E7 Building up science in cities to drive action on the SDGs (Part 1)
(This is part 1 of a 2-part session)
There is a critical need for science and research to help build solutions to the world’s grand sustainability challenges. What is the role of science and research in elevating local actors to heights where their strength and knowledge can have a rippling effect on a global scale? Effective implementation of the SDGs requires governments and stakeholders to work across sectors, governance-levels, time frames and geographies. Early implementation of the SDGs has illustrated that countries are working to align national strategies, adapt institutional frameworks and shift policies to achieve the SDGs. However, it also illustrates that policymakers are struggling to manage and leverage goal areas and to operationalise an integrated implementation approach. Contributing to this struggle, is the fact that not enough is known about, for example, interlinkages, trade-offs and synergies between thematic focus areas of the SDGs, and, systematic understanding of the state of the art science, and research findings at the local and regional level as it pertains to the SDGs.
This session organized by Future Earth will gather high-level officials from regional and local governments who are leading the way in leveraging science in support of the implementation of the SDGs.
Moderator
Brenna Walsh
Science Officer, Future Earth, Montreal , Canada
Panelists
Urban Living Labs
Johannes Riegler
Researcher, JPI Urban Europe, Vienna, Austria
Nature in the Urban Century
Rob McDonald
Lead Scientist, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, USA
Emani Kumar
Executive Director, ICLEI South Asia Secretariat, Delhi, India
The Tale of Two Rivers: Building Regional & Local Collaboration in the Cambridge/Boston Metropolitan Area
Natalie Beauvais and Cameron Peterson
Principal, Climate Change Practice, Kleinfelder, Boston, USA; Director of Clean Energy , Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Boston, USA