Walking, Cycling and Public Transport – Greener Mobility Options Than Electric Scooters or Ride-Hailing

19.02.2020

autobus_public_transport_javni_prevoz — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The growing use of electric scooters and ride-hailing services is transforming how we move in urban centres — but walking, cycling and public transport remain the best way to improve sustainable mobility in cities, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report. A separate EEA briefing on the environmental and climate impacts of transport finds that emissions of greenhouse gases from transport continue to increase, as demand for mobility across Europe keeps growing.

This year’s transport and environment report ‘The first and last mile — the key to sustainable urban transport’ assesses how green and sustainable ‘first and last mile’ transport options like bicycles, scooters or other means of short distance travel can transform mobility systems in cities. The report also assesses how innovative urban freight and inner city delivery services, including the use of delivery drones, can make urban freight transport more sustainable.

Short start or end journeys are an essential part of the daily commute. Bus, rail and metro services often cover the main part of trips to and from work, but people still need to first walk, drive or use another way to get to and from the nearest station or stop. Better first-mile, last-mile or only-mile journeys have the potential to bring down car use — reducing traffic congestion, emissions and improving air quality. Cities can do a lot to facilitate access to public transport systems by creating attractive urban spaces that are well connected to public transport infrastructure and by making walking and cycling to and from hubs and stops easier and more pleasant.

Shifting to walking, cycling and public transport will be crucial if Europe is to meet its long-term sustainability goals and policy objectives under the European Green Deal proposed by the European Commission in December 2019. Digitalisation and mobility apps can make a good urban mobility system even better, but they cannot compensate for underdeveloped public transport, the report cautions. For green options to have a fair chance to compete with cars, prices also need to reflect the harm done to health and environment.

Not all mobility options are equally green

Taken together with public transport, walking and cycling for short city journeys provide the greatest benefits for both human health and the environment in urban areas. The introduction and rapid uptake of app-based vehicle sharing schemes can also have benefits, however, the report points to studies which show that their impact on the environment is not always positive. Especially e-scooter sharing schemes appear to attract users that would have otherwise walked or used public transport. While the use of shared e-scooters generates few direct environmental impacts, their green credentials can be questioned by the substantial negative impacts associated to their materials, their manufacturing and their frequent collection for recharging purposes. Similarly, studies show that ride-hailing apps like Uber or Lyft do little to reduce emissions or congestion and actually draw people away from public transport.

Increasing transport emissions hamper EU progress towards environment and climate objectives

The transport sector continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels and is responsible for one quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions. The sector is also a significant source of air pollution, especially of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) as well as the main source of environmental noise in Europe. The EEA briefing tracks the short- and long-term environmental performance of the transport sector in the EU. Transport emissions were 29 % above 1990 levels in 2018. According to the European Green Deal proposal, transport emissions need to be cut by 90 % by 2050 to achieve climate neutrality in the EU.

Other key findings:

In 2018, average carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of new passenger cars increased for the second consecutive year, reaching 120.4 g CO₂ per kilometre. Petrol cars are overtaking diesel-fuelled cars in sales of new passenger cars, but the total consumption of diesel fuel keeps increasing. Average CO₂ emissions of new vans started to follow a similar upward trend in 2018.
Greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased the most rapidly of the transport modes — by an average of over 3 % each year since 2013. Greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping increased by 5 % in 2 years (2015-2017).
The share of renewable energy used for transport in the EU rose from 7.4 % in 2017 to 8.1 % in 2018. This is well below the EU target of 10 % set for 2020.
More than 27 % of European citizens are exposed to transport noise levels of 55 decibels (dB) or higher, including 15-20 % for road traffic noise alone.

Source: EEA

Do We Know What We Eat and How Safe We Are?

19.02.2020

paradajz_hrana_GM — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Mae Mu)

People all over the world continuously cross swords over genetically modified (hereinafter referred to as GM) food as one of the vital topics. While some advocate that it is the food of the future which could solve the problem of hunger in the world, others define it as bioterrorism of the new world order. Either way, it is becoming more and more accessible and more affordable due to its price. Although the production and supply of genetically modified organisms (hereinafter: GMOs) are prohibited by the Law in Serbia, this is no guarantee that you may not buy a product that has some form or some percentage of GM ingredient. What precisely GM food is, in which foodstuff GMOs are most represented, how to be sure about the things we are buying and eating, how much the law and the science protect us from the harmful effects of GM foods, we asked professor Vladimir Dimitrijevic PhD, the Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Belgrade, and professor Miladin Sevarlic PhD, the Member of the Parliament and the Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Agriculture in Belgrade.

EP: What exactly is GM food, and where is it more prevalent in the food of animal or plant origin?

Photo: Private archive of professor Vladimir Dimitrijevic PhD

Vladimir Dimitrijevic: GM food is a food of animal or plant origin derived from organisms (animal or plant) into whose hereditary basis (DNA) is inserted a part of the hereditary basis originating from another organism (another species) with a special procedure (Recombinant DNA technology). In this way, we made this organism modified (hence M in GMOs) at the DNA level. The idea behind the modification is to make certain genes in the body “switch on” or “off”, depending on the desire with which the modification is done. There are incomparably more organisms modified in this way in the food of plant origin.

Miladin Sevarlic: The Law on Genetically Modified Organisms (Law on GMO 2001, 2009) did not contain genetically modified food, nor it defined the term among the terms used in the law. Genetically modified food was defined on 14th March 2019 by Article 2 of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Food Safety, and it says: “Genetically modified food and genetically modified animal feed is the food and animal feed derived from genetically modified organisms in accordance with the specific regulation.” This is an incomplete definition since there are no guidelines on the origin of the subgroup of foods. A non-partisan member of the Parliament, I proposed a complete definition, which says: “Genetically modified food and genetically modified animal feed, food obtained from genetically modified organisms and feed obtained from genetically modified organisms, according to a special regulation.”

It is very important to point out the difference between the two subgroups of GMO-based agricultural and food products: GM food – which originates from GMO that are used as fresh agricultural products: GM tomatoes, GM apples, GM bananas… and GMO food – food products obtained by processing GMO (GM apple or GM banana chips, GM tomato ketchup, GM salmon fillets, GM pig steaks…) or the food with GMO additives (the food with GM corn syrup toppings…). Explosion of genetic modifications in agriculture – firstly in plant (from tomatoes, through soybeans, corn, cotton, oilseed rape… to apples and banana) and then in animal production (salmon, pigs…) as expected, due to the insatiable profitability of private corporations, with the production of GM medicine for the sick people who make a last-ditch effort, has extended to people; thus we already have the first GM babies in China (2018).

