The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: An Interim Assessment regarding the Global South

In September 2015 the United Nations adopted a comprehensive programme for sustainable development, Agenda 2030. It strives to reconcile economic progress with social justice and environmental sustainability. Following the principle of “leave no one behind,” Agenda 2030 focuses especially on the weakest and most vulnerable in society. For the countries of the Global South, this represents a particularly stark challenge: they are under enormous growth pressure. At the same time, they also lack both experience with the redistribution of wealth as well as access to technologies that can help them avoid severe environmental degradation.

This GIGA Forum investigates how, three years after the adoption of Agenda 2030, the situation currently looks for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Jann Lay will discuss initial progress, and how it can be measured, with a core emphasis on questions of social justice. Imme Scholz will discuss the rudiments of implementing the SDGs on the ground, and look closely at the role of international development cooperation therein. The focus of the event will be on so-called middle-income countries, where social inequalities as well as growth-related environmental problems are especially noticeable.

Panelists:

• Prof. Dr. Jann Lay is head of the Research Programme “Growth and Development” at the GIGA.

• Dr. Imme Scholz is the acting director of the German Development Institute (DIE) in Bonn and a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE).

Moderation:

• Dr. Miriam Prys-Hansen is acting head of the Research Programme "Power and Ideas" at the GIGA.