In this episode of SDG Learncast, we will explore the often-overlooked environmental and social impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure expansion. Our guest from Earth Insight will unpack how the global push for LNG, often viewed as a cleaner fossil fuel, threatens coastal and marine ecosystems—from the Gulf of California to the Verde Island Passage and beyond. We will discuss the urgent need for a shift to renewable energy and strategies for safeguarding our planet’s most vulnerab...
Oct 25, 2024•16 min
In this podcast episode, we will look into the transformative power of the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) and how they support achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The IDGs offer a framework for cultivating the human capabilities, qualities, and skills essential for building a sustainable, equitable, and thriving future for all. In this episode, we will explore how the IDGs complement the SDGs by focusing on the inner dimensions of c...
Jun 14, 2024•19 min
The world faces a significant challenge in ensuring food security for its growing population amidst the threats posed by climate change. The increasing reliance on a narrow selection of cultivated crops due to industrial agriculture is causing a concerning reduction in the genetic diversity of plants. This narrowing pool poses a risk to global food security, making our food supply more vulnerable to pests, diseases, and changing climate conditions. Seed banks play a crucial role in combating thi...
Apr 29, 2024•24 min
In the face of complex development challenges, particularly in the context of Covid-19, what can we learn from the future? In this episode, SDG Learncast asks Professor Sohail Inayatullah, UNESCO Inaugural Chair for Future Studies, what can we learn from futurists and how do future studies help governments formulate and implement policies on sustainable development. As we try to build a sustainable future, Professor Sohail talks about how double-loop learning can help decision-makers effectively...
Feb 29, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 1
In this episode, Guillaume Lafortune, Vice President of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), discusses the critical theme of long-term financing for sustainable development and the need for reform in the global financial architecture. He highlights the challenges hindering the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the estimated financing gap for the SDGs. Guillaume emphasizes the importance of investing in energy and water for high returns and the systemic fin...
Feb 22, 2024•16 min
In this episode, we are featuring Benjamin Piper , the Director of Global Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ben sheds light on the groundbreaking work of the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP). With an exhaustive analysis of over 13,000 academic studies, GEEAP identifies the most effective and economical educational interventions. We delved into the intriguing concept of "Smart Buys" or "Great Buys" in education, dissecting approaches like st...
Dec 12, 2023•28 min
In this episode of the SDG Learncast, we feature Breanne Pitt , a researcher and educator, on the concept of systems thinking and its vital role in modern education. They explore the challenges and complexities of the digital age, discuss the impact of standardized testing, and delve into practical tools like the World Economic Forum's Transformation Maps. This enlightening conversation underscores the importance of a proactive approach to teaching, preparing students for a deeply interconne...
Oct 31, 2023•16 min
Tyson Miller, Director of Earth Insight unpacks the escalating threats of oil and gas expansion in the Amazon and Congo Basin regions. Drawing from the Earth Insight's reports " Congo in the Crosshairs: New Oil & Gas Expansion Threats to Forests and Communities " " Crisis Point: Oil and Gas Expansion Threats to Amazon and Congo Basin Tropical Forests and Communities " and an article from The Guardian, we discovered that Africa's oil and gas territories could quadr...
Sep 08, 2023•19 min•Season 6Ep. 3
In this podcast episode, we're joined by Yasmine Sherif, the Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) , as she discussed the importance of quality education in crisis situations. As a human rights lawyer with extensive field experience, Yasmine highlights the challenges of delivering education to the 222 million children lacking access today. Yasmine highlighted ECW's holistic approach to addressing this crisis, their hands-on experiences in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo an...
May 23, 2023•31 min
In this SDG Learncast episode, we delved into the challenges of achieving sustainable food systems and the balance needed between biodiversity conservation and nutrition. Our guests, Dr. Sarah Jones and Dr. Aline Mosnier, experts in food systems and biodiversity conservation, discussed the impact of agriculture on biodiversity and how we can meet global targets by 2030. They also explore the need to reduce the overconsumption of food and shift to healthier diets while meeting the nutritional nee...
Mar 29, 2023•26 min
According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 , although 46% of sub-Saharan Africa's population now has access to electricity--up from 33% in 2010--the region is far behind the global average of 90%. 97 million people in urban areas and 471 million in rural areas are still without access to electricity. The lack of access is caused by several factors. On the demand side, there are low uptake and expensive connection charges while on the supply side, the energy sources are unr...
Jun 23, 2022•22 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Misinformation and disinformation are pressing public issues. There has been a rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation. Sometimes we call them fake news. This happens online and offline and it affects everyone, every day. Receiving truthful and quality information is critical as we all depend on information to make decisions. At the personal level, we need accurate information to make decisions about health and who we vote for. And at the global level, we need established facts t...
