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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello!

If there’s one thing Sustainable Switch has focused on – aside from the extreme weather events plaguing the world – it’s the United Nations sustainable development goals. This is why this week’s report from the U.N. showing that the world is way off track on all of these goals is particularly disheartening.

The U.N. report shows that none of the 17 goals which were agreed in 2015, such as tackling poverty and hunger, are on course to be met by 2030. 

Most targets were showing “limited or a reversal of progress”.

The report cites funding shortfalls, geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons behind the underperformance and urged countries to address chronic funding shortfalls and also revamp the U.N. system itself.

Also on my radar today:

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during the opening of the SDG Summit 2023, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The U.N.’s annual Sustainable Development Report ranks the performance of its 193 member states in implementing 17 wide-ranging goals, which include improving access to education and health care, providing clean energy and protecting biodiversity.

“What this report is showing is that even before the pandemic hit, progress was already too slow,” said Guillaume Lafortune, Vice President at the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network and lead author of the report.

The report identified the tackling of hunger, the creation of sustainable cities and the protection of biodiversity on land and water as particular areas of weakness. Political goals like press freedom have also seen a “reversal of progress”.

Speaking of a reversal of progress, the Group of Seven leaders made no direct reference to abortion in their final communique, with Italy refusing to bow to French pressure to include the word.

The communique also sparked accusations of a watering down of support for LGBTQ rights compared with the statement issued at the leaders’ previous meeting.

Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition, denied that she had weakened a G7 commitment to abortion rights or support for the LGBTQ community as enshrined in the final communique released at last year’s G7 meeting in Japan.

Since taking office in 2022, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has proved a pragmatic partner on major international issues, assuaging fears she would be a dogmatic conservative unwilling to compromise.

Meloni showed she had some red lines dear to her nationalist camp that she was ready to fight for, especially issues relating to the family and reproduction rights.

A draft G7 statement reviewed by Reuters upheld commitments “to universal access to adequate, affordable, and quality health services for women”, that the leaders made at their summit in Hiroshima in Japan last year.

However, it removed specific reference in the 2023 communique on the importance of “access to safe and legal abortion and post-abortion care”.

Leaders of the G7 also committed to accelerating their transition away from fossil fuels during this decade.

“We will transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, accelerating actions in this critical decade, to achieve net-zero by 2050 in keeping with the best available science,” said the draft seen by Reuters.

The document includes a pledge “to phase out existing unabated coal power generation in our energy systems during the first half of the 2030s”, as agreed by G7 energy ministers in April.

But it also allows an alternative commitment of phasing out coal-fired power plants “in a timeline consistent with keeping a limit of a 1.5°C temperature rise within reach, in line with countries’ net-zero pathways”, offering leeway to Germany and Japan, whose economies are still dependent on the fuel.

Climate activists were critical, saying the summit had produced a lack of concrete commitments and most pledges had already been agreed at previous lower-level meetings.

The LGBTQ+ activists hold flags that read “Marriage equality, love wins”, as they celebrate the passing of the marriage equality bill. Bangkok, Thailand. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Kalpona Akter, executive director of worker’s rights organization Bangladesh Centre for Workers’ Solidarity, shares her thoughts about the fashion industry’s role in treating climate disasters as health hazards to protect garment workers.

“Millions of apparel workers are being impacted by the heatwaves in the Global South.

“Extreme heat is a threat to worker’s health, productivity and wages. 

“In a factory environment, it’s usually several degrees warmer indoors, due to machinery. Minimal air conditioning, limited water access and homes that offer no respite increase exposure to heat stress, which can cause fatigue, heat stroke, dehydration, fainting and in extreme cases, death.

“In fact, the International Labour Organization recommends that at a wet-bulb reading of 30.5C, means that workers must rest for an hour to maintain safe body temperature levels.

“Considering that the apparel industry focuses on rewarding productivity, this is problematic. 

“In Bangladesh for example, workers are paid the minimum wage, barely enough to get by. To top up their wages, workers rely on productivity and attendance bonuses.

“When we consider a study showing that in 2030, Dhaka alone will have 65 days per year exceeding the heat limit, we see a widening wage gap. 

“Adaptation measures are urgently needed to adjust to a new normal. Treating extreme heat as a health hazard is a start. Offering paid leave in extreme heat situations, providing the right to stop work, adjusting hours, increasing rest periods and offering access to cool, sanitized drinking water are all immediate actions that can be taken to adapt.

“But what’s equally needed is a shift in the apparel business model. Brands need to pay for adaptation measures – and given the production risks at play, it makes financial sense for them to do so.

“Binding agreements are needed between brands, unions and employers. Governments need to write adaptation plans and costs into policies. Workers’ voices need to be at the center of the table in climate discussions and decisions.

“Workers cannot – and must not –  bear the risk and costs of climate change.”

Nearly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, litigation over abortion has exploded.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote in 2022’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the court’s long standing precedent had “inflamed debate and deepened division.” He said it was time to take the abortion issue out of the hands of the court and return it “to the people’s elected representatives.”

But, rather than limit court battles, there are a dizzying number of state court cases challenging various aspects of abortion bans or restrictions imposed by more than 20 Republican-led states in the wake of Roe’s reversal. Many key issues are unresolved, and one abortion-related case is still before the Supreme Court.

Wang Wang the Panda during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit at Adelaide Zoo in Adelaide, Australia. Asanka Ratnayake/Pool via REUTERS

In keeping with our diplomatic focus, today’s spotlight shines a light on China’s Panda diplomacy – blending animal conservation with trade agreements. 

During a visit to Australia this week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang made a classic goodwill gesture that boded well for relations between the two countries: he offered to send pandas.

The offer comes as ties between Australia and its largest trading partner improve after a diplomatic dispute that led to China imposing a raft of restrictions on Australian agricultural and mineral exports in 2020.

Native to China, pandas have through the years become “envoys of friendship”, earning China’s outreach to countries it gifts the animals to in the name of panda diplomacy.

China’s domestic conservation programmes have seen the status of pandas improve from endangered to vulnerable. The population of giant pandas in the wild has grown from around 1,100 in the 1980s to 1,900 in 2023.

Today’s Sustainable Switch was edited by Christina Fincher.

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