facebooktwitterlinkdinmaillanguage
Thematic Track 12
  • 2 December 2022
  • JST 16:00 - 17:00 (GMT+09:00)
Online Registration

Introduction of forthcoming UNEP Report entitled: Strengthening the Environmental Dimension of the Voluntary National Reviews in Asia and the Pacific: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

This session features the key findings of the forthcoming UNEP report entitled “Strengthening the Environmental Dimension of the Voluntary National Reviews in Asia-Pacific: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward”. The report is a result of a partnership project between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), with funding from the Norwegian Government, on 50 Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) produced by 36 Asia-Pacific countries in the period 2016-2021, and submitted to UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The report extracts existing practices on VNR production in general, showing how some countries aim for a broad and inclusive consultative process to prepare the VNR. It also shows how countries that have prepared several VNRs link the reviews to enhance coherence over time. Specifically, on the environmental dimension of the SDGs, the report extracts good practices and challenges both across the SDGs but also on data and indicators. The report also makes recommendations as to how the VNR process and action on the environment-related SDG goals and targets can be further strengthened between now and 2030.

Programme

Moderator
10min

Introduces the TT session and provides a birds eye view of the UNEP report with examples from Japan’s VNRs and some work we have done on environment and metagovernance

Simon Hoiberg OLSEN, Research Manager, Integrated Sustainability Centre, IGES
1st Speaker
12min

Provides a presentation of key findings of the report and potentially some perspective on SDGs and the environment

Jinhua ZHANG, Regional Coordinator, Science-policy, Asia Pacific Office, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
2nd Speaker
13min

Provides key findings related to data, indicators as found in the VNR review and potentially some perspective on SDGs and the environment

Xin ZHOU , Research Leader, Integrated Sustainability Centre, IGES
3rd Speaker
13min

Provides background on what metagovernance is (namely combining hierarchical, network and market-type approaches/tools), and potentially some perspective on what mix of metagovernance might be the best for accelerating progress on environment-related SDG, or how metagovernance focus could be included in future VNRs.

Louis MEULEMAN, Director, Public Strategy for Sustainable Development (PS4SD)

Questions and Answers and wrap-up
12min