City2City
Sao Paulo's trials of potential Chinese COVID-19 vaccine to begin on July 20
09 July 2024 - João Doria, governor of Brazil’s richest and most populous state São Paulo, said on Monday that trials of a new potential vaccine against COVID-19, developed by China’s SinoVac, will start on July 20.
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The trials, to be done in partnership with the Instituto Butantan, will involve 9,000 volunteers spread across 12 research centers located in Sao Paulo and four other states as well as the federal district Brasília.

The announcement comes as Brazil’s federal government announced over the weekend that it had signed an agreement to produce another potential vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca with researchers at Oxford University.

Source Articles:

  • https://in.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-brazil-vaccine-tests/brazil-trials-of-potential-chinese-covid-19-vaccine-to-begin-july-20-idINS0N2DG014
  • https://in.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-brazil/brazils-sao-paulo-expects-approval-this-week-to-trial-chinese-coronavirus-vaccine-idINL1N2E617X

Image by Joel santana Joelfotos from Pixabay 

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HLPF 2024 Side-Event: How Geospatial Engineering Can Be Used In Peri-urban and Urban Environments
08 July 2024 - This High-Level Political Forum 2024 side event will include an approach to using geospatial information technologies as an example of how the lever of science and technology can be used in peri-urban and urban environments to advance sustainable development.
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08 July 2024 - "How the Lever of Science and Technology Can Be Used In Peri-urban and Urban Environments To Advance Sustainable Development: The Case Of Implementing Geospatial Engineering" is a High-Level Political Forum 2024 side event and will include an approach to using geospatial information technologies as an example of how the lever of science and technology can be used in peri-urban and urban environments to advance sustainable development.

To achieve the 17 SDGs and to leave no one behind, integrated geospatial technology and building information modeling (BIM) is found to be critical. Geospatial and BIM solutions, enabled by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), or Big Data, can give accurate and high-resolution data, techniques, and tools to provide a balanced assessment, and solutions.

Moderator:

  • Professor Gong Ke, President World Federation of Engineering Organisations

Keynote speakers:

  • Mr. Sanjay Kumar – CEO World Geospatial Industry Council, Launch of the Joint Publication by World Geospatial Industry Council, World Federation of Engineering Organisations and UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management: “GEOBIM Solutions for Resilient Infrastructure”
  • Mr. Gregory Scott, Secretariat, UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management “Geospatial Engineering: A Lever to Assist Developing Countries to Bridge the Geospatial Digital Divide”
  • Dr. Marlene Kanga, Immediate past president, WFEO, and project leader for WFEO on the publication to be released: “Implementation of Geospatial Technologies for Sustainable and Smart Cities”
  • Professor Guo Huadong, Director-General of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS): “Big Earth Data for Urban and Peri-urban Development”

Discussants:

  • Professor Raida Al-Alawi, Director of Technology Development at BFG International, Chair of ICT committee of the Federation of Arab engineers, board member of the Bahrain Society of Engineers
  • Professor José Vieira, President elect of WFEO

Event Details:

  • Date: Thursday, 9 July 2024
  • Time: 8 AM - 9 AM EST
  • Registration Link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GHa0TT3jQO-pfGqKLD7HVQ

This event has been convened by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations.

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UCLG and UN Habitat: Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Series Launch (HLPF 2024)
07 July 2024 - This launch event session will be presenting the first volume of Guidelines for VLRs of the VLR Series jointly developed by UCLG and UN-Habitat and will showcase the importance that VLRs play not only in monitoring and evaluating progress towards the SDGs but also in contributing towards multilevel governance and the transformation necessary to achieve just, resilient, and sustainable cities, territories, and societies that guarantee protection to all citizens during and beyond times of crisis
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07 July 2024 - Local and regional governments, as the closest level of government to the people, are well aware of the unique characteristics, expectations, and needs of citizens and territories and can effectively support the development of policies which directly respond to the risks and vulnerabilities that society face on a daily basis. Furthermore, public service delivery is indispensable as a means to support citizens, especially during crises, and is the basis upon which structural inequalities will be mitigated and the achievement of the global goals will happen.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which has quickly and deeply affected our world, it is clear that our towns, cities, regions, and territories will never be the same in the aftermath and that no sole level of government can overcome this crisis alone. The efforts shared among local and regional governments, supported by their associations and networks, through decentralized cooperation will prove to be key to solve the interconnected challenges we face today caused by the most pressing global trends such as climate change and biodiversity loss, changing demographics and rising inequality, among others.

