In spite of everything, a culture of peace is emerging in all fields of human endeavour
monthly, year 23rd, number 315 – 5th June 2023
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day. It is distributed free of charge through Internet to media and editorial journalists, NGOs, service associations and high schools and colleges around the world.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, an educational charity associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information It is a supporter of the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace. In the final report of the Decade for a Culture of Peace project (2001-2010) provided to the UN Secretary-General for presentation to the UN General Assembly, Good News Agency is included among the three NGOs that have been playing an active role in the field of Information through Internet.*
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The news are be divided into seven areas of reference:
1. Government and politics
2. Education and teaching
3. Economy, finance and planning
4. Arts of living and relationships
5. Work, science and industry
6. Society and communication
7. Rules, regulations and environment
In this way we intend to cover seven main fields of human life and activities, in which to record and promote, as always, the presence of goodwill in action and the culture of peace and cooperation that are for us the guiding values in these complex times. Each news item you will find in the seven fields will in turn be linked to one in particular of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 United Nations
SDGs number 1-No Poverty-
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
SDGs number 2-Zero Hunger
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
SDGs number 4-Quality Education
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
SDGs number 5-Gender Equality
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
SDGs number 6-Clean Water and Sanitation
Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
SDGs number 7-Affordable and Clean Energy
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
SDGs number 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
SDGs number 10-Reduced Inequalities
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
SDGs number 13-Climate Action
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
SDGs number 14- Life below Water
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
SDGs number 15-Life on Land
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
News related with SDGs number 17-Partnerships to achieve the Goals
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
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Government and politics – Education and teaching – Economy, finance and planning
Arts of living and relationships – Work, science and industry
Society and communication –Rules, regulations and environment
Recent Changes for Treaties – April/May
11 May 2023
Belgium ratified the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No. 217).
12 April 2023
In a long overdue step, France has finally officially ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Violence and Harassment Convention 2019 (C190), which sets out global standards for preventing and responding to violence and harassment at work.
France played an important role in negotiating the treaty and was among the first to pledge to pursue ratification when it was adopted on June 21, 2019. Yet it took 4 years for the French government to ratify the convention, despite persistent calls from trade unions and civil society groups. (…)
21 April 2023
Finland accepted the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No. 217).
17 April 2023
Argentina ratified the Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (CETS No. 223).
12 April 2023
Norway signed the Council of Europe Convention on the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health (CETS No. 211).
https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/recent-changes-for-treaties-monthly-summary
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
General Assembly - Seventy-seventh session - Agenda item 127 (I) - Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations: cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe – Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 26 April 2023
3 May 2023 – The General Assembly (…)
1. Welcomes the contribution of the Council of Europe and of its member States, at all levels of government, to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Europe and beyond, while also recognizing the need for the United Nations and the Council of Europe to continue to work together, within
their respective mandates, to accelerate the pace of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals towards achieving the 2030 Agenda (…)
3. Reiterates its call for the reinforcement of cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe regarding the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law and good governance at all levels (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/124/56/PDF/N2312456.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 17-Partnerships for the Goals
General Assembly - Seventy-seventh session - Agenda item 18 - Sustainable development – Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 April 2023: Promoting the social and solidarity economy for sustainable development
27 April 2023 – The General Assembly (…)
1. Encourages Member States to promote and implement national, local and regional strategies, policies and programmes for supporting and enhancing the social and solidarity economy as a possible model for sustainable economic and social development (…)
2. Encourages relevant entities of the United Nations development system, including United Nations country teams, to give due consideration to the social and solidarity economy as part of their planning and programming instruments, particularly the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, so as to provide support to States (…) for developing the social and solidarity economy as a tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/118/68/pdf/N2311868.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth
UNESCO provides tools for the socioemotional learning of children and youths
19 May 2023 - Proposed guidelines and orientations for the implementation of socioemotional learning are part of the new UNESCO publication Transformar-nos: a framework for educational transformation based on socioemotional learning in Latin America and the Caribbean, launched on May 18, 2023 in Santiago (Chile). The document offers contents that help teachers and their students to build capacities to promote and sustain educational transformation from this perspective. The text presents a model for generating socioemotional learning opportunities in four scenarios: the classroom, the school, the territory and the educational system as a whole. It also presents the appropriation factors of such learning and details deployment scenarios for socioemotional learning, such as pedagogical and formative practices, well-being and team building, organization and culture of educational spaces, curricular framework, community and networks. The document was edited after the crisis derived from the pandemic, with a view to recovery and educational transformation.
