New York, NY
12 December 2011
Please send your RSVPs to Diana Choi (dchoi@asiasociety.org).
The 2011 Human Development Report, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 2 November, argues that sustainability and equity (e.g. social justice) must—and can—be addressed simultaneously in order to achieve a fair, inclusive and sustainable future.
A distinguished panel will debate how these recommendations can translate into action for the Rio+20 agenda, and in national and international policy making.
| 9:30 AM | Coffee/Tea | |
| 10:00 AM | Welcome and introduction Khalid Malik, Director, HDRO/UNDP |
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| 10:10-10:50 AM |
Low carbon progress — equitable options for low-HDI countries Global Partnerships and the United Nations Back to the Future — What Rio +20 must do |
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| 10:50-11:15 AM | Interactive panel discussion | |
| 11:15-11:50 AM | Questions from the floor | |
| 11:50 AM-12:00 | Thanks Khalid Malik, Director, HDRO/UNDP |
Rajendra Kumar Pachaur is the Chair of the UN's Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is also Director General of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an independent research organisation providing knowledge on energy, environment, forestry, biotechnology, and the conservation of natural resources. He was also recently appointed Director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Rebeca Grynspa is a UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She was previously UNDP's Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean and Director of the Sub-regional headquarters in Mexico of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Ms. Grynspan was the Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998, following her service as Costa Rica's Housing Minister, Coordinating Minister of Economy, Coordinating Minister of Social Affairs and Vice-Minister of Finance.
Maurice Stron has had a long and distinguished career in both business and public service, primarily in the fields of international development, the environment, energy and finance. He was Secretary General of both the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm and the 1992 UN Environmental Summit in Rio, and served later as the first Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Khalid Malik is the Director of the Human Development Report Office at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Previously he served as UNDP's Special Advisor on New Development Partnerships (2010-2011); UN Resident Coordinator in China (2003-2010); Director of the UNDP Evaluation Office (1997-2003); and UN Representative in Uzbekistan (1993-1997). His latest book — "Why China Has Grown So Fast for So Long" — will be published in 2012 by Oxford University Press.
Photo Credit: UNDP/Arantxa Cedillo
The 2011 Human Development Report shows that the path of rapid progress and convergence in human development (longevity, schooling and material wellbeing) over the past 40 years is under threat by climate change, a worsening environment and persistent inequality within and among nations. The path of catch-up may indeed taper off by 2050 as poorer societies and people remain particularly vulnerable without bold action to address these threats and injustices. The Report presents national and global initiatives that could spur progress towards these interlinked objectives. These issues are relevant and pressing for countries as diverse as Iceland and India, as speakers will highlight.
The Report contents that 1.6 billion people still lack access to two or more basic services in health, schooling and modern facilities for energy, water supply and sanitation. They carry a double burden: disadvantages in their immediate environment and vulnerable to the changing environment.
It is a widely held view that overcoming these injustices will further tax the environment. But the Report confirms that providing global access to modern energy for all by 2020 is achievable at low cost and an only modest increase in CO2 emissions. There is growing support for such international action.
Rapidly growing countries in Asia and elsewhere illustrate both the imperative for action to put these countries on a sustainable path whilst reducing widespread vulnerability. Asia, which is home to more multidimensionally poor than Sub-Saharan Africa, has seen the sharpest increase in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years. The region is, also, the most vulnerable to projected sea-level rises, with more than 100 million people estimated at risk.
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