Achieving the Sustainable Development
Goals and the Paris Agreement through ajust transition: The role of G7
Upalat KORWATANASAKUL

United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability
Faculty of Social Sciences, Waseda University
International Day for Biological Diversity 2023 Symposium“From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity”
UNU-IAS, MOEJ, GEOC
The Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J)
15 May, 14:00-17:00
UNU 5F Elizabeth Rose Hall

Background• Think7 (T7) is the official think tank engagement group of the Group of 7 (G7).
• The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) is hosting T7 as part of Japan’s 2023 G7
presidency, under the theme, “Addressing Crises, Reigniting Sustainable Development, andBridging the G7 and G20”.
• By focusing on Inclusion and Global South, T7 Japan is open to participants from G7 and non-G7
countries to deliver more impactful solutions to global leaders.
• Policy research produced during the T7 Japan process is administered by four task forces:• Development and Economic Prosperity• Wellbeing, Environmental Sustainability, and Just Transition• Science and Digitalization for a Better Future• Peace, Security, and Global Governance

Upalat KORWATANASAKUL2Challenges• Slow progress towards achieving the SDGs and the Paris Agreement• How to implement the principles for a just transition to mitigate climatechange and other global environmental crises while supporting economic
prosperity and human well-being• Interrelated challenges require more integrated approaches to sustainable
development to achieve environmental sustainability and human well-being
simultaneously• Just transition requires effective measurement and a new way to measure
human well-being holistically, going beyond GDP
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Key approaches
1.

An integrated and holistic approach to sustainability, prioritising the environment• A holistic and system-based approach to decarbonisation is needed, including transforming the energy and infrastructure
systems that link climate and biodiversity in a way that also supports human well-being.

2.

Just transition: Advancing the climate, sustainable development, and human well-being agenda• G7 must achieve sustainable food systems through sustainable agriculture and energy use, including protection,conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity

3.

Financing and multi-stakeholder partnerships• G7 should mobilise finances from all sources to strengthen ambitious climate and biodiversity actions and ensure robust
policies and systems are in place to facilitate private actors to align their financial flows with climate and other sustainability
objectives.

4.

New internationally agreed measures of well-being (beyond GDP): Interconnecting ethicalmeasurement of prosperity and a more holistic approach to strengthening the delivery of the SDGs
• The G7 should agree on aggregate indicators of economic, social, and environmental prosperity.
• For instance, the aggregate environmental indicators should cover metrics on climate and biodiversity.

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Policy recommendations for re-igniting actions for SDGs, carbon
neutrality, and climate-resilient development
1.

A universal access to carbon-neutral energy systems•

Strengthen regulatory frameworks and conduct awareness-raising campaigns to promote the circular economy,
resource efficiency, and reduce the negative impact of pollution and biodiversity loss from the increase in theextraction of critical minerals and unsustainable land development for renewable power infrastructure.

•Policy brief: Critical Minerals for Net-Zero Transition: How the G7 can Address Supply Chain Challenges andSocioenvironmental Spillovers

2.

Promote sustainable food systems and biodiversity conservation

3.

Enhance resilience, social protection, and social sustainability•

Promote the One Health approach as a prerequisite for addressing climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss,
since these problems disproportionately affect women, girls, and people left behind.

4.

Finance for promoting a just transition

5.

Create an annual, consistent mechanism to measure just transition, environmental sustainability andwell-being

6.

Strengthen partnerships for climate and sustainable development

7.

Enhance capacity, promote education and youth empowerment
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Promote sustainable food systems and biodiversity
conservation• Deliver on the G7’s commitment to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• Significantly reduce carbon footprint and strengthen natural carbon sequestration and food security
throughout the whole food supply chain by promoting sustainable agricultural productivity growth, organic
farming, and utilising agroecological and other innovative approaches.
• Encourage local governments and the private sector to set targets on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission
reductions, biodiversity conservation, and avoidance of food loss through enhanced demand side
management, including dietary shifts and reducing food waste, to reduce GHG emissions from foodproducts.
• Paris Strategy for Sustainable Food, shifting to organic and vegetarian meals, reduced the carbon footprint of the school
lunch menu by 30%.

• Realign food and agricultural policies consistent with climate change mitigation and biodiversity targets,
including agricultural subsidies, land-use regulations, land tenure systems, food and environmental taxation,
food product and service regulations, and consumer incentives.
• Increase investments in adaptation targeting climate and biodiversity objectives and sustainable infrastructure
for public mobility and transportation, buildings, and energy systems.
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Thank you very muchkorwatanasakul@unu.edu
korwatanasakul@aoni.waseda.jp
https://sites.google.com/site/korwatanasakul/home
Critical materials
https://www.think7.org/publication/critical-minerals-for-net-zero-transitionhow-the-g7-can-address-supply-chain-challenges-andsocioenvironmental-spillovers/

AI and sustainable development
https://www.eu-japan.ai/ja/leveraging-artificial-intelligence-for-sustainabledevelopment-applying-social-principles-for-human-centric-ai/

ICT and sustainable development
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:8869/UNU-IAS-PB-No33-2022.pdf

Carbon neutrality and Leave No One Behind in developed anddeveloping countries
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:9100/UNU-IAS-PB-No39-2023.pdf
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:8921/UNU-IAS-PB-No35-2022.pdf
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