Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs

IIASA will contribute to several sessions of this workshop of the United Nations Interagency Task Team on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (IATT), including the 10-Member Group of representatives from civil society, the private sector and the scientific community.

Following the publication of the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) in 2019, this meeting aims to bring forward scientific recommendations in supporting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda.

Participation is by invitation only. The workshop will take place at Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria, 3 – 5 February 2020, co-organized by DESA, UNCTAD, UNOSD, OOSA, and UNIDO.

Session 1: GSDR entry points: (i) human well-being and capabilities, and (ii) transition to sustainable and just economies 

3 February 2020, 13:00-14:15

Joint introduction by IATT and 10-Member Group:

• Paulo Gadelha, Coordinator of the FIOCRUZ Strategy for the 2030 Agenda, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Brazil [Moderator]
  
• Ms. Ana Persic, Section Chief, UNESCO
  

Speakers:

• Eun Mee Kim, Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea and member of the Independent Group of Scientists for the Global Sustainable Development Report, 2019
• Leena Srivastava, Deputy Director General for Science, IIASA, Austria
• Ms. Shivani Nayyar, Human Development Report Office, UNDP
  Discussants
  
• Ms. Irina Zodrow, UNISDR (tbc)
  

UNIDO (TBC)

The ways we generate power, live and work are defined to various extents by science, technology and innovation, and achieving sustainability in all these areas will require STI-based solutions. The session will look at ways to create and scale up STI solutions to expand access to energy with an emphasis on renewables and foster sustainable urban development.

Session 3: GSDR entry points: (iv) energy and (v) cities

3 February 2020, 15:45-17:00

Joint introduction by IATT and 10-Member Group:

• Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Professor emeritus, Technical University of Vienna and IIASA, Austria [Moderator]
  
• Cecilia UGAZ ESTRADA, Director, UNIDO
  

Speakers:

• Keywan Riahi, Director, Energy Programme, IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria
  
• Partha Mukhopadhyay, Center for Policy Research, India
  Discussants
  
• Katarina Barunica, Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO
• A representative of JRC on international partnerships on batteries (TBC)
  

The ways we generate power, live and work are defined to various extents by science, technology, and innovation, and achieving sustainability in all these areas will require STI-based solutions. The session will look at ways to create and scale-up STI solutions to expand access to energy with an emphasis on renewables and foster sustainable urban development.

Session 5: GSDR entry point (vi): global environmental commons

4 February 2020, 10:50-12:15

• Joint introduction by IATT and 10-Member Group:  Agnes Lawrence Kijazi, Director General, Tanzania Meteorological Agency, Tanzania [Moderator]
• Victor Low, Energy and Climate Branch, UNEP, Paris, France
  

Speakers:

• Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Professor emeritus, Technical University of Vienna and IIASA, Austria
  
• Michael Obersteiner, Director, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK; Member, International Resource Panel
  
• Pierre Boileau, Head, Global Environment Outlook Programme, UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya

STI can provide a toolbox of solutions for protecting the global commons, including key constituents such as the climate, biodiversity and the ocean. This session will focus on new and holistic ways to deploy STI solutions for the global commons.  

Last edited: 18 February 2020