The theme of HLPF This year’s annual meeting is “Accelerating recovery from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. Delegates will discuss recovery measures to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the SDGs and explore policy avenues to accelerate action towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The HLPF 2023 will take an in-depth look at five SDGs, namely: SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), and will pave the way for the SDG Summit (SDG Summit) to be held in September 2023 in New York during the High Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly.
As part of the follow-up and review mechanism for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, 39 Voluntary National Reports (INV) in the HLPF 2023, including four from the Latin American and Caribbean region, namely Saint Kitts and Nevis for the first time, Barbados and Guyana for the second time, and Chile for the third time. The VRIs aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, as well as strengthen government policies and institutions and mobilize multi-stakeholder support and partnerships for the acceleration of the SDGs.
As every year, ECLAC works closely with the other United Nations Regional Commissions to achieve a harmonized regional approach in the HLPF and jointly organizes various events, interventions, knowledge products and videos, including the plenary session entitled “Messages from the regions – Mobilizing regional action and leveraging regional frameworks to support countries to overcome crises and move towards recovery and full implementation of the 2030 Agenda“, which will take place on July 18. In addition, ECLAC will organize several official HLPF side events, in collaboration with Member States and other actors in the region, including one on “Transformative political actions to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through Green Energy Transition and Related Industries” which will take place on July 12 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. New York time (GMT-4), which can be accessed here.
SDG targets according to their probability of reaching the threshold established for 2030 in the LAC region
Halfway to 2030: Regional progress and challenges around the 2030 Agenda
Halfway to 2030, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the international economic and geopolitical context present challenging prospects for the achievement of the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2030. Only 25% of the goals are expected to of the SDGs will be met by 2030, 48% of the goals show a positive trend, but at an insufficient rate to be implemented in 2030, while the remaining 27% are regressing. Results differ significantly between goals, and among the five goals under in-depth review this year, it is SDG 6 and SDG 11 that are most at risk of not being achieved by 2030, while SDG 7, SDG 9 and SDG 17 are best positioned to be achieved by 2030.
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SDG 6: In 2020, 161 million people did not have access to safely managed drinking water and 431 million lacked access to safely managed sanitation. ECLAC estimates that an investment of 1.3% of regional GDP per year over a 10-year period, with current technical capabilities, would universalize access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation (rmation in the Regional Panorama 2023 of the SDG 6 2023).
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SDG 7: The region has made progress in access to electricity, with 97.6% of the population in 2021. However, 16.1 million people still lack electricity, most of whom live in rural and remote areas. ECLAC urges the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to accelerate the transition towards renewable and clean energy sources, electrify the energy matrix, improve energy efficiency and universalize coverage. (rmation in the Regional Overview of SDG7 2023).
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SDG 9: Four of the seven goals for which information is available have been achieved or will be achieved by 2030. The region can improve collaboration and create new production chains to promote productivity. Building a sustainable industry requires partnerships between various stakeholders at different levels. This can allow the region to advance in resilient infrastructure, inclusive and sustainable industrialization and innovation. (rmation in the Regional overview of SDG 9 2023).
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SDG 11: It is estimated that by 2030, 86.5% of the population of South America will live in cities, making it the most urban region in the developing world. Advancing towards the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda in cities inevitably implies addressing urban gaps in three dimensions: social, economic and environmental. (rmation in the Regional overview of SDG11 2023).
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SDG 17: The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress in incorporating the SDGs into their development plans. ECLAC emphasizes the need for these countries to make greater efforts and improve policy coordination to mobilize resources for the 2030 Agenda and optimize tax collection. (rmation in the Regional overview of SDG17 2023).
From addressing clean water and sanitation to promoting sustainable cities and communities, the ECLAC report “Latin America and the Caribbean in the middle of the road to 2030: advances and proposals for acceleration” looks at progress made on each goal reviewed this year. It shares concrete recommendations for acceleration and highlights the urgent need for increased investment and financing, as well as a paradigm shift in forward-thinking public policymaking and participatory significant multi-stakeholder
To accelerate the implementation of the SDGs and address the structural challenges that hinder sustainable development in the region, ECLAC has identified seven initiatives that, if implemented at scale, can drive transformative change, produce synergies and multiplier effects towards simultaneous implementation. of various SDGs. Initiatives include: The energy transition and related industries; the bioeconomy: sustainable agriculture and bioindustrialization; digital transformation; promoting exports of modern Internet-enabled services; the care society and gender equality; sustainable tourism; and regional integration.
