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, 23 July 2020 POLICY BRIEFS Tracking the Trackers: SDG Data Sources at Year Five If you were listening to the discussions and announcements released during the eighth session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), you no doubt heard about the role of data in SDG implementation.  NEWS WTO Committee on Trade and Environment Continues Efforts on Plastics Pollution, Circular Economy The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met on 3 July 2020 to discuss how trade policy can address plastics pollution and a circular economy and to review the resumption of work on other initiatives disrupted by COVID-19. WTO Members Highlight Benefits and Drawbacks of E-commerce Moratorium India and South Africa circulated a communication to members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council, arguing that the WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions has “catastrophic” impacts on developing countries’ economic growth, jobs, and the attainment of the SDGs. In another communication, a group of WTO members highlighted “the overall benefits” of duty-free electronic transmissions. Report Details Methods for Measuring Lead in Paint The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have published an overview of analytical methods for measuring lead in paint both in the laboratory and in situ where lead paint has been used. As Decade of Action Has Become a Decade of Recovery, HLPF Focuses on Pandemic Response The annual meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) took place during its originally scheduled dates, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant that other resemblances to previous HLPF sessions were limited. SDGs Today Platform Offers Open Access to SDG-related Data The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched 'SDGs Today: The Global Hub for Real-Time SDG Data' on the sidelines of the 2020 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). WTO Contribution to HLPF Reviews Trade-related SDG Progress The World Trade Organization (WTO) released a report for the 2020 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) that highlights the WTO’s efforts to achieve trade-specific targets in the SDGs as well as the organization’s contribution to trade across all the SDGs. HLPF Event Focuses on Efforts to Realize Societies in Harmony with Nature The Satoyama Initiative aims to protect the planet, build resilience, advance well-being, share nature’s benefits, and foster partnerships. Participants during a virtual event focused on the Initiative sought to break down how these objectives could help to drive a green post-COVID-19 recovery.  VNR Planning Underway for HLPF 2021 While 47 countries are now turning to the task of implementing the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) presented during the July 2020 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), other countries are preparing to present a VNR to the July 2021 session of the HLPF.  CURRENT & UPCOMING EVENTS SEE MORE » G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting 22-23 July 2020 | virtual Fourth Meeting of the Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB 4) 22-25 July 2020 | virtual Third Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework [Postpo... 27 July 2020 | Cali, Valle Del Cauca, Colombia 8th Dialogue on Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) - Europe and Central Asia 29 July 2020 | virtual Information Sessions on Submission of Pilot Project Proposals under the Basel Convention’s Plastic... 6 August 2020 | virtual International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2020 9 August 2020 | worldwide Exchange of Lessons Learnt and Good Practices regarding MRV Systems from Eastern and Southern Africa 12 August 2020 | virtual International Youth Day 2020 12 August 2020 | worldwide Virtual Conference on Low-Carbon Finance and the Sustainable Development Goals 12-14 August 2020 | virtual The Opportunity for a Green Recovery in the Post COVID-19 Crisis in the Context of the Sustainable D... 18 August 2020 | virtual Regional Technical Expert Meeting on Mitigation 2020 - Region: Africa 19 August 2020 | virtual World Humanitarian Day 2020 19 August 2020 | worldwide Regional Technical Expert Meetings on Mitigation 2020 - Region: Latin America and the Caribbean 20 August 2020 | virtual Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum 2020 24-28 August 2020 | virtual World Water Week 2020 at Home 24-28 August 2020 | Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden (virtual) Regional Technical Expert Meetings on Mitigation 2020 - Region: Asia and Pacific 25 August 2020 | virtual 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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