Will the Year of the Pig be a Year of Extremes?
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The Year of the Pig commences as extreme weather of the worst kind ravages the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of the world.
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Extremes in Australia:
After a record-breaking week (end January), Australia is copping two extreme ends of the weather spectrum - as major flooding hits Queensland's far north and Tasmania suffers through devastating bushfires. And the hottest summer on record in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
This is just one weather report.
Mongabay reports:
Every year since 1977 has seen above-average global temperatures, making 2018 the 42nd consecutive year that was warmer than it would have been if not for man-made climate change. Nine of the 10 hottest years ever recorded have now occurred since 2005, and the past five years have been the five hottest. 2018’s average global temperatures rank behind just
2016
, the warmest year on record,
2015
, the second warmest, and
2017
, the third warmest.
What else?
And North America Freezes!
“High impact weather” has gripped much of the world so far this year, the UN weather agency,
WMO
, reported, with “dangerous and extreme cold in North America, record high heat and wildfires in Australia, heavy rains in parts of South America, and heavy snow on the Alps and Himalayas".
The UN/WMO reports.
Coming up trumps with Truffles!
Can we achieve a future Life on Earth to satisfactorily accommodate humankind, as well all the animals and plants we need? We're thinking about any connections there could be to link the common Pig with People, Planet and Profit, the triple bottom line conjured up by John Elkington. And we came up with "Truffles"!
For a light reflection on a worrying problem, read on.
Committed Warming & Committing to Change.
It might be the beginning of the Year of the Pig, but let's see where we are at the end. Unfortunately, we're unlikely to see any significant improvements even if we changed our ways overnight. Even if carbon emissions stopped completely right now, as the oceans catch up with the atmosphere, the Earth’s temperature would rise by another 0.6 degrees C. Scientists refer to this as
committed warming.
So don't let anyone tell you we have 12 years to fix things. Or even five. We have to start taking much more action right now. Here's hoping the news we've just received from renowned ecologist Thomas Crowther is the one big solution the world needs. Get planting. Stop cutting and burning.
Go to ABC Carbon for the rest.
Ken Hickson, Managing Editor, ABC Carbon Express.
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STOP PRESS: Could Trillions of Trees be Enough to Halt Runaway Climate Change?
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Massive restoration of the world’s forests would cancel out a decade of CO2 emissions:
New findings suggest trees are 'our most powerful weapon in the fight against climate change', says scientist .
The latest from Josh Gabbatiss in Washington DC f
or The Independent,
Sunday 17 February 2019
Replenishing the world’s
forests
on a grand scale would suck enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to cancel out a decade of human emissions, according to an ambitious new study.
Scientists have established there is room for an additional 1.2 trillion trees to grow in parks, woods and abandoned land across the planet.
If such a goal were accomplished, ecologist Dr Thomas Crowther (pictured) said it would outstrip every other method for tackling
climate change
– from building wind turbines to vegetarian diets.
Read the full story.
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Innovative Solutions: Environmental Challenges
& Sustainable Consumption & Production
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The Third Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities was attended by 500 delegates from 38 Asia Pacific countries. It was jointly hosted by Singapore's Minister of Environment & Water Resources and the UN Environment Programme. The focus was on "Innovative solutions to environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production".
We talked to Mr. Siim Kiisler (pictured), Minister of Environment of Estonia and the President of the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, who also made welcome remarks at the opening, about what happens next. He sets out three key priorities for action:
- fostering effective sustainable resource management,
- access to and use of environmental data, and
- meaningful engagement of civil society and partners.
He made it clear that priority is being given to "finance innovative solutions" but it's over to Environment Ministers and Authorities in the region to set targets for 2025 for waste generation, introduce resource efficiency measures and manage consumption and production. The Singapore event was a forerunner to next month's UN Environment Assembly in Kenya (11 to 15 March) which will finalise the global environmental agenda for delivering the sustainable development goals and regional commitments to international agreements.
Read more.
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Dechen Tsering, Regional Director & Representative for Asia & the Pacific at UN Environment, who played a major role in the January Forum of Environment Ministers.
Discussions took place around the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) 2019 theme, “Innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production (SCP).” Dechen Tsering, emphasised the importance of civil society engagement with UNEA.
Read more here.
