Presentation for the European Economic and Social Committee on SDG indicators to inform policy. May 2018.

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Civil society indicators for the Sustainable
Development Goals
Céline Charveriat
EESC hearing
May 28, 2018

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Monitoring SDGs: are we on the right track?
• Annual report from Eurostat
• New indicators being proposed for
2018, ability to shape 2019
• Very good website and access to data
• Engagement from European civil
society, local authorities and
businesses

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Or not?
Key questions:
• Is Europe in « a safe and just space »
and making its fair contribution to
keeping humanity in a safe and just
space?
• Is Europe on a path to be in such a
space by 2030?
Source: Kate Raworth. Doughnut Economics. 2017

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Identifying trade-offs
• How to reconcile different dimensions within
European development?
• How are we doing vis-à-vis planetary boundaries
(climate change vs. biodiversity)?
• The universal agenda:
‒ Reducing spill overs i.e. external negative effects on
others
‒ Fair share of efforts

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Empowering Accountability
Assessing means of implementation by MS
and EC:
 Ambition
• Scope
• Actionable
• Integration
• Political commitment
• Monitoring
• Public transparency
• Process transparency
• Analytical basis
• Review

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The context: Upside down politics of SDGs in Europe
• Lack of understanding (MDGs vs. SDGs)
and buy-in by ley decision makers at
European level
• No implementation strategy, only a
reflection paper
• Conflicting visions: European Council vs.
European Commission
• Lack of willingness among MS to create
new indicators/data? “less is more”
• Lack of coherence with other monitoring
frameworks and key policy discussions
(e.g. Circular Economy; MFF; future of
Europe)

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Enabling trickle-up governance?
• Strengthening knowledge: Eurostat,
JRC, EEA and think tank+scientific
community+Eurobarometer
• Coalition of the willing approach:
interested MS+trio presidency+DGs
and specialised
agencies+businesses+local
authorities+NGOs+citizens
• SDG summit under Finnish presidency
e.g. “Paris Lima agenda”?

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What to measure within this context: the example of
SDG 17
• Means of implementation: budgets (including MFF
and MS), private finance (tracking progress on the
sustainable action plan), research and funding for
civil society
• Progress on 17.16 and 17.17: “multi-stakeholder
partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge,
expertise, technologies and financial resources to
support the achievement of SDGs”; “encourage and
promote effective public, public- private, and civil
society partnerships, building on the experience and
resourcing strategies of partnerships”
• Civil society space index?
• Private sector pledges?
• Recommendations from CoR: indicators relevant to
regions and local authorities
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
UN Targets and indicators cover trade rules (incl. tariffs), finance
(not only ODI-remittances), technology transfer, multi-stakeholder
partnerships, policy space for developing countries, capacity
building for data

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References
• European Commission, “Next steps for a sustainable European future: European action for sustainability”, COM(2016) 739 final
(Strasbourg, 22 November 2016).
• Eurostat, “Sustainable development in the European Union: A Statistical Glance from the Viewpoint of the UN SDGs” (2016).
• Eurostat, EU SDG proposed indicator set (March 16th, 2018)
• Ingeborg Niestroy, “How are we getting ready? The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the EU and its Member States:
Analysis and Action so far”, German Development Institute (9/2016).
• Kate Raworth, “Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist”, Chelsea Green Publishing (2017).
• Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Bertelsmann Stiftung, “SDG Index and Dashboards – Global Report” (2016).
• ESDN. SDGs Indicators and Monitoring: Systems and Processes and the Global, European and National level (2018)
• Ecologic and WWF. Maximizer. Strategies for a low carbon EU by 2050 (2017)

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Thank you for your attention !
ccharveriat@ieep.eu