During the HLPF 2019, a global dialogue among a variety advisory councils and similar bodies on sustainable development considered and endorsed the presentation of a Global Forum of National Councils for Sustainable Development and similar multi-stakeholder bodies. The Global Forum will help national councils and similar multi-stakeholder bodies to be better positioned to deliver SDGs through shared knowledge on national sustainable development policy-making, peer-exchange, shortcuts to understanding policy cycles, and institutional capacity building, and by elevating and enriching access to communities of practitioners and their collective knowledge on national and sub-national SDG implementation, as well as to other SDG-relevant networks.
From approximately 3:00 to 4:00 PM on Wednesday 25 September, the UN’s SDG Media Zone will be highlighting the launch of the Global Forum. Two of the Global Forum founding partners, Annika Lindblom and Charles Nouhan, will be interviewed along with Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Federal Environment Ministry, who’s department is providing the first tranche of funding for the Forum, and Cristina Gallach, High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda of Spain. Consult here the Programme schedule. Live coverage on UN Web TV.
The plenary day of the 27th EEAC Annual Conference took place in Lisbon on the 19th of September 2019. A variety of politicians, and high level policy makers and experts addressed the conference participants in the National Assembly of Portugal.
At the 27th EEAC Annual Conference partnerships for sustainable development (SDG 17) were the main lens through which we engaged with challenges such as the energy transition, fresh water, and the preservation and sustainable use of our seas and oceans. The conference built upon the work of national and sub-national advisory councils on the environment and sustainable development. This annual gathering of councils and their partners fostered our common European debate on the implementation of the SDGs in Europe. The diversity of EEAC’s scientific and stakeholder councils met to engage in exchange and deliberation with high-level experts from academia, society and the public sector.
Click Here to consult conference programme and check a first selection of photos Here. The conference’s presentations and a conference summary will be uploaded soon.
The EEAC Working Group on Energy and Climate Change concluded that the EU Energy Union Governance Regulation will largely define the overarching governance framework within which the climate and energy transition takes place. It is therefore imperative that the EEAC Working Group Chairman – Folmer de Haan – putted one of the main pillars of the Energy Union Governance Regulation, the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP), at center stage in the working group’s work this year.
To produce an EEAC stocktaking document, advisory bodies on the environment and for sustainable development and climate change (hereafter: advisory bodies) have submitted their preliminary views on the draft NECPs of their respective nations. The EEAC stocktaking document distils and summarizes the input provided by these advisory bodies and serves to kick off the process of knowledge exchange and building.
Besides the stocktaking document, the EEAC Working Group on Energy and Climate Change met with European experts to discuss the draft NECPs. Based on the outcomes of the stocktaking document and following the remarks made during the workshop, Folmer de Haan drafted a cover letter in which he shares some mainline observations with regard to the draft NECPs. Read More
The National Portuguese Council for Environment and Sustainable Development (CNADS) created a Working Group (WG) with the objective of elaborating a Stance on the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (NECPs). This Stance briefly analyses the main lines of reflection and action advanced by the NECPs and includes 1. An elaboration process of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan; 2. An analysis of its general objectives and issues; 3. a characterisation of the current situation of the national energy sector and defined objectives for 2020; 4. A strategy for 2030; and touches upon the issue of energy poverty. Read More
The ambition to live well within the boundaries of our planet is an increasingly deep-rooted desire among a growing number of Europeans. This societal support should be leveraged to create new partnerships and alliances. Through partnerships we achieve more: more impact, greater sustainability, increased value to all. This is why, at the 27th EEAC Annual Conference partnerships for sustainable development (SDG 17) will be the main lens through which we will engage with challenges such as the energy transition, fresh water, and the preservation and sustainable use of our seas and oceans.
From the final conference programme you can see that national and sub-national advisory councils on the environment and sustainable development will meet with high-level experts from academia, society and the public sector. The conference aims to use exchange of knowledge, viewpoints and experiences to contribute to the development of a European Sustainability Strategy. Such a strategy will be essential to move forward from reflections on the challenges we face on issues such as water, energy and oceans to the implementation of solutions. Read More
Progressive environmental degradation is a cause for deep concern. Environmental policy thus finds itself in a dilemma: on the one hand, it has to raise its level of ambition and its effectiveness. In its report, the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) would like to show that environmental policy can draw on strong scientific, legal, social and economic sources of legitimation. The report also addresses the question of how existing political institutions, processes and instruments can be improved to give greater priority to vital ecological needs. Read More
On 8 July 2019, the day before the July 2019 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development meeting at the United Nations in New York, Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future, on behalf of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE), and co-sponsored by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), convened a one-day workshop for representatives from established National Councils for Sustainable Development and other types of multi-stakeholder platforms at global, national and sub-national levels, as well as some Governments who have multi-stakeholder platforms. The EEAC Network – through it’s coordinator – contributed to the session by presenting the network and its work.
The workshop initiated a global dialogue to exchange experiences, lessons learned, identify good practice, and revealed gaps in cross-sectoral and cross-governance exchange that could be more effectively addressed by councils and platforms at all levels; and it assessed how National Councils for Sustainable Development and other types of multi-stakeholder platforms could help countries and governments deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In addition, participants considered the presentation of a Global Forum of National Councils for Sustainable Development and other similar multistakeholder bodies at the SDG Summit in September 2019. In support of this idea, the workshop organizers aimed to determine whether there is sufficient interest in such a platform on the part of the UN Member States and other stakeholders. This process is now (August/September 2019) ongoing.
The secretariat of the National Economic and Social Council (Ireland) published a paper, entitled ‘Urban Structure, Spatial Planning and Climate Emissions’. The paper examines the relationship between urban structure, spatial planning and climate emissions, in particular transport-related emissions. The paper focuses in particular on the some of the key literature that has sought to analysis this relationship. The paper also considers the case for developing new approaches to evaluating the impact of urban structure and spatial planning on supporting sustainable development and reducing transport-related emissions. The paper concludes with a focus on the enabling role of urban structure with regards to sustainable mobility. Read More
The Federal Council for Sustainable Development (FRDO/CFDD) released the 30th edition of the – so called – Update 2030 Agenda. This newsletter is produced under the responsibility of the administrative office of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development (FRDO/CFDD). The FRDO/CFDD advises the Belgian government on the federal policy on sustainable development. The council moreover organises activities to enhance the base for sustainable development. Read More
The chairman of the EEAC Working Group on Fresh Water Affairs launched today (12/7/2019) the mainline summary of the working group’s latest event, entitled ‘The EU Water Framework Directive: Beyond the analysis of the partial success’.
The mainline summary is structured along the lines of the three main themes (1. Funding, 2. Economic thinking and 3. A systemic approach). It includes an introduction (starting point of the debate) to each of the themes, a status report and a summary of suggested solutions to overcome the issues affecting the three main themes. At the end of the document, some preliminary recommendations are presented, with the aim of supporting discussions in the EEAC’s member councils on the topic of the implementation of the WFD, as well as its future.
The summary, and the preliminary recommendations contained within it, were drawn up by Jan Verheeke in his capacity as Chair of the EEAC Working Group on Fresh Water Affairs. They are not directly binding on the three speakers, the participants to this round-table session, nor to the advisory councils that are part of the EEAC Working Group on Fresh Water Affairs. However, Jan Verheeke stated that he sincerely hopes that the summary proves useful in some shape or form towards achieving the targets of the Water Framework Directive by 2027. Read More
