UN Report of HLP Post-2015

A NEW GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP:

ERADICATE POVERTY AND TRANSFORM
ECONOMIES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT

The Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on
the Post-2015 Development Agenda

A NEW GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP:
ERADICATE POVERTY AND TRANSFORM ECONOMIES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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Disclaimer: The members of the Panel may not be in full agreement with every specific point and detail of the
report, but they all endorse the report.

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Post-2015

Letter from the Co-Chairs of the High-Level Panel of Eminent
Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
30 May 2013
Secretary-General,
In July 2012 you tasked us with jointly chairing a twenty-seven person panel to make recommendations
to you on the development agenda beyond 2015. We hope that you will find our resultant report both
bold and practical. We have consulted extensively, in every region and across many sectors, including
listening to the voices and priorities of people living in poverty themselves. We are very grateful for the
valuable support provided to us by the Panel’s secretariat led by Dr Homi Kharas and have benefited
greatly from the regional, national and thematic consultations organised by the UN System and member
states.
Our panel conducted its work in a very positive spirit of cooperation. Through passionate and vigorous
debate we have learnt much from each other. We transmit our recommendations to you with a feeling of
great optimism that a transformation to end poverty through sustainable development is possible within
our generation. We outline five transformational shifts, applicable to both developed and developing
countries alike, including a new Global Partnership as the basis for a single, universal post-2015 agenda
that will deliver this vision for the sake of humanity.
Our report provides an example of how new goals and measurable targets could be framed in the
wake of these transformative shifts. This list is illustrative rather than prescriptive. While views naturally
differed within the panel on the exact wording of particular illustrative goals or targets we agreed that our
report would be found wanting without a collective attempt to demonstrate how a simple clear agenda
building on the MDGs and the Rio+20 process might be elaborated. We hope it will stimulate debate
over the prioritisation that will be needed if the international community is to agree a new development
framework before the expiry of the Millennium Development Goals.
Yours sincerely,

Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

David Cameron

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Acknowledgements
The members of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel Of Eminent Persons On The
Post-2015 Development Agenda wish to extend their deepest appreciation to the
governments, organisations, institutions, United Nations entities and individuals who
provided valuable perspectives, ideas and support throughout the course of the Panel’s
work.
The Panel extends its sincere gratitude for financial and in-kind contributions received
from the governments of Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Liberia,
Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America,
and from the Ford Foundation, Havas, and the Hewlett Foundation.
The deliberations of the Panel were informed by the broad consultative process
conducted by the United Nations, as directed by the Secretary-General in our terms
of reference. This includes national and global thematic consultations under the aegis
of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), regional consultations undertaken
by the Regional Commissions, consultations with businesses around the world under
the guidance of the UN Global Compact, and the views of the scientific and academic
community as conveyed through the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. We
are grateful for the perspective these extensive consultations provided.
The Panel also wishes to thank people from more than 5000 civil society organisations
and 250 chief executive officers of major corporations who shared their valuable ideas
and views during a series of consultations, both in person and online.
We are grateful to all those who submitted policy briefs, research and inputs to the
process, the full list of which appears at www.post2015hlp.org.
Panel members wish to express their sincere appreciation for the dedication and
intellectual rigour of the Panel secretariat (listed in Annex VI), led by Dr. Homi Kharas, and
to the institutions which have released them to undertake the work of supporting the
Panel. They extend their appreciation to their advisers for their support and dedication
throughout the report’s development.
All of these contributions and support are gratefully acknowledged and warmly
appreciated.

