Taking Stock and Moving Forward: Lessons Learned from an Assessment of the Political Impact of the SDGs

The SDG Impact Assessment features the first meta-analysis of the available scientific knowledge about the steering effects of the SDGs since 2015 and involves a global representation of 61 researchers. It finds that the effects of the SDGs are so far mainly present in the political discourse, with little substantial effects on the (re-)allocation of resources by governments, and moreover points to a lack of incentive structures that guide public and private funding towards sustainable pathways. Overall, the SDG Impact Assessment suggests that the SDGs are not (yet) leading to fundamental and transformational changes and that the voluntary nature of the 2030 Agenda makes it easy for actors to implement the SDGs in a way that benefits their self-interests.

The session will be focused on SDG implementation at multiple levels and will take stock of the assessment’s findings, before concluding with a high-level discussion on how the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can move beyond political discourse and galvanize solutions in all societal sectors to lead to fundamental and transformational change.

Speakers include:

• Frank Biermann, research professor of Global Sustainability Governance with the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University
• Louis Kotzé, research professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, North-West University, SA, and senior professorial fellow in Earth System Law at the University of Lincoln, UK
• Khaled Emam, specialist in international human rights law, Executive Director of Justice Call for Rights and Development, a Global Focal Point of SDG-16+ at the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UNMGCY) and Co-Chair of Youth, Peace & Security at Global Partnership For the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC)
• Andrea Ordóñez, Director of Southern Voice
• Prakash Kashwan, Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Research Program on Economic and Social Rights, Human Rights Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs

The event will be moderated by Gustav Thungren, Managing Director of the Earth System Governance Project.