Seattle, WA, 15th February 2020 Meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 will require innovative partnerships and collaborations between government, academia, non-profit organisations and industry. That’s according to Prof Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, speaking today at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Addressing delegates at the Climate Future series, Prof Ferguson said: “Ireland has a large network of world-leading SFI Research Centres, many of whom deal with aspects of global climate change adaptation and mitigation. iCRAG, which specialises in applied geoscience research, is a prime example of how Ireland’s structured research funding mechanisms are ensuring vital government-industry collaboration to address these global challenges.”

Dr Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elders, speaking at the Climate Future series, said: “We have already seen the devastation to lives crippled by global warming, which is deeply impacting some of the most vulnerable communities across the globe. It is critical that we work together across all sectors, to give voices to the disempowered, and to find and implement long lasting solutions.”

Chairing the session, Prof Murray Hitzman, Director of iCRAG, the SFI Research Centre for Applied Geosciences, said, “Decarbonisation will involve a profound social adjustment and changes in how societies operate. At iCRAG, the sustainable sourcing of materials, minerals and metals needed to enable the transition to a low carbon economy is central to our research mission. It is only through the effective research cooperation of academia, industry and NGOs that we will achieve many of the energy and resource-related UN Sustainable Development Goals in the next 10 years.”

Also taking part in the session, Susan Dio, Chairman and President of BP America, highlighted how R&D in industrial energy can aid in providing affordable and sustainable energy to the world’s most vulnerable people.