Innovate4Climate (I4C) World Bank global conference May 23-25, 2023 Spain - fCAT Peace Innovation SDGs Wellness Pilipinas International News and Media Network report of Ambassador Zara Jane Juan

Innovate4Climate (I4C) is the World Bank Group's annual global conference on climate finance, carbon markets and investment.

Back in person for its seventh edition, I4C 2023 will convene the private and public sectors on May 23-25 at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre in Spain to turn up the volume on innovative climate solutions with a focus on markets, finance, policy and technology

Join us virtually at 

https://www.innovate4climateconference.com/  

Watch! #WED Wellness Tip at Shangrila Manila May 20, 2023. WED is Wellness in Environment Day TV show by AmbZara Jane Juan copyrighted 2010-2023

#WED #WellnessTip at Wellness Pilipinas International News and Media Network coverage of ATFX Traders Fair held at Edsa Shangri-La, Manila #20thMay2023 

When busy in a crowd, take time to have a quick break and commune with nature in the hotel spa or swimming pool 🏖️ No matter how busy you are, make every single day meaningful while you are under stress 🌎🕊️🌳

Wellness for Peace Education on Climate Change 

Wellness in Mind, Body, Spirit, Environment and Economics to Achieve the Peace within for nation building and Peace Innovation: fcat of Amb. Juan 🌳🕊️🌎 trainings, fora, symposia and exhibits work, rest and recreation

For holistic non sectarian retreats and team building, just call  0945 753 7525  Whatsapp number 😊

https://fb.watch/kJK3-9fKWd/?mibextid=Nif5oz

#WED fCAT TVshow by AmbZara Peace Innovation Invite to UN SDG Investment Fair April 2023. Free Registration online. Register Now!

Wellness Pilipinas International News and Media Network #invite #online #announcement from United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs

💥SDGI Fair 2023
SDG Investment Fair 2023 - Register Today!💥

💥SDG Investment Projects Pitched to Investors💥

What is the SDG Investment Fair?
Launched in 2018, the Fair has become a leading platform to facilitate dealmaking in SDG investment, with over US$11 billion worth of projects in infrastructure, green energy, and agribusiness presented so far. Now in its 8th edition, twenty countries across all regions have been showcased as SDG investment destinations.

💥Hosted by the Financing for Sustainable Development Office of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Fair facilitates a range of investment promotion activities in New York City, as well as capacity building at the national level to enhance the investment readiness and bankability of projects and SDG financing vehicles in participating countries.

💥The Fair supports countries with the preparation, structuring, and mapping of countries' priority SDG investment projects through workshops, technical assistance, and capacity-building tools.

“The SDG Investment Fair … has helped the Kenyan Government to showcase priority investment opportunities in Kenya across multiple sectors to a global audience of investors, financiers and technical experts,” said Stephen Jackson, UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya after participating in the Fair.

💥The Fair in Numbers

11 billion USD worth of project investments.
7 SDG Investment Fairs held since 2018.
22 countries showcased.
~5k key actors engaged in the SDG financing network.

Benefits for Participating Countries:

Access a ‘one-stop-shop’ platform for brokering investments and knowledge​:
The Fair offers space to pitch investment projects, one-on-one investor exchanges, knowledge sharing, and technical assistance.

💥Network with investors and other key players​:
Tap into the wider network of banks, investors, development agencies, and advisory partners, including members of the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance.

Place your country’s investment opportunities on the map:​
Raise awareness of investment opportunities to a growing pool of investors seeking opportunities to make a positive impact, mitigate systemic risks, and meaningfully contribute to achieving the SDGs.

To join the event in April 2023, please register here:
https://www.cognitoforms.com/NellyRitaMakena/April2023SDGInvestmentFair

Registration deadline: March 31, 2023

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Wellness for Peace Education on Climate Change Peace Innovation: fcat of Amb. Juan sailing for peace AmbassadorZara JaneBayla Juan #PEACEVIGIL2023 #fCAT food culture arts and technology #WED Wellness in Environment Day TV show copyrighted 2010-2023. All Rights Reserved. 

WED fCAT TVshow by Ambassador Zara Jane Juan Report on the Provisional State of the Global Climate 2022 from UN World Meteorological Organization WMO

#MedicalResearch on #Obesity: Study pinpoints brain cells that trigger sugar cravings and consumption

"The new study, led by Matthew Potthoff, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience and pharmacology in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and Matthew Gillum, Ph.D., at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, focuses on actions of a hormone called fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). This hormone is known to play a role in energy balance, body weight control, and insulin sensitivity.

"This is the first study that's really identified where this hormone is acting in the brain and that has provided some very cool insights to how it's regulating sugar intake," says Potthoff, who also is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center at the UI and the Iowa Neuroscience Institute.

Potthoff and his colleagues previously discovered that FGF21 is made in the liver in response to increased levels of sugar, and acts in the brain to suppress sugar intake and the preference for sweet taste.

Building on that finding, the team has now shown, for the first time, which brain cells respond to FGF21's signals and how that interaction helps regulate sugar intake and sweet taste preference. The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, also reveals how the hormone mediates its effects.

Although it was known that FGF21 acted in the brain, identifying the exact cellular targets was complicated by the fact that the hormone's receptor is expressed at very low levels and is therefore difficult to "see." Using various techniques, the researchers were able to precisely identify which cells express the receptor for FGF21. By investigating these cells, the study shows that FGF21 targets glutamatergic neurons in the brain to lower sugar intake and sweet taste preference. The researchers also showed that FGF21's action on specific neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus reduce sugar intake by enhancing the neurons' sensitivity to glucose.

