European Union welcomes new 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development

European Union welcomes new 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development

TEAM EUROPE Juan Antonio Falcon Blasco

The 2030 Agenda, a universal framework for all countries to help eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030, includes an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals which was adopted at a special UN Summit on 25 September 2015.

The EU has been a leader in contributing to this process from the start. It is now committed to take this agenda forward, both inside the EU (such as through forthcoming EU initiatives like, inter alia, the Circular Economy Strategy which is designed to address more sustainable patterns of production and consumption) and through the EU’s external policies by supporting implementation efforts in other countries, in particular those most in need.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in September by the United Nations sets out a global framework to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030, building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted in 2000. As the first ever global agreement setting a universal, comprehensive agenda for action, the 2030 Agenda includes an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets, mobilising all countries and stakeholders towards their achievement and affecting domestic policies.

The 2030 Agenda also includes the United Nations Addis Ababa Action Agenda adopted in July which sets out the different means necessary to implement the 2030 Agenda, including domestic resources, private finance and Official Development Assistance (ODA). The 2030 Agenda (‘Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development) was informally agreed by consensus at the UN in August this year, and referred to this Summit for formal adoption by the General Assembly. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda agreed in July also forms an integral part of the 2030 Agenda by setting out tools, policies and resources that need to be put in place to ensure that it can be implemented.