We had a big month on the Alliance 2030 platform, with a lot of content being shared around the SDGs — including the news of our new podcast! Also, the UN launched a new report about climate change, and how its potentially catastrophic outcomes are approaching even faster than we initially expected. The need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by the year 2030 is more pressing than ever before. Check out the links before to learn more about these topics and other updates related to the Goals.
Alliance 2030 links
What the Supreme Court ruling means for Indigenous consultation
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in the Mikisew Cree case is a perfect example of a situation where the headlines and the trend lines differ in important ways.
How Canada can, and must, empower Indigenous communities
It’s now time for federal and provincial governments to treat Indigenous communities with more respect and engage them as collaborators in infrastructure projects that impact their communities, rather than a simple obstacle to be dealt with after the deal is made. There are sufficient benefits to satisfy all stakeholders.
Where Canada Stands: Waste & Disposal
Canada is currently following a nationwide trend of approaching waste issues through producer responsibility policy. In British Columbia, where the policy has been considered by some as a benchmark of recycling, producers have responsibility for at least 16 products, and more coming through the new product and packaging program.
G7 Ministerial Addresses Climate Change, Oceans and Clean Energy
The meeting marked the first time a G7 ministerial meeting linked together the three issues, and the first time Canada hosted the G7 environment ministers.
Canada and 8 Other Countries + EU Sign Agreement to Prevent Unregulated Fishing in Central Arctic Ocean
Oct. 3, 2018: The Governments of Canada, China, Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Norway, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea and the US and the EU signed an agreement to prevent unregulated commercial fishing on the high seas in the central Arctic Ocean.
We fail our citizens in Canada — and the UN is onto us
Growing income inequality among Canadians and the scaling-back of programs that benefit many of them challenge the assumption that government will actively respond to community concerns.
Can the 2X Challenge empower women for real?
Canada has accepted the 2XChallenge, a collective effort to mobilize $3 billion in commitments that provide women in developing countries with improved access to leadership opportunities, quality employment, finance and enterprise support. Deetken Impact discusses some ideas we believe can help unlock more private capital, scale the partnership, enhance sustainability and maximize social impact.
Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver Among 23 Cities and Regions Committed to Pathway Towards Zero Waste
The commitments, made in advance of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, US, aim to support the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
No Little Plans
We’re excited to introduce our new podcast on Canada and the Sustainable Development Goals, called No Little Plans. Our first episode, launching on the Global Day of Action on September 25, will provide an overview of the SDGs and the status of the goals in Canada, featuring Joseph Wong, University of Toronto, John McArthur, Brookings Institute, and Deborah Glaser, British Columbia Council for International Cooperation.
The United Nations’ High Level Political Forum: An Interview with Andrew Chunilall
CEO of Community Foundations of Canada Andrew Chunilall shares his reflections following his attendance of the UNHLPF in New York City.
External links
Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says
A relatively small number of fossil fuel producers and their investors could hold the key to tackling climate change
Nestlé, Tim Hortons named Canada’s top plastic polluters
Much of the plastic trash cleaned up from Canadian shorelines by volunteers in September could be traced back five companies: Nestlé, Tim Hortons, PepsiCo, the Coca-Cola Company and McDonald’s, an audit led by Greenpeace Canada has found.
Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040
A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.”
MPs debate climate change after UN report warns of dire consequences
The emergency debate was granted by House of Commons Speaker Geoffrey Regan just a week after the United Nations climate change arm dropped an explosive warning.
World Benchmarking Alliance to Rank Companies’ Performance on SDGs
24 September 2018: Aviva, the Index Initiative and the UN Foundation launched the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), which will develop free, publicly available benchmarks that compare and rank companies’ performance on the SDGs. The Alliance aims to incentivize and accelerate private sector action on sustainable development.
Montreal wants to be carbon neutral by 2050
Plante made the pledge on the first day of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, where Jean-Francois Parenteau, the city councillor responsible for the environment, is representing Montreal.
How many people will the world leave behind?
Overall, the findings of this Brookings report show that most countries are making progress on most issues, but the SDGs still require much faster progress in order to leave no one behind.
Cities on the World Stage: Using the SDGs as a ‘north star’
This piece looks at how cities and regions collaborate to push global standards. The article is part two of three in a series from Open Canada that looks at how cities can lead the way when global challenges — such as those identified by the Sustainable Development Goals — feel intractable.
‘Tokenism and optics’: Inuit orgs slam feds on Nutrition North consultations
All five of Canada’s major Inuit organizations have pulled out of the federal government’s Indigenous Working Group on food security, saying the government is not listening to them in its review of the Nutrition North program.
Yes, there’s still hope for the planet, says climate guru Michael Mann
“Despair and hopelessness lead us down a path of inaction much the same way that outright denial does. That would be a self-fulfilling proposition, for it would ensure that the worst impacts of climate change do play out. It’s all up to us.”
Quebec Inuit leaders plea for mental health support in wake of youth suicides
Warning: This story contains strong language and discussion of suicide. In Nunavik, Quebec’s expansive northern region dotted by remote fly-in Inuit villages, most residents are connected to at least one, if not several of the young people who have recently ended their own lives.
How we can turn the tide for women in science
For the first time in 55 years, a woman has won the Nobel Prize in physics — Prof. Donna Strickland. This win has publicly highlighted that women are still under-represented in science, particularly in physics.
Canadians increasingly live in the auto-dependent suburbs
Canada is a suburban nation. More than two-thirds of our country’s total population now live in the suburbs, meaning policy-makers must deal with the multitude of issues regarding this suburban explosion.