The year 2023 marked the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda. Building on IDOS’s many years of work on shaping and implementing the Agenda, this year the Institute focused intensively on its geopolitical significance, the current status of implementation of the SDGs and obstacles to their implementation.
In addition to various publications and IDOS’ participation in multiple public events on the mid-term of the 2030 Agenda, Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Dr Axel Berger represented IDOS at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) and at the United Nations SDG Summit in New York. Despite a worrying mid-term review of the 2030 Agenda, the renewed political approval at the G20 Summit in Delhi and the SDG Summit can be seen as a positive sign. The Agenda continues to provide a global framework that brings together countries from different regions and income groups to jointly implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at local, regional and global level. In order for this to be more successful in the second half of its implementation, low- and middle-income countries need better access to public and private financial flows, while innovative instruments such as debt-for-SDG swaps can contribute to debt relief in low-income countries. At the same time, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of development goals also depend on inclusive and effective multilateral institutions. Against this backdrop, IDOS welcomes the current reform debates on the World Bank, which IDOS researchers accompanied during the annual meeting in Marrakech. How the planned reforms will be implemented in practice will be one of IDOS‘ research priorities in the coming year. IDOS will also be involved as a scientific partner in the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, a new conference format organised by the German government to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs.
