In his address to the IIEA, Professor Sachs discusses how global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to ‘build back better’ in seeking sustainable and equitable solutions to longstanding challenges. Professor Sachs considers how this can be achieved and what kind of blueprint the Sustainable Development Goals provide for recovery. Professor Sachs reflects on the obstacles facing these efforts and the role to be played by a multilateral approach and the United Nations.

This event is part of our Development Matters lecture series supported by Irish Aid.

About the Speaker:

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs is a renowned economist, author, educator, and global leader in sustainable development. He currently serves as Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, and a UN Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals. Among his prior roles, Professor Sachs held the positions of Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon and Antonio Guterres. He is the author of numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers, and was the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize for environmental leadership.