On this episode of About Sustainability…, Andre, Alice and Simon celebrate the contribution of an IGES legend, Mr Hideyuki Mori. Mori-san has been a leader at IGES for most of the institute’s history, following diverse experience at other inst

About Climate Action (SDG 13): Framing Climate Change as a Security Issue and Outcomes of UNFCCC-COP28

Jan 31st, 2024 57m 55s

On this episode of About Sustainability…, Alice and Erin were joined by Naoyuki OKANO and Nagisa SHIIBA, IGES experts working on Climate Adaptation. This episode, recorded in December 2023, offers a quick recap of what happened at COP28 in Duba

Tackling plastic pollution: Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) updates

Dec 25th, 2023 39m 11s

On this episode of About Sustainability…, Erin, Alice, and Simon were joined by Matthew Hengesbaugh and Chochoe Devaporihartakula, IGES experts working on plastic pollution. While plastics have been an indispensable part of modern life, plastic

A life dedicated to the environment

Jul 21st, 2023 59m 5s

It’s been a while since our last installment but today’s episode is a special interview with a long-serving member of IGES who has had a fascinating career, from which he just recently retired. Peter King has been based at IGES’s office in Bang

SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy

May 2nd, 2023 52m 30s

Our guest on this episode is Akihisa Kuriyama, a policy researcher in IGES’ Climate & Energy Unit. He joins us to talk about SDG7 on energy. We spoke about the relationship between energy and climate; what’s new about SDG 7 in the global discus

Updates from the ongoing political and scientific processes to reduce plastic pollution

Jan 27th, 2023 46m 39s

In this episode we met with Amila from IGES who shared the latest updates on international plastics governance. Among others, he described details on the international negotiations committee that was formed last year to define a legally bindi

SDG6: Water, water everywhere, but how is it managed?

Jan 10th, 2023 48m 4s

In this episode of About Sustainability…Erin and Bob talked to Binaya Raj Shivakoti, an IGES expert in the Adaptation and Water team, about SDG6, which is on “ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (or

SDG5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Dec 27th, 2022 50m 47s

In this episode of About Sustainability..., Andre and Erin spoke with their colleague, Maiko Morishita, about SDG5, on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Maiko is part of the IGES finance task force, which covers a va

Regional or Local Circulating and Ecological Spheres (CES) - Sustainability Afoot #2

Dec 13th, 2022 29m 5s

In this episode of About Sustainability…In episode 2 of the Sustainability Afoot series, Bob took a walk with Dr. Bijon Kumer Mitra to find out what Regional/Local CES (Regional or Local Circulating and Ecological Spheres) is. In brief, CES i

Renewing Commitments to Nature: Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Nov 30th, 2022 30m 32s

In this episode of About Sustainability…Erin and Simon caught up with Andre just before his trip to Montreal, Canada for the second part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15).

Circular Economy (Sustainability Afoot #1)

Nov 14th, 2022 32m 43s

In this episode of About Sustainability…Bob kicked off a new experimental format, tentatively called “Sustainability Afoot”. The concept is simple: go for a walk near the headquarters of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

SDG4 (part 2): Education and sustainable development - are we teaching the right things?

Oct 31st, 2022 35m 59s

This is the second part of our episode on SDG4 and education for sustainable development. In this part we focused on whether the right skills are taught in schools to equip people with skills and priorities necessary to bring about a more susta

SDG4 (part 1): Why is education so important for sustainable development?

Oct 14th, 2022 40m 8s

In this episode we talked with our good friend Robert Didham. He is Centre Director and Associate Professor at the Centre for Collaborative Learning for Sustainable Development Faculty of Education, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences.

SDG3: Good Health and Well-Being

Sep 16th, 2022 1h 5m

In this episode of About Sustainability..., Erin, Andre, and Bob invited Eric Zusman back to talk about SDG3 on Health. Eric works on co-benefits between air pollution mitigation and climate action, which has significant implications for public

SDG2: Zero Hunger

Aug 25th, 2022 1h 13m

In the second episode of our series on SDGs, Simon, Andre and Erin invited Prabhakar SVRK, who knows a lot about climate adaptation, food and agriculture. Focusing on SDG2 on Zero Hunger, we talked about the challenges to achieve a world free f

SDG1: No Poverty

Jul 26th, 2022 1h 2m

What’s in an SDG?In an effort to more deeply understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), over the next few months, the About Sustainability… podcast will zoom in on each of them in turn. We will invite experts to join us and parse out

Can the World Achieve the SDGs? Part 2 of 2

Jul 1st, 2022 40m 8s

This is part 2 of the broad discussion that André, Bob, Erin, and Simon went into, which began with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and why it seems so challenging for the world to achieve the goals. Part 2 of the discussion started wi

Can the World Achieve the SDGs? Part 1 of 2

Jun 14th, 2022 46m 30s

This time, Andre, Bob, Erin, and Simon went into a broader discussion around the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and why it seems so challenging for the world to achieve the goals despite them constituting the ‘good’ of development. The di

Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM)

Jun 3rd, 2022 43m 37s

Andre and Erin had a chance to talk to a fascinating person named Wardarina about civic engagement, especially focusing on the Asia-Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM). Simon joined the discussion to provide additional insights,

The IPCC 6th Assessment Report: experiences and key messages from some Working Group III authors

May 3rd, 2022 49m 58s

Bob and André talked to Sudarmanto Budi Nugroho (“Toto”) and Eric Zusman, two IGES experts who were involved in Working Group III (Climate Mitigation) of the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). T

Bonus

Bonus Episode: Are Trees Really the Answer?

Apr 19th, 2022 21m 32s

In this bonus episode of About Sustainability…, André, Bob, Erin, and Simon briefly discussed people’s relationship with nature, from local communities that use natural resources in a low-impact way to large-scale efforts around the world to pl

UNEA-5.2: Some Key Outcomes on Nature and Plastics

Apr 5th, 2022 46m 27s

In this episode of About Sustainability…, Simon and Erin followed up with Andre and IGES colleague Amila Abeynayaka, an expert on plastics management, on some of the recent outcomes from UNEA-5.2, the second part of the fifth session of the Uni

Convention on Biological Diversity

Mar 22nd, 2022 41m 37s

This time Erin, Bob, and Simon talked to Andre about the Convention on Biological Diversity, or CBD, and the upcoming 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (CBD-COP15). This meeting is expected to be held in Kunming later in

APFSD & HLPF: Reviewing SDG progress

Mar 8th, 2022 42m 34s

This time, Andre, Erin, and Simon spoke with Nobue Amanuma, a Deputy Director at the IGES Integrated Sustainability Centre. Nobue and Simon have been quite deeply involved in IGES work on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We discussed t

What is UNEA-5.2?

Feb 17th, 2022 48m 25s

Simon shares his knowledge on UNEA-5.2, the second half of UNEP’s biennial United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). UNEA functions as the world’s parliament on the environment, where globa

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