UNDP: Towards nature based human development!

2020-12-15T16:14:29Z

New York, 15 December 2020

Broken societies put people and planet on collision course, says UNDP.

An experimental global index offers a new measurement of human progress that illustrates the challenge of tackling poverty and inequality while easing planetary pressure.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest crisis facing the world, but unless humans release their grip on nature, it won’t be the last, according to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which includes a new experimental index on human progress that takes into account countries’ carbon dioxide emissions and material footprint.

The report lays out a stark choice for world leaders - take bold steps to reduce the immense pressure that is being exerted on the environment and the natural world, or humanity’s progresswill stall. “Humans wield more power over the planet than ever before. In the wake of COVID-19, record-breaking temperatures and spiraling inequality, it is time to use that power to redefine what we mean by progress, where our carbon and consumption footprints are no longer hidden,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. “As this report shows, no country in the world has yet achieved very high human development without putting immense strain on the planet. But we could be the first generation to right this wrong. That is the next frontier for human development,” he said.

Press release: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2020_global_press_release_en.pdf

Report: http://hdr.undp.org/en/2020-report

Additional resources: http://hdr.undp.org

Season Greetings & Decade of Action

2020-12-27T10:36:22Z

“We have 10 years left to achieve the sustainable development goals”, says Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General on the UN Decade of Action website.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on all 17 SDGs has shown that what began as a health crisis has quickly become a human and socio-economic crisis. While the crisis is imperiling progress towards the SDGs, it also makes their achievement all the more urgent and necessary. It is essential that recent gains are protected as much as possible. A transformative recovery from COVID- 19 should be pursued, one that addresses the crisis, reduces risks from future potential crises and relaunched the implementation efforts to deliver the 2030 Agenda and SDGs during the Decade of Action”.

To achieve this global, local and people action is essential. We all need to set priorities and be active part of the transformation. With the launch of our Travel Green Planet 2030 collaboration initiative in March 2020 ECOTRANS has set an ambitious goal to make tourism a driver for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SDG12). Let's collaborate to make this happen!

ECOTRANS wishes you Merry Christmas and a healthy & peaceful New Year 2021!

Introduction

I wrote this Christmas story in 2002 about a future Christmas set in the year 2020.

I was working in the European Commission in those days, where I was employed to shape their sustainable development policies for the New Millennium, and had access to the best information on our planet and most knowledgeable people trying to the governance of global change.

Please enjoy listening to or reading it with friends and family this Xmas, now that the Xmas of 2020 has finally come into being, and the End Game 2030 is upon us- rulers and ruled alike …

A Peaceful Christmas and Prosperous New Year to You All

Gordon

Gordon Sillence,
Former European Commission Staff Member
DG Enterprise (cf DG Growth) 2001 -2002

Contact: gordon.destinet@ecotrans.de

YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE STORY AT https://youtu.be/I36aPqai1ng

Tourism2030 - December

UNDP: Towards nature based human development!

Season Greetings & Decade of Action