modernization, and biomanufacturing, to develop technology solutions that will help the nation transition to a clean energy system.

        ]]>         Aircela Gets Funding From Maersk Growth To Start Field Testing https://sdgtalks.ai/aircela-gets-funding-from-maersk-growth-to-start-field-testing https://sdgtalks.ai/aircela-gets-funding-from-maersk-growth-to-start-field-testing Sun, 07 Apr 2024 12:02:09 -0500 Elias Shiffman

        Aircela Gets Funding From Maersk Growth To Start Field

        Testing

        Aircela, a CO2-neutral e-fuels company, has closed a funding round with investment from Maersk Growth, which is the Venture capital arm of Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk. 

        Aircela was established in 2019 by husband and wife Eric and Mia Dahlgren to mass-produce fuels made from renewable sources. The direct air capture company aims to make its technology cost-efficient and available to everyone, and turn carbon dioxide into a replacement for fossil fuels. 

        Maersk Growth’s investment will support Aircela’s 2023 plan of field testing and initial manufacturing of refrigerator-sized machines that produce 6kg a day of carbon-neutral methanol, using only air, water, and renewable power as inputs. Many thousands of mass-produced Aircela systems will operate together as ‘server farms for green fuel’.

        The funding coming from Maersk Growth will support Aircela’s goal for 2023 to field test and start the initial manufacturing of refrigerator-sized machines that produce 6 kilograms of CO2-neutral methanol daily using air, water, and renewable power as the only inputs. The mass-produced Aircela systems will operate as “server farms for green fuel,” the company said in a press release.  

        “We have no time to wait in replacing fossil fuels, and if needed, we will do it engine by engine,” said COO and Co-founder Mia Dahlgren. “We have been inspired by Maersk’s brave commitment to fuelling some of the biggest engines in the world with green methanol, and we are excited to welcome them to Aircela”.

        “Maersk has taken several bold and significant steps towards decarbonization, and we are proud to be teaming up with such a serious player so early in our journey. We look forward to developing the market for green fuels together,” said CEO and Co-founder Eric Dahlgren.

        The Manhattan-based start-up takes its approach to clean fuels from the work of board member Prof. Klaus Lackner. 

        ]]>         Business Schools Are Going All In on AI https://sdgtalks.ai/business-schools-are-going-all-in-on-ai https://sdgtalks.ai/business-schools-are-going-all-in-on-ai Wed, 03 Apr 2024 16:49:47 -0500 Claudia AI, artificial intelligence, universities, ChatGPT, SDG4, SDGs, ESD, Education, Sustainable Development Goals At the Wharton School this spring, Prof. Ethan Mollick assigned students the task of automating away part of their jobs.

        Mollick tells his students at the University of Pennsylvania to expect to feel insecure about their own capabilities once they understand what artificial intelligence can do.

        “You haven’t used AI until you’ve had an existential crisis,” he said. “You need three sleepless nights.”

        Top business schools are pushing M.B.A. candidates and undergraduates to use artificial intelligence as a second brain. Students are eager for the instruction as employers increasingly hire talent with AI skills. 

        American University’s Kogod School of Business is putting an unusually high emphasis on AI, threading teaching on the technology through 20 new or adapted classes, from forensic accounting to marketing, which will roll out next school year. Professors this week started training on how to use and teach AI tools.

        Understanding and using AI is now a foundational concept, much like learning to write or reason, said David Marchick, dean of Kogod.

        “Every young person needs to know how to use AI in whatever they do,” he said of the decision to embed AI instruction into every part of the business school’s undergraduate core curriculum. 

        Marchick, who uses ChatGPT to prep presentations to alumni and professors, ordered a review of Kogod’s coursework in December after Brett Wilson, a venture capitalist with Swift Ventures, visited campus and told students that they wouldn’t lose jobs to AI, but rather to professionals who are more skilled in deploying it.

        American’s new AI classwork will include text mining, predictive analytics and using ChatGPT to prepare for negotiations, whether navigating workplace conflict or advocating for a promotion. New courses include one on AI in human-resource management and a new business and entertainment class focused on AI, a core issue of last year’s Hollywood writers strike. 

        Officials and faculty at Columbia Business School and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business say fluency in AI will be key to graduates’ success in the corporate world, allowing them to climb the ranks of management. Forty percent of prospective business-school students surveyed by the Graduate Management Admission Council said learning AI is essential to a graduate business degree—a jump from 29% in 2022. 

        Many of them are also anxious that their jobs could be replaced by generative AI. Much of entry-level work could be automated, the management-consulting group Oliver Wyman projected in a recent report. That means that future early-career jobs might require a more muscular skillset and more closely resemble first-level management roles. 

        Faster thinking

        Business-school professors are now encouraging students to use generative AI as a tool, akin to a calculator for doing math. 

        M.B.A.s should be using AI to generate ideas quickly and comprehensively, according to Sheena Iyengar, a Columbia Business School professor who wrote “Think Bigger,” a book on innovation. But it’s still up to people to make good decisions and ask the technology the right questions. 

        “You still have to direct it, otherwise it will give you crap,” she said. “You cannot eliminate human judgment.”

        Blake Bergeron, an M.B.A. student at Columbia, used generative AI to brainstorm new business ideas for a project. PHOTO: BLAKE BERGERON

        One exercise that Iyengar walks her students through is using AI to generate business idea pitches from the automated perspectives of Tom Brady, Martha Stewart and Barack Obama. The assignment illustrates how ideas can be reframed for different audiences and based on different points of view.

        Blake Bergeron, a 27-year-old M.B.A. student at Columbia, used generative AI to brainstorm new business ideas for a project last fall. One it returned was a travel service that recommends destinations based on a person’s social networks, pulling data from their friends’ posts. Bergeron’s team asked the AI to pressure-test the idea, coming up with pros and cons, and for potential business models.

        Bergeron said he noticed pitfalls as he experimented. When his team asked the generative AI tool for ways to market the travel service, it spit out a group of very similar ideas. From there, Bergeron said, the students had to coax the tool to get creative, asking for one out-of-the-box idea at a time.  

        Professors say that through this instruction, they hope students learn where AI is currently weak. Mathematics and citations are two areas where mistakes abound. At Kogod this week, executives who were training professors in AI stressed that adopters of the technology needed to do a human review and edit all AI-generated content, including analysis, before sharing the materials.

        Faster doing

        When Robert Bray, who teaches operations management at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, realized that ChatGPT could answer nearly every question in the textbook he uses for his data analytics course, he updated the syllabus. Last year, he started to focus on teaching coding using large-language models, which are trained on vast amounts of data to generate text and code. Enrollment jumped to 55 from 21 M.B.A. students, he said.

        Robert Bray at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management encourages his students to treat AI like ‘a really proficient intern.’ PHOTO: SANIYA TILLIS

        Before, engineers had an edge against business graduates because of their technical expertise, but now M.B.A.s can use AI to compete in that zone, Bray said.

        He encourages his students to offload as much work as possible to AI, treating it like “a really proficient intern.”

        Ben Morton, one of Bray’s students, is bullish on AI but knows he needs to be able to work without it. He did some coding with ChatGPT for class and wondered: If ChatGPT were down for a week, could he still get work done?

        Learning to code with the help of generative AI sped up his development.

        “I know so much more about programming than I did six months ago,” said Morton, 27. “Everyone’s capabilities are exponentially increasing.”

        Several professors said they can teach more material with AI’s assistance. One said that because AI could solve his lab assignments, he no longer needed much of the class time for those activities. With the extra hours he has students present to their peers on AI innovations. Campus is where students should think through how to use AI responsibly, said Bill Boulding, dean of Duke’s Fuqua School.

        “How do we embrace it? That is the right way to approach this—we can’t stop this,” he said. “It has eaten our world. It will eat everyone else’s world.”

        Author: Lindsay Ellis lindsay.ellis@wsj.com

        SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

        How should future business leaders prepare for using generative AI tools like ChatGPT in the workplace? 

        ]]>         A carbon tax might be coming to the shipping industry https://sdgtalks.ai/a-carbon-tax-might-be-coming-to-the-shipping-industry https://sdgtalks.ai/a-carbon-tax-might-be-coming-to-the-shipping-industry Sun, 31 Mar 2024 14:00:17 -0500 Noah Link A First Step Toward a

        Global Price on Carbon

        A tax on ship emissions could have an impact on almost everything we buy

        It didn’t make many headlines, but last week, at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization, something potentially world-changing happened.

        The United Nations agency, which regulates the shipping industry, essentially committed to creating the world’s first global carbon price.

        “I’m very confident that there is going to be an economic pricing mechanism by this time next year,” Arsenio Dominguez, the Secretary General of the maritime organization, said. “What form it is going to have and what the name is going to be, I don’t know.”

        The proposal would require shipping companies to pay a fee for every ton of carbon they emit by burning fuel. In other words, it’s a tax.

        That could raise a significant amount of money and lead to sweeping changes in the shipping industry. It would also be a first step toward the lofty goal of a tax not limited to a particular country, but a global one. (Some 70 countries and states around the world have put a price on carbon, either through taxes or trading mechanisms.) Many activists and economists have argued that putting a price on carbon is crucial to addressing the collective threat of climate change, because it can both deter pollution and fund a cleaner, more resilient economy.

        A big pot of money

        The world’s attention turned to the shipping industry this week when the Dali, a massive container ship, lost power and crashed into the Key Bridge in Baltimore. But there are at least 50,000 cargo ships like the Dali, constantly on the move, transporting the vast majority of the world’s goods.

        Shipping accounts for roughly 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, slightly more than aviation. Taxing its carbon emissions would very likely raise tens of billions of dollars a year for climate policy.

        By comparison, developed nations have donated $9 billion to the Green Climate Fund, a U.N. program meant to help developing countries tackle climate change, but activist groups say this is far less than what is needed.

        “We are talking about something that can really improve the landscape of climate finance,” said Dominik Englert, an economist who researches green shipping at the World Bank. “Given the volumes that we see and given the needs that we see, we think that it can go beyond shipping.”

        There is still a lot to work out. But moving forward may be easier than with global climate negotiations that require unanimous support. Decisions at the I.M.O. are made by a simple majority of the member countries.

        What countries agreed to do

        The maritime organization said it was simply living up to its pledge, made last year, to decarbonize the entire shipping industry by 2050. Its member countries have agreed that they need to start charging the shipping industry for emissions of heat-trapping gases in 2027.

        Last week, in a consensus vote, I.M.O. member nations detailed the decisions that still need to be made about pricing carbon. How would a price be calculated? Would it be a flat fee or part of a trading mechanism between companies? Who would collect the money and distribute it? And which fuels are considered low-carbon?

        Countries are looking at seven different proposals, in which prices range from $20 to $250 per ton of carbon emissions, according to the maritime organization. They hope to decide on all that by next year.

        “It’s been an extremely hard process to get where we are now,” said Albon Ishoda, the Marshall Islands’ negotiator, who has proposed a tax of $150 per ton of carbon emitted.

        What the impact could be

        How would the carbon tax proceeds be distributed? Englert and his colleagues from the World Bank suggested in a study that countries should use the money to decarbonize the shipping industry, invest in efficiency measures that could reduce shipping costs for poorer countries and deployed for broader climate action.

        Charging for ships’ carbon emissions could have an impact on basically everything we buy. Coffee from Colombia, T-shirts from Vietnam and mobile phones from China all get to consumers across the world by ship.

        Roel Hoenders, the I.M.O.’s head of climate action, warned that small countries could end up paying steeper prices for basic goods. Countries that built their economies around shipping commodities could lose significant revenue, because shipping accounts for such a large share of the price of their exports.

        Assessing the impact each measure would have “is quite an important part of the work, particularly for developing countries,” he said. “An increase in carbon price may have an impact on their competitiveness at a global scale.”

        Lessons for the rest of the world

        Some of the shipping industry’s biggest players have come around to the need for cleaner fuels and are looking for ways to develop them more quickly. Maersk, the second-largest container shipping company, has already invested billions in its decarbonization efforts.

        “Surprisingly for me, the industry has been perhaps more progressive in trying to put forward a target,” Ishoda said. “Many in the industry know that fossil fuels are finite. We have seen a lot more — I wouldn’t say progress, I wouldn’t call it that — but an openness to the idea of ways to raise revenues to decarbonize the shipping sector.”

        Many of the world’s biggest shipping companies are pushing for a more ambitious carbon price, because that would mean they wouldn’t need to pay for the same tax in Europe. Companies ideally want to avoid paying carbon taxes in multiple jurisdictions, which would result in a lot of complex and expensive accounting.

        There are a lot of difficult compromises ahead. Still, Englert said he hoped the shipping industry’s experience with pricing carbon would send a signal to the world about how powerful such a policy can be.

        When done right, carbon pricing “is the most cost effective and the most straightforward policy that provides the widest range of flexibility to all economic stakeholders,” he said. “You can basically help the planet, help the climate and at the same time use the revenue to foster development.”

        U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expected to visit China for the second time in the coming weeks.Carlos Barria/Reuters

        The tension between America’s climate goals and its rift with China

        The Biden administration is trying to walk a delicate tightrope: Encourage the green energy transition while also protecting U.S. companies from heavily subsidized Chinese competitors.

        U.S. officials plan to tell their counterparts in Beijing they think that artificially cheap Chinese solar panels, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries are distorting global markets, my colleague Alan Rappeport reports.

        “China’s overcapacity distorts global prices and production patterns and hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world,” Janet Yellen, the U.S. Treasury secretary, said in a speech yesterday.

        Yellen is expected to make her second trip to China in the coming weeks. The South China Morning Post reported that she will visit Guangzhou and Beijing in early April.

        Subsidies can cut both ways. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act included hundreds of billions in tax credits and subsidies for low-emission forms of energy production. Electric vehicles and other technologies that contain certain components made in China — and also Russia, North Korea and Iran — are not eligible for U.S. tax credits.

        China isn’t standing idly by. It filed a complaint in the World Trade Organization against U.S. subsidies for electric vehicles.

        Meanwhile, Tesla, which has done more than almost any other country to drive the transition to electric cars, is experiencing its own headwinds in China.

        Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive, initially seemed to have the upper hand in his relationship with Beijing. But Tesla is now increasingly losing its edge over Chinese competitors in the very market it helped to create, my colleagues Mara Hvistendahl, Jack Ewing and John Liu reported.

        In January, Musk issued a warning: unless the Chinese auto brands were blocked by trade barriers, they would “pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world.” — Manuela Andreoni

        Max Bearak is a Times reporter who writes about global energy and climate policies and new approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. More about Max Bearak

        ]]>         10 Reasons Why Python Rocks for Web Development https://sdgtalks.ai/10-reasons-why-python-rocks-for-web-development https://sdgtalks.ai/10-reasons-why-python-rocks-for-web-development Wed, 27 Mar 2024 05:24:57 -0500 William Smith Python's popularity in web development continues to soar.  This versatile language offers a compelling blend of readability, power, and extensive libraries, making it a favorite among developers of all experience levels. Whether you're building a simple website or a complex web application, Python can empower you to achieve your goals efficiently. Let's delve into the ten key reasons why Python stands out in the realm of web development:

        1. Beginner-friendly syntax with Crystal-Clear Readability

        Python's syntax is renowned for its elegance and simplicity. It bears a resemblance to plain English, making it significantly easier to learn compared to languages like Java or C++.  This focus on readability translates to cleaner code that promotes better maintainability and collaboration.  New programmers can grasp core concepts quickly, while seasoned developers can write and understand code with minimal effort.

        2. Boost Your Development Speed with Powerful Libraries

        Python boasts a vast ecosystem of well-maintained libraries that address a wide range of web development needs.  Frameworks like Django and Flask provide a robust foundation for building web applications and streamlining common development tasks like database interaction, user authentication, and templating.

        Libraries like NumPy and Pandas excel in data manipulation and analysis, making Python a perfect choice for data-driven web applications.  These pre-built components empower developers to focus on core functionalities rather than reinventing the wheel, significantly accelerating the development process.

        3. Test Like a Pro with a Robust Testing Ecosystem

        Building a web application hinges on a solid testing strategy. Python's testing ecosystem is top-notch, providing developers with a comprehensive suite of tools to ensure code quality and functionality.  Frameworks like Django offer built-in testing utilities, while libraries like unit tests and pytest facilitate the creation of unit tests, integration tests, and functional tests.  By emphasizing testing throughout the development lifecycle, Python empowers developers to deliver robust and reliable web applications.

        4. Embrace Scalability and Performance with Python's Versatility

        Python is adept at handling small-scale projects as well as complex, high-traffic web applications.  Frameworks like Django effectively scale to accommodate increasing user loads, ensuring your web application remains performant as it grows.   For computationally intensive tasks, libraries like NumPy leverage optimized C code under the hood, delivering exceptional performance when necessary.

        5. Security Matters: Python Prioritizes Safe Development Practices

        Web security is paramount.  Python enforces coding practices that promote secure development.  For instance, Python's built-in mechanisms help prevent common vulnerabilities like buffer overflows and SQL injection attacks.  Additionally, the extensive range of security-focused libraries like cryptography and bcrypt empowers developers to implement robust security features within their web applications.

        6. Embrace the Power of DevOps: Python Integrates Seamlessly

        Python thrives in the DevOps environment, where development and operations work in close collaboration.  Scripting capabilities make Python ideal for automating various tasks within the deployment pipeline.  Tools like Fabric and Ansible simplify server provisioning and configuration management, allowing developers to seamlessly transition code from development to production.

        7. The Full Stack Awaits: Python's Reach Extends Beyond Backend Development

        While Python excels in backend development, its influence extends beyond.  Frameworks like Django and Pyramid facilitate the creation of full-stack web applications, encompassing both server-side and client-side development.  Additionally, libraries like Dash and Bokeh empower developers to build interactive web dashboards and data visualizations.

        8. Beyond the Web: Python's Versatility is a Developer's Dream

        A key strength of Python is its versatility.  Skills acquired in web development using Python can be readily applied to other domains like data science, machine learning, and automation scripting.  This breadth of applicability makes Python a valuable asset for developers, allowing them to leverage their expertise across diverse projects.

        9. A Thriving Community: Support and Learning at Your Fingertips

        The Python community is vibrant and welcoming.  A multitude of online resources, forums, and tutorials offer comprehensive support for developers at all stages of their journey.  Whether you encounter a coding challenge or seek guidance on best practices, the Python community is readily available to assist.

        10. A Future-Proof Choice: Python's Continued Growth Ensures Stability

        Python's widespread adoption and active development community guarantee its enduring relevance.  Major corporations like Google, Netflix, and Spotify rely on Python for their web infrastructure.  This continuous innovation and industry backing ensure Python remains a future-proof choice for web development projects.

        Considering Hiring Python Developers?

        The compelling advantages of Python have fueled a surge in demand for skilled Python developers.  If you're seeking to leverage Python's power for your web development project, consider hiring Python developers who can bring their expertise to the table.  Skilled Python developers can help you:

         

        • Architect robust and scalable web applications: Leveraging their understanding of Python frameworks and libraries, experienced developers can design and build web applications that can accommodate growth and evolving requirements.

        • Prioritize code quality and maintainability: Python developers emphasize clean coding practices and leverage testing methodologies to ensure your web application is not only functional but also easy to maintain and update in the future.

        • Integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure: Python's versatility allows developers to integrate your web application with existing databases, systems, and APIs, ensuring a smooth flow of information.

        • Deliver projects efficiently: The combination of Python's readability and extensive libraries empowers developers to work productively, accelerating the development lifecycle and delivering projects within deadlines.

        Hiring a Python Consultant: When Expertise is Key

        In some instances, you might require the guidance of a Python consultant.  A consultant can offer valuable expertise in specific areas, such as:

        • Optimizing existing Python code: A consultant can analyze your current Python codebase and suggest improvements to enhance performance, maintainability, and readability.

        • Selecting the right framework or library: With their in-depth knowledge of the Python ecosystem, a consultant can guide you in selecting the most suitable framework or library for your specific project requirements.

        • Implementing best practices: A consultant can ensure your web development project adheres to best practices in Python development, leading to a more robust and maintainable codebase.

        Conclusion

        Python's unique blend of simplicity, power, and versatility makes it an exceptional choice for web development projects of all sizes and complexities.  By leveraging Python's strengths and the expertise of skilled Python developers and consultants, you can build high-performing, secure, and scalable web applications that propel your business forward.

        ]]>         Regenerative Agriculture is being embraced by some big corporations https://sdgtalks.ai/regenerative-agriculture-is-being-embraced-by-some-big-corporations https://sdgtalks.ai/regenerative-agriculture-is-being-embraced-by-some-big-corporations Sun, 24 Mar 2024 22:23:04 -0500 Noah Link Sustainable Agriculture

        Gets a Push From Big

        Corporations

        Farming accounts for a significant chunk of CO2 emissions. Some big businesses are offering farmers incentives to take up regenerative ag to lessen their carbon footprint and enhance biodiversity—and profits.

        By Rochelle Toplensky
        Walter Furlong, a third-generation Irish farmer, and Grainne Wafer, global director at Diageo. Furlong uses regenerative techniques on his farm in County Wexford, which supplies barley to Diageo to make Guinness. Photo: Diageo

        For decades, agriculture has been the climate elephant in the room. Now, some governments and a handful of major corporations are making inroads in turning farming toward more earth-healthy practices.

        Forestry, agriculture and land use are responsible for around a third of global emissions—nearly 10 times the damage done by aviation. Farming also has a significant negative impact on biodiversity, freshwater resources and deforestation.

        But unlike aviation, there are currently research-backed, cost-competitive ways to farm more sustainably. Regenerative or climate-smart agricultural methods could capture significant carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as well as improve soil health, biodiversity, resilience and farm economics.

        Recent farmer protests drive home why politicians have shied from decarbonizing agriculture: Farmers are frustrated with increased regulations, lower-cost imports and squeezed livelihoods, while they can also be hit by extreme weather, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation.

        Regenerative agriculture isn’t one-size-fits-all, but rather a location-specific choice from practices including growing cover crops, reducing tillage, crop rotation and agroforestry. After an initial three- to five-year transition period, these methods increased farmers’ long-term income by up to 120%, according to a study from Boston Consulting Group. Tom Crowther, professor at Swiss university ETH Zurich, said experts estimate the soil can capture around 100 to 120 gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere.  

        Furlong grows barley to make Guinness beer using regenerative techniques. Photo: Diageo

        Third-generation farmer Walter Furlongsaid regenerative methods have improved the profitability and resilience to extreme weather of his farm in southeast Ireland while also making it more environmentally friendly. He sells his barley to drinks company Diageo to make Guinness. Furlong has used some regenerative methods for more than 20 years, but added new ones as part of a Guinness pilot. 

        “We’re measuring more on the farm in terms of emissions…[and] finding that from four or five simple changes, we’re able to make some big impact in terms of reducing carbon,” he said. 

        Diageo’s three-year Guinness pilot was launched in 2022 and recruited 44 farmers. In addition, the global drinks company has others covering the agave and barley used in tequila and scotch respectively, and aims to develop pilots in five key sourcing landscapes. “We are moving towards a tipping point,” said Andy Griffiths, the head of sustainable procurement at Diageo, who ran similar programs in his previous job at Nestlé. 

        Despite the benefits to farmers, farms and the planet, adoption of regenerative agriculture has stalled globally, according to Barry Parkin, chief procurement and sustainability officer at pet food and candy-maker Mars. Regenerative ag methods have “been adopted across about 12% of farmland and…it’s rolling out at less than 1% a year,” Parkin said. “Clearly we don’t have 50 years or more for this to roll out,” he added.

        Mars has 27 initiatives under way that cover more than a million acres of farmland across more than 10 countries and more than 10 different crops including rice, wheat, barley, corn, soy, almonds, cocoa, Parkin said. The climate-smart programs are part of its detailed action plan to reach net zero by 2050 across its value chain.

        An irrigation pivot sprays recycled water on crops at McCarty Family Farms in northwest Kansas. Photo: McCarty Family Farms

        Governments are trying to accelerate the shift—159 countries are signed up to the COP28 U.A.E. Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action. In the U.S., the Inflation Reduction Act earmarked $19.5 billion for climate-smart agriculture and the Agriculture Department has its $3.1 billion Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program. 

        “Those partnerships are great. They’re just now getting on the ground, and that’s understandable, remember, we work in biological systems—you have to allow time,” says Kristin Duncanson, who has worked her family’s row crop and hog farm in Minnesota for 38 crop years, or the period from one year’s harvest to the next.

        “We shouldn’t think that farmers aren’t willing, it’s just a little slower than I think that some of the companies would like and maybe the American public, too,” said Duncanson. She added that it was great that companies offers farmers a choice of regenerative farming methods but said more technical assistance was needed in making those choices.

        Some companies are trying to accelerate the change. A few years ago Canadian frozen-food multinational McCain Foods—which says it supplies a quarter of the world’s french fries, including to McDonald’s in some markets—analyzed the risks of more frequent and extreme weather events on its potato harvest.

        “What we found was alarming, to say the least,” said Charlie Angelakos, McCain’s vice president of global external affairs and sustainability.

        So alarming in fact, that McCain committed to rolling out regenerative agriculture across all its potato acreage globally by the end of 2030, Angelakos said.

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        But McCain is an outlier. Fifty out of 79 global food and retail giants mentioned regenerative agriculture in their public disclosures, though only 18 have formal quantitative targets in place, according to FAIRR Initiative, an investor network. The Sustainable Markets Initiative, a private-sector group launched in 2020, set up its Agribusiness Task Force to accelerate regenerative agriculture adoption and includes senior leaders from Mars, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Bayer, McCain, Mondelez and others. 

        The task force’s 2022 report concluded the main hurdle to adopting regenerative practices was that farmers’ short-term economics don’t add up, but it also found there was a knowledge gap and not everyone in the value-chain was aligned. Follow-up work concluded that farmers need financial incentives and derisking mechanisms as well as technical and peer-to-peer support. Also important were agreeing environmental outcome metrics and creating supportive policy and payments for so-called ecosystem services such as rebuilding biodiversity and water quality.

        “Ethiopia…. has got an amazing payment for ecosystem service program,” said Prof. Crowther. Thousands of farmers are moving toward agroforestry and more regenerative practices, he said. 

        Despite generating a third of global emissions, agrifoods got only 4% of climate investment according to a 2023 study by the Climate Policy Initiative, a private research think tank and advisory organization. Some options are loans or grants for new equipment, preferential insurance rates reflecting increased crop resilience or multiyear purchase contracts. 

        Another complication for adoption is the more than $635 billion in explicit agricultural subsidies paid annually in 84 countries, nearly two-thirds of which are distorting and harmful to the environment, according to the World Bank. Redirecting these subsidies to foster regenerative methods is a political challenge.

        Fourth-generation dairy farmer Ken McCarty uses regenerative practices in partnership with yogurt maker Danone on his family’s farm in Kansas. Photo: McCarty Family Farms

        It is vital to reduce the risk to farmers. Fourth-generation dairyman Ken McCartyand his three brothers run three farms in northwest Kansas and a partnership dairy farm in west central Ohio. He uses regenerative practices on his farms in partnership with yogurt maker Danone.

        “If I’m the generation that’s willing to or being asked to make the big bet, that makes me the generation that could potentially ruin the family business, right?” McCarty said, pointing to a general undercurrent of anxiety.

        This is so even when some regenerative methods, like cover crops, are a return to the ways of generations past. “We laugh because my dad will go, ‘Well, I don’t really know why you’re worried about doing that—we did that in the 50s’,” McCarty said. 

        Other methods are quite new. McCarty’s farm reduces water consumption by using soil-moisture probes and smart cow-cooling technologies and ups energy efficiency with electric tractors, LED lighting and variable speed motors. The longer-term, direct supply relationship with Danone has really changed the trajectory of his family’s farm, he said.

        New smart technologies can also provide site-specific data to help farmers be more precise in irrigating, fertilizing and other steps in the agricultural cycle.

        Duncanson appreciates that companies offer a choice of regenerative farming methods but said farmers need more technical assistance.

        Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer of PepsiCo, visits a corn farm in Nebraska. Photo: PepsiCo

        Farming culture itself has also been a barrier to adoption. One Iowa farmer who had been using regenerative ag techniques for decades told Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer for PepsiCo, that “the hardest thing is when I go to church on Sunday, and everybody looks—I know they’re whispering, ‘He’s not a good farmer because his field is dirty’.” Regenerative farming can involve leaving crop residues on the soil rather than tilling it under for a tidier looking field. 

        Shifting that culture takes time. PepsiCo’s demonstration farm programs often include field days to bring farmers together in the hope that if they see the benefits of regenerative agriculture on land similar to theirs it can help overcome barriers to adoption.

        Ashley McKeon, director of regenerative agriculture at global food company Cargill, has seen a big change in mindset in the past five years and said the engagement of major farming institutions like the American Farm Bureau Federation is the foundation you need to get to a tipping point. 

        Cargill continues to use field days to bring farmers together: “The biggest thing is really just getting some to do it and then bringing their neighbors by to see it…like, ‘Hey, did you know Bob did this on his front 40 [acres]? You might want to take a look.’ And that kind of starts it,” she said. 

        Rochelle Toplensky is a former bureau chief of WSJ Pro Sustainable Business. She is currently co-chief executive at Connected Impact, a sustainability data insights company.

        ]]>         An increased demand in electricity is threatening climate progress in the United States https://sdgtalks.ai/an-increased-demand-in-electricity-is-threatening-climate-progress-in-the-united-states https://sdgtalks.ai/an-increased-demand-in-electricity-is-threatening-climate-progress-in-the-united-states Thu, 14 Mar 2024 21:40:25 -0500 Noah Link A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals

        A boom in data centers and factories is straining electric grids and propping up fossil fuels.

        Something unusual is happening in America. Demand for electricity, which has stayed largely flat for two decades, has begun to surge.

        Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in.

        Many power companies were already struggling to keep the lights on, especially during extreme weather, and say the strain on grids will only increase. Peak demand in the summer is projected to grow by 38,000 megawatts nationwide in the next five years, according to an analysis by the consulting firm Grid Strategies, which is like adding another California to the grid.

        “The numbers we’re seeing are pretty crazy,” said Daniel Brooks, vice president of integrated grid and energy systems at the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit organization.

        In an ironic twist, the swelling appetite for more electricity, driven not only by electric cars but also by battery and solar factories and other aspects of the clean-energy transition, could also jeopardize the country’s plans to fight climate change.

        At least 75 data centers have opened in Virginia since 2019.

        Four white Tesla cars at a bank of charging stations in an urban setting.

        In California, electric vehicles could soon account for 10 percent of peak power demand.

        Lauren Justice for The New York Times

        To meet spiking demand, utilities in states like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are proposing to build dozens of power plants over the next 15 years that would burn natural gas. In Kansas, one utility has postponed the retirement of a coal plant to help power a giant electric-car battery factory.

        Burning more gas and coal runs counter to President Biden’s pledge to halve the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gases and to generate all of America’s electricity from pollution-free sources such as wind, solar and nuclear by 2035.

        “I can’t recall the last time I was so alarmed about the country’s energy trajectory,” said Tyler H. Norris, a former solar developer and expert in power systems who is now pursuing a doctorate at Duke University. If a wave of new gas-fired plants gets approved by state regulators, he said, “it is game over for the Biden administration’s 2035 decarbonization goal.”

        Some utilities say they need additional fossil fuel capacity because cleaner alternatives like wind or solar power aren’t growing fast enough and can be bogged down by delayed permits and snarled supply chains. While a data center can be built in just one year, it can take five years or longer to connect renewable energy projects to the grid and a decade to build some of the long-distance power lines they require. Utilities also note that data centers and factories need power 24 hours a day, something wind and solar can’t do alone.

        Yet many regulated utilities also have financial incentives to build new gas plants, since they can recover their costs to build plants, wires and other equipment from ratepayers and pocket an additional percentage as profit. As a result, critics say, utilities often overlook, or even block, ways to make existing power systems more efficient or to integrate more renewable energy into the grid.

        “It is entirely feasible to meet growing electricity demand without so much gas, but it requires regulators to challenge the utilities and push for less-traditional solutions,” Mr. Norris said.

        The stakes are high. If more power isn’t brought online relatively soon, large portions of the country could risk blackouts, according to a recent report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which monitors the health of the nation’s electric grids.

        “Right now everyone’s getting caught flat-footed” by rising demand for electricity, said John Wilson, a vice president at Grid Strategies.

        Why Electricity Demand Is Spiking

        In Virginia, power-hungry data centers are being approved at breakneck pace.

        Existing data centers

        Proposed data centers

        For much of the 20th century, America’s electricity use increased steadily and utilities built plenty of coal, gas and nuclear plants in response. But starting in the mid-2000s, demand flattened. The economy and population kept expanding, but factories, lightbulbs and even refrigerators became much more energy efficient.

        Now demand is rising again, for several reasons.

        The growth of remote work, video streaming and online shopping has led to a frenzied expansion of data centers across the nation. The rise of artificial intelligence is poised to accelerate that trend: By 2030, electricity demand at U.S. data centers could triple, using as much power as 40 million homes, according to Boston Consulting Group.

        In Northern Virginia, one of the nation’s largest data center hubs, at least 75 facilities have opened since 2019 and Dominion Energy, the local utility, says data center capacity could double in just five years.

        In Georgia, large new manufacturing hubs are looking to hook into the grid.

        Existing E.V. and solar factories

        Announced E.V. and solar factories

        At the same time, investment in American manufacturing is hitting a 50-year high, fueled by new federal tax breaks to lift microchip and clean-tech production. Since 2021, companies have announced plans to spend at least $525 billion on factories for semiconductors, batteries, solar panels and more.

        In Georgia, where dozens of electric vehicle companies and suppliers are setting up shop, the state’s largest utility now expects 16 times as much growth in electricity demand this decade as it did two years ago.

        Millions of Americans are also buying plug-in vehicles and electric heat pumps for their homes, spurred by recent federal incentives. In California, one-fifth of new cars sold are electric, and officials estimate that E.V.s could account for 10 percent of power use during peak hours by 2035.

        On top of that, record heat fueled by global warming is spurring people to crank up air-conditioning, causing summer demand in Arizona and Texas to rise faster than forecast.

        Many worry the grid won’t keep up.

        PJM Interconnection, which oversees the nation’s largest regional grid, stretching from Illinois to New Jersey, is now expecting an additional 10,000 megawatts of demand by 2030 that wasn’t forecast last year. That’s akin to adding another New York City to the system.

        “To see that come on all of the sudden, even for a system as big as ours, that’s significant,” said Ken Seiler, who leads system planning for PJM.

        Finding enough power could be a challenge, since PJM’s process for connecting renewable energy projects to the grid has been afflicted by delays. Utilities in PJM have been preparing to retire roughly 40,000 megawatts of mostly coal, gas and oil-burning power plants this decade as states seek to transition away from fossil fuels. PJM has already approved an additional 40,000 megawatts of mostly wind, solar and batteries as partial replacements. But many of those projects have been stalled by local opposition or trouble getting vital equipment like transformers.

        “We have a huge concern about that,” Mr. Seiler said. “Folks aren’t building.”

        Nationwide, just 251 miles of high-voltage transmission lines were completed last year, a number that has been declining for a decade.

        So far, one state that has kept pace with explosive demand is Texas, where electricity use has risen 29 percent over the past decade, partly driven by things like bitcoin mining, liquefied natural gas terminals and the electrification of oil fields. Texas’s streamlined permitting process allows wind, solar and battery projects to get built and connected faster than almost anywhere else, and the state zoomed past California last year to lead the nation in large-scale solar power.

        “Texas still has problems, but there’s a lot to learn from how the state makes it easier to build clean energy,” said Devin Hartman, director of energy and environmental policy at the R Street Institute.

        A Challenge for Cutting Emissions

        A large metal frame full of heavy wires and insulators. The sky above is clear blue.

        A power substation near a CloudHQ data center in Ashburn, Va.

        Nathan Howard for The New York Times

        Soaring demand has provoked major fights over the future of natural gas.

        In North Carolina, regulators had ordered Duke Energy, the state’s biggest utility, to slash its planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions by 70 percent by 2030.

        But in January, Duke warned it could miss that target by at least five years under a new plan to build up to five large gas-burning power plants and five smaller versions by 2033, more than previously proposed. Even though Duke is planning a major expansion of solar and offshore wind power, the company says it needs additional gas plants because demand from industrial customers is rising faster than expected.

        “The growth we’re seeing is historic in scale and speed,” said Kendal Bowman, president of Duke Energy’s operations in North Carolina. “But it’s also going to be a challenge, particularly in the near term, to see carbon reduction at the same time we’ve got this unprecedented growth.”

        Similar revisions are occurring elsewhere. In Virginia, Dominion Energy has proposed to meet rising demand for data centers with a mix of renewables and gas generation in a plan that could increase its overall emissions. Georgia Power has asked permission to build three new gas- and oil-burning turbines and is evaluating whether to postpone the planned retirement of two older coal plants.

        “It’s completely at odds with what we need to do to” to fight climate change, said Greg Buppert, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has identified at least 33,000 megawatts worth of gas projects being proposed by utilities across the Southeast, plants that could stick around burning fossil fuels for decades.

        Solar panels being built at a factory.

        A solar panel plant in Dalton, Ga.

        REUTERS/Megan Varner

        An employee working on a solar panel inside a solar plant.

        Work in progress at the Dalton plant.

        AP Photo/Mike Stewart

        In interviews, utility executives say gas is needed to back up wind and solar power, which don’t run all the time. Gas plants can sometimes be easier to build than renewables, since they may not require new long-distance transmission lines. Eventually, alternative sources of clean power may emerge (both Duke and Dominion want to build smaller nuclear reactors) but those are years away.

        “We need to meet our customers’ needs at all times, even when renewable resources might not be providing energy,” said Aaron Mitchell, vice president of planning and pricing at Georgia Power. “It’s going to take a diversified fleet.”

        Mr. Mitchell noted that Georgia Power was planning a large build-out of solar power and batteries over the next decade and would offer incentives to companies to use less power during times of grid stress. But, he added, “gas has to be a near-term part of our fleet.”

        Critics say that regulated utilities often default to building gas plants because it’s a familiar technology and because, in many states, they earn a guaranteed profit from capital projects. They don’t always have the same incentive to adopt energy-efficiency programs that reduce sales or to plan transmission lines that can import cheaper wind power from elsewhere.

        “The big utilities are typically most comfortable with one way of doing things: building those big, conventional power plants,” said Heather O’Neill, president of Advanced Energy United, a trade group representing low-carbon technology companies.

        There are other ways to meet rising demand that require burning fewer fossil fuels, some experts say. Utilities could get more creative about helping customers use less electricity during peak hours or make better use of batteries, reducing strains on the grid. Advanced sensors and other technologies could push more renewable energy through existing transmission lines. Some utilities are pursuing these options, but many are not.

        Over the coming months, environmentalists and other groups aim to challenge utility plans at state regulatory proceedings. In some cases, they’ll argue that the utility has overestimated future demand growth or neglected alternatives to gas. While these debates can get technical, they could have a significant impact on the nation’s energy future.

        The tech companies and manufacturers that are driving up electricity demand could also play a big role. Many firms have pledged to use clean electricity for their operations, and it remains to be seen how hard they actually push power companies to provide it.

        “A big question,” said Brian Janous, a former vice president of energy at Microsoft who now focuses on ways to clean up the grid, “is how much outside pressure utilities and state regulators will face to do things differently.”

        Sources and notes

        Top chart: Data via the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. The data reflects annual net energy for load for the United States only, but select years include small portions of Mexico and Canada.

        Virginia map: Data center locations were collected by The Piedmont Environmental Council, based on publicly available documents and news articles. Locations are approximate. The map shows existing data centers and new projects that have been approved, are actively being marketed or are seeking approval for development as data center space. The map does not include proposed expansions.

        Georgia map: Data courtesy of Georgia Power, with additional research by The New York Times. Projects include factories that manufacture solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries, as well as parts suppliers for those industries and recyclers.

        ]]>         Upper Basin tribes in Colorado strengthen their voice in water discussions through a historic agreement https://sdgtalks.ai/upper-basin-tribes-in-colorado-strengthen-their-voice-in-water-discussions-through-a-historic-agreement https://sdgtalks.ai/upper-basin-tribes-in-colorado-strengthen-their-voice-in-water-discussions-through-a-historic-agreement Tue, 05 Mar 2024 18:05:21 -0500 Noah Link by: Shannon Mullane

        Tribal nations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are one step closer to having a seat at the table in Colorado River discussions thanks to a historic interstate agreement.

        Native American tribes have over the past century been left out of key agreements that manage the river. The Upper Colorado River Commission, an agency at the nexus of many Colorado River discussions in the Upper Basin, voted Monday to back a new proposed agreement that would, for the first time in the group’s 76-year-history, make regular meetings with tribes mandatory. 

        “This is a big deal. It is the start, not the finish line. It is the beginning of doing better,” Colorado commissioner Becky Mitchell said during Monday’s Upper Colorado River Commission meeting.

        Six Upper Basin tribes must also approve the agreement for it to be finalized. Representatives of five tribes spoke in support of the agreement during the meeting. Members from one tribe were unable to attend.

        This Fresh Water News story is a collaboration between The Colorado Sun and Water Education Colorado. It also appears at wateredco.org/fresh-water-news.

        The Upper Colorado River Commission, created in 1948, has permanent seats for a federal representative and commissioners for the four Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Upper Basin tribes have long asked for a seat at that table and in other forums where Colorado River decisions are made.

        “The tribes have always been a little frustrated that they just don’t automatically have a seat on the UCRC,” said Peter Ortego, general counsel of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe. “When the UCRC was created … I think, for the most part, people didn’t recognize the importance of having the tribes involved.”

        Congress and states formed the river commission to make sure the Colorado River’s water is properly allocated according to agreements like the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which governs how the water is split between the upper and lower basin states.

        The 30 tribal nations in the Colorado River Basin, which are sovereign entities that have rights to about 26% of the river’s average flow, were excluded from those compact negotiations.

        The river commission operates in the Upper Basin. It has no authority in the Lower Basin — Arizona, California, Nevada and more than 20 tribal nations — which does not have a similar, centralized commission.

        In recent years, Upper Colorado River commissioners’ discussions have focused on key issues, like how to spend federal dollars, navigate interstate negotiations about the river’s management, and respond to a prolonged drought that is threatening the future water security of 40 million people across the West.

        As recently as 2007 and 2019, state and federal partners developed new rules for managing the river in response to that prolonged drought, but again, tribes were not included.

        Since mid-2023, Upper Basin tribal nations and the river commission have been working together to develop an agreement to formalize dialogue with the tribes.

        Under the agreement, tribal representatives would not be voting members or have permanent seats on the commission, which would require Congressional approval, Ortego said.

        Instead, the commission would meet with tribes every two months to talk about interstate Colorado River issues. Meetings would be open to Upper Basin tribes, consisting of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah and Navajo Nation, according to the Upper Colorado River Commission.

        The proposal is modeled on collaboration that is already taking place, New Mexico commissioner Estevan Lopez said.

        “The importance of it is that it institutionalizes what we’ve begun. Right now we’ve got folks in these seats that all feel this is important, but we think institutionalizing it will assure that it continues.

        With meetings permanently on the schedule, tribal representatives would have opportunities to work out conflicts, coordinate their efforts and operate in a more unified way, Ortego said. 

        Working together more closely has helped build trust and relationships, said Vanessa Torres, a member of the Southern Ute Tribal Council, during Monday’s meeting. 

        “Southern Ute, along with many other tribes, have been asking for greater inclusion in the Colorado River discussions and decision makings,” Torres said. “The UCRC responded to the request.”

        ]]>         Natural Gas Prices, News, Trend, Monitor, Analysis and Forecast | ChemAnalyst https://sdgtalks.ai/natural-gas-prices-news-trend-monitor-forecast https://sdgtalks.ai/natural-gas-prices-news-trend-monitor-forecast Mon, 04 Mar 2024 04:59:16 -0500 Nicholas Seifield Natural Gas prices a pivotal role in shaping the global energy landscape, influencing everything from consumer bills to industrial operations and national economies. Understanding the dynamics behind natural gas pricing requires delving into a complex web of factors, spanning supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical tensions, weather patterns, technological advancements, and environmental regulations. As one of the most widely used energy sources globally, natural gas serves as a crucial fuel for heating, electricity generation, industrial processes, and transportation.

        At the heart of natural gas pricing lies the interplay between supply and demand. Natural gas reserves are finite, and extracting them involves significant investment and technical expertise. Production levels are influenced by factors such as the availability of reserves, technological advancements in extraction techniques like hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and geopolitical developments affecting major gas-producing regions. Conversely, demand for natural gas is driven by factors such as population growth, economic development, weather patterns, and shifts in energy policy favoring cleaner fuels.

        Geopolitical tensions and global events also exert a considerable influence on natural gas prices. Disruptions in major gas-producing regions, such as political conflicts or sanctions, can lead to supply shortages or price spikes. For instance, instability in the Middle East or tensions between major gas exporters like Russia and Ukraine can disrupt gas supplies to Europe, affecting prices worldwide. Additionally, geopolitical factors can influence investment decisions in gas infrastructure, further impacting supply dynamics and prices.

        Weather patterns play a significant role in shaping natural gas prices, particularly in regions where gas is heavily used for heating or cooling. Extreme weather events such as hurricanes, polar vortexes, or heatwaves can lead to surges in demand for natural gas for heating or electricity generation, putting pressure on supply and prices. Conversely, milder weather conditions can dampen demand, leading to lower prices. Moreover, weather-related disruptions to production and transportation infrastructure can further exacerbate price volatility.

        Technological advancements and innovations also influence natural gas prices by affecting production costs and supply dynamics. Advances in drilling techniques, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have unlocked vast reserves of natural gas previously deemed uneconomical to extract, leading to a surge in production in regions like the United States. This influx of supply has helped moderate prices globally, altering the dynamics of the natural gas market. Similarly, developments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology have facilitated the transportation of gas over long distances, connecting previously isolated markets and increasing price competition.

        Environmental regulations and policies aimed at addressing climate change are becoming increasingly influential in shaping natural gas prices. Natural gas is often touted as a cleaner alternative to coal and oil due to its lower carbon emissions. As such, policies favoring the use of natural gas or imposing stricter emissions standards on coal-fired power plants can boost demand for natural gas and support prices. Conversely, regulations targeting methane emissions from natural gas production or promoting renewable energy sources may dampen demand and constrain prices.

        Market dynamics and investor sentiment also play a crucial role in determining natural gas prices. The natural gas market is characterized by liquidity and trading activity on commodity exchanges, where prices are determined based on supply and demand fundamentals, as well as speculation. Investor sentiment, influenced by factors such as economic indicators, geopolitical developments, and energy policy announcements, can lead to price fluctuations and volatility in the natural gas market.

        In conclusion, natural gas prices are influenced by a multitude of factors, including supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical tensions, weather patterns, technological advancements, environmental regulations, and market sentiment. Understanding these complexities is essential for businesses, policymakers, and consumers seeking to navigate the volatile and interconnected world of energy markets. As the global energy landscape continues to evolve, natural gas prices will remain a key barometer of economic activity, environmental sustainability, and geopolitical stability.

        ]]>         Why must the march towards progress necessitate the dislocation and further marginalization of the already vulnerable? https://sdgtalks.ai/why-must-the-march-towards-progress-necessitate-the-dislocation-and-further-marginalization-of-the-already-vulnerable https://sdgtalks.ai/why-must-the-march-towards-progress-necessitate-the-dislocation-and-further-marginalization-of-the-already-vulnerable Sat, 02 Mar 2024 02:58:04 -0500 Joshua Education, Technology, Disparity, Dislocation, Vulnerability Why must the march towards progress necessitate the dislocation and further marginalization of the already vulnerable?

        In the grand tale of human progress, two revolutions stand out for their tremendous effects on society: the Industrial and the Digital. These epochs have not only transformed our lives, but also cast long shadows of disparity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. As we stand on the verge of what many anticipate to be the future of education, it becomes imperative to confront an uncomfortable question: Why must the march towards progress necessitate the dislocation and further marginalization of the already vulnerable?

         

        From Factories to Cyberspace: Echoes of Dislocation

        The Industrial Revolution brought with it a seismic shift in societal organization, birthing a world where mass production and factory work defined the new economic landscape. This era transformed education, creating public schooling to serve the needs of an industrialized workforce. Yet, this transformation was double-edged, providing unprecedented access to education for some while embedding systemic barriers for others.

        Fast forward to the present, the Digital Revolution has mirrored this trajectory, promising a democratization of knowledge through technology. The internet and digital devices have ostensibly leveled the playing field, offering infinite resources for learning and growth. However, beyond this facade of accessibility, a stark reality exists: the digital divide. For many, particularly in deprived communities, access to these technological marvels remains a pipe dream, compounding educational disparities and marginalizing the poorest and most vulnerable. Now, moving on the theoretical Insights: A Beacon for the Future. Scholars like Goldin & Katz, through their contemplation on the race between technology and education, emphasize a critical juncture in our societal evolution. Their views, along with those of thinkers such as OECD's Andreas Schleicher, highlight the crucial need for an educational paradigm that not only provides students with critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving abilities, but also assures that these possibilities are universally available. This shift toward a more individualized and egalitarian education system is more than just a pedagogical choice; it is a fundamental ethical obligation.

         

        The Ethical Dilemma: Progress at What Cost?

        This time of the Digital Age, we must tackle the questions of ethics that it posed. The question isn't whether technical and educational developments are intrinsically beneficial; they are. The main concern of this development is in their distribution, in who benefits from these developments and who suffers as a result. On the same note, one of the main troubling realities is that, while some students, and I would say educators, thrive in this new digital space, others, who lack access to these advanced tools and crucial support, suffer even greater challenges than before. Therefore, the path forward requires a deliberate and concerted effort to bridge these divides. It suggests government and educational reforms that promote not only technological advancement but also the advancement of all members of society. This includes investing in infrastructure that enables widespread access to digital resources, revising curricula to highlight 21st-century skills, and cultivating an educational climate that recognizes each student's potential.

         

        Conclusion: A Collective Call to Action

        The future of education, as we stand on the verge of another upheaval, has enormous promise. However, this promise will only be realized if we acknowledge and address the gaps that technological innovations have the potential to increase. This is not merely just an academic or technological one, but a moral dilemma. We can  progress through mindful implementation that does not come at the expense of the most vulnerable amongst us, where the benefits of education and technology are equitably propagated, and where every individual has the opportunity to reach their full potential. This is a call to action for educators, governments, and society as a whole: Let us envision and change the future of education so that it bridges rather than deepens gaps. The time to act is now, because in our pursuit of progress, we cannot afford to leave anyone behind.

        ]]>         Towards an AI-Enabled Education: A Comprehensive Survey of Teachers, Leaders, and Students&apos; Views on AI Integration https://sdgtalks.ai/towards-an-ai-enabled-education-a-comprehensive-survey-of-teachers-leaders-and-students-views-on-ai-integration https://sdgtalks.ai/towards-an-ai-enabled-education-a-comprehensive-survey-of-teachers-leaders-and-students-views-on-ai-integration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 01:06:52 -0500 Joshua Boiling water might mitigate microplastics https://sdgtalks.ai/boiling-water-might-mitigate-microplastics https://sdgtalks.ai/boiling-water-might-mitigate-microplastics Wed, 28 Feb 2024 22:43:51 -0500 Noah Link Microplastics, Environment, Solution Concerned About Microplastics in Your Water?

        Consider Boiling It First

        Boiling tap water traps nano- and microplastic particles inside limescale deposits, a new study has found.

        Worried about microplastic particles in your tap water? Just boil it. 

        At least, that’s the suggestion put forward by researchers at Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University, China. 

        In a new study, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, the team tested whether boiling your water might have any effect on the tiny nanoplastics and microplastics that are sometimes present in tap water. They found that boiling water effectively traps the plastic particles inside the limescale deposits that build up on a kettle’s inner surfaces.

        Could boiling your drinking water reduce exposure to microplastics?

        Numerous studies have found evidence of microplastics in real-world tap water samples, but the health effects of ingesting microplastics from drinking water are still unclear. Early studies suggest these microplastics can accumulate in the body and affect the gut microbiome.

        Despite the best efforts of water treatment plants, microplastics and nanoplastics remain tricky to remove from water using standard treatment methods. While there are some advanced water treatment technologies that can tackle this problem, they  can be prohibitively expensive for less developed areas.

        But what if a common household water treatment technique could already be slashing your exposure to microplastics?

        “Drinking boiled water, an ancient tradition in some Asian countries, is supposedly beneficial for human health, as boiling can remove some chemicals and most biological substances,” the researchers wrote. “However, it remains unclear whether boiling is effective in removing NMPs [nano- and microplastics] in tap water.”

        In their new study, the researchers used fluorescent particles of polystyrene plastic and examined how they behaved as they were heated in different types of water.

        Boiling and filtering slashes microparticle levels by 90%

        Tap water can either be considered “hard” or “soft”, depending on how rich it is in calcium and magnesium minerals. These minerals are also responsible for the formation of limescale inside kettles, which is why kettles need to be treated with descaler more frequently in areas with hard water.

        The researchers found that when microplastic-containing water was brought closer to boiling temperatures, the added polystyrene NMPs began to co-precipitate out of the water alongside the minerals, becoming trapped in the crusty limescale deposits formed. 

        Boiling was able to remove 84% of the NMPs added to hard water samples containing around 180 milligrams of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). This rose to 90% for very hard water samples, containing around 300 mg/L of the mineral.

         The boiling practice was also able to remove up to 25% of the NMPs when done on soft water samples (containing less than 60 mg/L CaCO3), suggesting this simple practice may be more broadly applicable.

        “Because the occurrence of NMPs and water quality are uneven globally, the efficacy of boiling water in reducing NMPs may vary from region to region,” wrote the researchers. “Nonetheless, our results have ratified a highly feasible strategy to reduce human NMP exposure and established the foundation for further investigations with a much larger number of samples.”

         

        Reference: Yu Z, Wang JJ, Liu LY, Li Z, Zeng EY. Drinking boiled tap water reduces human intake of nanoplastics and microplastics. Environ Sci Technol Lett. 2024. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00081

        This article is a rework of a press release issued by the American Chemical Society. Material has been edited for length and content.

        Published: February 28, 2024

        Meet the Author:

        Alexander Beadle

        Alexander Beadle is a science writer and editor for Technology Networks. Prior to this, he worked as a freelance science writer. Alexander holds an MChem in materials chemistry from the University of St Andrews, where he won a Chemistry Purdie Scholarship and conducted research into zeolite crystal growth mechanisms and the action of single-molecule transistors.



        ]]>         Media Gateway Market Overview, Trends, Report to 2032 https://sdgtalks.ai/media-gateway-market-overview-trends-report-to-2032 https://sdgtalks.ai/media-gateway-market-overview-trends-report-to-2032 Fri, 23 Feb 2024 06:12:09 -0500 Shraddha Nevase Media Gateway Market Media Gateway Market Overview: 

        The media gateway market is experiencing significant growth as the demand for seamless connectivity and efficient media communication rises. In this article, we will explore the market scope, dominant key players, unique selling propositions (USPs), segmentation, regional analysis, and competitive landscape of the media gateway market.

        Market Scope:

        The Media Gateway market industry is projected to grow from USD 2.96 Billion in 2023 to USD 3.55 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.30% during the forecast period (2023 - 2032). This growth is driven by the increasing adoption of media gateways in various industries, including telecommunications, broadcasting, healthcare, and government.

        [PDF Brochure] Request for Sample Report:
        https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/11900

        Dominant Key Players:

        The media gateway market is dominated by key players who have established themselves as industry leaders. Some of the prominent players in the market include

        • Cisco Systems, Inc.
        • Nokia Corporation
        • Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
        • Ribbon Communications
        • Dialogic Corporation

         

        These companies provide advanced media gateway solutions that enable seamless communication and connectivity across different networks.

        Market USP Exclusively Encompassed:

        The unique selling proposition of the media gateway market lies in its ability to bridge the gap between different communication networks and protocols. Media gateways act as a central hub, enabling the conversion of voice, video, and data signals between diverse networks, facilitating interoperability and smooth communication. With features like protocol conversion, media transcoding, and signaling translation, media gateways enhance connectivity and streamline communication processes.

        Segmentation of Market Covered in the Research:

        The media gateway market can be segmented based on type, technology, application, and region. Types include analog and digital media gateways. Technologies encompass time-division multiplexing (TDM) and internet protocol (IP) media gateways. Applications include telecommunications, broadcasting, healthcare, government, and others. This segmentation allows for a comprehensive analysis of specific market segments and caters to the diverse requirements of different industries.

        Regional Analysis:

        Geographically, the media gateway market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the rest of the world. North America holds the largest market share, driven by the presence of major technology providers and the high adoption of media gateway solutions in the telecommunications sector. Europe follows closely, with significant growth attributed to the increasing demand for efficient media communication in broadcasting and healthcare. The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing rapid growth, fueled by the expanding telecommunications infrastructure and rising digitalization efforts.

        Competitive Analysis:

        The competitive landscape of the media gateway market is intense, with key players focusing on product innovation, strategic partnerships, and acquisitions to gain a competitive edge. Companies are investing in research and development to enhance their media gateway solutions with advanced features such as cloud integration, artificial intelligence, and network virtualization. The market is characterized by the continuous evolution of media gateway technologies to meet the changing needs of industries in the digital era.

        Browse a Full Report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) @
        https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/media-gateway-market-11900

        The media gateway market is witnessing significant growth as businesses across industries recognize the importance of seamless communication and connectivity. With dominant key players leading the market and offering advanced media gateway solutions, the market's unique selling proposition lies in its ability to bridge the gap between diverse networks and protocols. As the market continues to evolve, segmentation based on type, technology, application, and region will play a crucial role in meeting the diverse needs of businesses. With a strong presence in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, the media gateway market is poised for further growth and innovation in the coming years.

        ]]>         Potassium depletion in soil threatens global crop yields https://sdgtalks.ai/potassium-depletion-in-soil-threatens-global-crop-yields https://sdgtalks.ai/potassium-depletion-in-soil-threatens-global-crop-yields Thu, 22 Feb 2024 16:45:47 -0500 lwkamrath crop yields, potassium, soil Potassium deficiency in agricultural soils is a largely unrecognised but potentially significant threat to global food security if left unaddressed, finds new research involving researchers at UCL, University of Edinburgh and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

        The study, published in Nature Food, found that more potassium is being removed from agricultural soils than is being added, throughout many regions of the world. It also gives a series of recommendations for how to mitigate the issue.

        Potassium is a vital nutrient for plant growth that helps with photosynthesis and respiration, the lack of which can inhibit plant growth and reduce crop yields. Farmers often spread potassium-rich fertilisers over their fields to replenish the depleted nutrient, but supply issues can inhibit its use, and there are lingering questions about its environmental impact.

        The researchers report that globally, about 20% of agricultural soils face severe potassium deficiency, with particular regions likely to experience more critical shortages, including 44% of agricultural soils in South-East Asia, 39% in Latin America, 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa and 20% in East Asia, largely due to more intensive agricultural practices.

        Co-author Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Geography) said: "Potassium is critical to sustaining the crop yields that keep the world fed, and its depletion poses a significant threat to the food security of millions of people around the world. This is an overlooked issue that needs to be addressed with a range of actions as the world population continues to grow."

        Farmers often rely on potash as a fertiliser to replenish their field's potassium, but the price of the mineral can be quite volatile. Potash production is highly concentrated, with just twelve countries dominating the nearly £12 billion international market for potassium fertilisers, with Canada, Russia, Belarus and China producing 80% of the world's total raw potash.

        The researchers highlight how in April 2022, the price of potash increased 500% above the previous year following a "perfect storm" of factors, including rising fertiliser demand, escalating fuel prices, recovery from the pandemic, a range of government actions around the world, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Belarus together export about 42% of the word's potash supply, but following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK, US, Canada and the EU imposed import sanctions on the two countries, disrupting global supplies and exacerbating the price spike.

        Since the initial price spike, the cost of potash has fallen by about 50%, but remains elevated, raising concerns that farmers will not be able to access sufficient fertiliser to maintain food supplies under the current system.

        Co-author Dr Peter Alexander of the University of Edinburgh said: "The volatility of potash prices has major implications across the global food system. Access to potassium is vital for farmers to maintain their crop yields, but the recent high cost of potash makes it more difficult for the most vulnerable to obtain."

        This market concentration and vulnerability is one of the reasons the researchers have called for better potassium management and a robust intergovernmental coordination mechanism. Currently there are no national or international policies or regulations governing the sustainable management of soil potassium akin to the systems that are being established for other vital crop nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.

        In 2021, global potash consumption reached 45 million tonnes, with global production projected to rise to about 69 million tonnes in 2025 with new projects starting up in Belarus, Canada, Russia, Australia, Eritrea and the UK. However, potash mining has raised human rights concerns and has significant impacts on the environment. Potash mining generates millions of tonnes of refuse mostly composed of sodium chloride salts, which can leach into soils and salinise soil and water tables, harming plants and animals.

        The impacts of potassium fertiliser runoff into local ecosystems are poorly understood, and the researchers recommend more study about its effects.

        Lead author Will Brownlie of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said: "The environmental impact of potash mining and use in agriculture is something that needs greater scrutiny. There's much that we still don't understand about the effects that artificial potassium enrichment has on nearby ecosystems. By wisely handling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium together, we can reap multiple benefits, prevent pollution, boost crop yields, and minimise nutrient loss. It's about coordinating our approach for better farming outcomes."

        The researchers put forward six recommendations for policies and practices to prevent potential crop yield declines, safeguard farmers from price volatility and address environmental concerns. The recommendations include:

        Setting up a global assessment of current potassium stocks and flows to identify the most at-risk countries and regions
        Establishing national capabilities for monitoring, predicting and responding to potassium price fluctuations
        Helping farmers maintain sufficient soil potassium levels with further research about the yield implications of limited potassium in various crops and soils
        Evaluating the environmental effects of potash mining and developing sustainable application practices
        Developing a global circular potassium economy that minimises the use and maximises the reuse and recycling of the nutrient
        Increasing intergovernmental cooperation through the UN and other agencies to develop global policy coordination akin to what's been developed for nitrogen

        ]]>         The inchoate movement to &apos;rewild&apos; former golf courses https://sdgtalks.ai/the-inchoate-movement-to-rewild-former-golf-courses https://sdgtalks.ai/the-inchoate-movement-to-rewild-former-golf-courses Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:06:48 -0500 Noah Link Rewild, Golf Course, Climate Change There was scraggly grass in one sand trap and wooden blocks and a toy castle in another, evidence of children at play. People were walking their dogs on the fairway, which was looking rather ragged and unkempt. This was only to be expected.

        Nowadays, these grounds are mowed just twice a year, and haven’t been doused with pesticides or rodenticides since 2018, which was when this 157-acre stretch of land stopped being the San Geronimo Golf Course, and began a journey toward becoming wild, or at least wilder, once again.

        A small number of shuttered golf courses around the country have been bought by land trusts, municipalities and nonprofit groups and transformed into nature preserves, parks and wetlands. Among them are sites in Detroit, Pennsylvania, Colorado, the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, and at least four in California.

        “We quickly recognized the high restoration value, the conservation value, and the public access recreational value,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, California state director with the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, which bought the San Geronimo course, in Marin County, for $8.9 million in 2018 and renamed it San Geronimo Commons.

        People stand under a large oak tree with branches that extend in all directions.

        During a recent tour of the land, which sits low in San Geronimo Valley, less than an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, Mr. Rodriguez motioned to rolling hills that serve as habitat for wildlife, including hawks that were wheeling overhead. “On either side, you have public lands,” he said. “This was the missing link.”

        The restoration of the San Geronimo land is still underway. Floodplains will be reconnected, and a fish barrier has been removed, allowing access to more robust migratory and breeding grounds for endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout. Trails are planned that would skirt sensitive habitat, making the land a publicly accessible ecological life raft, starkly different from its time as a golf course.

        “It’s a great place, and it’s beautiful,” said Charles Esposito, 76, a retiree who was enjoying a recent stroll. “I love it.”

        In recent years, the golf industry has taken steps to lighten its environmental toll in places by using less water, sowing pollinator-friendly plants and decreasing pesticide and fertilizer use.

        Yet the resources and chemicals needed for pristine emerald turf have made the sport an environmentalists’ bête noire. America’s roughly 16,000 golf courses use 1.5 billion gallons of water a day, according to the United States Golf Association, and are collectively treated with 100,000 tons of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium a year.

        The United States has more golf courses than McDonald’s locations and also has more than any other country, accounting for about 42 percent of all courses worldwide, according to the National Golf Foundation.

        That oversupply, coupled with development pressures, has led more golf courses to close than to open since 2006. A return to nature, or a version of it, is still relatively rarity for former golf courses, most of which end up in the hands of commercial or residential developers, according to the National Golf Foundation. One recent example was a former 36-hole golf facility in New Hampshire that Target bought for nearly $122 million in 2023 to build a new distribution center.

        Two sets of hikers with dogs walk along two paths separated by a green, grassy strip, with hills and trees in the background.

        For a golf course to be turned into a public green space, an unlikely set of stars need to align. There has to be a willing seller, and, crucially, a conservation-minded buyer who can afford to not just purchase the land but to restore it. According to Eric Bosman, an urban planner with the design and planning firm Kimley-Horne, 28 former courses were transformed into public green spaces between 2010 and October 2022.

        But the number appears to be slowly growing. In 2023, the former Cedar View Golf course, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in upstate New York, was bought by the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Another nonprofit, the West Lake Art Conservation Center, plans to transform some 230 acres of the shuttered Lakeview Golf & Country Club in Owasco into a nature preserve.

        Though rewilding a golf course may disappoint players, it can bring big benefits to animals, plants and people.

        A few hundred miles south of San Geronimo, on a stretch of land owned by the University of California, Santa Barbara, the 64-acre spread that once housed the Ocean Meadows Golf Course is now an estuary surrounded by grasslands, salt marsh and islands of coastal sage scrub.

        The previous owner had envisioned selling the course to a housing developer, but was thwarted by the 2008 recession, according to Lisa Stratton, director of ecosystem management for the university’s Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, which manages the land. People at the school enlisted help from the Trust for Public Land, which bought the property for $7 million in 2013 and donated it to the university.

        The extensive restoration of the Santa Barbara site took years and was funded through $16 million in local, state and federal grants. It included relocating 350,000 cubic yards of soil that the golf course developers had taken from nearby mesas and pushed atop wetlands to create the course decades ago. The rehabilitated wetlands now reduce flooding risks and guard against sea-level rise, Dr. Stratton said. The change also meant that nearby homes were no longer in a federal flood zone. Without golf balls whizzing overhead, the land has become habitat for migratory shorebirds, among them black-necked stilts, greater yellowlegs and sandpipers, and has even drawn the secretive American bittern. Newly installed underground rock structures provide habitat for rabbits, ground squirrels, mice and burrowing owls.

        Two federally endangered plants, the Ventura marsh milkvetch and salt marsh birds beak, have also been established on the site, part of an effort to move some plants north as their natural habitats grow too warm. Students from the university have been involved with the restoration work and have tracked hundreds of animal species.

        The public has embraced the property, too. This past October, members of the Chumash tribe performed a cultural burn on part of the grassland, and the site draws birders and kids on bikes, who use its pathways to get to school.

        “What we’ve learned is how important these areas are for people; that emotionally and psychologically they need them,” said Dr. Stratton.

        A stand of tall palm trees, and their reflection in a pond, with snow-capped mountains in the distance.
        In Palm Springs, Calif., the Mesquite Golf & Country Club was converted into the Prescott Preserve in the last few years.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times
        But the transformations are not always seamless. After the Trust for Public Land bought the San Geronimo site, it planned to sell it to Marin County. But a group of local golf advocates successfully sued to block the county’s purchase, saying that an environmental analysis wasn’t completed. They also advanced a ballot measure to limit what the county could do with the land. It was defeated, with some 70 percent of voters in San Geronimo opting for the rewilding to proceed.

        Though restoration was delayed, conservation easements were secured for the bulk of the site, preventing future development, and a new plan was developed for Marin County to acquire the land. The county intends to pay the Trust for Public Land $4.9 million for a parcel where the clubhouse stands, and build a firehouse there, according to Dennis Rodoni, the county supervisor. The Trust for Public Land then plans to transfer ownership of the remaining 130-odd open acres to the county.

        In Palm Springs, some neighbors of the former Mesquite Golf & Country Club resisted plans to restore that land to a natural state, saying they preferred the vista provided by a manicured 18-hole championship course.

        “We once had a very nice view that looked out on the golf course to the mountains,” said Don Olness, who serves on the board of the homeowner’s association of an adjoining condo development. But since the Oswit Land Trust bought the golf course for $9 million in 2022, the area has filled with weeds, dead trees and fallen branches, he said. “It’s basically an unkempt area,” Mr. Olness said.

        Citing a lease agreement with the golf course owners, the homeowners’ association has sued to temporarily stop any changes made by the land trust, which bought the course with a donation from Brad Prescott, a philanthropist, and renamed it the Prescott Preserve.

        Jane Garrison, the land trust’s founder and executive director, said the pending lawsuit is preventing the trust from accessing a multimillion dollar grant needed to properly restore the land. But of the trust’s five properties, the Prescott Preserve has quickly become the most popular.

        The trust removed poison from the course’s maintenance shed, along with poison and gopher traps throughout the site, Ms. Garrison said. She and colleagues came across dead rabbits and owls and an exam confirmed that one ground squirrel had died after consuming rodenticide, which makes predators such as coyotes and bobcats susceptible to mange.

        “When you remove all the poison and stop that cycle, you give those species a chance to recover,” Ms. Garrison said.

        Though the restoration is just beginning, wildflowers and plants have already reappeared, she said. About 100 native trees, including desert willows, ironwoods and mesquite, were donated by a local nursery and planted. The trust decided to maintain on-site ponds with recycled water because climate change has made it difficult for wildlife to find water.

        The group hopes to acquire more golf courses in Palm Springs, which, despite being in a desert, is home to many courses. “When the land is gone, it’s gone forever, once they build condos,” Ms. Garrison. “But when you save it, it’s saved forever. You can’t put a price tag on that.”

        A wide view of a landscape with large snow-capped mountains in the distance, palm-trees and a man walking along a trail flanked by grasses and plants.

        ]]>         New UV-C Water Purification technology https://sdgtalks.ai/New-UV-C-Water-Purification-technology https://sdgtalks.ai/New-UV-C-Water-Purification-technology Wed, 21 Feb 2024 16:44:27 -0500 Parker Anderson UV-C, eSpring, Amway, water General Info and Stats

        Amway's latest innovation, the eSpring Water Purifier, marks a significant leap forward in consumer health and environmental sustainability. Utilizing cutting-edge UV-C LED technology, this groundbreaking system can treat up to 1,320 gallons of water annually, effectively eliminating the need for approximately 10,000 single-use plastic bottles. With over four decades of expertise in water treatment, Amway's eSpring technology stands as the global leader in home water purification.

        The newly introduced model employs UV-C LEDs to eradicate up to 99.99% of harmful microorganisms and contaminants, ensuring that the water produced is not only safe but also boasts an improved taste profile. What's more, the redesigned eSpring is engineered for efficiency, consuming 25% less energy than its predecessors. Its user-friendly 2-1-0 filter change process, requiring just 2 minutes annually without the need for tools, further enhances its appeal to consumers seeking hassle-free maintenance.

        Amway's unwavering commitment to sustainability and quality is evident in the eSpring's certification by the NSF as the first water treatment system with UV-C LED technology. Additionally, the company's dedication to excellence has earned it recognition from the Water Quality Association for delivering exceptional consumer water treatment products.

        New Secondary Feature

        Accompanying the launch of the eSpring is the introduction of the Amway Healthy Home App, providing users with remote monitoring capabilities for their devices. This latest addition underscores Amway's dedication to innovation, sustainability, and most importantly, consumer trust. By offering cutting-edge solutions that prioritize both the health of individuals and the planet, Amway continues to set the standard for excellence in the field of water purification

        Potential Impacts

        The eSpring Water Purifier represents a critical step forward in ensuring access to safe and clean drinking water. By effectively eliminating harmful microorganisms and contaminants, including those often found in tap water such as microplastics and PFAS, the system safeguards the health and well-being of consumers. This is particularly vital in regions where access to clean water is limited or where water quality is a concern. Additionally, the improved taste of the water enhances the overall drinking experience, promoting hydration and contributing to better overall health outcomes.

        Furthermore, the user-friendly design of the eSpring, coupled with features like the Amway Healthy Home App for remote monitoring, ensures ease of use and maintenance, making clean water more accessible and manageable for consumers of all backgrounds.

        On the environmental front, the eSpring Water Purifier's impact is equally profound. By treating up to 1,320 gallons of water annually, the system effectively reduces reliance on single-use plastic bottles, thereby curbing plastic pollution and its detrimental effects on ecosystems. The elimination of thousands of plastic bottles per unit not only reduces waste but also conserves valuable resources and mitigates the carbon footprint associated with the production and disposal of plastic.

        Moreover, the eSpring's energy-efficient design, consuming 25% less energy compared to previous models, contributes to overall energy conservation and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This aligns with broader efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable living practices.

        Overall, the eSpring Water Purifier's dual impact on people and the planet underscores Amway's commitment to holistic well-being and environmental stewardship. By providing access to clean water while minimizing environmental harm, Amway sets a commendable example for companies seeking to address pressing global challenges through innovative solutions.

        ]]>         CloudFisher https://sdgtalks.ai/cloudfisher https://sdgtalks.ai/cloudfisher Tue, 20 Feb 2024 17:00:13 -0500 jordanlarese water, clouds, fishing, fog CloudFisher is a simple yet effective solution for harvesting drinking water from fog. Developed by the German non-profit organization, WaterFoundation, CloudFisher helps to address water scarcity in developing countries and provides a sustainable source of drinking water.

        The CloudFisher system consists of vertical nets that capture fog droplets, which then drip down into a collection trough. The nets are made of a specialized mesh that is designed to increase the surface area and capture as much water as possible. The collected water is then channeled into storage tanks, where it is treated for safe consumption.

        One of the main advantages of CloudFisher is its sustainability. Unlike traditional water collection methods that rely on groundwater or rainwater, CloudFisher uses fog, a natural resource that is abundant in many regions. This makes it a reliable and long-term solution for providing access to clean drinking water.

        Moreover, the use of CloudFisher promotes environmental sustainability. By utilizing fog as a water source, it reduces the demand for traditional sources of water, which can lead to over-extraction and harm local ecosystems. It also reduces the need for transporting water, which can have a significant carbon footprint.

        CloudFisher has been successfully implemented in various communities around the world, including Peru, Chile, and Morocco. In these regions, where access to clean water is limited, CloudFisher has made a significant impact on improving the quality of life for local communities. It has also reduced the burden of water collection, particularly for women and children who often have to travel long distances to collect water.

        The design of CloudFisher has also taken into consideration the needs of the communities it serves. The materials used are lightweight and easy to maintain, making it an ideal solution for remote and hard-to-reach areas. The systems are also designed to be scalable, providing the potential for future growth and expansion.

        In conclusion, CloudFisher is a sustainable and scalable solution for addressing water scarcity in developing countries. With its innovative use of fog, it not only provides access to clean drinking water but also promotes environmental sustainability and improves the quality of life for communities in need. Its success in various regions around the world makes it a promising solution for addressing one of the most pressing global challenges.

        ]]>         VeganBottle https://sdgtalks.ai/veganbottle https://sdgtalks.ai/veganbottle Tue, 20 Feb 2024 16:52:24 -0500 jordanlarese waste, biodegradable, vegan, plant-based VeganBottle is a sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional plastic water bottles. Created by French designer and entrepreneur, Clémentine Sandner, VeganBottle is made from sugar cane, making it 100% biodegradable and compostable.

        The production process for VeganBottle starts with extracting the sugar from sugar cane. The sugar is then fermented and turned into a green plastic material called polyethylene, which is used to create the bottles. This not only eliminates the use of fossil fuels, but it also reduces carbon emissions and plastic waste.

        The main advantage of VeganBottle is its eco-friendliness. Unlike traditional plastic bottles, which can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, VeganBottle will break down in just a few months in compost conditions. This makes it a sustainable and environmentally-conscious choice for those looking to reduce their plastic consumption.

        Moreover, VeganBottle promotes biodiversity by using sugar cane as its raw material. Sugar cane grows quickly and requires little water, making it a renewable and sustainable crop. It also provides habitat and food for various animals and contributes to a healthy and diverse ecosystem.

        In addition to being environmentally-friendly, VeganBottle also provides health benefits for those who use it. Traditional plastic bottles can contain harmful chemicals such as BPA, which can be transferred to the water we drink. VeganBottle, on the other hand, is BPA-free and non-toxic, making it a safe alternative for both the environment and our health.

        VeganBottle has also been recognized for its design and usability. The bottles are lightweight and durable, making them ideal for everyday use. They are also leak-proof and have a flip-top cap, making them convenient for on-the-go use.

        In conclusion, VeganBottle is a sustainable, eco-friendly, and healthy alternative to traditional plastic water bottles. With its innovative use of sugar cane, it has the potential to significantly reduce plastic waste and promote responsible consumption and production.

        ]]>         Sundrop Farms https://sdgtalks.ai/sundrop-farms https://sdgtalks.ai/sundrop-farms Tue, 20 Feb 2024 16:46:58 -0500 jordanlarese farming, sustainable, agriculture, water Sundrop Farms is a unique, sustainable farming system that produces crops using only seawater and solar energy. This innovative technology was developed by Sundrop Farms Pty Ltd, an Australian agribusiness company, and has been recognized as a game changer in the agriculture industry.

        The concept of Sundrop Farms is based on the idea of using abundant resources such as seawater and sunlight to grow crops in areas where traditional farming methods are not feasible. The system utilizes a solar-powered desalination plant to turn seawater into fresh water, which is then used to irrigate the crops.

        The use of solar energy is a key aspect of Sundrop Farms. The farm is entirely powered by renewable energy, making it a carbon-neutral operation. This not only benefits the environment, but it also reduces the farm's operating costs and makes it a financially sustainable venture.

        One of the main advantages of Sundrop Farms is its ability to grow crops in areas with limited access to water. The desalination plant can produce large quantities of fresh water, which is then used to irrigate crops without depleting precious groundwater reserves. This makes it an ideal solution for regions facing water scarcity or droughts.

        In addition to using seawater for irrigation, the Sundrop Farms system also utilizes hydroponics, a method of growing plants without soil. This reduces the need for large amounts of fertile land, making it possible to grow crops in arid and desert regions.

        Moreover, Sundrop Farms promotes biodiversity by creating a controlled environment for the crops to grow in. This eliminates the need for harmful pesticides and herbicides, making it an eco-friendly and sustainable method of farming.

        The use of Sundrop Farms has also shown promising results in terms of crop yield. The system has been able to produce high-quality fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, with less water and land than traditional farming methods. This not only benefits the environment, but also has the potential to increase food production and improve food security globally.

        Overall, Sundrop Farms is a leading example of how innovation and sustainability can come together to address the challenges facing the agriculture industry. With the world's population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, solutions like Sundrop Farms will play a crucial role in ensuring food security and promoting sustainable agriculture practices.

        ]]>         Seabin https://sdgtalks.ai/seabin https://sdgtalks.ai/seabin Tue, 20 Feb 2024 16:41:21 -0500 jordanlarese water, waste, cleaning, floating, debris Seabins are a simple yet impactful solution for cleaning up ocean pollution. These floating rubbish bins were created by two Australian surfers, Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, with the aim to help keep our oceans clean.

        The concept of Seabins is straightforward. They use a water pump to draw floating rubbish, oils, and pollutants into the bin, leaving the surrounding water clean and debris-free. Each Seabin can collect up to 3.9 kilograms of waste per day, and with thousands of Seabins installed around the world, they have the potential to make a significant impact on ocean pollution.

        The material used to make Seabins is highly durable, able to withstand harsh ocean conditions and UV rays. The design also includes a catch-bag that collects the waste, making it easy to remove and dispose of properly. This prevents microplastics from entering the ocean, where they can harm marine animals and disrupt the fragile ocean ecosystem.

        Installing Seabins in marinas, ports, and other high-traffic areas is a highly effective way to collect waste before it enters the ocean. They are also a useful tool for collecting floating debris after natural disasters or oil spills. The Seabins can be emptied and placed back into the water quickly, aiding in the recovery process.

        But Seabins are not just about collecting waste. They also collect valuable data, providing insight into the types and amounts of debris that end up in our oceans. This data can help identify the sources of pollution and inform solutions to prevent it in the future.

        Furthermore, Seabins can also serve as educational tools, raising awareness about the issue of ocean pollution and encouraging communities to take action. Schools, beach clubs, and other organizations can sponsor and participate in Seabin projects, fostering a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

        In conclusion, Seabins are a cost-effective and innovative solution for cleaning up our oceans. With ongoing efforts to install more Seabins around the world, we can make a significant impact on reducing ocean pollution and protecting marine life. But ultimately, it is up to all of us to take responsibility and work towards preventing plastic and other waste from entering our oceans in the first place.

        ]]>         Solar Glass https://sdgtalks.ai/solar-glass https://sdgtalks.ai/solar-glass Tue, 20 Feb 2024 16:35:45 -0500 jordanlarese electricity, light, glass, solar Solar glass, also known as solar photovoltaic (PV) glass, is a type of building material that not only serves as a window but also generates electricity. This innovative technology is a step towards making buildings more sustainable and energy-efficient.

        Solar glass works by incorporating thin-film photovoltaic cells into the traditional glass layers. These photovoltaic cells are made of non-toxic, semiconductor materials that can convert sunlight into electricity. The glass allows visible light to pass through while still capturing the sun's energy. This energy can then be used to power the building it is installed in or be sold back to the grid.

        One of the main advantages of solar glass is its aesthetic appeal. Unlike traditional solar panels that are installed on rooftops, solar glass can be seamlessly integrated into the building's design. This makes it a popular choice for buildings in urban areas where space is limited.

        Moreover, solar glass can also help to reduce a building's energy consumption. By generating electricity onsite, buildings can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and, in turn, reduce their carbon footprint. This not only benefits the environment but also leads to cost savings for the building owner.

        In addition to its energy-generating capabilities, solar glass also provides the same benefits as traditional windows. It helps to control the temperature inside the building, reducing the need for artificial cooling and heating. This can lead to significant energy savings, especially in areas with extreme climates.

        Solar glass is also a durable building material. It must undergo rigorous testing to ensure it can withstand the harsh outdoor environments and extreme weather conditions. This makes it a reliable and long-lasting option for buildings.

        The use of solar glass is gaining momentum globally as more countries are recognizing the importance of renewable energy and sustainable building practices. In the US, the adoption of solar glass is expected to grow as the government provides incentives for green building projects.

        While the initial cost of installing solar glass may be higher than traditional windows, the long-term benefits make it a smart investment for both the environment and for building owners. As technology continues to advance, solar glass has the potential to become more affordable and widely adopted, contributing to a greener and more sustainable future for our buildings and communities.

        ]]>         AirCarbon https://sdgtalks.ai/aircarbon https://sdgtalks.ai/aircarbon Tue, 20 Feb 2024 16:31:27 -0500 jordanlarese Carbon, air, environment Aircarbon is a groundbreaking technology that turns air pollution into a valuable resource. Developed by the US-based company, Newlight Technologies, Aircarbon uses a process called carbon capture to convert carbon emissions into a durable and sustainable bioplastic material.

        The production process involves capturing carbon emissions from local sources, such as landfills and factories, and feeding them into a bioreactor. The bioreactor contains microorganisms that consume the carbon and convert it into a bioplastic material. This material, known as AirCarbon, can then be used to make various products, including packaging, straws, and cutlery.

        Not only does Aircarbon provide a solution for reducing carbon emissions, but it also offers a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic products. Unlike traditional plastics, which are made from fossil fuels and take hundreds of years to decompose, AirCarbon is biodegradable. This means it will break down naturally in the environment without leaving harmful microplastics behind.

        Moreover, the production of AirCarbon has a significantly lower carbon footprint than traditional plastics. The process captures more carbon than it emits, making it a carbon-negative material. Additionally, the bioreactors are powered by renewable energy sources, further reducing the environmental impact of Aircarbon production.

        The versatility of AirCarbon allows it to be used in a variety of industries, from packaging to fashion. Companies such as Dell and Virgin Airlines have already started incorporating Aircarbon into their products, making a positive impact on their carbon footprint.

        Additionally, Aircarbon has also been recognized for its potential in the fight against single-use plastics. In 2020, Newlight Technologies won the prestigious INDEX Award for its innovative solution to tackling plastic pollution.

        But Aircarbon is not just about producing a sustainable material. It also has the potential to create jobs and support local economies. By capturing carbon emissions from local sources, Aircarbon production can be decentralized and provide opportunities for small businesses in their communities.

        Overall, Aircarbon is a game-changing technology that not only helps to reduce carbon emissions and plastic pollution but also offers a sustainable and economically beneficial solution for communities around the world. With the increasing need for sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives, Aircarbon is paving the way for a greener and more sustainable future.

        ]]>         We all want an Afghanistan at peace, UN chief says in Doha https://sdgtalks.ai/we-all-want-an-afghanistan-at-peace-un-chief-says-in-doha https://sdgtalks.ai/we-all-want-an-afghanistan-at-peace-un-chief-says-in-doha Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:18:10 -0500 sdgcub3e afghanistan, human rights, womens rights Speaking to journalists during a two-day meeting with regional and national special envoys for Afghanistan, António Guterres said that there was consensus among delegates over what needs to happen, although the Taliban are not taking part.

        “We want an Afghanistan in peace, peace with itself and peace with its neighbours and able to assume the commitments and the international obligations of a sovereign State … in relation to the international community, its neighbours and in relation to the rights of its own populations,” he said.

        There was also consensus on the process to reach this objective, he added, noting proposals outlined in an independent review on an integrated and coherent approach conducted by Feridun Sinirlioğlu, in line with Security Council resolution 2679.

        Key concerns

        It covered all the main areas of concern, Mr. Guterres said, including ensuring Afghanistan does not become a “hotbed” of terrorist activity, becoming an inclusive institutions, in which all its diverse groups feel represented in a “truly inclusive” State.

        The review notes the importance of upholding human rights, in particular for women and girls; and concern but also a recognition of the progress made in combatting drug production and drug trafficking.

        The UN chief also underscored the need for effective humanitarian assistance to the country, as well as long-term questions on Afghanistan’s future development.

        Mr. Guterres further noted ongoing cooperation between Afghanistan and neighbouring countries, such as trade and infrastructure development, or bilateral arrangements on combatting illicit drugs trade.

        UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to the press in Doha.
        United Nations
        UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to the press in Doha.

        Key questions

        However, there are a set of key questions, “in which we are stuck”, he added.

        “On one hand Afghanistan remains with a government that is not recognized internationally, and in many aspects not integrated in the global institutions and global economy,” he said.

        And on the other hand, there is a common international perception of deteriorating human rights, particularly for women and girls.

        “To a certain except we are in the kind of a situation of the chicken or the egg,” he said, stating the need to overcome the deadlock and produce a common roadmap, which addresses international concerns and those of the de facto authorities simultaneously.

        Unacceptable pre-conditions

        In response to a correspondent’s question on the lack of participation of Taliban de facto authorities, the UN chief said that the group presented a set of conditions for its participation, “that were not acceptable.”

        “These conditions first of all denied us the right to talk to other representatives of the Afghan society and demanded a treatment that would, I would say, to a large extent be similar to recognition.”

        On another question, Mr. Guterres said the meeting was very useful and the discussions were “absolutely needed”.

        “Obviously it would be better if we would also have the opportunity after the meeting ... to discuss our conclusions with the de facto authorities. It did not happen today, it will happen in the near future.”

        ]]>         UK bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda ‘undercuts human rights’: UN rights chief https://sdgtalks.ai/uk-bill-to-send-asylum-seekers-to-rwanda-undercuts-human-rights-un-rights-chief https://sdgtalks.ai/uk-bill-to-send-asylum-seekers-to-rwanda-undercuts-human-rights-un-rights-chief Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:14:39 -0500 sdgcub3e human rights abuse, displacement

        “You cannot legislate facts out of existence,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, calling on the UK Government to reconsider the bill in light of recent reports raising a range of concerns.

        “It is deeply concerning to carve out one group of people, or people in one particular situation, from the equal protection of the law – this is antithetical to even-handed justice, available and accessible to all, without discrimination.”

        The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill requires every “decision maker”, be it a government minister, immigration office, or court or tribunal reviewing asylum decisions, conclusively to treat Rwanda as a “safe country” in terms of protecting refugees and asylum seekers against refoulement, irrespective of evidence that exists now or may exist in the future, he said.

        Bill strips courts’ abilities

        The bill would also drastically strip back the courts’ ability to scrutinize removal decisions.

        “Settling questions of disputed fact – questions with enormous human rights consequences – is what the courts do, and which the UK courts have a proven track record of doing thoroughly and comprehensively,” he said.

        “It should be for the courts to decide whether the measures taken by the Government since the Supreme Court’s ruling on risks in Rwanda are enough.”

        Problematically, the bill substantially restricts the application of the Human Rights Act, which provides legal effect within the UK for the standards set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr. Türk said.

        The bill also renders discretionary the implementation of interim protective orders of the European Court of Human Rights, which are internationally binding on the UK, he added.

        Incompatible with international refugee law

        The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has reiterated the concerns expressed by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) that the scheme is not compatible with international refugee law.

        “The combined effects of this bill, attempting to shield Government action from standard legal scrutiny, directly undercut basic human rights principles,” said Mr. Türk. “Independent, effective judicial oversight is the bedrock of the rule of law. It must be respected and strengthened. Governments cannot revoke their international human rights and asylum-related obligations by legislation.”

        The UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights last week issued an important report raising a range of serious human rights and rule of law concerns with the proposed legislation as a whole, the UN rights chief said.

        “I urge the UK Government to take all necessary steps to ensure full compliance with the UK’s international legal obligations and to uphold the country’s proud history of effective, independent judicial scrutiny. Such a stance is today more vital than ever,” Mr. Türk stressed.

        Fails to meet required standards

        The bill stems back to the UK’s announcement in April 2022 of a new migration and economic development partnership with the Government of Rwanda, later re-named the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership.

        After the two governments signed the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership Treaty on 5 December 2023, the UK Government published the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill a day later.

        After an analysis of both, the UN refugee agency said in January that they do “not meet the required standards relating to the legality and appropriateness of the transfer of asylum seekers” and “are not compatible with international refugee law”.

        ]]>         Gaza: Threat of ground invasion looms over Rafah https://sdgtalks.ai/gaza-threat-of-ground-invasion-looms-over-rafah https://sdgtalks.ai/gaza-threat-of-ground-invasion-looms-over-rafah Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:10:06 -0500 sdgcub3e war, disease, displacement The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday in a tweet that its special forces had conducted what they called a “precise and limited operation” inside Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, the largest functioning health facility in the area.

        The UN human rights office OHCHR said on Thursday that it was deeply worried over the raid, saying that it appeared to be "part of a pattern of attacks on civilian infrastructure, especially hospitals."

        The raid comes after a week-long siege which cut off medical, food and fuel supplies, said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.  

         "Israeli forces reportedly ordered the transfer of all patients, including those in intensive care and nursery units, to a different building, exposing patients to grave risks, including the risk of death for the most vulnerable", she continued. 

        "There are unconfirmed reports of detention as well as targeting of those trying to leave the hospital."

        In a tweet on Wednesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), expressed alarm over the increasingly dire situation at the hospital. 

        “Access to the hospital remains obstructed — there is no safe corridor for those in need. Two WHO missions have been denied in the last four days, and we lost touch with the hospital’s personnel,” the WHO Director-General said.

        He called for humanitarian access and the safeguarding of hospitals by all combatants, stressing that they must remain safe for civilians.

        Rafah situation dire

        The latest situation update from OCHA, the UN's humanitarian aid agency, highlights “population movements” away from the southern border city towards Deir al Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp.

        Earlier this week, the World Food Programme (WFP) expressed concern that further displacement from the densely packed city on the Egyptian border could exacerbate the plight of those seeking refuge there. 

        Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Country Director for Palestine, describes Rafah’s streets as "packed with throngs of people", noting that every available space in the city has become a makeshift shelter.

        The city is now home to around 1.5 million Gazans displaced by conflict. 

        Mr. Hollingworth, speaking in a video released on Thursday on the X platform, highlighted the despair pervading Rafah, where people struggle for support, fuel and sustenance amid "damp, cold and miserable" conditions.

        While WFP continues to provide aid to Gazans in Rafah, organizations such as Action Against Hunger that work side-by-side with UN’s humanitarians warn of having to suspend activities if Israeli ground operations expand to Rafah.

        Meanwhile, intense Israeli bombardment persists across Gaza, resulting in further civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.

        Death toll rising

        The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports a death toll of at least 28,576 Palestinians and 68,291 injured since October. Between 13 and 14 February, 103 Palestinians were killed and 145 injured.

        Israeli military casualties stand at 230 soldiers killed and 1,352 injured since the start of ground operations, with over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals killed during attacks on Israel, mainly during the Hamas-led massacre of 7 October. 

        Some 134 individuals remain captive in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

        ]]>         Civilians suffer as ‘perfect storm’ of war, disease and displacement grips Sudan https://sdgtalks.ai/civilians-suffer-as-perfect-storm-of-war-disease-and-displacement-grips-sudan https://sdgtalks.ai/civilians-suffer-as-perfect-storm-of-war-disease-and-displacement-grips-sudan Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:05:52 -0500 sdgcub3e war, disease, displacement

        Peter Graaff, acting representative of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Sudan, warned that displaced people sheltering in overcrowded areas lack access to water and sanitation, food and the most basic services.

        “The situation in Sudan was a perfect storm as the health system is hardly functional. The childhood immunization programme is breaking down, and infectious diseases are spreading,” he said.

        He was speaking to correspondents at the regular press briefing at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), from Cairo, having recently visited South Sudan, Chad and Kenya.

        According to WHO, over 10,000 cases of cholera, 5,000 cases of measles, about 8,000 cases of dengue and over 1.2 million clinical cases of malaria have been reported in Sudan.

        The alarming rise comes against the backdrop of over 80 of the 503 health facilities operated by aid organizations either not or only partially functioning due to insecurity and lack of medical supplies or personnel.

        ‘Catastrophic hunger’ looming

        Humanitarians have warned that the upcoming lean season, which starts in May, could lead to catastrophic hunger.

        Across Sudan, 3.5 million children are malnourished, and over 700,000 suffer from severe acute malnourishment, requiring urgent support.

        “Hunger weakens the body’s defences; it opens the doors to disease and increases morbidity and mortality,” said Mr. Graaff.

        “Disease and malnutrition have an unhealthy synergistic relation,” he explained, noting that pregnant women and children are most at risk, including of death.

        Skyrocketing displacement

        The war that erupted last April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has left over 25 million people dependent on humanitarian assistance.

        Nearly 7.8 million people have been driven from their homes across Sudan, including 1.6 million forced to flee across its borders.

        As of Monday, the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are sheltering in about 6,600 locations across all of the country’s 18 states, an increase of 112 locations compared to the week before.

        A aid office, which stored immunizations, medicines and other cold-chain items, after it was raided amidst the ongoing conflict in west Darfur. (April 2023)
        © UNICEF
        A aid office, which stored immunizations, medicines and other cold-chain items, after it was raided amidst the ongoing conflict in west Darfur. (April 2023)

        UN response amid challenges

        UN agencies alongside aid partners have scaled up their response, but face challenges ranging from insecurity, looting and bureaucratic impediments to communication blackouts.

        Fuel shortages also affect the movement of humanitarian staff and supplies and the generation of power needed for maintaining cold chain storage and supplying water.  

        The response is also constrained by insufficient funding.

        Last December, the UN launched the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Sudan, requiring $2.7 billion to provide lifesaving protection and assistance to 14.7 million people across the war-torn country in 2024.

        However, as of 12 February 2024, the appeal is only 3.5 per cent funded with $94.5 million received, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

        “Despite all these challenges, humanitarian partners continue to provide lifesaving assistance to the vulnerable people they can reach. The conflict – particularly in Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan – has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation,” the office noted.

        ]]>         Can Ocean Energy Power Carbon Removal? https://sdgtalks.ai/can-ocean-energy-power-carbon-removal https://sdgtalks.ai/can-ocean-energy-power-carbon-removal Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:59:39 -0500 sdgcub3e ocean, energy, carbon removal
        Sargassum seaweed, like the heaps pictured here, can pose a problem for countries that depend on tourism. But this noxious plant could also be used to remove excess carbon from the ocean. Photo from Getty Images

        The Caribbean has a problem, and it stinks.

        Atop the Caribbean Sea’s famously pristine waters floats a 5,000-mile-wide heap of rust-colored, brambly seaweed. When that seaweed, a form of sargassum, clumps up on beaches and decomposes, it emits hydrogen sulfide gas (also known as swamp gas), which smells like rotten eggs and, in high doses, can be toxic. For obvious reasons, this seaweed swarm is a huge problem for the Caribbean’s tourism industry and residents—and potentially for Florida, where the heap is headed next.

        But this stinky seaweed could also be part of a solution.

        “If you sink that seaweed into the deep sea, you can potentially avoid those issues,” James Niffenegger said. “And with seaweed sinking, the deeper you go, the longer you can store the carbon dioxide it absorbed from the air and water.”

        Niffenegger, a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is an author of a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office. The study examined various methods to capture carbon dioxide from the air or ocean and permanently sequester or store it—or, better yet, do both simultaneously.

        These techniques—called marine carbon capture, marine carbon sequestration, and marine carbon dioxide removal—are almost as diverse as marine wildlife: Some involve farming or sinking seaweed, others inject captured carbon into deep-sea rocks, and some capitalize on clever chemistry to remove carbon directly from the ocean. But almost all are relatively new and untested technologies, and their costs, environmental impacts, and potential efficacy are still largely unstudied.

        Until now.

        For their study, Niffenegger and his colleagues—David Greene, Robert Thresher, and Michael Lawson—analyzed the benefits and drawbacks of each of the most promising marine carbon management techniques. But they also looked at how the country—and the world—could power these carbon-snatchers, especially those that operate in the remote ocean, far from any power grid.

        The ocean, the team found, could be a valuable partner. Offshore energy technologies, including wind turbines and marine energy devices—which generate energy from ocean waves, currents, tides, and other watery power sources—could help meet global carbon removal goals. And they could do that with the energy available in U.S. waters alone.

        “This is not a cure-all,” Niffenegger said, meaning carbon removal alone cannot halt climate change.

        Still, it is one remedy we can no longer do without.

        People working on a seaweed farm
        Seaweed farms, like this one in Tanzania, could be one way to capture and sequester marine carbon. Photo from Getty Images

        A Sinking Ship: Why Carbon Removal Is No Longer Optional

        Like on-land carbon capture technologies, which can extract carbon from our air, marine carbon capture harvests the molecules from seawater or the air above. Carbon causes problems for both: Excess carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere creates a kind of blanket around our world, trapping more heat as more carbon crams in. And even though the ocean absorbs a lot of that airborne carbon, those waters can only trap so much. Plus, too much carbon causes ocean acidification—a steady increase in seawater acidity—which puts marine ecosystems and wildlife at risk. Today, the ocean is basic, with a pH similar to baking soda.

        “Basically, we’re in a sinking ship now. Our boat is taking on water and we’ve got to plug up the holes,” Niffenegger said. “But even after we plug up the holes, we’ve got to bail the water out. And if we take too long to do that, there might still be too much water in there for us to avoid the most significant impacts.”

        According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, carbon dioxide removal is now essential to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. If we cross that marker, today’s climate change crises—superstorms, wildfires, floods, extreme droughts, lethal heatwaves, crop devastation, and more—will only get worse. To avoid those catastrophes (and their economic and human costs), the world needs to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100. And to do that, we need to remove about 3 to 7 billion tons of carbon from our atmosphere per year by 2050. (For context, humans emitted about 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2022 just by burning fossil fuels).

        But the growing carbon dioxide removal industry will, like any other industry, require energy to pull that carbon out of our atmosphere and ocean. “The amount of energy that’s going to be needed would essentially require us to double the energy generation capability of the current grid in the United States,” Niffenegger said. That is if the country were acting alone, but even so, the U.S. grid accounts for about 16% of the world’s total energy generation.

        Burning fossil fuels to power carbon removal would be a Sisyphean effort: pointless and arduous. But there is another option, one that could, according to Niffenegger’s new study, power enough carbon removal to limit global warming to that critical 1.5 degrees Celsius.

        There is enough offshore wind and marine energy above and within U.S. waters to power the removal of 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to Niffenegger.

        That is huge. But not every technology designed to remove or capture and sequester marine carbon dioxide can get us to that number. And each, the research team found, comes with trade-offs. One might cost less but capture less carbon. Some can only operate in remote, hard-to-reach locations. Others consume high amounts of energy or come with hefty environmental risks.

        “I want to try to be fair to all the different methods,” Niffenegger said. “They all have potential.”

        Seaweed, Acid, and Chalk: The Many Types of Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal

        Most marine carbon capture, sequestration, and removal technologies are still in the early stages of development. But some, like offshore seaweed and algae farming, have been around for more than a century.

        “We’ve been doing that for a very long time,” Niffenegger said. “Not in the United States, but in Asia. It’s very simple.”

        Like trees, sea vegetation, including seaweed and microalgae, absorb carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their slimy cells. Three of the marine carbon management methods the NREL team analyzed rely on this biological hunger for carbon: seaweed farming, microalgae farming, and artificial upwelling. Artificial upwelling, in which nutrients are pumped up from the deep ocean to fertilize shallower waters, causes algae to bloom along the surface.

        But these methods mainly just capture carbon; they do not necessarily store it for long periods of time.

        That is where the sinking comes in: Pushing all that captured carbon to the ocean floor by sinking seaweed could store it for a few hundred years—unless it gets eaten on the way down. If fish, krill, and turtles gobble up the seaweed feast, how long does that carbon remain stored in a stomach or scaly body? Hard to say.

        And a sunken smorgasbord comes with a deadlier risk.

        A sudden influx of food in the deep ocean could attract crowds of wildlife, which consume the plants but also oxygen. Because sunlight doesn’t reach most of the ocean floor, plants can’t grow, and nothing breathes new oxygen into the area. “That can lead to hypoxia, low oxygen zones, and kill off more life,” Niffenegger said.

        So, while seaweed and algae farming, seaweed sinking, and artificial upwelling are all relatively low-cost options for carbon dioxide capture and removal, they come with trade-offs. All require lots of energy and could cause severe environmental damage if they capture the amount of carbon needed to fight climate change.

        But other, non-biological methods could reach those lofty numbers with fewer environmental risks.

        A series of illustrations of artificial upwelling, seaweed farming and sinking, offshore microalgae farming, deep water column sequestration, deep-sea basalt sequestration and deep seabed and aquifer sequestration all showing CO2 being captured and stored alongside another series of illustrations of electrochemical base addition, electrochemical acid stripping CO2, electrochemical carbonate, and monitoring all showing CO2 being captured and stored and new gases being produced.
        The team examined many marine carbon management methods, including marine carbon capture, which separates carbon dioxide from the air or ocean; sequestration, which permanently stores that captured carbon; and removal, which does both. None are faultless. Illustrations by James Niffenegger, NREL

        These so-called electrochemical methods rely on the ocean’s chemistry rather than its vegetation. For the study, Niffenegger and team explored three types of electrochemical carbon capture and removal techniques, each of which use electricity and some specialized membranes—or fine filters—to separate seawater into acidic or basic solutions. All three techniques can capture carbon. They can also produce hydrogen (which can be sold as fuel by itself or combined with the carbon dioxide to make synthetic fuel) and chlorine gas (which is toxic on its own but can be used to manufacture certain products, like disinfectants).

        The first electrochemical method, called acid stripping carbon dioxide, converts ocean-based carbon into a gas, which bubbles out, like a freshly cracked-open can of soda. But those bubbles do not just float away into the atmosphere; they can be caught and sold to make fuel.

        This technique also produces a basic liquid as a byproduct—a happy one. Because the initial chemical reaction turns the seawater acidic, this basic byproduct can be poured back into the water to balance its pH before it is returned to the ocean.

        A barge loaded with equipment
        One of the most promising carbon capture techniques uses electricity to turn ocean-based carbon into a gas, so it simply bubbles out and can be captured and used to make fuel. NREL researchers have supported one company, Captura Corporation, which is powering this technique with renewable energy. Photo by Captura Corporation

        The ocean is one of our greatest climate allies, absorbing heat and about 30% of global carbon emissions. But these waters have already sucked up too much of our excess; it is getting too warm and too acidic. It cannot keep up.

        Unless, that is, we can get rid of some of that built-up acid—which is exactly what the second electrochemical method does. Called base addition, the technique injects a basic solution directly into seawater to reduce its acidity. The third method, carbonate formation, turns the ocean’s carbon into carbonate, a chalky substance that can then be removed and used in building construction.

        Unlike acid stripping, these second two techniques permanently remove carbon rather than just capture it. But they also produce a lot of acid.

        “You could sell some of it, but I don’t know if the global economy can handle billions of tons of acid,” Niffenegger said. “It will likely need to be safely disposed of.”

        These chemistry-based technologies are more expensive but could be our best bet, according to the study. They could remove up to 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year—potentially enough to bail out our sinking boat.

        And yet, like seaweed farming, carbon capture techniques, including the soda-like electrochemical method, also need a safe way to store their captured carbon dioxide for hundreds or even thousands of years. Niffenegger and the team examined carbon sequestration techniques, too. Companies could, for example, submerge liquid carbon dioxide, which is denser than ocean water, deep in the ocean. These liquid carbon lakes could last for up to a thousand years, but they can also trap—and kill—wildlife unlucky enough to be beneath the lake when it forms. To avoid that environmental risk, companies could instead inject carbon directly into an inert seabed or rock formation, where it could remain for hundreds of millions of years.

        “Injecting carbon dioxide into the seabed and mineral reservoirs requires more research,” Niffenegger said. “But there’s interest in seeing what each of these can do. Can we safely do this in the ocean or not?”

        A Perfect Pair: Ocean Energy and Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal

        Whether onshore or offshore, carbon removal technologies will require substantial amounts of energy to achieve global targets. But ocean-based carbon removal comes with a few extra benefits, like vast open space and few concerns about technological eyesores. Onshore, carbon capture and sequestration companies might need to divert energy away from the U.S. power grid to power their technology, but offshore, there is plenty of renewable energy flowing through ocean waters and winds. And much of that energy simply crashes ashore, unused.

        Photo of an offshore wind turbine with a servicing ship next to it in the ocean
        Offshore energy, including wind and wave energy, could provide the power needed for marine carbon dioxide removal efforts, according to a new study. Photo by Lyfted Media for Dominion Energy

        “There is a massive amount of energy that exists offshore that the grid likely won’t even be able to use since it’s so far from shore,” Niffenegger said. “But you have to make sure that you’re doing everything safely.”

        Offshore carbon capture, sequestration, and removal companies will need sensors to monitor potential environmental impacts as well as how much carbon their technology captures, stores, or removes. But plunging sensors down to the seafloor, embedding them next to deep-sea rock formations, or even tethering the tech to a buoyant, wave-rocked seaweed farm are not easy tasks.

        At least one solution is clear: Predictable, reliable marine energy—especially wave energy—could help power all those sensors and at least some of these offshore operations. In some cases, it already does: Some offshore microalgae farms use wave energy to mix their vegetation, which encourages growth. Offshore wind energy packs an even bigger punch and could power the bulk of marine carbon removal efforts, and when those winds do not blow, steady marine energy can help fill energy gaps.

        Marine energy technologies are still in the early stages of development; companies are working to hone their designs to make them durable enough to withstand the ocean and cost-effective enough to be commercially successful. But Niffenegger sees an opportunity for the marine energy and marine carbon dioxide removal industries to codevelop their budding technologies.

        “This is a preliminary investigation, but it shows a lot of promise,” Niffenegger said. “But, like I said, this is preliminary.”

        Even if marine energy is relatively consistent, waves can still ebb and flow. Researchers must investigate whether these dips could impact carbon removal efforts. But Niffenegger’s study shows that marine energy and marine carbon removal could be a mutually beneficial partnership.

        “I’m just trying to get people interested in trying this,” Niffenegger said. “There’s a lot of potential opportunities for collaborating between these two fields.”

        Check out the study, Mission Analysis for Marine Renewable Energy To Provide Power for Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal, to learn more about marine carbon dioxide removal. And subscribe to the NREL water power newsletter, The Current, to make sure you do not miss a water power update.

        Feb. 1, 2024 | By Caitlin McDermott-Murphy

        ]]>         Climate change isn’t producing expected increase in atmospheric moisture over dry regions https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-isnt-producing-expected-increase-in-atmospheric-moisture-over-dry-regions https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-isnt-producing-expected-increase-in-atmospheric-moisture-over-dry-regions Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:53:12 -0500 sdgcub3e climate change, moisture

        The laws of thermodynamics dictate that a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor, but new research has found that atmospheric moisture has not increased as expected over arid and semi-arid regions of the world as the climate has warmed.

        The findings are particularly puzzling because climate models have been predicting that the atmosphere will become more moist, even over dry regions. If the atmosphere is drier than anticipated, arid and semi-arid regions may be even more vulnerable to future wildfires and extreme heat than projected.

        The authors of the new study, led by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR), are uncertain what’s causing the discrepancy. 

        “The impacts could be potentially severe,” said NSF NCAR scientist Isla Simpson, lead author of the study. “This is a global problem, and it’s something that is completely unexpected given our climate model results.”

        Simpson and her co-authors say follow-up research is needed to determine why water vapor is not increasing. The reasons could have to do with moisture not moving from Earth’s surface into the atmosphere as projected or circulating around the atmosphere in unanticipated ways. It’s also possible that an entirely different mechanism could be responsible.

        Adding to the mystery, the new study showed that while water vapor is increasing over humid regions of the world, it is not rising as much as expected during the most arid months of the year.

        The study appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, NOAA, and the U.S. Department of Energy. It was co-authored by scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Santa Barbara; Cornell University; Polar Bears International; and Columbia University.

        A surprising finding

        A basic rule of climate science is that the atmosphere can hold more moisture as it warms. This is known as the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship, and it’s the reason climate models consistently project that atmospheric water vapor will increase as the planet becomes warmer.

        But when Simpson was working on a report for NOAA in 2020 about climate change in the southwestern United States, she realized that the atmosphere there had been drying much more than would be expected based on climate model simulations.

        Intrigued, Simpson and her co-authors looked at the atmosphere globally to determine if water vapor was increasing in line with climate projections. The research team turned to multiple sources of observations from 1980 to 2020. These included networks of weather stations as well as datasets that estimate humidity based on observations from sources such as weather balloons and satellites.

        To their surprise, the scientists found that water vapor over arid and semi-arid regions was generally remaining constant instead of increasing by close to 7% for every 1° Celsius (1.8° Fahrenheit) of warming, as would be expected based on the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship. Water vapor actually declined over the Southwest United States, which has seen a long-term reduction in precipitation.

        “This is contrary to all climate model simulations in which it rises at a rate close to theoretical expectations, even over dry regions,” the authors wrote in the new paper. “Given close links between water vapor and wildfire, ecosystem functioning, and temperature extremes, this issue must be resolved in order to provide credible climate projections for arid and semi-arid regions of the world.”

        The study noted that the situation is leading to an increase in vapor pressure deficit, which is the difference between the amount of moisture that the atmosphere can hold and the amount that’s actually in the air. When the deficit rises, it can act as a critical driver of wildfires and ecosystem stress.

        “We could be facing even higher risks than what’s been projected for arid and semi-arid regions like the Southwest, which has already been affected by unprecedented water shortages and extreme wildfire seasons,” Simpson said.

        She and her colleagues found a more complex situation in humid regions, where atmospheric water vapor increased as projected by climate models during wetter seasons. This increase leveled off somewhat during the driest months but did not flatten out as much as in arid and semi-arid regions.

        Looking for the culprit

        As for the question of why the water vapor in the atmosphere is not increasing over dry regions as expected, the authors broadly suggest two possibilities: the amount of moisture that is being moved from the land surface to the air may be lower than in models, or the way that the atmosphere is transporting moisture into dry regions may differ from the models. 

        Issues with atmospheric transport are less likely, they conclude, because that wouldn’t necessarily explain the common behavior among all arid and semi-arid regions worldwide, which receive moisture from differing locations. 

        That leaves the land surface as the most likely culprit. The authors speculate several possible causes: the land may have less water available to the atmosphere in reality than in models, it may be drying out more than anticipated as the climate warms, or plants may be holding on to moisture more effectively and releasing less into the atmosphere.

        The authors also considered the possibility that there is an error in the observations. But they concluded this was unlikely since the discrepancy is closely tied to the dryness of regions all over the world, and it is consistently found even when dividing up the record into shorter time segments to avoid errors due to instrumentation changes. 

        Simpson emphasized that more research is needed to determine the cause.

        “It is a really tricky problem to solve, because we don't have global observations of all the processes that matter to tell us about how water is being transferred from the land surface to the atmosphere," she said.  "But we absolutely need to figure out what's going wrong because the situation is not what we expected and could have very serious implications for the future.”

         

        About the article

        Title: “Observed humidity trends in dry regions contradict climate models”
        Authors: Isla R. Simpson, Karen A. McKinnon, Daniel Kennedy, David M. Lawrence, Flavio Lehner, and Richard Seager
        Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

        Jan 17, 2024 - by David Hosansky

        ]]>         The nation just saw its 10th-wettest January on record https://sdgtalks.ai/the-nation-just-saw-its-10th-wettest-january-on-record https://sdgtalks.ai/the-nation-just-saw-its-10th-wettest-january-on-record Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:38:15 -0500 sdgcub3e climate, rain, flooding
        January 2024: Extensive flooding along Cummings Creek at FM 1291 near the Fayette/Colorado County line, Texas, caused by a widespread heavy rainfall event in parts of Texas and Louisiana. The onslaught of rain occurred from January 22–25, 2024. (Image credit: Ben Madison)

        The new year started off unusually wet across the U.S., with extreme rainfall and flooding impacting parts of the southern Plains.

        The heavy rain also helped boost the month into the top-10 wettest Januarys on record, according to experts and data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

        Below are highlights from NOAA’s U.S. climate report for January 2024:

        Climate by the numbers

        January 2024

        The nation’s average precipitation across the contiguous U.S. was 3.18 inches (0.87 of an inch above average), ranking as the 10th-wettest January in NOAA’s 130-year U.S. climate record. 

        Precipitation was above average across much of the Eastern U.S. and in parts of the West. Massachusetts and Connecticut each saw their third-wettest January, with 11 other states experiencing their top-10 wettest Januarys. Meanwhile, North Dakota had its 10th-driest January on record.

        The average January temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 31.8 degrees F (1.6 degrees above average), ranking in the middle third of the climate record.

        January temperatures were warmer than average from coastal Carolina to the Northeast, and across parts of the West Coast, central Rockies, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, with below-normal temperatures extending from parts of the Northwest to the Gulf of Mexico. The only state to see a top-10 warmest or coldest January was Wisconsin, which had its 10th-warmest January on record.

        A map of the U.S. plotted with significant climate events that occurred during January 2024. Please see the story below as well as more details in the report summary from NOAA NCEI at http://bit.ly/USClimate202401.
        A map of the U.S. plotted with significant climate events that occurred during January 2024. Please see the story below as well as more details in the report summary from NOAA NCEI at http://bit.ly/USClimate202401. (Image credit: NOAA/NCEI)
        Download Image

        Other notable climate events

        • Record rainfall and flooding hit the southern Plains: From January 22–25, heavy rainfall brought more than a month’s worth of rain and life-threatening flooding to parts of Texas and Louisiana. By the morning of January 25, more than 12 inches of rain fell on Brenham, Texas, while other cities in eastern Texas reported rainfall ranging from four to 11 inches. Simmesport, Louisiana, received more than eight inches of rain during this period, while Baton Rouge and New Orleans received more than two inches of rain on January 24 alone.
        • An Arctic air mass brought record-breaking temperatures and snow:
          • A total of 1,125 U.S. counties broke nearly 2,500 daily minimum temperature records from January 14-18.
          • Heavy snow fell over much of the Northeast. On January 16, New York City reported over an inch of snow for the first time in nearly two years. Nashville, Tennessee, received over six inches of snow on January 15 — more than an entire winter’s worth of snow for the city.
        • Drought conditions improved: According to the January 30 U.S. Drought Monitor report, about 23.5% of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, down approximately 9.5% from the beginning of January. Drought conditions expanded or intensified across northern parts of the Rockies and Plains and in parts of the Northwest, Southwest and Puerto Rico. Drought contracted or lessened in intensity across much of the Great Plains to the East Coast, and parts of the Northwest, Southwest and Hawaii.
        ]]>         Whales and Carbon Sequestration: Can Whales Store Carbon? https://sdgtalks.ai/whales-and-carbon-sequestration-can-whales-store-carbon https://sdgtalks.ai/whales-and-carbon-sequestration-can-whales-store-carbon Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:31:56 -0500 sdgcub3e Climate Action, Carbon Sequestration, Whales

        The ocean captures about 31 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, removing carbon from the atmosphere that would otherwise continue to trap heat and increase temperatures. Blue carbon, or carbon captured by ocean ecosystems includes: 

        • Carbon absorbed by aquatic plants, algae, and phytoplankton
        • Carbon stored in the bodies of living animals
        • Carbon sequestered in deep-sea sediments 

        Scientists believe whales contribute to all three of these carbon storage mechanisms. They likely supported even greater amounts of blue carbon storage before their populations were depleted by commercial whaling in the 1800s. Conserving and recovering whale populations can mitigate climate change by increasing blue carbon capture, benefiting marine and terrestrial species alike.

        How Do Whales Contribute to Carbon Storage and Nutrient Cycling?

        Like trees in a rainforest or marine algae in a kelp forest, whales are efficient at capturing and storing atmospheric carbon directly in their large bodies throughout their long lives. When whales die, their carbon-rich carcasses often sink to the seafloor; that carbon is trapped and prevented from returning to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Whales also indirectly contribute to carbon capture by providing nutrient-rich waste to phytoplankton, which absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide.

        Image
        Infographic illustrating the role of whales in carbon storage
        Excess carbon dioxide contributes to climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere and increasing global temperatures, like a warming blanket. Whales help mitigate climate change by storing carbon in their bodies and transporting nutrients that stimulate carbon-capturing phytoplankton blooms. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

        Biomass Storage

        Whales are some of the largest and longest living animals on earth. This allows them to store greater quantities of carbon in their bodies for longer than smaller animals. Whales efficiently digest and store large quantities of carbon-rich prey and exhale very little carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. This process allows whales to store more carbon in their bodies than trees. One whale can capture an average of 33 tons of carbon dioxide over its lifespan. A live oak tree, one of the most efficient carbon-capturing tree species, captures roughly 12 tons of carbon dioxide over a maximum 500-year lifespan. 

        Whale Falls

        After whales die, their carcasses often sink to the seafloor (called a “whale fall”), trapping the carbon stored in their bodies at the bottom of the ocean. Whale falls can sequester carbon for hundreds to thousands of years. Many deep-sea organisms have evolved to rely on nutrients from sinking carcasses. Whale carcasses are responsible for a large portion of those nutrients due to their massive size. As the carcass decomposes and is eaten by deep sea animals, that carbon is sequestered in sediment and cycled through the deep-sea ecosystem. This prevents it from returning to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

        Image
        Octopuses and fish feed on a decomposing whale, while Osedax worms burrow into the bone, giving it a red fuzzy appearance. Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust and NOAA Fisheries
        Octopuses and fish feed on a decomposing whale, while Osedax worms burrow into the bone, giving it a red fuzzy appearance. Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust and NOAA Fisheries

        The Whale Pump

        Some whale species, like the sperm whale, dive deep to hunt for nutrient-rich prey. As mammals, they must return to the surface to breathe. While there, they expel large amounts of nutrient-rich feces and urine, by-products of the digested deep-sea prey they’ve been hunting. This cycling is referred to as “the whale pump,” because their movements “pump” nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron from the deep sea up to the surface. These nutrients, combined with sunlight, stimulate carbon-capturing phytoplankton blooms. Globally, marine phytoplankton capture the equivalent of four Amazon rainforests’ worth of carbon dioxide each year as they photosynthesize and produce half the oxygen we breathe. These microscopic plants also promote overall ocean productivity by providing food for other marine species.

