On Tuesday 18 June, Professor Phoebe Koundouri had the honor of delivering the keynote speech at the “On track to 2030? Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU” conference at KBR (Royal Library of Belgium). The event featured welcome remarks from Her Majesty Queen Mathilde, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni, and Belgian Federal Minister for Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development, and Green Deal, Zakia Khattabi.
Co-organized by European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni and Belgian Federal Minister Zakia Khattabi, this high-level conference aimed to increase political ownership of the SDGs, review progress, learn from the EU Voluntary Review, and discuss future steps during the “Decade of Action.” The goal was to raise awareness about the importance of sustainable development for EU citizens.
Professor Phoebe Koundouri delivered the keynote address for Session 3, “Follow the Money: Unlocking Tomorrow’s Economy,” highlighting the work in the “Program on Fraternal Economy of Integral & Sustainable Development” of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of Vatican. This initiative is a High-Level Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network dedicated to revitalizing the United Nations to meet 21st-century challenges, which is a precursor to the Summit of the Future (SOFT). Additionally, Professor Phoebe Koundouri referenced her role as a representative of Academia Europaea in S20 Task Force 2 “Bioeconomy”, focusing on driving the world towards a sustainable planet and acting as an advisor to G20 nations. She also introduced AE4RIA Metrix, a spinoff of Athens University of Economics and Business, which provides companies with ESG quantification and reporting tools integrating the SDGs
Keynote speeches were also delivered by Enrico Giovannini, Economist and former Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility, and Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries.
Livestream of the event can be viewed here
