15 October 2019
Vienna, Austria

The future is now

Based on the new UN Global Sustainable Development Report, IIASA World Population Program Director Wolfgang Lutz, who is one of the report contributors, will give a presentation at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Global Climate Strike event, 20th September 2019, Heidelberg, Germany © Monikabaumbach | Dreamstime.com

Global Climate Strike event, 20th September 2019, Heidelberg, Germany © Monikabaumbach | Dreamstime.com

The new UN Global Sustainable Development Report puts the Agenda 2030 to the test. What this implies for the implementation of the sustainability goals in Austria is the topic of a presentation by IIASA World Population Program Director Wolfgang Lutz, and a panel discussion with economists and ecologists at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.  

For the first time in history, in 2016, the UN appointed an Independent Group of Scientists to produce a Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) to inform the high-level political forum on sustainable development when it meets under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly to review the progress made on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among this independent group is Wolfgang Lutz.

The now published, first GSDR titled The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development emphasizes the central role of science for the future of humanity. At the same time, science is challenged to go beyond disciplinary boundaries and explore systemic relationships. At the event, Lutz will discuss the possibilities of sustainable science, the role of science in the future and the responsibilities of policy makers in Austria. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with Lutz, economist Sigrid Stagl, and ecologist and soil scientist Martin Gerzabek.

The full report, The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, can be found here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/gsdr2019

The Independent Group of Scientists has also published a summary of their recommendations in Nature Sustainability:

Messerli P, Kim EM, Lutz W, Moatti J-P, Richardson K, Saidam M, Smith D, Eloundou-Enyegue P, et al. (2019). Expansion of sustainability science needed for the SDGs. Nature Sustainability DOI:10.1038/s41893-019-0394-z.


Event details:

Title: The future is now

Date: 15 October 2019, 5PM

Location: Austiran Academy of Sciences, Festsaal, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna

Registration: For more information and registration please visit the event website.

The event language will be German.


Print this page

Last edited: 01 October 2019

CONTACT DETAILS

Wolfgang Lutz

Interim Deputy Director General for Science Directorate - DDG for Science Department

Principal Research Scholar and Senior Program Advisor Population and Just Societies Program

Principal Research Scholar and Senior Program Advisor Social Cohesion, Health, and Wellbeing Research Group - Population and Just Societies Program

PUBLICATIONS

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313