Newsletter of the
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM
Volume 18, Number 5 --- 15 May 2016
Website: iefworld.org
Article submission: newsletter@iefworld.org
Deadline next issue 13 June 2016
Secretariat Email: ief@iefworld.org General Secretary Emily Firth
Postal address: 12B Chemin de Maisonneuve, CH-1219 Chatelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
Download the pdf version
Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust
Faiths Rising for People & Planet
12 June 2016
a day of prayer and action
Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust is a worldwide, multi-faith day of prayer & action for the planet and a call for world leaders to commit to a 1.5 degree limit on global temperature rise.
Six months after world leaders reached the Paris Agreement, communities around the world will come together in a day of beautiful commitment and blessing for the earth.
We Will Celebrate The earth as sacred; worthy of our respect, awe and veneration.
We Will Reaffirm That ultimately, we aren´t earth’s owners, but rather her caretakers.
We will Reassert Our moral responsibility for the well-being, interdependence of all life and show our solidarity with the most vulnerable.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 1.5°C & 2°C OF WARMING MEANS EVERYTHING
The adopted Paris Agreement is an incredible first step, but much of what we have achieved hangs in balance.
The current commitments to reduce emissions condemn us to an extremely dangerous 2.7°C increase. And the goal governments gave themselves is still fixed around 2°C. But experts & activists are arguing for a vital push for 1.5°C as a true upper limit.
This seemingly small difference would prevent well over 100 million people from losing their homes due to droughts, floods, sea level rise and devastating storms.
In the face of this sobering reality, we need to continue the push for 1.5°C to keep hope alive.
HOW TO JOIN IN Around the world communities will be joining in an incredible variety of ways. Our diversity is our strongest power. Here are just a couple of the ways communities are joining in:
1. Say a prayer, make a blessing, sing a song or meditate - on your own, with your family or bring your community together.
2. Stage a sit in meditation outside a place that's important locally - a new fracking site, your town hall, a coal mine, or a place that's at risk.
3. Hold your service outdoors, to reconnect the community to nature.
4. Organise a community project - paint a mural, banners or build a sculpture.
5. A march through your town, bring together people from your community and beyond around protecting our planet for the vulnerable.
Then, we share our celebrations and actions with the world using #SacredEarth!
Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust http://sacredearth2016.
Last Monday 18 April, more than 5000, including 270 high-level faith leaders and over 170 religious groups were handed over to the UN General Assembly President, as part of the Interfaith Climate Change Statement. Together we were covered by media from around the world
Now, we need to show the world that our words are matched by our actions, and our unwavering commitment to care for our sacred earth.
On June 12, the 6-month anniversary of the Paris Agreement, religious and spiritual groups around the world are joining forces for Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust. We would like to invite you to join us.
We’re aged 25 & 26, and although many world leaders will not live to see the success or failure of the Paris Agreement, we will.
On June 12, faith communities around the world will come together in celebration of our common home and to escalate our call for action on climate change.
Some communities and individuals will offer a simple, heartfelt prayer, meditation or mantra to show their care for the earth. Others will deliver a sermon, teach a lesson, or speak out in a public forum. And some will organize community art projects, vigils, or climate marches through their towns. All of our actions and prayers will be shared online with the hashtag #SacredEarth.
Our movement is powerful, and it is growing fast, but so is the climate crisis. Every month this year has been the hottest yet on record! We need to match this by growing and acting faster than ever before. June 12 is the moment we will do that.
A better future and a safer climate is possible, together we are the solution. Please join us on June 12.
Thank you for everything you do, Sean, Alex & the OurVoices team
OurVoices.net - bringing faith to the climate talks
Our Voices US Office, 101 South Third Avenue, #12, Highland Park, NJ 08904, USA
Source: http://sacredearth2016.org/index.html 25 April 2016
SDG Hub in Geneva
IEF member Joachim Monkelbaan has recently launched the SDG Hub (http://www.sdghub.org/) as an independent platform based in Geneva, Switzerland, a center of global sustainability governance. This is one outcome of the Workshop on Implementing the SDGs (https://iefworld.org/node/796) which he organized on 27 April. The SDG Hub aims to mobilize global expertise to promote practical problem-solving for sustainable development, including the design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals provide unique opportunities for human progress that is in harmony with planet Earth. Following their adoption in September 2015, the SDGs now need to be implemented at local, national, and global scales.
