Science, technology and innovation can help identify and assess sustainability challenges, and help to ensure coherent agendas when implementing the SDGs.
The 2030 Agenda and its centrepiece, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), call for a transformation in how societies interact with the planet and each other. This transformation will need new technologies, new knowledge and new ways of structuring societies and economies.
Scientific research obviously has a central role. But is innovation the only way it can contribute?
I was recently part of an independent expert group set up by the European Commission to advise on the role of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) in implementing the new global sustainable development agenda. We identified many, sometimes unexpected, aspects of ST&I’s potential role, and made some recommendations on how to maximize the benefits.
I see three principal roles for ST&I: characterizing the challenges; providing the solutions; and strengthening public institutions and society.
Source: SciDevNet, UK
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