The Future Is Now: Science for Achieving
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THE FUTURE IS NOW SCIENCE FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2 19 THE FUTURE IS NOW SCIENCE FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2 19 Note In the outcome document of the Rio+20 Conference, in 2012, entitled “The future we want”, and again in “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in 2015, United Nations Member States decided that the High- Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development would be informed by the Global Sustainable Development Report. In the Ministerial Declaration of the 2016 Forum, Member States decided that the report would be produced quadrennially by an independent group of scientists appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General and comprising 15 experts representing a variety of backgrounds, scientific disciplines and institutions, with geographical and gender balance. This report, The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, is the first quadrennial Global Sustainable Development Report prepared by an independent group of scientists. Independent Group of Scientists 2019 Co-chairs • Peter Messerli (Switzerland), Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Switzerland • Endah Murniningtyas (Indonesia), National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Republic of Indonesia Members • Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue (Cameroon), Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University, USA • Ernest G. Foli (Ghana), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Forestry Research Institute, Ghana • Eeva Furman (Finland), Finnish environment institute (SYKE), Finland • Amanda Glassman (USA), Center for Global Development, USA • Gonzalo Hernández Licona (Mexico), National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), Mexico • Eun Mee Kim (Republic of Korea), Graduate School of International Studies, Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea. • Wolfgang Lutz (Austria), Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria • Jean-Paul Moatti (France), Research Institute for Development (IRD), France • Katherine Richardson (Denmark), Sustainability Science Center, University of Copenhagen, Denmark • Muhammad Saidam (Jordan), Royal Scientific Society, Jordan • David Smith (Jamaica), Institute for Sustainable Development, University of the West Indies (UWI) • Jurgis Kazimieras Staniškis (Lithuania), Institute of Environmental Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania • Jean-Pascal van Ypersele (Belgium), Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium Recommended citation: Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the Secretary-General, Global Sustainable Development Report 2019: The Future is Now – Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, (United Nations, New York, 2019). Cover design and graphics by Camilo J. Salomon Copyright © 2019 United Nations All rights reserved United Nations publication issued by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs Reprinted 2019 iii iv Contents Global Sustainable Development Report 2019 Contents FOREWORD . xi PREFACE . xiii PROLOGUE . xv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . xix CHAPTER I THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . 1 1.1 Understanding sustainable development in the 2030 Agenda . 3 1.2 Progress to date . 8 1.3 Knowledge-based transformations for sustainable development . 21 v CHAPTER II TRANSFORMATIONS . 27 2.1 Lever 1 – Governance . 29 2.2 Lever 2 – Economy and finance . 32 2.3 Lever 3 – Individual and collective action . 34 2.4 Lever 4 – Science and technology . 36 2.5 Entry point 1 – Human well-being and capabilities . 38 2.6 Entry point 2 – Sustainable and just economies . 50 2.7 Entry point 3 – Food systems and nutrition patterns. 64 2.8 Entry point 4 – Energy decarbonization and universal access . 75 2.9 Entry point 5 – Urban and peri-urban development. 83 2.10 Entry point 6 – Global environmental commons . 94 2.11 Shared responsibility for transformation . 106 CHAPTER III SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. 111 3.1 The 2030 Agenda as a shared compass to harness advances in science and technology . 115 3.2 Sustainability science . 120 3.3 Partners for transformation . 123 CHAPTER IV CALL TO ACTION . 127 4.1 Strengthening human well-being and capabilities . 127 4.2 Shifting towards sustainable and just economies . 128 4.3 Building sustainable food systems and healthy nutrition patterns . 129 4.4 Achieving energy decarbonization with universal access to energy . 130 4.5 Promoting sustainable urban and peri-urban development . 131 4.6 Securing the global environmental commons . 132 4.7 Science and technology for sustainable development . 133 4.8 Not incremental change but transformation . 135 AFTERWORD . 139 NOTES . 143 REFERENCES . 159 ANNEXES ANNEX I MINISTERIAL DECLARATION . 195 ANNEX II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . 203 ANNEX III REVIEW PROCESS . 211 ANNEX IV INDEPENDENT GROUP OF SCIENTISTS 2019 . 215 BOXES 1-1 The Global Sustainable Development Report . 3 1-2 Interactions among Sustainable Development Goals . 6 Figure source: Author’s calculation. For further details, see the repository of Sustainable Develop- ment Goals interactions on the Global Sustainable Development Report website. vi 1-3 The Global Monitoring Framework . 9 Figure source: United Nations, 2019 1-4 Other assessments of progress . 12 1-5 Tipping points . 13 1-6 Small island developing States . 14 1-7 Least developed countries . 15 1-8 The Global Sustainable Development Framework for knowledge-based transformations towards sustainable development . 24 2-1 Political equality . 31 Figure source: Leininger, J., et al., 2019 2-2 The continuing significance of international financial cooperation . 33 2-3 Cognitive capacity for sustainable development choices . 35 2-4 Adaptive collaborative management . 36 2-5 Widespread deprivations in safely managed drinking water and sanitation services . 40 2-6 Climate change disproportionately affects the most vulnerable . 41 2-7 Ensuring refugees and migrants are counted and visible . 42 2-8 Tackling inequality is good for poverty reduction . 44 Figure source: Lakner, et al., 2019 2-9 Private-sector innovations towards better health . 45 2-10 Shifting behaviour for better health in Indonesia . 46 2-11 Mitigating health emergencies using emerging technology . 47 2-12 Measuring multidimensional poverty at the national level . 48 2-13 Early childhood interventions build capabilities . 49 2-14 Partnerships for access to health care in Ghana . 50 2-15 Alternatives to GDP as a measure of progress . 52 2-16 Damage caused by fossil fuel subsidies . 56 2-17 Carbon pricing . ..