He spoke of poverty, of the growing inequality that exists between nations, and he underlined the need for the world to take action. But, crucially, President Barack Obama did not shirk responsibility. In setting out the US commitment to the sustainable development agenda last September, Obama went beyond generalisation about the need to provide aid and development assistance to poorer countries, clearly articulating what his country must do to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Obama’s remarks go to the heart of the new development framework. It is global in nature, universally applicable, and aims to break down the old divisions between developing and developed countries.
In contrast, UK international development secretary Justine Greening admits that the government has no specific scheme to introduce a national action plan or taskforce to implement the goals. Instead the government will continue to focus on party manifesto commitments, in the belief that in some way this will contribute to achieving the SDGs.
The US has recognised that the SDGs provide a framework around which to shape national policy and add renewed emphasis to the challenges they face, the UK seems content to shoehorn the SDGs into existing priorities, disregarding the parts that do not fit – whether they are relevant or not.
Not all the targets in the goals are relevant to the UK, but a large number are. There are 13 million people living in poverty in the UK. Last year, more than 1 million people used food banks. SDG target 1.2 commits all countries to reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions by 2030.
Inequality is an issue raised prominently within the goals. The UK has very high levels of income inequality compared with other developed countries. Women’s participation in leadership is woefully low. There are 38 countries with greater proportions of female MPs than the UK. Rwanda tops the list with 63.8%, compared with the UK’s 29.4%. And this winter’s flooding demonstrates that without investment to address extreme weather events and climate change, the UK will also suffer.
There are a host of other targets which require concerted attention in the UK, such as: reducing premature mortality from non-communicable diseases; improving mental health and wellbeing; recognising the value of unpaid care work; ensuring access to modern reliable sources of energy and increasing the share of renewables; substantially reducing the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training; and ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.
All of these issues will require coordinated cross-government approaches to monitoring and implementation. It is not sufficient for Greening to say that discussions are under way. The UK is lagging behind.
Colombia, for example, adopted an inter-agency commission to implement the goals in February – before they were even agreed.
Berlin began consulting on what the SDGs would mean for the German government in June 2014, and the council for sustainable development published a position paper in May 2015.
If we are to meet our commitment to the SDGs, the UK needs to bring the Cabinet Office, the Office for National Statistics, Treasury and Department for International Development (DfID) under a clear strategy with a dedicated cross-government body to monitor and implement the goals domestically. This body should also analyse and make recommendations to address the impact of government cuts on achieving the goals, and work with DfID to ensure that there is coherence between the UK’s domestic and foreign policy priorities.
DfID’s focus should rightly be on ensuring its programmes adequately support developing countries, but the department’s extensive knowledge of the global goals process means it should lead any cross-government initiative. The government’s commitment to transparency and accountability also means that legislation should be updated urgently to include a requirement to report on progress towards the SDGs.
The UK played a prominent role in developing the goals – the prime minister was one of the co-chairs of the UN secretary general’s high-level panel – but it now risks losing that global leadership by failing to take seriously the implementation of these goals at home, as well as abroad. Now is the moment to demonstrate a true understanding of the agenda’s universality. Lack of a national action plan will mean a missed opportunity to benefit UK citizens with a renewed focus on the challenges that affect their lives.
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