About Sustainability…
About Sustainability… is a podcast presented by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, featuring IGES staff and guests having in-depth discussions about sustainability-related topics. Each episode addresses a different topic of conversation -- be it an upcoming event, a debate of interest, or an interesting research finding. With the topic as a starting point, we see where the conversation takes us. We aim at a broad audience, so we avoid using jargon and try not to assume lots of pre-existing knowledge on the topic. Views expressed during the podcast are those of the speaker at the time of recording and are not the official positions of IGES or other organisations involved.
Episodes
28 episodes
Depopulation, shrinking cities and urban-rural migration
In this episode Alice Yamabe and Andre Mader speak with two IGES colleagues, Fernando Ortiz Moya and Yasuo Takahashi, about the phenomenon of depopulation. Fernando has been studying shrinking cities, and Yasuo has been doing research on urban ...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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1:00:28
Let's talk about the material footprint and its significance for sustainability
In this episode of About Sustainability, we talked to Heinz Schandl, who joined us from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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1:04:10
A few perspectives on UNEP's 6th Environment Assembly and its "OECPR"
In this episode Alice and Andre talked to
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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34:19
Looking back on the career of emeritus IGES Executive Director, Hideyuki Mori
On this episode of About Sustainability…, Andre, Alice and
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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38:21
About Climate Action (SDG 13): Framing Climate Change as a Security Issue and Outcomes of UNFCCC-COP28
On this episode of About Sustainability…, Alice and Erin were joined by
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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57:55
Tackling plastic pollution: Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) updates
On this episode of About Sustainability…, Erin, Alice, and Simon were joined by Matthew Hengesbaugh and Chochoe Devaporihartakula, IGES experts working on plastic pollution. While plastics have been an indispensable part of modern life...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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39:11
A life dedicated to the environment
It’s been a while since our last installment but today’s episode is a special interview with a long-serving member of IGES who has had a fascinating career, from which he just recently retired. Peter King has been based at IGES’s office ...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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59:05
SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Our guest on this episode is Akihisa Kuriyama, a policy researcher in IGES’ Climate & Energy Unit. He joins us to talk about SDG7 on energy. We spoke about the relationship between energy and climate; what’s new about SDG 7 in the global di...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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52:30
Updates from the ongoing political and scientific processes to reduce plastic pollution
In this episode we met with Amila from IGES who shared the latest updates on international plastics governance. Among others, he described details on the international negotiations committee that was formed last year to define a leg...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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46:39
SDG6: Water, water everywhere, but how is it managed?
In this episode of About Sustainability…Erin and Bob talked to Binaya Raj Shivakoti, an IGES expert in the Adaptation and Water team, about SDG6, which is on “ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanit...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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48:04
SDG5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
In this episode of About Sustainability..., Andre and Erin spoke with their colleague, Maiko Morishita, about SDG5, on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Maiko is part of the IGES finance task force, which covers a va...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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50:47
Regional or Local Circulating and Ecological Spheres (CES) - Sustainability Afoot #2
In this episode of About Sustainability…In episode 2 of the Sustainability Afoot series, Bob took a walk with Dr. Bijon Kumer Mitra to find out what Regional/...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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29:05
Renewing Commitments to Nature: Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
In this episode of About Sustainability…Erin and Simon caught up with Andre just before his trip to Montreal, Canada for the second part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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30:32
Circular Economy (Sustainability Afoot #1)
In this episode of About Sustainability…Bob kicked off a new experimental format, tentatively called “Sustainability Afoot”. The concept is simple: go for a walk near the headquarters of the
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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32:43
SDG4 (part 2): Education and sustainable development - are we teaching the right things?
This is the second part of our episode on SDG4 and education for sustainable development. In this part we focused on whether the right skills are taught in schools to equip people with skills and priorities necessary to bring about a more susta...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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35:59
SDG4 (part 1): Why is education so important for sustainable development?
In this episode we talked with our good friend Robert Didham. He is Centre Director and Associate Professor at the Centre for Collaborative Learning for ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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40:08
SDG3: Good Health and Well-Being
In this episode of About Sustainability..., Erin, Andre, and Bob invited Eric Zusman back to talk about SDG3 on Health. Eric works on co-benefits between air pollution mitigation and climate action, which has significant implications for public...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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1:05:27
SDG2: Zero Hunger
In the second episode of our series on SDGs, Simon, Andre and Erin invited Prabhakar SVRK, who knows a lot about climate adaptation, food and agriculture. Focusing on SDG2 on Zero Hunger, we talked about the challenges to achieve a world free f...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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1:13:42
SDG1: No Poverty
What’s in an SDG?In an effort to more deeply understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), over the next few months, the About Sustainability… podcast will zoom in on each of them in turn. We will invite experts to join us and par...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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1:02:19
Can the World Achieve the SDGs? Part 2 of 2
This is part 2 of the broad discussion that André, Bob, Erin, and Simon went into, which began with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and why it seems so challenging for the world to achieve the goals. Part 2 of the discussion started wi...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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40:08
Can the World Achieve the SDGs? Part 1 of 2
This time, Andre, Bob, Erin, and Simon went into a broader discussion around the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and why it seems so challenging for the world to achieve the goals despite them constituting the ‘good’ of development. The di...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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46:30
Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM)
Andre and Erin had a chance to talk to a fascinating person named Wardarina about civic engagement, especially focusing on the Asia-Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM). Simon joined the d...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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43:37
The IPCC 6th Assessment Report: experiences and key messages from some Working Group III authors
Bob and André talked to Sudarmanto Budi Nugroho (“Toto”) and Eric Zusman, two IGES experts who were involved in Working Group III (Climate Mitigation) of the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). T...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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49:58
Bonus Episode: Are Trees Really the Answer?
In this bonus episode of About Sustainability…, André, Bob, Erin, and Simon briefly discussed people’s relationship with nature, from local communities that use natural resources in a low-impact way to large-scale efforts around the world to pl...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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21:32
UNEA-5.2: Some Key Outcomes on Nature and Plastics
In this episode of About Sustainability…, Simon and Erin followed up with Andre and IGES colleague Amila Abeynayaka, an expert on plastics management, on some of the recent outcomes from UNEA-5.2, the second part of the fifth session of the Uni...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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46:27