Sustainable Development Goals
Austrian Court of Auditors (Rechnungshof) confirms failures to implement the SDGs in Austria
Austrian Court of Auditors: From June to September 2017, the Austrian Court of Audit (ACA) carried out an audit of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Austria. The audit aimed in particular at assessing the legal framework conditions and the national recognition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the responsibilities of the Federal Government and the coordination across all levels of government. A further objective was to evaluate the initial situation (stocktaking and gap analysis), the implementation plan and the target attainment monitoring system, as well as the inclusion of the civil society, the reporting system and the impacts of the SDGs. The audit was carried out at the Federal Chancellery and the Federal Ministry of Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs – in their capacity as coordinating entities regarding the national implementation of the SDGs – as well as at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology – as federal ministries selected as examples by the ACA. The audited period largely spanned the years from 2016 through 2017.
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Roland Leithenmayr VFV
Wicked Problems and the 17 SDGs
The members of the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development (CSD) in Vienna/Austria debate how to solve the problem of poverty in context to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (17 SDGs). The members struggle to define the problem or let alone to solve it. Linked to other issues like the economy, education, nutrition, and fairness, and so on, the solution to one aspect of the problem often reveals other more complicated problems. Often the members of CSD find no perfect solution to a “wicked problem”, although many solutions might fit well and help to mitigate the problem.
Roland Leithenmayr VFV
The unsustainable history of SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle)
SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) are becoming increasingly popular – a paradox!
Before US car companies developed the new car type- the SUV- there were ingenious constructions of cars with fuel consumption of about 1.2 liters per 100 km. This was in line with rising mobility demands, dwindling supplies of oil, and growing concerns about climate change. Although the SUVs required on average 10 times as much fuel, the US government favored the SUV, offered tax incentives and stopped promoting the further development of fuel-efficient and electric cars. The SUV was a triumphal development, still not ending. Moreover, the US government called on its citizens to buy a house outside the city and offered low down payment and interest on the loans. The author of this posting himself acquired a house near Philadelphia, where the bank granted him a 120% loan with a low-interest rate and, also, put a large tax-exempt SUV in front of the garage door. The author lived with the feeling of being able to afford everything in the USA. There were hardly any reasons to pay much attention to “sustainability” and environment. One looked fascinated at global finance capitalism and was annoyed only by the outrageous bonuses to the acrobats of the financial circus. These magicians wrapped the mortgages in Christmas paper and sold them on to banks around the world to reduce the risk of US state-owned mortgage lenders (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). In 2007 and 2008, the mortgage bank crisis broke out, which in turn disrupted the global financial system. The investment banks, which were commissioned by the US government, bet for themselves that the mortgages become worthless. Back to SUV! The aforementioned urban sprawl and the tax-subsidized fuel-cutting SUV combined with the shock of crude oil prices in 2007 and 2008 and mortgage interest rates triggered the crisis, which can be outlined as follows (Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Factor Five, The Formula One sustained growth, 2009): 2007: world oil prices go crazy -> long-distance commuting becomes a nightmare in the US -> the pumped-up houses lose value -> subordinate mortgages turn into financial junk -> mortgage banks crash. This triggers an avalanche, many car stocks are scrap. Over the next 20 years, the shift to electric motors and digitization will lead to further economic upheavals that require a transformation of capitalism (destructive innovation, Joseph Schumpeter).
Roland Leithenmayr VfV
“Business Call to Action” to achieve Sustainable Development Goals
Enterprises want to open the huge underserved market of potential customers, – people with low incomes. To this end, businesses develop new business models reflecting customers, employees, suppliers respectively all affected stakeholders in their value chains. The concurrent inclusion of “poor people” in value-added chains dramatically improve their access to goods, services and income, and their situation. The goal is that companies contribute achieving the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations program “Business Call to Action” supports enterprises in their application of “Inclusive Business Models” especially for developing and emerging countries, www.undp.org, www.businesscalltoaction.org.
Roland Leithenmayr
Presentation: Bridge for Cities, Belt & Road Initiative: Developing Green Economies for Cities, 2nd BRI Event – unido.org, 26 to 28 September 2017, Vienna International Centre Vienna, Austria
Sustainable Development Goals – Development of Games and Quizes
GAMES4SUSTAINABILITY: TEACHING, LEARNING, AND PRACTICING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH SERIOUS GAMES
http://www.games4sustainability.org/
‘2030 Hive Mind’, a Sustainable Development Goals game
http://globalhealth.ku.dk/news/2017/2030-hive-mind-a-sustainable-development-goals-game/
Sustainable development quiz: what do you know about the global goals?
New mobile app launches to drive action on Sustainable Development Goals
The Global Goals – Memory Game
Do you know your Global Goals? What about the progress that has been made since 2000, and the challenges that still remain for our planet and its people until 2030?
Test your memory skills and your expertise on sustainable development with this game!
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/get_involved/globalgoalsmemorygame.html
Can you choose the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals?
https://www.sporcle.com/games/jguirey7/2030-sustainable-development-goals
SDG Game & Quiz
SDG Game & Quiz enables all people to easily learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs, invokes the importance of doing everything possible to achieve them and enables users to suggest solutions to achieve them.
The SDGs are the targets of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development announced on 25-27 September 2015 at the United Nations, New York.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are all featured in the comprehensive game, enabling users to obtain a full education on the SDGs while having fun playing the game and taking the quiz.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.socialeco.sdgquiz
The game aims to help teach children around the world about the Sustainable Development Goals in a simple and child-friendly way.
Child-friendly learning materials
NASA’s Eyes on Earth – Climate Kids
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
https://climatekids.nasa.gov/menu/play/
2017 Global food policy report
FPRI’s flagship report reviews the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2016, and highlights challenges and opportunities for 2017 at the global and regional levels. This year’s report looks at the impact of rapid urban growth on food security and nutrition and considers how food systems can be reshaped to benefit both urban and rural populations. Drawing on recent research, IFPRI researchers and other distinguished food policy experts consider a range of timely questions, read more
2017 Global food policy report
Ilona Graenitz & Dora Vrdlovec