Highlights from Davos 2024: World Economic Forum

Nearly 3,000 people from more than 125 countries came together to get to work on a wide range of topics including global cooperation, economic growth, AI development and the climate crisis.

UN Secretary General Discusses Climate Change at COP 28 Conference

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is about implementing the Paris Agreement and ramping up ambition and action. It is an opportunity to identify global solutions for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, inform countries’ preparations for revised and more ambitious national climate plans, accelerate the green transition that is already happening and ultimately achieve the delivery of the Paris Agreement goals.

The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. UNFCCC stands for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Convention has near universal membership (198 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of all three agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development

Assessing Global Climate Challenges

The COP 28 conference will see the first-ever “global stocktake” to assess collective progress on cutting emissions and ramping up adaptation efforts and support to developing countries hard hit by a warming climate.

Developed countries must honour the promise to deliver $100 billion per year in climate finance, which was first made at COP15 in 2009, and double the amount of funding going towards adaptation efforts, he insisted.

Israel’s Sustainable Water Management Research Supports United Nations Goals

The Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is engaged in broad-based research that encompasses nano science and pore scale phenomena and extends to pilot projects and field studies. Israel’s sustainable water management supports United Nations sustainability goals.

An interdisciplinary team includes hydrologists, soil scientists, geologists, chemists, microbiologists, and engineers. The result is a unique scientific environment facilitating the investigation of environmental challenges and the development of engineering solutions for water-related problems. Young and dynamic, the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research is open to change, and research topics are “fine-tuned” to remain responsive to constantly evolving needs and challenges.

ZIWR members are actively engaged in research projects within Israel, and collaborate with other scientists worldwide. Particular emphasis is placed on research and development of water resources in drylands in general, and on the local conditions of the Negev in particular. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev remains mindful of its founding mission to spearhead development of Israel’s southern region while taking its place in the global scientific community.

Learn more on the institute’s website.

The SDG Report 2023: A High-level Event

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition is the only United Nations official report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Using the latest available data and estimates, the report provides a comprehensive midpoint assessment of the 2030 Agenda, highlighting not only impacts of multiple crises affecting people’s lives and livelihoods, but also areas of progress where acceleration is needed. This annual SDG Report is prepared in collaboration with the entire UN Statistical System, consisting of more than 50 international and regional agencies, based on data from over 200 countries and territories. A High-level Event to highlight the launch of the Special Edition report and provide a platform for leaders to share their insights and calls to action for accelerating progress towards the SDGs and implementing a rescue plan for people and the planet.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition is the only official United Nations report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Using the latest available data and estimates, the report provides a comprehensive midpoint assessment of the 2030 Agenda, highlighting not only impacts of multiple crises affecting people’s lives and livelihoods, but also areas of progress where acceleration is needed. This annual SDG Report was prepared by The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the entire UN Statistical System, consisting of more than 50 international and regional agencies, based on data from over 200 countries and territories

UN Report > Impact of Climate Change on the Planet

The relentless advance of climate change brought more drought, flooding and heatwaves to communities around the world last year, compounding threats to people’s lives and livelihoods, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report on climate change..

WMO latest State of the Global Climate report shows that the last eight years were the eight warmest on record, and that sea level rise and ocean warming hit new highs. Record levels of greenhouse gases caused “planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere”.

The organization says its report echoes UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call for “deeper, faster emissions cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius”, as well as “massively scaled-up investments in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and communities who have done the least to cause the crisis”.

In his message on Earth Day 2023, UN chief Guterres warned that “biodiversity is collapsing as one million species teeter on the brink of extinction”, and called on the world to end its “relentless and senseless wars on nature”, insisting that “we have the tools, the knowledge, and the solutions” to address climate change.

United Nations Report > Financing for Sustainable Development

Sustainable development prospects continue to diverge between developed and developing countries. The 2023 Financing for Sustainable Development Report finds that SDG financing needs are growing, but development financing is not keeping pace. The war in Ukraine, sharp increases in food and energy prices, and rapidly tightening financial conditions have increased hunger and poverty and reversed progress on the SDGs. If left unaddressed, a “great finance divide” will translate into a lasting sustainable development divide.

Stakeholders must maintain a long-term focus on resilient and inclusive development, while addressing near-term crises. Delaying investment in sustainable transformations is not an option – not only because it would put the 2030 Agenda and climate targets out of reach, but also because it would exacerbate financing challenges down the line. This report calls on the international community to take advantage of this moment to align financing with sustainable development through three sets of actions, including:

  • Scale up development cooperation and SDG investment: These can support the UN Secretary-General’s call for an SDG Stimulus.
  • Strengthen the international financial architecture by bringing different reform processes together, strengthening effectiveness, ensuring full alignment with the SDGs and climate action.
  • Accelerate national sustainable industrial transformations: Countries need to chart their own national paths to achieve the SDGs with a new generation of sustainable industrial policies, supported by integrated national financing frameworks.

The world is at a crossroads. The international community must deliver on the outstanding promise of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, deliver sustainable transformations, and achieve the SDGs.

Download the 2023 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Financing Sustainable Transformations

Diffusing the Climate Change Time Bomb

According to a new United Nations report, there are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change. Details are discussed by scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

Global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels in the next five years, fueled by heat-trapping greenhouse gases and a naturally occurring El Niño. According to the World Meteorological Organization, there is a 66% likelihood that the annual average near-surface global temperature between 2023 and 2027 will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year. There is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years, and the five-year period as a whole, will be the warmest on record. The Paris Agreement refers to the 1.5°C threshold for long-term warming over many years. This report predicts the level will be breached temporarily, with increasing frequency, but not permanently.

Uniting the world for water: United Nations conference

The first Unite Nations water conference in decades, the UN 2023 Water Conference was held in New York in March. The conference was designed to mobilize member states, the UN system, and stakeholders alike to take action and to develop successful solutions on a global scale. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations called for innovative drought financing mechanisms to help deal with the rising frequency and severity of drought events amid intensifying climate extremes that often damage fragile communities the most.

“The lack of adequate, timely and innovative financial resources remains a major barrier to proactive and integrated drought management,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu told a special event at the conference

The opening day of the March 22-24 conference coincided with World Water Day 2023, an annual UN event designed to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. 

Since conventional financial sources, mechanisms and instruments may not be sufficient to support investments in drought risk reduction and resilience building, “responsive and innovative drought financing mechanisms need to be clearly identified as a component of overall climate finance,” Qu told the conference. 

The director-general also called for an increase in private sector participation, as well as a greater global knowledge base to ensure that investment decisions reflect current needs and foresee trends. “We cannot end poverty and hunger unless we get ahead of the curve on droughts,” Qu said.

Read the vision statement of the Water Conference