Given the relative delay in the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Latin America and the Caribbean needs to accelerate the pace in the conduct of public policies and launch transformative initiatives that promote the development of the region. In addition, a new governance of public policy is needed, the effective participation of social actors and the use of strategic tools, such as planning and foresight, states the new document prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). ) on the progress and challenges for achieving the SDGs.
The seventh report on regional progress and challenges of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, titled Latin America and the Caribbean faced with the challenge of accelerating the pace towards compliance with the 2030 Agenda: transitions towards sustainabilitywas presented by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, within the framework of the seventh meeting of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countrieswhich runs until Thursday the 18th at the main headquarters of the United Nations regional economic commission in Santiago, Chile.
The report highlights that accelerating the pace towards achieving the SDGs also requires advancing the key transitions proposed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, which can have catalytic and multiplier effects in relation to all the SDGs and a decisive impact to achieve them. These are: i) food systems, ii) access to energy and its affordability, iii) digital connectivity, iv) education, v) employment and social protection and vi) climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
“Such transitions must be planned with prospective intelligence, articulated and redirected towards the desired objectives. This involves the design and implementation of a new generation of public policies, formulated with the purpose of becoming State policies, that entail a vision of the future and are endowed with strategic governance and anticipatory management, and that are the result of public participation. inclusive and democratic of development actors in spaces and processes of dialogue and governance appropriate to each of the different transitions,” states the Executive Secretary of ECLAC in the prologue of the document.
At the global level, United Nations forecasts indicate that, if trends continue, only 15% of the SDG goals will have been met by 2030. In the region, ECLAC estimates that they have been achieved or will be achieved by 2030. 22% of the goals, while in the case of 46% of them progress is being made in a favorable direction but not at the speed necessary to meet them and the remaining 32% would not be met.
“The challenges for the countries of the region are great. The risk of moving away from the path that leads towards sustainable development is evident and there is no longer time for pauses and even less time for setbacks. In this context, ECLAC reiterates its commitment to contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs in 2030, by organizing the annual meetings of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development, supporting the carrying out of national reviews and local volunteers on the progress and challenges of the SDGs, technical cooperation in various fields and other varied interventions that are examined in this report on progress in fulfilling the 2030 Agenda in the region,” adds José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs. .
Chapter I of the document examines in depth both the international panorama of slow economic evolution, fragmentation among the great powers and complex geopolitical situation, as well as the challenges faced by the region in terms of sustainable development. The implementation of productive development policies is also discussed, which can contribute significantly to the recovery of the economic growth rate, laying it on a sustainable and lasting basis, as well as to the acceleration of progress towards the SDGs.
Chapter II focuses on measuring the evolution of SDG indicators and targets at the regional level and for three subregions: South America, Central America and Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Chapter III presents the progress and challenges related to the five SDGs that were selected to be studied in depth at the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) to be held in July at the headquarters. of the UN in New York. These are SDGs 1 (End Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 13 (Climate Action), 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and 17 (Partnerships to Achieve the Goals), as well as the projection of its fulfillment towards 2030.
Chapter IV discusses, from the perspective of the region, the proposal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, focused on promoting the six just transitions towards sustainability that can accelerate the step towards compliance with the SDGs. ECLAC has determined that these transitions are essential to promote the productive, inclusive and sustainable development of the countries of the region.
Chapter V examines the recent evolution of sources of financing for development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Emphasis is placed on the need to expand the availability of financial resources and the policy proposals necessary to get back on track towards achieving the SDGs. The recent evolution of internal and external financing sources is analyzed, including novel mechanisms for debt management, and the urgency of reforming the architecture and institutionality of the international financial system.
The report concludes by highlighting important findings and a set of recommendations aimed at deepening the analysis of the policy alternatives and actions necessary to bring the evolution of the indicators closer to the goals proposed for 2030.
