AUSTRALIA + ASIA PACIFIC + DENMARK + SWEDEN + UNITED KINGDOM + UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Stella Whittaker
CHAIR & BOARD MEMBER
GUEST SPEAKER
&
AUTHOR
SUSTAINABILITY
FUTURE PROOFING
RENEWABLES
LOW CARBON
CLIMATE FINANCE
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
CSR THOUGHT LEADER
CLIMATE RESILIENCE
CLEAN / GREEN TECHNOLOGY
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
URBAN & ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
CLIMATE RISK & ASSESSMENT
SUSTAINABILITY
The Pathway to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Stella has worked continuously in the sustainability field since graduation. She commenced her career in the late 1980s and early 1990s - a time of the Brundtland Commission and the Rio Earth Summit (1992).
The Brundtland Commission was established to unite countries to pursue sustainable development together. The Chairperson of the Brundtland Commission was Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Prime Minister of Norway. The initiative was in response to heavy deterioration of the human environment and natural resources.
To rally countries to work and pursue sustainable development together, Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, was published in October 1987. The document popularised the term "Sustainable Development". The report deals with sustainable development and the change of politics needed for achieving it. The definition of this term in the report is quite well known and often cited:
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"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
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It contains two key concepts: the concept of "needs", “in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organisation on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."
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Stella Whittaker also participated actively at the The Rio Earth Summit in 1994: The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development(UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. More than 100 heads of states met to cooperate together internationally on development issues after the Cold War. TIt was recognised that sustainability was too big for individual member states to handle. Agenda 21 and Local Agenda 21 was one of the major declarations of the event. Stella facilitated training and guidance on Local Agenda 21 for the Australian Government in 1995 for each and every councils in every State and published the book, 'Guide to Local Agenda 21' - this saw the commencement of the sustainability agenda in many local communities throughout Australia.
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THE SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA
Brundtland Commission
To deliver the Paris Agreement, climate action planning needs to shift to new levels of ambition, driving rapid and systemic change on the ground. Cities urgently need to position themselves on an ambitious emissions reduction (or peaking) trajectory to achieve emissions neutrality and climate resilience by 2050. The Climate Action Planning Framework was developed to support cities in developing climate action plans that are aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The framework sets out the essential components of a climate action plan that is deemed to be compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, according to the three pillars – Commitment, Challenges/Opportunities & Implementation/Acceleration.
C40 Cities Climate Action Planning Framework
The G20 Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TFCD), a global task force created by the G20’s Financial Stability Board (FSB) to prevent market shocks stemming from climate change, has published its report, Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. Among its recommendations, the TFCD is asking companies to disclose how they manage risks to their business from climate change and greenhouse gas emission cuts,a practice that will help organizations identify and disclose information needed by investors, lenders and insurance underwriters to appropriately assess and price climate-related risks and opportunities.
Taskforce on Climate Risk Disclosure
As part of its continuous effort to transform Europe's economy into a more sustainable one and to implement the ambitious Circular Economy Action Plan, in January 2018 the European Commission adopted a new set of measures.
100 Resilient Cities was created by the Rockefeller Foundation on the foundation’s Centennial in 2013 with a first group of 32 cities. In 2018 there are more than 84 active cities and more joining. 100RC supports the adoption and incorporation of a view of resilience that includes not just the shocks—earthquakes, fires, floods, etc.—but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day to day or cyclical basis.
Global Forum
Follow-up to the Rio Earth Summit – organised by Manchester City Council on behalf of the UK Government. 40 global cities – cross sector delegations participated in developing an action plan for sustainable cities. Local Agenda 21 Forum held concurrently.
European Commission Circular Economy Directive
Rockefeller 100 Resilient Cities
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Deadline 2020
C40
Local authorities were charged with local implementation of Agenda 21 post the Earth Summit. Local Agenda 21 regards sustainable development as a community issue, involving all sections of society, including community groups, businesses and ethnic minorities. Involvement of the whole society gives everyone the opportunity to participate and will generate a resource of enthusiasm, talent and expertise, which is vital to achieve sustainable development. Many local authorities began schemes of co-operation to allow them to exchange ideas about sustainable development.
The Paris Agreement sets in place a durable and dynamic framework for all countries to take climate action from 2020, building on existing international efforts in the period up to 2020. Key outcomes include: A global goal to hold average temperature increase to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to keep warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. All countries to set mitigation targets from 2020 and review targets every 5 years to build ambition over time, informed by a global stocktake.
A robust mechanism for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a solid framework of indicators and statistical data to monitor progress, inform policy and ensure accountability of all stakeholders. The global indicator framework was adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017.
Deadline 2020 is the first significant routemap for achieving the Paris Agreement developed by C40, outlining the pace, scale and prioritization of action needed by C40 member cities over the next 5 years and beyond.
Click and learn how to shape your future...
UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)
Paris Commitment
Local Agenda 21
Rio Earth Summit
FRAMEWORKS FOR ACCELERATED ACTION
Deadline 2020, UN Sustainable Development Goals and C40’s CAPF provide robust and useable frameworks for accelerated action.
C40’s has also recently developed the Urban Climate Action Impacts Framework (UCAIF or ‘the Framework’) which links all of the above together and provides a diagnostic that can be applied when exploring the wider impact of city climate action. UCIAF provides principles, a taxonomy and guidelines for approaching the mapping and assessment of wider social, environmental and economic impacts associated with climate action.
Using the UCAIF a consistent and robust evidence base for accelerated action can be built. This provides much needed evidence that urban stakeholders can use to make the case for climate action. Without a robust business case for action there is a danger of missing the opportunity for action.
Combined together these tools and approaches can help tell a collective story. It is good to design and build your approach integrating and using these excellent existing frameworks, principles and methodologies. rather than reinventing the wheel.
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To contribute to achieving these ambitious goals, we all need to redouble efforts and to leverage our actions through all our networks and efforts. So whatever your next steps for accelerated action Stella can provide you with expert guidance, be it:
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Climate Action Planning Framework aligned and compatible with the Paris Agreement.
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Mapping and measurement of your strategy and commitments against UN Sustainable Development Goals (as well as highlighting wider impacts, benefits and opportunities).
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A Climate Resilience Strategy.
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A Circular Economy Roadmap for your local economy.
“The Paris Agreement was rightly heralded as a major diplomatic breakthrough, as for the first time every nation on Earth recognized the need to tackle climate change and agreed upon a target to limit global warming…… Now the challenge is to turn aspiration into action…… But, what does delivering on the Paris Agreement look like on the ground in cities? ….. Deadline 2020: How cities will get the job done, answers this very question. The results are eye-opening. Cities (businesses and governments alike) must undertake an unprecedented increase in the pace and scale of climate action, doing 125% more than they have in the last decade by 2020” (Arup, 2017).
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DID YOU KNOW
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Seventeen years of the 18 warmest years occurred since 2001.
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Over the past 100 years sea-level has risen 178mm - that doesn't sound much but it is actually an alarming figure - already responsible for causing flooding and havoc across the globe.
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Hurricanes are becoming more frequent - the hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria hitting the US and Caribbean contributed to a record $US135 billion in payouts across the globe on natural disasters.