In focus:

EP: Is there any food industrial product today, domestic or imported, or raw vegetables, fruit, meat and fish for which we can say with certainty that it does not contain any percentage of a genetically modified organism? Or is everything contaminated to a greater or lesser extent?

Vladimir Dimitrijevic: First of all, the term “contamination” has a negative connotation among people, which is not justified in the case of GMOs. Of course, there are food products that do not contain GMOs. Depending on the country, the percentage of genetically modified crops varies from 0 to over 90 per cent (corn, soybeans, pumpkins, cotton, etc). In the US, for example, it is estimated that the share of products (food) in supermarkets, which in some extent containsgenetic modification, is about 65 per cent. On the other hand, there is a relatively small number of countries, including Serbia, which have zero tolerance for the production and supply of GMOs. Generally, in countries in which GM food is widely available, the largest number of GMO products are related to foods of plant origin (drinks, snacks, food supplements, etc). The proportion of genetically modified food of animal origin is very little. Except for some species of fish (salmon), the market shelves do not contain food originating from animals that have been genetically modified. Animals that ate genetically modified food cannot become genetically modified, and that is a common misconception among people.

Photo: Private archive of professor Miladin Sevarlic PhD

Miladin Sevarlic: Of course, there is! Fortunately, that is still vastly dominant majority of food produced in the world: from food obtained in certified organic or non-certified biodynamic agriculture, through food which is safer from integrally controlled agricultural production to less safe food from today’s dominant conventional production which uses pesticides in plant and growth hormones in livestock production, as well as additives, artificial flavours and colours in food production.

EP: What have previous researches shown, to what extent is GM food harmful to human health? What are the most common consequences of its long-term consumption?

Vladimir Dimitrijevic: All previous scientific studies that dealt with this issue suggest that the consumption of genetically modified food does not represent greater risk from the consumption of food that is not. Therefore, the consequences of a long-term diet with food that contains GMO in some form do not differ from the long-term intake of food which is GMO-free. Please note that, when discussing this issue which causes sharp divisions in public, only scientific researches published in rigorous peer-reviewed scientific journals, and not pseudoscientific and unscientific publications, should be considered.

Miladin Sevarlic: Starting from the research of Arpad Pusztai PhD (England, 1996), through, so far longest, two-year research conducted by professor Gilles-Éric Séralini PhD, (France, 2012), up to the studies of numerous Russian scientists, all the results indicate the harmful consequences of feeding experimental rats with GMOs produced with the use of pesticides based on carcinogenic glyphosate. In that respect, the most significant results are the researches of professor Séralini which show changes in the internal organs of rats in the next generation, from the increased participation of cancer in the second generation to the utter infertility of rats (even at such an extensive species in terms of population) fed by GM corn. If we apply the results to the people, it would mean that the true scale of the harmful effects of using GMOs in livestock and people’s nutrition will manifest in 90 to 120 years! The impact of GMOs on the nutrition of all types of cattle should be investigated, and those results would be very significant due to the shorter cycle of exploitation of certain types of livestock. Thus, we would have reliable data on the consequences of GMO in human nutrition in only one-fifth of people’s lifespan since people are on the top of the food chain because we use both plant and animal products. What happens to plants and animals will someday strike people too! Let me remind you of the “mad cow disease” and the consequences on the people who ate the meat of diseased cattle. Why haven’t the researches on the GMOs impact on livestock been done? It is obvious who finds that rather convenient.

EP: In Serbia the distribution and production of GMO are officially banned according to the Law on Genetically Modified Organisms from 2009. However, various data indicate that there are thousands of hectares under GM soybeans in Serbia and that despite the law and border checks, we import products that exceed 0.9 per cent of GMO admixture, which is considered in Europe as an inevitable level of technological contamination. How is this Law applied and how can we be sure that we are truly protected as citizens?

Vladimir Dimitrijevic: That would, however, be a question for someone else. Legislation, enforcement and control are the responsibility of the institutions of this country, primarilythe Expert Council for Biosafety, authorised laboratories, phytosanitary and veterinary inspection.

Miladin Sevarlic: The Law on GMOs from 2009 is relatively good protection for Serbia against the import and the placement of GMOs. The only thing that needs to be improved is the adoption of a by-law which stipulates that the provision on the permitted presence of 0.9 per cent of admixtures of GMOs in commercial products applies only to GMOs that are authorised for use in the European Union. The provision on the allowed presence of 0.1 per cent of GMOs admixture in seeds should be repealed by amending the Law and introducing zero tolerance for seed imports – as 0.1 per cent of GMO admixture can contaminate parcels planted with genetically unmodified seed during the blooming time. However, like any other law, the Law on GMO is disrespected in practice because of the illegal import of GMO seeds, especially soybeans) and due to sampling only 4 to 7 per cent of consignments from imported goods. Phytosanitary inspection during soybean vegetation controls a small number of parcels and determines the presence of GM soybeans on about twenty hectares, which is only the “tip of the iceberg”. If the data from these checks have been applied to the total area under soybean cultivation (over 150,000 ha), it would mean that 5,000 hectares of GM soybean are sown annually, which, with a yield of 3 t/ha gives an amount of 15,000 t or 750 tons of GM soybeans. This amount of soybeans ends up in the food chain of livestock on private farms of GM soybean producers or in smaller mixers for concentrated animal feed. The problem is the insufficient control, in particular, the absence of final information on the penalties imposed on offenders of the Law on GMO. That is the reason why I advise buyers of soybeans to buy the soybeans from the warehouses which have a control system for the presence of GM soybeans at the site or from the neighbours for which they know for sure that they do not grow GM soybeans.

Interviews by: Gordana Knezevic

Read the whole article in the new issue of Energy portal Magazine GRINNOVATIONS, December 2019 – February 2020.

Three Ways the United Nations Environment Programme Works to Address Illegal Trade in Wildlife

18.02.2020

tiger_tigar — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Chaz McGregor)

The world is dealing with unprecedented threats to wildlife. The loss of habitat from farming, mining and new urban developments has dramatically decreased the natural space for wildlife. Add to that the human demand for wildlife products—which generates as much as US$23 billion annually—and an estimated one million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. Illegal wildlife trade continues to pose a real danger to biodiversity, ecosystems and human health, as a number of emerging diseases stem from animal products, both domestic and wild.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) hosts the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, which regulates trade in roughly 5,800 species of animals and 35,000 species of plants to prevent overexploitation. Roughly 20,000 elephants are killed each year in Africa, while more tigers are believed to be held in captive breeding facilities throughout Asia than are in the wild, where it is estimated that only 3,800 remain.

Biological diversity is the core of healthy and productive ecosystems and the benefits that humans gain from a thriving natural environment are vast. UNEP, together with other United Nations agencies, governments, international organizations and the private sector, is working to raise awareness, enforce laws and enlisting the support of local communities to stop the illegal trade in wildlife.

