A Territorial Approach to the Sustainable Development Goals
Synthesis report
In the face of megatrends such as globalisation, climate and demographic change, digitalisation and urbanisation, many cities and regions are grappling with critical challenges to preserve social inclusion, foster economic growth and transition to the low carbon economy. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set the global agenda for the coming decade to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. A Territorial Approach to the Sustainable Development Goals argues that cities and regions play a critical role in this paradigm shift and need to embrace the full potential of the SDGs as a policy tool to improve people’s lives. The report estimates that at least 105 of the 169 SDG targets will not be reached without proper engagement of sub-national governments. It analyses how cities and regions are increasingly using the SDGs to design and implement their strategies, policies and plans; promote synergies across sectoral domains; and engage stakeholders in policy making. The report proposes an OECD localised indicator framework that measures the distance towards the SDGs for more than 600 regions and 600 cities in OECD and partner countries. The report concludes with a Checklist for Public Action to help policy makers implement a territorial approach to the SDGs.
Measuring the distance to the SDGs in OECD regions and cities: Framework and overview
Measuring the distance of regions and cities towards the SDGs implies developing an adapted, comparable and consensual framework that builds on, but goes beyond, the country-centred UN framework. This chapter presents the OECD localised indicator framework for SDGs, as well as its methodology to measure the distance of regions and cities to each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Being a unique internationally comparable SDGs indicator framework for subnational units, it allows documenting the share of OECD regions and cities that are lagging behind with respect to the objectives for 2030 and quantifies the average distance that these regions and cities have to travel in order to reach the desired outcomes. Finally, the chapter identifies the main data gaps and sets the statistical agenda to improve the measurement of the SDGs at the subnational level.
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