If the EU wants to fully contribute to achieving the universal sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015, the time has come for concrete action and ambition, concluded European NGOs and local authorities in response to the reflection paper ‘Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030’ presented by the Commission on Wednesday, 30 January (see EUROPE 12183).
The WWF applauds two things in the paper: - the document recognises that the EU must significantly step up its efforts to live up to its international commitments and thus ensure the prosperity of Europe and its citizens; - it recognises that Europe consumes a disproportionate share of the world’s resources and that it cannot continue to do so if it wants to ensure the well-being of all within the planet’s limits.
But enough talk. This is not yet the long-awaited EU strategy, observes the NGO. “People and planet cannot wait; we must start the transition to sustainable development right now”, stated Ester Asin, Director of WWF European Policy Office and member of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Panel on SDGs.
Involve cities and regions. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) welcomed the adoption of this document, as it believes that the SDGs and the Paris Agreement should guide all policies – climate, cohesion, trade, digital transformation – which will give strategic direction to the EU’s economic, social, and territorial cohesion.
“Taking into account that 65% of the SDGs cannot be fully achieved without the involvement of cities and regions, the EU needs to team up with us. The future strategy of the EU should lead to the transition of the European development model towards a sustainable, clean, sober, carbon free future to which towns and regions are ready to contribute”, said CEMR Secretary General Frédéric Vallier. The CEMR and representatives from other communities that are members of PLATFORMA consider this text crucial for the recognition of partnerships between cities and regions in Europe and non-EU countries and are advocating for the EU to “involve a delegation of mayors at the next High-Level Political Forum, the UN central platform for the follow-up and the review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)