The advocacy of UCLG and the Global Task Force influences the New Sustainable Development Goals, where the role of local governments to reach transformative urbanization is recognized
On August 3, U. N. Member States reached consensus on the Sustainable Development Goals and finalized the outcome document, “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which proves that the advocacy efforts of UCLG and the Global Taskforce at the UN were not in vain. SDG 11 to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” is, in large part, the fruit of our hard-fought campaign with the urban community. Fortunately, SDG 11 survived calls to reduce the overall number of goals, and will be the first-ever international agreement on urban-specific development. SDG 11 is the only goal with a sub-national geographical dimension, and represents the growing international acknowledgement of the transformative power of urbanization. For local governments in particular, SDG 11 represents an unprecedented opportunity to engage and mobilize mayors and city leaders behind the Post-2015 Agenda by directly addressing their daily concerns and responsibilities, from urban planning to waste management.
The final declaration also makes specific reference to the “upcoming Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development”, thanks to a late addition to the text, proposed by Ecuador. This gives the Habitat III Conference equal status in the declaration as COP21, which is mentioned in the paragraph focused on climate change. Hopefully, this is an indication that the international community will build on the momentum of SDG 11 and give due attention to Habitat III, the first implementation conference after the Post-2015 Development Summit.
The SDGs will be adopted at the Special Summit on Sustainable Development on September 25-27, at U. N. Headquarters in New York. In the run up to the Summit, the Global Taskforce will continue to advocate for the localization of the means of implementation and of the indicators of the Post-2015 Agenda, highlighting the importance of monitoring progress at sub-national level to ensure that no-one is left behind. We will also take advantage of Urban October and World Cities Day to highlight the vital links between the SDGs and Habitat III.
Source: www.uclg.org