Briefing Note "Observations on the 2018 High Level Political Forum (HLPF)"

5 October 2018

1. Introduction

From July 9-18 2018, approximately 1000 representatives from government, academia, businesses and civil society came to New York to participate in the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), organised under the theme of “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” The HLPF is held once annually as part of the formal follow-up and review (FUR) process for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each year a group of countries attend the HLPF to present voluntary national reviews (VNRs) that summarise their progress on six featured SDGs. The presentation of VNRs is also accompanied by thematic plenary discussions held between government representatives, international organisations including UN agencies, and in some cases, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to allow for deeper examination on the same six highlighted SDGs. Against this backdrop, various countries, as well as major groups and other stakeholders (MGoS), hosted official side events in collaboration with think tanks, businesses, and UN partners on a range of different topics. As many as 240 such side events took place at this year’s HLPF, offering diverse perspectives on innovative approaches for delivering on the SDGs. This year’s HLPF came three years into implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development

This briefing note summarises the status and challenges related to SDG 6, 7, 11, 12, and 15 that were highlighted during thematic plenaries and selected side event discussions.

2. Reflections on the featured SDGs

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

SDG 6, on water and sanitation, plays a critical role in development in many countries. The discussion during the HLPF thematic review of this important goal underlined that, given current projections, the world is not on track to achieve SDG 6 targets by 2030. In fact, United Nations regional commissions highlighted that across all regions—namely, Africa, West Africa, Europe, and Asia—water scarcity is particularly critical in cities. UN Water presented estimates that as many as 700 million people suffer from water scarcity, largely driven by pollution from industrial agriculture and industry*1. Moreover, water access in many areas across all regions is reported to be below world averages. Indeed, in Asia alone, as high as 30 percent of the population lacks access to water and sanitation services. Discussions underlined the crucial need to expand and accelerate efforts to keep pace with population growth and increasing climate change. In this context, presenters in the thematic reviews called for stronger political leadership to be directed towards improving water use efficiency, including through integrated water resource management practices, emphasising that this would, in turn, help balance competing demands for water from agriculture and energy in line with economic growth.

*1. UN Water’s presentation was based on Global Water Institute, (2013) “Future Water (In)security: Facts, Figures, and Predictions”, 
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SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

Much like water, energy is also central to the achieving multiple SDGs. At the thematic sessions in the HLPF, presenters underlined not merely energy’s critical role in development but transformational changes in the way energy is generated and accessed. For example, some presenters noted that the cost and capacity to produce renewable energy have witnessed a step change since 2015. Battery storage has also improved, helping overcome a bottleneck for transmission and distribution. Other promising signs reported by the UN’s Economic Commissions included that more countries in Africa are promoting diverse energy mixes, including renewables, whereas in Europe, the use of electric vehicles has risen by as much as 50 percent. Presenters highlighted that such progress also has co-benefits for SDGs 8 and 9, including through the stimulation of new industries and employment opportunities. On the other hand, observing that energy remains a major driver of GHG emissions, some UN Commissions drew attention to a number of challenges tempering expectations about the pace of such expansion. For instance, UNECE noted that, for example, in Europe, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels have increased with growing economic productivity. UNECA and UNESCAP also emphasised that oil price fluctuations are negatively impacting the economic health of many countries in West Africa and Asia due to their continued reliance on fossil fuels. Correspondingly, energy investments largely remain geographically imbalanced, with a limited number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa receiving funding and technical assistance. Other obstacles noted by panelists included findings that at the global level, renewable energy and energy efficiency are not being sufficiently scaled up in the transportation and residential sectors. Civil society actors in various sessions at the HLPF also stressed that vulnerable and marginalised groups, including indigenous people, may sometimes be negatively impacted by the development of energy infrastructure due to displacement and loss of livelihoods. Participatory approaches that involve community members from the planning stages through to the delivery of energy were highlighted as an important way to avoid conflicts.

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

The thematic sessions on SDG 11 suggested there is also scope for improvement. Presenters in the session noted that, with more than half the world’s population living in cities, sustainable urban services are crucial for ensuring the resilience of human settlements and ecosystems. Accordingly, several issues associated with SDG 11 that need attention include lack of housing affordability, urban sprawl and attendant development of slums and informal settlements, mobility access and constraints on public space, as well as environmental pollution problems. In this context, SDG 11 is strongly interlinked with all SDGs and largely rests on the delivery of SDG 6 (water), 7 (energy), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 15 (life on land). At the same time, some panelists asserted that a rights-based approach remains essential to the sustainable provision of housing and municipal services. Noting that inclusive partnerships are critical both in selecting the right methodologies for tackling and measuring progress on urban challenges, UN Habitat highlighted that current gaps in data continue to pose obstacles to ensuring that the guiding principle of “leave no one behind” is effectively carried out. Panelists further underlined that data for all SDGs—especially targets and indicators associated with SDG 11—should be disaggregated (income, age, gender, etc.), robust, and accessible to guide evidence-based policymaking. Presenters in formal sessions all emphasised the importance of decentralised decision-making processes in enabling the downscaling of risk management to subnational authorities, which, in turn, can drive local financing and the development of adaptive infrastructure. Given that there is no internationally agreed upon definition of cities, some municipal authorities stated that successful implementation of SDG 11 requires further clarifying administrative jurisdictions of both national and local authorities so that subnational governments are allocated sufficient resources to implement the SDGs. In this regard, some cities stressed that coordinated planning mechanisms, designed to build synergies between various actors and sectors, as well as across different levels, can be instrumental in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public expenditures.