Post-2015

Executive Summary
“Our vision and our responsibility are to end extreme poverty in all its forms in the context
of sustainable development and to have in place the building blocks of sustained prosperity
for all.” 1
The Panel came together with a sense of optimism and a deep respect for the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). The 13 years since the millennium have seen the fastest
reduction in poverty in human history: there are half a billion fewer people living below
an international poverty line of $1.25 a day. Child death rates have fallen by more than
30%, with about three million children’s lives saved each year compared to 2000. Deaths
from malaria have fallen by one quarter. This unprecedented progress has been driven
by a combination of economic growth, better policies, and the global commitment to
the MDGs, which set out an inspirational rallying cry for the whole world.
Given this remarkable success, it would be a mistake to simply tear up the MDGs and
start from scratch. As world leaders agreed at Rio in 2012, new goals and targets need
to be grounded in respect for universal human rights, and finish the job that the MDGs
started. Central to this is eradicating extreme poverty from the face of the earth by
2030. This is something that leaders have promised time and again throughout history.
Today, it can actually be done.
So a new development agenda should carry forward the spirit of the Millennium
Declaration and the best of the MDGs, with a practical focus on things like poverty,
hunger, water, sanitation, education and healthcare. But to fulfil our vision of promoting
sustainable development, we must go beyond the MDGs. They did not focus enough on
reaching the very poorest and most excluded people. They were silent on the devastating
effects of conflict and violence on development. The importance to development of
good governance and institutions that guarantee the rule of law, free speech and open
and accountable government was not included, nor the need for inclusive growth to
provide jobs. Most seriously, the MDGs fell short by not integrating the economic, social,
and environmental aspects of sustainable development as envisaged in the Millennium
Declaration, and by not addressing the need to promote sustainable patterns of
consumption and production. The result was that environment and development were
never properly brought together. People were working hard – but often separately – on
interlinked problems.
So the Panel asked some simple questions: starting with the current MDGs, what to keep,
what to amend, and what to add. In trying to answer these questions, we listened to the
views of women and men, young people, parliamentarians, civil society organisations,
indigenous people and local communities, migrants, experts, business, trade unions
and governments. Most important, we listened directly to the voices of hundreds of
thousands of people from all over the world, in face-to-face meetings as well as through
surveys, community interviews, and polling over mobile phones and the internet.
We considered the massive changes in the world since the year 2000 and the changes
that are likely to unfold by 2030. There are a billion more people today, with world
population at seven billion, and another billion expected by 2030. More than half of
us now live in cities. Private investment in developing countries now dwarfs aid flows.
The number of mobile phone subscriptions has risen from fewer than one billion to
more than six billion. Thanks to the internet, seeking business or information on the
other side of the world is now routine for many. Yet inequality remains and opportunity
is not open to all. The 1.2 billion poorest people account for only 1 per cent of world
consumption while the billion richest consume 72 per cent.
Above all, there is one trend – climate change – which will determine whether or not
we can deliver on our ambitions. Scientific evidence of the direct threat from climate
change has mounted. The stresses of unsustainable production and consumption

Executive Summary

patterns have become clear, in areas like deforestation,
water scarcity, food waste, and high carbon emissions.
Losses from natural disasters–including drought, floods,
and storms – have increased at an alarming rate. People
living in poverty will suffer first and worst from climate
change. The cost of taking action now will be much less
than the cost of dealing with the consequences later.
Thinking about and debating these trends and issues
together, the Panellists have been on a journey.
At our first meeting in New York, the Secretary General
charged us with producing a bold yet practical vision for
development beyond 2015.
In London, we discussed household poverty: the daily
reality of life on the margins of survival. We considered
the many dimensions of poverty, including health,
education and livelihoods, as well as the demands
for more justice, better accountability, and an end to
violence against women. We also heard inspiring stories
of how individuals and communities have worked their
way to prosperity.
In Monrovia, we talked about economic transformation
and the building blocks needed for growth that delivers
social inclusion and respects the environment: how to
harness the ingenuity and dynamism of business for
sustainable development. And we saw with our own
eyes the extraordinary progress that can be made when
a country once ravaged by conflict is able to build peace
and security.
In Bali, we agreed on the central importance of a new
spirit to guide a global partnership for a people-centred
and planet-sensitive agenda, based on the principle of
our common humanity. We agreed to push developed
countries to fulfil their side of the bargain – by honouring
their aid commitments, but also reforming their trade,
tax and transparency policies, by paying more attention
to better regulating global financial and commodity
markets and by leading the way towards sustainable
development. We agreed that developing countries
have done much to finance their own development, and
will be able to do more as incomes rise. We also agreed
on the need to manage the world’s consumption and
production patterns in more sustainable and equitable
ways. Above all, we agreed that a new vision must be
universal: offering hope – but also responsibilities – to
everyone in the world.
These meetings and consultations left us energised,
inspired and convinced of the need for a new
paradigm. In our view, business-as-usual is not an
option. We concluded that the post-2015 agenda is a
universal agenda. It needs to be driven by five big,
transformative shifts:

