SDG Accelerator DIALOGUES
The SDG Accelerator runs and participates in events which facilitate dialogue between scholars and practitioners, disseminate research findings and promote and support academic collaborations.
2025 events
UNEP 7th Global Environment Outlook (GEO7) Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) Meeting
2-6 June 2025: Professor Turcu attended the UNEP GEO7 Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) Meeting in Jeju Island, South Korea, along with 20 other selected scientists from around the world. The meeting was dedicated to the report’s SPM, which is a concise, policy-relevant summary of the main findings and key messages from the full GEO7 report, designed to inform environmental decision-making and facilitate the interaction between science and policy. The Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) is a series of reports that review the state and direction of the global environment. It is a global process conducted by UNEP at regional, national, and local levels around the world. The process provides an assessment of the current state of the environment, an evaluation of the effectiveness of policies and actions taken to address environmental issues, and projections of future environmental trends. Professor Turcu coordinates the final chapter of the GEO7 report, Driving the Transformation.
Four policy Roundtables for the MAGI Policy Commission
April-May 2025: Professor Turcu with UCL Public Policy and the Greater London Authority organised four participatory roundtables with the London Boroughs of Camden, Islington, Lewisham and Newham to map and discuss assets (i.e. strengths, opportunities, resources) around their climate, public health and green infrastructure areas of work, and co-create a transdisciplinary understanding of potential areas of integration/ synergy and tension.
Past events
Explore below the events the SDG Accelerator has hosted and/or taken part in since it started:
- Policy Roundtable on climate adaptation, health and greenspace
8 October 2024: Professor Turcu with UCL Public Policy hosted a policy roundtable of representatives from London Boroughs, GLA, UKHSA, DEFRA and DESNZ to reflect on intermediary findings and lessons for scaling-up from the CRAFTIslington project, led by Professor Turcu. Whilst the project is still to be wrapped up, discussions evolved around topics such as: the role local anchor institutions and young people in greenspace stewardship; how to prioritise for intervention deprived urban areas; financial and measuring challenges; need for new data-driven frameworks; demonstrator projects; and the potential of scaling-up greenspace adaptation within and across London Boroughs.
- Future of London Steering Group Annual Meeting
11 July 2024: Professor Turcu talked to a range of built environment stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sector, about their role and responsibility in engaging with and supporting the most vulnerable socio-economic groups and communities to overcome the impacts of climate change. The audience included senior representatives from businesses, local government, housing associations and developers.
- UCL Urban Health Community Launch
18 June 2024: Professor Catalina Turcu spoke at the launch of the UCL Urban Health Community, using examples from work within the UCL SDG Research Accelerator to discuss on how urban health justice can be achieved in the current urban conditions; what is the role of urban health experts in the current urban-political landscapes; and highlight climate change and mental health as the two crucial urban health challenges that should be at the centre of research and policy communities’ attention.
- UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies Conference (SB60) in Bonn
10-12 June 2024: Professor Catalina Turcu is part of a small, dedicated team of experts that represented UCL at the 60th Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) which took place in Bonn 3-13 June. The SB60 includes negotiations, mandated and side events of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), which assist COP (Conference of the Parties), CMP (Conference of the Parties for the Kyoto Protocol) and CMA (Conference of the Parties for the Paris Agreement) processes, by providing information and advice on scientific and technological matters, and implementation mechanisms. Professor Turcu will engage with negotiators and tracts on cities, adaptation and, research and systematic observation. contributing to UCL’s commitment to making substantial impact and advancing knowledge in the international climate action space. This event is by invitation.
- Climate, health and sustainability goals at the municipal level
5 June 2024: This event was the second in a series of events discussing the synergies and tensions between climate, health and sustainability goals in the city. This time it focussed on the local government level in London. Speakers reflected on the benefits and trade-offs of aligning climate and health goals at the municipal level, and how relevant policy goals not only can contradict or compete against each when pursued individually, but also undermine other policy and/or wider sustainability goals such as equality, justice and prosperity for all.
