ESG and Of Interest News
Landmark UN report: The world's migratory species of animals are in decline, and the global extinction risk is increasing
January 12, 2024-- The first-ever State of the World's Migratory Species report was launched today by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a UN biodiversity treaty, at the opening of a major UN wildlife conservation conference (CMS COP14). The landmark report reveals:
While some migratory species listed under CMS are improving, nearly half (44 per cent) are showing population declines.
More than one-in-five (22 per cent) of CMS-listed species are threatened with extinction.
Nearly all (97 per cent) of CMS-listed fish are threatened with extinction.
The extinction risk is growing for migratory species globally, including those not listed under CMS.
Half (51 per cent) of Key Biodiversity Areas identified as important for CMS-listed migratory animals do not have protected status, and 58 per cent of the monitored sites recognized as being important for CMS-listed species are experiencing unsustainable levels of human-caused pressure.
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Source: unep.org
What You Need to Know About Blue Carbon
November 21, 2023---Carbon pricing critical for achieving climate objectives
What is "Blue Carbon"?
Blue Carbon is the term coined for carbon dioxide (CO2) stored in the world's coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrasses. It's called "Blue" Carbon because of its proximity to the ocean: it is stored mostly in the soil and silt up to 6 meters under the seabed.
Besides coastal Blue Carbon, there is also "deep sea carbon". Each type is measured using a specific methodology to understand its impacts and benefits. The World Bank Group focuses on coastal Blue Carbon, namely mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses, which come with accounting methodologies recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Additional habitats may be added in the future.
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Source: worldbank.org
Plastic Pollution Crisis Deepens Despite Global Efforts
November 21, 2023--Every year, humanity produces a staggering 430 million tonnes of plastic, two-thirds of which quickly becomes waste. This relentless tide of plastic is polluting our land, sea, and air, and it's increasingly finding its way into our food chain.
By 2060, experts estimate that global plastic production will surpass a staggering billion tonnes, further exacerbating this growing crisis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) paints a grim picture, revealing that less than 10% of the world's annual-plastic production is recycled. The situation is particularly alarming in Africa, where despite producing only 5% and consuming only 4% of the world's plastic, the continent is experiencing a surge in single-use plastic consumption, leading to heightened pollution and health concerns.
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Source: allafrica.com
Climate Equality: A planet for the 99%
November 20, 2023--Overview
The world faces twin crises of climate breakdown and runaway inequality. The richest people, corporations and countries are destroying the world with their huge carbon emissions. Meanwhile, people living in poverty, those experiencing marginalization, and countries in the Global South are those impacted the hardest.
Women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, people living in poverty and other groups experiencing discrimination are particularly at a disadvantage. The consequences of climate breakdown are felt in all parts of the world and by most people, yet only the richest people and countries have the wealth, power and influence to protect themselves. With that power comes huge responsibility.
If no action is taken, the richest will continue to burn through the carbon we have left to use while keeping the global temperature below the safe limit of 1.5℃, destroying any chance of ending poverty and ensuring equality. The world needs an equal transformation. Only a radical reduction in inequality, transformative climate action and fundamentally shifting our economic goals as a society can save our planet while ensuring wellbeing for all.
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Source: oxfam.org
IMF Working Papers-When Will Global Gender Gaps Close?
September 15, 2023--Summary:
On the current pace of reforms, global gender gaps are estimated to close, using deterministic (linear or log-linear) trends, over the next three centuries. This means that many women will likely not be able to fully use their abilities and talents, to the detriment of societies, for a long time. Yet this paper shows that, absent a significant step up in policy efforts, gender gaps may in fact never close.
Using Markov chains, a common approach in macroeconomics, this paper analyzes the dynamics of the cross-country distribution of the gender gap in labor force participation. This methodology does not impose strong restrictions on the data, allowing for episodes of progress as well as regress by countries on gender inequality. Based on the experience of the past three decades, the analysis predicts a further narrowing of gender gaps over time. But the long-run distribution of gender gaps in labor force participation features a substantial share of countries with persistently large gaps, implying that-absent a strengthened and systematic policy effort-some of the current misallocation of women's talents and abilities could persist perpetually.
