SUSTAINABILITY – Page 176 – IDN-InDepthNews

Climate Action2016-11-032023-07-10

Beware of Euphoria as Paris Climate Accord Enters into Force

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN (IDN) – United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and independent experts are cautioning against euphoria about the entry into force of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change.

Ahead of the forthcoming meeting of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known by the acronym COP 22, beginning on November 7 in Marrakech. Morocco, UNEP’s annual Emissions Gap report said the world must cut a further 25% from predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions, “to meet the stronger, and safer, target of 1.5 degrees Celsius” global temperature rise.

DEVNET2016-10-262023-07-10

‘Sufficiency Economics’ is King Bhumibol’s Best Legacy

By Lim Kooi Fong*

BANGKOK (IDN) – One of the most enduring images of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej is that he is almost always seen with a camera around his neck or in his hand during his time visiting regions within Thailand, checking on projects, which he personally supported and followed up.For over 70 years of his reign,

Thailand’s much loved monarch kept a promise – the promise that he would reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people. JAPANESE

Peace & Security2016-10-202023-07-10

Faith-Based Groups Make the Case for Disarmament

Analysis by T.K. Fernandes

NEW YORK (IDN) – Since the deadly use of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the international community has been calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Despite slow progress, civil society has continued to tirelessly advocate for a nuclear-free world and is in fact one step closer to its realization in principle.

While speaking to IDN, Director of Peace and Human Rights at Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Kimiaki Kawai noted the importance of nuclear disarmament, stating: “We share common global challenges like climate change, poverty, hunger and disasters – so why don’t we utilize our rich resources for more meaningful purposes?”

Climate Action2016-10-162023-07-10

Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland Discusses Sustainability

By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – With over 2,000 participants, including 400 speakers, the fourth Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik was a hive of activity and networking on everything to do with the Arctic. The event has become the largest Arctic event globally.

The concept of the gathering October 7-9 was devised by Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who until a few months ago had been President of Iceland and had put considerable time into Arctic matters and climate change. Grimsson still plays a central role in the Assembly.

DEVNET2016-09-302023-07-10

Food is as Important as Medicine and Happiness

Viewpoint by Naomi Yoshimura*

TOKYO (IDN) – While average life expectancy in Japan is the longest in the world, health expectancy, in terms of the period a person lives a healthy life without being constrained to receive care, is lagging far behind.

The Japanese people suffer the longest period of illness on average – ten years as compared to six to eight years in other developed countries. Japan also has the largest number of people in the world, who are 60-year old or even older. JAPANESE

Poverty2016-09-032023-07-10

UN Gears Up to Help Lesotho End Poverty

By Majara Molupe

MASERU (IDN) – The United Nations in Lesotho is set to help the Mountain Kingdom implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular Goal One: End Poverty in all its manifestations, including extreme poverty, over the next 15 years in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda, comprising 17 Goals approved by UN member states on September 25, 2015.

Sylvia Tiisetso Khabele, the UN Volunteer on UN Communications told IDN that the key priorities of the world body’s work on SDGs in 2016 include strengthening national capacities and those of the UN system for implementation of the Agenda 2030.

DEVNET2016-08-302023-07-10

Japanese Earthquakes Show Need for Disaster Prevention

By Toshiaki Kitazato*

KUMAMOTO, Japan (IDN) – In April this year, two major earthquakes struck Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu, southern Japan, where I live and work as a lawyer.

I was resting in my house when a magnitude 6.2 earthquake with an epicentre at a depth of around 11 km struck at 21:26 on April 14. Less than two days later, this was followed by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake at 1:26.

In fear of my life, I spent three nights in a car outside the house with my family. Luckily enough, all of us were safe and my house only received minor damage, while the walls surrounding my house collapsed. JAPANESE

Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture2016-08-252023-07-10

Climate Change Threatens USD2.5 trillion Losses in Agriculture

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) – Global warming threatens to cause a huge economic damage to agriculture, adding up to the annual amount of roughly 0.8 percent of global GDP by the end of the century, which translates to losses of $2.5 trillion dollars, warns a new study.

But further trade liberalization in agricultural commodities could reduce financial damage globally by 65 percent, to 0.3 percent of global GDP (Gross Domestic Product), says Miodrag Stevanovićby, lead author of the study by a team of scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

Peace & Security2016-08-212023-07-10

Light Installation and Cinema for Peace Screenings in Rio

By Courtesy of Cinema for Peace Foundation

RIO DE JANEIRO (IDN-INPS) – The Olympics should have been a time of peace, but the world was at war. There were 19 wars and 16 war-like conflicts in the world during the Olympic Games. Overall, there are 409 conflicts, of which 223 are violent.

To shine a light on conflicts and to endorse the peaceful ideals of Olympic Games the initiative Sports for Peace, who hosted at the London Olympics Muhammad Ali’s farewell, presented the ‘Olympic Ideal of Peace’ light installation in the Santa Marta Favela in Rio.

Gender Equality2016-08-062023-07-10

One Win Leads to Another in Sports and Gender Equality

UN Women, IOC and Always join to celebrate the community-based sports programme to build leadership skills and confidence of adolescent girls as part of the 2016 Rio Olympic legacy.

Rio de Janeiro (IDN-INPS) – Coinciding with the beginning of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, UN Women, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Always/Whisper celebrated on August 6 the ‘One Win Leads to Another’ initiative, a programme that empowers women and girls through sport.