Future Earth 2017-18 Annual Report
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ANNUAL REPORT 2017-18 Future Earth Annual report 2017-18 Text: Edited by Alistair Scrutton and Samuel Stacey Layout: Jerker Lokrantz/Azote Cover: Blooms of phytoplankton of the Alaskan coast. NASA/U. S. Geological Survey/Norman Kuring/Kathryn Hansen Printed on recycled, FSC-certified paper. This annual report covers the period from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 Future Earth Annual report 2017-18 Introduction: 4 Summary from the Director and Advisory Committee: 5 A Global Network of Researchers and Innovators: 6 What we are doing: 8 Science behind everything: 16 Collaborative funding: 22 Shaping the narrative: 28 Strengthening networks to build the field of sustainability science: 34 About Future Earth: 42 Visual timeline: 43 The Advisory Committee: 44 Online activities and stats: 44 Events: 45 Research papers: 46 Financial summary: 63 Regional Centers and Offices: 64 National networks: 64 Funders and sponsor: 65 Global Hubs of the Future Earth secretariat: 67 Advisory Committee members: 68 Governing council: 69 Future Earth’s focus on cutting edge science and innovation is at the vanguard of the transformation we need to ensure we live on a planet we can call home. Our research networks “are showing there is a clear path to global sustainability that engages science, policy makers, civil society, and business. Future Earth’s mission has never been so relevant. Johan Rockstrom, co-chair advisory committee Future Earth” Science has helped us understand the vulnerabilities of planet Earth and of all who inhabit it. Future Earth is now striving to deploy this understanding of natural systems, “generated through decades of scientific research on global environmental change, in conjunction with our understanding of human-made systems to help pull planet Earth back to a safer space while increasing the resilience of communities. Leena Srivastava, co-chair advisory committee Future Earth ” 4 Summary from the executive director In 2018, three years after the world committed to At Future Earth, we believe solutions will emerge from the interaction the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), of groups that normally remain siloed, and from seeking out non- it’s clear that we need to move much faster to traditional knowledge sources. meet them by 2030. Scientific research tells us that there is an urgency to our work. Our current Our annual report this year showcases some of our many cross-sector development path is triggering biodiversity collaborations and our work in various systems, driving global change. loss, global temperature rise, unsustainable energy consumption, and a host of other global For example, we recently sponsored 10 SDG Labs, exploring complex challenges. If we continue in this manner, our themes such as urban greenspace in Nigeria or Indigenous knowledge earth will not support us, and we will give up much of the development on health in Fiji. progress we have made in the past 100 years. Looking forward, we will continue to focus on the systems approach. Fortunately, research and innovation can help us overcome these We’re already piloting several initiatives to scale, including our challenges, but it will take a dedicated effort. To accelerate large- Exponential Roadmap for decarbonization driven by the technology scale transformation, we must build tools and solutions that focus on sector, to be launched at the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit in San changes at the intersection of natural and social systems, and on the Francisco. To achieve the SDGs, we need to seize every opportunity to interlinked nature of the SDGs. Taking a systems approach to global collaborate. Our chances of generating change are better together. sustainability ensures that our actions scale beyond any individual SDG or national effort, enabling us to advance towards the peaceful, Amy Luers equitable, and healthy planet that is envisioned by Agenda 2030. - August 2018 We’ll also need to innovate to maintain the stability of these systems. This requires “break-the-box” thinking from the social, technological, policy, and academic spheres. It means exploring less-traveled pathways instead of relying on easy-to-replicate cases. 5 A global network of researchers and innovators Montreal hub Colorado hub Global hubs 5 Knowledge-action 9 networks* Global resarch 20 Regional centers projects 5 and offices National ca.20 networks Connecting to international platforms: 10+ global policy partnerships, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change * As of September 2018 Sweden hub Paris hub Tokyo hub Global hubs National networks Regional centers, partners & offices Connecting to international platforms: 10+ global policy partnerships, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change What we are doing 8 Global carbon budget This report, published every year by one of Future Earth’s global research projects, the Global Carbon Project, provides an in-depth look at the carbon dioxide emissions of nations around the world. The 2017 report delivered both good and bad news: Global carbon dioxide emissions rose again in 2017, ending a three- year hiatus, but emissions remained flat in a number of nations despite strong economic growth. The research synthesis is a collaboration of more than 80 experts worldwide and is an example of the value of Future Earth’s global networks. Future Earth’s communications team works with scientists from the Global Carbon Project to synthesize and communicate the budget targeting UN negotiators and national policymakers. The release of the 2017 report coincided with the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, and was complemented by news releases, infographics, videos, and other outreach activities. The results from the 2017 report were quoted in nearly 3,000 media outlets worldwide. 9 Photo: Martin Muránsky The 10 science ‘must-knows’ on climate change In a 2017 report presented at COP23 in Bonn, Germany, Future Earth and the Earth League laid out the top 10 science facts on climate change that leaders from around the world should know about – from the impacts of climate change on migration and civil unrest, to the pathways for developing carbon-free economies. The report was jointly released with Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Future Earth. Summarizing recent Earth- systems science and risks of approaching tipping points, a statement by Ms Espinosa called for urgent action on emissions reductions to meet the Paris Agreement. The Secretariat coordinated the synthesis, review, editing, and launch of the report in collaboration with experts from across the network. The report was quoted by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres during COP23. It was distributed to negotiators and was picked up by major media outlets, including the New York Times. 10 Photo: NASA/EarthKAM.org Sleeping giants The recently launched Sleeping Financial Giants Project, a months, Future Earth has organized two workshops with collaboration between Future Earth, Stockholm Resilience representatives of major financial institutions in Stockholm Center, and Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere and in London. Programme, aims to engage the finance sector to help it realize its direct links to global sustainability. It has been Ultimately, the project will produce visualizations and a recognized that financial actors play a critical role in Earth’s peer-reviewed scientific report. It also aims to engage CEOs climate system, and financial flows have an effect on of financial institutions in early 2019 at the World Economic sustainability at a global scale. Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The project communicates research on tipping points in major ecosystems, focusing especially on the Amazon rainforest and the boreal forests. In the last 12 11 The Water Solution Lab: Bangalore The Divecha Center for Climate Change has recently introduced a Water Solution Lab in Bangalore, India, in partnership with the Sustainable Water Future Programme, a global research project of Future Earth. The objective of the Water Solutions Lab is to address water sector challenges in India, with a special focus on the city of Bangalore. The Water Solution Lab works with national and international partners in India to develop practical solutions to water-related problems by bridging the gap between science, policy and governance, and between theory and practice. The lab is developing a technical solutions repository, brokering and facilitating dissemination of solutions, and helping researchers learn from each other. In 2017, workshops were developed to assess naturally occurring pollutants affecting water quality in India and neighboring regions, and increasing frequencies of urban floods across the world. 12 Photo: André Maslennikov/Azote PREP: Climate Data for Everyone An initiative by Future Earth and the World Resource Institute vulnerability and build resilience to climate change. PREPdata is making climate data accessible, understandable, and users can intuitively explore and layer curated climate, actionable for adaptation decision-makers and practitioners. physical, and socioeconomic datasets, track indicators on customized dashboards, and share their stories with PREP, the Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness, practitioners around the world. Over 7,000 unique users have is solving key data challenges that are holding up visited PREPdata from 150 countries, and over 300 adaptation climate adaptation decision-making around the