Publications

Blue Growth promotes the sustainable development of aquatic resources for the benefit of communities who rely on them for their livelihoods and food security. It seeks to maximize economic and social benefits while minimizing environmental degradation from activities within the fisheries and aquaculture sector. These goals are closely aligned with the three pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which pay special attention to traditionally marginalized groups.

The blue economy on the coast of Kenya includes several artisanal and commercial scale activities, from the traditional ocean and fresh water industries such as fisheries and tourism, to new and emerging activities, such as seabed salt extractive activities, aquaculture, and honey harvesting from mangrove trees. The coast of Kenya is a high attraction for local and foreign tourists, because of special sites such as Tana River delta, a wetland recognized internationally, under the Ramsar Convention for its unique biodiversity, and the Sabaki Estuary, which is managed by local conservation and development organizations.

Climate action is imperative. Each successive month brings new reports of record heat, unprecedented glacial melting, extreme weather events, and countless other indicators that the climate is changing, with severe and increasing consequences for communities around the world.

Business leaders and governments alike are acknowledging that continued long-term value creation requires a new economic model that is less dependent on cheap, easily accessible materials and energy, and that is able to restore and regenerate natural capital. In its research to date, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has demonstrated that the circular economy is a clear value creation opportunity. As many policymakers become interested in this promising model, they envisage the important role they can play in creating the right enabling conditions and, as appropriate, setting direction to
unlock it.

This report was drafted by a working group of United Nations entities, the World Bank, and other stakeholders to suggest a common understanding of the blue economy; to highlight the importance of such an approach, particularly for small island developing states and coastal least developed countries; to identify some of the key challenges its adoption poses; and to suggest some broad next steps that are called for in order to ensure its implementation.

This HLP report provides a timely pivot from ‘problem’ to a significant missing piece of the ‘solution’. Heretofore, climate mitigation policy has concentrated intensively on land-based mitigation activities. The HLP report offers the first comprehensive, integrated assessment of the mitigation potential of a suite of ocean-based activities: renewable energy, transport, food production, and ecosystems, and the potential future contribution from carbon storage if current concerns can be resolved. Each of these five areas is assessed for its potential to close the emissions gap in 2030 and 2050 relative to a 1.5°C degree and 2°C degree pathway. Moreover, each activity is also evaluated for its wider benefits to society (beyond mitigation). Finally, the report highlights the enabling policy measures and research required for success.

This Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) was prepared following an IPCC Panel decision in 2016 to prepare three Special Reports during the Sixth Assessment Cycle. By assessing new scientific literature, the SROCC responds to government and observer organization proposals. The SROCC follows the other two Special Reports on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5) and on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) and the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

This scoping paper focuses on the potential of the significant volume of organic waste flowing through the urban environment. The aim is to highlight the opportunities to capture value, in the form of the energy, nutrients and materials embedded in these flows, through the application of circular economy principles. Organic waste – from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste streams and wastewater that flows through sewage systems – is traditionally seen as a costly problem in economic and environmental terms.

It is hard to imagine living in a world without textiles. Nearly everyone, everywhere comes into contact with them nearly all the time. This is especially true of clothing, the focus of this report. Clothes provide comfort and protection, and for many represent an important expression of individuality.

This new report is one of the first key deliverables of the New Plastics Economy initiative. It represents a logical next step to the 2016 report: from rethinking the future of plastics to catalysing action.

Few things are as interwoven with human existence and culture as food. At the most basic level, we need it to survive. Beyond sustenance, food can bring joy and takes a central place in cultures around the world, often as the centrepiece of celebrations and festivities.