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
UNESCO welcomes declaration of G7 Education Ministers
18 May 2023 - UNESCO welcomes the Declaration of G7 Education Ministers adopted during their meeting from 12-15 May 2023 in Toyama and Kanazawa, Japan. The world is at a decisive crossway – to continue on an unsustainable path or radically change course. Education stands as a powerful lever to shape the futures we want. It connects us with the world and with others, exposes us to new possibilities, and strengthens our capacities for dialogue and action. Transforming education means equipping learners with the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes needed to care for and adapt to an uncertain and complex world.The Declaration of G7 Education Ministers includes commitments to lifelong learning, transformative action in areas such as greening education, as well as inclusive education for all learners, and opportunities to pursue their well-being. It also recognizes that recent development of digital technologies, including generative artificial intelligence, provides learning and teaching opportunities while posing challenges to educational systems.
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-welcomes-declaration-g7-education-ministers?hub=701
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
UNESCO, Government of Odisha and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences come together for ‘Fit For Life' programme
14 May 2023 - The Government of Odisha and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences joined forces to support UNESCO’s Fit For Life programme, reaffirming that sport can have a powerful impact on life skills development. UNESCO’s Fit for Life programme, a new sport-based flagship, is designed to tackle contemporary challenges such as physical inactivity, mental health issues and inequality to foster peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies. Through training of trainers in schools and at the grassroots, this partnership will leverage the potential of sport by advocating for systematization and institutionalization of value-based education through sport. The diverse range of collaborative initiatives will seek to create a framework of thematic indicators, intended to support and complement the global indicators under the Fit For Life ‘data strategy’, to measure sports’ contribution to the different goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Fit for Life echoes UNESCO’s Kazan Action Plan, which world governments are party to, and its approach to use sport as a potent tool to promote health prospects and collective action, and ultimately the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The framework aims to support governments in tracking the success of their sport-based programmes, while helping the sport and development community to elaborate evidence-based arguments for investing in sport.
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
New initiative by UNESCO and the Chilean Ministry of Education will strengthen teachers' digital skills
4 May 2023 - A new stage is opening in the field of digital competencies for teachers in Chile. UNESCO, together with the Chilean Ministry of Education, launched on May 4, 2023 the project "Strengthening the digital competencies of teachers", an initiative that will impact the performance of education professionals in the school system. This joint work will result in a new proposal for a Digital Teacher Competencies Framework for the South American country and in training opportunities tailored to the needs of teachers. The plan is part of UNESCO's efforts to bring together its Member States, the private sector, academia and civil society to work towards forging a new social contract for education that will help build a peaceful, just and sustainable future for all. To this end, Huawei will make available to this project its knowledge and experience of more than 30 years in areas such as 5G, artificial intelligence and the internet of things. The pilot project is estimated to initially benefit more than 1,000 teachers.
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
New initiative to reform multilateral education financing launched at World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings
25 April 2023 - A new initiative to strengthen the multilateral education financing system was launched on 13 April at a side-event convened by UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Ms. Stefania Giannini and Sierra Leone’s Minister of Education Mr. David Sengeh during the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings in Washington D.C. Under the auspices of the High-Level Steering Committee, a series of senior-level meetings will develop actionable proposals for the initiative over the next six months and seek the endorsement by the HLSC Group leaders. The proposals will then be presented to funders of the multilateral education financing system and the boards of the principal multilateral agencies involved in education financing in November 2023 for adoption. UNESCO is working to highlight this effort at the Summit for A New Global Financial Pact which will take place in Paris in June 2023.