        The Whale Conveyer Belt 

        In addition to their vertical movements through the water column, most whale species migrate seasonally from nutrient-rich feeding grounds to nutrient-poor breeding grounds to mate and give birth. The nutrients whales consume on their feeding grounds are expelled as feces and urine along their migratory routes and in their breeding grounds. This stimulates phytoplankton blooms and increases carbon capture via photosynthesis. Baleen whales, including the blue, gray, and fin, and North Atlantic right whale, embark on some of the longest migrations on the planet—up to 12,000 miles. These large whales transport nutrients across oceans and encourage phytoplankton blooms along their migration corridors.

        Recovery Efforts

        It's difficult to put an exact number on the amount of blue carbon storage for which whales are responsible. But, it’s clear that whales can assist in carbon capture and play an important role in marine nutrient cycles. 

        Before commercial whaling, whales likely increased the ocean’s capacity to store carbon. Commercial whaling depleted whale populations by more than 80 percent globally, but there is hope for their conservation. Federal laws like the Marine Mammal Protection Act  and the Endangered Species Act are critical for whale recovery. Humpback whale populations in the southwestern Atlantic have rebounded after being hunted nearly to extinction by the early 1900s. Blue whale populations off the U.S. West Coast are exhibiting similar positive responses to conservation measures. Gray whales in the Eastern North Pacific are now commonly observed off the U.S. West Coast due to international and U.S. conservation measures. 

        Whales play an important role in the overall health of the marine environment. Conserving and recovering whales can stimulate marine nutrient flow and help to mitigate climate change by increasing the ocean’s potential for carbon capture.

        Responding to Climate Change 

        Shifting environmental conditions result in ever-increasing challenges for marine species. NOAA Fisheries is committed to conserving protected species in the face of the many threats posed by climate change. With our partners, we have taken steps to advance climate-focused science and management including:

        These initiatives strengthen our understanding of the impacts of climate change on protected species and their habitats. We will use this world-class science and data in our climate-informed actions to enhance species’ adaptations and resilience to changing conditions under the Endangered Species Act.

        More Information

        Last updated by Office of Protected Resources on February 13, 2024

        ]]>         Climate Change Behind Africa Cholera Surge, Top Health Officials Say https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-behind-africa-cholera-surge-top-health-officials-say https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-behind-africa-cholera-surge-top-health-officials-say Sun, 11 Feb 2024 19:09:11 -0500 hidotiy640 Climate Change, Health and Well-being, Africa The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent’s chief health advisory body, has tied the worst outbreak of cholera in three years to climate change, saying adverse weather is raising the risk of this disease faster than in the rest of the world. That’s as floods in Democratic Republic of Congo — and across much of southern Africa — stretch already fragile health systems, limit access to safe water and sanitation and force people from their homes. “Cholera in Africa is a climate change issue,” said Jean Kaseya, director general of Addis Ababa-based Africa CDC. 

        Outbreaks of cholera have swept across more than a dozen countries in the region over the past year, causing hundreds of deaths from rural Zambia to the outskirts of the capital of South Africa, the continent’s most developed nation.

        The surge in cases comes even as Africa is the region least responsible for climate change, but one of the hardest hit by adverse weather caused by a warming world. While most people can be successfully treated for the waterborne disease, which causes severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea, through prompt administration of oral rehydration solution, it’s harder in communities that have low pre-existing immunity due to low vaccination rates and poor general health.

        The current shortage of cholera vaccines is also hampering efforts to contain outbreaks of the bacterial disease. Globally, there are 15 to 18 million doses available, even as Africa needs as many as 80 million, Kaseya said. “When you lack vaccines, when you lack a number of medicines, that is what’s making the situation worse,” he said. Zambia has procured 1.7 million doses but requires 3.2 million, he said. Zimbabwe needs 3.2 million doses, but has only secured 800,000 doses and the Congo is even worse off as it needs 5 million doses, but has none. Gavi, an international vaccine alliance, is trying to secure doses, Kaseya said.

        ]]>         Combatting coastal erosion with a &apos;Sand Motor&apos; https://sdgtalks.ai/combatting-coastal-erosion-with-a-sand-motor https://sdgtalks.ai/combatting-coastal-erosion-with-a-sand-motor Sun, 11 Feb 2024 15:09:54 -0500 Noah Link Climate, Erosion, Sand, Beaches, Coastal deterioration By: Jake Bittle

        When governments find themselves fighting the threat of coastal erosion, their default response tends to be pretty simple: If sand is disappearing from a beach, they pump in more sand to replace it. This strategy, known as “beach nourishment,” has become a cornerstone of coastal defenses around the world, complementing hard structures like sea walls. North Carolina, for instance, has dumped more than 100 million tons of sand onto its beaches over the past 30 years, at a cost of more than $1 billion.

        The problem with beach nourishment is obvious. If you dump sand on an eroding beach, it’s only a matter of time before that new sand erodes. Then you have to do it all over again.

        Beach nourishment projects are supposed to last for around five years, but they often disappear faster than expected. Moreover, a big coastal storm can wipe them out in a single night. And the costs are staggering: Dragging in new sand requires leasing and operating huge diesel dredge boats. Only the wealthiest areas can afford to do it year after year.

        Now, after decades of reliance on repeated beach nourishment, a new strategy for managing erosion is showing up on coastlines around the world. It’s called the “sand motor,” and it comes from the Netherlands, a low-lying nation with centuries of experience in coastal protection. 

        A “sand motor” isn’t an actual motor — it’s a sculpted landscape that works with nature rather than against it. Instead of rebuilding a beach with an even line of new sand, engineers extend one section of the shoreline out into the sea at an angle.. Over time, the natural wave action of the ocean acts as a “motor” that pushes the sand from this protruding landmass out along the rest of the natural shoreline, spreading it down the coastline for miles. 

        While sand motors require much more upfront investment than normal beach nourishment — and many times more sand — they also protect more land and last much longer. Developed countries such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are turning to these megaprojects as an alternative to repeated nourishment, and the World Bank is financing a sand motor in West Africa as part of a billion-dollar adaptation program meant to fight sea-level rise. But these massive projects only work in areas where erosion is not yet at a critical stage. That means they’re unlikely to show up in the United States, where many coastal areas are already on the point of disappearing altogether.

          The idea for the project came from a Dutch professor named Marcel Stive, who had watched with frustration as his country’s government spent billions to nourish the same coastal areas over and over again as sea levels kept rising. Stive presented the idea to the government, which hired a large dredging company called Boskalis to build a prototype on the shoreline south of The Hague.

          Even this experimental project, which the Dutch call “de Zandmotor,” was an unprecedented undertaking. Boskalis dredged up around 28 million cubic yards of sand from the ocean floor — more than the Netherlands uses on nourishment projects nationwide in a given year. Engineers then sculpted the sand into a hook that curved eastward along the shore, ensuring that waves would push the sand northeast toward beaches near The Hague. They also created a lagoon in the middle of the sand structure so that locals wouldn’t have to walk for almost a mile to get to the water. In the years since Boskalis finished construction on the $50 million project, the hook of sand has flattened out, almost the way a wave breaks as it reaches the shore.

          “By mobilizing your dredging equipment only once, it’s cheaper to do one large nourishment rather than to return every two to three years,” said Mark Klein, a senior morphology engineer at Boskalis who has worked on sand motor projects. “It saves mobilization costs if you make one big nourishment.”

          The upfront costs of the South Holland sand motor were considerable — most normal beach nourishment projects clock in at under a million cubic yards — but the sand and the money will go much farther than they would if they’d been used for ordinary nourishment. The sand motor was designed to last for 20 years, but Klein says it will likely last even longer than expected — an unheard-of outcome for an erosion control project. 

          Despite the project’s success, only a few countries have attempted to copy the Dutch model. Nigeria created a sculpted sandbar in a suburb of Lagos in 2018, and the United Kingdom built a shifting sand barrier to protect a natural gas terminal in the coastal town of Bacton the following year. Both were far smaller than the South Holland project; the Bacton sand scaping project, for instance, used only 2 million cubic yards of sand.

          But around the time these projects were completed the concept got a boost from the World Bank, which is the world’s largest source of funding for climate adaptation projects in developing nations. As part of an almost $500 million adaptation packagemeant to protect coastal areas in West Africa, the bank funded the construction of a large sand motor in the small nation of Benin, another country that faces an extreme erosion threat.

          The coastline of West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea is eroding faster than almost any other place in the world, with severe consequences for a population that is clustered by the water. According to a recent study, almost two-thirds of the region’s coastal settlements face severe economic and health disruptions from sea-level rise — most notably in the Nigerian megacity of Lagos, which sits on a marshland just a few feet above sea level. The World Bank estimates that the impacts of erosion could wipe out as much as 5 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.

          Benin is in particularly dire shape: Parts of the country’s shoreline are eroding by as much as 45 feet every year, and miles of beach have vanished since the turn of the century. The erosion has washed out roads, disrupted the livelihoods for local fishermen, and carved up beaches that are major tourist attractions. The national government’s previous efforts to control land loss with concrete sea walls and rock structures didn’t do much to slow down the rate of erosion.

          So when the World Bank gave the Beninese government $60 million in 2018 to pursue a raft of erosion solutions, its leaders opted to build a sand motor in a popular beachfront area where erosion has disrupted fishing and tourism. The dredging firm Boskalis built the project last May, vacuuming up more than 8 million cubic yards of sand to build a motor about one-third the size of the original one in the Netherlands.

          An aerial shot shows the shape of a 'sand motor' project in Benin. The project was built by the dredging firm Boskalis with funding from a World Bank erosion initiative.
          An aerial shot shows the shape of a ‘sand motor’ project in Benin. The project was built by the dredging firm Boskalis with funding from the World Bank. Courtesy of Boskalis

          Because sand motors require so much money, sand, and dredging expertise, most countries can’t pursue them without international help, said Peter Kristensen, an environmental economist at the World Bank who is leading the West Africa erosion initiative. Instead they settle for concrete barriers, rock walls, and smaller nourishment projects, all of which have short lifespans. Sea walls can even speed up erosion in nearby areas by redirecting wave energy toward neighboring sand stretches that don’t have fortifications.

          “In the U.S. and other countries, they can afford to replenish often,” said Kristensen. “It’s harder for the African countries to afford that kind of replenishment on a regular basis.”

          West African countries have also used money from the World Bank to build rock groins, mangrove forests, and traditional nourishment projects. The bank hopes to monitor all these projects over the coming years to see which are most effective at combating erosion, then scale those solutions for the entire region. If the new sand motor in Benin survives for as long as the Dutch version has, the bank may try to replicate its success with more mega-nourishment projects in other parts of the world.

          But this intervention will only work if countries like Benin also try to shift their development away from the water’s edge, according to Rob Young, a professor of geology at Western Carolina University and a leading expert on shoreline erosion. 

          “The Dutch made two choices,” he said. “One was, ‘We’re going to protect as much of the country from storm surge as we can.’ Number two was, ‘We’re going to get infrastructure out of the lowest lying areas, and we’re not going to build new stuff in stupid places.’” 

          Kristensen says that moving back from the shoreline might be difficult in the region of Benin with the new sand motor. Homes and beach hotels in the area sit clustered on a narrow strip of land with a river flowing behind it, so it’s not possible to shift development backward. 

          “It’s not always the case that when you want to do a managed retreat that you have a place to put everything and all the people that you want to move,” he said. But he also said that the World Bank would be willing to fund so-called “managed retreat” policies in other areas of West Africa if national governments wanted to pursue them.  

          By the same token, Young said, it’s unlikely that the sand motor would be much help in the United States. There are millions of beach homes and high-rise condominium buildings lining the shorelines of states like Florida, and moving this development back from the water would raise a host of political and logistical challenges, not the least being that no one who lives there wants to move. 

          Furthermore, the beach in places like Miami has eroded so far that only a thin strip of sand protects people from the encroaching ocean, which makes nourishment far more urgent. Beach communities in Florida can’t wait years for the sand from a sand motor to drift toward their beaches — they need constant infusions of sand, year after year, or the water will wipe them out altogether. Plus, the process of erosion is so far advanced in places like South Florida that there may not be enough sand to build a motor: Previous dredging efforts have drained offshore deposits of high-quality sand, leaving only low-quality material that won’t work to replenish beaches.

          Young says that all these factors mean that the sand motor will only be useful for countries that can also shift development inland as part of a more comprehensive climate adaptation plan, as the Dutch did.

          “In the U.S. we have lots of coastal resort communities where the houses are on the edge of the sea, right now, and we’re scrambling to keep sand in front of them,” he said. “If you look at what is down drift of the sand motor on the coast of Holland, they don’t have buildings teetering on the edge.”

          ]]>           Groasis Waterboxx https://sdgtalks.ai/groasis-waterboxx https://sdgtalks.ai/groasis-waterboxx Thu, 01 Feb 2024 20:26:44 -0500 jordanlarese Desert, Plants, Crops, Possible The Groasis Waterboxx is a revolutionary, sustainable, and cost-effective solution for planting trees in arid and desert regions. Developed by Dutch inventor Pieter Hoff, this innovative technology has the potential to reforest millions of acres of dry land and combat desertification.

          The Waterboxx is a small, 20-inch diameter, plastic box with a circular opening in the center. It is designed to be placed around the base of a tree sapling and can hold up to 15 liters of water. The box also has a wick system that releases small amounts of water into the soil over time, keeping the tree hydrated without wasting water through evaporation.

          The unique design of the Waterboxx allows for the tree to grow without the need for irrigation or maintenance. The box is biodegradable and can last up to 10 years before it needs to be replaced. Not only does this benefit the environment, but it also reduces the cost and labor associated with traditional irrigation systems.

          The Groasis Waterboxx has been tested in various regions around the world, including the Sahara desert, where it successfully helped to grow trees in otherwise barren land. This technology has the potential to be a game changer for communities living in arid and desert regions, as it provides a sustainable way to grow trees and produce food and resources.

          Furthermore, the Waterboxx promotes biodiversity by creating a microclimate around the tree, providing a suitable habitat for other plants and animals to thrive. This, in turn, can contribute to the restoration of degraded ecosystems and support the growth of a healthy and diverse ecosystem.

          The use of the Waterboxx also has significant effects on the environment. By increasing the number of trees in arid regions, the Waterboxx helps to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. It also helps to prevent erosion, improves soil quality, and helps to restore water cycles.

          The Groasis Waterboxx has already been used in various reforestation projects The Groasis Waterboxx is a revolutionary, sustainable, and cost-effective solution for planting trees in arid and desert regions. Developed by Dutch inventor Pieter Hoff, this innovative technology has the potential to reforest millions of acres of dry land and combat desertification.

          The Waterboxx is a small, 20-inch diameter, plastic box with a circular opening in the center. It is designed to be placed around the base of a tree sapling and can hold up to 15 liters of water. The box also has a wick system that releases small amounts of water into the soil over time, keeping the tree hydrated without wasting water through evaporation.

          The unique design of the Waterboxx allows for the tree to grow without the need for irrigation or maintenance. The box is biodegradable and can last up to 10 years before it needs to be replaced. Not only does this benefit the environment, but it also reduces the cost and labor associated with traditional irrigation systems.

          The Groasis Waterboxx has been tested in various regions around the world, including the Sahara desert, where it successfully helped to grow trees in otherwise barren land. This technology has the potential to be a game changer for communities living in arid and desert regions, as it provides a sustainable way to grow trees and produce food and resources.

          Furthermore, the Waterboxx promotes biodiversity by creating a microclimate around the tree, providing a suitable habitat for other plants and animals to thrive. This, in turn, can contribute to the restoration of degraded ecosystems and support the growth of a healthy and diverse ecosystem.

          The use of the Waterboxx also has significant effects on the environment. By increasing the number of trees in arid regions, the Waterboxx helps to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. It also helps to prevent erosion, improves soil quality, and helps to restore water cycles.

          The Groasis Waterboxx has already been used in various reforestation projects The Groasis Waterboxx is a revolutionary, sustainable, and cost-effective solution for planting trees in arid and desert regions. Developed by Dutch inventor Pieter Hoff, this innovative technology has the potential to reforest millions of acres of dry land and combat desertification.

          The Waterboxx is a small, 20-inch diameter, plastic box with a circular opening in the center. It is designed to be placed around the base of a tree sapling and can hold up to 15 liters of water. The box also has a wick system that releases small amounts of water into the soil over time, keeping the tree hydrated without wasting water through evaporation.

          The unique design of the Waterboxx allows for the tree to grow without the need for irrigation or maintenance. The box is biodegradable and can last up to 10 years before it needs to be replaced. Not only does this benefit the environment, but it also reduces the cost and labor associated with traditional irrigation systems.

          The Groasis Waterboxx has been tested in various regions around the world, including the Sahara desert, where it successfully helped to grow trees in otherwise barren land. This technology has the potential to be a game changer for communities living in arid and desert regions, as it provides a sustainable way to grow trees and produce food and resources.

          Furthermore, the Waterboxx promotes biodiversity by creating a microclimate around the tree, providing a suitable habitat for other plants and animals to thrive. This, in turn, can contribute to the restoration of degraded ecosystems and support the growth of a healthy and diverse ecosystem.

          The use of the Waterboxx also has significant effects on the environment. By increasing the number of trees in arid regions, the Waterboxx helps to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. It also helps to prevent erosion, improves soil quality, and helps to restore water cycles.

          The Groasis Waterboxx has already been used in various reforestation projects around the world and has shown promising results. With its simple yet effective design, the Waterboxx has the potential to make a significant impact on combating desertification and promoting sustainable reforestation efforts globally.

          ]]>           Smog Free Project https://sdgtalks.ai/smog-free-project https://sdgtalks.ai/smog-free-project Thu, 01 Feb 2024 20:14:19 -0500 jordanlarese SMOG, Clean Air, Sustainability The Smog Free Project, an innovative initiative to tackle air pollution, has gained widespread attention since its launch in 2015. Developed by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde, the project aims to create cleaner and more livable cities by getting rid of smog.

          The project works through the use of an air-purifying tower called the Smog Free Tower. The tower sucks in polluted air and releases clean air, powered entirely by wind energy. It can clean 30,000 cubic meters of air per hour and has been installed in cities all around the world, including Rotterdam, Beijing, and Krakow.

          But the Smog Free Project is not just about cleaning up the air. It also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of air pollution and involve people in finding solutions. The Smog Free Tower is not just a practical tool for cleaning the air, but also a work of art. The purified smog particles are turned into jewelry, which can be purchased by supporters of the project, creating a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the environment.

          Since its launch, the Smog Free Project has inspired many other initiatives worldwide. In Warsaw, Poland, a similar tower was installed with the help of collective action through a crowdfunding campaign. This highlights the potential for the project to be replicated in different cities, regardless of their size or location.

          The project has also successfully created dialogue around air pollution. In China, the Smog Free Project collaborated with the government to launch the “Smog Free Parks” program, which involves installing the towers in public parks. This not only helps clean the air, but also promotes a sense of community involvement in combatting the issue.

          Furthermore, the Smog Free Project has partnered with NGOs, research institutions, and local governments to conduct comprehensive air quality research. The collected data helps identify the areas most affected by air pollution and prioritize where the towers should be installed. This systematic approach ensures that the project is making a targeted and effective impact.

          The Smog Free Project is a shining example of how art and technology can come together to address environmental issues and create a more sustainable future.

          ]]>           Better Buildings, Together https://sdgtalks.ai/better-buildings-together https://sdgtalks.ai/better-buildings-together Thu, 01 Feb 2024 20:09:30 -0500 jordanlarese Buildings, Green, Environment The Green Building Initiative (GBI) is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable building practices in the construction industry. Founded in 2004, GBI's goal is to reduce the environmental impact of the built environment by encouraging the adoption of green building best practices.

          GBI offers third-party certification programs for buildings that meet specific sustainability standards. Known as the Green Globes Certification, this program evaluates buildings based on their energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and other environmental factors. It also considers the use of sustainable materials and building practices in the construction process.

          To achieve Green Globes Certification, a building must score a certain number of points in each category. The higher the score, the more environmentally friendly the building is considered. The certification is based on a comprehensive assessment completed by a third-party assessor, providing a more objective evaluation of a building's sustainability.

          One of the main areas of focus for GBI is reducing energy consumption in buildings. The organization works with building developers, architects, and engineers to incorporate energy-efficient design and technologies into their projects. This not only reduces the environmental impact of the building but also leads to cost savings for the building owner in the long run.

          GBI also promotes the use of sustainable materials and resources in construction. This includes using eco-friendly building materials, such as recycled or renewable materials, and implementing strategies to reduce waste and conserve water.

          In addition to certification programs, GBI also provides resources and education on sustainable building practices. This includes training programs, webinars, and online courses for professionals in the construction industry.

          The Green Building Initiative has made significant strides in promoting sustainable building practices. In 2016, GBI partnered with the US General Services Administration (GSA) to develop the Guiding Principles Compliance (GPC) tool, which helps federal agencies meet their sustainability goals. The GBI has also collaborated with various organizations and municipalities to implement green building initiatives and encourage the adoption of sustainable practices.

          Through its efforts, GBI is not only helping to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, but also creating healthier and more sustainable communities for current and future generations. As the construction industry continues to grow, initiatives like the Green Building Initiative are essential in ensuring that buildings are built with a focus on sustainability and reducing their impact on the environment.

          ]]>           Impacts on the Great Barrier Reef https://sdgtalks.ai/impacts-on-the-great-barrier-reef https://sdgtalks.ai/impacts-on-the-great-barrier-reef Thu, 01 Feb 2024 19:50:16 -0500 jordanlarese Coral Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Water, Plastic The Great Barrier Reef, located off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is one of the most diverse and beautiful ecosystems in the world. Spanning over 1,400 miles, it is the largest coral reef system in the world and is home to thousands of species of marine life.

          However, the Great Barrier Reef is facing multiple threats that are putting its existence at risk. Climate change is the biggest driver in the decline of coral reefs. Rising ocean temperatures, caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, are leading to coral bleaching. This is when corals expel the algae that live in their tissues and give them their vibrant colors. Without these algae, corals turn white and become more susceptible to disease.

          Another major threat to the Great Barrier Reef is pollution. Agricultural runoff, urban development, and industrial activities are all contributing to the pollution of the reef. This pollution not only damages the coral itself but also affects the delicate balance of the reef's ecosystem, impacting the marine life that depends on it for survival.

          Overfishing and destructive fishing practices are also taking a toll on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral damage from bottom trawling and explosives used in fishing practices harm the reef's delicate ecosystem. This disrupts the food chain and can lead to imbalances in the reef's biodiversity.

          The loss of biodiversity and degradation of the Great Barrier Reef not only affects the marine life but also has a significant impact on the economy. The reef supports a thriving tourism industry, bringing in millions of dollars each year. However, with the decline of the reef's health, this industry is at risk.

          To address these issues, various efforts have been made to protect and preserve the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian government has implemented strict regulations on fishing and has invested in conservation measures such as crown-of-thorns starfish control and coral restoration programs. Additionally, community-led initiatives such as citizen science projects and beach clean-ups are also playing a role in protecting the reef.

          However, more action is needed

          ]]>           Before you say “I am freaking tired”: Educator’s Letter https://sdgtalks.ai/before-you-say-i-am-freaking-tired-educators-letter https://sdgtalks.ai/before-you-say-i-am-freaking-tired-educators-letter Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:45:15 -0500 Joshua resilience Education I’ve been teaching for a while now, and during that time, I’ve truly tried my best in everything I do, or at least that’s what I tell myself. You see, I have a Bachelor’s in Education, followed by an early start on my Master’s just two years after college. And here’s the crazy part: not one, but three Master’s degrees! The first one wasn’t full-fledged (just up to the Comprehensive Exams), another was in the thesis phase (at least finalizing), and the third was a full-fledged program in Business School. It took incredible effort and time to ride that roller coaster of schooling.

          Maybe to some, it seems like a breeze, but let me tell you, the decisions I made during those years weren’t easy. Doubts crept in: could I still do this? Did I still inspire others? Was I even happy? Was it all worth the fight?… Does it sound familiar? Well, it’s okay. We all face challenges in life, and sometimes, they push us to propel forward.

          This is not to convince you on the idea that life isn’t a bed of roses or a path riddled with thorns. In fact, it’s a patchwork of events, both easy and difficult, successes and defeats, bitter and sweet. And along these countless times, there’s something incredibly lovely about the resiliency of the human spirit, the unquenchable flame that lives within each of us.

          I have seen this unwavering spirit both within and outside of the classroom. I’ve witnessed young brains struggle with social pressures and their own inner demons in spite of the difficulties of their subjects. However, what keeps me believing in the never-say-die mentality is their unflinching resolve, the joy in their eyes when they grasp a challenging idea, or their beaming smiles when they achieve beyond their own expectations.

          Hence, before you say that you’re depleted, keep in mind that every difficulty you encounter and every barrier you get past not only demonstrates your strength but also serves as motivation for someone who is observing you. You may not be aware of it, but someone else is subtly inspired by your path, your hardships, and your successes to keep going, to keep trying, and to keep believing that they, too, can overcome their circumstances.

          Your story is a crucial thread in this complex patchwork of life, giving the overall image power and color. Thus, weave your piece with bravery and optimism, understanding that you are not only creating your legacy but also illuminating the path for future generations. We are all connected in the end, and your light has the power to be the spark that guides someone else out of the shadows. Continue inspiring and moving, and never forget that, even before you declare yourself tired you are a living example of perseverance, an anchor of hope, and a testament to the ability to overcome adversity.

          ]]>           Modern day slavery: the US Penal System and food https://sdgtalks.ai/modern-day-slavery-the-us-penal-system-and-food https://sdgtalks.ai/modern-day-slavery-the-us-penal-system-and-food Tue, 30 Jan 2024 18:09:33 -0500 Noah Link slavery, food system, prison, injustice, double standards
          BY ROBIN MCDOWELL AND MARGIE MASON
          Updated 6:03 AM MST, January 29, 2024
          ANGOLA, La. (AP) — A hidden path to America’s dinner tables begins here, at an unlikely source – a former Southern slave plantation that is now the country’s largest maximum-security prison.

          Unmarked trucks packed with prison-raised cattle roll out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where men are sentenced to hard labor and forced to work, for pennies an hour or sometimes nothing at all. After rumbling down a country road to an auction house, the cows are bought by a local rancher and then followed by The Associated Press another 600 miles to a Texas slaughterhouse that feeds into the supply chains of giants like McDonald’s, Walmart and Cargill.

          Intricate, invisible webs, just like this one, link some of the world’s largest food companies and most popular brands to jobs performed by U.S. prisoners nationwide, according to a sweeping two-year AP investigation into prison labor that tied hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of agricultural products to goods sold on the open market.

          They are among America’s most vulnerable laborers. If they refuse to work, some can jeopardize their chances of parole or face punishment like being sent to solitary confinement. They also are often excluded from protections guaranteed to almost all other full-time workers, even when they are seriously injured or killed on the job.

          Prisoners harvest turnips at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, April 15, 2014, in Angola, La. Within days of arrival, they head to the fields, sometimes using hoes and shovels or picking crops by hand. Today, it houses some 3,800 men behind its razor-wire walls. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

          Prisoners harvest turnips at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, April 15, 2014, in Angola, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

          The goods these prisoners produce wind up in the supply chains of a dizzying array of products found in most American kitchens, from Frosted Flakes cereal and Ball Park hot dogs to Gold Medal flour, Coca-Cola and Riceland rice. They are on the shelves of virtually every supermarket in the country, including Kroger, Target, Aldi and Whole Foods. And some goods are exported, including to countries that have had products blocked from entering the U.S. for using forced or prison labor.

          Many of the companies buying directly from prisons are violating their own policies against the use of such labor. But it’s completely legal, dating back largely to the need for labor to help rebuild the South’s shattered economy after the Civil War. Enshrined in the Constitution by the 13th Amendment, slavery and involuntary servitude are banned – except as punishment for a crime.

          That clause is currently being challenged on the federal level, and efforts to remove similar language from state constitutions are expected to reach the ballot in about a dozen states this year.

          Some prisoners work on the same plantation soil where slaves harvested cotton, tobacco and sugarcane more than 150 years ago, with some present-day images looking eerily similar to the past. In Louisiana, which has one of the country’s highest incarceration rates, men working on the “farm line” still stoop over crops stretching far into the distance.

          Willie Ingram talks about his time spent as a prisoner at Angola during an interview, Monday, Oct. 1, 2023 in New Orleans, La. Ingram picked everything from cotton to okra during his 51 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He recalled seeing men, working with little or no water, passing out in the fields in triple-digit heat. Some days, he said, workers would throw their tools in the air to protest, despite knowing the repercussions. (Chandra McCormick via AP)

          Willie Ingram talks about his time spent as a prisoner at Angola during an interview, Monday, Oct. 1, 2023 in New Orleans, La. (Chandra McCormick via AP)

          Willie Ingram picked everything from cotton to okra during his 51 years in the state penitentiary, better known as Angola.

          During his time in the fields, he was overseen by armed guards on horseback and recalled seeing men, working with little or no water, passing out in triple-digit heat. Some days, he said, workers would throw their tools in the air to protest, despite knowing the potential consequences.

          “They’d come, maybe four in the truck, shields over their face, billy clubs, and they’d beat you right there in the field. They beat you, handcuff you and beat you again,” said Ingram, who received a life sentence after pleading guilty to a crime he said he didn’t commit. He was told he would serve 10 ½ years and avoid a possible death penalty, but it wasn’t until 2021 that a sympathetic judge finally released him. He was 73.

          The number of people behind bars in the United States started to soar in the 1970s just as Ingram entered the system, disproportionately hitting people of color. Now, with about 2 million people locked up, U.S. prison labor from all sectors has morphed into a multibillion-dollar empire, extending far beyond the classic images of prisoners stamping license plates, working on road crews or battling wildfires.

          Though almost every state has some kind of farming program, agriculture represents only a small fraction of the overall prison workforce. Still, an analysis of data amassed by the AP from correctional facilities nationwide traced nearly $200 million worth of sales of farmed goods and livestock to businesses over the past six years – a conservative figure that does not include tens of millions more in sales to state and government entities. Much of the data provided was incomplete, though it was clear that the biggest revenues came from sprawling operations in the South and leasing out prisoners to companies.

          Corrections officials and other proponents note that not all work is forced and that prison jobs save taxpayers money. For example, in some cases, the food produced is served in prison kitchens or donated to those in need outside. They also say workers are learning skills that can be used when they’re released and given a sense of purpose, which could help ward off repeat offenses. In some places, it allows prisoners to also shave time off their sentences. And the jobs provide a way to repay a debt to society, they say.

          While most critics don’t believe all jobs should be eliminated, they say incarcerated people should be paid fairly, treated humanely and that all work should be voluntary. Some note that even when people get specialized training, like firefighting, their criminal records can make it almost impossible to get hired on the outside.

          “They are largely uncompensated, they are being forced to work, and it’s unsafe. They also aren’t learning skills that will help them when they are released,” said law professor Andrea Armstrong, an expert on prison labor at Loyola University New Orleans. “It raises the question of why we are still forcing people to work in the fields.”

          Prisoners serving time at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville arrive at the gates of a Hickman's Family Farms egg ranch, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Arlington, Arizona. Hickman's has employed thousands of prisoners for nearly 30 years and supplies many grocery stores, including Costco and Kroger, marketing brands such as Egg-Land's Best and Land O' Lakes. It is the state corrections department's largest private labor contractor, bringing in nearly $35 million over the past six fiscal years. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

          Prisoners serving time at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville arrive at the gates of a Hickman’s Family Farms egg ranch, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Arlington, Arizona. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

          A SHADOW WORKFORCE WITH FEW PROTECTIONS

          In addition to tapping a cheap, reliable workforce, companies sometimes get tax credits and other financial incentives. Incarcerated workers also typically aren’t covered by the most basic protections, including workers’ compensation and federal safety standards. In many cases, they cannot file official complaints about poor working conditions.

          These prisoners often work in industries with severe labor shortages, doing some of the country’s dirtiest and most dangerous jobs.

          The AP sifted through thousands of pages of documents and spoke to more than 80 current or formerly incarcerated people, including men and women convicted of crimes that ranged from murder to shoplifting, writing bad checks, theft or other illegal acts linked to drug use. Some were given long sentences for nonviolent offenses because they had previous convictions, while others were released after proving their innocence.

          Reporters found people who were hurt or maimed on the job, and also interviewed women who were sexually harassed or abused, sometimes by their civilian supervisors or the correctional officers overseeing them. While it’s often nearly impossible for those involved in workplace accidents to sue, the AP examined dozens of cases that managed to make their way into the court system. Reporters also spoke to family members of prisoners who were killed.

          One of those was Frank Dwayne Ellington, who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after stealing a man’s wallet at gunpoint – a result of Alabama’s habitual offenders act. In 2017, Ellington, 33, was cleaning a machine near the chicken “kill line” in Ashland at Koch Foods – one of the country’s biggest poultry-processing companies – when its whirling teeth caught his arm and sucked him inside, crushing his skull. He died instantly.

          This undated photo shows Frank Dwayne Ellington who was killed in 2017 at Koch Foods in Ashland, Ala. while cleaning a machine near the chicken

          This undated photo shows Frank Dwayne Ellington who was killed in 2017 at Koch Foods in Ashland, Ala. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)

          During a yearslong legal battle, Koch Foods at first argued Ellington wasn’t technically an employee, and later said his family should be barred from filing for wrongful death because the company had paid his funeral expenses. The case eventually was settled under undisclosed terms. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $19,500, saying workers had not been given proper training and that its machines had inadequate safety guards.

          “It’s somebody’s child, it’s somebody’s dad, it’s somebody’s uncle, it’s somebody’s family,” said Ellington’s mother, Alishia Powell-Clark. “Yes, they did wrong, but they are paying for it.”

          The AP found that U.S. prison labor is in the supply chains of goods being shipped all over the world via multinational companies, including to countries that have been slapped with import bans by Washington in recent years. For instance, the U.S. has blocked shipments of cotton coming from China, a top manufacturer of popular clothing brands, because it was produced by forced or prison labor. But crops harvested by U.S. prisoners have entered the supply chains of companies that export to China.

          While prison labor seeps into the supply chains of some companies through third-party suppliers without them knowing, others buy direct. Mammoth commodity traders that are essential to feeding the globe like Cargill, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, Archer Daniels Midland and Consolidated Grain and Barge – which together post annual revenues of more than $400 billion – have in recent years scooped up millions of dollars’ worth of soy, corn and wheat straight from prisons, which compete with local farmers.

          The AP reached out for comment to the companies it identified as having connections to prison labor, but most did not respond.

          Cargill acknowledged buying goods from prison farms in Tennessee, Arkansas and Ohio, saying they constituted only a small fraction of the company’s overall volume. It added that “we are now in the process of determining the appropriate remedial action.”

          The AP tied prison labor to the supply chains of some of the world’s biggest companies

          McDonald’s said it would investigate links to any such labor, while Archer Daniels Midland and General Mills, which produces Gold Medal flour, pointed to their policies in place restricting suppliers from using forced labor. Whole Foods responded flatly: “Whole Foods Market does not allow the use of prison labor in products sold at our stores.”

          Bunge said it sold all facilities that were sourcing from correction departments in 2021, so they are “no longer part of Bunge’s footprint.”

          Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative that bills itself as the top supplier of raw milk worldwide, said that while it has been buying from correctional facilities, it now only has one “member dairy” at a prison, with most of that milk used inside.

          To understand the business of prison labor and the complex movement of agricultural goods, the AP collected information from all 50 states, through public records requests and inquiries to corrections departments. Reporters also crisscrossed the country, following trucks transporting crops and livestock linked to prison work, and tailed transport vans from prisons and work-release sites heading to places such as poultry plants, egg farms and fast-food restaurants. A lack of transparency and, at times, baffling losses exposed in audits, added to the challenges of fully tracking the money.

          Big-ticket items like row crops and livestock are sold on the open market, with profits fed back into agriculture programs. For instance, about a dozen state prison farms, including operations in Texas, Virginia, Kentucky and Montana, have sold more than $60 million worth of cattle since 2018.

          As with other sales, the custody of cows can take a serpentine route. Because they often are sold online at auction houses or to stockyards, it can be almost impossible to determine where the beef eventually ends up.

          Sometimes there’s only one way to know for sure.

          In Louisiana, an AP reporter watched as three long trailers loaded with more than 80 cattle left the state penitentiary. The cows raised by prisoners traveled for about an hour before being unloaded for sale at Dominique’s Livestock Market in Baton Rouge.

          As they were shoved through a gate into a viewing pen, the auctioneer jokingly warned buyers “Watch out!” The cows, he said, had just broken out of prison.

          Within minutes, the Angola lot was snapped up by a local livestock dealer, who then sold the cattle to a Texas beef processor that also buys cows directly from prisons in that state. Meat from the slaughterhouse winds up in the supply chains of some of the country’s biggest fast-food chains, supermarkets and meat exporters, including Burger King, Sam’s Club and Tyson Foods.

          “It’s a real slap in the face, to hear where all those cattle are going,” said Jermaine Hudson, who served 22 years at Angola on a robbery conviction before he was exonerated.

          He said it’s especially galling because the food served in prison tasted like slop.

          “Those were some of the most disrespectful meals,” Hudson said, “that I ever, in my life, had to endure.”

          In this aerial photo, the Louisiana State Penitentiary lies along the bending Mississippi River, Friday, July 21, 2023, in Angola, La. The former 19th-century antebellum plantation once was owned by one of the largest slave traders in the U.S. It spans 18,000 acres – an area bigger than the island of Manhattan – and has its own ZIP code.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

          In this aerial photo, the Louisiana State Penitentiary lies along the bending Mississippi River, Friday, July 21, 2023, in Angola, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

          THE RISE OF PRISON LABOR

          Angola is imposing in its sheer scale. The so-called “Alcatraz of the South” is tucked far away, surrounded by alligator-infested swamps in a bend of the Mississippi River. It spans 18,000 acres – an area bigger than the island of Manhattan – and has its own ZIP code.

          The former 19th-century antebellum plantation once was owned by one of the largest slave traders in the U.S. Today, it houses some 3,800 men behind its razor-wire walls, about 65 percent of them Black. Within days of arrival, they typically head to the fields, sometimes using hoes and shovels or picking crops by hand. They initially work for free, but then can earn between 2 cents and 40 cents an hour.

          Calvin Thomas, who spent more than 17 years at Angola, said anyone who refused to work, didn’t produce enough or just stepped outside the long straight rows knew there would be consequences.

          “If he shoots the gun in the air because you done passed that line, that means you’re going to get locked up and you’re going to have to pay for that bullet that he shot,” said Thomas, adding that some days were so blistering hot the guards’ horses would collapse.

          You can’t call it anything else. It’s just slavery.”
          - Calvin Thomas

          Louisiana corrections spokesman Ken Pastorick called that description “absurd.” He said the phrase “sentenced with hard labor” is a legal term referring to a prisoner with a felony conviction.

          Pastorick said the department has transformed Angola from “the bloodiest prison in America” over the past several decades with “large-scale criminal justice reforms and reinvestment into the creation of rehabilitation, vocational and educational programs designed to help individuals better themselves and successfully return to communities.” He noted that pay rates are set by state statute.

          Current and former prisoners in both Louisiana and Alabama have filed class-action lawsuits in the past four months saying they have been forced to provide cheap – or free – labor to those states and outside companies, a practice they also described as slavery.

          Prisoners have been made to work since before emancipation, when slaves were at times imprisoned and then leased out by local authorities.

          But after the Civil War, the 13th Amendment’s exception clause that allows for prison labor provided legal cover to round up thousands of mostly young Black men. Many were jailed for petty offenses like loitering and vagrancy. They then were leased out by states to plantations like Angola and some of the country’s biggest companies, including coal mines and railroads. They were routinely whipped for not meeting quotas while doing brutal and often deadly work.

          The convict-leasing period, which officially ended in 1928, helped chart the path to America’s modern-day prison-industrial complex.

          Incarceration was used not just for punishment or rehabilitation but for profit. A law passed a few years later made it illegal to knowingly transport or sell goods made by incarcerated workers across state lines, though an exception was made for agricultural products. Today, after years of efforts by lawmakers and businesses, corporations are setting up joint ventures with corrections agencies, enabling them to sell almost anything nationwide.

          To learn more about the history of prison labor, listen to this Reveal podcast as AP reporters take you back more than 150 years to explore how a brutal system known as convict leasing helped build American business empires.

          Civilian workers are guaranteed basic rights and protections by OSHA and laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act, but prisoners, who are often not legally considered employees, are denied many of those entitlements and cannot protest or form unions.

          “They may be doing the exact same work as people who are not incarcerated, but they don’t have the training, they don’t have the experience, they don’t have the protective equipment,” said Jennifer Turner, lead author of a 2022 American Civil Liberties Union report on prison labor.

          Almost all of the country’s state and federal adult prisons have some sort of work program, employing around 800,000 people, the report said. It noted the vast majority of those jobs are connected to tasks like maintaining prisons, laundry or kitchen work, which typically pay a few cents an hour if anything at all. And the few who land the highest-paying state industry jobs may earn only a dollar an hour.

          Altogether, labor tied specifically to goods and services produced through state prison industries brought in more than $2 billion in 2021, the ACLU report said. That includes everything from making mattresses to solar panels, but does not account for work-release and other programs run through local jails, detention and immigration centers and even drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities.

          Some incarcerated workers with just a few months or years left on their sentences have been employed everywhere from popular restaurant chains like Burger King to major retail stores and meat-processing plants. Unlike work crews picking up litter in orange jumpsuits, they go largely unnoticed, often wearing the same uniforms as their civilian counterparts.

          David Farabough, director of the agricultural division for the Arkansas Department of Corrections, holds rice at the Cummins Unit, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Gould, Ark. Big-ticket items like row crops and livestock are sold on the open market, with profits fed back into agriculture programs. (AP Photo/John Locher)
          David Farabough, director of the agricultural division for the Arkansas Department of Corrections, holds rice at the Cummins Unit, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Gould, Ark. (AP Photo/John Locher)
          Prisoner Christopher Terrell stands near a tractor at the Cummins Unit of Arkansas' Department of Corrections Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Gould, Ark. (AP Photo/John Locher)
          Prisoner Christopher Terrell stands near a tractor at the Cummins Unit of Arkansas' Department of Corrections Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Gould, Ark. The biggest operations remain in the South, and crops are still harvested on a number of former slave plantations, including in Arkansas. Most larger farms have mechanized, using commercial-size tractors and trucks for corn, rice and other row crops, but prisoners in some places continue to do work by hand. (AP Photo/John Locher)

          Outside jobs can be coveted because they typically pay more and some states deposit a small percentage earned into a savings account for prisoners’ eventual release. Though many companies pay minimum wage, some states garnish more than half their salaries for items such as room and board and court fees.

          It’s a different story for those on prison farms. The biggest operations remain in the South and crops are still harvested on a number of former slave plantations, including in Arkansas, Texas and at Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Farm. Those states, along with Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia, pay nothing for most types of work.

          Most big farms, including Angola, have largely mechanized many of their operations, using commercial-size tractors, trucks and combines for corn, soy, rice and other row crops. But prisoners in some places continue to do other work by hand, including clearing brush with swing blades.

          “I was in a field with a hoe in my hand with maybe like a hundred other women. We were standing in a line very closely together, and we had to raise our hoes up at the exact same time and count ‘One, two, three, chop!’” said Faye Jacobs, who worked on prison farms in Arkansas.

          Jacobs, who was released in 2018 after more than 26 years, said the only pay she received was two rolls of toilet paper a week, toothpaste and a few menstrual pads each month.

          Faye Jacobs holds a hoe as she recalls her time working on an Arkansas prison farm, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. Jacobs worked on Arkansas prison farms that together total 21,000 acres before being released in 2018 after serving more than 26 years. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

          Faye Jacobs holds a hoe as she recalls her time working on an Arkansas prison farm, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

          She recounted being made to carry rocks from one end of a field to the other and back again for hours, and said she also endured taunting from guards saying “Come on, hos, it’s hoe squad!” She said she later was sent back to the fields at another prison after women there complained of sexual harassment by staff inside the facility.

          “We were like ‘Is this a punishment?’” she said. “‘We’re telling y’all that we’re being sexually harassed, and you come back and the first thing you want to do is just put us all on hoe squad.’”

          David Farabough, who oversees the state’s 20,000 acres of prison farms, said Arkansas’ operations can help build character.

          “A lot of these guys come from homes where they’ve never understood work and they’ve never understood the feeling at the end of the day for a job well-done,” he said. “We’re giving them purpose. … And then at the end of the day, they get the return by having better food in the kitchens.”

          In addition to giant farms, at least 650 correctional facilities nationwide have prisoners doing jobs like landscaping, tending greenhouses and gardens, raising livestock, beekeeping and even fish farming, said Joshua Sbicca, director of the Prison Agriculture Lab at Colorado State University. He noted that corrections officials exert power by deciding who deserves trade-building jobs like welding, for example, and who works in the fields.

          In several states, along with raising chickens, cows and hogs, corrections departments have their own processing plants, dairies and canneries. But many states also hire out prisoners to do that same work at big private companies.

          The AP met women in Mississippi locked up at restitution centers, the equivalent of debtors’ prisons, to pay off court-mandated expenses. They worked at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and other fast-food chains and also have been hired out to individuals for work like lawn mowing or home repairs.

          “There is nothing innovative or interesting about this system of forced labor as punishment for what in so many instances is an issue of poverty or substance abuse,” said Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi.

          In Alabama, where prisoners are leased out by companies, AP reporters followed inmate transport vans to poultry plants run by Tyson Foods, which owns brands such as Hillshire Farms, Jimmy Dean and Sara Lee, along with a company that supplies beef, chicken and fish to McDonald’s. The vans also stopped at a chicken processor that’s part of a joint-venture with Cargill, which is America’s largest private company. It brought in a record $177 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2023 and supplies conglomerates like PepsiCo.

          Though Tyson did not respond to questions about direct links to prison farms, it said that its work-release programs are voluntary and that incarcerated workers receive the same pay as their civilian colleagues.

          Some people arrested in Alabama are put to work even before they’ve been convicted. An unusual work-release program accepts pre-trial defendants, allowing them to avoid jail while earning bond money. But with multiple fees deducted from their salaries, that can take time.

          Members of Brevard County's chain gang, prisoners convicted of non-violent misdemeanors, wear chains around their ankles as they pick up trash along a roadside, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Titusville, Fla. Participation in the chain gang, created by county Sheriff Wayne Ivey as a crime deterrent, is voluntary and sometimes has a waitlist to join. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

          Members of Brevard County’s chain gang, prisoners convicted of non-violent misdemeanors, wear chains around their ankles as they pick up trash along a roadside, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Titusville, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

          The AP went out on a work detail with a Florida chain gang wearing black-and-white striped uniforms and ankle shackles, created after Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey took office in 2012. He said the unpaid work is voluntary and so popular that it has a waitlist.

          “It’s a win-win,” he said. “The inmate that’s doing that is learning a skill set. … They are making time go by at a faster pace. The other side of the win-win is, it’s generally saving the taxpayers money.”

          Ivey noted it’s one of the only remaining places in the country where a chain gang still operates.

          I don’t feel like they should get paid. They’re paying back their debt to society for violating the law.”
          - Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey

          Elsewhere, several former prisoners spoke positively about their work experiences, even if they sometimes felt exploited.

          “I didn’t really think about it until I got out, and I was like, ‘Wow, you know, I actually took something from there and applied it out here,’” said William “Buck” Saunders, adding he got certified to operate a forklift at his job stacking animal feed at Cargill while incarcerated in Arizona.

          Companies that hire prisoners get a reliable, plentiful workforce even during unprecedented labor shortages stemming from immigration crackdowns and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.

          Bunkbeds, used by prison workers who were relocated to Hickman's Family Farms during the COVID-19 pandemic, sit in close rows inside a metal hangar-like warehouse at the farm in Arlington, Ariz. In March 2020, though all other private outside jobs were halted, the Arizona corrections department announced about 140 women were being abruptly moved from their prison to the makeshift dormitory on the property owned by Hickman's, which pitches itself as the Southwest's largest egg producer. (Arizona Correctional Industries via AP)

          Bunkbeds, used by prison workers who were relocated to Hickman’s Family Farms during the COVID-19 pandemic, sit in close rows inside a metal hangar-like warehouse at the farm in Arlington, Ariz. (Arizona Correctional Industries via AP)

          In March 2020, though all other outside company jobs were halted, the Arizona corrections department announced about 140 women were being abruptly moved from their prison to a metal hangar-like warehouse on property owned by Hickman’s Family Farms, which pitches itself as the Southwest’s largest egg producer.

          Hickman’s has employed prisoners for nearly 30 years and supplies many grocery stores, including Costco and Kroger, marketing brands such as Eggland’s Best and Land O’ Lakes. It is the state corrections department’s largest labor contractor, bringing in nearly $35 million in revenue over the past six fiscal years.

          “The only reason they had us out there was because they didn’t want to lose that contract because the prison makes so much money off of it,” said Brooke Counts, who lived at Hickman’s desert site, which operated for 14 months. She was serving a drug-related sentence and said she feared losing privileges or being transferred to a more secure prison yard if she refused to work.

          Counts said she knew prisoners who were seriously hurt, including one woman who was impaled in the groin and required a helicopter flight to the hospital and another who lost part of a finger.

          Hickman’s, which has faced a number of lawsuits stemming from inmate injuries, did not respond to emailed questions or phone messages seeking a response. Corrections department officials would not comment on why the women were moved off-site, saying it happened during a previous administration. But a statement at the time said the move was made to “ensure a stable food supply while also protecting public health and the health of those in our custody.”

          Some women employed by Hickman’s earned less than $3 an hour after deductions, including 30 percent taken by the state for room and board, even though they were living in the makeshift dormitory.

          “While we were out there, we were still paying the prison rent,” Counts said. “What for?”

          In a sweeping two-year investigation, The Associated Press found U.S. prison labor tied to hundreds of popular food brands. The goods end up on the shelves of most supermarkets and are also exported. (AP video Robert Bumstead/production Mark Vancleave)

          FOLLOWING THE MONEY

          The business of prison labor is so vast and convoluted that tracing the money can be challenging. Some agricultural programs regularly go into the red, raising questions in state audits and prompting investigations into potential corruption, mismanagement or general inefficiency.

          Nearly half the agricultural goods produced in Texas between 2014 and 2018 lost money, for example, and a similar report in Louisiana uncovered losses of around $3.8 million between fiscal years 2016 and 2018. A separate federal investigation into graft at the for-profit arm of Louisiana’s correctional department led to the jailing of two employees.

          Correctional officials say steep farming expenditures and unpredictable variables like weather can eat into profits. And while some goods may do poorly, they note, others do well.

          Prisons at times have generated revenue by tapping into niche markets or to their states’ signature foods.

          During the six-year period the AP examined, surplus raw milk from a Wisconsin prison dairy went to BelGioioso Cheese, which makes Polly-O string cheese and other products that land in grocery stores nationwide like Whole Foods. A California prison provided almonds to Minturn Nut Company, a major producer and exporter. And until 2022, Colorado was raising water buffalo for milk that was sold to giant mozzarella cheesemaker Leprino Foods, which supplies major pizza companies like Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s.

          But for many states, it’s the work-release programs that have become the biggest cash generators, largely because of the low overhead. In Alabama, for instance, the state brought in more than $32 million in the past five fiscal years after garnishing 40 percent of prisoners’ wages.

          Aerial video shows Cargill’s barge terminal and headquarters near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cargill and other commodity traders have in recent years scooped up millions of dollars’ worth of soy, corn and wheat straight from prisons. (AP video Mark Vancleave)

          In some states, work-release programs are run on the local level, with sheriffs frequently responsible for handling the books and awarding contracts. Even though the programs are widely praised – by the state, employers and often prisoners themselves – reports of abuse exist.

          In Louisiana, where more than 1,200 companies hire prisoners through work release, sheriffs get anywhere from about $10 to $20 a day for each state prisoner they house in local jails to help ease overcrowding. And they can deduct more than half of the wages earned by those contracted out to companies – a huge revenue stream for small counties.

          Jack Strain, a former longtime sheriff in the state’s St. Tammany Parish, pleaded guilty in 2021 in a scheme involving the privatization of a work-release program in which nearly $1.4 million was taken in and steered to Strain, close associates and family members. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which came on top of four consecutive life sentences for a broader sex scandal linked to that same program.

          Incarcerated people also have been contracted to companies that partner with prisons. In Idaho, they’ve sorted and packed the state’s famous potatoes, which are exported and sold to companies nationwide. In Kansas, they’ve been employed at Russell Stover chocolates and Cal-Maine Foods, the country’s largest egg producer. Though the company has since stopped using them, in recent years they were hired in Arizona by Taylor Farms, which sells salad kits in many major grocery stores nationwide and supplies popular fast-food chains and restaurants like Chipotle Mexican Grill.

          Some states would not provide the names of companies taking part in transitional prison work programs, citing security concerns. So AP reporters confirmed some prisoners’ private employers with officials running operations on the ground and also followed inmate transport vehicles as they zigzagged through cities and drove down country roads. The vans stopped everywhere from giant meat-processing plants to a chicken and daiquiri restaurant.

          Spanish moss hangs from trees lining a courtyard at The Myrtles, a former antebellum home slave plantation turned wedding venue and tourist site, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in St. Francisville, La. The Myrtles sits just 20 miles away from where men toil in the fields of Angola. (AP Photo Margie Mason)

          Spanish moss hangs from trees lining a courtyard at The Myrtles, a former antebellum home slave plantation turned wedding venue and tourist site, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in St. Francisville, La. (AP Photo Margie Mason)

          One pulled into the manicured grounds of a former slave plantation that has been transformed into a popular tourist site and hotel in St. Francisville, Louisiana, where visitors pose for wedding photos under old live oaks draped with Spanish moss.

          As a reporter watched, a West Feliciana Parish van emblazoned with “Sheriff Transitional Work Program” pulled up. Two Black men hopped out and quickly walked through the restaurant’s back door. One said he was there to wash dishes before his boss called him back inside.

          Former Angola prisoner, Curtis Davis, talks about his time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary during a 2021 interview near a former antebellum slave plantation near Angola, La.

          Former Angola prisoner, Curtis Davis, talks about his time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary during a 2021 interview near a former antebellum slave plantation near Angola, La. (AP Photo/ Serginho Roosblad)

          The Myrtles, as the antebellum home is known, sits just 20 miles away from where men toil in the fields of Angola.

          “Slavery has not been abolished,” said Curtis Davis, who spent more than 25 years at the penitentiary and is now fighting to change state laws that allow for forced labor in prisons.

          “It is still operating in present tense,” he said. “Nothing has changed.”

          ]]>           2023: A historic year of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters https://sdgtalks.ai/2023-a-historic-year-of-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate-disasters https://sdgtalks.ai/2023-a-historic-year-of-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate-disasters Sun, 28 Jan 2024 15:50:28 -0500 sdgcub3e Climate, natural disasters 2023 Highlights

          In 2023, the U.S. experienced 28 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least 1 billion dollars. That number puts 2023 into first place for the highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a calendar year and included:

          • 1 winter storm/cold wave event (across the northeast U.S. in early-February).
          • 1 wildfire event (firestorm destroying town of Lahaina on Maui Island of Hawaii).
          • 1 drought and heat wave event (focused across the central and southern U.S.).
          • 4 flooding events (in California, Florida, and across the eastern and northeastern U.S.).
          • 2 tornado outbreaks (across the central and eastern U.S.).
          • 2 tropical cyclones (Idalia in Florida and Typhoon Mawar in Guam).
          • 17 severe weather/hail events (across many parts of the country). 

          2023 was also deadly, causing at least 492 direct or indirect fatalities—the 8th most disaster-related fatalities for the contiguous U.S. since 1980.

          Damages from the 2023 disasters totaled $92.9 billion. (All cost estimates are adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index, 2023). The costliest 2023 events were the Southern / Midwestern Drought and Heat Wave ($14.5 billion) and the Southern and Eastern Severe Weather in early March ($6.0 billion). Adding the 2023 events to the record that began in 1980, the U.S. has sustained 376 weather and climate disasters with the overall damage costs reaching or exceeding $1 billion. The cumulative cost for these 376 events exceeds $2.660 trillion.

          2023 costs in historical context

          As with all years of the 2020s decade, 2023 was another very active year, featuring a high frequency, high cost, and large diversity of extreme events that affect people's lives and livelihoods. 2023 (red line) is the fourth consecutive year (2020-2023) in which 18 or more separate billion-dollar disaster events have impacted the U.S., marking a consistent pattern that is becoming the new normal. The 1980–2023 annual average (black line) is 8.5 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2019–2023) is 20.4 events (CPI-adjusted).

          1980-2023 US BDD Y-T-D Event Count

          Month-by-month accumulation of billion-dollar disasters for each year on record. The colored lines represent the top 6 years for most billion-dollar disasters. All other years are colored light gray. NOAA image by NCEI.

          Over the last seven years (2017-2023), 137 separate billion-dollar disasters have killed at least 5,500 people and cost >$1 trillion in damage. One of the drivers of this cost is that the U.S. has been impacted by landfalling Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in five of the last seven years, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Michael, Laura, Ida, and Ian. The U.S. was spared a major hurricane impacting a major metropolitan area in 2023, as Category 3 Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the less populated Big Bend region of Florida.

          1980-2023 US BDD YTD Event Cost

          Month-by-month accumulation of estimated costs of each year's billion-dollar disasters, with colored lines showing 2023 (red) and the previous top-10 costliest years. Other years are light gray. 2023 finished the year in tenth place for annual costs. NOAA image by NCEI.

          In broader context, the total cost of U.S. billion-dollar disasters over the last 5 years (2019-2023) is $603.1 billion, with a 5-year annual cost average of $120.6 billion, the latter of which is more than double the 44-year inflation-adjusted annual average cost. The U.S. billion-dollar disaster damage costs over the last 10-years (2014-2023) were also historically large: at least $1.2 trillion from 173 separate billion-dollar events.

          It is important to keep in mind that these estimates do not reflect the total cost of U.S. weather and climate disasters, only those associated with events more than $1 billion in damages. That means they are a conservative estimate of how much extreme weather costs the United States each year. However, these billion-dollar events do account for most of the damage from all recorded U.S. weather and climate events (NCEI; Munich Re), and they are becoming an increasingly larger percentage of the total damage costs from weather-related events at all scales and loss levels.

          The U.S. losses from billion-dollar disasters over the last seven years (2017-2023) are more than $1 trillion and have further skewed the total distribution of extreme weather costs. From 1980-2000, about 75% of all disaster-related costs were due to billion-dollar disasters, and by 2010, the percentage had risen to about 80%. By 2023, it has risen to >85% of all disaster-related costs, or $2.660 trillion out of $3.050 trillion.

          Increasing trend of high-cost disasters: exposure, vulnerability, and climate change

          The number and cost of weather and climate disasters are increasing in the United States due to a combination of increased exposure (i.e., more assets at risk), vulnerability (i.e., how much damage a hazard of given intensity—wind speed, or flood depth, for example—causes at a location), and the fact that climate change is increasing the frequency of some types of extremes that lead to billion-dollar disasters (Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment (2023).

          In other words, the increase in population and material wealth over the last several decades are an important cause for the rising costs. These trends are further complicated by the fact that much of the growth has taken place in vulnerable areas like coasts, the wildland-urban interface, and river floodplains. Vulnerability is especially high where building codes are insufficient for reducing damage from extreme events. This is part of the reason that the 2010s decade is far costlier than the 2000s, 1990s, or 1980s (all inflation adjusted to 2023 dollars).

          BDD time period comparison

          Screenshot of a table of summary statistics of billion-dollar disasters by decade and by latest 1, 3-, and 5-year periods. NCEI Billion-dollar disaster web interface.

          The cost per capita (see right y-axis in chart below) is also rising for the U.S. as a whole meaning that the costs of the billion-dollar disasters is rising more sharply than general population growth. The chart shows the 5-year-average disaster cost per capita was about $150 (inflation-adjusted) per U.S. resident in the early-2000’s. The 5-year average disaster cost per capita then increased above $400 per person in the late 2010’s and has remained at a high level in recent years. The cost per capita data can also be examined at state and regional level for more detail.

          US BDD cost per capita

          We also know from research using other kinds of climate and weather data that climate change is supercharging the increasing frequency and intensity of certain types of extreme weather that lead to billion-dollar disasters—most notably the rise in vulnerability to drought, lengthening wildfire seasons in the Western states, and the potential for extremely heavy rainfall becoming more common in the eastern states. Sea level rise is worsening hurricane storm surge flooding. (Read more about changes in climate and weather extremes in the Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment (2023). Given those trends, it’s likely that human-caused climate change is having an influence on the rising costs of billion-dollar disasters.

          Given all these compounding hazard risks, there is an increased need to focus on where we build, how we build, and investing in infrastructure updates that are designed for a 21st-century climate.

          Notable U.S. billion-dollar disasters of 2023

          Among the many weather and climate-related disasters to affect the U.S. in 2023, the following caused the most damaging impacts and heavily impacted many communities:

          Southern / Midwestern Drought and Heat Wave: 247 deaths, $14.5 billion

          Drought conditions impacted numerous Southern and Midwestern states. The agriculture sector in this particular area was also impacted, including damage to field crops from lack of rainfall and heat. Ranchers were forced to sell-off livestock early in some regions due to high feeding costs.

          Color-coded map of drought conditions around Mississippi River

          Drought conditions along the Mississippi River as of September 26, 2023. All 10 states the river borders or passes through had areas of at least abnormal dryness (yellow); 8 of the 10 were in some level of drought (orange to red). NASA Earth Observatory image, based on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor project.

          For the second straight year, portions of the Mississippi River experienced record-low water levels impacting river commerce. This also allowed salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to migrate northward, along the bottom of the Mississippi River, impacting water quality in southern Louisiana.

          Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather in early March 31-April 1: 33 deaths, $5.7 billion

          Tornado damage to multiple structures at Wynne High School

          Tornado damage to multiple structures at the high school in Wynne, Arkansas, following a tornado on March 31, 2023. Panoramic photo mosaic using 2 photos from the Arkansas Tornado 2023 Flickr album of insurance company State Farm. Used under a Creative Commons license.

          A destructive tornado outbreak on March 31 produced over 150 preliminary tornadoes across many southern and central states. This was the largest outbreak in a 24-hour period for the month of March. The surveyed tornado ratings so far include: 41 EF-0, 41 EF-1, 33 EF-2, 11 EF-3, and 1 EF-4 tornado. The strongest tornado from this event occurred in Keota, Iowa and was rated an EF-4 with maximum wind speeds of 170 mph (274 kph). Damage surveys pinpointed significant damage in parts of western Little Rock, Arkansas as an EF-3 injured 54 and led to one fatality in Pulaski County. Another EF-3 tornado injured 26 near Wayne, Tennessee while an EF-3 tornado near Covington, Tennessee injured 28 and led to four fatalities. In addition, large hail and damaging winds spread a swath of damage from Texas to Ohio impacting homes, vehicles, businesses, government buildings and infrastructure. In total, there were more than 20 fatalities and more than 200 injuries reported during this tornado outbreak.

          Hawaii firestorm, August 8: 100 deaths, $5.6 billion 

          In the contiguous U.S., the 2023 Western wildfire season was below average, but Canada and the island of Maui in Hawaii suffered unprecedented wildfire impacts and damage. On Maui, the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in over a century devastated the historic town of Lahaina. Winds from Hurricane Dora exacerbated the wildfire as it rapidly spread, destroying thousands of homes, vehicles and businesses in its path.

          Burned cars and structures in Lahaina, Maui Island

          Burned cars, signs, and other structures in Lahaina, on Maui Island, following a deadly fire on August 8, 2023. The X means the car in the foreground was searched and cleared. Photo cropped from original in the State Farm Flickr album 2023 Maui Wildfires. Used under a Creative Commons license.

          1980-2023 costs and fatalities by disaster type

          The distribution of damage from U.S. billion-dollar disaster events from 1980 to 2023 is dominated by tropical cyclone losses. Tropical cyclones have caused the most damage ($1,379.3 billion) and have the highest average event cost ($22.2 billion per event). Severe storms ($455.2 billion), drought ($352.9 billion),and inland flooding ($196.6 billion) have also caused considerable damage based on the list of billion-dollar events.

          Severe storms have caused the highest number of billion-dollar disaster events (186), but they have the lowest average event cost ($2.4 billion), not surprising given their localized nature. Tropical cyclones and flooding represent the second and third most frequent event types (62 and 44), respectively. Tropical cyclones are responsible for the highest number of deaths (6,897), followed by drought/heatwave events (4,522) and severe storms (2,094).

          Table of BDD cost per hazard type

          This table shows the breakdown, by hazard type, of the 376 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters assessed since 1980. Screenshot from the NOAA NCEI Billion-dollar Disasters webpage.

          In 2016-2018, the U.S. was impacted by 6 separate billion-dollar hurricanes (i.e., Matthew, Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, Michael) with 3,318 fatalities and an inflation-adjusted loss total of $400.8 billion. As a comparison, the U.S. also experienced a series of active hurricane seasons from 2003-2005 where 9 separate billion-dollar hurricanes (including Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005) made landfall, with 2,225 fatalities and an inflation-adjusted loss total of $352.9 billion.

          Climatology of billion-dollar disasters

          Disasters by region

          The South, Central and Southeast regions of the United States, including the Caribbean U.S. territories, have suffered the highest cumulative damage costs, reflecting the severity and widespread vulnerability of those regions to a variety of weather and climate events.

          In addition to the highest number of billion-dollar disasters experienced, Texas also leads the U.S. in total cumulative costs (~$402 billion) from billion-dollar disasters since 1980. Florida is the second-leading state in total costs since 1980 (~$389 billion), largely the result of destructive hurricane impacts. Louisiana’s total costs are the 3rd highest (~$304 billion) from billion-dollar disasters.

          US BDD map of cost per 1 million residents

          Screenshot of a map the US showing the billion-dollar disasters cost per 1 million residents for each state during 2023. NOAA NCEI image from the Billion-dollar Disaster web mapping tool.

          The map above shows how the impact of the 2023 Southern and Central Drought combined with the many severe storm events caused more than one dozen states to have $2-5 billion in damage costs EACH. The costliest hazard overall was severe storm events with $54.0 billion in damage. Dozens of states across the nation sustained relatively high levels of damage from hail, derechos and tornadoes. Four separate billion-dollar flood events also were impactful across California, Florida and the Northeast. 

          Billion-dollar disasters by month

          US Monthly Climatology of BBD

          The monthly climatology of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters from 1980 to 2023, showing which months have the greater frequency of disasters (height of bar) and which types of events (colors) are most likely to occur in a given month. NOAA NCEI image.

          The 44-year climatology of U.S. billion-dollar disasters offers a view of risk from extreme events, which are often seasonal in nature. For example, during the spring months (March-May) severe storms (green blocks), including tornadoes, hail, and high winds, often occur in many Central and Southeast states, but they taper off in the second half of the year. During the spring months there is also greater potential for major river flooding (i.e., deep blue events in chart above). U.S. springtime flooding from snowmelt and/or heavy rainfall is a persistent hazard that affects many towns and agriculture regions within the Missouri and Mississippi River basins, among others. During the fall season, Gulf and Atlantic coast states must be vigilant about hurricane season particularly during August and September (i.e., yellow events in chart above).

          Also, the peak of the Western U.S. wildfire season occurs during the fall months of September, October and November (i.e., orange events in chart above). California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Colorado often experience enhanced wildfire risk and related poor air quality for weeks to months. Western wildfire risk is also becoming more hazardous, as 17 of the 20 largest California wildfires by acreage and 18 of the 20 most destructive wildfires by number of buildings destroyed have occurred since the year 2000. In four of the last seven years (2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021), California has experienced historically large and costly wildfires, with losses well exceeding $70.0 billion.

          In total, each region of the U.S. faces a unique combination of recurring hazards, as billion-dollar disaster events have affected every state since 1980. The chart above highlights how the frequency of billion-dollar disasters differs across both time and space. The combined historical risk of U.S. severe storms and river flooding events places the spring and summer seasons in the high-risk category for simultaneous extreme weather and climate events, while hurricanes, wildfires and drought dominate the fall season.

          Compound extremes

          The increase in disasters creates 'compound extremes' (e.g., billion-dollar disaster events that occur at the same time or in sequence), which are also an increasing problem for recovery. As noted in the recent Fifth National Climate Assessment (2023), "climate change is also increasing the risk of multiple extremes occurring simultaneously in different locations that are connected by complex human and natural systems. For instance, simultaneous megafires across multiple western states and record back-to-back Atlantic hurricanes in 2020 caused unprecedented demand on federal emergency response resources."

          US Monthly Climatology BDD frequency graph

          This graph shows the percent frequency of a given month having at least one billion-dollar disaster (light pink bars), 2 or more events (medium pink bars), 3 or more (red), 4 or more (darker red), or 5 or more (darkest red). Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters occur in all months, but the spring and summer (March–Aug) are the time when multiple, concurrent disasters are likely. A second maximum occurs in the Fall driving by tropical cyclones. Screenshot from the NCEI Billion-dollar Disasters webpage.

          Other examples include multiple hurricane landfalls (Hurricanes Ian and Nicole) in Florida within a span of several weeks in 2022. And most recently, in 2023, when Central states were impacted by back-to-back severe storm outbreaks compounding the disaster recovery process.

          Over the last six years (2018-2022), there were just 18 days on average between billion-dollar disasters compared to 82 days in the 1980s. Shorter time intervals between disasters often mean less time and resources available to respond, recover and prepare for future events. This increased frequency of events produces cascading impacts that are particularly challenging for vulnerable socioeconomic populations.

          Explore the billion-dollar disasters database from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

          ]]>           INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DAY 2024 https://sdgtalks.ai/international-education-day-2024 https://sdgtalks.ai/international-education-day-2024 Wed, 24 Jan 2024 07:46:47 -0500 Joshua INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DAY 2024 Tourism, urbanization and natural resources rents matter for environmental sustainability: The leading role of AI and ICT on sustainable development goals in the digital era https://sdgtalks.ai/tourism-urbanization-and-natural-resources-rents-matter-for-environmental-sustainability-the-leading-role-of-ai-and-ict-on-sustainable-development-goals-in-the-digital-era https://sdgtalks.ai/tourism-urbanization-and-natural-resources-rents-matter-for-environmental-sustainability-the-leading-role-of-ai-and-ict-on-sustainable-development-goals-in-the-digital-era Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:35:08 -0500 njvahlberg Natural resources economy, Digital era, ICTNatural resources, Urbanization, OECD economies

          Highlights

          • The data presents a substantial benchmark to summarize sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the era of digitalization.

          • This study tries to investigate the impact of ICT on CO2 in digitalized era.

          • Natural resources, URB and tourism raise the carbon emissions.

          • ICT significantly improves the environmental quality.

          • Moderate role ICT also significantly contributes to environmental sustainability.

          Abstract

          In the era of development, the world is facing severe challenges, and environmental degradation is one of them. However, the globe has tried to introduce several initiatives to fight for environmental sustainability, such as the Sustainable Development Goals. The leading role of the proposed goals is to balance development and environmental anxiety. Therefore, to these issues, artificial intelligence and technological advancements play a vital role in the natural resource economy in the digital age. Policy analysts are always looking for solutions and have come up with several viable remedies to this problem. Consequently, information & communication technology (ICT) plays a significant role in sustainability in the digital era. However, under the theme of natural resource sustainability, the effectiveness of ICT has a significant impact on sustainability. Accordingly, the current study investigates the long-run effect of income per capita, tourism, natural resources rents, urbanization, and ICT on environmental sustainability in 36 OECD economies from 2000 to 2018. The current research employs an Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and two-step GMM to investigate the study's objectives. Results show the positive contribution of urbanization, natural resources, and tourism to CO2 emissions, while ICT reduces emissions. Besides, an inverted EKC curve is also validated for selected economies. In addition, the moderate effect of ICT on urbanization, natural resources, and tourism shows a significant decline in CO2 emissions. In light of the findings, this study recommends several crucial measures for environmental sustainability.

          Graphical abstract

          Image 1

          ]]>           Bridging resource disparities for sustainable development: A comparative analysis of resource-rich and resource-scarce countries https://sdgtalks.ai/bridging-resource-disparities-for-sustainable-development-a-comparative-analysis-of-resource-rich-and-resource-scarce-countries https://sdgtalks.ai/bridging-resource-disparities-for-sustainable-development-a-comparative-analysis-of-resource-rich-and-resource-scarce-countries Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:32:41 -0500 njvahlberg Resource-rich country, Resource-scarce country, Inconsistency, Disparities, Sustainable development

          1. Introduction

          The inconsistency between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries, and its impact on sustainable development are a critical concern for the international community. With the deepening of globalization and international cooperation, the issue of resource allocation among countries has gained prominence, particularly regarding energy, minerals, and other resources (Feng et al., 2023; Zheng et al., 2023). Effectively managing and allocating resources while promoting balanced utilization and sustainable development on a global scale has become a shared challenge (Irfan et al., 2023).

          This paper aims to address the disparities between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries and shed light on their implications for sustainable development. By conducting a comparative analysis, we contribute to the existing literature by providing insights into the challenges faced by resource-scarce, including medium human development index (HDI) and low HDI countries, and proposing strategies for bridging the resource disparities. Additionally, our research emphasizes the key benefits of this paper for resource-scarce countries. Specifically, our contributions lie in the following aspects: First, we highlight the challenges faced by resource-scarce countries, including environmental problems, inadequate infrastructure, poverty, social inequality, environmental destruction, and climate change. Further, we emphasize the importance of promoting environmentally friendly development in resource-scarce countries to mitigate environmental damage and effectively tackle climate change. Lastly, we highlight the significance of enhancing research and development efforts and utilizing both new and traditional energy sources for achieving sustainable development.

          According to World Bank statistics, 36 countries in the world possess over 80% of natural resource reserves, primarily smaller and medium-sized countries, while 144 other countries have natural resource accounting for less than 1% of the global total (Oberle et al., 2019). This clear disparity between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries has significant negative consequences.

          To begin with, resource-rich countries experience rapid economic development due to their abundant resources. However, if these resources are not managed and allocated effectively, it can undermine sustainable development. Some countries, constrained by limitations and lacking means to ensure resource utilization, struggle to achieve sustainable development.

          Furthermore, resource-rich countries’ large reserves of natural resources enable them to successfully attract external investors (Asiedu, 2006). However, the influx of such a large number of investors can increase competition pressure and impact the existing labor force, ecology, culture, and legal norms (De Mello Jr, 1997; Zhang, 2001). In South Africa, the rapidly expanding mining industry has brought numerous outsiders, new factories, ecological problems, and street problems (Abdurashidovich, 2020). Hence, the rapid expansion of overseas companies has greatly affected the local people. These issues can lead to large-scale instability and unpredictable situations in society, with implications for sustainable development.

          Lastly, unbalanced natural resource reserves can affect competitiveness among countries (Irfan et al., 2022; Zeng et al., 2022). Despite performing better than resource-scarce countries in many aspects such as culture, education level, manpower, legal system, and legal norms (Dorninger et al., 2021), countries with relatively rich reserves of natural resources may still have a lower level of competitiveness. This imbalance in natural resources prevents a region from becoming truly competitive, even if it excels in other aspects.

          In conclusion, although a country rich in natural resources has ample reserves to rapidly develop its economy and attract external investors, it cannot effectively ensure competitiveness or guarantee sustainable use of these natural resources. This situation leads to ecological problems, cultural shocks, and the erosion of legal norms, ultimately affecting the country’s overall sustainable development. Therefore, effective management and allocation of resources is the key to promoting the efficient use of global resources and sustainable development. In this regard, the governments of various countries need to take active actions to establish a reasonable resource management system to ensure the sustainable use of resources and promote sustainable development. Simultaneously, the international community should strengthen cooperation by formulating common standards and rules for resource management to reduce the inequity of resource distribution and promote the common development of all countries. Only through cooperation and hard work can we jointly promote the balanced use of global resources and achieve sustainable development.

          2. Resource-rich countries

          2.1. Resource management capabilities

          Resource management capacity in resource-rich countries is critical to achieving sustainable development. Sustainable development is one of the most important tasks in today’s era, and its core goal is to achieve sustainable economic, social, cultural, and technological development under the premise of protecting the environment (Alper and Oguz, 2016). According to the report of the financial media Investopedia, Table 1 lists the ten countries with the highest total value of natural resources in the world. Resource abundance is a natural competitive advantage, but resource-rich countries are faced with complex issues such as how to use, protect and share resources, as well as how to promote sustainable development (Zhu et al., 2023). Consequently, they must strive to develop effective resource management capabilities.

          Table 1. Ten countries with the highest total value of natural resources.

          Countries Main Resource Types Value
          Russia Oil, natural gas, aluminum, arsenic, cement, copper, magnesium metals and nitrogen, palladium, silicon and vanadium, etc. $75 trillion
          United States Coal, wood, coal, oil, natural gas, iron ore, potassium, phosphate, sulfur, etc. $45 trillion
          Saudi Arabia Crude oil, natural gas, copper, feldspar, phosphate, silver, sulfur, tungsten, zinc, etc. $34.4 trillion
          Canada Wood, fresh water, potassium, uranium, tungsten, cadmium, nickel, lead, etc. $33.2 trillion
          Iran Crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur, etc. $27.3 trillion
          China Coal, rare earth, antimony, coal, gold, graphite, lead, molybdenum, phosphate, tin, tungsten, vanadium, zinc, bauxite, cobalt, copper, manganese, silver, and chromium, etc. $23 trillion
          Brazil Wood, petroleum, gold, iron, oil, uranium, bauxite, platinum, copper, tin, etc. $21.8 trillion
          Australia Petroleum, natural gas, alumina, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, rare earth elements, ore, lead, zinc, diamonds, etc. $19.9 trillion
          Iraq Oil, natural gas, phosphate, sulfur, etc. $15.9 trillion
          Venezuela Iron, natural gas, oil, iron ore, gold, bauxite, hydropower, diamonds, etc. $14.3 trillion

          Source: Investopedia

          To begin with, resource-rich countries should adopt efficient resource utilization methods. According to a survey by the World Resources Institute, 59% of the land, 41% of the water, and 89% of the energy are used globally, indicating that there are problems of overexploitation and waste in natural resource utilization (Li et al., 2022b). Therefore, resource-rich countries should adopt effective methods, including ecological agriculture, low-energy production technology, recycling technology, and advanced information technology, to utilize natural resources. These methods reduce the use of natural resources and bring ecological conservation benefits.

          Further, resource-rich countries should ensure their resource supply through diversification. According to Deloitte’s figures, more than 80% of China’s raw materials are imported, and they often face various supply risks (including price risk and supply interruption risk). This shows that a single source of supply to ensure sufficient supply is difficult. Therefore, resource-rich countries should ensure their resource supply through diversification to avoid the risks brought by a single source of supply and make full use of their unique advantages. Ensuring supply through diversification can simultaneously effectively reduce the impact of the crisis and increase national competitiveness.

          Lastly, resource-rich countries must undertake the principle of permanent measurement and distribution considering ensuring the benefits of the people and committing to permanent guarantees. The “2030 Sustainable Development Goals” clearly defined the principle of “fundamentally equitable, reasonable, inclusive, balanced benefits and sharing opportunities for all countries” (Biglari et al., 2022). According to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Report in 2017, although the world’s poor population has generally declined in recent years (from 1.86 billion to 1.07 billion), the gap between the poor population is widening. This shows that although resource-rich countries have many resources, owning to one-sided resource allocation, they have not effectively brought about fair, reasonable, and inclusive development. Therefore, resource-rich countries must undertake the principle of permanent measurement and distribution, focusing on fairness and inclusiveness in the process of resource utilization and distribution, and ensure that resource utilization and distribution do not further widen the gap between the rich and poor. Simultaneously, resource-rich countries should pay attention to social responsibility, promote the fair use and sharing of resources and enhance the country’s image and credibility by cooperation with all sectors of society.

          In conclusion, as a country rich in natural raw material resources, developing effective resource management capabilities is the key to determining whether it can achieve sustainable development. To reduce waste through effective resource utilization; in contrast, to ensure a large supply of raw materials through a diversified strategy to avoid the impact of the crisis, considering how to find the best method between optimizing the use and avoiding waste is essential.

          2.2. Sustainable resources using

          The sustainable use of resources is the key to ensuring the sustainable development of resource-rich countries. That needs to start from many aspects, including scientific and technological innovation (Su and Fan, 2022), policies and regulations (Ahmed et al., 2022), market mechanisms (Tian and Feng, 2022), and public education (Zou and Zhang, 2022).

          To begin with, scientific and technological innovation is an important guarantee for the sustainable use of resources. Resource-rich countries should increase investment and efforts in scientific and technological innovation, promote technologies such as new energy, new materials, and new processes, improve resource utilization efficiency, and reduce resource consumption intensity (Ke et al., 2022). Simultaneously, the transformation and application of scientific and technological strides should be strengthened, and the coordinated development of resource utilization and environmental protection should be promoted (Ding et al., 2022).

          Additionally, policies and regulations are important to safeguard the sustainable use of resources. Resource-rich countries should establish a sound policy and regulatory system, improve resource taxation and resource compensation mechanisms, and encourage resource-saving and environmentally friendly production and consumption methods (Lee et al., 2022). Simultaneously, strengthen the implementation of policies and regulations, strengthen resource management and supervision, and prevent excessive exploitation and waste of resources (Xu et al., 2022).

          Furthermore, the market mechanism is an important means for the sustainable use of resources. Resource-rich countries should strengthen market supervision, establish a fair, transparent, and effective market mechanism, and promote the formation of resource prices and the optimization of resource allocation (Beumer et al., 2022). Simultaneously, enterprises should be encouraged and supported to carry out resource-saving and environmentally friendly production and operation (Li et al., 2023), as well as promote the coordinated development of resource utilization and environmental protection (Arslan et al., 2022).

          Finally, public education is important to safeguard the sustainable use of resources. Resource-rich countries should strengthen public education, popularize resource-saving and environmentally friendly production and consumption knowledge, and enhance public awareness and understanding of sustainable resource utilization (Owojori et al., 2022). Simultaneously, the participation of social organizations and civil forces should be strengthened to promote the coordinated development of resource utilization and environmental protection (Bonnedahl et al., 2022).

          2.3. Investment opportunities and advantages

          Resource-rich countries can use their natural resources to make large-scale investments to boost their local economies. Numerous industrial plants and related infrastructure are built using local resources (Hu et al., 2023a). There are abundant energy development projects, agricultural production, tourism development projects, financial services, educational services, and medical services that are implemented through large-scale investment using local natural resources (Fahad et al., 2022). In addition, because local people focus more on local culture, historical heritage, and locally endemic species, they invest considerable manpower and material resources in protecting local cultural heritage, endemic species, and the ecological environment to protect local cultural heritage, endemic species, and the ecological environment (Barrile et al., 2022).

          Because resource-rich countries have energy cost advantages, open markets, and abundant overseas markets (remarkably the ability to use low-cost energy to mine other energy to promote industrial structure upgrading) (Hu and Zhang, 2023). Resource-rich countries can effectively use this competitive advantage for development. For example, “Competitive Situation of China’s Integrated Circuit Industry in 2018” shows that China’s IC industry has formed a certain competitive advantage. “Competitive Situation of Indian IT Industry in 2018” shows that the Indian IT industry has formed a certain competitive advantage (Liu et al., 2022).

          With the increasing level of globalization (according to 2018 IMF data, global GDP was almost balanced between 2016 and 2017), the competition among countries is becoming increasingly fierce (Buckley, 2022). Considering how to use the advantages and disadvantages among countries to promote competitive advantages among countries has great practical significance. Subsequently, attracting external parties to expand the domestic market is a necessary consideration.

          In short, as a resource-rich country, it can use its massive renewable energy as internal support to promote the expansion of the international market and ensure that the local cultural heritage, endemic species, and ecological environment are fully protected. It is one of the advantages that cannot be ignored to attract external parties to market expansion in the domestic market by supporting corresponding laws and regulations with a large amount of manpower and material resources.

          2.4. Social and economic impacts

          The resource management capabilities and resource development methods of resource-rich countries affect environmental sustainability and directly affect the sustainable development of the country’s society and economy.

          To begin with, the resource management capabilities of resource-rich countries directly affect their economic development. Resource development has always been the economic pillar of many countries, but in the process of resource development, if good resource management ability does not exist, it wastes many resources and may lead to environmental damage and social unrest (Mlachila and Ouedraogo, 2020). In addition, relying solely on the development of certain resources may lead to a single economic structure, lack of economic diversity, and increase economic risks (Frances et al., 2023). Consequently, resource-rich countries should develop diversified industries and promote the coordination of resource development and economic development.

          Further, the resource management capabilities of resource-rich countries affect the sustainable development of society. In the process of resource development, social equity, and people’s livelihood issues need to be taken into consideration. If resource development is not conducive to people’s livelihood and social equity, it can lead to social instability and social unrest (Badeeb et al., 2017). Consequently, resource-rich countries should fully consider social equity and people's livelihood issues in resource development and take measures to protect people’s livelihood and rights.

          Lastly, the resource management capabilities of resource-rich countries can affect the attitude and cooperation of the international community. Global resources are limited, and resource development and management methods in resource-rich countries affect the fairness of global resource distribution. If resources are not developed and managed appropriately, it may lead to trade restrictions and sanctions against the country by the international community and may lead to tensions in international relations (Germond-Duret, 2014). Therefore, resource-rich countries should cooperate with the international community to adopt sustainable resource management methods to promote the fairness and sustainability of global resource distribution.

          In conclusion, resource-rich countries are faced with complex issues of utilization, protection, and sharing of resources and must strive to develop effective resource management capabilities. To achieve sustainable development, resource-rich countries should adopt efficient resource use, diversified resource supply, and permanent measurement of distribution principles while taking into account social and economic impacts. In recent years, all countries in the world have been contributing to sustainable development. Table 2 demonstrates the energy development strategies and policy trends of some major resource-rich countries in the world according to the report of Zhongneng Media Research Institute. Only under the premise of adopting sustainable resource management methods can the sustainable development of resource utilization, economy, society, and the environment be achieved.

          Table 2. Energy development strategies and policy trends of some major resource-rich countries.

          Countries Energy development strategies and policy trends
          Russia Russia will reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2019 levels by 2050 and by 80% from 1990 levels, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
          Canada Canada will ban new gas car sales in 2035 and aims for net-zero emissions by 2050.
          China China strives to reach the peak of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and strives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
          France France will rely on renewables and nuclear power to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050
          United Kingdom The UK will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% in 2035 compared with 1990 and will achieve a 100% clean carbon-free power supply in the power system by 2035.
          United States The United States seeks net-zero electricity sector emissions by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

          Source: China Energy Media Group Co., Ltd

          3. Resource-scarce countries

          3.1. Environmental issues and public health crises

          The inconsistency between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries, and its impact on sustainable development, especially regarding environmental issues and public health crises, have attracted the attention of scholars (Abid et al., 2022; Nazar et al., 2022). Due to resource scarcity, resource-scarce countries face severe challenges, notably in addressing climate change, protecting biodiversity, and reducing pollution (Hu, 2023).

          According to a survey conducted by the International Energy Agency, in resource-scarce countries most affected by climate change, nearly 90% of the population cannot receive healthy water supplies (Salehi, 2022). In addition, the agency found that nearly half of the world’s population currently lives in highly uneven climate conditions, which would make it difficult for resource-scarce countries to implement effective climate change adaptation strategies (Birkmann et al., 2022).

          The biodiversity estimate shows that the majority of countries experiencing significant biodiversity loss are resource-scarce countries (Habibullah et al., 2022). The assessment shows that biodiversity is declining dramatically due to increasing population pressure, agricultural expansion, mining, logging, fishing, tourism development, and other forms of expansion.

          Due to limited resources, it is difficult for resource-scarce countries to effectively treat gaseous waste gas, industrial wastewater, agricultural chemicals, raw material waste, and biological waste. According to a survey conducted by the Global Health Department, most resource-scarce countries cannot have the capacity to effectively dispose of the aforementioned waste, which can pose a huge risk to public health (Narayanamoorthy et al., 2022).

          In short, resource-scarce countries face enormous challenges in addressing climate change, protecting biodiversity, and reducing the public health risks posed by waste products because of their limited resources. For a country with limited resources to have a sustainable development system that can truly guarantee the health and happiness of the people, pay more attention to related issues and take strong and practical actions to promote sustainable development.

          3.2. Insufficient infrastructure

          With the development of the population, economy, and ecological system in countries worldwide, the problem of resource imbalance has become increasingly prominent. Some countries have many natural resources, while others barely have any. Such imbalances can have major implications for sustainable global development.

          Inadequate infrastructure is a common problem in resource-scarce countries, as Table 3 displays. Infrastructure is an indispensable basic element in modern society, and it involves various fields, including transportation, communication, energy, and water resources (Frances et al.). It provides the necessary support and guarantee for economic development, social progress, and people’s lives. However, in some resource-scarce countries, the construction and maintenance of infrastructure are relatively backward, and it is difficult to meet the development needs of the country and the basic living needs of the people (Hu et al., 2023a).

          Table 3. Resource-scarce countries and inadequate infrastructure.

          Countries Inadequate infrastructure and resources
          Costa Rica Costa Rica has almost no natural resources. Although Costa Rica is surrounded by the sea, it is not rich in resources. The country’s investment and maintenance projects are relatively poor.
          Gibraltar Gibraltar has almost no natural resources. Gibraltar’s defense and foreign affairs are handled by the United Kingdom, and its infrastructure construction is backward.
          Jan Mayen i. Jan Mayen Island has only a part of gravel but is undeveloped and infrastructure is lacking.
          Vatican The Vatican has no resources of its own, and its infrastructure is largely focused on meeting the needs of the Holy See and Catholic pilgrims.

          Source: Authors’ summary and organization

          Regarding transport, resource-scarce countries often lack efficient road and rail networks. This causes people to face the problem of inconvenient transportation in their daily life and business activities. Additionally, this affects the development of agriculture and manufacturing because the lack of good transportation infrastructure makes it difficult to transport materials (Zhao et al., 2022). Simultaneously, it may also harm the tourism industry, as tourists need good transport infrastructure to reach their desired destinations (Hafid et al., 2022).

          Regarding communications, resource-scarce countries often face difficulties. Many people lack basic communication tools such as mobile phones and the Internet. This makes people limited in information transfer and communication (Zhang et al., 2022). This can harm economic development, as modern economies require efficient communication networks to support commerce and trade.

          In the energy sector, some resource-scarce countries lack reliable energy supplies. This makes people face the problem of power outages and lack of fuel in daily life. Simultaneously, it also hurts the development of the industry and manufacturing industry because these industries require a lot of energy to support the production process (Jamil, 2022). The lack of a reliable energy supply can lead to instability in energy prices, which can adversely affect the economy.

          Regarding water resources, some resource-scarce countries are facing the problems of water resource shortages and water pollution. This makes people face drinking water difficulties and sanitation problems in their daily life. Simultaneously, it negatively affects agriculture and fisheries, as these industries require sufficient water resources to support the production process (Morin-Crini et al., 2022).

          Some resource-scarce countries cannot function properly due to inadequate infrastructure. According to the “2018 Gross National Product” (GDP) and “2018 Capacity Distribution” (CDI), more than 90% of people in low- and middle-income countries live without access to electricity, water, and healthcare services (Torres et al., 2019; Yakubu et al., 2022). In addition, more than 85% of people live without access to necessary education services and necessary road construction jobs (Singh et al., 2023). This means that most low-income countries do not have access to advanced, information technology (IT)-based services in communication, capacity, education, healthcare, capacity development, and agriculture and therefore cannot develop sustainably (Cai et al., 2023; Bai et al., 2023). Equally important: since low-income countries cannot have the capacity to develop new sources of energy or use new sources of energy to replace traditional sources of energy (such as crude oil, natural gas, or hydropower), they are unable to harness new sources of energy to reduce their impact on climate change, which also hinders the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in low-income countries.

          Some low-income countries possess large quantities of natural gas, atomic energy, or mining resources (including copper, iron, or gold) but cannot develop these natural gas, atomic energy, or mining resources. This prevents them from implementing sustainable development goals. Example: As recently as July 1, 2008, Nigeria was in the midst of a complex situation, in which it had vast reserves of atomic energy, natural gas, copper, iron, and gold but was unable to develop them (Afolabi, 2019).

          In summary, the irrational distribution of natural resources leaves some countries with large amounts of natural resources at the expense of others, who do not benefit for specific reasons, including inadequate infrastructure, that can impede the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

          3.3. Poverty and social inequality

          Many resource-scarce countries often face poverty and social inequality, another important factor that makes sustainable development difficult. Due to economic and resource scarcity, populations in many resource-scarce countries live in extreme poverty, lacking food, water, and basic medical facilities (Seferidi et al., 2022). In some countries, the problems of resource scarcity and social inequality reinforce each other, forming a vicious circle that leads to unstable, unjust, and unsustainable social development (Schüle et al., 2019).

          A report issued by the United Nations noted that although Africa is rich in natural resources, its per capita GDP is the lowest in the world. According to data from the World Bank, the poverty rate in sub-Saharan Africa is as high as 40%, and approximately 400 million people live in extreme poverty (Salecker et al., 2020). These data show a strong link between poverty and resource scarcity and suggest that achieving Sustainable Development Goals can be enormously challenging in the absence of resources.

          Therefore, a range of policies and measures are required to address poverty and social inequality in resource-scarce countries (Wang et al., 2023). These include improving infrastructure, strengthening education and training, promoting technological innovation, reducing agricultural and food waste, improving public health and medical facilities, promoting social justice and equality, and improving political stability and governance. Only through the implementation of these measures can a stable, prosperous, and sustainable social system be established in resource-scarce countries.

          3.4. Environmental damage and climate change

          Other important issues facing resource-scarce countries are environmental destruction and climate change. The development of the economy and society requires many resources and much energy consumption, which leads to the destruction of the environment and the collapse of the ecosystem (Waheed et al., 2019). Environmental damage and climate change are particularly problematic in some countries, including oil-exporting countries. These countries depend on the export of resources, including oil; however, the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental damage caused by these exports have attracted global attention (Yusuf et al., 2020).

          Simultaneously, climate change has brought many challenges to resource-scarce countries. These countries cannot generally adapt to climate change, so the impact of climate change has a great impact on their economic and social development. Extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and sea-level rise can lead to reduced agricultural harvests, water shortages, and infrastructure damage (Beillouin et al., 2020). These factors may further exacerbate poverty and social inequality, leading to social instability and unsustainable development.

          To address these challenges, a series of measures are needed. These measures include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency, promoting renewable energy, protecting ecosystems and natural resources, strengthening environmental monitoring and management, promoting a low-carbon economy, and strengthening the ability to adapt to climate change (Bi et al., 2023). These measures help to mitigate the effects of climate change and environmental damage and promote sustainable economic and social development, thereby achieving sustainable development goals for resource-scarce countries (Fernando et al., 2022).

          In conclusion, the challenges faced by resource-scarce countries are multifaceted, including economic development, social stability, poverty and social inequality, environmental damage, and climate change. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, a series of comprehensive measures are needed, including improving infrastructure, strengthening education and training, promoting technological innovation, reducing waste, improving public health and medical facilities, promoting social justice and equality, and strengthening environmental protection and resilience to climate change. Sustainable development in resource-scarce countries and global sustainable development goals can solely be achieved through international cooperation and joint efforts.

          4. Impact of inconsistencies on sustainable development

          4.1. People’s living standards

          Improving people’s living standards has always been a vital objective of national development and a crucial aspect of sustainable development. The effective adoption of sustainable development strategies plays a pivotal role in achieving this goal. Resource-rich countries can employ sustainable development principles, utilizing their abundant natural resources to develop diverse industries, create employment opportunities, and stimulate economic growth, thus enhancing the living standards of their citizens. For instance, China’s implementation of sustainable development practices has resulted in a nominal increase of 6.9% in the country’s total GDP and a real increase of 7.3% in the per capita disposable income of rural residents (Shi et al., 2019). However, it is important to note that resource-scarce countries can also enhance their citizens’ living standards through the adoption of sustainable development strategies.

          Resource-scarce countries implement sustainable development, save energy, reduce waste, protect natural ecology, and make efficient use of natural resources. In South Africa, where resources such as land, water, oil, and electricity are scarce, the South African Department of Energy uses a “Strategic Energy Plan” to implement sustainable energy development. According to the department’s 2018 annual energy audit, South Africa reduced its electricity consumption by 43.77 million megajoules; from 2006 to 2016, the actual change in South Africa’s electricity energy efficiency was significant (+14.3%) (Baker and Phillips, 2019). Additionally, South Africa has greatly reduced the waste of natural resources and improved the living standards of local people by reducing waste, promoting recycling, and strengthening the integration of industrial chains.

          Resource-scarce countries can save energy, reduce waste and protect natural ecology by adopting sustainable development strategies. In South Africa, the South African Department of Energy adopts a “Strategic Energy Plan” to implement sustainable energy development (Mutezo and Mulopo, 2021). South Africa has greatly reduced the waste of natural resources and improved the living standards of local people by reducing waste, promoting recycling, and strengthening the integration of industrial chains. Sustainable development can effectively improve people’s living standards in the country and protect the natural environment. In recent years, countries worldwide have faced serious challenges of environmental pollution and its impact on sustainable development (Seddon et al., 2020). Resource-rich countries must realize that their natural resources are limited, and overuse of these resources may lead to environmental damage, thereby affecting sustainable development. Many oil-exporting countries have neglected environmental protection in the process of economic development, resulting in problems such as oil field pollution, deforestation, and wildlife extinction. Consequently, these countries need to adopt sustainable development strategies to ensure that their natural resources are used rationally and protected.

          Conversely, resource-scarce countries may face greater challenges due to environmental pollution and climate change, as they often rely more heavily on the environment for their economic and social development. Sustainable development is particularly crucial for these countries, as it enables them to address environmental challenges, promote resource efficiency, and ensure the long-term sustainability of their economic and social progress.

          In summary, the adoption of sustainable development principles is instrumental in improving people’s living standards and protecting the natural environment in both resource-rich and resource-scarce countries.

          4.2. Ecological environment

          In recent years, the detrimental impact of environmental pollution on sustainable development has become increasingly evident, posing a significant global challenge. According to the 2015 Global Environmental Responsibility Report, more than 600,000 people die each day due to air, water, and other forms of pollution. It is projected that at least 158 million individuals will succumb to air, water, and soil pollution within the next three decades (Vohra et al., 2021). Moreover, the emission of chemical substances, including carbon dioxide and methane from fossil fuel consumption, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, has adverse effects on global climate change and ecosystems. Thus, protecting the environment has become an imperative requirement for sustainable development.

          Environmental protection plays a pivotal role in implementing sustainable development for several reasons. Firstly, it helps mitigate environmental impacts by reducing resource and energy waste, maximizing the efficient utilization of limited resources, and preventing wasteful practices. Further, environmental protection contributes to minimizing the adverse effects of chemicals on ecosystems. The substantial decline in global biodiversity over the past fifty years, as documented in the 2017 Review of Ecology, can be attributed, in part, to the harmful effects of excessive chemical use (Sugai et al., 2019). The harm to ecosystems caused by large quantities of chemicals is one of the reasons for this. Therefore, protecting the environment helps to reduce harm to the ecosystem while simultaneously helping to ensure the safety of people’s lives. Lastly, protecting the environment helps promote sustainable development. Currently, all countries in the world have issued various laws and regulations to strictly monitor and protect the public interest, strengthen the monitoring of relevant departments, develop new energy sources, reduce waste gas and waste, start “low-carbon” and “no-waste gas” production methods and carry out “low energy consumption” and “zero waste” behaviors (Hu et al., 2023b). These measures are actions taken to ensure people’s survival. Ensuring ecological security, reducing the use of chemical substances, optimizing energy distribution, and innovatively applying new energy can help bring people into a truly “low energy consumption” era.

          In conclusion, protecting the environment is a vital component of sustainable development. It aids in reducing negative impacts on ecosystems, promotes low energy consumption and zero waste practices, and ensures sustainable development. Therefore, all countries must adopt effective policy measures, fully recognize the importance of environmental protection, and promote the restoration of ecosystems, thereby enabling humanity to transition into a genuine era of low energy consumption and achieve sustainable development.

          4.3. Energy production and utilization methods

          Sustainable development aims to protect the environment, meet current needs, and ensure future social, economic, and cultural development. One of the key influencing factors is the improvement of energy production and utilization, which plays an important role in mitigating the differences between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries.

          Taking China as an example, China is a country with scarce energy, but the government’s emphasis on energy utilization has led China to vigorously promote new energy power generation in 2016, and its total installed capacity of new energy power generation has increased by more than 200% between 2016 and 2019. According to the “2019 China New Energy Power Generation Market Development Report”, the total installed capacity of new energy power generation in the country reached 73,000 MW in 2019, accounting for 26.4% of the country’s total installed capacity. Among them, wind power capacity accounts for 61.0%of all new energy installed capacity, solar energy capacity accounts for 20.1%, and biomass energy, hydropower energy, and geothermal energy account for 7.3%, 5.3%, and 2.6%, respectively (Li et al., 2022a).

          China has made substantial improvements in conventional energy generation. Relying on a variety of traditional power generation methods, including nuclear power, gas, thermal power, hydropower, and coal power, China achieved 35% of low-carbon power generation in 2018, and the proportion of low-carbon power generation in 2019 exceeded 40% (Fan et al., 2020). Conventional power generation is an essential source for safeguarding public life in China.

          Countries should address resource disparities through concerted efforts and robust policies. Pertinent departments should strengthen the formulation and implementation of laws and regulations about new energy and its utilization, fostering the production and consumption of new energy sources. Moreover, countries should enhance cooperation, establish labor divisions, and avoid unnecessary competition in traditional energy utilization. Additionally, promoting the development and utilization of advanced storage, recycling, and renewable energy technologies is essential in reducing waste in traditional energy consumption.

          In conclusion, endeavors to bridge resource disparities between countries significantly contribute to promoting sustainable development. Strengthening the production and utilization of new energy, optimizing traditional energy utilization to minimize waste, and international collaboration are effective means of advancing sustainable development.

          5. Conclusions

          In this paper, we explore the inconsistency between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries and the implications of this inconsistency for sustainable development. We find significant differences between them in terms of resource management, environmental issues, infrastructure, poverty, and social inequality.

          Resource-rich countries have better resource management capabilities and sustainable use of resources. This capability and approach enable these countries to better control and manage their resources, thereby providing a solid foundation for economic growth and social development. In addition, rich resources provide them with investment opportunities and advantages, which help to attract foreign investment and promote economic growth. However, these advantages may lead to social and economic impacts, including overexploitation of resources and environmental damage.

          In contrast, resource-scarce countries face a range of challenges, such as environmental problems, public health crises, inadequate infrastructure, poverty, and social inequality. These problems can lead to serious social, economic, and environmental consequences, including a decline in people’s living standards, health problems, inadequate infrastructure, social conflicts, and environmental damage. Additionally, these countries face global challenges such as climate change and environmental damage.

          Thus, inconsistencies between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries have significant implications for sustainable development. Given this, we propose three main areas of impact: improving people’s living standards, protecting the environment, and improving the way energy is produced and used.

          To begin with, we believe that to achieve sustainable development, both resource-rich and resource-scarce countries must commit to improving the living standards of their people. This requires measures to reduce poverty and social inequality, as well as to increase investment in education, health, infrastructure, and employment opportunities. This can contribute to more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth.

          Further, we emphasize the importance of protecting the environment. Notably, in resource-rich countries, we must pay attention to environmental protection and sustainable development to avoid problems such as overexploitation and environmental damage. This requires the establishment of stronger regulatory mechanisms and policies to promote environmental action and the sustainable use of resources. Simultaneously, resource-scarce countries need to take measures to address the environmental problems they face to mitigate the social and economic impacts of climate change and environmental damage.

          Lastly, we believe that improving the way energy is produced and used is a key factor in achieving sustainable development. In resource-rich countries, measures must be taken to promote energy diversification and reduce dependence on nonrenewable energy sources. This can be achieved through policy, technology, and market instruments, including the promotion of renewable energy and energy-saving technologies. In resource-scarce countries, measures should be taken to improve energy efficiency to reduce resource waste and environmental pollution.

          Taken together, the inconsistency between resource-rich and resource-scarce countries has profound implications for sustainable development. A range of challenges, including resource management, environmental issues, infrastructure, poverty, and social inequality, must be addressed in the pursuit of sustainable development. It is important to note that resource-scarce countries encompass various classifications, such as medium HDI and low HDI countries. By acknowledging these distinctions, our study recognizes the diverse contexts and challenges faced by different resource-scarce countries.

          ]]>           Exploring the time-varying asymmetric effects of environmental regulation policies and human capital on sustainable development efficiency: A province level evidence from China https://sdgtalks.ai/exploring-the-time-varying-asymmetric-effects-of-environmental-regulation-policies-and-human-capital-on-sustainable-development-efficiency-a-province-level-evidence-from-china https://sdgtalks.ai/exploring-the-time-varying-asymmetric-effects-of-environmental-regulation-policies-and-human-capital-on-sustainable-development-efficiency-a-province-level-evidence-from-china Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:30:05 -0500 njvahlberg Sustainable development efficiency, Environmental regulation policies, Human capital, Non-parametric, panel data method

          1. Introduction

          In recent times, China has made remarkable strides in obtaining impressive economic growth, as its GDP was $6.09 trillion in 2010 and which escalated to $17.73 trillion in 2021, representing 18.37% of worldwide GDP (World Bank, 2022). Consequently, this commendable progress led to an exorbitant cost as the economy grappled with the soaring levels of environmental pollution, a dire threat to sustainable development and ecological balance at the local and global level. This environmental exigency might be on account of the unsustainable deployment of fossil fuel-based energy supplies. The combustion of fossil fuels causes oxidation of the hydrocarbon structure of these fuels, resulting in ambient air pollution (Tumala et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2023a, Liu et al., 2023b). Fig. 1 categorically visualizes the high intensity of carbon emissions in the thirty provinces of China, as reported by China Emission China Emission Accounts and Datasets (2023), and China emitted 27% of the global carbon dioxide (World Bank, 2022). Therefore, the Chinese government committed to the global community to cut down carbon emissions to make a “carbon neutral China” by 2060 and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically, 7 and 8 (Climate Ambition Summit, 2020).

          In order to accomplish the ambitious goal of sustainable economic development, the Chinese authorities enacted several environmental regulations and policies to foster economic growth while disrupting the rising ratio of carbon emissions (Balsalobre-Lorente et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2021).

          To obtain sustainable development along with environmental sustainability, the Chinese authorities remained proactive and have practiced several environmental regulation policies over the years (Zhang et al., 2022). China's first comprehensive environmental law was launched in 1989. It established the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) to enforce environmental laws. Likewise, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) law was proposed in 1990 to assess all significant development projects before proceeding to identify environmental issues and ensure mitigation. Also, China's Agenda 21 (1994) aimed for global sustainable development. China's sustainable development strategy prioritized economic growth, social improvement, and environmental conservation. The Clean Production Promotion Law (2002) encouraged firms to decrease waste, save resources, and reduce pollution. Similarly, The Circular Economy Promotion Law (2008) promoted a resource-efficient, waste-free circular economy. It encourages garbage recycling. Another law, “China's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law” (2015), assisted in reducing city air pollution while imposing tight criteria for factory and vehicle emissions. China's Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law (2018) prevented soil contamination. It required firms to clean up polluted locations and hold them accountable (Zhang et al., 2022).

          One such policy, launched in 2021, is nationwide carbon markets, comprising around 2200 power sector enterprises, in order to price carbon emissions (Zhang et al., 2021). Further, China has built a green finance system, including green bonds and green loans, to encourage low-carbon growth. In addition, China leads the world in wind and solar energy generation. By the end of 2030, China, as pledged by the Chinese government, will have the capacity to produce 35% of its electricity from green sources. Likewise, through manufacturer incentives and consumer subsidies, China is actively promoting the development and adoption of electric cars; thus, it became the leading electric vehicle market, delivering almost 1.3 million cars in 2020. Besides, China has taken several serious steps, including building and appliance requirements for energy efficiency, to enhance energy efficiency (China Country Climate and Development Report, 2022). All these environmental policies attracted the academic community to assess their contribution to sustainable development in China. Hence, it is rational to analyze how environmental regulation policies contribute to accelerating the sustainable development process.

          Simultaneously, China has taken several remarkable steps to enhance human capital. To do so, Chinese authorities targeted education and technology, which significantly contributed to the trigger of human capital in China (Fan et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2023; & Liang et al., 2022). For instance, the Chinese government has undertaken several education reforms since 2005. In 2010, the “New Curriculum” was introduced to promote technical and innovative education across China (Opoku et al., 2022). Also, Chinese authorities invest a large chunk of their budget on rural education in order to enhance the overall education level at the nation-level, as 32 billion dollars were invested in rural education in 2018 (Chen et al., 2023). Since the rise in education level and technological progress tend to increase the number of efficient workers (Solow, 1956), this process leads to enhance numbers of efficient human capital. Also, the ability to make better decisions on account of education and experience increases the efficiency of human capital. Since human capital works as an essential pillar to escalate economic growth (Solow, 1956), it is important to investigate its impact on sustainable development.

          Due to the significance of environmental regulation policies and human capital, numerous scholars have made efforts to investigate their impact on sustainable development. In this regard, the academic community has utilized various economic indicators as measures of sustainable development efficiency, including ecological footprints and green growth (Razzaq et al., 2023; Ofori et al., 2023; De Haas and Popov, 2023), carbon emissions (Li et al., 2023), and green energy (Wu et al., 2023; Dogan et al., 2023). However, there remains a considerable gap in this field, highlighting the following aspects: previous literature has not employed a comprehensive indicator to assess the efficiency of sustainable development and analyze its response to environmental regulation policies. Similarly, the effects of human capital on a comprehensive measure of sustainable development have not been explored yet. Furthermore, prior studies have primarily focused on examining average and symmetric effects, whereas the majority of economic trends exhibit asymmetric characteristics (Chishti et al., 2023a; Chishti and Patel, 2023). Therefore, in order to address the aforementioned gaps, this study aims to pose the following research question:

          Research question: How are the impacts of environmental regulation policies and human capital on sustainable development efficiency time-varying and asymmetric?

          The goal of this study is to investigate the dynamic factors that impact the effectiveness of sustainable development, with the aim of proposing policies for achieving SDG 7 and 8 goals. This study contributes to the scientific literature in several ways. Firstly, it is the first study to utilize the variable of sustainable development efficiency as a more accurate measure of sustainable development. Secondly, this is the first study that targets to divulge how environmental regulation policies shape sustainable development efficiency. To do so, the study splits environmental regulation policies, following Chishti et al. (2021), into positive and negative shocks to explore the detailed and informative findings from a policy-making perspective. Thirdly, another significant contribution of the study is to investigate the effects of positive and negative shocks on human capital on sustainable development efficiency, unlike the previous studies, which considered the linearity of human capital. Fourthly, the study analyzes the effects of industrialization, urbanization, and economic growth on sustainable development efficiency.

          Fifthly, for the SDG 7 and 8 goals to be made into a policy framework, the right methodological techniques are needed. The study uses province-level panel data for China from 1998 to 2017, and the chosen economic series seem to be asymmetrical, which shows that their trends change over time and suggests a plausible time-varying link. All such characteristics of the opted series should be taken into account properly. Therefore, to capture the time-varying nexus, the study deploys a non-parametric panel data model by Churchill et al. (2019), wavelet quantile correlation by Kumar and Padakandla (2022), and a non-parametric panel Granger causality test by Dogan et al. (2023). These techniques enable the study to explore robust and reliable results in order to design a comprehensive policy framework to achieve SDGs 7 and 8.

          The remainder of the study is organized in the following order: Section 2 covers a pertinent literature review to highlight the literature gap. Section 3 explains a theory-based framework to formulate the econometric model. Section 4 highlights the econometric tools, and Section 5 covers the results along with a discussion. Section 6 concludes the results for developing a policy framework.

          2. Literature review

          Sustainable development efficiency (i.e., the ability of a nation to achieve sustainable development goals while minimizing the adverse of economic growth on the environment and natural resources) depends on how policymakers in an economy perceive the prospect of sustainable development efficiency (SDE). Perceptions of the SDE play a crucial role in how policymakers aim to promote it. Policy instruments can be used to catalyze this efficiency, which may take the form of environmental regulation policy, human capital development, urbanization or industrialization. In the current section, the relevant published studies will be critically reviewed to identify the comprehensive research gap.

          2.1. SDE and environmental regulation policy

          The debate on how environmental regulation policies affect sustainable development is a recent development in the literature. Specifically, after the Paris accord, the worldwide economists tended to analyze the association at firm and national level while focusing on the direct and indirect channels.

          The environmental regulation policies play a crucial role in supporting the sustainable development (Appiah et al., 2023). For instance, Sun et al. (2023) observed the same outcome while analyzing the impacts of environmental regulations on green growth via triggering the green energy markets for China's coastal areas. Another study on China by Zheng et al. (2023) assessed the effects of environmental regulations on green total factor productivity (a proxy for sustainable development) and concluded that favorable impacts of environmental regulation. This phenomenon is observed for 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. Also, the same results were deduced by Jin et al., 2023a, Jin et al., 2023b for China, while using the green total factor productivity as measure for sustainable development. Additionally, there are some researchers which use some other economic variables to measure sustainable development and analyze how such variables respond to the environmental regulations. For example, Wang et al., 2023a, Wang et al., 2023b, Wang et al., 2023c deploy green transformation performance as measure of sustainable development, while taking data for 49 large- and medium-sized iron and steel firms in China. It was affirmed that environmental regulations foster the green transformation performance. Binh An et al. (2023) identified that environmental regulations exhibited a supportive behavior towards sustainable development through enhancing the environmental quality in top eight advanced nations. Sadiq et al. (2023) developed the sustainable development index in order to measure the sustainable development. The results demonstrated that environmental regulations significantly promoted the development in ASEAN nations. The same phenomenon was witnessed by Zhao et al. (2022), Zheng et al. (2023), & Zou and Zhang (2022) for China, Abban et al. (2022) and Ahmad et al. (2021) for G7 nations, Hao et al. (2022) for selected global economies, and Zhou et al., 2022a, Zhou et al., 2022b for China.

          Based on the above anecdotal evidence, it can be inferred that environmental regulations play a vital direct and indirect role in determining the sustainable development. Therefore, it is rational to further hypothesize that environmental regulation can significantly contribute in triggering the sustainable development efficiency.

          2.2. SDE and human capital

          Huma capital, among the several important drivers of economic development, plays a key role in achieving the sustainable development through triggering the productivity, economic diversification, and innovation (Schultz, 1993). The exploration of the nexus between human capital and sustainable is not a new phenomenon. However, the available literature indicate that majority of the previous studies intended to analyze the indirect effects of human capital on sustainable development. However, the pertinent literature lacks the direct effects of human capital on sustainable development, calling for more exploration in this area.

          Assessing the effects of human capital on sustainable development, Friderichs et al. (2023) observed that human capital's role is significant via disrupting the income inequality in South Africa. Wang et al., 2023a, Wang et al., 2023b, Wang et al., 2023c also reported that human capital was among the crucial economic variables which significantly enhanced the sustainable development through improving the environmental quality for the sample of 208 nations. The same results were documented by Saqib et al. (2023) for selected 16 European economies. Also, Nkemgha et al., 2023a, Nkemgha et al., 2023b witnessed that human capital triggered the erection of new infrastructure, industrialization process, and consequently economic growth. The study concluded that human capital was a crucial variable for boosting the sustainable development in Africa. A study on China by Jin et al., 2023a, Jin et al., 2023b assessed the effects of innovative human capital on sustainable development through the channel of green total factor productivity. The findings suggested the important role of human capital innovation in upsurging the green total factor productivity. Similarly, Hondroyiannis et al. (2022) for selected global nations, Opoku et al. (2022) for OECD nations, Shahbaz et al. (2022) for China, and Rafi et al. (2021) for India reported that human capital played an essential role in fostering the sustainable development through boosting various macroeconomic variables.

          The above review supports the argument that human capital is an essential factor to put the economy on the path of sustainable development. However, the dashboards leave a difficult task for readers to understand the measurement of sustainable development as the pertinent studies use several proxies to measure the sustainable development (Hirai and Comim, 2022). Simply put, majority of the previous studies analyze the indirect effects of human capital on sustainable development. Hence, the prior literature calls for developing a more comprehensive measure for sustainable development to assess the direct effects while hypothesizing the favorable effects of human capital on sustainable development.

          2.3. SDE and urbanization

          Urbanization is one the crucial economic drivers which significantly influence the sustainable development (Hoselitz, 1957). The mainstream literature dashboard argues that, on the one side, urbanization process significantly thrives the economic growth, and on the other side, it deteriorates the environmental quality through emitting the carbon emissions. Hence, the effects of urbanization on sustainable development remains contradictory. Further, most of the studies assess the effects of urbanization on sustainable development indirectly.

          Many studies (Dilanchiev et al., 2023; Khan and Majeed, 2023; Fan et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2023; Liang et al., 2022; & Zhou et al., 2022a, Zhou et al., 2022b) have identified that urbanization considerably escalates the economic growth through creating the jobs, erecting the infrastructure, and expanding the market size. Contrarily, some of the studies argued that urbanization disrupt the economic growth process by increasing the enormous resources depletion (Pata and Ertugrul, 2023; and Chien et al., 2023) and income inequality (Zhao et al., 2023; Wang et al., 2023a, Wang et al., 2023b, Wang et al., 2023c; Sun (2023). In a similar vein, numerous studies (Naqvi et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2023; Huo et al., 2023; Lee et al., 2023; Li et al., 2023; Numan et al., 2023; Xie et al., 2023a, Xie et al., 2023b; & Liu et al., 2023a, Liu et al., 2023b) that deduced that urbanization process had adverse effects on sustainable development through degrading the environmental quality while the studies relied on the various proxies to measure the environmental quality.

          Based on above review, it can be inferred that urbanization, one the one hand, supports the economic growth and on the other hand, it deteriorates the environmental quality. Thus, the effects likely effects of urbanization process on sustainable development remain contradictory or may be overall harmful since sustainable development requires an upsurge in economic growth along with green environment. Therefore, it is logical to hypothesize that urbanization may have positive or adverse effects on the sustainable development.

          2.4. SDE and industrialization

          Industrialization, as a basic pillar, significantly influences sustainable development by accelerating the economic growth process. The popular literature generally contends that, on the one hand, industrialization process considerably boosts economic growth but, on the other hand, it degrades environmental quality by producing carbon emissions. As a result, the consequences of industrialization on sustainable development continue to be inconsistent.

          For instance, Nkemgha et al., 2023a, Nkemgha et al., 2023b, Shah et al. (2023), Liao et al. (2023), and Naeem et al. (2023) infer that industrialization plays a key role in determining the economic growth through enhancing the infrastructure, increasing the productivity, creating jobs, promoting the transfer of technology and innovation, and enhancing the trade. However, some scholars argue that industrialization is accountable for social inequality through causing the income inequality (Ali, 2023a; Ali, 2023b; Khan et al., 2023). Similarly, several studies (Naeem et al., 2023; Liao et al., 2023; Voumik and Ridwan, 2023; Caglar and Askin, 2023; Xie et al., 2023a, Xie et al., 2023b; & Rehman et al., 2023) assess the effects of industrialization and deduce that environmental degradation rises due to industrialization.

