Sustainability Transition with Headwinds and Tailwinds – Kőrösi Csaba at the 31st ISDRS Conference at Corvinus University

Kőrösi Csaba delivered his presentation titled Sustainability Transition with Headwinds and Tailwinds at the 31st conference of the International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS), hosted by the Corvinus University of Budapest.
The Strategic Director of the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation examined the factors that hinder and support the implementation of sustainability efforts. Measuring progress toward the 17 goals set out within the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) framework is itself a challenge, as no unified methodology is available. Moreover, the achievement of these goals is further hindered by geopolitical rivalries that obstruct cooperation. Currently, 52 wars are taking place worldwide, connected to 92 countries, which have led to defence budgets growing almost three times faster than GDP. Meanwhile, the national implementation of the international SDG targets has slowed down.
However, humanity is beginning to take climate change, and consequently the sustainability transition, more seriously as extreme weather events cause increasingly severe disasters. New technological opportunities — such as artificial intelligence, quantum computers, and fusion energy production — can become great means of implementation support. It is also promising that last year nearly twice as much investment was directed toward renewable energy generation as toward fossil fuels. Unfortunately, this has so far only been sufficient to offset the growth in global energy demand; currently, 80% of global energy consumption remains based on fossil fuels, just as it was ten years ago.
A detailed report on the conference can be read on the website of Corvinus University.