Feature

SEI Executive Director Måns Nilsson joins UN expert group to strengthen climate and SDG synergies

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is proud to announce the appointment of its Executive Director, Måns Nilsson to the Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergies. This group, co-convened by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat (UNFCCC), aims to create synergistic solutions for the world’s pressing climate and sustainable development challenges.

Ylva Rylander, Måns Nilsson / Published on 15 May 2023

Entrance to the UN office in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: Ylva Rylander / SEI.

The 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement together provide a clear vision for tackling today’s most pressing challenges. We must leverage all our means to advance joint action that will shape mutually reinforcing solutions to our environment emergencies and developmental dilemmas.

Mr. Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs

UN DESA and the UNFCCC have co-convened international experts to prepare a report building the evidence base for how synergistic actions – addressing both the climate emergency and sustainable development challenges – can provide a win-win solution, maximizing impact. The report was called for as a recommendation of the UN Climate and SDG Synergies Conference in Tokyo, Japan, in 2022.

Over 25 years of science and policy excellence

Måns Nilsson, with over 25 years of experience contributing to science and policy excellence at SEI, has been selected as one of fourteen international experts to the Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergies.

Måns Nilsson, SEI Executive Director. Photo: SEI/Christin Philipson.

I am excited about contributing in this high-level expert group. I am proud of SEI's work for enhancing coherence between SDGs and climate action, specifically the development of our SDG Synergies tool. Now, it is crucial to focus our attention on delivering action on the 2030 Agenda and leveraging synergies and co-benefits.

SEI Executive Director, Måns Nilsson

Måns Nilsson has been SEI’s Executive Director since 2018 and was previously the SEI Research Director from 2010-2018. Supporting the development of SEI’s research and policy engagement on SDGs and governance, including cross-sectoral action on the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement, has been his priority. In recent years, Nilsson has been strongly engaged in the 2030 Agenda and a regular advisor to the UN, OECD, the European Commission and the Government of Sweden. Nilsson has published over 60 scientific papers and edited two books.

All the SDGs are deeply intertwined and interconnected. Progress on all SDGs is impacted by what we achieve in regard to each individual SDG. If we fail on addressing climate change, other SDGs will be unachievable.

Mr. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

SEI has a long history of collaborating with international organizations such as the UN Environment Programme, UN DESA, IPCC and UNFCCC to address climate change challenges, the interconnection of the SDGs and driving progress to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. Nilsson’s appointment to the expert group is testament to SEI’s international credibility and commitment to create and promote sustainable solutions to global environmental challenges.

Sustainability is no longer confined to a ‘green box’; SEI has played an important role in providing the evidence to shift sustainability into mainstream policymaking and board rooms. I am also proud of the long-term partnerships that SEI builds and maintains across the world.

SEI Executive Director, Måns Nilsson

The initial report from the expert group will be launched in September 2023 on the margins of the UN SDG Summit, marking the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Climate Ambition Summit being convened by the UN Secretary-General in support of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. These two critical global agendas are both significantly off-track, indicating the urgent need for accelerated action and improved synergies.