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

Compared to the water, energy and urban issues, SDG 12 is a relatively new addition to the international development landscape. Presenters emphasised that progress on SDG 12 has been, at best, mixed. Many panelists in the thematic sessions stressed that unsustainable consumption patterns continue to contribute to social and environmental challenges at the local, national and transboundary levels. Some European country representatives observed that while industrialised economies have gradually made efforts to improve the efficiency of resource extraction and reduce the environmental impacts associated with direct material consumption, on the whole the material footprint of these countries is growing. It was also noted that domestic material consumption of emerging and middle-income economies is on the rise. Moreover, panelists in the thematic review noted that an increasing number of countries have begun to introduce policy measures aimed at enhancing resource efficiency, and that SDG 12 is progressively being reflected in national strategies. However, panelists also emphasised that such progress has yet to translate into any substantial improvements to resource management at the global level. Likewise, despite repeated calls throughout the Forum for strengthened political leadership, enhanced policy coherence and interministerial collaboration on SDG 12, a number of countries noted that SCP remains a complex issue that does not align with existing policy processes or conventional role sharing arrangements between ministries. Several countries appealed for a clearer demonstration on how the benefits of SCP can be communicated outside of traditional policy contexts, and in line with wider concerns of the general public. Partnerships were discussed as vital for driving action on SDG 12 in such a way that fosters social and economic transformation towards more inclusive models of development. Several urgent issues related to SDG 12 were also discussed, including food waste and the intensification of marine pollution and micro plastics. In discussing these and other areas, there was an emphasis on how a transition to a circular economy remains instrumental for delivering on SDG 12.

In this regard, there was broad consensus among governments and other stakeholders that promoting innovation and expanding the provision of sustainable infrastructure in tandem with SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and 11 (cities) will be key. Panelists and discussants also drew attention to the need for rethinking approaches to SCP: while customary SCP measures have focused on changing market behaviours, successful actions have been isolated and proven difficult to replicate. Relevant initiatives include targeting end users as opposed to simply producers, including by considering the role that digital and other disruptive technologies can catalyse social change. In sum, SCP is increasingly being viewed as a crosscutting issue that transcends any one specific policy domain.

SDG 15: Life on land

SDG 15 centres on protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, including by sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, and halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss. Given that the SDG 15 underpins all of the goals, UN experts raised a number of points about where monitoring and evaluation of ecosystem services can be better integrated into government priority setting and economic planning to enhance conservation efforts. Stressing the importance of transboundary, collaborative and integrated approaches, the HLPF set out the primary challenges to achieving SDG15: namely, that climate change is contributing to increasing water scarcity, that deforestation and soil erosion are negatively impacting human and environmental health, and that biodiversity is in rapid decline. In this regard, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) recommended that other ecosystems, such as wetlands and freshwater, be more effectively integrated into the larger SDG framework. Similarly, the HLPF also emphasised that ecosystem protection needs to be more fully linked with livelihood generation, framing such efforts in terms of human rights, prosperity and development.

3. Conclusion

The HLPF 2018 succeeded in bringing together international policymakers and practitioners around the collective goal of taking stock of progress on achieving the SDGs. What emerged from the discussions was that progress on Agenda 2030 is largely uneven. In this regard, policy coordination remains a significant challenge, especially among national and local authorities; low institutional capacity, together with a lack of political leadership, insufficient financing and data gaps also pose key barriers to effective implementation of the Goals, particularly in industrialising countries. Given the enormous structural changes that need to occur in order for the world to successfully transition towards a more climate resilient, sustainable development pathway by the year 2030, ambitious and immediate action is required. Ultimately, all stakeholders—governments, businesses, civil society and others—will need to ratchet up their collective ambition if the SDGs are to live up to their transformational promise. In this regard, next year’s Forum, organised under the theme of “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality” presents an important opportunity, as heads of state and government are also set to convene and review selected goals at the UN General Assembly.

Authors

Matthew Hengesbaugh, IGES	Eric Zusman, IGES