          Based on the above literature, it can be inferred that industrialization encourages the economic growth along with discouraging the environmental sustainability and causing the income inequality. Such literature-based contradictory findings pose the query whether industrialization can contribute towards sustainable development or not. Therefore, it is logical to hypothesize the positive or negative effects of industrialization on sustainable development efficiency.

          2.5. Refreshing the literature gap

          The above critical review indicates that environmental regulation policies, human capital, industrialization, urbanization, and GDP play an essential role in shaping sustainable development efficiency. However, the prior literature did focus on the following aspects: First, the prior literature could not deploy a comprehensive indicator to measure the efficiency of sustainable development and analyze its response to environmental regulation policies.

            As the literature has identified that urbanization (Fan et al., 2023; Chen et al., 2023; Liang et al., 2022), industrialization (Naeem et al., 2023; Azam et al., 2021) and GDP (Zhao et al., 2022; Zheng et al., 2023, & Zou and Zhang, 2022) play a significant role in determining the sustainable development through resources depletion, fossil fuels combustion, and financial support, respectively. 

            As the recent literature (Sun et al., 2023; Zheng et al., 2023) has witnessed that environmental regulations policies (ERP) can play crucial in defining the sustainable development. For instance, ERP encourage the sustainable development through promoting the new and clean technologies. This process tends to expand the labor market by creating the new jobs. It leads to trigger the economic growth along with improving the environmental quality by reducing the greenhouse gases, specifically, carbon emissions (Jin et al., 2023a, Jin et al., 2023b; and Wang et al., 2023a, Wang et al., 2023b, Wang et al., 2023c). Also, the ENP encourages the sustainable development through decreasing the waste and natural resources depletion. Also, ERP boosts the sustainable development through promoting the international collaboration in order to address the global environmental issues. 

            Recently, many scholars (Chishti et al., 2021; Weimin et al., 2021; Weimin and Zubair Chishti, 2021) have argued that most of the economic series were nonlinear in nature. Simply put, the variations in the economic variables necessitates to treat them as an asymmetric series. Thus, the application of linear methods in order to perform the analysis may tends to inconsistent and biased results due to hindering the likely asymmetric information in the economic series (Chishti et al., 2023). Hence, it rational to split the economic series into positive and negative series to obtain the asymmetric information. In the line with the above discussion, the recent study tends to split the central variables, viz., ERP and HC into positive and negative shocks.

            The positive shocks of ERP refer to significant improvements or advancements in policies and regulations related to environmental protection while the negative shocks refer to the decline in the advancements in the environmental regulation policies. Economically, the positive shocks in ERP are expected to trigger the sustainable development through promoting the new and clean technologies. This process tends to expand the labor market by creating the new jobs. It leads to trigger the economic growth along with improving the environmental quality by reducing the greenhouse gases, specifically, carbon emissions (Jin et al., 2023a, Jin et al., 2023b; and Wang et al., 2023a, Wang et al., 2023b, Wang et al., 2023c). Also, the positive trends in ENP encourage the sustainable development through decreasing the waste and natural resources depletion. Also, such positive changes in ERP boost the sustainable development through promoting the international collaboration in order to address the global environmental issues. On the other hand, it rational to argue that the negative shocks in ERP hurt the sustainable development through disrupting the new and clean technologies process. This process tends to contract the labor market by hindering the jobs. It results in dwindling the economic growth along with deteriorating the environmental quality by increasing the greenhouse gases, specifically, carbon emissions. To recapitulate, the upward trends in the ERP encourage the sustainable development while the downward trends in the ERP discourage the sustainable development.

            Likewise, the positive shocks in human capital (HC) means the significant improvements in the level of education, skills, and knowledge of a labor force to utilize the capital efficiently. Contrarily, the negative trends in HC indicate the downfall in the level of education, skills, and knowledge of a labor force. Economically, it can be argued that the upward trends in the human capital market tends to enhance the productivity level in an economy on account of higher level of education, skills and experience. It leads to trigger the economic growth (Hondroyiannis et al., 2022; Opoku et al., 2022; and Shahbaz et al., 2022). Contemporality, the higher level of education, skills and experience foster the process of innovation which consequently, improve the environment along with thriving the economic growth through boosting the green technologies. Also, the ability for better decision making on account of education and experience increases the efficiency; it, in response, boosts the growth along with improving the environmental quality. Conversely, it can be inferred that the downfall in the human capital causes the depletion of natural resources inefficiently due to heavily dependence on fossil fuels and low ratio of green technologies. This process tends to hurts the environmental quality along-with increasing the economic growth. To capitulate, the upward trends in human capital (PHC) significantly encourage the sustainable development, while the downward trends in human capital (NHC) discourage the sustainable development process.

            Based on the above arguments, it is rational to extend the model by integrating the positive shocks in ERP and human capital and negative shocks in ERP and human capital. 

            Based on the aforementioned theoretical discussion, the study expects that the positive shocks in environmental regulation policies and human capital supports the sustainable development efficiency (SDE). In a similar vein, economic growth (GDP) is expected to foster the SDE. However, it is highly likely that urbanization (URB) and industrialization (INDS) can deteriorate the SDE process.

            4. Methods and data

            For empirical analysis, this study primarily relies on advanced non-parametric econometric tools, while also employing parametric methods for the purpose of comparison. The advanced non-parametric methods used include the non-parametric panel data model, wavelet quantile correlation method, and non-parametric panel Granger causality test. The parametric methods, on the other hand, consist of difference GMM and CS-ARDL methods. To conduct the estimations, the study follows the following strategy. Firstly, preliminary tests are performed, after which parametric difference GMM and CS-ARDL methods are deployed. Secondly, the non-parametric panel data model is employed, followed by the wavelet quantile correlation method and non-parametric panel Granger causality test.

            4.1. Non-parametric panel data model (with time-varying trend and coefficients functions)

            This segment briefly introduces the non-parametric method deployed to compute the time-varying trend and coefficients. Following Li et al. (2011), and Zhang et al. (2021), the local linear dummy variable estimate (LLDVE) is utilized and developed in Churchill et al. (2019) and Hailemariam et al. (2019) as per instructions of Moghaddam and Lloyd-Ellis (2022). 

            Next, the study tends to deploy the novel Wavelet Quantile Correlation (WQC) by Kumar and Padakandla (2022). The WQC method offers several advantages, one of which is its ability to estimate the presence of asymmetric links between selected series by calculating results at different quantiles. Estimating quantile-wise results offers a significant advantage in generating robust findings by addressing the influence of outliers resulting from economic shocks (Rehman et al., 2023; Naeem et al., 2023; Farid et al., 2021; Naeem et al., 2020; Umar et al., 2022; Balli et al., 2019; Chishti et al., 2023).

            WQCτ(djX,djY=qcovt(djX,djYvarθτdjY−Qτ,djYvardjX

            Where X, and Y = the independent and dependent series, respectively. Further, the time-period given in the WQC's outcome-based heatmaps can be split into three-time scales (viz, short run, medium run, and long-run) to understand the association between series across the different time horizons.

            4.3. Non-parametric panel granger causality test

            As a second robustness check, the study opts to deploy the novel non-parametric panel granger causality (NPPGC) test by Dong et al. (2021). There are numerous panel granger causality tests to detect the bidirectional causality; however, these tests lack to tackle the advanced econometric issues such as cross-sectional dependence, outliers' effect, and heterogeneity in the panel data. Therefore, Dong et al. (2021) propounded a novel NPPGC test to compute the robust and nonlinear causality between the panel series via a hybrid 

            4.4. Parametric panel data model

            Primarily, the study aims at deploying the nonparametric panel method elaborated in the previous section to explore the time-varying effects of shocks in ERP and HC with the consort some other economic series on SDE for Chinese provinces. However, to justify the application of LLDVE technique, the study briefly discusses the two parametric, viz., Difference GMM by Arellano and Bond (1991) and CS-ARDL by Chudik and Pesaran (2015) as benchmark exercise.

            The above both (Difference GMM, and CS-ARDL) methods belong to the advanced econometric techniques. Diff. GMM is extended form of the GMM method and CS-ARDL is the extension of ARDL technique. Among the several benefits, both techniques tackle not only the basic econometric issues such as autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity but also handle the advanced econometric issues such as cross-section dependence, heterogeneity, and endogeneity (Paleologou, 2022; Noureen et al., 2022). Further, both methods are famous in computing dynamic association among the modeled series. Hence, both methods are good representative of parametric methods' family which can estimate the consistent and reliable results.

            4.5. Data and preliminary analysis

            The recent paper aims at divulging the time-varying effects of positive and negative shocks in environmental regulation policies (PERP & NERP), positive and negative shocks in human capital (PHC & NHC), industrialization (INDS), urbanization (URB), and GDP on sustainable development efficiency (SDE). The study deploys “Command-and-control environmental regulation” as a measure of ERP, “human capital index” as a measure of HC, “industrial structure” as a measure of INDS, “urbanization” as a measure of URB, and GPD (per-capita) as measure of GDP for each province of China. Further, sustainable development, comprehensively, is the balanced economic growth in each sector of an economy along with maintaining the environmental quality (Bhattacharya and Bose, 2023). Simply put, the balanced growth along with environmental sustainability can represent the sustainable development. Hence, it is rational to measure the sustainable development efficiency (SDE) with carbon-adjusted GDP (Zhang et al., 2021).  

             The annual data for above series at are retrieved from China Statistical Yearbook (https://www.chinayearbooks.com/), China Industrial Enterprise Database (https://www.epschinastats.com/db_industrialenterprises.html), and China Emission Accounts and Datasets (https://www.ceads.net/) for 30 provinces of China from 1998 to 2017 due to the data availability restrictions. All the modeled series are in logarithmic form.

            Table 1 reports the statistical description of the modeled variables, indicating the important information regarding the nature of the variables. For example, GDP has the largest mean (i.e., 9.607638), while SDE has the smallest (i.e., −0.023689). Also, there is a significant difference between minima and maxima of each series such as the maxima of ERP is 1.444563, while its minima are −3.506558. Further, the significance of Jarque-Bera test imply that all opted series are asymmetrically distributed in nature (Chishti et al., 2020; Naeem et al., 2023). Hence, to treat the opted series, specifically, ERP and HC, as the symmetric series while performing the econometric analysis may produce biased and insistent results.

            Table 1. Descriptive statistics.

            Empty Cell SDE ERP HC URB INDS GDP
            Mean −0.023689 0.098935 2.111308 3.813515 3.791029 9.607638
            Median −0.034686 0.067659 2.119014 3.832113 3.836532 9.646344
            Maximum 2.962185 1.444563 2.538851 4.495355 4.087203 11.16227
            Minimum −2.021877 −3.506558 1.590503 2.641910 2.945175 7.760727
            Std. Dev. 0.663129 0.469655 0.134222 0.341724 0.204341 0.714955
            Skewness 0.083328 −0.866115 −0.114257 −0.394980 −1.747853 −0.053779
            Kurtosis 4.155410 11.16090 3.686142 3.279462 6.602561 2.250871
            Jarque-Bera 34.06865 1740.021 13.07525 17.55340 629.9600 14.31906
            Probability 0.000000 0.000000 0.001448 0.000154 0.000000 0.000777
            Sum −14.21342 59.36108 1266.785 2288.109 2274.617 5764.583
            Sum Sq. Dev. 263.4043 132.1248 10.79136 69.94830 25.01128 306.1852
            Observations 600 600 600 600 600 600

            5. Results and discussion

            5.1. Parametric methods' results

            To identify whether the first-generation or the second-generation techniques are suitable to estimate the parametric results (Chishti et al., 2023), the recent study starts by applying the cross-section dependence (CD) test by Baltagi et al. (2012). The outcome presented in Table 2 accepts the alternative hypothesis of cross-sectional dependence, implying that the modeled panel series are cross-sectionally dependent. Hence, it is, econometrically, important to deploy the second-generation tests (such as CADF, and Westerlund cointegration test) and methods (such as Difference GMM, and CS-ARDL) to produce the robust and consistent results. The second-generation unit root test's results, reported in (Panel A) Table 3, all the opted series fulfill the stationarity condition after taking the level or first difference. Simply put, not a single panel series takes the second difference to be a stationary; hence, the study confidently proceeds towards the parametric results. Subsequent to this, the second-generation Westerlund cointegration, as reported in Panel B in Table 3, assures the long-run association by rejecting the null hypothesis of no-cointegration among the panel series.

            Table 2. CD test.

            Empty Cell CD test P-value
            SDE 3.80 0.000
            PERP 87.31 0.000
            NERP 82.13 0.000
            PHC 83.11 0.000
            NHC 80.65 0.000
            URB 32.93 0.000
            INS 38.31 0.000
            GDP 92.13 0.000

            Table 3. Unit root & cointegration tests.

            Panel A: CADF test
            Variable At level At 1st difference
            SDE −1.175 −3.361***
            PERP −2.391** –
            NERP −1.964 −3.005***
            PHC −2.891*** –
            NHC −1.884 −3.588***
            URB −1.731 −3.363***
            INDS −2.071** –
            GDP −1.819 −2.192**
            Panel B: Westerlund cointegration test
            Variance ratio −2.4054** 0.0081

            Table 4 documents the outcome of Difference GMM and CS-ARDL techniques. The results determine that most of the regressor significantly explain the variation in the SDE with the exception of NERP (in Diff. GMM & CS-ARDL results), URB and GDP (in Diff. GMM results). Furthermore, the results show that PERP and URB have the significant positive link with SDE; however, magnitude of the both variables' coefficients is too low to influence the SDE. It implies that the any change in the positive shocks in environmental regulation policies and urbanization process significantly support the sustainable development efficiency; however, the effects is too minor to be considered. The positive and negative shocks in HC significantly encourage the SDE, indicating that SDE gains the significant benefits on account of rise and fall rise in human capital. Ironically, the Diff. GMM coefficient suggests the adverse effects (Karim, 2021, Karim, 2021, Karim et al., 2021), while CS-ARDL coefficient suggest the positive effects of industrialization on SDE. Likewise, only CS-ARDL determines the significant but negative effects of GDP on SDE.

            Table 4. Outcome of the parametric methods.

            Variables Coefficients (Diff. GMM) Coefficients (CS-ARDL)
            PERP 1.08E-06*** 1.04e-07**
            NERP −2.60E-07 5.23e-08
            PHC 1.000000*** 0.9999998***
            NHC 1.000001*** 1.00000***
            URB 8.88E-09 5.58e-08**
            INDS −1.21E-06* 3.74e-07**
            GDP −3.44E-07 −3.09e-078***

            Note: ***, **, and * indicate the significance level at 1%, 5%, and 10%, respectively.

            Note: In the above table, only long-run outcome of CS-ARDL method is reported. The short-run results can be seen in supplementary material.

            The results above highlight several inconsistencies. For instance, there are contradictory findings concerning the impact of industrialization, and unexpected positive effects have been identified despite negative shocks to human capital. Additionally, the coefficients of PERP, INDS, and GDP are significant, yet their magnitudes are relatively low. These observations suggest that point estimates obtained through parametric methods may be imprecise. There may be two reasons for these inconsistencies in the results. Firstly, misspecification in the model tends to cause the inconsistent results. Secondly, the parametric methods compute only the on average effects of regressors on the dependent series while reporting a single point estimate. Thus, these methods cannot depict how PERP, NERP, PHC, and NHC influence the SDE over-time. Such loopholes in the outcome of parametric methods inspire to deploy nonparametric panel technique. Therefore, the next section reports the findings of non-parametric panel method.

            5.2. Nonparametric panel technique results

            This segment elaborates the outcome of the time-varying coefficients, and the common trend of SDE along with the province specific-trend functions.

            5.2.1. Time-varying coefficients functions

            Fig. 4 visualizes the LLDVE estimate-based time varying coefficient function of PERP, NERP, PHC, NHC, URB, INDS, and GDP to analyze their time-varying effects on SDE in China. The LLDVE results plainly suggest that the nexus between PERP-SDE is significantly time-varying. Specifically, the PERP coefficient exhibits a negative but insignificant influence on SDE till 2003. After that, it demonstrates a sharp rising trend that peaks in 2008 and before plummeting, with insignificant effects observed during 2013–2016. Subsequently, an upward and significant trend is observed. The reason being, the rapid industrialization process in 1990 in China tended to cause the severe environmental issues along with boosting economic growth. To handle the devastative environmental degradation, the Chinese government established “State Environmental Protection Administration” in 1998 through enforcing the environmental laws. Also, in 2006, Chinese authorities launched “Circular Economy Promotion Law” in order to promote sustainable development. Therefore, in Fig. 4, it can be seen an upward trend in ERP which demonstrates the favorable effects, specifically, after 2004. Economically, the such positive shocks in ERP trigger the sustainable development through promoting the new and clean technologies. This process tends to expand the labor market by creating the new jobs. It leads to trigger the SDE along with improving the environmental quality by reducing the greenhouse gases, specifically, carbon emissions (Jin et al., 2023a, Jin et al., 2023b; and Wang et al., 2023a, Wang et al., 2023b, Wang et al., 2023c). Also, the positive trends in ENP encourage the sustainable development efficiency through decreasing the waste and natural resources depletion. Similarly, such positive changes in ERP boost the sustainable development through promoting the international collaboration in order to address the global environmental issues in China. Furthermore, another notable aspect in the graph is a sudden fall in NERP coefficient function after 2008. The likely reason is global financial crises which was started in 2007 and ended in 2008. In response, the global economy has to endure a significant fall in each sector of economy including the Chinese economy (Zou and Zhang, 2022). Therefore, ERP exhibits a downward trend while affecting the sustainable development efficiency.

            Fig. 4
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            Fig. 4. Nonparametric local linear estimates of common trend and coefficient functions. Note: The confidence interval for each estimate is 95% for significance level.

            Conversely, NERP has significant and time-varying effects on SDE such that during the all-time period, the NERP show an adverse effect on SDE except for time (i.e., 1998–2000) which exhibits the insignificant negative effects. Logically, the negative shocks in ERP hurt the sustainable development through disrupting the new and clean technologies process. This process tends to contract the labor market by hindering the jobs. It results in dwindling the economic growth along with deteriorating the environmental quality by increasing the greenhouse gases, specifically, carbon emissions. Summing up, the results plainly indicate that upward trend in ERP significantly supports and the downward trend in ERP deteriorates the sustainable development efficiency in China. The aforementioned findings are distinct, as prior studies (Zhao et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2022a, Zhou et al., 2022b; Ahmed et al., 2022) have overlooked the asymmetric effects of ERP on sustainable development.

            As for the effects of PHC, the results determine that PHC coefficient's function visualizes the time-varying nexus with SDE such that the upward trend in human capital significantly encourages the SDE specifically after 2009. It implies that PHC plays a supportive role in triggering the SDE after 2009. While before 2009, the effects remain positive but insignificant. There may be several reasons for these results. For instance, Chinese government has taken several education reforms since 2005. In 2010, the “New Curriculum” was introduced to promote the technical and innovative education across the China (Opoku et al., 2022). Also, Chinese authorities invest a large chunk of budget on rural education in order to enhance the overall education level at nation-level as 32 billion dollars were invested on rural education in 2018 (Chen et al., 2023). Since the rise in education level and technological progress tend to increase the number of efficient workers (Solow, 1956), this process leads to enhance the number of efficient human capital. Thus, economically, it can be argued that the upward trends in the human capital market tends to enhance the productivity level in an economy on account of higher level of education, skills and experience. It leads to trigger the economic growth (Hondroyiannis et al., 2022; Opoku et al., 2022; and Shahbaz et al., 2022). Contemporality, the higher level of education, skills and experience foster the process of innovation which consequently, improve the environment along with thriving the economic growth through boosting the green technologies. Also, the ability for better decision making on account of education and experience increases the efficiency; it, in response, boosts the growth along with improving the environmental quality. Fan et al. (2023), Chen et al. (2023), and Liang et al. (2022) support the above findings and argue that human capital is an essential source to boost the sustainable development process.

            Focusing on the negative shocks in the human capital (NHC), it can be witnessed that the downward trend in HC significantly discourages the SDE process over the most of the time. It clearly suggests that any external shock that disrupt the human capital progress results in decreasing the SDE. Logically, it can be inferred that the downfall in the human capital causes the depletion of natural resources inefficiently due to heavily dependence on fossil fuels and low ratio of green technologies. This process tends to hurts the environmental quality along-with increasing the economic growth, implying the downfall in SDE. Again, this is another unique aspect of the study which confirms the adverse effects of NHC on SDE.

            Whereas the effects of GDP on SDE are concerned, the findings suggest that GDP has a significant and positive impact on SDE, particularly after 2003. Moreover, these favorable effects vary over time, with the strongest impact observed until 2007, followed by a decline that likely reflects the adverse effects of the global financial crisis in 2007–08. However, a gradual recovery is evident thereafter, which accelerates significantly after 2014. The results imply that overall GDP significantly contributes in fostering the SDE over-time, specifically, after 2014. Plausibly, the rising budget allocation by Chinese authorities to trigger the sustainable development plays a key role in this regard. For example, $366 billion dollars were allocation by China's National Development and Reform Commission for renewable energy sector development in 2008. In 2012, a package of $1.9 billion were allocated to encourage the use of environmentally friendly products. Further, China released $382 billion under the program of “13th Five-Year Plan for Energy Development” in 2015, $290 billion under program of “Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Green Finance” in 2016, and $5 billion in 2019 in order to promote green energy development through green finance (Naeem et al., 2022a, Naeem et al., 2022b, Siddique et al., 2023). All such measures significantly contribute in thriving the economic growth by fulfilling the energy demand. This process leads to enhance the economic growth along with improving the environmental quality through increasing the SDE.

            Regarding the effects of industrialization (INDS), the results indicate that SDE process has to face significant loss on account of INDS as the negative association is observed. Further, these linkages are dynamic over time, with the magnitude of adverse effects appearing to increase and become more intense during 2016–17 (Karim et al., 2022d, Naeem et al., 2023c). Economically, the Chinese economy heavily relies on the industrial sector as its contribution to GDP was recorded by 39.4% in 2021 (Investopedia, 2022) with the growth rate of 8.1% (World Bank, 2022). The rapid growth in industrial sector requires a large amount of energy which is mainly stemmed from fossil fuels. For instance, coal accounted for 63.6% of total electricity generation in 2021 (Statista, 2023). This process, ultimately, leads to degrade the environment which results in a downward trend in SDE. These results are in the line with Naeem et al. (2023), Liao et al. (2023), Naeem et al., 2022, Naeem et al., 2023a, Naeem and Karim, 2021 and Voumik and Ridwan (2023).

            In the case of urbanization, the same findings are witnessed as of INDS. However, the magnitude of adverse effects tends to fall over time such that it becomes insignificantly positive after 2014. Also, Naqvi et al. (2023), Chen et al. (2023), Huo et al. (2023), and Lee et al. (2023) support the above results while arguing that urbanization impedes sustainable development growth process through producing the greenhouse gases.

            5.2.2. Common and province-specific trend function

            This segment of the paper visualizes the LLDVE-based estimates of common trend for SDE, as given in Fig. 4, along with the province specific trend functions for each province, as depicted in Fig. 5A, and B. The notable aspect of the LLDVE method is that it allows the trend function to evolve with unknown functional forms over the time to capture the likely trending phenomenon, unlike the parametric methods which assume the linear trend in the panel models. Also, province-specific trends are documented in order to confirm whether the heterogeneous trends across the provinces exist or not.

            Fig 5
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            Fig 5
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            Fig 5. A Nonparametric local linear estimates of province-specific trend functions. Note: The confidence interval for each estimate is 95% for significance level.

            B. Nonparametric local linear estimates of province-specific trend functions. Note: The confidence interval for each estimate is 95% for significance level.

            Regarding the common trend function for SDE, it can be observed that the common trend has, overall, an upward and significant trend, implying that SDE is consistently escalating over time. Particularly, a sharp upward has been witnessed since 1998, followed by a slight downfall after 2001 till 2004. Possibly, the downfall from 2001 to 2004 reflects the deteriorating impact of the 9/11 event (Karim et al., 2023b, Mbarki et al., 2023, Naeem et al., 2023b). The same downward trend is also observed after 2007, implying the adverse effects of the financial crisis in 2007–08. Another decline can be seen after 2014, indicating the possible negative effects of the financial crisis in 2014 (Karim et al., 2022b, Karim et al., 2023a, Karim and Naeem, 2022, Pham et al., 2022, Siddique et al., 2022). Summing up, SDE's common trend has the predominant upward trend while also depicting the adverse effects of various economic shocks over time (Benlagha et al., 2022, Billah et al., 2022, Farid et al., 2023, Karim et al., 2022a, Karim et al., 2022c, Karim et al., 2023a).

            This segment also visualizes the province-specific trend patterns in order to affirm that whether these trends follow the pattern of common trend function or not as depicted in Fig. 5A and B. It can be observed that, out of 30 provinces, 18 provinces' individual trends closely follow the pattern of common trend, implying that these provinces have gaining the same benefits regarding enhancing the SDE. The remaining 12 provinces' individual trends demonstrate the significant differences from the common trend function, implying heterogeneity across these provinces from the main trend function. Further, most of these 12 provinces' individual trend pattern remain above the common trend pattern, indicating that SDE rate is high in these provinces as compared to the national level SDE rate.

            5.3. Robustness check

            To assess the robustness of the main results based on LLDVE estimates, the study relies on two novel methods: Wavelet Quantile Correlation (WQC) method and non-parametric panel granger causality (NPPGC) test.

            5.3.1. Wavelet quantile correlation

            To do so, the study converts the provincial level annual data into quarterly data, following Chishti et al. (2023), Qingquan et al. (2020), and Shahbaz et al. (2018), in order to capture the detailed information. Next, all series are summed to make them representative of all provinces. Before diving into discussion of the WQC outcome, it is worth noting that the results of WQC are visualized in heatmaps and the color-bar given in right-side of each heatmap exhibits the significance and intensity of the effects. Further, it is assumed that quantiles 1–3 indicate the short-run, quantiles 4–6 indicate medium-run, and quantiles 7–9 indicate the long-run. The vertical axis of each heatmap shows the sample time. All the results are reported in Fig. 6. (See Fig. 7.)

            Fig. 6
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            Fig. 6
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            Fig. 6. Wavelet correlation method's results.

            Fig. 7
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            Fig. 7
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            Fig. 7
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            Fig. 7. Non-parametric panel granger causality test outcome.

            Regarding the effects of PERP, the results plainly support the outcome of LLDVE. The findings reveal that PERP has approximately insignificant impact on SDE during short to long run over 1998Q1 to 2007Q4 with the exception of 3rd to 6th quantiles in 2002Q4 that show significantly positive effects. After 2008Q1, SDE gains the considerable benefits on account of PERP. On the other hand, the NERP demonstrates the significant adverse effects on SDE level during the all (short-long) runs over the all-time, implying that the negative shocks in ERP disrupt the process of SDE in China, supporting the LLDVE estimate (Alawi et al., 2023, Appiah et al., 2022, Arfaoui et al., 2023).

            In the case of PHC and NHC, the results exhibit that PHC predominantly supports and NHC discourages the SDE level over the time across the various time horizons. Similarly, INDS significantly deteriorates the SDE process over most of the time across different time horizons except for a few quantiles in the short and medium run which demonstrate the favorable effects. The same results are observed in the case of URB. In the case of GDP, it is visualized that GDP plays an essential role in fostering the SDE as GDP possesses clearly positively effects on SDE across all runs over most of the time period. Summing up, WQC estimates validate the main results by supporting the estimates of LLDVE.

            5.3.2. Non-parametric panel granger causality

            As a second robustness check, the study deploys the novel non-parametric panel granger causality (NPPGC) test which is capable of capturing the causal nexus between the selected series across various quantiles and the outcome is reported in Fig. 7. It is worth noting that the quantiles from 0.05 to 0.35 imply short-run, the quantiles from 0.4 to 0.65 imply the medium-run, and the quantiles from 0.7 to 0.95 imply the long-run. Further, the threshold significance level is 2, indicating the significance level at 5% if the estimated t-values remains above the threshold significance level. The results are reported in.

            Regarding the PERP, it can be witnessed that estimated values remain above the threshold values during the quantiles of 0.4 to 0.95 with the exception of 0.65. It confirms the significant granger causality that runs from PERP to SDE in the medium and long-run. The same causality is witnessed from NERP to SDE across the quantiles of 0.5 to 0.95. It reveals that any policy shocks to PERP and NERP may results in affecting SDE in China in the medium and long-run. Also, it implies that PERP and NERP can significantly predict SDE process which may have an enormous importance in the context of suitable policy-making. Likewise, PHC and NHC also significantly granger cause the SDE across the various quantiles. Further, GDP is the significant predictor of SDE across the all quantiles. In addition, INDS and URB granger cause the SDE during the most of the quantiles. Summing up, the modeled series significantly granger cause the SDE in the short, medium, and long run, implying that any policy shock to these series can influence the SDE in China and can guide in inferring the important policy implications for different time horizons.

            6. Conclusion and policy recommendations

            By far, the study divulges the time-varying effects of positive and negative shocks in environmental regulation policies, as well as positive and negative shocks in human capital, in conjunction with industrialization, urbanization, and GDP, on sustainable development efficiency while deploying the Chinese provinces-level data. In this regard, the study utilizes several novel and advanced econometric tools (such as non-parametric panel method, wavelet-quantile Correlation method, and non-parametric panel granger causality) in order to attain robust and reliable results. The results-based on the above econometric tools can be summarized as follows.

            Firstly, the utilization of advanced econometric tools unequivocally confirms the presence of asymmetries among the selected series. Second, the positive shocks in environmental regulation policy exhibit the significantly favorable effects on sustainable development efficiency, while the negative shocks in environmental regulation policy disrupt the efficiency process over time. Third, the same pattern of response from sustainable development efficiency is noticed in the case of positive and negative shocks in human capital. Fascinatingly, it is observed that negative shocks in environmental regulations and human capital have more time varying effects on the development efficiency level as compared to the positive shocks. Fourth, the industrialization process seems to deteriorate the development efficiency over time. Fifth, the same results witnessed is the case of urbanization. However, the difference between the impacts of industrialization and urbanization is that latter's adverse effects seem to fall over-time. Last, GDP significantly contributes in fostering the development efficiency. Further, wavelet-quantile Correlation method-based results also support the prior main findings. Similarly, the novel granger causality also supports the results by confirming the causality between the independent and dependent series. For example, the results affirm the notable granger causality from the positive and negative shocks in environmental regulation policies, the positive and negative shocks in human capital, industrialization, urbanization, and GDP to sustainable development efficiency across the most of the quantiles.

            6.1. Policy recommendations

            The results of this study are of utmost importance for deriving policy recommendations. The findings provide confirmation of the time-varying association between positive and negative shocks in environmental regulation policies, as well as positive and negative shocks in human capital, industrialization, urbanization, and GDP, and their impact on sustainable development efficiency (SDE). These results highlight the critical role of considering the dynamic interplay between these factors when formulating effective policies.

            Firstly, the findings reveal that positive and negative shocks in environmental regulation policies (ERP) have the favorable and adverse effects on development efficiency, respectively, over the time. In particularly, the negative shocks in ERP are more sensitive to SDE. Before implementing the relevant policies, it is worthy to enhance the risk profile of SDE projects to delink the plausible effects of other economic shocks. It will help in understanding the exact effects of relevant variable's policies implication on the SDE. Possibly, the phase-wise policies can assist in triggering the ERP process.

            Phase 1: Short-term measures.

            In the initial phase, the authorities should focus on setting more stringent standards for pollution control by strengthening the regulatory bodies accountable for enforcement. Contemporarily, the policy-makers should suggest to increase the penalties for non-compliance in order to generate the finance as ERP heavily rely on the environmental regulatory funds. Also, this step may assist in avoiding the budget deficit while sparing the funds for ERP.

            Phase 2: Mid-term measures.

            In the second phase, the rise in ERP subsidies along with enhancing the transparency of regulatory enforcement can help in increasing the influence of ERP. Such steps may help in increasing the effectiveness of ERP, resulting fostering efficiency of sustainable development.

            Phase 3: Long-term measures.

            In the third phase, the authorities should increase the public awareness in order to obtain the feedback on the regulatory authorities for improvement. Also, the provision of research & development-based budget can help the triggering the environmental regulation through promoting the new technologies. These phase-wise policy implications can encourage the upward trend in ERP and disrupt the negative trend in ERP; ultimately, this process can foster the SDE.

            Second, the shocks in human capital are highly sensitive to the SDE, calling for applying the optimal policies which can improve the positive trend in human capital while minimizing the effects of adverse shocks.

            Phase 1: Short-term measures.

            Initially, the authorities should target the enhancement of human capital through promoting the literacy and numeracy, along with encouraging the vocational and technical skills development.

            Phase 2: Mid-term measures.

            In the next stage, the authorities should prefer to minimize the negative shocks in human capital by preventing workplace accidents, improving workplace safety, and reducing exposure to hazardous substances. Additionally, the provision of affordable access to medical care for all citizens can also assist in minimizing the adverse shocks in human capital.

            Phase 3: Long-term measures.

            In the final stage, a regular and consistent evaluation and monitoring process can help in assessing whether the deployed policies to enhance human capital and avoid the negative shocks in human capital fall in the area of success and further measures can be taken to triggers these policies to accomplish the targeted goals.

            Third, the results suggest that industrialization and urbanization have harmful effects on SDE. The following step-wise policies can be drawn.

            Phase 1: Short-term measures.

            At initial stage, to accommodate expanding industrial and urban areas, the government should center on planning and infrastructure development. Policies should be put in place to ensure that industrial development is sustainable and does not harm the environment. Emissions limits, garbage collection schedules, and limits on material use are all examples of possible measures. Similarly, Urbanization strategies should focus on providing appropriate housing, transportation, and public services such as healthcare and education. Infrastructure development should prioritize green areas and public parks to create a healthy living environment.

            Phase 2: Mid-term measures.

            The second stage should push for environmentally friendly industrialization practices and technologies to be widely adopted. Clean technology and energy efficiency practices could be more widely adopted with the help of government policies like tax credits, grants, and subsidies.

            Phase 3: Long-term measures.

            The final phase should focus on monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the policies implemented in the previous phases, along with promoting sustainable urbanization. This could include policies to promote public transportation, walking, and cycling, and discourage the use of private vehicles. Green buildings and energy-efficient technologies should also be promoted to reduce energy consumption.

            6.2. Limitations and future directions of research

            The study focuses on the time-varying effects of the positive and negative shocks in environmental regulation policies, the positive and negative shocks in human capital, industrialization, urbanization, and GDP on sustainable development efficiency for Chinese provinces. Although China is the large economy and the analysis regarding the Chinese nation can be generalized to the global economies for policy-making purpose, it is more suitable to perform the same analysis for other large economies such as USA, Japan, Germany, and India in order to derive more comprehensive policy-based results for global economies to foster the development efficiency across the world. Another limitation is that the study's model includes environmental regulation policies and human capital in order to examine their asymmetric effects on development efficiency. The results have the global appeal which can generalized to the other economy as a benchmark finding. The future scholar can further assess the issue of development efficiency by extending the recent study's model through integrating some other important variables such as artificial intelligence technologies, green technologies, circular economy, and trade war. Besides, more disaggregated-level (cities-level) analysis, event analysis, and recent economic shocks-based analysis can assist in divulging the new sights in this area to put an economy on the track of sustainable development.

            ]]>             Energy and sustainable development nexus: A review https://sdgtalks.ai/energy-and-sustainable-development-nexus-a-review https://sdgtalks.ai/energy-and-sustainable-development-nexus-a-review Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:26:45 -0500 njvahlberg Energy development, Sustainable development goals, Nexus research, Literature evidence, Bibliometric analysis

            1. Introduction

            In support of the Paris Agreement, many countries have recently proposed to achieve carbon neutrality. Carbon neutrality will accelerate the establishment of low-carbon, clean and modern energy systems across the international community. At the same time, promoting sustainable development is also a major task for the world's countries, especially developing countries. Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [1], adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015, features 17 specific sustainable development goals (SDGs) that figure a blueprint for the development of the world's human well-being, material condition, and natural environment by 2030 (Fig. 1). Given the large number and coverage of SDGs, clarifying the complex nexus between different goals, pursuing their synergies and reducing trade-offs are critical to support the achievement of comprehensive sustainable development.

            Fig. 1
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            Fig. 1. Overview of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Waage et al. [2] summarized the 17 goals into three key domains: human well-being, material condition (infrastructure) and natural environment. A detailed introduction of SDGs could be found at https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/.

            Energy comes from the natural environment and ecosystems. It is the basis of human activities, the driving force of socioeconomic development, and necessary for improving human well-being and living conditions [3,4]. The use of energy also has feedback effects on the environment [5]. Therefore, energy is linked broadly with the sustainable development of human well-being, material condition, and natural environment. Among the 17 SDGs, SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) puts forward the energy development goal which contains three main constituent targets (sub-goals) to 2030: Target7.1 ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services; Target7.2 increasing substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix; Target7.3 doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency [1]. In the short term, SDG7 points to the direction of energy development until 2030. Solving the problems of energy pollution, energy backwardness, and energy poverty promotes the peaking of carbon emissions in developing countries, and improves national capabilities for low-carbon and sustainable development. In the long term, SDG7 marks the beginning of the thorough replacement of traditional energy with low- and zero-carbon energy and the great improvement of energy efficiency, which paves the way for the entire socioeconomic system to achieve carbon neutrality and comprehensive sustainable development.

            In the literature, many studies [[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]] have focused on the analysis of the impact of energy development on one or several specific SDGs, such as on water [[6], [7], [8]] or climate [[9], [10], [11]]. Several recent studies [[12], [13], [14]] have started to call for the need to consider the relationship between energy development and comprehensive sustainable development. For example, Nerini et al. [12] conducted a consensus-based content analysis and proposed 113 SDG targets requiring actions to change energy systems; Soergel et al. [13] used an integrated modelling framework to quantify how 56 indicators across all SDGs would change under different climate policy interventions; and Santika et al. [14] provided examples of quantifications of a range of SDGs into their energy demand. However, knowledge of the nexus between affordable, clean and efficient energy development and sustainable development remains fragmented in the large body of existing research. There is a real need to enhance a holistic and systematic understanding of their nexus. To this end, this review first investigates the current status of research on the energy and SDGs nexus through bibliometrics in Section 2, then details the published literature evidence on the nexus between energy and the full range of SDGs in Section 3, and finally summaries research trends and provides some prospects on future research in Section 4. The review aims to better organize and connect the published evidence on the energy and sustainable development nexus, which may provide some useful information for policymakers to think systematically about strategies and policies that synergize energy and sustainable development.

            2. Bibliometrics of the nexus literature

            2.1. Literature search

            This review begins with a bibliometric survey of the literature [[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20]] on the nexus between energy and SDGs. Due to our accessibility to academic databases, we selected the Web of Science database for bibliometrics in the review. As an international authoritative database, Web of Science contains a wealth of research in a wide range of domains [21] and has been used as the only database in many bibliometric studies [[22], [23], [24], [25], [26]]. The literature search process for this review is shown in Fig. 2. Given energy, sustainable development, and nexus as the main topics, we entered the queries “(TS1 = energy or TS = SDG7) and (TS = Sustainable Development) and (TS = nexus or TS = interaction or TS = link or TS = influence)” in Web of Science. With reference to Kar et al. [27] and Hafez et al. [28], the inclusion criteria for the literature were: 1) in English; 2) type of article or review; 3) published between 2010/1/1 and 2022/6/30 (from five years before the release of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to the present), while the exclusion criteria were: 1) in other languages; 2) type of bibliography, book (chapter), proceeding, report, or other; 3) published before 2010. Following these queries, inclusion and exclusion criteria, we obtained a total of 10,432 articles. By quickly browsing their titles to remove those irrelevant (e.g., out of scope) and duplicate, we obtained 9438 articles. We made statistics on these 9438 articles according to their published years and journals, applied CiteSpace2 [29] to identify high-impact articles, and applied VOSviewer [30] to identify frequencies of keywords and their co-occurrences. To facilitate the delivery of published core and unique evidence in the next section, we further browsed the abstracts of the 9438 articles to remove those with little, ambiguous or essentially repetitive information, and also removed articles without full text. We ended up with 728 articles. In short, in this review, the bibliometrics in this section were conducted with 9438 articles, whereas the evidence in Section 3 was primarily distilled from 728 relatively most relevant articles. Note that although this review is intended to be comprehensive and systematic, it has limitations. For example, it only searched Web of Science for articles in English and therefore missed potential studies in other databases (e.g., Scopus, Google Scholar) or in other languages; it relied on publicly available literature and therefore may have missed the nexus that has not yet been published or studied.

            Fig. 2
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            Fig. 2. Flow chart of literature search for this review.

            2.2. Basic research status

            As observed from Fig. 3(a), before SDGs were proposed in 2015, only a few articles initially discussed the relationship between energy and other factors (mainly water) based on the concept of sustainable development [[31], [32], [33], [34], [35]]. With the formal proposal of SDGs, the number of articles on the nexus between energy and SDGs has been increasing year by year. Fig. 3(b) shows that Journal of Cleaner Production (746 articles), Sustainability (718 articles), and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Review (380 articles) were the journals that published the largest number of nexus articles, together accounting for one-fifth of the total retrieved articles. Meanwhile, Journal of Cleaner Production (23,343 citations), Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (19,354 citations), Energy Policy (7475 citations), and Applied Energy (7178 citations) were the most cited.

            Fig. 3
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            Fig. 3. Knowledge graph of the energy and sustainable development nexus research in the literature during 2010–2022. (a) The cumulative number of articles published. (b) Top ten journals in total published articles and their citations (c) Article co-citation (i.e., two or more articles are cited by one or more subsequent articles at the same time) network. The size of the node indicates the frequency of the article cited within the scope of the literature survey here, and the line segment indicates that there is a co-citation between articles. (d) Keyword co-occurrence network. These keywords are derived from article titles, abstracts, and keywords. The size of the node indicates the frequency of the keyword.

            The CiteSpace analysis of the 9438 articles identified six important categories, as shown in Fig. 3(c). Climate change is one of the most important issues of concern to the international community. It is found that the nexus between energy and sustainable development is broadly related to climate change (Category#1). One interesting concept in this category is “environmental livelihood security” established by Biggs et al. [36], which features a balance between natural resource supply and human demand for environmental livelihoods in delivering sustainable development under climate change. Articles in both Category#2 (energy-water-food nexus, a typical concrete case of the nexus between energy and SDGs) and Category#4 (nexus informatics) focus on the nexus of energy with water and/or food (for a detailed review of energy-water-food nexus, see Albrecht et al. [37]). Specifically, Category#2 focuses more on case studies of the energy-water-food nexus in specific countries and regions, while Category#4 gradually suggests that energy-water-food should be combined with other concepts in subsequent nexus research. For example, Rasul [38] studied energy-water-food development in South Asia (Category#2); Liu et al. [39] argued that energy-water (-food) studies should be coupled with other SDGs to enhance synergies among more goals (Category#4). In Category#3 (planetary boundaries), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the most cited. In addition, Pradhan et al. [40] conducted a preliminary analysis of the correlation between indicators representing energy and SDGs in 227 countries. Articles in Category#5 (economic growth) conceptually put forward some directions of SDG research from an economic perspective. For example, Le Blanc [41] proposed to create an SDG interaction network at the economic development level. Articles in Category#6 mainly focus on energy consumption. For example, Ringler et al. [32] explored how to optimize the energy-water-land-food nexus framework to improve energy use efficiency.

            The VOSviewer analysis of article titles, abstracts and keywords highlighted the vocabulary with an occurrence frequency of more than 50 times, as shown in Fig. 3(d). It can be found or verified that: 1) relationships do exist between SDGs, and studies on energy have already involved SDGs such as “food” (SDG2), “education” (SDG4), “water” (SDG6), “urbanization” (SDG11), and “global warming” (SDG13); 2) studies on energy have covered many energy-related aspects, such as “renewable energy”, “energy efficiency”, “fossil fuel”, “energy consumption”, “CO2 emission”, “energy production”, “biomass”, and “economic development”; 3) the main research subjects are mostly developing countries, such as “China” and “India”; 4) the main research purpose is likely to serve “policymaker”; and 5) many studies are likely to be conducted using a “model”.

            2.3. Nexus research method

            Table 1 further summarizes the main methods used in the literature for the energy and SDGs nexus research. Indeed, the main method is “model”. Based on a literature survey, Büyüközkan et al. [42] assessed the interaction of renewable energy with climate, economy, politics and industries, and applied an analytic hierarchy process to propose a wind-centered energy development plan for Turkey. Lamichhane et al. [43] conducted a principal component analysis of more than 90 explanatory variables for OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries’ sustainable development performances, and found that SDG1, SDG7, SDG11 and SDG17 had been improved. Zhang et al. [44] evaluated the spatial and temporal variation of SDG interactions including SDG7 in China using a network analysis model. Some studies applied econometric models to quantify the relationship between energy and other factors, such as energy-water-food in the BRICS countries [45]. As an important method for studying material flows, input-output models have been widely used in the energy-water nexus research. For example, Wang and Chen [46] developed a multi-regional input-output model to assess the current status of energy and water use in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei in China; White et al. [47] integrated energy, water and food with the global trade environment, and applied an inter-regional input-output model to assess the demand for these resources in East Asia. Collste et al. [48] developed a system dynamics model to analyze the synergetic development of air quality, energy, and education in Tanzania. As SDG research continues to evolve, integrated assessment models, which are widely used to develop future energy development scenarios in the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) [49] and the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (SR15) [50] of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have also started to incorporate SDG7 and other SDGs into the modelling framework to provide scenario-based analysis of the synergy or trade-off among them. For example, Iyer et al. [51] quantified the impacts of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) on energy development, air quality, food safety, and marine ecology for 32 regions within the Global Change Assessment Model.

            Table 1. Main methods used in existing energy and SDGs nexus studies.

            Method Brief introduction Literature
            Analytic hierarchy process Comparing and evaluating different development plans for energy and SDGs according to multiple criteria or principles, determining the order of these plans and making choices [42]
            Principal component analysis Calculating the correlation of indicators that represent energy and SDGs through a principal components analysis, and further analyzing sustainable development performance based on indicator characteristics [43]
            Network analysis model Using the Pearson coefficient or RV coefficient to analyze the correlation of indicators for energy and SDGs, calculating the joint growth rate of the indicators and quantifying the degree of synergy [44,52]
            Econometric model Quantifying the correlation and sensitivity among variables representing energy and SDGs based on the least-squares approach, which can also be used for prediction [45,53,54]
            Input-output model Relying on national, regional and global economic input-output tables to track the material flow caused by production and consumption activities and the associated impact on energy and SDGs [46,47,55]
            System dynamics model Transforming the behavior mode of an energy system into a model formed by SDG-related variables with positive and negative feedback [48]
            Integrated assessment model Using an integrated modelling framework that incorporates multiple systems such as energy, society, economy, and environment to explore the complex nexus of multiple SDGs, which is usually conducted through scenarios [51,56,57]

            3. Nexus between energy and sustainable development

            3.1. Point-to-point evidence

            Energy and No poverty (SDG1). Many studies believe that there is a synergy between energy and poverty eradication. Nerini et al. [12] proposed that promoting energy development could bring new jobs, inspire new industries, and increase the income of the poor; without energy, it is impossible to end poverty. Xu et al. [58] found that developing photovoltaics (PV) in China's rural areas could help eradicate poverty (known as “PV poverty alleviation” in China). Improving energy efficiency will save energy. The saved energy resources could be used to build more infrastructure or produce more basic materials to help alleviate poverty [59]. At the same time, clean energy development helps improve climate conditions and reduce environmental pollution, thereby reducing the number of people living in poverty due to severe or extreme weather [60]. However, some studies also indicate that energy development may sometimes exacerbate poverty (trade-off). For example, “PV poverty alleviation” projects in some rural areas in China had a funding gap in the initial stage and required loans by local residents, which increased the burden on the poor [61]. Therefore, appropriate financial support policies should also be prepared to make such energy projects affordable for the poor.

            Energy and Zero hunger (SDG2). Affordable, reliable and modern energy can help reduce hunger and increase food security. For agriculture, establishing a widely-covered power grid improves agricultural mechanization and modernization, which can enhance the efficiency and yield of food production [62]. As mentioned above, decarbonizing the energy structure helps improve the climate environment [63]; this is conducive to increasing food production and avoiding loss. For example, climate change might lead to a more than 10% reduction in maize and sorghum yields in South Asia, which could be avoided by decarbonizing the energy mix [64]. Note that bioenergy and hydropower are quite relevant to agriculture. First-generation food-based bioenergy might lead to a 35% increase in global food prices in a 2 °C future [65], but the development of second- (non-food) and third-generation (algae) bioenergy could avoid competition with food [66]. Hydropower may interfere with agricultural irrigation; in the dry season, there is a trade-off between irrigation and power generation for water needs [67]. In addition, while the establishment of good energy supply facilities can improve irrigation systems, it may also lead to a shift in agricultural production from food staples to cash crops, affecting local food supply [68,69].

            Energy and Good health and well-being (SDG3). Developing affordable, clean energy to replace high-emission, high-pollution fossil energy provides co-benefits for the environment, climate, and human health. The combustion of conventional fossil fuels produces large amounts of air pollutants, such as SO2, NO2 and PM, leading to more than five million deaths worldwide each year from cardiovascular, respiratory, lung cancer, and hypertension [70]. The greenhouse effect caused by excessive use of fossil energy may exacerbate psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, excessive anxiety, mental illness, and suicidal tendencies [71]. In contrast, a reduction in CO2 emissions per million tones might reduce the number of deaths caused by the greenhouse effect by 34–161 per year in China [72]; through universal access to clean fuels such as electricity and biogas, the probability of cooking-induced diseases might be reduced by one-third in low- and middle-income countries [73]. In addition, energy is essential to the operation of hospitals, medical centers and healthcare facilities.

            Energy and Quality education (SDG4). There is a clear synergy between the development of energy and the improvement of education quality. A modern energy system provides the infrastructural foundation for education to flourish. A reliable electricity supply network is essential for universities and schools to carry out educational and teaching activities [74]. Universal access to affordable modern energy is particularly important for improving educational conditions and promoting learning opportunities in remote and backward areas [75]. In turn, good education not only helps the public understand the value of sustainable development and makes it easier to implement energy policies, but also enhances the capability of energy sector staff [76]. According to a study of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) countries, education could improve modern energy use and environmental awareness; for every 1% increase in education level, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 0.169% [77].

            Energy and Gender equality (SDG5). Energy modernization and renewable energy development can accelerate the upgrading of energy and industrial structures and optimize the allocation of industrial resources. As a result, the number of jobs suitable for women is expected to increase substantially [78]. Affordable energy prices lower the cost of living for households and perhaps create some additional educational opportunities for women and girls. Women could therefore compete more fairly with men in middle and senior level jobs, and their employment, income, work environment, and social status are expected to improve [79]. In addition, in many families, women are often the cooks. Clean cooking fuels can reduce the harm to their bodies [80]. However, there are case studies that warn about trade-off risks. For example, with affordable electrification in some traditional rural areas of developing countries, men may spend more time on leisure and relaxation, such as watching television and surfing the Internet, while women have to take on additional work previously performed by men, increasing local gender inequality [81].

            Energy and Clean water and sanitation (SDG6). Conventional energy is usually utilized through combustion and requires water to cool the equipment. Developing clean energy and improving energy efficiency can reduce the need for cooling and thus save water. For example, conventional tower thermal power plants consume 550–10,000 L/MWh of water, but solar power consumes only 125 L/MWh [82]. Using waste heat from nuclear power reactors to desalinate seawater can help obtain more freshwater resources [83]. However, there may be trade-offs between energy and water. For example, natural gas drilling fluids that seep into aquifers contaminate groundwater resources; improper discharge of wastewater from energy use pollutes freshwater; hydropower development may lead to evaporation losses of water, damaging water-related ecosystems and affecting downstream water use [84]; and hydrogen production from electrolysis of water by renewable electricity (green hydrogen) requires more water than from fossil feedstock (grey and blue hydrogen) [85]. In addition, the construction of modern energy systems can better sustain the operation of water transmission, pumping, and purification facilities, which helps ensure universal access to clean drinking water [[86], [87], [88], [89]]. Due to the close linkage between energy and water, the energy-water nexus has formed a relatively mature research architecture in the literature [90,91], as reflected in bibliometrics.

            Energy and Decent work and economic growth (SDG8). Energy access and development promotes jobs and employment and underpins economic and social development. During the low-carbon energy transition, energy, industrial and economic structures and employment patterns are expected to undergo rapid changes, which will provide new opportunities for a country to reshape social productivity and improve international competitiveness. An irrational energy transition that does not take into account the development circumstance and inertia is detrimental to the economy and can lead to massive job losses in traditional industries [92,93] (trade-off); in contrast, the orderly development of clean energy can help steadily decouple economic growth from fossil energy and environmental degradation [94], thus improving the quality and sustainability of the economy and providing more decent works. For IEA (International Energy Agency) members, every 1% increase in renewable energy consumption might have the potential to grow the economy by 0.29% [95]. For China, if carefully planned, the development of wind and PV industries could drive 2.8 million job growth by 2050 under a 1.5 °C scenario, fully offsetting the loss of 2.2 million jobs from the reduction of the coal power industry [96]. Moreover, the world is now widely connected through energy networks, and even local energy developments may influence global energy markets and employment [97].

            Energy and Industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG9). Energy development spurs industry innovation [98] and infrastructure renewal. For example, a significant increase in the share of renewable energy requires an accelerated shift away from coal industries and investment in new infrastructure. A strong and resilient infrastructure, in turn, is a major prerequisite for energy development. Digital, informationized and intelligent modern infrastructure, as well as advanced industrial technologies such as big data and block-chain, can improve energy efficiency and innovation and facilitate universal access to reliable modern energy services [99]. For example, China's high-speed rail reduced energy intensity of cities along railways by 9.3% [100]. However, there are trade-off risks, too rapid energy decarbonization potentially leading to temporary industrial unrest [101], and the transfer of energy-intensive industries from developed countries to the detriment of industrial innovation and new infrastructure development in developing countries [102]. It is important to emphasize that delivering SDG7 or energy transition does not mean blindly phasing out existing conventional infrastructure without assessing its impact on the entire chain and stranded assets and the capability of new infrastructure to fill the gaps [103]. Under carbon neutrality, developing countries should make prudent decisions regarding their existing fossil fuel-based infrastructure (e.g., coal power capacity) to ensure the security of energy supply [104].

            Energy and Reduced inequalities (SDG10). Ensuring energy affordability and universality often helps reduce energy poverty and improve local, national and global inequalities in multiple ways. As mentioned earlier, improving energy efficiency can reduce material inequality by directing more energy resources to improving material conditions. In building modern energy systems, energy supply is expected to be progressively decentralized, allowing the public to have more equal and easier access to energy services, such as electricity and heat. Electricity is vital for the dissemination of knowledge and information, which improves educational inequality [75]. Some studies show that energy development plays an important role in increasing the income of the poor and reducing income inequality [105]. A 1% increase in the number of people access to electricity might reduce global income inequality by 0.05% [106]. However, there are also studies that argue for a trade-off between energy and reduced inequalities. For example, because it is often more difficult to attract capital inflows than developed countries, developing countries tend to face greater pressure on government public expenditure for an affordable clean energy transition [107]; accelerating the phasing-out of fuel cars and the spread of electric vehicles would severely affect traveling cost and efficiency for people in cold regions, leading to geographic inequality [108]; subsidizing roof PV may be biased against people who do not own a house [109]. In short, affordability matters. If energy prices are expensive for the poor or vulnerable, inequalities would get worse even if the energy mix is cleaner.

            Energy and Sustainable cities and communities (SDG11). Cities are densely populated, asset-intensive, and vulnerable to disasters [110]. The use of fossil energy causes urban pollution to a greater or lesser extent, for example, traffic fuels cause urban air pollution. Energy modernization and decarbonization can promote urban modernization and inclusiveness, reduce urban climate risks, improve urban air quality, and protect urban ecology [111]. For example, a reliable and efficient power supply is a prerequisite for providing high-quality living services to city residents, popularizing low-carbon transportation modes such as subways and electric vehicles, and building safe and carbon-neutral residential, commercial, and business districts [112]. It is also noted that urban layout may have an impact on the diffusion of clean energy [113]. Urban spatial-based planning and management is beneficial for achieving synergic sustainable development of energy and cities.

            Energy and Responsible consumption and production (SDG12). The massive use of fossil energy for consumption and production leads to environmental irresponsibility, and the relatively low energy efficiency of the past leads to energy waste [114]. In order to deliver sustainable and responsible development, fundamental changes in past production and consumption patterns are required. Some studies argue that improving energy efficiency increases social productivity, which may expand the demand for the quantity and type of resources; therefore, the total amount of resources consumed by society may not be saved (known as the “rebound effect”) [115,116]. In addition, there is the controversy that the development of nuclear electricity production is irresponsible for the safety of society [117] (trade-off). However, most studies justify that the development of clean and efficient modern energy helps reduce waste [118,119] and pollution and is an important way to establish low-carbon, environmental-friendly and responsible consumption and production throughout the entire socioeconomic system [120,121].

            Energy and Climate action (SDG13). SDG13 is actually consistent with the requirements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [122] and the Paris Agreement [123]. As bibliometrics show, energy is highly correlated with climate change. CO2 and other greenhouse gases produced from the use of fossil energy are the main anthropogenic cause of global warming. Replacing fossil energy with non-fossil energy and substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix are acknowledged as core measures to achieve carbon neutrality and combat climate change and its impacts [49]. The IPCC AR6 suggests that in order to limit warming to below 1.5 °C, the share of low-carbon energy in the global primary energy supply might need to exceed 70% by 2050 [49]. For China to achieve its 2060 carbon neutrality, the share of non-fossil energy might need to reach approximately 80% by 2050 [124]. Responsibility for and exposure to global climate change varies by region and country [[125], [126], [127]]. Although accounting for only a small fraction of global emissions, low-income countries and small island states are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change [125]. The process of decarbonization of energy systems in developed countries and large emitters will largely determine future temperature increases [[128], [129], [130]]. They should align their energy transition with global climate governance, and lead more ambitious actions to strengthen the NDCs and achieve carbon-neutral energy systems.

            Energy and Life below water (SDG14). The ocean is rich in energy. Marine energy that has been gradually put into use mainly includes offshore wind energy, offshore solar energy, tidal energy, wave energy, and marine bioenergy. Stable marine ecology provides a sustainable output environment for marine energy [131]. However, the construction of offshore energy facilities, such as offshore drilling platforms and wind turbines, compresses the space for marine life and may damage the marine ecological environment [132]; and nuclear leaks may cause significant damage to life below water and on land and even entire ecosystems [133] (trade-off). In addition, the burning of conventional fuels releases large amounts of CO2, which forms carbonic acid in the seawater and exacerbates ocean acidification. It is expected that clean energy can be popularized in marine operations as early as possible to conserve the marine ecosystem [134]. For example, climate change might reduce marine fishing potential in Indonesian zones by more than 20%, which might be avoided by popularizing clean energy [135].

            Energy and Life on land (SDG15). Appropriate development of modern energy in poor and backward areas can reduce the demand for fuelwood and reduce the destruction of forests, grasslands and land, thereby preserving terrestrial and vegetative creatures and maintaining the local ecosystem and biodiversity [136]. Conserving biodiversity can provide both nature-based solutions (carbon sinks) and technological solutions (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)) for achieving carbon neutrality. However, there may also be trade-offs between the development of energy and the conservation of land and biodiversity. For example, the construction of wind turbines and PV may take up useful land and ecological space; improper collection of biological materials would disrupt the inherent biological chain and cause irreversible damage to the ecological environment [137]; geothermal exploitation may accelerate the loss of stratigraphic water and cause land subsidence [138]; and a heavy reliance on BECCS to offset CO2 in the future would have side effects on land, biodiversity, food and water [[139], [140], [141]]. It is emphasized that the protection of life (both on land and below water), biodiversity and other critical ecological resources must be prioritized when developing energy.

            Energy and Peace justice and strong institutions (SDG16). Energy development has inspired the establishment of many government institutions and international organizations (e.g., the IEA) that help provide a peaceful, just and rules-based environment for energy and related activities. Peaceful societies, equitable access to justice, and accountable institutions are important safeguards for energy development at all levels. For example, differences in access to energy endowments may lead to political and violent conflict; some hydropower and nuclear developments may lead to local social conflict and discord if affected residents are not adequately consulted [142] (trade-off). The involvement of fair, value-neutral, and credible institutions can serve as a bridge of communication to help resolve these disputes and make more locally appropriate energy decisions. Due to the significant national and international energy connections, an unpeaceful and unjust environment, even locally, may affect international energy supplies and prices, potentially leading to energy shortages in countries with high import dependence [143]. In some regions where market conditions are poor and market rules cannot work, impartial intervention by government institutions is a key driver of energy development [144].

            Energy and Partnerships for the goals (SDG17). Energy has initiated many partnerships among countries in a wide range of areas such as resource, technology, finance, and knowledge. For example, renewable energy technologies and investments are an important element of the “Belt and Road” Initiative [145]. Partnerships can play an important role in global energy interconnection, sharing and cooperation to drive modernization and sustainability of energy systems on a global scale. Especially during the COVID recovery period, active partnerships among countries can promote political consensus on energy issues, increase enthusiasm for the development of renewable energy, and reduce barriers and costs to energy development. However, nuclear energy development may hinder interregional cooperation due to different perceptions of and reliance on nuclear energy [146]; and differences in the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies may also lead to trade conflicts and damage to partnerships [147] (trade-off). More inclusive bilateral and multilateral negotiations, rather than unilateral adjustments, can better resolve those conflicts and promote win-win partnerships.

            3.2. Summary and implication

            The point-to-point review clearly shows that there are nexuses between energy and all 16 other SDGs. While the exact nexus may depend on the context, a strong indication is that the transition to low-carbon and efficient energy systems that provide universally affordable, reliable and modern energy services has the potential to create synergies with all aspects of SDGs, reflecting the need to transform energy systems in order to deliver SDGs. This also reinforces the importance of achieving carbon neutrality. By promoting greener, healthier, and more climate-resilient energy systems, carbon neutrality can serve as a supporting lever for all-round sustainable development. However, literature evidence also warns that if energy transition and clean energy development are not properly rolled out, trade-offs may occur with three-quarters of goals, including human well-being (SDG1, SDG5, SDG10 and SDG16), material condition (SDG2, SDG6, SDG8, SDG9 and SDG12), natural environment (SDG14 and SDG15), and even partnerships (SDG17). Therefore, in the pursuit of SDG7 and carbon neutrality, policymakers should no longer consider energy development in isolation, but need to simultaneously consider compatibility with sustainable development and make decisions from a systematic perspective. Energy development targets, policies and measures, when contextualized and with attention to balancing rapid action and prudent planning, can help reduce trade-offs and increase synergies between energy and SDGs.

            Note that if the growing demand for energy services is accessed predominantly through fossil energy rather than clean energy, which may occur where economies and decarbonization capacities lag far behind, additional trade-offs with SDG3 (good health and well-being), SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG13 (climate action) may arise (the literature surveyed in this review did not clearly show a negative impact of energy development on quality education; however, this does not necessarily indicate that there are absolutely no trade-offs between SDG7 and SDG4). In particular, climate change caused by fossil energy consumption has huge worldwide impacts and will adversely affect almost all SDGs [148]. To fully achieve sustainable development, climate change mitigation and just transition worldwide, the international community should further work together and support each other. In addition to reducing fossil energy consumption and increasing the share of non-fossil energy with the greatest ambition, developed countries should provide financial and technological support to help developing countries improve their capabilities to decarbonize their energy systems without compromising SDGs [49,123,149]. With international support and investment, developing countries could do well to accelerate the development of renewable energy and to meet the growing demand for energy services with low-carbon energy wherever possible. All countries should enhance the sharing of knowledge, experience, actions and policies for energy development, and strengthen cooperation and partnerships to improve renewable, efficient, energy-saving and emissions-reducing technologies.

            4. Research trend and prospect

            4.1. Research evolution trend

            From duality to pluralism. Fig. 4 shows the development of the nexus studies of energy with SDGs in the literature: from duality nexus such as energy-water [91], energy-food [150], energy-poverty [151], and energy-climate [152] to ternary nexus such as energy-water-food [153], energy-health-climate [154], energy-poverty-climate [155], and energy-water-climate [156]. As extremely important material resources, energy, water, and food influence not only the development of material condition, but also the development of human well-being and natural environment. Therefore, some studies have further coupled energy-water-food with another goal to carry out quaternary nexus, such as energy-water-food in the context of poverty alleviation [157], the impact of university education on energy-water-food [158], and the impact of energy-water-food on human health [159]. Several studies have also attempted to construct a quinary nexus of energy, water, food, climate change, and social justice [160]. In the future, energy-related nexus research could continue to better connect, extend and enrich the evidence to paint a more nuanced picture of energy and sustainable development.

            Fig. 4
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            Fig. 4. Trends in the study of the energy and sustainable development nexus: from duality to pluralism.

            From static to dynamic. Early studies mainly focused on the static nexus between energy and SDGs at a snapshot in time [12,38,161], while subsequent studies gradually began to examine the dynamics of the nexus across time. Using a correlational network, a recent study by Wu et al. [162] showed that some SDGs decoupled and then recoupled as sustainable development progressed; they therefore emphasized the need to analyze the evolution of SDG interactions. Some studies have also attempted to use scenario analysis to explore the dynamic nexus between energy and SDGs in the future. For example, the scenarios in Howard et al. [154] found that the clean energy development, initially characterized by high costs, had limited effects on improving public health and reducing medical expenditures; however, as energy efficiency continued to improve, the large-scale penetration of renewable energy would gradually promote physical health and improve the overall economic benefits to society. In achieving energy transition and sustainable development, dynamic nexus analysis can help policymakers adjust targets, policies and measures to the latest context and development requirements in a timely manner.

            From theory to practice. Early SDG nexus studies put forward theoretical concepts [36,161]. Based on interdisciplinary knowledge of the potential nexus between energy and SDGs, Nerini et al. [12] called for future research to better support the implementation of SDG7 in practice. In recent years, studies have gradually started to veer toward guiding practice. For example, Weitz et al. [163] analyzed how SDG7's Target7.2 and Target 7.3 interacted with targets of other SDGs in Sweden to support priority setting in the country's policies and plans; Ramos and Laurenti [164] used regression analysis to analyze the relationships between Spain's SDGs to help the country develop a roadmap to achieve sustainable development; based on global data from 2000 to 2016, Hegre et al. [165] evaluated SDG compatibility through principal components analysis to help the international community formulate SDG development strategies. With carbon neutrality, recent studies have started to focus on the carbon-neutral transformation of energy systems [[166], [167], [168], [169], [170]], but there are still gaps in research on the pathways, mechanisms and supporting policies for synergizing energy and SDGs under carbon neutrality.

            4.2. Prototype research framework

            Establishing a sound nexus framework can help better articulate synergies or trade-offs among multiple goals, and systematically reveal potential impacts of different development targets, policies, and scenarios on nexuses [171]. This can assist policymakers in designing better strategies to coordinate sustainable development. As shown in Fig. 5, this review further proposes the following four-step prototype research framework for scientific analysis of the energy and sustainable development nexus.

            Fig. 5
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            Fig. 5. A four-step prototype research framework for scientific analysis of the energy and sustainable development nexus.

            Defining research boundary. The first step is to define the research boundary according to key factors such as the context and socioeconomic development stage of the research subject (e.g., country, region, city). Research subjects in different circumstances and stages of development may have different priorities in energy development. For example, for some poor islands, the first priority is often to ensure universal access to affordable energy as early as possible [172]; while for regions that already have universal energy access and propose carbon neutrality, the first priority is often to increase the role of renewable energy, improve energy efficiency, and establish highly decarbonized energy systems [173].

            Building nexus system. The second step is to identify the SDGs that need to be particularly focused on for the research subject in parallel with energy development, according to contextualized factors such as actual needs and priorities for sustainable development, public aspirations, existing policies and scientific perceptions, to build the nexus research system. The constructed nexus system with different coverage of SDGs serves different research and decision-making needs. For example, an energy-water nexus system informs a synergic development pathway for the two goals; while an energy-water-food-climate system not only informs the energy-water-food interaction, but also reflects the feedback of the climate system to material resources [174].

            Selecting suitable indicators. The third step is to select appropriate indicators to represent the SDGs in the constructed nexus system. Each SDG may be represented by optional indicators. For example, renewable energy in SDG7 could consider all or specific types of renewables; water resources in SDG6 could include groundwater, surface water, recycled water, desalinated water, and precipitation. The Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDG) classifies the indicators that could represent SDGs into three tiers (Table 2). As sustainable development advances, the number of Tier1 indicators which have relatively high data integrity gradually increases, providing an increasingly strong data foundation for quantitative studies of SDGs.

            Table 2. Tiers of SDG indicators defined by the IAEG-SDG (https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/tier-classification/) as of June 30th, 2022.

            Classification Definition Number of indicators
            Tier1 Indicator is conceptually clear and has an internationally established methodology and standard to quantify. Data are regularly produced by at least 50% of countries 136
            Tier2 Indicator is conceptually clear and has an internationally established methodology and standard to quantify, but data are not regularly produced by countries 91
            Tier3 No internationally established methodology or standard to quantify, but methodology/standard is being or will be developed or tested. 0
            Multiple tiers Different components of the indicator belong to different tiers 4

            Assessing nexus relationship. The final step is to assess the nexus between energy and SDGs. Different energy development targets, policies and pathways may lead to different evolution of SDG indicators [13]. Existing studies have created energy development scenarios under, for example, carbon neutrality, representative concentration pathways, and shared socioeconomic pathways [39,40,148]. After setting energy development targets and scenarios, quantitative methods such as integrated assessment models, system dynamics models, input-output models or econometric models can be applied in combination with qualitative methods such as literature surveys and expert consultants to assess the dynamics of SDG indicators and their interactions, thus providing policy implications for energy and sustainable development synergies in practice.

            4.3. Going forward

            In conclusion, serving the practical needs of human society and habitat system development is a critical starting and ending point of nexus research. The development of energy systems toward carbon neutrality will radiate and have lasting effects on all aspects of society, economy and environment. Therefore, nexus research could move beyond discussions of material resources, such as energy-water-food, to larger cross-systems. More research could be done on the impact of the transition to low-carbon efficient energy systems on important human and non-material elements, such as social equality, income distribution, welfare and well-being, talent education, and natural environment, as well as on synergic strategies and mechanisms between energy and multidimensional SDGs. A “new-era” nexus for energy development – spanning the domains of human well-being, material condition, and natural environment – is urgently expected to provide more granular and context-specific evidence, data, suggestions and solutions to align energy development with the full range of sustainable development.

            ]]>             Membrane-based carbon capture: Recent progress, challenges, and their role in achieving the sustainable development goals https://sdgtalks.ai/membrane-based-carbon-capture-recent-progress-challenges-and-their-role-in-achieving-the-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/membrane-based-carbon-capture-recent-progress-challenges-and-their-role-in-achieving-the-sustainable-development-goals Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:23:06 -0500 njvahlberg Membrane, Carbon capture, Gas separation, Contactor, Challenges and barriers, Sustainable development goals

            1. Introduction

            The rapid growth of the population and the progression of industries across various sectors have propelled the need for fossil fuels drastically during the last century (Poblete et al., 2022). Fossil fuel has the leisure of providing intensive amounts of energy through combustion processes to accommodate various applications with lucrative performance parameters and efficiencies. However, there are adverse effects that accompany the usage of fossil fuel, transportation modes such as air or ocean freight (van Fan et al., 2018), and domestic power consumption (Bastida et al., 2019) with the emission of greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming being of upmost concern. Furthermore, concerns regarding the quality of the environment which affects various aspects of our daily lives such as health, agriculture and water purity, have acted as a wakeup call for environmentalists across the globe to reconsider the options regarding energy resources and reduce the emissions that intensify the effects of global warming (Gopinathan et al., 2022), (Olabi et al., 2022a).

            Some methods and solutions have been utilized to attenuate the effects of global warming on various scales, including laboratory and industrial scales alike. Some of the methods include the improvement of the efficiency of pre-established technologies which will reduce the amount of fuel required for their operation with the addition of waste heat recovery means (Olabi et al., 2021a), (Abdelkareem et al., 2022), implementing an effective energy management strategy, reconsidering the need for relatively subordinate devices or processes, and the integration of recycled parts in production lines to reduce the impact of material extraction throughout a product or a process's lifetime. Moreover, investing in environmentally friendly devices can have a large positive impact in the long run, such as fuel cells, and various effective cooling systems such as district cooling and absorption chillers.

            Fortunately, alternative technologies such as those renewable energy based, have countered the adverse effects posed by their predecessors and can potentially significantly reduce global warming effects (Inay id="crosref1062"at et al., 2010Shahbaz et al., 2020). Technologies such as solar photovoltaics (Alami et al., 2022a), (Beni and Esmaeili, 2020) and wind turbines (Olabi et al., 2021b), (Amjith and Bavanish, 2022) have been under development for a substantial amount of time and have crossed the barrier between lab-scale and commercial applications. However, the infrastructure that is available on a global scale has yet to accommodate these technologies and utilize them as a primary source of daily operation, as well as the dependency on variable weather patterns (Chew et al., 2021).

            As such, carbon capture technologies (CCT), currently pose as a favorite candidate to lessen the emissions that contribute to the worsening of global warming and climate change (de Oliveira Maciel et al., 2022a) (Abdelkareem et al., 2021)– (de Oliveira Maciel et al., 2022b), (Olabi et al., 2022b). There are three main types of carbon technologies, pre-combustion, post-combustion, power plant and industrial processes, respectively, and oxyfuel carbon capture. Additionally, membrane-based technologies, which depend on external imposed conditions such as an induced pressure difference which can be supplied from electricity generated by renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaic modules or wind turbines, for carbon capture have been recently put under the spotlight for the effective capture of carbon within natural and flue gasses in power plants and the purification of gas streams that exist in industrial production processes.

            In 2015, the UNs “United Nations” established 17 SDGs “Sustainable Development Goals” to be reached in 2030 to achieve healthy living and a clean and safe environment sustainably (Majumdar et al., 2023), (Aljaghoub et al., 2022). Because they are designed to simultaneously improve the world's social, economic, and environmental conditions, the 17 SDGs are extremely important. To ensure that these Sustainable Development Goals are put into action, efforts on a global scale are required. Carbon capture technologies are significantly essential for combatting climate change and global warming. Nevertheless, it is important to explore the sustainability of these technologies and to check if their impacts on the environment and planet are positive. Thus, an assessment is critical to explore the positive impact membrane-based carbon capture technologies have on the achievement of the United Nations (UN) SDGs established to be accomplished by 2030. In 2021, Mikunda et al. (2021a) assessed the impacts of carbon capture and storage on the SDGs. The authors found out that carbon capture and storage can successfully attain the objectives of the SDGs. Furthermore, the authors reported that the most affected SDG by carbon capture and storage is SDG 13 which enforces the combat against climate change. Moreover, the study showed that carbon capture and storage have both negative and positive impacts on the SDGs. On a similar note, another study conducted by Olabi et al. (2022c) demonstrates that in general carbon capture technologies have significant contributions to the SDGs. However, it was found that carbon capture technologies most significantly impact SDG 7, which focuses on promoting affordable and clean energy, and SDG 13, which aims at promoting climate action. As a result, it is important to focus on membrane-based carbon capture technologies and map their contributions to the SDGs, which presents a gap in the recent research conducted in their scopes. The current work discusses the progress done in membrane-based carbon capture technologies, the challenges facing membrane-based carbon capture, and finally discusses in detail the role of membrane-based carbon capture technologies in achieving the 17 SDGs.

            2. Carbon capture and membrane-based technologies

            Due to the unprecedented effects of global warming, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies have been sought out (Abuelnoor et al., 2021), a table summarizing the advantages and disadvantages and a flow chart categorizing these technologies is shown in Table 1 and Fig. 1. CO2 separation and capture using membrane-based technologies (MBT) have been put under the spotlight as a potential candidate for large-scale CO2 capture systems. Given how energy-intensive thermal-based CO2 capture technologies are, which use energy as a mass separating agent, MBT offers a suitable alternative that can be incorporated in pre- and post-combustion stages of a CO2 emitting processes, given that maintaining the separating conditions for MBT (i.e., concentration or pressure difference), is far less energy intensive than thermal separation processes that require the addition of high amounts of energy (i.e., solvent boiling). Membranes that are used for CO2 capture have stringent requirements that need to be accounted for such as (Luis et al., 2012).

            • •

              High CO2 selectivity

            • •

              Thermal stability (∼400 " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">° C)

            • •

              Mechanical stability under high pressures (∼950 PSI)

            Table 1. Carbon capture technologies - advantages and disadvantages.

            Empty Cell Advantages Disadvantages References
            Clathrate Hydrate Can store large amounts of gas molecules such as methane, carbon dioxide and ethane Requires high pressures and low temperatures to reach a thermodynamically stable condition of operation (∼1.3 MPA at 273.8 K) Nagashima et al. (2016)
            Calcium Looping Usage of a cheap and environmentally sorbent
            Has been successfully implemented in pilot-scale plants from 3 kW to 1.7 MW            		 Carbonation and calcination steps are heavily dependent on the high temperature requirement
            The deactivation of the sorbent material with the number of cycles that the particles undergo            		 (Coppola and Scala, 2020)– (Cebrucean and Ionel, 2022) (Dieter et al., 2015)
            Oxyfuel The flue gas produced consists mainly of CO2 and H2O which are easily separated. The high energy required to produce high-purity oxygen and the high temperature produced by combustion under the pure oxygen atmosphere (Adams, 2014), (Miller, 2017)
            Fig. 1
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            Fig. 1. CO2 capture technologies.

            MBT are traced back to the unit component of hollow fibers. To obtain asymmetric hollow fibers, polymer powders are dissolved in a solvent which is then extruded to form a bundle of hollow fibers. The hollow fibers are cooled off in a water bath to set their structure. After the hollow fibers are dried and rid of any excess solvent or water, they are woven into sheets of fabric, or onto a cylindrical tube for a modular structure integration (US Patent for Loom processing, 1997), the process is shown in Fig. 2. MBT have matured through stages of suitable polymer selection for gas separation, by studying the permeability and selectivity for different membrane materials that suit different gasses, the process of synthesizing the membrane material as well as the manufacturing of modules for practical applications. However, membrane treatments for pre- and post-usage require further investigations in research and development.

            Fig. 2
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            Fig. 2. Membrane for gas separation fabrication.

            MBT are used to separate CO2 from natural gas and flue gas returns due to their low cost of operation (while maintaining a high capital cost due to the complexity of manufacturing of the membranes), flexibility as well as modularity, which is the ability to stack up multiple membranes to increase the surface area and the interface between different phases (gas-gas, gas-liquid). Moreover, MBT requires less chemicals in comparison with other technologies (Chen et al., 2022a) as well as its ability to overcome thermodynamic limitations (Xing et al., 2021). The utilization of MBT in pre-combustion stages has the aim of separating CO2 from a CO2/H2 mixture stream and has the advantage of being used parallel to a water-gas shift unit. Post-combustion separation deals with CO2/N2 mixture streams while other MBT applications require the separation of CO2 from CO2/CH4 mixture streams (natural gas feed stream separation). The way MBT works is that the membrane allows preferential permeation of a certain gas molecule or species while acting as a blocking layer for untargeted species, with different behaviors according to the technologies in question.

            2.1. Membrane gas separation (MGS)

            Membrane gas separation (MGS) is a pre-combustion technology, such as shown in Fig. 3 that is utilized in various sectors including and not limited to the extraction of nitrogen from ambient air, hydrogen recovery from ammonia plants (Ramírez-Santos et al., 2018) as well as hydrogen recovery from hydrocarbons used in petrochemical applications, organic vapor removal from air streams and CO2 capture from natural gas streams (Membranes for Gas Separation, 2022). In this technology of CO2 capture, a feed stream containing CO2 is flown adjacent to the membrane, where gas molecules are absorbed on one side of the dense membrane, diffuse across the membrane and finally desorb on the other side to a gas end phase, such as shown in Fig. 4.

            Fig. 3
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            Fig. 3. Pre-combustion carbon capture.

            Fig. 4
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            Fig. 4. Membrane gas separation.

            2.1.1. Physical limitation and operation

            Two main key parameters are considered for gas separation which are the permeability of a single species in the gas mixture and the separation factor (selectivity). These two parameters share a tradeoff relationship as the separation factor has been observed to decrease with the increase of the permeability (Robeson, 2008). Which is why an upper boundary limit relationship is followed to classify and compare the performance of different membranes according to the permeability and the selectivity, which follows this equation (Robeson, 2008):(1)��=�����Where Pi is the permeability of the targeted species, k is the front factor, " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">� is the selectivity, and n is the slope of the resultant log-log graph (Robeson, 2008), just as shown in Fig. 5.

            Fig. 5
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            Fig. 5. CO2 upper bound limit plot (Robeson, 2008), (Park et al., 2007), data adapted from (Park et al., 2007) – Alpha: represents the CO2 selectivity.

            Fig. 5 shows the relationship between the permeability of CO2 (log-scale X-axis) and the selectivity of the membrane (log-scale Y-axis) and it shows the tradeoff between increasing one side and the effect it bears on the other. Having a largely permeable membrane arrangement decreases the selectivity and the purity of the output stream of the membrane. It is also observed that through development of membrane materials for gas separation applications, the upper bound limit has been shifted slightly upwards, leaving room for membranes to attain both better permeability and selectivity. What the upper bound limit also indicates, is that for a specific material and a given selectivity, the permeability can be increased to right of the X-axis until it reaches the upper bound limit, where it is no longer physically possible for that given selectivity, and vice versa. An ideal position on the graph would be on the right-middle region of the canvas on the boundaries of the upper bound limit. Additionally, there are membrane materials that have facilitated the surpassing of the Robenson upper bound limit, such as thermally rearranged polymers. It is noted that these polymers are fabricated by in-situ thermal conversion of polyimides with ortho-functional groups. Thermally rearranged polymers suffer from the incapability of being processed, however their precursors are easily dissolved in organic solvents, which allows for their fabrication into hollow fibers/membranes. These membranes are thermally, mechanically, and chemically stable, along with lucrative gas separation abilities (Kim and Lee, 2012).

            2.1.2. Applications

            There are various materials that have been synthesized for CO2 capture. Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) is a polymer that can be synthesized at both high temperature and short time (∼180 °C – 2 h) or low temperature long time (∼70 °C–96 h) (He et al., 2022)– (BUDD et al., 2008), Foster et al., 2020, which strongly affects the molecular weight and chain packing that influences the gas permeability and selectivity of the fabricated membrane. PIM-1 can be incorporated with additives such as a metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets, due to their good porosity and crystalline structure, to form a mixed matrix membrane (MMM) (Zhang et al., 2019). MOF is an organic-inorganic hybrid crystalline porous material which comprises of metal ions that are surrounded by organic molecules (linkers) (MOF Metal Organic Framework, 2022), and due to its high surface area, high CO2 uptake and porosity, it facilitates a good CO2 separation, with a wide variety of materials that can be used (Ahmad et al., 2018)– (Li et al., 2021a). Carbon based membranes (carbon hollow fibers (CHF)) are also used for CO2 gas separation due to their high permeability and selectivity in comparison to other present MOF-based technologies (Ali et al., 2019)– (Lei et al., 2020). PIM-1-based membranes maintained high permeability values at high and low pressures, and a higher CO2 selectivity for CO2/N2 and a relatively lower selectivity for CO2/CH4 mixtures as shown in Table 2. Moreover, MOF-based membranes showed better CO2 selectivity performances at both low and high pressures ranging from 100 to 800 at 0 bar and 100–400 at 40 bar. Carbon molecular sieves (CMS) show a relatively higher selectivity for CO2 in a CO2/CH4 mixture, however at the cost of temperatures reaching 1000 " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">° C.

            Table 2. CO2 permeability and selectivity results for different membrane gas separation technologies and feed gasses.

            Membrane Gas Mixture CO2 Selectivity CO2 Permeability (GPU) References
            PIM-1 – – 7510 " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 12.6px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">± 200 Balçık et al. (2021)
            PIM-1 22% DMAc 7510 " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 12.6px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">± 200
            PIM-1 33% DMAc 9530 " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 12.6px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">± 110
            PIM-1 N2/CO2 10@0 bar - ∼40@50 bar 7000 @ 0 bar - 5000@50 bar Pu et al. (2022)
            NUS-8-NH2/PIM-1 13.2% loading N2/CO2 20@ 0 bar - ∼40 @ 50 bar 10,000@0 bar - 7000@50 bar
            PIM-1 CH4/CO2 13@0 bar - 6@50 bar ∼6000 @ 0 bar - 2000@ 50 bar
            NUS-8-NH2/PIM-1 13.2% loading CH4/CO2 13@0 bar - 7@ 50 bar 11,000@0 bar- 6000 @ 50 bar
            PIM-1-MOF-74-Ni based TFC (wt% 5 and 20) N2/CO2 34–20 4600–6000 Liu et al. (2020)
            PIM-1-NH2-UiO-66 based TFC (wt% 5 and 20) N2/CO2 30–17 4900–8200
            PIM-1/Matrimid (10:90)
            Bore fill (95/5 N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)/Water            		 CH4/CO2 20.1 277 Yong et al. (2013)
            PIM-1/Matrimid (10:90)
            Bore fill (80/20 (NMP)/Water)            		 CH4/CO2 21.5 11.3
            Ni-4PyC (MOF) 80H2/20CO2 300@10 bar–250@40 bar – Nandi et al. (2015)
            60H2/50CO2 250@10 bar–200@40 bar
            Mg2 (dobdc) 80H2/20CO2 800@0 bar–400@ 40 bar – Herm et al. (2011)
            Cu-BTTri 100@0 bar–100@40 bar
            MOF-177 7.5@0bar–7.5@40 bar
            Co(BDP) 2.5@0bar–7.5@40 bar
            Be-BTB 5@0 bar–5@40 bar
            SBFDA-DMN (Carbon Molecular Sieve) Membrane CO2/CH4 14.4 4700 Ma et al. (2015)
            SBFDA-DMN - Different Pyrolysisi Temperatures for CMS formation CO2/CH4 21@ 550 C
            1475@1000C            		 1500@550
            30@1000c            		 Hazazi et al. (2019)
            He/CO2 0.3@550
            3.25@1000            		 –
            CHF (Carbon hollow fiber) CO2/CH4 6 1.5E-04 Haider et al. (2018)
            MCHF (Modifiied “pore tailored") 249 7.748

            2.2. Membrane contactor (MC)

            A membrane contactor (MC) is mostly a post-combustion-based technology, such as shown in Fig. 6, which separates gaseous and liquid phase materials and provides a higher surface area to promote a better mass transfer between the two. It is a highly flexible technology due to the freedom in controlling the flowrates of both the gas and liquid (absorbent) that are separated. MC also provides a controllable interfacial area that can be modified according to each application. As the case in MGS, MC can also be modulated for more demanding processes and to accommodate scaling-up requirements. Chemical, thermal and mechanical stabilities are essential to maintain high performance and ensure the longevity of the membrane that is used. Given that this membrane is utilized in a wet environment (an absorber in the liquid phase), the membrane material must have a high level of hydrophobicity. According to (Siagian et al., 2019), (Nieminen et al., 2020), polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), Polyethersulfone (PES) and polypropylene (PP), are desirable materials for membranes in MC applications. The process for MC CO2 capture is shown in Fig. 7

            Fig. 6
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            Fig. 6. Post-combustion carbon capture.

            Fig. 7
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            Fig. 7. Membrane contactor CO2 capture.

            2.2.1. Physical operation and applications

            The two parameters that define the membrane in such a system are the pore size and porosity. Moreover, given that the main focus of this technology is to separate a specific species of gas in a gas mixture through its permeation within the membrane, the pores of the membrane must be hydrophobic, to not elevate the values of mass transfer resistance and to allow for a better gas/absorbent mass transfer at the pores’ boundaries. The mass transfer of CO2 is given in the following equation (Luis et al., 2012):(2)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">���2=��������×Δ���2,��Where 1/kOverall is the overall mass transfer resistance, and " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">Δ���2�� is the logarithmic mean difference of the concentrations of CO2 entering and leaving the MC.

            Contrary to MSG technologies, the selectivity that controls the separation of a certain species over the other has no relation to the membrane material, rather than the properties of the absorbent that is used. Furthermore, given that this technology is mainly used in post-combustion processes, the transition of the CO2 molecules from the gas stream to the absorbent stream does not drastically affect the flow rate of the flue gas. Table 3 shows the effect of MC material, absorbent, gas flow rate and liquid flow rate on the CO2 removal efficiency. PTFE-based MC achieved CO2 removal efficiencies bordering 98% with water-based solvents, whereas it reached efficiencies as close to 99.97% with the utilization of ionic liquids (IL) within the water solvent, and deep euticitc solvents (Saeed et al., 2021), (Ishaq et al., 2020). PVDF, PES, PP and commercial ceramic membranes (CCM) harbor eficiencies of 98–99%.

            Table 3. CO2 removal efficiencies based on different factors.

            MC Gas Mixture Absorbent CO2 Removal Efficiency Gas Flow Rate Liquid Flow Rate References
            PTFE Hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) 80 N2:20 CO2 0.8–2 M NaOH – water Up to 90.8% – – Ruan et al. (2022)
            88.36%–57.99% 0.2–0.8 L/min
            70.11%–74.55% – 20–200 ml/min
            85 N2:15 CO2 ILs in water 50:50 vol/vol Khan Swati et al. (2022)
            PTFE [EMIM][EtSO4] 84.67% – –
            [EMIM][Ac] 84.81%
            [EMIM][TFA] 92.64%
            [EMIM][TF2N] 94.06%
            [BMIM][BF6] 98.9%
            [OMIM][BF4] 99.97%
            PVDF [EMIM][EtSO4] 84.86%
            [EMIM][Ac] 88.39%
            [EMIM][TFA] 92.86%
            [EMIM][TF2N] 94.21%
            [BMIM][BF6] 99.2%
            [OMIM][BF4] 99.67%
            PES [EMIM][EtSO4] 82.79%
            [EMIM][Ac] 87.19%
            [EMIM][TFA] 93.16%
            [EMIM][TF2N] 94.5%
            [BMIM][BF6] 98.53%
            [OMIM][BF4] 98.79%
            PP [EMIM][EtSO4] 80.83%
            [EMIM][Ac] 85.2%
            [EMIM][TFA] 89.73%
            [EMIM][TF2N] 93.02%
            [BMIM][BF6] 97.59%
            [OMIM][BF4] 99.08%
            PTFE 60 CH4:40 CO2 Water 98.12% Gas Velocity 0.093 m/s Liquid Velocity 0.034 m/s Li et al. (2021b)
            PP Air + 2% H2S + 2% CO2 NaOH in water 100%–10% for 0 and 1 saturation levels – – Petukhov et al. (2022)
            Commercial Ceramic Membrane 80 N2:20 CO2 Monoethanolamine 98% 8 L/min 200 L/min Zhang et al. (2021)
            65% 12.5 L/min
            87% 13.5 L/min
            87% 13.5 L/min 200 L/min
            97% 325 L/min
            98% 450 L/min

            3. Challenges faced by carbon capture using membrane technologies

            The challenges that are faced by membranes that hold back their commercialization and hinders the optimum quality of their application in carbon capture systems are summarized into three categories, economic and financial, technical, and social, which are summarized in the following section (see Fig. 8).

            Fig. 8
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            Fig. 8. Economic, technical and social challenges that are posed for membrane CO2 capture technologies (Luis et al., 2012), (Siagian et al., 2019), (Scholes, 2020), (Favre, 2011).

            3.1. Economic and financial

            There is a physical tradeoff between the selectivity and permeability in MGS-based carbon capture, which affects the overall economics of the system. Additionally, the permeability and selectivity of the membrane determines the area required for the membrane which directly affects the cost at large-scale implementation of this technology. Moreover, a phenomenon known as plasticization, which is a membrane pore swelling, halts the operation of MGS are requires costly substitutions of the membrane stack (Luis et al., 2012). A stable MC operation is dictated by the solvent membrane interaction and their compatibility, otherwise an imminent wetting of the membrane occurs that demands a substitution of both components. Similarly, fouling which is the accumulation of dust and contaminants (i.e., flue gasses), also requires the substitution of the membrane (Scholes, 2020).

            3.2. Technical

            The permeability and selectivity tradeoff arises as a barrier in the context of dictating the operating levels of the overall inlet and outlet of the system (pressure difference applied). Additionally, plasticization limits the choices of membrane materials as this selection must be optimized to accommodate certain applications based on the corrosivity of the environment and the mixture of the gas (Luis et al., 2012). However, it is worthy to note that the fabrication of S-PEEKM-based membranes which are made from the direct polymerization of sulfonated monomers (Khan et al., 2011a), have shown excellent anti-plasticization properties with superior gas separation performances (Khan et al., 2011b). Moreover, in an MC operation, the solvent/membrane interactions have to be chemically stable and must go through an optimization process for a smooth operation. fouling treatment techniques must be developed and regular maintenance of the membrane material is required (Scholes, 2020), (Favre, 2011).

            3.3. Social

            In an MGS pre-combustion operation, the selectivity of the membrane determines the loss of important gas species such as CH4 in a gas mixture with CO2, as the tradeoff between the permeability and selectivity will hinder the quality of the fuel (CH4) which will adversely affect the environment (Luis et al., 2012), (Robeson, 2008). Similarly, plasticization hinders the quality of the CO2 gas purification process over time (Siagian et al., 2019). On the other hand, in MC applications commonly used solvents pose health and safety hazards for both the environment and the people involved in the operating plants such as mono-chlorobenzene (CB) and dimethylformamide (DMF) (Luis et al., 2012)., (Favre, 2011)

            4. Role of membrane-based carbon capture technologies in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs)

            The following section discusses in detail the positive or negative contributions of membrane-based carbon capture technologies to the 17 SDGs.

            4.1. SDG 1 “no poverty”

            It was estimated that about 10% of the population was living in poverty in 2015. However, after the recent COVID-19 pandemic it was evident that the number of people living in severe poverty will increase. Hence, nowadays more than 10% of the global population is suffering from severe poverty. That is more than 700,000 people are incapable of meeting their basic needs in life such as education, health, and food. Around 17.2% of these people are living in rural areas where people earn a living of less than 1.90$ per day. As a result, 8% of the people with low income are struggling with extreme poverty. It was reported that one child out of five children suffers from severe poverty. Consequently, in order to protect these children, global poverty must be reduced. In the past, the number of people living in extreme poverty decreased from 36% to 10% of the global population. This reduction indicates that it is possible to significantly reduce global poverty (Nationsa). For this reason, SDG 1 has been directed to end worldwide poverty in all its forms everywhere by the year 2030 (Oliveira et al., 2022). SDG 1 is associated with several targets, where each target is allocated with multiple indicators. These indicators provide guidance on how to accomplish each target related to SDG 1.

            Membrane-based carbon capture can bestow numerous advantages by capturing the CO2 in the atmosphere and combatting climate change. Nevertheless, it is not feasible to deploy carbon capture technologies in underdeveloped and developing countries with low incomes. According to target 1.3 which focuses on nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, it is only possible to deploy nationally suitable social protection systems. Hence, it is not appropriate to employ carbon capture technologies in such countries where they cannot afford the high costs associated with the development and implementation of these technologies. However, there are other positive aspects to the deployment of carbon capture technologies on the poverty levels in developing countries. The development and implementation of carbon capture technologies require large sums of money which can be externally financed. This, in return, allows for the development of innovative energy solutions without any incurred costs (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020a). On the other hand, the deployment of such technologies in developed countries might indirectly deter the goal of ending worldwide poverty. This occurs as these technologies evolve and advance in developed countries which in return might strengthen the current level of global poverty (Dollar, 1993).

            Job creation is one of the significant advantages carbon capture projects provide. As huge investments and finances are offered for deploying carbon capture projects, more job opportunities will be available. Hence, carbon capture technologies reduce unemployment levels and improve human well-being. Based on the International Energy Agency (IEA), by the year 2050, around 2000 carbon capture storage plants need to be built to combat the increasing carbon emissions (Birol, 2010)– (Jarraud and Steiner, 2012). The construction, operation, and development of these plants will require around 100,000 employees by the year 2050. Jobs related to logistics and transportation, material and machine supplies, and various other jobs will be created. These jobs will eventually substantially reduce the unemployment rate and decrease poverty (Olabi et al., 2022d). Moreover, according to Turner et al. (2021), the development of carbon capture technologies and facilities will add 1.8 billion dollars in GDP per year and create around 17,000 jobs in the UK (Turner et al., 2021).

            4.2. SDG 2 “zero hunger”

            Frequently, carbon capture products in the industrial processes are not engaged directly in the production of food and the difficulties associated with it, as demonstrated by SDG 2. However, the following applications lead to increasing impact on food production in the future, such as taking advantage of the captured CO2 to increase organic process yield, either in greenhouses or processed into fertilizers. This could be important for some agricultural industries, as using CO2 could enhance yields by up to 30%, which would have an immediate impact on commercial volumes and supplies. Some examples of utilizing CO2 for food production include Omega 3 which is produced by the Norwegian business CO2Bio for fish food and using CO2 by the Finnish company Solar Foods to develop proteins for human diets (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b). Through higher soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the soil, organic farming immediately improves biological resources. In comparison to traditional farming, organic farming provides 50% more crops on average, has better soil fertility, less soil erosion, healthier crops, and superior farm management abilities (Onwonga, 2019).

            4.3. SDG 3 “good health and wellbeing”

            Ensuring and promoting the health and well-being of all people of all ages is significantly important for sustainable development. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, significant progress was sustained in enhancing the health of numerous people. Several targets were allocated to increase life expectancy and hinder the spread of diseases. However, further efforts are required to completely inhibit the spread of diseases and address all health problems. This is feasible by investing more in health facilities and systems, enhancing sanitation, and offering smooth access to health employees (Nationsb). Hence, SDG 3, which promotes the health and well-being of all people, has been put forth to establish clear targets and indicators for achieving all the former objectives.

            Membrane-based carbon capture technologies do not directly influence some of the SDG 3 targets, such as targets 3.1 and 3.2 which discuss the reduction in worldwide maternity mortality rates and the end of numerous diseases, respectively. Nevertheless, several technologies employed for CO2 capture adversely influence the health and well-being of people. For instance, CO2 separation utilizes amine scrubbing which might potentially lead to several health complications (Dautzenberg and Bruhn, 2013). Moreover, mineralization processes require waste materials that might contain hazardous elements such as heavy metals (Sanna et al., 2014), (Masson-Delmotte et al., 2018b). Additionally, based on the location of the carbon capture facility, the transportation of CO2 stored in pipelines poses a risk to the surrounding residents. Even though the risk of CO2 leakage is low, where it is estimated that lower than 0.0008% of CO2 will be leaked in 10,000 years (Alcalde et al., 2018), the public still perceives this as a potential danger to society (Lyons et al., 2021). However, even small amounts of CO2 leakage from geographical locations near aquatic mediums might contaminate rivers, soil, lakes, air, and clean water which in turn leads to adverse impacts on the ecosystem and the people's health (Li and Liu, 2016), (Wei et al., 2016). Where it has been reported that the emissions of carbon capture technologies cause a 10-fold increase in the toxins found in freshwater (Chen et al., 2022b). On the other hand, there are positive impacts of membrane-based carbon capture technologies on SDG 3. These positive effects include the usage of stored CO2 for producing sustainable pharmaceutical products (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b). Moreover, carbon capture technologies reduce particulate matter, CO2, SO2, and NO2 pollutants from the atmosphere. The availability of these pollutants in the atmosphere has led to various health issues for people, most specifically related to respiratory diseases (Shaw et al., 2018). Particulate matter emissions only have led to the mortality of around 2804 to 8249 people in 2010 and approximately 9870 and 23,100 people in 2020. However, according to Yang et al. (2021), the deployment of carbon capture technologies helps in mitigating air pollution; this, in return reduces the global mortalities associated with pollution and particulate matter emissions by 23%, which means around 289,000 people will be saved between the year 2015 and 2030.

            4.4. SDG 4 “quality education”

            In order to meet the requirements of SDG 4's targets, which include guaranteeing free, equitable, and high-quality education for boys and girls (target 4.1) and equal opportunities for men and women to higher education (target 4.3), authorities, mainly nations and regions, and their organizations, are also needed to enhance the educational situation in their areas of accountability (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b). Developing and implementing carbon capture technologies call for specialized knowledge in a variety of academic fields and industries. There is an indirect relationship with SDG 4 by employing students and trainees in carbon capture-related learning processes to help provide high-quality education. In addition, through transferring technology, knowledge can be made available to countries that lack the resources or infrastructure to do so (capacity building). This could be viewed as an unintentional good result (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b). One of the indirect positive effects of the development of the various carbon capture systems including membrane-based ones on SDG 4 is the increase in the income (SDG1) that will eventually positively affect SDG 4.

            4.5. SDG 5 “gender equality”

            SDG 5 aims at achieving equality between both genders and empower women and girls by removing discrimination, violence, and gender inequality against women mainly in the workplace. In addition to the ability to make her own decisions and authority over her own life (Eden and Wagstaff, 2021). Carbon capture technologies including membrane-based ones are not anticipated to have any effect on achieving this goal. It is not specifically related to carbon capture and can be affected slightly by encouraging growth and development, which could then result in increasing opportunities for girls and women (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b).

            4.6. SDG 6 “clean water and sanitation”

            Considerable progress has been carried out to increase access to clean water and sanitation. Nevertheless, billions of people still do not have access to clean water. Globally, one out of three people still cannot access clean and safe water, while two in five people do not have access to sanitation facilities (Nationsc). About one-third of the global population is influenced by water scarcity induced by climate change and global warming. Nevertheless, since 1990, about 2.1 billion people have gained the access to clean water and sanitation facilities. However, water scarcity is still a primary issue numerous people are facing (Sanitation Statistics - UNICEF DATA). As a result, SDG 6 was developed to focus on providing clean and safe water and sanitation for all people (Olabi et al., 2022e).

            Carbon capture technologies adversely impact the achievement of target 6.3 which emphasizes the improvement of water quality through pollution reduction. The energy needed for carbon capture in power plants negatively influences the efficiency of power plants and produces pollutants and chemicals in the environment. The produced pollutants, wastes, and chemicals increase the toxicity and pollution of freshwater. On the other hand, carbon capture positively impacts target 6.4 which focuses on the sustainable increase of water utilization efficiency. This is reflected by the new designs of carbon capture technologies which lower the utilization of water (Zhu et al., 2021), (Giannaris et al., 2020). Moreover, the utilization of captured CO2 can be utilized for the removal of dissolved solids from brine water into potable water (Al‒Mamoori et al., 2017). Captured CO2 can be efficiently utilized in desalination plants for generating fresh water. However, few desalination plants employ captured CO2 due to their economic disadvantages (Cuéllar-Franca and Azapagic, 2015).

            4.7. SDG 7 “affordable and clean energy”

            SDG 7 focuses on providing clean and affordable energy to all people. SDG 7 focuses on increasing energy efficiency, allowing for smooth accessibility to energy, and enhancing the integration of renewable energy (Rabaia et al., 2021),(Sayed et al., 2021a) (Olabi et al., 2021c). It is essential to achieve this goal as 13% of the global population does not have access to electricity. The current sources of energy lead to climate change, responsible for 60% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, alternative energy sources which do not adversely impact the environment were explored, such as renewable energy sources, including solar energy (Alami et al., 2022b), (Maghrabie et al., 2021), wind energy (Olabi et al., 2021d), (Olabi et al., 2021e), biomass energy (Wilberforce et al., 2021), (Sayed et al., 2021b), geothermal energy (Mahmoud et al., 2021a), (Mahmoud et al., 2021b), and hydro energy (Alnaqbi et al., 2022). Since 2016, the share of renewable energy has rapidly increased, resulting in tremendous growth in solar and wind energy sources (Nationsd). Renewable energy sources on their own are not as reliable as fossil fuel power generation. Renewable energy sources require energy storage systems to account for the frequent fluctuations and intermittencies. Nevertheless, a connection between renewable energy sources and fossil fuel power generation must be made to enhance grid stability. This can be facilitated by the adoption of carbon capture and storage technologies integrated with other energy storage systems. Consequently, carbon capture technologies enhance the performance and generation of renewable energy sources. Thus, integrating carbon capture technologies have strong relations to SDG 7 (Hanak and Manovic, 2020) Furthermore, the main goal of carbon capture technologies is to enhance the production of zero-emission hydrogen and fuel. This enhancement in the zero-emission production positively contributes to SDG 7 (Lee et al., 2020). For instance, in a study conducted by khan et al. (Ali Khan et al., 2021) the usage of carbon capture technologies with steam methane reforming for hydrogen production has significantly reduced the release of emissions. Similarly, Hu et al. (2015) proposed integrating carbon capture technologies to an in-situ steam gasification hydrogen production method to enhance the production of clean and renewable energy. The proposed system helped to produce around 277.67 ml/g of hydrogen.

            The main goal of carbon capture by membrane technologies is to ultimately generate clean and reliable energy sources, which in turn increases the accessibility to clean energy. The ultimate goal of carbon capture technologies is to capture CO2 from the atmosphere to limit its contribution to global warming and climate change (Olabi et al., 2022e). However, the addition of carbon technologies in conventional coal-based power plants increases the Levelized cost of electricity by 35–40%. Due to the high costs of membrane-based carbon capture, the goal of producing clean and affordable energy for all people is hindered (Rubin et al., 2015). On the other hand, the addition of carbon capture technologies to coal-based power plants ensures a reliable supply of energy. This in return satisfies the goal of sustaining an uninterrupted and consistent supply of energy to meet the required energy demand (Mikunda et al., 2021b). Nevertheless, membrane-based carbon capture technologies are energy-intensive, and this leads to a substantial reduction in combustion efficiency and inflation in the electricity price (Al-Mamoori et al., 2017). According to Song et al. (2017) the energy utilization of the mostly utilized carbon capture technology, chemical absorption, is from 2.5 to 3.5 MJ/kg CO2 (Shakerian et al., 2015), (Oh et al., 2016), while the energy utilization of membrane technology for carbon capture is 3 MJ/kg CO2 for a membrane area of 70 m2 and 3.6 MJ/kg CO2 for a membrane area of 30 m2. However, according to the European Union, the target energy utilization is only at 2 MJ/kg CO2 (Belaissaoui et al., 2012), (Dechamps and Pilavachi, 2004).

            4.8. SDG 8 “decent work and economic growth”

            The unemployment rate in 2000 was at 6.4%, and due to global economic growth, the unemployment rate decreased to 5.6% in 2017. However, the high unemployment rate is still a global issue that must be tackled. Hence, SDG 8 was developed to promote sustainable economic growth and employment for all people. Sustainable economic growth generates job opportunities for all people (Nationse). SDG 8 revolves around the concepts of economic growth, employment rates, decent work, resource efficiency, high productivity, and environmental protection (Olabi et al., 2022e).

            The significant investments and a large number of carbon capture projects have resulted in lower environmental impacts of conventional power plants, and thus in higher growth of the implemented number of power plants. Where it was witnessed that up to 65 large-scale carbon capture projects were developed by 2020. Around 38 of these projects are in the United States, 13 projects are in Europe, 10 are in Asia, and 3 are in the Middle East. The total rated capacity of these projects is 40 mt-CO2/year (Page et al., 2020). It is expected that by 2050 the rated capacity will increase to 5635 mt-CO2/year and the number of carbon capture projects is anticipated to increase to 2000 projects (de Mello Delgado et al., 2021). Furthermore, the impacts of carbon capture technologies on the economy have been thoroughly evaluated in a UK carbon capture storage investment report. The report discussed the influence of carbon capture storage technologies on the economy, job creation, and gross profits. The report indicated that carbon capture storage technologies bring numerous advantages from the imports and exports related to carbon capture storage technologies and job opportunities (Summit, 2017). Due to these advantages, the UK government decided to invest at least 780 million dollars in the promotion and advancement of carbon capture storage technologies. This investment has led to more economic growth as it opened up 3850 full-time equivalent jobs in just the first year (Turner et al., 2020). According to Franz et al. (2014), the average salary for jobs related to carbon capture technologies in the UK is around 6800 dollars per month.

            4.9. SDG 9 “industry, innovation and infrastructure”

            The scope of SDG 9 is to encourage innovation, advance equitable and sustainable industrialization, and construct resilient infrastructure (MONTES, 2017). Developed nations have offered to help developing and undeveloped nations with their economies. Achieving sustainable economic growth, social and environmental development, and battling climate change within the context of this SDG, requires developing and underdeveloped nations for long-lasting infrastructure investments, sustainable industrial advances, and new technologies. Encouragement of sustainable industries, technical research, and innovation funding could all contribute to sustainable development (Franco et al., 2020).

            Target 9.4 aims to improve efficiency in resource utilization and expand the implementation of clean, environmentally friendly technologies and industries. Achieving target 9.4 requires concentrating on forest-based ecological systems like carbon storage, watershed restoration, and outdoor leisure can boost local economies while preventing material development. Limiting carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions might not only slow down climate change but will also lessen its negative effects on the health of ecosystems, such as the increased levels of forest fires in both temperate and boreal forests and the elevated chance of the Amazon rainforest becoming unstable if certain temperature limits are exceeded (Tomaselli et al., 2019).

            Carbon capture using membranes has a direct impact on infrastructure and industry. The economic effects of carbon capture may vary by area, industry, and a nation's reliance on fossil fuels (Mikunda et al., 2021c). Developed membrane materials reduce costs associated with carbon capture, which is for the membrane technology highly depends on the CO2 capture ratio. Post-combustion CO2 capture utilizing the membrane technology can have an advantage from a reduced CO2 capture ratio with a 55% drop in cost. The improvement of the membrane performance is recommended to lower the CO2 capture costs down to $20/tonne CO2. Membrane systems could one day be an eco-friendly solution for CO2 capture from power plants and other energy-intensive process sectors because they don't require chemicals, are simple to scale up, and have a comparatively low energy requirement (He, 2018a). Compared to the issues encountered with the use of liquid absorption such as corrosion and foaming, utilization of membrane technology in post-combustion carbon capture, benefits the whole process by cost savings reported as 38–42% and equipment weight reduction of 34–40% (Luliano et al., 2020).

            4.10. SDG 10 “reduced inequality”

            The target of SDG 10 is to reduce inequality within and among countries. Similar to how poverty has been acknowledged as having multiple dimensions, inequality also has a social, economic, and ecological component. The negative impacts on people when inequality is (excessively) high within a nation have been the subject of extensive research in recent decades. Inequality is considered to be one of our most critical social issues (Breting-Garcia, 2021).

            Carbon capture can lessen cities' carbon footprints, improve their sustainability (He, 2018b) and help in reducing inequality. For the general public, carbon capture facilities might also offer sources of revenue and employment. This contrasts with the lopsided advantage enjoyed by nations with plentiful fossil resources, which has recently affected international geopolitics. As a result, carbon capture and storage technologies may make up for the disadvantages experienced by nations and regions without independent access to fossil fuels. Together, these elements could indirectly help to lessen inequality between countries and regions (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b). Berdowska and Skorek-Osikowska examined the deployment of membrane carbon capture technology with a cryogenic distillation module for a 600 MW coal power plant employing oxy-combustion technology. The reference system without applying separation and compression of CO2 and with an air-fired pulverized bed boiler had an electricity break-even price of €94.5/MWh. For a membrane costing €0.7/m2, the breakeven price of power for the two technologies under consideration is €81.2/MWh. It should be noted that the effectiveness of the hybrid system is significantly impacted by the membrane selection. The membranes' permeability and oxygen selectivity determine how well the system functions and how much it costs to operate. The hybrid systems’ profitability will increase owing to the projected developments in membrane technology in the coming years. Thus, all of these factors will contribute to higher income and revenue and indirectly to reducing inequality (Berdowska and Skorek-Osikowska, 2013).

            4.11. SDG 11 “sustainable cities and communities”

            Making cities and communities, safe, resilient, and sustainable is the main goal of SDG 11. Cities contain 55% of the world's population, generate 85% of its GDP, and are yet also responsible for 75% of its greenhouse gas emissions (Vaidya and Chatterji, 2020).

            Encouraging CO2-based fuel and chemical production could be seen as a step in the right direction towards creating more environmentally friendly communities and enhancing sustainability (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b) and leading to improved air quality (Target 11.6). Carbon capture has both favorable and unfavorable effects on the environment. The most noticeable result of carbon capture is a 60–80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Lowering the climate change caused by the energy and products utilized by various cities and communities can lead to significant contributions (Olabi et al., 2022d). The sustainability of fossil fuel power plants can be improved by deploying optimal membrane carbon capture technologies that lower their energy consumption and operational expenses. According to Asadi and Kazempoor, at ideal design and operating parameters, the CO2 capture cost and energy penalties were respectively 13.1$/tCO2 and 10% by studying a multi-stage membrane system. As the CO2 content in the gas rises, the cost of CO2 capture greatly falls and CO2 removal is improved (Asadi and Kazempoor, 2022).

            4.12. SDG 12 “responsible consumption and production”

            Around one-third, estimated as 1.3 billion tonnes of the globally produced food is wasted every year. This could potentially mean that not only are there insufficient natural sources to meet the future generation's needs but also most of the currently available resources are being wasted due to inefficient transportation and harvesting strategies. According to the UN, if the global population increases to 9.6 billion by the year 2050, the number of natural resources needed will be threefold the number of natural resources acquired from this planet. All these issues call for responsible and sustainable consumption and production practices. As a result, SDG 12 was developed to drive the need for consuming and producing natural resources without constituting any adverse effects on the planet. SDG 12 thrives on doing more with fewer resources to sustain the current resources for future generations. Furthermore, SDG 12 promotes sustainable consumption and production patterns and practices. Sustainable consumption and production significantly reduce poverty and allow for the transition towards a green and low-carbon society (Nationsf). SDG 12 thrives to enhance the adopted consumption and production practices in companies to enhance the sustainability of natural resources and deflate the waste streams that are allocated on land, water, or air.

            The role of carbon capture technologies is to reduce CO2 emissions and thus contribute to target 12.4 which focuses on reducing chemical and waste released to the atmosphere. Companies can integrate carbon capture technologies to reduce CO2 emissions. Even though carbon capture technologies might generate waste into the atmosphere, the technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions for fossil fuel plants by 75–90%. Moreover, employing carbon capture technologies in companies significantly contributes to target 12.6 which stresses the adoption of sustainable practices. On the other hand, the accomplishment of target 12.2 is hindered by carbon capture technologies. Target 12.2 strives for sustainable management and efficient utilization of natural resources. As carbon capture technologies need energy for their operation and materials for their development. These requirements reduce the efficiencies of power plants integrating carbon capture technologies. It is found that carbon capture-based power plants have efficiencies 20–25% lower than conventional coal-based power plants. Moreover, the number of materials required for fossil-fuel plants with carbon capture technologies is far superior to that of conventional fossil-fuel plants. Additionally, carbon capture operations produce chemical waste which adversely influences the environment. Hence, deploying carbon capture projects can potentially increase the produced wastes from the carbon capture process. The carbon capture process might result in the emission of ash, NOx, sulfur, and NH3. These consequences hinder the achievement of target 12.5 which focuses on reducing waste generation (Mikunda et al., 2021c). Another negative consequence of the utilization of membrane-based carbon capture technologies is the release of toxins into the environment as a result of integrating amines for membrane absorption (Li and Chen, 2005).

            4.13. SDG 13 “climate change”

            In 2019, the highest temperatures and the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions were recorded. The levels of greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 6% in 2020 due to travel restrictions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic (Nationsg). However, this improvement is temporary, and levels of greenhouse gas emissions are yet to increase again when the economy starts recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The high levels of greenhouse gas emissions are significantly contributing to global warming and climate change. Climate change is negatively influencing the global population. Climate change is inducing changes in weather patterns, resulting in higher sea levels, and causing more frequent extreme weather conditions. Due to these negative impacts of climate change, it became imperative to take extreme measures for addressing these climate issues. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was created to focus on strengthening the global reaction to the risks of climate change by reducing global temperatures below 2 °C (Nationsg). SDG 13 has been developed to take urgent action to battle climate change and its effects.

            Carbon capture technologies combat climate change by significantly contributing to the achievement of SDG 13 (Olabi et al., 2022e). After the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report in 2007, carbon capture technologies have been acknowledged as the primary prevention technologies for reducing CO2 emissions (IPCC, 2007). The Fifth Assessment Report of IPCC further highlighted the importance of carbon capture technologies as it was estimated that by 2100 the greenhouse gas emissions cannot be reduced below 450 ppm CO2eq without the utilization of carbon capture technologies. Additionally, the Paris Agreement of reducing temperatures by 2 °C includes carbon capture technologies as key enablers for combatting climate change by significantly reducing CO2 emissions (Rogelj et al. Masson-Delmotte et al., 2018). Through these integrations of carbon capture technologies into global and national strategies, plans, and policies for combatting climate change the accomplishment of target 13.2 becomes more feasible. Moreover, carbon capture technologies facilitate the accomplishment of target 13.1 which focuses on strengthening resilience to natural disasters related to climate change by reducing 90% of the CO2 emissions in coal-based power plants (Rubin et al., 2015). Especially, membrane-based carbon capture technologies have high CO2 capture yields (80–90%) (Mondal et al., 2012). It is essential to focus on CO2 reduction due to the high CO2 emissions from anthropogenic activities. It is estimated that the CO2 emissions from anthropogenic activities will increase to 43.22 billion tonnes by the year 2040 (Sieminski, 2013). However, carbon capture technologies are capable of capturing 33.4 million tonnes per year of CO2 by 2020 which amounts to only 0.09% of the CO2 emissions (Theo et al., 2016).

            4.14. SDG 14 “life below water”

            SDG 14 emphasizes the significance of ocean monitoring in a situation where major pressures are threatening the ocean's capacity to provide economic, social, and benefits to the community. Oceans are a vital part of the mechanisms that keep the Earth's ecosystems alive. With the ability to cycle 93% of the world's carbon dioxide and capture 30% of exhaust emissions, the oceans serve as the principal climate controller. Additionally, over the past few decades, the seas have absorbed 90% of the Earth's heat. The provision of services by healthy aquatic ecosystems includes water filtering, nutrient uptake, and biodiversity preservation. Concerning climate change, the oceans are becoming 10 times more acidic today than they were 65 million years ago due to the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere, which harms marine species' welfare, calcification, growth, and diversity. The adverse effects of climate change also include changes in ocean circulation and salinity, as well as an increase in the frequency and severity of weather and climate variations (Recuero Virto, 2018). The aquatic ecosystem and life underwater can benefit significantly from carbon capture. This is mainly a result of the carbonate/bicarbonate/hydrogen system in oceans and seas, being in equilibrium with CO2 in the atmosphere (Olabi et al., 2022c).

            4.15. SDG 15 “life on land”

            Nature is essential to the survival of all living things as it provides oxygen and crops, and controls climatic conditions. Even though nature is key to the survival of the population, people have modified about 75% of the earth's surface, reducing the available land for nature and wildlife. As a result, about 1 million species of animals and plants are about to go extinct. Based on the Global Assessment Report about biodiversity and ecosystems, it is now imperative to take transformative actions to shield and restore nature. Nevertheless, the state of nature is rapidly deteriorating, negatively influencing the economy, food security, quality of life, health, and livelihood. The need for sustaining and protecting the nature and ecosystem has paved the way for the development of SDG 15 which highlights the criticality of life on land. SDG 15 sustainably manages ecosystems and wildlife and mitigates biodiversity loss, deforestation, land degradation, and desertification (Nationsh). SDG 15 protects life on land by reducing waste on land and promoting efficient resource utilization of forests, soil, and aquatic ecosystems.

