Click here to visit the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub knowledgebase.  SDG UPDATE A compilation of items recently posted to the SDG Knowledge Hub Thursday, 10 October 2019 FEATURED UNGA, ECOSOC Launching Preparations for HLPF in 2020 and Beyond 10 October 2019: UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande will soon launch intergovernmental consultations on the 2020 theme for the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), as well as the process for reviewing the HLPF. Caribbean Leaders Discuss Debt for Climate Adaptation Swap, Caribbean Resilience Fund 1 October 2019: The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, highlighted the potential of a ‘Debt for Climate Adaptation Swap’ initiative during several events that convened during the UN Climate Action Summit and the 74th session of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) High-level Week. ECLAC has advocated for such an initiative at a number of events leading up to the 2019 Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit. UN Women Highlights “Compound Effect” of Location, Wealth, Ethnicity on Gender Inequality 26 September 2019: UN Women has published a report on progress towards gender equality across all the SDGs. The authors argue for a multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral approach to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind, emphasizing that the factors that contribute to women’s and girls’ disadvantages “do not operate in isolation.” UNEP Identifies Lessons from a Decade of Emissions Gap Assessments 22 September 2019: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a paper outlining lessons learned from ten years of assessing emissions gaps, arguing that the last ten years have resulted in “a lost decade of climate action,” with increasing emissions, and faster and deeper emissions reductions needed as a result. NEWS Asia-Pacific Discusses Energy Transition in Support of SDG 7 8 October 2019: The tenth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development discussed opportunities to support progress on SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG 13 (climate action) across the Asia-Pacific region. Participants shared their experiences with SDG 7 implementation, and considered opportunities and barriers to achieving an energy transition in the region. FAO Matchmaking Initiative to Focus on Hunger and Poverty 26 September 2019: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has launched the Hand-in-Hand Initiative to enable “matchmaking” between countries with the highest poverty and hunger rates and those countries most able to offer support. Targeting highly-populated, less developed countries, the initiative aims to accelerate progress on the SDGs, especially with regard to ending poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2). 'Fixing the Business of Food' Recommends Aligning Food Systems with the SDGs 24 September 2019: A report titled, ‘Fixing the Business of Food – The Food Industry and the SDG Challenge,’ spotlights how the food industry is undermining the SDGs, draws attention to the industry's own development challenges, and makes recommendations for change. The report aims to arm industry leaders with recommendations for supporting healthy and sustainable diets along with sustainable food production methods and supply chains. UN Secretary-General Presents 2020 Programme Budget, Reform Updates 8 October 2019: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres introduced the proposed programme budget for 2020 to the UN General Assembly's Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), and briefed delegates on the current state of the UN reform process. Guterres noted that the 2020 budget is the first programme budget prepared in accordance with the reform agenda. City of Pittsburgh Announces SDG Engagement 4 October 2019: The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, has announced official plans to work towards achieving the SDGs. In a public announcement, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto noted that the city will work in partnership with institutional, non-profit, business and civic sectors to use the SDGs as a way to shape measurement standards, ensure equitable public engagement, and identify areas of need to allocate public resources. UNFCCC Publishes Agendas for Santiago Climate Change Conference 4 October 2019: The UNFCCC has published the agendas for the Santiago Climate Change Conference, which will convene from 2-13 December 2019 in Chile. The Conference will include the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC, the 15th session of the COP serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 15), the second session of the COP serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 2), and the 51st sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 51) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 51). UN Secretary-General Highlights Santiago Conference as Opportunity for Accountability for Commitments 3 October 2019: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has written an opinion piece warning that while some understand the climate crisis through data, those suffering its impacts “can simply look out the window” and see them firsthand. Guterres notes that the Climate Action Summit aimed to “serve as a springboard” to ensure that countries are on track