News on IGES research activities and events. View on your browser. 日本語 9 August 2022 NEWS Launch of the SDGs Progress Report 2022: Survey Results on the Efforts of Global Compact Network Japan Companies and Organisations IGES and the Global Compact Network Japan (GCNJ) launched their annual report, "SDGs Progress Report 2022: Survey Results on the Efforts of GCNJ Companies and Organisations". This report focuses on SDGs 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions), evaluating the progress being made by Japanese businesses and what the future holds on achieving these goals. In addition to the five focal goals, the report also considers the importance of other SDGs and the overarching, cross-cutting issues that serve as both challenges and opportunities for SDG implementation. More details available here New Reports Added to the VLR Lab (May - July) IGES manages the VLR Lab, an online platform offering comprehensive information about local government actions on the SDGs. The Voluntary Local Review (VLR) is an international initiative in which local governments conduct their own evaluation of actions on the SDGs and publish the results as a report comparable with other local governments. From May through July, the VLR Lab received the reports from Malmö (Sweden), Mérida (Mexico), Barcelona (Spain), Tainan (Taiwan), Suwon (Republic of Korea), Helsinki (Finland), Cape Town (Republic of South Africa), and Asker (Norway). More details available here Launch of a New Mini-Series on the SDGs on About Sustainability… the IGES Podcast About Sustainability… is the IGES podcast featuring in-depth discussions by IGES staff and guests on various sustainability-related topics. In July, the podcast launched the first of its mini-series on the SDGs, which invites experts to discuss an individual goal, global progress on it, and the challenges it presents, and how each goal is linked to environmental sustainability. The first episode of the series looks at SDG1 on poverty, and features a conversation with two IGES guest experts on the topic. Listen and subscribe on your listening platform of choice below to never miss an episode. More details available here PAST EVENTS Successful Conclusion of the "Third Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" The Third Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development took place on 20-21 July in Tokyo, Japan. This globally-significant conference concluded successfully, having welcomed more than 130 speakers, both on-site and on-line, from around the world. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, IGES President, in his closing remarks, suggested an ambitious global goal for biodiversity, namely, becoming "Nature positive for biodiversity by 2030". He underlined that the scientific findings of the IPCC （Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), IPBES (The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), GEO (The Group on Earth Observations) and other organisations, must be reflected in international policies and linked to the practice of "sustainable community development" in local communities. More details available here HLPF 2022 Side Event "Asia-Pacific Regional Review of Knowledge and Experiences on Environmental Dimension VNRs" The UN’s annual reports show that the Asia-Pacific region is falling behind on the SDGs. There are many known reasons for slow or stalled progress. Some of the well-understood causes include a consistent lack of data and indicators, especially for the environment, which are a crucial compass for stocktaking, progress and review, and planning. This 2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) side event shared key findings of a collaborative project between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and IGES aimed at reviewing 50 Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) produced by 36 Asia-Pacific countries that were presented at the HLPF between 2016 and 2021. More details available here IGES webinar on Voluntary Local Reviews 2022 - Overcoming Barriers to Implementation Cities are leading much-needed actions to implement the SDGs, spurring real change at the local level with global repercussions. As part of their commitment to localising the 2030 Agenda, a growing number of cities are turning to the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process to reflect on their SDG journey and plan future steps. In this webinar, New Taipei, Barcelona and Asker shared their VLR experiences, particularly on the benefits of VLRs in promoting SDG localisation, and on how cities could build on the legacy of their VLRs. This open conversation provided insights on how to localise, monitor and review the SDGs on the ground. More details available here PUBLICATIONS Policy Report "SDGs Progress Report 2022: Survey Results on the Efforts of GCNJ Companies and Organisations" Authors: IGES; Global Compact Network Japan Policy Brief "Sustainable and Inclusive Solutions to Air Pollution and Climate Change in Southeast Asia: Participatory Governance, Social Co-benefits and Co-Innovation" Authors: Eric ZUSMAN; Nanda Kumar JANARDHANAN; Precious BENJAMIN; Jazel Nico CRUZ; Dang ESPITA-CASANOVA Research Report "State of the Voluntary Local Reviews 2022: Overcoming Barriers to Implementation" Authors: Fernando ORTIZ-MOYA; Yatsuka KATAOKA Issue Brief "Japan Sustainable Finance Policy Update February 2022 - April 2022" Authors: Maiko MORISHITA; Noriko SHIMIZU; Naoki MORI "Joint Crediting Mechanism and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement: Strengthening Japan-India Technology Collaboration" Authors: Kentaro TAMURA; Nanda Kumar JANARDHANAN; Temuulen MURUN; Dorothy ASHMITA BISWAS; Soham BANERJEE Training or Learning Material "A Guide for Raising Awareness: Reduction of Organic Waste through Source Separation" Authors: Miho HAYASHI; Premakumara Jagath DICKELLA GAMARALALAGE "Open Waste Burning in Asian Cities: Challenges and Opportunities" Authors: Rajeev Kumar SINGH; Premakumara Jagath DICKELLA GAMARALALAGE Database Updates "IGES GHG Emissions Database" Peer Reviewed Articles "Assessing the Environmental-Health-Economic Co-Benefits from Solar Electricity and Thermal Heating in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia" (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health) Authors: Hooman FARZANEH; Mehrnoosh DASHTI; Eric ZUSMAN; So-Young LEE; Dagvadorj DAMDIN; Zifei NIE "Rethinking Forest Monitoring for More Meaningful Global Forest Landscape Change Assessments" (Journal of Environmental Management) Authors: Ronald ESTOQUE; Brian JOHNSON; Rajarshi DASGUPTA; Yan GAO; Toshiya MATSUURA; Takeshi TOMA; Yasumata HIRATA; Rodel LASCO "Assessing the Yield of Wheat Using Satellite Remote Sensing-Based Machine Learning Algorithms and Simulation Modeling" (Remote Sensing) Authors: Gowhar MERAJ; Shruti KANGA; Abhijeet AMBADKAR; Pankaj KUMAR; Suraj Kumar SINGH; Majid FAROOQ; Brian JOHNSON; Akshay RAI; Netrananda SAHU "Current State of Microplastic Pollution Research Data: Trends in Availability and Sources of Open Data" (Frontiers in Environmental Science, Freshwater Science) Authors: Tia JENKINS; Bhaleka PERSAUD; Win COWGER; Kathy SZIGETI; Dominique ROCHE; Erin CLARY; Stephanie SLOWINSKI; Benjamin LEI; Amila ABEYNAYAKA; Ebenezer NYADJRO; Thomas MAES; Leah-Thornton HAMPTON; Melanie BERGMANN; Julian AHERNE; Sherri MASON; John HONEK; Fereidoun REZANEZHAD; Amy LUSHER; Andy BOOTH; Rodney SMITH; Philippe Van CAPPELLEN "Combination of Conditions of Donors Characteristics for ODA in Mitigation Sector" (Journal of Environmental Information Science) Authors: Noriko SHIMIZU; Chisa UMEMIYA; Masako IKEGAMI RECRUITMENT / INTERNSHIP The Research and Publications Unit of the Strategic Management Office (SMO-RP) Internship More details available here Any comments? unsubscribe | update subscription preferences Copyright (C) 2022 Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. 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