Walk Talk Listen at the UNGA and Climate Week in NYC - episode 1

Reimagining Climate Action and Achieving the SDGs: Our Individual and Collective Work

 

Side Event to UNGA 77 and Climate Week

Panel and Reception

Hosted by Church World Service (CWS)

Monday, 19 September 2022

4 - 7 PM EDT

Location: Church Center of the UN

New York, NY

 

About

 

For fourteen years, Climate Week has “brought together the most influential leaders in climate action from business, government, and the climate community” at the same time as the UN General Assembly High-level meetings. Climate Week aims to increase ambition and accelerate action for urgent climate action, and the timing is more critical during UNGA this year as the world experiences more frequent and severe climate shocks affecting all people, but most disproportionately for the most vulnerable (eg. food insecure, impoverished, indigenous persons, women, smallholder farmers). Climate change is also promulgating unrest and forced displacement; there are more displaced persons around the world now than ever before in recorded human history. 

 

Most people in low and middle income countries are people of faith, and the role of places and leaders of worship, communities and individual action will only continue to be critical to achieve the SDGs. As a faith-based civil society organization in consultative status with the UN, CWS is uniquely positioned to engage with delegates and high-level attendees of UNGA regarding critical matters around the world’s progress - or lack thereof - toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

 

This side event served as a follow-up to CWS’ side event during the 2022 High Level Political Forum entitled Reimagining Our World and Future Together: an integral approach towards sustainable development. In a panel discussion between the Netherlands, UNDP, Seattle University, MPOWERD and CWS, speakers addressed systemic gaps and the value of improving social safety nets and partnerships (SDG 17) to ensure resilience - especially among the most vulnerable - and the achievement of the SDGs. Speakers were asked to consider the role of “Inner Development Goals” (IDGs), or the capabilities, qualities and skills within each person. 

 

The event featured a panel discussion and interactive dialogue with the audience. We would like to thank the audience for their participation and apologize that this summary podcast doesn’t do total justice to the richness of the conversations that took place during the session.

 

Panelists

• (Moderator) Maurice A. Bloem, Chief Sustainability and Impact Officer, CWS
• Andrew Fuys, Senior Technical Advisor, Climate and Migration, CWS 
• Mary Kate Costello, Director of International Policy and Relations, CWS
• Sydney Upchurch, Founder, Fleet 
• Pooja Tilvawala, Director & Founder, Youth Climate Collaborative
• Dr. John Coonrod, EVP, The Hunger Project