The 2030 Agenda was adopted by all 193 United Nations member states in 2015. It is a “plan of action for people, planet and prosperity” and provides an internationally agreed framework to balance the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development. The Framework is made up of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and 169 targets with the overall objective of achieving a more sustainable, prosperous and peaceful future for all.
Ireland’s National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals 2018-2020 acknowledges that local government “has a crucial role to play in translating national policies into tangible practical actions that can help to concretise the SDG objectives into our individual and communities’ behaviours and goals.” Following this Ireland’s next National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals 2022-2024 under Strategic Objective 2 focuses on integration of the SDG’s in “Local Authority work to better support the localisation of the SDG’s” and incorporate specific actions to do so which include:
i. Showcasing, sharing and building on existing initiatives.
ii. Capacity building and awareness raising.
iii. Embedding the SDGs in Governance and reporting frameworks.
iv. Incorporating the SDGs within local planning frameworks.
v. Community Engagement
Furthermore, local authorities are recognised as one of Agenda 2030’s nine ‘Major Groups’, which play a crucial role in sustainable development and Agenda 2030 also highlights the particular role of local authorities and communities in sustainable urban development.
In accordance with the commitments set out in the SDG National Framework Plan 2022-2024 and in coherence with the Climate Action Plan 2024-2029 each theme under the Framework of Actions in Offaly’s Climate Action Plan 2024-2029 has been assessed for SDG impact at SDG target level. In addition to each theme being assessed the overall contribution of the Offaly’s Climate Action Plan 2024-2029 to the progression towards meeting the 17 SDGs was evaluated. It can be seen in the SDG Wheel above that the Offaly CAP 2024-2029 will progress towards meeting 16 out of the 17 SDGs. The assessment also indicated that the Offaly Climate Action Plan 2024-2029 is contributing to the progression of 54 out of 169 total SDG targets.