10

Moving Forward

This chapter compiles the committee’s key research priorities and possible actionable steps needed to operationalize sustainable development by stakeholder. As stated in the committee’s task (Box 1-1), these research priorities and possible actionable steps were identified mostly from presentations and discussions at the workshops held by the committee. Common areas across the eight themes discussed in this report include the need for additional data and reporting, the need for multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral collaboration, the importance of participatory processes in decision-making, and the need for targeted financing at multiple levels from the international to the community scale. Delivering sustainability missions will require broad engagement and commitment from governments, the private sector, science funders, and civil society (ISC, 2021). The committee hopes that positive case studies provided in this report, along with the information summarized below, will guide federal and local policy makers, researchers, practitioners, civil society, educators, business and philanthropic leaders, and other stakeholders in their efforts toward sustainable development. The committee believes these recommendations are ambitious but realistic and, taken together, can make a measurable difference in a sustainable future for all.

KEY RESEARCH PRIORITIES

POSSIBLE ACTIONABLE STEPS BY STAKEHOLDER

The following section reorders the possible actionable steps needed to operationalize sustainable development described in each chapter by stakeholder. Although these suggestions are listed by stakeholder, their implementation would benefit from collaborative efforts by several or all stakeholders.

Federal agencies could

• Engage the public to raise awareness of the SDGs (together with education leaders). Examples include the National Climate Assemblies in many European countries, various global campaigns, and work with film makers supporting the SDGs. (Chapter 2)
• Commit to creating a Voluntary National Review (VNR) by encouraging more states and cities to conduct Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) and synthesize already good work at the local level to scale to a VNR roll-up. (Chapter 3)
• Provide financial incentives for local and state VLRs and consider federal and state regulatory changes to create flexibility. (Chapter 3)

• Identify strategies for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) that are place-based, community embraced, and environmentally and intergenerationally just. (Chapter 6)
• Build on the current U.S. $1 billion allocated for the four regional Direct Air Capture hubs to establish other CDR demonstration projects, such as biochar in concrete, asphalt, and soil, as well as global satellite forest monitoring. (Chapter 6)
• Set a flue point capture target of $50/tonne for hard to abate industries, including establishing an international prize competition. (Chapter 6)
• Ramp up research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) for all forms of CDR. (Chapter 6)
• Play a leadership role in international collaboration and co-funding of research, provide international incentives for ethical deployment and scale-up, and propose an international framework for standards and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) to deter national and corporate “greenwashing.” (Chapter 6)
• Enhance federal coordination between agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, and Department of Defense relating to incentives, MRV, siting, and accounting. (Chapter 6)
• Expand attribute-focused rather than prescriptive tax incentives for CDR, such as by focusing on sequestration durability instead of pathway-specific technology. (Chapter 6)
• Use procurement to catalyze and set standards for private-sector investments, promote incentives for sequestration not just capture, and utilize lessons learned from partnerships to engage in international dialog on ethics and environmental justice in CDR, as well as framework and standards for MRV (in collaboration with state governments and international coalitions). (Chapter 6)
• Be reoriented as the champion of SDGs through participation in a VNR. (Chapter 7)
• Provide cities and local governments with the creditworthiness or access to capital markets so that they can issue debt to finance needed transformational projects. (Chapter 9)
• Support research and private-sector initiatives relating to renewable energy, such as those that expand electric car charging stations, build railroads and bike lanes, and subsidize public transportation. (Chapter 9)

Colleges and universities could

• Undertake initiatives to assist faculty and students in developing Voluntary University Reviews (VURs) to evaluate needs and prioritization among SDGs based on an institutional mission, take actionable steps that advance progress on the SDGs at their universities, and ensure that every student regardless of major is exposed to the challenges and opportunities in sustainable development. (Chapter 2)

• Develop partnerships with local governments, universities, business communities, and civil society organizations to develop VURs to evaluate needs and take actionable steps that can advance progress toward the SDGs by their cities and local communities. (Chapter 2)
• Elevate a focus on building the field of sustainability science as a discipline to prepare the next generation for a post-2030 agenda for sustainable development. (Chapter 2)
• Help surrounding communities and cities conduct VURs and/or VLRs. (Chapter 3)
• Support training and workforce development at universities, community colleges, and tribal colleges to promote sustainable and equitable food systems, taking into account environmental, economic, and social considerations (together with the private sector). (Chapter 4)
• Create opportunities for workshop reports and journal special editions that focus sharply on identifying critical knowledge gaps relating to big data and research on cities and on producing new knowledge of special relevance to direct action, such as providing guidance to funders about areas for future work. (Chapter 5)

