Blog of Donatella Benjamin, SI UN Representative in Geneva
In the pursuit of sustainable development across an ever changing political landscape, it is imperative that we take the time to reflect on past events and milestones and consider them with new perspectives. The Regional Forum on Sustainable Development serves as a valuable case worth revisiting so that we may reevaluate the progress made toward the achievement of specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Reviewing the Advancement of Five Sustainable Development Goals
The Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the Economic Commission for Europe, which includes the United States, Canada and Russia (RFSD for ECE) meets in Geneva every spring to review the advancement of selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a milestone in a series of events leading up to the High-level Political Forum in July and then to the centerpiece of this year’s events, the SDG Summit in September.
The SDGs were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 as a shared framework for realising a sustainable and prosperous future for the planet and its peoples. The 17 goals address a range of global issues, including, poverty, hunger, gender equality, and more, whilst also serving as an urgent call for action to end poverty in all its forms.
This year, the seventh session of the RFSD, held as a hybrid meeting at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, on 29 and 30 March, concentrated on SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17. The Regional Forum was attended by representatives of the 52 ECE member States, as well as representatives of about 200 non-governmental organisations, academia, the private sector, and other organisations.
Particularly Challenging Times
This meeting took place at a particularly challenging time: the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the multiple crises are slowing SDG progress, all of which is worsened by the ongoing war in Ukraine. In their opening remarks the Co-Chairs of the forum, Ambassador Prica, Chair of the Council on the Implementation of SDGs, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ambassador Reubi, Delegate of the Federal Council for the 2030 Agenda, Switzerland, stressed that no sustainable development is possible without peace and no peace is possible without sustainable development. In addition, structural problems persist in the region, such as inequality, migration, geopolitical tensions, climate crisis, and rising costs of financing which strongly affect fragile economies. As a result, SDG progress in the region is clearly insufficient and efforts must be redoubled to avert a further crisis of sustainable development.
Halfway Towards 2030
It is essential to accelerate transformations if we want to achieve the SDGs in the ECE region.
At the half way point to 2030, policies and innovative solutions are needed to accelerate SDG progress and cushion the impacts of the crises. There is an absolute need to work together and forge strong partnerships between civil society and the private sector, including scientists and statisticians and crucially, young people, who have the right to live in a healthy society on a healthy planet.
Change is possible and there are good examples within the ECE region that need to be scaled up, like the European Union Green New Deal, as well as large fiscal stimulus packages used to soften the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The commitment of young people is also a source of hope and will be supported through the new UN Youth Office. Strong progress has been made in digitalisation in the region as well as in the transition to renewable and efficient energy systems, efforts to scale up water management and in infrastructure provision.
In a video message Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, encouraged everyone to pivot from crisis to development, reminding us that “the SDGs are for everyone, everywhere”.
Building Momentum for the SDG Summit 2024
Olga Algayerova, UNECE Executive Secretary, stressed that despite bright spots, there is still a lot to do; we are half way to 2030, but the world we want to see is still out of view. First of all, we need peace and we must invest in recovery and reconstruction. UNECE is ready to help and offer technical assistance. It is not a time to despair, she said, but we need to build momentum for the SDG Summit next September.
In her video message, ECOSOC President Lachezara Stoeva reaffirmed the importance of the Regional Forum. Although in many areas the world is off target to achieve the 2030 Agenda, since its adoption in 2015 it is important to recognise that progress has been achieved, particularly in reducing child and maternal mortality, digitalisation facilitating access to information as well as access to finance for rural populations, and the growth of renewable energy technologies. The results of the Voluntary National Reports show that progress has been made, but further acceleration is needed, requiring deep structural changes, doing away with business-as-usual approaches to development, and providing better financing. The promise of solidarity and prosperity made in 2015 must be kept.
The Opening was followed by a High-Level Policy segment, where delegates had the opportunity to share policy actions that were taken in their respective countries to preserve SDG progress.
A call for peace came from many delegations, like Hungary’s Minister of Economy who expressed serious concerns in front of the escalation of war in Ukraine and the high impact on energy prices affecting the whole region. We must bring peace first and rapidly reach an agreement, he said; the danger is high to create two blocks again; dialogue should be maintained to increase security and ECE should not be over politicised, because it is a unique forum reuniting Europe, eastern countries, Russia, the United States and Canada.
The plenary session was followed by 5 Peer Learning round tables on SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17.
Summary of the Discussions
The picture emerges from the SDG progress report prepared by ECE, showing that much progress is required half-way to 2030. The report shows that the region will achieve only 21 out of 169 SDG targets by 2030, a decrease compared to the previous year. For 79 targets, progress must be accelerated. Whilst the trends for 15 targets need to be reversed.
These Challenges Can Only Be Solved Together
The 2030 Agenda remains the only global roadmap for overcoming and recovering from the current difficulties and creating more resilient societies.
Overall, close cooperation and common solutions were called for, in the spirit of partnership and shared responsibility. Current difficulties can only be tackled by joint efforts that translate into concrete and tangible projects. The challenges that affect ECE countries today stretch far beyond borders and can only be solved together, acting in solidarity.