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The global hospitality industry is at a pivotal juncture, confronting a pervasive challenge — the menace of plastic pollution and marine litter. The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI) notes that approximately 80 percent of all tourism activities occur in coastal areas, positioning the hotel industry as a significant contributor to the...

Reducing the use and promoting the environmentally sound management of single-use plastics in the tourism sector offers a great opportunity to tackle plastic pollution at the source. Similarly, addressing problematic plastics throughout tourism value chains can also drive a shift towards innovative and circular business models. In this context...

Plastic pollution represents one of the most pressing environmental issues facing the planet today. This is largely due to the increasing mass production of single-use plastics (SUPs) including packaging materials and other items that are quickly outpacing the world’s ability to respond. Social, cultural and economic shift in addition to the...

In 2020, IGES and others reported that the United Nations’ Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its accompanying Aichi Biodiversity Targets would be replaced by a new framework to guide biodiversity planning at the national level. This framework, known as the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF), was due to be proposed for...

An overview of the main outcomes and activities at the ninth meeting of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-9).

This short essay discusses the national policy development in Japan moving from a society based on mass-production, mass-consumption, and mass-disposal towards establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society (SMC). It looks at how Japan has successfully created a local resource efficiency and regional vitalisation based on a harmonised approach toward...

英国・グラスゴーで開催された国連気候変動枠組条約第26回締約国会議(COP26)は、1日延長の上無事に合意文書を採択し、閉会した。英国は議長国として、気候変動の影響に対して脆弱な国々の適応とレジリエンス強化を優先課題の一つとして位置づけ、適応に関連する様々なイニシアティブを立ち上げてきたが、本会合においても適応に関わる議題が多く議論された。成果文書である「グラスゴー気候合意（Glasgow Climate Pact）」においては、途上国が気候変動に対する適応能力を高め、レジリエンスの強化と脆弱性の低減を実現するために、資金、能力強化、技術移転を含む行動と支援の規模を拡大することの緊急性が強調された。本稿では、COP26およびパリ協定第3回締約国会合(CMA3...

A summary of proceedings at the eighth session of the IPBES Plenary, and looking ahead at the following intersessional period.

The 2021 United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.1) took place on February 22-23 2021. As the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) universal-membership governing body, UNEA plays an important role in international environmental governance. Held biennially, UNEA brings together the UN’s 193 member states and other stakeholders to...

This briefing note considers the prospects for the Biden administration’s climate policy. It surveys the main elements of the Biden administration’s climate policies in his first month in office, as well as what is not included, and it speculates on the potential for these policies to be adopted and implemented. Key personnel and the overall...