Overview
Agenda 2030 is a global roadmap for eradicating extreme poverty through sustainable development and for promoting good governance and peaceful societies before 2030. 18 to 20 July Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg will present a comprehensive report to the UN on Norway’s follow-up of Agenda 2030 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Norway will follow up the 2030 Agenda, nationally and internationally, and in cooperation with other member states. The process of preparing Norway's initial Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) has in itself contributed to greater political and public awareness about the SDGs in Norway. The Government has already taken important steps to identify challenges and integrate SDG reporting into the annual budget documents. The Prime Minister is also engaged internationally, as Co-Chair, with the president of Ghana, of the UN Secretary-General's SDG Advocacy Group. This review starts with a summary of key features of Norway's initial national follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. Details of national and international follow-up are covered in the Policy section, under 'Goals and targets'. This Summary highlights policies, partnerships and practices that Norway believes could be of particular interest to the wider UN membership and stakeholders.
UN reports and various international indexes show that Norway ranks high in terms of global implementation of the SDGs. At the same time, it is evident that implementing the 2030 Agenda will be demanding for Norway, too.
The Government has identified a number of targets that pose particular challenges for domestic follow-up in Norway. These challenges relate to several of the SDGs and all three dimensions of sustainable development – social, economic, and environmental.
Among the targets that are likely to remain the focus of political attention and policy development are those relating to sustainable consumption and production, health and education, equality, employment, and migration. The Government is giving priority to ensuring quality education and employment, especially for young people and those at risk of marginalisation. This is an important contribution to realising the 2030 Agenda vision of leaving no one behind. Challenges that have been identified at the national level include:
- Reducing non-communicable diseases and promoting mental health
- Increasing high-school completion rates
- Eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls
- Reducing the proportion of young people not in employment, education or training
- Ensuring sustainable infrastructure
- Sustaining income growth of the bottom 40% of the population at a rate higher than the national average
- Improving urban air quality
- Halving food waste and reducing waste generation
- Reducing the impact of invasive alien species
- Reducing all forms of violence and related death rates and combating organised crime.