Dear Distinguished Members of the Scientific Advisory Board,

Thank you for your vision and commitment. I am also grateful to UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and her team for supporting your work.

Our first meeting in Berlin this January was a great success. I appreciate your engagement since then. And I look forward to even stronger collaboration with you in the future.

As the world shapes the post-2015 development agenda, I count on you to help ensure that it is based on sound science and evidence.

There are five areas where you can make a difference.

First: ideas on how to strengthen the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Second: input for the Global Sustainable Development Report.

Third: contributions to the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development.

Fourth: advice on climate change ahead of next year’s Paris conference where we hope to adopt a universal new climate agreement.

Fifth: thoughts on the important question of means of implementation for the new agenda.

These are leading issues – but others may emerge. Please raise any scientific concerns you have about the future of people and the planet – and I will do my best to push for a global response.

Merci.