Everyone. It is great to be with you. Thank you for joining us. The Vice President of the Global Economy and development brookings. For therateful participation of the u. N. Deputy secretarygeneral, amina , and also rajiv shah, both leaders and Global Sustainable development who took time out of their busy schedule to be with us. And rajiv, we are honored your participant you honored by your participation. The need for new policies to build back inclusive and sustainable economies has never been greater. Policy makers and other stakeholders around the world are focused on aspects surrounding Sustainable Development. A special thank you to richard for his policy round tables on Sustainable Development the past several years, that inspired the creation of the center. The launch of the center would not be possible with without the efforts of many who worked tirelessly beyond the scenes per let me take a moment to recognize my colleagues, including director john and the staff, notably david and the communications team, and strongntly the commitment of our president , who is aohn allen, very strong proponent of Global Development. Thank you, john, for your support and exemplary leadership at this defining moment for Global Development. Let me turn it over to you, john. Doctor, thank you for your typically warm and comprehensive remarks. Let me echo the thanks you have rendered to those who have had such an Important Role in all we are doing today. I want to thank you for your leadership, tremendous leadership of the Global Economy Development Program here at brookings. Let me hasten to add how grateful we are today for the presence of the deputy secretarygeneral of the United Nations, her excellency Amina Mohammed. It is an honor, maam, you grace us with your presence here at brookings. And let me also add it is wonderful to see my friend rajiv shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation. We have known each other a long time and he has been a model for me to understand the imperative of Global Development. And we wouldnt be where we are , and without you, rajiv your Global Organization rajiv. You, usai welcome to todays launch for the Brookings Center of Sustainable Development. It is moments like these where, even as we celebrate the Exciting Initiative such as the Brookings Center for sustainable element, it becomes apparent what unusual and serious times we are living in. The advent of the pandemic earlier this year has robbed us of over one million precious caused thewide, and greatest economic crisis since the Great Recession and perhaps the great depression. Of need to address issues inequality, Structural Racism andinequity, Climate Change the troubling decline of international cooperation, has become even more paramount. All enshrined in 17 2030ed nations sustainable goals were long considered a northstar for leaders across the world, something which we can all steer our efforts. It can be argued this maybe one of the richest accomplishments of the United Nations and the modern era, securing the futures of our children, building a commitment to the common good, stds, as they are called, echo much of the original tenets that inspired the creation of the United Nations 75 years ago. Unfortunately, despite having briefly been a team leader in implementing the stds, the u. S. Has since demonstrated a decline in its commitment to these values, actions such as withdrawing from crucial a clean crucial agreements like the paris by mcwhorter disengaging from the World Health Organization have only done the u. N. In the world a disservice, directly affecting the u. S. And world progress for achieving these vital goals. There is a key difference today between u. S. Leadership in this administration and traditional American Leadership, meaning American National commitment to an international, rulesbased, valuebased leadership that has defined the world order largely in the last 75 years, in Close Partnership frankly with the United Nations. In the best of time, these two forms of leadership have largely been in synchronization, and america and our partners have been able to lead by example and be transformation all over the world. Sadly, that is not the case today. And while the current leadership of the u. S. Might not supportive of International Action on stds , American Leadership is alive and well within many different sectors such as academia, business, philanthropy, Civil Society and local government, where many have mobilized their respective organizations and institutions to make a real impact. I hope we will reunite these two forms of leadership within the u. S. , but for now it will be through these diverse parts of our society that we see a thriving, new type of leadership taking place, a coalition of the willing are at this event today aptly titled, charging a new course toward economic, social and environmental progress and building a future that leaves no one behind. Indeed, it is with a commitment to these same reads that we have brookings have decided to take part, our own Mission Always working in support of the public good, to create the center for Sustainable Development. For us, this is American Leadership in action as it should be. We all have an obligation to lead on these issues. It is not just our hope, it is our mission. It is the Brookings Institutional commitment to the Global Sustainable agenda and the u. N. Sustainable goals, the center also utilizes a core group of leading brookings scholars whose work focuses on these issues. Under the leadership of fellow John Macarthur, the Centers Group of experts will be able to maximize these folks on issues such as extreme poverty, the leave no one behind agenda, foreign aid effectiveness, metrics of Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development finance, Climate Change and much more. I could not be more proud or more thrilled that we are able to accomplish this important milestone and commitment, and that brookings is making this commitment today to our Global Community. I cannot be more honored that the likes of John Macarthur and many of our amazing scholars have joined such an excellent and noble cause. This task will not be easy. If the world is to meet the targets set by the sdgs in 2030, we