Here are three ways that UNEP works to address this illegal trade:

UNEP supports the legal and sustainable management and trade of wildlife, in compliance with national and international law

As long as it is conducted sustainably and is well regulated, trade in wildlife often has positive conservation outcomes, as it provides incentives for good management of both habitats and the populations of species in trade. It can also produce jobs for local communities that reduce the desire to overuse or transform natural areas. In this way, sustainable trade can ensure the long-term survival of wildlife by generating income to support its management and conservation.

Through a collaborative initiative, UNEP and the CITES Secretariat help countries and territories, upon their request, strengthen their environmental governance to meet CITES requirements to combat illegal trade in wildlife. This is done by designating at least one Management Authority and one Scientific Authority; prohibiting trade in specimens in violation of the Convention; penalizing illegal trade; and confiscating specimens illegally possessed.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Mauricio Livio)

UNEP advocates for an end to illegal wildlife trade globally

UNEP is working with other United Nations agencies and secretariats such as CITES to stamp out illegal sale and trafficking in wildlife both domestically and internationally. It works to improve the enactment of national legislation and helps countries partner up to address transboundary issues of trafficked products at ports of entry. Globally, corruption is a serious problem that impedes combating the illegal wildlife trade. This is why, UNEP provides support through trainings of judges, law enforcement and custom officials on combatting wildlife crime and developing rule of law.

Through its Wild for Life campaign, UNEP also raises the public’s awareness and understanding of the social, economic and environmental impacts of the illegal trade using famous influencers, which can reach one billion people through their social channels. In this way it aims to strengthen international efforts to develop and demand reduction for illegally-sourced wildlife products.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Anthony Rosa)

UNEP supports conservation of the world’s biodiverse habitats

At least two-thirds of the planet’s land and seas have been transformed by human activity. Habitat degradation and destruction results in the unprecedented loss of species we are currently seeing—by some estimates as much as 1,000 times greater than any recorded time in history.

Habitat destruction can also increase the exposure of humans to zoonotic diseases (illnesses that arise from human contact with animals). Scientists suggest that degraded habitats may even encourage more rapid evolutionary processes and diversification of diseases. This is why UNEP works towards strengthening the scientific evidence base for policymakers. In 2016, UNEP published its Frontiers 2016 Report on Emerging Issues of Environment Concern, which included a chapter on emerging zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola, bird flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Rift Valley fever, sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), West Nile virus, and Zika virus disease.

“In the last two decades, emerging diseases have had direct costs of more than US$100 billion; if these outbreaks had become human pandemics, the losses would have amounted to several trillion dollars,” the report said.

As a result of UNEP’s work, significant progress has been made in garnering global high-level engagement in support of environmental governance, as well as mobilizing political will to achieve more impact at the national level.

Source: UNEP

Global Energy-Related CO2 Emissions Flattened in 2019, Following Two Years of Increases

18.02.2020

nuclear_power_plant_nuklearka — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Global emission trends

Global energy-related CO₂ emissions flattened in 2019 at around 33 gigatonnes (Gt), following two years of increases. This resulted mainly from a sharp decline in CO₂emissions from the power sector in advanced economies (Australia, Canada, Chile, European Union, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Turkey, and United States.), thanks to the expanding role of renewable sources (mainly wind and solar PV), fuel switching from coal to natural gas, and higher nuclear power output.

Global CO₂ emissions from coal use declined by almost 200 million tonnes (Mt), or 1.3%, from 2018 levels, offsetting increases in emissions from oil and natural gas. Advanced economies saw their emissions decline by over 370 Mt (or 3.2%), with the power sector responsible for 85% of the drop. Milder weather in many large economies compared with 2018 had an important effect on the trends, reducing emissions by around 150 Mt. Weaker global economic growth also played a role, moderating the increase in emissions in major emerging economies such as India.

Emissions trends for 2019 suggest clean energy transitions are underway, led by the power sector. Global power sector emissions declined by some 170 Mt, or 1.2%, with the biggest falls taking place in advanced economies where CO₂ emissions are now at levels not seen since the late 1980s (when electricity demand was one-third lower).

Regional trends

Economic growth in advanced economies averaged 1.7% in 2019, but total energy-related CO₂ emissions fell by 3.2%. The power sector led the decline and now accounts for 36% of energy-related emissions across advanced economies, down from a high of 42% in 2012. The average CO₂ emissions intensity of electricity generation declined by nearly 6.5% in 2019, a rate three times faster than the average over the past decade. In absolute terms, an average emissions intensity of 340 grams of CO₂per kilowatt hour in 2019 is lower than all but the most efficient gas-fired power plants.

Generation from coal-fired plants in advanced economies declined by nearly 15% as a result of continued growth of renewables, coal-to-gas fuel switching, a rise in nuclear power and weaker electricity demand. The growth of renewables in electricity generation in advanced economies delivered 130 Mt of CO₂ emissions savings in 2019. Wind accounted for the biggest share of the increase, with output expanding 12% from 2018 levels. Solar PV saw the fastest growth amongst renewable sources, helping to push renewables’ share of total electricity generation close to 28%. Coal-to-gas fuel switching for power generation avoided 100 Mt of CO₂ in advanced economies and was particularly strong in the United States due to record low natural gas prices. Higher nuclear power generation in advanced economies, particularly in Japan and Korea, avoided over 50 Mt of CO₂.

The United States saw the largest decline in energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2019 on a country basis – a fall of 140 Mt, or 2.9%, to 4.8 Gt. US emissions are now down almost 1 Gt from their peak in the year 2000, the largest absolute decline by any country over that period. A 15% reduction in the use of coal for power generation underpinned the decline in overall US emissions in 2019. Coal-fired power plants faced even stronger competition from natural gas-fired generation, with benchmark gas prices an average of 45% lower than 2018 levels. As a result, gas increased its share in electricity generation to a record high of 37%. Overall electricity demand declined because demand for air-conditioning and heating was lower as a result of milder summer and winter weather.

Energy-related CO₂ emissions in the European Union, including the United Kingdom, dropped by 160 Mt, or 5%, to reach 2.9 Gt. The power sector drove the trend, with a decline of 120 Mt of CO₂, or 12%, resulting from increasing renewables and switching from coal to gas. Output from the European Union’s coal-fired power plants dropped by more than 25% in 2019, while gas-fired generation increased by close to 15% to overtake coal for the first time.

