5 November 2018: A high-level event on ‘Accelerating Change/Wandel beschleunigen’ for sustainable development worldwide and in Germany considered the summits on the SDGs and climate change that will take place back-to-back in September 2019. Speakers and participants also stressed the need to ensure that the SDGs bring real transformation, rather than incremental change.

The UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit will take place in New York, US, on 23 September 2018, followed by the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) convening at the level of heads of state and government, from 24-25 September. The HLPF meeting is also being referred to as an “SDG Summit.”

Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) hosted the high-level event in Berlin, Germany, on 5 November 2018. Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister, BMU, said the September 2019 summits on climate and the SDGs must call for increased ambition and for accelerating the transition to more sustainable, low-carbon economic practices. She would welcome a focus on specific action programmes for the Goals on which tangible progress has not been made. She noted that Germany and a group of other “friends of the SDGs,” which has been set up by Spain, will advocate for such accelerated change.

Schulze observed that the longer it takes to implement the SDGs and climate change commitments, the more it will cost, and climate risks must play a larger role in companies’ investment decisions. However, the transition to the post-fossil fuel era must be designed so as to strengthen, not destroy, industrial structures as the basis for prosperity, she stressed. She said the current debate on lignite coal in Germany is about accounting for social issues when pursuing environmental goals. Schulze also reported that Germany is working on a national climate act to respond to the Paris Agreement, which will be binding, and BMU aims to become climate neutral by 2020.

Norbert Barthle, BMZ, representing Federal Minister Gerd Müller, observed that three years after their adoption many SDGs are off-track, and only 12% in Germany know about the 2030 Agenda. He said the HLPF meeting in September 2019 should serve as a “wake up call” that countries must deliver on their commitments, and ambition needs to increase significantly. He said the world is looking at rich countries to start on their own doorstep in implementing the 2030 Agenda, highlighting the role of fair procurement in global trade. Barthle added that the BMZ also aims to be a climate-neutral ministry by 2020, which will boost its credibility in advancing sustainable development around the world, and noted that Germany supports partner countries in establishing the institutional structures for enabling sustainable development and leaving no one behind.

In the keynote address, Hajia Alima Mahama, Ghana’s Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, looked towards Ghana’s voluntary national review (VNR) to be presented at the HLPF meeting in July 2019, saying, “we want to be assessed; someone should look at us and tell us … how we are doing.” She noted that Ghana has established a 2015 baseline against which to track progress, and has an interministerial committee for coordination and collaboration on the 2030 Agenda. She said the National Development Planning Commission is “at the apex of our process,” which is under the Minister of Planning, and promotes multi-stakeholder engagement.

Efforts to boost SDG target 7.1 could lock in fossil fuel consumption for years to come, if climate considerations are not addressed.

In a panel discussion, Paula Caballero, RARE and formerly Colombia’s chief negotiator for the SDGs, said the SDG Summit in September 2019 should focus not on political outcomes but moving the Agenda forward at the needed scale and speed. She also called for bringing the SDGs and climate change agendas together, highlighting a specific trade-off at risk: efforts to boost access to energy (SDG target 7.1) could “lock in fossil fuel consumption” for years to come if climate change considerations are not addressed. She added that if the Paris Agreement’s two-degree temperature rise goal is not achieved, “we lose development gains to date.” Caballero also cautioned against the “pro-poor minimalist agenda” of the MDGs, highlighting the need to link SDG 1 (no poverty) with SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).

Tsitsi Choruma, Fairtrade Africa, said Africans need to start consuming what they produce, and others who consume African products must be accountable. Noting that producers of cash crops do not benefit enough from them, she said the sticker price of coffee “tells you we are way behind on the SDGs.” She added that discussions of the 2030 Agenda should highlight results that come from interlinkages between the three dimensions of sustainable development. Similarly, Mahama suggested avoiding “one-sector activities,” and instead setting out priorities in a way that brings sectors together to push for the 2030 Agenda,” noting that “we can’t achieve a transformative agenda by fighting for turf.”

Eva Schulz-Kamm, Siemens, said her company believes in long-term partnership, and will not “sell the future for a short-term profit.” She highlighted efforts in various countries, including investments in Egypt in the area of power production.

Klaus Milke, Foundations 20 and Germanwatch, observed a regression from multilateralism to “nationalism and egoism” by governments. However, he said collaboration and cooperation give reason for optimism.

During the discussion, participants emphasized the need to create linkages among key issues and processes, such as between peace and development, and the SDGs’ potential for helping a country to transition to peace. A panelist noted the need for behavior change and evaluating prevailing social norms and values. An audience member asked whether making less profit is an option for companies. Participants also noted links between the agendas of the Climate Summit, the SDG Summit and the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, which also will convene in September 2019.

Rebecca Freitag, German Youth Delegate for Sustainable Development, said “I don’t want to imagine a two degrees warmer world,” but a small window of opportunity remains. She called for making sustainable choices cheaper and easier, saying it is hard when the train costs three times more than flying, more space is available for cars than for bikes, and buying a new shirt is cheaper than repairing an old one. Freitag highlighted an initiative to lower the voting age to 16.

The high-level event took place back-to-back with the fifth meeting of the Partners for Review (P4R) network, also initiated by Germany’s federal government. P4R gathers government, civil society, academic and private sector representatives to discuss review mechanisms for the 2030 Agenda. [SDG Knowledge Hub sources]