Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of 15 eminent scientists to draft the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report, a milestone publication produced every four years to support policymakers in promoting poverty eradication and sustainable development.
As mandated by United Nations Member States, this independent group of scientists and their report will inform the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its Sustainable Development Goals.
The fifteen renowned scientists will have until 2023 to finalize the report, which will feed into the high-level global review of the 2030 Agenda, set for September that year.
Following an extensive consultation process, the UN Secretary-General has appointed a diverse group of experts to draft the report, representing a wide range of disciplines, expertise and backgrounds.
The fifteen scientists are: John Agard (Trinidad and Tobago), Kaltham Ali Al-Ghanim (Qatar), Sergey N. Bobylev (Russian Federation), Opha Pauline Dube, (Botswana), Ibrahima Hathie (Senegal), Norichika Kanie (Japan), Nyovani Janet Madise (Malawi), Shirin Malekpour (Australia), J. Jaime Miranda (Peru), Jaime C Montoya (Philippines), Jiahua Pan (China), Åsa Persson (Sweden), Ambuj D Sagar (India), Imme Scholz (Germany), Nancy Shackell (Canada).
Dr. Agard and Dr. Scholz will serve as the co-chairs of the Group.
The previous group of scientists released its report, entitled The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, in September of 2019.
The current group will be supported by a task team comprising six UN organizations: DESA on behalf of the United Nations Secretariat; the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); the UN Development Programme (UNDP); the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank. The task team will coordinate inputs from a network of existing networks, representing the United Nations, the private sector, civil society and academia.
The Global Sustainable Development Report by the group will provide guidance on the state of global sustainable development from a scientific perspective, address new and emerging issues and challenges, and offer recommendations for action by governments and other actors. The Report will be available for a wide range of stakeholders, including business, civil society and the general public.
Find out more about the group of scientists here.
The 2019 report “The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development” can be found here.