"Producing, transmitting and using knowledge to have a relevant and positive impact on sustainability: this is our commitment to society. (...) But we know that no institution can succeed alone", highlighted the Rector of NOVA University Lisbon, João Sàágua, in the opening session of the 1st NOVA/University of São Paulo (USP) Conference, dedicated to sustainability.
Welcoming the strategic partnership signed with USP, the best university in Latin America according to the Times Higher Education rankings - and 10th in the world according to the GreenMetric World University Ranking 2022, dedicated to sustainability - the Rector of NOVA also noted how "USP's motto "Vencerás pela Ciência" (You win through science) is linked to NOVA's "Every city divided against itself will not survive". Together they seem to be a call for cooperation through science".
An idea that Carlos Carlotti Junior, Rector of the University of São Paulo, immediately endorsed. "Universities have an essential role to play in showing ways to better coexist with the planet," he said, "but we will get nowhere unless we work together.
Joana Portugal Pereira, a researcher at the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the NOVA University Lisbon and Assistant Professor at the Energy Planning Programme of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, also spoke at the morning session.
As lead author of the assessment report of the sixth working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the expert noted the urgency of the new paths being sought: "We know that human influence is the main cause of climate anomalies on the planet".
Miguel Pina e Cunha, professor at Nova SBE, concluded the morning's work with a presentation entitled "Rethinking Organisations for Sustainable Development", highlighting the initiatives already implemented at this NOVA school. "It is very important to create better organisations for the environment, but also for the people who work in them."
The afternoon session will be dedicated to the "Social Dimension of Sustainability" and the "Impact of the University on Public Policies for Sustainability". Tomorrow it will be the turn of the panels on "Technology and Economics for Sustainability" and "Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Sustainability".
Finally, Paulo Artaxo, Professor at the Physics Institute of USP and member of the IPCC - UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will take the stage to talk about the "Challenges of Sustainability and the Climate Agenda in the Current Context".
Check out here the full programme and follow the rest of the conference, in person or online: 7 September | 8 September
