University of Southampton Public Lectures: Environment

Delivering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Wednesday 6 December 2017

Following the success of the University's first public lecture series in 2016, which demonstrated how our world-leading research impacts on medical policy and practice, our 2017 series focuses on environment and sustainability issues, illustrating our influence in the sector.

This exciting final event in the environment public lecture series, will take place on Wednesday 6 December in London and focuses on Delivering the United Nations SDGs.

The event will include keynotes from the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, The Rt Hon Baroness Scotland QC, Professor Charlotte Watts, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department for International Development and Professor Sybren Drijfhout, Professor in Physical Oceanography and Climate Physics at the University of Southampton

Following the three keynote presentations there will be a panel discussion to address: How do we deliver the Sustainable Development Goals?

The whole event will be chaired by Professor Colin Grant, our Vice-President (International) .

At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, the countries of the world agreed a hugely ambitious set of targets to transform the planet and the lives of the people living on it. These 17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs are a massive challenge to the international community, and will require concerted action and good will amongst policy makers at the national and international level over the next decade and beyond. The SDGs cover a range of issues around people (such as ending hunger and poverty, and ensuring health, education and gender equality), development (water, energy, industry) and the environment, including of course the need to tackle climate change. Each of the individual SDGs is a huge challenge in itself, but they are also interdependent, sometimes in complex ways.

Programme as follows;

Registration (with teas and coffees) - from 16:30

Keynote lectures and panel discussion - 17:15-19:00

Drinks reception - 19:00-20:30

University of Southampton: Delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals