"The impact of synergistic barriers on achieving SDGs."
Concept
High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (To work on the nuanced details)
● Bringing high-level representatives to review progress, examine obstacles, exchange best practices, and recommend new actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
SDG Summit (To get consensus and to commit)
● High-level event convened by the United Nations to review and advance the progress made toward the Sustainable Development Goals (First summit held in 2019 and second summit in 2023).
First SDG Summit, 2019 (Affected due COVID-19)
● Called for a decade of action and announced acceleration actions.
● “Decade of Action”- Recognised that the pace on which the actions taken to achieve the goals are not upto the mark. And it called to mobilize all sectors of society at levels for decade of action
○ Global Action: To secure greater leadership, more resources and smarter solutions for the SDGs
○ Local Action: Need transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks of governments at all levels
○ People Action: To include youth, civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, academia and other stakeholders, to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for the required transformations.
● Acceleration actions: Initiatives voluntarily undertaken to accelerate the SDG implementation by governments and any other non-state actors.
Second SDG Summit 2023
● Prioritizing the goals
○ Greater emphasis to eradicate poverty, end hunger and gender in equality.
● Interconnectedness
○ Indivisible and integrated nature (Social, economical, environmental aspects) of the SDGs are emphasized and give more focus on human rights and gender equality.
● Limiting factors
○ Climate change
○ Covid-19 Pandemic
○ Hunger, Poverty & Inequality
○ Armed conflict
● Challenges
○ Progress is insufficient, some goals being reversed due to limiting factors.
■ Recognised that the world was on track to meet only 18% of its 169 targets.
UPSC Relevance
SDG Goals, India’s Achievements, Challenges in Achieving the Goals
UPSC Syllabus
Prelims: Economic and Social Development
Mains: GS II Social Justice
○ Financing gap:
■ UNCTAD Estimate: Investment gap in SDGs in developing countries to be greater than $4 trillion.
■ Committed to an SDG stimulus of $500 billion annually (In second SDG Summit)
○ Lack of synergic action
■ E.g. Push for renewable energy focuses on energy security and air pollution. However, it hasn’t been able to leverage the health benefits.
Cogent
Need
● Global Cooperation
○ Foster international collaboration, partnerships, and cooperation to address global challenges.
● National Commitment
○ Commit through legislation and policy frameworks
○ Create a dedicated government body for SDG coordination
● Data and Monitoring
○ Establish robust data collection and monitoring systems to track progress and identify gaps.
○ Regularly report on SDG progress at the national level and share data internationally.
● Financial Resources
○ Need predictable and sustainable development finance
○ Promote innovative financing mechanisms, such as impact investing and social impact bonds.
● Innovation and Technology
○ Harness technology and innovation to find creative solutions to development challenges.
● Community Engagement
○ Empower individuals to take ownership of the SDGs and make a difference in their communities.
● Inclusive Approach
○ Ensure that no one is left behind, especially marginalized and vulnerable populations.
● Regular Review and Adaptation
○ Periodically review progress, adapt strategies, and learn from successes and failures.
○ Share best practices and lessons learned at the national and international levels.
Achieving the SDGs is an ongoing process that requires commitment, collaboration and sustained effort are crucial to address the world's most pressing challenges and build a more sustainable and equitable future.
Prelims Question
Consider the following statements:
SDG summits are held annually to access, review the achievements of SDG goals.
In the SDG summit 2023, it is found that less than 10 percent of the targets are on track.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) 1 Only
(b) 2 Only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) None
Answer: (d) Both the statements are wrong
Explanation:
● SDG summits are not annual summits. Till now we have only two summits, one in 2019 and another one in 2023
● In the SDG summit 2023, it is found that only 18 percent of the targets achieved are on track.
Mains question
● Examine how far India is working to achieve the SDG goals.
Global Sustainable Development Report.
● A global assessment of countries' progress in achieving the SDGs.
● Published by a group of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network
● Countries are ranked by measures of the total progress towards achieving all 17 goals
● A score of 100 indicates that all SDGs have been achieved.
