The United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015, along with the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015, with the aim to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all with specific targets to be achieved by 2030. However, the primary current concern relates to the implementation programs that countries can develop to achieve those SDGs, including the ones in relation to developing more sustainable energy systems, as indicated by SDG7 aiming at “ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.
Since the progress in sustainable energy can no longer be seen as separate from other socioeconomic development goals in the Arab region, it has become ever more eminent to track the implementation of the SDG7 targets and address the gap between current actions taken by governments and the commitments they have made.
In this context, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is organizing in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) a seminar on: “Monitoring the Implementation of Energy Related SDG Indicators” in the Arab Region in order to consult on the progress achieved by ESCWA’s member countries on the implementation of the SDG7 goals and provide an opportunity to fill the data gaps present in the Arab region.
Input from the seminar will support ESCWA’s Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2019 – Arab Region” report which will track the progress achieved by the Arab countries towards the SDG7 indicators with additional focus on climate actions and the interlinkages between SDG7 and SDG13 as well other relevant SDGs under review at the 2019 High-Level Political Forum (SDG1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15).