All work by the SDG Hub is focused on supporting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, including the Paris Agreement on climate change. During 2016, countries are starting the process of applying the SDGs to their local needs, identifying priorities, and implementing Agenda 2030. More specifically, the hub supports the implementation of the Global Goals through networking, research, capacity building, strategic advice, and building multi-actor partnerships (e.g. public-private partnerships).
It aims to accelerate joint learning and overcome the compartmentalization of technical and policy work by promoting integrated approaches to the interconnected economic, social, and environmental challenges confronting the world. The SDG Hub works closely with United Nations agencies, governments, multilateral financing institutions, the private sector, and civil society.
The organization and governance of the SDG Hub aims to enable a large number of leaders from all regions and a diverse backgrounds to participate in the development of the Hub, while at the same time ensuring effective structures for decision making and accountability. The Governing Board acts as the board of the SDG Hub. A smaller Executive Committee oversees financial, programmatic, and other operational matters. The Academic Advisory Committee works on issues relating to safeguarding rigorous research, education and curriculum design.
Workshop on Implementing the SDGs
A high-level workshop on "Implementing the SDGs: creating and sharing knowledge" was held at International Environment House in Geneva, Switzerland, on 27 April 2016. The workshop was organized and convened by IEF member Dr. Joachim Monkelbaan with the assistance of the University of Geneva Institute for Environmental Sciences and the support of the Swiss Network for International Studies, and brought together over 40 experts from the international organizations, academic community and civil society organizations in the Geneva area. IEF represented civil society organizations in the planning of the workshop.
The purpose of the workshop was to identify needs and opportunities in terms of research and education needed to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, considering the coherent framework that the SDGs offer together with deep interconnections and cross-cutting elements that require multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder engagement.
After opening remarks by Dr. Monkelbaan, the first session on knowledge creation was moderated by Prof. Lichia Saner-Yui, President of the Center for Social and Economic Development (CSEND). Prof. Hy Dao of the University of Geneva and colleagues presented on possibilities and challenges of the "data revolution" for the SDGs; Dr. Cecilia Cannon of The Graduate Institute discussed designing and implementing effective monitoring mechanisms for reaching the SDGs; Daniel Wermus of the Millennium Institute presented an integrated model for Sustainable Development Goal strategies derived from the World 3 model used for the Club of Rome studies on the Limits to Growth; and Dr. Andrea Bassi of KnowlEdge srl reviewed systems thinking.
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IEF member Joachim Monkelbaan opening the workshop; part of the audience
The second session on knowledge sharing moderated by Peter Illig, Executive Director, Frontier 2050, included teaching methods such as SDG living labs from Dr. Alexandre Babak Hedjazi of the University of Geneva; Prof. Arthur Dahl, International Environment Forum, on values-based education and the SDGs describing IEF experience bringing in an ethical perspective; Leticia Saura of the University of Geneva on executive education in corporate social responsibility (CSR); and Dr. Elena Proden of UNITAR describing their training programmes relevant to the SDGs.
The third session on knowledge implementation, creating SDG coherence and effectiveness in practice, was moderated by Mark Halle, Executive Director, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The panelists were Alice Tipping of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Develioment (ICTSD) on trade and Agenda 2030; Luisa Bernal of UNDP on its approach to SDG implementation; Dr. Ralph Heinrich of UNECE on promoting innovation for sustainable development, and Ahmad Mukhtar of FAO on food security and the SDGs.
A set of brainstorming sessions produced suggestions on knowledge generation, capacity building and diffusion as a basis for a Geneve SDG knowledge agenda. Many networking opportunities were created, and the experts agreed to continue meeting to build more collaboration.
Source: https://iefworld.org/node/796