            The implementation of carbon capture technologies has positive and negative interactions with the objectives of SDG 15. Target 15.5 is positively correlated with the reduction of CO2 emissions due to carbon capture technologies. It has been estimated that by 2050, carbon capture technologies will facilitate the capture of 10 to 2.8 GtCO2 eq per year. The tremendous reductions in CO2 emissions will eventually hinder the temperature rise by 1.5–2 °C (Ramón and Guillena, 2020). Hence, carbon capture technologies capture CO2 emissions that would have been otherwise released into the atmosphere and potentially led to air and water pollution (Olabi et al., 2022e). Moreover, the reduction of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere mitigates extreme climatic changes and hence reduces biodiversity loss (Mikunda et al., 2021c). On the other hand, carbon capture technologies are negatively influencing the objectives of target 15.1 which promotes sustainable usage of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems. Carbon capture technologies have high utilization of energy (as mentioned in SDG 7); this, in return results in the production of wastes, pollutants, and chemicals that could spread to nearby water bodies. Other than polluting water bodies, carbon capture technologies have high water consumption, these technologies generate wastewater due to the toxins and heavy metals intoxicating the water (Oreggioni et al., 2017), (Chisalita et al., 2019).

            4.16. SDG 16 “peace, justice and strong institutions”

            SDG 16 is more than just a moral agenda, and it is also more than just developing technical capability. It outlines the key responsibility for covering both the purpose of institutions and their philosophy and reasoning place politics at the center of institutions. SDG 16 reflects these issues of attitude by putting importance on both whether institutions function and how they function (OECDWhaites, 2016). SDG 16 goals are unlikely to be directly impacted by the adoption of carbon capture technologies. However, under specific circumstances, indirect beneficial impacts may happen in terms of preserving and furthering the development of a peaceful world. While wealthier countries are primarily responsible for global warming's emissions, developing countries are already taking on the majority of its effects since they are more at risk from both desertification and sea level rise. Therefore, all actions that industrialized nations do to avoid, reduce, or even harvest CO2 from the atmosphere (known as “negative emission technology,” or NET) may be viewed as actions that promote peace (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b).

            4.17. SDG 17 “partnership for the goals”

            SDG 17 demands funding the international alliance for achieving sustainable development on a global scale. In order to carry out the goals of Agenda (2030), collaborations between the public, private, and civil society must be strengthened. It will also be necessary to improve the coordination of policies and actions both locally and globally and to increase international collaboration. SDG 17 calls for efforts to strengthen the abilities for achieving the SDGs and fulfil these requirements (Maltais et al., 2018).

            Working with another commercial, governmental, and municipal entities or authorities is a requirement of carbon capture projects. Along with this cooperation, the project management team should budget the necessary funds and take into account how to connect firm policies with the SDGs. Defining and carefully monitoring related metrics is also necessary. All businesses may contribute to the SDGs as part of their sustainable development goals, regardless of the size of their respective industries. On the one hand, although the scope and size of the global targets are unmatched, there are several fundamental aspects that any firm may still contribute (Olabi et al., 2022e). SDG 17 calls for extra assistance from the developed countries to the less developed ones which can include improved international collaboration in the field of carbon capture that is created to equally fulfill the requirements of less developed countries (targets 17.3 and 17.5). It is unclear whether carbon capture will positively contribute to SDG 17 due to numerous essential, possibly partially altruistic prerequisites (Olfe-Kräutlein, 2020b).

            The summary of the assessment done on the contribution of membrane-based carbon capture technologies for achieving the 17 SDGs is shown in Fig. 26, which depicts the most influenced SDGs by membrane-based carbon capture technologies (see Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 11, Fig. 12, Fig. 13, Fig. 14, Fig. 15, Fig. 16, Fig. 17, Fig. 18, Fig. 19, Fig. 20, Fig. 21, Fig. 22, Fig. 23, Fig. 24, Fig. 25). The figure shows that SDGs 13, 9, 7, and 8 are the most influenced SDGs by carbon capture technologies. The CO2 reductions and the sustainable energy production by these technologies have led to great contributions to SDG 13 and SDG 7. Moreover, as carbon capture technologies are becoming more advanced, they are being adopted by more countries and institutions. These consequences lead to the creation of more jobs and significant economic growth and developments. Due to these positive impacts, SDG 8, SDG 1, and SDG 3 are perceived to be positively correlated with carbon capture technologies.

            Fig. 9
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            Fig. 9. Membrane carbon capture SDG 1 impact summary.

            Fig. 10
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            Fig. 10. Membrane carbon capture SDG 2 impact summary.

            Fig. 11
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            Fig. 11. Membrane carbon capture SDG 3 impact summary.

            Fig. 12
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            Fig. 12. Membrane carbon capture SDG 4 impact summary.

            Fig. 13
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            Fig. 13. Membrane carbon capture SDG 5 impact summary.

            Fig. 14
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            Fig. 14. Membrane carbon capture SDG 6 impact summary.

            Fig. 15
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            Fig. 15. Membrane carbon capture SDG 7 impact summary.

            Fig. 16
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            Fig. 16. Membrane carbon capture SDG 8 impact summary.

            Fig. 17
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            Fig. 17. Membrane carbon capture SDG 9 impact summary.

            Fig. 18
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            Fig. 18. Membrane carbon capture SDG 10 impact summary.

            Fig. 19
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            Fig. 19. Membrane carbon capture SDG 11 impact summary.

            Fig. 20
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            Fig. 20. Membrane carbon capture SDG 12 impact summary.

            Fig. 21
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            Fig. 21. Membrane carbon capture SDG 13 impact summary.

            Fig. 22
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            Fig. 22. Membrane carbon capture SDG 14 impact summary.

            Fig. 23
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            Fig. 23. Membrane carbon capture SDG 15 impact summary.

            Fig. 24
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            Fig. 24. Membrane carbon capture SDG 16 impact summary.

            Fig. 25
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            Fig. 25. Membrane carbon capture SDG 17 impact summary.

            Fig. 26
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            Fig. 26. The influence of membrane-based carbon capture technologies on the SDGs.

            5. Conclusion

            Membrane-based technologies pose as a potential candidate, in terms of commercialization, for the application of carbon capture, whether in pre- or post-combustion processes, using MGS or MC technologies, respectively. An optimized fabrication process of hollow fiber membranes allows for a financially feasible option for carbon capture applications. MGS technologies, having a gas-gas interface, harbor the leisure of determining the permeability and selectivity of the CO2 species in a gas mixture, with a tradeoff relationship between the two and adhering to the upper bound limitations, and subject to other drawbacks such as plasticization and deterioration. MC technologies utilize a more complex membrane/gas system with the addition of a solvent, resulting in a gas-liquid interface for the transportation of CO2 gas species to a suitable solvent. The operation of an MC system is subject to various limitations such as the wetting of the membrane pores, fouling and ageing, which requires a thorough optimization process. Moreover, an assessment of the role of membrane-based carbon capture technologies in achieving the 17 SDGs was carried out, which showed both positive and negative impacts accordingly. Membrane-based carbon capture technologies play a critical role in the field of generating affordable and clean energy (SDG 7). The high energy utilization has negatively influenced the main objectives of SDG 7. Furthermore, it was found that membrane-based carbon capture technologies have led to numerous job opportunities and made positive contributions to the economy. These positive impacts support the objectives of both SDG 1 and SDG 8. Additionally, membrane-carbon capture technologies play an essential role in building sustainable and innovative infrastructure developments; thus, supporting the objectives of SDG 9. Most importantly, membrane-based carbon capture technologies significantly reduce CO2 emissions and other pollutant emissions. These reductions positively adhere to the objectives of SDG 13. As a result, membrane-based carbon capture technologies have significant impacts on the 17 SDGs. Some of these impacts are quantifiable, such as in SDG 9 by providing 38–42% cost savings compared to liquid absorption, SDG 3 through reducing pollution and particulate matter emissions by 23%, and SDG 13 as membrane-based carbon capture significantly reduce the CO2 emissions and have high CO2 capture yields (80–90%), while others cannot be quantified and can only be assessed based on qualitative information. To enhance the accuracy of the assessment, it is recommended to assess the impacts of other carbon capture technologies on the SDGs and compare the results. Additionally, these assessments will create a framework for comparing carbon capture technologies based on their potential positive and negative impacts on the achievement of the 17 SDGs. The technologies must be compared based on country-specific economic, environmental, and geographic considerations.

            ]]>             Recent progress in Green Ammonia: Production, applications, assessment; barriers, and its role in achieving the sustainable development goals https://sdgtalks.ai/recent-progress-in-green-ammonia-production-applications-assessment-barriers-and-its-role-in-achieving-the-sustainable-development-goals https://sdgtalks.ai/recent-progress-in-green-ammonia-production-applications-assessment-barriers-and-its-role-in-achieving-the-sustainable-development-goals Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:20:43 -0500 njvahlberg Green ammonia, Production and assessment, Applications, Barriers, Sustainable development goals

            1. Introduction

            Rapid use of fossil fuels has led to serious health problems and considerable climate change [1]. The widespread use of renewable energy sources is considered the best available route for controlling climate change and its associated problems [2]. Renewable energy sources are sustainable with minimal or no environmental impact [3]. The most common renewable energy sources, wind and solar, are intermittent and have varying intensities. Employing energy storage systems is considered a valid option to optimize and sustain renewable energy supply, such as thermal energy storage [4], [5], mechanical energy storage systems [6], [7], electrochemical energy storage systems [8], [9], or chemical energy storage systems [10], [11]. Green hydrogen integrated with renewable energy systems is one of the good choices for achieving this purpose [12], [13]. However, the difficulties of hydrogen storage and transport limit its application [14]. Hydrogen energy carriers such as methanol, ammonia, hydrazine, etc., can be applied to overcome the abovementioned challenges. Among the different hydrogen carriers, ammonia has several features, such as ease of transport and storage and can be obtained from renewable energy sources [15], [16]. Therefore, extensive efforts are being made to commercialize it [17], [18].

            Today, fossil fuels are used for hydrogen production, which is combined with nitrogen using the traditional Haber-Bosch process at extremely high temperatures and pressures [19]. Numerous investigations reported hazardous emissions from conventional ammonia synthesis plants [20]. It was estimated that greenhouse gas emitted from ammonia plants ranged from 1.25 to 2.16 kg CO2-eq./kg NH3 [21]. Therefore, regulations regarding CO2 and other harmful emissions, such as NOx and SOx, are mandatory and may yield major technological changes in the ammonia industry. Significant efforts have been made to tackle hazardous emissions from conventional ammonia production plants.

            Green ammonia, a term used to describe ammonia production that emits no or almost no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, has piqued the interest of academic institutions, industrial sectors, and national governments. This is due to the reliability, stability and sustainability of green ammonia applications in power technologies like furnaces, fuel cells, gas turbines, and internal combustion engines at different power scales, as well as in the agricultural sector as a fertilizer and many other applications. Green ammonia production mainly depends on renewable energy [22]. Much work has been done on green ammonia as a promising hydrogen carrier. The import/export market of green ammonia was described by looking at the pros and cons of using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, how much it costs to produce and ship ammonia, as well as the limitation of supply and demand [23]. The offshore green ammonia production was analyzed considering, land availability constraints, and transportation to major demand centers [24]. Another study determined the economics of green ammonia production based on the levelised cost of ammonia (LCOA) by considering 534 locations in 70 countries [25]. The effect of the hydrogen production route, i.e., alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), polymer electrolyte membrane WE (PWE), and solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), on the price of green ammonia production (modified Haber-Bosch process) was performed by Lee et al. [26]. Results indicated that the SOEC method is the best due to the lower energy consumption. A techno-economic evaluation of hydrogen production from green ammonia reforming was performed and compared with the most common hydrogen production routes [27]. The results indicated that the ammonia route is superior in CO2 reduction, while the price can be significantly decreased by increasing capacity and technical advances.

            Although numerous reviews have been carried out on green ammonia, including the progress in green ammonia application in the energy sector [23], thermodynamic analysis of ammonia production [28], hydrogen production from green ammonia [27], [29], solar energy integration into low-pressure green ammonia production [30], green ammonia from water electrolysis [26], and plasma method for the synthesis of green ammonia [31]. The literature missed assessing the different routes for green ammonia, the barriers facing the commercialization of green ammonia, and the role of green ammonia in achieving the SDGs. Hence, this work aims to discuss and analyse the various aspects related to the future of green ammonia, such as unconventional synthesis routes, technical complexities, and environmental and economic barriers. The second part of this work discusses in detail the importance and contribution of green ammonia in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). Specifically, this review aims to answer the major research questions: (i) What are green ammonia's environmental and economic performances? (ii) Does the communities need more investment in green ammonia?, (iii) are there any policies or legislative laws that promote green ammonia production on a large scale?, (iv) how will this develop in the future?, and (v) what are the significant impacts of green ammonia on the different SDGs?

            2. Ammonia characteristics

            Ammonia is a colourless gas with a bitter-burning taste that liquefies at –33.3 °C and freezes to a white crystal at −77.7 °C. It consists of one of the most abundant atoms, i.e., hydrogen and nitrogen forming a chemical structure known as NH3 [32]. As a gas, ammonia is flammable and can react quickly with oxygen forming nitrogen, nitrogen (II), and water. As a liquid, it is found as ammonium hydroxide, a caustic solution, and a weak base with an NH3 percentage that reaches up to 30 % [33]. The form of ammonium hydroxide reveals the features of a weak base neutralizing acid-forming NH4Cl (ammonium salts). These salts are water-soluble, volatile, and exposure to it can cause mild effects, including irritation, shortness of breath, cough, nausea, and headache [34]. Ammonium salts reveal weak acids' characteristics, which can spontaneously turn to ammonia due to their proton capability to break down nitrogen atoms which are bound with their anion (weak acids) [35]. It might also appear as N2H4 (hydrazine), a corrosive and volatile fuel ingredient, owing to the ammonia oxidation in solutions [36]. Reacting ammonia with nitric acid produces a porous pellet, a highly used fertiliser known as ammonium nitrite (NH4NO3), also used in explosives mining [37].

            3. Sustainable ammonia production from hydrogen

            It is crucial to overview the most sustainable methods of ammonia production and how it’s produced. Worldwide ammonia production has seen substantial growth in the last decade, with the top 5 countries (China, Russia, India, USA and Indonesia) accounting for around 60 % of the total market [38]. The ammonia synthesis occurs according to the exothermic reaction of Nitrogen and hydrogen as expressed by Eq. 1 [39]:(1)12�2+32�2↔��3Δ�=-93�����

            Due to global warming, there is a challenge to find an economical and sustainable way for ammonia production. According to MacFarlane et al. [40], different routes are used for producing green ammonia as follows: (1st generation) requires capturing carbon after ammonia production and storage form the Haber-Bosh process which is known as (blue ammonia), (2nd generation) involves the ammonia production from a greener feedstock (nitrogen and hydrogen) it has the advantage to change the current Haber-Bosh process into a renewable source, and (3rd generation) involves the deviation from the Haber-Bosh process through processes that involve high stability, sustainability, and renewable source employment for ammonia production.

            To date, there are several ways for the indirect synthesis of green ammonia, including microbial electrolysis cells [41], photosynthesis [42], dark fermentation [43], and electrolysis [44], with the electrochemical methods gaining a great interest in many countries [45]. These methods will produce green hydrogen which exothermically [46] react with nitrogen for green ammonia production using molten salt synthesis, solid-state synthesis, thermochemical looping, or photocatalytic routes [30]. The common way to produce green ammonia is the power to ammonia [41] through Haber Process, which involves using renewable energy to split water for green hydrogen production. Green ammonia is successfully produced with 83 % efficiency using a hybrid system consisting of a high-temperature operating system with heat integrations [47].

            3.1. Power to ammonia synthesis (Water Electrolysis)

            Hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen (O2) are produced by the electrolysis of water (H2O). The water-splitting process is done in electrochemical cells which can be categorized according to their configuration, i.e., polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzers, alkaline electrolyzers, and solid oxide electrolyzers [48]. All cells are composed of an anode, cathode, electrolyte, power source (renewable), and sometimes a membrane. Upon passing an electric current through the electrodes (1.23 V in an ideal case), the covalent bonds will start to break down, allowing hydrogen and oxygen gases to be produced. In the case of an alkaline electrolyzer, potassium hydroxide is commonly used as an electrolyte to avoid acid corrosion; In terms of anodic and cathodic stability, nickel is the most commonly employed electrode [49]. The process of ammonia production using electrolysis includes four units: renewable source (solar or wind), electrolyzer, air separation unit, and Haber Bosch process (Fig. 1). The first electrolysis-based ammonia synthesis was introduced in 1920 based in Haber- bosh process with an energy consumption of 46 ± 2 GJ/tNH3 [50]. However, this stopped by the 1990 s owing to the high cost of fossil fuels. Several projects for solar to ammonia electrolysis have been initiated in Europe and America. Today, the current trend toward green ammonia is seeking a direct method for ammonia production under mild operating conditions.

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            Fig. 1. Process description for green ammonia production [58], https://www.man-es.com/discover/two-stroke-ammonia-engine/green-ammonia-production. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            The cost of ammonia synthesis through the water electrolysis route is considered a costly process due to the electrolysers' high capital costs; also, they utilize a large amount of energy to produce green hydrogen as an intermediate stock for green ammonia synthesis through the Haber process. Table 1 compares different technologies used in water electrolysis based on the electrolyzer type.

            Table 1. Different technologies used in water electrolysis based on the electrolyzer type.

            Type of the electrolyzer Eff. % Cost
            $/kw            		 Pressure (bar) Comments Ref.
            AEL “Alkaline electrolyzer” 50–60 1000–5000 1–30
            • 1-

              The lifetime of the stack can reach 55,000 to 120,000 h

              This method consumes higher electricity (19 % and 46 %) than PEM and SO, respectively.

              Nickel-coated perforated stainless steel is a typical electrode at the oxygen and hydrogen side with KOH as the electrolyte.

            		 [51], [52], [53], [54]
            PEM “polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer” 46–60 1500–2100 20–50
            • 1-

              One of its main features is their compact design

              Safe owing to their polymer electrolyte no need for any corrosive electrolytes

              The lifetime of the stack can reach 55,000 to 100,000 h

              The typical electrode at the oxygen side is Iridium oxide at the oxygen side and Platinum nanoparticles on carbon black at the hydrogen side

            		 [52], [55], [56]
            SOE “Solid oxide electrolyzer” Up to 85 % > 2000 1–15
            • 1-

              High operating temperature (up to 1000 °C)

              Their lifetime is lower (up to 18,000 h) owing to their high operating temperature.

              The typical electrode at the oxygen side is Perovskite-type (e.g., LSCF, LSM) at the oxygen side and Ni/YSZ at the hydrogen side with YSZ “Yttria-stabilized Zirconia” as the electrolyte

            		 [19], [52], [57]

            3.2. Emerging ways for ammonia synthesis

            Even though the existing technologies for green ammonia synthesis offer many facilities due to the existing equipment’s from the last century, research and development are seeking a route for direct production of green ammonia without involving the intermediate step of hydrogen production. Many research themes imply a new synthesis concept to obtain a pilot-scale green ammonia production. Examples of these emerging methods are photosynthesis, electrochemical methods, heterogenous and homogenous catalysis, molten salt synthesis, solid-state synthesis, and non-thermal plasmatic synthesis. Such methods rely on mild operation conditions and open the way for direct ammonia production [59], [60].

            3.2.1. Electrochemical ammonia production

            The electrochemical production route of ammonia is distinguished from conventional NH3 production by its reaction route, operating conditions, and energy source. The main aspect that distinguishes electrochemical synthesis from electrolysis is the direct synthesis of green ammonia from air and water utilizing renewable energy sources, such as tidal or solar energy. A common process involves oxidizing hydrogen or water at the anode, which releases protons that move over a solid or liquid electrolyte to the cathode side. Nitrogen reacts with the protons in the cathode under mild conditions to produce NH3 [61], [62]. Typically, NRR “the nitrogen reduction reaction” and HER “the hydrogen evolution reaction” compete at the cathode as follows [63], [64], [65]:

            4 In electrolytes with a pH < 6(2)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2�+6�++6�-→2��3�(3)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">2�++2�-→�2�

            5 In electrolytes with a pH > 8(4)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2�+6�2�+6�-→2��3�(5)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">2�2�+2�-→�2�+2��-

            The main issue facing this process is the thermodynamic stability of the N2, which requires high energy to defeat the bonding energy (941 kJ/mol) of " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�≡�. Therefore, depending on the operating temperature, various electrochemical green ammonia production can be categorized, including low operating temperature up to 100 °C, mid-operating temperature between 100 and 350 °C, molten salt ammonia synthesis between 100 and 500 °C, solid-state ammonia synthesis > 500 °C, and high operating temperature 350 to 700 °C [66].

            3.2.1.1. Low-temperature electrochemical ammonia synthesis

            Low-temperature ammonia synthesis receives considerable attention among researchers with more than a hundred publications per annum [67]. A typical cell with low operating conditions consists of a platinum anode [66], Ru-based cathode [68], and a high conductive proton membrane, usually Nafion [69]. Most studies are performed at room temperature using liquid aqueous electrolytes such as water that can directly donate the H+ proton. Acidic electrolytes are preferable due to their high proton environment. In contrast, in basic electrolytes, there is a high competition between hydrogen evolution reactions and nitrogen reduction reactions, as shown in (equations 3 & 4) [70], [71]. Temperature plays a key role in enhancing NH3 production rate (10−8- 10−5 mol s−1 cm−2) at an operating temperature up to 90 °C [65], [72]. Another key factor affecting the overall performance of ammonia production is the type of catalyst. Today, numerous types of catalysts have been studied including noble metals [73], metal (oxides [74], sulfides [75], and nitrides [76]), organometallic complexes [77] etc. A study performed by Zhang et al. [78] involved using a bi-metallic oxide (CoMoO4) for NH3 synthesis at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. High faradic efficiency and ammonia yield of 22.86 % and 7.98 mol h−1 gcat−1 are higher than those obtained using mono metallic oxides. Table 2 summarizes the progress done in preparing ammonia at low-temperature.

            Table 2. Different experimental works on low-temperature ammonia synthesis.

            T (°C) Electrolyte Cathode Ammonia Yield (mol/s cm−2) Ref.
            50 AEM Fe 380 × 10−12 [79]
            80 Nafion SmBaCuMO5+ 870 × 10−10 [80]
            80 Nafion Sm1.5Sr0.5NiO4 105 × 10−10 [81]
            80 SPSF Sm1.5Sr0.5NiO4 103 × 10−10
            Room T Nafion Fe/Fe3O4 111 × 10−10 [82]
            Room T AEM Fe–CuS/C 686 × 10−12 [75]
            50 AEM RuPt 635 × 10−12 [83]
            Room T Nafion Au nanorods 27 × 10−12 [84]
            Room T Nafion Fe2O3-CNT 36 × 10−12 [71]
            3.2.1.2. Molten-salt ammonia synthesis (Moderate Temperature)

            The main challenge facing many aqueous systems for ambient ammonia synthesis is the high hydrogen evolution and slow kinetics. Molten salt electrolytes revealed a promising result with enhanced faradic efficiency. For moderate NH3 synthesis, in the range of 100 to 400 °C, it utilizes ammonia using a molten state electrolyte. In a typical process, a strong competition of HER during NH3 synthesis owing to the " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�≡� bonding which can be migrated if H2 at a gaseous state reacts with nitride ions. A typical cell consists of an electrolyte (molten salt), a porous cathode, and a permeable anode (Fig. 2).

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            Fig. 2. Illustration of molten-salt ammonia synthesis, adapted from [85] with permission No. 5441990967119.

            Murakami et.al [86] were the first investigators for the electrochemical molten-salt ammonia synthesis at atmospheric pressure. The hydrogen source for this type of synthesis could be gaseous hydrogen or water molecules. Depending on the electrolyte, there are three different configure of this type: molten chloride salts [87], [88], molten hydroxide salts [89], and composite electrodes [90]. Molten chloride salt started to receive great attention owing to the fast dissolution of Li3N in molten electrolytes as a source of nitride ions. For this type of electrolyte, protons (H+) is favourable from water instead of hydrogen gas. However, the low faradic efficiency is observed owing to the possibility of hydroxide ions and carbon dioxide formation [87]. On the other hand, hydroxide molten operates at a lower temperature (200 °C) and is less corrosive with a faradic efficiency up to 35 % at low current density [91]. However, at a higher current density the faradic efficiency reveals a sharp decline owing to H2 evolution. To tackle the lower efficiency problem, some researchers investigated the integration of a sub fuel cell to recycle the produced hydrogen; others suggested supporting activated carbons to inhibit H2 evolution for metal-based catalysts [89], [92]. Table 3 shows the progress done in Molten-salt ammonia synthesis (@ Moderate Temperature), while Table 4 shows the progress done at high temperature.

            Table 3. Molten-salt ammonia synthesis (Moderate Temperature).

            T (°C) Electrolyte Cathode Ammonia Yield (mol/s cm−2) Ref
            450 SDC-ternary carbonate composite electrolyte La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.8Cu0.2O3−δ 539 × 10−11 [93]
            450 LiAlO2 – (Li/Na/K)2CO3 Co3Mo3N-Ag 327 × 10−12 [94]
            400 LiAlO2 – (Li/Na/K)2CO3 CoFe2O4-Ag 232 × 10−12 [95]
            400 LiCl-KCl-CsCl + Li3N Porous Ni/Ni 333 × 10−11 [86]
            300 LiCl-KCl-CsCl + Li3N Porous Ni/C 200 × 10−10 [87]
            200 NaOH/KOH (Nano-Fe2O3) Ni 100 × 10−10 [50]
            400 LiCl, KCl, CsCl + Li3N Al 333 × 10−10 [96]

            Table 4. High-temperature ammonia synthesis.

            T (°C) Electrolyte Cathode Ammonia Yield
            (mol/s cm-2)            		 Ref.
            550 BaZr0.7Ce0.2Y0.1O3 − δ Ni-BZCY72 286 × 10−11 [102]
            550 BZCY72
            “BaZr0.8Y0.2O3 − δ “            		 La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) 850 × 10−13 [103]
            500 BCY10
            “BaCe0.9Y0.1O3 − δ“            		 Ag-Pd 300 × 10−13 [104]
            620 BZCY72
            “BaZr0.7Ce0.2Y0.1O3 – δ”            		 Ni-BZCY72 170 × 10−11 [105]
            600 GDC “Ce0.9Gd0.1O2 − δ “ Pt 367 × 10−13 [106]
            3.2.1.3. Solid-State ammonia production (High Temperature)

            To increase the solid electrolyte's conductivity, ammonia synthesis utilizing solid-state electrolytes is typically carried out at high temperatures. As it is clear from (Fig. 3), a dense electrolyte is inserted between a porous anode and cathode electrodes with H+ or O2–, depending on the ceramic type, migrating through the dense electrolyte [97], [98]. The merit of high operating temperature gives the advantage of higher reaction kinetics and better N2 activation. However, the thermodynamic equilibrium at high temperatures might negatively impact the yield of ammonia yield and material degradation [99].

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            Fig. 3. Direct ammonia synthesis (a) proton conductive ceramic membrane and (b) oxygen ion conductive ceramic membrane.

            Different electrode materials were investigated for ammonia synthesis based on noble metals (Pt, Pd, Pd-Ag, Ru). For example, the first investigation involving solid-state ammonia synthesis used Pd as a porous cathode with a production rate of 450 × 10−11 mol/s cm−2. At 500 °C and ambient pressure, Yuan et al. [100] successfully produced NH3 @ 307 × 10−11 mol/s cm−2 using yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY) as an electrolyte and α-Fe2O3/BZY as a cathode. A reasonable ammonia production rate was reported using SrCe0.95Yb0.05O3−δ electrolyte and Pd electrodes at 570 °C [101]. A summary of different experimental works concerned with solid state NH3 synthesis is shown in table 4, and the various electrolytes used for ammonia synthesis are shown in Fig. 4.

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            Fig. 4. Different electrolytes used for electrochemical ammonia synthesis.

            3.2.2. Electrochemical lithium metal cycling

            Electrochemical Lithium metal cycling is an electrochemical approach that takes advantage of the spontaneous reaction of lithium nitridation (N3–), which then reacts with protons to form ammonia with an initial efficiency of 88 % [107]. A typical synthesis process involves three reactions as follows [108]: (a) formation of Li+ through molten salt electrolysis at 400 °C (Eq. 6–8) followed by (b) nitridation, lithium reaction with nitrogen at 100 °C (Eq. 9), and (c) finally, a spontaneous split of Li3N in the presence of water or any proton source to ammonia and the recovery of LiOH (Eq. 10) [109].

            Step 1: The electrolysis of lithium hydroxide(6)Atcathode:6��++6�-→6��(7)Atanode:6��-+3�2�→32�2+6�-(8)Overallreaction:6����→6��+3�2�+32�2

            Step 2: Direct nitridation of Li(9)6��+�2→2��3�(�)

            Step 3: Ammonia released by the reaction of Li3N with water(10)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">2��3�(�)+6�2�→6����+2��3

            Lithium-mediated ammonia synthesis was first investigated in the early 19th century by Fichter and his colleagues [110]. Jain et al. [111] investigated the nitridation properties of lithium as the starting material for ammonia synthesis. Their study revealed a promising result for ammonia synthesis; however, their method still needs further investigation to be commercially viable owing to the lack of reproducing lithium metal at the end of the process. Likewise other electrochemical techniques, lithium-mediated ammonia synthesis is achieved at ambient conditions with a faradic efficiency of around 20 % [112]. A step forward in the faradic efficiency up 57.2 % and ammonia production rate of 1.21 × 10−9 mol/s cm−2 using a novel membrane-less electrochemical cell. The main challenge of this process is forming a lithium layer on the solid electrolyte interface [112]. This will result a restriction in the current flow from the lithium reaction with the organic solvent. Another limitation of this method is the high reduction potential of Li+ to lithium which was achieved at –3 V vs (SHE), and stability issues [113]. The switch between the Li+ solution and lithium deposition region revealed a promising result in overcoming the lithium layer formation [114].

            3.2.3. Photocatalytic ammonia synthesis

            Photocatalytic conversion of H+ and nitrogen into NH3 has attracted widespread attention for its crucial role in water's direct green ammonia production [115]. Unlike electrochemical routes that use electro-catalyst, this method uses a semiconductor. In a typical process, any radiation source such as sunlight or UV is absorbed by a semiconductor, generating electrons that are consolidated from VB, “the valence band” to CB “the conduction band”. This will allow the photo-generation of electrons while leaving holes (h+) on the VB [116]. Then, photo-reduction of N2 and photo-oxidation of water take place simultaneously in the photochemical cell to produce ammonia [117].

            The photocatalyst should reveal excellent intrinsic properties, a small band gap to maximize photon absorption, and a higher kinetics rate [118]. Due to their low cost and high chemical stability, titanium dioxide has been extensively used as a photocatalyst for NRR and HER. The most demanding challenge in NRR photocatalysis is developing a highly active site for nitrogen reduction at low temperatures. To realize this target, carbon doping in titanium dioxide has shown outstanding results in enhancing the splitting of the triple nitrogen bond and reducing the band gap of the TiO2 [119]. For example, Han et al., [120] reported highly active sites (Ti3+) porous carbon-doped TiOx (C-TiOx) nanosheets. Under visible light irradiation, they achieved an NH3 production rate of 303.6 × 10−10 mol g−1 s−1. Fe doping was firstly proposed by Shrauzer and Guth [121]. Their prepared photocatalyst reduced nitrogen to ammonia under light radiation with a solar to the chemical conversion of 0.02 %. However, Fe doping revealed a decrease in the holes and electrons recombination of exceeded 0.2 % [122]. Besides iron doping, other transition metals (Co, Mo, Ni) have shown an excellent N2 reduction [123], [124].

            Apart from transition metal doping, different catalysts, including g-C3N4, CdS, Ta3N5, BiVO4, and MXene, have also been considered as an effective photocatalysts for ammonia synthesis. Liu et al. [125] reported an enhanced NH3 production by using g-C3N4 as a support for Ru-based catalyst, which was denoted as (Ru-K/B-g-C3N4 and Ru-K/E-g-C3N4) depending on their forms bulk and exfoliated, respectively. Owing to their high porosity and interlayer spacing, derived MXene based on TiO2@C/g-C3N4 was investigated by Liu and his research group [126]. Under Xe lamp 300 W (λ > 420 nm), a maximum ammonia production rate of 250.6 mol gcat−1h−1 at ambient conditions was obtained. To sum up, the photocatalysts for direct ammonia synthesis should reveal: high active sites, low band gap for a broader range of the spectrum, high stability, and inhibition of hydrogen evolution. Photochemical ammonia synthesis offers a process that could contribute to energy saving with a potential contribution to sustainability and economic development in the energy sector. The main upside of this method is utilizing solar energy for NH3 synthesis; thus, it is entirely a carbon-free process. However, their lower efficiency and stability make this process far from practical applications. Breakthroughs in research and project support are required to address the photocatalyst bandgap's challenges. More active, efficient, stable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly photocatalysts are required to capture solar energy at larger scale production [127], [128]. Table 5 lists some important studies for ammonia production using photocatalytic reactions implementing different catalysts and light radiation sources.

            Table 5. Summary of experimental photocatalytic ammonia synthesis.

            T (°C) Catalyst Light radiation Ammonia Yield
            (µmol gcat−1h−1)            		 Ref.
            40 TiO2 Hg-Arc Lamp (UV) 4.17 [121]
            40 0.2 wt% Fe-TiO2 Hg-Arc Lamp (UV) 11.5 [121]
            25 Fe-doped TiO2 UV lamp 400 [129]
            n/a 0.5 wt% Cr-TiO2 HWL lamp 2.12 µg m−2h−1 [123]
            25 5 % RuCl3/TiO2 Xe lamp 4 μM·cm−2h−1 [130]
            30 g-C3N4 sodium lamp 83.6 [131]
            25 TiO2@C/g-C3N4 Xe lamp 250.6 [126]
            38 Pt/TiO2 Hg lamp 9.3 [132]
            38 Pt-CdS Hg lamp 16.3 [132]

            3.2.4. Nonthermal plasma ammonia synthesis

            The concept of non-thermal plasmatic ammonia synthesis involves the use of electrically ionized gas with electrons, photons, and activated molecules, which is thermodynamically unstable for N2 activation. Compared to conventional methods that involve high temperatures for nitrogen activation, plasma with a catalyst is utilized to promote the reaction kinetics for ammonia production at room temperature. The mean electron energies of non-thermal plasma, which is around 20 eV [133], help in the dissociation of the " role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�≡� bonds. After the formation of the N radical with the support of plasma and catalyst, the N radical would react with H2 molecules to form NH3 [134], [135], [136].

            Peng et al. [137] suggested a detailed mechanism initiated by the N2 and H2 dissociation into free radicals, followed by three radical reactions for the N and H combinations to form ammonia, as shown in equations 11 to 15:(11)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2→2�∗(12)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2→2�∗(13)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�∗+�∗→��(14)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">��+�∗→��2∗(15)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">��2∗+�∗→��3

            Recently, a study performed by Hong and his research group [138] proved the significant importance of free radical and vibrational excited molecules on the reaction rate of ammonia synthesis. In another study Mehta et al. [139], induced plasmatic vibrational excitation enhances ammonia synthesis without interfering with intermediate hydrogenation and desorption steps. Plasmatic-induced ammonia synthesis has the advantage of continuously producing ammonia at ambient conditions making it convenient for the production at a local level for fast distribution. For instance, in 2017, the University of West Virginia received a 3 M$ award for utilizing renewable energy to produce ammonia induced by plasma [140]. The main advantages of this process are a simple design, mild conditions, and low pressure, which facilitate the use of renewable energy. Different studies on plasmatic ammonia synthesis are concise in Table 6:

            Table 6. The main parameters and ammonia yields in plasma-based ammonia synthesis.

            Plasma reactor type Operating conditions Type of electrode NH3 rate Ref
            DBD discharge N/A Cu tangled 250 (ml min −1) [141]
            DBD discharge 200 Co–Ni Bimetal 1500 (μmol g−1h−1) [142]
            Advanced plasma reactor Ambient conditions (Ru) catalyst 2.67 (mmol gcat.−1 h−1) [143]
            Microwave plasma 327 to 427 °C N/A 1.5 (mmol g−1) [144]
            DBD discharge Ambient conditions (Ru) catalyst 1.7 (g kWh−1) [145]
            DBD discharge Ambient conditions Au, Pt, Pd, Ag, or Cu electrodes 41.0 (μmol min−1) (Cu) [146]
            DBD discharge 140 °C Ni supported on silica N/A [147]

            3.3. Assessment and comparison of different NH3 technologies

            With the increasing focus on green energies, ammonia has become a globally important energy source and energy carrier. Moreover, ammonia is used in preparing various products such as fertilizer, plastics, fibers, explosives, pharmaceuticals, and others. Ammonia is mainly produced from the reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen from natural gas (brown ammonia) using a conventional technique called the Haber-Bosch process. As it is clear from (Fig. 5), this process accounts for CO2 footprint (releasing 1.9 tons CO2 for each ton of green NH3 produced and increased significantly in case of blue and brown ammonia). It is estimated that NH3 production contributed to 1.8 % of the global CO2 emissions [148].

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            Fig. 5. Energy requirements and CO2 footprint for brown, blue, and green Ammonia [150], [151], [152], [153], [154], [155]. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            The transition to green ammonia production through hydropower electrolysis was realized since 1920 in Norway. However, replacing the Haber process with electrolysis from renewable sources requires further consideration regarding the costs, production capacity, material development, and excess renewable energy source [149]. Theoretically, the energy needed for green ammonia production through conventional high-pressure synthesis is 30 ± 5 GJ/tNH3. This has given priority to the transition toward direct NH3 production under milder conditions.

            Current trends for NH3 production are driven toward the transition to mild temperature and direct ammonia synthesis. In the past few years, research and development paid considerable attention to electrochemical and photochemical ammonia synthesis because ammonia synthesis from water and nitrogen eliminates the intermediate hydrogen production step. It offers a route to store excess energy produced by solar or wind. Also, non-thermal plasma has shown promising results toward low temperature and pressure ammonia synthesis owing to their elevated electron temperature. Moreover, if the challenges toward this production method are appropriately handled, the process will be cost-effective and has zero carbon dioxide footprint. However, these methods still have many limitations that require further investigation to be viable for pilot and large-scale applications. Table 7 represents the pros, and cons of different routes for ammonia synthesis.

            Table 7. Ammonia synthesis different technologies comparison.

            Technology Pros. Cons. Comments Ref.
            Electrochemical High-temperature NH3 production (Solid state) 1- Possibility for direct ammonia production from water and nitrogen;
            2- The design of the cell is easy;
            3- Low pressure required;
            4- Zero carbon emissions and reactants can be generated on the same cell            		 1- Low durability for the electrodes owing to high temperature;
            2- Low formation rate and faradic efficiency;
            3- High temperature require high power consumption;
            4- Challenges related to the nitrogen triple bond dissociation on the surface catalyst            		 This system reveals a potential for direct ammonia synthesis; however, many considerations with the cell and catalyst are still required



            [84], [91], [63], [156], [157]
            Electrochemical Medium-temperature NH3 Production (Molten state) 1- Possibility for direct ammonia production from water and nitrogen;
            2- Lower operation temperatures;
            3- Zero carbon emissions and reactants can be generated on the same cell            		 1- Limited faradic efficiency and ammonia production rate;
            2- The electrolyte is corrosive for the electrodes;
            3- Environmental issues due to the corrosive electrolytes;
            4- Challenges related to the nitrogen triple bond dissociation on the surface catalyst            		 It is considered a clean energy direct ammonia synthesis; however, consideration should be taken with the electrolytes
            Electrochemical Low-temperature ammonia synthesis 1- Direct ammonia production at very low temperatures < 100 °C;
            2- Variant of electrolytes can be used;
            3- Zero carbon emissions and reactants can be generated on the same cell            		 1- Higher voltage is needed to overcome the overpotential;
            2- low NH3 production rate and limited FE;
            3- High capital cost of the technology;
            4-Challenges related to the nitrogen triple bond dissociation on the surface catalyst            		 Still not viable for industrial applications
            Photochemical NH3 Production 1- Possibility for direct ammonia production from water and nitrogen;
            2- The reactor design is already an existing technology;
            3- Low temperature synthesis;
            4- Zero-carbon emission            		 1- The main issue for this is the competing toward hydrogen evolution reaction;
            2- Ammonia production rate is very low; 3- Challenges related to supply electrons through light            		 It reveals the potential of using solar energy to transform water and nitrogen into O2 and NH3; however, considerable attention should be taken for developing photocatalyst that can reduce the band gap with a high active site and capable to inhibit HER. Furthermore, new reactor system design should be taken on consideration. [158], [159], [160], [161]
            Plasmatic NH3 Synthesis 1- The mean electron energies of non-thermal plasma, which is around 20 eV, make it ideal for room temperature synthesis;
            2- Clean and carbon free production;
            3- Small scale production at the site on interest            		 1- The efficiency and conversion are very low;
            2- Many challenges would face large scale production            		 Still this method requires more investigation to be viable for large scale production [162], [163]

            INDIRECT AMMONIA PRODUCTION FROM HYDROGEN
            Water electrolysis 1- Lower complexity;
            2- High purity of hydrogen;
            3- Absence of emission during the process without taking the consideration of electricity source            		 1- Indirect ammonia synthesis causing a lower ammonia efficiency around 70 % for electrolysis to produce hydrogen and then the efficiency associated to NH3 production;
            2- The average energy consumption is between 52.5 and 70.1 kWh;
            3- The environmental effects are 0.5 to 1.5 kg CO2-eq. /kg H2 for wind electricity, 1.3–3 kg CO2-eq. /kg H2 for solar electricity, and 0.5 to 1 kg CO2-eq. /kg H2 for nuclear electricity.            		 The availability of this technology gives it the potential for direct industrial application [164], [165], [166], [167]
            Dark Fermentation 1- Simple reactor design;
            2-Continous high yield of H2 production;
            3- No light is needed for this process            		 1- Indirect ammonia synthesis causing a lower ammonia efficiency around 70 % for electrolysis to produce hydrogen and then the efficiency associated to NH3 production;
            2- Contribution on the CO2 emission 0.5 mol CO2/mole H2;
            3- Production of volatile fatty acid;
            4- Further gases separation is needed owing to the CO2            		 Biological technologies might contribute to the sustainable development of green hydrogen production if the CO2 produced is properly handled [98], [168], [169], [170]

            Although all the synthesis routes still have considerable challenges, such as low efficiencies, high cost and negative environmental impacts. The indirect processes for ammonia production from hydrogen show promising results, and further research and development will accelerate green ammonia synthesis to achieve sustainable development. Investment, legislative laws and international/national policies also play significant roles in this matter.

            4. Applications of ammonia in the energy sector

            Besides the usage of ammonia in the chemical industry and as a fertilizer, it is a carbon-free fuel that has the potential in several energy sectors; that is summarized briefly in Fig. 6, and will be summarized in this section:

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            Fig. 6. Schematic diagram briefly describes the most promising application of ammonia rather than chemicals and fertilizer.

            4.1. Ammonia-based fuel cells

            Renewable energy resources such as geothermal, hydro, solar, tidal and wind energies have been considered eco-friendly technologies. However, these resources are sporadic as they depend on geological parameters, solar availability and intensity, wind speed, altitude, etc. [171]. Efficient energy storage and conversion devices are the best choices to store and convert such energies for energy-deficient periods. Fuel cells are energy conversion systems that are eco-friendly, compact, efficient, available in different sizes, and demonstrated promising results in different applications [172], [173]. Various fuel cell types depend on the operating temperature, membrane type, applications, or fuel type. Due to its simple structure, carbon-free, and sustainable energy source, hydrogen is considered the best fuel for fuel cells [174], [175]. Several studies demonstrated the effectiveness of the integration of the fuel cell in renewable energy resources within periods of low energy output [176]. But there are two main challenges facing the utilization of hydrogen as fuel, consisting of its transportation and storage [14], [177]. Hydrogen carriers such as methanol, ethanol, ammonia, hydrazine, etc., have been proposed to overcome such challenges. Among them, ammonia is considered a carbon-free hydrogen carrier with high hydrogen content (17.6 wt%). In contrast to hydrogen, ammonia is easier to transport and store. Thus ammonia could be used directly or indirectly as fuel in Fuel cells. Indirect ammonia fuel cell depends on converting ammonia to hydrogen, which is fuel in the fuel cells. The electrolysis of ammonia at 250 °C produced high-purity hydrogen that can be used directly at the fuel cell's anode [178], [179]. A system that consists of a combustion engine fueled with ammonia and hydrogen (produced from the dissociation of ammonia) was used to power a vehicle [180]. The overall energy efficiency of that system reached 61.89 %. A Direct ammonia fuel cell is a system that transforms the chemical energy contained in ammonia directly to electrical energy with high efficiency. With the widespread production of green ammonia, the interest in ammonia-based fuel cells increases. Fuel cells are considered the most efficient device to extract ammonia's energy with low or no environmental impact [181], [182]. There are four categories of ammonia-based fuel cells, i.e., alkaline ammonia fuel cell (MAFC “Molten alkaline ammonia fuel cell”), ammonia-based SOFC-H “Proton conducting electrolyte based solid oxide fuel cell”, and ammonia-base SOFC-O “oxygen anion conducting electrolyte based solid oxide fuel cell”, AAEFC “ammonia-based alkaline electrolyte fuel cells”, and ammonia-based MFC “microbial fuel cell”.

            4.1.1. Ammonia-based SOFC

            Ammonia-based SOFC operates at high temperatures (500–1000 °C). At such high temperatures, ammonia cracking and power generation are consolidated [183], [184]. The cost of such FCs is relatively low as there is no need for separate ammonia cracking unit. Moreover, such high temperatures increase the catalytic activity, so a non-precious catalyst is used. Also, such a high temperature enhances the electrolyte's ionic conductivity [185]. Ammonia-based SOFCs are classified into two types according to the electrolyte type; SOFC-H “proton-conducting electrolyte SOFC” and SOFC-O “oxygen anion conducting electrolyte SOFC” [186].

            4.1.1.1. ASOFC-O “Ammonia-fed oxygen anion conducting electrolyte-based SOFC”

            In this type of fuel cell, ammonia is fed at the anode of the FC, where it thermally decomposes over the anode catalyst into hydrogen, while air or oxygen is fed on the cathode side. Oxygen reduction into oxygen ions occurs at the cathode/electrolyte interface. The oxygen ions transfer to the anode side via the electrolyte, where electrochemical reactions occur at the anode/electrolyte interface, producing water vapour. The nitrogen production during the ammonia decomposition reduces the reversible reaction as it dilutes the hydrogen concentration, as can be seen in Fig. 7.

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            Fig. 7. Schematic diagram showing the principles of the asofc-o.

            First, ammonia decomposed at the inlet of the anode surface as follows:(16)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">��3↔32�2+12�2

            Then, the electrochemical reactions and overall reactions are shown in Eq. 17–19.

            @ anode:(17)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2+�2-→�2�+2�-

            @ cathode:(18)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">12�2+2�-→�2-

            The overall reaction is:(19)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2+12�2→�2�+����������

            ASOFC-O is composed of the YSZ “Yittria stabilized zirconia” electrolyte doped with SDC “Samarium doped ceria”, SSC “Sm0.5Sr0.5Co3-δ” cathode, and nickel anode. The ASOFC-O could produce 168.1 mW/cm2 at 600 °C, compared with 191.8 mW/cm2 in the case of hydrogen-based SOFC-O. With the slightly lower power output in the case of the ASOFC-O would be related to the dilution effect of the nitrogen produced ta the anode from the ammonia dissociation [187]. This power increased with the operating temperature and/or efficient cell components. For instance, ASOFC-O fabricated of SSC cathode, nickel oxide anode, and SDC electrolyte (24 µm thick), generated a 467 mW/cm2 at 650 °C [188]. ASOFC-O with a nickel-based anode, BSCF “Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ” cathode, and SDC electrolyte (10 µm) operated at 650 °C [189]. This ASOFC-O showed high power densities of 1190 and 1872 mW/cm2 using ammonia and hydrogen. YSZ electrolyte was also investigated in ASOFC-O but showed lower performance than those using SDC electrolyte. ASOFC-O with YSZ electrolyte, silver-based cathode and platinum-based anode was operated at 800 and 1000 °C, achieving 50 and 125 mW/cm2 [190]. The thickness of the electrolyte also affected the cell performance; for instance, an ASOFC-O using YSZ electrolyte (15 µm), LSM cathode, and nickel anode showed a 202 mW/cm2 at 800 °C [191]. Several studies have been done to check the effect of the electrolyte on cell performance [192], [193], [194].

            4.1.1.2. ASOFC-H “ammonia-fed proton-conducting electrolyte-based solid oxide fuel cells”

            Similar to the case of the ASOFC-O, ammonia decomposed at the inlet of the anode catalyst into hydrogen and nitrogen. However, in this case, the produced hydrogen is oxidized at the anode/electrolyte interface into hydrogen protons (H+), that migrate via the electrolyte membrane to the cathode side, as they combine with oxygen at the cathode/electrolyte interface producing water as can be seen in Eq. 20–22:

            At the anode, the hydrogen generated from the dissociation of ammonia is oxidized, Eq. 20:(20)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2→2�++2�-

            These protons combine with oxygen at the cathode/electrolyte interface as follows, Eq. 21:(21)12�2+2�++2�-→�2�

            The overall reaction is similar to that in the case of the ASOFC-O, Eq. 19. Fig. 8 shows the schematic of the operating principles of ASOFC-H.

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            Fig. 8. Schematic diagram showing the principles of the asofc-h.

            Compared to ASOFC-O, the formation of nitrogen oxides is avoided in the ASOFC-H, but the produced power is lower. BCG “gadolinium-doped barium cerate” is mainly used as the electrolyte in ASOFC-H. The performance of ASOFC-H with two different electrolytes BCG or BCGP “Gadolinium and Praseodymium-doped barium Cerate”, was investigated at 700 °C using platinum electrodes showing 25 and 35 mW cm−2 for BCG and BCGP, respectively [195], [196]. A mixed ionic and electronic conducting cermet anode (Ni-BCE) was investigated in platinum-based cathode ASOFC-H with BCGP electrolyte [197]. Compared to the platinum anode, The Ni-BCE anode showed superior catalytic activity toward ammonia oxidation, achieving a peak power density of 28 mW cm−2 (at 600 °C), while Pt anode showed 23 mW cm−2 at the same operating temperature. ASOFC-H incorporated with Ni-BCE anode realized a very stable performance for>500 h. The performance of ASOFC-H with BCGO “BaCe0.8 Gd0.2 O2.9” electrolyte, LCSO “La0.5 Sr0.5 CoO3– δ” cathode and Ni-based anode was investigated at a temperature ranging from 600 to 750 °C [198]. The cell's power output increased from 96 mW cm−2 @ 600 °C to 384 mW cm−2 @ 750 °C. A thin BCGO electrolyte (30 µm) was tested in ASOFC-H operated @ 600 °C, using CGO (Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9)-Ni anode, and BSCFO “Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3−δ” -CGO cathode attained an OCV of 1.12 V and peak power of 147 mW cm−2 [199]. A BZCY “BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3−δ” based electrolyte (35 μm) was also investigated in ASOFC-H using Ni-based anode and BSCF “Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ” cathode acquired 420 mW cm−2 @ 700 °C [200]. The ASOFCs-H with the same electrolyte but using different electrolyte thicknesses and different cathodes were also examined. ASOFC-H with a thin electrolyte of 10 μm and GdBaCo2O5+x cathode achieved a 266 mW cm−2 [201], ASOFC-H with electrolyte thickness of 50 μm and LSC “La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ” cathode attained 330 mW cm−2 [202], and ASOFC-H with electrolyte thickness of 65 μm and BPY “Ba(Ce0.4Pr0.4Y0.2)O3−δ” cathode attained 270 mW cm−2 [203]. Moreover, BCNO “BaCe0.9Nd0.1O3−δ” electrolyte of 20 µm thickness was tested in ASOFC-H using nickel oxide-based anode, and LCSO cathode @ 700 °C attained 315 mW cm−2 [204].

            4.1.2. AAMFC “Ammonia alkaline molten fuel cell” and AAEFC “ammonia alkaline electrolyte fuel cell”.

            In these ammonia-based fuel cells, oxygen from the air reacts with water at the cathode side forming hydroxide ions (anions). These ions transfer to the anode side via the electrolyte. The alkaline electrolyte may be aqueous in the case of AAEFC, such as sodium hydroxide or molten potassium hydroxide, as in the case of AAMFC. At the anode side of the molten or aqueous alkaline electrolyte fuel cell, the anions react with the fuel (ammonia), producing water, nitrogen, and electrons, as seen in Eq. 22 and 23:

            @ anode(22)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">2��3+6��-→�2+6�2�+6�-

            @ cathode(23)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">32�2+3�2�+6�-→6��-

            One of the main drawbacks of the hydroxide ions that it could react with CO2, producing carbonate ions, thereby decreasing the available hydroxide ions, and hence, reducing the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte, hence decreasing the fuel cell performance as seen in Eq. 24. Furthermore, carbonate compounds precipitates are formed in ammonia alkaline aqueous or molten electrolyte fuel cell.(24)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">��2+2��-→��32-+�2�

            Ammonia-based fuel cell with molten hydroxide electrolyte and porous nickel electrodes was constructed and operated at 200 to 450 °C. The cells showed 16 mW cm−2, which increased to 40 mW cm−2 @ 450 °C [205]. The same electrolyte was investigated using Pt electrodes operated at 200–220 °C [206]. A 10.5 mW cm−2 was realized at 200 °C and increased to 16 mW cm−2 at 220 °C. AAMFC operated at room temperature using CPPO “Chloroacetyl poly, 2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide”, PVA “polyvinyl alcohol” (CPPO-PVA) electrolyte membrane, MnO2/C cathode, and Chromium decorated nickel/carbon anode achieved 16 mW cm−2 [207].

            4.1.3. AMFC “Ammonia-based microbial fuel Cell”

            MFC “microbial fuel cell” is a bio-electrochemical device used for simultaneous wastewater treatment and harvesting energy from wastes in the form of electricity [208], [209], [210]. Although the low power output of MFC, it has several advantages as the fuel is the wastewater that is contaminated with various organic materials, simple in design, operates at room temperature, uses the microbes in wastewater as the biocatalyst, and no need for precious cathode catalyst. The microorganism on the anaerobic anode chamber metabolites the organic wastes, generating electrons and protons that move to the cathode side, reacting with oxidant-producing water at the cathode side. Electrical energy is generated as the electrons flow from anode to the cathode. Ammonia-polluted wastewater could be used effectively as a substrate in MFC to obtain electricity. The ammonia-polluted wastewater was used as substrate in HND-ACMFC “heterotrophic nitrifying/denitrifying air–cathode fuel cell” [211]. The HND-ACMFC was investigated for long-term operation, 197 days, repeatedly, and it demonstrated an efficient removal of total nitrogen , ammonia, and COD of 95 %, 99 % and 91 %, respectively, with continuous electricity generation of 0.72 A m−3 and peak power of 100 mW m−3. Another study examined IVCW-MFC “integrated vertical flow constructed wetland microbial fuel cell”, for electricity generation and swine wastewater treatment [212]. The IVCW-MFC achieved 456 mW m−3, steady voltage output between 598 and 713 mV, and average removal efficiencies of 77.5 %, 75.13 % and 79.65 %, for NH4+–N, NO3–N, and COD, respectively.

            4.2. Ammonia-based battery

            S-TEGs “Solid state thermoelectric generators” are commonly used to transfer waste heat (thermal energy) to electrical power; however, the high cost of S-TEGs hinders their large-scale applications [213], [214]. Recently, TRBs “Thermally regenerative batteries” demonstrated an ability to convert heat (including waste heat resources) to electricity efficiently and at a reasonable price. TRAB “thermally regenerative ammonia-based battery” utilizes thermal distillation and redox reactions to transform the low-grade waste heat (<130 °C) to electricity using thermally regenerated electrolytes [215], [216]. Metal electrodes and ammonia combine to form a complex during the discharge process, which results in a potential difference that generates energy. During charging, the waste heat is utilized to extract ammonia from the anolyte and move it to the catholyte [217], [218]. There are two types of TRABs according to the electrode type, i.e., S-TRAB “single metallic” where both electrodes are made of the same metal [219], B-TRAB “bimetallic” where the two electrodes are made of different metals [220].

            Cu-TRAB was constructed of copper mesh electrodes where 2 M ammonia was added to the anolyte using redox couples of “Cu(NH3)42+/Cu and Cu[221]/Cu” [222]. Copper-based S-TRAB generated 115 ± 1 W m−2, which increased to 136 ± 3 W m−2 by increasing the ammonia concentration to 3 M. The power doubled when another cell was added. Cu-TRAB was also constructed and examined at different operating temperatures [216]. The Cu-TRAB generated 95 ± 5 W m−2 and 236 ± 8 W m−2 at 23 °C and 72 °C, respectively. The enhancement of the power at higher temperatures was related to the decreased electrode overpotentials and the adequate copper oxidation at the anode. Moreover, the effect of flow rate, reactor design, and electrode pore density on the performance of Cu-TRAB was investigated [223]. The various reactor designs demonstrated varying mass transfer effects and various powers. The Cu-TRAB with a flow-through electrode on both sides (Cu-TRAB-FT) showed the highest peak power of 22.9 W m−2 due to the improved mass transfer of this electrode. Moreover, the optimum electrolyte flow rate and electrode pore density of Cu-TRAB-FT were 15 mL min−1 and 100 PPI “pores per linear inch”. Also, Cu-AFB “Copper-based ammonia flow battery” was designed and operated at different temperatures [221]. The Cu-AFB demonstrated power densities of 204 W m−2 and 280 W m−2 at 25 °C and 55 °C, respectively. The influence of operating parameters, including membrane type, electrode distance, electrode type, electrode area, ammonia and NH4NO3 concentrations on the performance of S-TRAB was assessed [224]. Different membranes, i.e., cation and anion exchange membranes of the same thickness (0.45 ± 0.025 mm), were tested. Different electrode types including Cobalt, copper or nickel sheets of the same dimensions (20 × 8 × 1 mm), were utilized as electrodes using NH4NO3 solution (5 mol·L−1 ) mixed with 0.1 mol·L−1 of Co(NO3)2, Cu(NO3)2, or Ni (NO3), respectively. Furthermore, different copper electrodes distances of 1.5, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 cm, and different electrode areas of 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 20, and 25 cm2 were also tested. The results exhibited that among different electrodes, the copper electrodes achieved the highest peak power density of 40 W·m−2. anion exchange membrane showed better Cu-TRAB performance than cation exchange membrane. The peak power density of Cu-TRAB increased with increasing electrode areas, ammonia and electrolyte concentrations over certain ranges. Additionally, definite concentrations of NH3 created tradeoffs between energy and power densities [225]. Increasing the NH3 concentration from 1 to 5 M decreases the energy density from 0.56 to 0.31 Wh/L, while the power increases from 11.2 to 28.5 mW cm−2. The decrease in energy density was related to NH3 crossover through the membrane during the Self-discharge of Cu-TRAB. A membrane-less microfluidic TRAB was also designed and operated at batch mode using pure copper electrodes or thick deposits of copper over compact graphite support electrodes [226]. Membrane-less microfluidic Cu- TRAB showed better power density than conventional Cu-TRAB operating under the same operating mode and conditions. The performance of membrane-less microfluidic TRAB was enhanced by replacing the pure copper electrodes with copper deposited on graphite electrodes that increased the power to 3.4 W m−2 at 50 °C. Cu/Ni composite electrodes were synthesized by electrodeposition of copper on nickel foams and investigated in TRABs [227]. Compared to Cu-TRAB, Cu/Ni-TRAB achieved the same power of 6.5 mW, but with higher anodic coulombic efficiency, 94 %, and considerably extended electrode operation time (>55 h).

            Cu-TRABs suffered from unbalanced cathode deposition and anode dissolution rates during discharging cycles. To overcome such challenges, a Cu-TRAB using ligands was developed to stabilize Cu(I) and Cu[221] ions·NH3(aq) and Br−(aq) ligands were used in Cu-TRAB operated at 25 °C achieving a cell potential difference of 695 ± 2 mV, 350 W m−2 and high Coulombic efficiency (>90 %) [228]. The system's energy storage density was twice that reported for alternated Cu-TRAB chemistries and can reach four times higher. A steady and reversible electrode reaction was also accomplished using inert carbon electrodes and silver salts throughout a number of cycles [229]. Under bath mode test, 23 W m−2 was achieved, which is 64 % higher than that generated using Cu-TRAB. Furthermore, a 30 W m−2 was stable over 100 cycles under continuous flow operation, realizing superior reversibility. Cu/Zn-TRAB, using copper and zinc electrodes was constructed and examined at different temperatures (10–45 °C) [218]. Peak power of 389 W m−2 was achieved and increased to 723 ± 45 W m−2 by increasing the temperature from 10 to 40 °C with linear slope of 12.25 W m − 2 °C − 1. However, further increases in the temperature resulted in decreasing the power output. Copper/zinc bimetallic TRA based flow battery (Cu/Zn-TRAFB) was also developed, realizing a voltage discharge of 1.38 V and 535 W m−2 with redox couples [Cu[221]/Cu and Zn(NH3)42+/Zn] [230]. A power of 1070 (535 W m−2) could be achieved by connecting two cells (parallel or series).

            4.3. Ammonia as fuel in ignition engines (AIE)

            The automobile industry is one of the most pollutant sectors of the environment where it is based on combustion engines powered by fossil fuels. The decarbonization of power generation, marine and automotive markets is compulsory for limiting global warming and meeting the emissions of greenhouse gases. Hydrogen is considered a carbonless fuel that could be implemented with diesel in IE to decrease carbon emissions. But hydrogen is compressed at high pressure, and thus, it is a dangerous and expensive approach. Therefore, hydrogen carriers are considered a good candidate for diesel-based engines. Ammonia is deemed a hydrogen carrier and could be used effectively as an alternative fuel in CIE. Ammonia could be burned with any fuels with low auto-ignition temperature or diesel (dual fuel combustion, DFC), thereby decreasing the carbon-based emissions. But NOx emissions and high unburned ammonia are the main demerits of the DFC approach, and thus the after-treatment system is needed. Consequently, compression ignition using ammonia could be a proper solution for heavy-duty, marine and power generation applications. marine.

            In 2007, Ammonia and gasoline-powered vehicle were designed and tested from Detroit to San Francisco [231]. In 2013, Toyota “Marangoni GT86 ECO” developed the first ammonia-fueled racing car that operated with ammonia fuel up to 2800 rpm while gasoline fuel was used at a higher speed [161]. In 2014, a vehicle that was partly fuelled with 70 % ammonia “ port injection” and 30 % gasoline “direct injection” was designed and operated successfully by the Korean Institute of Energy Research [232]. In the same year, a carbon-free hydrogen ammonia tractor was evolved by a Nevada corporation, “HEC Inc.” [233]. Newly, ammonia/hydrogen-fueled vehicles were developed using carbon-free hybrid system as hydrogen was produced by the electrochemical ammonia splitting [234].

            Ammonia is the perfect fuel for marine and power generation applications [235], [236]. Marine and power generation are not space-constrained compared to automotive applications as they could be implemented with auxiliary equipment to reduce NOx emissions. Ammonia has been proposed as a favourable power-to-liquid approach for establishing a hydrogen economy [237]. Moreover, A company, “MAN Energy Solutions multinational company” plans to replace the dual-fuel marine engine (fueled with liquefied petroleum gas and diesel) with an ammonia-based engine [238], [239].

            5. Key barriers toward green ammonia:

            Scaling up direct green ammonia synthesis needs a new infrastructure framework and policies to support and overcome their barriers. The most obvious barrier to green ammonia synthesis is the capital investment costs. Green ammonia is produced through the Haber process using green hydrogen and nitrogen. Therefore, the main contributor to the capital cost is the cost of the electrolyzer and the cost of building wind and solar farms. Furthermore, there are many barriers to the evolution of green ammonia, such as technical, environmental, social and economic barriers that need policies and regulations to support limitations. The main barriers affecting the growth of green ammonia and policy support for them is shown in Fig. 9. Although there are many orientations toward green energy production, the percentage is still very small compared to conventional ways, mainly due to some barriers and challenges that must be solved for their industrial-scale applications.

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            Fig. 9. Different barriers affecting the growth of green ammonia and policy support for them. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            5.1. Environmental barriers

            The direct environmental effect of ammonia is related to its level in the environment. Ammonia has severe health issues for humans and other living creatures. Therefore, the exposure to ammonia, whether as a gas in the atmosphere, liquid, or fertilizer, must be within a definite limit. Another environmental impact of ammonia is related to its production method, usually associated with CO2 emissions from fossil fuels being used for hydrogen production, N2 separation from the air, and nitrogen reduction into ammonia NH3 [98]. Furthermore, ammonia as a chemical has several environmental impacts that must be considered during handling and storage [240], [241], [242]. The environmental impacts of ammonia are seriously considered as there is rapid growth and a need for ammonia as an energy source that is competitive with fossil fuels. The different environmental impacts of ammonia are summarized as follows:

            • •

              Green House Gases (GHGs) contribution: Industrial ammonia production has increased to reach>170,000 tons of produced ammonia, contributing as the second most produced chemical. However, most of the current ammonia production methods depend on conventional fuel-burning yielding ammonia, contributing to CO2 emissions at around 1.8 % [243]. For instance, in the case of using conventional fuel for NH3 production, the amount of CO2 produced is around 2.2 kg CO2/ kg NH3 [98]. Therefore, CO2 emissions plus the unreacted methane (source of hydrogen) will directly affect global warming by increasing the GHG. On the other hand, the main contribution of producing green ammonia from a direct and clean energy source could reduce the carbon footprint by around 90 %, contributing to about 1.7 % of the global carbon dioxide emissions footprint [45], [244], [245].

            • •

              Marine and ground life contribution (disturbance of ecological balance): The release of ammonia into the atmosphere will react with moisture producing ammonium that fall back to the earth as rainfall. Such ammonium in the rainfall will be converted to nitrates by the soil's bacteria, causing an increase in the soil's osmotic concentration [246]. Another aspects of ammonia gas at the atmosphere is the formation of ammonium sulphate casued by the reaction of ammonia gas with sulfuric or nitric acid vapours at the atmosphere to form small particles known as aerosols [247]. This will cause an increase in the soil pH, soil acidification, and direct toxic damage to essential nutrients found in the soil. Moving to ammonia effect to the aquatic ecosystem if it is directly spilt to surface water or its vapor cloud is allowed to reach water (Fig. 10). A concentration of only 0.02 ppm is enough to kill sensitive marine creatures [248], [249]. This can be mitigated during the production of green ammonia by following proper safety strategies, including fast detection, leak detection, emission capture and treatment.

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              Fig. 10. A schematic diagram for the impact of ammonia on surface water and marine life.

            • •

              Human life contribution: Ammonia is corrosive, and its impact on human health depends on the average weighted time and exposure dose (Table 8). Ammonia can significantly impact human health and the environment because it forms a strong basic solution that irritates the skin, the respiratory system, and the eyes. A 5 ppm of ammonia is the threshold limit for the pungent order; this can act as a warning of NH3 presence in the environment. Below 50 ppm, there is no recorded effect on the human; however, severe noise and throat irritation are recorded at 134 ppm. Above 2000 ppm, the person might die within a minute owing to a lack of oxygen and severe skin blisters and burns [250]. The experimental findings by Franks et al. [251] shows that the broad use of dangerous toxic load for ammonia toxicity could be calculated from the following equation (Eq. 16):

              Table 8. Exposure effect on human beings [252], [253], [254].

              Exposure (ppm) Body effect Permissible Exposure
              50 ppm No recorded effect No effect
              134 ppm Rhinitis symptoms 8 h
              700 ppm Severe rhinitis symptoms and possible loss of sight 1 h
              1,700 ppm Death if not treated urgently owing to severe lung damage Not permitted
              2,000 ppm Chemical burns Not permitted
              5,000 ppm Suffocation might die directly Not permitted
            (16)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�2�=3.76×108���2

            Where c is the concentration of ammonia in ppm and t is the exposure time.

            • •

              Land availability: the available land for new green ammonia production and storage is limited; therefore, expanding an existing plant is highly recommended. Hence, future studies should focus on developing and upgrading conventional ammonia production plants.

            • •

              Landscape and visual impact: This requires a technical study to assess the potential impact on the visual environment that ammonia projects can cause on the local community. It is about studying different locational installations, visual characterization, and the social life of the place. For example, a simple development was suggested based on the method of the landscape and visual impact of ammonia at the Yara Pilbara ammonia plant [255].

            5.2. Technical barriers

            Technical barriers are not only referred to the capacity, feasibility, infrastructure, and viability but also the lack of technical expertise and labour. For instance, a capacity barrier- producing green ammonia at a large scale would create an inability to handle and store the large capacity of ammonia which can cause severe problems to the ammonia infrastructure. The potential of renewable energy, wind and solar, to produce green ammonia is the major contribution to its green synthesis. This will raise another technical barrier because of the need to implement renewable energy projects for ammonia synthesis. Some other barriers, such as efficiency for direct green NH3 synthesis, availability, reliability, and maturity, are also worth mentioning. The technical criteria for green ammonia can be summarized as follows:

            • o

              Efficiency: It is defined as the ratio of the input energy over the output energy. The current trends are moving toward producing green ammonia through renewable sources (solar, tidal, or wind) to power an electrolyzer and air separation unit. The process efficiency can reach up to 83 % by involving a hybrid system consisting of high temperature operating system with heat integrations [47]. However, unconventional methods for direct ammonia (photosynthesis, electrochemical methods, low-temperature synthesis, and non-thermal plasmatic synthesis) are preferable. The main challenge facing these methods is their low efficiency. Fortunately, research and development are progressing toward increasing their efficiency up to 60 % using electrochemical methods [256].

            • o

              Availability: Green ammonia synthesis has existed from 1920s to the 1970s in Norway using a hydro-powered electrolysis plant. Nowadays, the switch to green synthesis is mainly concerned with the electrolyser's production cost and capacity [149]. However, the direct unconventional methods for green ammonia synthesis are still not viable for industrial applications, which requires further research.

            • o

              Decentralization; a locality of renewable energies where renewable energy differs from one country to another and even in the same country from one region to another. This puts the burden on the feasibility and economic studies where the accuracy of each study is mandatory to investigate each plant independently.

            • o

              Capacity barriers: Currently, the main barriers to green ammonia production are directly related to the production of green hydrogen because the available methods utilize hydrogen as an intermediate feedstock to produce green ammonia. Therefore, their capacity barriers would be concerned with electrolyzer capacity if power to ammonia synthesis was used.

            • o

              Storage: This is one of the main barriers. Commonly, ammonia is transferred and stored as a liquified compressed gas in either compressed gas at atmospheric temperature, refrigerated at atmospheric pressure, or intermediate pressure and temperature (semi-refrigerated state). Most importantly, the storage areas should be free from flammable materials and oxidiser sparks and must be well ventilated [257]. There are three methods for storing ammonia:

              • 1-

                Storing ammonia under high pressure (15–18 bars) at room temperature using spherical or cylindrical vessels with a capacity up to 2000 tons.

              • 2-

                Storage of ammonia at low temperatures (– 33 °C) and a pressure around (1.1 to 1.2 bar) using insulated vertical cylindrical tanks with a capacity up to 50,000 tons.

              • 3-

                Intermediate pressure storage at 0 °C using insulated reduced-pressure spherical vessels with a capacity up to 2500 tons.

            Compressed gas at atmospheric temperature and refrigerated at atmospheric pressure are the most common ways used to store ammonia. Initially, a high-pressure system (bullets and Horton spheres) was the dominant method to store ammonia, with a capacity reaching up to 2000 tons. However, low-pressure storage was later preferable to high-pressure for two reasons: 1- Capital requirements are lower per unit volume, and 2- Considerably safer than spherical ammonia storage under high pressure. Currently, the large industrial scale has shown a great interest in refrigerated ammonia storage at ambient pressure owing to the high-capacity storage [258], [259].

            For pressure storage, cylindrical tanks can upstand up to 25 bar pressure. Compared to spherical tanks, maximum design pressure should not exceed 16 bar to prevent a wall thickness above 30 mm. Pressure storage is very economical for low quantities of ammonia needed in down streams unit processing ammonia and for services that require loading and unloading pressurized ammonia using tank cars, trucks, rail, and marine [260], [261].

            Currently, refrigerated ammonia storage is preferred owing to its lower capital cost per unit volume compared to other methods and the higher volume capacity. Furthermore, this method is very convenient for loading and unloading refrigerated vehicles in ammonia synthesis plants. For refrigerated storage at –33 °C, many tanks configuration are available for a storage capacity up to 50,000 tons [262], [263]. The main types of atmospheric ammonia storage tanks are:

            • 1-

              Single-wall steel tanks with external insulation (made of rockwool or foam insulation) are sometimes surrounded by concrete bunds to prevent pollution.

            • 2-

              Steel tanks with double walls and perlite insulation in between the walls (double wall tanks). This type of tank can also be found in two different configurations depending on the insulation type. The first one is with insulation on the annular space that needs a full shutdown in case of an inner tank frailer. The second type, which contains outer insulation, offers a longer operational time in case of inside tank failure. Table 9 provides a summary of the different ammonia energy storage systems.

              Table 9. Summary of different storage techniques for ammonia [258], [259], [260], [261], [262], [263].

              Property Comments
              Pressure Storage
              System suitability
              • 1-

                Small amount of ammonia

                Entrance or exist from system pipelines.

                When it is used as an intermediate chemical stock
              Typical Pressure storage 16–18 bar
              Storage capacity Up to 2000 tons
              Design temperature 25 °C
              Refrigerated Storage
              System suitability
              • 1-

                Large scale ammonia storage.

                Marine transportation of large amount of ammonia.

                In facilities that require ammonia to be cooled.
              Typical Pressure storage 1.1–1.3 bar
              Storage capacity Up to 50,000 tons
              Design temperature –33 °C
            • o

              Research and development Lack of comparative studies between green ammonia and conventional ones equipped with carbon capture and storage. Indirect research is also required, such as life cycle assessments of resources used in renewable energies, such as terbium and dysprosium in wind generation, germanium, tellurium, indium and selenium in solar energy, etc. Intensive studies are needed before transitioning from the conventional Haber-Bosch process to modern electrochemical synthesis. The thermodynamic potential to activate nitrogen gas needs efficient catalysts that do not simultaneously accelerate hydrogen evolution [188]. There is a research gap in ammonia technology, such as the difficulty in separating from unreacted materials and, thus, low yield of ammonia at low pressure and searching for unconventional, highly selective and efficient catalysts.

            5.3. Economic Barriers:

            Compared with other competing technologies, the economic barriers to green ammonia production are mainly concerned with its high capital and operational costs (CAPEX and OPEX). The capital cost includes the electrolysis for hydrogen production, air separation unit, renewable energy, purification units, Harber-Bosch ammonia facility, storage units, plant auxiliaries, and civil works. Operational cost includes the availability of water, power source, labor cost, maintenance, land leasing, etc. The following are the main points that are related to the economic barriers:

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              Investment cost: This includes CAPEX cost, electricity, labor, maintenance, land lease or purchase. Guerra and his research group [264] did a technical–economic analysis for green ammonia synthesis (123,400 t year−1) using an electrolyzer stack of 164.21 MW. The investment cost for an ammonia production plant was estimated to be 144,375,000 €, plus OPEX of more than a million per year. However, 7.2 year payback period was estimated with a net present value of 88,300,000 €.

            • o

              Energy cost: One of green ammonia's main challenges is the high cost of renewable sources (CAPEX of the renewable energy plant). This concern is seriously considered when considering the price of energy from conventional fuels. Sanchez and Martin [265] developed a model for green ammonia synthesis from air and water. Their study estimated that the project cost of green ammonia could be lower to 1.36 € kg−1. However, the high CAPEX and OPEX of producing green ammonia are still higher, almost triple using conventional fuel; thus, using green ammonia in the energy sector is nearly-four times higher in price than conventional fuel [266]. Green ammonia production has to be trustable to receive funds from all over the world, not only limited to developing countries. Still, several countries consider the support of green ammonia projects is non-economical compared to those powered by fossil fuels. Luke and Alcantara [25] investigated the Levelized cost of electricity (LOCE) for green ammonia synthesis using electrolyzer power by renewable energy (wind and solar) in 534 locations in over 70 countries. They expected a lower LOCE to be achieved by 2030 up to 310 $ t−1 with a price of 16.6 $ GJ−1 compared to a current price of 25.4 $ GJ−1. This study shows that green ammonia might be comparable to conventional fuels, i.e., Kerosene (8.7 – 18.3 $ GJ−1). Public and private finance can significantly promote investment in green ammonia] [187].

            5.4. Policies and regulations

            Green ammonia is still at its earliest stages of satisfying the global need for ammonia and its application in the energy sector. Some of these barriers are economic, financial, technical, and social. Therefore, it needs policy support to help in removing/decreasing these barriers and thus transfer green ammonia into a viable production method.

            The main barriers to green ammonia synthesis are the high investment cost and energy requirements. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, by 2050, the demand for green hydrogen will significantly increase to (134 to 159 million tons) which will require 1,775 GW of offshore wind farms, 2,243 GW of onshore wind, 4,240 GW of solar PV to satisfy this amount of green hydrogen production [267]. This is also true for green ammonia production because the main feedstock for its synthesis is hydrogen, and NH3 is considered a feasible way to store and transport green hydrogen. The high electrolyzers' CAPEX and renewable energy costs can be overcome by establishing a proper supporting policy. For example, tackling electrolysers' high costs can support research, economic scale, and innovation. The most important policy is closing the significant cost gaps between brown and green ammonia production. There are also many technical barriers affecting the infrastructure of green ammonia. One of the most significant barriers is direct ammonia synthesis without the need for the intermediate step for hydrogen production. Direct green ammonia production from water and air would be a significant step toward minimizing the production cost of ammonia. Another important policy is supporting green ammonia production in countries with plenty of renewable energy sources.

            Ammonia is essential in energy as a zero-carbon fuel source, hydrogen carrier, and potential fuel in marine transport. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the insertion of green ammonia in the energy sector will significantly impact the global temperature rise by 1.5 °C and contribute toward a zero-carbon emission energy policy [268]. Like other sectors, cost plays the most obstacles to the development of the green ammonia sector. For instance, there is a gap between conventional and renewable fuels in terms of energy content and price. Unfortunately, green ammonia is almost four times higher than that grey ammonia (produced from natural gas). Therefore, there should be policies that consider the cost of the reserved CO2 emissions in the case of using green ammonia. Furthermore, safe policy attention should be taken to satisfy the obstacles of shipping and storing green ammonia.

            6. Contribution of green ammonia to sustainable development goals, SDGs

            In 2015, The United Nations reported 17 SDGs to be targeted by 2030 (Fig. 11). These goals are interconnected to ensure a safe and healthy life for everybody. The SDGs aim to end all forms of hunger and poverty everywhere and protect the ecosystems and conserve natural resources for future generations. In this context, The UN's strategy is to protect life on land and even below the water, produce green renewable energy, mitigate climate change and finally consolidate the relationship between the above SDGs [269]. The SGDs can be classified into three main categories; group 1 (SDG1-SDG6): SDGs focus on humans; group 2 (SDG7-SDG12): SDGs related to community and group 3 (SDG13-SDG17): SDGs related to the whole planet.

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            Fig. 11. The sustainable development goals (SDGs), https://sdgs.un.org/goals.

            Green ammonia is directly related to some of these goals, namely; SDG2 “zero hunger”, SDG3 “good health and well-being”, SDG6 “clean water and sanitation”, SDG7 “affordable and clean energy”, SDG8 “decent work and economic growth”, SDG9 “industry and infrastructure”, SDG12 “responsible consumption/production” and SDG13 “climate action”. The following sections discuss the contribution of green ammonia to these SDGs.

            6.1. Impact of green ammonia on SDG2; zero hunger

            All crops utilize nitrogen, with a special focus on wheat, maize and rice, where they account for higher than 50 % of the total demand for nitrogen-based fertilizer Globally (Fig. 12). Maize and rice have the widest application rates for the nitrogen-based fertilizer range, with an average of 98 and 96 kg N/ha, respectively. Some crops can directly fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, such as soybeans, peanuts, palm and clover, leading to less or zero fertilizer requirements [270].

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            Fig. 12. Nitrogen-based fertilizer demand and application rate of the main crop, , .

            adapted from [270]https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/6ee41bb9-8e81-4b64-8701-2acc064ff6e4/AmmoniaTechnologyRoadmap.pdf

            Feeding ∼80 % of the population worldwide depends mainly on ammonia-based fertilizer (ABF). Recently, the focus has been to transform the production process from the Haber-Bosch process, which consumes intensive -capital cost and -energy and uses fossil feedstock such as coal, to green ammonia technology, which depends on renewable energy such as hydropower, solar, and wind. Production of green ammonia yields social and economic benefits, such as producing fertilizers locally using the localized resources of renewable energy instead of importing fertilizers. Additionally, green ammonia served as a buffer to balance the seasonal variations of renewable energies, yielding consistent power needed for the development foundation. The possibility of combining renewable electricity with Haber-Bosch could occur via developing hydrogen from water electrolysis and separating nitrogen from the air via pressure-based adsorption. Haber–Bosch process is the traditional route for ABF production at a large scale. Agricultural production is significantly dropped due to soil nutrient depletion (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium). For this reason, around 80 % of 160 million tons/y of ammonia is utilized in fertilizers production, contributing to feeding > 70 % of the world's population, which nearly represents 50 % of the nitrogen in the human body. On the other hand, green ammonia plays a significant indirect role in nutrition. Animal production is directly proportional to grasses and plants, whose productivity is related to ABF. However, increasing grass production has lower environmental effects and higher efficiency than feed concentration; owning to that feed concentration needs considerably higher resources than pasture to yield and generate higher emissions. It was estimated that the farm had the lowest carbon footprint when sequestration was included [271]. Fig. 13 concludes the main factors that control the impact of green ammonia on SDG2.

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            Fig. 13. Inputs, outputs and the main factors for green ammonia contribution in SDG2. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            6.2. Impact of green ammonia on SDG3; healthy life and well-being

            The impact of green ammonia on human health could be assessed by evaluating its acidification, human toxicity, eco-toxicity, carcinogens, ozone depletion potential, and abiotic depletion impacts. Ammonia deposition yields eutrophication and acidification, and it is highly recommended to consider these values for accuracy purposes and subsequent mitigation strategies. For example, NH3 contributes to ∼ 95.5 in farm acidification. However, intensification increased NH3 emissions owing to the increase in fertilizer quantities. The eutrophication and NH3 emissions were reported as 86 %–94 % and 41 %–42 %, respectively [271]. Ammonia emissions which act for 13 % of agricultural emissions, increase the population's exposure to particulate matter by 0.36 μg /m3 on average [272]. However, lowering air pollution yielded a reduction in the particulate matters-based avoidable deaths by 2,804–8,249 in the year 2010 and 9,870–23,100 in 2020, pollution control policies have numerous advantages that minimize PM -and O3 -based mortalities by about 23 % during the period from 2015 to 2030 [273], [274]. It was reported that the potential global warming yields from coal gasification and steam methane reformation are 3.85 and 3.03 kg CO2-eq/kg NH3 produced, respectively. The minimum global warming (0.378 kg/kg ammonia) is recorded by biomass gasification, while steam methane reformation yields high abiotic depletion compared with other synthesis routes: 0.026 kg Sb-eq/kg NH3 [275]. Replacing conventional ammonia with green ones will minimize these negative impacts since green technology is based on renewable energies.

            6.3. Impact of green ammonia on SDG6; clean water and sanitation

            The ammonia production could occur via a coal-based ammonia synthesis approach which involves coal mining, washing, transportation, and ammonia production. The system is similar to the first approach for the coke oven gas-based ammonia synthesis route, with an additional coal coking stage. The system includes natural gas exploitation and transportation and ammonia production for the natural gas-based ammonia synthesis approach. It is worth noting that, for all conventional approaches to ammonia synthesis, there is wastewater polluted with contaminants released into the ecosystem [181]. The eutrophication potential is calculated from electricity consumption, the coal-burning, which generates nitrogen oxide, and wastewater discharged from the coking process that involves numerous contaminants such as chemical oxygen demand, phosphorus, and nitrogen. All of these constituents increased the eutrophication potential. The eutrophication potentials of natural gas-, coal- and coke oven gas-based ammonia are 0.0012, 0.0012 and 0.0016 kg phosphate-eq. The photochemical ozone creation potentials of natural gas-, coal- and coke oven gas-based ammonia are 0.599, 0.871 and 1.10 g ethene-eq [181]. The emissions related to water pollution and acidification (kg SO2-eq) are increased as more nitrogen-based fertilizers are applied in the agricultural sector [182]. Hence, consuming much more conventional ammonia should be replaced by green one to mitigate the negative impact on the ecosystem with a special focus on agricultural wastewater.

            6.4. Impact of green ammonia on SDG7; green and affordable energy

            Green ammonia is the synthesis of ammonia using renewable energy, air and water. This zero-carbon energy storage vector has significant energy applications owing to its availability in different geographies and low cost of transporting and storing compared to the requirements of underground hydrogen storage or geological storage of captured carbon, Fig. 14. Ammonia can be easily stored as a liquid via pressurizing at 9 bar ambient temperature or cooling to –33 °C; the process doesn’t involve significant losses. Ammonia can be easily and safely transported in carbon-steel pipelines, ships, rail cars, and trucks. Also, plants' conversion from natural gas and oil into green ammonia is easy since the latter is used in the same pipelines with minor modifications. Moreover, 50 % much more energy could be delivered in case of the replacement of natural gas with liquid ammonia owing to the higher volumetric energy density of ammonia [276]. The typical storage tank has a capacity of liquefied NH3 up to 30,000 Mt, equivalent to 190 GW (H2 reformation from NH3), corresponding to 0.1 US$/kWh capital cost [277].

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            Fig. 14. The main contributions of green ammonia in the energy sector. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            The power2ammonia2power technology is based on multidisciplinary connections where the battolysers provide the grid with power. The grid can also provide the ammonia production plant with power when the battolysers are discharged or/and the wind is weak in order to maintain the system heated and pressurized. However, no backup system is required. The system is characterized by flexibility, where excess ammonia can be introduced from an external source [278].

            Green ammonia can be directly combusted in gas turbines, reciprocating engines, or electrochemically dissociated in fuel cells. Although there is a limitation in its implementation in current Otto cycle engines owing to its narrow flammability range, the NH3-based engine was designed and constructed for bus engines during the 2nd World War. To eliminate nitrous oxide formation during NH3 combustion, catalytic cracking and sodium-amide processes are suggested for the NH3 decomposition into its elements. The developed hydrogen can be efficiently combusted in gas turbines or fuel cells [277].

            6.5. Impact of green ammonia on SDG8; economic growth

            Transforming hydrogen into ammonia is essential to decrease the final cost of highly tumbling renewable electricity in an entirely green energy system [279]. By 2040, green ammonia will be an economic competitor fuel for zero-carbon electricity using efficient gas turbine power plants. The estimated Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for green ammonia at a power plant capacity of 25 % is 156–185 €/MWh in 2040, assuming a fuel price of 355 €/t. This cost of electricity is considerably less than bio-energy and coal plants coupled with carbon capture and storage and nuclear power. Also, it is comparable with natural gas-based power plants with post-combustion carbon capture and storage. The additional costs of 28 €/MWh owning to cracking of ammonia to hydrogen in gas turbines recommends the development of turbine technologies which are compatible with ammonia in the long term.

            It was estimated that the Levelized cost of green ammonia ranges from 208 €/t to 450 €/t in 2040 according to the capital cost, solar PV cost, and electrolyzer costs. The local price of electricity is the main indicator of economic competitiveness for replacing traditional ammonia with green one. However, the economic impact of green ammonia could be clear by integrating its production plant with the national grid. This is attributed to the variation in prices of locally available or/and imported fuels. Also, some grids need varied capacity-utilization rates of dispatchable energy resources. Future research should focus on the considerations of these factors for the localized grid and regional scale as well as addressing other aspects such as a contradiction between electricity demand and cheap renewable supply such as in Japan, variation of seasonable renewable resources, the price of alternative approaches such as the low cost of gas in the USA which promote carbon capture and storage technologies, flexibility requirements, and legislative laws towards decarbonization.

            The economic impacts of developing green ammonia-based fertilizer with the aid of hydropower show that the process determines ∼216 M€, equivalent to ∼165 % investment return for a net present value of 30 years compared to imported fertilizers. For example, this yields a saving of at least 50 M US dollars for importing rice. Additionally, green ammonia can compensate for seasonal fluctuations of hydropower ranging from 900 to 50 MW and provide additional power up to 370 MW [280]. A techno-economic analysis showed that transforming from small-scale (10 kW) to large-scale (10 MW) reduces the minimum hydrogen selling prices from 7.03 USD/kg to 3.98 USD/kg. Moreover, sensitivity analyses showed that H2 selling prices might be minimized by 50 %. The H2 produced from green NH3 reported significant CO2 reduction by 78–95 % (kg CO2/kg H2) compared to traditional methods such as steam methane reforming, biomass gasification, etc. [278].

            6.6. Impact of green ammonia on SDG9; industry and infrastructure

            Ammonia is the second largest product in the chemical industry sector worldwide after sulfuric acid. Also, it is the main precursor for synthetic fertilizers (urea, ammonium phosphate, and ammonium nitrate). Moreover, it is one of the raw materials for the production of numerous nitrogen-based chemicals (hydrazine (N2H4), urea (CO(NH2)2), ammonia carbonate ((NH4)2CO3), nitric acid, and ammonia borane (NH3BH3)), and capturing agent for acidic gaseous. Also, it is used in refrigerators and air-conditioners, manufacturing of acids, explosives, fibers, papers, plastics, polymers, and alternative fuel in ICE and FCs for power generation with/or without reforming. Ammonia production increased from 137 Mtons in 2012 to 140 Mtons in 2018; China, Russia, USA and India recorded the highest ammonia production with 31.4 %, 10 %, 8.9 %, and 7.8 %, respectively. To achieve sustainability, green hydrogen derived from renewable energy should be promoted to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption [281], [282], [283]. Green hydrogen could be supplied from renewable energy-based water electrolysis and biomass gasification [13], [284]. A biomass-based ammonia production plant was compared to a natural gas-based. The exergy efficiencies of the biomass- and natural gas-based ammonia plants are 41.3 % and 65.8 %, respectively. Also, the elevated-temperature electrolysis achieved better integration with ammonia production facilities than low-temperature-based technologies owing to their high electrical efficiencies and heat integration. A techno-economic feasibility study of green ammonia production versus traditional one with a reference capacity 50 kton/y showed that biomass-to-ammonia is the most exothermic process with considerable limitations because of the immense heat required for acid gas scavenges. The power-to-ammonia recorded the maximum efficiency (74 %) compared to biomass-to-ammonia (44 %) and methane-to-ammonia (61 %). The production cost of one ton of ammonia using a biomass-based plant achieved 450 US $, equivalent to a payback higher than six years, while the cost of one ton of ammonia developed from a methane-based plant is 400 US $, with a payback of 5 years. The power-based plant wasn’t economically feasible because of high electricity and stack costs. However, the power-based ammonia production plant can be a competitor when the payback time is < 5 years; production of solid oxide could occur at full scale and increment of renewable power penetration [285].

            The recent interest in using green ammonia for decarbonization shipping is a clear indicator of the numerous advantages of green ammonia that can be implemented in full-scale power generation involving scalable production at an economical cost, enhanced energy density, and safe use in industrial environments and simple storage needs. By 2050, the forecast for green ammonia as a fuel in the marine sector is 99 %. Although green methanol is also considered a significant fuel for the shipping sector, green ammonia is considered the first one [286]. Production of hydrogen from ammonia is favorable since the reformation process requires low energy (46.22 kJ/mol), and strong catalysts could enhance the efficiency of cracking. Ammonia is also a flexible energy barrier that can be utilized as green fuel in direct ammonia fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cells. The advantages of these two fuel cells are their low cost, medium operating temperature, high efficiency, very robustness, and they can be fueled with various fuels [287], [288].

            6.7. Impact of green ammonia on SDG11; sustainable cities and communities

            Implementation of ammonia in power plants and transportation in cities has been environmentally assessed by studying its impacts on acidification, global warming potential, ozone layer depletion and abiotic depletion. The results have proved a reduction in the GHGs, showing eco-friendly performance because of the absence of carbon in such fuel. The environmental impacts of replacing conventional fuels (diesel, gasoline and natural gas) with ammonia were investigated in power generation plants and transportation via wind energy-based ammonia production plants. The GHGs from ammonia implemented in transportation are 0.1 kg CO2-eq/km, significantly less than diesel (0.230 kg) and gasoline (0.270 kg) driven vehicles. Moreover, ammonia implementation in power plants can substantially reduce the corresponding by 60 % compared to natural gas-based power plants [289]. Production of ammonia from wind-based water electrolysis using molten salt electrolyte in an electrochemical reactor has shown that clean and abundant wind energy can be applied in green ammonia production that significantly lower the environmental impacts. The ammonia-based car can suppress the GHGs to 0.1 kg/km compared to gasoline-based cars (0.27 kg/km). This yields a high lowering in the total GHG emissions in cities. The ammonia-based power plant generates about 83 g CO2 eq.; in contrast, the natural gas-based power plant develops 130 g CO2 eq. per MJ electricity production [289]. Such small amounts of the CO2 accompanied by ammonia can be significantly decreased or even eliminated by the use of green ammonia. Fig. 15 shows the contribution of green ammonia in sustainable communities.

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            Fig. 15. contribution of green ammonia in green cities via transportation, power generation with zero or near-zero carbon emissions, agricultural, and industrial sectors. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            6.8. Impact of green ammonia on SDG12; responsible consumption/production

            During the last 50 years, ammonia synthesis technology has been dramatically developed. However, there are significant changes in the consumed amounts of natural resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas (as shown in Fig. 16) [290]. Natural gas is consumed during conventional ammonia-fertilizer production, where it is consumed as energy supply and processing gas. It was estimated that producing one ton of NH3 consumes 35.2 GJ of natural gas [277], [291]. Therefore, natural gas consumption is increased per ton of agricultural products. Still, there is an urgent need for responsible consumption of natural resources and energy conservation. Replacing traditional ammonia with green ones will significantly save these resources since green ammonia production is based on renewable energy resources. The lowest potential for abiotic depletion is recorded by ammonia-based cars (0.76 g Sb eq/km). In the life cycle of ammonia implemented in transportation, four materials are being depleted: hard coal, nylon, lignite, and natural gas by 41, 8, 7, and 6 %, respectively. The main source of abiotic depletion is ammonia-based production (44.7 %), which utilizes grid mix electricity. Around 29 % is developed during electricity production from the wind, with a particular focus on materials production [289]. The advantage of green ammonia as an energy vector is that the main feedstock, nitrogen, is locally abundant everywhere in the atmosphere, while methanol (the main competitor for ammonia) requires CO2 for its production process. However, CO2 can be supplied from different point sources if additional purification stages are applied to eliminate catalyst degradation [277].

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            Fig. 16. The applications and the main natural resources consumed during the production of ammonia (a) [292], and feedstock sources of ammonia production worldwide as percentage (b) [276] (with permission No. 5444930989758), and energy requirements in ammonia production in various region worldwide (c) adopted from [293], open access.

            6.9. Impact of green ammonia on SDG13; climate action

            The major source of NH3 emissions is the agriculture sector, with a contribution ranging from 55 to 56 % of the emissions worldwide. The climate change impact of N2O emissions from artificial fertilizer spreading 10 % [271]. It was recorded that 94 % of NH3 emissions in Europe are developed from the agriculture sector only. Synthetic fertilizers are responsible for 10 % of these values. An annual assessment of ammonia emissions is carried out to monitor the reduction in NH3 emissions. Although there was a significant drop in these emissions by 23 % from 1990 to 2015, in Europe, more efforts are still needed. Not attributed only to the impact on humans and the ecosystems, these emissions also affect the generation of particulate matter, as mentioned above [294].

            There is increasing motivation to address any change in the climate; however, nitrogen-based fertilizer is responsible for around 1 % of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Environmental legislation and investments are moving towards green technologies that support minimizing these harmful emissions. Lately, emissions from ammonia production plants (CO2, SOx and NOx) recorded a significant reduction due to the optimization of the operating conditions, the feedstock mix, heat integration, energy conservation, enhanced CO2 absorption systems, and legislative laws [290]. Synthesis of ammonia using coke oven gas recorded the maximum GHG emissions (3.97 kg CO2-eq). This is attributed to the methane needing heat during the conversion process, which is supplied by burning fuel gas that is provided from the excess gas in pressure swing adsorption; it contains specific amounts of CO2, CH4, etc. This gas is one of the most significant causes of high carbon emissions. The GHG emissions were 0.197–0.211 kg CO2-eq in the mining stage. However, the emissions during the transportation of natural gas in pipelines were 0.003 kg CO2-eq [181], which is much less than that of coal railage (0.01687 kg CO2-eq). Another investigation reported a global warming potential for coal gasification and steam methane reformation of 3.85 and 3.03 and kg CO2-eq/kg ammonia developed [275]. The acidification potentials of natural gas-, coal- and coke oven gas-based ammonia are 0.008, 0.0105 and 0.0138 kg SO2-eq [181]. The acidification potentials of gasoline-, diesel-, and ammonia-based cars are 0.7, 0.44 and 0.9 g SO2 eq/km, respectively [289]. Combustion of ammonia causes a low global warming potential (6 %). On the other hand, the combustion of natural gas causes 97 % of GHG in natural gas-based power plants, and CO2 act for 98.6 % of these emissions. Production of ammonia from wind-based water electrolysis using molten salt electrolyte in an electrochemical reactor has shown that clean and abundant wind energy can be applied in green ammonia production that significantly lower the environmental impacts. The ammonia-based car can suppress the GHGs to 0.1 kg/km compared to gasoline-based cars (0.27 kg/km). This lowers total GHG emissions in cities. The combustion process is responsible for 97 % of the global warming potential in the natural gas power plant. It has been shown that replacing conventional fuels with green ammonia, the significant effect of power generation and city transportation, could be extremely mitigated [289]. The carbon footprint of a hybrid energy production system consists of wind energy and ammonia energy storage system Power-to-Ammonia-to-Power (P2A2P) compared to coal-based, and gas-based energy production, which is represented in Fig. 17. The CO2-footprint of the P2A2P is 0.03 kg/kWh, which is considerably lower than current technologies. Even without carbon capture storage (CCS), the P2A2P system is an economic competitor with traditional alternatives, and it is the most cost-effective option when CCS is introduced [278].

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            Fig. 17. (a) The first-in-the-world P2A2P proto-type at the UMN WCROC, Morris, MN [295], open access, (b) A schematic flow diagram for P2A2P where PSA. Pressure Swing Adsorption, HB. Haber-Bosch and an inset shows the carbon footprint and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of P2A2P compared to coal and gas-based power with/without Carbon Capture, and heavy fuel [278], open access (c) Reduction in CO2 owning to the use of green ammonia instead of ammonia [295], open access. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            CO2 emissions are generated at different points of ammonia production and utilization, where they are emitted during energy implementation during production, transportation and on-land machinery work. It was recorded that half of the total CO2 emissions are owned to nitrogen-based fertilizer. However, increasing the concentration of these fertilizers doesn’t guarantee equivalent productivity and yields higher CO2 emissions rates. For N2O emissions, the majority of these emissions (48 %), which are strongly dependent on productivity, are attributable to the generated nitric acid. The latter is part of ammonium nitrate generation and is attributed to the nitrification/denitrification process [291]. However, the over-implementation of ammonia will cause a burden on the air quality since the CO2 emissions are discharged during ammonia production, and its usage as fertilizers will generate CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions. Further contributions to climate change by N2O “nitrous oxide” emissions are the production of nitric acid. Air pollution is associated with NH3, NOx emitted from soils, and pollutants emitted from production facilities.[270] The production of green ammonia will eventually result in a significant decrease or minimization of the GHG emissions mentioned above.

            6.10. Impact of green ammonia on SDG15: Life on land

            The utilization of land for agricultural purposes is decreased as the implementation of green ammonia increases. Because implementing green ammonia as green fertilizer will result in a higher yield of agricultural products per unit area and thus lowers the land consumed per ton of agricultural products [296]. Moreover, green ammonia will conserve the main nutrients and minerals such as nitrogen, potash, phosphate, etc. The impact of green ammonia on land is not limited to the arable area but also via eutrophication. The effect of green ammonia on aquatic eutrophication is challenging to evaluate since the impact starts with the manufacturing stage and application and ends with discharging. There are interconnected factors, such as water bodies and land proximity structures. Conventional ammonia is also responsible for terrestrial ecotoxicity, which is expressed in kg 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB) equivalent, where increasing the fertilizer quantity increases the ecotoxicity [182], [297].

            The ammonia production utilizing municipal solid waste recorded the minimum global warming potential (0.34 kg CO2-eq/kg NH3) compared to other routes, such as the nuclear-based route (0.84 kg CO2-eq/kg NH3) and biomass-based approach (0.85 kg CO2-eq/kg NH3). The municipal solid waste also reported the minimum impact (160 g 1,4-DB-eq/kg NH3) on human health and toxicity, while nuclear high-temperature electrolysis-based ammonia (NHTEA) reported the maximum effect (950 g 1,4-DB-eq/kg NH3) owing to the large amounts of nuclear waste and hazardous gases discharged from the nuclear plant. The abiotic depletion reached its maximum value in the NHTEA route, followed by hydropower electrolysis-based ammonia (HEA) as illustrated in Fig. 18. This is owing to the main energy resource in the first route, which is the uranium, resulting in large consumption of the limited uranium per unit mass of ammonia developed [276]. Moreover, the crops will supply the soil with nitrogen. Since fertilizer improves yields, more widespread utilization could decrease the land required to produce the same crops and thereby help decrease the need to transform natural ecosystems into agricultural production. Meanwhile, improving fertilizer use can reduce environmental impacts from air pollution [270]. The production of green ammonia will result in a significant decrease or depreciation of the GHG emissions.

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            Fig. 18. (a) Green ammonia production via biomass in comparison to conventional Haber-Bosch process, (b) the corresponding greenhouse emissions, toxicity and abiotic depletion potentials of MWEA “municipal solid waste based electrolysis”, BEA “biomass electrolysis-based ammonia”, HEA “hydropower electrolysis-based ammonia”, NHTEA “nuclear high-temperature electrolysis-based ammonia” [276] reporoduced with permission No. 5444940362568, and (c) percentages of CO2 emissions in different industrial sectors [270], open access. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

            6.11. Impact of green ammonia on SDG17: Partnership for achieving the goals

            Strengthening the global partnership for the sustainable development of green ammonia will occur via finance and technology development related to sustainable green ammonia production. The nations can improve sustainability via national legislative laws, technology transfer, and integrated investment.

            6.12. Contribution of green ammonia in SDGs targets

            As illustrated above. Green ammonia is strongly contributing to eight of the 17 SDGs. Table 10 illustrates the impact of green ammonia on SDGs targets.

            Table 10. Direct contribution of green ammonia into the SDGs and the related targets.

            SDGs SDGs targets Contribution of Green Ammonia
            SDG2 
            		2.3
            • •

              Promote the agricultural productivity
            2.4
            • •

              Sustainability of food production
            2.5
            • •

              Ensuring plants are cultivated and seeds diversity
            SDG3 
            		3.9
            • •

              Lowering deaths and illnesses yields from air/water/soil pollution with hazardous chemicals
            SDG6 
            		6.4

            6.6
            • •

              Enhancement of hydropower-use efficiency in the production of green ammonia

              Protection of water-related ecosystems via responsible consumption of renewable energy from hydropower
            SDG7
            		 7.1
            • •

              Contribution of wind power and hydropower in the development of the production process energy services
            7.2
            • •

              By 2030, increase the contribution of renewable energy sources in the green ammonia industry
            7.3
            • •

              Enhancement of renewable energy efficiencies
            SDG8
            		 8.1
            • •

              Sustain economic growth per capita with a special focus on incomes of small-scale food production
            8.2
            • •

              Achievement of higher economic productivity via upgrading of production technologies
            8.3
            • •

              Supporting decarbonization policies that support creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship and promote the formalization as well as the growth of enterprises at different scales
            8.4
            • •

              Improvement of resources efficiencies in consumption and production

              Compensation for economic decline resulting from environmental degradation,
            SDG9 
            		9.1
            • •

              Development of sustainable industrial infrastructure to support economic development with a special focus on food, energy industries
            9.2
            • •

              Ensuring sustainable industrialization
            9.3
            • •

              Increment in industrial projects in developing countries owning to the implementation of their local renewable energies
            9.4
            • •

              Upgrading industrial infrastructure via coupling with renewable energies facilities, with an increment of the efficiencies of renewable energies resource-use

              Adoption of green and eco-friendly technologies in industrial processes
            9.5
            • •

              Enhance of innovated public and private research
            SDG11 
            		11.6
            • •

              Reduction of environmental impact on cities, including to air quality and management of municipal and other waste
            SDG12 
            		12.1
            • •

              Sustainable consumption /production via a reduction in fossil fuel consumption
            12.2
            • •

              Sustainable management of renewable energies

              Efficient use of natural resources
            12.3 Compensate food losses via enhanced productivity
            12.4
            • •

              Significantly lowering the release of fossil fuel emissions into the air, subsequently minimising their negative impacts on the environment and human
            12.5
            • •

              Minimize waste generation via prevention or/and reduction of using fossil fuel
            12.6
            • •

              Promote companies to adopt new practices
            12.7
            • •

              Encourage public procurement practices that support policies
            SDG13 
            		13.1
            • •

              Lowering GHGs -related hazards

              Improved air quality
            13.2
            • •

              Promote climate change-based national policies
            SDG15
            		 15.5
            • •

              Minimizing the decline of natural habitats, promoting biodiversity
            15.9
            • •

              Developing and establishing local and national planning through the introduction of biodiversity and ecosystem principled
            SDG17
            		 17.1
            • •

              Supporting local resources mobilization
            17.2
            • •

              Technology transfer from developed countries to developing one
            17.3
            • •

              Widen the financial resources for developing countries
            17.4
            • •

              Production of green ammonia with the aid of integrated policies will reduce debt distress
            17.5
            • •

              Accelerate investment regimes for developed countries
            17.6
            • •

              Enhancement of international cooperation to share science and technology through a global science, and innovative technology facilitation mechanism
            17.7
            • •

              Green ammonia production will promote the dissemination, transfer, and development of eco-friendly technologies with a special focus on low-income countries.
            17.11
            • •

              Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, with a special focus on those own renewable energies such as wind and solar energies.
            17.13
            • •

              Supporting the macroeconomic stability worldwide.
            17.14
            • •

              Strengthen the policies for sustainable development
            17.16
            • •

              Transferring from conventional ammonia to green ammonia production will strengthen the global partnership for sustainable development through sharing the financial resources, expertise, knowledge, and technology
            17.17
            • •

              Encourage effective public and public/private partnerships based on experience and resource exchanges.

            7. Conclusions

            Currently, large-scale green ammonia production through water electrolysis using the Haber process is commonly used. However, direct ammonia synthesis under mild conditions reveals many challenges, mainly due to their low faradic efficiency and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) competition. This review summarises the emerging methods for direct ammonia synthesis. The assessment of the different methods revealed that all the synthesis routes still have considerable challenges, such as low efficiencies, high cost, and negative environmental impacts. The direct processes for ammonia production show promising results, and further research and development will accelerate green ammonia synthesis to achieve sustainable development. Investment, legislative laws and international/national policies also play significant roles. Furthermore, 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) for green ammonia to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all are also covered. Green ammonia strongly contributes to eight SDGs (SDG2, SDG3, SDG6, SDG7, SDG8, SDG9, SDG12 and SDG13) of the main seventeen goals. Its significant contribution arises from zero-carbon emissions during its production or consumption. The progress in green ammonia is important for achieving SDG2 “Zero hunger” as nitrogen accounts for 50 % of the total demand for nitrogen-based fertilizer. Regarding SDG3 “healthy life and well-being” green ammonia will significantly safe the environment and thus protect the health from the 3.85, and 3.03 kg CO2-eq/kg NH3 produced from the current steam reforming and coal gasification as well as achieving SDG13 “Climate action”. Ammonia can be easily stored as a liquid via pressurizing at 9 bar ambient temperature or cooling to −33°; therefore, green ammonia is considered the best green energy source in the near future, i.e., achieving SDG7 “green and affordable energy”. By 2050, the forecast for green ammonia as a fuel in the marine sector is 99 %, which indicates the strong contribution of green ammonia in achieving SDG9 “Industry and Infrastructure”. Moreover, the progress in green ammonia production will save 35.2 GJ of natural gas currently used in ammonia production, thus achieving SDG12 “Responsible consumption/production”.

            ]]>             Managing nitrogen for sustainable development https://sdgtalks.ai/managing-nitrogen-for-sustainable-development https://sdgtalks.ai/managing-nitrogen-for-sustainable-development Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:17:00 -0500 njvahlberg

            Main

            More than half the world’s people are nourished by crops grown with synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers, which were made possible in the early twentieth century by the invention of the Haber–Bosch process, which reduces atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) to reactive forms of N (ref. 1). A reliable supply of N and other nutrients essential for plant growth has allowed farmers to increase crop production per unit land greatly over the past century, thus promoting economic development, allowing larger populations, and sparing forests that would probably otherwise have been converted to agriculture to meet food demand2. Despite this progress, nearly one billion people remain undernourished3. In addition, the global population will increase by two to three billion by 2050, implying that demands for N fertilizers and agricultural land are likely to grow substantially2,4. Although there are many causes of undernourishment and poverty, careful N management will be needed to nourish a growing population while minimizing adverse environmental and health impacts.

            Unfortunately, unintended adverse environmental and human health impacts result from the escape of reactive N from agricultural soils, including groundwater contamination, eutrophication of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, tropospheric pollution related to emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas, and accumulation of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas that depletes stratospheric ozone5,6,7,8,9 (Fig. 1). Some of these environmental consequences, such as climate change and tropospheric ozone pollution, can also negatively affect crop yields10,11 and human health12. Hence, too little N means lower crop productivity, poor human nutrition and soil degradation13, but too much N leads to environmental pollution and its concomitant threats to agricultural productivity, food security, ecosystem health, human health and economic prosperity.

            Figure 1: An illustration of the N budget in crop production and resulting N species released to the environment.
            figure 1

            Inputs to agriculture are shown as blue arrows and harvest output as a green arrow. NUE is defined as the ratio of outputs (green) to inputs (blue) (i.e. NUE = Nyield/Ninput). The difference between inputs and outputs is defined as Nsur, which is shown here as orange arrows for N losses to the environment and as N recycling within the soil (grey box) (that is, Nsur = Ninput − Nyield). Abbreviations: ammonia (NH3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), nitrous oxide (N2O), dinitrogen gas (N2), ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3−), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON).

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            Improving nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE)—that is, the fraction of N input harvested as product—is one of the most effective means of increasing crop productivity while decreasing environmental degradation14,15. Indeed, NUE has been proposed as an indicator for assessing progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals recently accepted by 193 countries of the United Nations General Assembly16. Fortunately, we have a large and growing knowledge base and technological capacity for managing N in agriculture17, and awareness is growing among both agricultural and environmental stakeholder groups that N use is both essential and problematic15. This growing awareness, combined with ongoing advances in agricultural technology, is creating a possible turning point at which knowledge-based N management could advance substantially throughout the world. However, improving NUE requires more than technical knowledge. The cultural, social and economic incentives for and impediments to farmer adoption of NUE technologies and best management practices need to be better understood15.

            Here we analyse historical patterns (1961–2011) of agricultural N use in 113 countries to demonstrate a broad range of pathways of socio-economic development and related N pollution. Our analysis suggests that many countries show a pattern similar to an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), in which N pollution first increases and then decreases with economic growth18,19,20,21. So far, most EKC analyses have focused on pollution from industrial and transportation sectors19,22,23; the present study is one of a few that consider agricultural N pollution in the EKC context24,25, and apply it globally. However, patterns of N pollution are neither automatic nor inevitable. Socio-economic circumstances and policies vary widely among countries, affecting factors such as fertilizer to crop price ratios and crop mixes, which, as our analysis shows, influence the turning points of the EKC. Although technological and socio-economic opportunities for NUE improvement vary regionally, our analysis shows that average global NUE in crop production needs to improve from ~0.4 to ~0.7 to meet the dual goals of food security and environmental stewardship in 2050.

            Patterns of nitrogen pollution

            As a useful indicator of potential losses of N to the environment from agricultural soils26,27, N surplus (Nsur; in units of kg N ha−1 yr−1) is defined as the sum of N inputs (fertilizer, manure, biologically fixed N, and N deposition) minus N outputs28,29 (the N removed within the harvested crop products, Nyield; Fig. 1). Some of the Nsur recycles within the soil, but most Nsur is lost to the environment over the long term, because the difference between annual inputs and outputs is usually large relative to changes in soil N stocks. The related term of NUE, also called the output–input ratio of N, is mathematically defined as the dimensionless ratio of the sum of all N removed in harvest crop products (outputs or Nyield) divided by the sum of all N inputs to a cropland30,31 (Fig. 1). The Nsur, NUE and Nyield terms can serve as environmental pollution, agricultural efficiency, and food security targets32,33, respectively, which are inherently interconnected through their mathematical definitions33 (that is, , see Supplementary Information section 1 for more information) and their real-world consequences (Fig. 1).

            Variable turning points on the EKC

            As an indicator of the extent of environmental degradation, Nsur aggregated to a national average for all crops is closely related to income growth, mainly in two contrasting pathways as follows. On the one hand, increasing income enables demand for more food consumption33, which can increase both the land area devoted to agriculture and the intensity of agricultural production and consequently results in more N lost to the environment. On the other hand, increasing income is often accompanied by a societal demand for improved environmental quality, such as clean water and clean air, and is also accompanied by access to advanced technology18,19. Consequently, governments may impose regulatory policies or offer subsidies and incentives targeted at reducing local or regional N pollution, and farmers may adopt more efficient technologies.

            Therefore, we hypothesize that Nsur follows a pattern similar to the EKC: Nsur increases with income growth and the quest for food security at early stages of national agricultural development (first phase), but then decreases with further income growth during a more affluent stage (second phase), eventually approaching an asymptote determined by the theoretical limit of the NUE of the crop system (third phase, Fig. 2). Sustainable intensification of agriculture has been advanced as the key to achieving the second phase of the EKC, including use of cultivars best adapted to the local soil and climate conditions, improved water management, balancing N application with other nutrient amendments, precision timing and placement of fertilizer and manure applications to meet crop demands, the use of enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, and support tools to calculate proper dosing14,17,34. While Nsur is the EKC environmental degradation indicator, the mathematical relationship between Nsur and NUE results in nearly mirror images in Fig. 2 (although see Supplementary Information section 1 for a discussion of situations in which Nsur and NUE can both increase simultaneously).

            Figure 2: An idealized EKC for Nsur and the related curve for NUE.
            figure 2

            a, The EKC for Nsur. b, The curve for NUE, which is related to the EKC for Nsur. The theoretical limit for NUE (assuming no soil mining of nutrients) is unknown, but no biological system is 100% efficient, so the hypothetical NUE limit is shown as close to but less than unity.

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            Of the three phases of the Nsur trend, it is the second phase of sustainable intensification with increasing affluence that is of greatest contemporary interest. The first phase of agricultural expansion is well documented30,31, and the third phase cannot yet be evaluated. So far, no country has yet approached the third phase, nor do we know how close to 100% efficiency the use of N inputs could become. For the first phase, as incomes rise, virtually all countries initially increase fertilizer use, Nyield, and Nsur while NUE decreases30,31. To test the existence of the second phase, we examine whether the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and Nsur breaks away from the linearly (or exponentially) increasing trend and follows more of a bell-shaped pattern over the long term.

            We tested the existence of a sustainable intensification phase (or an EKC pattern) with a five-decade record (1961–2011) of Nsur and GDP per capita28,35,36,37,38,39,40 with a fixed effects model41,42,43 across 113 countries for which sufficient data were available and a regression model for each individual country18,44,45,46 (see sections 1 and 2 in the Supplementary Information). The fixed effects model shows a significant quadratic relationship between GDP per capita and Nsur (P < 0.001, Supplementary Table 9). Regressions between GDP per capita and Nsur for each individual country fall into five response types (examples of each group are shown in Fig. 3). Of the 113 countries, 56 countries (group 1) show bell-shaped relationships between Nsur and GDP per capita, indicating that Nsur increased and then levelled off or decreased as economic development proceeded, as expected for an EKC (two examples are illustrated in Fig. 3a). Those 56 countries account for about 87% of N fertilizer consumption and about 70% of harvested area of all 113 countries. These data provide support for an EKC pattern for N pollution from agriculture, although as we show below, the potential causes of EKC shapes and turning points are complex. Furthermore, for 28 of the 56 countries, by 2011 the rate of increase in Nsur had only slowed or levelled off and had not yet actually decreased, indicating likely but still uncertain conformance with an EKC (Supplementary Tables 5 and 6).

            Figure 3: Examples of historical trends of the relationship between GDP per capita and Nsur.
            figure 3

            The observations are the record of annual Nsur smoothed using a ten-year window for each country; the model results are the outcome of the regression using the following model: Y = a + bX + cX2, where the dependent variable Y is the country’s Nsur and the independent variable X is the country’s GDP per capita. We categorized the 113 countries into five groups, based on the significance (that is, P value) and sign of the regression coefficients b and c (see Supplementary Information sections 2.1 and 3.1). a, France and USA are examples of group 1, which have significantly negative c (Pc < 0.05 and c < 0), thus indicating that Nsur has started to level off or has declined; b, Brazil, Thailand, Malawi and Algeria are examples of groups 2–5, which increase nonlinearly, increase linearly, have no significant correlation (Pb > 0.05 and Pc > 0.05), or have a negative surplus in 2007–2011, respectively (see Supplementary Tables 5 and 6). The results for all countries can be found in the figures in the Supplementary Information.

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            Countries with a linear or accelerating increase in Nsur (group 3 and most countries in group 2) as GDP per capita grew have not yet approached an EKC turning point (for example, Fig. 3b), but could still follow an EKC in the future as their N input growth slows and NUE increases. Most countries showing an insignificant (P > 0.05) relationship between Nsur and GDP per capita (group 4) or with a negative Nsur (group 5) have had such little income growth and use so little N that the EKC concept cannot be evaluated yet owing to limited change in the country’s GDP per capita (for example, Fig. 3b).

            Classic empirical studies on EKC, such as Grossman and Krueger (ref. 19), have been criticized because of concerns regarding statistical analyses of time series data that may be non-stationary47,48,49. Therefore, we examined the stationarity of our data (Supplementary Table 7) and used the Autoregressive Distributed Lag modelling approach (ARDL)50, which is the most frequently used method for the co-integration test in EKC empirical studies published in the last decade43, to test co-integration on a subset of the data. The ARDL regression models showed the same long-term relationships between Nsur and GDP per capita as presented above for all tested countries (Supplementary Table 8). The application of the ARDL method in EKC studies has also been criticized recently for including the quadratic term in the co-integration test, and some new methods have been proposed51,52. Further evaluation is needed on the limitations and performance of the ARDL and newly proposed methods for EKC analyses.