Jun 22, 2022•16 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Blockchain technology has been leveraged in humanitarian settings by the World Food Programme to deliver cash directly to beneficiaries securely and quickly, without the need to go through a local bank. The potential of blockchain applications in protecting the environment has also been tested to eliminate illegal fishing in the tuna industry. Blockchain applications are also being considered to provide a transparent, trustworthy way to show how nations are taking action to reduce their impact o...
May 18, 2022•22 min
The data revolution is the unprecedented increase in the volume and types of data—and the subsequent demand for them—thanks to the ongoing yet uneven proliferation of new technologies. We need data to formulate sustainable development policies. But it requires that we collect accurate data and use this evidence to inform policymaking. The use of evidence derived from data in policymaking requires the capability to collect and analyze accurate data and a way to make evidence available to decision...
May 12, 2022•21 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped the world estimate real-time precipitation worldwide since 2005. AI is also being used to inform emergency planning, track typhoons, and manage and prevent floods, droughts, and storms. But AI's use is not only for disaster responses and prevention. In a 2020 study , a group of researchers found that artificial intelligence can enable the accomplishment of 134 SDG targets across all the goals but it may also inhibit 59 targets. The study showed that ...
May 06, 2022•21 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Science and technology intricately mesh together with society. You cannot see one without the other. However, transformational changes in science and technology do not always advance sustainable development and reduce inequality. More people have access to smartphones than clean water or clean sanitation in some countries. Artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies are growing, but so has the number of people living in hunger. In this episode, we speak with the co-chairs of the Sc...
May 03, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Transferring science and research into policy and practice is a complex process, but failing to do so results in inequities and wasted resources. Finding appropriate mechanisms for the transfer of science and research into policies, programmes, and practice has become a major driver in finding approaches and solutions to achieving sustainable development. There has been a major push in the uptake of research and evidence-based technologies and funding also began mandating the use of activities t...
Aug 22, 2021•22 min•Season 3Ep. 3
There is a tangible gap between the current climate science on the one hand and policymaking and practice on the other hand. There is also an evident need for user-driven and decision-driven co-produced knowledge on climate change and disaster risks. Science-stakeholder collaboration is becoming an increasingly common way to address mismatches between the knowledge needs of stakeholders and the research being done by both physical and social scientists. Dealing with climate emergency and disaste...
Aug 22, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Goals are an essential part of any action agenda. Together with setting targets, indicators, and timetables, goals can help measure progress, keep different actors and stakeholders on track, and allow for the assessment of achievement of any action agenda. However, conceptual questions need to be asked about whether they really work, what kind of incentives they create, when they are most effective in achieving their policy goals, and what unintended consequences they lead to, if any. In t...
Aug 22, 2021•27 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In a pre-Covid survey, conducted by the International Organization of Employers (IOE) together with the International Labour Organization (ILO), of about 500 companies in all regions, it found that companies across the board felt the challenge of hiring and retaining skilled workers--it's getting more difficult to find people with the rights and new graduates are not prepared for the current jobs. In fact, the skills employers needed four years ago are very much different to the skills they need...
Jul 16, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 3
The International Trade Centre conducted a survey on Covid-19 impact among businesses in 136 countries and the survey has shown that 60% of micro and 57% of small businesses were strongly affected by the pandemic, compared with 43% of large firms. One of the factors that contributed to surviving the crisis was the resilience of businesses. For example, during COVID-19, only 16% of resilient companies reported laying off employees, compared to 76% of companies with a lower index of resilience. As...
Jul 16, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are key players and national economies around the world. For example, in the OECD area, they represent 99% of all businesses, generating about 60% of employment and between 50% and 60% of value-added. Therefore, SMEs play a major role in delivering growth that is more inclusive and whose benefits are shared more broadly. Are SMEs in high-income countries aware of the sustainable development goals? What changed in the past decades and how can young people start...
Jul 16, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 1
According to McKinsey, 45% of the jobs today will be lost in the next 20 years, mostly low-skilled jobs, while the World Economic Forum reports that our skills have a shelf life of 4.5 years. With the World Bank's twin goal of ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity, how does the Bank uses learning and knowledge exchange to address extreme poverty, lift the bottom 40% of the population, and address SDG gaps in countries? Let's hear from Sheila Jagannathan, the Head of the World Bank ...
Apr 01, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 3
How can we use learning in addressing complex global challenges such as food insecurity? In this episode, SDG Learncast asks Cristina Petracchi, Leader of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) eLearning Academy on how the FAO supports countries in addressing the issues of food insecurity, food losses, and food waste. Cristina shares how FAO launched a 24-hour global hackathon and use collective brainpower to find solutions to the problem of world hunger. This episode features tips to...
Mar 01, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 2
