Implementing the SDGs in Europe
SinceMaking the Sustainable Development Goals a tool for change
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015, which were the result of many years of international negotiations, established 169 targets to be achieved by 2030 on almost all economic, social, environmental, governance and development assistance issues. They are indivisible—all targets must be met, especially because they are often interconnected—and universal—all countries must achieve them, whether developed or developing.
We are now at the point where countries must apply these SDGs for multiple aims: to steer public action using a broader range of indicators than GDP alone; to integrate economic, social and environmental issues; and as a tool for international cooperation. The SDGs can be a lever for change provided that all actors—governments, companies, civil society, local authorities, donors—take ownership of them.
The objective of this intervention programme is to reinforce the implementation of the SDGs by the European Union and its Member States, both internally and to set an example.
To achieve this, IDDRI:
- analyses the opportunities provided by the SDGs and the way in which they are seized by the pioneer actors; highlights the “good practices” and difficulties encountered; and develops recommendations to make SDGs a tool for change in the different countries;
- builds and shares these analyses and recommendations with a set of European state and non state actors, and facilitates the exchange of experience between these actors.