            Another common criticism of the EKC concept is that the turning point for transitioning to declining environmental degradation is highly variable among pollutants and among countries18,53,54. Consistent with those observations, no specific value of GDP per capita was a good predictor of turning points for Nsur on the EKC among countries in the present study. For example, Nsur in Germany and France started to decline when GDP per capita reached about US$25,000 in the 1980s, while Nsur in the USA levelled off and started to decline more recently when GDP per capita reached about US$40,000. Our analysis also shows that countries have widely differing values of NUE and Nsur even when yields are similar. Some of this variation is probably due to underlying biophysical conditions, such as rainfall variability and soil quality, which influence crop choices, yield responses, and NUE. However, cultural, social, technological, economic and policy factors also probably affect the turning points on the EKC trajectory of each country.

            The turning point in European Union (EU) countries appears to have been reached at least in part owing to policies55. Beginning in the late 1980s and through the early 2000s, increases in NUE and decreases in Nsur in several EU countries coincided with changes in the EU Common Agricultural Policy, which reduced crop subsidies, and adoption of the EU Nitrates Directive, which limited manure application rates on cropland56,57. Relying mostly on volunteer approaches in the USA, the levelling off and modest decrease in Nsur since the 1990s is largely the result of increasing crop yields while holding N inputs steady (Fig. 4a), which has resulted from improved crop varieties, increased irrigation and other technological improvements57,58. A few state regulatory programmes have required nutrient management plans, placed limitations on fertilizer application dates and amounts, and required soil and plant testing, with varying degrees of success58,59,60. Concerns about water and air quality, estuarine hypoxic zones, stratospheric ozone depletion, and climate change have also stimulated many outreach efforts by governments, fertilizer industry groups, retailers, and environmental organizations to provide farmers with information, training and innovative financial incentives to improve NUE voluntarily15,59,61,62.

            Figure 4: A comparison of historical trends.
            figure 4

            a, Nationally averaged annual fertilization rates and yields of maize in China and the USA. b, NUE averaged across crops in China and the USA. c, Fertilizer to crop price ratios for China, India, USA and France. The dashed blue line in a shows a typical yield response function for maize based on fertilizer response trials33,63, which demonstrates diminishing return in yield as N inputs increase. Note that the historical trend for China follows a pattern similar to a typical yield response function, indicating that further increases in N application rates will result in diminishing yield returns in China. In contrast, maize yield has increased in the USA since 2001 without increasing nationally averaged N input rates, suggesting that the yield improvement has been achieved by adopting more efficient technologies or management practices that shift the yield response curve upwards33. The dashed pink line in b shows what the NUE in China would be if it achieved NUE values realized in the USA for all crops, but with the crop mix of China. The gap between the dashed pink line and the black line (USA record) is the difference in NUE between countries that is attributable to the differences in crop mixes. The fertilizer to crop price ratio shown in c is determined by the N price of urea divided by the N price of maize product (see section 1.6 in Supplementary Information for data sources and methodologies). The data are smoothed using a ten-year window.

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            Fertilizer to crop price ratios

            Policy can affect NUE not only through regulation and outreach, but also by affecting prices at the farm gate. The ratio of fertilizer to crop prices, Rfc, has been widely used in combination with data on yield responses to fertilizer application to advise farmers on fertilizer application rates that yield optimal economic returns63,64,65. In addition to influencing fertilizer application rates, Rfc also affects farmer decisions regarding their choice of technologies and practices for nutrient management, all of which affect NUE and Nsur (ref. 33). We tested whether the influence of Rfc appears at the national level using two methods: one examines the correlation coefficient of Rfc and NUE for individual countries, and the other applies a fixed effects model to all data to test the correlation between Rfc and NUE with and without including GDP per capita and crop mix (see section 2.3 in Supplementary Information). Because both the fertilizer and crop prices are ‘at the farm gate’, they include the effects of government subsidies35. The results for maize, for which the most data are available, indicate that the fertilizer to maize price ratio is positively correlated with NUE using both statistical approaches (Supplementary Table 12). We also found that maize prices are linearly correlated with the prices of most major crops, so we infer that the fertilizer to maize price ratio is likely to be a good index for the long-term trend of Rfc for all crops. Indeed, we found a statistically significant (P < 0.001) positive correlation between historical values of Rfc for maize and the NUE aggregated for all other crops. Moreover, this correlation is still statistically significant (P < 0.001) after adjusting for the effect of GDP per capita and crop mix (Supplementary Table 11).

            Increases in Rfc since the 1990s, in both France and the USA (Fig. 4c), coincided with increases in NUE (ref. 57) and may have affected the EKC turning point. At the other extreme, both China and India have had declining values of Rfc (Fig. 4c), owing to heavily subsidized fertilizer prices25,66. Fertilizer subsidies reached US$18 billion in China in 2010 (ref. 66). Rates of N inputs have now reached levels of diminishing returns for crop yield in China (Fig. 4a), and China has the largest Nsur and one of the lowest nationally averaged NUE values in the world (Table 1). The very low Rfc in China incentivizes farmers to attempt to increase crop yield by simply adding more N or by choosing more N-demanding cropping systems (for example, change from cereal production to greenhouse vegetable production67) instead of adopting more N-efficient technologies and management practices.

            Table 1 N budget and NUE in crop production by region and crop in 2010 and projected for 2050
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            Not all fertilizer subsidies are inappropriate. Where infrastructure for producing and transporting fertilizers is poor, as is the case for most of Africa, the cost can be so high that fertilizer use is prohibitively expensive for smallholder farmers, resulting in low yield and small, even negative Nsur (soil mining). In these cases, there is room for fertilizer subsidies to increase N inputs, because significant increases in N inputs could be absorbed and greatly increase crop yields without much immediate risk of N pollution68,69,70. When properly designed, temporary fertilizer subsidies structured to build up the private delivery network and with a built-in exit strategy can be an appropriate step71. The longer-term question for these countries will be whether they can ‘tunnel through’ the EKC by shifting crop production directly from a low-yield, high-NUE status to a high-yield, high-NUE status. This shift will require leapfrogging over the historical evolution of agricultural management practices by employing technologies and management practices that promote high NUE before Nsur grows to environmentally degrading levels. Acquiring and deploying such technologies, such as improved seed, balanced nutrient amendments, and water management, will require investments in technology transfer and capacity building.

            Importance of crop mix

            Another factor that may confound EKC trajectories is the mix of crops countries grow over time, which is affected by both demand and trade policies72. For example, changing patterns of crop mixes help to explain some of the differences between China and the USA. Since the 1990s an increasing percentage of agricultural land in China has been devoted to fruit and vegetable production, and N application to fruits and vegetables now accounts for about 30% of total fertilizer consumption38,73, with an average NUE of only about 0.10 (which is below the globally averaged NUE for fruits and vegetables of 0.14, and well below the global averages for other major crops; Table 1)74,75. At the same time, China has been increasingly relying on imported soybeans, an N-fixing crop that has very low Nsur (Table 1)76. In contrast, US soybean production has been growing and now accounts for about 30% of the harvested area for crop production (excluding land devoted to production of grasses or crops for feeding livestock) in the USA. While fertilizer subsidies in China probably account for much of the low NUE there, our analysis shows that the difference in crop mix also accounts for nearly half of the NUE difference between China and USA (Fig. 4b).

            To address this issue globally, we tested the relationship between NUE and the fraction of harvested area for fruits and vegetables with a fixed effects model for the 113 countries (Supplementary Table 11). The fraction of harvested area for fruit and vegetable production negatively correlates with NUE, and that relationship is still significant (P < 0.001) even after adjusting for the effect of GDP per capita.

            Meeting the growing challenge

            Agriculture is currently facing unprecedented challenges globally. On one hand, crop production needs to increase by about 60%–100% from 2007 to 2050 to meet global food demand3,77,78,79. On the other hand, anthropogenic reactive N input to the biosphere has already exceeded a proposed planetary boundary5,80, and the increasing demand for food and biofuel is likely to drive up N inputs even further. Therefore, it is critical to establish global and national goals for N use in crop production and to use those goals as reference points to evaluate progress made and guide NUE improvement.

            Global and national goals

            The planetary boundary for human use of reactive N that can be tolerated without causing unsustainable air and water pollution has been defined in mainly two ways: (1) as the maximum allowable amount of anthropogenic newly fixed N in agriculture that can be introduced into the earth system (62–82 Tg N yr−1)5,80, and (2) as the maximum allowable Nsur released from agricultural production to the environment.

            Calculations of planetary boundaries according to the first definition require assumptions about nutrient-use efficiency in agriculture. As NUE increases, more N inputs would be manageable while still remaining within air and water pollution limits because more applied N would be taken up by harvested crops. Therefore, rather than focusing on a planetary boundary of allowable newly fixed N, which varies depending on the NUE assumption, we follow the second approach, by estimating what NUE would be needed to produce the food demand projected for 2050 (ref. 3; Table 1) while keeping Nsur within the bounds estimated for acceptable air and water quality. Over 60% of N pollution is estimated to originate from crop production78, so this is the primary sector that must be addressed to reduce N pollution. From an analysis of the implications of N cycling in several “shared socio-economic pathways”81, Bodirsky et al. (ref. 78) calculated that global agricultural Nsur should not exceed about 50–100 Tg N yr−1. Therefore, we use 50 Tg N yr−1 as an estimate of the global limit of Nsur from crop production.

            Meeting the 2050 food demand of 107 Tg N yr−1 projected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, ref. 3) while reducing Nsur from the current 100 Tg N yr−1 to a global limit of 50 Tg N yr−1 (ref. 78) requires very large across-the-board increases in NUE. Globally, NUE would increase from ~0.4 to ~0.7, while the crop yield would increase from 74 Tg N yr−1 to 107 Tg N yr−1 (Table 1). Recognizing regional differences in crop production and development stage, this average could be achieved if average NUE rose to 0.75 in the EU and USA, to 0.60 in China and the rest of Asia (assuming they continue to have a high proportion of fruits and vegetables in their crop mix), and to 0.70 in other countries, including not dropping below 0.70 in sub-Saharan Africa as it develops (Table 1). Similarly, NUE targets could be established for individual crops, such as improving the global average from 0.14 to 0.40 for fruits and vegetables, and increasing the global average NUE for maize from 0.50 to 0.70 (Table 1).

            The challenges in achieving these ambitious goals differ among countries. Figure 5 shows the trajectories of major crop producing countries on the yield–NUE map for the last five decades. The x and y axes show the two efficiency terms in crop production, NUE and Nyield, while the greyscale displays Nsur. To compare the nationally averaged field-scale (in units of kg N ha−1 yr−1) Nsur in Fig. 5 to a global limit of 50–100 Tg N yr−1, the global average Nsur target would need to be 39–78 kg N ha−1 yr−1 across the 2010 harvested area of 1.3 billion hectares. For the examples shown, the USA, France, and Brazil appear to be on this trajectory, although further progress is still needed. In contrast, China and India not only have not yet found an EKC turning point, but also have much ground to make up to reduce their Nsur once they turn the corner on their EKC. Although a great challenge, this could also be seen as an opportunity to reduce fertilizer expenditures while increasing agricultural productivity. Malawi, like many sub-Saharan African countries and other least developed countries, has been on a classic downward trajectory of decreasing NUE as it has started to increase N inputs, although evidence from recent years suggests that this decline may have reversed, which would be a necessary first step to tunnelling through the EKC (Fig. 5).

            Figure 5: Historical trends of Nyield, NUE and Nsur, for a sample of countries examined in this study.
            figure 5

            The greyscale shows the level of Nsur. The area covered in red indicates negative Nsur, where the crop production is mining soil N. The data have been smoothed by ten years to limit the impact of year-to-year variation in weather conditions. Curves moving towards the lower right indicate that those countries are achieving yield increases by sacrificing NUE and increasing Nsur, whereas curves moving towards the upper right indicate countries achieving yield increases by increasing NUE and resulting in steady or decreasing Nsur.

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            Achieving NUE targets

            Achieving ambitious NUE targets while also increasing yields to meet future food demands requires implementation of technologies and management practices at the farm scale, which has been described widely and in considerable detail in the agricultural, environmental, and development literature17. Some common principles include the ‘4Rs’ approach of applying the right source, at the right rate, at the right time, in the right place34. However, the technologies and management practices needed to achieve the 4Rs vary regionally depending on the local cropping systems, soil types, climate and socio-economic situations. Where improvements in plant breeding, irrigation, and application of available 4R technologies have already made large gains, new technological developments may be needed to achieve further gains, such as more affordable slow-release fertilizers, nitrification and urease inhibitors, fertigation (that is, applying fertilizer via irrigation water), and high-tech approaches to precision agriculture58.

            It is promising that the development and the combination of information technology, remote sensing, and ground measurements will make information about precision farming more readily available, accessible, affordable and site-specific82. In many cases, large gains could still be made with more widespread adoption of existing technologies, but a myriad of social and economic factors affecting farmer decision-making regarding nutrient management have only recently begun to receive attention and are critical in improving NUE (ref. 15). Socio-economic impediments, often related to cost and perceived risk, as well as lack of trust in recommendations by agricultural extension agents, often discourage farmers from adopting improved nutrient management practices59,60,83,84. Experience has shown that tailoring regulations, incentives, and outreach to local conditions, administered and enforced by local entities, and supported by trust established among local stakeholders improve the success of efforts designed to increase NUE (ref. 15).

            Although much of the work must be done at the farm scale, there are important policies that should be implemented on national and multi-national scales. First, improving NUE should be adopted as one of the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals16 and should be used in conjunction with crop yield and perhaps other soil health parameters to measure the sustainability of agricultural development. To report reliably on a NUE indicator, countries should be strongly encouraged to collect data routinely on their N management in crop and livestock production. These data should be used to trace trajectories of the three indices of agricultural N pollution, agricultural efficiency and food security targets (that is, Nsur, NUE and Nyield), as we have done here (Fig. 5) to demonstrate where progress is being made and where stronger local efforts are needed. The data used to construct Fig. 5 have served to demonstrate trends, but both improved data quality and international harmonization of data standards are needed. Regular attention should be given to these trends to establish national and local targets and policies. Just as protocols established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change permit nations to gauge their progress and commitment for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protocols for measuring and reporting on a Sustainable Development Goal pertaining to NUE could enable governments to assess their progress in achieving food security goals while maintaining environmental quality.

            Second, nutrient management in livestock operations and human dietary choices needs more attention. Here we have focused entirely on crop production, largely because of availability of data, but the Nsur, NUE and Nyield indices are equally important in livestock management85. Indeed, soybeans and some cereals have high NUE as crops, but when fed to livestock, efficient recycling of the N in manure is challenging, resulting in lower integrated NUE for the crop–livestock production system86. The crop production scenario used here for 2050 (Table 1) makes assumptions about future dietary choices3, which are beyond the scope of this study, but we note that future trends in diet will affect the demand for crop and livestock products, the crop mixes grown, and hence the NUE and Nsur of future agricultural systems72.

            Third, a similar approach to efficiency analysis would also be valuable for phosphorus (P) fertilizer management, interactions of N and P management, and reducing both N and P loading into aquatic ecosystems87,88,89,90.

            Fourth, national and international communities should facilitate technology transfer and promote agricultural innovation. Stronger international collaborations and investments in research, extension and human resources are urgently needed so that knowledge and experience can be shared, creating political and market environments that help to incentivize the development and implementation of more efficient technologies. Technology transfer and capacity building will be needed to enable sub-Saharan African countries to tunnel through the EKC (Fig. 5).

            These solutions to improving NUE will require cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial partnerships, such as: (1) integrating research and development of innovative agricultural technology and management systems with socio-economic research and the outreach needed for such innovations to be socially and economically viable and readily adopted by farmers; (2) analysing the nexus of food, water, nutrients and energy management to avoid pollution swapping (a measure designed to address one pollution problem leads to another; for example, retaining crop residues can reduce nitrogen runoff, but may lead to higher N2O emission91) and to optimize the net benefits to farmers, the environment and society; (3) promoting knowledge and data sharing among private and public sectors to advance science-based nutrient management; and (4) training the next generation of interdisciplinary agronomic and environmental scientists equipped with broad perspectives and skills pertaining to food, water, energy and environment issues.

            The EKC has often been described as an optimist’s view of a world with declining environmental degradation. Here we have shown that there is evidence—indeed, there is hope—for the EKC pattern of declining N pollution with improving efficiencies in agriculture. However, we have also shown that continuation of the progress made so far is neither inevitable nor is it sufficient to achieve the projected 2050 goals of both food security and environmental stewardship. Turning points and trajectories of national agricultural EKCs will depend largely on agricultural, economic, environmental, educational and trade policies, and these will largely dictate the food and pollution outputs of future agriculture.

            ]]>             Recent advances and sustainable development of biofuels production from lignocellulosic biomass https://sdgtalks.ai/recent-advances-and-sustainable-development-of-biofuels-production-from-lignocellulosic-biomass https://sdgtalks.ai/recent-advances-and-sustainable-development-of-biofuels-production-from-lignocellulosic-biomass Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:14:13 -0500 njvahlberg

            Abstract

            Many countries in the world are facing the demand for non-renewable fossil fuels because of overpopulation and economic boom. To reduce environmental pollution and zero carbon emission, the conversion of biomass into biofuels has paid better attention and is considered to be an innovative approach. A diverse raw material has been utilized as feedstock for the production of biofuel, depending on the availability of biomass, cost-effectiveness, and their geographic location. Among the different raw materials, lignocellulosic biomass has fascinated many researchers around the world. The current review discovers the potential application of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of biofuels. Various pretreatment methods have been widely used to increase the hydrolysis rate and accessibility of biomass. This review highlights recent advances in pretreatment methodologies for the enhanced production of biofuels. Detailed descriptions of the mechanism of biomass processing pathway, optimization, and modeling study have been discussed.

            Graphical abstract

            1. Introduction

            Biomass is one of the most ample and sustainable carbon sources on the planet. Agricultural crop residues, algae, forestry residues, wood processing residues are the major biomass sources for the production of bio-energy. In terms of application-oriented downstream processing of biomass products, lignocellulose has shown to be a preferable option. Lignocellulose is a complex matrix made up of a thick lignin and hemicellulose structure that wraps around the cellulose molecules (Ma et al., 2019, Isikgor and Becer, 2015, Fan et al., 2021). The residual portion of lignocellulosic biomass is made up of extractives such as oil, ash and proteins. Lignocellulosics are a biotechnologically valuable substrate due to the chemical attributes of its constituents. These lignocellulose materials are high in energy compounds and may be utilised as raw materials in a variety of industries. Bioconversion of specific constituents from lignocellulosic wastes has been used in bio refining to produce a variety of bio-products. Lignocellulosic bio-refinery consists of two different types of conversions (i) sugar (Fermentation of sugars obtained from the biomass) and (ii) syngas/thermochemical conversion (gasification of biomass to produce syngas) (Liu et al., 2020, Zhang et al., 2020a). In sugar fermentation, lignocellulosic components are transformed into biofuels and bioproducts. On the other hand, syngas or thermochemical conversion, converts biomass into useful substrates for downstream fermentation. Organic acids, biopolymers, proteins, biofertilizers, composites, industrial enzymes and biofuels are among the products of lignocellulose bioconversion (Dietrich et al., 2018, Arevalo-Gallegos et al., 2017, Kumar et al., 2015, Laure et al., 2021).

            In recent years, global economic development has raised energy demand more than consumption. Excessive use of fossil fuels has resulted in price hikes and greenhouse gas emissions that were not anticipated. All of these flaws in fossil fuels, together with their rapid depletion, have promoted the concept of alternate, inexpensive and renewable energy sources like biofuels (Kumar et al., 2020, Kumari and Singh, 2018, Moshood et al., 2021). From a strategic view point, biofuels are one of the most significant renewable fuel sources. Biochar, fuelwood, biodiesel, alcohols – methanol, ethanol, butanol, biomethane and biohydrogen are just a few of the solid, gaseous, and liquid biofuels produced from bio-sourced feedstocks (Ko et al., 2020, Soltanian et al., 2020). Second generation biofuels made from lignocellulose biomass are the most favourable of the four generations owing to their relative abundance, eco-friendliness, economic sustainability and zero carbon emissions (Lin and Lu, 2021, Liu and Qu, 2018).

            Complex lignocellulose structures possess recalcitrant character inhibiting their breakdown for generating useful products. Lignin, in particular, is a major physical barrier that obstructs the enzymatic breakdown process. As a result, an appropriate pretreatment approach is required to maximise the deconstruction of complicated structures (Prasad et al., 2019, Oliveira et al., 2019a). Pretreatment procedures modify the chemical content and macromolecular structure of the material, making it more vulnerable to subsequent degradation or hydrolysis. Pretreatment is the major unit operation in lignocellulose biorefinery and accounts for about 20% of total capital investment. In the industrial scale, pretreatment is quite expensive among the several processes involved in biorefinery process. Physical, chemical, physicochemical, and biological processes are among the pretreatment strategies now in practice. Each pretreatment process has its own set of benefits and drawbacks (Amin et al., 2017, Roy et al., 2020, Veluchamy et al., 2018, Mulyaningtyas and Sediawan, 2019).

            Metabolic engineering and genetic engineering has recognized as important tools to improvement in the hydrolysis and fermentation process, and wide range of substrate utilization. (Ghag et al., 2019, Zhou et al., 2021). Microorganisms may now alter biosynthetic pathways to produce more enzymes because of advances in molecular and synthetic biology. Manipulations like as overexpression of genes, enzyme engineering, gene knockout, and gene insertion targeting are successful in regulating pathways of interest in the metabolic engineering method. Through this, microbes would acquire intracellular and intercellular signal processing capabilities with pathway expression control, allowing gene regulation and expression to be coordinated for maximum output (Brar et al., 2021, Jin and Cate, 2017, Yao and Shimizu, 2013). By providing relevant information that can be utilised for analysis, design, and operation of any fermentation process, the model may effectively represent the interaction among the numerous state variables and quantitatively explain the behaviour of fermentation. For determining the behaviour of biofuel generation from lignocellulose, some models use only two to three factors, while others consider a variety of structural and compositional characteristics (Monlau et al., 2012, Mullai et al., 2013).

            The aim of this study is to review the current advances in lignocellulose-based biofuel production. This review provides an overview of the following: (i) variables that contribute to the bioconversion process, including recalcitrant (ii) biorefinery properties of lignocellulose biomass and (iii) different pretreatment methods and (iv) conversion mechanism. This review critically describes different pretreatment processes used for lignocellulosic pretraetment and their effects on biofuel generation. This review gives an overview of the recent advances on the bioconversion mechanism of lignocellulose into biofuel. For future advances, each technique – genetic engineering and metabolic approach – has been discussed in depth. Modeling associated to biofuel production considerations is also referred to in order to fully comprehend the biofuel production process.

            2. Biomass recalcitrance: Overview

            In the context of biofuel production from lignocelluloses, deconstruction of the plant cell wall is one of the tedious processes. Biomass recalcitrance is a multi-parametric, intrinsic property conferred by lignocellulose attributes that defend carbohydrates against chemical or biological degradation. Lignocellulosic biomass made up mostly of lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses has a recalcitrant property that is directly connected to its structural form, arising from interactions between these primary component molecules (Lu et al., 2019, Gao et al., 2021). To segregate these key compounds, notable chemical, biological and mechanical forces are necessary.

            The chemical composition of lignocellulose is an important element in its recalcitrance. Classification of different lignocellulosic biomasses and their compositions were presented in Table 1. Cellulose, which is made up of linearly organised glucose molecules, is the most prevalent polymer component (45–60%) of lignocellulose biomass. Hemicelluloses are heterogeneous polysaccharides made up of glucose, mannose, arabinose, rhamnose, and other sugars that make up 20–30% of the weight of biomass (Nagarajan et al., 2017, Oliveira et al., 2019b). Hemicellulose interacts well with cellulose due to its structure and nature, giving the lignocellulosic matrix flexibility and stability. As the removal of hemicelluloses is often assisted by lignin separation, the effect of hemicelluloses on lignocellulose biomass recalcitrance is still unclear. Lignin, a hydrophobic polymer, is another primary component of lignocellulosic biomass cell walls, constituting about 20–30% in total. It is responsible for the binding of cellulose and hemicelluloses, and for providing structural rigidity (Brandt et al., 2013, Haghdan et al., 2016).

            Table 1. Classification and composition of lignocellulosic biomass materials.

            Raw material Composition (%) References
            Class Type Biomass Hemicellulose Cellulose Lignin
            Agricultural residue Food Sugarcane bagasse 25 50 25 Su et al., 2015
            Food Corn cob 38.78 27.71 9.4 Shinners et al., 2007
            Food Rice straw 28 32.15 19.64 Shawky et al., 2011
            Food Wheat straw 9.3 35.1 26.1 Yang et al., 2016
            Food Corn stover 31.10 40.67 11.70 Mensah et al., 2021
            Food Barley straw 34.9 37.6 15.8 Sun et al., 2005
            Food Sorghum bagasse 31.28 34.80 24.77 Camargo et al., 2019
            Non-food Coconut husk 17.33 21.26 46.36 Gonçalves et al., 2019
            Non-food Cotton stalk 38.62 34.70 20.99 Kang et al., 2012
            Food Soybean straw 16.9 35.3 21.8 Cabrera et al., 2015
            Food Maize 35 18 6 Gáspár et al., 2007
            Food Sorghum straw 26.04 35.87 7.52 Cardoso et al., 2013
            Food Rice husk 26 33 7 Johar et al., 2012
            Food Oak sawdust 6.3 41.9 26.2 Atila 2019
            Non-food Flax shives 24 52 24 Ross and Mazza 2010
            Forest residue Hardwood Olive tree pruning 25.70 41 21.80 Sanchez-Gutierrez et al., 2020
            Hardwood Sawmill 30 45 25 Choudhury and Khan 2014
            Hardwood Beech wood 34.30 42.50 22.20 Demirbas, 2005
            Softwood Spruce wood 30.6 39.5 27.5 Zadeh et al., 2021
            Softwood Pine wood 23 42 24 Shemfe et al., 2015
            Hardwood Rubber wood 30 40 26 Mohtar et al., 2014
            Hardwood Birch wood 28.9 43.9 20.2 Lachowicz et al., 2019
            Hardwood Red maple 36 42 22 Radivojevic and Cooper, 2010
            Hardwood Aspen wood 24.5 46 20 Chen et al., 2015
            Waste materials Food waste Banana peel 25.52 11.45 9.82 Orozco et al., 2014
            Food waste Orange peel 10.9 14.4 1.33 Bicu and Mustata, 2011
            Food waste Cassava peel 32.36 9.71 16.89 Nanssou et al., 2016
            Food waste Groundnut shell 27.62 38.31 21.10 Bano and Negi, 2017
            Food waste Cashewnut shell 7.35 11.50 7.45 Nuithitikul et al., 2020
            Food waste Sweet lime peel 9.4 25.4 23.6 John et al., 2017

            Physical factors such as crystallinity, particle size, assessable volume and surface area are the indirect factors that have a significant impact on lignocellulose recalcitrance. The size of the particles has been shown to be an important factor in cellulose hydrolysis potential (Barakat et al., 2014). Techniques for size reduction might impact on cellulose-enzyme affinity, thus deconstructing the compact structure of lignocellulose and facilitating the hydrolysis process. An increase in accessible surface area is accompanied by an enhancement in pore size and particle size decline. The above physical characteristics were more crucial contributing to biomass recalcitrance in relative to crystallinity. For biomass recalcitrance, the S/G ratio of lignin structure is especially essential. The impact of the S/G ratio is not the same in all parts of the plant cell. The higher S/G ratio had a negative association with p-hydroxybenzoate and links in selected Populus trichocarpa, but a positive correlation with β-O-4 linkages and ethanol production. Furthermore, lignocellulose source and pretreatment techniques have a role in combating stiffness and hardness.

            3. Biorefinery

            An efficient biorefinery process utilises a succession of steps and processing to achieve zero waste. There are three phases in biorefinery concept. Phase I is concerned with a single feed source, product, and process. Phase II biorefineries deal with a single input substrate but a variety of processes and products. Phase III of the biorefinery is linked to a variety of feeds, processes, and products. High crystalline structure of cellulose which is embedded in a matrix of polymers-lignin and hemicellulose are the main obstacle of biomass recalcitrance during the separation process. A single product is produced from complex substrates in the traditional biorefinery paradigm (Menon and Rao, 2012, Pinales-Márquez et al., 2021, Kumar and Verma, 2021). Recent bio refineries, on the other hand, have focused on utilising lignocellulose biomass as a substrate for the production of different biofuels. In the lignocellulose biorefinery process, there are several stages. To overcome the recalcitrance of lignocellulose biomass, the first step is to pre-treat it with physical, chemical, biological, and physico-chemical techniques. The resulting biomass is utilised for additional hydrolysis or fermentation, which results in the production of the required products. Suitable downstream processing procedures recover the generated biofuels from the fermented systems. The advancement of separation technology to separate the essential components of lignocellulosic biomass such as lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose is primarily required. So lignocellulose feed stock is refined for better homogeneity of raw biomass (Chandel et al., 2018, Patel and Shah, 2021).

            4. Pretreatment methods

            Pretreatment improves the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass by allowing the major components of biomass, such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, to be solubilized or separated. Physical, chemical, biological and physico-chemical methods are few pretreatment techniques employed for lignocellulose biomass (Roy et al., 2020). Pretreatment processes are aimed at altering the structural form, assisting the deconstruction of polymers and increasing the biomass surface area for subsequent saccharification of lignocellulose into biofuel. Table 2 summarizes different pretreatment methods utilized for the production of various bio-products from the lignocellulosic biomass and their percentage yields. The best pretreatment method relies on feedstocks, as well as their environmental and economic implications. Fig. 1 shows that different pre-treatment methods for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuel. The various pretreatment methods of lignocellulosic biomasses were compared and their pros and cons were provided in Table 3.

            Table 2. Different pretreatment methods utilized for the production various bio-products from the lignocellulosic biomass.

            Conventional type Pretreatment methods Substrate Process conditions Product Yield References
            Combined Thermo-alkaline Buckwheat hull Anaerobic digestion Biomethane +122% Mirko et al., 2021
            Chemical H2O2 Sweet sorghum stalk Temperature: 280 °C Bio-oil 44 wt% Li et al., 2021
            Combined Steam explosion & green-liquor Bamboo Saccharification Bioethanol 23% Gao et al., 2021
            Chemical Na2CO3-O2 Waste wheat straw Enzymatic hydrolysis(Temperature: 110 °C) Sugar recovery 66.1% Chen et al., 2021a
            Chemical Acidic ionic liquid (1-(carboxymethyl) pyridinium chloride) Rice straw Enzymatic hydrolysis Bioethanol 62.2% Abdolmaleki et al., 2021
            Physicochemical Autohydrolysis Bamboo Torrefaction (Temperature: 160 °C) Hemicellulose 80.24% Zheng et al., 2021
            Chemical Aqueous ammonia Corn cob powder Enzymatic hydrolysis Cellulose 97.1% Zhang & Wu 2021
            Combined Microwave thermochemical Maize stem Fractionation Sugar 1.25 µmol/mg biomass Zhu et al., 2021
            Chemical NaOH Rice straw Enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation (72 h) Biobutanol 10.1 g/L Valles et al., 2021
            Chemical Ethylene glycol/H2O-HCl Bagasse Enzymatic saccharification Glucose 94.3% Wei et al., 2021
            Physicochemical Subcritical water Wheat straw Separate hydrolysis and fermentation Ethanol 37.00 g/L Chen et al., 2021b
            Chemical Phosphoric acid Sugarcane bagasse Hydrolysis Sugar 98% Junior et al., 2020
            Physicochemical Compressed hot water Corn stalk Fermentation Bioethanol 31.06 g/L Adekunle et al., 2020
            Chemical Combined sodium percarbonate & glycerol Sugarcane bagasse Enzymatic hydrolysis Reducing sugar 16.67 g/L Gong et al., 2020
            Chemical Modified alkaline peroxide Bamboo Saccharification and fermentation Bioethanol 75% Huang et al., 2020
            Chemical Alkali (NaOH and Na2CO3) Softwood pine Enzymatic hydrolysis Glucose 46.5% Bay et al., 2020
            Chemical NaOH catalytic ethanol Sugarcane bagasse Hydrolysis Glucose 91.6% Zhang et al., 2021
            Chemical NaOH-catalyzed organosolv Sugarcane bagasse Hydrolysis Glucose 95.1% Zhang et al., 2020b
            Physicochemical Glycerol thermal Paddy straw Hydrolysis Reducing sugar 71.52% Gabhane et al., 2020
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            Fig. 1. Different pretreatment methods for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuel.

            Table 3. Comparative analysis of pros and cons of different lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment methods.

            S.No Conventional type Pretreatment methods Pros Cons
            1 Physical Mechanical Increasing crystallinity of biomassEasy operation control High energy consumption
            Microwave Increasing porosity and surface areaLess energy consumption Not environmental compatibleGeneration of waste materialsHigh cost
            Ball milling High efficiency when combined with other pretreatment processNo release of toxic compounds Less product efficiencyGeneration of waste materials
            Ultrasound Increasing porosity and surface areaHigher efficiency High costHigh temperature and high pressure
            Electrokinetic Easy and simple operationForming the electric potential across the cell wall of biomass Not suitable for dry biomass
            2 Chemical Acid Less reaction timeCost effectiveHigher efficiency Degradation of yieldBioreactor corrosion might occurRelease of toxic chemicalsCausing environmental pollutionHigh water consumption
            Alkali Higher efficiency in lignin removalEnriched glucose yield from biomass Recovery of biomass is lessRelease of toxic chemicalsNot environmental compatibleHigh water consumption (washing)
            Ionic liquid Recycling and reuseWaste generation High energy demandHigh costWaste generation
            Organic solvent Higher fractionation and conversionWaste generationHigh purity product High cost (Solvent)
            3 Physicochemical Steam explosion Higher efficiency (Lignin removal, hemicellulose solubilization)Porosity of biomass increases by rupturing High temperature and high pressureHigh process cost
            Autohydrolysis Higher efficiencyHigher hydrolysis rate High water consumptionHigh energy demand
            Hydrothermal Increasing the cellulose digestibilityLess energy consumptionEnvironmental compatible High energy demandNot suitable for softwood biomass
            4 Biological Bacterial Environmental compatibleCost effectiveHigher hydrolysis rate Long duration process
            Fungal Environmental compatibleCost effectiveLess energy consumptionHigher hydrolysis rateEasy operation Hydrolysis rate is very slowLong duration processGeneration of waste materials
            Enzymatic Environmental compatibleLess energy consumptionImmobilized enzymes – RecyclingDelignification High cost (Enzyme purification & production)High maintenance cost

            4.1. Physical method

            Physical pre-treatment energy needs are determined by the ultimate particle size and crystallinity reduction of the lignocellulose biomass. Mechanical extrusion, drying, microwave, ultrasound, and pyrolysis are all common physical preparation methods. Grinding, compression and crushing methods comes under this technique. The microstructure of lignocellulosic feedstock can be decreased using the mechanical splintered technique to increase the material's contact surface for further acid or enzyme treatment. Heredia-Olea et al. (2015) investigated the influence of extrusion pretreatment on bioconversion of sweet sorghum biomass into bio-ethanol. Extrusion treatment of sweet sorghum prior to saccharification process yielded around 70% of sugars producing 200 mL of ethanol/kg biomass (Heredia-Olea et al., 2015). A study conducted on testing the impact of ultrasound treatment on sugarcane bagasse’s fermentation and saccharification to produce ethanol using Trichoderma reesei. 90% ethanol production was attained with ultrasound pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse biomass (Velmurugan and Incharoensakdi, 2016).

            Thermal pre-treatment is one of the most effective physical pretreatment techniques, where the complex compounds are broke down into sugars, which in turn enhanced the fermentation process and product generation. Thermal pretreatment technique could develop the methanogenic and acidogenic digestibility process of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass (Sarip et al., 2016). In thermal pretreatment, the compounds have been heated above the temperature of 260 °C and pressure 4.5 MPa. Thermal pretreatment progresses the enzyme digestibility of the lignocellulosic biomass and converting the perverse cellulose fraction into glucose for fermentation. Further, the porosity of cellulose rich residue could be increased for greater access of cellulose enzymes. Lignin phase has significant impact on cellulose accessibility which has been disrupted under the thermal pretreatment technique. A research performed by Kong et al. (2018) concluded that there was a slight increase of 12.6% in dextrose sugar production after thermal pre-treatment method which could be further employed for biofuel production (Kong et al., 2018). Microwave pretreatment includes thermal and non-thermal effects and this heating process can significantly reduce pretreatment time and efficiency. In some cases, microwave assisted combined ball milling technique are used. Microwave assisted ball milling technique was effective in reducing the crystallinity index, improving the enzymatic hydrolysis, swelling and fragmentation which enhances the accessibility of the catalysts and substrates and leads the degradation of hemicellulose and lignin in the biomass. In a study involving glucose production using microwave assisted combined ball milling (ball milling for 1 h and microwave for 20 min) could yield higher glucose production compared with ball milling technique at the time period of 6 h (Puligundla et al., 2016). Similarly for biobutanol production from brewer’s spent grain, microwave assisted alkaline pretreatment was carried out. Around 28 kg of butanol per tonne of spent grains was attained with hydrolysis and fermentation by Clostridium sp. following microwave assisted pre-treated samples (Lopez-Linares et al., 2020). Biomass pyrolysis is the most common pre-treatment process employed in most of the researches. It involves the thermal breakdown of organic biomass at a particular range of temperature (300–600 °C) in the absence of free oxygen.

            4.2. Chemical method

            Chemical pre-treatments have mostly been used to increase cellulose biodegradability by removing lignin and/or hemicellulose, as well as to reduce the degree of polymerization (DP) and cellulose crystallinity to a limited extent. Acid, alkali, ionic liquid and oxidative are the most frequently applied chemical treatment techniques. Acid pre-treatment includes breaking of lignocellulosic material's hard structure with diluted and concentrated acids. The acid pretreatment using concentrated acid suitable for hydrolysis of lignocellulose biomass which cleaves the glycosidic bond in the cellulose structure and the acid stable hemicellulose can decomposes to glucomannan or xylon. It improves the lignocellulose digestibility by solubilisation of lignocellulose, lignin precipitation and rendering better availability of cellulose for further processes. The most significant parameters that affect acid treatment processes are solid to liquid ratio, size of the lignocellulose particle, concentration of the acid, pre-treatment temperatures and duration. Though both dilute and concentrated acids have been used in lignocellulose chemical pretreatment processes, usage of concentrated acid is less appealing due to its eroding, noxious and expensive nature. Gonzales et al. (2017) used dilute acid pre-treatment of pine tree wood pellet – lignocellulosic biomass for the enhanced hydrogen production. Maximal hydrogen production of 1824 mL H2/L.d was observed following the dilute sulfuric acid treatment procedure. Few researchers conducted a similar study in which they assessed the dilute acid treatment using the combined severity factor (CSF) that considers reaction pH, temperature and time of a certain hydrolysis process. Optimum CSF values were required to attain maximal sugar generation for biohydrogen production. For severity factors of 1.86 and 1.95 optimum rate of H2 production of 3340 and 2640 mL H2/L.d were reported for rice husk and empty palm fruit bunch respectively (Gonzales et al., 2016).

            Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass using bases such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and ammonium hydroxide is known as alkaline pretreatment. The application of an alkali causes ester and glycosidic side chains to degrade, leading to lignin structural changes, partial hemicellulose solvation with crystallization and cellulose dilatation (Bhatia et al., 2020). Mostly, potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 are used in this pre-treatment procedure which separates lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. Saponification process majorly helps for hydrolysis process which breaks and modifies the amorphous and crystalline structure of cellulose and cleaves the lignin-carbohydrate linkages. Jiang et al. (2020) examined the effect of NaOH and Ca(OH)2 pretreatment of Giant reed for photofermentative hydrogen production. This cleavage indirectly affects the hydrogen production by a negative impaction on sugar yield from lignocellulose. NaOH pretreatment of giant reed was found to be more suitable for biofuel production than lime treatment (Jiang et al., 2020). In relative to acid treatment, alkaline pretreatment typically results in less degradation of lignocellulose. Furthermore, this technique demonstrates better efficacy on agriculture based lignocellulose materials (Reilly et al., 2015).

            Oxidation treatment method includes the usage of oxidant which aids in the degradation of lignocellulose. Oxidants such as peroxide dissolve the lignocellulose content where only cellulose (crystalline form) remains undissolved and hemicellulose separation from cellulose occur. Photocatalysis, ozonolysis and wet oxidation are some of the prevailing processes in oxidative pre-treatment. Wet oxidation is directly affects the three components of lignocellulosic biomass, lignin is comprehensively undergoes oxidation and cleavage, hemicellulose is broke into sugars and cellulose is degraded into organic acids. Furthermore, wet oxidation improves the cellulose accessibility via the removal of hemicellulose and lignin. dos Santos et al. (2018) analysed the biogas production using oxidative pretreated coffee husks. They determined that the ozonation conditions resulted in better dissolution of hemicellulose, lignin and cellulose. Large quantities of hydroxyl ions might induce ozone molecule to breakdown releasing hydroxyl radicals. Consequently superoxide radicals are generated which act as a potential oxidant for efficient lignocellulose degradation (dos Santos et al., 2018). A study based on improving methane yield from palm fruit bunches by wet oxidation method using hydrogen peroxide resulted in better methane production. Here, following the peroxide treatment, lignocellulose's superstructure is broken apart rather than solubilized, making it easier for enzymes like cellulases to access to lignocellulose materials (Lee et al., 2020). Some of the solvents used in this technique include thiourea/NaOH solutions, N-methyl morpholine N-oxide, tetrafluoroborate, molten salt hydrates (inorganic) and metal complex solutions. The method, also known as cellulose-based treatment, has the ability to dissolve lignocellulosic components such as hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin selectively. Anti-solvent system is used for the cellulose precipitation when both lignin and cellulose are dispersed in the ionic liquid system (Millati et al., 2020). In a research performed by Mohammadi et al. (2019), 1-H-3-methylmorpholinium chloride was employed as an ionic liquid for the pretreatment of rice straw for enhanced ethanol production. After processing, the rice straws ordered and impenetrable structure was transformed to an accessible structure with the absence of outer covering. Also the particle size and porosity was enhanced resulting in improved ethanol production (Mohammadi et al., 2019).

            4.3. Physico-chemical method

            Physico-chemical pre-treatment techniques include steam explosion, torrefaction and ammonium fibre explosion. By altering the working conditions (pressure and temperature) in the presence or absence of a chemical, lignin and hemicellulose are eliminated and cellulose is degraded in physico-chemical pretreatment. The torrefaction process us carried out in an inert atmosphere at high temperatures (200 to 300 °C). Torrefied biomass has less moisture content, fibrous nature and larger calorific value relative to raw biomass which results partial depolymerisation of cellulose and lignin and decomposition of hemicellulose. In the course of devolatization and dehydration processes, hydroxyl groups are eliminated from raw lignocellulose biomass making it hydrophobic. Effective breakage of aryl–ether linkages is a vital technique for producing fuels from lignin. A research employing pre-treated rice straw and the torrefaction procedure for ethanol production verified the breakdown of cellulose micro fibrils. It decreased the cellulose crystallinity and improved its availability for further hydrolysis (Sheikh et al., 2013). Li et al. (2014) pretreated the rice straw using torrefaction process and observed better bio-oil yield of around 55%. However at higher torrefaction temperature, there was low conversion of carbohydrate and partial lignocellulose decomposition. Hence the optimum torrefaction temperature should be maintained for better biofuel generation (Li et al., 2014).

            In steam explosion pretreatment, the lignocellulosic biomass is primary treated with immersed steam for a specific measure of time. The steam accessibility into the internal structures of biomass is high because of great fume stage dissemination. By doing the condensation steam, the microporous structure of biomass is soaked with hot liquid water which causes release the acids from the hemicellulose and reducing the pH (3.0 to 4.0). The moderate acidic conditions can particularly cleave the lignin ether bonds and hydrolyze the hemicellulose. This separation of lignocellulose structure and the expulsion of hemicellulose enhance the enzymatic digestibility. Steam explosion approach entails the molecular decomposition through shearing and steam caused by the rapid depressurization system. This technique is divided into two phases. For a few seconds, lignocelluloses are subjected to pressurised steam. They are then abruptly depressurised to reach air pressure. It is quite inexpensive in most situations and degrades hemicellulose and lignin compounds. In certain circumstances, severe process conditions resulted in low glucose concentration in wheat straw for ethanol production owing to early cellulose breakdown and glucose loss as residue (Bera et al., 2021). Transformation of lignin with cellulose removal is the principal physico-chemical modifications attributed due to steam explosion pre-treatment technique which aid in improving biomass digestibility to enzymes. The following variables influence steam explosion measurement: moisture levels, temperature, chip size and retention time. Another approach for pretreatment of lignocelluloses is wet oxidation (WO). It has the capacity to fractionate woody materials cellulose rich fraction while forming few inhibitors. Following the WO process, lignocellulose material gets solubilized and decomposition of lignin to carbon dioxide and water occurs. However, optimizing the treatment conditions could increase up the cost of the pre-treatment process. Other treatments like explosion using ammonium fibre and carbon dioxide are rarely used for lignocellulose due to its less efficiency (Shirkavand et al., 2016).

            4.4. Biological method

            The biological pre-treatment approach uses microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi to modify the lignocellulosic biomass, making it more susceptible to enzymatic digestion. In enzymatic pretreatment, pure enzymes can be used to accelerate the degradation of lignocellulose. Generally, enzymes help to release the fermentable sugars from hemicellulose and cellulose and reduce the recalcitrance of lignocellulose to enhance the biogas generation from the biomass. Enzymatic pretreatment has major impact on the characteristics of recalcitrance for example decreasing crystallinity and polymerization; improving accessible surface area and eliminating lignin content. Removal of lignin and hemicellulose result in improved digestibility of cellulose which is mostly preferred for fermentation process. Most of these bacteria generate lignin degrading enzymes, which results in biomass alteration. Brown rot and white rot fungi are the most commonly studied for this process. The lignolytic enzymes generated by white rot fungus are highly beneficial for biofuel generation by lignin degradation due to their high substrate specificity and high oxidation efficiency. Irpex lacteus (Qin et al., 2018), Polyporus brumalis (Zhou et al., 2017), and Myrothecium verrucaria (Su et al., 2018) were among the fungi used in the pretreatment research. Free radical chain based reaction mechanism occurs in this pretreatment. Initially, formation of high reactive radical species occurs which results in fragments owing to bond breaking during lignin depolymerisation. The surface process is linked to lignin breakdown by white rot fungus. Cellulase enzymes produced by this type of fungi dissolves the waxy coating surface of lignocellulosic substrates paving the way for the fungal hyphae to penetrate into it. Following that, a cascade of enzymes such as hemicellulases, exoglucanases, peroxidases, and endoglycanases are generated, resulting in a more efficient breakdown process. Brown rot fungi are suitable for the pectin decomposition. Fenton’s reaction occurs in brown rot fungi based treatment process and is primarily used for low weight breakdown compounds. The biological pretreatment of wheat straw was investigated using white rot fungi and found that 35% of wheat straw was converted into reducing sugars (Talebnia et al., 2010). However, one drawback of utilising this white rot fungus is the mild alteration of lignin rather than breakdown (Chen et al., 2017, Sindhu et al., 2016, Yadav et al., 2019). Biological pretreatment looks to be a viable technology with several advantages, including low input energy, gentle ambient conditions, an ecologically acceptable operating method and minimal chemical demand. However, its downsides are as obvious as its advantages since biological pretreatment is slow and requires careful management of growing conditions as well as a considerable quantity of area to be performed. Furthermore, most lignolytic organisms solubilize and consume lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. As a result, biological pretreatment confronts technological and economic hurdles, making it less appealing commercially.

            5. Conversion mechanism of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuel

            Steps involved in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into valuable bioproduct including biofuels were listed in Fig. 2.

            1. Download : Download high-res image (111KB)
            2. Download : Download full-size image

            Fig. 2. Steps involved in conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuel.

            5.1. Genetic engineering approach

            For the efficient conversion of lignocellulose substrate to fuels, both microorganisms and substrate are crucial. There may be less biomass accessibility with native or altered microorganisms. Several genetic engineering techniques have been developed to convert lignocellulose to biofuel. Genetic engineering of lignocellulose biomass is the primary source for enhancing biofuel output. This process was aided by the formation of a molecular matrix between hemicellulose molecules and the resulting complexing with neighbouring cellulose fibrils. Lignin composition varies as a result of genetic modification which improves the digestion of the cell wall polysaccharides (Wang et al., 2015, Madadi et al., 2017). Silencing the gene responsible for lignin production also improves the biomass digestibility. The functional characterization of genes provides potential targets for enlightening saccharification and modifies the lignin content and composition. Genetically engineered approach modifies the lignin pathway which generates transgenic lines with improving enzymatic sugar release proportional to the extent of lignin down regulation. These transgenic approaches used to increase the cell wall traits and characterize the biosynthetic pathway of lignin, reduce the lignin content. Mazarei et al. (2020) studied the improvement in biofuel production from switch grass by silencing Folypolyglutamate synthetase gene. Partial downregulation of this gene slightly altered the lignin composition and increased the ethanol productivity by 18% (Mazarei et al., 2020). Similarly, Lee et al. (2021) investigated lignin modification utilising CRISPR/CAS systems for improved biofuel production using barley. A transgenic plant with a mutant caffeic acid O-methyl transferase 1 mutant was grown and tested for bioethanol production in this work. The mutant barley plant had a 34% greater ethanol concentration and a 14% reduced lignin content (Lee et al., 2021). Lignin biosynthetic genes have also been engineered for easy digestibility of the biomass.

            The alteration of strains engaged in the bioconversion process is another option. With the aid of genetic engineering, microbial transformation into requisite cell factories occurs. Genetic modification of organisms offers a greater potential for biomass depolymerisation and conversion of fermented sugar hydrolyzate into free fatty acids in biodiesel synthesis from lignocellulose. In this situation, genetic engineering can be used in one of two ways. First will be engineering of native cellulolytic microbes for improving the product related aspects. Second, non-cellulolytic organisms will be engineered to generate cellulase enzymes. Few studies have focused on using export-related protein fusions in E. coli to extracellularly produce enzymes such xylanases, cellulases, cellobiase, xylobiosidase, and glucosidases. With ionic liquid pre-treated switch grass, this modified strain grew well and enhanced biomass hydrolysis (Lin et al., 2013). In the production of biofuels, high product concentration can sometimes be a hindrance. Butanol, for example, can create a partition in the cytoplasmic membrane, altering its shape. As a result, strains must be modified to improve product tolerance in biofuel-producing microbes. Strains can also be engineered to grow on complicated lignocellulose substrates, increasing biofuel production rate. Lopez-Hidalgo et al. (2021) investigated the effect of a genetically modified E.coli strain on ethanol and hydrogen coproduction from corn stover and wheat straw. Different molecular methods were used to remove genes that produce hydrogenases and reductases in order to improve coproduction in complicated substrates. Ethanol production of 20–30% was observed with this engineered strain (Lopez-Hidalgo et al., 2021, Zheng et al., 2015). Yeast/fungi may also be developed to produce biofuels from lignocellulose substrate, such as ethanol, butanol, methane, and hydrogen. Extracellular enzymes responsible for lignin breakdown are secreted by them. For improved ethanol output, recombinant strains containing genes for intracellular expression of xylitol dehydrogenase, reductase, kinase, and glucosidase from separate species such as Pichia stipitis, Saccharomyces cereviseae, and Aspergillus acleatus have been combined and used in a research (Katahira et al., 2006, Amores et al., 2015). Developing genetically engineered constructs with modified lignolytic enzymes might improve the lignocellulose bioconversion into biofuel.

            5.2. Metabolic engineering approach

            Development in the generation of chemical by objective metabolic engineering is for the most part performed by (1) upgrading the action of enzymes associated with the product biosynthesis (2) disturbing pathways that enter after carbon substrate or potentially electrons and additionally co-factors. Furthermore, microorganisms should be lenient to high grouping of the substance to permit large scale industrial fermentation. The biosynthetic route for lignocellulose fuel generation is a multi-step operation. The metabolism of microorganisms has thousands of processes that govern the energy process. Recent metabolic engineering approaches have contributed to increased flux for biofuel production. Enzyme modification, scaffold construction, codon optimization, and fermentation conditions are some of the most common tactics used in these engineering procedures. For improved carbon flow in product creation, two major methods have been developed. The first is the push–pull-block approach, in which specific metabolic pathways are inhibited and enzymes are overexpressed to enhance carbon flow. The second strategy is to reduce or block carbon flow in the creation of undesirable by-products, which increases carbon flux in fuel synthesis. Metabolic engineering may provide three main outcomes: high-yielding microorganisms, the capacity to endure harsh environmental conditions, and adaptation to a wide range of lignocellulosic materials. Undesired product formation can also be inhibited by this approach (Hollinshead et al., 2014, Majidian et al., 2018). In case of iso-prenoid derived fuels, mevalonate and deoxy xylulose phosphate pathway can be overexpressed or deregulated by introducing or knocking out the gene in the desired organism to minimize the by-products formation (Choudhary et al., 2020).

            Li et al. (2019) investigated the butanol production from lignocellulose substrates using engineered Clostridium tyrobutyricum strain. This bacterial strain with knocked out acetate kinase (ack) gene was designed to overexpress adhE2 gene which encodes alcohol dehydrogenase gene involved in n-butanol synthesis. CtΔack-adhE2, a metabolically modified strain, provides a number of benefits, including absence of acetone generation, increased butanol tolerance in the organism and its production. With this engineered strain, butanol synthesis of high yield 0.3 g/g and titre 15 g/L was achieved (Li et al., 2019). For effective lignocellulose bioconversion, Romani et al. (2015) modified the xylose metabolic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. Hydromycin resistance gene was used in place of URA3 marker gene to develop a superior xylose pathway. Deletion of the GRE gene was also done to improve biofuel production by enhancing the rate of xylose consumption in corn-cob hydrolyzates. Of the estimated theoretical yield, 92% was obtained with this practical study (Romani et al., 2015).

            The researchers have lately focused their research on the engineering of plant biosynthetic pathways for fuel synthesis. Lignocellulose substrates have been changed to allow for easy decomposition and the production of fuels with minimum pre-treatment. One of the primary recalcitrance factors, lignin, has been studied in order to decrease its impact on the enzymatic digestion of this biomass. Few researchers have demonstrated in a field study that biomass from Poplar plants with down regulated cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) gene has the greater potential for bioethanol production. CCR enzyme plays a crucial role in lignin biosynthetic pathway. Down regulation of this enzyme resulted in 161% increase in ethanol yield (Bilal et al., 2018). Designing appropriate microorganisms that synthesis desired biofuels directly from lignin from biomass can increase lignin usage, but this requires a full understanding of engineering approach and lignin consumption mechanisms. Some strategies, such as genome scale modelling, systemic optimization and post translational enzyme modification, have resulted in significant lignocellulose conversion. Native organisms that consume lignocellulose and fuel overproducers can also be used to create hybrid strains for direct fuel synthesis from lignocellulose feedstock (Choi et al., 2020).

            6. Recent developments in modelling study

            Modelling study can be used to predict the fermentation process for biofuel generation in the following aspects (i) design the operating system (parameters: pH, temperature, alkalinity and substrate quantity) (ii) resource utilization efficiency (iii) lab scale to industrial scale operation (iv) time saving. A model is a depiction of the chemical, physical and biological processes that occur in a system. There are numeral methods of mathematical description of modelling have been approached for the bioconversion of lignocellulose to biofuels due to the diversity of feedstock and complexity of fermentation process. Kucharska et al. (2018) classified widely used models into four categories: substrate conversion-based models, kinetic models, blackbox models, and ADM1-based models.

            The substrate conversion model relates structural characteristics and composition of lignocellulosic biomass for the biofuel generation. In a research involving the determination of methane potential from different lignocellulose substrates, first order kinetic model was used to determine the rate of lignocellulose degradation (Li et al., 2013, Kucharska et al., 2018). The equation is represented by(1)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�=�0[1-exp(-��)]

            Where B0 and B represents the ultimate and cumulative methanol yield (mL g−1 VS) and t is the process time (min). This work also included the application of the Buswell formula, which takes into consideration varied substrate compositions. Fedailaine et al. (2015) developed a model for substrate degradation and methane production. The model was based on substrate and biomass mass balances with methane production. Sensitivity analysis of the model showed that increase in initial lignocellulose biomass concentration increased the methane production. Monod model was also employed to determine the substrate concentration effect on its degradation process.

            Kinetic models may describe several parameters impacting the biofuel process, such as lignocellulose content, pH, temperature, and dilution rate. The calculated kinetic constants can be used to forecast the operation and design of biofuel production. Wang et al. (2017) used two models to calculate the efficiency of biohydrogen generation from raw cassava starch. The product production and substrate usage kinetics were described using the Gompertz and first order equations. The Gompertz equation was more adapted to the synthesis of ethanol, volatile fatty acids, and acetate of the two (Wang et al., 2017). In the kinetic modelling of biodiesel production, the modified second order (MSO) rate model shown below is recently employed (Ezzati et al., 2021).(2)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�=�1[�][�]exp(-[�][�]3�[�][�]3)

            Where [T] is the concentration of triglycerides, [A] means the alcohol concentration and [G] is the glycerol concentration. MSO models are more accurate during initial period of reaction. In the hydrogen production from lignocellulose, monod model and modified Gompertz model have been used to describe the progress of the reaction. Ashah et al. (2020) applied modified Gompertz equation to study the kinetics of palm based substrates. The equation is represented by (Ashah et al., 2020):(3)" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; text-indent: 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">�=�maxexp{-exp[�max��max(�-�)+1]}�

            Where H and Hmax is the cumulative and maximum hydrogen production (mL), e means the Euler’s number, t represents time and Rmax denotes maximum production rate of hydrogen (mL h−1. Parameters – Hmax and Rmax has a direct influence on hydrogen production rate and yield.

            Blackbox models include artificial neural network (ANN) and response surface methodology (RSM) analysis. RSM is useful in assessing individual factors and determining which component produces the best set of unique results. ANN is a recently created machine learning statistical approach which can be functionalized in wide range of data analysis including optimization for biofuel production. ANN model propose higher efficiency and accuracy on the fitting of modelling of biochemical processes and experimental responses in which the multilayer perceptron (PCN) architecture is often employed. ADM1 - Anaerobic Digestion Model No.1 – is a condensed version of several math models that were utilised in the optimization research. This model takes into account several organic molecules as well as certain inorganic substances. ADM1 based model is based on the differential equations of system which signifies the interaction between the microorganisms, substrate and products. The utilization of ADM1 model to develop the production of biofuel/biogas is considered as difficult task because of rapid development of biogas plant with agro waste as feedstock material. In optimization research, the regression model has also developed as a necessary model (Dave et al., 2021). Rao and Basak (2020) RSM-based regression model for dark fermentative hydrogen generation revealed the pH dependency of hydrogen production in their investigation. The benefit of the models is their relative simplicity, but they can only be employed in the range of examined variables, and their application is restricted due to the length of a single experiment. The black box paradigm has the benefit of producing outcomes without requiring an exact reaction mechanism (Rao and Basak, 2021).

            7. Conclusion

            Recent developments in lignocellulose bioconversion mechanisms have demonstrated the potential of efficient biofuel production. It is feasible to generate biofuel feedstock that is not naturally produced using modern synthetic biology technologies. Regardless, genetic and metabolic engineering approach will considered as significant and innovative approach which manipulate and analyse the metabolic pathways for the enhancement of biofuel generation. Low-cost pretreatment and metabolic engineering techniques, modelling for large-scale commercial lignocellulose biofuel production should be the focus of future study. Furthermore, improved techniques must be developed in order to maximise the use of lignocellulose components in fuel generation by fully eliminating the recalcitrant property.

            ]]>             Matchmaking for Green Cities? https://sdgtalks.ai/matchmaking-for-green-cities https://sdgtalks.ai/matchmaking-for-green-cities Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:02:43 -0500 njvahlberg

            BANGKOK, Thailand, Jan 23 (IPS) - Asia and the Pacific is home to 54 per cent of the world's urban population, who are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (ESCAP, 2023; IPCC, 2022). Why then, do climate action projects in cities commonly face delays in implementation?

            Crucial new developments in mitigation and adaptation including: renewable energy, public transport, and nature-based solutions, are needed to safeguard the lives of billions, yet many struggle to secure sufficient funding. In fact, studies estimate that, globally, there is a $6-$12 trillion gap in annual funding for climate and resilience investment (Buchner and others, 2023).

            Of the funding that does come in, only 10 per cent goes to adaptation projects (Negreiros and others, 2021), highlighting a real need to address human vulnerability in cities. So how can cities draw from greater sources of private and public investments for climate action?

            Perhaps one solution is matchmaking – but not the kind you’re thinking of.

            Urban-Act is an international project funded by the Government of Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI) with ESCAP as an implementing partner that seeks to accelerate access to urban climate finance. Urban-Act facilitates project preparation for cities, helping move their projects along the urban climate finance value chain so they can attract public or private finance.

            This is followed by city climate finance matchmaking, where cities are connected with potential investors through in-person events or online platforms. This process is explored in detail in ESCAP's 2023 working paper, Enabling Innovative Investments.

            The paper highlights how project preparation and matchmaking can unlock the potential of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to bridge the climate finance gap and accelerate climate action in cities. However, several challenges must be addressed.

            These challenges include:

            • Insufficient project preparation: cities often lack the capacity and resources to prepare ‘bankable’ climate projects that investors are willing to fund.
            • Limited reporting on success: very few matchmaking programmes report on the success rates of the projects they fund, making it hard to evaluate and improve matchmaking support.
            • Limited replicability and scalability of interventions: as cities all vary in their levels of development, political and economic systems, and local geographies, the support they require varies too, which can be hard to replicate elsewhere.

            The same paper highlights some potential solutions for providing cities with more effective support. As investors often avoid climate projects due to large upfront costs and higher perceived risks, cities can seek blended finance between private and public investors, using public grant money to prepare well-developed projects, making them attractive to private investors due to smaller ticket sizes (the amount of capital for each share) who can then fund later stage implementation (see figure 1 to visualize project value chain).

            Another solution involves financial aggregation. Here matchmaking programmes can consider working with multiple cities with similar projects to better replicate interventions, and/or they could compile many small projects from one city into one portfolio, increasing funding as they leverage of economies of scale and reduced transaction costs.

            Enabling Innovative Investments (2023) lists a series of recommendations for successfully employing these solutions and ultimately enabling effective city matchmaking. They range from encouraging impact assessments for learning from mistakes to engaging in investor consultation early to align projects with investor criteria.

            • To achieve blended financing

            • Engage in private investor consultation at early stages of project design
            • Ensure projects are aligned with national strategies
            • Make use of online platforms such as CDP Matchmaker, SOURCE, or CI Portal.

            While financial institutions should support cities by:

            • Providing lists of project-types they are interested in funding over the next 12-18 months.

            To valorize financial aggregation:

            • Consider a ‘city cluster approach’ to increase replicability of interventions
            • Improve scalability by compiling several city projects into one portfolio.

            To improve the effectiveness of matchmaking efforts in the long term:

            • Promote capacity building to equip local governments with the expertise and leadership for implementing projects and securing private finance
            • Adopt an impact assessment framework for monitoring and evaluation to tailor programmes for maximum effectiveness

            Despite the uneven split of finances that goes towards mitigation projects, current trends show we are straying away from the 1.5°C warming target globally agreed upon at the Paris Agreement in 2015, emphasizing just how important it is that we accelerate climate finance in cities, particularly for adapting to the adverse effects of climate change that are expected to increase with time.

            Projects such as Urban-Act that make use of project preparation support and city matchmaking, along with the recommendations developed in the Enabling Innovative Investments (2023) paper, can help bridge the significant investment gap for climate action, making way for more sustainable and climate resilient cities.

            ]]>             Life cycle assessment of battery electric vehicles https://sdgtalks.ai/life-cycle-assessment-of-battery-electric-vehicles https://sdgtalks.ai/life-cycle-assessment-of-battery-electric-vehicles Fri, 19 Jan 2024 12:56:19 -0500 njvahlberg  Environmental impact, Passenger cars, Lithium-ion batteries, Second-life batteries, Repurposing

            Abstract

            The environmental performance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is influenced by their battery size and charging electricity source. Therefore, assessing their environmental performance should consider changes in the electricity sector and refurbishment of their batteries. This study conducts a scenario-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three different scenarios combining four key parameters: future changes in the charging electricity mix, battery efficiency fade, battery refurbishment, and recycling for their collective importance on the life-cycle environmental performance of a BEV. The system boundary covers all the life-cycle stages of the BEV and includes battery refurbishment, except for its second use stage. The refurbished battery was modelled considering refurbished components and a 50% cell conversation rate for the second life of 5 years. The results found a 9.4% reduction in climate impacts when future changes (i.e., increase in the share of renewable energy) in the charging electricity are considered. Recycling reduced the BEV climate impacts by approximately 8.3%, and a reduction smaller than 1% was observed for battery refurbishment. However, the battery efficiency fade increases the BEV energy consumption, which results in a 7.4 to 8.1% rise in use-stage climate impacts. Therefore, it is vital to include battery efficiency fade and changes to the electricity sector when estimating the use-stage impacts of BEVs; without this, LCA results could be unreliable. The sensitivity analysis showed the possibility of a higher reduction in the BEV climate impacts for longer second lifespans (>5 years) and higher cell conversation rates (>50%). BEV and battery production are the most critical stages for all the other impact categories assessed, specifically contributing more than 90% to mineral resource scarcity. However, recycling and battery refurbishment can reduce the burden of the different impact categories considered. Therefore, manufacturers should design BEV battery packs while considering recycling and refurbishment.

            Keywords: Environmental impact, Passenger cars, Lithium-ion batteries, Second-life batteries, Repurposing

            Highlights

            • The environmental impacts of electricity changes and battery end-of-life are assessed.
            • Changes in charging electricity reduced the climate change impact by 9.4%.
            • Vehicle production is the main driver of climate impacts in the dynamic scenario.
            • The impacts of refurbished batteries depend on reusable cells and the second use lifespan.

            1. Introduction

            The transport sector significantly contributes to the global environmental problems, including climate change (CC), air pollution and toxicity (; ; ). Transport remains one of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2018, direct GHG emissions from transport accounted for approximately 24% of direct energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) global emissions (), with passenger road vehicles being the largest contributors accounting for 45% of global transport CO2 emissions (). In contrast to all other sectors, the GHG emissions from the transport sector in the European Union (EU) increased by 0.9% and 0.8% in 2018 and 2019, respectively (). Projections on existing mitigation measures estimate a 32% increase in transport emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels in the EU (). Aggressive mitigation measures in the transportation sector are essential to reduce emissions in order to achieve the goals of the European Green Deal of reducing GHG emissions by 55% in 2030 and becoming climate-neutral by 2050 ().

            Deploying battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is one of the main initiatives to decarbonise and reduce emissions from the transport sector, as they have no tailpipe emissions and can significantly reduce impacts on CC when charged with electricity from renewable energy sources (RESs) (; ). However, the environmental impact of their manufacturing is higher than that of internal combustion engine vehicles (; ) due to battery production, shifting the environmental burden from the use stage to production (). The demand for larger battery sizes to tolerate longer driving ranges has exacerbated the problem. As a result, extending the life of used BEV lithium-ion batteries (LIB) for secondary application (hereafter referred to as ‘refurbished EV batteries’) has been proposed to reduce the environmental impact of battery manufacturing on the BEV life cycle (; ). Additionally, refurbishing EV batteries aligns with the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan to reduce or eliminate waste and pollution and transform products and materials to remain in supply chains for as long as possible ().

            1.1. Environmental impacts of battery electric vehicles

            Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology standardised by ,  to analyse the environmental impacts of products or systems. LCA has been widely applied to electric vehicles in the scientific literature (; ; ; ). However, the existing studies found significantly different results due to their divergence in assumptions. However, most studies conclude that electricity production is the main driver of electric vehicles' climate impact, followed by battery production (; ). Furthermore, the importance of battery efficiency and refurbishment has been highlighted (; ). To that end, the following paragraphs examine how these aspects (electricity mix, battery efficiency and refurbishment) have been considered in LCA studies.

            The CC impact of a BEV use phase depends on the carbon footprint of the electricity mix used to charge the vehicle (; ). However, few studies have considered future changes in the charging electricity mix of BEVs (, ; ). Most LCA studies on BEVs have only used an average emission profile of the charging electricity mix for the first year of use throughout the vehicle's lifetime (). As the emission profile of the charging electricity mix will vary throughout the vehicle's lifetime due to expanding RESs (), there is a need for LCA studies of BEVs to include these changes throughout the vehicle's lifetime.

             found that the efficiency of traction batteries is critical and can significantly impact the environmental performance of EV batteries and BEVs. Since the traction battery capacity and energy efficiency degrades over time and cycling (),  and  found that the decrease in battery energy efficiency can directly influence the lifetime energy consumption of BEVs.  also found that the capacity loss over time for the different BEV driving profiles (represented in terms of C-Rate) directly influenced the BEV energy consumption and the battery ageing mechanism. However, most LCA studies on BEVs have overlooked this aspect, as shown in review studies (; ; ; ). In that context, there is a need to assess the environmental performance of a BEV considering the fade in battery capacity and energy efficiency.

            From a life cycle perspective, extending the life of used BEV batteries in stationary applications is an initiative to improve the BEV and battery environmental performance (). After their first use in BEVs, traction batteries still have approximately 60% to 80% of their initial capacity, making them suitable for refurbishment and use in less-demanding applications (). Several LCA studies have suggested environmental benefits when BEV batteries are refurbished (; ; ; ; ). However, different system boundaries are used in the scientific literature – Table 1. Most studies in Table 1, except for , , and , delimited their system boundaries to the battery life cycle (covering its use in BEVs and secondary applications), excluding the vehicle equipment. The limitation of the system boundary to the battery life cycle does not support the understanding of the environmental performance of a BEV from a life cycle perspective (). This study aims to broaden the perspective on this issue in context.

            Table 1

            System boundaries of LCA studies on refurbished EV batteries. Legend: EoL – end-of-life, M – manufacturing, R – refurbishment, X – included, X* – only energy loss due to battery efficiency and the extra energy needed to carry the battery, X~ – only energy loss due to battery efficiency.

            Author Vehicle – M Vehicle use Vehicle EoL Battery – M Battery – R Battery second use Battery EoL
            X* X X X
            X X X X X
            X
            X
            X X X X X
            X X X X X X
            X* X X X X
            X X X X
            X X X X
            X X X X X X
            X X X X
            X~ X X X X

            1.2. Research motivation and novelty

            As described, the environmental performance of BEV and refurbished EV batteries are widely studied but often separately, demonstrating a gap in the scientific literature. In addition, the combination of changes in the charging electricity mixes over time, battery efficiency fades, and refurbishment of EV batteries and recycling in the LCA of BEVs have not been investigated for their joint relevance on BEV environmental performance. This study presents an LCA study that integrates these aspects for the first time to assess the environmental performance of a present-day BEV. The following research questions are investigated:

            • 1.
              What are the environmental impacts of a BEV charged with an average EU electricity mix in 2020?
            • 2.
              How might these impacts change when the expected yearly increase in RES in the EU electricity mix is considered?
            • 3.
              To what extent can refurbished EV batteries improve the net environmental performance of BEVs?

            2. Materials and methods

            A scenario-based LCA was performed based on the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards to assess the LC environmental impacts of a BEV (, ). A complete vehicle LCA typically consists of two cycles: the equipment life cycle and the well-to-wheels (WTW) life cycle (). The equipment cycle covers all the processes involved in vehicle manufacturing, including material extraction and processing, component manufacturing, vehicle assembly, and end-of-life (EoL). The WTW cycle covers the energy carrier for vehicle propulsion, which is further divided into the well-to-tank (WTT) and tank-to-wheel (TTW) stages. The WTT stage includes all processes from the extraction of primary energy materials to energy conversion, distribution, and storage, while the TTW covers the vehicle operation stage.

            The LCA was performed by considering changes in the charging electricity mix over time, battery efficiency fade, vehicle and LIB recycling, and LIB refurbishing. Fig. 1 shows the considered system boundaries and scenarios. The reference scenario included BEV production, the use stage (assuming an average EU electricity mix), and the EoL (vehicle and LIB recycling). In the dynamic scenario, the BEV use stage was assessed considering the projected changes in the EU electricity sector. The refurbished scenario considered the same projected changes in the EU electricity sector existing in the dynamic scenario and BEV refurbishment for a second use in a residential battery storage system.

            System boundaries and assessed scenarios. Legend: EoL = End-of-Life, LIB = Li-ion battery.

            The refurbished scenario assessed the BEV from its cradle to the grave, including its battery's refurbishment and EoL management. The second (stationary) use stage was excluded from the assessment for consistency with the functional unit and the aim of this study. Including the stationary use stage in the refurbished scenario will not reflect the BEV impact but that of the BEV plus stationary usage, which can add discrepancy to the results from the viewpoint of a BEV function. However, extending the life of the used BEV battery implies that the environmental burden of the LIB production and EoL stage could be shared between the BEV and the residential application. Therefore, the product substitution (avoided burden) approach was adopted to address the allocation issue (). This approach extends the system boundary of the assessment to consider an equivalent new LIB (hereafter referred to as “avoided LIB”) in a stationary application by assuming that the refurbished LIB would displace the avoided LIB in practice. As a result, the environmental impacts avoided due to the production and EoL stages of the avoided LIB were then credited as avoided impacts to the BEV total environmental impacts.

            The functional unit was defined as driving a European B-segment BEV equipped with a 54.6 kWh LIB for 160,000 km over a lifetime of 12 years (). This functional unit was defined to match the characteristics and performance of Renault Zoe, an exemplary car of this segment (). This vehicle segment is chosen as the small (A + B) cars representing 40% of total EU car sales from 2009 to 2020 (). Vehicle equipment production, battery pack assembly, use phase, and EoL were assumed to occur in Europe. The production of LIB cells was supposed to occur in South Korea. This assumption relies on the fact that a Korean company manufactures the LIB cells of Renault Zoe. In addition, over 88% of the current LIB cell manufacturing capacity is located in Asia (). The production of vehicle equipment and battery packs was assumed to occur in 2019. The BEV use stage was supposed to start in 2020 until its EoL in 2031, with no battery replacement considered. In the refurbished scenario, the LIB cells were refurbished at the EoL of the BEV for residential energy storage, extending its useful life for 5 years. This assumption stems from  findings of 5.9 years for using refurbished EV batteries in buildings for self-consumption services at 60% EoL. However, Casals et al. found that the lifespan of refurbished EV batteries can range from approximately 4.7 to 30 years, depending on the second use. Therefore, a sensitivity analysis was performed on this parameter.

            2.1. Life cycle inventory (LCI)

            The LCI foreground data were compiled based on secondary sources, including the scientific literature, technical datasheets, reports, and brochures. Ecoinvent database v3.6 (; ) was used for the background data. The BEV modelled in this study was defined to characterise a medium-sized car similar to the Renault Zoe, equipped with a 54.6 kWh LIB (). Further details on each life cycle stage are described in 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5.

            2.1.1. LIB and vehicle production 

            BEV production was considered for three main units: the vehicle glider, the electric axle drive (e-drive), and the battery system. The key characteristics of the considered BEV are shown in Table S1 of the Supplementary Material (SM) and its mass composition in Table 2. The LCI for glider production was adapted from the Ecoinvent dataset based on the “Golf A4” life cycle inventory from the 2000s (; ). Thus, the following changes were made to the original dataset from the Ecoinvent database to make the vehicle glider more representative of current passenger cars: the energy for glider assembly was modified to reflect the EU energy mix for the production year (2019), and the production of a 9.3-inch touchscreen tablet for in-vehicle infotainment system was added based on data from . The LCI for this change is reported in Table S2 of the SM.

            Table 2

            Mass composition of the battery electric vehicle components.

            Unit Components Amount Reference
            Glider Glider (kg) 1150.1 Authors' estimatea; 
            Electric axle drive Gearbox (kg) 23.8
            Electric motor (kg) 45.5 ; 
            Inverter (kg) 10.9 ; 
            Converter (kg) 4.8 ; 
            Charger (kg) 12.0 ; 
            PDU (kg) 3.9 ; 
            Li-ion battery system Battery pack (kg) 326.0 NMC 111 cells based on ; ; battery pack components based on 
            aDerived from the unladen KLB mass of Renault Zoe () by deducting the mass of the battery pack and e-drive.

            The electric motor and inverter were modelled based on the scalable life cycle inventory model proposed in  and . The nominal power (100 kW) and the voltage (400 V) of the electric motor and inverter were used as input to the life cycle inventory model to estimate their respective mass and manufacturing data (see Table S3 and Table S4 for inventory data). The converter, power distribution unit, and onboard charger were based on , while LCI data and processes for these components were derived from the Ecoinvent database.

            Table 3 shows the characteristics of the LIB cells in this study. The LIB cells contained a cathode based on nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) 111 and an anode with graphite as the active material. The NMC battery chemistry was chosen to match the battery pack of Renault Zoe better. In addition, in 2016, the NMC held approximately 26% market share in the overall LIB market (), with a projection to reach 63% by 2027 (). Overall, the modelled LIB cells make up 63% of the total mass of the battery pack (). The production of the LIB cells was modelled based on  and . The manufacturing of battery pack components (battery packaging, cooling system, and battery management system) was based on . Finally, the battery pack components were rescaled based on their mass characteristics to represent the LIB capacity of the BEV. Detailed inventory data are provided in Table S5 of the SM.

            Table 3

            Characteristics of the LIB cells in this study ().

            Characteristics NMC 111
            Cell nominal voltage (V) 3.7
            Nominal capacity (Ah) 43
            Battery cell efficiency (%) 95
            Cell energy density (Wh/kg) 264.2
            Battery pack energy (kWh) 54.6

            2.1.2. Vehicle use 

            The WTT stage of the BEV was modelled from 2020 to 2031 using the average annual mileage electricity consumption and the average electricity profile of each year. For the reference scenario, the average electricity mix for 2020 was used based on the “Stated Policies Scenario” for the EU (), which assumes the continuity of the current policy measures. Projections for changes in EU electricity generation over time (Table S6 in SM) were used in the dynamic and refurbished scenarios.

            The BEV energy consumption was calculated using the driving cycle defined by the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) (). The BEV mass, rolling resistance, and aerodynamic drag were used to calculate the mechanical energy at the wheels required to follow the WLTP cycle. For each time step set of the WLTP driving cycle, the motive force (Fm) and the power at the wheels (Pwheel) were estimated using Eqs. (1), (2), respectively. Additionally, the slope was set to zero through the driving cycle to simplify the calculation. The power supplied by the battery (EPsupply) was calculated using Eq. (3) considering the energy demand for auxiliaries (1740 W based on  – see Table S7 for details) and the efficiency of all the drivetrain components. Additionally, the power from regenerative braking (EPrecover) was recovered using Eq. (4). The average energy supplied by the battery (Eavg) at the tank-to-wheel (TTW) stage was calculated with Eq. (5). Finally, the average energy consumption of the BEV (BEVenergy. cons) was calculated using Eq. (6) as 21.6 kWh/100 km, which considered the estimated yearly average fade in the BEV battery roundtrip efficiency.

            ]]>             EPA proposes a fee aimed at reducing climate-warming methane emissions https://sdgtalks.ai/epa-proposes-a-fee-aimed-at-reducing-climate-warming-methane-emissions https://sdgtalks.ai/epa-proposes-a-fee-aimed-at-reducing-climate-warming-methane-emissions Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:46:07 -0500 sdgcub3e EPA, methane, pollution, tax, fee, emissions WASHINGTON — Oil and natural gas companies for the first time would have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed certain levels under a rule proposed Friday by the Biden administration.

            The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule follows through on a directive from Congress included in the 2022 climate law. The new fee is intended to encourage industry to adopt best practices that reduce emissions of methane and thereby avoid paying.

            Methane is a climate "super pollutant" that is more potent in the short term than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. The oil and natural gas sector is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States, and advocates say reduction of methane emissions is an important way to slow climate change.

            Excess methane produced this year would result in a fee of $900 per ton, with fees rising to $1,500 per ton by 2026.

            EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the proposed fee would work in tandem with a final rule on methane emissions EPA announced last month. The fee, formally known as the Methane Emissions Reduction Program, will encourage early deployment of available technologies to reduce methane emissions and other harmful air pollutants before the new standards take effect, he said.

            The rule announced in December includes a two-year phase-in period for companies to eliminate routine flaring of natural gas from new oil wells.

            "EPA is delivering on a comprehensive strategy to reduce wasteful methane emissions that endanger communities and fuel the climate crisis," Regan said in a statement. When finalized later this year, the proposed methane fee will set technology standards that will "incentivize industry innovation'' and spur action to reduce pollution, he said.

            Leading oil and gas companies already meet or exceed performance levels set by Congress under the climate law, meaning they will not have to pay the proposed fee, Regan and other officials said.

            Sen. Tom Carper, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said he was pleased the administration was moving forward with the methane fee as directed by Congress.

            "We know methane is over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere in the short term,'' said Carper, D-Del. He said the program "will incentivize producers to cut wasteful and excessive methane emissions during oil and gas production."

            New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said oil and gas companies have long calculated that it's cheaper to waste methane through flaring and other techniques than to make necessary upgrades to prevent leaks.

            "Wasted methane never makes its way to consumers, but they are nevertheless stuck with the bill," Pallone said. The proposed methane fee "will ensure consumers no longer pay for wasted energy or the harm its emissions can cause.''

            Republicans call the methane fee a tax that could raise the price of natural gas. "This proposal means increased costs for employers and higher energy bills for millions of Americans," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia.

            Industry group calls the rule a "punitive tax increase"

            The American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry's largest lobbying group, slammed the proposal Friday and called for Congress to repeal it.

            "As the world looks to U.S. energy producers to provide stability in an increasingly unstable world, this punitive tax increase is a serious misstep that undermines America's energy advantage,'' said Dustin Meyer, API's senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs.

            While the group supports "smart" federal methane regulation, the EPA proposal "creates an incoherent, confusing regulatory regime that will only stifle innovation and undermine our ability to meet rising energy demand,'' Meyer said. "We look forward to working with Congress to repeal the IRA's misguided new tax on American energy."

            Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, called the proposed fee "common sense,'' adding that oil and gas companies should be held accountable for methane pollution, a primary source of global warming.

            In a related development, EPA said it is working with industry and others to improve how methane emissions are reported, citing numerous studies showing that and oil and gas companies have significantly underreported their methane emissions to the EPA under the agency's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.

            The climate law, formally known as the Inflation Reduction Act, established a waste-emissions charge for methane from oil and gas facilities that report emissions of more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year to the EPA. The proposal announced Friday sets out details of how the fee will be implemented, including how exemptions will be applied.

            The agency said it expects that over time, fewer oil and gas sites will be charged as they reduce their emissions in compliance with the rule.

            ]]>             Faith + Action = Resilience: Philippines Prepares for Disasters, One Community at a Time https://sdgtalks.ai/faith-action-resilience-philippines-prepares-for-disasters-one-community-at-a-time https://sdgtalks.ai/faith-action-resilience-philippines-prepares-for-disasters-one-community-at-a-time Sat, 13 Jan 2024 23:07:56 -0500 Joshua Community Resilience, Faith, Bounce forward In the wake of recent seismic shocks in Mindanao, there has been an increasing emphasis on the role of local communities in disaster risk reduction. Recognizing this need, a pivotal discussion was planned for December 22, 2023, with a focus on how communities, including churches, local officials, and household members, can contribute effectively to disaster preparedness and recovery efforts.

            The Event in Mindanao: On December 22, a comprehensive discussion was held, aimed at discussing deeper into the role of the community in Disaster Risk Reduction. This event was particularly significant given the recent series of shocks in Mindanao. Attendees, including community members, and church leaders, gathered at the FVR Alliance Church in Barangay Fatima to discuss strategies and structures for actions to be taken before, during, and after disasters.

            A key component of this gathering was a Focus Group Discussion (FGD), designed to capture the community’s viewpoints on risk assessment, incorporating factors like hazards, exposure, and vulnerability. This FGD played a crucial role in understanding how communities perceive risks and their preparedness levels.

            Outcomes and Insights: The insights from the FGD were instrumental in shaping future strategies to mitigate the impact of potential seismic shocks. The discussion highlighted the importance of direct engagement with community members to gather valuable information, enhancing disaster risk reduction efforts at the local level. A call was made for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and Barangay officials to join these discussions, emphasizing the theme, “It takes a community to Bounce Forward.”

            Post-Event Reflections: Following the successful event in Mindanao, a post on the success of the discussion was shared (by the speaker Joshua Vidal). The post thanked FVR Alliance Church in GenSan, Mindanao, for hosting the conversation, and expressed hope for a more sustainable and resilient future. The discussion was not just an end in itself but a starting point for ongoing efforts in building community resilience.

            Next Steps: As a follow-up to the event, lectures focusing on the synthesis and reflections from the discussion will be held at the Department of Science in Basic Education (DSBE) on January 3, 2024, in Imus, Cavite, Philippines. These lectures aim to further disseminate the knowledge and insights gained, and to continue the momentum in building a more prepared and resilient community in the face of disaster risks.

             Prepared, Not Scared: Imus Lecture Explores Multi-Dimensional Approach to Community Resilience

            Following the insightful discussions and FGD held in Mindanao, the focus shifted to the educational sector with a special lecture at UCC Lounge-Science Department in Imus, Cavite. This event marked the first day of school, setting a tone of proactive learning and community engagement for the academic year.

            The lecture titled “Community Resilience in the Face of Crisis: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Community and Church Roles in Disaster Preparedness and Response” not only served as an academic forum for discussing the roles of different community sectors in disaster management but also included a segment dedicated to the “Key Aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).” This segment focused on four critical components:

            The lecture pointed out that actions to reduce risks posed by climate variability are essential components of modern DRR strategies.

            The inclusion of these key aspects aimed to provide students, and faculties with a holistic and strategic framework for understanding and engaging in disaster risk reduction, preparing them to contribute meaningfully to community resilience efforts in their future careers and civic engagements.

            ]]>             What is COP28? https://sdgtalks.ai/What-is-COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/What-is-COP28 Sat, 13 Jan 2024 20:48:55 -0500 Todd Osborn COP28, UN Climate Change Conference, Dubai, Paris Agreement, Emissions Reduction, Climate Action The United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, unfolded in Dubai, UAE, from November 30 to December 12, 2023. Each year, COPs convene to bring together representatives from almost every country globally, making major decisions on addressing the climate crisis. The overarching goal of COP28 was to implement and enhance the Paris Climate Change Agreement as well as navigate the challenges and opportunities presented in the past few years.

            Decisive Decade for Climate Action

            Against the backdrop of the Paris Agreement's key details being negotiated, COP28 geared up to execute and elevate ambition and action. The urgency was underscored by the latest scientific findings from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, revealing that it is imperative to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. This ambitious target aims to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avert the severe impacts of climate change.

            COP28 offered a crucial opportunity to identify global solutions for limiting temperature rise, inform revised Nationally Determined Contributions due by 2025, and accelerate the ongoing green transition. The conference served as a pivotal moment in achieving the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement.

            Key Discussions at COP28

            Discussions at COP28 navigated several critical workstreams, including formulating the loss and damage finance facility, establishing a global goal on finance, driving both an energy and a just transition, and closing the substantial emissions gap. The first-ever global stocktake, concluding at COP28, evaluated collective progress toward Paris Agreement goals, highlighting areas of slow progress and offering a wide variety of tools and solutions.

            Host Country: United Arab Emirates

            The UAE, serving as the host government and COP28 President, played a crucial role in providing facilities and engaging with other governments. As we step into the decisive decade for climate action, COP28 in Dubai stands as a historical event that worked towards fighting the climate crisis. 

            ]]>             COP28 Unveils the Power of Art and Culture in Shaping Climate Action https://sdgtalks.ai/Culture-and-Art-at-COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/Culture-and-Art-at-COP28 Sat, 13 Jan 2024 14:59:38 -0500 Todd Osborn COP28, environmental protection, art, culture, climate, environment In a groundbreaking turn of events at the COP28 conference held in Expo City Dubai, the intersection of art, culture, and climate action took center stage, leaving attendees in awe and marking a significant "tipping point" for the role of creativity in addressing pressing global issues.

            Nestled within the confines of the sprawling facility's "Blue Zone," COP28 saw an unprecedented display of art and culture that went beyond mere aesthetics, transforming into a powerful tool for fostering a deeper understanding of environmental challenges. The carefully curated exhibits became a beacon, drawing attention from all corners of the conference.

            From colossal digital projections showcasing the sublime beauty of nature to intricate simulations vividly depicting the impact of air pollution, the artistic displays became a focal point, inspiring conversations and sparking contemplation among attendees. The immersive experience demonstrated that art has the potential to transcend traditional boundaries and serve as a vehicle for conveying the urgency of climate action.

            While the art exhibits occupied a fraction of the overall COP28 agenda, they represented a monumental first step toward the integration of culture and climate action. The conference recognized the pivotal role that creativity plays in shaping perspectives and driving collective action toward a sustainable future.

            As climate change continues to pose threats to cultural sites worldwide, the importance of safeguarding and celebrating cultural diversity through art becomes increasingly evident. COP28 highlighted the symbiotic relationship between culture and climate action, emphasizing the need for a unified approach to address the challenges that lie ahead.

            In a world where environmental concerns intersect with global culture, COP28 showcased that art is not merely a form of expression but a potent force capable of catalyzing change. The conference served as a rallying cry for the integration of arts and culture into the broader conversation on climate change, laying the foundation for a future where creativity becomes an indispensable ally in the fight against environmental degradation.

            ]]>             How Is Availability of Innovative Products Strengthening Japan E-Cigarette Market? https://sdgtalks.ai/how-is-availability-of-innovative-products-strengthening-japan-e-cigarette-market https://sdgtalks.ai/how-is-availability-of-innovative-products-strengthening-japan-e-cigarette-market Fri, 12 Jan 2024 05:44:09 -0500 Maria Yardena Japan E-Cigarette Market A number of factors, such as the mushrooming demand for ash-less and smokeless vaping, the surging focus of people on mitigating health risks associated with tobacco smoking, and increasing product innovations by manufacturers will help the Japanese e-cigarette market exhibit a vigorous CAGR of 22.6% during the forecast period (2019–2024). According to P&S Intelligence, the market was valued at $1.2 billion in 2018 and it will generate $4.5 billion revenue by 2024.

            One of the primary growth drivers of the market is the increasing availability of innovative vape products, on account of ongoing technological advancements. Major tobacco companies in Japan are currently focusing on introducing innovative vaping devices to increase their footprint across emerging markets. For example, in December 2018, British American Tobacco p.l.c. launched two new e-cigarettes— VypeiSwitch Maxx and VypeiSwitch. These products are powered by innovative vaping technologies that replace the conventional coil and wick heating system. 

            Additionally, the surging public concerns regarding air pollution will also catalyze the Japanese e-cigarette market growth. The smoke released from tobacco burning is harmful to the environment as well as the human body. Unlike tobacco cigarettes, vaping devices produce mist, which dissolves in the air within seconds. Furthermore, smokeless and ash-less vaping enables e-cigarette users to use their devices in public places. Thus, the rising acceptability of vaping products in public places will contribute massively to the market growth in the forthcoming years. 

            The distribution channel segment of the Japanese e-cigarette market is categorized into vape shops, tobacconist, online, hypermarket/supermarket, and others, such as vending machines, pharmacies, gas stations, general shops, and convenience stores. Among these, the online category is expected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period, as vape product manufacturers have to face few barriers in establishing their businesses online and e-platforms are perceived as the best platform to meet customer demands.  

            Currently, the Japanese e-cigarette market is dominated by British American Tobacco plc, Philip Morris International Inc., Imperial Brands plc, and Japan Tobacco Inc., who are actively engaging in product launches and mergers and acquisitions to gain a competitive edge. Other players in the market include Altria Group Inc., Shenzhen IVPS Technology Corporation Ltd., Pax Labs Inc., JUUL Labs Inc., Innokin Technology Co. Ltd., Shenzhen iSmoka Electronics Co. Ltd., and Shenzhen Kanger Technology Co. Ltd.

            Geographically, the Kanto region accounted for the largest share in the Japanese e-cigarette market in 2018. This was on account of the soaring number of ex-tobacco smokers and accelerating urbanization rate in major cities, such as Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Chiba. Tokyo is the largest city in the country and is divided into 23 wards. As per the World Population Revies, the metropolis area of the city has a surface area of around 844.66 square miles and it is home to over 13 million people.

            Therefore, the surging availability of innovative vape devices and rising public awareness about the detrimental impacts of tobacco burning on the environment and human body will drive the demand for e-cigarettes in Japan.  

            ]]>             AT COP28, ART CONFRONTS CLIMATE https://sdgtalks.ai/at-cop28-art-confronts-climate https://sdgtalks.ai/at-cop28-art-confronts-climate Mon, 01 Jan 2024 10:15:41 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, art AT COP28, ART CONFRONTS CLIMATE

            On November 30, COP28 opened, the most important gathering in the world on climate change. The same day, Alserkal Avenue, one of Dubai’s principal art centres, unveiled “Melting Point”, an exhibition prepared for COP28 by Franco-Swiss artist Julian Charrière. Two monumental fountains ablaze occupied its exterior courtyard, whilst inside, visitors could sink into the depths of the planet’s iciest landscapes, the glaciers of the Arctic.

            In the end, whilst the event’s final agreement remained unsatisfactory regarding the speed of abandonment of fossil fuels, it was a COP28 that can be said to have marked a tipping point for arts and culture. In addition to the increased sight of artistic exhibitions, there was a tangible sense of a growing collective power, generated in particular by the Climate Heritage Network’s ‘Global call to put cultural heritage, arts and creative sectors at the heart of climate action’. 

            From the heart of the official UN Blue Zone, passing through Dubai’s artistic venues, and as far as neighbouring Abu Dhabi, culture and climate action came together to provide hope, and solutions, for our planet’s future.

            Opening of “Melting Point”, Alserkal Avenue. Right to left: Vilma Jurkurte, Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, Julian Charrière, Alice Audouin. Photo: Alserkal Initiatives

            In the belly of the dragon: art in the COP Blue Zone

            COP28 –  the 28th Edition of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference – was held over two weeks at Expo City Dubai, a large state-of-the-art building complex conceived for the city’s hosting of the 2020 World Expo. At its heart is the ‘Blue Zone’, in which myriad national and thematic pavilions are found, as well as the key conference rooms attended by the head of states, ministers, experts and journalists.

            Within this very un-artistic setting, the centre stage was taken by Refik Anadol, whose panoramic multi-coloured projection took over the central 130m-wide dome of the COP28 site as night fell. His digital artwork – named ‘Data Portal: Nature’ – integrated hundreds of images of water, coral, flora and paintings by the indigenous Brazilian Yawanama people. Its message was one of the fragility of our precious ecosystem and the urgent need for environmental preservation, citing Yawanawa Chief, Biraci Yawanawa: “It’s time for humanity to reconnect with our origins, with the Earth, with our hearts. It’s time to make alliances, to join forces.”

            During the daytime, the bright Dubai sunshine unveiled a number of other art installations and initiatives spread across the Expo 2020 site. Complementing Refik Anadol’s inspiring and far-reaching message, a more concrete proposal was presented by Google Arts & Culture, who had commissioned artist Yiyun Kang to create an interactive experience around solutions that respond to the impact of climate change on the global water cycle. In collaboration with data from NASA, “A Passage of Water” let visitors discover two potential solutions to our freshwater crisis: seawater desalination and rainwater harvesting. “Art can serve as an exceptional vehicle for fostering a deeper understanding of pressing issues,” highlighted Kang in a recent interview.

            Alarming data was also powerfully brought to life by the presence of Michael Pinsky’s Pollution Pods, that allowed passers-by to experience first-hand the unsanitary levels of air pollution in three of the world’s most populous cities, New Delhi, London and Beijing. Their presence here as well as at previous COPs – COP25 in Madrid and COP26 in Glasgow – only goes to show the art project’s perceived ongoing relevance, which also serves to bring awareness to two long-term initiatives: the Clean Air Fund and Breathe Cities.

            Michael Pinsky, Pollution pods. Photo: Art of Change 21

            Other artists present include Josefina Nelimarkka, whose artwork on the importance of clouds was displayed at the Finnish Pavilion, Selva Ozelli, with an online exhibition displayed at the Ocean Decade + OceanX Pavilion, as well as the artists invited by the UN to respond to their Sustainable Development goals (SDGs), including Charlotte Qin’s calligraphic interpretation of SDG 6: ‘Clean Water & Sanitation’.

            Many artists this year made their presence felt not only through artworks but also via their participation in an unprecedented number of talks in the official programmes. Art of Change 21* and France Muséums invited UAE-based artist Talin Hazbar to speak as part of a co-organised panel at the French Pavilion, “The power of art in response to the climate crisis”. Elsewhere, the Nordic Pavilion’s round-table “No Transformation Without Imagination: The Power of Arts and Culture for Green Transition” also gave the stage to artist Jessie Kleemann, alongside scientists and sustainability experts.

            The fire spreads: Local cultural players eager to participate 

            Unlike last year’s COP27, held in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, Dubai benefits from a well-supported artistic ecosystem and numerous world-class arts institutions. Many of them took COP28 as an opportunity to promote relevant artists or to rethink their own environmental practices.

            Central to Dubai’s contemporary art scene is Alserkal Avenue, home to many of the region’s leading contemporary art galleries, supported by a central programming by Alserkal Initiatives. On the occasion of COP28, the latter invited Art of Change 21* to curate a special exhibition by artist Julian Charrière, incorporating three of his most iconic and salient video works related to climate change. The exhibition “Melting Point” focuses on the dual beauty and precarity of glacial Arctic landscapes, which are retracting alarmingly with each passing year, threatening our planet’s equilibrium. Contrasting these glacial images is a video of his Promethean fountain of fire, “And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire”, that recalls the collision of magma and water at the earth’s surface, as well as the birth of the human civilisation, and its self-destruction at the hand of combustible fossil fuels. For Julian Charrière, “culture should have a strong voice at the COP, a voice that is not sufficiently represented”.

            Nearby, still in Alserkal Avenue, these themes were amplified at Leila Heller Gallery, with Diane Tuft and Maxi Cohen’s photographic exhibitions respectively around the polar regions and the cultural importance of water. At neighbouring gallery Volte Art Projects, what first appears to be a giant mural seascape by artist Rashid Rana, is in fact, when seen up-close, a collation of thousands of images he has taken around waste dumps in Pakistan. This trompe-l’oeil, part of his solo exhibition “It lies beyond”, highlights various issues, including the damage created by colonisation, the Industrial Revolution, consumerism, human waste and pollution.

            Across Dubai, at the Jameel Arts Center, the focus was on providing some solutions to this ecological devastation. Launched in time for COP28, its new outdoor architectural pavilion Tarabot, by Adib Dada, founder of regenerative consultancy and architecture practice theOtherDada, is a call for the creation and integration of new circular ecological support systems, itself made from modular components crafted from locally sourced, sustainable materials including clay, mycelium, date palm waste and upcycled fabric. After deinstallation, the installation will take on a new life as an underwater habitat for coral and fish, providing a symbolic connection between life on land and life underwater. Also at Jameel Arts Center, the “Artist’s garden” project currently features Zheng Bo, whose video work shows a collaborative dance between two human dancers and a Samur tree growing in the Mleiha desert in Sharjah, a sensual suggestion for how humans can rekindle our understanding and connection with the land.

            Tarabot, Jameel Arts Center. Photo: Art of Change 21

            No art trip to Dubai is now complete without a visit to neighbouring Abu Dhabi, whose institutions also sought to express their environmental engagement. 

            First of all, the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery, which hosts an outstanding solo exhibition of the long-time environmentally-engaged artist Blane de Saint-Croix. Entitled “Horizon”, highlights include “Salt Lake Excerpt”, a 150m2 sculptural installation inspired by the salt lakes (“sabkhas”) of the UAE, made from PET flakes recycled from more than 50,000 plastic water bottles.

            The question of materials was also explored as part of a dedicated symposium at the Louvre Abu Dhabi on the issue of “sustainability in museums”. Co-organised with France Muséums on December 7th, the day welcomed, among others, Bruno Girveau, director of the Palais des beaux-arts de Lille, Amareswar Galla from the Kalinga Institute in India, Alice Audouin, founder of Art of Change 21*, Maya Allison, director of the NYUAD Art Gallery, and Andrew Potts, spokesman for the Culture Heritage Network. Discussions included how sustainability can guide curatorial choices (Alice Audouin) and how a museum’s existing collection, innovatively-curated, can provide enticing new material for shows (Bruno Girveau).

            A first step towards integrating culture in climate action

            This plethora of art events doesn’t diminish the fact that today arts and culture remains a minority voice at COP28, even at a time when many cultural sites are seriously threatened or already damaged by the effects of climate change: heat waves, rising water levels, desertification, storms, fires…

            It is vital that these spaces dedicated to local cultures, histories and practices are preserved, because heritage – just like contemporary art, its modern representation – can provide meaningful solutions to today’s crisis. They also form the cultural fabric of our societies, essential for the necessary environmental policies to be successfully adopted by the individuals that make up our society.

            Could COP28 mark the beginning of the end for this discord?

            More than 1,500 signatories from the fields of art, culture, heritage, including indigenous and island voices, were united before COP28 towards the “Global call to place cultural heritage, the arts and creative industries at the heart of the climate action”, coordinated by the Climate Heritage Network (CHN) – and the tireless efforts of Andrew Potts. Among the founding members: UNESCO, ICOM, Julie’s Bicycle, Europa Nostra, the International Trusts Organization (INTO), the president of OHAI Tonga Uili Lousi, and Art of Change 21*.

            This collective effort seems to be bearing fruit. At this COP28, culture achieved unprecedented representation at the political level, including the organisation of the first ‘High-level Ministerial Dialogue’ on culture-based climate action at the COP, co-chaired by the Ministers of Culture of Brazil and the UAE, and the launch on December 8 of the first ministerial “Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action”. What comes next is just as ambitious: the latter will work alongside CHN members to secure an officially-recognised working group at COP29 next year in Baku, Azerbaijan. This in-turn would lead to a year-long consultation on culture and climate to arrive at the first UN Climate Change policy regarding the role of culture, at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in 2025.

            Whilst the flame of Julian Charriere’s fire fountain will soon be extinguished, upon the exhibition’s closing on January 6, three weeks after the end of COP28, it will be passed onto other artists across the world, those who continue to light up arts institutions and other public arenas in this time of climate emergency.

            In parallel, we encourage all our readers to support the Call to Action and ensure that arts and culture can be recognised as an integral part of the solution to climate change at COP29 and COP30 – a role that this COP demonstrates it should have.

            Julian Charrière, And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire, Video still, 2019. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Art of Change 2

            Stefano Vendramin

            December 2023

            * Publisher of Impact Art News. For nine years, since COP21, Art of Change 21 has been bringing artworks to these significant annual conferences, amplifying the voices of artists and civil society and bringing to life the environmental emergency and issues we face. Find out more

            Cover image: Exhibition view “Melting Point”, Alserkal Avenue, co-curated by Art of Change 21 & Alserkal Initiatives. Artwork: Julian Charrière – Towards No Earthly Pole, 2019, video. Courtesy the artist. Photo copyright: Alserkal Initiatives

            Impact Art News, Nov-Dec 2023 #46

            ]]>             Taking Her Art to the World https://sdgtalks.ai/taking-her-art-to-the-world https://sdgtalks.ai/taking-her-art-to-the-world Mon, 01 Jan 2024 10:14:25 -0500 Selva Ozelli Philipstown painter exhibits at U.N. climate conferences

            The Philipstown resident comes to this in atypical ways. She’s a certified public accountant who specializes in international taxation, but is also a painter. She comes from a family of writers and artists and began painting as a child, eventually specializing in portraits, then adding nature.

            Ozelli, who is of Turkish heritage, lived in New York City most of her life but moved to the Highlands about a year ago for family reasons. She says she is enjoying the opportunity to paint outdoors more freely.

            During the early days of the pandemic, with time on her hands, Ozelli submitted her art to contests. She won one, then pitched her paintings for exhibits and soon had her work on display. 

            From Ozelli’s Healing Water series

            • Selva

            Ozelli says she was interested from the start in finding a connection between COVID-19 and climate change. “Pollution has a negative impact on health,” she says, noting that scientists have examined the relationship between air pollution and COVID deaths. Ozelli has focused on oceans because “they absorb most of the carbons in the air.”

            With museums closed during the pandemic shutdown, Ozelli began sharing her work through digital art shows on video. “We found there was a long list of museums interested in showing the work, and it all organically fell into place.” 

            At the beginning of the lockdown, the U.N. and the World Health Organization issued an open call for artwork about COVID-19. Ozelli saw the announcement in Artnet News and “quickly made 16 portraits of my childhood friends, in case we did not survive.” 

            All 16 were selected, which opened doors for them to be displayed at U.N. conferences and online by institutions such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

            Ozelli’s first Climate Change Conference was COP26 (the acronym stands for Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, plus the number of the annual meeting) in 2021. She was invited to participate in COP27 and COP28. She says she selects the topic of her art based on the issues that will be discussed and the country where the conference takes place. 

            From Ozelli’s Orcas and Reefs series

            • Orcas and Reefs 1

            For COP28 she and four friends and colleagues — Fatma Kadir, Mehmet Sinan Kuran, Gunsu Saracoglu and Ilhan Sayin — prepared a show called The Future of Power.

            “Three of us are oil painters, one is a mixed-media artist and one works with ink on paper,” she says. “Everybody picks a topic that has to do with climate change. For example, one person focused on pollution’s impact on birdlife.”

            The group exhibited the art at two pavilions at COP28, which was held in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. 

            Next summer, beginning Aug. 10, Ozelli will keep things local, curating a seven-week show called Pink & Blue at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon. The show will tie together the art created by the group of five with that of mostly local photographers Lori Adams, Ross Corsair, Cali Gorevic, Zinnia Gutowski, Ian Hutton, Annette Solakoglu and Jane Soodalter. 

            On the main level, the artists will display their oil paintings in a 30-by-30-inch format. The photographers’ work will line the second story. All will create art based on the title, which evokes pink polluted skies and blue, clean sky, and the fact that particles in the air that create the colors can reflect something ominous. 

            The Beacon show will coincide with New York Climate Week and the U.N. General Assembly. The artist group intends to make a video of the Howland show and exhibit at COP29, which will take place in 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea.

            To see more of the artwork from The Future of Power, visit bit.ly/future-power.

            ]]>             Interview: Ian Hutton &amp; The Sustainable Lord Howe Island Museum https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-ian-hutton-the-sustainable-lord-howe-island-museum https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-ian-hutton-the-sustainable-lord-howe-island-museum Mon, 01 Jan 2024 10:04:49 -0500 Selva Ozelli museum, heritage, cop28 Lord Howe Island Group (LHIG), an Australian island group in the Tasman Sea east of Port Macquarie, is one of the most beautiful islands in the Pacific and an iconic tourist destination.    

            The Lord Howe Island Group was inscribed on the World Heritage Register in 1982 under the United Nations' World Heritage Convention in recognition of its superlative natural phenomena and its rich terrestrial and marine biodiversity as an outstanding example of an island ecosystem developed from submarine volcanic origin containing a unique biota of plants and animals, as well as the world’s most southerly true coral reef.

            2 Masked Booby on the Island
            2 Masked Booby on the Island. Photo: Ian Hutton.

            It is an area of spectacular and scenic landscapes encapsulated within a small land area. It provides important breeding grounds for colonies of seabirds as well as a significant natural habitat for the conservation of threatened species.   

            The same year, to preserve the Island's native flora and fauna, the Lord Howe Island Permanent Park Preserve (LHI PPP) was created in accordance with the Lord Howe Island Act 1953 and the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.   

            As luck would have it, 1982  was also the year the Museum’s curator, Ian Hutton a Naturalist, Photographer, and Conservationist (https://ianhutton.info), arrived on the  Island too. Ian explained,

            "living on Lord Howe Island is like living inside a David Attenborough documentary. From the beginning, I set out to emulate the great naturalist, exploring and documenting the Island’s diverse habitats, marine life, plants, birds, and weather patterns. As there is little I enjoy more than the chance to share my passion for the island and its environment with others,  I have led innumerable private tours, day walks, and multi-day trips, Weed Eco Tours, sharing my passions and knowledge of the island’s natural history with visitors to Lord Howe Island.” 

            The museum was upgraded in 2001 to a standard befitting the Island’s status as a World Heritage Site with two galleries. The James Dorman Historical Gallery uses artifacts, models, and paintings to tell the story of human history on the Island, dating from 1788. The Ian Kiernan Environmental Gallery uses colorful, informative displays to illustrate and explain the island's geology, flora, fauna, and marine life over millennia.  

            Lord Howe Island Museum

            The Museum -- part of the museum and galleries of NSW -- holds the world’s largest single collection of books, maps, journals, and documents related to Lord Howe Island. 

            In 2002, Ian was appointed as the part-time curator of the Museum and has overseen and coordinated many changes during the last twenty years in that role.  

            A gifted photographer, Ian recorded the raw beauty, birds, marine life, and plants of the island published in over 12 books and field guides on Lord Howe Island.  

            Lord Howe Island Ecosystem
            Photo: Ian Hutton.

            He played an important part in preserving Lord Howe Island’s ecosystem, spearheading eradication projects to rid the island of the feral weeds and rats that threatened the Island’s delicate balance. 

            Ian worked with universities, botanic gardens, and museums from around the world, contributing to numerous documentary films and research papers on Lord Howe Island’s unique ecology.  

            In 2003, Ian began a project to digitize the photo collection, and over 6,000 photographs and some thousands of documents have been scanned and digitized thus far (view the gallery here).

            Twice a week, Ian lectured at the Lord Howe Island Museum about the Island’s history, conservation, flora, and fauna. In 2006, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to conservation and tourism on Lord Howe Island. 

            In 2021, the Lord Howe Island began running on  1.2 MW of solar PV generation with over 3.2 MWh of battery storage: this reduced emissions and improved financial and environmental sustainability.  The same year, Ian was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Environmental and Physical Sciences by Southern Cross University, recognizing his lifetime contribution to the island's ecology. 

            Sustainable Stall Lord Howe Island Museum

            While Lord Howe Island and the Museum have taken measures to mitigate the impact of climate change on the environment, research data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) offers a meticulous perspective on the state of wildlife conservation across nations. The data casts a spotlight on Australia, the top third country with the most animal diversity and the top third country with the highest number of threatened animal species, ringing alarm bells.  

            “The extinct Horned Turtle became the logo of the museum (Meiolania platyceps). This creature used to roam around the low parts of the islands until about 120,000 years ago. Its fossil bones had been collected from the 1850’s, but a find in 1972 recovered a complete fossil skeleton. The AMNH prepared the bones to make a full sized model of this skeleton, which is on display at the museum.”

            Explained Ian. Adding

            “I am deeply grateful to have been able to live and work on Lord Howe Island for over four decades. The museum is open all year round, 7 days a week, from 9am daily. Even if you cannot visit, you can browse through our Museum’s website and learn about our latest exhibitions, animal and plant factsheets, citizen science and education programs, and even the Island’s solar energy dashboard LHI Board’s live-linked dashboard."

            Lord Howe Woodhen
            Lord Howe Woodhen. Photo: Ian Hutton.
            ]]>             The Historic and Enigmatic COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-historic-and-enigmatic-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-historic-and-enigmatic-cop28 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 10:01:16 -0500 Selva Ozelli

            Against a backdrop of controversy, geopolitical conflicts, and increasing extreme weather events, the summit took place in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the world's top 10 oil-producing nations, from November 30 to  December 12, 2023. Although it overran a day with a historic outcome when it came to implementing the landmark Paris Agreement, which has three main pillars: mitigating future climate change by reducing carbon emissions, adapting to future climate disasters, and redressing the loss and damage that can’t be prevented. 

            Establishing a Loss and Damage Fund

            As climate-driven disasters continue to make headlines around the world, the fate of millions in especially vulnerable regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia hinged on the question of how countries will adapt to climate change and who exactly will pay for the phenomenally expensive undertaking.

            A recent report said finance for adaptation needed to reach US$194bn-US$366bn a year. Yet the most recent evidence showed that adaptation funding went down 15% in 2021 from the previous year to US$24.6bn.

            Pressure was high throughout the conference to avoid appearing to have caved to OPEC lobbyists.  So, the first day of the conference kicked off with establishing a first-of-its-kind loss and damage fund to help nations hit hardest by the climate crisis.

            Mary Friel, the IFRC’s Climate Policy lead, pointed out that

            “The historic progress on Loss and Damage which began this COP was a notable success. But not moving forward on adaptation would be a major failure.”

            The Loss and Damage Fund needs funds! While current commitments get the fund off the ground, they are a tiny fraction of what’s needed.

            Jagan Chapagain, the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General of the IFRC added, 

            “This agreement is a step in the right direction – but we needed a leap. The establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund and progress on the Global Goal of Adaptation are both welcome. It’s good, too, that there’s some improved language on mitigation. But this is not yet backed by the necessary finance, and everything is happening far too slowly. We need to be focused on reaching those who need action most. Communities are suffering now. They need action now.”

            Effective coordination is needed with wider funding arrangements to identify gaps and reach people in need. Because we will see more intense, frequent, and overlapping extreme climate and weather events destroying homes, lives, and livelihoods, with sea level rise taking away people’s lands and ways of life.

            The IFRC supports communities to prepare for and react to extreme weather and climate-related hazards worldwide. Those hazards are getting more frequent and worse. In just the last two weeks alone, while COP28 has been underway, Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers have been helping people following floods in Kenya, Angola, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic, and Tanzania. Families and communities are already dealing with the very real impacts of extreme weather; as climate change gets more severe, those needs will grow exponentially. We, therefore, remind the world that words are never enough. We need action, a great leap forward in action.

            Establishing a Group of Friends - Culture-Based Climate Action Plan

            After a decade of campaigning for the Global Call to put Culture at the Heart of Climate Action,

            on December 8th, participants in an inaugural meeting at COP28 unanimously adopted the Emirates Declaration on Culture-Based Climate Action. The Global Call to Action initiative is backed by founding signatories and is funded by the UAE Ministry of Culture in partnership with the ALIPH Foundation.

            Architectural practices are central to climate mitigation strategies, to foster partnerships that prioritize sustainable urban environments in climate policy, and to showcase innovative design strategies that reduce carbon footprints and enhance resilience to climate change.  

            “It’s important to mention that buildings contribute up to 80% of CO2 emissions, so developing a sustainable architecture is critical, not only to achieving SDG11 by creating resilient, inclusive, and energy-efficient urban spaces but also to fight climate change (SDG 13).”

            pointed out the International Union of Architects (UIA) team members Dr. Iman O. Gawad, Professor of Sustainable Architecture, Fine Arts Faculty, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt, Cid Blanco, Co-Director of the UIA Commission on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Gaetan Siew, Founding Partner, Visio Architects and UIA Ambassador to COP28.

            The historic inaugural meeting of Culture-Based Climate Action at COP28 was live streamed, where H.E. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Culture, explained:

            “We need to create a path for integrating culture into climate policy for the future, as well as raise awareness of culture’s transformative powers to change behavior and imagine its ability to unlock creative solutions that can engage all members of society across all sectors.” 

            The inaugural meeting was attended by over 30 Ministers or government representatives and a large delegation of committed cultural advocates, such as UNESCO, ALECSO, ICESCO, the European Union represented by the European Commission,  ALIPH (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas), Brazil Climate Action Hub, British Council, Europa Nostra/European Heritage Hub, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), International Council of Museums, (ICOM), International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), International Peace Institute, Julie’s Bicycle, People’s Palace Projects, Petra National Trust, The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage, Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Alliance (SEACHA), and World Monuments Fund (WMF).

            FUTURE OF ENERGY ART SHOW AT THE RESILIENCE HUB OF COP28

            “The launch of the Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action is a landmark achievement of which we can be proud of.  I am looking forward to launching the now-more-urgent-than-ever Dubai-Baku-Belem Action Plan for Culture together,”

            added Andrew Potts of the Climate Heritage Network Secretariat. 

            Reducing Fossil Fuel Production and Use

            Government ministers representing nearly 200 countries at the COP28 agreed to a deal that calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science after a previous proposal was met with heated and widespread backlash.

            Climate advocate and former US Vice President Al Gore warned in a post on X that the summit was “on the verge of complete failure,” pointing specifically to OPEC as part of the problem.

            “The world desperately needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible,”

            Gore added.

            “With an unprecedented reference to transitioning away from all fossil fuels, The UAE Consensus is delivering a paradigm shift that has the potential to redefine our economies.”

            ]]>             Interview: Art of Change 21 at COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-art-of-change-21-at-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-art-of-change-21-at-cop28 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 09:53:09 -0500 Selva Ozelli climate change, activist, cop28 1. Tell us about Art of Change 21 and the vision that led to this organization’s establishment

            In the face of the accelerating climate emergency, Art of Change 21 is a UN Observer NGO that believes in the power of artists and creativity in enabling the environmental transition. It was founded by current chair and president Alice Audouin, a specialist in both contemporary art and sustainable development, in 2014, just ahead of COP21, under the patronage of the artist Olafur Eliasson.

            Our principal missions are: to support and promote the work of environmentally-engaged artists; to catalyse change through exhibitions at major environmental events such as COP; to mobilise the general public through art and creativity; and to reduce the environmental impact of the arts sector.

            Al Serkal Art Of Change Opening Photo
            Al Serkal Art Of Change Opening Photo.

            In order to achieve these ambitions, Art of Change 21 engages in various modes of actions, including exhibitions, art prizes, panel discussions, artist-led campaigns, events during COP, and “Impact Art News”, our online publication in English & French dedicated to news and exhibitions linking art and environment. These actions have been led in collaboration with numerous major environmentally-focused artists, including Tomás Saraceno, Mark Dion, Julian Charrière, Minerva Cuevas, Romuald Hazoumé, and Janet Laurence. 

            2.  Tell us about the organizations that support your activities

            Our historical partners are the French Ministry of Culture, ADEME (French Environmental Agency), Maison Ruinart, Maison Guerlain, Schneider Electric Foundation, and the Norsys Foundation. For our actions at COP28, we were supported by R3 Group, Ruinart, and the Fondation LAccolade.

            3.  Tell us about the Caire Game initiative

            One of Art of Change 21’s first actions, at COP21 in 2015, was a co-creation event called the “Conclave,” which brought together artists, social entrepreneurs, and environmental leaders from across the world to come up with new ideas for how to mobilise the public for the environment. Two solutions that came out were «Maskbook» and «Caire Game».

            Caire Game is an online tool that informs and provides easy, everyday solutions to help with climate change, adapted to each individual’s lifestyle. One of the weakest links in the fight against climate change is informing people what they can do in an everyday scenario to reduce their consumption and carbon emissions. For all the CO2 emissions that you save, you win “points,” which are in turn used to finance fuel poverty programs in France and Europe.

            Artist Yann Toma came up with the name “Caire,” which is the combination of “care” and “air.” The premise was that if everyone takes care of the air we breathe, this benefit will be bequeathed to future generations. 

            It has also been presented at major environmental events in the form of a "Caire Game Wheel” to raise awareness and engage the public. These include COP21, COP22, and the International Forum of Weather and Climate in Paris in 2016. It is now discontinued, but given how effective it was, we would love to make a new version, if we find funding for it.

            4.   How long have you been exhibiting at COP

            Art of Change 21 has played a key role at each annual COP climate conference since COP21, alongside some of the world’s leading environmentally engaged contemporary artists, such as John Gerrard, Hassan Hajjaj, Wen Fang, Lucy Orta, and Jérémy Gobé. 