1. Leave no one behind. We must keep faith with the
original promise of the MDGs, and now finish the job.
After 2015 we should move from reducing to ending
extreme poverty, in all its forms. We should ensure that
no person – regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography,
disability, race or other status – is denied universal
human rights and basic economic opportunities. We
should design goals that focus on reaching excluded
groups, for example by making sure we track progress at
all levels of income, and by providing social protection
to help people build resilience to life’s uncertainties.
We can be the first generation in human history to end
hunger and ensure that every person achieves a basic
standard of wellbeing. There can be no excuses. This is a
universal agenda, for which everyone must accept their
proper share of responsibility.
2. Put sustainable development at the core. For
twenty years, the international community has aspired
to integrate the social, economic, and environmental
dimensions of sustainability, but no country has yet
achieved this. We must act now to halt the alarming
pace of climate change and environmental degradation,
which pose unprecedented threats to humanity.
We must bring about more social inclusion. This is
a universal challenge, for every country and every
person on earth. This will require structural change,
with new solutions, and will offer new opportunities.
Developed countries have a special role to play,
fostering new technologies and making the fastest
progress in reducing unsustainable consumption. Many
of the world’s largest companies are already leading
this transformation to a green economy in the context
of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
Only by mobilising social, economic and environmental
action together can we eradicate poverty irreversibly
and meet the aspirations of eight billion people in 2030.
3. Transform economies for jobs and inclusive
growth. We call for a quantum leap forward in economic
opportunities and a profound economic transformation
to end extreme poverty and improve livelihoods.
This means a rapid shift to sustainable patterns of
consumption and production--harnessing innovation,
technology, and the potential of private business to
create more value and drive sustainable and inclusive
growth. Diversified economies, with equal opportunities
for all, can unleash the dynamism that creates jobs and
livelihoods, especially for young people and women.
This is a challenge for every country on earth: to ensure
good job possibilities while moving to the sustainable
patterns of work and life that will be necessary in a
world of limited natural resources. We should ensure
that everyone has what they need to grow and prosper,
including access to quality education and skills,
healthcare, clean water, electricity, telecommunications
and transport. We should make it easier for people to

Post-2015

invest, start-up a business and to trade. And we can do
more to take advantage of rapid urbanisation: cities are
the world’s engines for business and innovation. With
good management they can provide jobs, hope and
growth, while building sustainability.
4. Build peace and effective, open and accountable
institutions for all. Freedom from fear, conflict and
violence is the most fundamental human right, and
the essential foundation for building peaceful and
prosperous societies. At the same time, people the
world over expect their governments to be honest,
accountable, and responsive to their needs. We are
calling for a fundamental shift – to recognise peace
and good governance as core elements of wellbeing,
not optional extras. This is a universal agenda, for all
countries. Responsive and legitimate institutions should
encourage the rule of law, property rights, freedom of
speech and the media, open political choice, access
to justice, and accountable government and public
institutions. We need a transparency revolution, so
citizens can see exactly where and how taxes, aid and
revenues from extractive industries are spent. These are
ends as well as means.
5. Forge a new global partnership. Perhaps the most
important transformative shift is towards a new spirit
of solidarity, cooperation, and mutual accountability
that must underpin the post-2015 agenda. A
new partnership should be based on a common
understanding of our shared humanity, underpinning
mutual respect and mutual benefit in a shrinking
world. This partnership should involve governments
but also include others: people living in poverty, those
with disabilities, women, civil society and indigenous
and local communities, traditionally marginalised
groups, multilateral institutions, local and national
government, the business community, academia and
private philanthropy. Each priority area identified in the
post-2015 agenda should be supported by dynamic
partnerships. It is time for the international community
to use new ways of working, to go beyond an aid
agenda and put its own house in order: to implement
a swift reduction in corruption, illicit financial flows,
money-laundering, tax evasion, and hidden ownership
of assets. We must fight climate change, champion