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
The Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec announce the largest electric buses project in North America
9 May 2023 – (…) the purchase of 1,229 electric buses and enhance Quebec's network of electric public transit. This financial support, which is unparalleled in Canada, makes it possible to carry out the largest electric buses acquisition project in North America. This funding will allow ten public transportation organizations (PTO) to begin the massive conversion of their bus fleets to become 100% electric, in line with Quebec's Plan for a Green Economy (PEV 2030) and Canada's Strengthened Climate Plan. (…)
News related with SDGs number 13-Climate Action
Japanese designer Masateru Yasuda creates wood bike
(by Rebecca Coons)
9 May 2023 - In Japan, designer Masateru Yasuda has developed a bicycle that leverages wood’s flexibility and ability to absorb vibration. Such attributes, which help make Japanese buildings resistant to the region’s frequent earthquakes, are integral to Yasuda’s Moccle bicycle. A bent wood frame, made from plywood sheets sandwiching carbon fiber, is held in place with metal fixtures and absorbs shocks from bumps in the road. (…)
News related with SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Swiss team wants to fight climate change with biobased drones
(by Rebecca Coons)
9 May 2023 - In Switzerland, researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology have developed a mostly biodegradable drone that could be used to monitor remote eco-systems scientists can’t—or shouldn’t—physically access. Such inexpensive, low-impact tools could be useful in monitoring the effects of climate change, according to the team from the organization’s Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics. The prototype is comprised of starch, agar, gelatin, and wood waste, and only the electronics portion of the machine isn’t biodegradable. (…)
News related with SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Partnership between County and USAID Kenya brings clean water to Isiolo residents
4May2023 – Isiolo County’s Aroo Ngaremare ward is a growing community in Northern Kenya made up mostly of pastoralists from the Turkana, Meru, Somali, and Borana ethnic groups. Unfortunately, Aroo is also a hotspot for drought, acute malnutrition, and resource-based conflict. (…) Isiolo is one of the counties affected by the recent drought in Kenya. After four consecutive failed rainy seasons, the depletion of pastures and loss of livestock pose significant threats to pastoralists’ livelihoods. The failure of crops only exacerbates the problem. The drought, which is the worst in the last 40 years, has led to hunger, conflict, and malnutrition, affecting the lives of millions of Kenyans in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). To resolve these challenges, the county government and several USAID and non-USAID partners implemented the Aroo water project. They developed the project in partnership with USAID’s Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth (PREG) coordination mechanism, which aims to coordinate efforts among USAID implementing partners in six ASAL counties to better integrate humanitarian and development assistance.
The USAID Resilience Learning Activity (RLA), a learning partner that supports PREG, provides a platform for USAID implementing partners and County Governments to jointly plan, implement, and monitor activities. With RLA support, the joint workplanning process allowed Isiolo County representatives to easily coordinate multi-sectoral discussions. Ultimately, the goal of RLA is to strengthen the collaborative framework toward more locally-led development efforts. (…)
News related with SDGs number 6-Clean Water and Sanitation
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY - Demand for electric cars is booming, with sales expected to leap 35% this year after a record-breaking 2022G
27 April 2023 - Global sales of electric cars are set to surge to yet another record this year, expanding their share of the overall car market to close to one-fifth and leading a major transformation of the auto industry that has implications for the energy sector, especially oil. The new edition of the IEA's annual Global Electric Vehicle Outlook shows that more than 10 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2022 and that sales are expected to grow by another 35% this year to reach 14 million. This explosive growth means electric cars' share of the overall car market has risen from around 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022 and is set to increase further to 18% this year, based on the latest IEA projections. (…)
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
Saucony introduces 90% biobased shoe
(by Rebecca Coons)
18 April 2023 - In Massachusetts, sneaker brand Saucony is set to launch a 90% biobased shoe. Sneaker News reports that the Saucony Sustainable Shadow 6000 features a heel tab, midfoot, and foxing—the material on a shoe’s heel—made from a mushroom-based leather alternative. Other renewable components include a cork footbed and hemp-based mesh. (…)
https://www.inoreader.com/article/3a9c6e751a23349c-saucony-introduces-90-biobased-shoe
News related with SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Women health workers hold the key to eradicating Polio
