“Progressing National SDG Implementation” is the second in an annual series of reports commissioned by civil society.

It documents and analyzes the 42 English, French and Spanish Voluntary National Review (VNR) reports submitted in 2017 to the UN’s High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

The report identifies ten key pillars that are essential to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also recognizes emerging good practice, and sets out a range of conclusions and recommendations with respect to how countries can both improve their implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and use the HLPF as an opportunity for mutual peer learning, knowledge exchange and support.

Summary provided by the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC).

The report was published by the Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC) and was written by Shannon Kindornay, Independent Consultant and Carleton University, with inputs from Javier Surasky, Centro de Pensamiento Estratégico Internacional (CEPEI), and Nathalie Risse, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

Le gouvernement du Québec a annoncé la cible de réduction des émissions de GES la plus ambitieuse au Canada : une réduction de 37,5 % sous le seuil de 1990 d’ici 2030.

See English translation below.

Le Québec s’est également doté d’une politique énergétique à l’horizon 2030; elle met à l’avant-plan une transition énergétique et une économie sobres en carbone. La province veut réduire de 40 % la quantité de produits pétroliers consommés sur son territoire d’ici 2030 et augmenter de 25 % la production totale d’énergies renouvelables actuelle pour la même période.

Ces engagements ambitieux impliquent une sortie progressive des hydrocarbures, mais le Québec a-t-il entamé ce processus et emprunte-t-il la bonne voie pour atteindre les cibles qu’il s’est fixées?

C’est pour répondre à ce questionnement que ce rapport a vu le jour. Une bonne manière de savoir si le gouvernement du Québec se désengage effectivement des hydrocarbures était de voir l’évolution des subventions1 octroyées à ce secteur. Devant l’absence de données compilées permettant d’avoir un portrait global des sommes versées en soutien à ces industries et ces types d’énergies, nous avons décidé de réaliser ce travail de recherche et de compilation. Ces résultats, certes incomplets, mais les plus exhaustifs et à jour en la matière, sont présentés ici.

À la lumière de cette recherche approfondie, force est de constater que le gouvernement du Québec continue d’inciter à la consommation d’hydrocarbures dans plusieurs secteurs économiques par des exemptions ou allègements fiscaux et pose des gestes qui vont à l’encontre de ses engagements de réduction de GES à l’horizon 2030 et de 2050. De 2011-12 à 2016-17, le gouvernement du Québec a ainsi versé en moyenne 300 millions de dollars par année en allègement à la taxe sur les carburants, des mesures qui vont à l’encontre d’une diminution de la consommation d’hydrocarbures. À cela s’ajoutent des transferts budgétaires et investissements directs ponctuels qui appuient la consommation d’hydrocarbures au Québec. 

The Québec Government has just announced the most ambitious GHG emissions reduction target in Canada – a reduction of 37.5% below 1990 levels by 2030. Québec has also adopted an Energy Policy with a 2030 time horizon; it envisages a low-carbon economy and a transition in the types of energy used.

The province would like to reduce the amount of petroleum-based products used by 40% between now and 2030 and increase the total amount of renewable energy being produced by 25% above the current figure during that same period. 
 
These ambitious commitments imply a progressive reduction in the amount of hydrocarbons used, but has Québec actually begun this process and is it on track to achieving the targets that it has set for itself? 
 
It is precisely in response to these questions that this report has been prepared. One good way to determine whether the Québec Government is effectively relying less and less on hydrocarbons is to look at how subsidies tied to hydrocarbons have evolved. Given the lack of compiled data that would provide an overall picture of the amounts paid out to support these industries and these types of energy, we decided to undertake this research and compilation project. So while these results are certainly incomplete, they are still the most exhaustive available on the subject to date and are being presented here.  
 
Based on our in-depth research, it has become obvious that the Québec Government continues to incentivize the use of hydrocarbons in a number of economic areas by providing exemptions or tax relief and is taking steps that run counter to its GHG reduction commitments for the periods leading up to 2030 and 2050. Between 2011-12 and 2016-17, the Québec Government paid out on average a minimum of 300 million dollars per year in fuel-tax relief, actions that belie a reduction in the use of hydrocarbons. Added to this are budgetary transfers and one-time direct investments that directly support the use of hydrocarbons in Québec.