free and fair trade, technology innovation, transfer and
diffusion, and promote financial stability. And since this
partnership is built on principles of common humanity
and mutual respect, it must also have a new spirit and
be completely transparent. Everyone involved must be
fully accountable.
From vision to action. We believe that these five
changes are the right, smart, and necessary thing to do.
But their impact will depend on how they are translated
into specific priorities and actions. We realised that
the vision would be incomplete unless we offered a
set of illustrative goals and targets to show how these
transformative changes could be expressed in precise
and measurable terms. This illustrative framework is set
out in Annex I, with more detailed explanation in Annex
II. We hope these examples will help focus attention and
stimulate debate.
The suggested targets are bold, yet practical. Like
the MDGs, they would not be binding, but should be
monitored closely. The indicators that track them should
be disaggregated to ensure no one is left behind and
targets should only be considered ‘achieved’ if they
are met for all relevant income and social groups. We
recommend that any new goals should be accompanied
by an independent and rigorous monitoring system,
with regular opportunities to report on progress and
shortcomings at a high political level. We also call for
a data revolution for sustainable development, with
a new international initiative to improve the quality
of statistics and information available to citizens. We
should actively take advantage of new technology,
crowd sourcing, and improved connectivity to empower
people with information on the progress towards the
targets.
Taken together, the Panel believes that these five
fundamental shifts can remove the barriers that hold
people back, and end the inequality of opportunity
that blights the lives of so many people on our planet.
They can, at long last, bring together social, economic
and environmental issues in a coherent, effective, and
sustainable way. Above all, we hope they can inspire a
new generation to believe that a better world is within
its reach, and act accordingly.

1.Monrovia Communiqué of the High Level Panel, February 1, 2013, http://www.post2015hlp.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/
Monrovia-Communique-1-February-2013.pdf.

Post-2015

Contents
Chapter 1: A Vision and Framework for the post-2015 Development Agenda�� 1
Setting a New Course��
Remarkable Achievements Since 2000��
Consulting People, Gaining Perspective��
The Panel’s Journey��
Opportunities and Challenges in a Changing World��
One World: One Sustainable Development Agenda��

1
1
1
2
3
4

Chapter 2: From Vision to Action—Priority Transformations for a post-2015 Agenda�� 7
Five Transformative Shifts��
1. Leave No One Behind��
2. Put Sustainable Development at the Core��
3. Transform Economies for Jobs and Inclusive Growth��
4. Build Peace and Effective, Open and Accountable Public Institutions��
5. Forge a new Global Partnership��
Ensure More and Better Long-term Finance��

7
7
8
8
9
9
12

Chapter 3: Illustrative Goals and Global Impact�� 13
The Shape of the Post-2015 Agenda��
Risks to be Managed in a Single Agenda��
Learning the Lessons of MDG 8 (Global Partnership for Development)��
Illustrative Goals��
Addressing Cross-cutting Issues��
The Global Impact by 2030��

13
14
15
15
16
18

Chapter 4: Implementation, Accountability and Building Consensus�� 21
Implementing the post-2015 framework��
Unifying Global Goals with National Plans for Development��
Global Monitoring and Peer Review��
Stakeholders Partnering by Theme��
Holding Partners to Account��
Wanted: a New Data Revolution��
Working in Cooperation with Others��
Building Political Consensus��

21
21
21
22
23
23
24
24

Chapter 5: Concluding Remarks�� 27
Annex I Illustrative Goals and Targets�� 29
Annex II Evidence of Impact and Explanation of Illustrative Goals�� 32
Annex III Goals, Targets and Indicators: Using a Common Terminology�� 57
Annex IV Summary of Outreach Efforts�� 59
Annex V Terms of Reference and List of Panel Members�� 65
Annex VI High-level Panel Secretariat�� 69

