MADRID, 17 (SERVIMEDIA)
The United Nations headquarters in New York (USA) will host a summit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Monday and Tuesday next week to accelerate their achievement at a time when they are halfway through the 2030 Agenda .
The 17 SDGs were adopted by representatives of 193 countries at the UN General Assembly in 2015. It is an agenda to combat poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030 and replaces the Millennium Development Goals, signed in 2000 and expired eight years ago.
The SDG Summit coincides with the start of the high-level week of the 78th UN General Assembly and has the fundamental purpose of reviewing the current status of each goal and marking a “new phase of accelerated progress” towards their achievement. Since various studies have suggested that the SDGs have had little political impact.
“The summit this September should be a moment of unity that provides new momentum and accelerated action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The United Nations emphasizes that “the 2030 Agenda is a promise, not a guarantee.” “Halfway through its launch in 2015, this promise is in grave danger. Its progress faces the combined impact of climate disasters, conflict, economic recession and the consequences of Covid-19,” he adds.
Therefore, the SDG Summit aims to mark a “new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals” as the curtain rises on the most active diplomatic season of the year at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
NEW SUGGESTIONS
A group of 10 scientists with extensive experience in global sustainability governance have prepared a research paper calling for four reforms to strengthen the Sustainable Development Goals. This is presented in an article published in the journal “Science”.
“Our research has shown that the SDGs do not have a significant impact on political systems,” says Frank Biermann, a professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and lead author of the study, adding: “Now is the time for change.” “Governments “We urgently need to start a process to strengthen the SDG framework through four crucial reform measures.”
The first reform points out that the Sustainable Development Goals must require rich countries to take stronger and more concrete action. So far, these countries have often focused on the SDGs that they can achieve more easily. “The 2030 Agenda’s universal approach potentially obscures unequal global consumption and emissions patterns,” the authors said.
The second reform refers to the fact that “the SDGs must adapt to new challenges, better scientific knowledge and past failures in their implementation,” making them “more adaptable to the growing crises of ecological collapse, global pandemics and growing inequalities.” must. ” Therefore, the United Nations should establish regular rounds of reviews in which countries can adapt their ambitions to evolving global circumstances.
The third point points out that the goals are not legally binding and are often only vague commitments, so that, according to the authors, “governments must take joint action to transform at least parts of the SDGs into binding international law.” This happened, for example, with the ongoing negotiations on an international treaty to end plastic pollution in the context of SDG 12 (sustainable production and consumption).
And the fourth reform shows that many SDGs are poorly integrated into the structures, policies, practices and norms of local, national and international institutions and political systems. Governments need to build stronger institutions, both internationally and nationally, to make the goals a fundamental part of how they operate and make decisions.
SPAIN
On the other hand, Spain’s main challenges in terms of the SDGs focus on clean water and sanitation, reducing inequalities and climate action, while on the contrary there is a positive state of affairs in terms of hunger, health and life, according to this Submarine report “Sustainability in Spain 2023”, prepared by the Sustainability Observatory (OS).
This report points out that none of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals present a completely satisfactory situation in Spain. SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities) and SDG 13 (climate action) are in “serious status”.
Therefore, she considers a change in “water policy adapted to climate change” to be “obvious” in order to “achieve more sustainable water use”. In addition, it highlights “the high level of inequality that exists in the country between territories and between economic groups.”
And when it comes to climate protection, the experts who created the work advocate for “a major National Adaptation Plan” with “detailed budgets,” “plans,” and “programs.” “Spain is not yet in the decarbonization phase and the impacts of climate change are becoming ever greater due to increased temperatures, heat waves and extreme weather phenomena,” the document continues.
On the other side of the scale, there are three Sustainable Development Goals with “positive status”: SDG 2 (hunger), SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 14 (life below water).
However, the report highlights that “great progress has been made in organic farming, although unbalanced diets, sedentary lifestyles and the massive use of pesticides and fertilizers persist.”
Regarding health, he points out that “it has improved significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic” and life expectancy has increased, although “challenges” remain, such as the reduction of jobs in the health sector, the existence of waiting lists , which are “incompatible” with certain diseases, the increase in the number of deaths from traffic accidents or the “high” smoking rate.
And when it comes to underwater life, despite the rise in Mediterranean temperatures, there is an increase in marine protected areas and marine strategies.
The OS’s Fernando Prieto stressed that Spain is at a “decisive moment” with which the government, which agrees after the July 23 elections, should bet on “a country model that advances towards sustainability and embraces a determined public Politics faces.” Challenges highlighted: climate change, inequality and water.
(SERVIMEDIA)09/17/2023 10:04 (GMT +2)MGR/man
© SERVIMEDIA. This information is the property of Servimedia. Further distribution by the customers of this news agency is only possible if Servimedia is named as the author or source. All rights reserved. Distribution and public reproduction by third parties using any means and media is prohibited.