11 May 2023 - Islamabad – Anyone who witnesses a polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan will notice something remarkable: in most areas, the majority of health workers moving house to house to vaccinate children against this highly infectious paralytic disease are women. But despite their outsize role in providing life-saving vaccinations and other essential services to children in every corner of the country, these frontline workers are rarely consulted on matters of health policy. This year, as Pakistan strives to eradicate wild polio once and for all, input and feedback from the women leading these efforts on the ground must be incorporated into the program’s design. There is no hope of success otherwise. Today, wild polio – a scourge that once caused irreversible paralysis, or even death, all around the world – remains endemic in just two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Vaccination is the key to stopping this virus once and for all, and in Pakistan, the success of vaccination campaigns largely depends on female health workers. In many communities, women can enter homes where men cannot and, as a result, are able to build lasting trust with families. Decades of progress, reflecting the work of thousands, have brought us closer to success than ever before: wild polio cases in Pakistan are at an extreme low, endemic transmission is now geographically restricted to just seven districts, and ten of the 11 strains of virus circulating in 2020 have been wiped out. A polio-free Pakistan is within our grasp, and the women on the frontlines will help to carry us over the finish line. Recognizing this reality, the country’s polio eradication program launched an unprecedented initiative to listen to underrepresented female health workers and engage them as co-partners in designing solutions to end polio in Pakistan. (…)
https://polioeradication.org/news-post/women-health-workers-hold-the-key-to-eradicating-polio/
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
One year of emergency healthcare in war-torn Kharkiv
8 May 2023 – After a year of emergency response in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have continued to support displaced people and those without access to healthcare, as well as reconstructing healthcare facilities, training healthcare staff and providing medical donations to hospitals. As the war in Ukraine escalated in February 2022, many residents of Kharkiv fled to the west or left the country entirely. Meanwhile, other people from rural villages and towns fled directly to the city, finding shelter in its underground metro stations. The healthcare system soon became overburdened. Many healthcare staff left the region to seek safety, while medical needs only increased due to the the war. In response, our emergency teams began supporting healthcare facilities with donations as well as providing medical consultations to displaced people in Kharkiv city.
https://www.msf.org/ukraine-emergency-response-kharkiv-year-providing-healthcare
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Artificial Intelligence: UNESCO launches Women4Ethical AI expert platform to advance gender equality
28 April 2023 - At a time when digital technologies are reshaping everyday life, women are under-represented in the research and design of these technologies, their needs and experiences are also overlooked by designers, and the data used to train AI is often biased against women and girls. To solve this problem, UNESCO has put gender equality at the heart of its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the first global standard-setting instrument in this area, unanimously adopted by its 193 Member States in November 2021. This document, which is a concrete roadmap for states in establishing their AI policies, plans to adopt a gendered approach to all aspects of AI.
To accelerate the implementation of this objective, UNESCO created Women4Ethical AI, a collaborative platform to support governments and companies’ efforts. The platform unites 17 leading female experts from academia, civil society, the private sector and regulatory bodies, from around the world. They will share research and contribute to a repository of good practices. The platform will drive progress on non-discriminatory algorithms and data sources, and incentivize girls, women and under-represented groups to participate in AI.
News related with SDGs number 5-Gender Equality
Global partners announce a new effort – “The Big Catch-up” – to vaccinate millions of children and restore immunization progress lost during the pandemic
24 April 2023, Geneva/New York/Seattle – The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with Immunization Agenda 2030 and many other global and national health partners, are today joining forces to call for “The Big Catch-up”, a targeted global effort to boost vaccination among children following declines driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This effort aims to reverse the declines in childhood vaccination recorded in over 100 countries since the pandemic, due to overburdened health services, closed clinics, and disrupted imports and exports of vials, syringes and other medical supplies. With over 25 million children missing at least one vaccination in 2021 alone, outbreaks of preventable diseases, including measles, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever are already becoming more prevalent and severe. The Big Catch-up aims to protect populations from vaccine-preventable outbreaks, save children’s lives and strengthen national health systems. While calling on people and governments in every country to play their part in helping to catch up by reaching the children who missed out, The Big Catch-up will have a particular focus on the 20 countries where three quarters of the children who missed vaccinations in 2021 live*.
