Representatives from academia, government, and non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations gathered in the margins of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) for the second edition of Science Day to discuss ideas and examples for ‘Harnessing the Power of Science for the SDGs: Evidence-Based Implementation Successes Worldwide.’

Participants reflected on strategies and case studies for accelerating implementation of the SDGs while ensuring they are as evidence-based, strategic, and effective as possible.

Convening as an HLPF special event, Science Day highlighted the need to enhance the interdisciplinarity of the science-policy interface, according to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary report of the meeting.

Ko Barrett, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Deputy Secretary-General, delivered a keynote address, calling for extending science across disciplines, across the “science and policy decision chain,” and across diversity and inclusion. Many speakers, ENB notes, “built on the first item in particular, stressing the need to incorporate the social sciences and not just the physical sciences into research.” Participants voiced the need for social science input to build the capacity of “those who moderate cross-disciplinary teams and collaboration among ministries.”

Speakers also discussed:

• Mechanisms for strengthening the science-policy interface;
• The role of the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) in informing SDG implementation, with more scientific studies on SDG interlinkages available for the 2023 edition than when the previous edition was drafted signifying that “researchers are looking closer at the SDGs and their interlinkages”;
• International processes that have developed science-policy interfaces such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), suggesting national governments adopt related structures;
• The need for better communication of scientific findings and a recognition among scientists that politics often intervene between scientific findings and policy formulation and implementation;
• The importance of knowledge brokers – those at the center of the science-policy interface who can help facilitate the translation of scientific findings and communication; and
• The need to adopt human-centered artificial intelligence (AI) guidelines, highlighting the importance of partnerships that empower youth.

“Speakers also stressed the need for the scientific community to engage in the agendas for the September 2024 Summit of the Future and the 2025 Financing for Development conferences, as well as Science Day 2025,” the ENB report notes.

Science Day 2024 was co-convened by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the International Science Council (ISC), and the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). It took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 9 July 2024. [ENB Coverage of Science Day 2024]