The European Parliament’s Committee on Development commissioned an in-depth study of SDG implementation to assist the Parliament by contributing to policy and legislative debates ahead of the 2023 SDG Summit. The report offers recommendations to enable a “major transformation” in SDG financing, ecology and green recovery, citizens’ empowerment, political commitment to collective action, and cooperation between public, private, and non-profit sectors.
The report warns that global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate change, have exacerbated challenges relating to poverty, inequality, carbon emissions, education, health, economic growth, and finance, effectively reversing progress in achieving the SDGs and increasing the likelihood of the Goals not being met by 2030.
Highlighting the EU’s leadership role, both regionally and globally, in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the report underscores the need for “ambitions … to be translated into strategies and actions.” It recommends that the EU adopt an overarching strategy that would align the SDGs with: the EU’s economic monitoring and budgeting processes, such as the European Semester; the European Green Deal; and countries’ recovery processes. Increased collaboration between the EU and UN institutions, and support for other countries “in levelling up SDG achievements globally” are also among the recommended actions.
The report notes that in being “aimed at everyone, from states to individual citizens,” the SDGs act as “a common language for the global community.” The post-2030 Agenda, it finds, “is very likely to continue adopting this approach.”
Emphasizing the importance of “targeted cooperation” within the EU and globally, “to enable the transformation of economies towards sustainable development,” the report calls for any actions in the context of the post-2030 Agenda to take into account the linkages between climate policy, sustainable development, and poverty reduction. It recommends that the financing, green technology, and sustainable lifestyles transformations consider the planetary boundaries and foster education at all levels.
“Notwithstanding the importance of planning the actions for sustainability after 2030,” the report calls on the European Parliament, the European Commission, and EU member States, as well as the scientific community, local governments, civil society, and the private sector, to “act now and put all necessary efforts in motion to fulfilling global commitments to sustainability by 2030.”
The 2023 SDG Summit, the report notes, will be critical for future decisions concerning the SDGs, and the coming years “will be crucial for defining the future process of implementing” the 2030 Agenda. It highlights the 2022 Transforming Education Summit and the UN Climate Change Conferences in 2023 and 2024 (UNFCCC COP 28 and COP 29) as influential for SDG implementation, and looks to the 2025 World Social Summit, proposed by the UN Secretary-General, to “draw new attention to human rights and cooperation across borders.”
The report was written by Kalterina Shulla, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, and Walter Leal Filho, Manchester Metropolitan University. [Publication: Achieving the UN Agenda 2030: Overall Actions for the Successful Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals Before and After the 2030 Deadline] [Publication Landing Page]