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/big-catch-up
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Legislation gives New York Power Authority additional authority to advance Renewable Energy Generation and Decarbonization in New York State
4 May 2023 - The 2023-24 Enacted State Budget provides the New York Power Authority (NYPA) with new authority to develop, own, and operate renewable energy generating projects either alone or in collaboration with other entities to assist the state in meeting its bold clean energy targets, including producing 70% of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and creating a zero-emission statewide electrical system by 2040. In addition, the enactment provides that NYPA will lead the state's effort to decarbonize its electric grid by ceasing fossil fuel-based electricity production at its peaker power plants by 2030. NYPA will also develop action plans to decarbonize 15 of the highest emitting state facilities. (…)
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY - Italy's progress on energy efficiency provides foundation for meeting broader energy and climate goals, new IEA policy review says
4 May 2023 - Italy is on track to meet its national emissions reduction and energy efficiency targets for 2030, according to a new in-depth policy review by the IEA, which highlights that cutting red tape further to speed up deployment of renewables should be a priority as Italy prepares to pursue more ambitious EU climate goals and reduce reliance on Russian energy supplies. Since the last IEA review in 2016, Italy has increased its climate ambitions by endorsing the EU-wide goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050, as set out in the European Green Deal. While Italy has made progress in a number of areas around energy efficiency and lowering emissions under its national strategy, it will need to make additional efforts to meet the EU's more ambitious Fit for 55 package, which is yet to be agreed but will include new targets for 2030. (…)
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY - New IEA report highlights the need and means for the oil and gas industry to drastically cut emissions from its operations
4 May 2023 - A new IEA report released today examines the immediate steps the oil and gas industry needs to take to significantly reduce its emissions footprint and help move the world closer to meeting its international energy and climate goals. The new report - Emissions from Oil and Gas Operations in Net Zero Transitions - aims to inform discussions in the run-up to the COP28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai in November. It is part of a broader World Energy Outlook special report being released this year examining the role of the oil and gas industry in net zero transitions. The production, transport and processing of oil and gas emitted the equivalent of 5.1 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2022. In the International Energy Agency's Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, the emissions intensity of these activities falls by 50% by the end of the decade. Combined with the reductions in oil and gas consumption in this scenario, this results in a 60% reduction in emissions from oil and gas operations to 2030. (…)
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
Existing technology can solve most plastic pollution problems!
(by Carolyn Fortuna)
21 April 2023 - Instead of hanging onto existing plastic policies in a siloed approach, innovative measures to tackle the plastic problem are at hand that address systemic change and transitions towards sustainable solutions. (…)
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/20/existing-technology-can-solve-most-plastic-pollution-problems/
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
EU: Major Step For ‘Deforestation-Free’ Trade
19 April 2023 – (…) The European Union is adopting an important new law to require EU-based companies to ensure that their imports and exports are “deforestation-free” and uphold human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The law establishes the legal requirements for European businesses regarding biodiversity loss and human rights abuses embedded in their international supply chains. (…)
https://www.inoreader.com/article/3a9c6e75192e8e12-eu-major-step-for-deforestation-free-trade
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2023/731 - of 3 April 2023 concerning a coordinated multiannual control programme of the Union for 2024, 2025 and 2026 to ensure compliance with maximum residue levels of pesticides and to assess the consumer exposure to pesticide residues in and on food of plant and animal origin and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/741 - (Text with EEA relevance)
4 April 2023 - The European Commission (…) has adopted this Regulation:
Article 1
Member States (11) shall, during the years 2024, 2025 and 2026, take and analyse samples for the pesticide/product combinations as set out in Annex I.
The number of samples of each product to be taken and analysed shall be as set out in Annex II.
Article 2
1. The lot to be sampled shall be chosen randomly.
The sampling procedure, including the number of units, shall comply with Directive 2002/63/EC. (…)
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
Music for against cognitive decline.
May 2023- Listening to music or playing an instrument may delay cognitive decline as we age by producing gray matter in the brain, a new study shows. The researchers followed more than 100 retirees who had never practiced music before. They were enrolled in a six-month piano and music awareness course, which upon completion resulted in an increase in working memory performance by 6% and an overall reduction in gray matter loss in the piano playing group. Overall, the scientists believe that while musical interventions can't rejuvenate the brain, they can prevent aging in specific regions, particularly in people with no musical background who start playing music in their senior years. As the brain ages, it loses a feature that anyone wanting to understand a little about their own neurology should remember: neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the measure of the brain's ability to flex and work on different tasks by improving neuronal connections and making new ones to adapt to new tasks. A team from the University of Geneva wanted to see how well mastering music could prevent this loss of working memory associated with age-related cognitive decline. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups, regardless of their motivation to play an instrument. The second group took active listening lessons, focusing on instrument recognition and analysis of musical properties in a wide range of musical styles. The lessons lasted an hour. Participants in both groups had to do homework for half an hour a day.
