December was an important month for the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Germany. At several events, various stakeholders discussed integrative approaches to speed up sustainable development.
©SDSN Germany
The network’s events emphasised the importance of joint efforts and integrative measures across politics, the private sector, civil society, and science to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in increasingly challenging national and international contexts.
On 9 December 2024, representatives of 18 scientific advisory boards of the Federal Government met at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) for the 10th Dialogue of Scientific Advisory Boards since 2018. The dialogue, organised by SDSN Germany and the Science Platform Sustainability 2030 (wpn2030), focused on the topic of ‘Transformation in, with and by Germany – Impulses for Germany’s Voluntary National Review to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum 2025’. To kick things off, the lead ministries – the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – introduced the process of preparing Germany’s third Voluntary National Review to the United Nations. The Council representatives then presented and discussed in working groups best practice of integrative policies that the Federal Government is currently promoting for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda – in, with and by Germany. The collected examples will be incorporated into Germany’s Voluntary National Review and thus serve as a basis for joint learning among UN member states and non-state actors for the next United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development next year.
From left to right: Adolf Kloke-Lesch, Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Gesine Schwan, Axel Berger
Copyright: Lea Hüffermann, SDSN Germany
On 10 December 2024, two parallel interactive wpn2030 workshops, known as DNS labs, took place at the Technical University of Berlin: ‘From vision to transformation – upscaling sustainable communal catering’ and ‘What capacities does the transformation need? Findings from the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 and the international context’ were the topics set. As part of wpn2030, Dr Axel Berger and Sarah Löpelt brought together around 25 stakeholders from politics, science, civil society and business in the second DNS Lab. They discussed the lever of capacity building, as proposed in the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 (GSDR) and taken up in the SDSN statement on the further development of the German Sustainable Development Strategy. The aim of the lab was to explore common needs, challenges and possible solutions with regard to capacity building for sustainable development transformations in Germany and internationally. Following exciting presentations on the definition of the lever according to the GSDR 2023 as well as perspectives from Austrian politics and the German economy, the participants discussed different aspects of the lever in a world café format. Tabea Waltenberg, as part of the SDSN Germany Secretariat, moderated the exchange on the capacities required in the three phases of the transformation. During the all-day events, there were many networking opportunities between the participants of both DNS Labs. As a result, the wpn2030 team will draft two impulse papers with the respective results of the workshops in order to provide input and momentum for the advancement of the German Sustainable Development Strategy.
On 11 December, SDSN Germany held its annual conference under the motto ‘Perspectives for an accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda in times of social tensions and resistance’. The conference discussed the current state of implementation of the 2030 Agenda, how it can and must be accelerated, and developed positive visions for the future that can be carried into society by the network. Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge and Prof. Gesine Schwan opened the conference together as co-chairs of the network, before Dr Axel Berger reported on the network’s work over the past year. Following a keynote speech by Dr Sébastien Treyer (IDDRI) on Europe’s competition and industrial policy as an opportunity and risk for accelerated SDG implementation in Europe, a panel moderated by Heike Janßen (Netzwerk Weitblick) with Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Marie-Luise Abshagen (Forum Umwelt), Sébastien Treyer and Sabina Wölkner (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung) discussed lessons of SDG implementation in 2024 learnt for the coming year. In working groups, the network identified good practice and acceleration needs in Germany for the third Voluntary National Review.
After 10 years of close and inspiring collaboration, Gesine Schwan was given a fitting farewell at the conference. Adolf Kloke-Lesch (SDSN Europe) conveyed the words of thanks. The conference concluded with an open discussion on the direction of the SDSN network in the coming year. Due to the expiry of funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment in its current form, the activities of the SDSN Germany Secretariat will be significantly reduced in the coming period. The Secretariat would like to thank the BMUV for the funding and fruitful collaboration over the past 10 years, as well as all network members, partners and companions of SDSN Germany for their joint commitment to sustainable development in Germany and internationally. As we all know, there is opportunity in change and so we are looking forward to a change of course and new shores in 2025.
