Mr. Miller was also a member of a Working Group of the Club de Madrid which is considering what needs to happen in order to advance Agenda 2030 and to realize the Sustainable Development Goals, so that no one is left behind. The Working group has not published its report as yet but it has looked at many of these issues in detail taking into account that Agenda 2030 emphasizes that sustainable development means economic, social and environmental well-being and that these three pillars of development are inter-related and mutually interdependent.
Mr. Miller shared also some practical policy experiences from his time as mayor of the largest Canadian city and now director of a charity protecting wild life. He finalized his intervention highlighting that “ultimately we all agree that no one should be left behind when we achieve the SDGs and a prosperous sustainable future. Equally we believe that no one should be or can be left out of the process of creating that future. Otherwise our achievements will be partial and inadequate. We look to ECOSOC and the UN system to keep this perspective at the centre of the process of implementing and monitoring policies and programmes to fulfil Agenda 2030.”
The ECOSOC Integration Segment has brought together high-level representatives of the UN Member States, including Heads of State and Government, ministers and mayors, agencies of the United Nations system and civil society actors, including non-governmental organizations, academia and the private sector.
The meeting has served as a platform for dialogue and exchange of views on lessons learned and recommendations for ways forward in policy innovation and integration, with a view to extract policy recommendations to guide the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Its proceedings will be available for consideration by Member States in the ECOSOC High-level Segment where Club de Madrid Members and experts are also expected to participate and as substantive input to the follow-up and review process to be carried out at the high-level political forum (HLPF) under the auspices of ECOSOC, to take place in July 2016.
More information:
https://clubmadrid.org/en/noticia/environmental_sustainability_and_shared_societies_working_group_holds_second_meeting
https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/node/603813