Science-based evidence in support of sustainable solutions

Aligning with the motto “Solutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science”, the President of the United Nations General Assembly convened a science briefing to inform sustainable development related negotiating processes in the Assembly on February 7th at UN Headquarters. The briefing focused on science-based evidence in support of sustainable solutions. Three panels addressed the following topics: The work of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water in panel. A second panel discussed Climate, Conflict and Cooperation. The afternoon session addressed Early Warning for Pandemic Preparedness in panel three.

Panel 1 on The Economics of Water

On behalf of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, its Co-chair H.E. Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies of Singapore; H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador and President of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly; and Mr. Aromar Revi, Director of the Institute for Human Settlements of India and Co-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network gave a comprehensive overview of their current work. The Commission – established in May 2022 –, will submit its report at the UN 2023 Water Conference, proposing transformation in the way water is being valued and managed in order to achieve goals and objectives enshrined in the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Panel 2 on Climate, Conflict and Cooperation

In the second panel, the presenters Aaron Wolf, Professor at Oregon State University in USA, Dinara Ziganzhina, Director of the Scientific Information Centre of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia from Uzbekistan, Charles J. Vörösmarty, Professor at the Advance Science Research Center, City University of New York in USA, and the respondents Makane Moїse Mbengue, Professor of International law at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and Susanne Schmeier, Professor of International Water Law at IHE-Delft in the Netherlands, spoke about the current situation and prospects of water related conflicts, the importance of developing International Law and institutional capacities for water management and cooperation, as well as the integration of science in water diplomacy.

Panel 3 on Early Warning for Pandemic Preparedness

The panel on Early Warning for Pandemic Preparedness was led by Dr. James Golden, Chief Data Officer of the Rockefeller Foundation, USA, Dr. Niamh B. O’Hara, Research Assistant Professor SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and CEO and Co-founder of Biotia, USA, and Dr. Rafael Maciel-de-Freitas, Researcher in Public Health Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Brazil and Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany, outlining the major developments that had taken place in their field of research.

Briefing on the Global Sustainable Development Report

The mandate of the group of 15 independent scientists appointed by the UN Secretary-General stems from the Rio+20 process, spelled out in the 2030 Agenda and reconfirmed by the 2016 ministerial declaration of the High Level Political Forum, to prepare a report every four years that provides decision-makers with the latest input of science in support of the review process of the implementation of the SDGs. An advanced, unedited version of the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) will be a dedicated input to the 2023 SDG Summit. On behalf of the group of scientists: Dr. Nancy Shackell, Research Scientist from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (Canada) and Dr. Asa Persson, Research Director and Deputy Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute (Sweden) gave an overview of the expected results and findings of the 2023 edition.