12 January 2016

IIASA deputy director general named to UN sustainable development advisory group

IIASA Deputy Director General Nebojsa Nakicenovic and other members of the IIASA network will serve on a scientific advisory group to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

© Matthias Silveri | IIASA

© Matthias Silveri | IIASA

IIASA Deputy Director General Nebojsa Nakicenovic has been appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to serve on a special advisory group from civil society, the private sector and the scientific community which will support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, a key part of the post-2015 architecture for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Also named to the group were IIASA Distinguished Visiting Fellow William Colglazier, and Peter Bakker, who is a member of the Alpbach-Laxenburg Group.  

When the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted at the UN General Assembly in September 2015, the agenda called for a multi-stakeholder Technology Facilitation Mechanism. The mechanism will comprise three elements: a UN interagency task team on science, technology and innovation for the SDGs, a collaborative multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the SDGs that meets once a year and an online platform.

After an extensive and open selection process, the Secretary General selected 10 individuals to be invited to serve in their personal capacity on the 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism. The group, working with the UN interagency task team, will prepare the meetings of the multi-stakeholder forum, support the development and operationalization of the online platform and provide briefings and other inputs to the high-level political forum on sustainable development. 

Nakicenovic was nominated for the post by the International Council for Science (ICSU). He is a former member of ICSU Committee on Scientific Planning and Review, and long-standing contributor to ICSU’s activities. 

Members of the group will serve for two years, and the group will meet at least once a year. The group will have two co-chairs who will represent the group for a period of one year at a time. 

The full list of members of the group, and its terms of reference, are available from the UN website.

BOX: IIASA research and the SDGs

IIASA is leading new research projects providing scientific support for the implementation of the SDGs to 2030 and beyond:

In addition, IIASA research on energy and climate played an important role in several of the SDGs: the 2012 Global Energy Assessment provided the backbone for the quantitative goals in SDG7, which is focused on energy. IIASA research related to climate change has also provided important inputs to SDG13, which is focused on climate change mitigation.

 

IIASA researchers have also already begun working closely with policymakers on questions about SDG implementation. At the Alpbach-Laxenburg Group meeting earlier this month, the group released a statement identifying the key next steps for achieving the SDGs. 

A new nexus for sustainable development

Options Magazine Winter 2015: IIASA is at the center of integrated research efforts supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in September 2015 More

Alpbach-Laxenburg Group: Making the Sustainable Development Goals a reality

Recommendations from the Alpbach-Laxenburg Group (ALG) identify the key issues—challenges and barriers, outcomes and next steps—to support the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More

Nature Comment: How
can science support sustainable development?

Monitoring, data gathering, and evaluation processes are vital for the successful implementation of the multiple aims of the Sustainable Development Goals, argue leading researchers in a commentary in Nature. More

The World in 2050:  Pathways towards a sustainable future

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Last edited: 24 March 2016

CONTACT DETAILS

Nebojsa Nakicenovic

Distinguished Emeritus Research Scholar Transformative Institutional and Social Solutions Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program

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