ICUUW at the UN High-Level Political Forum - Deb Pritchard

Report on UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

NYC, July 10-17, 2023 
Deb Pritchard 

The HLPF and the SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were unanimously adopted by the UN in 2015, with the goals set for attainment by 2030. There are 17 SDGs with 169 targets. This 2023 forum was ‘halftime’ at the 7-year mark with only 12% of the targets achieved. 

Each year since 2015, four to five goals are selected for a targeted review by the general body. This year’s SDGs under review were:

• SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
• SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
• SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals  

Countries also report on their progress via the Voluntary National Review (VNR). 30-40 countries each year report. These are voluntary and many countries have reported twice and some even three times. Notably, the US has never done one. This year was the first report by the EU. Following each VNR presentation (about 30 minutes with slides), delegates on the floor are allowed to question and comment on the report, and that process was educational.

Every four years, the Global Sustainable Development Report is issued.

My Involvement

• We began each of the 8+ hour days at the 8am orientation session of the Women’s Major Group. They were well organized and provided space for camaraderie. The outreach was great in that we all wore a scarf-of-the-day – a different color each day with an associated ‘demand’ for gender equality – very clever.
• We spent hours in the general assembly which gave a good overview of the overall proceedings. The chairs of each session and the moderators were exceptional.I also watched an afternoon and morning of VNRs and was pleased that delegates were able to question the presenting ministries for validity and clarification. The reports were not as glib as I’d expected. Several surprised me with their honesty and by the end of the week, I felt the urgency and that we are truly in a Climate Emergency.
• And I attended several side events, not only those hosted by the Women’s Major Group (“Effective partnership at all levels: The Public Investments We Need for the People and the Planet”)  but also those hosted by the NGO Major Group (“All in 4 2030: Keeping the promise to accelerate the SDGs through effective partnerships with CSO”), the Permanent Mission of St. Lucia (“The Business Case for Action:  The Private Sector in the Water Action Agenda”), the Education and Academia Stakeholder Group (Transformative Education chaired by the head of the NGO Major Group).
• Additionally, I attended (virtually) both the Science Day Special Event on Saturday (“Evidence Based Strategies for SDG Acceleration”) and Sunday’s special event, “Global Climate and SDG Synergy Conference”, chaired by the head of the NGO Major Group. 

The Consistent and Big Messages 

I was glad to hear some sense of emergency and urgency in many of the meetings. 

“We need to revamp our silo approach and realize that each SDG is linked to others” 
This was a theme throughout the main, side and special events. Science Day was focused on meaningfully working Science and Policy together. Currently they do not work as one – the suggestion was that Science needs to give input both before and after a Policy is written. If a Policy attempts to satisfy stakeholders, but is not scientifically possible, or conflicts with another SDG, then the outcome is terribly flawed.  

“We need to get out of the profit mode and work together” 
Instead of competition, experts need to work side by side to realize the SDGs. Academia has been the most collaborative, but even they, when thinking of patents for instance, are territorial and self-interested. All of us need to quickly evolve to a collaborative, interconnected reality. There was discussion of three different countries looking at using the same electric grid – this type of collaborative thinking is what is needed. 

“We need to think of financing differently.  We need grants (not loans) to Least Developed Countries and for ‘debt’ to be forgiven” 
A new type of financing needs to happen. Some African countries spend 50% of their national budget to pay their debt, so have no money to put forward to SDG projects. We need to change how we think about financing to get to an international public finance culture.

“The Climate emergency is our number one priority. Although the 2023 theme is ‘Leave no one behind,” we must be willing to put as secondary our regular focus in order to get us out of crisis. Somehow, we need to focus on the long term in spite of the increasing frequency and severity of Disasters.

“Nothing erodes progress like disaster” Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of UN for Disaster Risk Reduction 
Most disasters are concerned with too little (drought) or too much (floods) Water. Water management is key to address so that we can move beyond our Short term reactions to longer term prevention so that we can focus on all SDGs and the long term.

“The Global Crisis is Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Pollution” 

“Scientists need to get down from their Ivory Tower and relate science in lay terms to everyone – the change needs to happen in the Community. Localization is the Key.” 
The question is how to have peers and experts talk together so that solutions can be reached at the local level. This was a big concern during Science Day discussions. 

“Most likely some of the goals may be reached in 2030, with the rest by 2050.” 
During some of the side events, this was clearly stated – that we are too far behind, in part due to Covid. However, in the Youth side events, their feeling was that it is just an excuse by the older generation – why wouldn’t the world have planned for a disaster? And what are we doing now to address the next one? 

“We need Accountability managed by Intergovernmental Councils, and a Social Contract to commit to the SDGs.” 
The lack of knowledge in the US of the SDGs and the opposition to the UN in general is astounding and upsetting. Even people active in Climate organizations have never heard of them. This needs to change in all countries. 

