World Materials Summit addresses UN Sustainable Development Goals
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“a big deal.” However, Corker said, “When the roof falls in [on the US fiscal status], basic and fundamental science will be one of the first wave of cuts.” Corker implied that his last major issues before his pending retirement will be this budget appropriations cycle. Caldwell also found much support for basic research from his representative, Jim
World Materials Summit addresses UN Sustainable Development Goals unstats.un.org/sdgs • www.iumrshq.org
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arly this summer, the UN released its Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018 during a press conference in New York. The purpose of the report is to gauge progress in the 17 goals adopted by world leaders to end poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change by 2030. The goals were established in 2015, and last fall, the Sixth World Materials Summit— co-sponsored by the International Union of Materials Research Societies, with participants ranging from researchers to policymakers—focused discussions on this set of goals. The Materials Summit followed with a comprehensive report, Materials Innovation for the Global Circular Economy and Sustainable Society. In separate reports, the UN and the Materials Summit recognize where advances have been made but emphasize that progress needs to be significantly accelerated in order to achieve the goals by 2030. The reports identify where government policies are needed to help. Since the goals were adopted, the UN report acknowledges bold actions taken by numerous countries to achieve these goals. As policymakers face continuing challenges, the report calls for them to consider how to make societies more resilient: “A good place to start is by establishing robust water and sanitation infrastructure, ensuring access to clean and affordable energy, building safe and ecologically friendly cities, protecting ecosystems, and instituting sustainable consumption and production patterns.”
As materials research provides a means to accomplish these goals, the Summit recommended that policymakers consult scientists. In a discussion of disruptive materials for the future, for example, the Summit participants pointed to research funding for nanoalloys and nanomaterials, high-entropy alloys, and advanced composites, as well as for SiN, GaN, and diamond and coatings for power electronics. The participants delineated the benefits of research in additive manufacturing and big data to speed up development. According to the UN report, access to electricity (covered in Goal #7) has increased in many countries, and the ability to use renewable energy to produce electricity has advanced rapidly; however, progress needs to be fast-tracked in the areas of transportation, heating, and cooling, and that 41% of the world population is still missing access to clean cooking fuels and technologies. The World Materials Summit, which has traditionally focused on energy, reported on the challenges as well as disruptive materials for the future. The Summit recommends a significant acceleration in deployment of energy storage on the grid, to match th
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