October 2013: The Independent Research Forum on a Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda (IRF2015) hosted the first in a series of informal retreats, from 2-4 October 2013, in Glen Cove, New York, US. The retreat series is aimed at supporting the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICSDF).
The recent retreat on ‘Towards a Transformative Post‐2015 Development Agenda’ included participants from 32 Member States, UN and World Bank representatives, and IRF 2015 members, and received support from the Governments of Colombia, Denmark, Norway, Pakistan, South Africa and Switzerland.
A summary from the organizers notes that areas of commonality expressed by the participants “suggest that there is a stronger basis for building consensus than is generally recognized.” Participants expressed strong support for keeping the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the core of the new agenda, shifting economies to inclusive and sustainable growth pathways, “finishing the job” on the MDGs and “getting to zero” on key human development goals such as health and education. The summary notes that many participants emphasized the importance of a more transformative agenda that addresses the root causes of poverty, delivers well‐being to the emerging global middle class, and advances sustainability’s three dimensions in a balanced manner.
On retaining the simplicity of the MDGs, some participants suggested that countries might agree to a very small number of high level goals, where progress on one goal area would generate co‐benefits in others. Participants stressed that implementation will require new and more effective forms of collaboration among all stakeholders, including a greater role for the private sector.
Participants called for a focus on inclusive, durable growth that reduces inequalities within and between countries. Participants felt that the post-2015 agenda should reflect the key drivers of and barriers to sustainable and equitable development, implying a greater focus on cross-cutting issues such as environmental sustainability and inequality, risk and resilience, and governance to empower individuals through access to information, participation and justice.
On the recognizing interlinkages among goal areas, some called for an iterative, integrated approach to goal and target-setting, either through a bottom-up approach from targets to goals, or top-down from goals to targets. On universality, according to the summary, discussions revealed a lack of clarity on how to define universality, and participants voiced multiple interpretations.
IRF2015 is a collaboration by several sustainable development institutes, including the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), Development Alternatives (DA), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the World Resources Institute (WRI). [IRF2015 Summary] [IRF2015 Website]