About Sustainability…

Our guest on this episode is Akihisa Kuriyama, a policy researcher in IGES’ Climate & Energy Unit. He joins us to talk about SDG7 on energy. We spoke about the relationship between energy and climate; what’s new about SDG 7 in the global discussion on energy; some of the barriers and challenges in achieving the goal; the possibilities of nuclear energy; and the best ways of getting energy to the largest possible number of peopl...

In this episode we met with Amila from IGES who shared the latest updates on  international plastics governance.  Among others, he described details on the international negotiations committee that was formed last year to define a legally binding instrument to curb plastic pollution. We heard who is on that committee and what they do when they meet. He also explained details and challenges around what is called the life cycle appro...

In this episode of About Sustainability…

Erin and Bob talked to Binaya Raj Shivakoti, an IGES expert in the Adaptation and Water team, about SDG6, which is on “ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (or simply ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’). This goal’s environmental dimensions are clear, and has targets on the universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanita...

In this episode of About Sustainability..., Andre and Erin spoke with their colleague, Maiko Morishita, about SDG5, on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Maiko is part of the IGES finance task force, which covers a variety of topics but she also previously worked in the NGO world where gender was a key component of her work. We started by asking Maiko why she thinks this goal is important. We then proceed...

In this episode of About Sustainability…

In episode 2 of the Sustainability Afoot series, Bob took a walk with Dr. Bijon Kumer Mitra to find out what Regional/Local CES (Regional or Local Circulating and Ecological Spheres) is.   In brief, CES is an approach supported by the Government of Japan that is focused on bottom-up policy development that seeks to simultaneously address local or regional Economic, Environmental, and Societal...

In this episode of About Sustainability…

Erin and Simon caught up with Andre just before his trip to Montreal, Canada for the second part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15). A few things have changed since the release of our CBD episode back in March. CBD COP15 will now be convened from the 7th to the 19th of December 2022 in Montreal, Canada under the Chinese C...

In this episode of About Sustainability…

Bob kicked off a new experimental format, tentatively called “Sustainability Afoot”.  The concept is simple: go for a walk near the headquarters of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Hayama, Japan, and discuss some basic questions about a topic, concept, or methodology that IGES works in. The first episode of this format is about the concept of the “circular economy.”...

This is the second part of our episode on SDG4 and education for sustainable development. In this part we focused on whether the right skills are taught in schools to equip people with skills and priorities necessary to bring about a more sustainable world rather than one characterized by competition and scarcity.  Robert shared more information and examples from his work on education for sustainable development, and we discussed w...

In this episode we talked with our good friend Robert Didham. He is Centre Director and Associate Professor at the Centre for Collaborative Learning for Sustainable Development Faculty of Education, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. 

We talked to Robert about education for sustainable development and its place in Agenda 2030 as SDG 4. He explained how SDG 4 takes a comprehensive focus on education when compared...

In this episode of About Sustainability..., Erin, Andre, and Bob invited Eric Zusman back to talk about SDG3 on Health. Eric works on co-benefits between air pollution mitigation and climate action, which has significant implications for public health. Meanwhile, Erin provided some context and perspectives based on her public health background. 

We started the discussion with what it means to be ‘healthy’ and what is required to att...

In the second episode of our series on SDGs, Simon, Andre and Erin invited Prabhakar SVRK, who knows a lot about climate adaptation, food and agriculture. Focusing on SDG2 on Zero Hunger, we talked about the challenges to achieve a world free from hunger while trying to reduce fossil fuel use to limit climate change, given the significant fossil fuel-based inputs in our current food system. It seems the world is producing enough fo...

What’s in an SDG?

In an effort to more deeply understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), over the next few months, the About Sustainability… podcast will zoom in on each of them in turn. We will invite experts to join us and parse out more about an individual goal, where we are in terms of achieving it, and the challenges it presents. We will also discuss how each goal, including those that are not environmentally oriented...

This is part 2 of the broad discussion that André, Bob, Erin, and Simon went into, which began with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and why it seems so challenging for the world to achieve the goals. Part 2 of the discussion started with Erin’s question on whether the issue with the capitalist system is that negative environmental externalities are not sufficiently factored into economic decisions. We touched on ethical is...

This time, Andre, Bob, Erin, and Simon went into a broader discussion around the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and why it seems so challenging for the world to achieve the goals despite them constituting the ‘good’ of development. The discussion touched upon many items, including how the SDGs are different than the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that preceded them, how to measure poverty, the different approaches to gov...

Andre and Erin had a chance to talk to a fascinating person named Wardarina about civic engagement, especially focusing on the Asia-Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM). Simon joined the discussion to provide additional insights, as he too has a lot of experience engaging in this space.

Wardarina (or Rina, as she is often known) is currently one of the co-chairs, of the APRCEM. The APRCEM is a self-organised platform t...

Bob and André talked to Sudarmanto Budi Nugroho (“Toto”) and Eric Zusman, two IGES experts who were involved in Working Group III (Climate Mitigation) of the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The latest report in the IPCC AR6 series, the WGIII Report summarises the latest knowledge on climate mitigation options, building on the work of Working Groups I (the Physical Basis of Climat...

In this bonus episode of About Sustainability…, André, Bob, Erin, and Simon briefly discussed people’s relationship with nature, from local communities that use natural resources in a low-impact way to large-scale efforts around the world to plant trees. This side conversation happened during our discussion on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (Episode 3, linked below). 

Despite their popularity, André cautioned that tree...

In this episode of About Sustainability…, Simon and Erin followed up with Andre and IGES colleague Amila Abeynayaka, an expert on plastics management, on some of the recent outcomes from UNEA-5.2, the second part of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

At this year’s UNEA, governments managed to find consensus on 14 decisions and resolutions, and we discussed a couple of these, namely on nature-based ...

This time Erin, Bob, and Simon talked to Andre about the Convention on Biological Diversity, or CBD, and the upcoming 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (CBD-COP15). This meeting is expected to be held in Kunming later in 2022. The conversation touched upon the purposes of the CBD and who its members are. Andre also explained the CBD’s mandate and how it compares to other related processes. 

They also talked ab...