must foster a recovery post covid19 it to commitment build back better. Even within such a challenging environment, john and his colleagues will rise above our greatest expectations. This is a great day for brookings and we are very proud to invite those who have joined ,s today to serve with us alongside the United Nations, and cheating these very, very important goals. Let me turn the floor over to United Nations deputy secretarygeneral Amina Mohammed , who will present her keynote remarks. And let me close where i began, madam secretary general. We are so honored by your presence and deeply honored you would join us for this important day for the brookings institution. Thank you. It is a real pleasure and i would like to thank all my friends for inviting me to this important occasion. It is exciting to join the Brookings Institute to launch this bold new center that will tackle headon the worlds biggest sustainable global challenges. I salute things and its team for sending its own signal to the world that issues of Sustainable Development our centerstage for all of humanity. Gutierrezrygeneral recently said, the covid19 pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of our world, and it has laid bare risks we have long ignored, Inadequate Health systems, gaps in social protection, structural inequality, environmental degradation and climate crisis. The Sustainable Development goals, i believe, are the best roadmap, the best northstar as general allen has said, for the world for protecting that fragility and getting to a new place of environmental resilience. General, thank you for your personal commitment and passion for the stds. Your inspiring comments today and also a few weeks ago when we were together at an event workings helped convene, i want to bring people together around a common frame around cooperation. Many people have made it possible today, but it is a special pleasure to join you to celebrate the centers Extraordinary Team of kali Extraordinary Team of scholars, many of them my friends. A Global Leader on climate sustainable infrastructure who over the years has provided invaluable support to the work, and even in these last couple of weeks. Marcella has been an intrepid inder on Development Issues latin america and the caribbean, but also usual workforce issues within the u. S. Itself. , my brother of another mother, has been a driving force at the heart of the global sdg agenda since before its inception and continues to give crucial assistance to our u. N. Team in navigating this years Global Financial crisis. George ingram has had a unique in u. S. Leadership contributions to Global Development over the years. Another ally of ours was lead negotiator in the stds leading up to the 2015 adoption and today plays a role inmultilateral cooperation goals for climate. NewJohn Macarthur, the center director, has been my collaborator for nearly two decades in promoting practical and peoplefocused leadership, first with Millennium Development goals and more recently for Sustainable Development goals. As we turn to what the center can do for the world, at the u. N. We are familiar with the shifting politics and factors hurting the planet. We need leadership from all corners, even at especially from think tanks. We need your insight, independence, ideas, recommendations and your voices. Models simply need role for collaboration and international cooperation. One of the things that makes this effort unique is the focus of the center on Network Leadership, and no one left behind philosophy. Can achieve the stds alone. All of us need to pitch together. Everyone needs to be at the table in our communities around to address the pandemic of inequality and protect the climate and oceans for future generations. In this respect, i would like to challenge the center for Sustainable Development to strive to be a beacon of inspiration for the pursuit of Sustainable Development in all our countries and communities around the world, where these will make the most impact. Together with partners and allies, are you qs you to leverage your independent voice to better understand the issues, to seek the insights of the young or marginalized, and to think more clearly about the options and solutions to extend our sense of possibility. The brookings team has already contributed so much in helping the world tackle its great challenges of Sustainable Development and so much more. But i know we are only just getting started. We have a neck aid to go for achieving the stds. And i really cant wait to see what we do next together. At this juncture, it is my deep, deep pleasure, and im very excited about this, handing it over to my friend, john mcarthur. Ohn thank you, madame secretarygeneral aminah. Amina. And thank you for your leadership on behalf of the whole world for what you do everyday day to bring us together. I want to start thinking john allen, general allen, and everyone brookings, partners around the world, and so many people who have been instrumental in spending weeks, months and years in bringing us to this day of launch. We also are privileged to have a message we received from the World Health Organization director general, dr. Tedros, and we wanted to share that briefly. If we could briefly pull up that video. Dr. Tedros it is my pleasure to send my best wishes for the launch of the new center for Sustainable Development at the brookings institution. The world was striving to meet Sustainable Development goals before the covid19 deming covid19 pandemic. We leave the present behind now. The center for Sustainable Development can help get us back on track through innovation and partnerships. Missione the centers of bipartisan leadership and Sustainable Development. Congratulations to everyone involved at the center for Sustainable Development, and especially your inaugural director, my friend, john mcarthur. I look forward to a close and fruitful partnership. I thank you and wish you all the very best. John we thank you, dr. Tedros rock for your kind words today and all you are doing for the world during this pandemic, to get us to the other side. What will the center do . We have heard central themes ranging from leave no one behind to Network Leadership around the world, but we