SRC partner of first ever Nobel Prize Summit on sustainable development
“Our planet, Our future” explored actions that could be taken this decade to put the world on the right path towards a more sustainable, prosperous future
HOSTED BY THE NOBEL FOUNDATION and organised by the US National Academy of Sciences in partnership with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the SRC and the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, the summit drew upon lessons learned in the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It aimed to mobilise action on climate change and biodiversity loss, reduce inequality and advance transformative technologies.
Summit speakers included the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former US vice president Al Gore; the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama; climate activist and youth leader Xiye Bastida; the chief medical adviser to the US president, Anthony Fauci; and Nobel Prize laureate and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, Jennifer Doudna.
In a statement following the summit, 126 Nobel Laureates, including Brian Schmidt, the Dalai Lama, Steven Chu, Shirin Ebadi, Jennifer Doudna, Alice Munro and Paul Nurse, warned that “Humanity is taking colossal risks with its joint future” urging leaders to act quickly in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions and reverse loss of nature by 2030.
The role of science
The SRC hosted two sessions on the role that science plays in supporting transformations towards global sustainability (pictured).
Contributions included HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Carl Folke, Jane Lubchenco, Partha Dasgupta, Pamela Matson and the three editors-in-chief of Nature, Science and the Lancet, respectively.
“It’s wrong to treat society as one thing and the environment another. In today’s world, everything is completely intertwined. To really be able to collaborate, we need trust and social capital. Inequality is a counter-force in this space,” said Carl Folke, chair of the board and co-founder of the SRC.
Read more about the summit here