Sustainable Development Goals and Post-2015 Development Agenda

The Seoul Post-2015 Conference: Implementation and Implications

Seoul, October 7, 2013

Dr. Kilaparti RamakrishnaDirector, ESCAP East and North-East Asia Office

UNSG at the start of 68th Session of UNGAMDGs have captured the imagination, generated remarkable gains and beat back doubts about development itself.Yet on some goals, we lag badly. Inequality is growing. Too many people face exploitation – from fields to factory floor.2015 is the year by which we have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.It is the year in which we will adopt a new development agenda.A new development agenda must be as inspiring as the MDGs, while going further.It must be universal, with ending poverty as its top priority, sustainable development at its core, and governance as its glue. It must find expression in a single set of goals.And there should be no hierarchy among the three dimensions of sustainable development – no deferring the environment or social justice for later, once economic growth is assured. Change is inevitable, but progress is not. Leadership makes the difference.

Road towards Rio+20

Rio+20 Outcome: Key Elements

• Renewing political commitment

• Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication

• Institutional framework for sustainable development

• Framework for action and follow-up: Thematic /cross-sectoral issues; Sustainable development goals

• Means of implementation: finance, technology, capacity building and trade

SG Report: A Life of Dignity for All

Towards a new sustainable development agenda

•universal in nature yet responsive to the complexities, needs and capacities of individual countries and regions•combining the economic, social and environmental dimensions while putting the highest priority on ending poverty and reducing inequality•rights-based, with particular emphasis on women, young people and marginalized groups•eager for new and innovative partnerships; and supported by pioneering approaches to data and rigorous accountability mechanisms.

(From - A life of dignity for all: accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015: Report of the Secretary-General)

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Proposed SDGs

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High Level Panel on Post-2015 Agenda Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Goal 1: End PovertyGoal 2: Empower Girls and Women and Achieve Gender EqualityGoal 3: Provide Quality Education and Lifelong LearningGoal 4: Ensure Healthy LivesGoal 5: Ensure Food Security and Good NutritionGoal 6: Achieve Universal Access to Water and SanitationGoal 7: Secure Sustainable EnergyGoal 8: Create Jobs, Sustainable Livelihoods, and Equitable GrowthGoal 9: Manage Natural Resource Assets SustainablyGoal 10: Ensure Good Governance and Effective InstitutionsGoal 11: Ensure Stable and Peaceful SocietiesGoal 12: Create a Global Enabling Environment and Catalyze Long-Term Finance

Goal 1: End Extreme Poverty including HungerGoal 2: Achieve Development within Planetary BoundariesGoal 3: Ensure Effective Learning for All Children and Youth for Life and LivelihoodGoal 4: Achieve Gender Equality, Social Inclusion, and Human Rights for AllGoal 5: Achieve Health and Wellbeing at All AgesGoal 6: Improve Agriculture Systems and Raise Rural ProsperityGoal 7: Empower Inclusive, Productive, and Resilient CitiesGoal 8: Curb Human-Induced Climate Change and Ensure Sustainable EnergyGoal 9: Secure Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity, and Ensure Good Management of Water and Other Natural ResourcesGoal 10: Transform Governance for Sustainable Development  

Emerging Consensus on SDGs

• Limited in number, universal, implementable, measurable, integrate all three pillars of sustainable development

• Bridge the gap between MDG implementation and sustainable development agenda

• Means of Implementation

Concluding Remarks• GEO5, GSP, UNTT, HLP, SDSN and many others

advanced their recommendations.• The development of SDGs represents a new critical

phase - ‘a culmination and convergence of agendas’ - UNEP

• OWG is hard at work in the United Nations, 69th session of UNGA is critical in considering and adopting SDGs

• How to overcome institutional, technological, financial and capacity development barriers in implementation of SDGs

• Voices from the Field by definition contain diverse views but the most important element in all of them is like the UNSG said “Change is inevitable but Progress is not”

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Concluding Remarks

Impacts of Climate Change cannot be underestimatedUnsustainable consumption patterns, as well as resource management must be addressed

Concrete steps to be takenIntegrate the three dimensions of SD and draw from their synergiesRevise, adjust and modify SD indicators

Thank you!

Kilaparti RamakrishnaDirector, UN ESCAP-ENEA

ramakrishna@un.org