The Role of Local and Regional Governments in the SDGs: The Localization Agenda
Mahmoud Mohieldin, Sameh Wahba, María Alejandra González-Pérez, Miral Shehata
Abstract
Local and regional governments (LRG)s have a critical role to play towards the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG)s in conjunction with national governments, the private sector, and community-based organizations (CBO)s. While there are some instances of LRGs acting to integrate the SDGs into their plans and budgets as well as reporting on progress through Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), the reality is that there is still much to be done. For LRGs to make a meaningful contribution towards the achievement of the SDGs through the localization process, they must strengthen their mandate, access to resources, planning and implementation capacities, as well as their inter-institutional coordination. This is a large task, especially when considering how at the end of 2020 there were only 39 VLRs. However, when considering the acceleration of SDG implementation in terms of climate action in the seven years after the Paris Agreement, LRGs have proven themselves capable of significantly scaling up their contribution. A major step forward is needed, as there are currently only eight years to go. In order to meet this deadline, LRGs will need technical and financial help to align their plans with the SDGs, and to scale up their investments and policy reforms. This will also require incentives to reward performance and the provision of special attention to building the capacity of LRGs that are most in need.