In his address, Minister Denis Naughten launched The Sustainable Development Goals: National Implementation Plan 2018-2020, which sets out how the Irish Government will implement the SDGs in Ireland and support countries around the world to do the same, particularly through the work of Irish Aid, Ireland’s programme for overseas development.
The United States was the driving force behind the historic Paris Agreement, an unprecedented global compact designed to avoid dangerous climate change and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon climate-resilient world. The 2016 Presidential election has cast a shadow on US climate leadership as the Trump Administration has signalled its intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement while reversing a swathe of important domestic policies designed to decarbonise the US economy. At the same time, however, US states, cities and companies have stepped in to the leadership vacuum and promised to honour US obligations. Dr. Edward Cameron will present his assessment of US climate leadership in the era of Trump and its implications for the Paris Agreement.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Edward Cameron designs climate strategies for companies and works to shape climate policies with governments. During the past two decades he has worked with the European Union, the World Bank, the Government of the Maldives, and the World Resources Institute to drive greenhouse gas emissions reductions and strengthen societal resilience in the face of climate change. For five years he was deeply engaged in the design of the Paris Agreement and more recently has been working with the private sector to increase the volume of companies committing to climate action and to argue the business case for US leadership on climate”.
Policy brief launch 'Power Transfer 2030: The Pace, Democracy and Diversity of Power System Decarbonisation' the speakers led a discussion on the future of Ireland’s electricity sector.
Dr Kharas will addresss the major trends and forces in development and will argue that aid agencies need to adapt to the changing world and that the old narrative of celebrating the huge gains in poverty reduction will not long hold up to the scrutiny of publics asking what good their tax dollars are doing today.
The current development landscape is changing rapidly with new development actors, complex political environments, shifting dynamics and misconceptions about development co-operation.
Commissioner Krähenbühl discussed the situation of Palestinian refugees and the contribution UNWRA has made to promoting stability in the region. The Commissioner stressed that in a world affected by many other armed conflict and crises, it is vital that the international community not forget the situation of Palestine refugees.
The speakers from UCC and Ethanol Europe Renewables, led a discussion on the uncertain future faced by biofuels in Europe within the context of ongoing EU negotiations.
Assistant Secretary-General Gilmour argued that there is a growing backlash against human rights in many parts of the world.
As the impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent, climate-related risks have become prominent considerations for the financial sector and regulators.
In his keynote address, Mr. Viegas discussed the main mobility-related problems affecting quality of urban life and proposed a new approach to address these challenges, taking advantage of the possibilities opened by digital connectivity. He showed how ride sharing can play a key role in addressing congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, parking, car use and car ownership. He focused in particular on lessons learned on the International Transport Forum simulations that have been run in Lisbon in which buses and cars were replaced by different types of shared vehicles. Finally, he discussed the potential application of ride sharing in Dublin.
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