10/6/2011
- 7 Billion Others aims to promote global
co-operation on sustainable development,
health, poverty and other key issues for
a world of 7 billion people.
Nairobi, 6 October 2011
- The world population is set to hit 7 billion
on 31 October 2011, bringing into sharp
focus the challenges of ensuring sustainable
development and a fair share of the planet's
resources for a growing global population.
The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) has today joined the 7 Billion Actions
campaign to encourage individuals, governments,
businesses and organisations to take positive
actions towards creating a more sustainable
world for 7 billion inhabitants.
Further Resources
7 Billion Actions
United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio+20)Co-ordinated by the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),
7 Billion Actions aims to capitalize on
the population milestone by promoting global
co-operation on health, environmental sustainability,
poverty and inequality, urbanization and
other critical issues. Through an interactive
website, social networks and mobile phone
projects, 7 Billion Actions encourages people
and organizations around the world to submit
ideas and commit to actions for creating
a fairer, more sustainable global society.
United Nations Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
said: "Whether it's the impact of climate
change on food security, or the growing
energy needs of a larger, more urbanized
global population, meeting the environmental
challenges of the 21st Century is vital
to achieving sustainable, economic development
for 7 billion people."
"Investing in Green
Economy solutions - such as renewable energy,
green technology or eco-tourism for example
- can boost employment, improve livelihoods
and make more sustainable use of the planet's
finite resources. UNEP is delighted to join
7 Billion Actions, which showcases the need
for co-ordinated action by all levels of
society, just nine months ahead of the Rio+20
conference, where governments will meet
to renew their commitments to meeting precisely
these kinds of challenges," added Mr.
Steiner.
By using an online tool,
or by sending an SMS from their mobile phone,
participants in the 7 Billion Actions campaign
can submit a snapshot of their daily lives
and highlight the development issues that
matter to them most. The diverse actions
pledged by campaign participants from across
the world are then displayed on a visual
mosaic on the 7 Billion Actions website.
Other 7 Billion Actions
projects include a smartphone application
(7 Billion and Me), film competitions, photo
exhibitions and a song, United, which can
be re-interpreted by web users worldwide
and re-submitted to the campaign website.
In the run-up to '7
Billion Day' on 31 October and the Rio+20
Conference in June 2012, UNEP will be participating
in the campaign by sharing research, reports
and news on the critical role of the environment
in a world of 7 billion, via social networks,
the media, UNEP's Tunza youth network and
NGO partners.
7 Billion Actions aims
to build global awareness around seven key
issues, including: poverty and inequality;
empowerment of women and girls; reproductive
health and rights; young people; ageing
population; environment and urbanization.
To find out more about
7 Billion Actions, or to create a personal
or organizational profile, log on to www.7billionactions.org
+ More
Global leaders point
way to economic recovery at UN summit
10/21/2011
Washington D.C., 20 October 2011 - With
economic recovery topping the United States
and global political agenda, a group of
CEOs, major investors and bankers together
with former United Kingdom Prime Minister
Gordon Brown and former President of Ireland
Mary Robinson called for a far-reaching
reform of the global financial system at
a summit which ended in Washington D.C.
today.
Further Resources
The United Nations Environment Programme
Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Website
UNEP Green Economy WebsiteAmid a growing
wave of protests highlighting economic concerns
in countries from the US to the UK, Japan
and Greece, more than 500 movers and shakers
from around the world met at the United
Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
Global Roundtable (UNEP FI) summit to find
sustainable solutions to tackle the drivers
of market volatility and address the deepening
rift between the rich and the poor.
Among those calling
for change include United Kingdom Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, former Irish President
Mary Robinson and as well as decision-makers
in the investment, banking and insurance
sector such as State Street Global Advisors,
Aviva Investors, China Merchants Bank and
Munich Re. Other speakers included US Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson.
Recommendations included
the implementation of policies that can
mobilize investment at scale by the banking
and investment sectors into emerging industries
associated with sustainability including
the clean energy sector, renewable energy,
green buildings and retrofitting, clean
vehicles and fuels.
