Jeffrey D. Sachs
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Jeffrey D. Sachs is University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed the Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Co-Chair of the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, and Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Honorary Distinguished Professor at Sunway University. He has been Special Advisor to three United Nations Secretaries-General and currently serves as an SDG Advocate under Secretary General António Guterres. He spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, where he received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. Sachs has received 42 honorary doctorates, and his recent awards include the 2022 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the Republic of France, and the Order of the Cross from the President of Estonia. His most recent books are The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020) and Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development (2022). |
Geopolitics today is fraught with crisis, threats, and fear. The Ukraine War is a proxy war between Russia and the US, the two largest nuclear powers. US-China tensions threaten to escalate to war, notably over Taiwan. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan continue to face off against each other. In the meantime, global cooperation on critical issues such as the fight against poverty and climate change is stymied by geopolitical tensions. Jeffrey will propose critical steps to reduce the geopolitical risks, including a negotiated peace in Ukraine and a reduction of US-China tensions. He will also discuss longer-term peace-building measures, including reform of the UN Security Council, a new global financial architecture to help the world’s poorest countries, and the formulation and agreement on global ethical principles for sustainable development.