It is always good to remind some statements that may seem obvious. For instance, that sciences are at the base of sustainable development.
We begin today the reading of the third chapter of the report The Future is Now, a scientific review about the SDGs written by and independent group of scientists commissioned by UN General Secretary.
This chapter’s title says it all: Science for sustanaible development. We will in the next weeks quote most of this chapter, and add some comments relevant to IYBSSD 2022 point of view when necessary.
It begins very nicely.
Science lies at the heart of sustainable development. It establishes the factual basis, anticipates future consequences, and contributes to finding pathways to sustainability transformations. Science has always been embedded in society, and more than ever it should consciously engage more with current societal and political challenges and debates. Inspired and guided by the 2030 Agenda, the international scientific and engineering communities should more directly help to shape the future of our societies, in particular through strengthening the emerging interdisciplinary field of sustainability science.
Sustainability science
We already mentioned sustainability science in this blog, and it is certainly not the last time we do. Basic science experts certainly should be present in this new field, and don’t fear to be “perverted” toward applied science. We hope that reading this chapter will convince them.
This chapter looks at the science-policy-society interface and considers how science can advance the 2030 Agenda. In that context, science encompasses the natural sciences and engineering, life sciences and medicine, social sciences and humanities, law and more. It also includes the scientists themselves, the evidence they generate and the incentives that drive their research, as well as the systems of funding, the research and educational institutions and beyond.
Science produces results, and provides methods
We must acclaim such a program. Indeed, rooted in basic sciences, IYBSSD 2022 will be an opportunity to go beyond experts discussions, and talk about how basic sciences are done, by whom, how they are funded, society needs, education, results dissemination, etc.
Although not all technological innovations directly originate from science, many scientific advances are key to the process of producing new and more sustainable technologies. Science is further considered as a practice or process: the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.
Yes again, IYBSSD 2022 is rooted in such views:
- basic sciences are at the base of most technological innovations;
- basic sciences provide methods to understand the world, that can be universal, and as such a mean to bring all SDGs all over the world.
