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Opening the seventh session of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Monday morning, 6 January 2014, OWG Co-Chair Macharia Kamau, Kenya, reminded delegates that in December they had agreed on a way forward, including: the OWG will meet in five one-week sessions from March to July to discuss SDG proposals and focus on goals and targets; the OWG will not rewrite the narrative but rather use the text in the Rio+20 outcome document; there will be formal and informal meetings; and the process will remain open and transparent. He noted that the issues for this session of the OWG are of the utmost importance and this aspect of the debate is crucial in moving forward.
The OWG then began its consideration of the first cluster of issues for this meeting — sustainable cities and human settlements, and sustainable transport — with keynote presentations. Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, outlined three pillars of good urbanization: rules and regulations, design, and a financial plan. Adriana de Almeida Lobo, Executive Director, CTS Embarq Mexico, proposed a goal for universal access to clean and safe transport for all, with indicators covering commute time, percentage of income dedicated to transport, and access to walking and cycling facilities.
In the afternoon panel discussion, Harriet Bulkeley, Durham University, presented on the intersection between building sustainable cities and the challenges of climate change, emphasizing both the unique vulnerabilities of cities, as well as the fact that 50-75% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are produced in urban areas worldwide. Ousmane Thiam, President, Conseil Exécutif des Transports Urbains de Dakar, highlighted the call by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) to double the market share of public transport by 2025 compared with 2005 levels, which would result in lower oil consumption, reduced traffic fatalities, and a doubling of jobs, among other benefits.
Delegates also delivered their own statements on sustainable cities and human settlements, and sustainable transport. Issues raised included: rising inequality in cities, the importance of proper urban planning, inclusive polices and participatory decision-making, improving access to sustainable transportation, improving rural services, homelessness and slums, clean air and water, empowerment of women and youth, climate change, habitat losses and traffic.
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Side Events
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Session resources
 Session website and documents
Draft programme of work
Side events
General information on SDGs
Sustainable development knowledge platform website
Website for the Sixth session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 9-13 December 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
Website for the Fifth session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 25-27 November 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
Website for the Fourth session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 17-19 June 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
Website for the Third session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 22-24 May 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
Website for the Second session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 17-19 April 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
Website for the First session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 14-15 March 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
IISD RS resources
Post-2015 Development Agenda Meeting Reporting
IISD RS coverage from the Sixth session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 9-13 December 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America
IISD RS summary and analysis of the Fifth session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 25-27 November 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary and analysis of the Fourth session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 17-19 June 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary report of the Arab Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM) on Rio+20 Outcomes, 29-30 May 2013, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary and analysis of the Third session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 22-24 May 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS briefing note of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Integration Meeting on Achieving Sustainable Development – “Integrating the Social, Economic and Environmental Dimensions”, 13 May 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary report of the Asia and Pacific Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM) on Rio+20 Outcomes, 22-24 April 2013, Bangkok, Thailand (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary report of the Second session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 17-19 April 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS summary report of the First session of the UNGA’s OWG on SDGs, 14-15 March 2013, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS coverage of the Caribbean Forum: Shaping a Sustainable Development Agenda to address the Caribbean Reality in the 21st Century and Conference on Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Follow-up to the development agenda beyond 2015 and Rio+20, 5-6 and 7-9 of March 2013, Bogotá, Colombia
IISD RS summary report of the Eighth Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD-8) and Africa Regional Implementation Meeting (Africa-RIM) in preparation for the Twentieth Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable (CSD-20), 19-21 November 2012, UN Conference Centre (UNCC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)
IISD RS coverage of Rio+20: Third PrepCom and the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), 13-22 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
IISD RS archive of sustainable development meetings
SDG - A mailing list for news on sustainable development policy
Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of International Activities Preparing for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development
SDG - A mailing list focused on internationally-relevant activities related to setting the post-2015 development agenda
Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Post-2015 Development Agenda Activities
Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news |
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Seventh Session of the Open Working Group (OWG) of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
