SDG Media Zone @ UNGA74: Day 1 – Climate Action Summit

Laura Parker, Environment Desk Editor at the National Geographic Magazine, in conversation with Dia Mirza, Actress, SDG Advocate, and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India, and Sonika Manandhar, Young Champion of the Earth for the UN Environment Programme, discussed the issue of plastics around the world, as well as climate solutions centered on green energy and products. Mirza emphasized the havoc plastics have caused to the soil and air but noted that there had been a significant shift in consciousness. Plastics wage war to health and the environment, she said. Manandhar highlighted how the promotion of electric mobility in public transportation sector was driven by women.

In 2018 alone, 29 million babies were born in conflict zones. Early childhood experience has long-lasting effects throughout their lives, and small actions can have a significant impact. Michael Reinvillard, Initiative Lead for Humanitarian Programmes at the LEGO Foundation, informs us that the LEGO Foundation’s focus is on teaching children how to play. With this, children are empowered to become lifelong learners, and humanitarian context in emergency responses is significant. Often, the LEGO Foundation deals with children with trauma, but the children may not have access to services. These efforts provide social and emotional support for children. Sesame Workshop develops programs and models that will reach children in refugee crises in Rohingya and Syrian. They put into practice models of service delivery. At the same time, they take these experiences and use them in research, collaborating with NYU. Currently, Sesame is developing a show in Arabic, Ahlan Simsim, that will be broadcast to the whole Middle East region within the next few years. Marianne Stone from the International Rescue Committee, says that Ahlan Simsim works in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and  Iraq. 

Sustainable, Climate-conscious and Delicious Food

The home of Louise Mabulo (Young Champion of the Earth, UN Environment) was affected by a typhoon in the Philippines, which eliminated food sources and power, and destroyed 80% of agricultural land. This created the need for short term and climate resilient crops, restoring livelihoods for farmers. There is also the need to appreciate the value of farmers’ hard work, so that food is not wasted. The crop cacao was found to be stable crop that could grow in strong and windy conditions. Mabulo hopes the Philippines is able to grow chocolate soon. 

Restaurateur Massimo Bottura’s community kitchens aim to eliminate food waste and promote social inclusion. These spaces were created during the World Expo in Milan first, then Rio de Janeiro, with the Food for Soul Foundation. Bottura uses his image and influence to put together a community to help and restore the soul of people. He has 8 community kitchens around the world, with plans to add more. Bottura focused on the most neglected neighborhoods in the city to serve nourishing dishes to preserve the dignity of the communities living there. He has since collaborated with social organisations, world class chefs and supermarkets, as is planning to bring this to the US. Working with Google, he has found that most food waste is produced in our homes, so he encourages individuals to buy seasonal, mindful, and local foods which is going to help save money and the world.

Dr. Bertrand Piccard’s father, Jacques Piccard, who was an oceanographer, thought that it would be useful to show that there is life in the deepest part of the ocean. This has helped to prohibit the dumping of toxic waste in the ocean. Knowledge can help governments change the regulations, he said. Dr. Piccard, an Aeronaut and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador, thinks that new technologies show that the old world of pollution will no longer happen. We have to reign in the greed that makes companies produce food and other products with chemicals in them. He says that his dream was to fly with solar power airplanes and show the world it can be done.

Dr. Enric Sala, world-famous marine ecologist and Marine Ecologist, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, works with communities and governments to protect oceans. Challenges related to this are interconnected; in order to live you need to drink and breathe. Sala also started that if the ocean couldn’t absorb heat, it would be 36 degrees warmer here. “What we believe is natural, is not natural, but if we let nature recover, the results would be spectacular,” he said.

Underwater, we are seeing coral reefs dying. The ocean has absorbed 90% of heat, and it’s killing marine life like we have never seen. Our activities on the planet are causing this chaos.  

