*[Enwl-eng] CENN: 🔔 November Sustainability Bulletin: Dive In for Your Monthly Update!

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Monthly  Sustainability Bulletin November 2023 - Dive In for Your Monthly Update!

News from Georgia

European Commission Recommends EU Candidacy for Georgia EU, Germany, France, and Georgia sign new multi-year reform commitment to support Georgia in green energy transition

European Commission recommended granting EU candidate’s status to Georgia. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the decision at the EU press conference dedicated to the 2023 Enlargement package and the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. The European Council will decide on granting the status in December 2023. Source: civil.ge On 24 November, the state-owned banks KfW (Germany) and AFD (France), and the EU signed a declaration with the Georgian government for a multi-year reform programme called the ‘Green Transition for Georgia’. The policy reform programme includes eleven reform areas that focus on green transition themes, ranging from renewable energy, green hydrogen, carbon pricing, smart mobility, pollution control and sustainable finance. Source: euneighbourseast.eu

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Georgian government convenes rural development conference with EU funding and UNDP support Human Rights Day 2023: Act for Rights Now!

The Georgian government is hosting a Rural Development Conference in Tbilisi today to strengthen policy reforms and coordination, bringing together national stakeholders, international partners and rural development experts from EU Member States. The conference is taking place with funding from the European Union and in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Source: euneighbourseast.eu UNDP is launching a month-long campaign “Act for Rights Now!” dedicated to Human Rights Day 2023. Set to kickstart in November and extend through December 2023, the campaign will unite diverse stakeholders, including representatives from the Georgian Government, Parliament, civil society, the private sector, international organizations, diplomatic missions and donor agencies, such as the European Union and the embassies of Germany, Norway, and Sweden. Source: UNDP Georgia

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Georgia: European Parliament condemns murder of Tamaz Ginturi and abduction of Levan Dotiashvili by Russian occupation forces On World Children’s Day UNICEF Georgia summarizes the results for children over three decades

On 23 November, the European Parliament adopted a resolution strongly condemning the murder of Tamaz Ginturi and the illegal abduction of Levan Dotiashvili and calling for a thorough investigation into this and other murders. The resolution notes that the murder and abduction by the Russian occupation authorities took place in the village of Kirbali near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) on 6 November 2023, i.e. on the eve of the European Commission’s presentation of the enlargement package. On 8 November, the Commission proposed candidate country status for Georgia. Source: euneighbourseast.eu On World Children’s Day, UNICEF marked its thirtieth anniversary in Georgia and emphasized the importance of accelerating the implementation of the Code of the Rights of the Child of Georgia and the need for building a truly inclusive society where everyone’s rights are protected. During the event attended by Government partners, Parliamentarians, civil society and international organizations, children and young people, UNICEF summarized the results achieved for children so far and drew attention to the challenges still faced by many children and families in Georgia. Source: UNICEF Georgia

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News from Azerbaijan

EU and UNDP publish new manual on how to develop innovation-driven and sustainable civil society in Azerbaijan Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum condemns recent arrests of independent journalists in Azerbaijan

The EU has facilitated a meeting between Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and the Azerbaijani President’s Foreign Policy Adviser Hikmet Hajiyev to exchange views on the current situation and efforts to address the urgent needs of the local population. The meeting on 26 September was hosted by Simon Mordue and Magdalena Grono, diplomatic advisers to European Council President Charles Michel. The meeting was also attended by the diplomatic advisers of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as well as the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar. President Michel joined the participants for a brief exchange. Source: euneighbourseast.eu The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum has urged the Azerbaijani authorities to stop the wave of arrests and ongoing crackdown on independent media and civil society and put an end to the growing tendency to prosecute them on bogus charges. The Forum’s Steering Committee yesterday released a statement saying that it joined the international community in calling the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release journalists Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifqizi, Mahammad Kekalov, as well as Gubad Ibadoghlu, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, and all political prisoners and human rights defenders currently behind bars. Source: euneighbourseast.eu

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News from Armenia

EU and Armenia sign agreement on European Union Mission in Armenia EU launches two calls for proposals to foster cross-border collaboration and pluralism – open for Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine

Today, the Republic of Armenia and the European Union signed an agreement on the Status of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA). The document was signed in Yerevan by Vassilis Maragos, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, and Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia. The agreement regulates the legal status of the EUMA. Source: euneighbourseast.eu The European Union launched a new call for proposals on 26 October for journalism partnerships, split into two topics – one focused on cross-border collaboration and one on local media pluralism. The programme will help independent media become more sustainable and resilient and promote respect for the core principles of media freedom, pluralism and civic participation. The two tenders are open to organisations in EU Member States and members of the Creative Europe Programme, including Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. The deadline for applications is 14 February 2024. Source: euneighbourseast.eu

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International News

THE CIRCULARITY GAP REPORT 2023 - WE LIVE IN THE OVERSHOOT ERA Sustainable Development Report 2023 is out - Implementing the SDG Stimulus

The global economy is now only 7.2% circular; and it’s getting worse year on year—driven by rising material extraction and use. The global economy increasingly relies on materials from virgin sources. In the six years of the Circularity Gap Report, the global economy extracted and used more than in the entire 20th century1—improving people’s living standards but at the same time breaking through the safe environmental limits of the planet. Source: circularity-gap.world The Sustainable Development Report (SDR) reviews progress made each year on the Sustainable Development Goals since their adoption by the 193 UN Member States in 2015. At the halfway mark to 2030, the Sustainable Development Report 2023 takes stock of progress made and discusses priorities to restore and accelerate SDG progress. Published on the eve of the 2023 Paris Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, this year’s edition focuses specifically on the need to scale up development finance and to reform the global financial architecture to support the SDGs. Source: sdgindex.org