Summary courtesy of Equiterre

On January 25, 2017, Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ignasius Jonan stated, “Indonesia is resolved to increasing its new and renewable energy mix to 23 per cent in 2025 in line with its commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions it had made during the COP 21 conference in Paris in 2015.”

The commitment to increase renewable energy was made as part of a package of measures to tackle climate change in Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that pledged to reduce emissions by 26 per cent against the business-as-usual scenario by 2020 and 41 per cent if international support is granted.

With this high-level commitment to a marked expansion of renewable energy—together with the international context of falling renewable energy prices—one might expect that renewable energy in Indonesia would be booming. However, since 2007 most of the increase in electricity production has come from coal and the share of renewable electricity production has remained relatively static, at around 12 per cent of total generation.

Between 2007 and 2016 hydro and geothermal capacity increased by 39 and 67 per cent respectively. But overall installations pale in comparison to coal, while solar remains almost nonexistent (45 MW total).

This report seeks to answer the question of why renewable energy deployment, particularly wind and solar, has not taken off in Indonesia. To understand the forces shaping the sector, and what can be done to remedy the situation, IISD conducted interviews with politicians, civil servants, industry representatives, renewable energy developers, civil society organizations, international donors and other stakeholders. A total of 26 interviews took place, revealing the roots of the problem, the broader political economy of the energy sector and some possible ways forward.

This report explores how public procurement is no longer a back-office function anymore, but a crucial pillar for delivering government services, and a strategic one for tackling climate change. 

Worldwide governments are strategically rethinking the way they are spending taxpayers’ money. The international and high-level support for reforming public procurement laws, policies and processes to deliver value for money across the lifecycle of the goods, services and assets governments are buying, has never been more present. In 2015 the United Nations also adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include public procurement as an important tool for shifting markets towards more sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Sustainable, green, smart or strategic public procurement is ultimately about ensuring that the products and services purchased by governments are as sustainable as possible. This means reducing environmental impact, generating positive social and economic impact in a cost-efficient manner, and driving and creating new markets for innovative climate-friendly technologies, goods, services and infrastructure that generate co-benefits for society.

Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, is home to the country’s largest number of people without electricity access: as of late 2017, 14.6 million households—49 per cent of the state’s total—are yet to be electrified. Since 2015, however, the Government of India, in partnership with the state government, has been actively pursuing two targets: universal household electrification by 2019; and 24/7 power for all by 2022.

At present, the state’s public electricity distribution companies (discoms) are not financially sustainable—that is, they do not collect enough revenue from their consumers to recover their costs. The revenue gap has increased over the years resulting in a significant gap of INR 21,486 crores (USD 3.2 billion) in FY16.

Demands from a growing consumer base and the need to provide universal electrification conflict with the discoms’ inability to generate revenue from the same consumers. How then can discoms improve their financial viability in order to meet the state’s energy access needs?

One approach is to reform end-user tariffs, set by state-based market regulators on a cost-plus basis. Another approach is through a financial assistance scheme, Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), launched in 2015.

This study investigates both tariff reform and the UDAY scheme. It uses a political economy approach to map stakeholders’ perceptions on tariff adjustments. The report carries out surveys and interviews with different consumer groups, a total of 1,917 households, 413 farmers, 65 commercial and industrial consumers. The interim assessment of UDAY was conducted by identifying Uttar Pradesh’s progress against various milestones specified in the scheme and 12 interviews with officials from discoms and the state government.

The report lists key findings on energy use, billing, perceptions and preferences with respect to tariff reform. It also lists progress made under UDAY and some of the key requests of discoms. The report makes recommendations and several points of guidance for governments to consider when planning tariff increases and achieving the milestones set under UDAY.

This study summarizes the benefits and related economic values of community pastures managed by the Association of Manitoba Community Pastures in Manitoba, Canada.

Based on data and information directly from the community pastures and information available through a search of relevant literature, the total economic value (TEV) of Manitoba community pastures (MCPs) was calculated. Benefits that were not included in the TEV were highlighted as gaps that could be the focus of further research.

Based on available data and information, this research determined that the ecological goods and services from MCPs are valued at CAD 13,349,646 per year (based on a price of CAD 25 per tonne for carbon dioxide). The largest components of this value are forage production and carbon sequestration, but soil formation, biodiversity, recreation and hunting, community development, and timber are also included. Some components—including species at risk, pollination and long-term carbon storage—were excluded due to insufficient data or significant variation across pasture landscapes. This value therefore represents an incomplete estimate of ecological goods and services from the MCPs studied but does incorporate major service contributions.