Germany spearheaded the decline in emissions in the European Union. Its emissions fell by 8% to 620 Mt of CO₂, a level not seen since the 1950s, when the German economy was around 10 times smaller. The country’s coal-fired power fleet saw a drop in output of more than 25% year on year as electricity demand declined and generation from renewables, especially wind (+11%), increased. With a share of over 40%, renewables for the very first time generated more electricity in 2019 than Germany’s coal-fired power stations.

The United Kingdom continued its strong progress with decarbonisation as output from coal-fired power plants fell to only 2% of total electricity generation. Rapid expansion of output from offshore wind, as additional projects came online in the North Sea, was a driving factor behind this decline. Renewables provided about 40% of electricity supply in the United Kingdom, with gas supplying a similar amount. The share of renewables became even higher in the later part of the year, with wind, solar PV and other sources generating more electricity than all fossil fuels combined during the third quarter.

Japan saw energy-related CO₂ emissions fall 4.3% to 1 030 Mt in 2019, the fastest pace of decline since 2009. The power sector experienced the largest drop in emissions as reactors that had recently returned to operation contributed to a 40% increase in nuclear power output. This allowed Japan to reduce electricity generation from coal-, gas- and oil-fired power plants.

Emissions outside advanced economies grew by close to 400 Mt in 2019, with almost 80% of the increase coming from Asia. In this region, coal demand continued to expand, accounting for over 50% of energy use, and is responsible for around 10 Gt of emissions. In China, emissions rose but were tempered by slower economic growth and higher output from low-carbon sources of electricity. Renewables continued to expand in China, and 2019 was also the first full year of operation for seven large-scale nuclear reactors in the country.

Emissions growth in India was moderate in 2019, with CO₂ emissions from the power sector declining slightly as electricity demand was broadly stable and strong renewables growth prompted coal-fired electricity generation to fall for the first time since 1973. Continued growth in fossil-fuel demand in other sectors of the Indian economy, notably transport, offset the decline in the power sector. Emissions grew strongly in Southeast Asia, lifted by robust coal demand.

See more: IEA

How Small States Can Benefit From Innovation

14.02.2020

singapur_singapore — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Small states are often disadvantaged by their size, remoteness, and lack of resources. But bring smart city innovation into the equation, and these qualities could become strengths.

Small states such as Singapore, El Salvador, Micronesia, and the Maldives form a significant portion of the membership of the UN. While, they are more likely to be affected by defining challenges such as migration and climate change, they are also particularly well-positioned to use innovation to tackle many of these issues.

Much of the discussion of the role of smart cities has focused on large countries and major cities. However, smart city approaches have enormous relevance to small states.

This is because they are about applying broader innovation to improve lives and livelihoods whether through technology, developing different ways of working, or even nature-based solutions. Innovation can play a key role in strengthening governance, building citizens’ skills, improving public realms, and increasing citizen engagement. Each of these are priorities for any country, whether small or large.

Start small, think big

Small states are, by their very nature, agile, useful for becoming an innovation testbed. They can move quickly to try new technology, providing innovators big and small with real-world environments for testing new ways of working. Singapore is leading efforts here, including having designated much of the island-nation as an autonomous vehicle testbed.

The city of Sonsonate in El Salvador is one of the first in the region to explore the potential of intelligent lighting. With closer oversight of the workings of government, and less complexity, small states are also able to build smart city initiatives nation-wide. Malawi is making interesting progress in this area, with its Digital Malawi initiative aiming to build the foundations of a digital state.

In this context, innovation can range from building national industries focusing on delivering smart city components, through to attracting talent and investment as highlighted by Estonia’s eResidency initiative. Innovation can also be a catalyst for the broader digital transformation as being explored in Micronesia.

Innovation as a strategic advantage

Innovation transcends borders. Many of the technologies behind smart cities—automation, artificial intelligence, big data, and the future of work—will affect every country. It’s necessary for small states to engage with the technological innovation that is at the heart of smart cities.

Smaller states, which typically have less political and economic weight, are always at the risk of being dominated by their larger country counterparts. The need for small states to engage with innovation is growing, so that they can shape trends, make themselves relevant and ensure they are not left behind. Organizations such as the Forum of Small States are an excellent opportunity to shape smart city strategies.

Small states also have the advantage of fewer legacy systems, and more streamlined processes that can help them pull ahead of their larger counterparts. The new city of Hulhumalé in the Maldives, which is still being built, will be founded on full-fibre connectivity. Samoa is developing a foundational digital ID solution to increase the accessibility of public services. This also provides an exciting opportunity for larger states to learn from their more nimble, and forward-thinking, small state partners.

Looking forward

Singapore is a success story like no other. It has become a global leader in applying technology and innovation. The UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development, a partnership between UNDP and the government, is building on this national expertise. Singapore is uniquely positioned to enable the next generation of smart cities, both large and small, across Africa and Asia. Get in touch if you’d like to learn more, or work with us on this important issue.

Source: UNDP

Mexico City, a Megalopolis’ War on Plastic Bags

13.02.2020

jezael-melgoza-KbR06h9dNQw-unsplash — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Jezael Melgoza)

Paper cones, called “cucuruchos”, have been traditionally used by shoppers in Mexico City for carrying spices and grains. Now these plastic-free alternatives are making a comeback, along with straw baskets and reusable cloth bags, after a ban on plastic bags entered into effect in the megalopolis on 1 January 2020.

Mexico City, one of the most populated cities in the western hemisphere, declared war on single-use plastic bags, in a bold move as part of a broader initiative to better cope with the 13,000 tonnes of garbage that this vibrant city produces every day.

The new law prohibits the commercialization of plastic bags in supermarkets and stores. Gradually until 2021, the local authorities plan to ban other single-use plastic items, including straws, glasses, cutlery and balloons.

Around 12 million people live in Mexico City, but the population jumps to a total of 21 million when considering the conurbation area. The biggest Spanish-speaking city in the world is joining the club of megalopolis (those with 10 million or more inhabitants) trying to ban free retail distribution of bags, its manufacturing and in some cases imports.

It is estimated that 10 million plastic bags are consumed globally each minute. In North America, the other two existing megacities have also imposed some form of restriction: Los Angeles prohibits most bags, except the thickest ones, and New York will do so from March 2020.

In Latin America all megacities are currently restricting plastic bags: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires prohibit its sale, while Lima and Bogota impose taxes.

“The protection of the environment is at the heart of the ban on single-use plastic bags in Mexico City. We all have to understand that the economic development is compatible with the protection of the environment, there is no antagonism there,” says Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s mayor.

By 2050, the amount of municipal solid waste worldwide will increase to 3.4 billion tonnes, according to a World Bank report. Up to 12 per cent of all waste is plastic, and most of it ends up in landfills or suffocates our oceans.

