Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77^th session of the General Assembly

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Harnessing the power of science for the 2030 Agenda (HLPF side event)

17 July 2023

(As delivered)

Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening around the globe.

I’m so happy and thrilled to present at the launch of the Global Commission’s report.

A report that envisages nothing less than the renewal of the science of sustainability. It has been long overdue.

The sharing of data, knowledge and experience through a unified information system would stimulate a vibrant global learning community.

It’s a missing pillar now in from our sustainability transformation.

It will also provide a significantly more accurate picture of our efforts in such critical areas as food, water, energy and climate, and their nexus.

I cannot stress how close these intentions are to my heart.

Claude Bernard once said: “Art is I; science is we.”

Yes, science cannot be an individual enterprise anymore.

Nowadays, great things in science are never done by persons or one group of researchers, but by a much larger team of people.

In most cases, people from a variety of fields.

If we hope to achieve the 2030 Agenda – and I’m so proud to see my good friend and partner in crime, Ambassador Macharia Kamau, with whom we spent days and nights to craft the SDGs.

So if we hope to achieve the Agenda 2030 – which is our business – we urgently need this type of interdisciplinary approach.

Human activities exceeded six of the nine planetary boundaries. 

The only good news is that we are still in the game, but now the game itself needs to be changed.

How do we shift gears? And how do we do so in this era of deep mistrust stretching from East to West and North to South?

The SDG Summit in September will be the pivotal moment to locate the gaps and supercharge the efforts, using science as a catalyser of agreement and alignment.

It is imperative that we bridge the gap between science and decision making if we hope to create just and inclusive outcomes for all of humanity.

Narrowing this gap has been a prime focus of my Presidency, guided by the motto of “Solutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science”.

But what is hindering the timely implementation of the SDGs?

Why do we need to look for tools helping not only to accelerate actions but to change gears, to change course, and change the game?

What we know for sure is that we inherited accumulated risk factors.

We inherited mostly old-fashioned policies, mostly old-fashioned market regulations, mostly incentives for investment, and mostly old-fashioned institutions.

On the other hand, we also have transformative goals. Once again, many thanks to Macharia.

And rapidly changing technologies and science. And we expect transformation of this combination of components.

It is not surprising that transformation is happening much slower than what we wish to see.

So what is needed to significantly accelerate the sustainability transformation?

Let me offer you seven points. In the country that I’m coming from, seven is a magic number.

One – Create national transformation strategies based on SDGs. Not all countries have that yet.

Two – align regulations with announced goals. We have contradictions in many countries, and globally, as well.

Three – Learn how to calculate all important externalities of actions or inactions.

Four – Learn how to reduce negative externalities of our investments and increase the positive ones across all three pillars simultaneously.

Five – Identify and prioritize on game-changing elements in the SDG implementation.

Six – Build transparent road map of implementation. We don’t have it now.

Seven – Improve science-based validation mechanism of implementation. We are badly missing it in the UN, and maybe in some of the countries, as well.

For this, we need robust scientific support. Welcome aboard.

Member States have shown greater interest in harnessing the power of science to promote transformation.

I am very encouraged by the launch of the Group of Friends of Science for Action, an initiative announced by India, Belgium and South Africa at the General Assembly’s second scientific briefing in April. Thank you very much.

I am equally pleased that several countries led by Serbia have expressed interest in launching the Decade of Science for Sustainability to buttress knowledge-based decision-making in the United Nations and beyond.

It is true, as Carl Sagan said, that “somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

This speaks to the power of science to drive progress towards the sustainable and dignified future we are working to achieve.

Because transformation is going to happen anyway. How well we are equipped will make the difference what world awaits us: victims or master of the transformation. 

I sincerely hope that science may be one of our most important weapons in humanity’s historic, and, apparently, final battle for sustainability.

Final, because, in this struggle, there will be no second chances.

I wish you much success in your endeavor to use science as efficiently as possible to transform and save our world.

Thank you very much.