Click here to visit the IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub knowledgebase.  SDG UPDATE A compilation of items recently posted to the SDG Knowledge Hub Tuesday, 9 October 2018 POLICY BRIEFS SDG Knowledge Weekly: Fighting Climate Change, Financing Climate Action Following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 48th Session in Incheon, Republic of Korea, this week’s brief reviews a selection of papers and initiatives released around the meeting. We focus on analyses of actions needed to deliver on the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. GENERATION 2030 AFSD – 2018: Highlighting the Role of Youth in the Arab World in Fostering Transformation towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies The UN’s 2030 Strategy and Global Partnership Initiative for Youth was launched the day before the opening of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly to create a surge of interest in the ways youth can be agents of transformative change in their societies. In this year’s Arab Forum for Sustainable Development (AFSD), this focus was front and center, and participants explored the role of youth in a larger framework, linking natural resources, the common good and inter-generational justice. FEATURED IPCC Special Report: Limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C Will Require “Unprecedented” Transitions 8 October 2018: The 48th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-48) has approved a Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) and its Technical Summary, and adopted a Summary for Policymakers (SPM), following its line-by-line discussion. According to the Panel, limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5ºC is still possible; however, it will require “unprecedented” transitions in all aspects of society, including: the transformation of energy, agricultural, urban and industrial systems; engagement of non-state actors; and integration of climate action into broader public policy and development frameworks. UNECE Publishes Assessment of Progress on Water Convention 4 October 2018: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has published a progress report on implementation of the Water Convention, showing that Parties have made “significant progress” towards cooperation on transboundary waters. The report titled, ‘Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation under the Water Convention,’ is based on self-assessments submitted by 38 of the 40 countries that were Parties at the time of the reporting exercise in 2017. Nine Countries, EU Sign Agreement to Prevent Unregulated Fishing in Central Arctic Ocean 3 October 2018: The Governments of Canada, China, Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Norway, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea and the US and the EU signed an agreement to prevent unregulated commercial fishing on the high seas in the central Arctic Ocean. This agreement is the first to use a legally binding, precautionary approach to protect an area from commercial fishing before fishing has begun in the area. NEWS African Statisticians Reflect on Data Needs for SDGs, Agenda 2063 4 October 2018: Participants at the Sixth Statistical Commission for Africa (StatCom-Africa VI) urged African governments to allocate increased resources to the production, dissemination and use of statistics to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and national development plans. An accompanying symposium offered countries the opportunity to share national progress on statistics for implementing the SDGs and Agenda 2063 and to discuss regional indicators for the two agendas. PwC Index Finds Decarbonization Rates Are “Less than Half” Needed to Meet Paris Agreement 4 October 2018: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Low Carbon Economy Index (LCEI) 2018 finds that national decarbonization rates do not match the level needed to achieve commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change. The top performing countries on the Index are China, Mexico, Argentina and the UK, all of which grew their economies while reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. UN Urges Tackling Waste Management on World Habitat Day 1 October 2018: The UN recognized World Habitat Day with calls for increasing imagination and innovation to address global waste management challenges. The Day focused on the theme, ‘Municipal Solid Waste.’ Kew Report Showcases Potential of Fungi to Tackle Plastic Pollution 1 October 2018: The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has released a report that describes how a plastic-eating fungus could help to tackle the world’s growing plastic waste problem. The report underscores the “fundamental importance” in understanding the contribution of fungi to biodiversity and its ecological functions. WIPO Illustrates How Innovation, Intellectual Property Can Support SDGs October 2018: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has highlighted how diffusion of innovative technologies can play a critical role in achieving many of the SDGs. The publication describes the relationship between intellectual property, innovation and the SDGs, and showcases examples of WIPO’s contributions to the SDGs. Post-Conflict, Fragile States Exchange Lessons on Economic Resilience 28 September 2018: Conflict-affected and fragile countries shared their experiences in pursuing peace, inclusivity and economic resilience, during an event held in the margins of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Organized by the permanent missions of Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste and the g7+ Secretariat, the event focused on ways for g7+ member countries to exchange with non-members on lessons in building resilience. IRENA Launches SIDS Lighthouses Initiative 2.0 28 September 2018: Leaders