More than 60 civil society actors, representing a broad range of perspectives from across Norwegian society, have contributed to assessing Norway’s progress towards each of the SDGs.
The assessments are compiled in the report “Civil Society’s Assessment of the Sustainable Development Goals” and included in Norway’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the UN, which will be presented at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July.
“Our assessment reveals a troubling reality: across all 17 SDGs, civil society finds that progress is either stagnating or moving in the wrong direction. While important initiatives have been introduced in several areas, implementation remains insufficient, fragmented and too slow to meet the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda,” says Gina Ekholt, Secretary General of Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment (ForUM).
Norway's challenges
“The challenges to achieving the goals are not primarily related to a lack of capacity, but rather to political priorities, implementation, and policy coherence across sectors,” says Aron Halfen, Senior Advisor at ForUM and coordinator of the civil society assessment.
Among the key challenges highlighted in the civil society assessment are:
- Growing inequality and an increased risk of poverty among parts of the population
- Insufficient efforts to reduce climate change and dependence on fossil fuels
- Continued loss of nature and biodiversity
- Very high levels of resource use and consumption
- Lack of coherence between Norwegian policies and the global Sustainable Development Goals
- The need for stronger efforts to promote human rights, gender equality, and social inclusion
“When we look at all the goals together, we get a clear picture that Norway must move from ambition to faster action,” says Halfen.
Third VNR
Norway will present its VNR at this year’s HLPF alongside 35 other countries.
This is the third time Norway conducts a VNR, and the second time civil society has been invited to submit an assessment. Norway presented VNRs in 2016 and 2021.
“The organisations contributing to this assessment brought knowledge and experience from many different parts of society, and this process demonstrates how much governments can achieve when they engage civil society,” says Halfen.
