Story highlights from Science Day 2025:
Amid widespread disillusionment that progress on the Sustainable Development Goals is stalling, Science Day 2025 struck a very different tone. Convened during the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on 15 July at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the event offered a space for reflection and featured a mobilized community of practice – scientists, diplomats, and thought leaders actively seeking new ways to co-create solutions.
Organized by the International Science Council (ISC), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Science Day 2025 brought together over a dozen speakers and a large, diverse audience for an open dialogue. This year’s theme – Unlocking Tomorrow’s Solutions, Today – resonated strongly in a moment where only 35% of SDG targets are on track or showing moderate progress, and yet the demand for transformative action has never been greater.
Across all case studies and panels, a central message emerged: transdisciplinary approaches are no longer optional – they are foundational. But they continue to face structural constraints in how science is funded, rewarded, and institutionalized.
Dr. Babatunde Abidoye (UNDP) delivered the opening remarks, framing the conversation with a powerful question: “What kinds of science are needed to navigate a world marked by crisis and transition?”. He underscored that science cannot remain purely technical, stressing instead that “we know that science must be more than technical. It must be human-centered.” His message set the stage for the discussions that followed, anchoring them in the recognition that scientific practice must evolve to meet the complexities of today’s interconnected challenges.
Opening the case study session, James Waddell (ISC) pointed out that scientific knowledge is not the issue. “Conversations around the SDGs often go one way – not because knowledge is lacking, but because the channels between science and policy are missing or broken,” he said. “We must focus on building interfaces, not just delivering evidence.”
Dr. Mary Blair (American Museum of Natural History) delivered a compelling presentation on Indigenous science in the Arctic, grounded in her own heritage as a descendant of Sami reindeer herders. She described a model of translatable transdisciplinary science, integrating satellite data with traditional herding practices. “This is not about adding Indigenous knowledge as an appendix,” she emphasized. “It’s about redesigning science to reflect knowledge that’s already here — and already working.”
Blair made a strong case for reconfiguring the systems that currently hinder such integration. She advocated for new incentives that would support transdisciplinary research across academic institutions, underlined the importance of establishing legally binding agreements before conducting research in Indigenous territories, and called for the full inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as central actors in global efforts such as the upcoming 5th International Polar Year 2032–33. But alongside these proposals, Blair pointed to a series of persistent challenges – from ongoing land degradation and inadequate monitoring to the entrenched focus on disciplinary excellence in scientific institutions, which continues to marginalize cross-cutting and collaborative approaches.
Echoing this, Dr. Pamela McElwee (Rutgers University) presented the IPBES Nexus Assessment as an effort to reframe assessments around actionable solutions. “We didn’t want to produce another state-of-the-problem report,” she said. “So we dedicated half the report to concrete, implementable options — from agroecological practices to urban biodiversity strategies.” The assessment also expanded participation, bringing in early-career researchers and Indigenous knowledge holders. “The point wasn’t just to be inclusive — it was to make the science better, more usable, and more just.”
While knowledge abounds, the real challenge lies in ensuring that it can be used effectively – especially when windows for political action are short. As Dr. Marianne Beisheim put it: “To be relevant, science must be ready when political attention is high.”
Together with Dr. Annekathrin Ellersiek, she described Germany’s initiative to coordinate 20 scientific advisory councils, many of which had never previously worked on the SDGs. Through biannual structured dialogue, the councils have co-authored joint positions and contributed to national reporting processes, including Germany’s Vienna Report on sustainability transformation. “It’s about creating ownership,” said Elleriek, “even when political will is low. We need platforms that people can build into – not just respond to.”
Five years to course correct – Science and engineering for a world off track
DOI: 10.24948/2025.03
Publication date: 30 June 2025
Publisher: International Science Council
A similar logic informed the Colombian multistakeholder SDG platform, presented by Natalia Ortiz Diaz (SEI). The platform brings together scientists, private sector actors, and civil society to co-develop sustainability strategies – particularly in areas like energy, climate, and sustainable consumption. “We use participatory methods, alignment tools, and open access data to ground decisions,” she explained. Yet Diaz was candid about the gaps: “Peer review takes time – politics doesn’t wait. There’s a disconnect between the rhythms of science and the urgency of implementation.”
She added that “we need to break silos not only between sectors, but within science itself,” pointing out that most scientists lack training in public communication. “The knowledge exists, but it often doesn’t leave the room it was generated in,” she said.
