“SDG implementation is a shared responsibility, whereby local and regional authorities must be empowered with the necessary freedom to make decisions and take action, with their own competences, budgetary autonomy and the freedom to decide on how to use local resources.”, stressed Congress Vice-President and co-rapporteur on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Gunn-Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP/CCE) at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva, Switzerland on 29 March 2023.
Speaking in the Roundtable on SDG11 “Cities leading the transformation: SDGs in action and the new multilateralism”, she highlighted Congress recommendations adopted during its 44th session (21-23 March) on the need to accelerate localisation of SDGs.
The Congress co-rapporteur recalled the main points of Congress recommendations, stressing that “citizens must remain at the very heart of the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda”. She also recalled that, as two thirds of the SDG targets can only be achieved through local and regional action, localisation of SDGs is crucial for successfully implementing them.
Furthermore, Vice-President Helgesen pointed to the importance of Voluntary Local and Sub-National Reviews and the need to build them into the national reporting processes. “Empowered by local skills, resources, and voices, local authorities are the key to building a sustainable future in Europe, and in the world”, concluded the Congress co-rapporteur.
Mediabox interview with Gunn Marit HELGESEN
Mediabox interview with Xavier CADORET
****
44th Session
Agenda – Web file – Multimedia (Live webcasts, interviews, videos and photo)
