Covering climate change to green tech, here are the key findings from this year so far!
We’re halfway through our self-set timeline to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fast approaching the 2030 deadline of the framework put forth in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, so it seems that now is the right moment to reflect on the following questions:
🟢 Where do we stand?
🟢 What opportunities are there to overcome our challenges and grow in new directions?
🟢 Where do we go from here?
In the lead-up to Earth Day 2023 (22 April) and alongside our Sustainability Week here in Maastricht, the Netherlands, we’ve gathered together the most important reports documenting the state of our planet that have been published so far this year.
Here’s a brief overview of each with links so you can learn more about where we are now and where we need to go – and lastly, we share a few details about the upcoming SDGs report that will be published this September.
Climate - IPCC
Published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a global body of experts convened by the UN, this is the most comprehensive climate change report to date.
Alarmingly, it states that average temperatures are certain to soon exceed the 1.5 degree Celsius target laid out by the Paris Agreement, unless industrialized nations take drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Tech and Innovation - UNCTAD
UNCTAD Technology and Innovation Report 2023In this report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) looks at the “green transformation” in which we currently find ourselves, specifically through the lens of the impact it can have on developing countries.
Through market analyses of the 17 most important green and frontier technologies, it lays out pathways for how the rapid advancement in innovation can bridge economic and capacity gaps between nations.
For more information, read the following working papers from UNU-MERIT:
The green and digital transition in manufacturing global value chains in latecomer countries
Green windows of opportunity in the Global SouthUNU-MERIT researchers Dr Rasmus Lema, Fabianna Ferreira and Dr. Clovis Freire all contributed to this UNCTAD report; Dr Lema also co-authored the two working papers listed above.
Water - UN Water
UN World Water Development Report 2023The flagship report of UN Water was launched on World Water Day (22 March) this year, alongside the UN 2023 Water Conference (the first major UN conference dedicated to water since 1977).
Focused on “partnerships and cooperation for water” across different thematic areas (agriculture, industry and health, as a few examples) and on policy recommendations, the report seeks to to help get our route toward achieving SDG 6 back on track.
UNU-MERIT researchers Dr Sanae Okamoto and Dr Serdar Türkeli contributed to Chapters 6 (Health) and 11 (Innovation) of this report.
Finance - UNEP FI
The 2023 Climate Risk LandscapeAs climate change accelerates, companies, institutions and communities are increasingly forced to incorporate associated risks into their planning and decision-making, which is why the field of climate risk tools is growing so quickly.
Aimed at financial actors, this report from the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) gives an overview of what tools are available and how they can best be used to reduce emissions in a sustainable way.
Population - UN DESA
UN DESA World Social Report 2023Population ageing – due to advancements in health, survival and fertility reduction – is a defining global trend of our time, and this change brings both challenges and opportunities as countries strive to achieve the SDGs.
The latest report from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) explores the economic and social implications of the ageing of the human population – and what this should, in turn, mean for good governance.
⏳ Coming soon! SDGs report
Coming this September in time for the major SDG Summit 2023, a landmark Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) will be released to mark the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda by detailing where we stand with the SDGs.
Identifications of where we’re falling furthest behind will be paired with practical solutions and entry points for rapid change in a bid to quicken our pace toward a more sustainable future.
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The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of UNU.
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