Several drugs based on a modified form of FGF21 are already being tested as treatments for obesity and diabetes. The new findings could potentially lead to new drugs that more precisely target the different behaviors controlled by FGF21, which might help to control how much sugar a person eats."

For study reference source:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-brain-cells-trigger-sugar-cravings.html

UN calling for recovery plans to be built around low-carbon technologies

27 June 2020

Climate Change

As governments try to kick-start their economies, the UN is calling for recovery plans to be built around low-carbon technologies, to avoid a return to fossil fuel-based business as usual.

Islands at the forefront

Some of the countries and regions at the forefront of this wholescale shift to renewables are islands, where the need to avoid the significant cost of importing fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, provides added motivation. 

Mauritius, for example, is planning to generate over a third of its electricity from renewable sources within the next five years. Projects supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), will be an important part of this transition, bringing an additional 25 Mega Watts of solar power to Mauritius, including a mini-power grid in Agalega, one of the outer islands.

At the current pace, it would take the world forever to come anywhere near a no-carbon system. Rana Adib, Executive Director, REN21

As well as reducing pollution, this shift to clean energy is expected to aid economic recovery, with new jobs in areas such as the production, installation, and maintenance of renewable energy equipment, from solar panels, to batteries and wind turbines.

Another added benefit is energy security: with such a high dependence on imported oil, price fluctuations can make budgeting difficult, and any interruption to supply can have serious consequences. “Home-grown” energy from renewable sources can make the energy grid more reliable, and more resilient. 

The Pacific US State of Hawaii is planning to go even further and become a trailblazer for the rest of the United States, by going completely renewable by 2045. As Hawaii State Governor, David Ige, explained to UN News, their commitment is now moving to the mainstream: “at the time we enacted the law to commit to 100 per cent renewables, no other community had done anything similar and at the National Governors’ Association, people were generally very surprised.

They thought that it was so beyond possible that it was a foolish undertaking. Now, California has embraced the commitment to 100 per cent clean renewable energy and other states are contemplating doing the same. I’m proud that Hawaii has really inspired other states and communities.”

Time to change the entire energy system

As economies recover post-pandemic, following these examples will be essential to turn the tide and, as a new report from REN21 – a renewable energy think tank that includes the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Development Programme (UNDP) amongst its members – shows, remarkable progress has been made by the renewable energy industry, where costs are falling, and clean energy use is increase.

However, this good news is currently offset by the fact that global energy use is rising, and is being powered, in the main, by fossil fuels. Following the release of the report, on 16 June, Rana Adib, REN21’s Executive Director, underlined the fact that the pandemic-related emissions drop barely makes a dent in the long-term problem of climate change, and an overhaul of the entire energy system is needed:

“Even if the lockdowns were to continue for a decade, the change would not be sufficient. At the current pace, with the current system and current market rules, it would take the world forever to come anywhere near a no-carbon system.”

The report warns that many recovery programmes include commitments to stick with dirty, polluting fossil fuel systems: whilst some countries are phasing out coal, others continue to invest in new coal-fired power plants. In addition, funding from private banks for fossil fuel projects has increased each year since the signing of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, totalling some USD 2.7 trillion over the last three years. 

“Some directly promote natural gas, coal or oil. Others, though claiming a green focus, build the roof and forget the foundation,” warned Ms. Adib. “Take electric cars and hydrogen, for example. These technologies are only green if powered by renewables.”

Clean is cost-effective

Nevertheless, Mauritius and Hawaii show that a green option is not only possible, but actually a better deal than a fossil-fuel based recovery plan, especially when the true costs, including air pollution, climate change effects and traffic congestion, are factored in.

A new book from the World Bank, Technology Transfer and Innovation for Low-carbon Development, shows that most of the emissions reductions needed to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, can be achieved if existing, commercially proven low-carbon technology is adopted on a massive scale.

As Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) explains, “renewables are now more cost-effective than ever, providing an opportunity to prioritize clean economic recovery packages and bring the world closer to meeting the Paris Agreement Goals. Renewables are a key pillar of a healthy, safe and green COVID-19 recovery that leaves no one behind.”

When Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2020, a report from UNEP, The Frankfurt School, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, was released in June, it further underlined the plummeting costs of clean energy, highlighting the fact that “putting these dollars into renewables will buy more generation capacity than ever before”, and help countries deliver on stronger climate action.

“If governments take advantage of the ever-falling price tag of renewables to put clean energy at the heart of COVID -19 economic recovery, instead of subsidizing the recovery of fossil-fuel industries”, said Ms. Andersen, “they can take a big step towards clean energy and a healthy natural world, which ultimately is the best insurance policy against global pandemics.”

An opportunity for a cleaner world

The economic slowdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has seen a significant fall in harmful greenhouse emissions and, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 2020 will see a drop of around eight per cent. 

This has given us an idea of what a cleaner world might look like, but it is only a temporary respite: it has also had devastating consequences, including the shuttering of entire sectors, and unemployment for millions of people.

Now, with countries and regions like Mauritius and Hawaii investing in policies, programmes and initiatives to get people back to work, there is an opportunity for a more sustainable approach, with renewable technologies at its heart. The question is whether the international community will seize this opportunity, or stick with the devil they know.

Most Dangerous Ways To School | OIMJAKON (Russia) | Free Documentary