Kul Chandra Gautam, the co-chair of UN Independent, emphasizes that accountability means keeping your promises. Leaders agree to ambitious targets – once commitments are made we must monitor them – sometimes governments say they are making progress but the indigenous people are left behind and the progress is not even, then action must be taken. UN Independent Accountability Panel has 20 different experts who review and act on this uneven progress. Gautam underlines the importance of the private sector in contrast to the government because the private sector openly promotes unhealthy supplements for marketing purposes. 

According to Dr. Zweli Mkhize there will be a universal health care introduced to South Africa and the important thing is to make sure the resources are met because some people are in a more powerful position and some are neglected. It is important to have a framework to protect the vulnerable. Mkhize states that it is foremost the government’s duty to protect universal healthcare and that the people should protest in case fundamental rights to clean water and food are not provided.

Amy Dickman from National Geographic Explorer and Adjany Costa, a conservationist, know that there is a positive relationship between healthy ecosystems and climate. There is a need to promote the fact that conservation will directly impact climate change. Struggles on conservation and human interaction include the lack of habitable land, lions and people, who are forced to share spaces, results in conflict, deaths on both sides. Local communities see lions as nuisance and communities have treated poaching as a solution for the problem. 

However, there is a need to move to a stage where development and conservation go hand in hand. The best way to interact with communities is to start with children. Telling children stories, build on them and expand. Teach them about how conservation will benefit their lives. Empowering people at all levels and making them feel it is a story about them, embraces their views and needs and can eventually lead to success. If you change a culture, you wont need to increase security.

Dr. Maria Neira, Director of Public Health Department says we have evidence at the moment that climate change is affecting our health and that the sources of air pollution are mainly from burning fossil fuels. For example in Asia and Africa there are 7 million deaths a year due to increased Dengue catalyzed by climate change. Dr. Neira reminds us that ‘’the poor are most likely to suffer from climate change’’

According to Dr. Agnès Soucat, health coverage is within our reach and there has been major increase getting access to it within the past 15 years, but we are not well enough prepared for climate change. Climate change and general environment degradation threaten the progress together with processed and industrial food. Dr. Soucat also warns us that an ‘’epidemic influenza may be coming because of climate change.’’

Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All says that there is an urgency for transition to renewable energy and a need to build an economy by 2050 that can operate with no carbon as we must decarbonize. In terms of energy systems, right now, we and most countries are using a centralized system of energy that is not necessarily available to all, perhaps due to high costs, remoteness of location, etc. In the future, however, there will be more than one system, decentralizing and democratizing the energy industry. Existing cities will have to be retrofitted to accommodate energy-efficient systems in the near future as the world continues to get warmer, particularly cities in Asia and Africa, due to the use of concrete in urban areas. In addition, it is crucial to allow for transportation and energy sectors to work together, moving people around on multi-modal means of transport to travel cleanly within the city. Many different partnerships are emerging to focus on moving forward from fossil fuels. There is a new coalition on zero-emission vessels like ocean cargo made up of the entire value chain of shipping from builders of ships to shipping of cargo. Overall Kyte stresses the fact that “we must act more deeply, quickly.”

Climate Hour at the United Nations: Interviews with Global Leaders on Their Commitment to Climate Action

The session featured three interviews with global leaders on their “climate action” commitments. Emmanuel Lulin, Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics Officer at L’Oreal discussed the impact of climate change and how it will affect business negatively and that the urgency for action needs to accelerate. “We are not acting fast enough, soon we’ll reach a point where things will be too late. There are gaps that need to be addressed between generations.” 

Taking the floor after him was,  Jesper Brodin, CEO of IKEA Group, who emphasized the need to find ways to change the equation of the business. Citing an example, he said that the company plans to invest more in renewables. The SDG Media Zone wrapped up its 23 September with an interview Lisa Kingo, the CEO of the UN Global Compact, who commended the commitments of CEOs to prove that a 1.5°C-compliant business model is possible.