1. A Brief Overview of the Road towards the New
Sustainable Development Goals
NIDOS AGM, 17 September 2013

2. SDGs
What is their purpose
•Be useful for pursuing focused and coherent action on sustainable
development.
•Contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.
•Be a driver of implementation and mainstreaming of sustainable
development in the whole UN system.
•Address and be focused on the three dimensions of sustainable
development.

3. SDGs
Sustainable Development Goals must be
•Action-oriented
•Concise
•Limited in number
•Aspirational
•Universally applicable to all countries
•Easy the communicate

4. SDGs
What will the SDGs look like?
•Address and incorporate the three
dimensions sustainability
•Be based on Agenda 21 and the
Johannesburg Plan of implementation
•Be consistent with international law
•Build upon commitments
•Contribute to the implementation of outcomes of major summits
•Focus on priority areas for the achievement of sustainable development

5. SDGs
Furthermore… what will the SDGs look like?
•
Be coherent with and integrated into the UN development agenda
beyond 2015
•
Not divert focus from the achievement of the MDGs
•
Include active involvement of all relevant stakeholders

6. SDGs
Who is involved in developing the sustainable
development goals?
Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
(OWG) 30-member mandated by the Rio+20 Outcome Document to
prepare a proposal on a set of SDGs which should address the three
dimensions of sustainable development in a balanced way.

7. SDGs
Who is involved in developing the sustainable
development goals?
Expert Committee on SD Financing Strategy
(Finances)
High Level Political Forum (Governance)
Post-Millennium Development Goals

8. SDGs
What themes will the SDGs address?
May 2013 June 2013
Food security & nutrition Employment & decent work for all
Sustainable agriculture Social protection
Desertification Youth & education
Land degradation Culture
Drought Health
Population dynamics

9. SDGs
What themes will the SDGs address?
November 2013
• Sustained and inclusive economic
growth
• Macroeconomic policy questions
• Infrastructure development
• Industrialization
• Energy
December 2013
• Means of implementation (science and technology,
knowledge-sharing and capacity building)
• Specific challenges facing middle-income countries
• Human rights
• The right to development
• Global governance

10. SDGs
What themes will the SDGs address?
January 2014
• Sustainable cities and human settlements
• Sustainable transport
• Sustainable consumption and production
• Climate change
• Disaster risk reduction
February 2014
• Oceans and seas
• Forests
• Biodiversity
• Promoting equality including social equity
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Conflict prevention
• Post-conflict peace building
• Promotion of durable peace
• Rule of law
• Governance

11. SDGs to Avoid
Avoid unnecessary complexity

12. SDGs to Avoid
Avoid use of guilt

13. .
Avoid messages based on “extreme scenarios”
Climate change kills about 300,000 people a year.
It seriously affects over 300 million people a year.
It has caused more than $125 billion in economic
losses.
Global Humanitarian Forum
SDGs to Avoid

14. Messages promoting vision of a positive future
If we can’t imagine a positive future we want
we won’t be able to create it.
Decrease
Dependence
on Fossil
Fuels
Increase
Resilience Decrease
Energy
Consumption

15. Messages based on economics
Building a globally competitive low carbon economy
where business and people PROSPER within
ENVIRONMENTAL limits.
The compelling message of green-growth
and the tangible economic value of climate
change mitigation/ adaptation.
From indispensible ecosystem services like soil
nutrition or ecotourism revenue, to hundreds of new
jobs created by the renewable industries…
Prove economic
relevance
“…more efficiency.”
“…increase profitability.”
“…innovation.”
“...create new jobs.”
“...lower costs.”

16. Messages inviting action
Sustainable Development requires people to do
things.
Action messages ask people to do something,
whether it’s to plant a tree, build a beehive, ride a
bike, consume responsibly, insulate a loft, sign a
petition or donate money to a charity.
Linking action to daily lifestyles!

17. Vision

18. SDGs
Forthcoming UN General Assembly

19. “I call upon Member States to adopt a universal
post-2015 development agenda, with sustainable
developmnet at its core.” UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon

If we wait for Members States to advance international
conventions, may be too late.

If we act as individuals, may be too little.
If we act as communities – it might
just be enough, just in time.

20. Thank you!
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