Green Economy

The trillion dollar climate finance challenge (and opportunity)

Published July 19, 2021 | By editor

Mangrove seedlings are planted in an estuary in Bali to help fight erosion.

UNDP/Tim Laman Mangrove seedlings are planted in an estuary in Bali to help fight erosion.

It’s overwhelmingly accepted that climate change is a very significant threat to humanity and while there are countless solutions to tackling what has been described by the UN as the “existential threat” of our times, it is still not fully clear how these solutions will be paid for.

Investments in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure are growing, however from January 2020 to March 2021, globally, more money was spent on fossil fuels, which when burned, create the harmful gasses driving climate change. Continue reading →

Ecosystem restoration: an inspirational plan for people and planet

Published June 28, 2021 | By editor

The Altiplano Estepario, a semi-arid steppe in Southern Spain which is undergoing restoration © AlVelAl

Our planet’s ecosystems are essential for life on Earth, and with threats from climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, there has never been a more urgent need to revive them. The UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, which launched in June and runs until 2030, is a call to action to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide.

Not-for-profit organisation Commonland, one of the 61 official partners of the UN Decade, is leading the way. It created a framework for carrying out large-scale, long-term restoration initiatives across the globe. Based in the Netherlands, the international organisation has set its sights on transforming 100 million hectares of degraded land into thriving ecosystems and communities by 2040, an area twice the size of Spain.

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PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE

Published June 20, 2021 | By editor

In Colombia’s tropical dry forests these seeds are the oxygen that you will breathe in the future.

NOURISHING A COMMUNITY, GERMINATING A FUTURE

Particularly memorable meals and favorite dishes evoke happy moments, remind us of our childhood with their smells and flavors, or transport us to places we have never been before.

Coloured yams in Montes de Maria / Photo credit: Mauricio Enriquez

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Green Economy: Caterpillar Alternative Business Model

Published April 13, 2021 | By editor

Green Economics is about doing business in new ways and changing business models to meet market demands of the emerging global circular economy. The following UN Case Study: Product Lifetime Extension: Caterpillar, how Caterpillar’s business model of re-manufacturing highlights the benefits to their customers, for its business and the environment. Also how the remanufacturing process can provide solutions that contribute to more sustainable production and consumption models.

This case study presents a successful business strategy to extend products lifetime. The aim with of this case study is to inspire and encourage organizations to shift to more circular models, to improve their business models towards prolonging or extending a product’s lifetime.

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SCALING MOUNTAINS Nepal’s aspirations for a climate-resilient sustainable future

Published March 28, 2021 | By editor

The new NDC aims to see 45 percent of the total area of the country under forest cover, pledging to stop deforestation of the Chure range.

Each year, usually between June and September, the annual summer monsoon sweeps across the southern plains of Nepal from the Bay of Bengal. Communities welcome the daily downpours, filling as they do the rivers and countryside and drenching the region’s thirsty rice paddies and vegetable crops.

The monsoon, however, can be a blessing or a curse. Too little rain, or too late, can leave crops ruined. Too much rain can see rivers overflow and mountain slopes collapse under the weight of the water.

In 2017, it was a case of too much, from east to the west of the country. In some areas, 17 inches of rain fell in just eight hours. Around 1.7 million people were affected, with 460,000 displaced from their homes, many with nowhere to go. Those most affected were poor, smallholder farmers.

An international response was mobilized, but the damage was great, with losses estimated at US$585 million and recovery needs at $705 million.

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