As we approach the halfway mark between the adoption and finish line of the 2030 Agenda, the region is on track to achieve only 26 of 169 SDG targets, according to the UNECE 2022 SDG progress report released ahead of next week’s Forum of Mayors and UNECE Regional Forum. For all other measurable targets, the region must accelerate progress or reverse current trends to achieve its 2030 ambitions. “With the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic not yet fully reflected in available data, and the impact of the war in Ukraine still to be assessed, the risk that the region will fail on the 2030 Agenda has never been so high”, warned the UNECE Executive Secretary. 

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The Forum of Mayors is a pioneering platform launched by UNECE that is putting a new and inclusive multilateralism into practice. The second Forum of Mayors (4-5 April) will facilitate exchange and mutual learning as Mayors from across the pan- European region and North America – together with a number of Mayors from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America – present their efforts to tackle key challenges in their cities, under the theme “Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic while advancing the implementation of the SDGs”. Mayors will learn from each other’s best practices in the areas of housing and climate-neutral buildings, green cities and nature-based solutions, sustainable urban transport and safer roads, and smart urban development solutions.  Join the exchange on social media using #MayorsAction. 
 

On 6-7 April, UNECE member States, high-level speakers including UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and over 500 key stakeholders will gather in Geneva and online for the 2022 Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region. Solutions-oriented exchanges will focus on how we can recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Region. In addition to the Forum’s plenary session, which will place particular focus on the SDGs under in-depth review at the 2022 High-Level Political Forum (Goals 4, 5, 14, 15 and 17), a total of over 40 side events are taking place. Join the conversation on social media using #RFSD2022. 
 

 

Our world is awash with raw data, all with the potential to be turned into meaningful statistics. But the costs, benefits and risks of doing so are different in each case. Gathering information from people in a survey permits detail and insight, but ask too many questions and eventually people will tire of completing surveys. On the flip side, when statistical agencies produce statistics from existing data sources such as tax records – often much faster and cheaper than surveys – they have to very carefully manage public perceptions about privacy and quality. Guided by Principle 5, National Statistical Offices weigh up the pros and cons of every potential data source to select the right data for the job, harnessing the richness of newly-emerging sources and technologies to ensure they always strike the right balance between value for money, accuracy, timeliness and respondent burden. 
 

Fashion and packaging have one thing in common: both rely heavily on plastics. Global plastic production doubled since 2000, to reach an astonishing 460 million metric tonnes per year, with huge environmental costs. Within this context, experts at the “Forests for sustainable lifestyles and a circular economy” discussion organized by the Joint UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section to celebrate International Day of Forests 2022 provided evidence that things can be done differently: forests can offer solutions to reduce the fashion and packaging industries’ reliance on non-renewable materials. UNECE also launched the first episode of its new podcast series “One World, Zero Waste? The circular economy explained”, which focused on forests’ contribution to the circular economy.