Each year, the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (RFSD) serves as the region’s official input to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the UN’s main platform for global follow-up on the 2030 Agenda. The report from the 2026 RFSD will document regional progress, challenges, and policy recommendations, contributing to the HLPF’s overarching review of SDG progress worldwide.
This year it reviewed SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cites and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
The roundtable “Implementation and Localization: Progress, Challenges and Enablers” provided an overview of progress on SDG 11 implementation and localization across the UNECE region and beyond – drawing on insights from SDG monitoring, Voluntary National and Local Reviews and reporting on the New Urban Agenda.
The session was a truly multi-level, multi-stakeholder exercise: global (UN Habitat), regional (UNECE, CoE, EBRD), national (Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Switzerland), subnational (Province of Potenza) and local (Belfast, Heidelberg, Sraseni, Tbilisi, and ICLEI) actors discussed issues of prime importance which require common efforts to achieve socio-economic development through the localization of the SDG framework.
It showcased replicable, people-centered solutions on housing, enhancing inclusivity, strengthening resilience, and improving urban mobility, while also identifying common challenges and needs for additional technical support and partnerships. Several speakers emphasized the importance of linking reliable disaggregated data to decision making at different levels.
Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg and Chair of the UN Forum of Mayors underlined that strengthening city-state cooperation contributes to delivering on SDGs. LRGs are very strong in solving problems under pressure and delivering tangible results to enhance the welfare of their citizens. While local realities are diverse and change from city to city, when local efforts align with national goals and global frameworks, we achieve our common goals more efficiently.
Alan McDowell, Belfast Metropolitan Area Councillor and member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe demonstrated that the solutions for numerous sustainability challenges exist already; what we need is to scale and provide capacity and financing at all levels, especially at the local level. LRGs need to be given the adequate financial means and administrative power to act influentially.
Global frameworks are worth as much as you can implement locally. Fair partnerships – horizontal or vertical – can boost SDG implementation. When states are aware of the potential added value of their local governments and are willing to empower them to become better implementers, the sum of the parts becomes greater than the whole.