Copy
View this email in your browser

Science in action to achieve SDGs

With the 2030 deadline to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) drawing nearer, the global community confronts a troubling reality: progress towards these ambitious targets has significantly faltered.
Discover our latest position paper
Share Share
Forward to a friend Forward to a friend

The ISC at the 2024 High-level Political Forum

Held from Monday 8 July to Wednesday 17 July 2024, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the United Nations' central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In 2024, the HLPF will conduct an in-depth review of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include ending poverty (Goal 1), ending hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture (Goal 2), combating climate change (Goal 13), promoting peaceful and inclusive societies (Goal 16), and strengthening the means of implementation for sustainable development (Goal 17).

➡️ Discover the HLPF 2024 programme

The ISC is involved in several events at this year's Forum, including:
  • 8 July, 16:30 - 18:00 (EST): Official Session on Science, technology and innovation: Triggering transformation and sustaining science-driven solutions.
    > Discover more >
     
  • 9 July, 10:00 - 13:00 (EST): Special Event Science Day - driving science-based action on the SDGs.
    > Discover more >
     
  • 10 July, 10:00 (EST): Global Multi-Stakeholder Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Partnership Dialogue.
    > Discover more >
     
  • 15 July, 15:00 - 16:30 (EST): High-level launch event of the Navigating New Horizons Global Foresight Report
    > Discover more >
     
  • 16 July, 13:15 - 14:30 (EST): Side-event on Measuring and monitoring community-level emissions: Scalable qualitative solutions toward SDGs 1 and 13.
    > Discover more >

Additionally, the ISC serves jointly with UNESCO as Secretariat of the UN Group of Friends on Science for Action, co-chaired by Belgium, India, and South Africa. The Group will hold a meeting in the margins of the HLPF, focused on policy responses at the climate-poverty nexus, featuring scientific inputs from the ISC community.
 
Discover all our activities at the HLPF 2024

Join us live: Launch event of the Global Foresight Report

This high-level event on 15 July from 15:00 to 16:30 will launch a Global Foresight Report by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Science Council. The report provides insights into potential challenges and opportunities that could impact environmental sustainability and the achievement of the SDGs.

It identifies key drivers of change, such as environmental degradation, resource scarcity, and critical global shifts that could affect planetary health and human well-being. The event will explore how foresight can help achieve the environmental goals in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
 

Watch the launch live on 15 July at 15:00 (EST)

Latest news

The ISC Governing Board calls for mobilizing African scientists ahead of the 2024 UN Summit of the Future

The ISC Governing Board convened in Nairobi ahead of the UN Civil Society Conference, stressing the underuse of science in achieving the SDGs, especially in Africa. They urged African leadership in global sustainability efforts and emphasized the need for increased scientific collaboration.

The path to a strong Global Plastic Treaty

In this editorial, Margaret Spring, Chief Conservation and Science Officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Chair of the ISC expert group on plastic pollution, shares takeaways from her 10 days in Ottawa, Canada. During INC-4, global negotiators worked to shape a binding international agreement to stem the tide of plastic pollution.

ISC appoints the new members of the IRDR Scientific Committee

Following a global call by the International Science Council (ISC), 15 new members have been appointed to the IRDR Scientific Committee. These members, six women and nine men from diverse disciplines and regions, will provide expertise to support the IRDR mission of reducing disaster risk, building resilience, and reducing vulnerability.

Call for nominations of experts: Biological Weapons Convention

The ISC invites nominations of authoritative experts specializing in science and technology advisory mechanisms relevant to the fields of disarmament and life sciences, verification and compliance of biological weapons related activities, and international cooperation and assistance under international conventions.

SIDS at the forefront of ocean health and governance

For World Ocean Day 2024, we focused on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), or Large Ocean States, for their leadership in marine conservation and sustainable ocean management. Despite small land areas, SIDS control extensive ocean territories crucial to their economies and cultures. The ISC highlights their role in advocating for marine biodiversity protection, climate action, and sustainable resource use, underscored by initiatives like the recent SIDS4 conference in Antigua and Barbuda.
 

Read our key takeaways from SIDS4
The ISC and the UN Pact for the Future
During September’s UN Summit of the Future, Heads of State are expected to sign the landmark Pact for the Future, including a Declaration on Future Generations. The ISC has provided inputs into the Declaration through both formal and informal channels, including in collaboration with the Global Young Academy. The recently-released first revised version of the Declaration (rev. 1) reflects some of the ISC’s key recommendations.

Is your organization engaged with the Pact for the Future, Declaration on Future Generations, or Global Digital Compact? Let us know by contacting our UN Liaison Office in New York: Morgan Seag, morgan.seag@council.science
✉ If you know someone who would be interested in this newsletter, please forward it to them!
🖱️ If you're reading this newsletter for the first time, subscribe here.
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Share Share
Copyright © 2024 International Science Council, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can
update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.