11. Sustainable cities and communities
More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas. By 2050, that figure will have risen to 6.5 billion people – two-thirds of all humanity. Extreme poverty is often concentrated in urban spaces, and national and city governments struggle to accommodate the rising population in these areas. Making cities safe and sustainable means ensuring access to safe and affordable housing, and upgrading slum settlements. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.
Read our stories to learn more about SDG Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities is supported by ABB
News
Key asks include looking into having two new nature parks, along with explicit safeguards for the airspace above and earth under protected areas – after an upcoming subway line was allowed to run under gazetted forests years ago.
Waste
Singapore’s polluter-pays scheme faces further delay amid concern over industry stalling tactics
Exclusive
The city-state's drinks container return scheme has been pushed back – the latest in a series of delays. Industry sources point to Coca-Cola being instrumental in stalling an Extender Producer Responsibility scheme that aims to improve Singapore's poor plastics recycling rate.
Carbon & Climate
Can climate lawsuits help to stop global warming?
A growing number of lawsuits against companies and states could spur greater action to tackle climate change.
The Brazilian city of Belém will welcome the world at next year’s UN climate summit, but faces a race to be ready. Its residents are calling for a lasting legacy and investment.
Carbon & Climate
Why isn’t China’s emissions growth slowing like its GDP?
Carbon & Climate
Why does the EU want to quit the Energy Charter Treaty?
Opinion
Carbon & Climate
Is climate action China’s trump card?
Chinese policymakers face difficult choices in setting climate goals. Some appear technical but have significant implications for environmental outcomes.
As climate change makes smog and bushfires more common, people will die from air pollution at increasingly high rates – especially in densely populated cities.
Policy & Finance
The elusive inflection point in impact investing
In Asia, industry experts have noted that there is an urgent need for the region to accelerate sustainable financing efforts to achieve net zero emission targets.
Policy & Finance
Is Southeast Asia’s healthcare workforce ready for climate change?
Across the region, it’s never been more critical to cultivate a resilient healthcare workforce capable of addressing climate-induced public health issues.
Carbon & Climate
Climate change poses dire health and human rights risks
Videos
Exclusive
Jack Johnson says yes, but it is a long road ahead. In this exclusive interview, we ask the American singer-songwriter and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador about his hopes for the state of the world and how music plays a role in providing a dose of optimism in dark times.
Launched as policymakers lock horns with petrochemicals lobbyists over a treaty to end plastic pollution, the documentary produced by Eco-Business asks why opportunities to solve humanity's waste crisis are being wasted. It will premiere in Singapore and screen on the sidelines of the upcoming COP28 climate summit.
Policy & Finance
‘Environmental defenders are the glue of the Philippines’ democracy’: Delikado director Karl Malakunas
The veteran journalist talks to Eco-Business about how his Emmy-nominated documentary depicts the lives of environmental crusaders in Asia's deadliest country for guardians of the seas and forests.
Policy & Finance
As anti-mining protests heighten in the Philippines, industry observers call for ‘prudence’ in police intervention
Video footage appears to show protestors, who were demonstrating against mining operations, being dragged away by police near Ipilan Nickel Mine in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Mining insiders are calling for maximum tolerance in similar standoffs.
Podcasts
EB Studio
Already a serious issue facing Asia Pacific, water security will continue to worsen in lockstep with climate change in the region. This is what Xylem is trying to solve through its mission and corporate purpose, Chong Hin Koh tells the Eco-Business podcast.
Policy & Finance
‘Never give in to fear’: Nobel peace prize nominee and Filipino Indigenous leader Vicky Tauli Corpuz
In celebration of Indigenous Peoples' month in the Philippines, the former United Nations special rapporteur tells the Eco-Business Podcast about her lifelong work to empower communities in Asia’s most dangerous country for environmental defenders.
Food & Agriculture
Dimsum from microbes, anyone?: How alternative proteins are cheaper, tastier and going local
EB Studio
What are the latest trends in the alternative proteins industry today? The Eco-Business podcast discusses new hybrid products, more localised offerings and cheaper prices due to economies of scale.
GoTo sustainability head Tanah Sullivan tells the Eco-Business Podcast that regulating net-zero claims would decarbonise Southeast Asia faster. Indonesia's biggest internet firm aims to cut emissions to zero by 2030 — a target critics say is unrealistic.
