Federal policy guided by the SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals will serve as a compass for federal policy. At the proposal of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Minister of Sustainable Development Zakia Khattabi, the Council of Ministers has agreed that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be included in all general policy notes. Thanks to their systemic approach, the SDGs provide an excellent framework to develop more sustainable, integrated and coherent policies and therefore address the major economic, social, environmental and peace challenges.
After having put the climate governance initiative on track, Minister Khattabi is now anchoring the SDGs as a compass for the policies of the federal government. To govern is to look ahead!
As a member state of the United Nations, Belgium is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. However, a number of reports among which the OECD Environmental Performance Review published at the end of March and the Gap Analysis recently published by the Federal Institute for Sustainable Development (FISD), point out that Belgium is not on track to reach the SDGs by 2030. Adding to this, the Covid-19 crisis is unfortunately having a negative impact on a number of SDGs (Poverty, Hunger, Health, Education, Work, Inequalities, etc.).
"More than ever, in the interest of efficiency and because in reality all issues have interlinkages, we need an integrated, coherent governance approach and in this sense the SDGs constitute an ideal framework for policy analysis and policy making. Hence, from now on, each general policy note will integrate the SDGs and their related sub-targets", says the Minister. "This will allow us to get an overview on how policies contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, while at the same time outlining areas where progress can still be made."
"I am delighted that this government has adopted a new tool for steering our public policies in the interest of efficiency and coherence. To govern is to look ahead", concludes the Minister.
