19 October 2012: In an interview with the Organisation for Diaspora Initiatives (ODI), Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, discussed the future of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Stressing that adaptation to climate change needs to be the “starting point” for this agenda, Sachs outlined four priority areas of international sustainable development that the SDGs should encompass: decarbonizing the global energy supply; creating a sustainable food supply; making cities more viable; and curbing the growth of the world’s population.

Sachs elaborated on the importance of these priority areas by focusing on recent global disasters and crises. With a particular example of the 2012 summer drought in the US, he stressed the need for a more stable food supply that is resistant to major shocks. Sachs also called for cities to improve their water and sewage systems while adapting to threats from climate change, and for the world to decarbonize its energy supplies. He further stressed that the massive expansion of the human population, which is projected to reach ten billion people by 2084, is aggravating all of these issues. He called for a “rapid, voluntary reduction of fertility rates” through worldwide education, women’s empowerment, family planning resources, and increasing childhood life expectancy.

Sachs said an integration of the SDGs with the current priorities of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) would require reaching out to young people around the world. Speaking about the threats of global overpopulation, climate change, and resource stress, he underscored that these would be the future “reality” for youth and the challenges of their generation. Additionally, Sachs emphasized new technological innovations and human networks that “reach around the globe” and open promising possibilities for the future.

In concluding, Sachs underlined the need for the SDGs to be “clear, crisp, and concise,” stressing that public awareness and education would be essential for the success of the Goals. The interview took place in New Delhi, India, on 19 October 2012. [ODI Interview]