of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and development partners gathered at UN Headquarters for a High-Level Roundtable to discuss how to increase ambition to accelerate energy transformation in SIDS and to launch the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative 2.0. The initiative intends to strengthen cooperation on renewable energy, accelerate energy transformation in SIDS, strengthen climate resilience, and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. UNISDR Tool Promotes City-to-City Peer Review for DRR 28 September 2018: The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has released a city-to-city disaster risk reduction (DRR) peer review. The ‘USCORE’ tool is expected to help cities implement the Sendai Framework for DRR and build the resilience of cities. UNECE Publishes Guidance for Addressing Nexus Issues in Transboundary Waters 28 September 2018: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) published the approach it has developed for addressing the water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus in transboundary basins, ahead of the eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention (MOP-8) in Astana, Kazakhstan. The methodology was developed over six years of activities around assessing nexus issues and generating policy options that can share the benefits of development among countries and tackle common problems. One Planet Summit Takes Stock of Commitments, Announces New Actions to Meet Paris Agreement Goals 26 September 2018: The second edition of the One Planet Summit reviewed progress on commitments taken last year and announced a variety of new initiatives to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The report titled, ‘One Planet Summit: The Review of the Commitments,’ released at the conclusion of the event, describes 30 actions being taken under 12 broader commitments that span 150 countries. IEA Releases Reports on G20 Energy Transition Progress 25 September 2018: The International Energy Agency (IEA) and Argentina's Ministry of Energy and Mines released two technical reports focusing on progress and challenges of energy transitions for G20 countries. The publications address climate change mitigation through energy transitioning, and the role of high quality data collection for policy. High-level Event Seeks to Build Momentum for Refugee Compact 24 September 2018: A high-level event highlighted positive approaches taken since the adoption of the 2016 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, including initiatives to strengthen the resilience of refugees and communities where they reside. The meeting also reflected on how the proposed global compact will take these and other developments to scale. UN-Habitat Database Provides Budget, Expenditure Data for Over 100 Cities 24 September 2018: The first database of its kind, UN-Habitat’s Global Municipal Database (GMD) offers a standard set of indicators and local-level, per capita budget data for over 100 cities. The database, launched in September 2018, aims to highlight the importance of local financial data to policy- and decision-making. IUCN Launches Urban Nature Alliance to Monitor Natural Capital, Improve Health 24 September 2018: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has launched the Urban Nature Alliance. Dedicated to improving human health and well-being through greener cities, the Alliance aims to standardize how cities measure their natural capital and raise awareness on the benefits of preserving urban ecosystems. Investor Agenda Launch Steps Up Action to Shift Trillions for Climate Change 12 September 2018: A group of partners launched an Investor Agenda enabling investors to report on the actions they are taking on climate change. Announced as part of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in Person Conference and Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), the Investor Agenda is expected to enable investors to better manage climate risk and scale up their actions through the capture of new data. CURRENT & UPCOMING EVENTS SEE MORE » Social Pre-COP in Belgium to the Katowice Climate Change Conference 9 October 2018 | Brussels, Belgium 2nd Arctic Biodiversity Congress 9-12 October 2018 | Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland 32nd Meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board 9-12 October 2018 | Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Third Inter-ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in Africa 9-12 October 2018 | Libreville, Estuaire, Gabon Africa-Arab Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction 9-13 October 2018 | Tunis, Tunisia GCF Private Investment for Climate Conference 10-11 October 2018 | Incheon, Republic of Korea 9th Working Session of the ITPS 10-12 October 2018 | Rome, Lazio, Italy Eighth Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group to Enhance the Functioning of the Multilateral... 10-12 October 2018 | Rome, Lazio, Italy Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention 10-12 October 2018 | Astana, Kazakhstan Science Forum 2018 10-12 October 2018 | Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa Seventh Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-VII) 10-12 October 2018 | Nairobi, Kenya 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) 10-19 October 2018 | Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland Arctic Environment Ministers’ Meeting 11-12 October 2018 | Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference: London 2018 11-12 October 2018 | London, England, UK 2018 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group 12-14 October 2018 | Bali, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia Global Infrastructure Forum 2018 13 October 2018 | Bali, Jakarta Raya, 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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