Tag: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

New EULawSD Webinar with Brenda King on EU Civil Society and the 2030 Agenda

Posted on by dariopiselli in EULawSD Module, Events and Opportunities

Screenshot 2019-09-04 at 14.13.17.png

The academic staff of the Jean Monnet Module in European Union Law and Sustainable Development is honoured to announce the third webinar of the 2019 EULawSD Webinar Series. On October 7th (12.00pm Central European Summer Time), we will host Brenda King MBE, Chief Executive of African and Caribbean Diversity and Former President of the Sustainable Development Observatory of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), for a lecture on “Civil Society Engagement in the EU Sustainable Development Agenda“. The webinar will reflect on existing multi-stakeholder approaches in the sustainable development policies of the European Union, as well as on possible models for greater civil society involvement in SDG implementation.

The webinar will be visible live on our YouTube channel and will be embedded at the bottom of this post.

***

About our speaker

Brenda King is the Chair of the nonprofit African & Caribbean Diversity and a UK representative on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) since 2002. She served as the President of the EESC’s Sustainable Development Observatory (SDO) until 2018, and remains one of its leading members. She is rapporteur of an EESC report putting forward recommendations for civil society involvement in the implementation, monitoring and review of the sustainable development agenda in the EU. She was also part of the core team of three members who undertook an impact study in six member states on the EU Renewable Energy Directive.

From 2010 to 2013, Brenda chaired the EU-African Caribbean Pacific subcommittee where she successfully campaigned for 2015 to be the European Year for Development and Cooperation. Between 2006 and 2008, she was President of the EESC’s specialized section in employment focusing on job growth and quality employment. For over 10 years, Brenda has overseen the successful delivery of a youth development programme that has been recognised and awarded in the UK.

EULawSD Coordinator Joins UFMG’s Winter Course

Posted on by dariopiselli in Collaborations and Partnerships, EULawSD Module

Screenshot 2019-07-01 at 18.23.17

We are happy to announce that EULawSD academic coordinator Riccardo Pavoni has been invited as a lecturer of the 15th International Law Winter Course of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), which is organised by the Centro de Estudos em Direito e Negócios (CEDIN) and will take place from July 8 to 19 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

In his lectures, Prof Pavoni will teach International Legal Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage in Armed Conflict. This is an important opportunity to expand EULawSD’s research network with a prestigious academic collaboration, which will foster debate on the role of international law in promoting peaceful, inclusive and sustainable post-conflict societies through the protection of the world’s natural and cultural heritage. In addition, the topic presents crucial linkages with a number of issues addressed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ranging from the relationship between Goals 15 (Life on Land) and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) to the explicit provision on natural and cultural heritage contained in target 11.4.

European Commission’s Reflection Paper on a Sustainable Europe by 2030 is out!

Posted on by dariopiselli in EU News and Info, Sustainable Development Goals

DyJ526eWwAAr_Bb.jpg-large

On 30 January, the European Commission has finally presented its long-awaited reflection paper on implementing the 2030 Agenda in the EU, which was originally expected in the first half of 2018. The paper, titled ‘Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030‘, discusses the key policy foundations and horizontal enablers needed to achieve a sustainable Europe by 2030. In addition, the paper presents and analyses three possible scenarios that could shape a Union-wide strategy on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and namely: (i) an overarching SDG strategy to guide all the actions of the EU and its member states; (ii) a continued mainstreaming of the SDGs in the policies of the Commission, without enforcement at the member states’ level; and (iii) a consolidation of existing policies, coupled with an increased focus on the SDGs in the external action of the EU.

In its preliminary assessment of the paper, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) has welcomed the urgency and wide scope of the Commission’s work, while also emphasising that only the adoption of the first proposed scenario would be able to deliver on the EU’s commitments by 2030. Moreover, the IEEP recommended a series of concrete policy actions that would be required to implement (and improve upon) the policy foundations and horizontal enablers identified by the Commission.

