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, 11 January 2018 FEATURED Eurostat Begins Monitoring SDG Progress 13 December 2017: The EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, issued a monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context. The strengths and weaknesses of the report have been the subject of discussion in, inter alia, a commentary from SDG Watch Europe, a panel event in the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and a debate in the European Parliament. Investors Announce LDN Fund Commitments January 2018: Three months after its official launch, the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund has raised approximately 30% of its target capitalization of US$300 million. Formal implementation and capital deployment towards the first set of LDN projects is expected to start after the first quarter of 2018, once the financial closure arrangements are in place. UN Secretary-General Releases Development System Strategy 20 December 2017: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released his second report on the repositioning of the UN development system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report elaborates on proposals first outlined in June 2017, setting out the "major changes required to ensure a more coherent, accountable and effective support to the 2030 Agenda." NEWS UNEP, WHO Launch Partnership on Environmental Health 10 January 2018: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP or UN Environment) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have announced an initiative to combat environmental health risks, which claim an estimated 12.6 million lives a year. The agreement, signed by Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, and Erik Solheim, UNEP Executive Director, on 10 January 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya, will increase joint action to combat air pollution, climate change and antimicrobial resistance, as well as improve coordination on waste and chemicals management, water quality, and food and nutrition. The agreement also includes joint management of the ‘BreatheLife’ campaign, which is focused on reducing air pollution to achieve multiple climate, environmental and health benefits. Climate Finance Institutional Update: One Planet Closes Climate Financing Year on High Note 8 January 2018: During the month of December 2017, the One Planet Summit in France, and its Climate Finance Day, delivered a number of new announcements from governments and non-state actors. New green bonds were announced by Nigeria, as well as by a bank in the Philippines and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In the Caribbean, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) held meetings in countries affected by devastating hurricanes in 2017. FABLE Consortium Launches Programme on Integrated Land-Use and Food Systems 5 January 2018: The inaugural meeting of the Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land Use and Energy (FABLE) Consortium took place the 6-8 December 2017, in Vienna, Austria. Among other actions, Consortium members will seek to develop national pathways towards sustainable land-use and food systems that are consistent with global objectives, such as keeping the rise of average temperatures to well below 2°C. UNU Brief Outlines Steps for SDG 6 Implementation 2 January 2018: The UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) has published a policy brief on how to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). Titled, ‘Accelerating Water-Related SDG Success: 6 Steps and 6 Components for SDG 6,’ the brief emphasizes effective national enabling environments built on multi-stakeholder collaboration that can hasten SDG implementation. Fifth Committee, UNGA Approve Management Reforms 23 December 2017: The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) concluded the main part of its 72nd session, recommending that the UNGA adopt a US$5.397 billion budget for the UN's work in the 2018-2019 biennium. Overall, 17 draft texts, including with regard to the programme budget implications for the intergovernmental conference on global migration, were forwarded to the UNGA and adopted. WHO, Caribbean Countries End Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis 1 December 2017: The World Health Organization (WHO) has supported several countries to prevent HIV and other communicable diseases from being passed from mother to child during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding. Six Caribbean countries have joined this group, successfully ending mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and syphilis, WHO reported in December 2017. CGIAR Consortium Celebrates “Big Wins” with Enhanced SDG Alignment December 2017: The 2016 Annual Report of the CGIAR Consortium titled, ‘Innovations for Global Food Security,’ highlights some “big wins” attributed to a renewed research portfolio and partnerships focused on aligning the Center’s strategic objectives more closely with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report discusses the role that the Consortium's 15 Research Centers collectively play in reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services. CURRENT & UPCOMING EVENTS SEE MORE » Subregional Workshop on the Management of Mercury Containing Lamps 9-11 January 2018 | Tunis, Tunisia UN Secretary-General's Briefing on Migration Report 11 January 2018 | New York City, US UNGA President's Briefing on 2018 Priorities 12 January 2018 | New York City, US Eighth Session of the Assembly of IRENA 13-14 January 2018 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates International Forum on Migration Statistics 2018 15-16 January 2018 | Paris, Ile-De-France, France International Water Summit 2018 15-18 January 2018 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates World Future Energy Summit 2018 15-18 January 2018 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates UN Secretary-General's Briefing on 2018 Priorities 16 January 2018 | New York City, US 2018 Gaidar Forum 16-18 January 2018 | Moscow, Moskva, Russian Federation ESCWA Workshop on SDG Indicators 16-18 January 2018 | Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon Workshop on Sustainable Rural Bioenergy Solutions in Africa 19 January 2018 | Nairobi, Kenya Workshop on the Environmentally Sound Management of E-wastes 20-23 January 2018 | Beijing, China Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affai... 22 January 2018 | New York City, US National Platforms for SDG Reporting: Identifying Best Practices and Solutions 22-24 January 2018 | New York City, US International Symposium on the Promotion of Deforestation-Free Global Supply Chains for Contributing... 23-24 January 2018 | Tokyo, Japan First Meeting of the Framework for Growth Working Group (G20 2018) 23-25 January 2018 | Yogyakarta (Java), Indonesia 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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