Dr. Babatunde Abidoye highlighted UNDP’s role in utilizing science and AI to support countries with their national planning and commitments. He pointed to UNDP’s SDG Push Diagnostics tool, “using AI and science to bring all policy and planning information together to analyze them to find gaps within the SDGs”; insights that have shaped the SDG Integrated Insights Reports. Building on this foundation, UNDP’s most recent work explores the intersection of climate ambition and development priorities through the NDC x SDG Insights Reports, supporting countries in crafting more integrated and forward-looking strategies for their NDC 3.0.
One of the defining characteristics of Science Day 2025 was the visibility and influence of young scientists and students. Most of the questions and interventions during Q&A came from participants under 30 – many of them affiliated with the UN’s Major Groups or early-career science networks. Far from tokenistic, this presence shaped the tone and trajectory of the day.
Dr. Yensi Flores-Bueso, Chair of the Global Young Academy, described the dissonance young scientists feel between their training and the world’s expectations. “Why do we keep asking why science isn’t being used,” she asked, “when the better question is what have we done to make it usable?”
She called out academic incentive systems that favour rankings, citations, and impact factors over real-world relevance. “We need to make space for communicators, educators, policy translators – not just tenured professors,” she said. “Right now, our systems penalize those trying to bridge science and society.”
The audience’s engagement – from raising ethical questions around AI, to challenging panellists on data sovereignty and accessibility – confirmed that Science Day is fast becoming a preferred space for intergenerational dialogue, especially on the future of science-policy and international science cooperation.
While the SDGs remain the dominant framework, many speakers used Science Day to push the conversation forward – toward governance models and policy architectures that can handle a post-2030 reality.
As Dr. Ed Carr (SEI) and others noted, today’s global challenges – climate resilience, biodiversity loss, poverty – are not linear puzzles but “wicked problems” requiring complex, iterative, and participatory responses.
Dr. Robbert Dijkgraaf, President-elect of the ISC, argued that science must evolve from an advisory role into one of co-design and co-creation. “Science isn’t just a repository of facts – it’s a platform for cooperation,” he said. But he also cautioned that “while scientists are globally connected, the interfaces between science and policy remain fragmented and fragile.”
Dr. Daniel Goroff (Sloan Foundation) proposed a concrete innovation: “Let’s build pop-up journals – fast-cycle, peer-reviewed forums that respond directly to questions policy-makers are asking.” It’s not about publishing more, he said, but publishing with purpose: “Build the track for the train you’re trying to fuel.”
The day’s final sessions also highlighted systemic enablers. Dr. Astra Bonini (UN DESA) underscored the need for synergy across goals. “We can’t afford to chase 17 targets in 17 directions,” she said. “We need approaches that deliver multiple wins simultaneously – and we need science to help us find them.”
Science Day 2025 was more than a sideline event to the HLPF. It demonstrated the growing demand for independent, boundary-spanning spaces that bridge knowledge and action. As multiple speakers emphasized, such spaces are rare – and need to be cultivated, not just convened. Science Day 2025 succeeded not because it delivered a single set of recommendations, but because it illuminated the structural shifts and strategic tensions that will define the next era of science–policy engagement.
In his closing remarks, Ambassador Lamin Dibba of The Gambia called this moment a “crisis window of opportunity” – one in which equity, cooperation, and innovation must converge. Dr. Marcia Barbosa, Vice-President for Freedom and Responsibility in Science at the ISC, called on the science community to match the intensity and coordination of those working to undermine scientific credibility — but with very different tools. “People who are against science do this professionally,” she said. “We must respond with humility, with courage, and with better tools.”
In this decisive period for the 2030 Agenda, Science Day is poised to grow into a critical platform for rethinking how science informs global cooperation for sustainable development. The 2025 edition not only built on the insights and relationships established in previous years but also responded to a shared recognition: achieving the SDGs will require renewed approaches to collaboration, stronger interfaces between science and policy, and a clearer commitment to enabling conditions for action.
In that spirit, Science Day 2025 was not just a moment of reflection, but an invitation – to reaffirm the value of scientific knowledge as a public good, to strengthen the means by which it informs decision-making, and to begin imagining the systems and partnerships needed for the decades ahead. It is a space to unlock solutions, today — and a platform to co-create the pathways to tomorrow.
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