The event “China-Germany Dialogue on the Sponge City: Resilient and Regenerative” allowed Chinese and international experts to come together and discuss the concept of the Sponge City in front of several members of the local press. Here are 6 key priorities that emerged from these discussions.
Today, Bangladesh has installed more than 4 million Solar Home Systems (SHS) in off-grid rural areas, benefiting over 25 million people and wiping kerosene for lighting off the map. At present, over 60.000 SHS are being installed per month. The country has gained the capacity and knowledge of assembling all components of SHS in its territory, with more than 100.000 green jobs. We took a Tanzanian delegation of key stake holders to witness Bangladesh’s success.
The Republic of Palau has been announced as the winner of the Future Policy Award 2012. Palau received the Award in recognition of two outstanding marine policies,
Palau’s Protected Areas Network Act, initiated in 2003, and its Shark Haven Act from 2009. The two Silver Awards were bestowed on the Philippines for the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act (2010) and
on Namibia for its Marine Resources Act (2000). According to the international jury the four winning policies contribute most effectively to the sustainable management of the world’s oceans and coasts for the benefit of current and future generations. The winners were announced during a press conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 26 September 2012.
Work is essential for realizing other human rights and it forms an inseparable and inherent part of human dignity. The Zero Project 2017 is focusing on Work, Employment, and Vocational Education and Training, and call for nominations of innovative policies has just been launched!
While the ultimate aim of a regenerative city is to be able to regenerate the natural resources that it absorbs, it is important to highlight that the concept is in fact much broader and comprehensive. It is therefore important to clarify the types of Regeneration that we would see in the Regenerative City.
This Q&A explains the unprecedented legal action brought by the Marshall Islands against India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom which took place at the International Court of Justice in The Hague from 7-16 March.
We may all be doing our best but, as Winston Churchill said: “In a crisis, it is not enough to do our best – we have to do what is necessary”. Today we are heading for unprecedented dangers and conflicts, up to and including the end of a habitable planet in the foreseeable future, depriving all future generations of their right to life and the lives of preceding generations of meaning and purpose.
“The question is no longer whether the world will transition to renewable energy but rather how long the transition will take and how can the transition be carried out to maximize the benefits today and for future generations.” – Harry Lehmann, General Director of the German Federal Environment Agency at Kassel International Dialogue (KID) 2016.
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are a crucial element of the Paris Agreement. They are the foundation on which the success of global mitigation efforts will be built.
Cities are starting to realise something fundamental: they need to go beyond minimising energy use to actually challenge it. Energy efficiency is not only about simply reducing energy demand to offer the same service, but about a fundamental change in the structure, nature and role of the energy system.
