On 10 July, members of Regions4 and representatives of the international community gathered online for the High-level Political Forum side event “2030 Agenda: from global emergencies to solutions at the regional level” to discuss the essential role of the Sustainable Development Goals for an effective recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regional governments of Aland Islands, Basque Country, Catalonia, Jalisco, Navarra, Rabat Salé-Kenitra, Sao Paulo, and representatives from UN DESA, UNDP-Art initiative and OECD shared examples on how regional governments are building back better, greener, and fairer, getting back on track toward the 2030 Agenda, and putting a spotlight on the need to strengthen multilevel governance under the moderation of international journalist Silvia Intxaurrondo.

Panellists shared their experience and exchanged on a recovery which would support the most vulnerable, guarantee access to information, mitigate the dramatic economic impacts, enhance climate action, and ensure the preservation of biodiversity, among others. Furthermore, panellists called for multi-stakeholder collaboration for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, the acknowledgement of the key role played by regional governments in localising the SDGs and in ensuring policy coherence, and the value of decentralised data for better decision making, higher ambition and action to combat the global emergencies.

To know more, read the full press release available in English, Spanish and French, and watch the recording of the event in our YouTube channel.