- UNEP 7th Global Environment Outlook (GEO7) Authors Meeting
15-19 January 2024: Professor Catalina Turcu attended the second UNEP GEO7 Authors Meeting in Vienna. The Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) was a series of reports that review the state and direction of the global environment. It was a global process conducted by UNEP at regional, national, and local levels around the world. The process provides an assessment of the current state of the environment, an evaluation of the effectiveness of policies and actions taken to address environmental issues, and projections of future environmental trends. Professor Catalina Turcu currently coordinates work on the GEO7 Assessment, due to be published in 2026.
- A North-South conversation on the implementation of SDG goals and targets at the local level
23 November 2023: In this public dialogue Professor Adriana Allen (UCL, DPU) and Professor Catalina Turcu (UCL Partlett Planning) drew on own research and discuss the challenges and opportunities of sustainable urban transformations (SDG11 targets) for local communities in the Global South and Global North, respectively. They reflected on lessons learned in each context, commonalities and differences, and what a post-SDG framework may look like.
- Strategic outlook into EU’s 2024-2029 policy priorities
12 October 2023: High-level workshop in Brussels to explore alternative future scenarios and pathways for EU's environmental and sustainability-centred policies in the 2024-2029 policy cycle. The outcomes of the workshop contributed to a dedicated strategic foresight report on the opportunities and challenges for achieving the EU long-term vision of ‘living well within the limits of the planet’ and on what short-term steps need to be taken in the next five years in this regard. This report was due to be published in early 2024 in the run-up to the EEA’s flagship State and Outlook of the European Environment Report 2025.
- Fostering open policy discussion on climate and health
3 October 2023: Roundtable organised by UCL Public Policy and funded by the Wellcome Policy Lab, testing creative approaches to policy development. The roundtable brought together local government policy makers and academics from UCL to establish shared priorities and conflicts in climate change and health policy, and to identify how these priorities can be supported by new and existing evidence and research approaches.
- Determinants of spatial and social inequalities in Stockholm and London
5-6 September 2023: A two-day research workshop in Stockholm looked at similarities and differences in experiencing spatial and social disparities in Stockholm and London in relation to 1. sustainable transportation; and 2. Climate mitigation and adaptation plans in the two cities. Organised by KTH Royal Institute of Technology with Stockholm University and Karolinska Institute.
29 June 2023: The keynote given by Prof Catalina Turcu at the 2023 ENHR Conference in Lodz, Poland, reflected on progress to date and challenges to 2030 for the sustainable housing target, the first target of the Sustainable Development Goal: Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11). Following a brief overview of the international context and various interpretations of the sustainable housing target such as hazard-free, structurally sound, energy performant or affordable housing, the talk pauses on its implementation in the UK.
7 June 2023: This was an interactive research knowledge exchange organised during the Ecocities World Summit 2023 in London. The session showcased research projects which work closely with municipal governments, industry and grassroots organisations, and reflects on lessons learnt and, the drivers and barriers of evidence-based action for climate resilient and healthy cities.
17 May 2023: This event discussed the benefits and trade-offs of aligning climate and health goals in the city, and how relevant policy goals not only can contradict or compete against each when pursued individually, but also undermine other policy and/or wider sustainability goals such as equality, justice and prosperity for all. The discussion reflected on whether the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework could offer an integrated, coherent and holistic approach to align specific goals in cities, in this case climate change and health, while acknowledging connections with others.
17-18 April 2023: A two-day in-person research workshop supported by the UCL Cities Partnerships Programme, was open to researchers at UCL, Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University. During the two days, the participants learnt about successful research partnerships between London- and Stockholm-based academics, and worked on common research ideas and potential collaborations around five themes: mental health, sustainable transportation, digital tools, communicable diseases and urban systems
1 November 2021: The Cities Partnerships Programme convened a Horizon Europe Coordinators’ Workshop, which included two half-days of training and capacity building sessions with the Stockholm Trio and UCL. The workshop’s aim was twofold: to support Principal Investigators and their teams to apply for Horizon Europe funding; and to encourage future British-Swedish collaborations.
21 June 2021: UCL, Karolinska Institute, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University met for the Cities Partnerships Programme (Stockholm) Research and Innovation Summit, as well as to discuss Horizon Europe, the new European programme for research funding.
Watch the videos from the event >