Jeffrey Sachs: Australia in the age of sustainable development
As humanity pushes against planetary boundaries, how can we achieve economic growth that is both environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive?
On 21 May 2014 Jeffrey D. Sachs, world-renowned economist, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, and bestselling author, delivered a public lecture to over 1000 people at the Melbourne Town Hall on the new age of sustainable development and what it means for Australia. The video from the event is available below.
Summary
Humanity has entered a new era of both risk and possibility. Extreme poverty is down by half since 1990, and the IT revolution allows new possibilities as never before. Yet social inequalities are soaring; the environment is under great and growing stress; and governance is so far unable or unwilling to adapt. Jeffrey Sachs will discuss the new age of sustainable development, and Australia’s role in achieving sustainable development both domestically and globally.
Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs serves as the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, and held the same position under former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, as well as co-founder and director of the Millennium Villages Project. Sachs is also one of the Secretary-General’s MDG Advocates, and a Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Development. He has authored three New York Times bestsellers in the past seven years: The End of Poverty, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet, and The Price of Civilization.
The talk was presented by Monash Sustainability Institute as the Australia/Pacific Regional Centre of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network with the Australian Council for International Development. Proudly supported by the City of Melbourne.