K-12 educational leaders could

• Initiate and support programs at the local K-12 level for students to undertake local investigations in their communities on the SDGs across diverse contexts, define and implement frameworks for sustainable development, and connect their local issues to global issues. (Chapter 2)
• Provide teachers with a network of peer mentors and a platform, such as developing and maintaining a website to host downloadable materials relating to sustainability, the SDGs, and climate change education. (Chapter 2)

Governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations could

• Support initiatives that further the role of indigenous knowledge in the development of scientific knowledge. (Chapter 3)
• Discuss challenges, opportunities, and innovative strategies for sustainable and equitable urban food systems in the United States. (Chapter 4)
• Accelerate initiatives toward sustainable and equitable food systems with an appropriate sense of urgency, because the urban population is projected to increase rapidly in the coming decades. (Chapter 4)
• Work together to transform food systems in the United States and to promote supply chains that are resilient and sustainable in the short and long terms. (Chapter 4)
• Promote decarbonization in agriculture, industry, and energy production, including by building carbon-neutral cities, strengthening climate

• education and engagement, and encouraging low-carbon lifestyles for mobility, housing, and consumption. (Chapter 6)
• Discuss a new vision for a sustainable and resilient future beyond the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, because the world is not on track to achieve the original 2015 targets by 2030. (Chapter 7)
• Look to all sectors (not just national governments) for partnerships that consider ways to have a greater voice in shaping our multilateral system and future shared commitments. (Chapter 7)
• Become involved in the efforts at the United Nations (UN) to assist volunteer countries in developing their science, technology, and innovation (STI) for SDG roadmaps and to facilitate knowledge exchange and transfer at the local level. (Chapter 7)
• Support humanitarian efforts in conflict areas. (Chapter 7)
• Design a new global social compact that emphasizes peace building and promotes a global system that builds on care, sharing, sufficiency, and respect for human and non-human living beings, perhaps as part of the effort to negotiate the initiative that follows the SDGs beyond 2030. (Chapter 8)
• Create peer groups for implementation and monitoring the SDGs (e.g., cities learn best from other cities), dealing with crises situations, and facilitating exchange among justice actors, peace builders, and inequality experts. (Chapter 8)
• Promote positive examples for supporting Ukrainian scientists, and additional efforts to support science, engineering, and medical professionals in other nations including Afghanistan, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Mexico, and Nicaragua. (Chapter 8)
• Conduct studies and dialogues that help to advance control of new and emerging weapon systems as has been the case with nuclear weapons. (Chapter 8)
• Create more blended finance options given the growing demand for positive environmental, social, and governance investments where social benefits are significant and measurable. (Chapter 9)

Local officials could

• Engage students from universities, community colleges, and Minority-Serving Institutions to organize student projects in cities. (Chapter 2)
• Commit their support to the SDGs and use the framework to align local policies and initiatives. (Chapter 3)
• Learn from excellent case studies of knowledge networks, which effectively incorporate indigenous knowledge for advancing sustainability. (Chapter 3)
• Enhance cross-sector collaborations and engage communities to transform urban food systems. (Chapter 4)
• Convene diverse, inclusive groups in workshops to focus on the key research priorities described in Chapter 5 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and global conflicts. (Chapter 5)

International organizations could

• Establish and maintain databases for international research on urbanization. (Chapter 5)
• Maintain the continuity of experience for the UN’s various scientific groups, such as the 10-Member Group and the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) group, which might play an important role in the post-2030 processes. (Chapter 7)
• Convene experts who have participated in the 10-Member Group, GSDR, and other UN SDGs efforts to share knowledge and experiences with current members of scientific groups to ensure the continuity of knowledge and to engage with young people. (Chapter 7)

Private-sector companies could

• Lead the advancement of STI in sustainable design and operation toward scalable achievement of the SDGs and influence the sustainability profile of multiple economic sectors. (Chapter 7)
• Enhance public-private partnerships to support disaster recovery through STI. (Chapter 7)
• Participate in partnerships like the UN Global Compact (and Global Compact USA) that are setting ambitious targets for themselves and their peers, and/or transparently measure themselves against benchmarks developed by the World Benchmarking Alliance. (Chapter 9)

Funding agencies and philanthropic organizations could

• Learn from excellent case studies of knowledge networks, which effectively incorporate indigenous knowledge for advancing sustainability. (Chapter 3)
• Highlight and support examples of effective solutions to the SDGs and sustainability challenges at the local, national, and global levels. (Chapter 7)
• Invest in organizations between state and society that can contribute to solutions that address the increasing number of wars, conflicts, and migration of displaced people, and support scientific communities in long-term sustainable development, including rebuilding efforts. (Chapter 8)
• Promote additional investment into the development of local value chains and sustainability innovations, using a circular economy framework in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflict, and climate change. (Chapter 9)

Accelerating progress on operationalizing sustainable development involving all levels of government and all sectors of society can be a major stepping stone to realize the optimistic future envisioned by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.