‘No decision’ on post-brexit environment body for Northern Ireland
The UN, tech giants, and the policy, finance and science communities teamed up to launch major new pushes on using cutting-edge technology to create cleaner, greener and more efficient solutions to sustainable development.
Key figures from these sectors are joining civil society representatives in Nairobi at the second UN Science-policybusiness Forum on the Environment, meeting (March 8-10) for three days in advance of the fourth UN Environment Assembly (March 11-15) , unenvironment.org wrote.
The goal of the forum is to unite influential organizations and individuals from different sectors in the common goal of using the environment sustainably for the benefit of all. This year, the forum sees the launch of two major initiatives: The first international Working Group on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Convergence and the Green Technology Startup Hub.
“There is no doubt that rapid technological advancement played a major part in the troubles we face,” said Joyce Msuya, acting executive director of UN Environment.
“But it is that technology — Civil servants have said they have not taken a decision on whether to extend an independent environmental protection agency to Northern Ireland postbrexit.
That is in spite of publication of a letter from a senior official that appeared to indicate it was to happen, BBC wrote.
In it he said the extension of proposed legislation covering England to include Northern Ireland had been sought and agreed. that we will make immense progress.”
The Green Technology Startup Hub, meanwhile, will act as an accelerator and incubator of start-up innovation for the environment, as it examines the enabling policies and actions required to use such innovation to transform the world into
The Environment Bill will establish an Office of Environmental Protection.
Its role as an independent body is to replace the oversight function previously provided by EU laws and institutions.
The concern was that without a Stormont assembly, Northern Ireland would not be able to legislate for any governance gaps after Brexit and protections could be weakened.
In the position paper sent to a greener and more sustainable living.
Startups are not only transforming markets and economic growth, some are helping to save the planet. Venture capital investment in startups has surged to its highest level ever — $148 billion last year alone. More than 40 Venture Westminster committee, Stormont’s Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said it had asked its sister department in Whitehall to include Northern Ireland in the scope of the draft bill and it had agreed to do so.
It said it believed that doing so was ‘in the public interest’.
Among the areas it was now working on was the remit of the Office of Environmental Protection in Northern Ireland, where the intention would be that it would have the “same or comparable powers”.
But on Friday evening DAERA said it had not taken a decision to extend the independent agency to cover Northern Ireland.
It said work on the matter was at an early stage and it had sought provisions in the Environment Bill that “would keep the option to extending it open”.
Any decision would be subject to further consideration and if it were to be established it would not replace the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, which has a regulatory role and is part of DAERA, it said. Capital-backed have achieved valuations.
Other new work areas under the forum will cover sustainable cities and food systems, and private sector leadership on climate change. Potential solutions under consideration include electric mobility and new green building designs, which can maximize efficient use of natural resources and encourage environmentally sound choices. These technologies are critical to our planet’s future, bearing in mind that an estimated 70 percent of the human population will live in cities by 2050.
UN Environment is the leading global voice on the global environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, the civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world.
Launched at the UN Environment Assembly in December 2017, the UN Science-policybusiness Forum on the Environment aims to identify and promote opportunities for green investment that are driven by: Advances in science and technology, empowering policies and innovative financing. The Forum, which is entirely self-financed, has over 2,000 member institutions — representing the worlds of business, science and policy — and offers stakeholders an opportunity to showcase vetted green solutions. It also acts as catalyst for collaboration by bringing together the expertise and knowledge of diverse communities to incubate and accelerate action towards a more sustainable future.