The Conference ‘Sustainable Development Goals for Asia and Europe: Means of Implementation for Post-2015 Development Agenda’ organised in the European Economic and Social Committee on 29 – 30 September in Brussels.

A two-day conference held at the European Economic and Social Committee and organized with the Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVforum), brought together over 80 participants to discuss ways of implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda in Asia and Europe.

The event, titled “Sustainable Development Goals for Asia and Europe: Means of Implementation for Post-2015 Development Agenda” aimed to contribute to the global debate on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The key focus was on innovative financing options and environmental governance that might be employed to make the SDGs a reality. Participants sought to identify indicators and targets as well as challenges of SDGs implementation at the national level.

At the opening of the event, Ulf Björnholm, Head of UNEP Brussels Liaison Office, highlighted three areas where Europe and Asia together can play a significant role in the future process to adopt new MDGs and the supporting means of implementation: environmental integration as a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development, the need for national ownership and a truly global partnership, ambitious means of implementation through resource mobilisation, but also the use of strong monitoring and assessment systems to assess the progress, like the new web-based environmental assessment framework called “UNEP-Live.”

The event was organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation, ASEM, SIDA, Hanns-Seidel Foundation, IGES and hosted in partnership with European Economic and Social Committee and UNIDO.

More information: alexa.froger@unep.org