From October 1st to October 3rd, Professor Koundouri participated in the 20th Anniversary Meeting of the STS FORUM (Science and Technology in Society Forum) held in Kyoto. This significant event brought together nearly 1,500 leaders representing more than 80 countries, regions, and international organizations to discuss the benefits of advances in science and technology, and also the issues they newly raise.
Prof. Koundouri summarized the session on “Sustainable and Resilient Urban Environments” and she highlighted the need to Reform of the Global Financial Architecture, by providing UN SDGs Stimulus for Agenda 2030. “First, we need to tackle the high cost of debt and rising risks of debt distress, including by converting short-term high interest borrowing into long-term (more than 30 year) debt at lower interest rates. Second, we must massively scale up affordable long-term financing for development, especially through public development banks (PDBs), including multilateral development banks (MDBs), and by aligning all financing flows with the SDGs.
She also emphasized that the impact of multiple shocks that are threatening to further reverse progress on the SDGs (COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, high inflation and weak economic growth, tightening monetary and financial conditions, and unsustainable debt burdens, escalating climate emergency) on the global south and even developed countries (but with limited fiscal space) is aggravated by an unfair global financial system that is short-term oriented and crisis-prone, and that further exacerbates inequalities”.
Furthermore, Professor Koundouri presented the work of the UN SDSN Global Climate Hub (GCH) during a concurrent session on “Green Technologies.” The UN SDSN GCH is a unique, holistic, scientific framework of analysis, for identifying integrated and detailed pathways for the transition to climate neutrality (mitigation) and resilience (adaptation) for the energy, transport, and land-use systems at national scale. The UN SDSN Climate Hub consists of the following units of analysis: Climate Data Platforms and Digital Applications, Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Climate & Energy Systems Modeling Climate, Land Use, Water-Food-Energy-Biodiversity Nexus Modeling, Climate & Health, Innovation Acceleration for Climate Neutrality and Resilience, Just Transition: Policies, Finance, Labor Market, Transformative and Participatory Approaches Education, Training, Upskilling and Reskilling. The UN SDSN GCH will present energy decarbonization pathways for each country in EU-27, the UK, and the Balkans at #COP28, on the 3rd of December, at the UNFCCC Climate Innovation Pavilion in UEA.
Read the Executive Summary of the STS forum 2023 – 20th Annual Meeting here