Publication of ASviS Report 2018

Posted on by dariopiselli in Sustainable Development Goals

Dopl_ZzX0AAOvjM.jpg-large

On October 4th, the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) launched its 2018 Report on “Italy and the Sustainable Development Goals” during a public event hosted by the Chamber of Deputies of Italy.

The Report has four main components. First, it presents an update of the international efforts that are currently being promoted at the United Nations and European level in order to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Second, it assesses Italy’s progress towards the achievement of the SDGs, discussing the recent policies of the Italian government, the ongoing evolution of the legislative framework, and the wide range of initiatives proposed by civil society. Third, it focuses on the sub-national dimension of SDG implementation, suggesting the need to more effectively localise the Goals and analysing current progresses and challenges at the level of cities and regions. Lastly, it highlights ASviS’s proposals to accelerate Italy’s transition to a sustainable development trajectory through cross-sectoral and systemic actions.

With respect to the European Union, the Report introduces a set of composite indicators (first presented in July 2018) to collate data from EUROSTAT’s monitoring reports and more immediately illustrate the situation of SDG implementation in the EU. In doing so, the Report shows that moderate or significant progress across nine Goals has gone hand in hand with a worrying negative trend for Goal 15 (Life on Land) and Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), affecting the chances of the EU and its member states to achieve the 2030 Agenda in its entirety.

SDGs 15 and 10

Even more importantly, the Report suggests that European institutions have so far failed to accelerate the pace of change, in a wider context characterised by geopolitical insecurities and rising clashes between EU member states. According to ASviS, the periodic announcements of the European Commission have not yet translated into an expected EU-wide strategy for achieving the SDGs, despite positive developments including the newly-adopted European Pillar of Social Rights, the 2018 Circular Economy Package, and the actions taken to implement the recommendations of the High-level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance.

From this perspective, ASviS also recalls the resolution of the European Parliament of May 31st, which criticised the failure to effectively integrate the SDGs into existing proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027). At the same time, however, the Report highlights the wide range of initiatives being undertaken by civil society organisations and businesses (including through the work of the Multi-stakeholder platform on SDGs), and notes the fundamental role that these actors can play in pushing the EU on the sustainable development trajectory required to implement the 2030 Agenda.

Read the ASviS Report (Italian)
Read ASviS’s Press Release (Italian)
Watch the launch event on Facebook

New EULawSD Webinar announced: Enrico Giovannini on the SDGs and the future of the European Union

Posted on by dariopiselli in EULawSD Module, Events and Opportunities

509990894612754a72fa5171d588a179_XL

The EULawSD academic staff is proud to announce that the fourth session of the 2018 EULawSD Webinar Series will take place on 16 October 2018 at 10.00am CEST. For the session, we will have the pleasure of hosting Enrico Giovannini, Full Professor of Economic Statistics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Spokesperson of ASviS, the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development. 

A former Chief Statistician at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Minister for Labor and Social Policies of Italy in 2013-2014, Prof Giovannini will analyse the challenges facing Italy and the European Union in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In doing so, Prof Giovannini will also illustrate the findings of the 2018 ASviS Annual Report and discuss the current and future efforts of European institutions towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The webinar will be visible live on our YouTube channel, and will be recorded at this link for future viewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC0sMl1hmRM. Set a reminder to save the date!

***
About Enrico Giovannini:
Enrico Giovannini is an Italian economist and statistician, member of the Club of Rome. Since 2002 he is full professor of economic statistics at the Rome University “Tor Vergata”. He is professor of public management at the LUISS University, Senior Fellow of the LUISS School of European Political Economy, Visiting Fellow at the European Political Strategy Centre of the European Commission, Vice-president of the High Level Group on Competitiveness and Growth of the European Council, Member of the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB) responsible for supervising the functioning of the European Statistical System, Co-chair of the “Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development” established by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Member of the “Commission économique de la Nation” established by the French government.

From 28th April 2013 to 22 February 2014 he was Minister of Labour and Social Policies in the Italian Government. From August 2009 to April 2013 he was President of the Italian Statistical Institute (Istat). From January 2001 to July 2009 he was Director of Statistics and Chief Statistician of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He is author of more than ninety articles on statistical and economic topics, as well as four books.

