Coordinated efforts by global and local alliances that pull together and support each other are the engine of sustainable development. Such partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society must be built on cooperation, mutual respect and shared values. With a view to successfully funding and implementing sustainable development, SDG 17 encompasses financial, technological as well as economic and institutional global frameworks. Although the 2030 Agenda is enjoying an increasingly high profile and support, we must still overcome major hurdles before achieving it.
As one of the leading industrial nations, Germany is committed to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals on a global scale. The country’s sustainability strategy includes facilitating fair trade, social cohesion as well as exchanging knowledge and transferring technology. In terms of Germany’s spending on financial and technical partnerships with developing nations and emerging economies as well as humanitarian aid and contributions to development cooperations, the country was the second largest development assistance donor in 2018.
Development cooperation alleviates global poverty, secures peace and mitigates crises. Over and above that, it also makes globalization more equitable and protects the environment. To make this a reality, the German government aims to increase the share of public spending on development assistance to 0.7 percent of gross national product by 2030. In recognition of how important and valuable close, long-term cooperation is, the Federal Republic is working with a wide range of partners. The result? Sustainable projects that arise out of partnerships in which all parties jointly pursue and implement the same goals for sustainable development.
The guiding principle behind the 2030 Agenda is that we leave no one behind. It is our collective responsibility to provide access to education and research, establish fair working conditions, strengthen social cohesion and ensure that humanity as a whole progresses to sustainable development. To do so, urgent action is needed to mobilize, redirect and unleash the transformative power of billions of US dollars’ worth of private resources in order for us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals together. Critical areas – such as sustainable energy, infrastructure and transportation as well as information and communication technologies – require long-term investment, including foreign direct investment. Good networking is effective in combating poverty and ensures that countries have the necessary resources to achieve the goals.
Additionally, monitoring and evaluation frameworks coupled with regulations and incentive structures that facilitate such investments need retooling in order to attract investment and bolster sustainable development. By the same token, national oversight mechanisms, such as supreme audit institutions and legislative oversight functions, similarly need more teeth.