In this sense, local and regional governments, and their associations and networks, are working towards providing comprehensive systems-based strategies to the implementation of the universal agendas via the effective localization of the global goals and the development of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs). This with the aim to foster the transformative diplomacy necessary to achieve sustainable development, help take stock of progress made, and contribute towards transparency and accountability towards citizens. This global ‘localization’ movement of the universal agendas is a testimony of support towards territorial cohesion, multilevel governance, and leaving no one and no place behind.

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), as the world organization of local and regional governments, and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) are committed to supporting the development of VLRs and will be launching a VLR Series which aims to provide guidance, definitions and technical support to any local and regional government aiming to engage in the VLR process. This VLR Series will act as an integral part of the work that will be undertaken by the UCLG Community of Practice on VLRs which reflects the advocacy movement of UCLG and the members of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments with regard to increasing awareness of local and regional governments’ co-ownership of the 2030 Agenda and providing them with an institutional harbor to share knowledge, experiences and learn mutually.

This launch event session will be presenting the first volume of Guidelines for VLRs of the VLR Series jointly developed by UCLG and UN-Habitat and will showcase the importance that VLRs play not only in monitoring and evaluating progress towards the SDGs but also in contributing towards multilevel governance and the transformation necessary to achieve just, resilient, and sustainable cities, territories, and societies that guarantee protection to all citizens during and beyond times of crisis.

It will aim at bringing out the intrinsic value of VLRs as a political process that can enhance coordination between different spheres of government. The localization of the universal development agendas that are being driven by our communities offer the only viable way of ensuring that no-one and no place is left behind in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.

Speakers: 

  • Emilia Saiz, UCLG Secretary General
  • Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director
  • Penny Abeywardena, Commissioner of NYC for International Affairs
  • Santiago Saura, Councillor of Madrid for International Affairs
  • Nikita Rumyantsev, Head of Moscow Urban Forum Research Centre
  • Miquel Rodriguez, Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda of Barcelona
  • Yolanda Martínez, Secretary of Social Development of Oaxaca
  • Luiz Alvaro Salles, Secretary of International Affairs of Sao Paulo
  • Francisco Resnicoff, Under-Secretary for International Affairs of Buenos Aires
  • Marilia Sorrini Peres Ortiz, Deputy Secretary of Planning of Niteroi
  • Amson Sibanda, Chief, Division for Sustainable Development Goals of UN DESA

Session Details:

  • Date: Wednesday 8 July, 2024
  • Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EST
  • The session will be in zoom. No advance registration is required.
  • Session Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81803089876?pwd=VGJVOUpGamsyUEE0aTNIS2dPb UJGUT09
  • ID: 818 0308 9876
  • Password: 766543
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HLPF 2024 Side-Event: Thinking Through Issues of Density, Overcrowding, Public Space and Health
07 July 2024 - This High-Level Political Forum 2024 side event which is led by UN-Habitat and co-organized with the World Health Organization, seeks to contribute to bolstering local action to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2030. 
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07 July 2024 - As part of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), the side-event on “Urban Form and COVID-19: Thinking Through Issues of Density, Overcrowding, Public Space, and Health”, will be held on July 9, 2024 from 12:00 - 13:15 (USA Eastern Standard Time). 

As Member States review strategies to bolster local action to "Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development" in an era of COVID19, there is no choice but to consider the relationship between urban form and health. While cities are severely hit by the pandemic, prior public health crises have brought about improved sanitation, and better housing, streets and public spaces in many cities. At the moment, the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain, with some envisaging a retraction from cities, and others expecting that cities will continue to adapt and thrive. Underlying such thinking are assumptions about density and disease. Research has started to show that this relationship is not direct, and to stress the importance of housing conditions, income, health care, public space, and sanitation.