***
About the EULawSD Webinar Series:
The EULawSD Webinar Series complements the teaching activities of the Jean Monnet Module in European Union Law and Sustainable Development hosted by the Università degli Studi di Siena. Each webinar is aimed at fostering outreach to (and debate with) the general public on highly relevant European issues, and offers all interested citizens the opportunity to engage with leading experts and practitioners in the fields of European Union law and governance, sustainability science, international economics, and many more.

For more information about our speakers, visit https://eulawsd.org/videos/eulawsd-webinars/

2018 EUROSTAT Monitoring Report highlights mixed progress on SDGs

Posted on by dariopiselli in EU News and Info, Sustainable Development Goals

Screenshot 2018-09-26 at 09.45.27

On 18 September, EUROSTAT issued the 2018 version of “Sustainable Development in the European Union“, its monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context. The Report is complemented by a range of additional materials, including a short brochure providing a visual summary of the Report’s findings, the “SDGs & Me” digital publication, a series of Statistics Explained articles on individual SDGs, and a revamped EUROSTAT’s website section dedicated to the Goals.

The 2018 Report highlights significant progress on Goal 3 (“Good Health & Well-being”, Goal 4 (“Quality Education”) and Goal 7 (“Affordable and Clean Energy”), as well as moderate progress for eight additional goals. However, the Report also underscores a worrying shift away from a sustainable development trajectory for Goal 10 (“Reduced inequalities”), owing to the ongoing rise of income inequality within EU member states.  Moreover, EUROSTAT continues to be unable to track trends for Goal 6 (“Clean Water and Sanitation”), Goal 13 (“Climate Action”), Goal 14 (“Life Below Water”) and Goal 16 (“Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”), due to the conspicuous absence of reliable data over the past five years. Lastly, broad progress on a Goal is in some cases hiding insufficient progress, or even negative developments, for specific areas within that Goal.

Overall, the EUROSTAT Report follows the evidence presented in July by the 2018 SDG Index & Dashboards Report of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), suggesting that the EU is not on track to meet all 17 SDGs by 2030 and that the level of ambition should be raised on the part of both EU member states and European institutions.

 

ASviS hosts high-level event on SDGs, Climate Change and the Future of Europe

Posted on by dariopiselli in EU News and Info

ASVIS_Festival_2018_save_the_date_31MAG_1_

On May 31st, ASviS (the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development) will host a high-level international event on “SDGs, Climate Change and the Future of Europe” as part of the 2018 edition of the Italian Festival of Sustainable Development (#FestivalSviluppoSostenibile).

The event, which will take place at UniCredit Pavilion in Milan, is organized in collaboration with several other EU civil society actors. Thanks to the participation of  leading EU practitioners and policymakers, it will seek to explore the future of the European Union and its role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, at the crossroads of the Union’s traditional stance as a “sustainable development champion” and the risks of new isolationist tendencies.

  • You can watch the livestream here or on the Facebook page of ASviS, at this link.
  • To read more about the event, it is also possible to visit the dedicated page on ASviS’s website here.
  • To read the full calendar of events for the #FestivalSviluppoSostenibile, click here.

1 March 2018: EULawSD Webinar with Guido Schmidt-Traub

Posted on by dariopiselli in Events and Opportunities

Guido Schmidt-Traub 2

On 1 March 2018 (11.30am CET), the Jean Monnet Module on European Union Law and Sustainable Development (EULawSD), in collaboration with the University of Siena, will host the first session of its EULawSD Webinar Series 2018 on YouTube.

The EULawSD Webinar Series complements the teaching activities of the EULawSD Jean Monnet Module, which is coordinated by Prof. Riccardo Pavoni (Department of Law, University of Siena) and co-funded by the European Commission for the period 2017-2020. Each webinar is aimed at fostering a lively public debate on the role of the European Union as a key actor in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and offers all interested citizens the opportunity to engage with leading experts and practitioners in the fields of European Union law and governance, sustainability science, international economics, and many more.

