Press release 2017-12-08 at 10:30
© UN
A high-level international panel of scientific experts of United Nations will convene in Helsinki on 12 and 13 December. It will prepare assessments based on research data and draw up recommendations to achieve the goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda. In 2019, the panel will publish a global progress report that will support decision-makers in the promotion of sustainable development and reduction of poverty.
A workshop hosted by the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Ministry of the Environment of France will be organised in connection with the meeting.
Professor Eeva Furman from SYKE coordinates the preparation of two different parts of the progress report. She coordinates the part related to the workshop in Helsinki together with Jean-Martin Moatti, President and Director General of the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, and Professor Eun Mee Kim from South Korea.
"In the workshop held in Helsinki, experts from different fields will strive to identify impact paths that bring about changes required to achieve the global sustainable development goals," says Eeva Furman, who will act as the chair of the meeting. "The aim is to provide a scientific basis for the promotion of sustainable development."
The workshop will reflect on how the flows of raw materials between countries and continents and, on the other hand, shifts in lifestyles affect sustainability. It will also examine how it would be possible to influence the flows and shifts so that they would not conflict with sustainable development. These flows and shifts are currently the most difficult obstacles to control in sustainable development. The workshop will explore the topic especially from the points of view of land use, consumption and production, urbanisation and the economy. In addition, the meeting will examine the importance of gender equality in achieving the sustainable development goals.
The internationally important group convening in the meeting consists of 15 experts from across the world. Another 20 experts arriving from different parts of the world will be heard and will join the discussions on the principal subject matters of the report.
President Tarja Halonen and Somali-Finnish Fadumo Dayib will provide the introductions to the expert discussions. The invited experts include Professor Yonglong Lu from China, Professor Måns Nilsson from Sweden and Professor Oran Young from the United States.
"Abroad, Finland's 100-year history is regarded as a kind of prototype of sustainable development. The analyses and recommendations of our international research group will challenge the decision-makers to take a visionary approach and to have courage to decide on a sustainable future for the globe, also in Finland," says Professor Eeva Fuhrman.
All countries should achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda by 2030. The progress reports compiled every four years provide information for the UN's High-level Political Forum monitoring the implementation of the agenda. At the beginning of this year, Professor Eeva Furman was chosen to the prestigious international working group preparing the first report.
The event “Transformations towards Sustainable Development: pathways to equity and economic and environmental sustainability” will be held at Hotel Kalastajatorppa in Helsinki on 12 and 13 December.
Further information:
Professor Eeva Furman, Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE
firstname.lastname@ymparisto.fi, tel. +358 295 251 123