“Global Governance may sound lofty or abstract. It is not.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres let this statement ring around the UNGA Hall as he concluded his presentation of recommendations for implementing the 12 commitments agreed by UN Member States in their Declaration marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. Titled ‘Our Common Agenda,’ the report launched on 10 September 2021, immediately prior to the opening of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, outlines steps to be taken to implement the commitments negotiated by UN Member States last year.The exercise of global governance in the instance of developing ‘Our Common Agenda’ started with a conversation with people around the world, followed by conversations among governmental le...

The COVID-19 pandemic and heightened concerns about climate change, racial injustice, and income inequality have injected fresh urgency into the need for more sustainable investing.The pandemic’s devastating effects have laid bare how health and economic crises disproportionately affect families living in poverty, no matter where they live around the globe. Systemic racism and income inequality only aggravated the pandemic’s effects.What the virus really showed was how inequalities, already existing, were often the basis for death and a plunge below the poverty line even in the Global North. It showed how not having universal health care, paid sick leave, equal access to social security (or access at all), having societies in which people are marginalized and without safety nets w...

In the United States, at least, the year 2020 was not only the year of the Pandemic, but also a cry for more equality, racial and gender justice, and in general, more respect for one another. Many experts say that COVID-19 exasperated these issues by bringing much of the disparity to the fore because so many were out of work for so long. What takes place on the political and social front, is naturally reflected in the workplace. This is seen in many of the topics covered by the State of Green Business 2021 report by Joel Makower and the editors at GreenBiz Manjit Jus, in his article, “The ‘S’ in ESG Gains Currency,” writes “Companies are making progress in disclosing their environmental impact and governance standards, but social factors have not bee...

UN negotiators have resumed work on the text of world-wide plan to protect nature and species for the next decade.The draft Global Biodiversity Framework aims to conserve at least 30% of the world's land and oceans.It will also push to eliminate plastic waste and cut pesticide use by at least two thirds.The pact was due to be agreed at a UN biodiversity summit in China this October, but face to face talks have been delayed until April next year..UK government's 'toothless policies' fail natureCows return to coastal sand dunes after 90 yearsThousandth dormouse brought back to the wildThe Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a UN treaty that has been ratified by 195 countries plus the European Union.The United States signed the agreement in 1993 but has failed...

Damage to ecosystems including forests and coral reefs forecast to have devastating effect on global economy.Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here. https://www.ft.com/content/100f0c5b-83c5-4e9a-8ad0-89af2ea4a758 As environmental, social and governance investing has swept across the financial world, the “E” in ESG has become nearly synonymous with attempts to mitigate climate change. But while the climate crisis is one of the planet’s gravest problems, it is not the only envi...