The United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. More important than ever, these goals provide a critical framework for COVID-19 recovery. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “We need to turn the recovery into a real opportunity to do things right for the future.” More than ever that human health and wellbeing are dependent upon nature and the solutions it provides necessitating urgent action to solve planetary emergencies:
• The climate crisis - SDG 3 & 13;
• The biodiversity and nature crisis - SDG 14, 15; and
• The pollution and waste crisis - SDG 6, 7, 11, 12.
"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 concurred. "We can no longer wait to make peace with nature" added UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, otherwise we shall face recurring risks of future pandemics if we maintain our current unsustainable patterns in our interactions with nature.
The 3 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 UN, the World's first climate change museum The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change - Hong Kong, as well as other museums.