            For example, at COP26 in Glasgow, UK (2021), Art of Change 21 inaugurated John Gerrard’s monumental video artwork “Flare (Oceania)” in front of the University of Glasgow, a powerful image showing the dangers of fossil fuels and the importance of intra-country collaboration to resolve our climate crisis. 

            For COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco, Art of Change 21 organised BALAD_E, a far-reaching cultural event that invited the public to workshops, round-table discussions, exhibitions, artistic performances, and gatherings around art, innovation, and sustainable development in different emblematic locations in Marrakesh, from the Riad Yima, home to the renowned Moroccan “upcycling” artist Hassan Hajjaj, to the UNFCCC Green Zone or city hotspot Cafe Clock.

            Maskbook - Save the World.
            Maskbook - Save the World.

            Maskbook, both an international, collective work of art and an environmental citizen action campaign - has been held at every COP since COP21, with over 8,000 participants from over 30 countries. At COP27 in Egypt, workshops held in 4 different cities around the country culminated in an exhibition of the strongest masks and messages at the heart of the COP27 Green Zone. 

            5.  Tell us about your COP28 programming

            For our “ART AT COP28” Programme, Art of Change 21 is collaborating with the internationally-renowned artist Julian Charrière and Alserkal Initiatives to open the climate-oriented exhibition “Melting Point” in Alserkal Avenue’s Project Space.

            Melting Point - COP28
            Melting Point - COP28.

            The show brings to light rarely-seen perspectives of our planet’s Polar regions. Centred around three large video works, Julian Charrière has transformed the site into an immersive experience depicting the glacial realm, providing a first-hand account of the consequences of climate change on these distant but significant landscapes, whose ever-accelerating melting risks becoming an important tipping point that could derail the remaining global climate equilibrium.

            Secondly, we held a roundtable discussion at the COP28 France Pavilion, entitled “The Power of Art to Respond to the Climate Crisis,” in collaboration with France Muséums, which invited voices from the art and culture community locally and internationally to be heard at the heart of COP, including Talin Hazbar (Artist based in the UAE), Vilma Jurkute (Executive Director, Alserkal Initiatives) and Alison Tickell (Julie’s Bicycle Founder-CEO and member of the Climate Heritage Network).

            Art of Change 21 Chair and Founder Alice Audouin is also speaking at the Louvre Abu Dhabi during their event on “Sustainability in Museums.”

            Finally, Art of Change 21 is a founding member of the Climate Heritage Network-led “Global Call to Action to Put Cultural Heritage, Arts. and Creative Sectors at the Heart of Climate Action”, signed by thousands of cultural institutions and individuals and which aims to be signed by as many countries as possible during COP28.

            6.  Anything else you would like to add

            To use the words of our founder Alice Audouin, we must not forget that the ecological transition is above all a cultural transition.

            7.  How can artists get involved with Art of Change 21?

            At the start of 2024, we will be launching the second edition of our Eco-design Art Prize, in collaboration with the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

            This annual art award brings together for the first time both artists and experts in “eco-design” to accelerate and promote the culture and practice of environmentally sustainable production in artistic creation and help artists to reduce the environmental impact. Despite growing demand from artists, a lack of knowledge, resources, and clear methodologies remains a large barrier to greater adoption, which we are trying to resolve.

            Julian Charrière, Towards No Earthly Pole
            Julian Charrière, Towards No Earthly Pole, 2019 Copyright the artist; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Germany

            Last year, 12 laureates were chosen by a prestigious jury, including artist Julian Charrière, Palais de Tokyo President Guillaume Desanges, and Director of l’Ecole des arts décoratifs de Paris, Emmanuel Tibloux, and each finalist was invited to take part in three intensive workshop days run by recognized eco-design experts from the art sector. Two finalists also benefited from a full life-cycle analysis of their practice.

            For now, the Prize is only open to French or France-based artists, but the objective is to enable a global dynamic around this subject through further, more wide-reaching editions, as well as online resources. This prize is just the first step in a wider ambition to equip artists with an “ecological” mindset that will enable them to adapt and anticipate the major changes to come.

            We will also soon be launching a membership program for artists to become part of the Art of Change 21 community. Stay tuned via our newsletter or Instagram.

            10.  What is your contact information
            Stefano Vendramin, Director of Programmes Art of Change 21. stefano.vendramin@artofchange21.com

            ]]>             Interview: Jarunee Khongswasdi, Bringing Culture to COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-jarunee-khongswasdi-bringing-culture-to-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-jarunee-khongswasdi-bringing-culture-to-cop28 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 09:52:22 -0500 Selva Ozelli cop28, activism 1. Tell us about The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage and its mission

            In the early 20th century, Bangkok was crowded with foreign expats, but there were no places where people could learn about Thai and Southeast Asian civilization.

            Thai and foreign scholars in Bangkok at that time founded 'The Siam Society' in 1904 with a mission to promote knowledge of Thailand's culture, history, arts, and natural sciences and those of neighboring countries. The Society’s activities are guided by its motto: “Knowledge Gives Rise to Friendship.” 

            From then to now, almost 120 years, the Siam Society has continued the same mission by expanding the scope of works to evolve with the members' new subjects of interest. Our major activities and services include publishing two journals, The Journal of the Siam Society (JSS) and the Natural History Bulletin (NHBSS), conducting lecture and study trip programs, and conducting cultural exchange programs.

            The Siam Society library was recognized as an “Outstanding Specialist Library” by the Thai Library Association in 2014, it opens for both members and non-members. We also own a Northern Thai House Museum called Kamthieng House, which represents one of the finest traditional buildings with low-carbon cultural heritage and tells the story of the Northern Thai people's way of life. The museum will be closed from the end of this year to October 2024 for a major restoration. 

            Apart from the knowledge exchange programs, The Siam Society also works on cultural heritage advocacy through the Siamese Heritage Trust section which I am in charge of. We raise public awareness of cultural heritage issues through panel discussions, partnerships with media, proposing the revision of outdated cultural heritage laws, and campaigning for the review of some inappropriate projects that will have negative impacts on cultural heritage/landscapes.  

            Learn more about the Siam Society Under Royal Patronage at https://thesiamsociety.org/

            2. Tell us about how you personally got involved with this organization and your work at this organization

            My first visit to the Siam Society was around 2010, when a friend invited me to listen to classical music there. I was impressed by its tranquil atmosphere in the heart of Bangkok city and I learned more about what the Siam Society is doing and found we share the same core values. I looked for opportunities to do something at the Siam Society.

            Soon after I received my MA in Cultural Management program in 2011 from Chulalongkorn University, I got good news from my professor that The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage was opening a new section for cultural heritage protection. I did not hesitate to apply for this job, and I am sure to be working happily with the civil society organization as it will be more dynamic and challenging.

            I love to work on protecting 'cultural heritage' because it contains people's memories, good and bad, inside.

            It contains knowledge of people in the past and stories that they were facing, and it provides room for connections between people of yesterday and tomorrow. Protecting cultural heritage is protecting social history, knowledge, and people's memories. 

            My section, Siamese Heritage Trust, realized that Thailand’s cultural heritage often faces threats from neglect, lack of funding, commercial encroachment, and inefficient management. The Siamese Heritage Trust aims to raise the visibility of cultural heritage management as a national issue of general public interest. We highlight issues and problems, both tangible and intangible, and generate ideas on how heritage management can be improved. Our scope of interest covers the entire kingdom, focusing on vernacular and community culture and cultural landscapes.

            Siam Heritage Trust focuses its work on four areas: knowledge, education, advocacy, and networking. Programmes under these four areas include public conferences, lectures, study trips, seminars, publications, media opinion pieces, workshops, and training courses. Some of our ongoing projects include publishing 'Heritage Matters' monthly column in cooperation with Bangkok Post and The Standard and developing the 'Siamese Heritage Trust Knowledge Hub', a database of heritage partners in Thailand. The founding of the section has made The Siam Society a leader in cultural heritage protection in Thailand. 

            Please read more about it here.

            However, my current role also covers monitoring SEACHA's activities, namely its Cha-Time monthly talk, and its role in addressing 'Cultural Wisdom' for Climate Action as SEACHA Secretariat. Therefore, whenever opportunities come, I will bring this subject to new audiences and invite them to become our supporters or partners. I also see the necessity of incorporating the cultural wisdom for climate actions into Siamese Heritage Trust's working context in the coming year. 

            3. Which countries does Siam Society operate in

            We have only one office in Bangkok, but our scope of work covers Southeast Asian countries and more.

            We are open to new collaborations with new like-minded partners in SEA and other regions. 

            4. Which organizations does Siam Society collaborate with

            We have partners around the world. You can find some of them on this webpage. 

            To be included on this webpage are Climate Heritage Network, International National Trusts Organisation, Petra National Trust, Europa Nostra, and Julie's Bicycle. 

            5. Thailand, with its breathtaking natural beauty, ornate temples, ruins of ancient kingdoms, and tropical landscapes, is a land of art, culture, and beauty.  Tell us about the elements that shaped Thailand's art and culture.

            Thailand's rich tapestry of art and culture is a harmonious interplay of various elements deeply rooted in its climate, belief systems, social structure, and shared culture with its neighboring countries. 

            In this tropical climate, our ancestors tried wrong and right ways over and over again to adapt themselves until they could stay well in this climate, and it became our culture, our way of life. Characterized by distinct wet and dry seasons, the climate has not only influenced agricultural practices but has also shaped the artistic endeavors of the Thai people. Traditional art forms often depict the vibrant flora and fauna unique to the region, showcasing a profound connection between the artistic heritage and the natural surroundings.

            Thai culture, deeply influenced by Theravada Buddhism, contributes significantly to the ornate temples and ruins of ancient kingdoms that dot the landscape. The belief systems play a pivotal role in Thai art's meticulous craftsmanship and intricate details, reflecting the Tri-bhumi cosmology.

            Thai art is not a standalone creation but rather a mosaic woven with influences from various neighboring kingdoms and cultures, from Khmer, Indian, Chinese, and European sources. This amalgamation of diverse elements has given rise to a unique and distinctive artistic tradition that reflects the richness of Thailand's historical and cultural connections with its neighbors and beyond.

            The social structure of Thailand, historically marked by a monarchy and a hierarchical society, has influenced the patronage of the arts. Royal support has been instrumental in preserving and promoting traditional arts and crafts. 

            In essence, Thailand's art and culture are a testament to the symbiotic relationship between its climate, belief systems, social structure, and shared culture and they are in the good hands of Thailand's cultural authority to preserve and promote the study of them. 

            However, Thailand has not only beautiful temples and ancient monuments but also living communities of people of different beliefs and cultures.

            They are the caretaker of uncountable valuable vernacular traditions and built heritages that are vulnerable to the encroachment of land development. Siamese Heritage Trust is promoting the betterment of Cultural Heritage Management that focuses on the vernacular heritage.

            6. Tell us about the Siam Society’s programming as part of SEACHA for Culture at COP28

            The Siam Society is the Co-Chair of the working committee on 'Culture for Climate Change' alongside SEACHA, Petra National Trust, and Climate Heritage Network.

            Ms. Moe Moe Lwin is the representative from The Siam Society /SEACHA as the Co-Chair. We promote the Call to Action campaign to Thailand and Southeast Asian audiences. We invite non-state parties to support the Call to Action. We informed our cultural authority to be prepared for the newly created GFCBCA and the first-ever cultural ministerial meeting at COP.

            We act as event organizers, fundraisers, and program coordinators for the side events. 

            7. Tell us about the Siam Society’s collaboration with Climate Heritage Network

            We have been a member of the Climate Heritage Network for several years. We have been trying to join some of the working group meetings.

            However, because of the time difference, we did not participate with CHN's working group meetings as much as we would like to. 

            The engagement with COP28 opens up the way we can really work together for the first time. Thanks to Mr. Andrew Potts, who attended our Conference on "Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action: The Southeast Asian Contribution" in January this year. Thanks for his trust that we are the right network to work with to bring SEA cultural voices to COP28. 

            8.  Tell us about Siam Society’s collaboration with Petra Institute

            This is also the first time that we have collaborated with Petra National Trust. 

            I do believe that working together on such an important project will lead us to fruitful and uncountable collaborations in the future.

            9.  Anything else you would like to add

            Personally, I have a special interest in intangible culture, such as belief and traditional practices.

            Recently, I have an article published in the Journal of the Siam Society on "Community Forests as Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Community Forest Act of 2019" Vol. 110 no.1 (2022). You can read the article here.

            I also would like to promote a book, which is a proceedings of The Siam Society/SEACHA Conference on "Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action: The Southeast Asian Contribution," conducted on 12-14 January 2023.

            Just scan the QR Code, and you will find good articles telling how cultural wisdom can be used as a tool for climate actions.

            10.  How can people reach you

            LinkedIn
            Jarunee@thesiamsociety.org

            ]]>             Interview: Moe Moe Lwin, Vice Chairperson, SEACHA https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-moe-moe-lwin-vice-chairperson-seacha https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-moe-moe-lwin-vice-chairperson-seacha Mon, 01 Jan 2024 09:51:36 -0500 Selva Ozelli SDGs, SDG13, Climate Change 1.  Tell us about SEACHA and the vision that established the organization

            SEACHA is digital-based cultural alliance of non-state cultural heritage organizations from ASEAN member states. It was set up in 2019.

            It aims to promote effective government-community partnership in cultural heritage management in Southeast Asia, to strengthen the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community as a people-centered third pillar of ASEAN, and serve both as a networking forum between ASEAN member organizations, with an aim to be a dialogue partner of ASEAN governments and the ASEAN secretariat further.

            2.  Tell us about the members of SEACHA and what the organization does

            SEACHA promotes Southeast Asian built heritage and cultural landscape, cultural wisdom, and practice in relation to climate change. All of its activities such as Cha-Time with SEACHA, Heritage Clinic, and conference reflect this.

            Currently, we have 8 founding member organizations from 8 ASEAN nations except Cambodia and Brunei Darussalam. Indonesia Heritage Trust, Mulberries of Laos PDR, Penang Heritage Trust from Malaysia, Yangon Heritage Trust from Myanmar, The Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines, Singapore Heritage Society, The Siam Society under Royal Patronage from Thailand, and Center for Research and Promotion of Cultural Heritage of Vietnam.

            The secretariat is based in The Siam Society in Bangkok.

            3.  Tell us about the Yangon Heritage Trust and its Heritage Strategy for the city

            Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT) was founded in 2012 to promote and protect Yangon’s unique urban heritage. Though its mission in the beginning was more emphasized to protect the city's built heritage environment from rising development waves, the Trust changed its vision to pay attention to wider city’s built, cultural, and natural heritage landscape in integrating with urban planning and design.

            In 2016, before the democratically elected government was in power, YHT prepared ‘Yangon Heritage Strategy’ that contained 24 actionable projects to make Yangon more liveable while conserving its significant urban heritage landscape.

            4.   Tell us about how you personally got involved with SEACHA and the Yangon Heritage Trust 

            I was a practicing architect and General Secretary of the Association of Myanmar Architects when I joined the founding board of Yangon Heritage Trust in 2012.

            I took the role of Director as a fulltime job soon after it was set up. In 2019, YHT joined SEACHA as a founding member organization together with other 7 fellow organizations, and I became one of the founding board members.

            5.  Tell us about SEACHA's joint working committee with The Siam Society for Culture@COP28 Initiative by CHN (Climate Heritage Network) together with the Petra National Trust from Jordan, focused on the Asia-Pacific Region

            SEACHA organized a conference titled “Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action: Southeast Asia Contribution” in Bangkok in Jan 2023, that gave us an opportunity to be engaged with CHN in its initiatives for COP and to be co-chairing Culture@COP28 as this year's theme of the COP is Asia.

            6. What are your six activities to voice Southeast Asian perspectives on how cultural wisdom can help us cope with climate change at COP28?

            7.  Tell us about the participants in these activities

            I will be participating in 2 activities out of 6. Both will be on the 9th. One as a moderator for SEORS side event and one at the Indonesian Pavilion ‘Climate and Urban Culture.’

            ]]>             Interview: Thepduangchan Bounthideth, Culture, Nature &amp; COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-thepduangchan-bounthideth-culture-nature-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-thepduangchan-bounthideth-culture-nature-cop28 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 09:50:46 -0500 Selva Ozelli UNESCO, activist, cop28 1. Tell us your name and the school you are attending/attended

            Hello, I’m Thepduangchan Bounthideth. With a robust background in people and culture, I’ve honed my skills in resources management and local hospitality for a decade.

            2. Tell us about your interest and involvement in culture, nature and the environment

            Personally, I am passionate about rural life and local traditions, and I found the relationship between cultures and environment conservation. As SEACHA opened up opportunities for young people, I had the chance to join as a youth representative. I wish to bring cultural practices from individuals, organizations, and communities to be part of climate action.

            My profound passion lies in preserving cultural heritage on intangible and tangible heritage. I am deeply involved in initiatives aimed at safeguarding cultural traditions and rituals that encapsulate our rich wisdoms.

            Through active participation in heritage preservation organizations, I’ve contributed to documenting indigenous practices and advocating for their recognition in the community Heritage for Sustainability Youth Forum Lao PDR for Capacity Building Workshop on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding and Sustainable Development for Youth in 2021 by UNESCO and CRIHAP and keep expanding networking through 2023 Youth Forums: I(CH)nspiring: Youth Empowerment and Connection through Living Heritage on International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP).

            Additionally, I’ve engaged in collaborative projects with youth teams, winning Top5 legacies by integrating documentaries in 4 target provinces in Laos. The project was supported in 2021 by Cultural Vitas. By integrating modern approaches with time-honored traditions, we aim to ensure that our diverse cultural heritage remains alive and cherished for future generations.

            3.  How did you get involved with the Climate Heritage Network

            My journey with the Climate Heritage Network began as a pivotal moment when my passion for cultural preservation intersected with the urgency of climate action. It all started with a SEACHA for “ASEAN Heritage: Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action”!

            I found the inseparable link between our heritage and the pressing need to protect it from the impacts of climate change. With the time I spent researching my studies, SEACHA provided the workshop and a great chance for me to meet the youth from ASEAN countries. This realization ignited my quest to find a platform that marries cultural heritage with climate resilience.

            Upon discovering the Climate Heritage Network, I was captivated by the mission to integrate a sustainability approach to transformational leadership. I am eager to contribute to the ESG model (Environment, Social, and Governance) in my thesis.

            I engaged by attending the SEACHA conference in 2023. Joining this network has not only provided me with a platform to merge my passion for heritage with climate advocacy but has also connected me with a global youth community striving to safeguard our shared heritage in the face of climate adversity.

            4. What are your COP28 cultural activities?

            I will be on 6th December as a panel discussion on the topic Youth Advocates of Culture for Climate Action: Southeast Asian Voice and on 8th December on the topic Ancestral Wisdom as Tools for Climate Action: Southeast Asian Voice.

            5. Is the youth in Laos involved in the climate conversation –  joining a burgeoning global cohort of youth passionately committed to fostering change for their peers?  What is your involvement?

            Yes, many activities promote and get youth involved in the climate conversation, such as the voice of youth in climate action, green initiatives for single-use plastics, waste-to-value projects, and youth-led organizations on environmental issues. I’m not sure if I could mention activities from them all. There is the “European Union in Laos,” “Swisscontact LaosPDR,” “ Green Vientiane,” “Zero Waste Laos,” and “Plastic free Laos.”

            I would create cultural heritage to get involved more in climate action. Whether it’s organizing awareness campaigns or implementing grassroots projects, emphasize how cultural heritage and the environment are intricately interconnected.

            Highlight the vulnerability of cultural heritage to climate-related risks such as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, or changing landscapes. Also underscores the resilience and adaptive strategies embedded in traditional knowledge and cultural practices.

            Identify how climate change threatens cultural identities by endangering historical sites, indigenous knowledge, languages, and traditional practices integral to communities’ identities.

            Advocate for collaborative efforts among stakeholders, including communities, governments, NGOs, and international organizations, to protect cultural heritage in the face of climate change.

            Encourage actionable steps that integrate heritage conservation into climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.

            6.  Anything else you might want to add.

            To wrap up my chat, let’s remember that our cultural heritage is precious, and climate change poses real threats to it. But hey, together, we’ve got power! Let’s spread the word and support each other in protecting our traditions and history. Keep the conversation going, take action in your own way, and let’s create a future where our diverse cultures shine bright.

            7.  How can people reach you?

            LinkedIn

            ]]>             Don’t Let Climate Change Interrupt the Opera https://sdgtalks.ai/dont-let-climate-change-interrupt-the-opera-93157 https://sdgtalks.ai/dont-let-climate-change-interrupt-the-opera-93157 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 09:49:51 -0500 Selva Ozelli sdgs, architecture, opera, art, music Headed by the State oil executive Sultan al-Jaber, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) kick-started in Dubai, UAE, on November 30th with the establishment of a first-of-its-kind Climate Disaster Fund. However, putting a portion of carbon energy profits in a fund to pay for climate disasters highlights government and corporate neglect of climate and ecological breakdown.

            The present socioeconomic system can't protect people, the environment, and nature from the climate crises to come because that system’s very structure creates these crises–and then ignores them.

            Our key institutions, corporations, and governments function according to quarterly profits, the election cycle, and without regard for the long-term dangers to our survival. This system is designed to steal from future generations and cause extreme biodiversity loss, and air and water contamination to maintain a lifestyle that benefits the “one percent” to the detriment of everyone else.

            To highlight this message, young Extinction Rebellion activists in New York City stormed the Metropolitan Opera House on the opening night of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, which explores the theme of the struggle between sacred and profane love, as well as redemption through love.

            The half-hour interruption by activists on the start of COP28 was perfectly timed to coincide with the main character’s declaration that “love is a spring to be drunk from” and was less serious and less inconvenient than the severe weather delays that are now becoming more and more frequent.

            Extreme weather has already disrupted the opera and other indoor and outdoor performances. This has become so common that Ticketmaster has devoted an entire page to weather contingencies.

            In recent months, we’ve seen large-scale performances canceled. Weather-related travel disruptions have prevented artists from reaching the city or venue where they’re scheduled to perform. In at least one case, a heat-related death at an event where drinking water was not permitted caused public outrage and forced cancellation after the event was already underway. 

            Young protestors point out that there is "no opera on a dead planet” and demand an end to fossil fuels. Because, contrary to those words spoken on stage, springs are not pure now, because we are in a climate crisis, and our water is contaminated.

            If protestors don't disrupt the opera, nature will certainly—and soon.

            “If XR doesn’t disrupt, the climate will. Violently. Activists are disrupting peacefully. Nature will disrupt violently.”,

            explained Miles Grant, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson. 

            John Mark Rozendaal, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, cellist, and viola da gamba player added,

            “We love opera. We are interrupting the things we love. We are acting in ways that may seem irrational, but this is because no one is having a sane response to the urgency, danger, and magnitude of the climate crisis. There have been 28 COPs, and emissions have only gone up! We stand to lose everything.” 

            To draw attention to the urgency of the existential crisis that we’re facing, young activists demand the government tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.

            These concerns mirror UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s sentiment:

            "We can't save a burning planet with a firehose of fossil fuels. We must accelerate a just, equitable transition to renewables. The science is clear: The 1.5°C warming limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning fossil fuels. Not reduce. Not abate. Phase out." 

            The climate and ecological crisis threaten everything on our planet, including opera.

            “We're not protesting the event itself; we are not protesting opera; we are not protesting the emissions that brought spectators here. That's not the point. We are here because we have to disrupt this public event as our last resort to draw public attention to the climate emergency we are facing today,”

            Linda Solomon, an Extinction Rebellion activist, said.

            This and similar actions are the response of a movement with no other recourse; it must engage in unconventional forms of protest to bring mass attention to the greatest emergency of our time. All normal means of effecting change commensurate with the scale of the catastrophe – voting, petitioning, lobbying, etc. – have failed and failed again.

            Unfortunately, children and youth face disproportionate risks and impacts from this as the generation who will inherit a planet with tougher conditions in which to live without being responsible for contributing to the problem.

            Artist Fatma Kadir, with her work in Future of Power Art Show on exhibit at the Resilience Hub at COP28, draws attention to young climate change advocates who “at very early ages are becoming plaintiffs in climate litigation around the globe–including Juliana v. United States, Held v. Montana, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Other States –as they advocate for their human right to a clean and healthful environment as granted by their constitutions.

            Youth climate litigation is becoming an integral part of securing climate action and justice. The total number of climate change court cases worldwide has more than doubled since 2017, according to the report prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.”

            Future of Power at Resilience Hub at the COP28

            "We’re not going to stop disrupting, because nature is only getting started. The orange skies and the flooding in New York City this year are just the beginning,"

            said Jack Baldwin, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. The science makes clear that we have only a very small time window in which to end fossil fuel use and halt carbon emissions.

            ]]>             Interview: Lori Ferriss, Architecture 2030 and COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-lori-ferriss-architecture-2030-and-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-lori-ferriss-architecture-2030-and-cop28 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 09:49:06 -0500 Selva Ozelli sdgs, architecture 1. Tell us about ARCHITECTURE 2030 COP28 DELEGATION and its mission

            At COP28, Architecture 2030’s efforts will promote areas of untapped potential to reduce emissions in the built world:

            BEYOND BUILDINGS: DECARBONIZATION’S NEXT FRONTIER Infrastructure, landscape, and urban planning offer untapped potential to reduce emissions and lean into nature.
            INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE: SCALING UP LOW-CARBON TRADITIONS Heritage and indigenous building forms and materials provide carbon and equity benefits at scale.
            EXISTING BUILDINGS: REUSE AS CLIMATE ACTION The greenest building is the one that is already built.
            CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS: ATTACKING EMBODIED CARBON Lower carbon, nature-based, and alternative building materials, right-sizing, and material efficiency radically decrease up-front embodied carbon.

            2.  Tell us about your organization's collaborations

            As an NGO, Architecture 2030 believes that radical collaboration is the path to meaningful, sustained change. That’s why collaborations with organizations like the Climate Heritage Network are so important. We also collaborate with a range of groups, from the UN Alliance for Buildings and Construction to the Carbon Leadership Forum to the American Society for Landscape Architects, to reach all aspects of the built environment.

            3.  For how long has the ARCHITECTURE 2030 COP28 DELEGATION existed?

            We have been developing our approach and delegation for COP28 since right after COP27. Our work on the COPs has been on going year-round since the early 2000s.

            4.  Tell us about your personal reasons for joining the ARCHITECTURE 2030 COP28 DELEGATION

            Buildings are so important to climate action, representing over 40% of global emissions, and yet they are so interconnected to every other part of society.

            I came to COP28 to help bridge between the world of design and cultural heritage and other sectors and to learn about the pressing concerns and solutions happening in other cultures, places, and industries across the globe. Only through better collaboration will we be able to move forward toward a more equitable and resilient future.

            5.  Tell us about where you went to school and the factors that led you to become an environmentalist architect, structural engineer, and conservator known for sustainable redevelopment of historic and existing buildings.

            MIT New House

            I went to MIT as an undergraduate to study architecture. From a young age, I loved old and historic places for their magical connection to people and cultures of the past. As I went through school, I realized that as an architect and building technologist, I was much more interested in stewardship - being one person of the many who contribute to the life of a building and all the people it touches over centuries - than I was in creating new things.

            And For me, environmental performance is integral to the cultural aspect of buildings and the way our built environment connects to our natural environment, particularly in our current times when climate change is a defining part of our reality. 

            I stayed on at MIT to study structural engineering for my masters because I wanted to understand more about how buildings worked. After licensure, I became a heritage consultant to focus my work on significant buildings, but quickly realized that conserving buildings doesn’t mean much if we lose them to climate change or other societal pressures.

            This led me full circle back to architecture, where I have dedicated my practice and research to the sustainable reuse of existing and historic structures, including the development of data and tools to quantifiable demonstrate the critical climate importance of the existing built environment for a more resilient, equitable, and beautiful world.

            6.  Your organization is located in Santa Fe, NM, USA, which has adobe style architecture (beautiful, especially the Taos buildings) and the Georgia O’Keefe Museum.  Are adobe style structures sustainable, and how?

            Adobe has many sustainability attributes. It is locally, naturally occurring material requiring little processing, which makes it low carbon. It is durable and repairable by hand, lending itself to a long service life. It also has a high thermal mass, creating more comfortable indoor environments without the use of mechanical heating and cooling.

            It is a good example of the Architecture 2030 priority of scaling up low-carbon traditions as an important key to the just transition ahead. Heritage and indigenous building forms and materials can inform human-centered, climate positive design at scale. 

            7.  How do you PLAN, DESIGN, AND BUILD FOR sustainability?  Do you mix concepts from past architectural solutions with new technologies?

            I believe that the best sustainability solutions are informed by the past. Before our current technology, we knew how to make buildings out of materials we could find locally, work by hand, and repair over time.

            Architectural form and design were rooted in knowledge of the local climate to maximize human comfort with minimal energy. Building on and evolving this knowledge, we can integrate new technologies that are place-based, human-centered, and adaptive into new buildings.

            Natural materials, like adobe, are a great example of this - there are many ways to integrate biomaterials through new technologies, for example, straw panels, timber structure, and hemp insulation, which are new forms of old technology.

            I think we are at a very interesting moment in which the high-performance design community is “inventing” or rediscovering technology of the past to create zero emissions buildings. Passive design features, like overhangs to block direct sun in the summer or thermal chimneys to promote stack effect that cools by allowing hot air to rise through the building, are being seen much more often in contemporary architecture.

            This also extends to high-tech solutions, like automated windows that are tied into a building management system to provide natural ventilation when the temperature, air quality, humidity, and other factors are conducive. These hybrid past-future approaches are leading to a new era of buildings.

            However, I think we still have a ways to come in terms of remembering the human component of these strategies. While it may save energy and improve health and happiness to have open windows, if we don’t open and close them ourselves, we still have a real disconnect between indoor habitats and the environment - this is a fundamental issue with our built environment in developed areas of the world.

            8.  Do you incorporate renewable energy solutions in your buildings?

            Yes, the first strategy should always be efficiency - reduce demand for energy using passive strategies and through occupant behavior - but moving off of fossil fuels and using renewable electricity is key to zero emissions buildings for both old and new construction.

            9.  What is your COP28 programming?

            Architecture 2030 Programs at COP28

            Exhibit | Buildings and Infrastructure as Core Climate Solutions
            Friday-Sunday 1-3 December Booth 6, Blue Zone 

            Market Transformation Activation – Preparing for Paris 2024
            Session information and live stream here
            Tuesday 2 December 16:00 – 17:00 Buildings Pavilion, Blue Zone

            Enabling Circularity in the Built Environment
            Session information and live stream here
            Tuesday 5 December 15:00 – 16:00 Buildings Pavilion, Blue Zone

            Driving Higher Education for Global Action
            Tuesday 5 December 14:30 – 15:30 Thailand Pavilion, Blue Zone

            Enhancing Urban Water Resilience through Nature Based Solutions in Public Places
            Session information and register here
            Tuesday 5 December 15:30-17:00 Water Pavilion, Blue Zone

            Scaling Up Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Environments
            Session information and live stream here
            Wednesday 6 December 13:15 – 14:15 IUCN Pavilion, Blue Zone

            Fifth Industrial Revolution & Closing the Carbon Loop
            Session information and live stream here
            Wednesday 6 December 15:00 – 16:30 Buildings Pavilion, Blue Zone

            Nature-Based Solutions in the Built Environment
            Wednesday 6 December 16:00 – 17:00 Thailand Pavilion, Blue Zone

            Nature-Based Solutions & the Built Environment: Designing for Resilience, Drawdown & Biodiversity
            Friday 8 December 16:00 – 17:00 UN Side Event, SE Room 9, Blue Zone

            Footprint & Handprint: Building at the Nexus of Culture, Economy and Climate
            Sunday 10 December 15:30 – 16:30 Thailand Pavilion, Blue Zone

            10. How long have you been attending the COP?

            Architecture 2030 has been attending COPs since the mid 2000s.
            This is my third COP experience, but my first time attending in person. 

            11. Anything else you would like to add

            In order to protect our cultures and our buildings, we have to collaborate more. The cultural heritage community has so much knowledge to bring to the construction industry, and we need this knowledge deployed at scale to address the more than 220 billion square meters of buildings we already have and to accommodate projected growth. The crisis is urgent and the time is now to learn from and work closely together.

            12. How can people get in touch with you?

            LinkedIn.
            ferriss@architecture2030.org

            ]]>             Doing More with Less: Ensuring Sustainable Consumption and Production https://sdgtalks.ai/doing-more-with-less-ensuring-sustainable-consumption-and-production https://sdgtalks.ai/doing-more-with-less-ensuring-sustainable-consumption-and-production Sun, 31 Dec 2023 18:29:47 -0500 Jarret Frank sustainable consumption and production, sdgs, sustainability

            Every year, about one third of all food produced—about 1.3 billion tonnes—is wasted while 1 billion people remain undernourished and another 1 billion go to bed hungry. Households consume 29% of global energy contributing to 21% of carbon dioxide emissions (UNEP, 2020), pointing to the significant linkage between sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and the climate change challenge of ensuring access to renewable energy and the regulation of building standards to reflect best practice in green architecture.

            A family in the Global North throws away an average of 30 kg of clothing each year. Only 15% is recycled or donated, and the rest goes directly to the landfill or is incinerated. Every year, 70 million trees in endangered and ancient forests are cut down and replaced by plantations of trees used to make wood-based fabrics, such as rayon, viscose, and modal (Sustain Your Style, 2020).

            Sustainable consumption and production: The use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardise the need of future generations.

            Norwegian Ministry of Environment, Oslo Symposium on SCP, 1994

            Should the global population reach 9.6 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets would be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles (UNEP, 2020). Ensuring SCP has been one of the greatest global challenges over the past fifty years.

            Evolution of the “Sustainable Consumption and Production” Theme at the UN

            Declarations and plans to take responsibility for sustainable consumption and production patterns have been part and parcel of the United Nations cycle of sustainable development conferences stretching back to the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. The conferences continue trying to respond to scientific and civil society demands to recognize “Spaceship Earth” (Fuller, 1968; Ward, 1966) is a closed system with limited capacity to fuel economic growth and absorb its by-products, including pollution and greenhouse gases.

            A ground-breaking initiative came in 1972 with the publication of the report, Limits to Growth, by a network of scientists and industrialists known as the Club of Rome (Meadows et. al., 1972). They commissioned the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to use computer simulations to dramatically demonstrate the futility of the human race we cannot win: the race between our capacity to sustain static stocks of resources and satisfy geometric growth rates in population and consumption.

            Arguments for restraints in consumption and a steady-state economy followed with Herman Daly’s Toward a Steady-State Economy (1973). This swell of concern had little impact on mainstream debates until 1987 and the publication of the World Commission on Sustainable Development’s report, Our Common Future (Brundtland Commission report). This report stressed that meeting essential human needs requires not only a new era of economic growth for nations where the majority remain in poverty, but an assurance that those living in poverty get their fair share of the resources. Equally, the report called on the affluent to adopt lifestyles within the planet’s ecological means. It has become increasingly well understood that economic growth as an ideology has been used to disguise and defer tackling the persistent problem of inequality.

            Sustainable global development requires that those who are more affluent adopt life-styles within the planet's ecological means—in their use of energy, for example... sustainable development can only be pursued if population size and growth are in harmony with the changing productive potential of the ecosystem.

            Our Common Future, Paragraph 29

            Five years later, the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which called on states to reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. After another ten years, the World Summit on Sustainable Development convened in Johannesburg, South Africa, and called for fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume. This call was accompanied by a mandate for a ten-year framework of programmes (10YFP) to support regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift toward SCP. This mandate was developed through what was known as the Marrakech Process, launched in 2003, which led to the adoption of the Framework at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

            In 2015, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to end poverty and set the world on a path to peace, prosperity, and opportunity on a healthy planet. SDG 12, “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns,” links worldwide consumption and production—a driving force of the global economy—to the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that has destructive impacts on the planet.

            Yet with all this attention, the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 warned the global material footprint is increasing faster than population growth and economic output. It also notes how improvements in resource efficiency in some countries are offset by increases in intensity in others. Fossil fuel subsidies are also cited as a serious concern, as is the high proportion of food waste lost in long supply chains.

            Despite decades of multilateral commitments, the world’s reliance on natural resources has accelerated. The SDG Report 2020 observes the material footprint (primary materials required to meet basic needs for food, clothing, water, shelter, infrastructure and other aspects of life) grew from 73.2 billion metric tons in 2010 to 85.9 billion metric tons in 2017, a 17.4% increase in just seven years. In addition, while 79 countries and the European Union reported on at least one national policy instrument contributing to the implementation of the 10YFP between 2017 and 2019, only 10% of all policies reported in 2019 related to economic and financial instruments, reflecting a limited operationalization of the 10YFP vision.

            A shift has taken place in the UN discourse on SCP. While the Brundtland Commission focused on inter-generational equity, consumption volumes, and norms, and made an important distinction between addressing justified universal human “needs” and the “felt wants” of elite consuming classes, the language has changed. Now there is a different and more business-friendly focus on innovation and design in methods of production. This has steered the conversation away from norms and new regulations, enshrining the belief that economic growth can be decoupled from environmental degradation and resource depletion (Gasper et al., 2019, p.84) and created a significant blind spot around the role of corporate power to manufacture desire and elite consumer demands using ever more refined tools in the service of the attention economy.

            Sustainable Consumption and Production Timeline

            1972

            		 The Club of Rome report, Limits to Growth Highlights the contradiction between static stocks of resources and growth in population and consumption

            1972

            		 UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, Sweden) Recognizes the Earth's resources are finite and its capacity to re-absorb the by-products of production processes is limited.

            1973

            		 Herman Daly, Toward a Steady-State Economy Calls for a steady-state economy, entailing stabilized population and per capita consumption.

            1987

            		 World Commission on Environment and Development report, Our Common Future Distinguishes between human needs and felt wants; highlights an imbalance between the consumption patterns of the wealthy and the poor.

            1992

            		 UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Recognizes unsustainable patterns of consumption and production as a major cause of continued deterioration of the global environment.

            1994

            		 Oslo Symposium on Sustainable Consumption (Oslo, Norway) Provides what would become an authoritative definition of SCP.

            2002

            		 World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa) Calls for the development of a 10YFP to accelerate the shift towards SCP and promote social and economic development within the carrying capacity of ecosystems by de-linking growth from environmental degradation.

            2003

            		 First meeting of the Marrakech Process, a global multi-stakeholder platform to develop the 10YFP (Marrakech, Morocco) The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) lead the development of the 10YFP.

            2012

            		 World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Calls for a set of SDGs. The Summit also adopted the 10YFP as part of a global commitment to accelerate the shift towards SCP in developed and developing countries.

            2015

            		 UN Sustainable Development Summit (New York, US) Adopts “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and its 17 SDGs, including SDG 12 “Ensuring sustainable consumption and production.”

             

            Key Debates about the UN Approach and Conceptual Developments

            The fundamental terms of reference for the institutional debates on SCP can be traced back to a challenge to dominant assumptions in neo-classical economic theories that depend on notions of infinite growth and a planet without ecological boundaries. These early debates are populated by a colourful cast of pioneering thinkers and campaigners, notably Andre Gorz, Herman Daly, and Serge Latouche. They have their counterparts today in figures such as Kate Raworth, the author of Doughnut Economics, and the thought leaders on sustainable prosperity and growth, Tim Jackson and Peter Victor. None issued a more formative challenge than Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, the intellectual pioneer of ecological economics and bioeconomics. In his Entropy Law and the Economic Process (1971), Georgescu-Roegen performed for economics the intellectual equivalent of colliding two high-energy particle beams at the speed of light. He did this by bringing physics and the natural sciences into a conversation (or collision) with conventional economics. His writing exposed how the fundamental aim of economic activity—the unlimited growth of production and consumption based on finite sources of matter/energy—is incompatible with the laws of nature. His key contributions to the laws of energy conversion, including the concept of “entropy,” explain the degradation of those vital qualities of matter/energy that make them valuable for production and consumption, namely concentration and organization. Matter and energy degradation is countered by a constant inflow of solar energy and other renewable sources of heat and tidal momentum, which explains the current global transition to new sources of energy infrastructure.

            Georgescu-Roegen’s ideas helped give rise to the degrowth movement—at first focused in the 1970s on resource limits, then re-emerging in the 2000s as a fundamental assault on what Serge Latouche and others have described as the “oxymoron” concept of “sustainable development.” The degrowth movement is also associated with the birth of political ecology and attempts to re-locate our environmental challenges within dominant institutional and cultural ideas, including capitalism. Advocates call for the decolonization of public debate and the abolition of economic growth as a primary social objective. Instead, they support alternative social practices of sharing, simplicity, conviviality, care, and commoning that are consistent with equitable downscaling of production and consumption, leading to a reduced societal throughput of energy and raw materials. These practices are pursued in new forms of collaborative consumption and ecovillage communities.

            SDG 12–Toward a Systems Approach?

            The SCP concept is prominently recognized in the 2030 Agenda. SDG 12 recognizes production and consumption habits are at the root of the planet’s sustainability problems and places them at the centre of the sustainable development agenda. Implementation of SDG 12 is linked to the achievement of overall development plans, the reduction of future economic, environmental, and social costs, strengthening economic competitiveness, and the reduction of poverty. 

            The SDG 12 targets cover a full range of issues, including:

            • 12.1: Implement the 10YFP 
            • 12.2: Sustainable management and use of natural resources
            • 12.3: Halve global per capita food waste
            • 12.4: Responsible management of chemicals and waste
            • 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation
            • 12.6: Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting
            • 12.7: Promote sustainable public procurement practices
            • 12.8: Promote universal understanding of sustainable lifestyles
            • 12.A: Support developing countries’ scientific and technological capacity for SCP
            • 12.B: Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable tourism
            • 12.C: Remove market distortions that encourage wasteful consumption

            At the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in 2016, the International Resource Panel was mandated to prepare a report, Assessing Global Resource Use: A systems approach to resource efficiency and pollution reduction (2017). The Panel identified decoupling economic activity and human well-being from resource use as an imperative. The report highlighted the complex linkages between human well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental resilience and the need for policy makers to act across all three domains to bring about transformative outcomes.

            Adopting a systems approach, the Panel asserted that improving the well-being of people while minimizing resource use and environmental impacts, in particular through enhanced resource efficiency, is necessary to deliver SDG 12 as well as the other SDGs. To achieve this, the Panel supported the transformation of today’s “linear” material flows—from extraction to use and disposal—to become “circular” through intelligent design of products that incorporates standardization, reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, the development of efficient and inclusive infrastructure, and a new focus on the delivery of services rather than the sale of material products.

            Sustainable Consumption and COVID-19

            In his introduction to the SDG Report 2020, UN Secretary-General António Guterres observed the root causes and uneven impacts of COVID-19 have demonstrated why we need the 2030 Agenda. He noted the pandemic has underscored the urgency of implementation and has called for an international response and recovery effort guided by the SDGs. The pandemic has prompted similar responses across the world, notably among advocates of a transformation of economic priorities so that public health and well-being are placed more centrally at the heart of government priorities.

            Far from undermining the case for the SDGs, the root causes and uneven impacts of COVID-19 demonstrate precisely why we need the 2030 Agenda…

            UN Secretary-General António Guterres, SDG Report 2020

            A European research and advocacy initiative, the Foundational Economy, is developing new ways to think about economic policy, placing a focus on healthcare, education, housing, and the food supply. In their manifesto, the organization explains that the well-being of citizens in current and future generations depends less on individual [private] consumption and more on their social consumption of essential goods and services. The distinctive, primary role of public policy should therefore be to secure the supply of basic goods and services in a socially responsible way, and not boost private consumption to deliver economic growth. 

            Similar arguments have been advanced by a worldwide movement advocating government prioritization of well-being and well-being indicators to help steer qualitative and inclusive economic growth, as a replacement or complement to gross domestic product (GDP).

            What Future Do We Want?

            Both the climate emergency and the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated public and governmental understanding of the need to shift our economic paradigm, with calls for “building back better” acknowledging there can be no wholesale retreat to the old economic order. Inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” in response to the Great Depression in the United States in the early 1930s, proposals for green new deals have proliferated in response to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

            The most useful measures of progress toward SCP, however, will not be found in the indicator set used to monitor the progress of the SDGs. The key indicator to look for is a shift from a downstream focus on the re-design of private or corporate production and consumption to an upstream focus on the fundamental drivers of national and international economic priorities. Rather than treating markets, for example, as free-standing entities subject to occasional regulatory intrusions, markets must be regarded once again as outcomes of a social process amenable to democratic decision-making. This must accompany a wholesale shift in how society approaches the core question of what it values and whether we are prepared to continue to allow market exchange and pricing mechanisms a privileged status in determining what is to be valued, produced, and consumed. Until this macro-level economic debate on value is resolved in favour of equality and socio-ecological regeneration it will be difficult to see how market and pricing mechanisms applied to biodiversity, forests, and land can produce long-term shifts in consumption practices.

            The economist Mariana Mazzucato is making waves with her powerful calls for a green revolution founded on deliberate and conscious changes in social values: a redirection of the entire economy, transforming production, distribution, and consumption in all sectors in favour of the common good. She has called for the concept of “value” to find its rightful place at the centre of economic reasoning if we are to meaningfully respond to the question: “What future do we want?” To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, the future cannot be left in the hands of cynics—or economists—who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

            ]]>             Northern border heats up with fresh rocket fire, Hezbollah attacks on IDF posts https://sdgtalks.ai/northern-border-heats-up-with-fresh-rocket-fire-hezbollah-attacks-on-idf-posts https://sdgtalks.ai/northern-border-heats-up-with-fresh-rocket-fire-hezbollah-attacks-on-idf-posts Sun, 31 Dec 2023 18:19:39 -0500 Jarret Frank war, gaza, muslim, jewish
            Lebanon on October 18, 2023. (Jalaa Marey / AFP)
            Rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel towns, and the Hezbollah terror group attacked several Israeli army posts along the border, as skirmishes on the frontier continued, amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

            According to the Israel Defense Forces, nine rockets were launched from Lebanon, setting off sirens in Kiryat Shmona and several nearby communities. The IDF said four were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

            At least one rocket landed in the northern city, causing no injuries or damage.

            Shortly before the rocket sirens, the IDF said one of its tanks shelled two anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launch positions in southern Lebanon, where the military identified an attempt to carry out an attack.

            A third ATGM launch site was struck following a missile attack on the northern town of Metula.

            At the same time, the IDF said projectiles were also launched from Lebanon at the contested Mount Dov area, where there are a number of military posts and no towns.

            Smoke rises from an Israeli army position that was hit by the Hezbollah terror group as it is seen from Tair Harfa village, south Lebanon, October. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

            The IDF later said it had carried out a drone strike against a terror cell launching mortars from Lebanon at the Malkia area on the border.

            Hezbollah later announced the deaths of two members, saying they were killed while “performing jihad.” The terror group did not elaborate on where Ali Muhammad Marmar and Taha Abbas Abbas were killed, but it was believed that they were targeted in one of the Israeli strikes on Wednesday.

            Throughout Wednesday, Hezbollah said it had launched several missiles and attacked a number of Israeli army posts along the border with gunfire.

            A video published by the terror group showed it shooting at Israeli cameras and surveillance equipment on the border.

            The IDF said the missiles targeted areas near Metula, Malkia, Kibbutz Manara, and Rosh HaNikra. The gunfire targeted a number of military posts in the area, according to the IDF.

            The military did not immediately report any casualties among IDF troops.

            Rambam Hospital in Haifa said it was admitting one person who was listed in moderate condition as a result of one of the missile attacks, without elaborating on how or where he was hurt.

            The IDF said it had responded with artillery shelling of the sources of the missile fire and gunfire in southern Lebanon and had carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah sites.

            The military said that among several targets it had hit overnight in airstrikes was a military observation post from which a missile was fired toward Rosh Hanikra earlier.

            Smoke rises following an Israeli artillery strike in al-Bustan, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, October 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

            In the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a missile at Israeli forces near Shtula, a moshav in northern Israel, lightly wounding four soldiers.

            Shtula, Metula, Malkia, Manara, and Rosh HaNikra are among 28 communities being evacuated from the north under the increasing threat of war.

            The incidents were the latest in a series of increasingly frequent skirmishes on the northern border with the Iran-backed Hezbollah as well as Hamas operatives there. The tit-for-tat attacks have remained limited in scope, amid threats from Israel that Lebanon could suffer if Hezbollah steps up its attacks.

            In total, at least five Israeli soldiers, 13 Hezbollah terrorists and five Palestinian terrorists have been killed in the exchanges. One Israeli civilian was killed in a Hezbollah attack Sunday, and two Lebanese civilians and a journalist were also reported killed by Israeli shelling.

            The attacks from Lebanon have come as Israel is waging war in Gaza against Hamas after the terror group’s murderous assault on the country on October 7, in which some 1,400 people were massacred and some 200-250 were kidnapped and taken to the Strip.

            IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Tuesday that if Hezbollah “makes a mistake,” it will face “destruction.”

            IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is seen at the Northern Command in Safed, October 17, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

            There have been escalating warnings from Iran regarding the possibility of the war being widened, as Israel prepares a ground offensive with the stated goal of toppling Hamas’s rule over the Palestinian enclave.

            Israel and the US have both warned Iran and Hezbollah to remain on the sidelines, with Washington dispatching two aircraft carrier groups to the region, signaling it could step in to defend Israel.

            As the area has heated up, the IDF and Defense Ministry were working to evacuate civilians who live in towns up to two kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Lebanese border, due to the repeated rocket and missile attacks by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions in recent days.

            The ministry’s National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) said the estimated 27,000 residents would be taken to state-funded guesthouses.

            ]]>             ‘Tipping point’ for climate action: Time’s running out to avoid catastrophic heating https://sdgtalks.ai/tipping-point-for-climate-action-times-running-out-to-avoid-catastrophic-heating https://sdgtalks.ai/tipping-point-for-climate-action-times-running-out-to-avoid-catastrophic-heating Sun, 31 Dec 2023 18:16:34 -0500 Jarret Frank global warming, climate change, SDG13 According to the landmark United in Science 2021, there “is no sign of growing back greener”, as carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly accelerating, after a temporary blip in 2020 due to COVID, and nowhere close to the targets set by the Paris Agreement.

             “We have reached a tipping point on the need for climate action. The disruption to our climate and our planet is already worse than we thought, and it is moving faster than predicted”, UN Secretary General António Guterres underscored in a video message. “This report shows just how far off course we are”, he added.

            A world in danger

            According to scientists, the rising global temperatures are already fueling devastating extreme weather events around the world, with escalating impacts on economies and societies. For example, billions of working hours have been lost due to excessive heat.

            “We now have five times the number of recorded weather disasters than we had in 1970 and they are seven times more costly. Even the most developed countries have become vulnerable”, said the UN chief.

            Mr. Guterres cited how Hurricane Ida recently cut power to over a million people in New Orleans, and New York City was paralysed by record-breaking rain that killed at least 50 people in the region.

            “These events would have been impossible without human-caused climate change. Costly fires, floods and extreme weather events are increasing everywhere. These changes are just the beginning of worse to come”, he warned.

            Climate change increases the risk of hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
            Unsplash/Mikhail Serdyukov
             
            Climate change increases the risk of hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.

            A bleak future

            The report echoes some of the data and warnings from experts in the last year: the average global temperature for the past five years was among the highest on record, and there is an increasing likelihood that temperatures will temporarily breach the threshold of 1.5° Celsius above the pre-industrial era, in the next five years.

            The picture painted by United in Science is bleak: even with ambitious action to slow greenhouse gas emissions, sea levels will continue to rise and threaten low-lying islands and coastal populations throughout the world.

            “We really are out of time. We must act now to prevent further irreversible damage. COP26 this November must mark that turning point. By then we need all countries to commit to achieve net zero emissions by the middle of this century and to present clear, credible long-term strategies to get there”, urged the UN chief.

            The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is scheduled to be held in the city of Glasgow, Scotland between 31 October and 12 November 2021. The pivotal meeting is expected to set the course of climate action for the next decade.

            “We must urgently secure a breakthrough on adaptation and resilience, so that vulnerable communities can manage these growing (climate) risks…I expect all these issues to be addressed and resolved at COP26. Our future is at stake”, Mr. Guterres emphasized.

            “We are not yet on track towards the Paris 1.5 to 2 degrees’ limit, although positive things have started to happen and the political interest to mitigate climate change is clearly growing but to be successful in this effort, we have to start acting now. We cannot wait for decades to act, we have to start acting already in this decade”, added Prof. Petteri Taalas, World Meteorological Organization’s secretary general.

            The report also cites the conclusions of the most recent IPCC report: the scale of recent changes across the climate system are unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years, and it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.

            Cyclone Amphan, struck the border region of India and Bangladesh in May 2020 causing widespread destruction.
            UNU-EHS/Tanmay Chakraborty
             
            Cyclone Amphan, struck the border region of India and Bangladesh in May 2020 causing widespread destruction.

            Notable findings

            Concentrations of the major greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2 O) continued to increase in 2020 and the first half of 2021.

            According to WMO, reducing atmospheric methane (CH4) in the short term, could support the pledges of 193 Member States made in Paris. This measure does not reduce the need for strong, rapid and sustained reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

            Meanwhile, the UN Environment Program (UNEP), warns that five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the emissions gap (the difference between where emissions are heading and where science indicate they should be in 2030) is as large as ever.

            Although the increasing number of countries committing to net-zero emission goals is encouraging, to remain feasible and credible, these goals urgently need to be reflected in near-term policy and in significantly more ambitious actions, the agency highlights.

            “Last year, we estimated that there was 5.6 per cent drop in emissions and since the lifetime of carbon dioxide is so long, this one year anomaly in emissions doesn't change the big picture. We saw some improvements in air quality, these short-lived gases, which are affecting air quality. We saw positive evolution there. But now we have returned more or less back to the 2019 emission levels", further explained the WMO chief.

            Air pollution from power plants contributes to global warming.
            Unsplash/Maxim Tolchinskiy
             
            Air pollution from power plants contributes to global warming.

            A warmer future

            The report explains that the annual global average temperature is likely to be at least 1 °C warmer than pre-industrial levels (defined as the 1850–1900 average) in each of the coming five years and is very likely to be within the range of 0.9 °C to 1.8 °C.

            There is also a 40% chance that the average temperature in one of the next five years, will be at least 1.5 °C warmer than pre-industrial levels. However, it is very unlikely that the 5-year average temperature for 2021–2025 will pass the 1.5 °C threshold.

            High latitude regions, and the Sahel, are likely to be wetter in the next five years, the report also warns.

            In Seychelles, efforts are undertaken to improve coastal protection from flooding caused by storms and a rise in sea level due to climate change.
            NOOR/Kadir van Lohuizen
             
            In Seychelles, efforts are undertaken to improve coastal protection from flooding caused by storms and a rise in sea level due to climate change.

            Sea level rise is inevitable

            "We don't know what's going to happen to the Antarctic glacier, where we have the biggest mass of ice worldwide and in the worst case, we could see up to two meters of sea level rise by the end of this century if the melting of the Antarctic glacier happens in a speedier manner”, cautioned Prof. Taalas.

            Global sea levels rose 20 cm from 1900 to 2018, and at an accelerated rate from 2006 to 2018.

            Even if emissions are reduced to limit warming to well below 2 °C, the global average sea level would likely rise by 0.3–0.6 m by 2100 and could rise 0.3–3.1 m by 2300.

            Adaptation to the rise will be essential, especially along low-lying coasts, small islands, deltas and coastal cities, explains WMO.

            Transport is a huge driver of air pollution.
            Unsplash/Alexander Popov
             
            Transport is a huge driver of air pollution.

            World’s health also at risk

            The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that rising temperatures are linked to increased heat-related mortality and work impairment, with an excess of 103 billion potential work hours lost globally in 2019 compared with those lost in 2000.

            Moreover, COVID-19 infections and climate hazards such as heatwaves, wildfires and poor air quality, combine to threaten human health worldwide, putting vulnerable populations at particular risk.

            According to the UN health agency, the COVID-19 recovery efforts should be aligned with national climate change and air quality strategies to reduce risks from cascading climate hazards, and gain health co-benefits.

            “We had this temperature anomaly in western Canada and the United States, where we were up to 15 degrees warmer temperatures than normally. And that led to a record breaking, forest fires and major health problems, especially amongst elderly people”, highlighted WMO Secretary General.

            The United in Science 2021 report, the third in a series, is coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with input from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Global Carbon Project (GCP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Met Office (UK). It presents the very latest scientific data and findings related to climate change to inform global policy and action.

            ]]>             Israeli troops trade fire over its northern border with Hezbollah https://sdgtalks.ai/israeli-troops-trade-fire-over-its-northern-border-with-hezbollah https://sdgtalks.ai/israeli-troops-trade-fire-over-its-northern-border-with-hezbollah Sun, 31 Dec 2023 18:05:56 -0500 Jarret Frank war, gaza, muslim, jewish LEILA FADEL, HOST:

            Troops from Israel spent much of yesterday trading fire with a militia just over its northern border.

            STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

            Yeah. The Hezbollah militia controls southern Lebanon, and we witnessed their low-level warfare with Israel as our team drove into Israel's northern mountains. Our producer, Ziad Buchh, noticed something as we arrived at a village near the border.

            Oh, we're here.

            (CROSSTALK)

            ZIAD BUCHH, BYLINE: Did you see the Virgin Mary?

            INSKEEP: No. I missed the Virgin Mary. Like a statue at the end of this...

            BUCHH: Yeah. Right on the sign for the city.

            INSKEEP: It is called Fassuta, and it's a Catholic village, centuries old, with multiple statues of saints on the streets. Leila, we're talking about an overwhelmingly Muslim region and a predominantly Jewish state, but of course, there are Christian communities in this region, as well.

            FADEL: So how close is the fighting to that village?

            INSKEEP: Well, last night we could hear it. And this is what it sounded like as we walked through a courtyard where kids were playing.

            UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Non-English language spoken).

            (SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)

            BUCHH: Listen.

            INSKEEP: I heard.

            BUCHH: Yeah.

            INSKEEP: This was just after sunset, and we heard booms like that every few minutes, sometimes more often. The Israeli Defense Forces are out there in the hills blasting back as Hezbollah fighters were firing weapons into Israel.

            FADEL: So why are these residents still in their village? I know that Israel told many to evacuate. Why did they stay?

            INSKEEP: Yeah. The residents say the government cleared out people within four kilometers of the border. And this village is 4 1/2...

            FADEL: Oh.

            INSKEEP: ...So they're staying for now. I did talk with members of one family who sat outside on their deck as we listened to these booms. And through our interpreter, I asked Mike Benowi (ph) what it is like to live here.

            MIKE BENOWI: (Through interpreter) It's terrifying that you - that being out and about in the village, you feel like you're in a prison, that they're - that you're - they're chased - the rockets are chasing you. At any time, anyone could be hit. And it's a rocket that could really kill quite a number of people and that there's only five seconds to get to a shelter because we're so close to the border that if you go up on a hill, you can see over the border.

            INSKEEP: Yeah. Some of the people in that village have military experience, as people across Israel do, and they recognize different kinds of firing in the dark.

            FADEL: Now, you were so close, we can hear the booms. What is the fighting like out there?

            INSKEEP: Well, we talked with an Israeli officer who called this a slow-motion war. Israel, of course, knows that Hezbollah in the north has allied with Hamas in the South. Many days in the last few weeks, Hezbollah fires antitank weapons into Israel. Normally these would be short-range weapons, but if you shoot them high, the projectiles go high and go for miles across the border. Israeli forces respond with artillery or drones or rockets. Some people have been killed, including civilians, including a journalist a couple of weeks ago on the Lebanese side of the border. And yesterday, multiple rockets came out of Lebanon and three of them fell into a different Israeli border town, the one we visited. And later, we went to a city on the coast, and as soon as we arrived, a warning siren went off, a sign of incoming rocket fire.

            FADEL: Are the soldiers aware of the risk that this sparks a wider war?

            INSKEEP: They are trying not to be. We're told Israeli soldiers are encouraged not to watch the news, not to follow social media. They might even get their phones taken away. They're told not to be manipulated and just respond to the tactical challenge in front of them. Of course, Leila, you and I do follow the news. We're aware of the wider picture, and we know this is a dangerous game. Hezbollah is seen as a proxy for Iran, whose foreign minister made warnings on NPR that groups like Hezbollah have their finger on the trigger of a wider war. So each side is aware of the pressure not to go too far.

            FADEL: Yeah. Thanks, Steve.

            INSKEEP: You're welcome.

            ]]>             Great Barrier Reef in &apos;recovery&apos; but experts say progress will be threatened by climate-related disturbances https://sdgtalks.ai/great-barrier-reef-in-recovery-but-experts-say-progress-will-be-threatened-by-climate-related-disturbances https://sdgtalks.ai/great-barrier-reef-in-recovery-but-experts-say-progress-will-be-threatened-by-climate-related-disturbances Sun, 31 Dec 2023 18:03:44 -0500 Jarret Frank marine life, sdg14 The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing a rare window of recovery due to a break in weather and bleaching events according to the latest observations from marine scientists.

            According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science's Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition, which was released today, conditions have been relatively good for coral recovery during 2020-21. 

            Researchers surveyed 127 reefs and found that at least 69 had seen an increase in hard coral cover since they were last surveyed.

            "This indicates that recovery is well underway, after a particularly intense decade of disturbances prior to this," monitoring team leader Mike Emslie said.

            "We've had very few acute disturbances this year," Dr Emslie said.

            "There were no sustained heatwaves leading to coral bleaching, there were no large tropical cyclones.

            "Essentially the Great Barrier Reef has had a bit of a breather."

            Person snorkeling looks down towards corals while holding onto a line from a boat.
            AIMS researchers are towed over the Great Barrier Reef to conduct surveys.(Supplied: Australian Institute of Marine Science)

            The improvements come after the Great Barrier Reef experienced its most widespread bleaching event on record early last year.

            Dr Emslie said the majority of the coral cover growth was driven by common, fast-growing table and branching corals.

            However, he said these corals were the most vulnerable.

            "Their fast growth comes at a bit of a cost, their skeletons aren't as dense as other corals," Dr Emslie said.

            AIMS has warned that the recovery the Great Barrier Reef is currently experiencing is likely to be short-lived with the "increasing prominence" of climate-related disturbances.

            "The biggest risk to the reef going forward is climate change," AIMS chief executive Paul Hardisty said.

            "We must reduce emissions if the Great Barrier Reef and frankly other reefs around the world are going to continue to exist in the state in which we recognise them today," Dr Hardisty said.

            AIMS CEO Dr Paul Hardisty delivering annual report in Townsville
            Dr Paul Hardisty delivered an update on the reef's condition in Townsville. (ABC North Qld: Chloe Chomicki)

            The World Heritage Committee, which sits under UNESCO, made a draft recommendation to list the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger" in June.

            The decision is expected to be finalised at a meeting in China in the coming days.

            AIMS declined to comment on the World Heritage Committee recommendation.

            However, research program leader Britta Schaffelke said the latest observations of the Great Barrier Reef did not change a grim outlook which was delivered by the institute in 2019.

            "The outlook report assessed the future outlook for the reef to be very poor," Dr Schaffelke said.

            "The reef outlook into the future is still very poor because of the dangers of climate change and other factors."

            'Incredibly rare moment'

            The World Wildlife Fund's  Richard Leck said the report told a story of hope and one of a warning. 

            "It's great to see the reef still has resilience and we have seen some significant bounce back in coral species," he said.

            "But this is an incredibly rare moment in time where we haven't had extreme heat events or crown of thorns outbreaks.

            "Those events are more likely to continue into the future."

            Mr Leck said the report strengthened arguments to list the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger".

            "This report reinforces the importance of the decision faced by the World Heritage Committee this week," he said.

            ]]>             Long-lasting healthy changes: Doable and worthwhile https://sdgtalks.ai/long-lasting-healthy-changes-doable-and-worthwhile https://sdgtalks.ai/long-lasting-healthy-changes-doable-and-worthwhile Sun, 31 Dec 2023 17:57:44 -0500 Jarret Frank health, wellbeing, sdg3, life quality I've been a physician for 20 years now, and a strong proponent of lifestyle medicine for much of it. I know that it's hard to make lasting, healthy lifestyle changes, even when people know what to do and have the means to do it. Yet many studies and my own clinical experience as a Lifestyle Medicine-certified physician have shown me a few approaches that can help make long-lasting healthy lifestyle changes happen.

            What is lifestyle medicine?

            In the US, lifestyle medicine is built around six pillars: eating healthy foods; exercising regularly; easing stress; getting restful sleep; quitting addictive substances like tobacco and limiting alcohol; and nurturing social connections.

            How will this help you? Here's one example. A study published this summer in the Journal Neurology followed over 70,000 health professionals for more than two decades. Those who reported eating a diet high in colorful fruits and vegetables had a significantly lower risk of subjective memory loss — which is a sign of dementia — compared with those who did not.

            A multitude of studies over many years have mined health data on this same cohort. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health nutrition expert Dr. Walter Willett observed that, based on these studies, four combined healthy lifestyle factors — a healthy diet, not smoking, engaging in moderate activity, and avoiding excess weight — could prevent about 70% to 80% of coronary heart disease and 90% of type 2 diabetes. The catch, he noted, is that only about 4% of people participating in these studies attained all four.

            Abundant research shows healthy lifestyle factors protect us against serious, often disabling health problems: diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia, heart disease, strokes, cancer, and more. Clearly, taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle can make a big difference in our lives, but it can be hard to change our habits. Below are a few tips to help you start on that path.

            Science has proven that chronic, low-grade inflammation can turn into a silent killer that contributes to cardiovas­cular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and other conditions. Get simple tips to fight inflammation and stay healthy -- from Harvard Medical School experts.

            Find motivation

            What motivates you? Where will you find good reasons to change? Yes, studies show that being at a healthy weight and shape is associated with a longer life and lower risk of many chronic diseases. However, in my experience, only emphasizing weight or waist size isn't helpful for long-term healthy lifestyle change. Indeed, studies have shown that focusing too much on those numbers is associated with quitting a health kick, whereas small goals related to positive actions were associated with successful long-term lifestyle change.

            Examples of this include aiming for at least 21 minutes of activity per day and/or five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. (These activity and nutrition goals are actually recommendations of the American Heart Association, FYI!) If we strive to live healthy so that we can live a long, healthy life, we have a greater chance of long-term success — which typically will result in weight and waist loss.

            Put healthy habits on automatic

            Healthy choices can become more automatic if you remove the "choice" part. For example, take the thinking out of every eating or activity decision by planning ahead for the week to come:

            • Choose a basic menu for meals and build in convenience. Focus on simple, healthy recipes. Frozen produce is healthful, easy to keep on hand, and sometimes less expensive than fresh. Shopping the salad bar costs more, but could help on busy nights.
            • Jot down your activity schedule. Choose some physical activity most days — the more vigorous and the longer the better, but anything counts! Even as little as 10 minutes of light to moderate activity per week has been associated with a longer life span.
            • Track food and activity choices each day. Using an app or notebook for this can help you become more aware and accountable. Try noting barriers, too, and brainstorm workarounds for overly busy days and other issues that push you off track.

            Understand how emotions affect you

            If feeling stressed, angry, or sad is a trigger for overeating or another unhealthy activity, it's important to recognize this. Writing down triggers over the course of a week can enhance your awareness. Building better stress management habits can help you stick to a healthy lifestyle plan. Getting sufficient restful sleep and scheduling personal time, regular activity, and possibly meditation, therapy, or even just chats with good friends are all steps in the right direction.

            A healthy lifestyle is key to a long, healthy life, and is attainable. Success may require some thoughtful trial and error, but don't give up! I have seen all kinds of patients at all ages make amazing changes, and you can, too.

            ]]>             Clean energy can fuel the future — and make the world healthier https://sdgtalks.ai/clean-energy-can-fuel-the-future-and-make-the-world-healthier https://sdgtalks.ai/clean-energy-can-fuel-the-future-and-make-the-world-healthier Sun, 31 Dec 2023 17:53:59 -0500 Jarret Frank sdg7, clean energy, sustainability, energy

            Clean energy can fuel the future — and make the world

            healthier

            Research challenges the myth that clean energy acts as a brake on global economic development.

            The 2030 targets laid out by the United Nations for the seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7) are clear enough: provide affordable access to energy; expand use of renewable sources; improve energy efficiency year on year; and enhance international cooperation in support of clean-energy research, development and infrastructure. Meeting those goals, however, will be anything but simple. As seen in many of the editorials in this series examining the SDGs at their halfway stage, the world is falling short.

            This is due, at least in part, to the influence of the fossil-fuel industry, which drives the economics and, often, the politics of countries large and small, rich and poor. Rising human prosperity, as measured by economic growth, has long been linked to an abundance of fossil fuels. Many politicians fear that the pursuit of clean-energy sources will compromise that economic development. The latest science clearly counters this view — but the voice of the research community is not being heard in the right places. To meet the targets embodied in SDG 7, that has to change.

            There is much to be done. In 2021, some 675 million people worldwide still did not have access to electricity. This is down from 1.1 billion a decade or so ago, but the pace of progress has slowed. On the basis of current trends, 660 million people, many of them in sub-Saharan Africa, will remain without electricity by 2030. And projections indicate that some 1.9 billion people will still be using polluting and inefficient cooking systems fuelled by coal and wood (see go.nature.com/3s8d887). This is bad news all round: for health, biodiversity and the climate.

            Carbon emissions hit new high: warning from COP27

            Achieving the energy-access targets was always going to be a stretch, but progress has been slow elsewhere, too. Take energy efficiency. More energy efficiency means less pollution, and energy efficiency has increased by around 2% annually in the past few years. But meeting the target for 2030 — to double the rate of the 1990–2010 average — would require gains of around 3.4% every year for the rest of this decade.

            The picture for renewable energy is similarly mixed. Despite considerable growth in wind and solar power to generate grid electricity, progress in the heat and transport sectors remains sluggish. Renewable energy’s share of total global energy consumption was just 19.1% in 2020, according to the latest UN tracking report, but one-third of that came from burning resources such as wood.

            One reason for the slow progress is the continued idea that aggressive clean-energy goals will get in the way of economic development. It’s easier and more profitable for major fossil-fuel producers to simply maintain the status quo. Just last month, ministers from the G20 group of the world’s biggest economies, including the European Union, India, Saudi Arabia and the United States, failed to agree on a plan to phase out fossil fuels and triple the capacity of renewable energy by 2030.

            But this is where science has a story to tell. In the past, researchers say, many models indicated that clean energy would be more expensive than that from fossil fuels, potentially pricing the poorest nations out of the market as well as driving up people’s food bills and exacerbating hunger. But the latest research suggests that the picture is more complex. Energy is a linchpin for most of the SDGs, and research that merges climate, energy and the SDGs underscores this1. For example, the agriculture and food-transport sectors still depend on fossil fuels, and that generates pollution that kills millions of people each year. Other links are indirect: lack of access to light at night and to online information — as a result of energy poverty — hampers educational attainment and contributes to both long- and short-term inequality.

            US aims for electric-car revolution — will it work?

            The lesson from research is that it might be easier, not harder, to address these challenges together. In 2021, researcher Gabriela Iacobuţă at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability in Bonn and her colleagues showed that technologies centred on renewable resources and efficiency tend to come with few trade-offs and many benefits, including improved public health and wealth, thanks to a cleaner environment and better jobs2. And climate scientist Bjoern Soergel at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and his colleagues found that a coordinated package of climate and development policies could achieve most of the SDGs while limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels3.

            The study assessed 56 indicators across all 17 SDGs. One proposed intervention is an international climate finance mechanism that would levy fees on carbon emissions that would be redistributed through national programmes to reduce poverty. A second focuses on promoting healthy diets — including reducing the consumption of meat, the production of which requires a lot of water, energy and land. This would benefit people on low incomes by lowering both food and energy prices.

            The biggest challenge lies in translating these models to the real world. To do so, we need leaders who are not bound by outmoded thinking, are aware of the latest science and can draw on the research to build public support for the necessary energy transition. We require more national and international public institutions that are willing to address problems at the system level. And all of this needs a science community that is willing and able to champion knowledge and evidence.

            ]]>             Explainer: What is offshore wind and what does its future look like? https://sdgtalks.ai/explainer-what-is-offshore-wind-and-what-does-its-future-look-like https://sdgtalks.ai/explainer-what-is-offshore-wind-and-what-does-its-future-look-like Sun, 31 Dec 2023 17:51:41 -0500 Jarret Frank clean energy, wind farm, sdg7

            Explainer: What is offshore wind and what does its future

            look like?

            Energy Transition

            • Offshore wind farms are hitting the headlines for their size and for gaining government backing across the globe.
            • Boosting offshore wind power is seen as a way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and speed the journey to net zero, and it can also create jobs and economic growth.
            • There are still challenges to overcome to scale the technology, especially for floating offshore wind, which is not yet industrialized.

            Picture a plate of cupcakes. Look tempting don’t they? But each one took energy to bake - energy that could in future be generated by offshore wind farms.

            In fact, just one rotation of a GE Haliade-X 12 MW offshore wind turbine generates enough power to bake 28 plates full of cupcakes or, perhaps more usefully, power the average UK home for 24 hours.

            Offshore wind farms are hitting the headlines across the globe for their sheer scale - and as countries increasingly turn to them to decrease their dependency on energy from Russia as well as speed up their energy transition.

            Global capacity of large-scale wind farms is expected to increase 10-fold, from 34 GW in 2020 to 330 GW in 2030, and spread throughout 24 countries (up from nine today), according to a report by consultancy Wood McKenzie. It estimated $1 trillion would flow into the offshore wind industry over the next decade.

            Winds of change around the globe

            Kincardine, off the coast of Scotland, is currently the world’s largest floating wind farm, with five giant V164-9.525 MW turbines made by Danish company Vestas.

            In August, eight EU countries on the Baltic Sea pledged to increase offshore wind power generation capacity sevenfold by 2030, up from 2.8 GW currently, most of which is in Danish and German waters.

            Putting further wind in the sails of the renewables sector, the Biden administration in the US unveiled its Floating Offshore Wind Shot in September. It aims to “reduce the costs of floating technologies by more than 70% by 2035, to $45 per megawatt-hour” and increase capacity to 15 GW by 2035, enough to power 5 million homes.

            This is in addition to the 30 GW by 2030 of offshore wind power target, which will be mainly met through ‘fixed-bottom’ technology.


            How is the World Economic Forum facilitating the transition to clean energy?

            The southern Chinese city of Chaozhou is planning a wind farm that would dwarf all of Norway’s power plants combined, according to Bloomberg. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects China to have the largest installed offshore wind capacity by the end of 2022 - more than the UK and EU combined.

            Boosting offshore wind power is seen as a way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and speed the journey to net zero. But it’s also providing jobs and economic growth to coastal towns and revitalizing industries, with the Global Wind Energy Council in 2021 predicting both onshore and offshore wind would create 3.3 million jobs over the next five years across the entire value chain.

            But what exactly are offshore wind farms and what does the future hold?

            Offshore wind farms: floating vs fixed bottom

            Kincardine might be the world’s largest floating windfarm, but Hornsea 2, off the coast of Yorkshire in the UK, is the world’s largest fixed-bottom offshore wind farm and became fully operational in September.

            A map showing Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm and existing Ørsted offshore wind farm projects.
            Hornsea 2, off the coast of Yorkshire in the UK, is the world’s largest fixed-bottom offshore wind farm. Image: Ørsted.

            Run by Danish energy company Ørsted, which pioneered the first offshore wind farms 30 years ago, Hornsea 2’s 165 wind turbines are sited next to its older sibling Hornsea 1 - and together they can power 2.5 million homes, contributing to the UK government’s goal of 50 GW in offshore wind capacity by 2030.

            In July, Ørsted were awarded the contract for Hornsea 3, which will power 3.2 million homes, while Hornsea 4 is going through the planning process and a decision is expected in early 2023.

            It’s hard to imagine how colossal these feats of engineering are. The giant blades on Vestas’ V164 turbines are each 80 metres long, for example, and when they’re installed on towers, the tip of the blade can reach more than 200m above sea level - that’s more than twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty.

            Then there are the 390km of subsea export cables that take the power generated from Hornsea 2 to the shore at Horseshoe Point in Lincolnshire.

            So what’s the difference between floating and fixed-bottom wind farms?

            It comes down to location. Floating wind turbines don’t need to be grounded in the seabed, like fixed-bottom ones, so they can be sited further out to sea in water deeper than 60m, where winds are stronger. They are then anchored to the seabed with multiple mooring lines, borrowing technology from floating oil platforms, according to the Norwegian state-owned energy firm Equinor.

            Floating vs fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines.
            Floating vs fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines. Image: IOP Publishing/Creative commons.

            Is the future floating?

            If onshore wind was the first generation in wind-farm technology, which informed offshore fixed-bottom wind farms, floating wind farms are effectively the third generation.

            “Floating offshore wind will be able to build on the developments made in seabed fixed offshore wind to reach scale even faster – much as today’s offshore wind industry was built on achievements onshore,” says Gabriel Davies, Ørsted’s Programme Director, Floating Wind.

            As of October 2022, only around 50 floating offshore wind turbines have been commissioned, says Davies. But global stock is expected to exceed 5 GW by 2030 and 25 GW by 2035.

            While fixed-bottom wind farms cost less to install, the real potential for power generation is floating on the horizon. The IEA found, in 2019 the potential for offshore wind power globally could be 18 times the current global power demand - with the majority where waters are deeper than 60m and better suited to floating turbines.

            A bar chart showing cumulative global installations of floating offshore wind, GW.
            Global installations of floating offshore wind are due to reach 25 GW by 2035. Image: Ørsted

            To scale, companies are working together to create a global offshore wind ecosystem - for example, UK company Principle Power created the floating structure for Kincardine, and the turbines themselves were made by Danish firm Vestas.

            To ensure the turbines can withstand North Sea storms, a mechanism of pumps shifts liquid ballast between the floating yellow cylinders which balances the platform and puts the turbine at the best angle, Principle Power’s Greg Campbell-Smith told the BBC.

            What are the challenges in building offshore wind farms?

            Investment and government backing is crucial to ensure capacity grows in a sustainable way. But with growing competition for projects that take years to complete, require local ‘content’ when the local industry may still be in its infancy, as well as access to deep sea ports, wind turbine installation vessels and other essential infrastructure, uncertainty can creep in.

            “With all the political ambition going into this space, in the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea, in the US, building up capacity in the industry to actually deliver in a cost-effective way is very important,” says Nils Askær-Hune, Ørsted’s Lead Public Affairs Advisor on Socio-Economics, Global Public Affairs.

            “We have to have a long horizon for planning. In order to ensure efficient resource utilization, it is essential that the expansion takes place sequentially and is planned in accordance with the expansion of capacity in the industry.”

            The current auction process is precarious, with some governments using ‘zero bid’ auctions and toying with the concept of ‘negative bidding’, which would see wind companies paying them for the right to develop, according to Wind Europe.

            Added to the rise in transport and materials costs due to COVID-19 and compounded by the energy crisis and war in Ukraine, it’s becoming harder to build viable projects with sustainable supply chains.

            A graphic showing offshore wind farms continue to grow.
            How offshore wind is growing globally. Image: Statista.

            Decarbonizing the wind-farm value chain is also a major challenge, as the turbines themselves are made from steel and other metals which require energy-intensive processes to manufacture.

            Askær-Hune says: “We can build offshore wind farms which will help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions as they produce green energy and enable the production of green hydrogen that enables the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors. However, in order to create a world that runs entirely on green energy, as a company we must decarbonize our full value chain. At Ørsted we work every day to achieve net-zero emissions in our full value chain (scope 1-3) by 2040.”

            Another challenge is around the impact of an offshore wind farm on marine biodiversity. Ørsted aims to have a net-positive impact on biodiversity by design, such as turning the foundations of fixed-bottom turbines into artificial reefs - habitats and shelter for species like mussels, Atlantic cod and even coral.

            For example, the company has just launched a global partnership with WWF to advance offshore wind deployment that enhances ocean biodiversity.

            Floating wind turbines can be installed with less noise and disruption to marine mammals and beyond the foraging ranges of breeding birds, says Ørsted. But the anchors and mooring lines will need monitoring for their impacts on life on the seafloor.

            What governments can do to support offshore wind farms

            The ambition and will for wind is there, but bureaucracy around permits is slowing down the process.

            At COP27, nine new countries joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance initiated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Denmark and the Global Wind Energy Council, which wants to "lift the barriers" to developing offshore wind.

            Meanwhile, the European Commission has proposed temporary new emergency regulation designed to speed up the REPowerEU Plan to develop renewables to accelerate the energy transition and end the EU’s dependence on Russian gas.

            Specifically, this would help to fast-track lengthy and complicated administrative and permitting procedures stopping the development of renewables projects.

            As Vestas notes in this Economist article: “The climate and energy crises are hugely complex, but the solutions are available. By accelerating the permitting process governments will not only ensure their energy security and reduce emissions, but also unlock swathes of economic potential. The time to act is now.”

            Both Ørsted and Vestas are members of the World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition of companies creating a market for the emerging technologies that are crucial in order to reach Net Zero by 2050.

            Kate Whiting
            Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
            ]]>             India ranks 111th of 125 on Global Hunger Index. What it means &amp; why govt says it’s ‘erroneous’ https://sdgtalks.ai/india-ranks-111th-of-125-on-global-hunger-index-what-it-means-why-govt-says-its-erroneous https://sdgtalks.ai/india-ranks-111th-of-125-on-global-hunger-index-what-it-means-why-govt-says-its-erroneous Sun, 31 Dec 2023 17:44:16 -0500 Jarret Frank India, no poverty, hunger, SDGs New Delhi: The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023 report ranked India 111 out of 125 countries, with a score of 28.7 — indicating a ‘serious’ level of hunger in the country. While the Indian government has rejected the findings of the report, terming its methodology “erroneous”, an expert in the field says India should focus on improving poor child nutrition levels, regardless of what any index says. 

            The GHI is an annual peer-reviewed report that tracks hunger in countries on a multi-dimensional scale. According to the report, released Thursday, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh all continue to rank higher than India on the index compiled annually by international NGO Concern Worldwide and German private aid agency Welthungerhilfe. 

            India falls in the ‘serious’ category of the ‘Hunger Severity Scale’ of the GHI, similar to last year, when it ranked 107 out of 121 countries. The scale ranges from 50 (extremely alarming hunger).

            However, the problem area, in India’s case, is the child wasting rates.

            Child wasting rates indicate acute undernutrition, according to the GHI, and India has the highest rates in the world — 18.7 percent in 2023, as against 19.3 percent in 2022.

            In response to the report, the Ministry of Women & Child Development in a statement issued Thursday, said the report had “serious methodological issues” and a “malafide intent” and that it “continues to be an erroneous measure” of hunger.

            View on WatchView on Watch

            Countering the GHI findings, the ministry cited central government schemes including Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, which are aimed at challenging malnutrition in the country.

            “Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population,” it said.

            The ministry further contended that the “fourth and most important indicator ‘Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population’ is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000”.

            However, Dr Arun Gupta, central coordinator of the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), told ThePrint that, regardless of the findings of international reports or their veracity, the issue of malnutrition in India remains. 

            “A child who is malnourished requires the same set of interventions regardless of what any index reports,” said Gupta, formerly a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges. “Instead of denying or rejecting international reports, we should focus on reducing malnutrition in the country,” he added.

            Also Read: As PM’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ urges awareness, experts say malnutrition as much a food availability issue

            Methodology & sources

            According to its stated methodology, the Global Hunger Index uses published data from “internationally recognized sources”.

            It looks at four main categories: undernourishment (percentage of population with insufficient caloric intake), child wasting (percentage of children under 5 with low weight for their height), child stunting (percentage of children under 5 with low height for their age), and child mortality (percentage of children who die before the age of 5). 

            It used data from sources that are included in the WHO’s Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) and the WHO Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition. 

            For India, these included the National Family Health Survey (2019-2021), which is conducted by the Government of India, the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation report (UN IGME), and the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

            The latest SOFI report is what the Government of India has cited to raise an issue with the GHI. The SOFI report had pegged the undernourishment value of India at 16.6 percent, based on information provided by the FAO.

            The FAO normally relies on data from every country’s household consumption and expenditure surveys to calculate the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU). India’s last available household consumption and expenditure data is for the year 2011-12, since the 2017-18 data was not released by the government due to issues with the ‘quality of data’.

            In places where suitable national survey data is not available, the FAO has to rely on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) to calculate the PoU. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) that the SOFI report relied on is a poll with eight questions asked to 3,000 respondents, to calculate the undernourishment value of India.

            According to the ministry’s statement, this data is “not only wrong and unethical but reeks of obvious bias”.

            The ministry also stated that the GHI should have used data from the Poshan Tracker application, launched in 2021 by the government to track child healthcare indicators. 

            However, the GHI website clarifies that the Poshan Tracker data is not verified by either the Joint Malnutrition Estimates and/or the WHO Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition. 

            The statement issued by the ministry also said that there was “hardly any evidence” that child mortality, one of the key indicators in the report, was caused by hunger. 

            “Be it undernutrition, lack of access to healthcare, or breastfeeding — they are all due to system failures,” Gupta told ThePrint. “You can call it a hunger index or a health index if it makes it more accurate, but the numbers stay the same.”

            ]]>             Indiana ranks 40th in the nation for women’s equality https://sdgtalks.ai/indiana-ranks-40th-in-the-nation-for-womens-equality-90944 https://sdgtalks.ai/indiana-ranks-40th-in-the-nation-for-womens-equality-90944 Sun, 31 Dec 2023 17:38:29 -0500 Jarret Frank

            Indiana ranks 40th in the nation for women’s equality

            (WEHT)– According to WalletHub’s study, Indiana ranks among 10 of the worst states for gender equality. Kentucky and Illinois both fall close to the middle among 2021’s best and worst states for women’s equality.

            Although women’s rights in the U.S. have evolved since the 19 Amendment gave women the right to vote, the U.S. isn’t leading the world in gender equality. The U.S. ranked 53 of the World Economic Forum’s ranking of 156 countries based on gender equality. WalletHub’s recent study shows the workplace shows evidence of inequality in America.

            Despite their advances toward social equality, women are disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions. Women make up more than 50 percent of the population, but constitute only around 27% of legislators and 25 percent of Fortune 500 board seats.

            Women also faced inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women were initially laid off at a greater rate than men and re-employed more slowly.

            The gap has started to close. For example, more than half of job gains in May went to women, and the June unemployment rate for women was 5.5%, compared to 5.9% for men.

            WalletHub compared the 50 states across 17 key indicators of gender equality. The data ranges from the gap between female and male executives to the disparity in unemployment rates for women and men. You can find the full study here but can see how the Tri-State fairs through the data listed below.

            • Indiana
              • Overall rank 40 out of 50 states
              • Total Score: 49.27
              • Workplace Enviroment: 47
              • Education and Health: 37
              • Political empowerment: 25
            • Illinois
              • Overall rank 22 out of 50 states
              • Total Score: 58.84
              • Workplace Enviroment: 37
              • Education and Health: 30
              • Political empowerment: 10
            • Kentucky
              • Overall rank 20 out of 50 states
              • Total Score: 59.29
              • Workplace Enviroment: 21
              • Education and Health: 2
              • Political empowerment: 43
            ]]>             Interview: Dr. Johannes Widodo, Architecture, Culture &amp; Climate. https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-dr-johannes-widodo-rchitecture-culture-climate https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-dr-johannes-widodo-rchitecture-culture-climate Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:57:15 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Interview, climate change, architecture 1. Tell us about how you became interested in architecture

            When I was young, I liked drawing, wandering around, reading books on any topic, and making things with my hands. I love the humanities and science, and I always feel that they are not two but one. So, when I finished my JC, I decided to take architecture because it is not just about designing buildings but also about urban and cultural landscapes; it is not just about making tangible structures but also dealing with people. It is about everything.

            Architecture intersects the humanities and science on different scales, contexts, and timelines; therefore, it fits my personality and aspirations. 

            2.  Where did you study architecture

            My first professional architecture degree, Ir (or Architectural Engineer), was from Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, Indonesia, the first and oldest private architecture school in Indonesia (1978–1984).

            I decided to pursue an academic career right after my graduation. I decided to pursue a further research degree, MArch Eng (Master of Architectural Engineering) at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium (1986–1988), then a PhD in Architecture at the University of Tokyo, Japan (1992–1996).

            3.  Tell us about the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Asian Architectural and Urban Heritage in Melaka (Malaysia) and its mission

            Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Asian Architectural and Urban Heritage, Melaka, Malaysia
            Left: Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Asian Architectural and Urban Heritage, Melaka, Malaysia. Right: With students on a study trip and workshop at the TTCL Centre Melaka/

            The centre was established as a research resource to support academic activities and hands-on training for programs of the Department of Architecture of the National University of Singapore, including collaborative programs with locals and other regional and international universities, especially in heritage conservation and management areas. It is located at the historic core of Melaka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

            4.  Tell us about mAAN (modern Asian Architecture Network) you founded and its mission

            mAAN was established in 2001 to start the discourse on architectural modernism, modernity, and the modernization process in Asia, to generate alternative visions, perspectives, and publications dominated by Eurocentrism.

            Out of a deep concern for the fact that students of Architecture in Asia are still heavily dependent on non-Asian textbooks written by non-Asian scholars looking from a non-Asian perspective, also on the lack of knowledge, lack of appreciation, and the denial of the colonial heritage in Asia, in addition to the need of a cooperative body linking concerned parties in various Asian countries on the issue of modernity and modernism in Architecture, a diverse group of scholars and architects gathered in Guangzhou (China) in 2000.

            As a result, a loose network of people with similar concerns and dreams came into being. This loosely-knitted organism was named “mAAN.” “modern Asian Architecture Network” with a small “m” – because they recognised conflicting perspectives on the issue of modernity and modernism in Asia and our willingness to keep the discourse open.

            The network was set up with the spirit of equality, friendship, freedom, and openness – modelled after a Chinese dining table or an Asian food court, where people with similar intentions come together to exchange ideas and enjoy a wide range of offers and possibilities, free to come and go. This open model is the best way to ensure the sustainability and versatility of mAAN operation in the complex and diverse Asian context.

            5.  Tell us about iNTA (International Network of Tropical Architecture) you founded and its mission 

            iNTA was founded in 2004 as a networking platform for international researchers and practitioners to collaborate and learn from each other about problems and solutions in architecture and urban design in the tropical (and sub-tropical) regions because of the shared climatic imperatives and opportunities in like regions. Tropical Architecture refers to man-made architectural and urban environments relating to the climatic and natural conditions of the tropical (and sub-tropical) regions and interacting with various local specifics of culture, urban fabric, and technology.

            Since the first conference in Singapore in 2004, it has been going around the tropical belt: Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2006), Bangkok, Thailand (2009), Singapore (2012), Johor Bahru, Malaysia (2015), Gainesville, Florida, USA (2017), Brisbane, Australia (2019), and the next one will be in Mumbai, India (2024) - focusing on Climate Justice.

            6. Tell us about DoCoMoMo Macau you founded and its mission. 

            Since 2010, I went to Macau, China SAR, to run the annual cultural mapping program as the final project of the Cultural Heritage Management Program, IFTM (Institute for Tourism Studies Macau). I worked very closely with the local architecture fraternity, government, and heritage activists that concerned about the conservation of Macau's modern heritage amidst rapid changes.

            Docomomo Macau was established in 2013 as part of Docomomo International. The organization is dedicated to preserving and documenting architectural and urban heritage from the modernist movement. It focuses on modernist architecture and design from the 20th century. Docomomo Macau deals explicitly with the modernist architectural heritage in Macau, known for its unique blend of Chinese and Portuguese culture and architecture. The organization aims to raise awareness about the importance of preserving and conserving Macau's modernist architecture and urban developments.

            7.  What attributes do you value in an architectural project as a jury member for the UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation?

            In selecting and deliberating as a jury, I always look into five aspects that must be demonstrated in the submitted projects: cultural authenticity, social continuity, economic viability, environmental sustainability, and architectural integrity.

            These five attributes cannot be separated and must be manifested through an ethical mindset and heroic efforts in the exemplary project to set a benchmark for conservation management and practice in Asia and the Pacific.

            8.  As a member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee and Shared Heritage Committee, founding member and director of the ICOMOS National Committee of Singapore, and an associate member of the Asian Academy for Heritage Management, what are the principles for the analysis, conservation, and Structural Restoration of Architectural Heritage?

            The principles for the analysis I used are the same as what I mentioned in point 7 above. Concerning ICOMOS and AAHM's relation to the UNESCO mandates, I added more emphasis on community empowerment, education, and resilience aspects against the widespread misunderstanding of unsustainable development and commodification of cultural and natural heritages.

            9. Your studies and work have spanned many countries. Tell us about the differences in principles for the analysis, conservation, and Structural Restoration of Architectural Heritage from country to country.

            What I said about the "five-in-one" principle above (authenticity, continuity, sustainability, viability, and integrity) is universal and can be applied in different contexts.

            10.  How did you get involved with Climate Heritage Network

            In November 2020, I was invited to CHN's global online event, "A Culture of Resilience: Mobilising Arts, Culture and Heritage to Win the Race to Zero in the Asia-Pacific Region," organised by the Climate Heritage Network. I talked about "Cultural DNA & Climate Resilience: An Asian Perspective." I highlighted the strength of the sustainable intangible culture that is manifested in the tangible material cultural heritage.

            CHN then asked me to join (online) COP26 Event: "A Culture of Resilience: Launch of the Climate Heritage Network Race to Resilience Campaign," 2 November 2021.

            11.  Tell us about your COP28 project

            My involvement in COP28 is through SEACHA, as a follow-up to the conference titled Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action: The Southeast Asian Contribution, January 12 to 14 at the Siam Society, when 16 youth delegates from ASEAN countries passionately presented cases related to climate crisis from the region they are deeply involved. I want to support them and push their voices onto the global stage. Some of them will present at COP28.

            12.  Anything else you would like to add

            The vision for integrating culture into climate change policy is to ensure that our heritage, traditions, and values become integral to our strategies to combat climate change.

            By incorporating cultural and historical knowledge into climate policies, we can better inform the general public and foster a more profound sense of responsibility for our planet. After COP28, I hope to see a shift towards policies prioritising cultural preservation and environmental sustainability. This means implementing initiatives that maximize energy efficiency and resilience based on local conditions and respect and celebrate cultural authenticity.

            The goal is to create a future where climate policies are socially responsible, economically viable, and architecturally and technologically appropriate while safeguarding our cultural heritage for future generations.

            13.  How can people get in touch with you?

            Linkedin
            jwidodo@nus.edu.sg

            ]]>             Interview: Dr. Chi Suwichan, Karen Anthropologist &amp; Musician https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-dr-chi-suwichan-karen-anthropologist-musician https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-dr-chi-suwichan-karen-anthropologist-musician Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:55:55 -0500 Selva Ozelli 1. Tell us about the Pgaz k'Nyau (Karen) ethnic group in northern Thailand and what makes them distinct

            There are some distinctive aspects that characterize the Pgaz k'Nyau people as follows:

            Firstly, Language: They speak various Sino-Tibetan languages.
            Second, traditional clothing: Karen's traditional attire is vibrant and distinctive. Women often wear colorful blouses and skirts adorned with intricate patterns and embroidery, while men wear traditional wrap-around garments.
            Third, Agriculture: Historically, the Pgaz k'Nyau people have been skilled agriculturists, cultivating crops such as rotational rice and vegetable farming, a method involving rotating fields.
            Fourth, Spiritual Beliefs: Traditionally, Pgaz k'Nyau spirituality revolves around animistic beliefs involving reverence for spirits present in nature.

            2. Tell us about  the Karen harp and how it is emblematic of Karen culture

            The Karen harp, known as the "Te Hna Ku" or "saung," is a traditional musical instrument that holds great significance in Karen culture. It's considered emblematic due to its role in their music, ceremonies, and storytelling traditions.

            The Te Hna Ku is a type of arched harp made from natural materials like wood and bamboo, and strings traditionally crafted from silk or plant fibers. It consists of a resonator made from a coconut shell or gourd, a curved neck, and strings stretched between the resonator and the neck. The Karen people believe the Te Hna Ku to be a sacred instrument, often associated with spiritual and ritualistic practices.

            In Karen culture, the Te Hna Ku is not just a musical instrument; it's a symbol of cultural identity and heritage. It accompanies traditional dances and storytelling in various ceremonies, festivals, and social gatherings. The melodies played on the saung often reflect the Karen people's connection to nature, their history, and their daily lives.

            Moreover, mastering the Te Hna Ku is considered a skill passed down through generations. Younger members of the community learn to play the harp from elder musicians, ensuring the preservation of this cultural symbol.

            The Te Hna Ku, through its music and historical significance, remains a cherished emblem of the Karen people, embodying their cultural traditions and stories.

            The Pgaz K’nyau people, like many indigenous communities around the world, face several challenges related to climate change. These challenges often impact their traditional ways of life, culture, and livelihoods:

            Changing weather patterns: Shifts in weather patterns, including irregular rainfall and temperature variations, can disrupt agricultural practices, affecting crop yields and food security.

            Loss of traditional knowledge: Climate change can threaten the transmission of traditional knowledge from elders to younger generations. This knowledge is crucial for understanding local ecosystems, weather patterns, and sustainable resource management.

            Natural resource depletion: Changes in climate can lead to the degradation of forests, rivers, and other natural resources essential to the Pgaz K’nyau people for food, medicine, and cultural practices.

            Increased vulnerability to natural disasters: Extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and storms can pose significant risks to their settlements, infrastructure, and overall safety.

            Access to clean water and sanitation: Changes in precipitation patterns and water sources due to climate change can impact access to clean water, affecting health and sanitation within the community.

            4.  Tell us about how you got involved with Climate Heritage Network?

            I have received support and coordination from the Siam Society Foundation. So, I had the opportunity to join the network.

            5.  Tell us about your COP28 program

            Harmony of Cultures: Asian Art and Melodies on Friday 8th December 2023,10:00-11.00 am. at Thai Pavilion.

            Ancestral wisdom as a tool for climate change action: Southeast Asian Voices on Friday 8th December 2023,11.00-12.00 am. at Thai Pavilion 

            6.  Do you have a Karen song about your heritage you can share with us?

            7.  Anything else you would like to add

            Is there anything that I can learn I can share and I can participate with activities related to culture and environment I have always good genes and willing to do it.

            8.  How can people get in touch with you?

            FB: Chi Suwichan.
            FB page: Krunana creative.
            YouTube: Krunana creative.
            Email: chipgazknyau@gmail.com

            ]]>             Interview: UIA, Sustainable Architecture &amp; COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-uia-sustainable-architecture-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-uia-sustainable-architecture-cop28 Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:54:20 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, architecture, SDGs 1. Tell us about the mission of the UIA Delegation to COP28

            The mission of the UIA Delegation to COP28 in Dubai is to represent architects in global climate discourse, ensuring architectural practices are central to climate mitigation strategies, to foster partnerships that prioritize sustainable urban environments in climate policy, and to showcase innovative design strategies that reduce carbon footprints and enhance resilience to climate change.

            2.   Tell us about sustainable architecture and the nexus between architecture and the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

            Architecture is directly connected with most of the SDGs since a lot of actions happen in buildings and projects developed by architects. It’s also important to mention that buildings contribute up to 80% of CO2 emissions, so developing a sustainable architecture is critical, not only to achieving SDG11 by creating resilient, inclusive, and energy-efficient urban spaces but also to fight climate change (SDG 13). This can be done through building design, influencing energy use (SDG7), economic growth (SDG8), and innovation (SDG9), among others.

            3.  What are the best practices and projects in architecture that contribute to achieving SDG numbers 11 and 12?

            Some of the best practices and projects regarding the achievement of SDGs 11 and 13 are related to improving access to adequate housing for people using green construction principles, increasing the number of landmark projects for green living spaces, talking about tropical architecture, and stimulating community-centric designs that prioritize public transit accessibility and pedestrian-friendly spaces.

            4.  What are the core promises of the United Nations SDGs, “Leave No One Behind,” and how can architecture embrace and implement inclusive design, planning, and construction practices, thereby contributing to creating an architecture for all?

            Leave No One Behind is not a promise; it is a statement and can be achieved through design principles that ensure access for all and ensuring access to differently abled individuals, and affordability, always with participatory design processes that engage local communities in shaping their environments.

            5.  Tell us about how architecture is integrating renewable energies into newly built structures

            There are so many ways to show how architecture is integrating renewable energy. I would like to highlight the use of photovoltaic facades, green roofs, and passive solar design. There are many high-tech options, but it can also be done through tropical design and opening windows. Every day, new smart building technologies are developed and allow us to optimize even more energy consumption and support grid sustainability. 

            6.  How did you get involved with Climate Heritage Network?

            Architecture is about problem solving, and climate change is by far the most complex problem, impacting our livelihoods and, directly, cities and buildings. So, architects have a natural role in tackling this issue in their everyday designs. For the UIA, engaged in policy, we are interested in enabling architects to address such issues.

            The first practical interaction between the UIA and the CHN was last year in the COP27, Sharm Elsheikh, Egypt, and we extended it to the COP28 this year.

            7.  The Climate Heritage Network’s new Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action at the UNFCCC, which the government of the United Arab Emirates proposes to launch at a High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Culture-Based Climate Action to be held on 8 December at COP28 in Dubai is focused on strengthening political momentum for an effective, coherent, and coordinated action to support and advocate for culture and heritage-based climate action as well as for the protection of culture and heritage from climate impacts.  How will you support the Friends of the Group of Friends Initiative?

            UIA will support this initiative by committing to advancing the recognition of cultural heritage in climate action, advocating for policies that protect heritage sites from climate risks, and promoting their role in education and awareness, especially connecting the initiative with UNESCO on this specific issue. 

            8.  Will you attend in person the 8 December ministerial at the UNFCCC COP28?

            Yes, for sure.

            9. Any message you would like to share

            We are all living in a moment where a call for immediate, actionable commitments from all sectors to integrate sustainable design in urban development is needed. I would like to emphasize the urgency of adopting sustainable practices in architecture to meet climate goals and ensure a livable future for all, with particular attention to the African continent and its survival necessity to face Climate Change.

            BY SELVA OZELLI, JD, LAW · 12·04·23 · LAST UPDATED: 12·04·23

            ]]>             Interview: Shaq Koyok, COP28 and Advocating for Malaysia&apos;s Orang Asli People https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-shaq-koyok-cop28-and-advocating-for-malaysias-orang-asli-people https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-shaq-koyok-cop28-and-advocating-for-malaysias-orang-asli-people Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:53:18 -0500 Selva Ozelli Cop28, advocate

            1.  As an artist, you are a voice for Malaysia's Orang Asli communities through art. Tell us how this journey began.

            I started to paint about Orang Asli's issues when I was in university. I remember well that time my professor asked me to paint my identity as a Malaysian indigenous person. The story I told them was about the deforestation issues near my hometown. Then, the gallery started to become interested in showing my artwork to their gallery.

            2.  When did your interest in art begin?

            Confession of Plam Oil. Acrylic on Canvas, 2013.
            Confession of Plam Oil. Acrylic on Canvas, 2013.

            My passion for art started from an early age, I was so interested when I saw my older brother paint in front of me when I was five years old. I thought the art activities were quite relaxing and made it easy to communicate.

            Then deforestation started to happen near my village when I was six years old; it really affected me mentally and left me with trauma until today. Every time I drew when I was in school, I drew about what happened in the forest.

            3.  Where did you study art?

            I studied art at a Malaysian university called Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia, where I earned both a diploma and a degree in fine art.

            4.  Were you influenced by other artists or family members in your pursuit of art?

            Age of Tomorrow. Acrylic on Canvas, 2016.
            Age of Tomorrow. Acrylic on Canvas, 2016.

            I was influenced by the indigenous artists in Australia mostly. I thought their artwork was very powerful in showing what happened to the community as a result of  British colonialism in Australia.

            5.  Tell us about the impact of deforestation in Malaysia and how it shaped you as an environmental artist.

            Plien Air Painting. Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, Selangor, 2021.
            Plien Air Painting. Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, Selangor, 2021.

            Deforestation is still a big issue in Malaysia today, but it mostly affects many indigenous peoples who live near the forest. In some states in Malaysia, logging contributed a lot to the state government but this resulted in many forests being destroyed and the profits did not go to the communities who were badly affected.

            Deforestation not only affects wildlife but also worsens climate change. I feel a deep connection with the forest where I grew up, and this connection has really shaped my art until today.

            I feel I can use my art to tell the story about how useful indigenous wisdom is to get people to understand how important the forest is to human life and also the health of this planet today. We all know how art can cross-boundary and translate the meaning more than words.

            6.  Which countries in the world have you exhibited your work?

            Legacy. Acrylic on canvas, 2020
            Legacy. Acrylic on canvas, 2020.

            I exhibited at Bower Gallery, Melbourne, Australia, Venice Biennale, Italy, Beijing Bienalle, China, Malaysia Eye Group exhibition, Norlia's Gallery, London, UK. The ARTS KL. Miami Art Fair, Florida, USA; and Solo International Art Festival, Jawa, Indonesia.

            7.  How did you get involved with Climate Heritage Network?

            Lupak Nyap. Acrylic on Canvas, 2022.
            Lupak Nyap. Acrylic on Canvas, 2022.

            I started to know and be involved in the Climate Heritage Network when I joined the event organized by The Siam Society in Bangkok last January.

            8.  The Climate Heritage Network’s new Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action at the UNFCCC, which the government of the United Arab Emirates proposes to launch at a High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Culture-Based Climate Action to be held on 8 December at COP28 in Dubai is focused on strengthening political momentum for an effective, coherent, and coordinated action to support and advocate for culture and heritage-based climate action as well as for the protection of culture and heritage from climate impacts. How will you support the Friends of the Group of Friends Initiative?

            Nightmare of Moyang Bajos. Oil on Canvas, 2020.
            Nightmare of Moyang Bajos. Oil on Canvas, 2020.

            I hope with my connection and influence I can try to invite the Malaysian Culture Ministry to be part of this meeting.

            9.  Will you attend the 8 December ministerial in person at the UNFCCC COP28?

            Yes

            10.  Any message you would like to share:

            Wounded Memories. Acrylic on pandanus. 2019.
            Wounded Memories. Acrylic on pandanus. 2019.

            I strongly believe the culture should be part of the agent of change in combating the climate change issue. It is crucial to include many parties in this journey together we can leave anybody behind because we share this planet together.

            11.  How can people reach you?

            Mural for Indigenous School.
            Mural for Temuan Culture Center.

            I will be part of the Artivist Network Organisation which will based in the Civil Society Organisations hub CSO Hubs in Dubai. But you can also check my social media, blogs, and email here the links: https://linktr.ee/shaqkoyok

            Malok Hak Kan Nik (Where-Are-Our-Rights).
            Malok Hak Kan Nik (Where-Are-Our-Rights).
            ]]>             Interview With Ian Hutton, the Curator of the Lord Howe Island Museum https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-ian-hutton-the-curator-of-the-lord-howe-island-museum https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-ian-hutton-the-curator-of-the-lord-howe-island-museum Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:51:36 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Interview, climate change, museum, energy Lord Howe Island Museum is a Natural History, Culture and Art Museum located in Lord Howe Island which is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Tell us about your museum and the Museum’s logo.

            Lord Howe island does have amazing stories to tell - with its World Heritage nature, and human contact coinciding with settlement of Australia by Europeans in 1788. The museum houses an Environmental Gallery featuring the World Heritage values; and an Historical gallery telling the human stories from 1788. In both galleries, professional techniques using words, photographs, art and objects are employed to engage and inspire viewers. The Museum logo is the Horned turtle (Meiolania platyceps). This creature used to roam around the low parts of the islands until about 120,000 years ago. Its fossil bones had been collected from the 1850’s, but a find in 1972 recovered a complete fossil skeleton. The AMNH prepared the bones to make a full sized model of this skeleton, which is on display at the museum.

            LHIM has a diverse collection of Lord Howe Island’s heritage, culture, fine art and natural history which contribute to its international reputation. How do you intend to shape LHIM's exhibitions and programming?

            The museum committee members are dedicated to showcasing the natural values of the island, and highlighting the conservation objectives achieved, and planned, as inspiration as to what can be achieved with dedication to the environment, so that people go away with more environmental awareness. A number of temporary exhibitions and displays are mounted each year, to highlight emerging issues, and bring freshness to the galleries. Three public lectures are held each week at the museum, to showcase various aspects of the island, and each has an environmental message such as Ocean Plastic or Climate Change. Visiting researchers are invited to give a public presentation on their research to the locals and visitors. Most of this research has an environmental management focus. We are developing the website to spread environmental messages wider.

            This year at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE world leaders will discuss climate action at the subnational level. What are your museums sustainability initiatives?

            The LHI Museum uses solar hot water system to minimise energy usage, and is linked to the Island solar electric farm, with approximately 80% pf the island’s electricity now derived from this sustainable source. The museum houses a tv monitor displaying real time what the Island’s energy system is doing each day, so visitors can see the substantial input from solar in the community. The museum building was designed to be passively cooled so no air conditioning is required. Cleaning products and café items are all selected for best sustainable practice.

             

             

             

            Tell us about your sustainability related art programming.

            Ocean plastic affects our Flesh footed shearwater more than any other seabird in the world. Using art is one way that we are able to coney the message to visitors, and hopefully make them aware of this problem and make changes in their daily lives to minimise the impact of plastic. We have an art seabird mural made by local artist and school children from beach collected plastic items. The museum sourced a sponsor to have four see-through bins at beaches for visitors and locals to collect plastic off the beach. We regularly hold workshops to have visitors sort this beach plastic into different categories, which is then tallied and entered in a national database about ocean plastic. We screen on a tv monitor daily environmental art such as seen on Future of Power art show.

             

             

            Does LHIM collaborate with the United Nations, ICOM or the Plastic Free July Foundation?

            Each year the Museum promotes various international programs to create awareness around environmental issues. This is through posters, web blogs and lectures at the museum. We collaborate with the local school children on plastic free initiatives such as printed cloth bread bags, recycling plastic pens, art exhibitions.

            Tell us about the inspiration behind your Lord Howe Tours.

            I originally started to share my knowledge and passion about the island to visitors through slide presentations at the museum in the 1980’s. People would enjoy these and often asked if I would be able to take them one walks to see the nature first hand. I did start doing that, as a free service, and gradually have developed a range of half day, full day tours looking at marine life, birds, plants, geology; and some special weeks focused on one aspect such as birds. I do enjoy seeing the pleasure people derive from being able to experience and learn about nature, and I can highlight the wonderful conservation success on the island, hoping that people go away with better appreciation for the need to protect the planet and all of its species.

            How can people get more involved in LHIM and in preserving the environment?

            When people visit Lord Howe Island, come down and learn about the amazing environment through displays and lectures. If you are involved with conservation on another island, you may like to share that at the museum with a PowerPoint presentation for locals and visitors. You might like to sponsor a project that the museum requires funding for, as seen on our website. 

            The Museum also works closely with the Friends of Lord Howe Island group that promotes week-long ecotours to the island where people can visit on this special week, where mornings are spent on conservation projects such as assisting with weed eradication, or beetle surveys. And the afternoons learning about the island on guided walks.

            How can artists, people reach you?

            People can contact me at the email curator@lhimuseum.com. If visiting the island please make contact ahead and we can see if there are any opportunities for collaboration with art and conservation while you are here.

            This interview was conducted by Selva Ozelli

            ]]>             Interview With Dr. Catrini Pratihari Kubontubuh, Chairperson of SEACHA-Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Alliance https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-dr-catrini-pratihari-kubontubuh-chairperson-of-seacha-southeast-asian-cultural-heritage-alliance https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-dr-catrini-pratihari-kubontubuh-chairperson-of-seacha-southeast-asian-cultural-heritage-alliance Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:49:01 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, climate activist, SDGs, Indonesia How did you become interested in environmentally sustainable architecture and conservation and where did you study?

            I am an urban planner and architect with a focus on culture and environmental sustainability. My Balinese heritage strongly influences my interest, as it emphasizes an inseparable connection between humans, nature, and the creator in our daily lives. I received my master's degree in Architecture from K.U. Leuven in Belgium. My bachelor's degrees in urban planning and my doctoral degree in Architecture were both obtained from the Institute of Technology Bandung in Indonesia.

            Tell us about Southeast Asian Culture Heritage Alliance (SEACHA) and the vision that created this organization.

            SEACHA is a coalition of Southeast Asian civil society organizations engaged in cultural heritage conservation work. Founded in 2019 in Thailand, its vision is to promote effective government-community partnerships in cultural heritage management in Southeast Asia, strengthen the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community as a people-centered third pillar of ASEAN, and serve as a networking forum between ASEAN member organizations. I have been the Chairperson of SEACHA since 2022.

            Tell us about the members of SEACHA, its mission and its partners.

            Eight civil society organizations from ASEAN countries formed SEACHA. These include The Siam Society under Royal Patronage, The Indonesian Heritage Trust, The Penang Heritage Trust, The Yangon Heritage Trust, The Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines, The Singapore Heritage Society, the Centre for Research and Promotion of Cultural Heritage of Vietnam, and Lao Sericulture and Agroecology Promotion (Mulberries). SEACHA welcomes other ASEAN civil society organizations to join its founding members. Officially registered in Thailand in December 2021, SEACHA has spent the last three years promoting cultural heritage across ASEAN nations. Its mission is to develop indigenous Southeast Asian concepts of cultural heritage protection and initiate programs to promote cultural heritage protection in the region.

            Tell us about the Indonesian Heritage Trust, its mission and its partners.

            I have been the Chairperson of the Indonesian Heritage Trust (Bumi Pelestarian Pusaka Indonesia) since 2013. This non-profit organization serves as a melting pot for heritage practitioners, advocates, and enthusiasts from various backgrounds. Formed in 2004 in Jakarta by members of local heritage organisations around Indonesia and academicians from universities. Its mission is to safeguard the conservation of Indonesian heritage, actualizing Indonesia as a cultured and dignified society through historical, cultural, and civilizational records.

            Tell us about the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO), its mission and its partners.

            INTO is a global network of heritage organizations. Launched in 2007 at the Delhi conference, it has evolved from an informal collective to a leading authority on the National Trust movement. INTO's mission is to conserve global heritage—built, natural, tangible, and intangible—through expertise exchange, best practice promotion, and resource sharing. As a member of the Board of Executive Committee from 2010-2021, I contributed to supporting new trusts and engaging in key heritage sector conservations.

            Tiger rehabilitation project

            Tell us about Arsari Djojohadikusumo Foundation and its mission and your views on the impact of climate change on children and low income families in Indonesia.

            The Arsari Djojohadikusumo Foundation was established in early 2006 by Hashim Djojohadikusumo and his family in Jakarta. It focuses on social causes and education, as well as culture and nature conservation, including wildlife rehabilitation. Serving as the Executive Director from 2013 until August 2023, I observed the foundation's significant impact in promoting the nation's awareness of their historical roots and environmental respect.

            In my view, the impact of climate change on Indonesian children and low-income families is severe, leading to more extreme weather, increased pollution, natural disasters, dwindling natural resources, diseases, stress, and displacement. Thus, education plays a vital role in providing an understanding of how to maintain a balanced take-and-give relationship between humanity and nature.

            Tell us about how you got involved with Climate Heritage Network.

            I was invited as a speaker at the Climate Heritage Network's Asia-Pacific Regional Climate Heritage Forum in 2020 as part of Climate Heritage Week 2020. Subsequently, the Indonesian Heritage Trust joined CHN in 2021. As chairperson of SEACHA, we continue to collaborate with CHN, supporting Culture at COP28.

            Tell us about your COP28 platform and your contributions to the establishment of "Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action" which launched at COP28.

            At COP28, I participated as a speaker and moderator in panels discussing ancestral wisdom, urban culture, and harmony of culture in climate action. My contribution to the Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action (GFCBCA) included assigning Moe Moe Lwin, Vice Chairperson of SEACHA, as co-chair of the Culture at COP28 Working Group. We plan to continue this work through pilots and further research in our SEACHA member countries.

            Discussion at COP28

            You are involved with architectural conservation and heritage on a global, regional and local level with a view for the future. Tell us about how you got involved with all these organizations and the synergies these collaborations bring about.

            With over 25 years of experience in culture and natural heritage conservation, I have developed a network spanning local to global levels. My involvement has included 6 years working at The World Bank, trained as Climate Reality Leader by Al Gore institution on 2020, and actively participating as an expert and organizer in several influential institutions, continuously learning and sharing experiences.

            Anything else you would like to add.

            I also run programs for youth in my home village in Bali through The Bali Kuna Santi Foundation – Jero Tumbuk, established 23 years ago. The foundation aims to maintain the balance of nature and culture conservation by teaching Balinese traditional practices to village children and others interested in applying these traditions in modern life.

            How can people reach you?

            I can be reached at balikuna@yahoo.com. Additionally, I am active on Instagram and Facebook @catriniari.

            This interview was conducted by Selva Ozelli

            ]]>             Interview With Deborah Thankam Ciju, Climate Activist https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-deborah-thankam-ciju-climate-activist https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-deborah-thankam-ciju-climate-activist Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:45:28 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, climate activist, SDGs, India Tell us your name and the school you are attending.

            My name is Deborah Thankam Ciju and I'm currently studying at GEMS UNITED INDIAN SCHOOL, Abu Dhabi.

            How did you become interested in the environment?

            I was around seven years old when it all began. Every time I traveled to Kerala, India, I saw the stunning landscape was littered with waste. That's when my enthusiasm for protecting the environment began to blossom.

            What activities do you engage in to protect the environment?

            I make it a point as a young activist to volunteer for as many events as I can. I make presentations for young people in the hopes of motivating them, I participate in afforestation sites and my local beach cleanups, I participate in desert cleanups and seminars, and I even attend webinars and seminars to learn more about the environment and what we can do to conserve it. I participate in the school's eco-club, where I can interact and contribute to the generation of ideas that benefit both our community and the wider globe.

            Which countries benefit from your environmental activities?

            India and the United Arab Emirates would profit the most from my physical environmental efforts (cleanups, site replanting, etc.). Since the seminars I attend are international, I think that by motivating individuals all over the world with my remarks, I'm encouraging people everywhere.

            How did you get involved with the Global Resilience Partnership and the UNFCCC?

            It's difficult to change the world when you're just 13 years old, but that's what I wanted to do. I thus learned about YOUNGO, the UNFCCC's youth constituency. With the grace of God, my application was accepted! I've been receiving letters from various activists ever since about ways to improve the world, and that's how I found out about the Global Resilience Partnership. I would be able to tell others my story and demonstrate to them that it is never too late or too young to try to save the environment by participating in this program!

            On Nov 30th, the day the COP28 conference began in Dubai, young activists stormed the New York Metropolitan Opera and interrupted the performance by demanding an end to the use of fossil fuels. What are your thoughts on the activities of extinction rebellion?

            At a time like this, when the earth is so vulnerable. Utilizing other materials and fossil fuels will only increase our risk. I acknowledge that the depletion of fossil fuels may result in a significant shift in lifestyle, but at that point, we must choose to utilize them sparingly. Alternatively, look for a more sustainable fossil fuel substitute. I acknowledge that the protest was unexpected and that it interfered with a classy event, but we have been attempting to draw attention to ourselves for a very long time. The youth have made numerous attempts, but they never seem to be successful, in showing people the truth and waking them up. So if the only way for people to realize their wrongdoings is to storm an Opera hall and demand the end of fossil fuels, so be it.

            Is the youth in Dubai and Kerala involved in the climate conversation – joining a burgeoning global cohort of youth passionately committed to fostering change for their peers? What is your involvement?

            The bilateral relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates, which has always been cordial and amicable, has developed into a major economic and commercial alliance. This implies that close ties exist between the UAE and India, even when it comes to discussing climate change. The Indian PM attended the COP28 Summit, as did other young Indian speakers. Keralan and Dubai Young are actively participating in the climate discourse.

