Search

Sea defence policy in England has proven contentious in the early twenty-first century, with government willing to defend the coast only where it is considered cost effective and not minded to compensate people for any resulting abandonment of homes. Additional focus is brought to this position by the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which reflect a growing emphasis on climate change effects and other environmental hazards, and the wellbeing of the current generation and those to come. This requires policy makers to seek to balance economic, social and environmental dimensions, and to tackle inequalities; with a central commitment of the goals to "leave no one behind". Subsequent to publication of the SDGs, England was promised a revolution in the government's approach to Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM). This paper seeks to understand the nature of this revolution with particular regard to extant issues around just governance. It finds that policy fails to deal with issues over the local acceptability of proposals for change and the bearing of risk, and instead lies principally in the elevation of the problematic concept of resilience and an accompanying ambivalence towards ideas of sustainability and sustainable development. International agreement that compensation should be paid to those countries suffering the worst effects of climate change, including sea level rise, suggests that adoption of a similar approach to vulnerable homeowners might be the more appropriate revolution and bring policy more into line with the aspirations of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geotechnical constructions involve consumption of a vast amount of non-renewable natural resources and energy- and carbon dioxide-intensive materials (e.g. cement and steel) that contribute significantly to global warming and climate change. This paper uses drilled shafts as an example to illustrate the importance of environmental impact assessment in the design phase of foundations. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts of construction of single drilled shafts and groups embedded in sandy soil profiles. Parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of soil properties, design parameters and hauling distances of construction materials and equipment on the environmental impacts of single drilled shafts. For pile groups, different configurations, applied load, centre-to-centre spacing and thickness of pile cap are considered in the parametric study. The global warming impact and human toxicity of a typical drilled shaft are found to be 39 and 486% of annual world impact per person, respectively. Based on the study, charts and tables are developed that may be used for quick estimation of the global warming impact of drilled shafts without the use of specialised LCA software programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is facing two important problems such as climate change and environmental pollution. Unconscious consumption and industrialization also increase environmental pollution, making nature unable to renew itself. Everyone has a very important role in the regeneration of nature and the sustainability of resources. It will be possible to obtain a more sustainable and clean environment by separating wastes, by using resources more efficiently and economically. United Nations (UN) members met in 2015 and agreed on 17 Global Goals by 2030 for 3 key issues "eliminating extreme poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, fixing climate change.". It is expected that these global goals for sustainable development will be realized for all people in all countries. It has become a necessity for institutions to place sustainable development and sustainability in their management policies for the future of the world. This study investigates how European Commission has adapted to the sustainability process and UN's 17 Global Goals in Higher Education through examining its corporate sustainability strategies, and its relationship between its stakeholders. The European Green Deal Communication is the new growth strategy of European Union (UN) and recognises the key role of schools, training institutions and universities to engage with pupils, parents, and the wider community on the changes needed for a successful transition to become climate neutral by 2050. European Commission has internalized UN goals, has determined sustainability strategies in line with especially Goal 12 and Goal 13, has followed the European Green Deal missons and ECHE principles, and has implemented practices such as Erasmus Without Paper Network, EWP Dashboard and Green Travel. In this research, it has been revealed that the corporate sustainability strategies of the European Commission are in line with the objectives of the UN's 17 Global Goals, not just on paper, and become widespread with various supported projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a blueprint to address urgent global challenges, with a clear role for social workers. This paper explores a Sustainable Development Goal's focused student placement at the Australian Association of Social Workers, with RMIT University. Students reviewed the AASW's policy actions and their contribution to the SDGs, including recommendations for future work. The review identified advocacy in key areas, and the need for action on several issues, including climate action. Students learned about social work policy, practice, and sustainability. The placement itself provides a model for other organisations to align their actions to the SDGs. IMPLICATIONS There is a need for greater social work engagement with the United Nations' SDGs to address urgent social and environmental challenges. Field education placements can provide an important opportunity for students to learn about sustainability, social work policy practice, and the SDGs. The placement model proposed in the article is suitable for any organisation that seeks to review their actions and better align their work to the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in urbanization and climate change brings new challenges to the cities' sustainability and resilience, mainly related to flood and drought events. Among these challenges, it can be highlighted the physical and health damage to the population, interruption of water, energy and food supply services, damage to basic infrastructure, economic losses and contamination of urban rivers. To contribute to the increase of resilience in urban centers, LID practices have been used as a new approach of mitigation and adaptation within urban drainage systems, aiming at runoff retention, peak flow attenuation, pollutant removal and ecosystem services restoration (e.g., resources recycling, carbon sequestration, thermal comfort and landscape integration). These different mitigation purposes and complementary benefits provided by LID practices can be related to the different Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) presented by the United Nations (UN), to achieve countries' systemic sustainability. The identification of local techniques that contribute to the different SDG helps to