decided to take on five starting topics. First, defining the challenge, what we did what we call Sustainable Development economics and empirics. Metrics inntifying all countries around the world. Third, advancing Sustainable Development at local levels, bringing these issues to communities where the matter most. Advancing effective financing for Sustainable Development. And fifth, advancing, in the words of general allen, both u. S. Official and american societal leadership for Global Sustainable development. The next question you might be wondering is, who is exactly in the center . I would like to take a moment to talk about each of our scholars, it is an Extraordinary Team. We are grateful to the deputy secretary general for mentioning them, but if we could bring up if you put images to show the starting officers. As it was mentioned, our leader on so many issues as a leader on Climate Action and instrumental on strategies for inclusive Global Growth and improving local governance. In the lead up to the glasco summit on climate, postponed until next year to chart the worlds future, he is our guiding light. Escobari. Marcella she faces questions like confronting the growing diversions in people, supporting job mobility for those who need it most. Is launching ala mobility pathway, an online data tool to promote upwardly mobile jobs in specific locations across america. Ingram, ourrge seasoned voice on u. S. Official strategies for Global Development. George focuses on promoting bipartisan u. S. Leadership, policies to support responsiveness in fragile environments, and the intersection between Business Development and Sustainable Development. Today george is releasing an important paper on how u. S. Global development structures can be updated to fit for purpose in 2021. Venerableour most scholar. Without his efforts, there simply would be no center today. It is a possible to describe the breath of his work, so let me give you recent examples. Is releasinghomi the effects of the pandemic on communities around the world, the results are not good. Been actively has supporting u. N. Policy efforts to finance the covid19 recovery and avoid debt crises around the world. And a few days, he is going to release a new paper on updating the Global Development architecture writ large to tackle a post pandemic world. , our embodiment of collecting the local with the global. His work is nearly impossible to supportingbut he is global city to city cooperation in aligning with stds and identity buying policies to improve justice while taking action on Climate Change. He is working at promoting u. S. Credibility abroad by leveraging domestic leaders on stds to see how that can connect with the global frontier. Next week, he is going to city Leadership Network on moving forward together. To thepecial attention leave no one behind agenda, and finding ways for diverse actors to come together, such as the partnership we have been privileged to launch with a foundation, and focused on my home country of canada and the u. N. On getting practical with stds. All this is our starting point. Before long, we hope the center can focus on new topics, things like gender equality, private sector contributions to the stds writ large, but this is our starting point on we are honored to be here to take on the next wave effort. I amthat as context, honored, delighted and thrilled to kick off a roundtable discussion with old friends, collaborators and inspirations. Deputy secretarygeneral aminah mohammed, and now i would like to introduce rajiv shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, just his latest of many contributions to the world. The Rockefeller Foundation provides generous, instrumental support to the center for Sustainable Development, which helped make the work we do possible. I want to emphasize the brookings commitment to independence and underscore that views expressed today are solely those of the speakers. But i also want to emphasize the has played and rockefeller has played on seminal issues of public wellbeing around the United States and the world. Raj brings his own remarkable experience as usaid under president obama, where he played a crucial role in the Global Security act and importantly, the u. S. Response to the west africa ebola pandemic. He also played a crucial role in cementing the u. S. Commitment to ending extreme poverty within a generation. Raj had roles at the u. S. Department of agriculture and the bill and Melinda Gates foundation. And amina, we are thrilled to have you here for this informal roundtable on a special day for us at truckings. At brookings. Bring so many perspectives, International Land domestic, and you have been at the forefront of the fight for justice in so many ways. I want to raise the issue of the equity imperative of Sustainable Development both in the u. S. And internationally. How would you recommend we all think about that issue . And a warm welcome again. Let methank you, john p start by congratulating you and that general allen down the Extraordinary Team at brookings. I am glad you were able to introduce all of your experts. It is an honor to celebrate the contributions each of them have made over time. And i am so proud to have learned from so many, and continue to. So i guess the views expressed are yours or mine or the deputy secretarygeneral alone. Keep their ideas that permeating all our collective thinking. I have such high hopes for this center, in this moment in history. The moment in history calls for really embracing the challenge that amina laid out in her remarks. Amina, has been one of resilient determination to support those who are left behind. And her career has demonstrated how, for many decades, how possible it is if we come to the with that determination, with the sophistication of analytic measurements and a focus on results. And i think in many ways, it is easy to acknowledge today that the fight to achieve the stds has been set back by this crisis. We see the World Bank Estimates of 425 Million People pushed back under an expanded version of the poverty line as a result of Global Economic consequences of covid19. We certainly see in the goalkeeper report that we just reviewed, that potentially decades of progress on basic