Strengthening the review and implementation of the 2030 Agenda

Project description

Title: Support Project for SDG Review and Implementation Processes
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
Country: Global
Overall term: 2017 to 2022

Context

With the 2030 Agenda, the Member States of the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The respective Member States are responsible for implementation of the 2030 Agenda, monitoring and national reporting. The countries formulate their targets and how they plan to achieve them in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). They are faced with the challenge of how to design this process to be participatory and involve all ministries as well as how to incorporate non-governmental stakeholders. Communication between the countries on this matter has been insufficient to date.

With regard to climate change, the countries are advancing their own Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It makes sense to tackle the strategies and approaches for implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the NDCs in a coordinated or at least coherent manner. Since the Agenda can only be met if all countries fulfil all goals, an integrated approach is required. This allows potential negative impacts of measures on individual goals to be evaluated and minimised prior to their implementation. However, the currently stagnating and in part regressing trends with regard to the environment further jeopardise implementation of the entire agenda.

Objective

National reporting and implementation processes for the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are strengthened in developing countries and emerging economies. Particular consideration is given to interdependencies and synergies with national strategy processes regarding climate, environment and biodiversity.

Approach

The project enhances dialogue formats and knowledge transfer among the Partners for Review (P4R) initiative. It supports the exchange of experience on reporting structures and mechanisms through innovative formats and knowledge products. In networking meetings held every six months, participants from government, civil society, science and academia and the private sector can confidentially share information and review experiences.

The project is already supporting selected developing countries and emerging economies like China and Colombia on a needs-oriented basis via the SDG helpdesk (advisory service). The aim is for countries to recognise and more effectively use interfaces between the SDGs and on climate, biodiversity, environment and disaster risk management. The project also advises actors on how to use tools such as policy analyses and integrated approaches. The goal is to shape coherent policy, utilise positive interdependencies and counteract negative ones. This aims at addressing the currently insufficient progress in implementing the 2030 Agenda in the areas of climate and the environment and accelerates a more ambitious implementation. The experiences are incorporated into policy papers, analyses, guidance and studies and support policy advice. The SDG helpdesk handles internal and external requests from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and from developing countries and emerging economies. It feeds lessons learnt and significant practical experiences back into the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and international processes.

Result

• A total of seven networking meetings of the Partners for Review initiative were held between 2017 and 2020, in Kampala, Tbilisi, Berlin, Oaxaca and Hanoi, as well as digitally in the form of Virtual Networking Days in May and October 2020 as a result of the pandemic. With support from the IKI project, an additional 240 representatives from government, civil society and the scientific and academic community from over 30 countries gained a better understanding of the requirements for a national SDG review. 
• The exchange of knowledge on SDG reviews and on approaches to integrated agenda implementation was also strengthened through additional formats such as publications (policy papers, case studies, analyses, research), online seminars, short films and through regional (virtual) workshops and a community of practice.
• In Colombia, the project supports the national planning department in shaping internal procedures and structures for the implementation of sustainability and climate topics.
• In China, the project contributes to science-based dialogue on Green Recovery. Recommendations are fed into the climate policy dialogue.

Last update: March 2021