“I was so worried about the news of dead animals in the oceans due to pollution, the imminent extinction of species and the little time left to adopt concrete actions to reverse the damage we have caused. All that inspired to me to work on the bill,” says Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, a local legislator who led the legislation on plastic bags in Mexico City.

“Mexico has marine ecosystems of great value and today there is much greater public awareness about the impact of plastic waste on biodiversity,” says Dolores Barrientos, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) representative in Mexico. The organization has advised several Mexican states on plastics-related legislation.

“Currently, there is no national legally binding instrument banning plastic bags, but 27 of the 32 Mexican states have already passed laws to prohibit them, and more are considering imposing restrictions,” says Barrientos.

Citizen support is key when it comes to enforcing laws: 200 non-governmental organizations launched in 2019 the Mexico Without Plastic Alliance, an initiative aimed to promote sustainable consumption lifestyles. It is estimated that each family in Mexico City disposes of 650 single-use plastic bags per year, and many conscientious citizens did not wait for the law to change their habits.

“This measure has been well received by our customers, who were already reducing their plastic bags’ consumption voluntarily since 2005, when we launched our first reusable bag,” says Humberto Fayad Wolff, commercial director at Soriana, a major retailer in Mexico, that has enthusiastically complied with the ban.

“The consequences of single-use plastics on the environment have become a big social challenge for Mexico and the world,” states Fayad Wolff. Global plastics production reached around 360 million tonnes in 2018, and in the next 15 years, production is projected to nearly double. The commitment of the most populated countries in the world is urgent.

Paradoxically, the most populous city in the world, Tokyo, with more than 37 million inhabitants, does not prohibit bags and is just beginning to discuss a potential tax. None of the three African megacities—Cairo, Lagos and Kinshasa—prohibit the bags either, nor Moscow, one of the three megacities in Europe (Paris and Istanbul have passed restrictions).

India houses three megacities—New Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta—and its plastic industry employs around 5 million people. In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to take a “first big step on 2 October 2019 towards making India free from single-use plastics”, though no national ban has been announced yet.

The real leap forward could come from China, which is home to 1.4 billion people, and remains the largest worldwide generator of plastic packaging waste. The government unveiled a plan to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags by the end of 2020 in large cities, and two years later in all its territory.

Source: UNEP

Kenyan Women Fight Invasive Species by Planting Indigenous Trees

12.02.2020

local-community_members_fighting_invasive_species2 — Photo: UNEP

When Zipporah Matumbi was growing up, she loved the way the forest in her village in East Kenya had a dense canopy. As an adult, she noticed that with extensive logging, the forest was disappearing. So she gathered a group of women to start tree nurseries, using their own time and money, to save the forest around them and make a difference.

“We wanted our children to be able to grow up in a healthy environment,” she says. “We had seen how the river flows had started to be low and we wanted to bring the water back by taking out the eucalyptus which consume a lot of water and replacing it with bamboo native to Africa.”

Matumbi became part of the Tree Establishment for Livelihood Improvement Scheme, a system that plants indigenous trees for conservation in degraded forest areas. Although similar in name, it is different from Plantations Establishment for Livelihood Improvement Scheme which is about establishing plantations of exotic trees.

Matumbi’s group of women volunteers has grown substantially over the years; she is currently in charge of some 12 different groups. During that time, she has noticed that many forests struggle to grow indigenous trees because of a colonizing shrub introduced from the American tropics called lantana camara.

“Lantana camara has beautiful flowers, but this adaptable plant is highly invasive and causes problems in many tropical countries, crowding out the original flora and even increasing fire risk in dry forests,” says Lera Miles, Principal Technical Specialist for Climate Change and Biodiversity at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

It is also affecting smallholder farms, livestock pasture and roadsides.

So Matumbi and her group started voluntarily helping the Kenya Forest Service dig up the lantana by their roots to suppress their regrowth and prepare the area for rehabilitation by introducing indigenous trees. The indigenous trees don’t grow very fast, but when they have enough space and are carefully pruned, they can do well.

Matumbi knew replanting forests alone would not be enough, so she encourages her members to remove lantana and plant trees on their own farms as well. Pruning those trees for firewood partly relieves pressure on the forest. The same goes for using leftovers from maize, shrubs and leaves as fodder for the cattle so they don’t need to go grazing in the forest, destroying trees. She also brings experts in to train her members on alternative livelihoods such as beekeeping or basket weaving to reduce their dependency on unsustainable forest practices.

“Local communities feel the brunt of the impact by invasive plant species to their livelihood as well as the environmental services such as water supply,” says Max Zieren, UNEP environmental specialist with over 30 years’ experience in environmental protection, community development and forest rehabilitation. “Community initiatives such as the one led by Matumbi show the opportunity offered through shared interest with governments to fight the spread of invasive species—thereby rehabilitating degraded landscapes which is part of the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.”

Matumbi says she is using free prior informed consent, a United Nations Development Programme initiative introduced under the UN-REDD Programme, to negotiate user rights for her groups of volunteers through the National Alliance of Community Forests Kenya. That group is lobbying for her and a draft policy has been made.

Meanwhile, they keep working tirelessly “for a better environment and therefore a better health for all.”

Source: UNEP

Join the Transport Revolution!

12.02.2020

D785AF0D-D2B3-42E1-ACEE-48EBDF687746 — Photo: Energetski portal

Supporters of the greening of the transport sector are trying to spend as little time as possible holding steering wheels. That is why they walk, ride bikes, use public transportation, or ride in electric vehicles. Electric cars, as silently as the engines that drive them run, are conquering the streets of many cities. In order to make getting around by using electricity feasible, the increase in the number of such vehicles should be accompanied by the development of charging infrastructure.

One of the first companies in the Serbian market to respond to the call for a singular electrical revolution, and made a step towards the future was Belgrade-based company MT-KOMEX. On its website elektropunjaci.com, you will find answers to questions such as: “Which electric charger is right for my home?”, “How do I choose an electric charger that meets my business requirements?”, or “Where in Serbia and region I could charge my car?”.

Home and public EV chargers offer

In the store on the elektropunjaci.com website, there are 12 home and 17 public chargers, ideal for installation in parking lots, gas stations, shopping and business centres, highways and corridors, and in private parking.

The available electric chargers for your home range from 3.7 kW to 22 kW, and those for commercial use range from 7 kW to 50 kW. They can be wall-mounted and floorm standing.

When it comes to charging speed, their current offerings include medium speed and fast chargers, but the company announced that it would soon expand its store with ultra-fast ones that would be able to charge renowned Tesla cars in 5 to 10 minutes.

The sale is ongoing, so, you can get some EV chargers at a discounted price.

In focus:

The business portfolio of experts from this website is based on years of experience, during which they have installed more than a hundred chargers. Take the opportunity to “tailor” the charging station according to your needs and capabilities with them!

