Sustainable Development for All

China's Liaoning aircraft carrier conducts a drill in an area of the South China Sea (Reuters)

Even if all current commitments made by states are implemented, the world will still be on track to warm by more than 3°C during this century. The impacts of this climate change include wars over access to water sources, the disappearance of island countries and other problems resulting from rising sea levels, increasing number and severity of natural disasters, climate refugees, large job and other economic losses, inadequate sanitation, increasing health epidemics and child mortality, and rising corruption regarding access to natural resources and border security. Meanwhile, rapidly rising biodiversity losses have led to species extinctions, which have unclear long-term impacts on human health, food security, the biosphere, and the economy. The UN has asked: is climate change a problem which we can or should tackle globally? In this context, the UN set forth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seek to advance a global partnership for sustainable development for all people in all countries by collaboratively working toward substantial improvement. Given this complex problem, this conference seeks to address the main question: Who is responsible for existing global environmental problems, preventing future environmental problems, and enforcing policies designed to limit future negative impacts? Who sets the priorities for the future? Do solutions lie with developed or developing countries? Why?

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