April 2018 Sustainable Development

Read the articles selected in April 2018

New waste rules will make EU global front-runner in waste management and recycling

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/, 18 April

The European Parliament has approved a package of new rules on waste as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan adopted by the EC in 2015. The new system strengthens the waste hierarchy phasing out landfilling and extends the producers’ responsibility for a product to the whole product’s lifecycle.

L’Italia e gli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile

Source: asvis.it

Within the EU Italy is lagging behind in promoting well-being, equity, and sustainability. Although more attention is paid to the 2030 Agenda, the fundamental strategies for the future of the country and to achieve its Goals lack a systemic approach and an adequate legislative activity.

World Intellectual Property Day (26 April)

Source: http://www.un.org

This celebration is aimed to spread knowledge about the intellectual property rights, and the importance of their acknowledgment as a spur for progress, economic development, as well as a protection for consumers. This year’s campaign is dedicated to the women that have changed the world.

El secreto de la muerte en África

By Manuel Ansede

Source: El País, 20 April

Three Spanish researchers have invented a new and barely invasive autopsy technique which will end in the next twenty years the inexplicable deaths of millions of children every year in the poorest countries, and provide the health systems with reliable data that are essential to fight easily avoidable diseases.

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Sustainability now

Source: European Commission

The EU has built over decades a continent in peace, a pole of attraction for its democracy, social market economy and egalitarianism. The sustainable development represents an opportunity to rethink the form of growth in all its dimensions, with a European added value.

Advance sustainability at your university

Source: http://asvis.it/, 26 March

The role universities play as laboratories to experiment innovative solutions for sustainable development is undervalued. The Green Office is an open-source model, which was established for the first time at Maastricht University and helps institutions to embed sustainability in research and education.

Read more:

http://www.greenofficemovement.org

Development aid stable in 2017 with more sent to poorest countries

Source: http://www.oecd.org, 9 April

According to preliminary data collected by the OECD, ODA spent in 2017 has been flowing to the least developed countries to the detriment of the support to refugees hosted in donor countries. The 0,7% target for the ODA is a crucial goal for sustainable development, said Secretary–General Angel Gurría.

What makes us truly happy and healthy?

Source: https://otd.harvard.edu, 3 April

Harvard University has led a study in collaboration with Aetna which intends to provide a basis for the well-being research, translating this emotional concept in the scientific understanding of what it means to be healthy across numerous dimensions in the perspective to produce a better functioning society.

U.S. environmental groups wins millions to develop methane-monitoring satellite

By Jeff Tollefson

Source: Scientific American, 17 April

The Environmental Defense Fund will launch within 2020 a satellite with the mission to measure methane emissions, at a resolution of 1 square kilometer, with a global coverage and the goal to control the major oil and gas fields in the world, as well to estimate emissions from landfills and agriculture.

International Mother Earth Day 22 April

Source: http://www.un.org

In this commemoration, the General Assembly will hold the Eighth Interactive Dialogue on Harmony with Nature in the ECOSOC Chamber, the United Nations central platform for reflection, debate and innovative thinking on sustainable development.

The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018

By Glenn-Marie Lange, Quentin Wodon & Kevin Carey

Source:http://www.worldbank.org/

This report measures changes in wealth of the countries in the world to monitor the sustainability of development. Despite the growth of total wealth almost everywhere, inequalities still persist, as well differences between poor and rich countries about per capita wealth, human and natural capital.

The Inclusive Development Index 2018

Source: https://www.weforum.org

This report identifies 15 indicators of economic policy that contribute to growth in living standards, filling inequalities and the erosion of social cohesion, and yet often undervalued as tools of stability, that influence the GDP growth and are a measure of institutional success.

Transforming partnerships for the SDGs

Source: https://www.unglobalcompact.org

Partnerships between the private sector and the UN action for the SDGs face several challenges, from the short supply of specialist skills and broader cultural barriers between diverse worlds and towards the private sector, to legal restrictions that limit or delay partnership opportunities.

Source: https://www.un.org

With the resolution A/72/L.31, the UN General Assembly designated 7 April as a day of reflection against the massive atrocities committed against Tutsi and Hutu to leave no room for ambiguity and denial, recalling our common humanity.

International Day of Human Space Flight 12 April

Source: https://www.un.org

With the flight to the Moon begins a new era for mankind, which finds a common interest in the pacific exploration and use of the space. This celebration acknowledges the importance of using technology and space science for the benefit of all States and peoples, contributing to achieving sustainable development.

Universal health coverage key to safer, fairer world, says WHO chief on eve of World Health Day

Source: http://www.un.org, 6 April

Half the world’s population do not have coverage for full essential health services. Health for all is a Sustainable Development Goal, which requires political choices for a safer and fairer world.

European Parliament calls for doubling for LIFE funding in the next EU budget

Source: http://asvis.it, 3 April

The European Parliament has voted to double the budget for LIFE, the EU funding programme on nature and climate protection, to meet the international commitments agreed with the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Deal, but this is only one step towards the share needed to tackle the new emergencies.

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 6 April

Source: http://www.un.org

Sport is a fundamental right, so stated UNESCO in 1978. Since the historic Millennium Declaration in 2000, the vital role of sport in societies has been recognized in numerous Resolutions of the General Assembly. In the 2030 Agenda it is an important enabler of sustainable development, tool of peace and tolerance.

End plastic pollution

Source: https://www.earthday.org/

Earth Day is the world’s largest environmental movement. This year it is dedicated to reducing plastic pollution through information and education of citizens across the globe, changing their attitudes and behaviors, and supporting the adoption of a global framework of regulation.

Obiettivo 2030

Source: http://www.obiettivo2030.it/

Obiettivo 2030 is a project between Earth Day Italia and Asvis, an association instituted from an initiative of Unipolis and Tor Vergata University, to increase in our country the social consense on the 2030 Agenda and promote functional synergies between the stakeholders and the operators from all sectors.

Read more:

http://www.obiettivo2030.it/#anchor-4

Impact of genetically engineered maize on agronomic, environmental and toxicological traits: a meta-analysis of 21 years of field data

By Elisa Pellegrino, Stefano Bedini, Marco Nuti & Laura Ercoli

Source: asvis.it, 10 March

This study synthesizes and updates the huge literature on the debated GE technology, by extending the analysis on new parameters, such as grain quality and soil biomass decomposition, that highlight besides the highest potential of yield growth a higher level of safety for the health and the environment.

The gateway to Europe

Source: asvis.it, 21 March

Oslo is planning a commercial hub around the airport, which will be a model for the future urban centers. Transformed from transport infrastructure into a multifunctional conglomerate, locally, nationally and internationally connected, the airport will be the core and the driver of commercial and social development.

Global CO2 emissions rise after Paris Climate Agreement signed

By Benjamin Storrow

Source: Scientific American, 24 March

The increase in carbon dioxide emissions, reported by the International Energy Agency for the year 2017 highlights the need in ambition and scope in the environmental policies, given the data discrepancy between Asia and Europe, on the one hand, and the USA, on the other.

Water, growth and finance

Source: http://www.oecd.org

Water security is a global issue, which especially affects poor countries, but concerns also the developed ones. Economic growth increases the exposure to water risks, but investments in water safety have positive effects on the development, inclusiveness and the structure of economies.

World Tuberculosis Day (24 March)

Source: http://www.un.org

After the Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in Moscow, and the high-level commitments from Ministers and leaders from 120 countries, the top mortal infection worldwide has become a political emergency. But beyond the official engagements, it will be up to the communities to win this fight.

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Pubblicato il : 07/05/2018
Modificato il : 04/04/2019

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