September 23-26 | New York City, USA
PEP’s Executive Director Highlights Transformative Pathways for Achieving SDGs at UNGA79 PanelProf. Jane Mariara, Executive Director of PEP, participated as a panelist during the launch of the SDG for All Africa Report, a pivotal event organized by Earth4All, held during Climate Week at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79). The event aimed to drive transformative actions that accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the African continent.
In the second panel discussion, themed "What systems changes are needed to simultaneously activate the five turnarounds to achieve the Giant Leap within planetary boundaries?", Prof. Mariara shared key insights into the systemic changes required for implementing Earth4All’s five extraordinary turnarounds. These turnarounds focus on poverty, inequality, empowerment, food, and energy, and are crucial in addressing the multiple crises faced by humanity.
Prof. Mariara highlighted the significance of these turnarounds, explaining how they represent a break from past trends, offering the potential to enhance livelihoods, address poly-crises, and avoid ecosystem collapse. She emphasized that activating these turnarounds collectively is essential for achieving well-being for all within planetary boundaries, and that doing so would contribute significantly to the attainment of the SDGs under the Giant Leap scenario.
Among the major obstacles to implementing these changes, she identified key systemic issues such as financing challenges, debt burdens, stagnant GDP growth, and unfulfilled promises related to overseas development assistance and climate finance. It also called for integrated policy frameworks that address these challenges holistically, advocating for policies that link social, economic, and environmental goals while fostering participatory governance, community involvement, and transparency.
Additionally, she underscored the need for economic system redesign, particularly the transition to a circular economy that minimizes waste and promotes equitable participation through fair trade practices. She also emphasized the importance of financial system reforms to facilitate inclusive financing and sustainable investments, especially through green financing initiatives. Partnerships among governments, NGOs, businesses, and communities were also highlighted as essential for driving collective action on systemic issues like climate change and inequality.
Reflecting on PEP’s role, Prof. Mariara said, "It was a privilege to be part of this launch, given the importance of achieving the SDGs for all in Africa. Our participation was vital in showcasing PEP’s engagement with the Earth4All initiative, particularly our contributions to the SDG for All report and leadership in the Earth4All National Engagement strategy in Kenya."
The panel session, which followed welcome and opening remarks, and a presentation of Earth4All SDG modelling results for Africa was structured around three rounds, with each round focusing on a specific theme: the barriers to achieving the SDGs in Africa, the systems changes needed for the continent’s development, and global cooperation to support SDG implementation. The session was chaired by Fadhel Kaboub, Senior Policy Advisor at Power Shift Africa, and Member of the Earth4All Transformational Economics Commission. The other panelists in this discussion included Fatima Denton, Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, and Co-Chair of the Earth Commission.
Prof. Mariara’s contributions at this event underscored PEP’s commitment to promoting locally-driven, evidence-based research and policy dialogues that support Africa’s sustainable development goals.
It was a great opportunity to attend several other events during the Climate Week, including but not limited to:
- A high-level Roundtable on planetary stability as a pre-requisite for well-being and how poverty, equality, and justice need to be at the heart of the planetary boundaries hosted by the Club of Rome and Earth4All
- A convening of civil society organizations to reflect on strategies to build collective action for economic systems change convened by the Club of Rome, Earth4All Wellbeing Economy Alliance - WEAll, and Green Economy Coalition on 23rd September.
- A Co-Impact Community Gathering bringing together the community of program partners, funding partners, and Co-Impact’s Board and Advisory Board members on 25th September.
- A session to explore and define how the planetary boundaries and the whole-of-economy transitions modelled by Earth4All can be used to drive both robust corporate strategy and policy optimization by governments, followed by a demonstration of the new Earth4All simulator on 26th September.