The side event which is led by UN-Habitat and co-organized with the World Health Organization, seeks to contribute to bolstering local action to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2030. It will help develop a greater understanding among policymakers, practitioners, and research institutions about the relationship between urban form and disease prevention. The side event will provide an opportunity to consider available evidence and experiences from member states and to strengthen cooperation across health and urban development sectors in the era of COVID-19 and beyond.

More Event Details: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=20000&nr=7020&menu=2993

Join the Event Link Here (on July 9, 2024 from 12:00 - 1:15 PM EST)

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Chairman of Indonesia's Waste Pickers Union (IPI) on COVID-19
03 July 2024 - This video message was created by IPI and shared during the NPAP Indonesia Digital Conference on 22 April 2024.
The business case for tackling plastic waste
03 July 2024 - Plastics reduction and climate change are sustainable investors' top priorities. Solutions to plastic waste must come from all sectors. Financial institutions have a unique vantage point from which to address this issue.
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03 July 2024 - The World Economic Forum's Global Plastic Action Partnership sat down with Audrey Choi, Chief Sustainability Officer and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Investing at Morgan Stanley, to discuss the role financial institutions can play in tackling plastic waste.

What is ‘sustainable finance’? How is it different from ‘business as usual’?

We define sustainable investing as taking traditional investment practices and strategies and enhancing them with additional insights gained from considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. We believe this can provide added insights into risks that could affect investments, as well as provide unique opportunities for investors.

Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing has been polling investors since 2015 on their thoughts and attitudes around ESG. Over that time, investor interest in sustainable investing has grown from 71% in 2015, to 75% in 2017, and jumped to 85% among US investors last year. Investors have also told us they believe their investment decisions can impact the issues they care about most, with 84% wanting products that will allow them to match their investment choices with their values, and 86% saying that they believe ESG practices may potentially lead to better profitability and maybe better long-term investments.

When we asked investors last year about which areas of ESG they were most passionate, climate change and plastic reduction topped their list. In 2018, the number of earnings calls that included mentions of “plastic waste” increased 340% year over year. Matching this growth in interest, the amount of assets allocated towards sustainable investing has also grown; in the US, $3 trillion was allocated to sustainable investments in 2009, and by 2018, this had quadrupled to $12 trillion. Globally, one in every three dollars is now focused on sustainable assets, topping $30 trillion — up 34% over the previous two years. More recently, green bonds have experienced significant growth — from $2.6 billion in 2012 to more than $200 billion in 2019.

One obstacle to sustainable investing is the myth that doing so means sacrificing returns. In fact, our own analysis of 11,000 mutual and exchange-traded funds over 15 years finds that sustainable funds do not deliver lower returns – but they may offer lower downside risk. They exhibit less volatility, and on average, the downside deviation of sustainable funds is 20% smaller than traditional funds.

I believe sustainable investing will continue to accelerate and attract more assets as investors increasingly recognize the value of ESG data, driving the full integration of sustainable investing into mainstream investing.

You’ve pledged to prevent, reduce and remove 50 million metric tons of plastic waste from the environment by 2030. How will you achieve this?

In April 2019, we made a major firm-wide commitment, the Morgan Stanley Plastic Waste Resolution, to facilitate the prevention, reduction and removal of 50 million metric tons of plastic waste from rivers, oceans, landscapes and landfills by 2030. We believe that tackling the plastic waste problem will take a systemic and holistic approach across the economy that considers everything from materials engineering and industrial design to consumer use and recycling infrastructure. It will require cross-sector collaboration from governments, philanthropy, industry, finance and individuals.

To meet this goal, we are leveraging all of Morgan Stanley’s businesses and our operations to reduce plastic waste by developing new investment products, underwriting bonds to help reduce plastic waste and offering low-minimum portfolios to positively influence the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal on ocean conservation while we continue to work with municipalities, public agencies, universities, hospital systems and other public and not-for-profit entities to finance improvements to collection, recycling and disposal systems for plastic waste.