indicators of Health Indicators are going to be significantly impaired by the crisis, and the shifting of resources to other areas of necessary Public Health concern. Look atspect when you the big picture, what it is taking to recover in wealthier economies with strong central answer, the tremendous amount of monetary and fiscal action that is simply not possible under current circumstances for billions and billions of people around the world. Is the centralt underlying concern i have the is,er to address, which after world war ii we created the brenton woods institutions and embarked on a mindset and approach to the Marshall Plan that was determined to achieve certain types of developmental objectives, and frankly left out important considerations with respect to climate and good governance, shall i say, for many decades. Youink now, the center and all as experts with extraordinary reach and influence, have a chance to reshape and rethink what the Global Development pathway looks like going forward. So many of the themes in your five points are designing of that, local ownership and leadership, local governance and economy and Economic Management being perhaps at the very top of the list. Im glad you highlighted that. Rethinking global institutions in the way we have executed on development, the resources necessary, and what types of new institutional and Financial Arrangements need to be put into place to support a global, Green Recovery from this crisis that fundamentally leads those left behind. And on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation, in addition to supporting that mission broadly, we are committed to ending Energy Poverty as a core driver of addressing and perhaps ending much of that inequity. That is just one of many issues butll need to work on, where we see certain solutions, we believe we have to act in a significant way, and we are preparing to do that as a single institution. But the Global Community has a chance to step back and say, what is the Marshall Plan for this era . It is not quick to come from the United States or china or any one nation, it is going to come from dozens or hundreds of local leaders working together to shape a vision on how to recover from covid19 in a way that includes those who we know otherwise would be left behind. John thank you, raj. Insightful and provocative call to action. I am curious, madame depp deputy secretarygeneral amina, we try to respect the office in this environment, but i know that you, having the privilege to work with you for years, are straddling these issues in your mind every day, between your home village in nigeria, the highest level of global politics, and i see you toggling moment moment between each reality. When you think about this universal challenge and creating an architecture that will meet the needs of the coming future . Amina thanks, john. To hearalways, great you and have this conversation. As we look at what we crafted, and remember, we never would have got the ambition or the 17 goals if it had not been a process everybody engaged in, so it is a very much global it is very much a Global Response to what everyone sees themselves in. Ands about global plans like all politics, it is local. And it is local, investing in everyones enlightened self interest, because we are all connected. When i think about the 40,000 feet that we sit up or come and what happens in my village, every day you have to have a reality check of context. The policies you have need to be responses that responsive, and you need Taylormade Solutions at the country level, and depending on what kind of country, it may be at the subnational level that is so different from others. The key to that is understanding what that context is. One area where we still have quite a bit to do is laying out the baseline, the data required to give us a proper picture in context of what we need to do in terms of investments, capacities, stakeholders, a government ending its head around spending it must tdo. The frame for the stds helps us have that discussion. Because before covid, we were offtrack. But once covid came along, it caused the reflection, what do we do now, because this is now a global issue . The sameis affected in way, and we all shut down to see how we could protect ourselves, and suddenly found ourselves g theg how this was barin fractures we already knew. Opportunity for us to look, country by country and does a glow, how we response to this. Whether we have a Marshall Plan or not, it will be a response that cannot just be local. It be embedded in the local response, because those are the needs for women, youth, transportation, connectivity and a digital world, but financing that is going to require a different architecture than we have now. The Global Players need for us to have a conversation about that the resources we see spent in one part of the world, if we have any way to unlock them to be more equitable in response to covid ended response to global element for a more equal frame and a more stable world. It is important we bring that reality check to it. We have the Unfinished Business of the mdgs. And often people say the stds have taken over. They havent. I remember kofi annan and saying kofi anna saying, dont forget the mdgs. I would say that global to local is also about understanding what the local has to bring to the global, and having that discussion and a way you have the faith to convene on that across the world, that intellect needed to have those discussions. Amina. Hank you, this point of what is possible starts to come up very quickly. And you have been irrepressible champion of technology and access, and health and energy, as part of your day right now. Is one thing we have seen that the frontier is shifting, and what is becoming possible is Getting Better all the time. How you would suggest all of us on the line today think about the access to Equitable Technology as an advancing frontier for the world. Rajiv i want to come back to when thing 21 of the things brookings ishat one of the few places on the planet that convenes the leaders in the right context to design a new approach to ensuring we meet the challenge she outlined which is that it will take trillions of dollars of public support, alongside private investment, to drive emerging economies forward in an equitable manner coming out of covid19. The world just hasnt figured out to do that and right now, our politics are so fractured and populist that i dont see a lot of leaders taking on that topic. You going to be following all closely for your ideas, because we desperately need it. Technology, it is related to that. There is no need to build back an industrial economy that looks like it was 1958. Today,lity is that through rockefeller alone, our partnerships in india are trying to build 10,000 many grades to reach 10 Million People in villages that dont have meaningful, reliable electricity today. In the last few years, we see costs coming down from . 