Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals: ‘Responsive, Inclusive, Participatory and Representative Decision-Making’?

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the contemporary framing of sustainability in the context of the adoption of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this setting, we consider the potential coherence and tensions between attempts to protect ‘people’ and the ‘planet’ while promoting ‘prosperity’, ‘peace’ and ‘partnership’. We begin by examining the identities and intentions of the policy actors engaged in formulating the SDGs, as revealed preparatory documentation. We then address the scope for debate (and even conflict) regarding the content of the SDGs and their interaction. Finally, we consider the processes created for supervision of SDG implementation at the UN level by the High Level Political Forum (HLPF). SDG 16 would seem to enable inclusive dialogue with diverse participants offering alternative knowledge bases for policy development, while SDG 17 conceives of a global partnership for development. The crucial question is whether the orchestration offered by the HLPF has that participatory potential.