Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
A-Z Site Index
Menu
  1. HLPF
  2. High-level Political Forum 2016
  3. Programme
  4. Prospects For The Future (projections, Scenarios and New and Emerging Issues)

Prospects for the future (projections, scenarios and new and emerging issues)

This session in the high-level segment is organised in support of the high-level political forum’s function to strengthen the science-policy interface. It will discuss prospects for the years until 2030. It will be based on scientific evidence and feature perspectives of scientists and analysts.

The panel will bring together eminent policy makers, scientists, futurists, and civil society representatives. It will discuss lessons learnt from prospective studies on how the world in 2030 will differ from today, and thus what it will take to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ensuring that no one is left behind. Sustainable development scenarios illustrate what would be needed to achieve a better future for everyone. They can provide a reality check and inspire decision-making for the SDGs. Panellists will also be encouraged to point out crucial emerging technologies for the SDGs until 2030 and debate their potential opportunities and threats.

A key element of the science-policy function of the high-level political forum on sustainable development (HLPF) is the identification of new and emerging issues based on a forward-looking perspective. The session will thus identify new and emerging issues that require policy action at national and global levels, including those that should be on the agenda of future meetings of the high-level political forum. It is important to provide a systematic and trusted entry point for decision-makers to a plethora of analyses, rankings, and advice from many perspectives on what are or should be considered emerging issues.

Possible questions for discussion:

  1. What do future scenarios and projections tell us about the world in 2030? What will it take to achieve the SDGs?
  2. What new and emerging issues require policy action at the national and global levels? In particular, what emerging issues should be on the agenda of the high-level political forum?
  3. What are the most crucial emerging technologies for the SDGs until 2030? What are the opportunities and potential threats?

Chair:

  • H.E. Mr. Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN and Vice President of ECOSOC

Moderator:

  • Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Speakers:

  • H.E. Mr. Simon Gaviria, Minister for National Planning of Colombia
  • H. E. Mr. Edgar Gutierrez-Espeleta, President of the 2th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-2), and Minister for Environment and Energy of Costa Rica
  • Ms. Fumiko Kasuga, Director of the Future Earth Global Hub – Japan, Senior Fellow at the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Visiting Professor at University of Tokyo
  • Mr. Stewart Lockie, Director of the Cairns Institute at James Cook University
  • Mr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Deputy Director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis