Insights Blog

The start of a New Year is often a time for reflection and recalibration. This winter, as we leave behind perhaps the most difficult year in recent human history, this reflection takes on an even greater meaning.

In the words of Secretary-General Guterres, we are standing at a “make-or-break” moment for humanity, and the health of our planet. New COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, and despite global emissions falling by a record 7% last year, the planet is now at hotter than at any other point in human civilization.

Globally, 789 million people lack access to electricity and 2.8 billion clean cooking. A recent study by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) reveals that much of this gap, despite a decade of progress, is because money is not flowing where it is needed most.

Current national economic accounting systems do not reflect the resource and environmental costs of economic growth, nor the contribution of ecosystems to the economic growth. But using the ‘Gross Economic-Ecological Product’ instead of traditional GDP does.

COVID-19 and its challenges have arrived to slow down our daily rhythm, restructuring life as we knew it, leaving millions of people confined inside their homes, impacting, and drastically changing our lifestyles. People privileged enough to have their basic needs covered during the health crisis are using this space to rethink their choices, implement changes and incorporate new habits to their lifestyle. In times of changes, such as when adapting to new environments, new behaviors are more likely to be adopted as part of our daily lives long-term. Changing to sustainable habits is, now more than ever, timely.

Each day people’s habits, decisions and daily consumption have an impact on our planet. If current rates of consumption continue, by 2050 society would need 2.5 planets to support the projected nearly 10 billion people (considering global average consumption) (1). The way people eat, decide to wear, how they travel and transport, the way they use their money, and how they decide to have fun are decisions that are made each day, and if it fuels a movement, it can shift the needle towards a sustainable and more just planet.

The project to plant trees across the Sahel known as the Great Green Wall, a large belt of trees that stretches across twelve states of the Sahel, has achieved many of its envisioned technical and environmental goals. However, there is much to be discussed for a successful implementation of the initiative.

The 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement marks a pivotal milestone in environmental disclosure. Across the globe, more and more countries and companies are leveraging the moment to invest in a more resilient and inclusive future. As we embark on a new year, CDP Hong Kong's regional director Pratima Divgi looks back on the challenging year of 2020 and discusses 4 emerging trends in the global sustainability terrain that will shape our market and regulatory environment in the next decade.

While there is hope that vaccines will help bring an end to the pandemic, there is still no magic fix for the fight against climate change. But a new president in the White House and the US pledging to recommit to the Paris Agreement offers some optimism for 2021.

Joe Biden has made global action on climate change a top priority. Is his climate policy agenda feasible, and will it be effective in achieving its objectives?

Globally, the effects of climate change are felt with rising temperatures, droughts, heatwaves, and more frequent and severe storm events impacting water quantity and quality. In response, water managers need to ensure that communities are resilient to water scarcity pressures and water excesses and that the natural system and its associated ecosystem services are protected and enhanced. For cities, the primary strategies available to enhance the resilience to climatic extremes include applying demand management, developing alternative water sources, and implementing blue-green infrastructure (BGI).

The impact of COVID-19 has put a strain on healthcare systems throughout the world. Investing in the sustainable use of energy and water, sound management of medical waste and advanced digital solutions would ease the burden and help improve the health of people and the planet.