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Our responsibility for your health and lifespan
May 2023 - A recent article in the journal Human Kinetics shows that the ratio of physical activity to sedentary activity has a greater impact on lifespan and health span than our genetic makeup. The study was conducted with 5,446 elderly women who were divided into three groups with respect to what was termed their genetic risk factor, or GRS, which was measured by a small selection of single nucleotide polymorphisms known to affect longevity. The authors point out that some sort of layman's understanding of genetics and their importance to human health and well-being is a poor indicator of the truth. They cite studies showing genes related to fitness have no relationship to the normal association between physical activity and coronary heart disease, and another showing relationships between physical activity and cognitive decline and Alzheimer's were unaffected by APOE-4 status of a person— APOE-4 is a genetic mutation known to be commonly found in Alzheimer's patients. Perhaps with the advent of gene-editing technology like CRISPR and the greatly reduced cost of genetic analysis along with the extension of this technology to the general population for family history through products like 23 and Me or Prometheus, more and more people are spending more time focusing on their genes as a kind of Magic 8 Ball. It's not uncommon to hear people blame "bad genes" for any combination or number of health problems, but evidence is starting to show that, as Shakespeare wrote, ourselves, not our stars, are to blame.
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
YOUNG PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY: FROM MISUSE TOWARDS BALANCE
May 2023 - In recent decades, the constant development of technology and cutting-edge devices such as smartphones, social networks or augmented reality has increased their use by users of every generation, especially young people. The physiological, commensurate use of technology can promote greater autonomy and independence in young people. New technological innovations can also be important elements in daily life and even in physical and mental health. Think of the possibility of carrying out online psychological consultations and the development of telemedicine, the optimization of travel times and costs, smart working which can allow for a healthy balance between private and working life. It is therefore necessary that there is a conscious and adequate use by young people of the technological means available. Parents and caregivers play a vital role in preventing potentially dangerous behaviors in the use of technology. Support and emotional education are generative tools of self-confidence and self-empowerment. A healthy and humanly rich parent-child relationship can certainly help prevent the risk of addiction and reduce the level of social anxiety, which is increasingly widespread among young people today. Attention must be continuous, from childhood, so that concrete effects can be recorded. Open dialogue and active listening are the most significant strategies for protecting and promoting the well-being of young people. Focusing on online privacy protection and released content is an indispensable part of technology education. Children must learn to self-regulate and self-manage by adopting a critical attitude towards the web.
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Humans help each other more often than you think.
May 2023- An international study of people on five continents found that humans help each other with little things about every 2 minutes and agree to requests for help overwhelmingly more often than reject them.
In an effort to address kindness and cooperation, a team of researchers at UC Los Angeles conducted a study of observing everyday interactions between strangers and relatives to see how often they helped each other. UCLA sociologist Giovanni Rossi analyzed more than 40 hours of video recordings of daily life in cities in Italy, Poland, Russia, Aboriginal Australia, Ecuador, Laos, Ghana and England. "Cultural differences like these have created a puzzle for understanding cooperation and helping between humans," said Rossi, the first author of the paper. “Are our decisions about sharing and helping influenced by the culture we grew up with? Or are human beings generous and generous by nature? They recorded signals for help, such as asking if someone could pass them water at the table, or a visual signal for help such as struggling to lift a heavy object onto a truck, and identified more than 1,000 such requests. They found that people complied with small requests seven times more often than they refused and six times more often than they ignored them. Refusals of help came at a rate of up to 11%, but 74% of all refusals came with an explanation as to why the provision of help was not possible.
