2030 Agenda
and Local Governments
The 2030 Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals that directly connect international, national, and local action.
The success of the 2030 Agenda is directly proportional to the involvement of the local level in its achievement.
Without Local Governments, it will be impossible to implement the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda within the territory.
The 2030 Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals that directly connect international, national, and local action, and position cities and their governments as primary public authorities for their effective achievement.
This is explicitly recognized by the United Nations Resolution that adopted the Agenda. It is a legitimate recognition based on the emergence of cities and towns as global benchmarks for policies in favor of human sustainability, and the result of intense advocacy work by Local Governments and the associations that represent them to ensure the voice of local authorities counts, embracing an international responsibility that emphasizes not only “leaving no one behind” but also “leaving no place behind.”
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations
Enormous challenges and uncertainty exist regarding how to fulfill this Agenda, but there is also a unanimous consensus recognizing that its achievement will depend on the capacity to make them a reality in cities and towns.
Local administration is the level of government capable of translating a universal and broad agenda into concrete and tangible public policies. This is driven by the conviction that local action is indispensable for the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda and for achieving the involvement of citizens, as well as all other necessarily involved stakeholders.
It is necessary and urgent to strengthen and legitimize the strategic role of Local Governments in the planning, execution, and accountability of SDG fulfillment as accelerating agents for the development of the 2030 Agenda in Spain.
However, this responsibility cannot be carried out at the local level without the material and technical resources necessary to exercise this role as drivers of change in their territories. To this end, it is necessary to reinforce the accelerating public policies that are part of the daily work of Local Governments, including the circular economy, the Urban Agenda, gender policies, inclusion and the fight against inequality, citizen participation, transparency and open government, health and education, ecological transition, resilience and environmental sustainability, responsible consumption, job creation, decentralized cooperation, and culture, among others.
The 2030 Agenda is not the future, it is the now, and the now starts with us.