Highlights for Sunday, 10 March 2019
Participants were treated to a reception at the close of the Forum
On Sunday, 10 March, discussion sessions took place throughout the day, organized under the six thematic streams of the Forum. Some topics addressed included:
early warning for decision making;
alternatives to plastics – current challenges and future vision;
innovative technologies and approaches in monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
sustainable water and waste management in developing cities;
avoidance of global warming through clean and efficient cooling innovations;
Sustainability Research and Innovation 2020;
new hotspot analysis tools for decision making on sustainable consumption and production;
Third Pole: A call for action to combat climate impacts in fragile ecosystems;
solving the broken nitrogen cycle; and
driving transformative innovation through sustainable chemistry.
During a special session hosted by UNEA-4 President Siim Kiisler and dubbed “The GreenTech Startup Marathon,” nine startup companies pitched their ideas on ground-breaking innovations to address global environmental challenges. After three judges - in a “Dragon’s Den” style setting - put questions to all the competitors, they announced that they had all met their criteria, many were outstanding and the top three, in no rank order, were BoxPower, Planet Heroes, and Algramo. The judges also noted that reusable containers are a good idea for reducing ocean pollution and that eco-crowdfunding can potentially be transformative.
The 2nd UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment concluded with an overview of messages and recommendations from thematic discussions over its two days. In closing remarks, Satya Tripathi, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the UNEP New York Office, described the Forum as unique, “because it is focused on making people’s lives better.” He called for drawing inspiration from farmers in India who are taking risks to protect the planet. Jian Liu, Chief Scientist, UNEP, reflected that the Forum had transformed from “a platform to an incubator,” noting that the level of ambition to use data for action was high. He reminded participants of the need for collective leadership moving forward.
During the closing session, delegates also observed a minute of silence to honor passengers who lost their lives in the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, 10 March, some of whom were enroute to attend the opening of UNEA-4 in Nairobi.
The event closed with a reception, where delegates watched Chinese artist Jiahuang Chang create a painting dedicated to the work of the Forum.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the 2nd Global Session of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment. The summary report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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Green Collar Jobs: A Bright Hope for the Planet?
L-R: Susan Gardner, UNEP; Charlotte Bonner, National Union of Students, UK; Bert de Wel, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); Carlo Papa, Enel Foundation; and Jiang Wu, Tongji University, China
Bert de Wel, ITUC
Jiang Wu, Tongii University, China
Susan Gardner, UNEP
Carlo Papa, Enel Foundation
Development of Sustainable Water Infrastructure
L-R: Geert van Capellen, Secretary General, World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC); Arjan Hijdra, Director, Global Infrastructure Institute; Remment Ter Hofstede, Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors; and Polite Laboyrie, President, Central Dredging Association
Alternatives to Plastics: Current Challenges and Future Vision
L-R: Geoffrey Wahungu, Director General, National Environmental Management Authority, Kenya; Lilian Magak, Kenyan Commercial Forestry Programme; Yoshiki Takeoka, Kaneka Corporation; Shollay Ramlaul, BASF East Africa; and Albert Nyagechi, Kenya Bureau of Standards
Third Pole: A Call for Action to Combat Climate Change Impacts in Fragile Ecosystems
Alejandro Argumedo, Director, Association ANDES
Li Xin, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Foresight: Early Warning for Decision-making
L-R: Charles Sebukeera, UNEP; Maria Andrzejewska, Director, UNEP/Global Resource Information Database (GRID)-Warsaw Centre; Derek Gliddon, Acting Director, Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative; Margaret Nthuli, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), East Africa; and Thea Carroll, CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Secretariat
Thea Carroll, CITES MIKE Secretariat
Margaret Nthuli, ESRI, East Africa
Maria Andrzejewska, GRID, Warsaw
Innovative Technologies and Approaches in Monitoring the SDGs
L-R: Andreas Brink, European Commission; Brian Sullivan, Google Earth; Gilberto Camara, Group on Earth Observations; Jillian Campbell, UNEP; Philip Thigo, Kenya; and Oluf Jessen, DHI
Monitoring Ambient Water and Air Quality: Launch of GEMStat Data Interface
L-R: Hartwig Kremer, UNEP; Dylan Blake, UMVOTO Africa; Philip Saile, GEMS Data Centre, Germany; Steffen Fritz, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA); Stephanie Holzwarth, UN-Habitat; Sean Khan, UNEP; Nathan Pavlovic, Sonoma Technology; and Miguel Escribano, Kunak Technologies
Sustainable Water and Waste Management in Developing Cities
Veerle Vandeweerd, Policy Director, Global Science Technology and Innovation Conference (G-STIC)
L-R: Min Yang, Deputy Director, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES) and Tom Ogada, Executive Director, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS)
L-R: Thierry De Oliveira, UNEP; Nahashon Muguna, Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, and Maksudur Rahman, Ion Exchange (India) Ltd.