            Unfortunately, children and youth face disproportionate risks and impacts from this as the generation who will inherit a planet with tougher conditions in which to live without being responsible for contributing to the problem. Artist Fatma Kadir, with her work in Future of Power Art Show on exhibit at the Resilience Hub at COP28 draws attention to young climate change advocates who “at very early ages are becoming plaintiffs in climate litigation around the globe–including within the ASEAN region. This region is home to some of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. What are your thoughts on climate litigation?

            We must take action right away! The world will not wait for us to act. It will gradually crumble, leaving the world in ruins. We, the younger generation, have a responsibility to clean up the mess left by our ancestors' neglect of our earth. Youth climate lawsuits will become much more common if we do not collectively take action now, and this should be discouraged. Children and youth are disproportionately at risk from it since they are the generation that will inherit a planet with harsher living conditions without having contributed to the problem. Therefore, let's work together, older and younger generations alike, to put an end to these accusations against young people because they have done nothing wrong. Let's act together to have a better future and planet together.

            Anything else you might want to add.

            In addition to being the victims of environmental and climate problems, young people are also significant change agents who help achieve the SDGs, equality, and respect for human rights, as well as a more sustainable planet. The limitless creativity, vitality, and contributions of youngsters everywhere are essential to humanity. It is the youth that can only stop this. Let's join hands together to save the earth!

            How can people reach you?

            People can reach me through my email, deborahthankamciju@gmail.com!

             

            Deborah's COP28 Resilience Story Showcase!

            Picture of Deborah with Dr. Jane Goodal for the Roots & Shoots program

            This interview was conducted by Selva Ozelli

            ]]>             Interview With Prince Justin Ajinga Tanyi, Executive Chairman of Union Farms of Africa https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-prince-justin-ajinga-tanyi-executive-chairman-of-union-farms-of-africa https://sdgtalks.ai/interview-with-prince-justin-ajinga-tanyi-executive-chairman-of-union-farms-of-africa Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:44:03 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, Food Security Tell us about Union Farms of Africa and its mission.

            Union Farms of Africa (UFA) is an Agro innovation group of cooperatives specialized in maize and cassava, plantains and livestock production, transformation, marketing, distribution, and international linkages. The Union Farms of Africa's vision for the agriculture sector is to ensure food and nutrition security across Africa and to pursue economic growth, social capital development, including the empowerment of youth and women in agricultural activities, while reducing the process of environmental degradation. Its mission is to reduce poverty, increase livelihood, employment through a resilience-based and market-driven approach in pursuit of a countrywide strategy towards climate smart and organic agriculture and supporting value chains and markets development, introducing appropriate policy and technology.

            UFA is focused on sustainable farming across Africa, where we bring together partnerships across the value chain to ensure that every component of agriculture value chain is sustained in our project as we plan to replicate the success and proof of concept in Cameroun to other parts of Africa to ensure food security is achieved and sustained using organic inputs. Union Farms of Africa (UFA) is a cooperative using AI to solve food insecurity in Africa. UFA produces high-yielding planting materials and creates markets for its farmers. AI helps UFA monitor crops, predict events, and increase production.

            Which services does your organization offer for climate-smart and organic agriculture?

            • Regenerative Smart Climate resilience farming
            • Agribusiness Training, Consulting, Coaching and International linkages
            • Agricultural drone related service
            • Organic seed multiplication
            • Organic Fertilizer production and Biogas
            • Waste recycling

            Which countries in Africa does your organization operate in?

            Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Angola and South Africa.

            Does your organization collaborate with the United Nations?

            No looking forward to starting collaboration.

            What is your programming for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28)?

            To connect with partners to can provide rural farmers with renewable energy, crop insurance, green financing, carbon credit trading and AI for African Food System. We want to show showcase our indigenous organic value chains from 10 UFA Members countries in Africa and encourage Africa diaspora to invest in agriculture.

            How can businesses and individuals get involved with your organization?

            WhatsApp: +237677753273
            Email: ufainfoventre@gmail.com
            Website: www.unionfarmsofafrica.org

             

            Trainees of UFA Farmers Business School (Females)

            GIZ visit to UFA Hybrid Maize Demonstration Farm

            A Cross Section of Processed Maize Items
            ]]>             Tackling the Impact of Climate Change for All at COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/tackling-the-impact-of-climate-change-for-all-at-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/tackling-the-impact-of-climate-change-for-all-at-cop28 Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:42:12 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, art In a stark warning ahead of the United Nations Climate Convention ‘Conference of the Parties’ (‘COP28’), the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Jagan Chapagain, has said the climate and environmental crisis is a “multiplier”, exacerbating almost every humanitarian disaster the world faces.

            “Whether it’s a hunger crisis and people forced to move because of drought, a health emergency exacerbated by heat, killer flooding caused by exceptional rain, disputes over diminishing tracts of arable land or an uptick in malaria deaths due to warmer temperatures, climate change plays a role in exacerbating the impact of so-called ‘natural’ disasters. The climate and environmental crisis is the biggest global challenge the IFRC faces. Addressing its impacts means addressing the base issues that turn hazards into disasters and doing that at the base level where people are most affected. If we want to tackle humanitarian disasters, it really is ‘All About That Base’.”

            Climate or extreme weather was a contributing factor to the vast majority - new analysis suggests 94% - of all impact-causing natural hazards between 2018 and 2022. And that proportion, according to an IFRC report [1], increases every year. 

            Artist Gunsu Saracoglu, with her work in the Future of Power art show at COP28, reminds us that “Climate change is having a significant impact on wildfires around the world in the absence of adherence to the Paris Agreement. The total wildfire emissions for 2023 is estimated to be almost 410 megatonnes. Boreal forests in regions all over the world have been experiencing the worst wildfires in recorded history in 2023, according to new research.”

            Unfortunately, children and youth face disproportionate risks and impacts from this as the generation who will inherit a planet with tougher conditions in which to live without being responsible for contributing to the problem.

            Artist Fatma Kadir, with her work in the Future of Power art show at COP28, draws attention to young climate change advocates who “instead of playing with toys and balloons are at very early ages becoming plaintiffs in climate litigation around the globe–including Juliana v. United States, Held v. Montana, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Other States –as they advocate for their human right to a clean and healthful environment as granted by their constitutions. Youth climate litigation is becoming an integral part of securing climate action and justice. The total number of climate change court cases worldwide has more than doubled since 2017, according to the report prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.”

            At COP28, for the first time, ways to providing relief to those affected will be explored. IFRC leaders and experts will argue that a humanitarian catastrophe can only be avoided through a mix of mitigation (reducing emissions to stop temperature rises beyond 1.5 degrees), adaptation to a world inevitably warmer than today’s, and accelerated efforts to avert, minimise and address losses and damages. They will say that the focus for adaptation should be on base issues in the countries, communities and crises most affected by climate change, but seeing the least adaptation funding. And they will argue that the most effective projects and initiatives are at the community-led; grassroots initiatives that work from the base up.

            Impact on Biodiversity

            A recent detailed analysis by aplaceforanimals.com (Please find the full methodology of the study here) dives deep into crucial questions about our planet's threatened species as a result of climate change. Through examination of diverse habitats, the findings are alarming. Amphibians, for instance, are facing greater danger with a staggering 41% on the verge of extinction. Of the 65,000 vertebrate species — constituting merely 3% of all animal species — an astounding 42,100 find themselves under the imminent threat of extinction due to climate change.

            The data casts a bright spotlight on Indonesia, a nation boasting unparalleled biodiversity with 10,408 animal species. However, it also holds the unenviable position of having 1,233 species under threat. Yet, the concern doesn't end there. Both Australia and Mexico are ringing alarm bells, witnessing threat rates of 12.5% and 13.9%, respectively.

            Aplaceforanimals assessed each nation based on criteria like species diversity, number of endangered species, and conservation efforts. They assigned scores based on these parameters, culminating in an overall rating.

            ]]>             Don’t Let Climate Change Interrupt the Opera https://sdgtalks.ai/dont-let-climate-change-interrupt-the-opera https://sdgtalks.ai/dont-let-climate-change-interrupt-the-opera Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:39:51 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, opera Headed by the State oil executive, Sultan al-Jaber the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) kick started in Dubai, UAE on November 30th with the establishment of a first of its kind Climate Disaster Fund. However, putting a portion of carbon energy profits in a fund to pay for climate disasters highlights government and corporate neglect of climate and ecological breakdown. The present socioeconomic system can't protect people, the environment, nature from the climate crises to come, because that system’s very structure creates these crises–and then ignores them. Our key institutions, corporations and governments, function according to quarterly profits, the election cycle, without regard for the long-term dangers to our survival. This system is designed to steal from future generations, cause extreme biodiversity loss, air and water contamination in order to maintain a lifestyle that benefits the “one percent,” to the detriment of everyone else.

            To highlight this message, young Extinction Rebellion activists in New York City stormed the Metropolitan Opera House on the opening night of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser which explores the theme of the struggle between sacred and profane love, as well as redemption through love. The half an hour interruption by activists on the start of COP28 was perfectly timed to coincide with the main character’s declaration that “love is a spring to be drunk from” and was less serious and less inconvenient than the severe weather delays that are now becoming more and more frequent.

            The opera and other performances, both indoors and out, have already been disrupted by extreme weather. This has become so common that Ticketmaster has devoted an entire page to weather contingencies. In recent months, we’ve seen large-scale performances canceled. Weather-related travel disruptions have prevented artists from reaching the city or venue where they’re scheduled to perform. In at least one case, a heat-related death, at an event where drinking water was not permitted, caused public outrage and forced cancellation after the event was already under way.  

            Young protestors point out that there is "no opera on a dead planet,” and demand an end to fossil fuels. Because contrary to those words spoken on stage, springs are not pure now, because we are in a climate crisis, and our water is contaminated. If protestors don't disrupt the opera, nature most certainly will—and soon. “If XR doesn’t disrupt, the climate will. Violently. Activists are disrupting peacefully. Nature will disrupt violently.”, explained Miles Grant, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson. John Mark Rozendaal, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, cellist and viola da gamba player added “We love opera. We are interrupting the things we love. We are acting in ways that may seem irrational, but this is because no one is having a sane response to the urgency, danger, and magnitude of the climate crisis. There have been 28 COPs and emissions have only gone up! We stand to lose everything.”  

            To draw attention to the urgency of the existential crisis that we’re facing young activists demands the government tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, and halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.

            These concerns mirror UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s sentiment "We can't save a burning planet with a firehose of fossil fuels. We must accelerate a just, equitable transition to renewables. The science is clear: The 1.5°C warming limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning fossil fuels. Not reduce. Not abate. Phase out."  

            The climate and ecological crisis threaten everything on our planet, including opera. “We're not protesting the event itself; we are not protesting opera; we are not protesting the emissions that brought spectators here. That's not the point. We are here because we have to disrupt this public event as our last resort to draw public attention to the climate emergency we are facing today”, said Linda Solomon, an Extinction Rebellion activist. This and similar actions are the response of a movement that has no other recourse; it must engage in unconventional forms of protest to bring mass attention to the greatest emergency of our time. All normal means of effecting change commensurate with the scale of the catastrophe – voting, petitioning, lobbying, etc. – have failed and failed again. 

            Unfortunately, children and youth face disproportionate risks and impacts from this as the generation who will inherit a planet with tougher conditions in which to live without being responsible for contributing to the problem. Artist Fatma Kadir, with her work in Future of Power Art Show on exhibit at the Resilience Hub at COP28 , draws attention to young climate change advocates who “at very early ages are becoming plaintiffs in climate litigation around the globe–including Juliana v. United States, Held v. Montana, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Other States –as they advocate for their human right to a clean and healthful environment as granted by their constitutions. Youth climate litigation is becoming an integral part of securing climate action and justice. The total number of climate change court cases worldwide has more than doubled since 2017, according to the report prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.”

            Future of Power at Resilience Hub at the COP28

            "We’re not going to stop disrupting, because nature is only getting started. The orange skies and the flooding in New York City this year are just the beginning", said Jack Baldwin, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. The science makes clear that we have only a very small time window in which to end fossil fuel use and halt carbon emissions.

            ]]>             &quot;Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action” Launched at COP 28 https://sdgtalks.ai/group-of-friends-of-culture-based-climate-action-launched-at-cop-28 https://sdgtalks.ai/group-of-friends-of-culture-based-climate-action-launched-at-cop-28 Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:38:30 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, art At COP28 participants unanimously adopted the Emirates Declaration on Culture-Based Climate Action.

            History was made at COP 28 with the launch of Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action. “We argue that we will only achieve the results outlined in the Paris Agreement if we include culture, arts, heritage and creative industries as part of the response, generating conditions to transform thoughts into action”, explained H.E. Margareth Menezes, Brazil Minister of Culture.

            A decade of campaigning for the arts, heritage and creative industries to be at the heart of climate action has led to the establishment at COP 28 of the 'Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action at the COP28.' This announcement was made exactly one month after the launch of the Global Call to put Culture at the Heart of Climate Action, when the first ministerial meeting on this topic was convened and chaired by the Ministers of Culture of the UAE and Brazil. At COP28 participants unanimously adopted the Emirates Declaration on Culture-Based Climate Action. This visionary Declaration paves the way for the adoption of a Joint Work Decision on Culture-Based Climate Action at COP 29, and subsequently to a related action plan ahead of COP 30 in Brazil. 

            Family photo taken after the Ministerial meeting held on Dec 8 at COP28, including the two Co-Chairs, H.E. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, Minister of Culture of the UAE and H.E. Margareth Menezes, Minister of Culture of Brazil, representatives of governments, international organizations and a large delegation of civil society led by HRH Princess Dana of Jordan, as Special Envoy of the Climate Heritage Network

            ‘’This is an absolutely pivotal step towards the full integration of culture and heritage in the climate agenda to achieve transformative and meaningful action and realize a just, equitable, inclusive and diverse climate resilient future…for years, a growing coalition of cultural leaders and advocates, as well as civil society organizations from throughout the world have been committed to this goal…I am proud to work with so many partners through the Climate Heritage Network’’ stated HRH Princess Dana Firas of Jordan, Climate Heritage Network Special Envoy.

            Over 30 Ministers or government representatives and a large delegation of committed cultural advocates, such as UNESCO, ALECSO, ICESCO, the European Union represented by the European Commission, ALIPH (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas), Brazil Climate Action Hub, British Council, Europa Nostra/European Heritage Hub, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), International Council of Museums, (ICOM), International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), International Peace Institute, Julie’s Bicycle, People’s Palace Projects, Petra National Trust, Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Alliance (SEACHA), and World Monuments Fund (WMF) from across the Globe attended the historic inaugural meeting,  recognizing the key role of  culture for transformative climate action. The event was live streamed.

            “Today we need to create a path for integrating culture into climate policy for the future, as well as raise awareness of culture’s transformative powers to change behavior and imagine its ability to unlock creative solutions that can engage all members of society across all sectors”, said H.E. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Culture.

            The Global Call to Action campaign is a civil society contribution to an initiative funded by the UAE Ministry of Culture in partnership with the ALIPH Foundation which supports a coalition of cultural heritage, the arts and creative sectors - and has been initiated with the backing of founding signatories. The Global Campaign is for everyone who cares about empowering cultural voices, actors and sectors in the fight against climate change. Everyone is invited to add their voice and share the campaign with their communities and networks. The Global Call already has 1500 signatories and counting, including organizations with large membership or networks representing many thousands of other organizations and their communities. 

            The management of the Global Call campaign is being undertaken in the framework of the Climate Heritage Network Culture at COP28 Working Group, under the leadership of Julie’s Bicycle. Europa Nostra/European Heritage Hub provides the secretariat for this CHN Working Group. These organizations have played a leading role in organizing the Global Call to Action and worked closely with the UAE Ministry of Culture to prepare this most successful ministerial meeting.  

            “We are not going to solve climate change with the same values that caused climate change. Those knowledge systems that provide the way forward are very often stewarded by indigenous communities” said Andrew Potts of Climate Heritage Network.

            The Climate Heritage Network (CHN) is a voluntary, mutual support network of government agencies, NGOs, universities, businesses, and other organizations committed to tackling climate change and achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. Mobilized in 2018 during the Global Climate Action Summit and launched in 2019, the Climate Heritage Network works to re-orient climate policy, planning, and action at all levels to account for dimensions of culture - from arts to heritage.

            ]]>             The Historic and Enigmatic COP 28 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-historic-and-enigmatic-cop-28 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-historic-and-enigmatic-cop-28 Sun, 31 Dec 2023 13:36:47 -0500 Selva Ozelli COP28, Blue Zone, Dubai, art The enigmatic United Nations Climate Change (COP28) meeting was hosted by an oil nation headed by an oil baron Sultan al-Jaber, as COP28 president, where governments discussed how to limit and prepare for future climate change. Against a backdrop of controversy, geopolitical conflicts and increasing extreme weather events, the summit took place in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the world's top 10 oil-producing nations from November 30 to  December 12, 2023. Although it overran a day with a historic outcome when it came to implementing landmark Paris Agreement which has three main pillars: mitigating future climate change by reducing carbon emissions, adapting to future climate disasters, and redressing the loss and damage that can’t be prevented.

            Establishing a Loss and Damage Fund

            As climate-driven disasters continue to make headlines around the world, the fate of millions in especially vulnerable regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia hinged on the question of how countries will adapt to climate change and who exactly will pay for the phenomenally expensive undertaking. A recent report said finance for adaptation needed to reach US$194bn-US$366bn a year. Yet the most recent evidence showed that adaptation funding went down 15% in 2021 from the previous year, to US$24.6bn.

            Pressure was high throughout the conference to avoid appearing to have caved to OPEC lobbyists. So the first day of the conference kicked off with establishing a first of its kind loss and damage fund to help nations hit hardest by the climate crisis.  

            Mary Friel, the IFRC’s Climate Policy lead pointed out that “The historic progress on Loss and Damage which began this COP was a notable success. But not moving forward on adaptation would be a major failure.” The Loss and Damage Fund needs funds! While current commitments get the fund off the ground, they are a tiny fraction of what’s needed. 

            Jagan Chapagain, the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General of the IFRC, added “This agreement is a step in the right direction – but we needed a leap. The establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund and progress on the Global Goal on Adaptation are both welcome. It’s good, too, that there’s some improved language on mitigation. But this is not yet backed by the necessary finance, and everything is happening far too slowly. We need to be focused on reaching those who need action most. Communities are suffering now. They need action now.” Effective coordination is needed with wider funding arrangements to identify gaps and reach people in need. Because we will see more intense, frequent and overlapping extreme climate and weather events destroying homes, lives and livelihoods, with sea level rise taking away people’s lands and ways of life.

            The IFRC supports communities to prepare for and react to extreme weather and climate-related hazards all over the world. Those hazards are getting more frequent and worse. In just the last two weeks alone, while COP28 has been underway, Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers have been helping people following floods in Kenya, Angola, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic and Tanzania. Families and communities are already dealing with the very real impacts of extreme weather and as climate change gets more severe, those needs will grow exponentially. We therefore remind the world that words are never enough. We need action, a great leap forward in action.

            Establishing Group of Friends Culture-Based Climate Action Plan

            After a decade of campaigning for the Global Call to put Culture at the Heart of Climate Action1, on December 8th participants in an inaugural meeting at COP28 unanimously adopted the Emirates Declaration on Culture-Based Climate Action. The Global Call to Action initiative is backed by founding signatories and is funded by the UAE Ministry of Culture in partnership with the ALIPH Foundation.

            Architectural practices are central to climate mitigation strategies, to foster partnerships that prioritize sustainable urban environments in climate policy, and to showcase innovative design strategies that reduce carbon footprints and enhance resilience to climate change. “It’s important to mention that buildings contribute up to 80% of CO2 emissions, so developing a sustainable architecture is critical, not only to achieving SDG11 by creating resilient, inclusive, and energy-efficient urban spaces but also to fight climate change (SDG 13)”, pointed out the International Union of Architects (UIA) team members Dr. Iman O. Gawad, Professor of Sustainable Architecture, Fine Arts Faculty, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt, Cid Blanco, Co-Director of the UIA Commission on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Gaetan Siew, Founding Partner, Visio Architects and UIA Ambassador to COP28. 

            The historic inaugural meeting of Culture-Based Climate Action at COP28 was live streamed where H.E. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE Minister of Culture explained “We need to create a path for integrating culture into climate policy for the future, as well as raise awareness of culture’s transformative powers to change behavior and imagine its ability to unlock creative solutions that can engage all members of society across all sectors.”  

            The inaugural meeting was attended by over 30 Ministers or government representatives and a large delegation of committed cultural advocates, such as UNESCO, ALECSO, ICESCO, the European Union represented by the European Commission, ALIPH (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas), Brazil Climate Action Hub, British Council, Europa Nostra/European Heritage Hub, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), International Council of Museums, (ICOM), International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), International Peace Institute, Julie’s Bicycle, People’s Palace Projects, Petra National Trust, Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Alliance (SEACHA), and World Monuments Fund (WMF).

            FUTURE OF ENERGY ART SHOW AT THE RESILIENCE HUB OF COP28

            “The launch of the Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action is a landmark achievement of which we can be proud of. I am looking forward to launching the now-more-urgent-than-ever Dubai-Baku-Belem Action plan for Culture together”, added Andrew Potts of Climate Heritage Network Secretariat.

            Reducing Fossil Fuel Production and Use

            Government ministers representing nearly 200 countries at the COP28 agreed to a deal that calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science after a previous proposal was met with heated and widespread backlash.

            Climate advocate and former US Vice President Al Gore warned in a post on X that the summit was “on the verge of complete failure,” pointing specifically to OPEC as part of the problem. “The world desperately needs to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as possible”, Gore added.

            “With an unprecedented reference to transitioning away from all fossil fuels, The UAE Consensus is delivering a paradigm shift that has the potential to redefine our economies”, the summit’s UAE presidency said on social media.

            ]]>             Editorial: Sustainable Development Goal 14 - Life Below Water: Towards a Sustainable Ocean https://sdgtalks.ai/editorial-sustainable-development-goal-14-life-below-water-towards-a-sustainable-ocean https://sdgtalks.ai/editorial-sustainable-development-goal-14-life-below-water-towards-a-sustainable-ocean Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:24:56 -0500 AJ United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 – Life Below Water – is arguably one of the most challenging of the 17 goals (United Nations, 2016) due to the immense scale of the Ocean (almost three-quarters of the planet's surface) and the direct links to many other SDGs. For example, No Poverty (SDG 1), Zero Hunger (SDG2) and Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3) all rely on sustainable Life Below Water (SDG 14). In turn, Climate Action (SDG 13) is needed to achieve SDG 14, and the Ocean is essential in achieving SDG 13. There is much that we still do not know; indeed, the Ocean represents more than 99% of the space where organisms can live, yet more than 80% of the Ocean remains unexplored, especially the deep-sea.

            The launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) aims at catalyzing a global focus to advance SDG 14 (Borja et al., 2020a). This will enhance the co-design of knowledge and actions for transformative ocean solutions, to address the challenges of a growing human population and climate change. Human pressures on the Ocean are important – 37% of the human population live in the coast from small villages to megacities exceeding 10 million people (e.g., New York, Shanghai, Lagos) and use the Ocean for a huge range of inputs, outputs and services, including amenity, food, transport, cooling water and waste disposal, as well as traditional and cultural uses. Many of these ecosystem services are undervalued, being conservatively estimated at $12.6 Trillion annually more than 20 years ago (Costanza et al., 1997). This is without considering two of the most severely undervalued services provided by the Ocean, as heat and carbon sinks, that have buffered many of the negative impacts of climate change. Many anthropogenic activities are leaving significant, direct and measurable global footprints in the Ocean with high profile examples including fishing1,2,3,, shipping lanes (Liu et al., 2019; Pirotta et al., 2019), dredging4, plastic pollution (Hardesty et al., 2017; Barrett et al., 2020), noise pollution (Di Franco et al., 2020; Chahouri et al., 2021; Duarte et al., 2021), and changes in Ocean chemistry5.

            Human populations rely directly on the Ocean for food and other commercial activities, but a growing body of research has identified our dependency on the Ocean for health and well-being (Borja et al., 2020b). Other ecosystem services provided by the Ocean are also yet to be properly considered. These include the cultural and spiritual services provided by the Ocean (Brown and Hausner, 2017; de Juan et al., 2021), which have developed over millennia of human relationships with the Ocean and represent knowledge and connections that extend beyond monetary value. Aiming to integrate this knowledge in scientific endeavours, many indigenous peoples are bringing their traditional science and knowledge to partner with western science (Mazzocchi, 2006) and provide a more in-depth and long-term understanding of the Ocean, especially in coastal areas (Mustonen et al., 2021).

            While the challenges are clear and sometimes seem overwhelming, approaches and solutions are being actively developed and tested; several of these are explored in this Research Topic.

            With more than three billion people who rely on fish for at least 20% of their daily protein, and more than 120 million directly employed in the fishing and aquaculture sectors6, sustainable fishing (Penca; Fiorentino and Vitale; Jaiteh et al.) and aquaculture (Azra et al.) were a natural focus of several papers. This included a call for reducing effort in mixed species fisheries, and therefore fishing mortality, to take into account the differing and lower productivity of some species and the risk to their sustainability (Newman et al., 2018), and adopt a quota system based on “pretty good yield” (Hilborn, 2010).

            Others emphasized the need for better conservation planning and coordination (Katsanevakis et al.; Ceccarelli et al.; Herrera et al.) as well as integration of their cultural and spiritual values into wider society (Baker et al.). This includes the need to improve spatial management, providing specific approaches to minimize human impacts and risks to charismatic megafauna. This management approach could be applied to whale watching activities, to support sustainable non-extractive human activities in the Ocean (Almunia et al.). The article by Adewumi et al., dealing with the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem shared among Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon, highlighted the challenges of international ocean governance, a result of political characteristics, the relics of colonialism, and increasing ocean use and pressure on marine ecosystems and services. The administrative and political arrangements differ significantly among countries, complicating transnational collaboration. The review of these arrangements revealed varying levels of convergence at international, regional and national levels, and could be a model to assist regional fishery management organizations to support positive steps toward ocean sustainability (Juan-Jordá et al., 2018).

            Future risks to the Ocean (Garcia-Soto et al.), including those imposed by climate change (Green et al.), and the tools (Mariani et al.), approaches (e.g., Endrédi et al.; Hsu et al.), and ways to monitor this complex system (Jones et al.), including biodiversity (Herrera et al.), highlighted the extraordinary and diverse values of the Ocean and challenges (Figure 1). Embracing modern technologies (Almunia et al.; Green et al.), including the Internet of Things (Mariani et al.), could also promote and support a harmonization of ocean monitoring among all nations, and support international initiatives and cooperation7, including platforms to involve the wider community8.

            The social dimension (Haward and Haas) will also be critical as a way of valuing and engaging with direct and indirect stakeholders of the Ocean and in developing better policies for governance (Paredes-Coral et al.; Polejack; Adewumi et al.; Kirkfeldt and Frazão Santos; Archana and Baker; Rohmana et al.). This is especially true at the land-sea interface (Singh et al.) where human populations concentrate and the risks from a changing climate are directly evident, with projected sea level rise (Nicholls and Cazenave, 2010; Hooijer and Vernimmen, 2021), and more frequent and intense storms (Pugatch, 2019; Chen et al., 2020). It is also true for the deep ocean (Howell et al.), which remains largely unexplored. The socio-ecological connections described in this Research Topic of Frontiers in Marine Science provide frameworks and hope for a sustainable future for the coasts and ocean.

            While this Frontiers in Marine Science Research Topic does not represent all initiatives underway globally to address SDG 14, it provides a glimpse of some of the diverse approaches and intellectual capital invested in ocean sustainability. While the goal focuses on Life Below Water, these approaches directly support many other SDGs, which arguably cannot be achieved without a healthy and sustainable ocean (Mustonen et al., 2021).

            We hope that other initiatives currently underway will assist in not only highlighting the links between SDG 14 and other SDGs but also provide a way for synergies among disparate knowledge domains to support transdisciplinary and multi-sectoral approaches for good policy development. As examples, we note the significant initiatives around the globe in areas of blue carbon and an equitable “blue economy.” Blue carbon projects not only protect and restore seagrass, mangrove, salt marsh, and macrophytes, but also support the associated biodiversity and human livelihoods that depend on these critical habitat-forming species. “Working with nature approaches” including in the restoration of corals, seagrasses, seaweeds, and mangroves are underway around the globe, with new methods being developed and tested [e.g., genetic techniques to identify more heat tolerant species of coral (Buerger et al., 2020) and other marine habitat building species (Alsuwaiyan et al., 2021)].

            The efforts in these areas will be underpinned by new methods of accounting—such as blue carbon, biodiversity, ecosystem services and a framework of ocean accounting which is currently being developed9. This approach embraces environmental, social and cultural accounting, in addition to economic accounting, to better assess and value entire marine areas and ecosystems and integrate a wide range of SDGs. Our hope is that this will support and enable clearer and better decisions by ocean and coastal management agencies. These decisions should be based on a number of decision support tools, including: (i) management strategy evaluation approaches, (ii) scenario testing including assessing a range of alternative approaches, and (iii) potentially creating digital twins to test and explore management decisions before ocean activities commence.

            We look forward to making the difficult possible and contributing to a vibrant, thriving future throughout the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Restoration (Waltham et al., 2020) based on some of the cutting-edge approaches detailed in this Research Topic of Frontiers in Marine Science.

            Footnotes

            ]]>             SABIC - Food and Water https://sdgtalks.ai/sabic-food-and-water https://sdgtalks.ai/sabic-food-and-water Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:22:02 -0500 AJ

            FOOD & WATER

            COLLABORATION. THE WORLD’S HUNGRY – AND THIRSTY – FOR IT.

            SABIC works with partners around the world to help address the growing need for reliable food and water supplies.

            BETTER HARVESTS

            We collaborate with farmers to develop specialty nutrients that support the needs of different crops in different regions. As the growing global population increases the demand for food worldwide, this technology is set to help increase global harvests by up to 30% by 2025.

            WATER-EFFICIENT GROWING

            In arid areas, we collaborate with agribusiness, government, and growers to produce bigger harvests with less water. At our Estidamah research center, for example, we have been able to grow tomatoes with only 7 liters of water per kilogram compared to 345 liters per kg in traditional open fields and 200 liters in low-technology greenhouses.

            SUPPORTING WATER SUPPLY

            Water shortage is a worldwide problem for populations as well as agriculture, with both major cities and remote areas vulnerable. SABIC’s materials are helping to support the growing need for water supply. Our resins are used by innovative filter companies to help desalinate and purify water from new sources. And our new piping can reduce installation time when upgrading city infrastructure.

            ]]>             Sustainable development goals for industry, innovation, and infrastructure: demolition waste incorporated with nanoplastic waste enhanced the physicomechanical properties of white cement paste composites https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals-for-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure-demolition-waste-incorporated-with-nanoplastic-waste-enhanced-the-physicomechanical-properties-of-white-cement-paste-composites https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goals-for-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure-demolition-waste-incorporated-with-nanoplastic-waste-enhanced-the-physicomechanical-properties-of-white-cement-paste-composites Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:16:21 -0500 AJ Abstract

            The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacts the increase in plastic waste from food packaging, masks, gloves, and personal protective equipment (PPE), resulting in an environmental disaster, if collected, processed, transported, or disposed inappropriately. Plastic waste has a very long deterioration time in the environment (soil and water), cheap, and plentiful. Additionally, construction waste disposal is a process that transfers debris to a state that does lead to any sustainable or environmental problems. The core objective of this current research work is to provide safety and efficacy by partial substitution of both ultrafine demolition waste (UDW), incorporated with nanoplastic waste (NPW), for eco-white cement (E-WC) composition. E-WC is designed by partially substituted WC with UDW (1.0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, and 20.0 wt.%); incorporated with NPW (1.0 and 3.0 wt.%); to adequately protect people and the environment over long periods. The context examines the high performance, physicomechanical properties and high durability of blends as presences of silica in UDW proposed a hydraulic filler material, plus; high surface area of NPW. The microstructure and workability are characterized by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) measurements. The record results show greatly enhanced in the mechanical strength due to the combination of NPW and UDW (active silica). With the presence of NPW and UDW in WC matrix, the highest level of crystallization formed consequently a decrease in whiteness reflection (Ry) and total porosity. In summary, WC blend with NPW and UDW reflects better workability and energy saving qualities, which are economical and environmentally beneficial and may result in decreased construction budget and improve a long-term raw material sustainability.

            Abdelzaher, M.A. Sustainable development goals for industry, innovation, and infrastructure: demolition waste incorporated with nanoplastic waste enhanced the physicomechanical properties of white cement paste composites. Appl Nanosci 13, 5521–5536 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-023-02766-w

            ]]>             Sustainable Development Goal for Quality Education (SDG 4): A study on SDG 4 to extract the pattern of association among the indicators of SDG 4 employing a genetic algorithm https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goal-for-quality-education-sdg-4-a-study-on-sdg-4-to-extract-the-pattern-of-association-among-the-indicators-of-sdg-4-employing-a-genetic-algorithm https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-development-goal-for-quality-education-sdg-4-a-study-on-sdg-4-to-extract-the-pattern-of-association-among-the-indicators-of-sdg-4-employing-a-genetic-algorithm Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:04:54 -0500 AJ Abstract

            Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are at the forefront of government initiatives across the world. The SDGs are primarily concerned with promoting sustainable growth via ensuring wellbeing, economic growth, environmental legislation, and academic advancement. One of the most prominent goals of the SDG is to provide learners with high-quality education (SDG 4). This paper aims to look at the perspectives of the Sustainable Development Goals improvised to provide quality education. We also analyze the existing state of multiple initiatives implemented by the Indian government in the pathway to achieving objectives of quality education (SDG 4). Additionally, a case study is considered for understanding the association among the observed indicators of SDG4. For this purpose, exploratory data analysis, and numerical association rule mining in combination with QuantMiner genetic algorithm approaches have been applied. The outcomes reveal the presence of a significant degree of association among these parameters pointing out the fact that understanding the impact of one (or more) indicator on other related indicators is critical for achieving SDG 4 goals (or factors). These findings will assist governing bodies in taking preventive measures while modifying existing policies and ensuring the effective enactment of SDG 4 goals, which also will subsequently aid in the resolution of issues related to other SDGs.

            Saini, M., Sengupta, E., Singh, M. et al. Sustainable Development Goal for Quality Education (SDG 4): A study on SDG 4 to extract the pattern of association among the indicators of SDG 4 employing a genetic algorithm. Educ Inf Technol 28, 2031–2069 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11265-4

            ]]>             How Green Technologies Can Power a Sustainable Future and Advance Social Innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/how-green-technologies-can-power-a-sustainable-future-and-advance-social-innovation https://sdgtalks.ai/how-green-technologies-can-power-a-sustainable-future-and-advance-social-innovation Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:01:42 -0500 AJ Fumi Maher, Corporate Sustainability Manager, Hitachi America, Ltd.,
            Luis A. Torres, Sr. Director, Global Sustainability, Sullair, LLC. (A Hitachi Group Company), and
            Allen Ahlert, Vice-President, Engineering & Environmental Sustainability, Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc.

            Green technologies have the power to not only create a sustainable future but also drive social innovation. World Meteorological Organization and other scientific bodies have been consistently showing increasing global temperature, more frequent extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts and flooding, and rising sea levels. It is the responsibility of public and private companies worldwide to take action in reducing their carbon emissions. To ensure accountability, corporations must be willing to share their short- and long-term goals and be transparent about their progress.

            Hitachi, a global leader in technology, is committed to achieving carbon neutrality in all of its operational facilities by 2030 and throughout its value chain by 2050. Our goal is to leverage green technologies and share them with our customers, our partners and the world to deliver environmental and social value — thereby creating a more sustainable society.

            Sustainability Begins at Home: Remanufacturing at Hitachi

            Hitachi has embarked on infrastructure improvements, from transitioning to higher-efficiency HVAC units and LED lighting to expanding our use of solar power. We’re also developing a circular economy strategy that allows us to give our products second and third lives and reduces our reliance on mining virgin materials or depleting natural resources.

            Our innovations at Sullair, a Hitachi subsidiary, are an indicator of how long we’ve been working on meaningful sustainability solutions. Although compressed air powers nearly 70% of manufacturing operations globally,1 Sullair offers a whole goods remanufacturing program. This innovation will mark its 10th anniversary in March 2023, and we’ve produced more than 2,700 remanufactured air compressors since its inception. To date, our remanufacturing program has helped offset over 5,000 metric tons of CO2production through salvage and component reclamation.

            Sullair is in the process of expanding the remanufacturing program to optimize its impact. This is in keeping with our goal of making remanufacturing an intrinsic element of design from the outset: ensuring that we design for second, third and even fourth lives, where feasible, from the beginning.

            We’re also looking ahead to strategies we can develop to incorporate this approach throughout the supply chain. We recognize that only by pushing our sustainability values and culture across our entire value chain can we fully realize our sustainability objectives.

            Elevating Sustainability Standards From the Ground Up

            Another of our climate-focused initiatives is the GREEN 21 Team at Hitachi Computer Products (America) (HICAM). Founded in the early 2000s, it serves two purposes: to promote environmental awareness among employees and to coordinate a variety of green and socially responsible initiatives, from reducing waste and increasing recycling to making a positive impact on the communities where we do business.

            Based in Norman, Oklahoma, HICAM performs assembly and distribution functions for enterprise-level data storage solutions. Our facility uses wind power as its primary source of electricity, and part of our CO2 reduction plan is to introduce new technology to replace the current system that relies on natural gas boilers to control humidity.

            In addition to these operational sustainability measures, we invest continually in programs intended to raise employees’ awareness of their own impact on the environment. The GREEN 21 team has stocked our coffee bars with compostable supplies and partnered with a local commercial composting facility. This serves to remind our employees that small, individual actions, when multiplied by our global population, can have a powerful impact on the quality of life on our planet.

            With that in mind, we examine every aspect of our site closely in search of large- and small-scale environmental opportunities. Among those we’ve identified are reducing the amount of power required to perform some functions, such as testing; installing a reflecting membrane on the roof that keeps energy absorption low; and introducing landscaping schemes that reduce our outdoor water consumption. Our ongoing plans include installing charging stations for employees’ use in the parking lot to encourage the transition to electric vehicles.

            Empowering Sustainability for All

            Our goal in developing these green initiatives goes far beyond achieving our own sustainability targets. At Hitachi, our powering good mission extends to every company and industry on the planet. With their own environmental targets to reach, supply chain issues to address, and fossil fuel dependencies to overcome, organizations of every size need tested and proven green technologies. What’s more, environmental stewardship is an important value for the new generation of job seekers. Today’s workers value sustainability and will hold companies accountable for the negative impact that business operations have on the planet.

            By first developing and applying green technologies in our own companies, Hitachi can share tested and proven solutions with our customers, our partners and the world to help create a more sustainable society for all.

            For more information about Hitachi’s sustainability practices, visit Sustainability at Hitachi.

            ]]>             Health is on the agenda at UN climate negotiations. Here&apos;s why that&apos;s a big deal https://sdgtalks.ai/health-is-on-the-agenda-at-un-climate-negotiations-heres-why-thats-a-big-deal https://sdgtalks.ai/health-is-on-the-agenda-at-un-climate-negotiations-heres-why-thats-a-big-deal Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:13:27 -0500 Ava Brennan Heat wave after heat wave swept across the planet this year, their intensity and length pushed to never-before-seen extremes by human-caused climate change.

            The heat isn't just uncomfortable: it kills. And it's the clearest signal that climate change is making the Earth a more unhealthy, dangerous place.

            The health toll of climate change will come under the spotlight at this year's international climate negotiations in Dubai, known as COP28, where for the first time the meeting will feature prominent conversations about exactly how a warming planet hurts people. At the first-ever "Health Day" Sunday, and throughout the conference, world leaders, health ministers from dozens of countries, and a wide array of health organizations are expected to make the case that climate action will lead to immediate, dramatic improvements in global wellbeing.

            The new inclusion of health into the climate meeting addresses an urgent need and is an important step forward, says Diarmid Campbell-Lendruma, who leads the climate change and health team at the World Health Organization (WHO).

            "Our first priority is strong action to mitigate carbon emissions," he says. "That is our shared goal. We can't guarantee a livable future unless we drive down the fossil fuels that cause climate change."

            The inclusion comes just after the World Meteorological Association announced that 2023 is the hottest year ever recorded.

            A long time coming

            Campbell-Lendruma has attended COP meetings for 20 years. At his first, in 2003, there were two health-focused attendees: him and a colleague from the WHO.

            Since then, momentum has gathered, but slowly. That's at least in part because for many years, climate change was presented as a future problem, says Kristi Ebi, a climate and health expert at the University of Washington who has been involved in climate and health research for decades.

            "But as science has advanced and as climate change has proceeded, it's a different world today," says Ebi. "Where we see people suffering and dying right now from climate change. And that does completely change the dynamic."

            Climate change's harms have become more obvious, and dangerous, in recent years. A 2022 summer heat wave in Europe killed an estimated 60,000 people, and this year's extreme heat harmed many more.

            Public health organizations are seeing a resurgence of insect borne diseases like malaria that were on the cusp of being controlled. Children born today, says Lujain Alqodmani, a doctor and president of the World Medical Association, will live every day of their lives in a world shaped by climate change–one that is hotter, with more intense weather, and harder on their developing bodies.

            The negotiating documents that came from the first international climate agreement in 1992, recognized that climate change would have an "adverse effect" on human health. Twenty-four years later, the 2015 Paris Agreement followed up, recognizing the worldwide right to a healthy environment.

            This year, representatives from health ministries from more than 90 countries are attending the talks. Hundreds of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are also in Dubai.

            "This is the first true opportunity to bring the health voice to the climate community," says Estelle Willie, director of health policy at the Rockefeller Foundation, a major funder for climate and health initiatives worldwide.

            How climate change hurts human health

            There are many climate risks to the global health system, and those risks are growing. Extreme heat is the most obvious. But climate disasters also damage health infrastructure, like clinics and hospitals, which prevents people from getting care after disasters.

            Climate change makes those disasters more intense. Unprecedented rainfall in Pakistan in 2022, for example, drove floods so voluminous they covered one third of the country, displacing millions and causing long-lasting health ripple effects. Climate change is affecting food security in many parts of the world. And it is increasing the risks of disease, sometimes in unexpected ways.

            Githinji Gitahi is a doctor based in Kenya and CEO of the African Medical and Research Foundation, or Amref. In recent weeks, floods in his country have caused more than 100 deaths. The initial disaster is only the beginning of the health risk, he says, because the flooding is causing issues with water and sanitation systems.

            "That means that there is likely to be a cholera outbreak in many of these areas where there was flooding," Gitahi says.

            Burning fossil fuels also produces local air pollution that kills millions every year. In the U.S., particles from coal burning killed an estimated 460,000 people over 65 in the past 20 years. But deaths drop as soon as plants close or air-cleaning filters are installed. Because the health benefits start when pollution stops, cutting fossil fuel burning could save millions of lives quickly, says Sir Andy Haines, a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

            "As we move towards clean, renewable energy, we reduce these preventable deaths from air pollution, as well as reducing the risk of climate change, dangerous climate change," says Haines.

            What could happen at COP28?

            The health community's priority at the UN climate talks in Dubai is advocating for a swift and complete phase-out of fossil fuel use, says Miller.

            "We've got to stop making the problem worse," she says.

            Such an agreement is unlikely to occur. A debate about whether to "phase out" or "phase down" fossil fuel use derailed negotiations at last year's COP27. Many oil-producing countries favor agreements that would allow fossil fuel burning to continue if "abated," or with its carbon emissions offset or captured. Simply phasing down fossil fuel use, would fail to address the particulate pollution that causes millions of deaths annually worldwide, says Miller, of the Global Climate and Health Alliance.

            But continued discussion of a fossil-fuel-phase out is a priority, says Alice Bell, head of climate and health policy at the Wellcome Trust, a major funder of initiatives worldwide.

            "We want something more explicit to be said about the phase out of fossil fuels," says Bell. "That was one of the things that was really watered down last year, and was really disappointing last year at COP27. And is one of the things people are really ready for a fight about this year."

            Countries also need financial help to deal with the problems climate change is already causing. Less than 1% of the global funding directed toward climate change is earmarked for health issues. But on Saturday, international development banks and funds like the Green Climate Fund, as well as nonprofits like the Rockefeller Foundation, announced $1 billion in new commitments to fund health and climate-related projects. Jess Beagley, policy lead of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, wrote in a statement that the commitment is "a tremendous addition to current levels of climate and health finance."

            More than 120 countries have also endorsed a declaration explicating the link between climate change and human health. It's a step toward integrating health considerations into the negotiations more formally, says Bell.

            "The Paris accord in 2015 recognizes a right to health. And I think we need to see that fleshed out a bit to see what does that mean," she says.

            Inevitably, that means addressing the fundamental driver of climate change: fossil fuel burning. The concept of tackling the root cause or an illness, rather than treating the symptoms alone, is both intuitive and imperative to many healthcare practitioners.

            "You can't be in the business of healing people by making them sick," says Shweta Narayan, a healthcare advocate based in India who works for the nonprofit Health Care Without Harm.

            ]]>             Climate change is ravaging the oceans. Some startups see a solution in marine carbon capture https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-is-ravaging-the-oceans-some-startups-see-a-solution-in-marine-carbon-capture https://sdgtalks.ai/climate-change-is-ravaging-the-oceans-some-startups-see-a-solution-in-marine-carbon-capture Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:09:19 -0500 Ava Brennan With the flip of a switch at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s seaside facility in Sequim, Washington, a tangle of pipes and filters whirrs into action, scrubbing acid from the cool gray waters of the Salish Sea.

            It’s the pilot project of Ebb Carbon, one of several companies building a business on ocean carbon removal technology. As money pours into companies promising to take greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere, there’s a small but fast-growing sector of startups that want to leverage one of the world’s biggest carbon sinks to clean up humanity's pollution: the ocean.

            "The ocean basically provides this huge surface for gas exchange for free," says Ebb co-founder Matthew Eisaman. “We were trying to think of the lowest-cost way to do this, and you sort of naturally come to rely on Earth systems that are already happening anyway.”

            The system Eisaman is referring to is the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere naturally seeps in and out of the ocean’s surface waters, but marine organisms take up some of it to build things like shells and coral skeletons. When they die, some of that carbon sinks and is stored for eons in the ocean’s depths.

            But carbon dioxide also makes seawater more acidic. So much of humanity’s carbon pollution has ended up in the ocean that it’s impeding those sea creatures’ abilities to grow.

            Ebb’s device neutralizes the acid in seawater and resets the natural system so it can lock up even more carbon deep in the ocean. If carbon dioxide is giving the ocean acid reflux, Eisaman says, think of this as giving it a Tums.

            “Nature has shown us what works,” says Ben Tarbell, another co-founder. “If we can nudge those ocean processes and those natural ocean ecosystems, we can drive something that can scale very cost-effectively."

            This system in Sequim Bay removes about 100 tons of CO2 per year, nowhere near the 1 billion tons per year that some scientists say is necessary, but Tarbell says they hope to scale up by plugging into places that already filter a lot of seawater like desalination plants.

            Seashell SOS

            Next to Ebb’s system, scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Lab are testing whether “enhancing ocean alkalinity,” as Ebb and others call it, could also help slow or reverse the effects of ocean acidification.

            Researchers are raising shellfish in tanks and jars full of water treated by Ebb to different levels of acidification, their pH levels scrawled on pieces of red, orange and yellow tape.

            It would be impossible to filter enough ocean water to undo ocean acidification around the world, but the National Lab’s Nicholas Ward says it might be possible to mitigate its effects on a local level, like in a bay where water circulates slowly.

            “It’s a little early to tell,” says Ward, “but we are definitely seeing responses both in the chemistry and some of the biology.”

            A solution like that would be welcomed by people like Bill Dewey. He has seen the problem firsthand, working with the Taylor Shellfish hatchery in Washington’s Hood Canal.

            Fifteen years ago, shellfish populations crashed across the region and alerted many people here to the reality of ocean acidification. The state stepped in, and some hatcheries found temporary solutions. Taylor Shellfish installed a sodium carbonate pump that treats the water coming into its warehouse hatchery and keeps the pH steady.

            “We’ve got a workaround, but we’re only treating 400 gallons a minute,” Dewey says, standing next to trays of oysters and buckets of geoducks. “As conditions get worse it’s going to start to affect the seed in our nurseries and the animals on our farms. I don’t want to turn my back on any potential solution at this point.”

            Dewey says he hopes carbon removal can undo some of the damage climate change has done to the oceans, but as someone whose livelihood depends on the water, he says, he’s only “cautiously optimistic.”

            It might not take new technology. Studies have found native eelgrass and other seagrasses could naturally act as buffers against ocean acidification. Eelgrass is endangered, and restoring its natural habitat is part of climate plans in the Pacific Northwest.

            Geoengineering

            When it comes to ocean carbon removal companies, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Equatic treats ocean water much like Ebb, but extracts hydrogen. Planetary Technologies also wants to dose ocean water with antacids. Brilliant Planet is farming algae and burying it in the desert.

            Entrepreneurs in the space say they welcome the competition, and researchers agree the more solutions that can be safely tested, the better.

            "Developing all of these early-stage approaches for marine carbon dioxide removal in parallel is critical,” says Chinmayee Subban of the Pacific Northwest National Lab.

            “Hopefully we have enough technologies that we don’t get locked into any one of them too soon,” says Edward Sanders, chief operating officer of Equatic.

            The White House recently set up a Fast-Track Action Committee on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal to encourage more research and development.

            But the idea of enlisting the ocean to clean up carbon pollution has a reputation to overcome. In 2012 a scientist dumped 120 tons of iron sulfate dust off the coast of British Columbia to try to spur the growth of carbon-eating algae. Canadian authorities investigated him for illegal dumping, and his experiment spurred a lot of uncomfortable questions about who owns the ocean, and whether “geoengineering” should be on the menu as a solution to the climate crisis.

            “I think of that as ocean carbon dioxide removal 1.0,” says Sifang Chen, a physicist and science advisor to the carbon removal think tank Carbon180. “But then now what I think of as ocean carbon dioxide removal 2.0, they’re doing this in a way that’s trying to be a lot more responsible.”

            Chen was one of 400 scientists who signed an open letter encouraging “responsible research, development, and field testing” of these ideas because she says “the ocean doesn't have to be just a victim of climate change, it can be a solution.”

            But Chen says there are legitimate questions to ask as this new industry scales: What does it mean for other people who make a living off the ocean? What are the long-term ecological risks? And who is responsible for overseeing what could be a global industry affecting the whole planet? Governments should establish legal frameworks for ocean carbon dioxide removal, Chen says, and help develop monitoring tools to verify that these companies have a positive impact.

            “From an investor’s vantage point, these are still fairly risky endeavors. There are really hard engineering problems that need to be solved,” Chen says. “What we need is the kind of patient capital that is going to support these types of projects without the companies feeling like they have to rush things.”

            Sarah Cooley, director of climate science at the Ocean Conservancy, also supports more research but urges caution too.

            “You really have to show the receipts here,” Cooley says. “Otherwise it would just be another kind of greenwash. We have a lot of climate solutions that are shovel-ready. But honestly, electrifying our transit infrastructure is not as exciting to some people as like, ‘I’m gonna put some fairy dust in the ocean and fix everything.’”

            ‘Fishing for carbon’

            Fish Pier in Portland, Maine, has long been a hub for the commercial fishing industry. Today, it’s also home to one of the more audacious companies trying to reel in credits for ocean carbon removal.

            Marty Odlin was an engineer for his family’s fishing business, fixing engines and doing electrical work out of a stall on Fish Pier. Today that stall is bustling with employees for the company he founded in 2017, Running Tide. Odlin says now they’re fishing for carbon.

            “The same tools we used to fix the boats with, now we’re developing carbon removal systems with them,” says Odlin. The carbon removal system they’re most invested in is moving biomass — or, put more simply, sinking wood to the bottom of the ocean.

            “As that wood is growing on land through photosynthesis, it’s trapping CO2 away into its cellulose. But when that tree falls over, dies and rots, all of that carbon goes right back in the atmosphere, and that’s the natural carbon cycle,” says Running Tide’s senior engineer Andrew Thompson. “We’re intervening, grabbing that wood before it rots and sinking it down into the deep ocean where that carbon is sequestered and locked away in the ocean.”

            The company is getting its waste wood from Nova Scotia and is accounting for the carbon emissions of shipping it out to sea. In controlled experiments off the coast of Iceland, Running Tide says it has already sequestered at least 17,000 tons of carbon.

            The company recently raised more than $50 million and counts Microsoft among its clients.

            In Portland, they’re building high-tech buoys to test how they might be able to sink not just wood, but fast-growing algae and even pieces of rock to fight ocean acidification through the same chemical reactions at the heart of Ebb’s system.

            It turns out the science of sinking things is surprisingly sophisticated. At Running Tide’s Ocean Hub, they’ve converted a former lumber warehouse into a marine science lab. Chemists in white coats pore over beakers, rows of wave tanks slosh back and forth, testing how different materials break down in the water, and outside a row of shipping containers converted into marine greenhouses are cultivating sugar kelp, sea lettuce and a smorgasbord of different algae.

            Running Tide’s labs are buzzing with activity and a startup vibe that wouldn’t be out of place in Silicon Valley.

            “It’s fishing, so by any means necessary to go get the job done,” says Odlin. “We’ll do whatever it takes.”

            “Whatever it takes” is the ethos of many entrepreneurs in carbon removal and elsewhere who try to build businesses on early-stage science. To critics who argue carbon removal is a distraction, Odlin says companies like Running Tide are not trying to replace efforts to decarbonize the economy; that work needs to happen simultaneously, he says.

            Just as early investments and research into renewable energy took decades to produce huge growth in that industry, Odlin says the world needs to start developing carbon removal solutions now if we want to have them at scale before the end of the century.

            “The only thing in my head is we are not moving fast enough,” says Odlin. “We are absolutely worried about the second, third, fourth order effects. We’re doing everything we can, but the idea that we can sit back and wait and try to get it all perfect before we get after it, not gonna happen. Everyone that’s clutching pearls here, drop the pearls and grab a shovel, because there’s work to get done.”

            To startups promising climate solutions on a global scale, the Ocean Conservancy’s Sarah Cooley says, “Curb your enthusiasm. There’s still a lot of time to get it right.”

            “Buzz is necessary to support innovation, but the reality is that we are very far from a highly scaled-up industry,” Cooley says. “The ocean can take some experimentation, but there’s always a consequence.”

            ]]>             A &apos;concrete&apos; solution to climate change https://sdgtalks.ai/a-concrete-solution-to-climate-change https://sdgtalks.ai/a-concrete-solution-to-climate-change Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:57:31 -0500 Ava Brennan Many of the new solutions to flight climate change sound almost impossible. What if a machine could suck planet-warming carbon dioxide out of the air and store the gas forever inside concrete bridges and buildings?

            Well, that’s happening. Last month, in the city of Tracy, California, the U.S. energy secretary joined a group of very excited scientists and corporate executives to celebrate a milestone: the country’s first commercial-scale direct-air capture, or DAC, facility.

            This is a template of what we need to be building across the world,” said Heirloom CEO Shashank Samala. “Just like we have solar farms and wind farms, we want carbon farms sucking up CO2 from the air.”

            Heirloom is just three years old, but the company has already secured a huge investment from the federal government and a sizable boost from some of the biggest names in technology.

            The direct-air capture plant in Tracy promises to absorb 1,000 tons of CO2 from the sky every year — it’s equivalent to taking about 220 cars off the road.

            Carbon-hungry limestone

            The technology works by taking advantage of limestone’s natural tendency to absorb carbon dioxide. Inside Heirloom’s DAC plant, towers of stacked trays rise 40 feet above the ground.

            Each one of the trays is covered with a powdery limestone substance. As a breeze moves through the open-air building, the carbon in the atmosphere binds to the limestone. After a few days, robots move the trays into a kiln where a blast of heat separates the carbon from the limestone. All of it is powered by renewable energy.

            But one plant is nowhere near enough, Samala says.

            “These facilities need to be a thousand times larger,” he says, “and we need to build thousands of those across the world.”

            A few big spenders agree. To offset its emissions, Microsoft announced in September that it would buy up to 315,000 metric tons of Heirloom’s captured carbon in a deal that cost the company about $200 million.

            There’s also a lot of money from the government. The Biden Administration is investing $1.2 billion dollars in Heirloom and other companies to build direct-air-capture hubs in Louisiana and Texas.

            But right now the technology is still prohibitively expensive. It costs more than $1,000 to remove one ton of CO2.

            “This is like the first iPhone getting out of the assembly line,” Samala says. “If you only produced one iPhone, it would cost billions of dollars. That’s the same here. It costs over $1,000 a ton because it’s early. It's first.”

            But what do you do with all the carbon once it's removed from the air? Some oil companies use carbon dioxide for something called enhanced oil recovery — a technique that pushes more polluting fossil fuels out of the ground.

            Samala promises that all of the CO2 Heirloom removes from the air will be permanently sequestered, either underground or in concrete.

            A ‘concrete’ solution

            Storing carbon in concrete is already happening, and supporters of the technology say it reduces the environmental footprint of one of the world’s dirtiest industries.

            Producing concrete for bridges, sidewalks and highways accounts for about 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. In large part, that’s because making cement — a key binding ingredient in concrete — requires heating limestone to very high temperatures.

            “Concrete is the second most widely consumed material on earth after water. At the same time concrete is emissions-intensive,” says Reilly O’Hara, of CarbonCure Technologies.

            The Canadian company says it has sold nearly 800 systems to inject carbon dioxide for storage in concrete across 35 countries. In November, CarbonCure announced a partnership with Heirloom, ensuring that carbon dioxide removed in Tracy will be used in nearby concrete plants.

            At the Vulcan Materials Central Concrete plant in San Jose, CarbonCure's technology is already in use. Just before a load of wet concrete gets dumped into the spinning drum of a heavy-duty truck, a stream of CO2 is injected into the mix.

            Carbon is not necessary to make concrete. But CO2 does give concrete a strength boost when it mineralizes in mixture, says Alana Guzzetta, who runs Vulcans’ national research lab in San Jose.

            That added strength means less planet-warming cement is required in each batch of concrete, helping the company lower its carbon footprint.

            “Get to zero carbon ultimately, that’s the goal,” Guzzetta says.

            The concrete producers that use CarbonCure’s technology also share in the revenue from any carbon credits sold.

            “Once that CO2 is embedded in the concrete, it’s there forever,” O’Hara says. “Even if the concrete is later crushed or demolished, that CO2 is permanently transformed into a rock and won’t be re-released into the atmosphere”

            A distraction, or worse?

            CarbonCure says its technology has already been used to lock away 379,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in concrete.

            But critics aren’t sold on the idea of sourcing the carbon from direct-air capture facilities or more traditional sources captured from polluting industrial plants.

            “It’s a complete and utter waste of money,” says Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University. He argues that DAC technology “increases carbon dioxide. It increases air pollution. It increases fossil fuel mining.”

            That’s because the technology perpetuates the use of fossil fuels. Jacobson says the wind turbines and solar panels needed to run thousands of new large-scale carbon farms around the globe would be much better off replacing coal-fired power plants. Add up the new pipelines or trucks you’d need to get that carbon to places like concrete plants, and it just doesn’t make sense, he says.

            These direct-air capture companies are “ignoring entirely the opportunity cost, ignoring the fact you could be using that renewable energy for something much more effective,” Jacobson says. “They’re not accounting for that one bit.”

            Jacobson acknowledges he is a lonely voice against a technology that global leaders say is necessary to limit the worst effects of climate change while the world weans itself off of fossil fuels.

            “There is not a single silver bullet,” says Pat Sapinsley, managing director at New York University’s Urban Future Lab, a business incubator that has helped climate-conscious entrepreneurs raise $2 billion in private capital since 2009.

            Yes, countries must deploy renewable energy “like crazy,” Sapinsley adds. But they should also take advantage of new technologies — and new economic opportunities — to reduce the carbon that’s already in the atmosphere.

            Companies are already using new supplies of captured carbon to make diamonds, jet fuel, perfume, and yes, concrete.

            “It’s a little bit like the era of the horse and buggy and somebody looking at a car and saying, ‘Oh that will never work,’” Sapinsley says. “I think it just takes some time to convince people that the future is in developing climate-tech. We need some changes in our economy.”

            ]]>             The clock is ticking for U.N. goals to end poverty — and it doesn&apos;t look promising https://sdgtalks.ai/the-clock-is-ticking-for-un-goals-to-end-poverty-and-it-doesnt-look-promising https://sdgtalks.ai/the-clock-is-ticking-for-un-goals-to-end-poverty-and-it-doesnt-look-promising Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:47:51 -0500 Ava Brennan It was an ambitious promise: Back in 2015 the world's leaders gathered at the United Nations to commit to a set of targets that – taken together – would lift the world's most destitute, along with many of the rest of us, into a better life by the year 2030.

             

            But almost immediately it became clear that the world was not moving fast enough to accomplish most of these 17 "sustainable development goals," or SDGs. Now, at the half-way point, with leaders once again gathered at the United Nations for its annual General Assembly meetings, multiple assessments of the SDGS – including scorecard reports by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations – find that for many of the SDGs progress has all but halted.

             

            What does this mean for the broader effort to end global poverty? NPR spoke with Masood Ahmed, president of the Center for Global Development, a Washington think tank. (This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

             

            The world never really appeared on track to meet many of the SDG's. Then the pandemic hit. Where do things stand now?

             

            The short answer is we are even less on track.

             

            One side of it is all of these shocks the world has experienced: COVID, the war in Ukraine and its consequential impact on food and fuel prices, the increasingly visible consequences of climate change – most recently the floods in Pakistan and drought in the Horn of Africa.

             

            But the other point here is the inadequate responses to these shocks. We've fallen even further behind than we had to because our responses have just not measured up to the need.

             

            Among all these goals that are off-track, which is most striking to you?

             

            The one that in some ways is most visible is the fact that until recently we were making year-upon-year progress dealing with extreme poverty. Now the consequence of the impact of COVID has been that some 100 million extra people have now fallen into poverty. So it will take a few more years to get back to where we were. And with that setback to the poverty indicator, of course, go other indicators.

             

            Another thing I would say is that we haven't seen mass deaths from famine for a decade. The last time was in 2011 in Somalia. And this year I do think we could begin to see consequences of hunger and malnutrition and famines for the first time in ways that we really thought we had put behind us.

             

            So it's not just that the progress is stalled. When it comes to the goal of eradicating hunger and malnutrition, the world is actually going backward?

             

            Yes. If you look at the number of people who live at the margin of not having enough food to eat, that number has gone up over the last couple of years. And I think this year you could see the consequence of what is happening with this summer. The heat in Africa is having a huge impact on the production of food.

             

            We are also falling behind in the race to adapt our agricultural production to deal with the future levels of heat that we're going to have to live with. One of the notable things they talk about in this year's Gates Foundation's assessment of progress on the goals, for instance, is maize, which is so important for Africa. It's almost a third of the calories that sub-Saharan Africa consumes. And if you have five days of heat over 86 degrees — which is the case often now — this is going to reduce harvests by a quarter.

             

            I don't think we think enough about that. We are just not investing enough in R&D for agriculture. Since 2005, the United States has spent $57 billion on food aid and we've spent $9 billion on agricultural R&D. So we should be upping that.

             

            You're saying foster a new version of what's often called the "Green Revolution" of 60 years ago?

             

            Yes, the Green Revolution increased rice production yields all around. But it came as a result of a concerted effort of research. It didn't come about randomly. And I don't think we are investing enough globally in terms of recognizing that soon the world is going to be much hotter than it currently is. And consequently, we need to have crops that will adapt and grow better in those circumstances.

             

            On its face, that focus on R&D makes sense. On the other hand people who specialize in famine and food insecurity always stress that there actually is enough food available in the world right now to feed everyone. They say the problem is one of distribution and pricing of food.

             

            They're absolutely right to say that. In the immediate case, any given year when there's a famine, almost always that is because there is a distribution problem. It's actually an income problem. People don't have the money to buy the food that exists in the world now. So you're not going to solve this year's famine in the heart of Africa by growing more food. You're going to solve it by getting the food that is available over there.

             

            The second point though, is that Africa as a continent is still importing a huge amount of food every year: 70% of the wheat they eat, they import. And why is that? It's not because they don't have the space. It's because they don't have access to fertilizers, and they don't have the right kind of investment in the varieties of crops that will grow well there and give them better yields. So they spend $23 billion a year importing food. There are 14 countries for whom there's been a very direct impact of the war in Ukraine because half their wheat comes from Ukraine or Russia.

             

            So Africa as a continent is spending a lot of money every year on importing food and therefore is more vulnerable to shocks in the supply and the prices than it needs to be if it could invest in the fertilizers. And because of the increase in fertilizer prices this year, which have gone up three- or four-fold, a lot of farmers have cut back on fertilizer inputs. And the consequence of that is going to be sharp reductions in food production next year. What we are seeing as an immediate problem is going to spread over next year because we are not investing in fertilizers.

             

            Another area where progress has slipped is on gender equity. For instance the Gates Foundation's report now estimates that the world will not reach gender equality until at least 2108 — three generations later than previously projected. What aspect of that most concerns you?

             

            I think the biggest thing that leaps out to me is that if you think about how COVID has impacted women as opposed to men, what we find is that in many countries the impact can be disproportionately borne by women. That includes small businesses that are run by women and also on women's access to the safety net that is provided by some governments – because often they're not the first recipients of the safety net funding.

             

            You also see the health consequences. I mean the effort to reduce maternal mortality was failing already, right? It wasn't on track before the pandemic. And over the last couple of years, we've seen a lot of the basic services that women need in the health sector for sexual reproduction rights being pushed aside because the health systems have been so strained in dealing with the pandemic.

             

            Similarly, if you think about cash transfer schemes [which involve giving cash grants directly to low income people rather than in kind aid such as food or other goods and services], you find that governments put them in, but sometimes women don't have the necessary identification to be a recipient. There's also a big crisis in childcare. This caregiving is huge unpaid, undervalued work that actually prevents women from entering the workforce. And in low income countries unpaid caregiving occupies more than half of the working hours of women.

             

            So I would say that the responses of governments have not been sufficiently cognizant of the pandemic's disproportionate impact on women and have not built in how to ensure that women have access to the support that is being provided.

             

            You note that the shocks of the last couple years in particular could have been mitigated with a better overall international response. What would that have looked like?

             

            If you lived in a poor country, those governments didn't have the financing – or the help from wealthy countries – to be able to provide cash to businesses and people to help tide them over. And so for them, they could only dedicate like 2% or 3% of GDP to relieving the economic consequences of the pandemic rather than the up to 20% that the rich countries have been able to spend.

             

            And so the inequality in terms of the pace at which people were able to get vaccinated, the extent to which their inability to work and earn income was compensated through support by their governments, was all reflected in this international response that was not adequate.

             

            It also laid the basis for an erosion of trust. And if I want to leave you with one thought, it's that the societal manifestation of long COVID is the breakdown and erosion of trust in the international system.

             

            Tell us more about what is behind this loss of trust? And why does it matter?

             

            If you talk to most people in developing countries, whether they're politicians who lead the countries or business people or academics or just people in households, what they say is, "People in wealthy countries didn't care about us when we were all going through the same problem."

             

            That's important because a world in which there is no trust in community action is a harder world to live in. When it comes to many of the things on which we need to find solutions by working together — climate is the most obvious one — if most of the people living in developing countries don't trust the system, don't think that the people in better-off countries care about their future, then it's going to be much, much harder to sit around a table and find cooperative solutions.

             

            Part of the problem was that instead of actual support, we [in wealthy countries] came through with lots of promises that we didn't fulfill. I think that makes it worse in terms of the erosion of trust. My advice is to stop making promises and start making plans.

             

            Should those plans still include the SDGs? Or is it time to scrap this whole approach?

             

            There's going to be a lot of debate about this in the next couple of years. We're getting to the point where people have to say, "What do you mean by these goals?"

             

            On the one hand it's a way of reflecting that development is multidimensional, that it's about everybody having to do a bit. And that's why we have all of these 17 goals and all the number of indicators that go with them. So in that sense, it's helpful.

             

            But one of the problems is achieving this for all countries by a certain date: Already in 2019, it was clear that you weren't going to do that for a whole bunch of goals for a whole number of countries. And it's even more clear now, right?

             

            The second problem is that it's very hard in a framework that covers everything to say, "Well, this is a priority and this isn't" – because everybody who's attached to a particular priority, for whatever reason, can cite an SDG in support of that.

             

            That said, in practice, people are prioritizing certain goals. You can see that there's a lot of energy and increased funding going toward supporting the fight against climate change, for instance.

             

            Compared to these lofty goals for 2030, the current reality looks so bleak. What's the best case scenario of how all this plays out? And how realistic do you think that best case scenario is?

             

            Well, look, I think the next few years will be tough for many countries. We haven't talked at all about debt. Probably a third of emerging markets and two-thirds of low income countries have debt levels that are causing them severe distress or are putting them at risk of falling into a debt crisis. So that's going to be another set of issues they have to grapple with.

             

            But I would say there are a couple of things that give me optimism. One is that the pace of scientific and technological progress is really continuing in ways that are un-remarked upon. I mean, it is worth just stepping back and remembering the fact that, with COVID, we were able to develop a vaccine faster than ever before in the history of the world.

             

            And the pace at which people got vaccinated against COVID in middle income countries was still faster than that of any other previous historical experience in those countries. Now, I think it was shameful it was so much slower than in the rest of the world. But the technology was very good on that front.

             

            The other thing that gives optimism is if you go around and talk to people in low income countries, what strikes me is the innovation and energy in young people who are trying to find new ways to earn a living, take advantage of the internet and do business. You also see resilience everywhere.

             

            If you go to Asia, many young people look to the future and see more bright spots than I think we do just by reading the data. They see their lives as having opportunities. Their vision of the future often is relatively bright in their own eyes.

             

            You know, even go to Nigeria, a country that really has a lot of difficulties. And yet you talk to young entrepreneurs trying to set up businesses in Lagos or in Abuja, and you will find that they're full of energy and enthusiasm.

             

            It's partly our role to point out the half empty glass, right? And actually right now it's three-quarters empty. But in that remaining quarter, they have a lot of energetic young people who are trying to carve out ways to do things and make them work better.

            ]]>             Big food companies commit to &apos;regenerative agriculture&apos; but skepticism remains https://sdgtalks.ai/big-food-companies-commit-to-regenerative-agriculture-but-skepticism-remains https://sdgtalks.ai/big-food-companies-commit-to-regenerative-agriculture-but-skepticism-remains Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:39:12 -0500 Ava Brennan Will Cannon does more to sequester carbon than the average U.S. farmer.

            After he harvests his corn and soybeans, he plants cover crops, which sequester carbon all winter long, on his entire 1,000-acre operation in Prairie City, Iowa. He's avoiding tilling, or plowing, his soil as much as possible, which helps keep carbon stored in the ground.

            "I've kind of had a passion for conservation all my life," he says. "We've always been pushing the envelope on what we're trying to do."

            Cannon is getting help to finance this climate-friendly way of farming, which costs him thousands of dollars for additional machinery and seed, from the kinds of companies that ultimately buy his product. Footing the bill in his case is PepsiCo and Unilever, which own food brands ranging from Lay's and Gatorade to Hellman's and Ben & Jerry's.

            This kind of cross-supply chain partnership could become increasingly common. A consortium of 12 food companies, including Mars, PepsiCo and McDonald's, announced a plan to scale up the amount of regenerative farmland. The plan was released just days before the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt.

            While the practices regenerative agriculture encompasses are nothing new, it's becoming an increasingly popular climate change mitigation tool, especially among mega food corporations.

            "I think [regenerative agriculture] has a tremendous but under-tapped opportunity to have a major impact on climate change," says Jim Andrew, PepsiCo's chief sustainability officer.

            The food system accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and the private sector largely controls that system. Corporations, including Mars and PepsiCo, have made commitments to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry is inextricably tied to emissions, with an enormous, multi-million ton carbon footprint. Part of that stems from rampant deforestation. The corporate food industry also relies heavily on plastic packaging — another big source of emissions.

            "They're invested in the system which generates greenhouse gas emissions, and essentially they are trapped by the need to continue to not only be profitable, but to grow their profits," says Ricardo Salvador with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

            This isn't the first regenerative agriculture commitment PepsiCo has made. Last year, the company, which earned $9.7 billion over the past year, committed to converting its entire 7 million acre agricultural footprint to regenerative practices by 2030. The company says that will eliminate at least 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the farmland in that footprint grows potatoes, whole corn, oats, and oranges

            In its first year, PepsiCo inched only 5% of the way through that goal, enrolling 345,000 acres in its various regenerative agriculture programs.

            Still, Andrew is optimistic. While he won't reveal 2022 acreage yet, he calls it "a decided step up."

             

            The scale-up challenge

            Currently, only 15% of global farmland is cared for using regenerative practices, according to the new action plan and report from the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI). The group says that number needs to scale up to 40% by 2030 in order to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as laid out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. And that won't be easy, especially given the current global agriculture market.

            "The commodity system tells [farmers]: Yield at all costs," says Sarah Carlson with Practical Farmers of Iowa. "And yield at all costs means that Mother Nature then pays. Climate change is her telling us: No more."

            Converting to regenerative agriculture is a financial risk for farmers. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to buy new equipment and additional seed, fuel and labor. And in its current state, the commodity crop market doesn't provide incentives to incur that cost.

            "We need to invest in those farmers to de-risk that transition," she says. "I do think that companies have a huge role to play in making a big shift on the landscape."

            That could manifest in a number of ways, but Carlson says one of the most effective would be to bake it into procurement contracts. In other words, the onus would be on the company to buy an ingredient (corn, rice, potatoes, etc.) only if it was grown using sustainable practices.

            "That's absolutely an essential part of this plan," says Grant Reid, outgoing CEO of Mars and chair of the SMI taskforce.

            The plan, while lacking in specificity, lays out five general strategies to financially incentivize farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture. The strategies range from direct payments to farmers to encouraging governments around the world to commit policy and public money.

            Reid, former chief procurement officer for Mars, says another strategy is to change the way companies buy their products.

            "We used to buy a spec against the quality and price," he says. "Now I think we need to have our sustainability teams and our procurement teams working closely."

            Reid acknowledges prescribing any one fix across twelve of the largest global food companies is unrealistic. What works for a fast food chain might not work for a beverage corporation. And, along the same lines, what works for a rice farmer in India might not work for a corn farmer in Iowa.

            "There's no one size fits all, right?" he says. "There's not one crop, one company, one country that's identical. So you can't be too prescriptive."

            But that lack of precision could make it difficult to track the coalition's climate progress. Especially because there's no standardized definition of regenerative agriculture. There's no step-by-step guide or menu dictating what constitutes a regenerative farm.

            "We're satisfied so far when somebody tells us that they're using a regenerative practice, say, reduced tillage or cover crops, without then asking the question: How do you know that? What is the actual, quantifiable, verifiable result?" says Salvador with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

            In other words, there's no standard for how much carbon is sequestered on one acre of cover crops, for instance. That number will vary by region, crop and farmer.

            "In addition to being verifiable, it needs to be permanent," says Salvador. "Because if it's not permanent, then in essence it's not really helping us with climate change."

            Despite his cautionary notes, Salvador acknowledges the important role of private industry in scaling up regenerative agriculture across the food system.

            Ultimately, if the world wants more farmers to farm like Will Cannon, food companies need to send those market signals. While most of his farming neighbors still look at him and his untilled ground funny, Cannon thinks that could change if the private industry keeps putting their money where their mouth is.

            "As farmers, we've got to offer a bountiful crop again in the future, and I'm hopeful for the seeds that a lot of these companies are trying to plant right now," says Cannon.

            ]]>             World well short of pace needed to meet UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals https://sdgtalks.ai/world-well-short-of-pace-needed-to-meet-uns-2030-sustainable-development-goals-92887 https://sdgtalks.ai/world-well-short-of-pace-needed-to-meet-uns-2030-sustainable-development-goals-92887 Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:26:37 -0500 Ava Brennan The world is falling well short of the progress needed to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goals by 2030 in areas ranging from poverty to clean energy to biodiversity, with a growing gap between wealthy and developing nations, according to a report Tuesday from the nonprofit tracking the goals.

             

            The coronavirus pandemic stalled the limited progress made in the years after United Nations member states adopted the goals in 2015. Now, halfway through the 15-year time frame, not a single one of the goals is on target to be met.

             

            “We’re at the risk of a lost decade for sustainable development,” said Guillaume Lafortune, a lead author of the report and vice president and head of the Paris office of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the nonprofit launched by the UN to foster and track sustainable development. “And there’s actually a risk that the gap between rich and poor countries on sustainable development might be bigger in 2030 than it was in 2015.”

             

            The goals, which the authors described as “an ethical imperative,” cover a range of areas, including threats to the climate and environment but also basic human rights such as food, health and education.

             

            The authors noted that goals for reducing hunger, improving health and protecting biodiversity are particularly off-track. They said changing global governance mechanisms and global finance architecture are critical for improving progress on all the goals.

             

            Lafortune pointed to the global finance summit that opens Thursday in Paris as an important moment for the world. A main focus of the summit is how international finance can be reformed to help the developing nations that are often most vulnerable to climate change but least able to raise capital for things like transitioning to renewable energy.

             

            The report analyzed countries’ progress on the sustainability goals by assigning them scores from zero to 100. They examined factors like poverty, hunger, disease, carbon dioxide emissions, subjective well-being scores and dozens of other indicators. Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria ranked highest. South Sudan ranked lowest, followed by the Central African Republic, Chad, Yemen and Somalia.

             

            Lafortune called particular attention to the “disappointing” United States scorecard, which he said was below average for developed countries. He said the U.S. was one of the worst performers in terms of its commitment efforts and was one of only five member countries that did not present action plans and priorities to the international community. But Lafortune did note that some U.S. cities voluntarily provided local reviews.

             

            Kimberly Marion Suiseeya, an associate professor of political science and environmental policy and culture at Northwestern University who did not work on the report, said that while she sees pressing global development shortfalls on issues like the climate emergency, she thinks the Biden administration is taking climate seriously. She also saw signs of optimism in China’s progress on renewable energy. Though the country ranked below the U.S. in the report, it has invested more in clean energy, according to research firm BloombergNEF.

             

            Anita Ramasastry, a law professor and director of the Sustainable International Development graduate program at the University of Washington, said she wasn’t surprised that the sustainable development goals are off track. Ramasastry, who had no part in the report, said she doesn’t think many governments with more advanced economies, like the U.S., have embraced the goals or made them relevant to citizens’ daily lives.

             

            She questioned whether the goals were overly ambitious and added that it will be important to examine how the 2030 agenda is financed, as well as the role of the private sector.

             

            “Business has been asked to fill a role. And I think there’s just an ultimate question, which is should we have asked business to fill that role?” she asked. “Because ultimately the SDGs are meant to be about governments and states.”

             

            The report made the same point repeatedly, singling out several “basic failures” in global governance. Those included voluntary implementation of the goals with no enforcement mechanisms when countries fall short, international trade and finance rules not geared to sustainability, and national governments not coordinating well with smaller units of government on the goals.

             

            Lafortune called for countries to keep the sustainable development goals in mind as they approach the Paris summit and other global conferences. He said Paris has the opportunity to act as an “accelerator” toward reforming international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which he sees as possible elements of a global strategy for investment in tackling climate change and other sustainable development goals.

             

            “Despite all the fragmentation right now in geopolitics, the many crises and so on, we still need to keep that sort of long-term vision and this idea of multilateralism and global cooperation alive. I think this is absolutely crucial,” Lafortune said. “I don’t think the world will be better off if we just forget about these goals because we won’t achieve them."

            ]]>             Discover the Untold Story of The Mare Pasture - A Sustainable Tiny Home Oasis https://sdgtalks.ai/discover-the-untold-story-of-the-mare-pasture-a-sustainable-tiny-home-oasis https://sdgtalks.ai/discover-the-untold-story-of-the-mare-pasture-a-sustainable-tiny-home-oasis Sun, 03 Dec 2023 12:00:38 -0500 Holly Lee sustainable, tiny home village, nature, community, conscientious living Nestled in the heart of Sulphur Springs Valley, AZ "The Mare Pasture" is redefining modern living with a sustainable twist. Our tiny home village is a testament to the harmony between nature, community, and conscientious living. We believe that our story could inspire, engage, and resonate with a large audience.

            Sustainable Living: The Mare Pasture is dedicated to eco-friendly living. Our tiny homes are ingeniously designed for minimal environmental impact, utilizing renewable energy, water conservation, and waste reduction to create a truly sustainable community.

             

            Community and Togetherness: In a world that sometimes feels disconnected, our village fosters a close-knit, supportive community where neighbors become friends, and shared values of sustainability and eco-conscious living are celebrated.

             

            Tiny Home Lifestyle: With the tiny home movement gaining momentum, The Mare Pasture offers a living experience that focuses on quality over quantity, simplicity over excess, and a life free from the burden of unnecessary possessions.

             

            Saving this Rangeland: The Mare Pasture is designed by renowned Tucson architect John Riggs. John grew up on Red Wing Ranch, which includes The Mare Pasture, and is a descendant of Brannick Riggs, founder of the original Riggs Settlement and family ranches in Cochise County. John is passionate about preserving his family's heritage and the beautiful open rangelands of Southeastern Arizona. 

             

            We believe that these aspects of The Mare Pasture offer a fresh perspective on modern living and eco-conscious choices. We envision our village as a blueprint for sustainable communities.

            ]]>             The Technologies African Farmers Need https://sdgtalks.ai/the-technologies-african-farmers-need https://sdgtalks.ai/the-technologies-african-farmers-need Wed, 29 Nov 2023 22:25:01 -0500 Lương Anh Hoàn Zero hunger, SDG, Agriculture, Technology

            CAMBRIDGE – Ethiopia has long suffered from recurrent large-scale famines, most notably in the early 1980s, when at least one million people died, and millions more were displaced. This year, however, Ethiopia has become a net exporter of wheat for the first time, an extraordinary feat given its vulnerability to climate change and food-security crises.

            While many factors contributed to this accomplishment, it mainly reflects the central role that new technologies have played in transforming Ethiopia’s agricultural sector. By boosting crop yields and building resilience to extreme weather, these innovations have proven particularly helpful in regions facing worsening droughts and other climate risks

            The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program, established by the International Fertilizer Development Center, has been instrumental in deploying proven and high-performance agricultural technologies at scale, with the aim of helping farmers increase the production of millet, maize, rice, wheat, and other staples. As a result of the yield-increasing performance of these technologies, the area allocated to heat-tolerant wheat varieties in Ethiopia has grown from 5,000 hectares in 2018 to more than 2.2 million hectares in 2023, putting the country on the path to food self-sufficiency.

            The “polycrisis” world of increasingly volatile global supply chains has accelerated the drive toward greater self-reliance. The war in Ukraine triggered a surge in food prices in Africa, with the wheat sub-index, for example, reaching a multiyear high in May 2022. Ethiopia was hit particularly hard, because it had been importing almost half of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine. Now the continent is reeling from the export ban that India, the world’s largest rice exporter, recently imposed on several varieties.

            Amid this challenging environment, the Ethiopian government’s remarkable ability to use technology to boost domestic production and to reduce the risks associated with over-reliance on food imports may well represent a breakthrough. Such progress, especially in a country that was an agricultural basket case for several humiliating decades, offers hope for Africa, which has been on the frontline of the climate crisis, with food insecurity often fueling political unrest.

            Consider, for example, that cereal yields in Africa have stagnated to 1,589 kilograms per hectare, far below the global average of 4,153 kilograms. There are many reasons for this, but chief among them is the chronic technological deficit. The lack of agro-processing and high value-added industries is another longstanding hurdle to increasing agricultural output and productivity growth on the continent, and has also exacerbated post-harvest losses estimated at about 30-50% of total food production in Africa.

            Compounding the problem is the limited use of fertilizer on the continent and excessive dependence on rainfed agriculture. At around 7.6 million metric tons in 2021, fertilizer use is far lower than in East Asia (61.9 million metric tons) and South Asia (38.7 million metric tons), while the dearth of irrigation systems and other water-management tools is especially worrisome in light of the accelerating pace of global warming. These shortcomings have precipitated a rise in extreme hunger, with many communities on the continent facing the worst food crisis in 40 years.

            But the consequences of geopolitical upheaval and intensifying climate risks extend beyond food security to create a vicious cycle of droughts, floods, macroeconomic instability, and balance-of-payments crises across the continent. Around 85% of the food in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is imported, largely owing to the region’s weather-sensitive agriculture. The continent now spends around $75 billion annually on cereal imports, depleting foreign-exchange reserves and increasing exchange-rate pressures. (Most African currencies depreciated sharply in 2022, with the Ethiopian birr growing especially weak.) This import dependence negatively affects the balance of payments, with increasingly frequent global supply shocks exacerbating the region’s vulnerability.

            Africa’s food-import bill is set to rise dramatically in the coming years, partly because of geopolitically induced shocks and projected population growth. But global warming will also fuel this surge. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, five of the ten countries most affected by climate change in 2019 were in SSA, where one-third of the world’s droughts occur but less than 1% of arable land is equipped with irrigation. The World Bank estimates that, if global temperatures rise to 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2050, crop production in SSA will decrease by 10%.

            Such a gloomy prediction may well come true. This year is on track to be the hottest on record, around 1.4°C above pre-industrial average temperatures. Moreover, if greenhouse-gas emissions continue to rise at current rates, climate models predict an additional 4°C of warming during this century. The need for greater investment in climate mitigation and adaptation has never been clearer.

            Faced with over-reliance on food imports and daunting climate forecasts, Africa must move away from the traditional rainfed model of agricultural production. Following Ethiopia’s lead, the continent should embrace technology to boost agricultural productivity and improve food security. This will require aggressive investment in precision-agriculture technologies, such as variable-rate irrigation, that maximize productivity in a resource-constrained environment.

            In addition to water-saving innovations, policymakers should invest in high-yield seed varieties that perform well under dry conditions and in agricultural equipment to mechanize the sector. Improved infrastructure, including solar-powered irrigation systems and digital technologies that allow farmers to access early-warning systems and improve efficiency, will also be essential.

            Deploying a wide range of technologies to transform Africa’s agriculture sector will address food-security concerns as well as environmental and sustainability issues. Such a move is long overdue: even though Africa is home to more than 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, it has yet to benefit from the green revolution that has boosted yields elsewhere. The harsh realities of climate change and geopolitical upheaval may finally create sufficiently strong incentives to unlock the continent’s potential and ensure greater self-sufficiency and resilience in food production.

            ]]>             Sustainable BlockChain A Service for All? https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-blockchain-a-service-for-all https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainable-blockchain-a-service-for-all Wed, 29 Nov 2023 08:47:31 -0500 Selva Ozelli digital asset, sustainable, blockchain By Selva Ozelli, Author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally

            The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), COP28 and Central Bank of United Arab Emirates launched TechSprint to develop technological solutions for sustainable finance and combating climate change.  This technology initiative fosters innovation in scaling sustainable finance and combating climate change.

            Sustainable BlockChain A Service for All?

            “Combating climate change is more urgent than ever. It calls for a profound change in the way economies operate and grow. To finance the needed transformation, investors need certainty that their funds are channelled to their intended uses. Technologies that promote the timely measurement and disclosure of climate-related information are part of the solution.

            The BIS Innovation Hub has explored how to apply technologies such as AI, blockchain and internet-of-things to green finance instruments and climate-related disclosure. This TechSprint in collaboration with the COP28 UAE, the CBUAE and EIF will complement these efforts to address remaining gaps in the green finance market” explained  Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS.

            Future of Power Art Show by Global Resilience Partnership

            This Techsprint at COP28 is being developed jointly by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), alongside the COP28 Presidency, the Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF) and the BIS.

            “In line with the vision of the UAE’s leadership, and its endeavours to address the challenges of climate change; we value the partnership with COP28 UAE and the BIS in launching this international initiative aimed at encouraging innovators across the globe to leverage financial technology in developing new green and sustainable finance solutions” said  Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE and Chairman of EIF.

            The campaign calls for technology solutions to address data verification gaps in sustainable finance in three problem statements:

            —  AI solutions for sustainable finance reporting, verification, and disclosure in the financial services industry.

            —  Blockchain solutions for auditing and enhancing transparency, traceability, and accountability in sustainable finance.

            —  Internet-of-Things and sensor technology solutions for sustainable finance to ensure informed assessments of impact, risk, or compliance.

            “COP28 looks forward to working with its partners to drive real solutions to scale up climate action and fast-track sustainable finance initiatives around the world.” Said  Dr Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President Designate.

            Blockchain solutions for sustainable finance

            In Singapore, with a similar theme, the BSN Foundation announced its founding members, its role in blockchain-as-a-service on November 16, 2023.

            BSN Foundation is the governing body of the BSN Spartan Networks made up of: Red Date Technology, Blockdaemon, GFT Technologies, TOKO, Zeeve.  These organizations originating from a diverse range of countries and regions, such as the U.S.A., Germany, and Hong Kong, will bring a wide range of expertise dedicated to building the next-generation global Public IT System infrastructures for internet communications, digital economies, metaverses, digital payments and NFTs based on non-cryptocurrency public chain technologies, designed to serve IT systems around the world to advance fundamental technologies that benefit all humankind.

            Tim Bailey, the VP of Global Business & Operations of for Red Date Technology explained “on November 16, we announced the founding members of the BSN Foundation that governs the BSN Spartan Network. The network launched late last year with three non-cryptocurrency public chains, including non-crypto versions of sustainable, proof of stake blockchain platforms Ethereum, Cosmos and PolygonEdge.

            The BSN Spartan Network provides an infrastructure that integrates non-cryptocurrency public blockchains that can be used by any traditional IT system to leverage the capabilities of the underlying blockchain technology in an easier and more cost-effective way.   The service will be offered with fixed fees based in fiat currency or USD backed stable coin and is only available outside Mainland China. The cost of using our public chain technology is significantly lower and more predictable than using cryptocurrency based public chains.”

            The BSN Spartan Network is a decentralized network governed by the BSN Foundation with each member operating a governance data center that hosts all the validator nodes of non-cryptocurrency public chains.  The BSN Foundation will operate via three core committees: the Technical Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Business Committee, each overseeing a distinct set of activities such as R&D, governance coordination, and commercial matters.

            Established as a decentralized governance organization, each member will have an equal voting right on governance decisions, such as integrating new blockchain protocols or adjusting network fees and will operate a Governance Data Center that hosts all the validator nodes of the non-cryptocurrency public chains.

            The BSN Foundation recognizes public chain technologies as a complementary approach to conventional private IT systems, with inherent advantages such as data sharing costs, private data ownership, and transparency. These benefits have remained largely untapped by traditional enterprises due to the reluctance to get involved with unregulated cryptocurrencies.

            To bridge this gap, the BSN Spartan Network, will offer a decentralized cloud service solution with non-cryptocurrency public chains as the operation systems. The network consists of virtual data centers that are open source and free to download on GitHub, where nodes of the non-cryptocurrency public chains can be selectively installed. Businesses can deploy smart contracts and build dApps on the nodes and pay gas fees on non-cryptocurrency public chains using fiat currency or fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDC.

            The BSN Foundation will start with five members, with the goal of eventually growing to 40 members.  Collectively, these organizations will contribute to the BSN Foundation’s mission to pioneer public IT system development at a global level to bring a portfolio of expertise ranging from blockchain-as-a-service and real-world asset tokenization to financial services and consulting as follows:

            Blockdaemon – Blockdaemon is a leading provider of enterprise-grade blockchain node deployment solutions, dedicated to streamlining and enhancing the onboarding and iteration processes for organizations utilizing BSN Spartan Network.  “At Blockdaemon, we are proud to be one of the founding members of the BSN Foundation. Our specialization in institutional-grade blockchain node deployment, validating solutions, and institutional wallet aligns perfectly with the BSN Foundation’s mission to advance decentralization.

            We are committed to assisting organizations in simplifying their BSN Spartan onboarding and iteration processes with institutional-grade security. Together with the BSN Foundation and our fellow founding members, we look forward to elevating the blockchain economy” explained Andrew Vranjes, VP of Sales and General Manager of APAC at Blockdaemon

            GFT Technologies- Operating in over 15 markets worldwide, GFT has more than 35 years of experience in developing sustainable solutions based on new technologies including artificial intelligence and blockchain/DLT.  “GFT is honoured to be one of the founding members of the BSN Foundation. The BSN Spartan Network’s non-cryptocurrency public chain infrastructure makes it easier for enterprises to build and deploy blockchain-based applications.

            We are confident that BSN Spartan will meet our clients’ needs for a reliable, secure, and scalable public infrastructure, without the challenges of volatile cryptocurrency prices and unpredictable development costs,” said Christopher Ortiz, Group Chief Executive and Global Markets and Region Manager APAC & UK at GFT.

            Red Date Technology – A technology company headquartered in Hong Kong that is dedicated to building next-generation Public IT System infrastructures for internet communications, digital economies, digital payments and NFTs.  Red Date Technology, the technical architect of the BSN Spartan Network, contributes expertise in the fundamental technologies of public IT system infrastructures for internet communications, digital economies, and digital payments.

            “Building on our collaboration agreement with CloudSigma signed earlier this year to bring Enterprise BSN to the full global network of CloudSigma cloud locations, marks another significant milestone in the international expansion of the BSN (Blockchain-based Service Network).  We are building the next layer of the internet, a public layer serving public IT systems that has the benefit of greater transparency, easy connectivity, and individual ownership of data compared to private IT systems today,” said Tim Bailey, VP of Global Sales for Red Date Technology” said Tim Bailey, VP of Global Business & Operations for Red Date Technology.

            TOKO – Born out of global law firm DLA Piper, TOKO is a digital asset creation platform that couples the compliance and regulatory rigor of a global law firm with the innovative technology solutions of tomorrow.  TOKO offers digital asset tokenization and legal compliance solutions based on the BSN Spartan infrastructure.  Scott Thiel, Managing Director of TOKO, says: “TOKO is excited to be one of the five initial members of the BSN Foundation.

            We believe in BSN’s commitment, as a decentralized governance organization, in bringing blockchain technologies to the broader IT industry beyond cryptocurrencies. As a full market licenced Virtual Asset Broker Dealer and Exchange services VASP granted by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), we look forward to contributing to the foundation with our wealth of expertise in the governance and regulatory space.”

            Zeeve is an enterprise-grade no-code Blockchain Infrastructure Automation platform that enables easy deployment, monitoring, and management of Blockchain nodes and networks.  Zeeve empowers over 27,000 developers with its Web3 Infrastructure Automation services and delivers plug- and-play solutions that enable traditional corporations to swiftly develop decentralized applications (dApps) on the BSN Spartan Network.

            “We highly value innovation and forward-thinking approaches in our strategic partnerships,” said Dr. Ravi Chamria, Zeeve’s CEO. “The BSN Foundation’s vision aligns seamlessly with our mission to simplify and enhance blockchain adoption for enterprises. By offering a decentralized cloud service solution that operates on non-cryptocurrency public chains, the BSN Spartan Network opens up exciting possibilities for businesses to harness the benefits of blockchain technology while maintaining financial stability and regulatory compliance. We’re excited to collaborate with the BSN Foundation to empower enterprises with the most reliable Blockchain infrastructure management, enabling them to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

            Looking toward the future, the BSN Foundation aims to expand its membership to at least 40 members, operating as a decentralized governance body. “When 40 leading international companies govern the Spartan Network as Foundation members with equal voting rights, the network will become one of the most decentralized IT infrastructures in the world”, said Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology.

            Together, they aim to promote the concept of public IT systems that complements the existing centralized IT architectures, revolutionizing traditional business operations and data communication in a sustainable way.

            More about the author

            A legal and finance executive with diversified experience dealing with highly complex issues in the field of international taxation and related matters within the banking, securities, fintech, digital assets alternative and traditional investment funds (investing in equity, debt, real estate, derivatives, credit instruments, mortgage backed securities) aerospace and solar industries.

            Her first of its kind legal analyses involving tax laws, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), blockchain technology have been published in journals, books and by the OECD.  Her writings have been translated in to 35 languages published in over 200 publications globally.  She is is the author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally and  an expert TV commentator on tax and technology matters.

            Watch the clip of Orcas & Reefs

            ]]>             Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainably-investing-in-digital-assets-globally https://sdgtalks.ai/sustainably-investing-in-digital-assets-globally Wed, 29 Nov 2023 07:43:01 -0500 Selva Ozelli digital asset, crypto, sustainability, solar, Portugal, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, Israel, South Korea, Brazil, Canada, Malta, Germany, The United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Singapore, Puerto Rico, US, Japan, EU, China, India, Russia, Africa’ COP28 Will Take Place in Dubai - SUAVEART https://sdgtalks.ai/cop28-will-take-place-in-dubai-news-suaveart https://sdgtalks.ai/cop28-will-take-place-in-dubai-news-suaveart Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:45:57 -0500 Selva Ozelli SUAVEART, a research-based curatorial institution which focuses on environment, nonhuman perspectives and nonspaces issues in islands, art and life. We have been focused on Southeast Asian regional contemporary art since 2008. Established in Taiwan in 2015, it provides and creates experimental cultural implementation and interdisciplinary collaboration possibilities. Artistic research, art residency, curation, and international exchanges are carried out with support from industry links, art consultants, and communities.

            We are concerning about culture, community, and creativity. We were invited to join the Batik Story project in Surabaya, Indonesia, held by the Total Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea. It was a wonderful experience for acquiring a lot of inspiration and thoughts on sustainability issues. After that, our projects soon had the scope to focus on social responsibilities, nature and humanistic spirit.

            Many of projects demonstrate a variety of practices that SUAVEART has been doing; including the approaches to understanding our culture, nature, and society. It also shows climate change challenges that experts, artists, global citizens, and each of us are facing, while realizing our future life is in our hands.

            The main programs are such as “Island Kaleidoscope”, “Seeding Future – Tropical Rainforest Research”, “InterPFL- Interpretation in future life”, and the recent project “Wagiwagi – Greeting to Nature”, which has been invited to documenta 15 in Kassel, Germany and “Asia NOW” public project at Monnaie de Paris.

            In 2022, SUAVEART was invited to the G20 Summit, cultural sectors in Borobudur, Indonesia, to share the insights on “Culture as a Driver and Enabler of Sustainable Living”; we also presented “Terracotta as a Social Cohesive Force and the Interpretation of Art Application: Taking the Case of Taiwan and West Java, Indonesia” at the Southeast Asian Regional Studies Symposium in Taiwan on the theme of “Ethnicity and Region: Localities and Diversity in Southeast Asia”.

            The curated residency project “Flaneur in the insular cities: Island Ecology” was presented at Rockbund Art Museum, the “Island Free Writing Workshop” was took place at the West Bund Museum in 2021, and “Ex-tension: The Dislocation of Culture and Pattern” was presented at Curatoris’ Laboratory in Poznan Poland in 2018.

            We hope that through the influence of art, culture and education, we can fulfill our environmental responsibilities by establishing a sustainable business and community that enables cultures and innovative thoughts to be developed in the local area.

            ]]>             CREATING A RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE BLOCKCHAIN AS-A-SERVICE FOR ALL by Selva Ozelli https://sdgtalks.ai/creating-a-resilient-and-sustainable-blockchain-as-a-service-for-all-by-selva-ozelli https://sdgtalks.ai/creating-a-resilient-and-sustainable-blockchain-as-a-service-for-all-by-selva-ozelli Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:38:16 -0500 Selva Ozelli tech, blockchain, cop28, art By Selva Ozelli, Author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally

            The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), COP28 and Central Bank of United Arab Emirates launched TechSprint to develop technological solutions for sustainable finance and combating climate change.  This technology initiative fosters innovation in scaling sustainable finance and combating climate change.

            Sustainable BlockChain A Service for All?

            “Combating climate change is more urgent than ever. It calls for a profound change in the way economies operate and grow. To finance the needed transformation, investors need certainty that their funds are channelled to their intended uses. Technologies that promote the timely measurement and disclosure of climate-related information are part of the solution.

            The BIS Innovation Hub has explored how to apply technologies such as AI, blockchain and internet-of-things to green finance instruments and climate-related disclosure. This TechSprint in collaboration with the COP28 UAE, the CBUAE and EIF will complement these efforts to address remaining gaps in the green finance market” explained  Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS.

            Future of Power Art Show by Global Resilience Partnership

            This Techsprint at COP28 is being developed jointly by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), alongside the COP28 Presidency, the Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF) and the BIS.

            “In line with the vision of the UAE’s leadership, and its endeavours to address the challenges of climate change; we value the partnership with COP28 UAE and the BIS in launching this international initiative aimed at encouraging innovators across the globe to leverage financial technology in developing new green and sustainable finance solutions” said  Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE and Chairman of EIF.

            The campaign calls for technology solutions to address data verification gaps in sustainable finance in three problem statements:

            —  AI solutions for sustainable finance reporting, verification, and disclosure in the financial services industry.

            —  Blockchain solutions for auditing and enhancing transparency, traceability, and accountability in sustainable finance.

            —  Internet-of-Things and sensor technology solutions for sustainable finance to ensure informed assessments of impact, risk, or compliance.

            “COP28 looks forward to working with its partners to drive real solutions to scale up climate action and fast-track sustainable finance initiatives around the world.” Said  Dr Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President Designate.

            Blockchain solutions for sustainable finance

            In Singapore, with a similar theme, the BSN Foundation announced its founding members, its role in blockchain-as-a-service on November 16, 2023.

            BSN Foundation is the governing body of the BSN Spartan Networks made up of: Red Date Technology, Blockdaemon, GFT Technologies, TOKO, Zeeve.  These organizations originating from a diverse range of countries and regions, such as the U.S.A., Germany, and Hong Kong, will bring a wide range of expertise dedicated to building the next-generation global Public IT System infrastructures for internet communications, digital economies, metaverses, digital payments and NFTs based on non-cryptocurrency public chain technologies, designed to serve IT systems around the world to advance fundamental technologies that benefit all humankind.

            Tim Bailey, the VP of Global Business & Operations of for Red Date Technology explained “on November 16, we announced the founding members of the BSN Foundation that governs the BSN Spartan Network. The network launched late last year with three non-cryptocurrency public chains, including non-crypto versions of sustainable, proof of stake blockchain platforms Ethereum, Cosmos and PolygonEdge.

            The BSN Spartan Network provides an infrastructure that integrates non-cryptocurrency public blockchains that can be used by any traditional IT system to leverage the capabilities of the underlying blockchain technology in an easier and more cost-effective way.   The service will be offered with fixed fees based in fiat currency or USD backed stable coin and is only available outside Mainland China. The cost of using our public chain technology is significantly lower and more predictable than using cryptocurrency based public chains.”

            The BSN Spartan Network is a decentralized network governed by the BSN Foundation with each member operating a governance data center that hosts all the validator nodes of non-cryptocurrency public chains.  The BSN Foundation will operate via three core committees: the Technical Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Business Committee, each overseeing a distinct set of activities such as R&D, governance coordination, and commercial matters.

            Established as a decentralized governance organization, each member will have an equal voting right on governance decisions, such as integrating new blockchain protocols or adjusting network fees and will operate a Governance Data Center that hosts all the validator nodes of the non-cryptocurrency public chains.

            The BSN Foundation recognizes public chain technologies as a complementary approach to conventional private IT systems, with inherent advantages such as data sharing costs, private data ownership, and transparency. These benefits have remained largely untapped by traditional enterprises due to the reluctance to get involved with unregulated cryptocurrencies.

            To bridge this gap, the BSN Spartan Network, will offer a decentralized cloud service solution with non-cryptocurrency public chains as the operation systems. The network consists of virtual data centers that are open source and free to download on GitHub, where nodes of the non-cryptocurrency public chains can be selectively installed. Businesses can deploy smart contracts and build dApps on the nodes and pay gas fees on non-cryptocurrency public chains using fiat currency or fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDC.

            The BSN Foundation will start with five members, with the goal of eventually growing to 40 members.  Collectively, these organizations will contribute to the BSN Foundation’s mission to pioneer public IT system development at a global level to bring a portfolio of expertise ranging from blockchain-as-a-service and real-world asset tokenization to financial services and consulting as follows:

            Blockdaemon – Blockdaemon is a leading provider of enterprise-grade blockchain node deployment solutions, dedicated to streamlining and enhancing the onboarding and iteration processes for organizations utilizing BSN Spartan Network.  “At Blockdaemon, we are proud to be one of the founding members of the BSN Foundation. Our specialization in institutional-grade blockchain node deployment, validating solutions, and institutional wallet aligns perfectly with the BSN Foundation’s mission to advance decentralization.

            We are committed to assisting organizations in simplifying their BSN Spartan onboarding and iteration processes with institutional-grade security. Together with the BSN Foundation and our fellow founding members, we look forward to elevating the blockchain economy” explained Andrew Vranjes, VP of Sales and General Manager of APAC at Blockdaemon

            GFT Technologies- Operating in over 15 markets worldwide, GFT has more than 35 years of experience in developing sustainable solutions based on new technologies including artificial intelligence and blockchain/DLT.  “GFT is honoured to be one of the founding members of the BSN Foundation. The BSN Spartan Network’s non-cryptocurrency public chain infrastructure makes it easier for enterprises to build and deploy blockchain-based applications.

            We are confident that BSN Spartan will meet our clients’ needs for a reliable, secure, and scalable public infrastructure, without the challenges of volatile cryptocurrency prices and unpredictable development costs,” said Christopher Ortiz, Group Chief Executive and Global Markets and Region Manager APAC & UK at GFT.

            Red Date Technology – A technology company headquartered in Hong Kong that is dedicated to building next-generation Public IT System infrastructures for internet communications, digital economies, digital payments and NFTs.  Red Date Technology, the technical architect of the BSN Spartan Network, contributes expertise in the fundamental technologies of public IT system infrastructures for internet communications, digital economies, and digital payments.

            “Building on our collaboration agreement with CloudSigma signed earlier this year to bring Enterprise BSN to the full global network of CloudSigma cloud locations, marks another significant milestone in the international expansion of the BSN (Blockchain-based Service Network).  We are building the next layer of the internet, a public layer serving public IT systems that has the benefit of greater transparency, easy connectivity, and individual ownership of data compared to private IT systems today,” said Tim Bailey, VP of Global Sales for Red Date Technology” said Tim Bailey, VP of Global Business & Operations for Red Date Technology.

            TOKO – Born out of global law firm DLA Piper, TOKO is a digital asset creation platform that couples the compliance and regulatory rigor of a global law firm with the innovative technology solutions of tomorrow.  TOKO offers digital asset tokenization and legal compliance solutions based on the BSN Spartan infrastructure.  Scott Thiel, Managing Director of TOKO, says: “TOKO is excited to be one of the five initial members of the BSN Foundation.

            We believe in BSN’s commitment, as a decentralized governance organization, in bringing blockchain technologies to the broader IT industry beyond cryptocurrencies. As a full market licenced Virtual Asset Broker Dealer and Exchange services VASP granted by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), we look forward to contributing to the foundation with our wealth of expertise in the governance and regulatory space.”

            Zeeve is an enterprise-grade no-code Blockchain Infrastructure Automation platform that enables easy deployment, monitoring, and management of Blockchain nodes and networks.  Zeeve empowers over 27,000 developers with its Web3 Infrastructure Automation services and delivers plug- and-play solutions that enable traditional corporations to swiftly develop decentralized applications (dApps) on the BSN Spartan Network.

            “We highly value innovation and forward-thinking approaches in our strategic partnerships,” said Dr. Ravi Chamria, Zeeve’s CEO. “The BSN Foundation’s vision aligns seamlessly with our mission to simplify and enhance blockchain adoption for enterprises. By offering a decentralized cloud service solution that operates on non-cryptocurrency public chains, the BSN Spartan Network opens up exciting possibilities for businesses to harness the benefits of blockchain technology while maintaining financial stability and regulatory compliance. We’re excited to collaborate with the BSN Foundation to empower enterprises with the most reliable Blockchain infrastructure management, enabling them to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

            Looking toward the future, the BSN Foundation aims to expand its membership to at least 40 members, operating as a decentralized governance body. “When 40 leading international companies govern the Spartan Network as Foundation members with equal voting rights, the network will become one of the most decentralized IT infrastructures in the world”, said Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology.

            Together, they aim to promote the concept of public IT systems that complements the existing centralized IT architectures, revolutionizing traditional business operations and data communication in a sustainable way.

            More about the author

            A legal and finance executive with diversified experience dealing with highly complex issues in the field of international taxation and related matters within the banking, securities, fintech, digital assets alternative and traditional investment funds (investing in equity, debt, real estate, derivatives, credit instruments, mortgage backed securities) aerospace and solar industries.

            Her first of its kind legal analyses involving tax laws, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), blockchain technology have been published in journals, books and by the OECD.  Her writings have been translated in to 35 languages published in over 200 publications globally.  She is is the author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally and  an expert TV commentator on tax and technology matters.

            ]]>             Creating Resilient and Sustainable Technologies – COP28 UAE TechSprint by Selva Ozelli https://sdgtalks.ai/creating-resilient-and-sustainable-technologies-cop28-uae-techsprint-by-selva-ozelli https://sdgtalks.ai/creating-resilient-and-sustainable-technologies-cop28-uae-techsprint-by-selva-ozelli Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:35:47 -0500 Selva Ozelli tech, blockchain, cop28, art “Combating climate change is more urgent than ever. It calls for a profound change in the way economies operate and grow. To finance the needed transformation, investors need certainty that their funds are channeled to their intended uses. Technologies that promote the timely measurement and disclosure of climate-related information are part of the solution. The BIS Innovation Hub has explored how to apply technologies such as AI, blockchain and internet-of-things to green finance instruments and climate-related disclosure. This TechSprint in collaboration with the COP28 UAE, the CBUAE and EIF will complement these efforts to address remaining gaps in the green finance market”, explained Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS.

            Future of Power Art Show by Global Resilience Partnership

            This Techsprint at COP28 is being developed jointly by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), alongside the COP28 Presidency, the Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF) and the BIS.

            “In line with the vision of the UAE's leadership, and its endeavours to address the challenges of climate change; we value the partnership with COP28 UAE and the BIS in launching this international initiative aimed at encouraging innovators across the globe to leverage financial technology in developing new green and sustainable finance solutions”, said Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE and Chairman of EIF.

            The campaign calls for technology solutions to address data verification gaps in sustainable finance in three problem statements:

            • AI solutions for sustainable finance reporting, verification, and disclosure in the financial services industry. 
            • Blockchain solutions for auditing and enhancing transparency, traceability, and accountability in sustainable finance.
            • Internet-of-Things and sensor technology solutions for sustainable finance to ensure informed assessments of impact, risk, or compliance. 

            “COP28 looks forward to working with its partners to drive real solutions to scale up climate action and fast-track sustainable finance initiatives around the world”, said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President Designate.

            Blockchain solutions for sustainable finance

            Parallel to the COP28 Tech initiative, in Singapore, with a similar theme, the BSN Foundation announced its founding members, its role in sustainable blockchain-as-a-service.

            BSN Foundation is the governing body of the BSN Spartan Networks made up of: Red Date Technology, Blockdaemon, GFT Technologies, TOKO, Zeeve. These organizations originating from a diverse range of countries and regions, such as the U.S.A., Germany, and Hong Kong, will bring a wide range of expertise dedicated to building the next-generation global Public IT System infrastructures for internet communications, digital economies, metaverses, digital payments and NFTs based on non-cryptocurrency public chain technologies, designed to serve IT systems around the world to advance fundamental technologies that benefit all humankind.  

            Tim Bailey, the VP of Global Business & Operations of for Red Date Technology explained “on November 16, we announced the founding members of the BSN Foundation that governs the BSN Spartan Network. The network launched late last year with three non-cryptocurrency public chains, including non-crypto versions of sustainable, proof of stake blockchain platforms Ethereum, Cosmos and PolygonEdge. The BSN Spartan Network provides an infrastructure that integrates non-cryptocurrency public blockchains that can be used by any traditional IT system to leverage the capabilities of the underlying blockchain technology in an easier and more cost-effective way. The service will be offered with fixed fees based in fiat currency or USD backed stable coin and is only available outside Mainland China. The cost of using our public chain technology is significantly lower and more predictable than using cryptocurrency based public chains."

            The BSN Foundation will start with five members, with the goal of eventually growing to 40 members. Collectively, these organizations will contribute to the BSN Foundation’s mission to pioneer public IT system development at a global level to bring a portfolio of expertise ranging from blockchain-as-a-service and real-world asset tokenization to financial services and consulting.

            Looking toward the future, the BSN Foundation aims to expand its membership to at least 40 members, operating as a decentralized governance body. “When 40 leading international companies govern the Spartan Network as Foundation members with equal voting rights, the network will become one of the most decentralized IT infrastructures in the world”, said Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology. 

            Together, they aim to promote the concept of public IT systems that complements the existing centralized IT architectures, revolutionizing traditional business operations and data communication in a sustainable way.

             

            Selva Ozelli, Author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally

            ]]>             The Future of Power Art Show at COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/the-future-of-power-art-show-at-cop28-by-selva-ozelli https://sdgtalks.ai/the-future-of-power-art-show-at-cop28-by-selva-ozelli Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:33:14 -0500 Selva Ozelli art cop28 The Future of Power Art  

            Show at COP28

            The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will take place at Expo City Dubai, UAE, from November 30th to December 12th, 2023.

            Designed to bring the international community together and drive action, finance, and solutions, the two-week conference program will focus on fast-tracking a green future. Among the issues discussed at COP28 are a just and equitable energy transition, fixing climate finance, putting nature, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action, and mobilizing for inclusion.

            The Resilience Hub, a virtual and physical space accelerating action towards resilient communities and ecosystems, will be present at COP28. The Hub is motivated by the urgent need to increase the level of ambition and finance given to building resilience, particularly for the world’s most vulnerable populations, and placing locally informed, equitable solutions center stage in the run-up to and during COP. It will connect and inspire people across business, civil society, academia, and government to collaborate and scale up action that makes communities around the world safer, healthier, and more just.

            The COP28 Resilience Hub will feature an art show titled “Future of Power,” prepared by award-winning environmental artists whose work has been cataloged by the UN. This art show will articulate the Resilience Hub’s vision of resilience underpinning sustainable development in an inclusive world in harmony with nature that is better prepared to cope with shocks, adapt to change, and transform – all within planetary boundaries.

            Mehmet Kuran artwork

            Artist Mehmet Kuran with his work points out that

            “we have to understand one thing now. We are not the owners of this world. We are guests. We are no different than an antelope or a lizard. As guests, we must respect this magnificent planet. We must live elegantly. By trying to be beneficial to our environment. By sharing. It is certain that beautiful days lie ahead. Change has begun.”

            Gunsu Saracoglu artwork

            Artist Gunsu Saracoglu, with her work, reminds us that

            “Climate change is having a significant impact on wildfires around the world in the absence of adherence to the Paris Agreement. The total wildfire emissions for 2023 is estimated to be almost 410 megatonnes. Boreal forests in regions all over the world have been experiencing the worst wildfires in recorded history in 2023, according to new research.”

            In the first-ever Global Stocktake response, the urgency of the climate change situation faced will be presented, and the COP28 Presidency will seek accountability from the heads of state and world leaders on the way forward.

            Fatma Kadir artwork

            Climate change is already impacting human health across the planet, from the quality of the air we breathe to the water we drink and the places that provide us with shelter. Unfortunately, Children and youth face disproportionate risks and impacts from this as the generation who will inherit a planet with tougher conditions in which to live without being responsible for contributing to the problem.

            Artist Fatma Kadir, with her work, draws attention to young climate change advocates who

            “instead of playing with toys and balloons are at very early ages becoming plaintiffs in climate litigation around the globe–including Juliana v. United States, Held v. Montana, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Other States –as they advocate for their human right to a clean and healthful environment as granted by their constitutions. Youth climate litigation is becoming an integral part of securing climate action and justice. The total number of climate change court cases worldwide has more than doubled since 2017, according to the report prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.”

            For the first time, COP28 will explore ways to provide relief to those affected.

            With increased climate change-related natural calamities, increased disease, and litigation by a new generation, it is clear that the world needs to decarbonize rapidly while continuing to progress economically. The energy needed for day-to-day life, supporting new technologies, must remain affordable but cleaner.

            Artist Selva Ozelli --who is also the author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally -, draws attention to the fact that

            “the ocean generates 50 percent of the oxygen we need, absorbs 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, and captures 90 percent of the excess heat generated by these emissions. We need to protect and manage our Oceans, Wetlands biodiversity hotspots, and natural carbon sinks.”

            COP28 Presidency, High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (HLP), UN High-level Climate Champions, and Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action will cast a spotlight on the Ocean and put forth country commitments towards the 100% Sustainable Ocean Management goal and showcase tangible actions supporting the implementation of the Ocean Breakthrough.

            Ilhan Sayin artwork

            Our world's climate and its biodiversity are inextricably interconnected. Climate change creates severe pressure and risks for the food, agricultural, and water systems that ensure human well-being.

            Artist Ilhan Sayin, with his work, draws attention to

            “the landmark win for nature, a 30 x 30 biodiversity goal was adopted by world leaders at the CBD COP15 – to protect at least 30 percent of the planet's land and water by 2030.”

            COP28 will focus on delivering climate and nature co-benefits through various financing mechanisms and packages to accelerate private sector commitments to nature-positive accountability frameworks.

            By Selva Ozelli, JD, Law.

            Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA is a legal and finance executive with diversified experience dealing with highly complex issues in the field of international taxation and related matters within the banking, securities, Fintech, alternative and traditional investment funds. Her first of its kind legal analyses involving tax laws, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), blockchain technology, solar technology and the environment and have been published in journals, books and by the OECD. Her writings have been translated into 15 languages.

            ]]>             Healing Waters Art Show by Selva Ozelli for Havre de Grace Maritime Museum - Ocean Decade-Ocean X Pavilion at COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/healing-waters-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-havre-de-grace-maritime-museum-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28-92699 https://sdgtalks.ai/healing-waters-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-havre-de-grace-maritime-museum-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28-92699 Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:28:44 -0500 Selva Ozelli ocean water cop28

            ]]>             Healing Waters Art Show by Selva Ozelli for Havre de Grace Maritime Museum - Ocean Decade-Ocean X Pavilion at COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/healing-waters-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-havre-de-grace-maritime-museum-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28-92698 https://sdgtalks.ai/healing-waters-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-havre-de-grace-maritime-museum-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28-92698 Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:28:43 -0500 Selva Ozelli ocean water cop28 Havre de Grace Maritime Museum and Environmental Center is located in Havre de Grace, Maryland. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States which outlets into the AtlanticOcean. We are pleased to host award winning artist Selva Ozelli in September with a show titled “Healing Waters,” which opens on August 26th. Ms. Ozelli’s work is cataloged by the United Nations, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum and the Berlin University of Art as part of the project titled Climate Summit Art and Political Event, 1972 – 2022. She has exhibited at United Nations Climate Change Conferences, Auckland Climate Festival, London Climate Action Week and New York Climate Week, the United Nations Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Oceans Decade. “With my art show ‘Healing Waters’ at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum and Environmental Center, I hope to draw attention to the nearly extinct Darter Fish and to the fact that action to restore wetlands and oceans is gathering momentum not only in Chesapeake Bay, but also around the world too” explained Selva Ozelli.