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Emissions Gap Report 2023 Food Security Update | World Bank Response to Rising Food Insecurity

The report finds that there has been progress since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. Greenhouse gas emissions in 2030, based on policies in place, were projected to increase by 16 per cent at the time of the agreement’s adoption. Today, the projected increase is 3 per cent. However, predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions still must fall by 28 per cent for the Paris Agreement 2°C pathway and 42 per cent for the 1.5°C pathway. As things stand, fully implementing unconditional Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) made under the Paris Agreement would put the world on track for limiting temperature rise to 2.9°C above pre-industrial levels this century. Fully implementing conditional NDCs would lower this to 2.5°C. Source: UNDP Domestic food price inflation remains high. Inflation higher than 5% is experienced in 52.4% of low-income countries, 88.6% of lower-middle-income countries, and 61% of upper-middle-income countries and many experiencing double-digit inflation. In addition, 67.3% of high-income countries are experiencing high food price inflation. The most-affected countries are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia. In real terms, food price inflation exceeded overall inflation in 76% in 166 countries. Source: WORLD BANK

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2023 likely hottest year on record; further spike expected with El Niño How AI helps combat climate change

That’s the message from UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which said on Wednesday that for the calendar year to date, the global mean temperature is the highest ever recorded, 1.43 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and sea ice in the Antarctic remains at record low levels. WMO expects the warming El Niño climate pattern to last at least until April 2024, contributing to a further spike in temperatures. Head of WMO, Petteri Taalas, said that as El Niño’s impacts on global temperature typically play out in the year after its development, next year “may be even warmer”. Source: UN The recent launch of the UN-led AI Advisory Body advanced a growing global trend to harness machine learning to find solutions to common challenges. AI is upping the data crunching game and a growing number of governments, businesses and civil society partners are working together to reap its many benefits. That includes speeding up and scaling efforts to realize such global ambitions as the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which serve as the world’s blueprint to make the planet greener, cleaner and fairer. Ahead of the latest UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28), which begins at the end of November in Dubai, UN News looks at how AI helps the world, from communities to corporations to law makers, tackle climate change: Source: UN

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News from CENN

EU-supported study tour to Brussels united 14 CSOs from four regions of Georgia The 2023 Niko Ketskhoveli School Awards Winners Have Been Announced

From 5 to 10 November, CENN, with the support of the European Union, within the framework of the ongoing EU-funded project “Georgia Climate Action Project (GEO-CAP)”, organised a 5-day study tour in Brussels, Belgium, hosted by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). The study tour gathered fourteen representatives of civil society organisations and members of Climate Action Groups from the four focal regions of the project: Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti. The tour aimed to showcase the European policy-making practices to the Georgian local civil society organisations. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), which is a network of around 180 environmental citizens’ organisations based in more than 40 countries, offered a comprehensive program that combined informative presentations, networking opportunities, and practical engagements with policymakers and experts in environmental sustainability. CENN, with the financial support of the Austrian Development Cooperation, hosted the final event of the youth environmental competition, the Niko Ketskhoveli School Awards. 32 school eco-clubs from Georgia participating in the final presented important environmental and social activities implemented in their cities or villages during the year to jury members and invited guests. The winners are as follows: 1st place – Marneuli Public School #2 2nd place – Gori Public School #9 3rd place – Letsitskhvaie Village Public School The winning schools will be given financial awards for improving their school environments: 1st place winner – 5,000 GEL 2nd place winner – 4,000 GEL 3rd place winner – 3,000 GEL

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Georgian civil society organisations and local government visited the Czech Republic to learn about social services With the support of the European Union, CENN, in collaboration with partner organizations, initiates the organizational strengthening of Guria LAGs’ members

CENN, with support from the EU, hosted a study tour about social services in the Czech Republic. Participants included local civil society organisations and local government representatives working in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti. Participants also met with representatives of local and central government agencies and discussed their approach to social service planning and citizen engagement. As part of the ongoing “Green Guria – Supporting Local Democracy and Rural Development for Inclusive and Resilient Green Growth” project, supported by the European Union, CENN, in collaboration with partner organizations – the Young Pedagogues’ Union, the Institute of Democracy, and the Local Action Group of KEDA (LAG) – supports LAG members in enhancing their organizational skills. Within the project’s framework, a series of organizational training sessions have commenced in all three regions of Guria – Ozurgeti, Chokhatauri, and Lanchkhuti. At this stage, approximately 80 LAG members from all three municipalities have received training in public cooperation, negotiation skills, and facilitation.

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Stay up-to-date with our monthly bulletin! CENN bulletin provides its subscribers with information on environmental issues and other relevant topics from the world and South Caucasus Region. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of CENN unless otherwise stated. Want to disseminate information? View the CENN Bulletin policy here.

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CENN, 27 Betlemi Str., 0105, Tbilisi, Georgia

 

From: CENN Bulletin

Sent: Friday, December 01, 2023 2:06 PM

Subject: 🔔 November Sustainability Bulletin: Dive In for Your Monthly Update!

 

 

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