Click here to visit the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub knowledgebase.  SDG UPDATE A compilation of items recently posted to the SDG Knowledge Hub Wednesday, 16 November 2022 GUEST ARTICLES To Survive in a Changing Climate, We Must Look to Forests By Tiina Vähänen, Deputy Director, Forestry Division, and Amy Duchelle, Senior Forestry Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN History shows that in times of crisis, human beings can rapidly learn to think and do things in new and better ways. Now is one of those times. The world is facing an existential crisis due to climate change, and we must learn to protect, restore, and manage natural ecosystems sustainably to help us to adapt and thrive. Accelerating Net-zero Pledges with Public-led Climate Financing By Charles Di Leva and Scott Vaughan Last November, at the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 26), roughly 450 financial institutions joined the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). With much fanfare, some of the world’s biggest banks, investors, insurers, pension funds, asset owners, and asset managers pledged to create a new, climate-attuned financial architecture, described by one of its members – Brookfield Asset Management – as “essentially changing the incentive structure for decarbonization.” A common goal uniting global financial leaders was their pledge to meet net-zero climate goals. Multilateral Development Banks and Climate Finance: More Words Than Action By Dr. Ayse Kaya, Professor, Swarthmore College; Adjunct Professor, The Wharton School Multilateral development banks (MDBs) dispense concessional and non-concessional funding for development to low- and middle-income countries. A growing obstacle in the way of development and poverty-reduction is climate change’s adverse impacts. In this context, the World Bank and its peer regional institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), have an increasingly important role to play in channeling their financial resources for climate-related projects in member countries. Yet, they are lagging behind in the provision of multilateral climate finance and need to become more transparent and rigorous in their extant approaches. Forest Commitments Nowhere Near What is Needed to Achieve Paris Agreement By Gabriel Labbate, Head of Climate Mitigation Unit and Global Team Leader UN-REDD, UNEP Finance for forests is still insufficient to halt and reverse forest loss and degradation, crucial to keeping global warming below 2°C, according to a new report by the UN-REDD Programme, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), and the Green Gigaton Challenge (GGC). NEWS SEI Launches Tool to Assess Policies, Projects Against All 17 SDGs The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has launched its Agenda 2030 Compass – a tool that allows users to evaluate the merits of a given investment option, research strategy, or policy by assessing direct and indirect impacts on the SDGs, to achieve maximum societal benefits. Experts Issue Guide to Prevent Net-zero Greenwashing by Non-State Actors A high-level expert group the UN Secretary-General appointed in March 2022 to address a “surplus of confusion and deficit of credibility” over net-zero pledges of non-State entities has issued its first report, urging actors to “draw a red line around greenwashing.” Potential of CCS in Africa Highlighted During COP 27 Emerging economy experiences in decarbonization through carbon capture and storage (CCS) and relevant lessons that could be learned by African countries from the experience of the US, Norway, the UK, and Canada were the focus of a side event at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference. Technology Mechanism Work Programme Launched at COP 27 The UNFCCC launched the first joint work programme of the Technology Mechanism for 2023-2027, cementing a long-term collaboration between the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) to ratchet up the impact of the Technology Mechanism. The launch comes following a dialogue with innovation leaders. COP 27 Events Discuss Funding for Forest Emissions Reduction, Adaptation The UN Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) and the Green Gigaton Challenge are aiming to mobilize funding to achieve one gigaton of annual emissions reductions from forests by 2025, and annually after that. This was the focus of a side event at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 27), which discussed findings from the report titled, ‘Making Good on the Glasgow Climate Pact: A Call to Action to Achieve One Gigaton of Emissions Reductions from Forests by 2025.’ Intergovernmental Forum Explores Role of Mining in Energy Transition The 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) explored how the mining sector can reposition itself to supply critical minerals to enable the ongoing global clean energy transition, while ensuring they are extracted and traded in a responsible manner. IISD Webinar Assesses COP 27 Progress at Halfway Point The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) held a webinar at the midway point of the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 27) where the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team shared insights on progress in the talks achieved thus far, and identified possible directions for the second week of the conference, based on the trajectory of negotiations. UNEP Report Calls for a “Step Change” in Adaptation Investments, Outcomes The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has