Avoiding Global Warming through Clean and Efficient Cooling Innovations
L-R: Nick Novelli, Yale University; Jonas Loholm Hamann, Danfoss; Edouard Heripret, Schneider Electric; Mohua Mukherjee, International Solar Alliance; Nihar Shah, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and Lily Riahi, UNEP, moderated the session
Race to a Clean Energy Future
L-R: Axel Threlfall, Editor-at-Large, Reuters; Steven Kukoda, International Copper Association; Paolo Falcioni, APPLIA Home Appliance Europe; Carlo Papa, Enel Foundation; Akiko Seyoum Ambaye, CEO, Orchid Business Group; and Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair, International Resource Panel
Towards Integrated Action on Air Pollution and Climate Change
Dechen Tsering, UNEP
Emerging Issues: Solving the Broken Nitrogen Cycle
L-R: Mark Sutton, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; Ramesh Rama Chandaran, India; James Mutegi, International Plant Nutrition Institute; and Christopher Cox, UNEP
Sustainability Research and Innovation 2020
L-R: Makyba Charles-Ayinde, American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Josh Tewksbury, Future Earth; and Erica Key, Executive Director, Belmont Forum
Erica Key, Executive Director, Belmont Forum
Makyba Charles-Ayinde, AAAS
Healthy Food for a Sustainable Planet - Part 2: Diets to Mitigate Climate Change
Philip Lymbery, CEO, Compassion in World Farming
Natascha Kooiman, CEO, Smackmaakers
Linxiu Zhang, International Ecosystem Management Partnership, UNEP
Stineke Oenema, Coordinator, UN System Standing Committee on Nutrition
Driving Transformation Innovation Through Sustainable Chemistry
L-R: Achim Halpaap, Head, Chemicals and Waste Division, UNEP; Ylann Schemm, Director, Elsevier Foundation; Agnes Dittmar, Director Policy & Communication, International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3); Nzambi Matee, Founder, Gjenge Makers; and Sascha Gabizon, Executive Director, Women Engage for Common Future
Citizen Science for Smart Sustainable Cities of the Future
Kathleen Rogers, President, Earth Day Network
Timothy Nixon, Managing Editor, Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility & Inclusion, Thomson Reuters
GreenTech Startup Marathon
Panel of Judges L-R: Corli Pretorius, Deputy Director, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre; Michael Karasick, Vice President, Global Labs, IBM Research; and Cécile Thomas-Courcoux, France
Representatives of startup companies participating in the marathon
Representatives of startup companies participating in the marathon
L-R: Axel Threlfall, Editor-at-Large, Reuters; Louis-Francois Saumon Di Nicea, FAMAE; and Barry Dwolatzky, Wits University, setting the context
Wanjiru Waweru sharing her experience of starting Funkidz, a children's furniture startup
UNEA-4 President Siim Kiisler
L-R: Przemek Pyziel, Founder, Planet Heroes; Jose Manuel Moller, Founder and CEO, Algramo; and Angelo Campus, CEO, BoxPower
Closing of the Forum
Forum participants observing a moment of silence in memory of the lives lost in the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that morning
Axel Threlfall, Editor-at-Large, Reuters
Shereen Zorba, Head, Secretariat of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment
Satya Tripathi, Assistant Secretary-General, UNEP
Jian Liu, Chief Scientist, UNEP
Mazaruni Khan and Edie Hedda Threlfall, Youth participants
L-R: Bruno da Costa Flach, Edan Dionne, Michael Karasick, Hendrik Hamann, and Wayne Balta, IBM
Satya Tripathi, Assistant Secretary-General, UNEP, thanked Chinese artist, Chang Jiahuang for donating his artwork to UNEP
