Active8-Planet project and Amsterdam Sustainability Institute are organizing lecture series highlighting each of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are interviewing prominent and brand new scientist on their work in a specific SDG in 17 different sessions. We are challenging them to translate their academic research into practice and find the golden lining, upbeat and positive message to share with the world from their work. Check out some snippets below.
SDG Academy
Climate change is the basic condition
Prof. Philipp Pattberg – Director of Amsterdam Sustainability Institute:
“Climate change is the basic condition under which everything else will develop.”
What really frustrates young people
Tessa Dool – Board member Jonge Klimaatbeweging:
“Young people are becoming increasingly aware and want the changes to happen, but they’re just not happening yet.”
We can still choose our future
Bart van den Hurk – Lead Author of the 6th IPCC Assessment Report (WG-I):
“We display multiple scenarios with multiple futures that lie ahead of us that we can still choose.”
Universities and leadership
Ivar Maas – Lead Sustainability at the VU:
“Universities should show leadership and show that it is possible to make those changes, and to lead by example.”
We have to use less energy
Philipp Pattberg – Director Amsterdam Sustainability Institute:
“Any of the broad projections that we have globally to the 1.5 degree future is with more energy efficiency and actually the same demands that we have today in 2050, which means – we have to use less energy.”
The solution is coming together
Rooske Gaal – Energy Coordinator CCE VU-VUmc:
“If we get our energy consumption smaller, the percentage we would get with our own solar would be bigger, so I think that the solution is coming together.”
The VU is not a bubble
Dan Petrovics – Junior Researcher VU:
“The VU is not a bubble, it’s not an island. It’s situated in a city, it’s situated in a neighborhood. What we see, I think, going with decentralizing energy systems is that different elements have to start co-operating.”