issued its annual Adaptation Gap Report, which provides a science-based assessment of the global progress on adaptation planning, financing, and implementation. It finds that while implementation of adaptation actions is increasing, it is not keeping up with climate change impacts, and that international adaptation finance flows to developing countries are five to ten times below estimated needs. ESCWA Proposes Index to Measure Development, Governance, Sustainability The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) issued a report introducing a new global index that measures shortfalls in achievements in three areas: quality-adjusted human development; environmental sustainability; and good governance. The Development Challenges Index (DCI) adapts the Human Development Index (HDI), and shifts “from quantitative development achievements to qualitative outcomes, reflecting advances in development thinking over the past three decades.” GEO Week 2022 Supports Global Action on Data for Local Impact The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) – an intergovernmental partnership of more than 100 countries and the European Commission, which “promotes open, coordinated, and sustained data sharing and infrastructure” to support research, policymaking, and action across multiple disciplines – convened GEO Week 2022 to discuss the potential for EO to help address global challenges. COP 27 Events Highlight Power of Climate Finance, Adaptation in Africa Reimagining the financial architecture of climate action demands humane immigration and just trade policies. This was the message coming out of a side event at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 27) on the role of the state in mobilizing and directing finance for climate and health. Speakers emphasized that finance flows remain inadequate, and that effective climate action requires investments from both the private and public sectors. MOP 34 Notes Montreal Protocol’s Linkages to Issue Areas Other Than Climate The expert panels of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which provide the foundation for negotiations, previewed their 2022 quadrennial assessment reports, providing insights into future work and highlighting potential connections to issue areas including food security, plastic pollution, and ecosystem health. Delegates also adopted the terms of reference for the study on the replenishment of the Multilateral Fund (MLF) for 2024-2026. COP 27 Side Events Focus on NAPs, JCM, Ocean-based Solutions Since the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process was established in 2010 under the Cancun Adaptation Framework, the UN has reported that 129 developing countries have launched NAPs. This was the focus of a side event at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 27). Other events focused on ocean-based climate solutions and Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism. Sustainable Oceans Initiative Looks to CBD, BBNJ Talks to Plan Ahead Representatives of regional seas organizations (RSOs), regional fishery bodies (RFBs), and international organizations and initiatives came together with experts from governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to consider updates on activities to advance cooperation at the regional scale within the framework of the Sustainable Oceans Initiative (SOI). Webinar Highlights Continued Dangers of Lead Exposure The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions convened a webinar on advancing work on lead and lessons from the work on lead in gasoline, lead in paint, and used lead-acid batteries. The event provided the space to highlight global successes, best practices, experiences, and lessons learned. CURRENT & UPCOMING EVENTS SEE MORE » Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 27) 6-18 November 2022 | Sharm el-Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt 19th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered... 14-25 November 2022 | Panama City, Panama G20 Leaders’ Summit 2022 15-16 November 2022 | Bali, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia Sixth Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health 16-18 November 2022 | Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland World Toilet Day 2022 19 November 2022 | worldwide International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2022 25 November 2022 | worldwide Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Solutions Forum 28-30 November 2022 | Apia, Tuamasaga, Samoa 17th Internet Governance Forum 28 November - 2 December 2022 | Addis Ababa, Adis Abeba, Ethiopia 63rd GEF Council Meeting 28 November - 2 December 2022 | Washington D.C., US Plastic Pollution INC-1 28 November - 2 December 2022 | Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay Rome Water Dialogue 29 November 2022 | Rome, Lazio, Italy Fifth Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework 3-5 December 2022 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada International Volunteer Day 2022 5 December 2022 | worldwide World Soil Day 2022 5 December 2022 | worldwide 37th UN-Water Meeting 5-6 December 2022 | Paris, Ile-De-France, France World Circular Economy Forum 2022 6-8 December 2022 | Kigali, Rwanda Funding for the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub has been provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) The IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub is a knowledgebase tracking implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 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