On 2 Feb. 2023, the president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Csaba Kőrösi visited the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, a center created to support the achievement of the SDGs.
At CBAS, he met and exchanged views with Prof. Hou Jianguo, the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. Guo Huadong, CBAS Director General. He had in-depth discussions with CBAS scientists on pressing issues concerning the achievement of the SDGs, such as development of cutting-edge digital technologies, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, life on land, as well as CBAS' capacity to provide services for the 2030 Agenda and the potential for cooperation between CAS and UN agencies.
During his tour of CBAS, the delegation visited the SDG Big Data Platform and gained an in-depth understanding of its SDG big data collaborative analysis system, SDG science satellite system, SDG big data visualization and application system, and SDG data sharing system in promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and advancing the Global Development Initiative (GDI).
In 2015, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda, which includes 17 sustainable development goals ranging from ending poverty to tackling climate change.
“CAS has long been focusing on biodiversity conservation, global climate change, disaster prevention and mitigation, water security and other major global concerns,” said CAS President Hou Jianguo in his welcome remarks.
Hou expressed that CAS is willing to strengthen cooperation with UN agencies to further advance the Agenda and contribute to the building of a common community of a shared future.
For his part, Mr.Kőrösi extended his thanks to CAS and CBAS for the tour, saying he was deeply impressed and inspired by what had been shown in the monitoring and evaluation of the SDGs. He remarked upon how the research being done by CAS to support implementation of the SDGs is a “model” for other countries of the world. He called for CBAS' further involvement in the mid-term evaluation of the SDGs and to continue to provide comprehensive science data to assist decision-making and policy implementation.
“Our future will not have a sustainable transformation without the digital technologies and nature-based solutions supported here,” stressed Mr. Kőrösi.
He also wrote a messageafter the visit, saying that he was impressed by what have been offered at CBAS in the monitoring and evaluation of the Sustainable Development Goals. He expressed his hope further successes in gather and analyze information, serving the global advancement of science and sustainability for the whole of humanity.
Guo Huadong, the CBAS Director General, said that CBAS will continue to adhere to its innovation strategy and technology promotion mechanism, attach more importance to "sharing for common benefits" and "action through science", as well as to further strengthen its research in the correlation and connectivity among different indicators at a global scale to unleash the power of digital technology to build a new pattern of digital cooperation.
“With data cooperation and sharing as a foundation, CBAS will work with the UN system and the international community to make scientific contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the GDI,” Prof. Guo reaffirmed.
On September 22, 2020, President Xi Jinping announced that China will set up an International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals to facilitate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. CBAS was officially launched in September 2021, to which President Xi sent a congratulatory letter, calling for all sides to make full use of CBAS to explore new ways of sustainable development supported by big data, strengthen international cooperation, and make joint efforts to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. UN Secretary-General António Guterres subsequently sent a video message and expressed his hope that joint efforts can mobilize scientific and technological communities to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Since its establishment, CBAS has made important achievements in research on sustainable development driven by Big Earth Data, the building of the SDG Big Data Platform, and R&D and applications of SDG science satellites, which have supported sustainable development in China while also influencing the UN system and the international community.
Also present at the meeting were leaders and representatives of CAS, CBAS and AIRCAS.
Prof. Hou welcomes Mr. Kőrösi
Mr. Kőrösi visiting the SDG Big Data Collaborative Analysis System
Prof. Guo introducing SDGSAT-1 to Mr. Kőrösi
The delegation visiting SDG Big Data Visualization and Application System in the Digital Earth Hall