We hope that our pledge inspires other businesses and financial institutions, and so far we’ve seen some really amazing progress. In April, we underwrote a $10 million World Bank blue bond with proceeds focused on plastic waste reduction in oceans and the promotion of marine resources. Just six months later, we were the sole green structuring advisor and lead underwriter for PepsiCo’s $1 billion inaugural green bond offering that focused on key initiatives around PepsiCo's sustainability agenda, including their commitment to reduce the virgin plastic content across their beverage portfolio by 35% by 2025.

What role can – and should – financial institutions play in accelerating action on plastic pollution?

We’ve always believed that solutions at scale have to come from across the plastics value chain because no one company, industry sector or individual alone can clear away the billions of metric tons of plastic waste already in our environment or curb the ever-increasing amount of new plastic waste that is generated daily. Currently 79% of all the plastic waste ever produced remains with us. Plastic packaging worth up to $120 billion per year is used once and then thrown away. This is an enormous waste of resources.

As a global financial institution, we believe that we have a unique vantage point from which to work with the different actors who need to be a part of plastic waste solutions. We can also connect investors seeking to align their portfolios with plastic waste reduction to the entrepreneurs and corporations focusing on creating less plastic waste. By bridging these investors and companies, we believe we can contribute to the systems change we need to retain the beneficial qualities of plastic in the economy, while reducing the environmental downside of plastic waste.

Read the full article here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/01/the-business-case-for-investing-in-sustainable-plastics/

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Cities as bridges between SDGs and citizens in a post-COVID-19 world: elements for socio-economic recovery

The Venice City Solutions Series is a yearly event addressing issues that are central to the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local level, with specific focus to the

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role of local and regional governments as key drivers of the 2030 Agenda. In 2019, the event focused on how the SDGs can be an instrument to create citizenship and to promote the values of the Agenda as well as on strategies to bring the SDGs closer to the people.

Each year, the organizers of Venice City Solutions 2030 bring the recommendations of the event to the formal mechanism of the HLPF. This year, this official side event has adapted the narrative of SDG role in creating citizenship to the situation created by the COVID 19 pandemic. 

As the COVID-19 global health crisis has demonstrated, we live in an uncertain world; and recovering from the current crisis is going to require both strong individual action and a monumental collective effort. The contribution and collaboration of citizens in the recovery phase of the pandemic is going to be even more relevant than in our recent past. Local and regional governments are responding to the emergency by keeping essential services going, caring for the most vulnerable and finding rapid solutions to adapt to changing and unpredictable needs. Socio-economic recovery, with a global economy that has come to a sudden stop, is going to require local development and a lot of local action. Local and regional governments are going to play a substantial role in bringing the citizens along, on one end, and to support local businesses and local economic action, on the other. Within this new context, coordination between spheres of government and policy coherence between central and local governments will be more important than ever. Multi-level governance needs to be strengthened both vertically and horizontally.

The event will gather representatives of local and regional governments, their associations, Mayors, Governors and other governmental representatives and selected partners to discuss the way ahead for SDG implementation at local level.

This HLPF side event is co-organized by AICCRE, UCLG, UNDP, UN-Habitat and the UN SDG Action Campaign.

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Tackling Social Norms: A game changer for gender inequalities
02 July 2024 - The Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) measures how social beliefs obstruct gender equality in areas like politics, work, and education, and contains data from 75 countries, covering over 80 percent of the world’s population. The analysis reveals that despite decades of progress closing the equality gap between men and women, close to 90 percent of men and women hold some sort of bias against women, providing new clues to the invisible barriers women face in achieving equality. The publication also includes the GSNI trends for 31 countries, representing 59 percent of the global population. The trends show that while in some countries there have been improvements, in others, attitudes appear to have worsened in recent years, signaling that progress cannot be taken for granted.
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02 July 2024 - Gender disparities are a persistent form of inequality in every country. Despite remarkable progress in some areas, no country in the world—rich or poor—has achieved gender equality. All too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, in education, at home, and in the labour market with negative repercussions for their freedoms.

This is the time for a reality check. The commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25) provides an opportunity to reassess the path to gender equality and adjust actions to close gender gaps.

The Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) measures how social beliefs obstruct gender equality in areas like politics, work, and education, and contains data from 75 countries, covering over 80 percent of the world’s population.