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Source: imf.org
Droughts and Deficits-The Global Impacts of Droughts on Economic Growth
September 12, 2023--Across much of the world, water deficits are expected to become the new normal. With rising human populations and growing prosperity, water demand is growing exponentially.
Pollution, industrial development, agricultural intensification, land use change, and other damaging human activities are degrading and diminishing watersheds, rivers, and lakes.
The result is a water deficit, with stresses that will spread to new regions of the world and worsen in areas where water is already scarce.
Climate change is also expected to increase the risk of droughts and desertification in many at-risk regions of the world, particularly those with rapid population growth, vulnerable groups and food security challenges.
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Source: worldbank.org
Generational Shift: New Global Poll Reveals Large Minorities of Young People Lack Faith in Democracy to Deliver on Their Priorities
September 11, 2023--The Open Society Barometer, an annual global survey from the Open Society Foundations that launched today, finds that young people around the world (Generation Z and millennials) hold the least faith in democracy of any age group, presenting a grave threat to its future. Over a third (35 percent) of respondents in the 18-35 age group were supportive of a strong leader who does away with legislatures and elections.
The report, Open Society Barometer: Can Democracy Deliver?, finds that the concept of democracy remains widely popular across every region of the globe, with 86 percent saying that they would prefer to live in a democratic state. There is also widespread disbelief that authoritarian states can deliver more effectively than democracies on priorities both nationally and in global forums.
Topping the list of such priorities, people worry most about poverty and inequality (20 percent), climate change (20 percent), and corruption (18 percent). Potentially indicating a lack of faith that governments are addressing such needs, around a third of respondents on average distrust politicians to work in their best interests.
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Source: opensocietyfoundations.org
What You Need to Know About Climate Change and Drought
September 11, 2023--Are climate change and drought connected? We asked Richard Damania, the World Bank's Chief Economist for Sustainable Development, and two experts from the Bank's Sustainable Development unit: Senior Economist Esha Zaveri and Senior Climate Change Specialist Nathan Engle. The three are authors of the paper, Droughts and Deficits: Summary Evidence of the Global Impact on Economic Growth.
Is drought increasing and is climate change to blame?
Water deficits are fast becoming the new normal. Over the last half century, extreme "dry rainfall shocks"- i.e., below-average rainfall - have increased 233% in certain regions. A dry shock that is one standard deviation from the norm is normally a rare event that could be expected to include 15 of the driest episodes in a century. A dry shock that is two standard deviations from the norm is even rarer and includes the driest 2.5 years in a century. Such dry episodes should be intermittent, but they are occurring more frequently. At the same time, areas with above-average rainfall are in decline.
Our empirical observations are consistent with other scientific projections that by the late 21st century the land area and population facing extreme droughts could more than double globally. While projections of future rainfall are highly uncertain, climate change models are unanimous that rainfall will become more erratic and extreme with rising temperatures.
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Source: worldbank.org
IMF Working Paper-Cross-Border Risks of a Global Economy in Mid-Transition
September 8, 2023--Summary:
This paper analyzes the cross-border risks that could result from a decarbonization of the world economy. We develop a typology of cross-border risks and their respective channels.
Our qualitative and quantitative scenario analysis suggests that the mid-transition-a period during which fossil-fuel and low-carbon energy systems co-exist and transform at a rapid pace -could have profound stability and resilience implications for global trade and the international financial system.
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Source: imf.org
Analysis: Why trash in space is a major problem with no clear fix
September 3, 2023--There's a lot of trash on the Moon right now - including nearly 100 bags of human waste-and with countries around the globe traveling to the Moon, there’s going to be a lot more, both on the lunar surface and in Earth's orbit.
In August 2023, Russia's Luna-25 probe crashed into the Moon's surface, while India's Chandrayann-3 mission successfully landed in the southern polar region, making India the fourth country to land on the Moon.
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Source: pbs.org
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