EULawSD’s first guest will be Dr. Guido Schmidt-Traub, Executive Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).  One of the world’s leading experts on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda, Dr. Schmidt-Traub will discuss the current trends and scenarios for their implementation in the European context, the challenges of financing and monitoring of progress, and the role that the European Union can play in the achieving sustainable development in third countries.

The webinar will be visible live on EULawSD’s YouTube channel, and will be recorded at this link for future viewing. Set a reminder!

  • Where? On EULawSD’s Youtube Channel: “EU Law and Sustainable Development” or just below on this page!
  • When? Thursday, 1 March 2018, 11.30 – 12.30 CET
  • More info: eulawsd@unisi.it
  • FB Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1610786645681932/

The webinar will be held in English and is open to all internet users, without registration.

Sustainable Development in the EU: 2017 monitoring report

Posted on by dariopiselli in Sustainable Development Goals

Schermata 2017-12-19 alle 11.59.51

On 20 November, the Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT) published the 2017 edition of “Sustainable Development in the European Union“, its monitoring report on the state of the EU progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Report is the first to come out since the European Commission adopted its Communication (COM(2016) 739) on “Next Steps for a Sustainable European Future“, which maps the alignment of current EU policies with the SDG framework and provides for regular monitoring of progress. EUROSTAT has selected a subset of SDG indicators (100 out of 232) which are closely linked to the Communication, as well as to the accompanying document “Key European action supporting the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals“. For those indicators (16) to which a current EU policy target is associated, the Report explores the EU progress towards that target, whereas all other indicators are monitored according to the direction and speed of change. Progress at the goal level is then measured as an average of progress of individual indicators under the specific SDG.

According to the Statistical Office, in a five-year time span the European Union has made progress towards all SDGs, even though instances where the member States have moved away from a sustainable development trajectory are also evident within individual goals.  In particular, significant progress has been achieved for SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

This does not necessarily indicate that the status of the goal has already reached a satisfactory level for the EU. For example, progress on the conservation of terrestrial ecosystems under SDG15 does not mean that ecosystems and biodiversity across the member States are in good health. In addition, there have been only moderate advancements for eight SDGs, with SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) lagging far behind the others. Finally, for four SDGs (including SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 13, Climate Action, SDG 14, Life Below Water, and SDG 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), EUROSTAT concludes that it has been impossible to evaluate trends due to insufficient data, something which is particularly worrying in the context of fundamental challenges such as climate change, degradation of marine ecosystems, and a rising authoritarian wave in the European continent.

To read all the key trends and statistics from the Report, download it here. 

 

New Keynote Lecture: Prof. Antonio Tanca on EU Crisis Management Policy

Posted on by dariopiselli in EULawSD Module

atancaWe are honoured to announce that we have managed to co-organize, in conjunction with the Chair of International Law of the University of Siena’s Department of Law (DGIUR), a further EULawSD keynote lecture on Thursday 16 November at 15:00 CET.

Prof. Antonio Tanca, former Head of Unit of the Council of the EU, will speak about “The EU Crisis Management Policy: Institutional Aspects and Main Missions and Operations“. The external action of the EU involving crisis management raises important sustainable development issues, such as the EU responsiveness to the humanitarian needs of developing countries, the EU capacity to address climate emergencies and natural disasters, and the EU contribution to the restoration of the rule of law in post-conflict societies. With March 2017’s Rome Declaration, the EU Member States have emphasized the need for the Union to play a more decisive global role in confronting situations of crisis and vulnerability, some of which have a direct bearing on  European neighborhood countries or exercise pressure on the EU external borders.

In the context of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, adopted in March 2015 as the first major agreement of the post-2015 development framework of the United Nations, the EU external action on crisis management and disaster risk reduction also constitutes a key instrument for achieving the goals enshrined in the 2030 Agenda. The lecture thus represents a timely and valuable addition to the EULawSD module, and will be open to the public.