What progress have we made towards achieving the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) really are the compass for the work of the international community, bringing people together at a time where there are many tensions and divisions in the international community. We are at the halfway point from when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015, and the bad news is that we’re not doing very well: only 12% of targets are being met. 

在一些地区, such as working to end the threat of AIDS and HIV we are doing well, 但在其他领域, 比如就业和社会保障, 我们正在倒退的感觉令人担忧. 而新冠肺炎和乌克兰战争可以被视为因素, we were off target before those things happened – so we need to have a much more fundamental examination of why we’re not doing well. I don’t think that this is because people don’t believe in the SDGs, but the fact of the matter is that we are not delivering and so we must change. 

你的发现表明哪些领域需要紧急关注? 

International finance is a vital area of focus since the investment agenda plays a role not only in climate change – which is an area where we really cannot afford not to do better – but also education, 保健和社会保护. 在航运业, you are already aware that financing the decarbonisation transition is a big issue. 我们需要看到国际金融体系是如何运作的, 并使其为实现可持续发展目标发挥作用. 

When the 2030 agenda was adopted, we talked extensively about the resources needed to make it happen. This is not a free agenda; it needs investment. Regrettably – and I think the UN Secretary General is really quite outspoken about this – the way the system functions today doesn’t deliver sufficient resources for the development process, 尤其是在发展中国家, 哪里可以非常, very difficult to raise resources on international financial markets.

How can we bridge the gap between environmental and business imperatives?

One of the biggest obstacles to effective climate action comes when people think that doing the right thing on climate is going to lose them their job or source of food, or deny them their legitimate ambition for development and a better life. If that happens, popular support and licence for climate action can be withdrawn. 公平是关键! If some people think they’ve been asked to take on an unfair share of the burden, 改变不会发生. We need just transition to carbon neutrality or the transition is likely to be blocked. 

这是一个很大的问题，有时是一个困难的讨论. 我们正在与工业界合作, 包括ICS等利益相关者, to determine how business models and incentives for private investment can be adjusted to generate necessary financing for decarbonisation. The Just Transition is not simply the right thing to do but needs to be an inherent part of a successful business model in the sector. 这是关于结合环境, economic and social dimensions of sustainable business and it is essential. 

How do you think maritime business leaders should best implement the sustainability agenda?

It is important to remember that there are opportunities embedded in the climate change agenda. 我们可以转向新的、可能更好的东西. You need the right regulatory environment to set parameters which meet the business logic of travelling the road to carbon neutrality. 

Defining the business rules of the decarbonisation agenda needs to ensure that enterprises become competitive by being green rather than being disadvantaged. I think the financial markets and investors will be pressing for this- and that it requires transparency to be effective. It’s very important that investors and the people who use your services are able to verify that you’re actually walking the carbon neutrality talk. 这不能简单地成为商业领袖话语的一部分. 这必须体现在他们的行动中. 

This also implies building confidence that a decarbonised sector will generate decent jobs and secure livelihoods. And the best way to do that is through dialogue between the two sides of the industry – workers and employers. 

During your time at the International Labour Organization you worked on updates to the Maritime Labour Convention and dealt with minimum wage talks. How would you recommend that business leaders navigate increasing labour strikes?

We’re living in a world where dialogue is becoming quite difficult in all respects. 我们看到了很多工业行动, 可能是我们很久没见过的规模. 最明显的原因是高通胀, which puts pressure on living standards and wage-fixing processes.  

在我看来, it’s really important to rediscover a sense of common purpose between workers and employers to make working conditions and pay fair. I know from my time working at the International Labour Organization that conversations between employers and workers can’t be a zero-sum game. 这里有“双赢”的选择. I’ve sat in and around the minimum wage fixing in the international maritime industry, 所以我知道怎么做. 有时会有点激烈，但你能完成任务. We need to get that spirit of dialogue back in action across our economies.