70 a kilowatt hour to close to . 23 a kilowatt hour now. Our target in 18 months is to get it under . 15 a kilowatt hour. I use that as an example because these are solar panels tied to lithiumion batteries and other battery technologies, with storage managed by artificial intelligence, usually executed remotely and fed by smart meters that allow people who otherwise werent getting electricity to pay a variable rate. And we see extremely high repayment rates. That is just one example of leapfrog Technology Like the mobile phone, the concept of microfinancing, and banking for women who are lower income and poor that we need to embrace in scale far more rapidly. Words,ciate all the kind he used to take 20 years kind words about immunizations, but it used to take 20 years to get immunizations to kids in thenncome countries, and there has been some convergence. But outside that example, there was far too much like of focus on technology in our development thinking. We need to break through that and embrace new strategies to be inclusive and green across everything we do and that is going to be driven by technology. John its interesting. I would be remiss not to mention the cochair in 17 rooms pointed out to me breakthroughs in thinking about infrastructure for technology and equitable access as how it can come together as a platform for the world. So grateful to all the insights youre generating in addition to the ones and your whole team, in addition to the ones you might call and ask to take on, too. So thank you, raj. Im afraid were going to have to adjourn in a moment. I want to give you each a last chance to share any parting thoughts before we do adjourn for the day. Is there anything, raj, that youd like to share . Ill give the last word to deputy secretarygeneral as we all kick off in this turbulent time but aiming for much better 2021 and beyond. Rajiv maybe ill conclude with the following. I think as we sit and brookings largely remains in washington, d. C. , with experts, your ability to really understand, appreciate, stay connect to , maybe with less travel and more video, the realities of whats actually happening in the communities you will seek to serve with the center will remain so important. I was pleased to hear, i think, the doctor mention dick blum and his support of the brookings blum session. His work with nepalese girls over many decades has saved thousands of girls, but also, i think, been a model for being able to be global and work with institutional leaders like the ones you naturally do and being grounded in the realities of who youre serving. I just applaud you for what youre doing, applaud general allen for the commitment, and im thrilled to be with the deputy secretarygeneral today. So thank you. John thank you so much, raj. Amina, last words . Amina ok. Last words. Never last words for me. But along the way, thank you so much. This is really important. I wanted just to mention two constituencies that will be critical to this. Its because we will not build back the same. We have to build back differently and take the opportunity of covid and not be conquered by it. Thats youth and women. I think that this is really important because there is an intergenerational shift that must happen. In that, we need the ability to bring them to the table and also to see them as assets and not just a quota that were filling. How do we do that in our research . How do we do that in the planning . How do we do that in the implementation . I think thats important. Leadership is already being demonstrated by young people and by women, and we need to profit from it. So i think your convening also needs to show a different face to that table we have and the center to be the touch stone. When people want the solutions, they want the policy options, that they can come and you can feed them with that so they go back to their realities to see how do we figure this out. I think thats important because you are able in your independence to be cutting edge, ahead of the curve. If you dont have 196 members that will actually negotiate what the option is. I think theres power in that. Youve got an amazing team and we are looking very much forward to working with you on the road ahead. Its extraordinarily difficult but its full of opportunities. , i dont think weve ever seen a time in our history when we have so many tools and potentials and ambitions that is can be fulfilled. Its about just getting us together and doing it. So keep plugging and just getting it done. So thank you for having me, general allen. This has been a pleasure and i really look forward to working with john and the team and the center here. Raj, thank you. Great to see you. John thank you, amina. Thank you, raj. I think my big takeaway here is were moving from a discussion of resets to transition. Were here to put in the work. Were here to make it count in the communities where people live. Were here to help take on the global commons, and were here to help connect the dots between all the above in a way the world of 2030 looks better than the one in 2020. Thank you for your inspiration and leadership. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] live coverage begins at 4 30 and on e spit on cspan. 11 days left until election day on november 3 when Voters Decide who will control congress and occupy the white house next year. Stick with cspan. Watch campaign 2020 footage every day on cspan, stream or on demand on cspan. Org, or listen on the cspan radio app
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