achieve their territorialization and application as public policy. Therefore, this paper presents a literature review, categorizing the studies into different generations based on their main application purpose and presents a linkage of the LID benefits to different SDG. Some challenges were identified requiring further investigation, such as the need to identify and quantify the energy demands for LID practices maintenance and their incorporation in the system final energy balance, identification of processes that contribute to carbon sequestration and emission, and risks of emerging pollutants for human health from water reuse and nutrient cycling for sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of soils to society has gained increasing recognition over the past decade, with the potential to contribute to most of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With unprecedented and growing demands for food, water and energy, there is an urgent need for a global effort to address the challenges of climate change and land degradation, whilst protecting soil as a natural resource. In this paper, we identify the contribution of soil science over the past decade to addressing gaps in our knowledge regarding major environmental challenges: climate change, food security, water security, urban development, and ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Continuing to address knowledge gaps in soil science is essential for the achievement of the SDGs. However, with limited time and budget, it is also pertinent to identify effective methods of working that ensure the research carried out leads to real‐world impact. Here, we suggest three strategies for the next decade of soil science, comprising a greater implementation of research into policy, interdisciplinary partnerships to evaluate function trade‐offs and synergies between soils and other environmental domains, and integrating monitoring and modelling methods to ensure soil‐based policies can withstand the uncertainties of the future. Highlights: We highlight the contributions of soil science to five major environmental challenges since 2010.Researchers have contributed to recommendation reports, but work is rarely translated into policy.Interdisciplinary work should assess trade‐offs and synergies between soils and other domains.Integrating monitoring and modelling is key for robust and sustainable soils‐based policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health of the world's oceans is intrinsically linked to the biodiversity of the ecosystems they sustain. The importance of protecting and maintaining ocean biodiversity has been affirmed through the setting of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 to conserve and sustainably use the ocean for society's continuing needs. The decade beginning 2021–2030 has additionally been declared as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. This program aims to maximize the benefits of ocean science to the management, conservation, and sustainable development of the marine environment by facilitating communication and cooperation at the science–policy interface. A central principle of the program is the conservation of species and ecosystem components of biodiversity. However, a significant omission from the draft version of the Decade of Ocean Science Implementation Plan is the acknowledgment of the importance of monitoring and maintaining genetic biodiversity within species. In this paper, we emphasize the importance of genetic diversity to adaptive capacity, evolutionary potential, community function, and resilience within populations, as well as highlighting some of the major threats to genetic diversity in the marine environment from direct human impacts and the effects of global climate change. We then highlight the significance of ocean genetic diversity to a diverse range of socioeconomic factors in the marine environment, including marine industries, welfare and leisure pursuits, coastal communities, and wider society. Genetic biodiversity in the ocean, and its monitoring and maintenance, is then discussed with respect to its integral role in the successful realization of the 2030 vision for the Decade of Ocean Science. Finally, we suggest how ocean genetic diversity might be better integrated into biodiversity management practices through the continued interaction between environmental managers and scientists, as well as through key leverage points in industry requirements for Blue Capital financing and social responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biorefineries are linked to SDGs and Bioeconomy. • Challenges towards implementing the bioeconomy are discussed. • The role of biorefineries in the bioeconomy is elucidated. Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are guidelines to improve the socio-economic and environmental worldwide situation caused by excessive fossil fuel use. These goals must be accomplished before 2030 by implementing a national sustainable development framework in all UN country members. Instead, biorefineries are the seed towards a more sustainable world since biomass upgrading into a series of value-added products and energy vectors can reduce current issues related to waste generation and climate change. Besides, biorefineries are the first step on the way to implement a bioeconomy. This review paper aims to elucidate the existing relation between biorefineries, bioeconomy, and the SDGs through a comprehensive analysis of the technical requirements, challenges, and perspectives of biomass upgrading processes. In this way, this review paper includes a discussion about the biorefinery, bioeconomy, sustainable development, and sustainability concepts. Moreover, this paper elucidates how the implementation of biorefineries is linked to the SDGs accomplishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The work described in this paper won an Engineering Award from the UNESCO and the United Nations. It qualified among the top 30 finalists from a pool of about 3200 engineering entries from the world''s most prestigious universities in 89 countries, including Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Stanford and Yale. This paper describes the methods employed in a sustainability project titled ‘Global Basic Needs in an Integrated Sustainable Approach’ submitted by the author to the UNESCO in agreement with the United Nations Millennium Goals and within their framework of the Mondialogo Engineering Award. A six-nation international jury of renowned leading scientists and engineers selected this project for a nomination award. While we all anxiously wait for science to provide the solutions to global warming and catastrophic climate change, a holistic engineering approach was used to halt pollution, and to provide sustainable shelter, clean water, energy, food and education to the global population. This approach can be used anywhere in the world and conceptualizes a revolutionary sustainability paradigm for present and future societies. This work is a contribution to the advancement of the science of sustainability everywhere on the planet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]