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Steven Stone, Chief Resources & Markets, Economy Division, UNEP, based in Geneva, gave important insight into climate financing needs and how funds can be put to work to meet the sustainable development goals. "There is enough money out there," he insisted. The world needs innovative ideas and viable projects, he told the "Unlocking Capital" conference in Singapore, organised by
Eco-business and UN Environment.
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Ms Joyce Msuya, acting executive director of UN Environment, told David Fogarty of The Straits Times on the sidelines of the third Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia-Pacific that the sheer concentration of humanity and economies of scale make it financially viable to find solutions to tackle pollution and waste in cities, especially in Asia. "Cities are enormous opportunities."
Read More
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Unlocking Capital for Sustainability
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StanChart decided in September 2018 to stop funding coal-powered plants.
This was one of a number of the latest efforts by financial institutions to be sustainable and come in an era where climate change is no longer a distant threat but an immediate one, said Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli at the "Unlocking Capital for Sustainability" forum organised by Eco-Business and UN Environment. "The finance sector plays an important role in unlocking and directing capital flows towards economic activities with environmental benefits", the Straits Times reported.
Read more
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Billion Dollar Gains from Greater Resource Efficiency in Asia, says UN ESCAP study
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The Asia-Pacific region is the most resource inefficient in the world
in terms of domestic material resource consumption, comprising fossil fuels, biomass, metals and non-metallic minerals. This from Stefanos Fotiou (pictured), Director Environment and Development Division of UN ESCAP during the Singapore-hosted UN event. He referred to an ESCAP study which showed there is significant room for improving resource efficiency. Calculations show that just a 1 per cent improvement in resource efficiency of material resources (domestic material consumption) and energy combined, can deliver the region monetary benefits of up to US$275 billion in terms of resource costs at current prices. This translates to 51 per cent of the current FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflows to the region or almost 87 per cent of the combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the least developed countries in the region. These benefits accrue largely to the manufacturing, construction and energy-intensive sectors. At the firm level, if resource savings are used to provide jobs at the average wages, as many as 15.6 million could be generated.
See the full report.
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Timber! The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
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Innovations and investments worth trillions of dollars
in landscape restoration, climate adaptation and science-based policy advice will be needed if the global community is to meet the escalating threats posed by climate change. So to do the job, Center for International Forestry Research (
CIFOR
) and International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (
ICRAF
), also known as World Agroforestry, have merged. The two leading organisations focusing on forestry and agroforestry research, policy and development, have agreed to do this to strengthen capacity, provide the evidence needed to scale up investment in sustainable development, and accelerate impact.
Read more.
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Durians or Deforestation?
Chinese demand for durian has sent prices soaring. But at what cost to the environment and indigenous peoples of Malaysia? In the past, medicinal plants used to grow in the forest. Now, all the roots have been pulled and the soil is dry. Hundred year old trees have been cut down to make way for the durian trees which will be planted in grids. Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil, a leading environmentalist, has tried to solve the dispute. “My primary aim is to protect the country’s forests from destruction – particularly from indiscriminate logging."
Read more in SCMP.
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In
dustries that cause the loss of rainforest and peatlands
in Southeast Asia were bankrolled to the tune of US$62 billion between 2013 and 2018, according to the
Forests and Finance campaign
of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN).
Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Malaysian banks were the biggest funders of so-called forest risk activities. According to campaign director, Tom Picken, eliminating or restricting the financial support for forest-risk businesses – defined as unsustainable palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber and timber developments – is the most significant action that can be taken.
Read more in this Mongabay report.
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Sustainability & Competitiveness Inseparable
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Climate change, unfair labour practices, corruption - identified as sustainability issues - are rapidly taking their place alongside financial targets as top CEO priorities.
Yet, the more that leaders work toward their early sustainability commitments, the more they discover how much further they need to go to prepare for a future where competitiveness and sustainability are inseparable. The findings of a global survey, which clearly shows there is no question that sustainability is moving up on the corporate agenda. When Bain & Company surveyed 297 global companies:
- 81% said sustainability is more important to their business today than it was five years ago,
- 85% believe that it will be even more important in five years.
- Sustainability is now incorporated into two-thirds of companies' core missions.
