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It is more than 4 years since the 2030 agenda for sustainable development was adopted by the United Nations and its member states in September 2015. Several efforts are being made by member countries to contribute towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The progress which had been made over time in achieving SDGs can be...

This chapter assesses the latest trends in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as progress of G20 economies towards both the Cancun pledges for 2020 and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2025 and 2030. Report can be download from here. https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2019

Transformative actions on climate change and other sustainability issues at city level is important to achieve GHG emission reduction. To anchor transformative actions, a wider societal consensus building based on science policy process is key element. This paper explores process to prioritize policies and detail actions of selected policy on low...

The scope of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as “drone technology,” is increasing, with various applications in the field of remote sensing and environment. UAVs not only provide high-resolution, real-time data but also have different applications for end users. They have become an essential tool for land surveyors because traditional...

Due to its ability to recover both material and energy from organic waste, biogas technology is considered one of the best technology for treating organic waste. While in many emerging Asian countries more than 50% of municipal waste is organic waste, the amount of organic waste treated with biogas technology remains very limited. This study...

Sustainable Lifestyles Policy and Practice: Challenges and Way Forward provides an overview of the current (2019) situation for sustainable lifestyles globally. It includes 32 case studies from around the world, showing on-going efforts to support the transition to sustainable ways of living. The key messages of the publication are: There are...

This paper explores Japan's energy and emissions-related choices up to 2050 using the Japan 2050 Low Carbon Navigator (Low Carbon Navigator), an energy and emissions scenario simulation tool based on the 2050 Pathways Calculator model. Using illustrative examples and scenarios, the paper demonstrates some unique features of the Low Carbon Navigator...

Myanmar, the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, has been facing considerable challenges with the management of solid waste in the recent past because of increasing income and consumption patterns, urban growth, and lack of effective waste management policies, treatment, and disposal methods. Waste management is also a crosscutting issue...

Addressing the prevailing mode of high-carbon lifestyles is crucial for the transition towards a net-zero carbon society. Existing studies fail to fully investigate the underlining factors of unsustainable lifestyles beyond individual determinants nor consider the gaps between current footprints and reduction targets. This study examines latent...

Local climate zone (LCZ) maps are increasingly being used to help understand and model the urban microclimate, but traditional land use/land cover map (LULC) accuracy assessment approaches do not convey the accuracy at which LCZ maps depict the local thermal environment. 17 types of LCZs exist, each having unique physical characteristics that...