The year 2015 marked a turning point for development policies: from a period when development efforts focused on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which encapsulates a much broader—and much more ambitious—set of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The chapter explains the process that led to these ambitious goals, including by bringing the environment, development, and human rights communities together to develop a joint agenda.
The chapter starts by illustrating how the international development arena is changing now that the SDGs have been adopted by all countries and a broad range of actors including governments, private sector and civil society are working on their implementation. Key differences between the MDGs and the SDGs are highlighted in order to stress the level of ambition and coverage of the SDGs, as well as the process that led to such ambitious SDGs.
The chapter then highlights the main implications the 2030 Agenda is having and will continue to have on development models, including businesses and global and regional value chains. It does so by describing the integrated nature of the SDGs and the interlinkages and potential trade-offs that result from the social, economic and environmental components of sustainable development. It also underlines some of the key elements that need to be considered by policymakers when designing their development policies to implement the SDGs, taking interdependence into account and impact on developing countries. After going over the financing gap to implement the SDGs, the chapter highlights role of the private sector and of government officials in achieving the 2030 Agenda. Policies and processes that can help accelerate implementation are offered, while acknowledging that ‘one size fits all’ will not work, especially for LDCs. The role of international trade as an enabler of economic growth and sustainable development is then presented. The implications for global value chains, not only in economic but also in the social and environmental areas is reviewed before offering some recommendations for further research.
By Chantal Line Carpentier and Isabel Garza Rodríguez
Chantal Line Carpentier 