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
Berita
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Women’s forest and land rights remain fragile across the Global South
A new report by the Rights and Resources Initiative finds little progress in securing Indigenous and local community women's rights to forests, with many legal frameworks remaining gender-blind or regressive.
Enhancing transparency in fisheries governance can curb illegal practices, protect fish stocks and support coastal communities, argues Maisie Pigeon of the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Q&A: How China’s ‘two new’ policy aims to help cut emissions
China’s central government listed “boosting consumption and stimulating domestic demand” as its first “major task” for 2025, at the recently closed “two sessions”.
Three new irrigation dams have been approved in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, overlapping with two carbon credit projects. The new developments join five hydropower projects that are already eating into these same forests.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Indigenous Ngata Toro seek larger role in Indonesia national park
Pangan & Agrikultur
India's farm insurance proves costly for most vulnerable
Opini
Leading a group of mothers, campaigner Bhavreen Kandhari tells WHO conference that children need a quicker energy transition.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Trump’s Ukraine deal exposes a dirty truth about minerals
Resource-rich countries are signing critical mineral deals under duress, sacrificing long-term benefits.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Financial inclusion must reach the last billion
With the globalisation engine no longer as powerful as it once was, economic growth alone is unlikely to eradicate poverty. One complementary approach is to bolster financial inclusion.
Energy transition research addressing the range of equity concerns across India’s socioeconomic groups and regions is rare. This needs to change.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Shake it up, don’t shoot it down: the case for reforming US aid
Kebijakan & Keuangan
A critical year for finance could shape fairer, more sustainable mining
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Central banks must stem the nature crisis
Karbon & Iklim
Sustainability in an unstable world
Video
There is consensus that coal needs to be retired early in Asia, but the mechanisms for financing the phase-out are not clear. This mini-documentary examines how transition credits work and whether they can fund Southeast Asia's equitable switch to clean power.
Studio EB
From sponge cities to coastal forests, Asia is seeking ways to work with nature and prepare for the risks in a warmer-than-expected future. This Eco-Business video looks at what else cities need to do to strengthen climate resilience.
Lingkungan
Can the music industry ever reach net zero?
Eksklusif
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.
Podcasts
Indonesian environmental campaigners took a novel approach to raising climate awareness by publishing five children's books about the country's environmental issues. This podcast explores their creative process and the public's response.
UN climate report authors need to commit to the integrity of assessment processes while working with governments with differing interests. Dr Theresa Wong tells the Eco-Business podcast why the stakes are high to get climate science right.
Studio EB
Plastic waste is flooding the planet. Instead of waiting for regulation to drive change, give value to recyclables and mobilise the people, says Plastic Bank.
Studio EB
With alternatives such as sustainable aviation fuel still too expensive and low in demand for the aviation industry to consider, carbon offsets could be a way to reduce emissions – if used right. EcoSecurities and the International Air Transport Association tell the Eco-Business podcast how airlines can ensure compliance when new regulations become mandatory