- Signatories of the UN's Principles for Responsible Investment now represent over half of the world's institutional assets
- Major investors like BlackRock are calling for companies to serve a social purpose. The full Bain & Co report is here.
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NASA Observes Greening of the "Blue Planet"
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But more leafy vegetables and grain crops in China and India don’t make up for the environmental damage from tropical deforestation, illegal logging and forest fires.
By Ken Hickson
Green news is good news and helps balance all the bad news about the environment. Of course.
It’s certainly not fake news, but maybe we need to maintain perspective when we read headlines that shout out
“
China and India are making the planet greener
”.
It was a headlined report by Emily Dixon of CNN. Read on and you’ll learn it’s from a
study
by NASA, based on extensive satellite imagery and published in the journal
Nature Sustainability
. It revealed that the two countries with the world's biggest populations are also responsible for the largest increase in green foliage. But t
he gain in greenness seen around the world and dominated by India and China does not offset the damage from loss of natural vegetation in tropical regions, such as Brazil and Indonesia, the NASA study points out.
Read the full story.
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LAUNCH
2019 Awards Programme
Inspiring Purpose, Enabling Change
21st Feb 2019, Thursday
10:30am till 13:00pm
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Auditorium
Singapore
"Doing Good To Do Well"
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Focus on Sustainable Development Goal 15
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Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
That's Life on Land. More than anything, we are focussing attention on this very important target (15.2):
"By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally". We want to see urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products.
More on Life on Land here.
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Bring on the End of Coal & Forest Burning
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- Hunter Valley for wine not coal: “The construction and operation of the mine, and the transportation and combustion of the coal from the mine, will result in the emission of greenhouse gases, which will contribute to climate change.” So read Judge Brian Preston’s decision which stopped a new coal mine from going ahead in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley. Get the full story.
- No to coal in Paradise. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Votes to Close two Coal Plants, despite political pressure from Trump and Kentucky GOP. This on the basis that the ageing Paradise coal-fired power plant is unreliable, expensive and polluting, TVA data shows. The federally owned utility said its decision is based on economics. Read the rest.
- Pay up for Forest fires. Ten companies were ordered to pay US$260m after the government filed suits on those who flouted court rulings, says The Straits Times' Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Indonesia Correspondent. None of the companies responsible for plantation and forest fires in Indonesia between 2013 and 2018 have paid compensation to the government, as ordered by the courts. Read more
- Earth shaken loose by years of forest-felling in the mountains above the city of Makassar (Indonesia) was washed down into the dam’s reservoir, silting it up and displacing water. The dam burst swallowed up thousands of homes and hectares of rice fields across South Sulawesi province, killing about 80 people and affecting more than 13,000—the worst disaster in at least 15 years. Go for more.
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Coming Clean? India's Next Leap Forward
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India is on the cusp of the third generation of economic reforms. From information technology to consumer goods; big brands to start-ups, rural development to smart cities. "Make in India" to "Digital India", the country is taking the next leap forward, but challenges remain. For one, India's population continues to grow swiftly. Every day, close to 85,000 babies are born, or 30 million newbies are ready to join the workforce annually. Population growth makes it imperative to have faster economic growth, which comes at a steep cost environment. This book by Gurdip Singh and Sameer Mohindru sets out all the options and the opportunities, including what Singapore is doing to advance and help build smart urban infrastructure, as well as the investment required in renewable energy - to move away from the dependence on coal - plus energy efficiency and green buildings. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says energy infrastructure alone requires an US$2.8 trillion between now and 2040.
Get the book for much more.
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International Built Environment Week
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The International Built Environment Week (IBEW) is a new flagship event in the region for industry leaders and renowned professionals from the global built environment industry to exchange ideas and experiences on policies, business solutions and technologies, as well as explore business opportunities. Jointly organised by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Reed Exhibitions Singapore, and supported by 12 Trade Associations and Chambers, the first IBEW will be held from 4 to 6 September 2019, with the theme “Transforming the way we build”. The event is expected to welcome more than 12,000 attendees from all over the world, and participants can look forward to anchor events and opportunities to network.
More on IBEW here.
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Last Word: For Global Good!