Based on this research, the author's recommendations include the maintenance of MCPs and the concentrated benefits that they provide producers and society. These large tracts of natural or naturalized land protect habitat, store carbon, and improve water retention and water quality. There are gaps in existing research, data and information that inhibit more precise valuation of community pastures and grasslands in Western Canada. Current grazing management encourages sustainable delivery of commercial and non-commercial value to the landscape. At the same time, enhanced monitoring systems to qualify and quantify the benefits of ecosystem goods and services from pastures should be developed to measure and assess specific public benefits provided by community pastures. Quantification of total value of benefits informs policy and can help sustain community pastures in the future.

Further examination of the relationships between management systems, their impacts and values would also improve our overall understanding of these valuable, but quickly disappearing, landscapes and provide more guidance for adaptive management.

There is a pressing need for innovation in the mining sector, according to a report published by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF).

The report highlights the pressing need for innovation in the mining sector, as productivity has decreased by 30 per cent, commodity price fluctuations are squeezing profit margins, costs continue to rise and deposits are increasingly difficult and expensive to access.

The report also highlights the social and environmental benefits of innovation, from increased safety on mine sites translating into fewer injuries and less downtime, to reduced environmental footprints and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the adoption of new technologies and techniques, all of which could further support a company’s social licence to operate.

The report originates from the 2017 IMMS, which brought together 25 ministers responsible for mining around the world who requested the IGF prepare a report on innovation in the mining sector, to be presented at this year’s summit.

This report discusses how to leverage the power of public procurement laws, policies and practices to drive low-carbon innovation in the infrastructure sector.

It identifies the most promising parts of the procurement cycle to drive innovation and explains how they can best be utilized to support the transition toward a low-carbon economy in Europe. It provides recommendations for EU policy-makers, for EU Member states and for public procurement agencies on how to scale up the use of public procurement for low-carbon innovation in the construction and infrastructure sector.

The IGF released its 2017 Annual Report, highlighting successes throughout the year and how leveraging mining for sustainable development can limit negative impacts and ensure financial benefits are shared.

The IGF has made tremendous progress since the Government of Canada committed to funding the IGF Secretariat through the International Institute for Sustainable Development. We have confirmed our mission of helping governments optimize the benefits of mining to reach their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and been strategic about building capacity around the globe.

Highlights from 2017 include:

• Increasing our membership by seven, to a total of 63 countries
• Hosting our most successful Annual General Meeting (AGM) to date, with over 60 governments and 80 international organizations in attendance
• Having approximately 35 member countries participate in our training and capacity-building workshops on themes highlighted by our Mining Policy Framework (MPF)
• Welcoming new partners, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Mining Task Force, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Read the annual report today.

This paper provides an overview of the technology and financing options available to address the problem and better plan for stormwater market management. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the creation of stormwater markets.

Finding solutions to the stormwater problem is critical. Urban areas are rapidly expanding, climate variability is increasing, and social and environmental impacts are becoming more difficult to anticipate and more expensive to fix. In addition, funds are simply not available from the public sector to meet the increasing needs for capital and operation and maintenance costs of water management infrastructure.

Instead of targeting the management of stormwater runoff by centralized, end-of-pipe and capital-intensive gray infrastructure, green infrastructure aims to increase surface infiltration and lower the amount of stormwater at the source. Green infrastructure requires interventions by land and property owners, representing a decentralized approach to stormwater management. While investments would take place primarily on private property, the benefits of such interventions would be felt by many. As a result, the economics of the investment have not made these interventions very popular in the past. Policy support is needed to stimulate private investments.

The vast majority of empirical cases are examples of policy implementation (either individual policies or a portfolio of options), but the implementation of stormwater markets is also on the rise. These represent a quantity-based approach, with a set number of allowances, normally declining over time. Available options include credit trading and the creation of a mitigation bank. Various additional mechanisms can be used to create incentives for investments in stormwater management. Examples include in-lieu fees, permittee-responsible mitigation (offsets) and a combination of policy instruments.

The opportunities emerging from the establishment of stormwater markets are considerable, especially when considering the potential social, economic and environmental impacts. To obtain such benefits, and in light of the design and implementation challenges identified, a customized approach is required. This would ensure that the market is designed to create synergies with existing legal frameworks and generate enough buy-in to work effectively for a variety of economic actors, a key requirement to reach scale.