The world needs to focus on measuring what matters, having ambitious climate goals and aligning private finances to make the green transition, according to Niamh Collier-Smith, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand.
She was speaking on Monday during a forum titled "ESG Symposium 2024: Driving Inclusive Green Transition", held by Siam Cement Group at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
The forum, focusing on the green transition to net zero carbon emissions through the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) framework, is part of the Sustainability Expo 2024.
During her speech, Ms Collier-Smith said the world should change from "a society that values what it measures to a society that measures what it values".
She said that back in the 1990s, the world measured progress through gross domestic product alone, and it was not an accurate method to gauge actual global progress.
Since then, the world has used "life expectancy" and "years of education" instead to measure progress in the world, she said.
Human Development Index
Eventually, the Human Development Index (HDI), which can help see correlations between humans and development, came into affect, she said.
However, she pointed out that the UNDP had recognised that "the planet" had been missing from the formula on how to measure development, and therefore, the Planetary Pressures-Adjusted Human Development Index (PHDI) was implemented to help the world measure development with respect to the environment.
Yet, the picture of progress had changed, and the UNDP found that 50% of countries had dropped out from the "High Human Development Index" because no country in the world can achieve high development without putting a strain on the planet.
"Therefore, what we should be heading [for] is low planetary impact, high human development," she said. "That is the next frontier of human development."
"To get there, every country has to change," she added.
To achieve this goal, every country make have ambitious climate pledges, she said. UN member states have published a document called "The Pact for the Future", where they agree not to pass on today's challenges to the next generation, she said.
They have to ensure that future generations will have the freedom to make their own choices, she said.
To do so, United Nations member states can follow the Nationally Determined Contributions or the Climate Pledges on the Paris Agreement, she said.