What is the Agenda 2030? 

The Sustainable Development Goals, also known as Agenda 2030, are a collection of 17 global goals that were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the 2030 Agenda seeks to guide Member States to transform their approach to achieve inclusive, people-centered and sustainable development with no one left behind. 

Implementation and success relies on countries’ own sustainable development policies, plans and programmes, and will be led by countries. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a compass for aligning countries’ plans with their global commitments. 

Multi-stakeholder partnerships with governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and others have been recognized as an important component of strategies that seek to mobilize all stakeholders around the new agenda. 

The SDGs and Agenda 2030 represent a new era of global cooperation and commitment to sustainable development. They highlight the interconnectedness of policy objectives and how our overall goals for people and planet must be addressed together to achieve sustainable development. They provide a roadmap for creating a more just, equitable, and sustainable world for all. 

How will the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be financed? 

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda concrete policies and actions to support the implementation of the new agenda. But nationally owned and country-led sustainable development strategies require resource mobilization and financing strategies. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, annual investment requirements across all sectors have been estimated at around $5-7 trillion. Current investment levels are far from the scale needed. With global financial assets estimated at over $200 trillion, financing is available, but most of these resources are not being channeled towards sustainable development at the scale and speed necessary to achieve the SDGs and objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change.  

Launched earlier this year by the UN Secretary-General, the SDG Stimulus aims to offset the extremely challenging conditions that many developing countries face in financial markets right now. It calls for scaling up financing and investment in the SDGs by at least $500 billion per year, primarily by massively scaling up affordable long-term financing by the multilateral development banks. Development banks such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have pledged to augment their long-term lending and mobilize more private capital to help countries achieve the SDGs. Alongside this, there is a recognized urgent need to address the debt challenges of developing nations and to improve the overall debt architecture to manage, assess, and resolve debt crises more effectively. But fears reign that these calls to action won't be sufficient. 

How will the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be monitored? 

Monitoring the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is critical to the success of Agenda 2030. Progress is tracked using 169 targets and 247 indicators outlined in a global indicator framework developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs). This framework, endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2017, provides the basis for the annual SDG Progress Report prepared by the Secretary-General. 

The annual meetings of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development play a central role in reviewing progress towards the SDGs at the global level, with member states encouraged to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels - processes that are meant to be country-led and country-driven. 

These processes are facilitated by Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), guided by the UN Secretary-General’s reporting guidelines and detailed in the UN DESA: Handbook for preparation of Voluntary National Reviews. These guidelines aim for consistency while allowing for adaptation to national contexts. 

The VNR process typically involves initial planning, stakeholder engagement, and culminates with a presentation at the HLPF. Due to the often short preparation window, countries are advised to start early and establish a coordinating entity, such as an integrated inter-ministerial group, to lead the VNR process, which should be government-led for authenticity. 

Reporting should ideally cover all 17 SDGs, with an emphasis on identified priority areas. Including successes, challenges, and lessons learned is vital to provide a realistic view and help accelerate SDG implementation.