Environment and Climate Change
AI innovations to counter social challenges
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being harnessed to tackle two of the most challenging problems today – the flagrant proliferation of fake news and the increasing invasion of individual privacy. Factmata which uses AI to fight disinformation and D-ID which protects identities from facial recognition systems using AI were two of the ten winners of the 2019 Netexplo awards presented at UNESCO Headquarters in April.
The Global Environment Facility at work. Grandma’s secret
The textile industry has long been an important employer in Mauritius. It is hard work with many women combining domestic responsibilities with long days in the factories just to feed their families. So when factories began to close in the 1990s many found themselves struggling to survive.
Beating pollution by redesign
Over 8 million tons of plastic pollute the oceans each year. The problem is so severe that if nothing changes there could be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050. We must urgently rethink how we make and use this ubiquitous material now a staple of our modern economy. The appetite to take action is real: public and private sector financial commitments to combat ocean pollution made at the European Union's Our Ocean conference this year for instance totalled 7.2 billion euros. Yet if cleaning up is a short-term necessity only a whole system reset will provide a long-term solution to plastics pollution and the economic losses associated with it.
Ideas: A tale of two futures
Is artificial intelligence (AI) on the verge of becoming completely autonomous? The answer will depend on us alone. It is up to us to define the future of humanity in harmony with this technological tool that we sometimes perceive as a terrifying monster.
A clean environment for all
The world’s governments have pledged to build a better future where no one is left behind yet the most basic conditions for people to survive and thrive are out of reach for many. Over 90 per cent of us breathe dirty air and over 90 per cent of those who die as a result are in low- and middle- income countries with women and young children disproportionally affected.
Global action is needed
There is no doubt that science is increasingly expanding our knowledge of the problem of environmental degradation (including our role in it) and the extent to which it affects our ability to continually improve our living conditions.
Wide angle: The philosophical and ethical issues of climate change
Humanity is in a state of debit. Year after year it consumes more resources than nature can provide. This over-consumption has a direct effect on the climate. To better understand the issues at stake the Belgian philosopher and biologist Bernard Feltz sheds light on the complex relationships between humans and nature and then focuses on the ethical aspects of climate change management.
Regaining ground
Over hundreds of years industrial activities including mining chemical production manufacturing of consumer goods and agriculture introduced pollutants into the soil contaminating it along with groundwater often over large areas. Past practices were different from today's: waste was dumped in an uncontrolled way or used in applications that are no longer acceptable while unabated emissions to air and water had widespread impacts on surrounding populations and the environment.
Waste not …
The consumer goods industry has entered an era of responsibility where companies consumers governments and non-governmental organizations are collaborating more and more frequently to address some of the biggest challenges facing the world. We now have a better understanding of the wide-ranging impacts of the manufacture and use of consumer goods. Companies like Procter & Gamble are continually refining their approach to developing manufacturing and marketing products more responsibly and encouraging mindful consumption of the everyday products that many of us often take for granted.
Transforming work
B The last twelve months have seen the beginning of a profoundly significant evolution in the way economic and social policies are made.
Only connect
Sustainable development is thirty years old. It was born in 1987 with the release of the “Our Common Future” report which declared: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The weight of cities
How do we prepare for the doubling of the global urban population by 2050? By dramatically rethinking urbanism and its governance. That means designing cities for people not cars; allowing everyone access to urban opportunities; investing in resource-efficient buildings transport energy water and waste systems; and enabling cities to experiment and to learn from each other.
Reflections
More than just a financial mechanism or a partnership agreement the Global Environment Facility sits at the very heart of global action to protect and restore our environment. This edition of Our Planet looks at the work of the Facility which for more than a quarter century has driven catalytic change enabling progress on the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Zero carbon, starting with cities!
Non-state actors with cities at the forefront must be the first to sow the seeds of a carbon-free society. To avoid the nightmare of climate change we must reduce our carbon emissions further than called for by the Paris Agreement of 2015. This requires coordinated actions at the international level and concrete initiatives such as electric transport the decarbonization of housing and a large-scale transition of energy.
Environmental champion
Inna Modja is promoting the building of a wall across a continent one that is designed to provide hope and bring people together. The Malian singer is starring in a documentary on the 8000-kilometre Great Green Wall of trees and vegetation now being established across the width of Africa to combat desertification and restore land. She calls it a “world wonder” and says it has “great symbolism” that “extends far beyond the African continent”.