            ]]>             Healing Waters Art Show by Selva Ozelli at COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/healing-waters-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-havre-de-grace-maritime-museum-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/healing-waters-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-havre-de-grace-maritime-museum-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28 Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:28:41 -0500 Selva Ozelli ocean water cop28

            ]]>             Orcas &amp; Reefs Art Show by Selva Ozelli for Whaling Museum Cold Spring Harbor - Ocean Decade - Ocean X Pavilion at COP28 https://sdgtalks.ai/orcas-reefs-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-whaling-museum-cold-spring-harbor-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28 https://sdgtalks.ai/orcas-reefs-art-show-by-selva-ozelli-for-whaling-museum-cold-spring-harbor-ocean-decade-ocean-x-pavilion-at-cop28 Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:56:12 -0500 Selva Ozelli Ocean, Orca, Reef, COP28

            ]]>             Future of Power Art Show for COP28 Resilience Hub https://sdgtalks.ai/future-of-power-art-show-for-cop28-resilience-hub https://sdgtalks.ai/future-of-power-art-show-for-cop28-resilience-hub Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:52:33 -0500 Selva Ozelli cop28 art The Future of Power Art Show at COP28
            BY SELVA OZELLI, JD, LAW 

            The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will take place at Expo City Dubai, UAE, from November 30th to December 12th, 2023.

            Designed to bring the international community together and drive action, finance, and solutions, the two-week conference program will focus on fast-tracking a green future. Among the issues discussed at COP28 are a just and equitable energy transition, fixing climate finance, putting nature, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action, and mobilizing for inclusion.

            The Resilience Hub, a virtual and physical space accelerating action towards resilient communities and ecosystems, will be present at COP28. The Hub is motivated by the urgent need to increase the level of ambition and finance given to building resilience, particularly for the world’s most vulnerable populations, and placing locally informed, equitable solutions center stage in the run-up to and during COP.

            It will connect and inspire people across business, civil society, academia, and government to collaborate and scale up action that makes communities around the world safer, healthier, and more just.

            The COP28 Resilience Hub will feature an art show titled “Future of Power,” prepared by award-winning environmental artists whose work has been cataloged by the UN. 

            This art show will articulate the Resilience Hub’s vision of resilience underpinning sustainable development in an inclusive world in harmony with nature that is better prepared to cope with shocks, adapt to change, and transform – all within planetary boundaries.

            Mehmet Kuran artwork
            Artist Mehmet Kuran with his work points out that

            “we have to understand one thing now. We are not the owners of this world. We are guests. We are no different than an antelope or a lizard. As guests, we must respect this magnificent planet. We must live elegantly. By trying to be beneficial to our environment. By sharing. It is certain that beautiful days lie ahead. Change has begun.”

            Gunsu Saracoglu artwork
            Artist Gunsu Saracoglu, with her work, reminds us that

            “Climate change is having a significant impact on wildfires around the world in the absence of adherence to the Paris Agreement. The total wildfire emissions for 2023 is estimated to be almost 410 megatonnes. Boreal forests in regions all over the world have been experiencing the worst wildfires in recorded history in 2023, according to new research.”

            In the first-ever Global Stocktake response, the urgency of the climate change situation faced will be presented, and the COP28 Presidency will seek accountability from the heads of state and world leaders on the way forward.

            Fatma Kadir artwork
            Climate change is already impacting human health across the planet, from the quality of the air we breathe to the water we drink and the places that provide us with shelter. Unfortunately, Children and youth face disproportionate risks and impacts from this as the generation who will inherit a planet with tougher conditions in which to live without being responsible for contributing to the problem.

            Artist Fatma Kadir, with her work, draws attention to young climate change advocates who

            “instead of playing with toys and balloons are at very early ages becoming plaintiffs in climate litigation around the globe–including Juliana v. United States, Held v. Montana, Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Other States –as they advocate for their human right to a clean and healthful environment as granted by their constitutions. Youth climate litigation is becoming an integral part of securing climate action and justice. The total number of climate change court cases worldwide has more than doubled since 2017, according to the report prepared by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.”

            For the first time, COP28 will explore ways to provide relief to those affected.


            With increased climate change-related natural calamities, increased disease, and litigation by a new generation, it is clear that the world needs to decarbonize rapidly while continuing to progress economically. The energy needed for day-to-day life, supporting new technologies, must remain affordable but cleaner.

            Artist Selva Ozelli --who is also the author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally -, draws attention to the fact that

            “the ocean generates 50 percent of the oxygen we need, absorbs 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, and captures 90 percent of the excess heat generated by these emissions. We need to protect and manage our Oceans, Wetlands biodiversity hotspots, and natural carbon sinks.”

            COP28 Presidency, High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (HLP), UN High-level Climate Champions, and Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action will cast a spotlight on the Ocean and put forth country commitments towards the 100% Sustainable Ocean Management goal and showcase tangible actions supporting the implementation of the Ocean Breakthrough.

            Ilhan Sayin artwork
            Our world's climate and its biodiversity are inextricably interconnected. Climate change creates severe pressure and risks for the food, agricultural, and water systems that ensure human well-being.

            Artist Ilhan Sayin, with his work, draws attention to

            “the landmark win for nature, a 30 x 30 biodiversity goal was adopted by world leaders at the CBD COP15 – to protect at least 30 percent of the planet's land and water by 2030.”

            COP28 will focus on delivering climate and nature co-benefits through various financing mechanisms and packages to accelerate private sector commitments to nature-positive accountability frameworks.

            ]]>             AI Climate Solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/ai-climate-solutions https://sdgtalks.ai/ai-climate-solutions Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:42:02 -0500 etwani AI solutions Tomato growers in central India have been increasingly worried about the volatility that extreme weather events have brought to the region. For much of the area, the last decade has been punctuated by severe droughts that led to significant crop loss, impacting the livelihoods of local farmers.

            On the other side of the world, Silicon Valley startup ClimateAi is developing an artificial intelligence platform to evaluate how vulnerable crops are to warming temperatures over the next two decades. The tool uses data on the climate, water and soil of a particular location to measure how viable the landscape will be for growing in the coming years.

            Maharashtra, India, was one of its first case studies in 2021. Farmers could go into the ClimateAi app and input what seed they were growing and where they wanted to plant it.

            With that data, ClimateAi ran simulations and found that extreme heat and drought would lead to an approximately 30% decrease in tomato output in the region over the next two decades. It warned growers that they should change their strategy.

            The results proved pivotal — tomato producers adjusted their business plans by switching to more climate-resilient seed varieties and shifting the times they plant tomato seeds. Finding new growing locations usually takes a while for farmers affected by climate change, but “now it can happen in a matter of minutes, and it also saves them a lot of cost,” according to Himanshu Gupta, who grew up in India and is the CEO and co-founder of ClimateAi.

            “The way we think about AI is it’s a time and effectiveness multiplier to the solutions for climate change,” Gupta told CNN.

            Better assessing future risks for farming is just one of the ways artificial intelligence technologies are being used to address the climate crisis.

            AI first crashed into the public consciousness this year thanks to popular, consumer-facing AI tools like ChatGPT, and experts say the technology is set to revolutionize countless industries. But climate researchers have for years been thinking about how AI — computer programs that can rapidly analyze enormous amounts of data and complete complex tasks in ways similar to how a human might — could help them better understand and address the changing climate.

            Now, experts say AI is poised to accelerate everything from reducing pollution to improving weather models.

            “Efficiencies is one thing that AI is very good at, optimizing decisions, optimizing resources,” said Fengqi You, chair professor at Cornell University’s engineering school. “It’s a system that has very strong predictive capabilities that could be tremendously helpful in many domains, ranging from (understanding) small-scale molecules … to broader climate systems to help us fight climate change.”

            With the breakneck pace at which the planet has been warming, accelerating the speed at which the world deploys and implements solutions is crucial. But for all of AI’s promise, the infrastructure that supports the technology — data centers filled with rows of powerful, energy-sucking computers — could itself be a strain on the environment. Experts say software engineers must work closely with climate scientists to find a balance.

            “It’s definitely something that has to be considered as this trade-off,” said Kara Lamb, an associate research scientist at Columbia University’s earth and environmental engineering department. Still, “the positives outweigh the negatives in terms of applying it to these types of approaches.”

            An artificial intelligence platform developed by ClimateAi is helping tomato growers in India adapt to extreme weather.

            Technology that speeds up discovery

            Artificial intelligence is a broad term that refers to various digital tools trained to perform a wide range of complex tasks that might previously have required input from an actual person. Generally, what these technologies have in common is their ability to rapidly process and find connections among vast amounts of disparate data.

            This makes AI particularly good at things like forecasting and running simulations. And unlike traditional computer programs, AI tools can typically continue learning over time as new data is available or as the systems receive new feedback about the quality of their outputs.

            While scientific discovery used to be reliant on humans’ ability to gather, observe and analyze evidence, computers can now process large datasets, identify patterns and run digital experiments in a fraction of the time that human researchers would need.

            “For the climate models, fundamentally we’re trying to solve these equations … how these atmosphere models are interacting, and it takes a long time to solve,” You said. Similarly, research on new energy conduction materials, like those for solar panels, could require countless hours of testing that can now be sped up using AI.

            “In the past, people used to need trial and error, we’d need … researchers working every day and night,” You said. “Now, because of AI, which doesn’t need to sleep, it just needs electric power, it could keep working 24/7 and it can become very helpful in accelerating discovery.”

            AI probably won’t replace the need for humans in the climate change fight. But it could make their work faster and more effective.

            Researchers seeking to restore coastlines by replanting seagrass, for example, are using AI to model the best locations to target those replanting efforts, said Dan Keeler, chief communication officer at impact investing firm Newday, which is involved in charitable efforts to support the coastal restoration.

            An AI algorithm trained to address the issue could take into consideration everything from toxins in the water or disruptive shipping routes to how replanting efforts could impact nearby sea life or even coastal tourism.

            “It’s very difficult to put all those together into a single model with conventional methods, but AI actually makes that much more possible,” Keeler said.

            AI ‘doing the dirty work’ in climate research

            The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, scientists have found. Rising temperatures are melting sea ice, thawing permafrost and igniting wildfires in what should be one of the coldest regions on Earth.

            Climate experts have said what happens in the Arctic is a bellwether for the rest of the world. But climate models – which scientists use to predict long-term change – are not capturing how fast it’s warming.

            With the help of AI, Anna Liljedahl, a scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, can make permafrost forecasts on a seasonal timescale, instead of on the typical 100-year timescale, giving her and other researchers a better picture of how fast the Arctic is melting.

            “AI is doing the dirty work,” Liljedahl told CNN. “But AI is not perfect, so we see it as a first tool, and then the human will come in after and really check and make sure that things make sense and explore the things that AI suggested.”

            The technology can also be used for solutions. A 2019 Google DeepMind project trained an AI model on weather forecasts and historical wind turbine data to predict the availability of wind power, helping to increase the value of the renewable energy source for wind farmers. AI can also help predict when and where energy demand is going to be highest, allowing grid operators to “make sure they have power online, ready to supply demand, and also that they don’t have power that’s just being produced and it’s going to be consumed, because that’s obviously a tremendous waste,” said Keeler.

            Artificial intelligence can be used to help better predict the supply and demand for renewable energy sources.

            ClimateAi’s Gupta said the problem is figuring out how to integrate renewable capacity into the existing fossil fuel-dominated grid. AI can identify in real-time which renewable energy sources are available in the areas where consumers want it — optimizing consumer demand and supply for renewables.

            Elsewhere, AI is also being used to research materials that could effectively recapture carbon from the atmosphere and to model and forecast major floods to help local government agencies better prepare for and react to potential emergencies.

            The Cool Down, a media company aiming to help consumers better understand the climate crisis and potential solutions, is set to launch an AI tool early next year that will answer user questions about how to live a more sustainable lifestyle, according to Anna Robertson, co-founder and head of content and partnerships. The tool will use data from its site about what kinds of climate information consumers are most curious about to direct users to information, including answering questions like, “What can I do with my old jeans?” or “I want to switch my laundry detergent, where should I start?”

            “Part of the problem is that the issue itself has become so overwhelming and mostly dominated by doom and gloom and not the solutions we have at our fingertips,” Robertson told CNN. “We want to make it easier for people to make better choices.”

            Finding the right balance

            There’s a downside to all this computational power: Running artificial intelligence models is energy-intensive, and many data centers are operated in areas that are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, Cornell’s You said. Data centers also typically require water for cooling — a dwindling resource in some places where this computing is being done, including the American West.

            For now, the amount of energy used to power AI is relatively small compared to what’s consumed by transportation or buildings. “But this is going to grow very fast, and we do need to be very careful at this moment before it grows exponentially,” You said.

            An October study from Dutch researcher Alex de Vries estimated that the “worst-case scenario” suggests Google’s AI systems could eventually consume as much electricity as the country of Ireland each year, assuming a full-scale adoption of AI in their current hardware and software. Developers should be advised “not only to focus on optimizing AI, but also to critically consider the necessity of using AI in the first place, as it is unlikely that all applications will benefit from AI or that the benefits will always outweigh the costs,” the study concludes.

            Data center operators like Google are already thinking about how to reduce the resources needed to power the computing behind their AI models.

            Some data center operators are already beginning to address these concerns.

            Amazon Web Services, the online shopping giant’s cloud computing arm, has pledged to be “water positive” by 2030, meaning the company will “return more water to the communities in which we have our data center infrastructure than we take,” CEO Adam Selipsky told CNN in an October interview.

            In Oregon, for example, where drought has tightened its grip in recent years, AWS is providing the spent water used for cooling its data centers to local farmers for irrigation at no cost.

            The companies building and running data centers to carry out AI workloads can also think about strategically placing them in areas where they might require fewer natural resources to operate, You said. If data centers are built in colder parts of the world, for example, less water will be needed for cooling; Scandanavia has emerged as a popular location for data centers, also bolstered by its relatively robust availability of renewable energy sources.

            Lawmakers in the United States and abroad — who have in recent months increasingly turned their attention to developing guardrails for AI — should consider both the technology’s potential benefits in fighting climate change and its environmental impact when developing regulations, You added.

            “Regulators, decision makers, policymakers really need to think about this when they are looking at the growth of [the AI] industry,” You said. “The growth of the industry is not only about the software, tools and so on, but also how they operate these data centers.”

            Tech experts also caution that AI must be made affordable and accessible for low-income nations, particularly those in the Global South that are on the frontlines of the climate crisis yet contribute the least to global pollution, something Gupta hopes to address as he expands ClimateAi’s resources.

            “When it comes to AI being applied to climate change,” said Gupta, “I think we are just scratching the surface of the potential that exists both in terms of the impact it could create for businesses, but also the impact it could create at the humanity level.”

            This story has been updated to note that Himanshu Gupta is both the CEO and co-founder of ClimateAi.

            Important article to read: AI Climate Solutions.

            https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/26/tech/ai-climate-solutions

            ]]>             Planning for a Future Beyond 1.5°C https://sdgtalks.ai/planning-for-a-future-beyond-15c https://sdgtalks.ai/planning-for-a-future-beyond-15c Fri, 24 Nov 2023 04:49:07 -0500 Lương Anh Hoàn Climate change, SDG, UN, Climate Planning for a Future Beyond 1.5°C

            It is an open secret in climate circles that limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius is no longer possible. As the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai approaches, we must abandon this target, which has become an obstacle to truly innovative action.

            GENEVA – The negotiators and activists preparing to attend the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai are grimly aware that there is no realistic chance of limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels. But what has become an open secret in climate circles must be shared more widely. Paradoxically, it may be the only way to muster the political will needed to eschew incrementalism in favor of disruptive action that is commensurate with the scale of the challenge.

            The official view remains that the 1.5°C target set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement is still achievable, but only if we act decisively and immediately. While that may be true in theory, the necessary reforms are politically painful and therefore almost non-existent. Global coal consumption, for example, climbed to a new all-time high of 8.3 billion tons in 2022. Moreover, Chevron and ExxonMobil recently invested a combined $113 billion in securing additional oil and gas reserves – an unambiguous bet on the long-term profitability of fossil fuels.

            It has become starkly apparent that we are barreling toward global temperatures at least 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This aligns with the International Energy Agency’s recent conclusion that, based on today’s policies, global emissions could push up average temperatures by around 2.4°C this century.

            A future beyond 1.5°C will look very different from our current reality, and every tenth of a degree will have major consequences. At 2°C warming, it is estimated that around 40% of the world’s population will be exposed to severe heatwaves, while up to one-third will experience chronic water scarcity. The human cost, in terms of displacement, lost livelihoods, and early deaths, will be unprecedented, with vulnerable communities, largely in poorer countries, bearing the heaviest burden.

            We must do everything within our power to prevent these outcomes. But, ironically, raising false hopes of achieving the 1.5°C target has become a roadblock to progress on climate action. As NatureFinance highlights in a publication released on the eve of COP28, “Time to Plan for a Future Beyond 1.5 Degrees,” this goal reflects our ambition but, perversely, has embedded the fiction of a “win-win” energy transition, whereby the future world looks much like ours, only without carbon emissions. This narrative, promoted by many political, business, and civil-society leaders, constrains our response, forcing us to act within the confines of conventional wisdom.

            Humans struggle to react to slow-moving crises. Escaping this pattern usually requires a “new truth” to become self-evident, often through a sudden jolt that cements a paradigm shift and broadens the realm of possibility.

            In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, for example, finance ministers and central bank governors abandoned the long-held belief that monetary expansion must be avoided at all costs for fear of inflation; instead, they embraced quantitative easing – in effect, printing money – to stimulate recovery. Similarly, after the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, leading G20 governments renounced their commitment to fiscal probity and adopted costly universal-income payments previously derided as utopian fantasy.

            Pivoting to a “beyond 1.5°C” narrative could provide the jolt necessary to reject a business-as-usual mindset in favor of interventions that break from accepted norms and disrupt the status quo. Consider, for example, the existential issue of food security. Helping vulnerable smallholder farmers shift to regenerative practices might work in a world where warming is limited to 1.5°C. But it could hinder their pivot away from farming methods and livelihoods that will no longer exist if temperatures exceed that target.

            At the same time, global food supply chains may become less important beyond 1.5°C of warming, as producing countries restrict exports and major sovereign importers like China focus on achieving self-sufficiency. Such on-shoring is likely to accelerate investment in capital-intensive food production that is more climate-resilient and less nature-dependent, including vertical farming and lab-grown proteins. Judging by the rollout of renewable-energy technologies, the main challenge may be deploying these resilient food systems at scale in poorer countries.

            The finance sector is also ripe for disruption. Investments must urgently be steered away from carbon-intensive assets. Yet ongoing efforts to factor climate-related risks into asset valuation and allocation have obviously failed. Much bolder action is needed to align financial flows with national and international climate policies and commitments. Central banks and supervisors, for example, must move beyond financial risk and discard their cherished policy independence, which they have previously done in times of crisis. Under such circumstances, regulators could align with national net-zero policy goals and international commitments in imposing mandatory requirements on financial institutions to deliver net-zero, nature-positive portfolios within a certain timeframe.

            Realism about the 1.5°C target is necessary to abandon incremental efforts and begin thinking bigger. Truly innovative climate action is impossible without letting go of this much-hoped-for goal and the comforting vision of an illusory future that accompanied it. While such a pivot would not guarantee success, it could unlock unconventional measures to limit rising temperatures and prepare for a warmer world.

            ]]>             New type of recyclable plastic could help reduce single-use plastic waste https://sdgtalks.ai/new-type-of-recyclable-plastic-could-help-reduce-single-use-plastic-waste https://sdgtalks.ai/new-type-of-recyclable-plastic-could-help-reduce-single-use-plastic-waste Mon, 20 Nov 2023 23:37:15 -0500 judelowe Hundreds of millions of tons of single-use plastic ends up in landfills every year, and even the small percentage of plastic that gets recycled can’t last forever. But our group of materials scientists has developed a new method for creating and deconstructing polymers that could lead to more easily recycled plastics – ones that don’t require you to carefully sort out all your recycling on trash day.

            In the century since their conception, people have come to understand the enormous impacts – beneficial as well as detrimental – plastics have on human lives and the environment. As a group of polymer scientists dedicated to inventing sustainable solutions for real-world problems, we set out to tackle this issue by rethinking the way polymers are designed and making plastics with recyclability built right in.

            Why use plastics, anyway?

            Everyday items including milk jugs, grocery bags, takeout containers and even ropes are made from a class of polymers called polyolefins. Polyolefins make up around half of the plastics produced and disposed of every year.

            These polymers are used in plastics commonly labeled as HDPE, LLDPE or PP, or by their recycling codes #2, #4 and #5, respectively. These plastics are incredibly durable because the chemical bonds that make them up are extremely stable. But in a world set up for single-use consumption, this is no longer a design feature but rather a design flaw.

            Imagine if half of the plastics used today were recyclable by twice as many processes as they are now. While that wouldn’t get the recycling rate to 100%, a jump from single digits – currently around 9% – to double digits would make a big dent in the plastics produced, the plastics accumulated in the environment and their capacity for recycling and reuse.

            Recycling methods we already have

            Even the plastics that make it to a recycling facility can’t be reused in exactly the same way they were used before – the recycling process degrades the material, so it loses utility and value. Instead of making a plastic cup that is downgraded each time it gets recycled, manufacturers could potentially make plastics once, collect them and reuse them on and on.

            Conventional recycling requires careful sorting of all the collected materials, which can be hard with so many different plastics. Here in the U.S., collection happens mainly through single stream recycling – everything from metal cans, glass bottles, cardboard boxes and plastic cups end up in the same bin. Separating paper from metal doesn’t require complex technology, but sorting a polypropylene container from a polyethylene milk jug is hard to do without the occasional mistake.

            Two workers, in bright yellow, stand at a conveyor belt covered in plastics in a recycling facility.
            Recycling workers sort through materials. AP Photo/Mark Gillispie

            When two different plastics are mixed together during recycling, their useful properties are hugely reduced – to the point of making them useless.

            But say you can recycle one of these plastics by a different method, so it doesn’t end up contaminating the recycling stream. When we mixed samples of polypropylene with a polymer we made, we were still able to depolymerize – or break down the material – and regain our building blocks without chemically affecting the polypropylene. This indicated that a contaminated waste stream could still recover its value, and the material in it could go on to be recycled, either mechanically or chemically.

            Plastics we need − but more recyclable

            In a study published in October 2023, our team developed a series of polymers with only two simple building blocks – one soft polymer and one hard polymer – that mimicked polyolefins but could also be chemically recycled.

            Connecting two different polymers together multiple times until they form a single, long molecule creates what’s called a multiblock polymer. Just by adjusting how much of each polymer type goes into the multiblock polymer, our team created a wide range of materials with properties that spanned across polyolefin types. But creating these multiblock polymers is easier said than done.

            To link these hard and soft polymers, we adapted a technique that had previously been used only on very small molecules. This method is improved relative to traditional methods of making polymers in a step-by-step fashion, developed in the 1920s, where the reactive groups on the end of the molecules need to be exactly matched.

            In our method, the reactive groups are now the same as each other, meaning we didn’t have to worry about pairing the ends of each building block to make polymers that can compete with the polyolefins we already use. Using the same strategy, applied in reverse by adding hydrogen, we could disconnect the polymers back into their building blocks and easily separate them to use again.

            A graph showing a steady increase in single-use plastic use across all plastic types shown, from X to projected in 2050.
            Realized and predicted production of commodity plastics through 2050. International Energy Agency

            With an almost twofold increase in annual plastic use projected through 2050, the complexity and quantity of plastic recycling will only increase. It’s an important consideration when designing new materials and products.

            Using just two building blocks to make plastics that have a huge variety of properties can go a long way toward reducing and streamlining the number of different plastics used to make the products we need. Instead of needing one plastic to make something pliable, another for something stiff, and a third, fourth and fifth for properties in between, we could control the behavior of plastics by just changing how much of each building block is there.

            Although we’re still in the process of answering some big questions about these polymers, we believe this work is a step in the right direction toward more sustainable plastics.

            We were able to create materials that mimic the properties of plastics the world relies on, and our sights are now set on creating plastic compositions that you couldn’t with existing methods.

            ]]>             UN&apos;s &quot;global stocktake&quot; on climate change gives scary warning and hope in the little progress https://sdgtalks.ai/uns-global-stocktake-on-climate-change-gives-scary-warning-and-hope-in-the-little-progress https://sdgtalks.ai/uns-global-stocktake-on-climate-change-gives-scary-warning-and-hope-in-the-little-progress Mon, 20 Nov 2023 23:33:11 -0500 judelowe When this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference begins in late November 2023, it will be a moment for course correction. Seven years ago, nearly every country worldwide signed onto the Paris climate agreement. They agreed to goals of limiting global warming – including key targets to be met by 2030, seven years from now.

            A primary aim of this year’s conference, known as COP28, is to evaluate countries’ progress halfway to the 2030 deadlines.

            Reports show that the world isn’t on track. At the same time, energy security concerns and disputes over how to compensate countries for loss and damage from climate change are making agreements on cutting emissions tougher to reach.

            But as energy and environmental policy researchers, we also see signs of progress.

            Global stocktake raises alarms

            A cornerstone of COP28 is the conclusion of the global stocktake, a review underway of the world’s efforts to address climate change. It is designed to pinpoint deficiencies and help countries recalibrate their climate strategies.

            A report on the stocktake so far stressed that while the Paris Agreement has spurred action on climate change around the globe, current policies and promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions still leave the world on a trajectory that falls far short of the agreement’s aim to limit warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) compared with preindustrial temperatures.

            If countries meet their current pledges, the world is likely to warm by about 2.5 C (4.5 F) by the end of this century, the U.N. warned in late November. And countries’ current policies put warming closer to 3 C (5.4 F), the U.N.‘s Emissions Gap Report shows.

            Those temperature difference might seem minor, but the accumulated global benefits of limiting warming to 1.5 C (2.7 F) rather than 2 C (3.6 F) could exceed US$20 trillion.

            A chart shows current trajectories leveling off but still far from the goals, which require a drop in emissions.
            The UN’s 2023 Emissions Gap Report estimates the difference between current national plans and trajectories that would keep global warming under 1.5 C and 2 C compared to pre-industrial times. NDCs are countries’ pledges reduce emissions. UN Environment Program

            Escalating greenhouse gas emissions are the primary factor driving the rise in global temperatures. Fossil fuels account for over three-quarters of those emissions, and data show governments worldwide plan to produce twice as much fossil fuel in 2030 than would be allowed under a 1.5 C warming pathway.

            To avoid overshooting 1.5 C of warming, global greenhouse gas emissions will have to fall by about 45% by 2030, compared with 2010 levels, and reach net zero around 2050, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

            But emissions aren’t falling. They rose in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The global average temperature briefly breached the 1.5 C warming limit in March and June 2023.

            A line chart of daily temperatures since 1940, by month. 2023 veers sharply upward around May, reaching above the line showing a 1.5 C increase.
            A line chart of daily temperatures since 1940, by month, shows how extreme 2023’s temperatures have been. Years before 2014 are in gray. European Union Earth Observation Program

            The global stocktake unambiguously states that, to meet the Paris targets, countries must collectively be more ambitious in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. That includes rapidly reducing carbon emissions from all economic sectors. It means accelerating adoption of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, implementing more stringent measures to stop and reverse deforestation, and deploying clean technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles on a wide scale.

            The significance of phasing out fossil fuels

            The report underscores one point repeatedly: the pressing need to “phase out all unabated fossil fuels.”

            Fossil fuels currently make up 80% of the world’s total energy consumption. Their use in 2022 resulted in an all-time high of 36.8 gigatons of CO2 from both energy combustion and industrial activities.

            Despite the risks of climate change, countries still provide huge subsidies to the oil, coal and gas industries. In all, they provided about US$1.3 trillion in explicit subsidies for fossil fuels in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund’s calculations. China, the U.S., Russia, the European Union and India are the largest subsidizers, and these subsidies sharply increased after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 disrupted energy markets.

            U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed the importance of transitioning away from fossil fuels, criticizing the extensive profits made by “entrenched interests” in the fossil fuel sector.

            African countries also made their view of subsidies clear in the “Nairobi Declaration” at the first Africa Climate Summit in 2023, where leaders called for the elimination of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and endorsed the idea of a global carbon tax on fossil fuel trade.

            The global stocktake highlights the significance of eradicating fossil fuel subsidies to eliminate economic roadblocks that hinder the shift to greener energy sources. However, it’s important to note that the report uses the phrase “unabated fossil fuels.” The word “unabated” has been contentious. It allows room for continued use of fossil fuels, as long as technologies such as carbon capture and storage prevent emissions from entering the atmosphere. But those technologies aren’t yet operating on a wide scale.

            Solutions for an equitable transition

            Several initiatives have been launched recently to expedite the move away from fossil fuels.

            In July 2023, Canada unveiled a strategy to terminate inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, becoming the first G20 nation to pledge a halt to government support for oil and natural gas, with some exceptions.

            The European Union is broadening its carbon market to include emissions from buildings and transport, targeting decarbonization across more sectors. Concurrently, the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act commits US$10 billion to clean energy projects and offers $4 billion in tax credits to communities economically affected by the coal industry’s decline.

            To help low-income countries build sustainable energy infrastructure, a relatively new financing mechanism called Just Energy Transition Partnerships is gaining interest. It aims to facilitate cooperation, with a group of developed countries helping phase out coal in developing economies that are still reliant on fossil fuels.

            South Africa, Indonesia, Senegal and Vietnam have benefited from these partnerships since the first was launched in 2021. The European Union, for instance, has pledged to support Senegal’s shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This includes managing the economic fallout, such as potential job losses, from shutting down fossil fuel power plants, while ensuring electricity remains affordable and more widely available.

            Three men with miners' hats with lights on them and reflective jackets sit in a bus headed for a mine.
            A just transition takes into account a future for coal miners, like these men headed for a South African coal mine. Luca Sola/AFP via Getty Images

            By COP28, a comprehensive plan to help Senegal aim for a sustainable, low-emissions future should be in place. France, Germany, Canada and various multilateral development banks have promised to provide 2.5 billion Euros (about US$2.68 billion) to increase Senegal’s renewable energy output. The goal is for renewables to account for 40% of Senegal’s energy use by 2030.

            To align with the Paris Agreement objectives, we believe global initiatives to reduce fossil fuel dependency and invest in developing nations’ sustainable energy transition are essential. Such endeavors not only champion reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also ensure economic growth in an environmentally conscious manner.

            ]]>             Animals are changing their behaviors due climate change https://sdgtalks.ai/animals-are-changing-their-behaviors-due-climate-change https://sdgtalks.ai/animals-are-changing-their-behaviors-due-climate-change Mon, 20 Nov 2023 23:21:05 -0500 judelowe Human-driven climate change is increasingly shaping the Earth’s living environments. Rising temperatures, rapid shifts in rainfall and seasonality, and ocean acidification are presenting altered environments to many animal species. How do animals adjust to these new, often extreme, conditions?

            Animal nervous systems play a central role in both enabling and limiting how they respond to changing climates. Two of my main research interests as a biologist and neuroscientist involve understanding how animals accommodate temperature extremes and identifying the forces that shape the structure and function of animal nervous systems, especially brains. The intersection of these interests led me to explore the effects of climate on nervous systems and how animals will likely respond to rapidly shifting environments.

            All major functions of the nervous system – sense detection, mental processing and behavior direction – are critical. They allow animals to navigate their environments in ways that enable their survival and reproduction. Climate change will likely affect these functions, often for the worse.

            Shifting sensory environments

            Changing temperatures shift the energy balance of ecosystems – from plants that produce energy from sunlight to the animals that consume plants and other animals – subsequently altering the sensory worlds that animals experience. It is likely that climate change will challenge all of their senses, from sight and taste to smell and touch.

            Animals like mammals perceive temperature in part with special receptor proteins in their nervous systems that respond to heat and cold, discriminating between moderate and extreme temperatures. These receptor proteins help animals seek appropriate habitats and may play a critical role in how animals respond to changing temperatures.

            Climate change disrupts the environmental cues animals rely on to solve problems like selecting a habitat, finding food and choosing mates. Some animals, such as mosquitoes that transmit parasites and pathogens, rely on temperature gradients to orient themselves to their environment. Temperature shifts are altering where and when mosquitoes search for hosts, leading to changes in disease transmission.

            How climate change affects the chemical signals animals use to communicate with each other or harm competitors can be especially complex because chemical compounds are highly sensitive to temperature.

            Formerly reliable sources of information like seasonal changes in daylight can lose its utility as they become uncoupled. This could cause a breakdown in the link between day length and plant flowering and fruiting, and interruptions to animal behavior like hibernation and migration when day length no longer predicts resource availability.

            Changing brains and cognition

            Rising temperatures may disrupt how animal brains develop and function, with potentially negative effects on their ability to effectively adapt to their new environments.

            Researchers have documented how temperature extremes can alter individual neurons at the genetic and structural levels, as well as how the brain is organized as a whole.

            In marine environments, researchers have found that climate-induced changes of water chemistry like ocean acidification can affect animals’ general cognitive performance and sensory abilities, such as odor tracking in reef fish and sharks.

            Behavior disruptions

            Animals may respond to climate adversity by shifting locations, from changing the microhabitats they use to altering their geographic ranges.

            Activity can also shift to different periods of the day or to new seasons. These behavioral responses can have major implications for the environmental stimuli animals will be exposed to.

            Green snake slithering out of a nest after eating a bird
            Shifting climates are driving some snake species into forested habitats, and the subsequent increased predation on nesting birds may push above sustainable levels. Rapeepong Puttakumwong/Moment via Getty Images

            For example, fish in warming seas have shifted to cooler, deeper waters that have dramatically different light intensity and color range than their visual systems are used to. Furthermore, because not all species will shift their behaviors in the same way, species that do move to a new habitat, time of day or season will confront new ones, including food plants and prey animals, competitors and predators, and pathogens.

            Behavioral shifts driven by climate change will restructure ecosystems worldwide, with complex and unpredictable outcomes.

            Plasticity and evolution

            Animal brains are remarkably flexible, developed to match individual environmental experience. They’re even substantially capable of changing in adulthood.

            But studies comparing species have seen strong environmental effects on brain evolution. Animal nervous systems evolve to match the sensory environments of each species’ activity space. These patterns suggest that new climate regimes will eventually shape nervous systems by forcing them to evolve.

            When genetics have strong effects on brain development, nervous systems that are finely adapted to the local environment may lose their adaptive edge with climate change. This may pave the way for new adaptive solutions. As the range and significance of sensory stimuli and seasonal cues shift, natural selection will favor those with new sensory or cognitive abilities.

            Some parts of the nervous system are constrained by genetic adaptations while others are more plastic and responsive to environmental conditions. A greater understanding of how animal nervous systems adapt to rapidly changing environments will help predict how all species will be affected by climate change.

            ]]>             Homeless people in America, land of the not so free https://sdgtalks.ai/homeless-people-in-america-land-of-the-not-so-free https://sdgtalks.ai/homeless-people-in-america-land-of-the-not-so-free Mon, 20 Nov 2023 11:50:02 -0500 judelowe Homelessness is a state of deprivation. Those who are homeless need shelter to be safe; they don’t have it. They need a toilet for basic bodily functions; they don’t have one. They need a shower to keep clean; they don’t have that, either.

            Because such deprivation dramatically affects the well-being of people who are homeless, public discussion of homelessness tends to focus on whether and to what extent the government should carry out anti-homelessness policy as a way of improving people’s overall quality of life.

            Some philosophers have argued that while homelessness is clearly a state of deprivation, it is also a condition in which a person’s freedom is profoundly compromised.

            These theorists insist a society that cherishes freedom – such as the U.S. – must implement anti-homelessness policy as a way of liberating people who lack housing.

            Because the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise at a record rate, these academic ideas have become increasingly relevant to the real world. I am a philosopher interested in exploring the moral dimensions of homelessness, as well as shining a light on underdiscussed aspects of it. I believe that public debate would benefit greatly from increased attention to the ways homelessness limits Americans’ freedom.

            Freedom to be somewhere

            Since homelessness is usually discussed in terms of deprivation, the claim that homelessness has much to do with freedom can seem surprising.

            Freedom is commonly understood as the ability to do what one chooses without being interfered with. My freedom is limited if you lock me in a cell or place a boulder on the street I want to drive down.

            Homelessness, on the other hand, seems at first glance like a condition in which a person is mostly able to do as they choose, albeit without important resources that would make their life better.

            Police standing next to a chain-link fence around a park with tents in it.
            Los Angeles Police officers stand by a newly installed fence after moving on March 26, 2021, to evict residents of a large homeless encampment in Echo Park. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

            The philosopher and legal theorist Jeremy Waldron sees things differently. Waldron says that private property often serves to interfere with people’s choices. If a person wants to walk in New York City from midtown Manhattan to Harlem, others’ property interferes with their ability to choose the most direct route. If a person wants to see a particular Andy Warhol painting, the fact that it is kept at a private residence interferes with their ability to choose to view it.

            In itself, this isn’t a problem, as no one should be free to go anywhere and do anything they want. The trouble, says Waldron, comes when a person who is homeless does not have private property that they are able to occupy, free from interference. In such instances, the person will be confined to public spaces, such as sidewalks and parks.

            But public spaces themselves are highly regulated through local ordinances, limiting who may use them and for what purposes.

            A person who is homeless and sleeps on a public bench will often be told by the police to move. Someone who sets up a tent on a sidewalk will usually have it confiscated. Someone who urinates or defecates in a park can be arrested.

            Now you can see why some think that homelessness compromises a person’s freedom. Sleeping and relieving oneself are necessary, life-sustaining tasks.

            But as Waldron points out, “Everything that is done has to be done somewhere. No one is free to perform an action unless there is somewhere he is free to perform it.”

            Given the way society protects private property and regulates public spaces, it seems that people who are homeless are left with no space at all in which they are free to do the things they need to do in order to live. This is about as severe an infringement on freedom as you can imagine, and Waldron’s point is that a society that loves freedom simply cannot tolerate it.

            Anti-homelessness is not just about benevolence and generosity, then. It is about protecting liberty.

            A dark-haired man sleeping in a red sleeping bag on a sidewalk.
            A homeless man sleeps on a sidewalk on June 6, 2023, in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

            Freedom from others

            Of course, people who are homeless do sleep and relieve themselves. So, in what sense do they actually lack the freedom to do so?

            The political philosopher Christopher Essert argues that Waldron’s analysis should be taken one step further by considering its implications for interpersonal relations.

            Since a person who is homeless has nowhere to freely perform life-sustaining tasks, typically they will either seek permission from someone to use their property, use the property and hope to not be noticed or, at worst, seek forgiveness. Either way, they depend upon the grace of another in order to do the things they need to do.

            This puts people who are homeless at the mercy of those who have property.

            Whether a homeless person has a place to sleep or whether they are arrested for sleeping somewhere without permission is completely determined by the wishes of others. Keesha might sleep on Felix’s couch for a few nights. But as soon as Felix is in a bad mood, he can throw her out. Or Felix might make access to his couch conditional upon her attending church services, supporting his preferred political candidate or performing sexual acts. What she does and does not do is now up to Felix.

            Essert connects this set of observations to what is called a “republican” conception of freedom. This way of understanding freedom is less about whether a person is actually interfered with and more about the way they are placed under the arbitrary power of another.

            The intuitive idea is that if someone else always has the power to determine your choices, then you aren’t free. Since a homeless person is always on property over which someone else has authority, they are always, writes Essert, “under the power of others, dependent on them, dominated by them, unfree.”

            In the U.S. especially, arguments that appeal to freedom are taken very seriously. Even those who insist that it is not the government’s job to ensure everyone a good quality of life believe that it must ensure freedom. Even those whose ears close when they hear calls for charity and beneficence seem to pay attention when freedom is at stake.

            By proposing this way of seeing the life of someone who is homeless, then, philosophers have raised the possibility that allowing homelessness to persist contradicts values that are, at heart, fundamentally American.

            ]]>             Mexico&apos;s poverty rate declines from 50% to 43.5% in four years as remittances almost double https://sdgtalks.ai/mexicos-poverty-rate-declines-from-50-to-435-in-four-years-as-remittances-almost-double https://sdgtalks.ai/mexicos-poverty-rate-declines-from-50-to-435-in-four-years-as-remittances-almost-double Thu, 16 Nov 2023 23:06:50 -0500 ahopper@mines.edu The poverty rate in Mexico has declined from 49.9% of the population in 2018 to 43.5% in 2022, according to a study published Thursday by the country’s poverty analysis agency.

            The study by the agency, known as Coneval, showed a decline in a key measure of poverty over the four-year period. The reduction means there were 5.7 million fewer people who reported incomes below the market basket for basics like food and clothing.

            It was unclear what was behind the reduction in poverty.

            President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018, and since then has more than doubled the country’s minimum wage. The minimum wage was equivalent to about $4.50 per day in 2018, and now buys about $12, in part due to the appreciation of the Mexican peso against the dollar.

            But remittances — the money sent home by Mexicans working abroad — have also almost doubled in the same period, going from around $33.5 billion in 2018 to an annual rate of about $60 billion in 2023, based on numbers for the first half of the year.

            Experts say most remittances go to some of the poorest families in Mexico, and the money is mainly used to help them get by.

            It was not all good news. The agency also reported that extreme poverty — defined as people who do not have enough income even to buy enough food — edged up from 7% of the population in 2018 to 7.1% in 2022. Because of the increase in overall population, that meant that extreme poverty cases rose from 8.7 million people in 2018 to 9.1 million in 2022.

            López Obrador also introduced supplementary pension payments for people over 65 and scholarship or apprenticeship programs for youths. But because those programs are not means-tested — they are given to anyone who qualifies, regardless of income level — it is not clear whether they have particularly helped the poorest Mexicans.

            There was also a surprising increase in the number of people reporting money problems relating to health care. That number rose from 16.2% of the population in 2018 to 39.1% in 2022. The agency said in a previous report on the growth of that number in 2020 that the increase may be due to the widespread restructuring of the health care system under López Obrador, and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

            During the pandemic, many Mexicans had to seek treatment at private hospitals and clinics because government-run hospitals were full.

            As has long been the case, the north of Mexico was generally less poor, while the southern states of Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala were the poorest. The first three states have very high Indigenous populations.

            ]]>             Haiti Bans Charter Flights to Nicaragua in Blow to Migrants Fleeing Poverty and Violence https://sdgtalks.ai/haiti-bans-charter-flights-to-nicaragua-in-blow-to-migrants-fleeing-poverty-and-violence https://sdgtalks.ai/haiti-bans-charter-flights-to-nicaragua-in-blow-to-migrants-fleeing-poverty-and-violence Thu, 16 Nov 2023 22:38:34 -0500 ahopper@mines.edu

            Haiti Bans Charter Flights to Nicaragua in

            Blow to Migrants Fleeing Poverty and Violence

            Haiti’s government has banned all charter flights to Nicaragua that migrants fleeing poverty and violence had been increasingly using in their quest to reach the United States

            PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti's government has banned all charter flights to Nicaragua that migrants fleeing poverty and violence had been increasingly using in their quest to reach the United States, according to a bulletin issued Monday that The Associated Press obtained.

            Haiti’s government did not provide an explanation for the decision in its bulletin, which was first reported by The Miami Herald. Civil aviation authorities in Haiti did not respond to a message seeking comment.

            The move left a couple of thousand angry and bewildered travelers stranded in a parking lot facing Haiti's main international airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince surrounded by their luggage, with some holding babies.

            “I have to seek a better life elsewhere because Haiti doesn’t offer my generation anything," said 29-year-old Jean-Marc Antoine. "It’s either hold a gun and be involved with a gang, be killed, or leave the country.”

            His brother in Chile had loaned him $4,000 for the plane ticket, and like many of the stranded people, he fretted about whether he would get his money back.

            Nearby, Marie-Ange Solomon, 58, said she had been calling the charter company repeatedly to no avail. She had paid $7,000 total to leave Haiti with her son.

            “After gathering money to get me and my son out of this fragile country, now all of a sudden they stop everything,” she said. “I thought I was going to be freed today.”

            Solomon kept an eye on their bags as her 28-year-old son ran to the airport repeatedly in case someone called their names.

            More than 260 flights departing Haiti and believed to have carried up to 31,000 migrantshave landed in the Central American country of Nicaragua since early August as Haiti’s crisis deepens, with gangs estimated to now control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince. The number of migrants represent nearly 60% of all U.S.-Mexico border Haitian arrivals, said Manuel Orozco, director of the migration, remittances and development program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

            Experts have said that seats on charter flights to Nicaragua can range from $3,000 to $5,000, with Nicaragua a popular destination because it does not require visas for certain migrants.

            “The magnitude of the flights are just completely unusual ... and it represents a security risk,” Orozco said in a phone interview.

            He questioned whether the suspension of the charter flights was prompted by outside pressure, adding that he did not know if the U.S. government was involved.

            Orozco noted that there were no charter flights from Port-au-Prince to Nicaragua last January and that the three daily flights that began in late July had grown to 11 flights a day.

            Nicaragua Vice President Rosario Murrillo did not respond to a request for comment on the change in Haitian policy. Some Nicaraguans had benefitted from the influx of migrants, offering them guide services to Honduras.

            The suspension of charter flights could prompt Haitian migrants to seek other ways to flee their country, he said.

            “I think Dominicans will probably at this point organize themselves or cross their fingers that there is not a cross-over," Orozco said.

            The two countries share the island of Hispaniola, but are now in a dispute over construction of a canal in Haiti that would divert water from a river that runs along the border. Dominican President Luis Abinader announced last month that his government would stop issuing visas to Haitians and he closed the border to all Haitians seeking to cross for work, education, medical issues or other purposes.

            With another migration route popular with Haitians closing on Monday, frustration began to build among the stranded Haitians at the airport.

            “Can you imagine that I spent all this money? I sold everything that I had,” Jean Erode Louis-Saint, 25, whose flight was scheduled for mid-afternoon Monday but never received a boarding pass. “I cannot stay in this country because of the lack of security. Gangs are everywhere.”

            He used to work along the border that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic exchanging currencies, but has struggled to find another job.

            “I cannot do anything in Haiti anymore,” he said as he stood with a backpack on his back surrounded by thousands of others.

            Many were reluctant to leave in case there was a sudden change in plans, but by late afternoon, the crowd began to thin out.

            Among them was 35-year-old Saint-Ville Etienne, a civil engineer who was hoping for a better life so he could care for the 14-year-old son he would have left behind.

            “Haiti is in a state of war among its own people,” he said. “I don’t know why they are fighting. It’s only causing everybody to leave the country.”

            Oct. 30, 2023, at 4:48 p.m.

            ]]>             The Toll of Climate Disasters is Rising. But a U.S. Report Has Good News, Too. https://sdgtalks.ai/the-toll-of-climate-disasters-is-rising-but-a-us-report-has-good-news-too https://sdgtalks.ai/the-toll-of-climate-disasters-is-rising-but-a-us-report-has-good-news-too Thu, 16 Nov 2023 22:07:31 -0500 ahopper@mines.edu

            A major government assessment lays out both the far-reaching perils of global warming and the cost-effective fixes that are available today.

            The food we eat and the roads we drive on. Our health and safety. Our cultural heritage, natural environments and economic flourishing. Nearly every cherished aspect of American life is under growing threat from climate change and it is effectively too late to prevent many of the harms from worsening over the next decade, a major report from the federal government has concluded.

            Global warming caused by human activities — mostly the burning of oil, gas and coal — is raising average temperatures in the United States more quickly than it is across the rest of the planet. The report issued Tuesday, the National Climate Assessment, is the government’s premier compilation of scientific knowledge on what this means for the country and how Americans are responding.

            “Too many people still think of climate change as an issue that’s distant from us in space or time or relevance,” said Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University who contributed to the report. The new assessment, the fifth of its kind, shows “how climate change is affecting us here, in the places where we live, both now and in the future,” she said.

            The Health Effects
            The 8th update to a major international report shows more people are getting sick and dying from extreme heat, drought and other climate problems.

            Human-driven warming is intensifying wildfires in the West, droughts in the Great Plains and heat waves coast to coast. It is causing hurricanes to strengthen more quickly in the Atlantic and loading storms of all kinds with more rain. So far this year, the nation has experienced a record 25 billion-dollar weather disasters, many of them exacerbated by the hotter climate.

            “We’re sharing this report in detail with the American people so they know exactly what you’re facing,” said Mr. Biden, who sought to draw a distinction with his predecessor and likely challenger in the 2024 presidential election, Donald J. Trump.

            In 2018, the Trump administration published the fourth National Climate Assessment on the day after Thanksgiving, with several officials acknowledging at the time that they hoped it would not receive much attention. Mr. Trump later disbanded a federal advisory committee that was charged with translating the report into guidance for local governments and private companies.

            By contrast, Mr. Biden said Tuesday that along with the report, his administration created an online tool to enable people to see the impacts of climate change in their city and state.

            Mr. Biden also announced the allocation of about $6 billion to strengthen the electric grid, help deploy carbon-free energy and protect communities from the impacts of climate change and improve water reliability in Western states. “We need to do more and move faster,” he added.

            The report issued Tuesday points out that cost-effective tools and technologies to significantly reduce America’s contribution to global warming already exist. U.S. emissions of heat-trapping gases fell by 12 percent between 2005 and 2019 as the country has shifted from coal toward natural gas and renewable sources. And options are increasing for electrifying energy use, reducing energy demand and protecting natural carbon sinks like forests and wetlands, the report says.

            How Electrifying Everything Became a Key Climate Solution

            Even so, the United States and other industrialized countries are still curbing their emissions so sluggishly that a certain amount of additional greenhouse warming is essentially locked in, forcing societies to learn to live with the effects. On this front, the report concludes that Americans’ efforts have mostly been “incremental” instead of “transformative”: installing air-conditioners rather than redesigning buildings, increasing irrigation rather than reimagining how and where crops are grown, elevating homes rather than directing new development away from floodplains.

            Americans, the report says, need to make deeper changes to the ways they work, manage their environments and move through them to become resilient to the climate conditions that humanity’s past choices have brought about, conditions that Earth has never before experienced while hosting so many members of our species.

            A person standing in a flooded city street, with water up to their knees, probing the water with a long pole.
            Working to clear a drain in floodwaters in Brooklyn after flash flooding from a rush-hour rainstorm in September.Credit...Jake Offenhartz/Associated Press
            Damage to an apartment after Hurricane Idalia blew through Cedar Key, Fla., in August.
            Credit...Zack Wittman for The New York Times
            More than 750 experts evaluated thousands of academic studies and other types of knowledge to compile the latest National Climate Assessment, which is being issued as world leaders prepare to gather in the United Arab Emirates for annual United Nations climate talks at the end of this month.

            Federal agencies have produced new assessments twice a decade or so since 2000, as mandated by a 1990 law.

            The new report comes as President Biden seeks re-election. While Mr. Biden signed the nation’s first climate law and has proposed regulations to significantly cut emissions from tailpipes and smokestacks, many young voters who are alarmed by global warming are angry about his decision to greenlight new oil drillingin Alaska. Biden administration officials said the assessment’s findings showed how the president’s policies were moving the nation toward a clean-energy future.

            “We’ve got climate solutions that can be made in America and are being made in America, that we’re deploying brick by brick and block by block,” said Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser. “That gives us hope.”

            U.S. Bets on Small Nuclear Reactors to Help Fix a Huge Climate Problem

            Every part of the country is feeling the effects of the warming planet, the report finds. Rising fatalities from extreme heat in the Southwest. Earlier and longer pollen seasons in Texas. Northward expansion of crop pests in the Corn Belt. More damaging hailstorms in Wyoming and Nebraska. Stronger hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Shifting ranges for disease-spreading ticks and mosquitoes in many regions.

            The latest climate assessment is the first to include a dedicated chapter on economics, reflecting scholars’ growing interest in pinning down both the direct costs of climate change and its wider effects on households, businesses and markets, said Solomon M. Hsiang, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, who helped lead the writing of the chapter.

            These effects vary between regions, with hotter ones facing more harm and colder ones potentially benefiting. But the report cites studies showing an overall loss in the nation’s economic well-being. For every 1 degree Fahrenheit that the planet warms, the U.S. economy’s growth each year is 0.13 percentage points slower than it would be otherwise, the report finds, a seemingly small effect that can add up, over decades, to a sizable amount of forgone prosperity.

            Such metrics do not, however, capture the full effects of warming on less-tangible things Americans value, including human health, ecosystems, trades like fishing that are passed down over generations and even recreational activities such as skiing, camping and other outdoor pastimes that wildfire smoke and scorching heat increasingly lace with peril. “Nonmarket effects of climate change in many cases are some of the largest,” Dr. Hsiang said.

            People sleeping on the floor of a large, open room.
            A cooling center at a church in Phoenix in July.Credit...Mario Tama/Getty Images
            An aerial view of a barge on a wide river.
            The receding Mississippi near Cairo, Ill., this month. The river has dropped to historic lows this fall.Credit...Joshua A. Bickel/Associated Press
            Governments do much of the spending to respond and adapt to climate change, and the assessment warns of increased costs of public programs such as disaster aid, wildfire suppression, crop insurance subsidies, endangered species protection and health care. Such expenditures could rise even as climate change undercuts tax revenues by reducing incomes and housing values, the report says. Private insurers are already so tired of losing money in catastrophe-prone places like California that they are restricting coverage or pulling out.

            The assessment finds that efforts to plan for climate threats have expanded in recent years. Around two in five states and 90 percent of U.S.-based companies have assessed their climate risks. Eighteen states have climate adaptation plans; another six are working on theirs.

            So far, though, implementation has been “insufficient,” the report concludes. Funding is a challenge, it says, but so is coordination.

            The assessment cites a few programs in California and Florida that have tried to plan for climate adaptation across city and county lines. Yet when not properly designed and monitored, adaptation efforts can lead to unintended side effects, said Katharine J. Mach, an environmental scientist at the University of Miami who contributed to the report. “In some cases, we may be working well on climate but creating other issues,” she said.

            Disaster relief, for example, goes disproportionately to cities and towns, which could be exacerbating urban-rural disparities, Dr. Mach said. Federal buyouts of homes in vulnerable places have occurred disproportionately in wealthy counties, largely because agencies there can better navigate the bureaucratic requirements.

            The assessment acknowledges America’s progress toward pumping less carbon into the atmosphere but says the country must do more — and much, much faster. Emissions from generating electricity in the United States are down about 40 percent from 2005. Yet emissions from transportation rose by nearly 25 percent between 1990 and 2018, even as vehicles became more energy efficient. The reason? Americans are driving more.


            An aerial view of a tall, white wind turbine with three blades on an open field.
            A wind farm near Mart, Texas.Credit...Mason Trinca for The New York Times
            Achieving the nation’s emissions goals will probably require continued advancement in technologies like hydrogen fuel and carbon dioxide removal, the report says. But it will also involve doing more of the things we can do already, such as generating electricity with clean sources and replacing car engines, furnaces and boilers with electric versions.

            “People sometimes focus so much on the stuff that we don’t know how to do that it paralyzes them in thinking about the options that we have today,” said Steven J. Davis, a professor of earth systems science at the University of California, Irvine, and another author of the report.

            Still, solar and wind facilities will require enormous amounts of land, potentially 3 to 13 percent of the area of the contiguous United States, the report finds. Around 8 million Americans, or 5 percent of the labor force, work in energy-related jobs, many of which are at risk in the shift to renewable sources. The Biden administration’s plans for offshore wind power have run into trouble as rising interest rates, supply chain delays and local opposition stymie projects.

            Dr. Davis expressed optimism that the hurdles could be navigated. The assessment cites analyses showing that clean energy and related industries can create enough jobs to offset declines in fossil-fuel employment. Switching to zero-carbon energy could reduce air pollution enough to prevent 200,000 to 2 million deaths by 2050, the report says.

            “It’s not all bad trade-offs,” Dr. Davis said.

            By Raymond Zhong

            ]]>             A New Era in Breast Cancer Detection: The Ultrasound Bra https://sdgtalks.ai/a-new-era-in-breast-cancer-detection-the-ultrasound-bra https://sdgtalks.ai/a-new-era-in-breast-cancer-detection-the-ultrasound-bra Mon, 13 Nov 2023 22:32:58 -0500 Austin Vanderzyden 1 The Innovation

            The ultrasound bra insert, is a significant advancement in the field of medical technology. It allows the user to move an ultrasound tracker across the bra, checking for tumors. This device is portable, easy to use, and provides real-time monitoring of breast tissue.

            The Inspiration

            The device was inspired by Canan Dagdeviren’s personal experience. Her aunt, Fatma Caliskanoglu, passed away from aggressive breast cancer that developed between routine screenings. Motivated by this tragic loss, Dagdeviren sketched out her idea for the wearable ultrasound bra insert.

            The Impact

            The ultrasound bra has the potential to increase breast cancer survival rates from 95% to 98%. This may seem like a small increase, but it represents hundreds of women like Caliskanoglu—beloved family members whose lives could be saved by early detection.

            The Future

            Similar devices are being developed in Nigeria, Mexico, and Switzerland. As this technology continues to evolve, it holds the promise of transforming the way we detect and treat breast cancer, making early detection more accessible and convenient than ever before.

            ]]>             A Leap Forward in Pacemaker Technology: Self-Charging and Minimally Invasive https://sdgtalks.ai/a-leap-forward-in-pacemaker-technology-self-charging-and-minimally-invasive https://sdgtalks.ai/a-leap-forward-in-pacemaker-technology-self-charging-and-minimally-invasive Mon, 13 Nov 2023 22:29:30 -0500 Austin Vanderzyden 1 Energy Generation

            The pacemaker’s ability to generate energy from the heartbeat is a game-changer. Although the heartbeat currently only generates 10% of the energy needed for the next one, the researchers are optimistic that this figure can be improved. The technology used to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy is similar to that used in experimental electricity-generating roads.

            Size and Placement

            The new device is much smaller than a traditional pacemaker due to its wireless nature. It measures about one-third the size of a AAA battery and resides entirely in the heart’s right ventricle. This minimally invasive approach could potentially reduce the risks associated with pacemaker implantation.

            Future Prospects

            The team, led by Dr. Babak Nazer of the University of Washington in Seattle, hopes to prolong the battery life further and expand access of this product to younger patients. They aim to improve the harvesting efficiency and partner with a major pacemaker company to incorporate their design into an existing leadless pacemaker.

            Conclusion

            This development represents a significant step forward in pacemaker technology. If successful, it could increase the functional life of the pacemaker and reduce the need for multiple implants over a patient’s lifetime. The team’s next step is to design long-term trials with real humans to ensure the device works properly.

            ]]>             A Revolutionary Approach to Allergy Treatment: Peanut Allergy Toothpaste https://sdgtalks.ai/a-revolutionary-approach-to-allergy-treatment-peanut-allergy-toothpaste https://sdgtalks.ai/a-revolutionary-approach-to-allergy-treatment-peanut-allergy-toothpaste Mon, 13 Nov 2023 22:26:58 -0500 Austin Vanderzyden 1 The Science Behind the Toothpaste

            The process, known as Oral Mucosal Immunotherapy (OMIT), was presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in California. OMIT utilizes a specially formulated toothpaste to deliver allergenic peanut proteins to areas of the oral cavity.

            The toothpaste, was created through a solid-state reaction of lanarkite and copper phosphide. The reaction reportedly transformed the mixture into a dark gray, superconductive material.

            Trial Results and Future Implications

            In a small trial, every participant tolerated the highest dose of the peanut toothpaste without any moderate or severe systemic reactions. Some experienced a mild and transient reaction, similar to that which occurs at injection sites when doctors give shots.

            The study included 32 people with peanut allergies aged 18 to 55. They used the toothpaste treatment and a placebo control in a ratio of three to one during the 48-week trial. Participants brushed their teeth with an increasingly strong dose of peanut toothpaste, or a peanut-free product. Safety was monitored throughout, as well as blood tests to check how the person’s immune system is responding to an allergen.

            This new approach to allergy treatment has the potential to revolutionize the field. It offers a simple and targeted delivery mechanism for peanut protein, potentially desensitizing patients to peanuts without requiring dozens of visits to a clinic over a period of years.

            While more testing is needed before the product can be made available to patients, the results of this trial are promising. If successful, this toothpaste could provide a practical and effective solution for those suffering from peanut allergies.

            ]]>             A Revolution in Wind Energy: The Carousel-Style Turbine https://sdgtalks.ai/a-revolution-in-wind-energy-the-carousel-style-turbine https://sdgtalks.ai/a-revolution-in-wind-energy-the-carousel-style-turbine Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:08:27 -0500 Austin Vanderzyden 1 Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire, has recently invested in a novel wind power system developed by Airloom Energy. This investment was part of a $4 million seed funding round led by Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures to scale up this innovative technology.

            Airloom Energy has developed a unique carousel-style wind turbine that is expected to cut the cost of wind energy production in half. Unlike conventional horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) that can reach a height of 500 feet with 180-foot blades rotating on a 300-foot tower, the Airloom system operates differently. It runs 30-foot blades along a lightweight track only 80 feet high, producing the same amount of power as a HAWT at a fraction of the mass and cost.

            The Wyoming-based manufacturer, founded in 2020, is currently operating a 50-kilowatt test device. Future systems are expected to be up to 1,300 feet long and produce hundreds of megawatts for utility-scale wind farms.

            The Airloom system offers cost and environmental advantages throughout its lifecycle. It uses readily sourced materials for rapid manufacturing, and an entire 2.5 MW Airloom could be transported in one standard tractor trailer. It can be configured high or low, short or long, to optimize siting and viewplane, and does not require large concrete foundations in commissioning.

            Carmichael Roberts, of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, believes that Airloom’s unique approach can solve both siting and cost of materials problems, opening new market opportunities for wind energy that will further drive down costs.

            The decrease in overall weight and materials also means greatly reduced landfill impacts at the end of its use. If successful, this novel wind power system could revolutionize the wind energy industry.

            ]]>             A 12-Year-Old’s Innovation in Fire Detection https://sdgtalks.ai/a-12-year-olds-innovation-in-fire-detection https://sdgtalks.ai/a-12-year-olds-innovation-in-fire-detection Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:04:11 -0500 Austin Vanderzyden 1 The Inspiration

            Shanya’s inspiration came from a fire that destroyed a restaurant near her house in the summer of 2022. She noticed that smoke detectors require a significant amount of smoke to trigger, which can sometimes mean a fire has already started and gotten out of control.

            The Invention

            Shanya’s system uses an affordable thermal camera connected to a compact computer. She programmed her system to differentiate between people, identified as warm objects moving horizontally, and heat sources, such as an active gas burner, identified as hot objects that remained stationary. The system sends a text message when it detects a heat source but no human presence for a continuous 10-minute period. Shanya’s system accurately detected human presence 98% of the time and heat sources 97% of the time.

            The Future

            Shanya plans to refine the device by combining it with a smartphone app that will allow users to quickly switch over to a camera after receiving a text message so they can see if the alert is correct. She also plans to incorporate a higher resolution sensor, smarter algorithms, and design the product for mass production.

            This young innovator’s work is a testament to the power of STEM education and the potential of young minds to create solutions for real-world problems.

            ]]>             Male-Killing Virus Is Discovered in Insects https://sdgtalks.ai/male-killing-virus-is-discovered-in-insects https://sdgtalks.ai/male-killing-virus-is-discovered-in-insects Sun, 12 Nov 2023 18:34:45 -0500 ahopper@mines.edu

            Male-Killing Virus Is Discovered in Insects

            The chance finding in a Japanese university’s greenhouse could help researchers find ways to control agricultural pests or even insects that spread disease.

            Scientists in Japan have identified a virus that selectively kills males — and it happens to be inheritable, creating generation upon generation of all females.

            The discovery, made in caterpillars and described Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, is “robust” evidence that “more than one virus has evolved to selectively kill male insects,” said Greg Hurst, a symbiont specialist at the University of Liverpool in England who wasn’t involved in the study. That could one day help control populations of pest insects and disease vectors like mosquitoes.

            “I expect there are a lot more cases like this that will be discovered in the near future,” said Daisuke Kageyama, a researcher at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization in Japan and one of the study’s authors.

            The virus was found by chance. Misato Terao, a research technician at Minami Kyushu University, was straightening up the campus greenhouse when she found unwelcome intruders — fat green caterpillars — nibbling on the impatiens. She scooped them up and, on a whim, dropped them off in the lab of Yoshinori Shintani, an insect physiologist who is Minami Kyushu’s resident bug guy.

            On a hunch, he bred the females from the greenhouse with male tobacco moths he found fluttering around the lights in his own home. The greenhouse moths only had daughters — and so did their daughters, and their daughters’ daughters. Over 13 generations of the moths’ descendants, only three had males.

            Dr. Shintani and his colleague Dr. Kageyama quickly realized they had a “male-killer” on their hands.

            For decades, scientists have known that microbial hitchhikers, usually bacteria, can take up residence in the jellylike cytoplasm of insects’ cells. And through a process that’s not very well understood, those microbes can be passed from mother to offspring.

            Sometimes these microbial symbionts tamper with the host’s reproduction. From the symbiont’s perspective, “males are useless” because they can’t help propagate the microbe, Dr. Kageyama said. So the symbiont simply eliminates them. The bacteria Wolbachia can prevent male butterflies from being born. Other bacteria kill developing males before they hatch, reducing competition for the females and giving them a fortifying snack: the eggs that held their brothers.

            Dr. Shintani’s team found that antibiotics didn’t knock out the male-killing effect in the greenhouse moth’s progeny, so bacteria couldn’t be responsible. Genetic analysis turned up telltale signs of a virus, but unlike any male-killer ever seen before. Only two male-killing viruses have ever been documented; the virus found by the Japanese researchers, which they named SlMKV, seems to have evolved separately.

            To confirm the male-killer was actually infectious and inheritable, Dr. Shintani needed to juice some tobacco moths. He and his team blended the bodies of pupae and adult moths with SlMKV and injected the resulting slurry into the bodies of uninfected pupae and moths. That did the trick — the next generation heavily favored females, and in subsequent generations males vanished altogether.

            Further experiments revealed just how lucky the researchers were to find this male-killer. While cool weather can be lethal to tobacco cutworms, SlMKV is vulnerable to heat, and the researchers found that the virus’s effect was diminished and eventually neutralized at higher temperatures. The tobacco cutworm’s native range is in subtropical parts of China and Taiwan.

            The scientists suspect the balmy climate in the caterpillar’s home acts like a perpetual fever, suppressing the male-killing effect. It was pure chance that Japan’s mild temperatures fell in the “Goldilocks zone” in which SlMKV is active, and that scientists could therefore notice the sex imbalance in the greenhouse.

            Outside experts say the team’s discovery is a sign that viral male-killers are more common than anticipated. And the find could have implications for controlling other important agricultural pests to which the tobacco cutworm is closely related, Dr. Hurst said.

            Anything researchers can learn about male-killers helps advance the quest for the pest controller’s holy grail: a “female-killer,” which could help fight invasive pests or disease-carrying species such as mosquitoes.

            According to Anne Duplouy, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Helsinki who studies microbial symbionts in insects, time is running out for humans to learn from these temperature-sensitive microbes. As the climate changes, she said, “we are likely to be losing many of these interactions” before they can be documented.

            By Elizabeth Anne Brown

            ]]>             Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Falls to a Five-Year Low https://sdgtalks.ai/deforestation-in-the-brazilian-amazon-falls-to-a-five-year-low https://sdgtalks.ai/deforestation-in-the-brazilian-amazon-falls-to-a-five-year-low Sun, 12 Nov 2023 18:19:21 -0500 ahopper@mines.edu

            Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Falls to a Five-Year Low

            Tree loss was down 20 percent from the previous year, the environment minister announced.

            Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil fell to a five-year low, the country’s National Institute of Space Research announced on Thursday, a sign that Brazil, which has the biggest share of tropical forest in the world, was making progress on its pledge to halt all deforestation by the end of the decade.

            The institute reported that 3,500 square miles had been clear-cut between August 2022 and July 2023, a 22.3 percent decrease from the same period a year earlier. The decline in tree loss is estimated to have reduced the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 7.5 percent. Brazil is the world’s sixth largest emitter, by some measures.

            “Behind this was a political decision,” Marina Silva, Brazil’s environment minister, said on Thursday at a news conference. “We are changing the image of the country when we change this reality.”

            The announcement was an encouraging sign that local policies could change the trajectory of global forest loss. The world lost 10.2 million acres of primary forest in 2022, a 10 percent increase from the year before, according to an annual survey by the World Resources Institute. Brazil accounted for more than 40 percent of the destruction recorded.

            Two-thirds of the deforestation happened before Mr. Lula came into office, the government said. Under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, deforestation rates climbed to a 15-year high as Mr. Bolsonaro’s administration loosened environmental protection policies.

            Environmental fines in the Amazon more than doubled under Mr. Lula, the government reported, as his administration sought to rebuild the forest’s protection policies. Almost all of the deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is illegal, mostly the result of land grabbing and farmers’ replacing trees with pasture.

            Brazil isn’t the only country making progress in the region. Colombia, which has a tenth of the Amazon rainforest, announced on Tuesday that deforestation rates there had fallen by 70 percentin the first nine months of the year.

            But El Niño, the climate pattern that has helped cause a historic drought fueling major wildfires in the region, may jeopardize some of the progress in the region, the environment ministers of both countries acknowledged.

            More than a third of fires raging in the Brazilian Amazon are destroying old-growth forests, Ms. Silva said. “It’s a demonstration that the climate change is already impacting the forest,” she added.

            Manuela Andreoni

            By Manuela Andreoni

            Reporting from Rio de Janeiro.

            ]]>             Undervalued and Not Prioritized: Insufficient Funding for Gender Equality https://sdgtalks.ai/fundingsdg5 https://sdgtalks.ai/fundingsdg5 Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:27:13 -0500 Madeline Ley SDG 5; gender equality; sustainable development goals; gender; women; lgbtq; financing; budgets; global; development The undervaluing of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ persons worldwide has translated into a lack of funding for gender equality. Through the adoption of the Sustainable Development Agenda in 2015 by the United Nations (UN) Member States, the international community collectively set a deadline to achieve gender equality, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, by 2030. The world is far off track.

            Funding to promote gender equality is failing to keep up with the increasing global challenges and attacks on women and LGBTQ+ human rights. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated inequalities across all aspects of life. Combined with the climate crisis and political and economic insecurity, progress on SDG 5 has stalled and has begun to backslide. The pandemic significantly challenged the capacity of countries and organizations to address inequalities and grievances experienced by gender minorities. The impacts of the pandemic and the imperfect progress toward gender equality signify that international organizations, foundations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) must collectively commit to increasing investments in transformative, evidence-based programming to reduce gender inequalities.

            Various sources provide funding for gender equality, such as governments through Official Development Assistance (ODA) and gender-focused fiscal policies, international organizations, private foundations, and NGOs. ODA from the members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the primary source of financing for development aid, refers to government aid that targets economic growth and welfare of developing countries. Given the scale of challenges faced by gender minorities, significant funding gaps persist. Some include gender-responsive budgeting, gender equality as a share of ODA, and funding for women’s organizations and movements. Data gaps exist too. UN Women affirms that, globally, data on funding for women and girls is “significantly lacking.” Successful gender financing requires data transparency, achieved by the improvement of data capacity for gender equality stakeholders to collect, analyze, and publish data related to gender financing; the engagement of donors with data users to understand users' needs and get feedback; and the availability of quality, comprehensive, detailed, and timely gendered data. Governments, NGOs, international organizations, and foundations should include funding for data transparency in their aid.

            Gender-responsive budgeting enables institutions to commit finances to gender equality by integrating gender considerations into their budgets and including specific allocations for gender programming and policies. In 2022, 23 out of 38 OECD countries (61%) had introduced gender budgeting measures, compared to 50% of OECD countries in 2018, and 35% in 2016. Of these countries, 14 have legal underpinnings safeguarding the implementation of gender budgeting. The IMF reports that G20 countries score relatively low in implementing gender analysis into budget processes and government annual financial reports seldom include information about gender.

            As of 2021, only 26% of countries have comprehensive systems to track gender budget allocations and 15% lack minimal elements to track gender budgets. Countries have been categorized as having an advanced gender budgeting practice, a mainstreamed gender-budgeting practice, an introductory gender budgeting practice, or a threshold gender budgeting practice. To date, no countries qualify as advanced. As a foundation for gender equality funding, the lack of countries that practice gender budgeting reflects the lack of attention to gender issues and perspectives, the unavailability of gender-disaggregated data, and the world’s minimal understanding of the requirements to ensure progress for women, girls, and LGBTQ+ persons. Gender budgeting serves as a key tool for implementing gender equality and assuring appropriate financial allocation.

            In 2020-2021, DAC members allocated 44% (USD 57.4 billion) of their bilateral allocable ODA for gender equality; however, programs with gender equality as the principal objective represent only 4%. Most ODA was dedicated to programs that treat gender equality as a “significant”—but not primary—policy objective. While the United States provides a large amount of ODA overall, it ranked near the bottom of OECD countries in terms of gender equality aid relative to total ODA in 2019. Contributions by individual countries fluctuate. For example, Canada contributed 25% ($875 million) of its bilateral allocable ODA to gender equality initiatives in 2019 and 15% in 2020 ($388 million). As a result, South Sudan received $77 million less for gender equality programming that year. These reductions significantly impact the capacity to plan and implement gender equality programming to achieve sustainable, lasting, and transformative progress. 

            The international community overlooks and undervalues the impacts local women’s organizations and movements have in achieving SDG 5. Women’s organizations and movements have the most extensive and localized knowledge about the cultural norms, traditions, practices, and histories of the communities they serve. Women’s organizations and movements receive less than 1% of ODA committed to gender equality, and only a fraction goes to Black women-led organizations. This minuscule share of funding signifies untapped potential, presenting yet another obstacle to intersectional gender equality. For gender equality budgeting to serve everyone, it must center on the most marginalized. Women’s organizations need multi-year flexible funding that meets specific targets for organizations led by women of color and LGBTQ+ persons.

            Governments and the international community must treat gender equality as necessary for lasting sustainable development and stability. Gender equality supports economic growth worldwide, peace and security, climate resiliency, and global health. Achieving the SDGs requires a stronger commitment to gender equality funding, achieved through gender-responsive budgeting for security and consistency. Investing in the advancement of equality is imperative for global social progress. The world will not achieve the 2030 goals until it values women, girls, and gender minorities. 

            ]]>             Sudan Conflict Continues as Thousands Continue to Flee https://sdgtalks.ai/sudan-conflict-continues-as-thousands-continue-to-flee https://sdgtalks.ai/sudan-conflict-continues-as-thousands-continue-to-flee Wed, 08 Nov 2023 18:08:33 -0500 judelowe

            Thousands of people have been forced to flee the Sudanese region of West Dafur amid fears of ethnic cleansing, a medical charity says.

            Witnesses have accused the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of targeting and killing non-Arabs, with reports of hundreds of deaths.

            This comes after the RSF captured the Sudanese army headquarters in West Darfur capital of El Geneina.

            The RSF says it is not involved in what it describes as a "tribal conflict".

            It has been battling the army for control of the country since April.

            Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says that most of the 7,000 people who have crossed into Chad in the past three days are women and children who are fleeing with nothing.

            Hatim Ali, a local human rights monitor, said he had fled to Chad after the RSF and allied militias arrived on horses, camels and motorbikes and besieged Erdamta, just across a river from El Geneina.

            He said they "killed so many men and raped a lot of women", adding that hundreds of people may have been killed.

            Since the capture of El Geneina, the RSF and allied Arab militias have been accused of murdering ethnic Masalit people, looting homes and raping women.

            The RSF and Arab militia even reportedly attacked a camp for internally displaced people in Erdamta, where some 800 people are said to have been killed.

            A man who fled the camp with his family before the attack told the BBC: "I'm still alive, but I lost a lot".

            Alaa Babikr, a resident of El Geneina, told the BBC that civilians had no way to escape the fighting.

            While many people have fled to Chad, thousands remain trapped in Sudan as Arab militias demand huge sums of money to cross the border, an aid worker told BBC.

            Pierre Honnorat, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Chad, told the BBC the key challenge was feeding the thousands of refugees.

            "We need support, and we need it now. We do need to secure a meal a day to them all. They have nothing," he said.

            The RSF originated in Darfur and has been accused of atrocities against non-Arabic groups in the region during this year's conflict.

            The paramilitary group has been gaining more territory in Darfur since the beginning of this month, taking control of four of the region's five states.

            Peace talks in Saudi Arabia have been unfruitful as efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed, according to Reuters.

            The UN refugee agency says "an unimaginable" humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Sudan.

            Nearly six million people have been forced from their homes since the war began.

            ]]>             Developing disaster-resilient solutions in the Philippines https://sdgtalks.ai/developing-disaster-resilient-solutions-in-the-philippines https://sdgtalks.ai/developing-disaster-resilient-solutions-in-the-philippines Wed, 08 Nov 2023 16:07:42 -0500 Shayn McHugh Humanitarian Engineering, Culture, Community

            In partnership with Habitat for Humanity Philippines, a non-governmental organisation specialising in housing and building resilient communities, twenty students embarked on a three-week multidisciplinary program that built on disaster risk and resilience concepts in the Philippines. 

            The fieldwork trip was funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Colombo Plan (NCP). The field school is a component of the humanitarian engineering specialisation, offering students the ability to build cross-cultural skills and apply their technical engineering skills to work with marginalised communities.

            Disasters present an escalating challenge for the Indo-Pacific, with some of the highest human and economic losses concentrated in the Philippines. Students across the Faculties of Engineering, Medicine and Health, Science and Arts and Social Science, explored the long-term impact of government and civil society resettlement programming after Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

            Immersed in the culture

            During the first week, the students toured Manila’s historical areas and got to embrace Filipino culture and history. They also visited the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute and National Engineering Center to hear from academic leaders working to both respond and prepare for disasters. Students had the chance to visit civil society, government, and private sector organisations including Habitat for Humanity Philippines, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, the Asian Development Bank, and the Australian Embassy in Manila.

            The organisations showcased existing multidisciplinary efforts to model natural hazards, understand vulnerability, and technological and community-based approaches to disaster risk reduction.

            Dominica Leaver, a student part of this year's program, shares her highlights and experiences of the trip.

            Participating in the Philippines Field School has been one of the highlights of my university experience. Immersing ourselves in Filipino culture while learning about disaster management was truly enriching and so different to a typical university course.
            Dominica Leaver, Bachelor of Engineering (Biomedical)/Bachelor of Arts (Politics Major) student

            "Working in an interdisciplinary group to assess the resilience of disaster resettlement communities showed me the value of humanitarian engineering and the power of interdisciplinary collaboration. It was fulfilling to know that our work will have real-world impacts."

            Engineering local solutions

            During the next two weeks of the program, students worked on research projects in the Provinces of Negros Occidental and Leyte that focused on the long-term impact of government and civil society housing reconstruction after Typhoon Haiyan, humanitarian coordination lessons for local governments, opportunities for more resilient livelihoods, and feasibility of rainwater harvesting and solar power. 

            These projects were supported and implemented in close collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Philippines. The students worked closely with local Filipino staff and students from Leyte Normal University, to interview and survey local residents to evaluate the success of previous disaster risk reduction solutions. These efforts included feasibility studies for future programs. Working in multi-disciplinary teams, students proposed recommendations on pathways to support community needs and build resilience. 

            Through this unique opportunity, students were able to develop cross-cultural competency skills, awareness of Filipino culture, and interdisciplinary research skills that are required to solve tomorrow's challenges.
            Dr Aaron Opdyke, Program Coordinator

            “Living and learning in the Philippines Field School transported me to a world filled with a host of new sights, sounds, smells, and feelings. The smells and tastes of a sizzling sisig (a Filipino dish with pork, egg, vegetables, and rice) with a squeeze of calamansi juice (Filipino lime) over it; and the stunning natural beauty contrasted with the tangles of electricity wires on every other street was unforgettable. This unique experience of being immersed in Filipino culture has taught me valuable skills that I will take well beyond my degree and future career and into my life,” said Zoe Latham student, a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) student majoring in humanitarian engineering.

            Engaging with local partners and working on real engineering projects through Field School enabled us to appreciate the challenges present in the disaster resilience sphere and that there is no better classroom than the real world.
            Zoe Latham, Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) student

            Highlights from the field school ranged from seeing the coastal landscapes, trying the different cuisines between Metro Manila and the provinces of Negros Occidental and Leyte, and being able to learn beyond the classroom in a new country. 

            The interdisciplinary field school is run by the School of Civil Engineering and the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. Students have previously conducted global fieldwork classes in Samoa, Myanmar and India.

            ]]>             How can AI-powered humanitarian engineering tackle the biggest threats facing our planet? https://sdgtalks.ai/how-can-ai-powered-humanitarian-engineering-tackle-the-biggest-threats-facing-our-planet https://sdgtalks.ai/how-can-ai-powered-humanitarian-engineering-tackle-the-biggest-threats-facing-our-planet Wed, 08 Nov 2023 16:01:50 -0500 Shayn McHugh Artificial Intelligence, Humanitarian Engineering, Global Well-Being Humanitarian engineering programs bring together engineers, policy makers, non-profit organisations, and local communities to leverage technology for the greater good of humanity.

            The intersection of technology, community, and sustainability offers a plethora of opportunities to innovate. We still live in an era where millions of people are under extreme poverty, lacking access to clean water, basic sanitation, electricity, internet, quality education, and healthcare.

            Clearly, we need global solutions to tackle the grandest challenges facing our planet. So how can artificial intelligence (AI) assist in addressing key humanitarian and sustainable development challenges?

            To begin with, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a collection of 17 global goals that aim to address pressing global challenges, achieve inclusive development, and foster peace and prosperity in a sustainable manner by 2030. AI enables the building of smart systems that imitate human intelligence to solve real-world problems.

            Recent advancements in AI have radically changed the way we think, live, and collaborate. Our daily lives are centred around AI-powered solutions with smart speakers playing wakeup alarms, smart watches tracking steps in our morning walk, smart refrigerators recommending breakfast recipes, smart TVs providing personalised content recommendations, and navigation mobile apps recommending the best route based on real-time traffic. Clearly, the age of AI is here. How can we leverage this transformative technology to amplify the impact for social good?

            Accelerating AI-powered social innovations

            AI core capabilities like machine learning (ML), computer vision, natural language understanding, and speech recognition offer new approaches to address humanitarian challenges and amplify the positive impact on underserved communities. ML enables machines to process massive amounts of data, interconnect underlying patterns, and derive meaningful insights for decision making. ML techniques like deep learning offer the powerful capability to create sophisticated AI models based on artificial neural networks.

            Such models can be used for numerous real-world situations, like pandemic forecasting. AI tools can model and predict the spread of outbreaks like Covid-19 in low-resource settings using recent outbreak trends, treatment data, and travel history. This will help governmental and healthcare agencies to identify high-risk areas, manage demand and supply of essential medical supplies, and formulate localised remedial measures to control an outbreak.

            Computer vision techniques process visual information in digital images and videos to generate valuable inference. Trained AI models assist medical practitioners to examine clinical images and identify hidden patterns of malignant tumors supporting expediated decision-making and a treatment plan for patients. Most recently, smart speakers have extended their conversational AI capabilities for healthcare use cases like chronic illness management, prescription ordering, and urgent-care appointments.

            This advancement opens up the possibility to drive healthcare innovations that will break down access barriers and deliver quality healthcare to a marginalised population. Similarly, global educational programs aimed to connect the digitally unconnected can leverage satellite images and ML algorithms to map school locations. AI-powered learning products are increasingly launched to provide personalised experiences to train young children in math and science.

            The convergence of AI with the Internet of Things (IoT) facilitates rapid development of meaningful solutions for agriculture to monitor soil health, assess crop damage, and optimise use of pesticides. This empowers local farmers to model different scenarios and choose the right crop that is likely to maximise the quality and yield, and it contributes toward zero hunger and economic empowerment SDGs.

            Decoding best program practices

            To deliver high social impact, AI-driven humanitarian programs should follow a “bottom-up” approach. One should always work backwards from needs of the end-user, drive clarity on the targeted community/user, their major pain points, the opportunity to innovate, and expected user experience.

            Most importantly, always check whether AI is relevant to the problem at hand or investigate if a meaningful alternative approach exists. Understand how an AI-powered solution will deliver value to various stakeholders involved and positively contribute toward achieving SDG for local communities. Define a suite of metrics to measure various dimensions of program success. Data acquisition is central to building robust AI models that require access to meaningful and quality data.

            Delivering effective AI solutions to the humanitarian landscape requires a clear understanding of the data required and relevant sources to acquire them. For instance, satellite images, electronic health records, census data, educational records, and public datasets are used to solve problems in education, healthcare, and climate change. Partnership with key field players is important for addressing data gaps for domains with sparsely available data.

            Responsible use of AI in humanitarian programs can be achieved by enforcing standards and best practices to implement fairness, inclusiveness, security, and privacy controls. Always check models and datasets for bias and negative experiences. Techniques like data visualisation and clustering can evaluate a dataset’s distribution for fair representation of various stakeholders’ dimensions. Routine updates to training and testing datasets is essential to fairly account for diversity in users’ growing needs and usage patterns. Safeguard sensitive user information by implementing privacy controls like encrypting user data at rest and in transit, limit access to user data and critical production systems based on least-privilege access control, and enforce data retention and deletion policy on user datasets. Implement a robust threat model to handle possible system attacks and routine checks on infrastructure security vulnerabilities.

            To conclude, AI-powered humanitarian programs offer a transformative opportunity to advance social innovations and build a better tomorrow for the benefit of humanity.

            ]]>             Three ways our researchers are aiding disaster risk reduction https://sdgtalks.ai/three-ways-our-researchers-are-aiding-disaster-risk-reduction https://sdgtalks.ai/three-ways-our-researchers-are-aiding-disaster-risk-reduction Wed, 08 Nov 2023 15:57:31 -0500 Shayn McHugh Natural Disaster, Humanitarian Engineering, Community

            Taking place annually on 13 October, the United Nations' International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is an opportunity to reflect on how people are reducing their exposure to disasters and raise awareness about the importance of effective disaster risk management.

            Engineers don't only help communities rebuild in the aftermath of a disaster – they also play a significant role in designing systems and infrastructure to reduce risk before disaster strikes.

            These projects highlight how Faculty of Engineering researchers are working to minimise the social and economic cost of disasters across the world.

            Advancing local flood decision-making in the Philippines

            While disasters can significantly impact any community, they are devastating in lower income communities with more vulnerable infrastructure and governance systems.

            Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering Dr Aaron Opdyke and his team, including undergraduate civil engineering students Grace Barrett-Lennard and Zoe Latham, are working on new models and an interactive game to help local governments better plan for flooding in the face of climate change.

            People gathered around interactive table top game in the Philippines

            The interactive game is designed to help local decision-makers better plan for flood events. Photo: Dr Aaron Opdyke

            "Disaster risks are only set to worsen under climate change, and local governments need support to better prepare," said Dr Opdyke.

            The game puts players in the shoes of local stakeholders who collaborate to increase the resilience of homes, schools, farms, and other community assets.

            "Players face dilemmas in selecting which adaptation strategies to implement, while under pressure from flood events that damage community assets throughout the game. The game gives decision-makers a chance to try out real strategies in a low-stakes environment."

            As the game progresses, so does the severity of the floods, corresponding to different potential pathways linked to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s most recent sixth assessment report. 

            Strengthening risk management through communities

            Reducing the risk of disasters isn't only necessary overseas. Working with the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), a multidisciplinary team of researchers are using their expertise to analyse current risk management practices.

            By considering social and physical factors that can increase vulnerability to disasters, the researchers hope to better map hazard exposure and more accurately assess risk.

            According to Project lead Dr Nader Naderpajouh, the research has highlighted the role of the community in assessing risks.

            "It's important to consider both formal risk assessments from agencies such as emergency services and informal risk assessments carried out at the local and community level", says Dr Naderpajouh.

            "Agencies should engage with in-depth local knowledge to streamline community risk assessments."

            Project management expert Associate Professor Petr Matous also echoes the importance of the role of communities.

            "When considering communities, we need to pay special attention to the underlying power dynamics and interpersonal networks", he says.

            "If not taken into account, these dynamics can preferentially consider the needs of those at the core of community networks and neglect those on the periphery of their community."

            These findings will help researchers develop community risk assessment systems that consider social and physical dynamics to serve the whole community.

            Securing shelter in the aftermath of disaster

            Temporary housing following a disaster

            Shelter and settlements provide a significant challenge in the aftermath of disasters. Photo: Dr Aaron Opdyke

            Dr Aaron Opdyke and a team of international researchers are working to identify and address barriers facing the recovery of shelter and settlements after humanitarian crises.

            Bridging immediate humanitarian assistance with long-term rebuilding, the research team are investigating how humanitarian organisations can assist communities in navigating complex recovery strategies. 

            The research incorporates working with humanitarian organisations to learn how they are helping communities rebuild housing and community infrastructure and the challenges they face. This has included interviews with staff supporting the response to earthquakes in Syria earlier this year, where a range of factors complicated disaster response efforts.

            Preliminary results have highlighted the numerous and often competing barriers to long term shelter and housing recovery, such as insecure land tenure and limited access to sustainable livelihoods.

            "By capturing cases where organisations have been successful in supporting longer term recovery, we hope to identify how they can better assist communities", says Dr Opdyke.

            "Humanitarian shelter and settlement practitioners are finding innovative solutions, such as flexible models which work around complex political barriers."

            ]]>             U of I Students Work with Bolivian Families to Improve Sanitation in Community https://sdgtalks.ai/u-of-i-students-work-with-bolivian-families-to-improve-sanitation-in-community https://sdgtalks.ai/u-of-i-students-work-with-bolivian-families-to-improve-sanitation-in-community Wed, 08 Nov 2023 15:53:29 -0500 Shayn McHugh Bolivia, Humanitarian Engineering, Sanitation, Community MOSCOW - University of Idaho College of Engineering students recently helped Bolivian families improve sanitation in their community as part of an overseas humanitarian effort funded by Idaho donors.

            Representing the U of I’s Humanitarian Engineering Corps (HEC), five students traveled to the remote community of Challcha in the Andes Mountains, eight hours from the Bolivian capital city of Sucre.

            Students work directly with community members to identify potential infrastructure projects to meet community needs. The team built privacy shelters and septic systems for a toilet and shower.

            All building materials are funded through donations from Moscow and other Idaho communities to the student club. U of I students fundraise year-round to cover travel costs and to hire professional engineers and construction workers who are also on-site.

            Mike Lowry, a civil engineering associate professor who also traveled to Challcha, said community members help with construction, developing background knowledge to maintain the facility after the project is complete.

            “The travel is tough, and the work is incredibly hard,” Lowry said. “Having an engineer’s problem-solving mindset is part of what is needed, but this experience drives home the importance of communication and teamwork with the people we serve. Our students gain a deep understanding of the professional skills our society and industry demand through this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

            Mechanical engineering junior Jasmeen Manshahia said developing relationships with the families set the experience apart from a traditional internship or out-of-the-classroom experience.

            “We stayed next to a single mother of four,” the international student from India said. “Interacting with her every day, we could truly understand her needs, the challenges she faces every day, and the problems we needed to solve. You don't get that deep understanding in an internship or a regular client scenario. It makes you remember what engineering truly is. It’s helping people.”

            Manshahia traveled with students Ian Finnigan, a computer engineering senior from Idaho Falls; Olivia Haener, a civil engineering senior from Boise; and Matthew Troxel, a civil engineering senior from Parma, Idaho. Harrison Bashaw, a recent U of I civil engineering graduate from Coeur d'Alene, was also on the trip.

            Since 2012, U of I students have traveled to Bolivia to support efforts to improve access to clean water and sanitation. This is done in partnership with Engineers in Action, an international nonprofit organization focused on developing sustainable systems and infrastructure for underserved communities.

            The team recently completed a series of projects spanning five years for the community of Carani in Bolivia, building a gravity-fed water supply system to replace the dilapidated municipal system.

            Media Note: Students are available for interview. Email Alexiss Turner at alexisst@uidaho.edu. Photos and video of the trip are available for download online.

            ]]>             This Rwandan Engineer is Learning How to Manage Humanitarian Projects https://sdgtalks.ai/A-Regis-University-program-is-teaching-her-how https://sdgtalks.ai/A-Regis-University-program-is-teaching-her-how Wed, 08 Nov 2023 15:47:30 -0500 Shayn McHugh Rwanda, Humanitarian Engineering, IEEE After several years of volunteering for IEEE humanitarian technology projects, Samantha Mugeni Niyoyita decided she needed more than just technical skills to help underserved communities become more self-sufficient. The IEEE member from Kigali, Rwanda, participated in installing portable sinks in nearby rural markets to curb the spread of COVID-19 and provided clean water and sanitation services to people displaced by the Mount Nyiragongo volcano eruption in 2021.

            Niyoyita wanted to learn how to tackle other issues such as access to quality health care, understanding different cultures, and becoming familiar with local policies. And she felt she needed to enhance her leadership and communications skills and learn how to manage projects.

            Thanks to a scholarship from IEEE Smart Village, she is now getting that education through the master’s degree program in development practice from Regis University, in Denver. The program, offered virtually and in person, combines theory and hands-on training on topics such as community outreach and engagement, health care, the environment, and sustainability. It teaches leadership and other soft skills.

            In addition to bringing electricity to remote communities, IEEE Smart Village offers educational and employment opportunities. To be eligible for its scholarship, the student’s thesis project must support the program’s mission.

            Niyoyita, who attends classes remotely, is a process engineer at Africa Improved Foods, also in Kigali. AIF manufactures porridge from maize and other cereals and fortifies it with vitamins and minerals. She has worked there for more than four years.

            “Smart Village wants to empower its members so that we can implement projects in our local community knowing what the best practices are,” she says.

            She acknowledges she would not have been able to afford to attend Regis without help from IEEE.

            Electronic medical records to improve care

            Niyoyita is now in the second year of the degree program. Her research project is to assess the impact of digitizing the medical records of primary care clinics, known as health posts, in rural Rwanda.

            “The health post records are mostly paper-based, and transitioning to electronic records would improve patient outcomes,” Niyoyita says. “This provides easy access to records and improves coordination of care.”

            She plans to evaluate just how access to electronic records by health care professionals can improve patient care.

            Her scholarship of US $5,045 was funded by donations to IEEE Smart Village. Since the educational program was launched in 2015, more than 30 individuals from 16 countries have participated.

            “I was fortunate to receive this scholarship,” she says. “It has helped me a lot when it comes to soft skills. As an engineer, normally we tend to be very technical. Expressing ourselves and sharing our skills and expertise are the kinds of things you can only learn through a social science master’s degree.”

            Many opportunities as an industrial engineer

            As a youngster, Niyoyita was more interested in subjects that required her to reason and think creatively instead of memorizing information. She excelled at mathematics and physics.

            “That was how I got into engineering,” she says, adding that she also was inspired by her brother, an engineer.

            The degree from Regis is in addition to those Niyoyita already holds from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, known as HES-SO Valais-Wallis, in Sion, Switzerland. She earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial systems engineering in 2015 and a master’s in engineering with a concentration in mechatronics in 2017.

            She chose to study industrial engineering, she says, because she finds it to be a “discipline that offers numerous pathways to various fields and career opportunities. I’m able to understand concept designs—which includes mechanical and electrical—programming, and automation. You have a wealth of career opportunities and a chance to make an impact.”

            “IEEE Smart Village wants to empower its members so that we can implement projects in our local community knowing what the best practices are.”

            At AIF, she analyzes the company’s processes to identify bottlenecks in the manufacturing line, and she proposes ways to fix them.

            “We receive these cereals and clean and grind them,” she says. “We have a cooking section and fortify the cereals through mixing. Then we package and sell them.”

            She evaluates the production flow and checks on the performance of the equipment. In addition, she provides technological support when new products are being developed.

            AIF is benefiting from the training she’s receiving from the master’s degree program, she says, as she is learning to lead teams, provide innovative solutions, and collaborate with others.

            A successful IEEE power conference to Rwanda

            Niyoyita joined IEEE while a student at HES-SO Valais-Wallis because she needed access to its journals for her research papers. After she graduated, she continued her membership and started volunteering for IEEE Smart Village in 2019. She served as a secretary for its Africa Working Group team, which worked on humanitarian projects.

            She also got involved in organizing conferences in Africa. Her first event was the 2019 PowerAfrica Conference, held in Abuja, Nigeria. It covered emerging power system technologies, applications, government policies, and regulatory frameworks. As a member of the conference’s technical program committee, she helped develop the program and reviewed article submissions. She also was a speaker on the IEEE Women in Engineering panel.

            Based on that positive experience, she says, she vowed to bring the conference to Rwanda—which she did last year. As cochair, she oversaw the budget, conference logistics, and other arrangements to “ensure that local and foreign attendees had an excellent experience,” she says. More than 300 people from 43 countries attended.

            Providing entrepreneurs with skills to succeed

            One project that Niyoyita has put on the back burner because of her work and school commitments is providing her country’s technicians with the skills they need to become entrepreneurs.

            Many recent graduates of vocational technical schools in rural Rwanda have told her they want to start their own company, she says, but she has noticed they lack the skills to do so.

            “Even though they provide problem-solving products or ideas, they often lack the marketing skills and financial literacy to be able to sustain their project,” she says. “They also need to know how to pitch an idea and make a proposal so they can get funding.”

            She would like to create an after-school incubation hub to provide the technicians with training, access to the Internet so they can flesh out their ideas, mentorship opportunities, and advisors who can tell them where to find financing.

            “I was able to get some of the skills from the master’s degree program,” she says, “but most of them I got from my work and also from my involvement in IEEE.”

            ]]>             3 cities face a climate dilemma: to build or not to build homes in risky places https://sdgtalks.ai/3-cities-face-a-climate-dilemma-to-build-or-not-to-build-homes-in-risky-places https://sdgtalks.ai/3-cities-face-a-climate-dilemma-to-build-or-not-to-build-homes-in-risky-places Tue, 07 Nov 2023 21:21:19 -0500 Ava Brennan With climate-fueled disasters killing hundreds of Americans annually and costing communities billions of dollars, a growing number of local governments are asking a basic question: Are there some places where people shouldn't build homes?

             

            It's one of the most difficult choices a community can make. Local governments typically want more housing, not less, because budgets are generally funded by the property taxes from those homes. At the same time, a nationwide housing shortage is creating even more pressure to build.

             

            "[If] you're a local government, of course you want to develop," says Katharine Mach, who studies climate change and housing at the University of Miami. "You're building a community. You're supporting livelihoods. You're supporting tourism oftentimes. [And] there's the pragmatic dimension of, you need the property taxes."

             

            As a result, putting limits on homebuilding can feel like a non-starter for the local officials who generally control land-use decisions.

             

            But with often deadly extreme-weather disasters on the rise, the problem can no longer be ignored. In the last five years, floods, wildfires, severe storms and droughts have caused more than $580 billion in damage and killed hundreds of people. And some states are passing laws that put conditions on future growth.

             

            NPR visited three places that are grappling with the question of how to stop building homes in harm's way — with varying degrees of success. Whether it's flooding, wildfires or drought that threatens a community, similar conversations are now playing out across the United States.

             

            California: Building homes in places that could burn

             

            Two things are painfully apparent for many California cities: the massive statewide housing shortage and a growing danger from wildfires.

             

            With some of the most expensive housing in the U.S., California's cities face requirements to build more housing to boost supply. But where to put it is tricky. About one-quarter of California is at high risk of burning, according to state wildfire authorities. And as the climate gets hotter, tens of thousands of homes have been lost in destructive wildfires in the last five years alone.

             

            With few statewide regulations, navigating housing needs and wildfire risk falls to local governments, like Santee, Calif., a largely suburban town on the outskirts of San Diego.

             

            Santee is nestled next to miles of open space, and at the edge of town, a major new development of almost 3,000 homes, known as Fanita Ranch, is being planned. For years, residents like Van Collinsworth have fought the project, which would be tucked away in the golden, shrubby hills. As a wildfire inspector by day who examines flammable brush, he knows the city is at risk. It barely escaped the 2003 Cedar Fire, which destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

             

            "I don't think the project should be built — that's the bottom line," he says. "I don't think developers and decision-makers are willing to acknowledge that we are living in a new era of extreme weather and really grapple with what that means for the desire to build and build and build."

             

            Collinsworth directs Preserve Wild Santee, an environmental group that joined several others to file a lawsuit to stop the development after the city approved it in 2020. A judge agreed, finding that the developer didn't adequately analyze how long it would take residents to evacuate during a fire or whether they could do so safely.

             

            The developer, HomeFed Corp., proposed the project again in 2022, this time with a phased evacuation plan that works by zones, so neighborhoods could be cleared more efficiently. Houses would be built with fire-resistant materials and have fire sprinklers. Inspectors would check that flammable vegetation was cleared twice per year, something that would be paid for by homeowners association fees. Those funds would also ensure vegetation was cleared around the outskirts of the community, creating a buffer.

             

            "Other parts of the country are in a hurricane zone, and they have codes and standards that say, if you build to these standards, you can go ahead and build a home," says Kent Aden, senior vice president of HomeFed. "We have all these standards for building in wildfire zones, but there seems to be a resistance to allow projects to move forward that meet or exceed those standards."

             

            In 2023, the City Council approved the project again, with several members saying they were satisfied with the wildfire safety measures after local fire officials supported the plan.

             

            "We tried to take everything we can learn from the fires plus even more, making it, in my opinion, the best example of what can be done to make a defensible community," Aden says.

             

            Collinsworth and environmental groups filed a second lawsuit to halt the project, and it will be heard in court next year. It's one of several lawsuits aimed at stopping developments in California, and some of these suits were supported by state Attorney General Rob Bonta. He recently released guidance for cities about how to analyze wildfire risk.

             

            Still, while California leads the nation in some wildfire policies, like building codes for individual homes, there are few statewide laws about making development decisions in high-risk zones. Those decisions fall to local governments alone. A bill now being considered from state Sen. Ben Allen would require developers to analyze fire behavior and create evacuation plans in cooperation with local fire authorities as part of their projects.

             

            Previous legislative bills requiring local governments to create standards for approving housing in risky areas have failed amid pushback from the building industry.

             

            "If we site houses and infrastructure in places better, safer, that makes it easier to keep people safe as climate change intensifies into the future," Mach says. "But it's not as if we have easy choices of just building in the safe places, because there are no places that are devoid of hazards right now."

             

            Arizona: Limiting growth where water is scarce, with a catch

             

            Located in a desert, cities around Phoenix are constantly facing questions of water supply — not just at water management agencies but also at city councils considering where to develop. That's because Arizona has one of the most powerful laws in the country linking water with the decision to build.

             

            In Casa Grande, about an hour south of Phoenix, Mayor Craig McFarland knows his city's future is linked to water. Housing is already in high demand. Industry is moving into the area, with both a battery and an electric car manufacturer offering thousands of jobs near town.

             

            "We have this huge need for workforce housing, and that workforce housing needs a place to go," McFarland says. "And so that's why all of a sudden the rush is on."

             

            But whether that housing can be built is a question. A two-decade drought in the Southwest has triggered cutbacks to Arizona's water supply, as climate change strains the Colorado River, one of the state's biggest water sources. Underground aquifers are the state's other major water source. But in Pinal County, where Casa Grande is located, overpumping of aquifers is a big concern.

             

            So when it comes to development, McFarland consults a map that looks like a patchwork quilt. Some parcels of land are blue, which means a water supply would be ensured for new homes. But many other parcels are white. There, developers would have to find their own water supply in order to build. State law limits growth where water is in short supply, requiring new subdivisions to show they have 100 years of water for their customers.

             

            "Arizona is the only state in the country that requires 100 years' worth of water," McFarland says. "It's a consumer protection."

             

            This year, regulators announced they would not be guaranteeing water supplies for new subdivisions around Phoenix, limiting future construction. That has been the situation for several years in Casa Grande.

             

            Still, McFarland isn't discouraged. In the long term, the city is looking at water recycling and conservation. And in the short term, building hasn't stopped.

             

            That's because developers have found a profitable workaround. Arizona's water law applies only when lots are subdivided into smaller lots for six or more homes and those houses are either sold or made available for long-term rentals. Instead, developers have turned to building short-term rentals on a single large piece of land.

             

            Not far from the center of town, construction workers are putting the finishing touches on new single-story homes in a 331-unit development. Water supply hasn't been a barrier to building because these units will be part of one large rental project.

             

            "We don't need an assured water supply because it's one lot," says Greg Hancock of Hancock Builders, which is constructing the project. "Although it's 331 units, it's one lot."

             

            Casa Grande, like several other Arizona cities, has seen a boom in these "build to rent" projects. Hancock says after decades in the business, his company started building them only recently and has more than 10,000 units built or in development.

             

            "It's been one of the greatest housing markets forever," he says. "People will not stop moving here."

             

            But with the growth, that unaccounted-for water demand is raising red flags. Already, Arizona water regulators say there won't be enough groundwater to meet existing needs over the next 100 years.

             

            "If you build houses and you rent them, there's no way to go back and undo the fact that they're there and people are living in them," says Kathleen Ferris, senior research fellow at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.

             

            Ferris helped write Arizona's 100-year water law four decades ago. She says its strength is that it tethers building decisions to water decisions. Back then, build-to-rent wasn't common. Now, she says, the state is reaching a pivotal moment when all water use needs to be accounted for.

             

            "Climate change and aridification have come on so much faster than most people thought," she says. "Yes, there is still opportunity for growth, but there needs to be an understanding of the limits."

             

            This year, Arizona legislators drafted two state bills to close the loophole, which would require rental projects to have a water supply. Both failed to pass. Some cities pushed back, saying it would limit a key way to address the housing shortage. Now, a working group convened by Gov. Katie Hobbs is examining the issue.

             

            Still, the overriding conversation is about growth. With droughts expected to worsen, Arizona's water law is pushing cities to look at boosting their water supplies locally, whether that's through building water-recycling projects or amping up conservation.

             

            "I used to say, 'Maybe we're at our limit. Maybe we can't build any more houses,'" says Pinal County Supervisor Stephen Miller, who works on water issues. "So now I say, 'If we're going to maintain any type of growth, we have to bring water in.'"

             

            New Jersey: A little bit of everything adds up to a lot of flood protection

             

            New Jersey may offer a blueprint for how to get people out of harm's way while continuing to grow and prosper economically, according to climate experts.

             

            The marshy coastal state is a decade into a systematic statewide effort to protect residents from floodwaters. And those efforts appear to be successfully limiting new construction of homes in flood-prone areas and better protecting people who live in flood zones or are considering moving into them.

             

            "This is an area where New Jersey is very proactive," says A.R. Siders, a climate researcher at the University of Delaware who studies climate risk and housing.

             

            New Jersey has attacked its flooding problem from every angle. Since Superstorm Sandy devastated the region in 2012, New Jersey has passed regulations that make it harder to build new homes in flood zones. If you want to substantially renovate a home that already exists in a flood-prone area, the new rules require major upgrades to protect the house from water, such as putting the whole house on stilts or moving air conditioning units and other crucial utilities off the ground so they can survive a flood.

             

            This year, New Jersey also passed some of the strongest flood disclosure laws in the country, which means that people who are buying homes in the state get information about whether their prospective new house has flooded in the past or is likely to flood in the future.

             

            And the state has purchased more than 1,000 houses in the last decade through a permanent home-buyout program known as Blue Acres, which acquires homes that have flooded and knocks them down to provide more open space for floodwater.

             

            As a result, New Jersey appears to be doing significantly better than the national average when it comes to the number of homes in flood zones, according to preliminary findings by a group of climate scientists including Siders and Mach.

             

            That's particularly notable since New Jersey is both the most densely populated state in the country and one of the most flood prone.

             

            The town of Woodbridge, N.J., has been on the front lines of New Jersey's strategy.

             

            After Superstorm Sandy flooded the town, the local government decided to support home buyouts.

             

            "[It's] not something we wanted to do, but we had to do it," says longtime Mayor John McCormac. "We didn't want to lose residents."

             

            But it was equally unthinkable that homes would be rebuilt in places that had flooded, he says. And there were alternative ways for the town to grow economically.

             

            Because home buyouts are voluntary, the town could move forward only if people agreed to move. McCormac remembers a town meeting he presided over in the high school auditorium.

             

            "It was difficult. People were angry," he says. "It wasn't an easy process. You know, somebody's talking to you about moving out of their home that they've been in for 60 years. And it's their biggest investment in their life."

             

            Similar conversations have played out across the state in recent years, says New Jersey's chief resilience officer, Nick Angarone. "These are very complicated and very difficult conversations to have," he says. "You're talking about some of the basic principles of the country, you know? Where and what you can do with your property."

             

            But unlike in other states, New Jersey residents who are considering a home buyout are assigned a case manager who can help navigate both the paperwork and the emotions that come along with such a momentous decision.

             

            "Our case managers are sort of our secret sauce," says Courtney Wald-Wittkop, who runs the Blue Acres program. "They're very good about developing that rapport and relationship with the homeowners."

             

            One reason New Jersey is able to match people up with experienced case managers is that, unlike other state buyout programs, Blue Acres exists all the time, not just after major disasters. Because it's permanent, it's more accessible to both homeowners and local officials, without whose support buyouts cannot happen.

             

            Ultimately, more than 180 homeowners in Woodbridge decided to accept buyouts and move away, says McCormac, the mayor.

             

            The homes that remain in flood-prone areas of Woodbridge are subject to New Jersey's new, tighter regulations that require them to be elevated. Instead of building new homes in marshy areas, Woodbridge is allowing more units to be built in denser parts of town near train stations and highways. The town's population is stable, and its economy is growing.

             

            The town's flood plain manager, Tom Flynn, says the strategy is also paying off in the form of less flood damage. When the remnants of Hurricane Ida dropped 8 inches of rain in Woodbridge in 2021, Flynn says, it flooded dozens of homes instead of hundreds.

            ]]>             The U.N. Goal That Doesn&apos;t Get A Lot Of Respect https://sdgtalks.ai/the-un-goal-that-doesnt-get-a-lot-of-respect https://sdgtalks.ai/the-un-goal-that-doesnt-get-a-lot-of-respect Mon, 06 Nov 2023 19:14:57 -0500 Ava Brennan Of the U.N.'s 17 goals to make the world a better place by 2030, one goal gets much less respect than the others.

            It's not improving education. It's not wiping out poverty and hunger.

            It's Goal #14 — which aims to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development."

            A new survey of 3,500 leaders in developing countries found that marine conservation is almost universally considered the least important of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals – essentially a checklist of priorities to help poor countries and aid organizations focus their attention on lifting the world's most vulnerable people to a higher standard of living.

            Several of the goals deal explicitly with environmental issues, and the new survey, conducted by the AidData research center at the College of William and Mary, is the latest indication that these may be getting short shrift — despite oceans of evidence that protecting the environment leads to big development gains in the forms of jobs and food.

            The survey respondents were asked to pick their top six priorities among the SDGs, as they're known to international development wonks. Goal #14 fared the worst. Only 5.4 percent of the respondents included it in their top six priorities, compared to 65.2 percent for quality education or 60 percent for decent work and economic growth.

            The respondents included elected politicians, bureaucrats, nonprofit and humanitarian executives, and business leaders from 126 low- and middle-income countries in South and Central America, Africa, Europe and Asia. Goal #14 ranked as the least important goal in all those professional sectors, and in every region except East Asia and the Pacific, where it came in third from the bottom.

            "Leaders are fairly consistent in emphasizing jobs, education and strong institutions as the most important development challenges," says Samantha Custer, AidData's director of policy analysis and the survey's lead author. "But they turn something of a deaf ear to climate change and other environmental goals."

            That's not just a shame for the whales, development and marine science experts say: It's a serious missed economic opportunity. A 2015 study from the World Wildlife Fund found that oceans provide at least $2.5 trillion in goods and services every year, from fisheries to shipping to tourism. If the oceans were a country, they'd have the world's seventh-biggest economy, just ahead of Brazil. Tapping that resource, and making sure it's protected, should be a higher priority for developing countries, says Brad Ack, WWF's senior vice president for oceans.

            "Oceans are a critical foundation for developing economies," he says. "People aren't drawing the connection between things they take for granted and the role oceans play in providing those services."

            The survey results weren't necessarily surprising, Custer says. Last year, she conducted an analysis of development funding — how much money the U.S. government, World Bank and other major donors were spending on projects under each of the goals. Climate and environmental initiatives received significantly less funding than most other categories. Between 2000 and 2013, she found, the three goals that deal explicitly with climate and the environment together received $23.78 billion — just seven percent of what Goal #16, which deals with peace and justice, received.

            Those numbers say a lot about the way rich countries and institutions prioritize challenges in developing countries. But Custer wondered if the countries giving aid might be out of step with the countries receiving it. On the contrary, she says, the new survey indicates that to a large extent they are on the same page, and that "everybody has a blind spot when it comes to the environment, apparently."

            The reason, says Custer, may be that for the poorest countries, conservation still seems like a luxury that leaders can't afford when their people lack essentials like a regular supply of nutritious food and clean water.

            Marine conservation, in particular, is a complex, global issue that leaders may find difficult to wrap their heads around, says Najih Lazar, a fisheries researcher at the University of Rhode Island and former U.S. Agency for International Development official in West Africa.

            In fact, Lazar says, when the SDGs were being developed, marine conservation was almost axed as an independent goal and rolled into a more general umbrella environmental goal. It took persistent lobbying from marine and development experts on the potential economic and development benefits oceans can provide to convince the U.N. that the ocean was worthy of its own goal.

            "It's not easy to convince a lot of people," he says. "Underwater resources are not visible, and it's not easy to understand the value in terms of economic growth. Very few have jumped on that wagon."

            For that reason, he says, many developing countries leave a lot of the ocean's potential value — jobs and food — sitting on the table. But those who do make the connection stand to reap a big payoff, he says. As an example, he points to Morocco. In 2009 the country completely renovated its fishing regulations with an eye toward conservation, cracking down on illegal fishing and implementing new measures to ensure that less seafood was wasted during processing.

            Since then, the country has seen employment in the fishery sector increase 30 percent and the value of its exports nearly double to $2 billion — while also seeing a revival in populations of threatened fish and octopus.

            Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, says it's important to remember that although the goals seem separate, they in fact build off each other and that more could be done to help everyone involved with implementing them — including developing country leaders and officials in donor organizations — understand the links between them.

            "If you want to fix global hunger," he says, "we need to fix the oceans."

            ]]>             The U.N. plan to improve the world by 2030 is failing. Does that make it a failure? https://sdgtalks.ai/the-un-plan-to-improve-the-world-by-2030-is-failing-does-that-make-it-a-failure https://sdgtalks.ai/the-un-plan-to-improve-the-world-by-2030-is-failing-does-that-make-it-a-failure Mon, 06 Nov 2023 15:42:13 -0500 Ava Brennan What if you made a self-improvement plan and failed to meet your goals.

            Imagine that in a moment of unusual optimism and resolve, you decided that the only way you were ever going to be the healthy, happy and productive person you want to be was by writing down a detailed list of goals and committing to accomplish them in the next 15 years.

            Now imagine that eight years later, more than halfway through your 15-year life improvement plan, not only are you way off track when it comes to accomplishing most of what you committed to, but in some cases you've even slid backward. Maybe you faced an unexpected illness. Maybe you suffered a crushing breakup. Maybe you got some bad financial advice. Maybe you just didn't try hard enough.

            What would you conclude? Were your goals a waste of time or would you be even worse off today without them? Should you scrap your detailed plan or double down and try to make up for lost time?

            That's about where 193 world leaders at the United Nations in New York find themselves this week as they take stock of the sobering state of the Sustainable Development Goals at their halfway point along the road to 2030.

            Goals are born — then run into trouble

            Adopted in 2015, these goals — the SDGs — were meant to plot a course to curing 17 of the most fundamental ills afflicting human society and the planet. The first goal — SDG 1 — calls for ending extreme poverty by 2030. The second goal pledges to end hunger and malnutrition. The other 15 range across human rights and aspirations like health, education, gender equality, peace and ocean conservation. (Note: The complete list of goals is at the end of this post.)

            Each of the goals comes with a list of more specific targets for countries to achieve — 169 in total. Ending poverty, for example, is broken out into a list of seven different targets, including things like creating social protection systems, ensuring equal economic rights for men and women, and delivering reliable amounts of international aid to countries in need of assistance.

            The SDGs replaced the Millennium Development Goals, which expired in 2015. The new goals offered a different approach and an even more ambitious vision that applied to every country in the world, not just the so-called "developing" ones.

            Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, global inflation and debt distress, a food security crisis and worsening climate-related disasters — what many have called a "perfect storm" of challenges that have left the SDG agenda nearly underwater.

            As of this year, progress on half of the 140 targets that the United Nations is able to measure has been "weak and insufficient," according to the U.N.'s latest progress report in 2023, while another 30% have either stalled or gone in reverse . If current trends continue, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, 128.5 million children will still suffer from stunting — developmental issues that result from chronic undernutrition — and 84 million children and young people will still be out of school.

            There are glimmers of hope — the global under-5 mortality rate fell by 12% between 2015 and 2021. But most of the SDGs are in some variation of a similar position: slow progress, hindered by a combination of insufficient action and setbacks brought on by unpredictable global crises.

            "Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said earlier this year.

            Moment of reckoning for the SDGs

            Most world leaders have responded to the grim SDG picture by recommitting to the agenda and calling for more money, stronger partnerships and greater political will to get the goals back on track.

            "Now is the moment to recommit to bold and transformative change, and to do this with urgency," Linda Thomas Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said last week.

            Guterres has called for an "SDG Stimulus" plan to channel $500 billion a year toward sustainable development. The White House and other allies are working to reform the World Bank so that it can lend more money to countries for health, development and climate-related investments.

            But with the agenda so far off track, and in a world facing problems that leaders could not have anticipated when they adopted the SDGs in 2015, this halfway point to 2030 is also a moment of reckoning. Are sweeping international commitments to make the world a better place actually helpful in making that a reality?

            "It's getting ever less and less credible that this is really a useful approach to meeting goals," said New York University Professor William Easterly, a vocal critic of top-down development planning and an advocate for humbler approaches to solving problems of poverty.

            "Maybe it's useful for some other things," he conceded, noting that he was encouraged by a shift away from paternalism, recognizing that development is something done by countries, not to countries.

            Then again, maybe optimism is still possible

            But according to SDG advocates, those "other things" should not be lightly brushed aside.

            For one, it should be meaningful that 193 world leaders got together in 2015, agreed to a set of ambitious goals, and then failed to take meaningful action to achieve them.

            "Blaming COVID or Russia invading Ukraine for why we're falling behind on the SDGs is not right," said Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

            "The reason we're falling behind on the SDGs is they were massively, massively, massively ambitious. And while we might have had the technical ability to deliver on them, we didn't follow that up with a massively, massively, massively ambitious policy agenda at the national and global levels anywhere," Kenny said.

            Even though it would be a "miracle" if the world were currently on track to achieve the goals, the world's most powerful people should not be let off the hook if they made a commitment to difficult goals but then failed to try very hard to achieve them, Kenny said.

            "I think we need to hold them to account," he said.

            The adoption of the SDGs also marked a turning point for the U.N., said Minh-Thu Pham, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who was closely involved in the agenda's creation.

            What had been an anti-poverty agenda dominated by a handful of experts was transformed into a much more open, global conversation about what people everywhere need, not just to survive but to thrive. In the transition from the MDGs to the SDGs, a much broader range of voices took ownership of the agenda, and the mindset around development shifted from one of charity to one of common aspirations.

            "It was an equity agenda from the very start," said Pham of the SDGs.

            For those who were present at the creation of the SDGs, the goals are a badly needed reminder that international cooperation and consensus is possible. As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council wages war against its European neighbor, it's almost impossible to fathom that just a few years ago every U.N. member state was able to agree on what kind of world they wanted and what it might take to get there.

            "You don't have to think too deeply to recognize that there was a moment of unity," Pham said. "If you're looking for a path to getting back on track for global trust between governments, between people and their governments, the SDGs remind us of that."

            In other words, maybe the only thing worse than failing to achieve the SDGs would be failing to ask how we once believed they might be possible.

            The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve by 2030:

            • Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

            • Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

            • Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

            • Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

            • Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

            • Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

            • Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

            • Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

            • Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

            • Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries

            • Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

            • Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

            • Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

            • Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

            • Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

            • Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

            • Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

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