Background

As the level of government closest to the citizens, local and regional governments need to rapidly adapt to respond to the most pressing needs in times of crises. The session discussed the barriers faced by local and regional governments when localising the SDGs during time of crisis. The use of online tools such as the Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities have been used by local and regional governments to re-include SDGs in their long-term local strategies, ensuring that the goals of the 2030 Agenda will be met towards more sustainable and resilient cities for the future.

The session also explored the report “European Territories Localise the SDGs | Making this the Decade of Action” published by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions-PLATFORMA (https://local-sdgs.eu/), on how and to what extent associations and networks of local and regional governments have been involved in the localisation of the SDGs, both in Europe and with their global peers, and in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other materials produced to analyse how local and regional governments are implementing SDGs through their local strategies.

CEMR; PLATFORMA