Before you, they were approached with the same request by Hyundai, Ada Shopping Center, British Motors, ABB, IKEA, ZF, Hilton Hotel, Obilicev venac and Pionirski park public garages and many others.

In the parking lot of the Hyundai auto dealer in Belgrade, ABB’s model from elektopunjaci.com was recently put into operation. Installers put the power of the device to the test. The charger successfully passed it after only 15 minutes of work – it took that much time for the car to prepare for the journey with full battery capacity. If this result does not seem fascinating to you, put it in a comparative perspective! What percentage of your mobile phone’s battery is charged in a quarter of an hour? Much less than 100 per cent, right?

Considering the fact that as many as 16 ABB chargers, 22 kW each, have been installed in the garage of capital’s Ada shopping mall, you are sure that at Radnicka 9 you will have a place to charge your four-wheeler.

At Zrenjanin road, in the British Motors branch, ABB model of 50 kW is expecting the drivers of electric vehicles.

In case that you started travelling in an electric vehicle on the highway E-75 towards central and south Serbia, and potentially further towards Greece, it will do you good that you know that department store IKEA purchased two Schneider Electric chargers at the elektropunjaci.com online store and installed them at its parking.

MT-KOMEX has combined its two fields of activity, renewable energy and electromobility, at the factory of the auto parts manufacturer ZF in Pancevo under the roof of the solar canopy. Seventy-two canopy panels form a small solar power plant with a total power of 19.44 kW. It produces electricity to power three electric chargers, and for ZF’s consumption.

Prepared by: Jelena Kozbasic

This article was published in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine GRINNOVATIONS, December 2019 – February 2020.

Energy Community Calls on the Balkans and Ukraine to Scrutinize Subsidies to Coal

11.02.2020

coal_ugalj — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

In June 2019, the Energy Community Secretariat published a study on analysing and quantifying direct and hidden subsidies to support the coal sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine during the period 2015-2017. The Secretariat sent a follow-up preliminary assessment of these subsidies under the Energy Community State aid acquis to the competent State aid authorities to further assess these measures as to their compatibility with the State aid acquis. DG Competition of the European Commission was informed as well.

Under the Energy Community Treaty, the Contracting Parties must ensure that any public aid which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or certain energy resources is prohibited. As State aid may distort competition and affect cross-border trade in energy, the control of aid granted by public authorities is of key importance for the establishment of a regional energy market.

Source: Energy Community

Why Does Europe Need to Limit Climate Change and Adapt to Its Impacts?

11.02.2020

cornfield_kukuruz_drought_suša — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The increased exposure to climate related hazards will differ from region to region across Europe, according to the EEA story map. The background briefing shows examples of selected risks across Europe. It stresses the important role of limiting climate change to avoid the worst impacts as well as the key role of adaptation and resilience amid new EU plans under the European Green Deal to present for a new, more ambitious EU adaptation strategy.

EEA assessments, including the recently published Europe’s state of the environment and outlook (SOER) 2020 report, point to a worsening of climate change in the future, even if global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions prove effective. Extreme weather and climate-related events that result in hazards such as floods, droughts, forest fires and extreme sea level will become more frequent and intense in many regions. This will lead to adverse impacts on ecosystems, economic sectors and human health and well-being. Climate change impacts will also affect the urban areas in Europe. For example, low-lying cities in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and along the northern Italian coastlines, in particular Venice, are among the cities most exposed to coastal flooding in Europe due to a combination of sea level rise and storm surges.

All of these impacts make adaptation to the impacts of climate change crucial. Adaptation must be tailored to the specific regional and local circumstances, including the climate hazards faced there and other regional and local aspects.

Key issues highlighted

Droughts: Existing studies project large increases in the frequency, duration and severity of drought in most of Europe over the coming century, except for northern Europe. The greatest increase in drought conditions is projected for southern Europe, where it will increase competition between water users, such as agriculture, industry, tourism and households.

Heavy rain and floods: Climate change is projected to lead to a higher intensity of rain, with projections showing an increase of heavy rain in most parts of Europe in autumn and winter by up to 35 % by the end of 21^st century in a high emissions scenario.

Forest fires: Large forest fires in recent years have affected several regions in northern and western Europe where fires had not been prevalent in the past. The relative increase in fire danger is projected to be particularly large in western-central Europe, but the absolute fire danger remains highest in southern Europe.

Sea-level rise and coastal flooding: All coastal regions in Europe have experienced an increase in absolute sea level but with significant regional variations. Sea-level rise, in combination with storm surges, substantially increases the flooding risk in low-lying coastal regions in the coming decades. Coastal flooding is threatening coastal ecosystems, water resources, settlements, infrastructure and human lives. The severity of such impacts depends on current coastal flood protection, which varies across the various low-lying coastal regions in Europe.

While the impacts of climate change can no longer be avoided, their magnitude depends on the success of global and European efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, as mandated by the Paris Agreement and planned for under the European Green Deal.

Further information

Further information on climate change impacts and adaptation policies and actions across Europe is available on the European Climate Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT, including the country profiles.

Source: EEA

Water Well on a Roof? Innovative Hydro Panels Transform Air into Water

11.02.2020

rexi_arizona_hydropanel — Photo: Zero Mass Water

American startup Zero Mass Water unveiled an innovative device called REXI, at the CES Electronics Show in January, designed to provide consumers with clean, drinking water from the air.

REXI is half the size of standard hydro panels that are mounted directly on the ground and is suited for the production of water on roofs by both homes, schools and business offices.

Unique hydro panels are powered by solar energy to extract water from trapped steam, so there is no need to connect to any energy infrastructure and they are completely self-sufficient and sustainable. The invention also includes a battery to prevent the water supply from stopping even during cloudy hours.

In this way, this solution would help many communities around the world to cope with water scarcity but would also provide a kind of water network for facilities in remote and inaccessible terrain.

Zero Mass Water panels also operate at periods when the humidity is lower than 10 per cent, providing consumers with high-quality water even at times when other products of similar uses would not be able to do so.

Depending on the humidity and sunshine during the day, a standard set of two hydro panels produces between 4 and 10 litres of water per day. It is estimated to meet the water needs of between 4 and 6 people.

Each panel (1.2m * 2.4 m) has a capacity of 30 litres, and the total capacity for storage of liquid in the “roof well” is 60 litres.

Orders are already possible, and installation of the water production plant will begin in the summer of 2020.

The estimated cost of the project ranges between € 5,000 and € 6,000 in the United States, including shipping, assembly and taxes.

Jelena Kozbasic

World’s Largest Platform for Air Quality Data Launched at Tenth World Urban Forum

10.02.2020

air-pollution — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), together with UN-Habitat and IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, today launched the world’s largest air quality data platform, bringing together real-time air pollution data from over 4,000 contributors, including citizens, communities, governments and the private sector to work towards healthier, more sustainable cities.

