Local authorities in the United Kingdom are recognised by central government as key agents to achieving the national net zero target aimed at stabilising global temperatures at or below 1.5 degrees in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Since 2018, over 75% of local authorities have declared climate emergencies committing to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents the findings of a review of official public records published by 308 local authorities, City Regions and Combined Authorities declaring climate emergencies.
The upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting, and adoption of the new Global Biodiversity Framework, represent an opportunity to transform humanity's relationship with nature. Restoring nature while meeting human needs requires a bold vision, including mainstreaming biodiversity conservation in society. We present a framework that could support this: the Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy.
This viewpoint reviews key assessments from the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C and examines the implications for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR). Disaster risks are expected to be higher at 1.5 °C and continue to increase at 2 °C. Current and future disaster risk management particularly those that deal with the impacts of coastal flooding, heat-related health impacts, sea level rise, and forest fires are to be strengthened, particularly the Arctic, Caribbean, SIDS and low-lying coastal areas are particularly at risk.
Rapid ocean warming as a result of climate change poses a key risk for coral reefs. Even if the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement are achieved, coral reefs are likely to decline by 70–90% relative to their current abundance by midcentury. Although alarming, coral communities that survive will play a key role in the regeneration of reefs by mid-to-late century.
Actions on climate change (SDG 13), including in the food system, are crucial. SDG 13 needs to align with the Paris Agreement, given that UNFCCC negotiations set the framework for climate change actions. Food system actions can have synergies and trade-offs, as illustrated by the case for nitrogen fertiliser. SDG 13 actions that reduce emissions can have positive impacts on other SDGs (e.g. 3, 6, 12, 14, 15); but such actions should not undermine the adaptation goals of SDG 13 and SDGs 1, 2, 5 and 10.
This article analyses the interplay between inter-State obligations to increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.a, with a view to contributing to enhanced implementation of the international law of the sea (SDG 14.c), and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources (SDG 14.b).
Accountability and adaptive management of recent global agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement, will in part rely on the ability to track progress toward the social and environmental targets they set. Current metrics and monitoring systems, however, are not yet up to the task. We argue that there is an imperative to consider principles of coherence (what to measure), standardization (how to measure) and decision-relevance (why to measure) when designing monitoring schemes if they are to be practical and useful.
