Finnish expert selected for prestigious UN working group
Press release2/2017
5 January 2017
Professor Eeva Furman, Chair of Finland’s Sustainable Development Expert Panel, has been selected to join the working group drafting the UN’s Global Sustainable Development Report. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has assembled for the working group 15 eminent scientists and experts from around the world. The group’s task is to monitor and assess global progress in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 17 SDGs and the related 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, covering all of the countries of the world, came into force at the beginning of 2016. The Global Sustainable Development Reports, produced every four years, will provide information to the UN’s High Level Political Forum, which is monitoring the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The aim of the indicators and scientific analyses used is to support decision-makers in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. The first report will be published in 2019.
Furman’s selection for the working group reinforces Finland’s role as a pioneer in sustainable development. Finland’s National 2030 Agenda Implementation Plan will be prepared in early 2017.
“In Finland, a Sustainable Development Committee already exists and its networks and operating practices are well established, so with the 2030 Agenda there is no need to start from scratch. Many countries have shown interest in Finland’s model and practical tools in preparing their own implementation,” says Furman.
Furman is Director of the Environment Policy Centre at the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). In the UN working group, she will emphasise the comprehensive analysis of the SDGs. To achieve sustainable development, it is not sufficient to measure different goals and compare figures; results must be evaluated against each other.
“Economic, social and environmental goals are all linked to each other, and the crucial points are at their intersections. Solutions will require comprehensive changes in society in all countries – including Finland.”
The working group will begin its work in February.
Additional information: Professor Eeva Furman, Director, Environment Policy Centre, Finnish Environment Institute, tel. +358 295 251 123, firstname.lastname @ymparisto.fi and Sami Pirkkala, Counsellor on Supplier Development, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 50 431 2506.
The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are of the format [email protected].