The Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (GO4SDGs) initiative was launched in the Asia-Pacific region on 21 April 2021.
The virtual event – organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Asian Institute of Technology, with the support of strategic partners UNESCAP, SWITCH Asia, SEED and the World Economic Forum – highlighted the importance of resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production for an inclusive and resilient recovery.
Asia-Pacific is fast becoming one of the largest regional markets, displaying strong economic growth driven by increasing intra-regional trade, infrastructure development and household consumption. However, this growth remains largely founded on unsustainable consumption and production patterns that exacerbate inequality and environmental degradation, intensifying existing risks and vulnerabilities in a changing climate.
Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals
The recent Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2021, published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), shows that the Asia-Pacific region is currently not on track to achieve any of the 17 SDGs by 2030 and may achieve less than 10 per cent of the SDG targets. There is an urgency to increase cooperation for action and to support countries in aligning their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The GO4SDGs accelerates efforts and solutions for delivering on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), anchored in shifting unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.
“Through the GO4SDGs we will continue to support sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG12) and inclusive green economies (SDG8), assisting countries in their green recovery stimulus during and in the wake of COVID-19 to accelerate the progress on all the seventeen SDGs,” said Dechen Tsering, Regional Director of UNEP’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP-ROAP).
The GO4SDGs initiative also aims to connect the dots towards decarbonization, resource efficiency and sustainability, integrating the circularity, climate, and biodiversity agendas.
“The transition to a climate-neutral society is both an urgent challenge as well as an opportunity to build a better future for all. If we want to create long-term, sustainable growth and resilient societies, it is a necessity to switch to a green and climate-friendly economic model, “ added Stephan Contius, Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).
At the launch, Kaveh Zahedi, UN ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary, said that “the Asia Pacific region consumes two thirds of the world’s resources but lags far behind other regions when it comes to efficiency. The end result is plastic waste that fills our waterways and oceans, chronic air pollution that chokes our cities and greenhouse gas emissions that threaten our very future. Sustainable Consumption and Production can be the key for a very different development pathway. By joining hands with GO4SDGs, we hope to support countries in changing track, raising their ambitions and moving faster towards their sustainable development ambitions.”
Improving resource efficiency
According to the International Resource Panel (IRP), natural resources in the Asia-Pacific region in 2015 represented 63% of global material use. Greenhouse gas emissions grew by 330%, including an increase in short-lived climate pollutants.
“How could we reduce these impacts in an integrated manner? The most effective way is to start at the end where the product systems meet the societal need. Natural resources management and circular economy have an important role to play in this regard. Let’s take the examples of buildings and mobility: Cities can become more compact with buildings more space and material efficient at high living quality.Transport can become shared, connected and more integrated, to avoid cars standing around empty and clogging traffic, and to save massive amounts of materials,” said IRP Co-Chair Janez Potočnik.
Edgar Hertwich, an IRP expert member, added: “Materials are ignored by climate policy, yet emissions from the production of materials production have grown fast. If you are concerned about eating meat or flying on airplanes because of your carbon footprint, you should also be even more worried about cement and steel.”
While rapid economic growth has led to higher living standards, it is also diminishing the region’s resource efficiency. Asia-Pacific requires almost double the material resources per $US of economic output than the world average. Given the weight that the region brings to resource use globally, any improvement in the Asia-Pacific’s resource efficiency will have significant global impacts.
The GO4SDGS initiative, with its Menu of Services and planned activities in the Asia-Pacific region, will focus on: mainstreaming the benefits of resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production for climate policies and economic recovery; accelerating action to reduce food waste and the use of single use plastics; exploring mechanisms for financing circularity and innovation; and empowering youth for sustainable and low-carbon lifestyles.
“The GO4SDGs is an accelerator for progress on the SDGs, bringing regional solutions for the three planetary crises – climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, said Mushtaq Memon, Regional Coordinator, Resource Efficiency, at UNEP-ROAP.
GO4SDGs brings together key strategic partners working directly with the private sector and civil society to accelerate action on the SDGs, including the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), SEED Initiative and World Economic Forum. It also builds on UNEP’s leading knowledge and platforms such as the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP), International Resource Panel (IRP), One Planet Network and Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE).
Advancing innovation and circularity for SMEs
At the launch, representatives from SEED, the World Economic Forum, Switch Asia, Mycotech and Ecoware also discussed the challenges small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face in their transition to circular economy business models. They highlighted a number of policy and finance instruments, and noted the importance of the GO4SDGs to identify opportunities for cooperation to advance innovation and circularity of SMEs in the Asia-Pacific region.
Governments, international organizations and multilateral development banks and agencies recognize the importance of green SMEs, but data from climate funds and databases reveal that SME-focused projects account for only 3% of all funded projects.
“Green recovery measures often don’t reach green SMEs,” said Mirko Zurker, Head of SEED Asia. “Bridging the missing middle financing gap is therefore even more critical in a pandemic and post-pandemic world.”
A circular economy creates opportunities for new business models, for example in relation to the sharing economy and in the development of new repair and reuse services. Resource efficiency is a source of reduction in production costs and is also a buffer against increasing risk from volatile resource prices and diminishing security of resource supplies. For SMEs seeking to develop an innovative product within a circular economy, access to suitable sources of finance is key.
“Sustainability for business, for our communities and us as individuals is an absolute must,” said Rhea Mazumdar Singhal, Founder and CEO of Ecoware. “We are at a turning point in the history of this planet and in order to advance sustainability we need to see stakeholder engagement at every level.”
A recording for session 1 is available:
A recording for session 2 is available:
Upcoming events
28-29 April – Sustainable Production and Consumption Hotspot Analysis Tool (SCP-HAT) workshop for the Asia-Pacific, 12.00-15.00, Bangkok (GMT +7).
27 May – Youth Empowerment: Sustainable Lifestyles and Green Campuses webinar, 13:30 – 14:30, Bangkok (GMT +7).
For more information about the GO4SDGs initiative, visit our website.