Post-2015 Update

 

Open Working Group on SDGs

Fifth session (November 25-27): This session, which was the first following the OWG’s four-month hiatus, focused on two groups of themes: 1) sustained and inclusive economic growth, macroeconomic policy questions (including international trade, international financial system and external debt sustainability), infrastructure development and industrialization; and 2) energy. Many controversial issues were discussed, including fossil fuel subsidies, agricultural subsidies, intellectual property rights, debt sustainability, sustainable consumption and production, good governance, and the relationship between renewable energy and climate change. However, as the co-chairs noted in their summary of the meeting, there was also a convergence of views in many areas, such as the importance of inclusive economic growth for achieving sustainable development, the critical role of industrialization and infrastructure for growth, and access to energy for all.

Statements across these issues reflected member states’ typical positions. On fossil fuel subsidies for example, many mostly northern countries argued that such subsidies are harmful and must be phased out (EU, Sweden, Netherlands on behalf of UK and Australia, Italy on behalf of Spain and Turkey, New Zealand, and Palau). Others in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America opposed that view, stating that fossil fuels are an important energy source and subsidies should remain in place (Saudi Arabia, Vietnam on behalf of Bhutan and Thailand, Ecuador on behalf of Argentina and Bolivia). Several other countries asserted that developing countries’ subsides should remain in place because they target the poor (Pakistan, Ecuador on behalf of Argentina and Bolivia).  Sustainable consumption and production was raised by a diversity of voices from developing and European countries (Switzerland on behalf of France and Germany, Ireland on behalf of Denmark and Norway, Pakistan on behalf of India and Sri Lanka, Korea, India, Ecuador on behalf of Argentina and Bolivia).

Sixth session (December 9-13): This week, the OWG will meet to discuss a range of issues, many of which are expected to prove more controversial than previous sessions. The session will be broken down as follows:

         December 9-10: Means of implementation (science & technology, knowledge-sharing, capacity building) and the Global Partnership for achieving sustainable development

         December 11-12: Needs of countries in special situations, African countries, LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS as well as specific challenges facing the middle-income countries

         December 13: Human rights, the right to development, and global governance

 The OWG’s December program of work, including speakers for each session, can be found here. A list of side-events open to stakeholders can be found here.

 OWG Process: The next three OWG meetings will take place from December 2013 to February 2014, after which negotiations on the SDGs and report drafting will begin.  The OWG co-chairs have indicated in some fora that they intend to have a first draft of the report ready for consultation with members of the OWG by March. The co-chairs also announced that the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Financing for Sustainable Development will consult and integrate its work with the OWG over the next few months. Both groups’ reports, along with other available inputs, will feed into the Secretary-General’s synthesis report next fall—which will officially kick off intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. An international conference on financing for development may also be planned, but is still TBD.

 Expert Committee on Sustainable Development Financing

December 2-5, the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF) met for the second time. While its first meeting in August focused on modalities and defining the scope of work, the December session was much more substantive. The Committee of Experts has divided its work into 3 clusters:

1.       “Where are we?”-  Assessing financing needs, mapping of current flows and emerging trends, and the impact of domestic and international environments

2.       “What are we going to do?” Mobilization of resources and their effective use

3.       “How are we going to do it?” – Institutional arrangements, policy coherence, synergies and governance issues

While the Committee’s first meeting was criticized for being too closed to government and civil society stakeholders, this session included an interactive multi-stakeholder dialogue, in which the co-chairs briefed on the work of the committee, and a panel of representatives from civil society, business, and other major groups presented their perspectives.

PGA Meetings 

To complement the work of the OWG, the President of the General Assembly will convene six meetings in 2014– three high-level events and three thematic debates between February and June 2014.  While the OWG concludes its thematic sessions and transitions into negotiations in February 2014, these events will help to sustain momentum and foster consensus on priority areas grounded in both the Rio+20 Outcome Document and the Outcome Document from the PGA’s September 2013 Special Event on MDGs. A high-level “stock-taking’ event will tentatively follow in September. These discussions will culminate in summary reports, rather than negotiated outcomes. Themes and tentative dates include:

       February: Water, Sanitation, and Sustainable Energy in the post-2015 agenda (Thematic Debate)

       March: The role of women, youth and civil society (High-level Event – will likely follow 58^th CSW)

       April: The role of partnerships and their contribution to the post-2015 development agenda (Thematic Debate)

       April: Ensuring stable and peaceful societies in the post-2015 development agenda (Thematic Debate)

         May: Contributions of South-South, Triangular Cooperation, and ICT for development to the post-2015 development agenda (High-level Event)

        June: Contributions of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the post-2015 agenda (High-level Event)

 Recent Post-2015 meetings hosted by the UN Foundation:

         Sustainable Energy and the SDGs roundtable featuring Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and CEO, Sustainable Energy for All – on sustainable energy within the post-2015 agenda and what developing countries stand to gain – Nov. 1

         Investments to End Poverty roundtables with Development Initiatives’ Charles Lwanga-Ntale and Andrew Palmer – on DI’sreport unpacking the resources available to end poverty – Nov. 19, 20

         Macroeconomic Policy briefing with Dr. Deb Battacharya, Southern Voice on Post-MDGs, in preparation for the OWG meeting on macroeconomic policy questions – Nov. 20

         Unpacking the Data Revolution at the Country Level: An Early Examination of Candidate Post-2015 Goals, Targets and Indicators – workshop with experts from the Global South – Nov. 21

         Financing the SDGs: A conversation with Experts from the Committee on Sustainable Development Financing – a discussion on how aid flows interact with other sources of financing, resources available to countries as they graduate to middle-income status, and policies that could be put into place to better leverage private resources for development – Dec. 6.

*Please contact us if you would like summary highlights from any of these meetings.

 Must-Reads for November

         NYU-CIC’s Alex Evans: “Delivering the Post-2015 Agenda: Options for a New Global Partnership”

         The 2013 Annual Report of the Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, on the essential role of financial services in alleviating poverty.

         Sci-Dev Net on “How to Engineer a Data Revolution” – lessons coming out of the European Development Days conference, including the need for  “actionable data” and getting local buy-in.

         IISD’s report on the Africa Regional Consultation in Addis, which outlined 12 priorities for SDGs.

         ODI’s “Rough guide to emerging consensus and divergence in post-2015 goal areas” identifies areas of consensus as well as goals that are less likely to be “stand-alone” goals on the agenda.

         UN DESA piece on the importance of statistics and data for measurement of the MDGs and post-2015 goals.

         CFR’s review of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations report: “Now for the Long Term,” which asks how policymakers can shift to a longer-term vision for a sustainable future.

         NYU-CIC’s Molly Elgin-Cossart: “A Global Journey to 2030 – Reviewing the First Steps, Lessons Learned from the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda”

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