The analysis reveals that, despite decades of progress closing the equality gap between men and women, close to 90 percent of men and women hold some sort of bias against women, providing new clues to the invisible barriers women face in achieving equality.

According to the index, about half of the world’s men and women feel that men make better political leaders, and over 40 percent feel that men make better business executives and that men have more right to a job when jobs are scarce. 28 percent think it is justified for a man to beat his wife.

The publication also includes the GSNI trends for 31 countries, representing 59 percent of the global population. The trends show that while in some countries there have been improvements, in others, attitudes appear to have worsened in recent years, signaling that progress cannot be taken for granted.

Read the full report here or download the attached PDF of the report.

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COVID-19: Policy responses across Europe
02 July 2024 - Drawing on the content of this database of around 500 policy initiatives (April 2024), this report aims to present an overview of both large-scale government measures and collective agreements that impact on large groups of workers, setting this in the context of the evolving labour market situation.
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02 July 2024 - The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of individuals and societies, including on the economy and labour markets, is unprecedented.

The impact of the global health emergency has placed a growing number of businesses under threat, putting the jobs of more and more workers at risk and impacting the livelihoods of many citizens.

Policymakers moved swiftly in an effort to mitigate the social and economic effects on businesses, workers and citizens. Eurofound’s COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch database provides information on initiatives introduced to cushion these effects.

This report draws on the content of this database of around 500 policy initiatives as of April 2024. It aims to provide an overview of both large-scale government measures and collective agreements impacting on larger groups of workers and sets this into the context of the evolving labour market situation.

Read the full report here or download the attached PDF of the report.

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Hamamatsu Voluntary Local Review Report 2019
01 July 2024 - 
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Hamamatsu City is a government ordinance designated city, located between Tokyo and Osaka along the Pacific coast, with an area of 1,558km2 and a population of about 800,000. The population of the city is on a downward trend from its peak in 2008. It is projected that the population trend will continue and the aging ratio (27% as of 2018) will increase. One of the features with regard to the population in Hamamatsu is the number of foreign nationals, which accounts for 3% of the total population, 1% higher than the national average.

As a result of the merger of 12 local municipalities in July 2005, Hamamatsu became the second largest municipal area nationwide with diverse natural and social environment that includes urban, rural, mountainous and hilly areas. For this reason, it is referred to as a government ordinance-designated city that is a model of Japan in miniature. With rich forest and fishery resources, the primary industry is thriving in Hamamatsu. In addition, the city is famous for manufacturing and is the location of large corporations that are active on the global stage, such as Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawai, Hamamatsu Photonics, Roland, and FCC. Not only large companies but also small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies are also active. The higher ratio of primary and secondary industries compared to other government-ordinance designated cities in Japan is one of the characteristics of Hamamatsu.

Challenges

Hamamatsu City faces various challenges including the administrative costs to maintain and upgrade municipal services covering large administrative area, independence of underpopulated areas, administrative services that can meet to socio-economic environment and social needs that changes according to the population decline, low birthrate and progressive aging society, and co-existence with foreign residents. Against the background of the nuclear disaster as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent deregulation of the electric power industry, Hamamatsu is also facing the need to put measures in place to continue to secure a stable supply of energy and to protect people’s lives and livelihoods against natural disasters (disaster prevention and mitigation).

Localisation and mainstreaming of the SDGs in Hamamatsu City

To tackle with a lot of local challenges, Hamamatsu City is managing city administration in partnership with various local stakeholders and by leveraging municipal budgets and local resources effectively. The Hamamatsu City Comprehensive Plan, the 30-year plan from 2015 is integrated with the principles of the SDGs, and therefore the city is promoting the SDGs implementation through the implementation of the comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan of the city was drawn up using backcasting techniques. The comprehensive plan includes 12 vision-points for the desirable future of city called the “One Dozen Futures” and sets out comprehensive policies to achieve the vision. In the process of making the comprehensive plan, "the Hamamatsu Future Design Council" composed of experts and citizens having different backgrounds was established to review and discuss the plan. In addition to the discussion at the Council, the city interviewed citizens to hear and reflect more voices from citizens.

Read the full report here or download the attached PDF of the report.

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