Contribution of the SDGs to urban sustainability David Satterthwaite International Institute for Environment and Development

Global attention to world’s 4 billion urban dwellers  Urban areas/urbanization getting more attention  But mainly wrt economic growth and climate change mitigation  Less interest in  reducing urban poverty for the billion+ in informal settlements  Addressing urban environmental health  climate change adaptation in urban areas

SD means moving forward on multiple goals INDIA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL ECO-CITY (and the perfect green economy) CITY OF 400,000 INHABITANTS WITH  Low GHG emissions  Prosperity & innovation ($400 million/year)  Keeping down resource use  Maximizing waste re-use & recycling  Compact city so little loss of forest or agri land  Most trips by walking or bicycling  Diets that are not too energy-intensive  Including many vegetarians….

Dharavi

BUT One toilet/1000 people?

Water pipes and waste water canal

SDGs  Huge ambition:  Universal provision/Leave no-one behind  Combine development and sustainability  For urban areas, 3 environmental agendas: environmental health, resource use, waste reduction/management within+beyond boundaries  BUT so much on ‘what’; so little on how and by whom  Such radical goals without changing the institutions?  Without the data to measure and monitor progress? KEY ISSUE: How to support those institutions with the willingness and capacity to address the SDGs

Viewing the SDGs with an urban lens  1: Poverty: ambitious words, very inappropriate benchmark  2: Good general goals on food security but focus on production + rural  3-5: Good general goals (health, education, gender equality)  6: Water & sanitation: strong targets but no specifics about urban & inaccurate indicators  Drainage not mentioned but implied by 13  Solid waste collection (not mentioned) and management (11)  7: Energy/electricity (importance for SMEs)

Viewing the SDGs with an urban lens (2)  8: Growth. Huge relevance to urban (job creation, resource efficiency, sustainable consumption) but no mention  9: Infrastructure. Huge relevance to but no mention of urban  10: Inequality. Focus on income? Not on health/basic services?  11: Cities: universal basic services, safe land sites for safe housing, reducing ecological footprints  Access to schools, health care, emergency services, policing/rule of law implied by ‘basic services’ in 11  Disaster risk reduction (11.6), climate change adaptation (11b) contribution to mitigation (11b)

Viewing the SDGs with an urban lens (3)  12-15: Sustainable consumption, oceans, ecosystems – no explicit mention of urban  16: Governance. Very weak on local government and local civil society. Stress on national with occasional mention of ‘all levels’ SO WHAT DRIVES CHANGE TOWARDS MOST OF THE SDGs FOR URBAN AREAS  Capable, accountable, resourced city/municipal governments able to work with private sector and with  Organized urban poor groups/networks/federations that can work with city and municipal governments

If the SDGs took local governments & local civil society seriously?  Funds + support for city and municipal governments  Recognize city leadership here  Leaders that can listen  Recognize this level is where so much can be done Funds for grassroots organizations/federations  Recognize huge innovation here – Urban Poor Fund International of Slum/Shack Dwellers International and Asian Coalition for Community Action  100+ city governments in partnership with urban poor organizations

So what can support SDGs in urban areas  Encourage urban governments to make formal commitment to meeting SDGs that are within their responsibilities  Redirect funding + support to local governments and representative organizations of the urban poor  Large common ground in reducing everyday risk, disaster risk and climate change risk  Mayors and city governments that are innovating in this often also innovating on mitigation (and some also on green economy)