Third retreat for Sustainable Development Goals negotiators to unpack “transformative” agenda
As part of the Independent Research Forum (IRF), SEI is helping to facilitate an informal retreat for Sustainable Development Goals negotiators to examine the meaning of “transformative” change and how it can be reflected in a global post-2015 goal framework.
SDG negotiators are meeting in New York to look at the meaning of a “transformative” post-2015 agenda.
SEI Research Director Måns Nilsson and other IRF experts are sitting down with representatives of 33 UN member states and five international organizations from 6 to 7 April 2014 at Tarrytown, New York, to discuss key dimensions of the post-2015 development agenda.This is the third in a series of retreats titled “Towards a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda” organized by the IRF for members of the Open Working Group (OWG), the intergovernmental body tasked with drafting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The IRF-organized retreats are proving an increasingly popular format with the OWG members, giving them a chance to learn from independent experts and hold open, substantive discussions away from the formality of the negotiating table. This time the focus will be on building consensus on the key dimensions of and criteria for a transformative global goal framework, and how criteria for transformative change can be applied to SDG targets and goals. Participants will discuss defining and setting priorities for transformative targets and goals across a mix of focus areas including: sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition; water and sanitation; economic growth; and gender equality and women’s empowerment. They will then examine how to move from the OWG’s current 19 focal areas towards a coherent and manageable set of universal goals and targets.
The IRF is a collaboration of 11 leading research institutes from around the world set up to provide independent, rigorous and timely analysis on the SDG process. The IRF is supporting the OWG in creating a truly transformative post-2015 development agenda; one that addresses the root causes of poverty, generates conditions to deliver well-being to an emerging global middle class, and advances in the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability in a balanced manner.
Read Måns Nilsson’s IRFblogon applying a novel integrated framework to an energy SDG.
Read an IRF blogby Nina Weitz and SEI colleagues on how a “nexus” approach could ensure consistency across SDGs.
Other SEI publications linked to the SDG process are shown in the column on the right.
Perspective /
Gary Haq reflects on the European Court's recent linking of climate change and human rights, stressing urgent need for older people's protection.
