Twelve Digital Art Shows for a Sustainable Green Recovery

We have a chance to not simply reset the world economy but to transform it

As the world is working towards  emerging from the devastating  pandemic, there has been much talk about the recovery being an opportunity to drive transformative change toward a more sustainable, equitable society that recognizes that human well-being is underpinned by a healthy planet.  

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted the urgency of a green recovery  by painting a bleak picture of the state of the planet, based on the World Meteorological Organization report titled State of the Global Climate.  Guterres explained that 

“We have a chance to not simply reset the world economy but to transform it. A sustainable economy driven by renewable energies will create new jobs, cleaner infrastructure and a resilient future. An inclusive world will help ensure that people can enjoy better health and the full respect of their human rights, and live with dignity on a healthy planet. COVID recovery and our planet’s repair must be the two sides of the same coin.”

Climate change has been described by the World Health Organization as this century's biggest threat to human health.  A sustainable green recovery plan from the pandemic, necessitates understanding the links between climate change, health, and inequality; and implementing ambitious climate change policies, which align with the Paris agreement.   

The UN Environment Assembly in its  Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) 
pointed out that more than ever that human health and wellbeing are dependent upon nature and the solutions it provides, and we are aware that we shall face recurring risks of future pandemics if we maintain our current unsustainable patterns in our interactions with nature.  Therefore, it  called for urgent action to solve planetary emergencies for a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to resolve the:
•    The climate crisis - SDG 3 & 13;
•    The pollution and waste crisis - SDG 6, 7, 11, 12; and
•    The biodiversity and nature crisis - SDG 14, 15. 

"It is increasingly evident that environmental crises are part of the journey ahead. Wildfires, hurricanes, high temperature records, unprecedented winter chills, plagues of locusts, floods and droughts, have become so common place that they do not always make the headlines," Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in remarks to the UN Assembly. "These increasing adverse weather and climatic occurrences sound a warning bell that calls on us to attend to the three planetary crises that threaten our collective future: the climate crisis, the biodiversity and nature crisis, and the pollution and waste crisis."

"We shall work together to identify actions which can help us address climate change, protect biodiversity, and reduce pollution, at the same time,” Sveinung Rotevatn, President of UNEA-5 and Norway's Minister for Climate and Environment added.
 
The 12 art shows I curated that will be exhibited at various conferences through-out this year
reflect these themes.  These art shows contain paintings that were acknowledged in numerous United Nations art competitions. And have been published by the  United Nations SDG:   http://sdghelpdesk.unescap.org/story-telling/eight-climate-change-themed-digital-art-shows; the World's first climate change museum The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change - Hong Kong; the Climate Change Museum – UK as well as other museums.