Developing countries need greater recognition for research into UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Developing nations need greater visibility, acknowledgement and support for their research into the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the authors of a major analysis of the past 15 years of worldwide research into SDGs.

GW Expert Available: UN Committee Meets This Week on Treaty to End Global Plastic Pollution

Talks are underway this week to create a global treaty that would bring an end to plastic pollution. According to The Associated Press, a United Nations committee is meeting in Paris to work on what would be a landmark agreement that…

UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have impact on textile wastewater pollution research

The world’s research effort into wastewater pollution caused by the textiles industry has increased threefold over the past five years, according to a new analysis released this week in the lead up to Earth Day (Friday 22 April).

Exploring, Monitoring and Modeling the Deep Ocean

The NSF is funding a team led by the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at UT Austin to implement a Deep-Ocean Observing Strategy (iDOOS), bringing together U.S. and international networks engaged in deep-ocean observing, mapping, exploration, modeling, research and sustainable management.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution collaborates to bring video installation to United Nation Headquarters

Beginning Tuesday, September 21 and running evenings (8–11pm EST) through Friday, September 24, artist collective SUPERFLEX will project Vertical Migration onto the facade of the United Nations Secretariat Building, the UN’s signature 39-story tower. Coinciding with the 76th UN General Assembly, Vertical Migration is a dramatic, 505-foot (154-meter) video installation that draws attention to the role that the ocean—particularly the little explored region known as the ocean twilight zone—plays in global climate.

Catastrophic Sea-Level Rise from Antarctic Melting is Possible with Severe Global Warming

The Antarctic ice sheet is much less likely to become unstable and cause dramatic sea-level rise in upcoming centuries if the world follows policies that keep global warming below a key 2015 Paris climate agreement target, according to a Rutgers coauthored study. But if global warming exceeds the target – 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) – the risk of ice shelves around the ice sheet’s perimeter melting would increase significantly, and their collapse would trigger rapid Antarctic melting. That would result in at least 0.07 inches of global average sea-level rise a year in 2060 and beyond, according to the study in the journal Nature.

Rutgers Legal Expert Available to Discuss Environmental, Climate Change Priorities

New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 21, 2021) – Rutgers University Professor Cymie R. Payne, an expert on United States and international environmental laws, is available for interviews on how the administration of President Biden can strengthen laws and regulations and efforts to…

Rutgers Experts Available to Discuss U.S. Rejoining Paris Climate Agreement

New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 20, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick professors Pamela McElwee and Robert E. Kopp are available for interviews on the announcement that President Biden’s administration will rejoin the Paris climate agreement. In 2017, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw…

Rutgers Experts Available to Discuss Paris Climate Agreement Following 2020 Election

New Brunswick, N.J. (Nov. 4, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick professors Robert E. Kopp and Pamela McElwee are available for interviews on the Paris climate agreement following the 2020 election. In 2017, President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the agreement, and…

Most Nations Failing to Protect Nature in COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery Plans

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to reset the global economy and reverse decades of ecosystem and species losses, but most countries are failing to invest in nature-related economic reforms or investments, according to a Rutgers-led paper.

NAU scientists contribute to critical global study showing ‘best of the last’ tropical forests urgently need protection to mitigate climate change, safeguard human well-being

Professor Scott Goetz, research professor Patrick Jantz and research associate Pat Burns of Northern Arizona University contributed to the study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, that found world’s “best of the last” tropical forests are at significant risk of being lost,

Geoengineering is Just a Partial Solution to Fight Climate Change

Could we create massive sulfuric acid clouds that limit global warming and help meet the 2015 Paris international climate goals, while reducing unintended impacts? Yes, in theory, according to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal Earth System Dynamics. Spraying sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere at different locations, to form sulfuric acid clouds that block some solar radiation, could be adjusted every year to keep global warming at levels set in the Paris goals. Such technology is known as geoengineering or climate intervention.

A data visualization platform that tracks countries’ progress on meaningful access to information

The Technology & Social Change Group at the University of Washington Information School has released the Development and Access to Information Dashboards, a data visualization platform that tracks the progress of countries and regions on key indicators related to three dimensions of meaningful access to information: Connectivity, Freedom and Gender Equity.

How to Tackle Climate Change, Food Security and Land Degradation

How can some of world’s biggest problems – climate change, food security and land degradation – be tackled simultaneously? Some lesser-known options, such as integrated water management and increasing the organic content of soil, have fewer trade-offs than many well-known options, such as planting trees, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Global Change Biology.

Defunding and Departing from the WHO: A Threat to Global Security and Also the United States

In the midst of the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Trump’s announcement that the US will defund and depart from the World Health Organization (WHO) poses a clear and present danger to all Americans and the international community. Infectious diseases do not recognize national boundaries nor a person’s politics. Our responses to them cannot either.

ASSESSING FORESTS FROM AFAR

A new study led by the University of Delaware’s Pinki Mondal recommends that in addition to using large swaths of coarse satellite data to evaluate forests on a national scale, it is important for countries to prioritize areas such as national parks and wildlife refuges and use finer scale data in those protected areas to make sure that they are maintaining their health and are being reported on accurately.

UN GLOBAL COMPACT NETWORK USA SEEKS PROFESSIONALS COMMITTED TO ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The UN Global Compact Network USA is seeking applicants for this year’s SDG Pioneers program from businesses and other organizations worldwide. Nominate an SDG Pioneer from your organization today!

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Climate Change Impacts on Land, Wildfires and Solutions

New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 15, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Pamela McElwee is available for interviews on climate change impacts on land, including increasing wildfires such as in Australia and California, and solutions. She is scheduled to testify before…

U.S. protections for constitutional rights falling behind global peers

New research from the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (WORLD) shows that the United States is falling behind its global peers when it comes to guarantees for key constitutional rights. Researchers identified key gaps in the U.S. including guarantees of the right to health, gender equality, and rights for persons with disabilities.

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Proposed High Seas Biodiversity Treaty

New Brunswick, N.J. (Oct. 16, 2019) – Rutgers University environmental law expert Cymie R. Payne is available to comment on a proposed international treaty aimed at conserving high seas biodiversity. The treaty, which is under negotiations at the United Nations,…

UN Climate Action Summit Opens Opportunities for Action on Infectious Disease Impact

As government, business, and community leaders from around the world gather in New York today for the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, attention to the immediate and international threats posed by climate change to human health will be critical to achieving the summit’s goals of advancing from words to urgent action.