Modeling teams from participating organizations will identify sustainable development pathways through which the SDGs could be achieved.
Johan Rockström, Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre, said the World in 2050 project is novel in that it explores the feasibility, tradeoffs and synergies of the needed transformations.
11 March 2015: The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Stockholm Resilience Center at Stockholm University, Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Alpbach-Laxenburg Group launched a modelling project, titled ‘The World in 2050: Pathways towards a sustainable future.’
The launch took place during a workshop on 9-11 March 2015, in Vienna, Austria.
Modeling teams from participating organizations will identify sustainable development pathways through which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be achieved, and compare these with a business-as-usual scenario, in order to provide policymakers with information on the choices available.
During the launch event, Jeffrey Sachs, SDSN Director, said the project will establish how to achieve the requirements of sustainable development – robust economic development, and a “long-term convergence” in living standards between rich and poor countries, in ways that are “socially equitable and respect planetary boundaries.”
In a video message to the launch, UN General Assembly President Sam Kutesa cited the role of science in advising on “the cost of inaction and to help chart pathways towards achieving the SDGs,” and said the World at 2050 Project seeks to bring together major modelling teams to consider such pathways.
Workshop presenters highlighted that gaps remain in understanding how to achieve transformations (e.g. in health, education, agriculture and food security, energy, ecosystem management, population, urban development, and access to basic infrastructure) at the necessary scale, pace and integration. They sought to consolidate the state of knowledge on these issues.
Johan Rockström, Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre, said the World in 2050 project is novel in that it explores the feasibility, tradeoffs and synergies of the needed transformations, and conducts “back casting” from a future in which humanity thrives on a stable planet, to find ways to meet this goal. [SDSN Press Release] [Stockholm Resilience Centre Press Release][IIASA Press Release] [UNGA President Statement]