Sustainability in turbulent times conference, Thursday 16 March 2017, London

Sustainability in turbulent times: How can research, policy and business meet global challenges?

Three hundred researchers, policy makers, business leaders and civil society practitioners gathered at the Sustainability in Turbulent Times conference hosted by The Nexus Network, CUSP and CECAN on 16th March 2017 to discuss the implications of the ongoing turbulence in the global political landscape for sustainable development, with a particular focus on the food-water-energy nexus. Following an inspiring keynote address from former UNEP executive director, Achim Steiner, panellists grappled with a range of topics including inequality, democracy and the rise of nationalist populism; sustainable prosperity; Brexit and the environment; new challenges for research funding; expertise and policy making, and much more.

For those that were not able to join us on the day, key messages can be found using the twitter hashtag #SITT2017, and we are delighted to be able to share videos of all the main panel sessions with you here.

Welcome and introduction: In this video, James Wilsdon (The Nexus Network / University of Sheffield), reflects on the challenges facing the sustainable development community and sets the context for event.

Opening keynote: Global sustainability goals in a new political climate In this video, Achim Steiner, Director, Oxford Martin School and former Executive Director, UNEP, delivers his keynote address on how we might approach global sustainability goals in the new political climate.

Panel Session 1: Political populism and sustainability This session, chaired by Tim Jackson (University of Surrey / CUSP), asks what are the implications of recent swings towards populism and nationalism around the world for the relationship between inequality, democracy and sustainability?

Panel Session 2: Post-Brexit environmental policy This session, chaired by Rebecca Willis (Green Alliance, Lancaster University), asks what are the likely implications of Brexit for agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, water, energy, climate and nexus issues? How might the economic impacts of Brexit affect environmental policy?

Panel Session 3: Global challenges and national priorities – the changing landscape for interdisciplinary research Big shifts are underway in UKs research funding and policy landscape. This session, chaired by James Wilsdon (Nexus Network / University of Sheffield) asks what opportunities are created by the Global Challenges Research Fund, the imminent launch of UK Research and Innovation and reform of the Research Excellence Framework?

Panel Session 4: The political nature of sustainable prosperity This session, chaired by Kate Burningham (University of Surrey), asks how researchers and others can build a political consensus for sustainability that is inclusive and fair, and discusses how research and practice can move beyond the divisive nature of ‘post-truth’ populism.

Panel Session 5: Brokers and boundary spanners: where next for evidence and experts at the food-water-energy nexus?Evidence informed policy making has never been in greater demand, nor has it been more contested. This session, chaired by Nigel Glibert (University of Surrey / CECAN), asks how can we better understand the complexities of the research policy interface?

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The Nexus Network, the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity and the Centre for Evaluating Complexity Across the Nexus are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.