Launched at the Tenth World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi, this partnership – currently reaching over 15 million users and covering more than 7,000 cities worldwide – aims to sustain and grow the world’s foremost air quality databank.

The data, shared on a single, UN-coordinated platform, will empower governments to take action to improve policy, allow citizens to make more informed health choices and demand action from their governments, while giving businesses the ability to make investment decisions that promote a cleaner, greener environment.

The need to act is urgent. Globally, 7 million people die each year because of air pollution; 650,000 of these are children. Air pollutants not only affect our health, they also affect ecosystems and food production; air pollution is also linked to climate change. Despite this, most citizens don’t have access to real-time air quality data.

“Air pollution is a public health emergency and an environmental emergency that affects everyone, everywhere, said Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP. “We are excited to be launching this partnership with UN-Habitat and IQAir to bring information and, importantly, encourage action by citizens, governments and the private sector.”

The UNEP platform builds upon IQAir’s technology to aggregate, validate and calibrate air quality data that up until now was either restricted to individually-run websites or apps, or not shared publicly. UN-Habitat helps cities to develop plans that can reduce air pollution, including better public transport and waste management interventions.

Even within a single country or city, access to air quality information can vary among different communities. And while Europe, Asia and North America have thousands of monitoring stations providing real-time air quality information on PM_2.5 – the fine particulate matter largely responsible for deaths and illnesses – to the public, many developing countries lack infrastructure. For Example, Africa, a continent of 1.3 billion people, has just 50 publicly accessible air quality monitoring stations measuring PM_2.5. Immediately following the launch of this new Platform, that number will increase to 85, with the inclusion of the City authorities of Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Kampala whom are actively engaged in deploying local monitoring networks.

“Poor air quality is a problem that affects urban populations particularly seriously so the ability to measure and take action to improve the health of those living in our towns and cities is critical; UN-Habitat is proud to be part of this important work,” said Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat.

The platform addresses the global air quality information gap by bringing together data collected by governments, NGOs, companies and local community groups and individuals. Anyone can apply to contribute real-time air quality data. To ensure data accuracy, IQAir brings its experience in creating and operating its global air quality map to ensure the reliability of published data through its validation and calibration system, which uses advanced machine-learning algorithms.

“We recognize that some of the world’s most vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected by poor air quality,” said IQAir CEO Frank Hammes. “Through our partnership with UNEP and UN-Habitat, we empower more citizens, communities and governments around world to monitor their air quality with low-cost air pollution sensors and make the changes necessary to breathe cleaner, healthier air.”

By improving access to real-time air quality data, this unique collaboration between UN entities, the private sector and local governments is expected to accelerate efforts to change how transport, waste management and other services are managed in cities so that air pollution from these activities is significantly reduced, if not eliminated.

Examples of successful policies to improve air quality exist: In the Chinese capital, Beijing, through a systematic approach based on strong science and coordinated successfully with surrounding cities and regions, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in the air has fallen by 35% in just five years (2013-2017).

Source: UNEP

New Record for Antarctic Continent Reported

10.02.2020

killer_whale_kit_ubica_antarctica_antarktik — Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Bryan Goff)

The Argentine research base, Esperanza, on the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula, set a new record temperature of 18.3°C on 6 February, beating the former record of 17.5°C on 24 March 2015, according to Argentina’s national meteorological service (SMN).

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (James Eades)

A committee for WMO’s Weather and Climate Extremes Archive will now verify whether this indeed is a new record for the Antarctic continent, which is defined as the main continental landmass.

“Everything we have seen thus far indicates a likely legitimate record but we will of course begin a formal evaluation of the record once we have full data from SMN and on the meteorological conditions surrounding the event. The record appears to be likely associated (in the short term) with what we call a regional “foehn” event over the area: a rapid warming of air coming down a slope/mountain,” according to WMO’s Weather and Climate Extremes rapporteur, Randall Cerveny.

Verification of this maximum temperature record is important because it helps us to build up a picture of the weather and climate in one of Earth’s final frontiers.” The Antarctic, like the Arctic, is poorly covered in terms of weather observations and forecasts, even though both play an important role in driving climate and ocean patterns and in sea level rise.

The record for the Antarctic region – that is, everywhere south of 60 degrees latitude – is 19.8C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.

The Antarctic Peninsula (the northwest tip near to South America) is among the fastest warming regions of the planet, almost 3°C over the last 50 years. The amount of ice lost annually from the Antarctic ice sheet increased at least six-fold between 1979 and 2017. Most of the ice loss takes place by melting of the ice shelves from below, due to incursions of relatively warm ocean water, especially in west Antarctica and to a lesser extent along the peninsula and in east Antarctica.

Spanning 14 million km2 (roughly twice the size of Australia), the Antarctic is cold, windy and dry. The average annual temperature ranges from about −10°C on the Antarctic coast to −60°C at the highest parts of the interior. Its immense ice sheet is up to 4.8km thick and contains 90% of the world’s fresh water, enough to raise sea level by around 60 metres were it all to melt.

Source: WHO

EU Launches New Forest Information System to Improve Knowledge on Forests and Woodlands

07.02.2020

mill_vodenica_forest_šuma — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Amid a need for more accurate, up-to-date and harmonised data and monitoring on Europe’s valuable woodlands, the European Environment Agency and the European Commission launched a new Forest Information System for Europe (FISE) which aims to become Europe’s knowledge hub to monitor the state, health and sustainability of Europe’s many forests.

The FISE web portal will provide tailor-made information products to key users including national, EU and international policymakers, experts working in the forest industry, forest owners and conservationists, as well as scientists and researchers. Data will be collected, analysed and made available from across Europe, including EEA Member States, plus the six cooperating countries from the West Balkan region. It is the first common database on forest information in Europe. The aim is to facilitate expert knowledge sharing, research and innovation through the FISE platform, helping users better understand the complex changes and challenges facing forest ecosystems and their management. The platform will underpin the European Green Deal and the development of the expected new EU forest and biodiversity strategies. The portal was launched at the International Conference on forests for biodiversity and climate (4-5 February 2020) in Brussels, Belgium.

“The European Environment Agency is pleased to play its part in the creation of this important new knowledge tool. FISE will help us to improve the health and resilience of our forests, which play a vital role in protecting our biodiversity and in mitigating climate change,” said Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director.

Forests face increased pressures

Forests and other wooded land cover more than 40 % of Europe, making it one of the most forest-rich regions in the world. In addition to providing lumber and wood products, our forests are home to many ecosystems, which have multiple functions and are home to a major part of Europe’s biodiversity. Their ecosystem services contribute to our health and well-being.

