Hosted by The Joint SDG Fund Breakthrough Alliance, Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of Southern California and Stanford Alumni For Sustainability, this event will showcase how the United Nations development system is innovating through collaboration to create joint programs and initiatives, including partnerships with the private sector, that can create greater leverage to finance the SDGs, in specific geographic areas of themes. 

The world ocean contributes significantly to our economy and social life, including to the provision of food security, transport, energy supply, tourism, and many of the planet’s most critical ecosystem services. The ocean contributes over US$3 trillion per year to the global market economy, or 5% of GDP, but opportunities for the sustainable management of marine natural capital well extend this provision.

The integrity of oceans is at significant risk due to a range of ocean management policy and market failures leading to overexploitation, pollution, introduction of invasive species, habitat loss and ocean acidification. 90% of global fish stocks are fully exploited or overexploited.  If much needed investments are to be unlocked, private capital must be engaged.

The Green Energy  transition is not happening fast enough. If we are to combat the climate crisis, we will need to leapfrog on innovation, policy and financing. As leading academics such as those at the new School of  Sustainability at Stanford, partners such as those at the Rockefeller Foundation’s new Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet,  and  the private sector  catalyze disruptive solutions and partnerships for  the  Green Energy Transition/Revolution, this is a moment to  bring the full power of tech, media and markets  to  accelerate this transition.

At this event we are planning interactive dialogs on  challenges and opportunities to bring the power of media, tech and markets to accelerate SDGs. We hope to catalyze breakthrough partnerships, breakthrough innovations  and breakthrough financing.

Speakers

• Ms. Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director-General for Energy, European Commission

• Ms. Radhika Shah, Co-President Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs, Co-Chair of Joint SDG Fund Breakthrough Alliance

• Mr. Vaughan Pratt, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at Stanford University

• Mr. Keith Coleman, Distinguished Visiting Scholar Emeritus mediaX at Stanford University and Co-Founder of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs Southern California, Co-Chair of Joint SDG Fund Breakthrough Alliance

• Mr. Craig Cogut, Co-Founder of Apollo Global Management and Founder, Chairman & CEO of Pegasus Capital

• Mr. Asif Saleh, Executive Director, BRAC Bangladesh

• Mr. Nicholas McKinlay, Global Director of Programs at Aga Khan Foundation

• Ms. Lisa Kurbiel, Head of the Secretariat of the UN Joint SDG Fund