Browsing by Author "Vasconcelos, Claudio R. P."
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- Commentary - empty promises: why declarations and international cooperation on sustainable development often fail to deliverPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Vasconcelos, Claudio R. P.; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Viera Trevisan, LaísOver the past decades, many declarations on sustainable development (SD) have been produced, various of which led to no real changes or improvements. This article discusses the role of declarations and international cooperation on SD, outlining their evolution. It also highlights the reasons why instruments and international cooperation have failed to meet their targets and specifies measures that may be deployed so that they may yield the SD’s expected benefits. To this end, it is recommended that more significant efforts be made to operationalise the commitments established in the declarations and international cooperation. Also, it is important to develop and implement SD follow-up strategies, once these have been agreed upon. The implications of this article to society and other studies are two-fold. Firstly, it shows the need for greater care when writing declarations on SD, since they are not always followed up and do not fulfill their purposes. Secondly, it is important to mobilise the relevant actors so that the actions the SD declarations expected to trigger, through international cooperation, are implemented. Moreover, future declarations and commitments should ideally have institutions and infrastructures in place to implement the SD actions called upon. The evidence gathered in this article also points out the need to intensify investment in education, science, technology, and innovation, while encouraging the expansion of international cooperation strategies aimed at supporting the declarations and promoting SD.
- Low carbon futures: assessing the status of decarbonisation efforts at universities within a 2050 perspectivePublication . Filho, Walter Leal; Vidal, Diogo Guedes; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Lambrechts, Wim; Vasconcelos, Claudio R. P.; Molthan-Hill, Petra; Abubakar, Ismaila Rimi; Dunk, Rachel M.; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Sharifi, AyyoobBackground The implementation of sustainability at universities means that they can also play a key role in the transition to a low carbon economy, and in assisting global efforts towards decarbonisation. Yet, not all of them have so far fully engaged in this area. This paper reviews the state of the art on trends in decarbonisation, and outlines the need for decarbonisation efforts at universities. It also reports on a survey aimed at ascertaining the extent to which universities in a sample of 40 countries across the various geographical regions are engaged in carbon reduction efforts, identifying the challenges faced. Results The study has shown that the literature on the topic has been evolving over time and that increasing a given university’s energy supply from renewable energy sources has been the cornerstone of university-based climate action plans. The study also indicates that even though several universities are concerned with their carbon footprint and actively seeking ways to reduce it, there are some institutional obstacles that need to be overcome. Conclusions A first conclusion which can be drawn is that efforts on decarbonisation are becoming more popular, with a special focus being placed on the use of renewable energy. Also, the study has shown that, from the range of efforts being made towards decarbonisation, many universities are setting up a team with carbon management responsibilities, have Carbon Management Policy Statements, and review them. The paper points towards some measures which may be deployed, so as to allow universities to take better advantage of the many opportunities an engagement in decarbonisation initiatives offers to them.
- The transformative power of networking in the implementation of the sustainable development goalsPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Fritzen, Barbara; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Vasconcelos, Claudio R. P.Networks can help implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a variety of ways. They can facilitate the sharing of best practices and resources among organisations, enabling them to more effectively implement the SDGs. They can also help spread awareness on the SDGs and encourage people to take action. Networks can also assist coordinate collaborations between different organisations to support the SDGs implementation, especially in the academic sector. This study aims to fill the literature gap in assessing the transformative power of sustainability networking and reports on a worldwide analysis of the international networks which are believed to have been playing a significant role in the implementation of the SDGs in higher education. A concise online questionnaire was designed and administered to experts via an expert database mailing list and social networks, and collected 153 responses from 37 countries. This was complemented by an assessment of a set of case studies, where 5 major sustainability networks—ESSSR, IUSDRP, SDSN, AASHE and Copernicus Alliance—were evaluated in respect of their scope, target groups, types of activities and contributions to the SDGs. The results have highlighted the fact that, whereas assessed networks are very active, there is still a perceived need for more concerted actions to allow these networks to become more engaged in the implementation of the SDGs. This study suggests some specific actions which may foster a greater collaboration among networks in order to maximise the impact of their sustainability initiatives. The process of networking contributes to the advancement of sustainability and is closely related with contributions to policy, economic development and society, as well as particularly to SDG 17—Partnerships for the Goals. This study supports the role of networking, while indicating the need for greater collaboration among networks in order to maximise the impact of their initiatives and their transformative power.