Wednesday, November 18, 2020
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
on Zoom
What is a sustainable future and how can we get there?
By Dr. David Griggs, Honorary Professor of Sustainable Development, Warwick University, UK
Adjunct Professor of Sustainable Development, Monash University, Australia
Abstract
The presentation will first try to establish what is meant by sustainability or sustainable development. It will assess how sustainable the world is at present and will look at some of the challenges to creating a more sustainable future. The presentation will examine the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and some of the challenges in their implementation. In particular, the importance of interlinkages between SDGs and how to address them will be covered.
The city of Riyadh will be used as a case study and some of the initiatives being proposed to make the city more sustainable will be outlined. Finally, the presentation will look at the roles governments, business, and individuals must play in creating a sustainable future for the world.
About the speaker
Griggs is an adjunct professor of sustainable development at Monash University in Australia and an honorary professor at Warwick University in the UK. From 2016 to 2018 he established, and was director of the Warwick Institute for Global Sustainable Development. From 2007 to 2015 David was director of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, which aims to deliver solutions to key sustainability challenges. In November 2008, he also established and became CEO of ClimateWorks Australia an independent research-based non-profit organisation committed to catalysing greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Previous positions he held include UK Met Office deputy chief scientist, director of the Hadley Centre for Climate Change, and head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientific assessment unit. He is a past vice-chair of the World Climate Research Program.
Griggs is currently working with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City leading the development of an environmental sustainability plan for Riyadh. He was awarded the Vilho Vaisala award (World Meteorological Organization) in 1992 and a 2014 WME Leaders List Award which honors individuals who have provided extraordinary environment leadership.
Additional information can be found here.