Climate change and sustainability challenges do not stop at borders; we need dedication and cooperation at all levels.
In 2015, all the UN member states adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which strongly emphasise the need to protect natural values and resources. Our colleagues at the Foundation pursue these shared goals in high-level national, regional and global institutions. Through our work, expertise and experience, we support both foreign and international decision-making processes in integrating sustainability into their overall agenda. We firmly believe that, together, we can achieve significant changes at the global level. Sustainability is our shared responsibility.
Supporting the sustainability transition
CSABA KŐRÖSI, the Strategic Director of the Foundation, represents the Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation in the following international organisations and projects:
INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Japan
Institution: Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ogata Sadako
Research Institute for Peace and Development
Goal: making sustainable development measurable, guiding international cooperative projects toward sustainability.
Institution: KEIO University
Goal: advancing the sustainability transition in Asian countries (Keio Star: Sustainable Transformative Actions for Regeneration – Beyond SDGs).
United States of America
Institution: Pace University, New York
Goal: participation in the jury of the Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy, awarded annually.
China
Institution: International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CBAS)
Goal: Harnessing satellite technology and Artificial Intelligence to support sustainability transitions.
Germany
Institution: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Goal: establishing the scientific basis of the post-2030 international development framework, and preparation of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference.
Sweden
Institution: Stockholm Environment Institute
Goal: establishing the scientific basis of the post-2030 international development framework, and preparation of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference.
The Netherlands
Institution: University of Groningen
Goal: evaluation of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the use of the lessons learned in shaping the post-2030 international development framework.
Great Britain and Serbia
Institutions: Cambridge University and the Serbian Sustainable Development Forum
Goal: leveraging the lessons of the sustainability transition to improve competitiveness.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUMS AND PLATFORMS
Digital Sustainable Development Goals Programme ( DSP )
The international initiative of the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CBAS), under the auspices of the UNESCO International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development programme
Goal: harnessing digital science for advancing sustainability transitions – Satellite data acquisition and processing for the benefit of all countries on Earth.
Asia Science Mission Programme
A consortium with the participation of Indian, Japanese, Australian, and Philippine research institutions working on the advancement of sustainability transition in Asia.
Goal: Strengthening the role of science in the implementation of sustainability transitions and in the reform of the international institutions.
Platform of cooperation initiated by Yale University and Midsummer Analytics Canada
Goal: strengthening the scientific foundations and international recognition of the Beyond GDP methodology.
World Science Forum (Steering Committee)
Goal: preparation of the World Science Forum 2027, which will be organised in Istanbul.
Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly (UNCPGA )
Discussions on the international regulation of artificial intelligence for security and sustainability.
Nizami Ganjavi International Center
Goal: formulating responses to the challenges of international cooperation and the international institution structure.
Promoting Sustainability in Education
KATALIN CZIPPÁN – Strategic and Educational Advisor of the Foundation represents Hungary in the following organisations:
The IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (IUCN CEC)
Goal: To develop a professional framework for nature pedagogy, nature-based education, and biodiversity education, and to promote its dissemination through networking, policy recommendations, and other forms of strategic advisory services.
Advisory Board of Sport4Nature
Goal: to support sport organisations in their activities and operation advancing biodiversity, and help evaluate their results.
Advisory Board of UNESCO – IBE (International Bureau of Education)
Goal: to support the work of the IBE and integrate sustainability into national curricula as much as possible.
Informal Advisory Board of the Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Goal: to provide professional support of communication and education of the Kunmin-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and help raise public awareness of its message; to participate in the formulation of a global plan of action for education on biodiversity and help advance its implementation (at the request of IUCN).
Measuring sustainability transition
GDP can only measure a nation’s economic output, providing a simplified approach to economic development. It does not consider the environmental and social effects and expenses of growth. Several initiatives worldwide are working to include sustainability in measuring economic development.
In Hungary, three research groups made significant progress in defining exact sustainability indicators. The Blue Planet Climate Protection Foundation and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences brought together these groups by initiating and coordinating a joint research project. The participants were the Hungarian National Bank with its sustainable GDP (sGDP) project, Makronóm Institute, which developed the Harmonic Development Index (H2DI), and Hétfa Research Institute with the Sustainability Performance Framework Index (SPFI). Thanks to their joint efforts, they developed a new, integrated methodology with multiple additional benefits:
- it is capable of longitudinally assessing the key dimensions of sustainable transitions and measuring progress in specific areas;
- it utilises a sophisticated methodological framework and a comprehensive system of indicators to provide helpful guidance for policymakers;
- It transforms heterogeneous data sources into systemised information that can be direct input for political and economic policy recommendations.
The timeliness of this initiative is demonstrated by the fact that the Pact for the Future, adopted by the UN General Assembly in the autumn of 2024, also set the goal of a system that adds a sustainability dimension to the measurement of GDP.
After one year of work, János Áder, the Head of the Foundation, presented the results at the 2024 Word Science Forum in Budapest. (For more information, you can access the research paper here.)
Water diplomacy
Seeing the results of the Budapest Water Summit, UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon asked János Áder to be a member of the High-Level Panel for Water. At the end of its mandate, HLPW released an outcome document in 2018 called Making Every Drop Count, An Agenda for Water Action.
Later, as the President of Hungary and then as the head of the Foundation, János Áder joined the Water and Climate Leaders panel, invited by the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation and the head of UN-Water, the UN organisation responsible for water-related issues.
- The Water and Climate Leaders panel brings together current and former heads of state and government, ministers, leaders of the UN and other international organisations, and youth representatives. Invited by WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas and UN-Water Chair Gilbert Houngbo, the Water and Climate Leaders aim to set and pursue an Action Plan for Integrated Global Water and Climate Agenda in support of sustainable development Goal 6 related to water and sanitation services.
The UN General Assembly organised the UN Water Conference in New York in March 2023 to conduct a comprehensive review of the implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028). János Áder participated in both the negotiations of the conference and the preparatory discussions held the previous autumn.
János Áder is also an Honorary Ambassador of the Hungarian Water Partnership. Through this role, he promotes the knowledge and experience accumulated by the Hungarian water industry and experts globally. He contributes to the recognition and marketing of Hungarian water-related sustainable, affordable solutions that were developed for global issues.