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A Voluntary Local Review (VLR) is an instrument to review and follow-up progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus accelerating their localisation. Since 2018, a growing number of local governments worldwide are turning to the VLR process to articulate their sustainable development policies, highlighting the growing...

In recent years, marine plastic litter has been a critical policy issue, and action in an internationally harmonised manner is necessary to tackle this situation. Based on the G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter, voluntary country reporting has continued since 2019. Three reports with rich country and organisational...

The 2021 High-level Political Forum (HLPF) consolidated the prime role of VLRs (Voluntary Local Reviews) in localizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A record number of local governments – 17 cites –presented a 2021 VLR by July 2021 according to UN-Habitat. By comparison, 26 VLRs were published in 2020. VLRs have also gained broader...

Fernando Ortiz-Moya, urbanist working at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), explores the role of VLRs (Voluntary Local Review) in building better cities and what Tokyo is doing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic, which spread across the whole world in 2020, local and regional governments have continued their work to localise the ambitious goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since 2018, local and regional governments began the review and follow- up process...

On 9 July 2020, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and the International Policy Coalition for Sustainable Growth launched by United States Chamber of Commerce (Headquarters: Washington D.C.) co-hosted a virtual consultation entitled, “International Consultation on the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision: Policy and Business Solutions to...

On June 11-12, 2020, the OECD workshop was organized with high-level representatives, leading policy-makers and experts from OECD and G20 member countries, other emerging market economies, international organisations and civil society stakeholders to take stock of policy action to combat marine plastic litter at the international, national, and sub...

Story highlights: The Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process is providing a useful tool for subnational levels of government to take on the SDGs. The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies has published two reports to support the growing number of local and regional governments conducting VLRs.

A ‘Voluntary Local Review’ (VLR) is a process whereby local and regional governments voluntarily carry out a review of progress being made in their implementation of the SDGs. This review includes policies, programmes, data, institutional set-ups and stakeholder engagement mechanisms to implement the 2030 Agenda at the local level. VLRs are then...

With only ten years left to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all UN member States in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, action is more urgent than ever. Cities, which are responsible for delivering many of the targets highlighted by the SDGs are accelerating their efforts. This is recognised by the...