Forests also act as an important stopgap to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Although forests are increasingly seen as a major carbon sink, current management practices to increase this function are not always in line with the needs to ensure high biodiversity in woodland ecosystems. In addition to an increased demand for forest-based products like timber, forests and their ecosystems continue to face air and water pollution, urban sprawl, landscape fragmentation, habitat and biodiversity loss. Moreover, the impacts of climate change, which has led to more fires, pests and extreme weather, including droughts and storms, are putting forests under increased pressure.

A growing number of EU and national policies draw on, or affect directly and indirectly, Europe’s forests, including their ecosystems. Forests are addressed across a range of environment, climate and sectoral policies in the EU and also features in the European Green Deal. Forestsalso impact many policy areas meant to use forest resources sustainably and protect biodiversity, ecosystems, species and habitats.

Work on FISE will be phased up over the coming years and will cover five priority themes for forest information on forest basic data (cover and types, species), bioeconomy, nature and biodiversity, climate change mitigation and forest health and resilience.

FISE partnership

The Forest Information System for Europe is a partnership between the European Commission services and the EEA, drawing on the preparatory work already done by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The EEA will manage the FISE web portal and will collect and analyse the data coming from national data centres via the European Environment Information and Observation Network, in collaboration with the JRC. FISE will also draw data and information from the EU’s Earth observation and monitoring programme Copernicus.

Source: EEA

This Is What We Can Really Do About Climate Change, Says New Report

06.02.2020

large_Ok7O2cJqd7HELwIBMwi4jHPClwb1e1Hio3vUFDjhaLw — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Patrick Hendry)

It’s not too late to stop climate change. According to new research, decarbonizing fast enough to stabilize the climate and fast-track the planet to net-zero rests on all of us changing how we think and act – and doing it fast.

The report, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS), identifies six “tipping dynamics”, or interventions, that could act as catalysts to bring about rapid societal and technological change towards a sustainable future.

The study highlights the importance of intervening to make fossil fuels less economically – and morally – attractive. A step-change of this kind could bring about tipping points that divert investment and consumer demand away from fossil fuels towards more sustainable energy sources. It says this can be done by:

Removing fossil-fuel subsidies and boosting incentives to move to decentralized energy systems and make clean energy production and storage systems more economically competitive;
Encouraging financial markets to divest of assets linked to fossil fuels, to divert investment towards less-polluting technologies, leaving investors keen to avoid the prospect of holding ‘stranded assets’ tied to fossil fuels;
Building sustainable cities powered by renewable energy;
Revealing the “moral implications” of fossil fuels;
Disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information;
Strengthening climate education and engagement.

While awareness of the climate emergency is growing, global efforts to reduce carbon emissions are not moving fast enough to avoid irreversible damage to the planet.

Moving from the fossil fuels that drive global warming to cleaner energy sources, such as wind or solar power, is at the heart of global efforts to decarbonize. Yet emissions from power generation continue to increase.

Carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector have more than doubled since the 1970s and remain on an upward trajectory.

Once we reach a point where sustainable energy generates higher financial returns than coal and oil, the world should reach the critical mass needed to halt increasing CO2 emissions levels, and begin to reverse the trend.

Think again

But building a business case for clean energy is only one part of the challenge. The study also identifies the importance of changing social values and behaviour.

Progress in combating climate change rests on converting awareness of the problem into action, so the transition to a carbon-free lifestyle is made easy for the global population to achieve.

For this to happen, a new world view is needed that embraces a climate-friendly and sustainable stance, which demands a fundamental overhaul of existing social, political and economic norms. And this new perception needs to be contagious so it is adopted globally.

The paper’s authors suggest greater transparency could produce tipping points that change what’s considered normal or acceptable, by revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information. At the same time strengthening climate education and engagement among the global population.

Climate action was a key theme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos. Klaus Schwab, the Forum’s Founder and Executive Chairman, and the heads of Bank of America and Royal DSM, sent a letter to all summit participants asking companies and investors to make a commitment to act on climate change, which is more urgently needed than ever before. The Forum’s ongoing work on climate change includes Mission Possible, a platform to help industries make the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The climate challenges facing the planet transcend national boundaries, requiring urgent action from policy-makers, businesses, organizations and communities to speed up the transition to a net-zero future.

Source: WEF

Trees in the City – Plaudits for Sustainable Urban Forestry Trailblazers

05.02.2020

forest_šuma — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Juan Davila)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Arbor Day Foundation announced the first cities to be recognized under the Tree Cities of the World programme, designed to help create more resilient and sustainable cities.

Among the first-movers were capital cities such as Ljubljana, Quito, Paris, Yerevan, major metropolitan areas including New York, San Francisco and Toronto, and a host of smaller centers such as Bradford in the United Kingdom, Thunder Bay in Canada, Tempe, Arizona and Mantova, Italy, where the worldwide initiative was launched in 2018.

“We congratulate the first cities to be recognized,” said Hiroto Mitsugi, Assistant Director-General, FAO Forestry Department. “Together, the mayors of these Tree Cities form a new global network of urban forestry leaders that share the same values for city trees and forests. We are proud to recognize these cities for their actions toward healthier, greener places to live.”

“We applaud all of the cities that have earned Tree City designation,” said Dan Lambe, president, Arbor Day Foundation. “They are leaders when it comes to planning and managing their urban forests. Many of the cities being recognized have gone above and beyond to use trees as part of their green infrastructure. This distinction is a celebration of their creativity and sustainability in creating healthier communities.”

A total of 59 cities have earned the international designation. The complete list of recognized communities is available here.

More than 100 other cities have pledged to participate – and to meet the five core standards – and are expected to qualify in the future.

In addition to promoting the efficient management of urban tree resources, the Tree Cities of the World programme also aims to create an international network of cities, facilitating the sharing of knowledge and good practices towards the sustainable management of urban forests and green spaces.

Sustainable Development Goal 11 calls for making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and more sustainable.

Cities occupy just three percent of the planet’s surface, but they are home to nearly 60 percent of the world’s population who consume 75 percent of natural resources. Anticipated urbanization trends make sustainable land-use planning even more important. Trees, for example, can reduce noise, protect water sources, prevent soil erosion and reduce energy costs for air conditioning and heating. They can enhance people’s health and well-being, as well as offering aesthetic pleasure and a physical marker of seasonality.

Source: FAO

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Not all mobility options are equally green

Increasing transport emissions hamper EU progress towards environment and climate objectives

Other key findings:

In focus:

Global emission trends

Regional trends

Home and public EV chargers offer

In focus:

Key issues highlighted

Forests face increased pressures

FISE partnership

Think again

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