ahead of the 2020 deadline to increase ambition established by the Paris Agreement on climate change. GIG, BNEF Launch Tool to Assess Climate Benefits of Wind and Solar Assets 3 October 2019: Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) partnered with Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) to develop a tool to assess the climate benefits of over 40,000 wind and solar assets around the world. The groups launched the tool at the Macquarie GIG Green Energy Conference. Mitigation Finance Update: Every Project Counts to Help Achieve SDGs 7, 13 3 October 2019: The past month saw a number of initiatives relating to: economic transitions supported by renewable energy sources, particularly solar; energy storage solutions and developments; and energy efficient housing projects in line with the ‘Zero Carbon Buildings for All Initiative,’ aiming to decarbonize buildings by 2050. This Update informs of the support provided to various mitigation projects in these sectors around the world. Each of the financing agreements highlighted brings the international community closer to reaching the SDGs, in particular SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG 13 (climate action). Commitments to LDCF Announced during UN Summits Week 26 September 2019: Six donor countries recently announced funding commitments to help the world’s most vulnerable nations adapt to climate change through the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF). The Global Environment Facility (GEF)-managed LDCF is the only multilateral fund fully dedicated to climate action in LDCs. Stakeholders Report on Engagement in SDGs, VNRs at National Level 24 September 2019: Together 2030 and Newcastle University have released the results of a survey on stakeholder engagement in national review and implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. The authors report progress on increasing civil society awareness and participation in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) since the beginning of the reviews in 2016, but point to little progress on SDG implementation following the VNRs. WTTC, UNFCCC Launch Sustainability Action Plan for Travel and Tourism Sector 24 September 2019: The Sustainability Action Plan of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) aims to encourage and help the travel and tourism sector to take stronger and more ambitious action to address climate change. Uruguay Launches NAP for Agricultural Sector 23 September 2019: The Government of Uruguay has developed a climate action plan to deal with the impacts of climate change faced by the agriculture sector, which will also help the country achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the SDGs. OECD Report Finds Well-being Focus Presents Opportunities for Accelerating Climate Action 20 September 2019: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published highlights from a report that examines synergies and tradeoffs between climate change mitigation and other SDGs focused on health, education, jobs and the environment. The report calls for reframing climate policies using a well-being lens to make synergies and tradeoffs “systematically visible” and enable decision makers to increase and maximize synergies, and minimize and manage tradeoffs. Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop Showcases Industry, Government Efforts to Eliminate Lead in Paint 22 August 2019: An Asia-Pacific regional workshop built support for phasing out lead in paint, addressed the need for effective lead paint laws, and raised awareness on the Lead in Paint Component of a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-supported project on ‘Global Best Practices on Emerging Chemical Policy Issues of Concern Under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).’ CURRENT & UPCOMING EVENTS SEE MORE » Virtual Island Summit 6-10 October 2019 | virtual 34th Meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board 7-11 October 2019 | Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Building Bridges Week 7-11 October 2019 | Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development - 15th Annual Genera... 7-11 October 2019 | Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power 7-11 October 2019 | Vienna, Wien, Austria 15th Meeting of the Rotterdam Convention Chemical Review Committee 8-10 October 2019 | Rome, Lazio, Italy Pre-COP to the Santiago Climate Change Conference 8-10 October 2019 | San Jose, Costa Rica 12th International Scientific Conference on Energy and Climate Change 9-11 October 2019 | Athens, Attiki, Greece C40 World Mayors Summit 9-12 October 2019 | Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark First Meeting of Signatory Countries of Escazu Agreement 11-12 October 2019 | San Jose, Costa Rica 2019 Arctic Circle Assembly 11-13 October 2019 | Reykjavik, Iceland World Migratory Bird Day 2019 12 October 2019 | worldwide International Symposium and High-level Event on Action for Climate Empowerment 13-14 October 2019 | Austria 51st Session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf 14 October 2019 | New York City, US III Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Protected Areas 14-17 October 2019 | Lima, Peru Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF 14-20 October 2019 | Washington D.C., US 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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