A conversation on innovation, social good, disruptions, and more with Dr. Jeffery Sachs, a leading American economist, eminent public intellectual, and dynamic policy thinker. He is the Director of Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, and President, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN).

by Aditya Chaturvedi

What role can geospatial and space tech play in creating impactful Tech solutions to achieve SDGs?

Geospatial data, including satellite-based info, plays a fundamental role in sustainable development policies in virtually every sector of society.

We need geospatial and space-based data to monitor Earth’s physical systems (drought, flood, soil moisture, photosynthetic production, vegetative cover, deforestation, energy flux, ocean circulation, and countless more dimensions).

We require geospatial data for designing physical infrastructure such as roads, rail, transmission lines, fiber, and housing, and for sustainable land use and location of public institutions (clinics, hospitals, schools, government centers, etc.).

Spatial data is also important for day-to-day management of public services and infrastructure, and for monitoring public health and disease transmission. It is also crucial for accountability of public and private actors. And of course, we need geospatial data for emergency responses to forest fires, heat waves, droughts, floods, and other natural hazards.

In your remarkable 2015 book, the Age of Sustainable Development, you laid down practical pathways to solve some of the most pressing global challenges. Which recommendations are urgently critical today, and how can technology augment them?

I tend to focus on six major societal transformations: quality education for all; quality health systems for all; energy-system decarbonization and sustainable industrial production (including drastic reductions of pollutants); sustainable agriculture and land use; urban and inter-urban infrastructure (roads, rail, water and sanitation, fiber, electricity, social housing); and digital platforms for public and private services.

In every one of these areas, technological transformation is at the core, and new digital technologies (e.g., 5G, robotics, 3D printing, AI, supercomputing, etc.) are fundamentally important.

For energy decarbonization, we need cutting-edge technologies. Be it zero-carbon power generation, electrification of transport and industry, production and uses of green hydrogen (e.g., in steel-making), smart grids, or battery storage.

In the age of looming geopolitical uncertainty and volatility, how can UNSDSN bridge divides and help forge collaborative transformation?

SDSN operates on several principles and dimensions. We help to incorporate sustainable development into the teaching curriculum at all levels, from primary schools through advanced post-doctoral research. We are engaged in multi-stakeholder problem solving, bringing together government, business, civil society, and the university sector.

We are engaged in regional integration, with multi-country SDSN chapters in all parts of the world working across national boundaries.

We are advising national governments on SDG-based strategies. And we are heavily engaged in many global research programs on how to achieve the SDGs, in terms of investments, financing, technology, metrics, accountability, and participatory strategies.

Your work has been at the cross-section of economic development, social changes wrought by it, and ways to deal with abrupt transition and its unintended consequences. What is your view on the transition to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and future shocks associated with it?

I read Future Shock by Alvin Toffler in 1970 as a high-school student. I was fascinated by it. Indeed, it got a lot right on target, especially the acceleration of technological change as we entered the digital age.

We are in a period of deeply disruptive technological change, where disruption means fundamentally new ways of facing problems, engaging in work, doing research, etc.

Our challenge is to harness new technologies for the human good, rather than for warfare, surveillance, fake news, rising inequality, hate, and conflict. It’s not easy, because our governments and businesses are not adequately and systematically working for the global common good.

We have collectively overcome the worst-case Malthusian nightmare due to rapid tech advancements and efficient energy supply, yet overpopulation and depleting natural resources remain serious concerns. What is the way forward for a resilient world?

We need to engage in cooperative problem-solving at all scales, from local communities to cities, provinces, nations, multi-country regions (such as the European Union, African Union, and ASEAN, to name three), and globally. Cooperative problem-solving means effective governance at all scales from local to global.

Strengthening the global system means first and foremost strengthening the United Nations. That is the aim of the upcoming UN Summit of the Future.

Sustainable development – the simultaneous achievement of economic prosperity, social justice, environmental sustainability, and peace and cooperation – is achievable.

But it will require new forms of politics and geopolitics, as well as fundamental reforms to the global financial architecture. It is only through global cooperation that we can achieve Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

https://www.geospatialworld.net/prime/global-cooperation-sdgs/