Experts: Global Conflicts Hindering Achievement of Global Sustainable Goals

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

Scholars across the globe have alluded to rising regional conflicts as an impediment towards achieving the Global Sustainable Goals, SDGs, with 2030 deadline.

The scholars who converged on Osun State University campus on a-three-day International Sustainable Development Dialogue, themed, “Sustainable Development in the Age of Crisis: Humanities, Science and More Equitable World”, agreed that without cooperation from all actors, achieving SDGs goal would be impossible.

Speaking while declaring the conference open, the Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Osogbo, Professor Clement Adebooye, said the ongoing Israel-Iran war would have damning consequences on global affairs.

According to him, “There is no doubt that the contemporary world is characterized by crises of different magnitude and consequences not only at the national level but also at continental and intercontinental levels.

“In the last one week, for example, the conflict between Israel and Iran that started like a candle light has escalated with far-reaching and severe impacts not just for the immediate region but globally.

“The various consequential dimensions and magnitude of this war are manifest in the conspicuous humanitarian crisis and rising casualties, geopolitical instability and regional spill-over, economic disruptions, nuclear proliferation concerns and cyber warfare.

“Undoubtedly, the long-term consequences of this avoidable war will depend heavily on the duration and intensity of the hostilities, as well as the involvement of other international actors”.

However, in his remarks Professor Moises Silva from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil said the use of nuclear weapons during war has a great negative impact on the SDG conservation agenda, including disruption of nature.

He opined that “Without nature we cannot live, so this war and others that are happening are really showing us the true face of people that are very greedy and they prefer war to life because every activity of war greatly on our environment.”

Equally, Dr. Feng Mao from the University of Warwick, UK, disclosed that SDGs cannot be achieved alone but require collaborative efforts from all countries, saying “We have five more years to the deadline of the SDG and all stakeholders must work together to ensure their attainment.”

Professor Imre Szeman stressed the need for state actors globally to reach compromise on equitable distribution of energy resources with a view to ensuring balance between the South and the North.

Earlier in his message the Director, Global Affairs and Sustainable Development Institute, Professor John Agbonifo, said the essence of the conference is to bring together scholars from across the world to think out of the box towards achieving global development goals.

“When the SDGs was designed nobody anticipated these crises; now that we have crisis at hand and it is becoming an impediment to achievement of the sustainable goals, we must find a way to achieve it before deadline in five years’ time”, he said.