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ART+Tech for Good at Art Science Museum:
The
MeshMinds2.0: ArtxTechforGood
exhibition will return from 7 to 17 March 2019 at ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, to cast a spotlight on sustainability issues through immersive multi-sensory experiences that blend the real and virtual worlds. This is the second year that the exhibition is held at ArtScience Museum as part of the museum’s pillar programme,
ArtScience in Focus
, a cross-disciplinary showcase featuring collaborations with education, art, science and technology partners.
More on Meshminds.
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Great Barrier Reef in Focus:
"The Great Barrier Reef is in grave danger. The twin perils brought by climate change, an increase in the temperature of the ocean and in its acidity, threaten its very existence." When Sir David Attenborough makes a statement like that, the world must sit up and take notice. So when we met senior members of the
Great Barrier Reef Foundation
in Singapore recently we agreed to do all we can to make more people aware - throughout Asia Pacific - of the value of the Reef to humanity and the environment. We start with a focus on turtles - the world's largest green turtle rookery.
Read all abut it here.
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Liveability Challenge:
Our cities are booming, populations are growing, and rapid economic development is transforming the region. It’s the dawn of a new era, and a chance to get sustainable development right. But as cities fill up with people in search of brighter futures and better livelihoods, we need solutions to ensure that cities are green, clean, resilient and cool. In short, cities that are liveable. The Liveability Challenge, organised by Eco-Business and presented by Temasek Foundation Ecosperity, aims to close the financing gap between the ideas that will make our cities better and the investments that will make these solutions a reality.
Find out more here.
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Hindu Kush Himalaya Lifeline:
Ten major rivers of Hindu Kush Himalaya are a lifeline for nearly 2 billion people in eight countries.
BBC reports that climate change poses
a growing threat to the glaciers found in the Hindu Kush and Himalayan mountain ranges, according to a new report from ICIMOD. It found that if CO2 emissions are not cut rapidly, two thirds of these giant ice fields could disappear. Even if the world limits the temperature rise to 1.5C this century, at least one third of the ice would go. The glaciers are a critical water source for 250 million people living across eight different countries.
Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, by ICIMOD,
will significantly contribute to furthering knowledge from and about the HKH in global climate discourse and fills knowledge and information gaps about the impacts and realities of climate change in the HKH.
More on HKH & ICIMOD here.
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Ecosperity Week, the brainchild of Singapore's Temasek Foundation Ecosperity,
is a confluence of events gathering global business leaders, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and academia to drive action on sustainable development. The week-long programme features an innovation showcase, conferences, roundtable discussions, pitch sessions, site visits and networking opportunities across events. Ecosperity Week 2019 takes place from 4 to 7 June 2019 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
More here.
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Enhancing forests for 20 years:
In 1999, European small-forest owners came together to create an international forest certification system that had their needs at heart. “Having no certification system suitable for smallholders was a serious issue back in the 90s,” said Ben Gunneberg, the CEO of PEFC International since the very beginning. “Families and communities own 25% of the world’s forests, so it’s vital for all of us that these forests are managed sustainably. PEFC led a great leap forward for sustainable forest management, and we continue to work hard to ensure PEFC forest certification continues to be accessible and relevant to forest owners worldwide.”
More about PEFC here.
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How can you help Celebrate the
12th Birthday Year of ABC Carbon?
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Ken Hickson started
ABC Carbon
in 2007 in Brisbane, Australia to create awareness of climate change impacts and to help organisations - large and small - adapt to a changing environment. He started work on his landmark book
"The ABC of Carbon"
and started producing the e-newsletter, which is now the online magazine
ABC Carbon Express.
You can help make sure this continues as an independent and sustainable online source of news and information:
- You can advertise and/or sponsor content and promote events in ABC Carbon Express;
- You can support us by sending ideas, contributions, articles, links to issues and opportunities;
- We're introducing a payment process, through Paypal, where you can contribute - call it a donation, subscription or sponsorship - to ABC Carbon/SASA. Receipts will be issued. Email: Kenhickson@abccarbon.com
Based in Singapore since 2010, Ken Hickson established the consultancy
Sustain Ability Showcase Asia (SASA),
which continues to advise businesses and communicate sustainability best practices. He also runs
The Hickson Team
, which is in the business of
"creating content"
for clients and media:
- Get a quote from us to write articles, opinion pieces, web content, blogs, newsletters, brochures, reports, videos and even books!
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