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India’s national government has offered strong support for the development of green hydrogen as part of the country’s clean energy transition. However, much of the actual progress in this transition will depend not on national but subnational governments. This paper argues that India’s subnational governments have significant potential to...

The year 2023 marked a concerning milestone in climate history with the global average temperature being 1.45 ± 0.12°C above the pre-industrial average. The Global Stocktake at COP28 showed that the projected temperature rise is expected to be between 2.1 - 2.8°C even if nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of all countries are fully achieved...

SDGs are off track, but the HLPF’s follow-up and review (FUR) process, especially reviews of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), does not systematically examine the reasons. This paper recommends that SDG progress reviews should focus more on analysing national SDG implementation policies and budgets. Regarding the environment, for example, this...

This policy brief focuses on the international collaboration necessary to equitably progress towards the sustainable energy transition. In that context, it addresses SDG 12 - responsible consumption and production, and in particular SDG target 12.2 - achieving sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. Based on recent research...

Based on UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) resolution 5/14 'Ending plastic pollution', adopted in March 2022, a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution is to be developed. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on plastic pollution has started and INC4 was organised in April 2024. This article analyses the...

This paper explores a key implementation issue for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – whether to use integrated approaches or prioritize some goals. The scientific community generally recommends integrated approaches but has little clear guidance on concrete implementation. This paper reaches two main conclusions. First, environmental...

The process to define the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which took place between 2012 and 2015, was based on broad stakeholder engagement. As such, it was a unique communicative effort to integrate diverse voices into the process and its outcomes. After nearly a decade, the year 2023 marks the midpoint in the implementation of the SDGs...

Recognizing that the improvement of water environmental governance is essential to solve water pollution problems in the Asian Region, the Water Environment Partnership in Asia (WEPA) was launched in 2004 by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. During the fourth phase of WEPA, which began in FY2019, the objective of WEPA’s fourth phase was...

In global health, three holistic and multidisciplinary approaches are typically mentioned: One Health, Ecohealth, and Planetary Health. The most recent concept, Planetary Health, has been spontaneously developed and promoted as a new science since 2015, with the establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This coincidence marks a new...

The global hospitality industry is at a pivotal juncture, confronting a pervasive challenge — the menace of plastic pollution and marine litter. The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI) notes that approximately 80 percent of all tourism activities occur in coastal areas, positioning the hotel industry as a significant contributor to the...