The Role of Weather and Climate in Achieving a Sustainable Future

The address will first look at what we mean by sustainability or sustainable development and its three pillars of economic prosperity, social justice and environmental protection. The address will present evidence of our current unsustainability, which will lead into a discussion of the development of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The core of the address will then examine the role of weather and climate in achieving the SDGs and hence a sustainable future for the world. It will argue and present evidence that weather and climate impacts every element of sustainable development. Various typologies of impacts will be discussed and some personal recommendations how weather and climate information could be used more effectively will be presented.