Helsinki builds steps towards SDGs

A two-day high-level international panel of scientific experts of the United Nations begins in Helsinki on Tuesday.

The meeting will prepare assessments based on research data and draw up recommendations to achieve the goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda, said an official press release.

In 2019, the panel will publish a global progress report that will support decision-makers in promoting sustainable development and reduction of poverty.

A workshop hosted by the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Ministry of the Environment of France will be organised in connection with the meeting.

Professor Eeva Furman from SYKE coordinates the preparations of two different parts of the progress report. She coordinates the part related to the workshop in Helsinki together with Jean-Martin Moatti, president and director general of the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, and Professor Eun Mee Kim from South Korea.

“In the workshop held in Helsinki, experts from different fields will strive to identify impact paths that bring about changes required to achieve the global sustainable development goals,” said Eeva Furman, who will act as the chair of the meeting. “The aim is to provide a scientific basis for the promotion of sustainable development.”

The internationally important group convening in the meeting consists of 15 experts from across the world. Another 20 experts arriving from different parts of the world will be heard and will join the discussions on the principal subject matters of the report.

Former president Tarja Halonen and Somali-Finnish Fadumo Dayib will make the introductions to the expert discussions. The invited experts include Professor Yonglong Lu from China, Professor Måns Nilsson from Sweden, and Professor Oran Young from the United States.

“Abroad, Finland’s 100-year history is regarded as a kind of prototype of sustainable development. The analyses and recommendations of our international research group will challenge the decision-makers to take a visionary approach and to have courage to decide on a sustainable future for the globe, also in Finland,” said Eeva Fuhrman.