SDG Watch Europe is an EU-level, cross-sectoral CSO alliance of NGOs from development, environment, social, human rights and other sectors. The mission of SDG Watch Europe is to work to ensure that the EU and its member states fully implement the SDGs by 2030.
CENN, as a member of SDG Watch Europe, as well as a member of working groups under SDG Council of Georgia and a co-chair of the working group on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection joins the statement by SDG Watch Europe and calls for all EU as well as Georgian institutions to manage the crisis created by Covid-19 with unity and solidarity, putting people and planet at the centre of all policies.
The statement (full text in English available here) covers environmental, economic as well as social aspects with some of the main messages as follows:
• Reallocation of resources with the focus on health, care sector and the most marginalised people as well as the most affected countries
• Refraining from retracting or rolling back on environmental and social regulations;
• Relaunching the economy in line with sustainable development and implementing proactive stance to transform energy, transport and food systems and reduce ecological footprint and carbon emission levels
• Ensuring alignment of all internal and external policies as well as budget with the SDGs as well as global and European objectives to tackle the biodiversity and pollution crises.
• Ensuring that the necessary restrictions imposed by governments are time-bound and will be fully lifted to maintain the fair and democratic functioning of our societies;
• Ensuring that civil society is empowered and fully engaged in a radical rethink of the entire system to deliver on the SDGs as well as promote recovery from the pandemic.