1 / 12

Contribution of the SDGs to urban sustainability

Contribution of the SDGs to urban sustainability. David Satterthwaite International Institute for Environment and Development. Global attention to world’s 4 billion urban dwellers. Urban areas/urbanization getting more attention But mainly wrt economic growth and climate change mitigation

chelsi
Download Presentation

Contribution of the SDGs to urban sustainability

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Contribution of the SDGs to urban sustainability David Satterthwaite International Institute for Environment and Development

  2. Global attention to world’s 4 billion urban dwellers • Urban areas/urbanization getting more attention • But mainly wrt economic growth and climate change mitigation • Less interest in • reducing urban poverty for the billion+ in informal settlements • Addressing urban environmental health • climate change adaptation in urban areas

  3. SD means moving forward on multiple goals INDIA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL ECO-CITY (and the perfect green economy) CITY OF 400,000 INHABITANTS WITH • Low GHG emissions • Prosperity & innovation ($400 million/year) • Keeping down resource use • Maximizing waste re-use & recycling • Compact city so little loss of forest or agri land • Most trips by walking or bicycling • Diets that are not too energy-intensive • Including many vegetarians….

  4. Dharavi

  5. BUT One toilet/1000 people?

  6. Water pipes and waste water canal

  7. SDGs • Huge ambition: • Universal provision/Leave no-one behind • Combine development and sustainability • For urban areas, 3 environmental agendas: environmental health, resource use, waste reduction/management within+beyond boundaries • BUT so much on ‘what’; so little on how and by whom • Such radical goals without changing the institutions? • Without the data to measure and monitor progress? KEY ISSUE: How to support those institutions with the willingness and capacity to address the SDGs

  8. Viewing the SDGs with an urban lens • 1: Poverty: ambitious words, very inappropriate benchmark • 2: Good general goals on food security but focus on production + rural • 3-5: Good general goals (health, education, gender equality) • 6: Water & sanitation: strong targets but no specifics about urban & inaccurate indicators • Drainagenot mentioned but implied by 13 • Solid waste collection (not mentioned) and management (11) • 7: Energy/electricity (importance for SMEs)

  9. Viewing the SDGs with an urban lens (2) • 8: Growth. Huge relevance to urban (job creation, resource efficiency, sustainable consumption) but no mention • 9: Infrastructure. Huge relevance to but no mention of urban • 10: Inequality. Focus on income? Not on health/basic services? • 11: Cities: universal basic services, safe land sites for safe housing, reducing ecological footprints • Access to schools, health care, emergency services, policing/rule of law implied by ‘basic services’ in 11 • Disaster risk reduction (11.6), climate change adaptation (11b) contribution to mitigation (11b)

  10. Viewing the SDGs with an urban lens (3) • 12-15: Sustainable consumption, oceans, ecosystems – no explicit mention of urban • 16: Governance. Very weak on local government and local civil society. Stress on national with occasional mention of ‘all levels’ SO WHAT DRIVES CHANGE TOWARDS MOST OF THE SDGs FOR URBAN AREAS • Capable, accountable, resourced city/municipal governments able to work with private sector and with • Organized urban poor groups/networks/federations that can work with city and municipal governments

  11. If the SDGs took local governments & local civil society seriously? • Funds + support for city and municipal governments • Recognize city leadership here • Leaders that can listen • Recognize this level is where so much can be done Funds for grassroots organizations/federations • Recognize huge innovation here – Urban Poor Fund International of Slum/Shack Dwellers International and Asian Coalition for Community Action • 100+ city governments in partnership with urban poor organizations

  12. So what can support SDGs in urban areas • Encourage urban governments to make formal commitment to meeting SDGs that are within their responsibilities • Redirect funding + support to local governments and representative organizations of the urban poor • Large common ground in reducing everyday risk, disaster risk and climate change risk • Mayors and city governments that are innovating in this often also innovating on mitigation (and some also on green economy)

More Related