Jeffrey Sachs - Strategies for deep decarbonisation of the global energy system

Energy lies at the heart of the world's sustainability challenge. On the one hand, abundant, accessible, low-cost energy is vital for economic prosperity. On the other hand, the world's pattern of energy use, based on fossil fuels, threatens massive future climate change with devastating potential consequences. The greatest sustainability challenge, therefore, is to meet the energy needs of a growing world economy while moving to a safer pattern of energy use. In this talk Jeffrey Sachs will discuss strategies for creating a road map on deep decarbonisation to ensure the world can have the energy that it needs for prosperity while reducing CO2 emissions drastically. Jeffrey D Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, a leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 80 countries. He serves as Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, as well as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Health Policy and Management. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, having held the same position under former UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan. He is co-founder and Chief Strategist of the Millennium Promise Alliance, and is director of the Millennium Villages Project. He has authored several books including three New York Times bestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), The Price of Civilization (2011), and To Move the World (2013). This lecture is presented by the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University, in partnership with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Monash Sustainability Institute at Monash University, as well as Canberra Urban and Regional Futures (CURF). It relates to Australia's contribution to the UN SDSN Deep Decarbonisation Pathways Project, led by ClimateWorks Australia and ANU.