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Rules, regulations and environment
(top)
'Genuine milestone': UK wind power exceeds gas generation for first time
Energy – BusinessGreen
10 May 2023 - Almost a third of Britain's electricity was supplied by wind power during first quarter of 2023 - outstripping gas for the first time. (…) Data covering the first quarter of 2023 found wind and gas were the two largest contributors to Britain's electricity mix, providing 32.4 per cent or 24TWh and 31.7 per cent or 23.4TWh, respectively. Wind power's share rose by three percentage points year-on-year, while gas' share fell by five percentage points. (…)
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4114575/genuine-milestone-uk-wind-power-exceeds-gas-generation
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
Kinder Morgan teams with Neste on renewable raw material logistics at Harvey Terminal
(by Meghan Sapp)
10 May 2023 - In Texas, Kinder Morgan announced the commercial in-service of its renewable feedstock storage and logistics hub project with Neste. Neste will store a variety of raw materials like used cooking oil, which it collects from more than 80,000 restaurants across the United States, at Kinder Morgan’s Harvey Terminal in Harvey, Louisiana to be used as feedstock in the production of renewable fuels and plastics. Enhancements to rail, truck and marine infrastructure have also been made at the facility to meet the modal flexibility requirements of Neste’s feedstock supply chain. (…)
News related with SDGs number 17-Partnerships for the Goals
New concentrated solar power application; green hydrogen produced by artificial photosynthesis
9 May 2023 - What seemingly looks like a blue satellite dish is actually a solar reactor developed by Swiss scientists that not only generated high-efficiency hydrogen, but also reuses byproducts such as oxygen and thermal energy. The “artificial photosynthesis” solar reactor created by the EPFL is able to decompose hydrogen from water through sunlight.First, a large curved mirror captures as much light as possible, and focuses the captured light nearly 1,000 times onto the photoelectrochemical reactor suspended in the center, where water is then pumped into the reactor to decompose hydrogen and oxygen using electrolytic water. The reactor can also capture by products, such as oxygen and thermal energy, where oxygen can be applied on medical and industrial purposes, and thermal energy can be used for heating through heat exchangers. (…)
https://www.energytrend.com/news/20230509-31894.html
News related with SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY - IRENA and thyssenkrupp Agree to Accelerate Green Hydrogen Solutions
8 May 2023 – (…) The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has signed a partnership agreement with thyssenkrupp aimed at advancing the green transformation in pursuit of global development and Paris Agreement goals. Under the agreement, both organisations will work together and share knowledge on the large-scale production and supply of green hydrogen and other green energy carriers and their transport - along the entire hydrogen value chain in demand, supply and infrastructure. (…) The scope of the collaboration includes identifying green hydrogen applications based on different industries and potential domestic hydrogen demand and developing the business case for green hydrogen as a major contributor to deep decarbonisation (…)
News related with SDGs number 17-Partnerships for the Goals
General Assembly - Seventy-seventh session - Agenda item 18 – Sustainable Development – Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 26 April 2023: Building global resilience and promoting sustainable development through regional and interregional infrastructure connectivity
3 May 2023 - The General Assembly (…)
1. Reaffirms its unwavering commitment to developing quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all;
2. Reaffirms the strong political commitment to create an enabling environment at all levels, in order to achieve relevant Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 9, to facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to them;
3. Recognizes the importance of enhancing connectivity and the need for rebuilding trust in multilateralism and international partnerships for the development of quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure; (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/124/44/pdf/N2312444.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 17-Partnerships for the Goals
Ferrari to install renewable energy community for the towns of Fiorano & Maranello
(by Tim Tyler)
3 May 2023 - Ferrari is taking part in a new Renewable Energy Community (REC) in the Italian cities of Fiorano and Maranello, Ferrari and Enel X have signed a contract to build a 1 MW photovoltaic facility. The new photovoltaic plant next to the Fiorano Circuit will be used to generate electricity that will be shared by residents, businesses, and institutions in the area.
The Ferrari Energy Community will be the first REC in Italy to ever have an industrial company promote and support it for the good of its local area. (…)
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
Technip Energies and Casale partner to offer advanced tech for the blue hydrogen market
(by Juan Pedro Tomas)
27 April 2023 - In France, Technip Energies and Casale announced a new partnership to jointly license oxidative reforming-based technologies; autothermal reforming (ATR) and partial oxidation (POx) technologies for the blue hydrogen market. As part of this collaboration, Technip Energies and Casale will be co-licensors of the technology and will offer Process Design Package (PDP), proprietary equipment and entire plants. Technip Energies’ two centers of excellence for hydrogen will jointly execute with Casale PDP for ATR-based blue hydrogen projects. (…)
News related with SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
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