“We have been doing thousands of projects piecemeal without any strategy – Strategy and Tactics are extremely important moving forward.” 
Billions of dollars and time and effort have been spent on individual projects that produce little long term or general value. We need to partner with networks who have strategies, tactics and analytics that can reach broad populations. The Rotary Club offered their help with their 46,000 clubs in 167 countries with 1.4 million members, saying that we need a global effort. The speaker, Bill Graham is for me to follow up with to understand how we might be a partner in the big picture. 

“The longer we wait, the bigger the cost” 

“We have the tools. But we don’t have the Political Will.” 
We in the US need to get our government to join the rest of the world. We are so independent and seem to think ourselves outside of the rules.

“The Climate emergency is a Clear and Present Danger. Transformation IS coming. We have to decide if we will take action to be the Master of the Transformation or its Victim.” Csaba Kori President of the General Assembly 2022-2023. 

Interesting Facts

70% of all Water use is in Private Business 80% of Global Energy is in the form of Fossil Fuels 70% of all CO2 emissions are from Cities The Asia-Pacific region has the highest usage of fossil fuels, at 70% 
3-4 Billion people do not have access to clean cooking, which is linked to 2.5 million deaths annually due to unclean cooking pollution (eg, coal, wood and kerosene). Ethiopia for instance uses wood for 70% of its energy 2/3 of the 169 SDG targets are about Energy 
Access to electricity varies widely: China (99+%), Malaysia (99+%), Brazil (99%), Thailand (99%), Guatemala (89%), Ethiopia (50%), Botswana (71%) 
Countries using a high percentage of Renewables: China (99%), Brazil (87%), Guatemala (78%), Kenya (77%). Notably, China (50%) and the US (22.5%) are low. 
WHO noted that only 50% of hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa have electricity and that there are 7million premature deaths from pollution. 
60% of fresh water is transboundary – requiring neighbors to collaborate 81% of species in decline depended on wetlands 90% of Disasters involve water The Amazon carries 20% of the world’s freshwater The cost to treat wastewater takes so much Energy that helping SDG 6 has a negative effect on SDG 7! Much of the water used for plant circulation or outside watering is clean – we need to differentiate systems and preserve clean water for drinking.

My Takeaways and Implications for ICUUW

1. There were several references over the seven days to the fact that countries and organizations have addressed the SDGs piecemeal and without strategy – and that we have only seven years left. Strategies, tactics and interlinkage was the key to move forward stated many in the general session, side events and special events. As well as the UN, IWC needs a formal strategy for the organization to fit with the SDGs, and the strategy needs to interlink SDGs (not simply say that we support “SDG 5”). We need to relate our work to one of the 169 targets (not just the 17 SDGs).  This should especially apply to the grants we fund and efforts we support.
2. The saddest thing to me is how much time we have wasted trying different tactics – and seven years have gone by. I was impressed that several countries have organized their government projects and budget around the SDGs. But the US hasn’t even presented a VNR to show serious participation. Per the reports, neither approach (“top down” nor “bottom up”) has worked, and there needs to be communication between both the top and the bottom to accomplish the SDGs. I’m appalled at how the US does its own thing and isn’t a part of the global community – certainly the media here doesn’t highlight the global work done at the UN. People doing heavy work in the climate area where I live in California didn’t even know what the Sustainable Goals were. That should also be a focus for IWC – to spread the word about the SDGs with the focus on our Climate Emergency, preempting all else.
3. SDG 17, about Partnering is so important that it is addressed every year at the UN. IWC needs to find appropriate partners who can elevate our standing and broaden our impact. Again, focused on the SDGs. For instance, Peg Swain introduced me to a Sacramento group, Solar Cookers International, and I met with them at the COP in Egypt.  With all the attention paid at the HLPF toward clean cooking, this would be a great partner to pursue. The UN publishes a downloadable Partnership Guide that has some interesting information in it.
4. The events at the HLPF were high level. I overheard some talk of IWC hosting an event next year. For me, we should not rush into this. The side events I attended were much higher level than the CSW events – several were chaired by Ambassadors and heads of major industry. It would seem that we would need to define our strategy and make sure we are in alignment with the SDGs before we host such an event. Certainly, the Women’s Major Group could help us.
5. This HLPF was attended by 100 countries – only half of the SDG signers. Several contacts I made will need follow up and for us to build relationships with…but again, IWC needs to discuss how we would work with some of the folks (clean cookers, youth groups, the Malala Foundation, Rotary International, the NGO major group, etc). All of us who follow up with contacts need to hone our focus and be on the same page. Perhaps those of us who attended can make a list of their contacts and list potential projects to approach them or partner with.
6. There is no limit to the number of Major Groups that you can affiliate with. Both the Business and Industry and the NGO Major Groups had a lot to offer.
7. The organization of this conference was so much easier to follow and be a part of (versus COP 27). The amount of information was overwhelming, and we spent 8-10 hours a day there for nearly 7 days – but there was bang for your buck.  The Women’s Major Group did a great job of centering those present, reminding us of demands for the WMG and providing a spirit of camaraderie. The possibility of reaching the US representatives is great (Carol spoke to someone from the delegation) and the focus on specific SDGs makes it easy to navigate. Highly recommended for us to attend this conference on a yearly basis.