"Economic policies
must move in a direction that balances the
needs of all stakeholders. It is not enough
to restore the financial industry to previous
levels of capitalization and profitability,
without simultaneously providing a path
that seeks to return all Americans to their
previous levels of economic security and
opportunity," said Calvert Investments
CEO and UNEP FI co-chair Barbara Krumsiek.
"The world's economy
is at a tipping point. The risk that the
disconnect between grassroots economic realities
and financial markets erodes the trust that
binds us together is real. If we are to
avert this scenario, the global economy's
most damaging flaws must be re-engineered
with the adoption of market practices that
value both sustainability and long-term
financial stability," said UNEP FI's
head Paul Clements-Hunt.
The summit's participants
stressed that with the right incentives
in place private finance can play an essential
role in spurring a recovery of the US economy
and achieve job-creation in sectors ranging
from green technology to ecosystem management.
For instance, a well-regulated
forest-carbon market could, for instance,
grow to $10+ billion USD by 2020, according
to The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity
(TEEB), while that of total forest ecosystem
goods and services is estimated at $5 trillion
USD.
With less than a year
to go before the much-talked about UN Conference
on Sustainable Development (or Rio+20) in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, UNEP FI explained
that the Washington D.C. Global Roundtable
was the first in a series of agenda-setting
and action-oriented discussions on the private
sector's increasing role in global environmental
protection.
"Clearly the financial
world must do its part in creating mechanisms
that lead to a more equitable and green
economy. The set of concrete proposals put
forward during the Global Roundtable are
a politically credible and economically
sound roadmap to achieve this goal. The
outcomes of the Roundtable are indeed very
timely, as it offers tangible solutions
to the 99 percent who feel marginalized
by the current economic system," said
Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland.
Global Roundtables carry
a well-established tradition that has spanned
the globe from New York to Cape Town, Rio
de Janeiro to Tokyo.
A number of side-events
took place over the course of the two-day
summit, including the launch of an initiative
to integrate ecological risk in sovereign
credit ratings and government bonds, as
well as the launch of the 2011 Investor's
Statement on Climate Change, with which
investors worth $20 trillion urged a legally-binding
climate treaty.
Additional quotes
US Environmental Protection
Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said:
"For the past decade, EPA has utilized
markets to advance energy efficiency and
clean energy, save consumers money and create
jobs."
"We don't have
to choose between economic returns and environmental
protection. A stronger economy is a greener
economy."
Paul Abberley, Chief
Executive of Aviva Investors London commented:
"Progressive companies understand that
long-term value is enhanced by embedding
long-term sustainability considerations
into their business strategy and by fully
disclosing their progress to investors.
This is why we founded the Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Coalition, which is collectively
calling on all United Nations member states
to commit to develop a Convention that mandates
company boards to consider sustainability
issues, and to integrate those that they
consider to be material into the Annual
Report and Accounts. We are also looking
for effective mechanisms for investors to
hold companies to account on the quality
of their disclosures, including for instance,
an advisory vote at the AGM."
About the Global Roundtable
Since the success of
the first Global Roundtable edition, held
in 1994 in Geneva, Switzerland, Global Roundtables
have matured into major global agenda-setting
events. Global Roundtables are convened
by UNEP FI to offer an opportunity for leaders
of the financial world and environmental
experts to come together to discuss and
exchange views on sustainability issues
and responsible financing. www.unepfi.org/grt
About the United Nations
Environment Programme Finance Initiative
(UNEP FI)
UNEP FI is a unique
global partnership between the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the global
financial sector. UNEP FI works closely
with nearly 200 financial institutions who
are Signatories to the UNEP FI Statements,
and a range of partner organisations to
develop and promote linkages between sustainability
and financial performance. Through peer-to-peer
networks, research and training, UNEP FI
carries out its mission to identify, promote,
and realise the adoption of best environmental
and sustainability practice at all levels
of financial institution operations. www.unepfi.org
