United Nations

Members from NPCA's New York City affiliate group engaged on key topics at the United Nations, delving into the heart of sustainable development talks.

By Greg Emerson Bocquet

In July, representatives from National Peace Corps Association's New York City affiliate group attended sessions at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), a “pre-event” ahead of the SDG Summit in September. The SDG Summit will serve to review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the halfway point to the target set for implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event will be the centerpiece of the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly this year.

Over two weeks in July, the HLPF included meetings and side events covering all aspects of the SDGs, with our representatives focusing on youth and environment-related sessions, as well as ways that groups such as ours can further engage in policy discussions around sustainable development.

A Lack of Progress

All meetings featured candid discussions on global progress in sustainable development, perhaps none more so than a side event attended by Greg Emerson Bocquet (Morocco 2003; Peru 2003–05), titled provocatively “Are we complacent?” Organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the event addressed the 169 indicators of progress toward the SDGs, only 21 of which are on track to be achieved by the deadline of 2030 (down from 26 in last year’s assessment). Even more worrisome is that these indicators are lagging, so while they reflect the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they do not include the effects of the refugee crisis in 2021 or the war in Ukraine. This real-talk assessment underscores the need for transformative, bold action that will be a recurring theme at the Summit later this year.

The Role of Volunteers

Karina Casarez (Myanmar 2018-2020) joined a session on volunteering organized by the Volunteers Group Alliance (of which the Peace Corps is a part) to discuss the role of volunteering on advancing sustainable development, of key interest to the RPCV community. Representatives from the UN Volunteers program highlighted the prevalence of volunteer initiatives in the 39 Voluntary National Reviews of progress toward the SDGs that were presented at the HLPF. Fully 31 of 39 reviews mentioned volunteering, and 11 of those countries have formally included volunteering initiatives in their plans and policies to support sustainable development. We expect there to be more focus on the evidence and impact of volunteering programs at the SDG Summit in September and will plan to attend further discussions on the matter.

Youth Involvement

Our representatives also attended two meetings focusing on the role of youth in supporting sustainable development. Both shared the key takeaway of the importance of engaging students and young people themselves in the decision-making and implementation of sustainable strategies to improve education and other outcomes for young people around the world.

One of the speakers in the event focusing on the role of African youth, hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco and attended by Bocquet, invoked the creator of the Peace Corps, John F. Kennedy, stating, “we have to move from a place where we ask not what we can do for young people, but ask what young people can do for the world, and center them in this conversation.”

Peace Corps Volunteers tend to work closely with young people in the communities where they serve, and it’s key to treat them as partners in, rather than simply targets of, development initiatives.

Climate Action

Kevin Kwok (Mali 2011–12) joined a session on renewable energy and climate action with lessons from Lithuania’s efforts to develop its self-produced electricity market. The International Energy Agency has cited a unique feature of Lithuania’s market as the rapid increase of prosumers (consumers who produce their own energy through solar energy production), who should reach 30% of the total electricity consumers in the country by 2030. A panel discussion focused on how to replicate this scheme in other countries, with specific focus on supporting innovative renewable energy schemes that meet specific social and environmental criteria such as the inclusion of energy poor households, the empowerment of local communities, and the creation of a vibrant industrial solar ecosystem.

Private Sector Initiatives

Finally, Jen Krottinger (Belize 2011–13), attended a meeting with the UN Global Compact, a group she worked with as a volunteer, on best practices for how private sector groups can support and advance the SDGs. While this initiative primarily focuses on efforts by businesses to support sustainable development, it also includes NGOs — like NPCA — and offers another route to participation in partnerships that advance sustainable development.

Your Thoughts?

As these NPCA global leaders continue to engage with the United Nations community on policies and partnerships to advance sustainable development, we invite all affiliate groups or individual members to share their thoughts on where our representatives might focus to maximize our group’s impact. Any affiliate group wishing to contribute to NPCA’s official participation in September’s SDG Summit should send a short statement on its issue of choice by August 31 to unconsult@peacecorpsconnect.org.

Patrick Gonzalez takes on responsibilities tackling climate and biodiversity with the White House.

Photography by Al Golub

By Steven Boyd Saum

“Contributing science for solutions to global problems is one of the most important contributions that we can make as scientists,” Patrick Gonzalez (Senegal 1988–90) declared earlier this year at the Ecological Society of America’s annual conference. Now he has the opportunity to walk the talk in a new way: He has been appointed assistant director for climate and biodiversity by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

A forest ecologist and climate change scientist, he has brought his expertise for years to the U.S. National Park Service as principal climate change scientist, and to research at U.C. Berkeley. But as High Country News noted several years ago, “The first unmistakable sign of climate change Patrick Gonzalez ever saw in the field was in Senegal.”

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, Gonzalez heard village elders lament that the yir trees were dying. He set out to find out why — and do something about it. He returned as a researcher and, walking 1,200 miles as he collected data, he documented that “since 1945, one out of three tree species in Senegal had disappeared, and one out of every five big trees had died.”

Measure, learn, act: Patrick Gonzalez at work in Yosemite National Park. Photo by Al Golub

The research and insight on climate change, ecosystems, wildfire, and carbon solutions he has done over the decades has informed new actions and policies. Credit him as lead author on four reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the science panel awarded a share of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He has also served on three U.S. delegations to the United Nations and on the roster of experts of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield wants to see more girls from places like she grew up as Volunteers — and ambassadors. 

As a young girl growing up in Baker, one of my biggest dreams was joining the Peace Corps.

—Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Why She’s A Fan

Writing last fall for The Advocate in her home state of Louisiana, Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted: “As the oldest of eight children, I always had a strong sense of responsibility and curiosity. I became enamored with the idea of the Peace Corps from joining a group of trainees who were stationed at nearby Leland College for their language training.”

Thomas-Greenfield didn’t end up serving in the Peace Corps, but her studies led to a grant to conduct research in West Africa — and to a 35-year career in the Foreign Service, including posts as U.S. ambassador to Liberia and director-general of the Foreign Service.

As a Black girl who was the first in her family to graduate high school, she grew up in a town where KKK cross burnings were common. “The young girl from Baker in me did not imagine this career, and while I had few who looked like me at this level, I know the power that representation can bring to an agency like the State Department. My wish is for more girls from Baker and Baton Rouge to serve as United States ambassadors, diplomats, international aid workers, Fulbright Scholars, and Peace Corps Volunteers.”