Post-2015 | 1

Chapter 1: A Vision and Framework for the
post-2015 Development Agenda
Setting a New Course
We, the High-Level Panel on the post-2015 Development Agenda, were asked for
recommendations that would “help respond to the global challenges of the 21st
century, building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and with a view to
ending poverty”.2
We discussed two of the world’s biggest challenges – how to end poverty and how to
promote sustainable development. We have not come up with all the answers, but we
do believe the lives of billions of people can be improved, in a way that preserves the
planet’s natural resource assets for future generations.
Progress on this scale is possible, but only if governments (at all levels), multilateral
institutions, businesses, and civil society organisations are willing to change course
and reject business-as-usual. They have a chance to develop and put in place a new
agenda: one that confronts the challenges of the modern world head-on. They have an
opportunity to transform their thinking, and their practice, to solve current problems
with new ways of working. They can join forces, tackle poverty, the economy and the
environment together, and bring about a paradigm shift.

Remarkable Achievements Since 2000
After the MDGs were adopted, dozens of developing-country planning ministries,
hundreds of international agencies and thousands of civil society organisations (CSOs)
rallied behind them. Together, they have contributed to remarkable achievements; half
a billion fewer people in extreme poverty; about three million children’s lives saved
each year. Four out of five children now get vaccinated for a range of diseases. Maternal
mortality gets the focused attention it deserves. Deaths from malaria have fallen by
one-quarter. Contracting HIV is no longer an automatic death sentence. In 2011, 590
million children in developing countries – a record number – attended primary school.
This unprecedented progress was driven by a combination of economic growth,
government policies, civil society engagement and the global commitment to the
MDGs.
Given this success, it would be a mistake to start a new development agenda from
scratch. There is much unfinished business from the MDGs. Some countries achieved
a great deal, but others, especially low-income, conflict affected countries, achieved
much less. In the course of our discussions, we became aware of a gap between reality
on the ground and the statistical targets that are tracked. We realised that the next
development agenda must build on the real experiences, stories, ideas and solutions
of people at the grassroots, and that we, as a Panel, must do our best to understand
the world through their eyes and reflect on the issues that would make a difference to
their lives.

Consulting People, Gaining Perspective
Over the last nine months, the Panel has spoken with people from all walks of life. We
have reviewed almost one thousand written submissions from civil society and business
groups working around the world. We have consulted experts from multilateral
organisations, national governments and local authorities. We have debated vigorously
and passionately among ourselves.
We agreed that the post-2015 agenda should reflect the concerns of people living in

2

| Chapter 1: A Vision and Framework for the post-2015 Development Agenda

poverty, whose voices often go unheard or unheeded.
To gather these perspectives, Panel members spoke to
farmers, indigenous and local communities, workers in
the informal sector, migrants, people with disabilities,
small business owners, traders, young people and
children, women’s groups, older people, faith-based
groups, trade unions and many others. We also
heard from academics and experts, politicians and
philosophers.

of speech and association and to monitor where their
government’s money is going.

In all, we heard voices and reviewed recommendations
for goals and targets from over 5000 civil society
organisations – ranging from grassroots organisations
to global alliances – working in about 120 countries
across every major region of the world. We also
consulted the chief executive officers of 250 companies
in 30 countries, with annual revenues exceeding $8
trillion, academics from developed and developing
countries, international and local NGOs and civil society
movements, and parliamentarians.

People with disabilities also asked for an end to
discrimination and for equal opportunity. They are
looking for guarantees of minimum basic living
standards. Representatives of indigenous groups and
local communities wanted recognition of their need
to live more balanced lives in harmony with nature.
They want restitution, non-discrimination and respect
for their ancestral ways. Those working in the informal
sector also called for social protection and for reducing
inequalities, as well as for opportunities to secure good
and decent jobs and livelihoods.

In these meetings, people living in poverty told us how
powerless they felt because their jobs and livelihoods
were precarious. They said they fear getting sick, and
lack safety. They talked about insecurity, corruption, and
violence in the home. They spoke of being excluded and
abused by society’s institutions and of the importance
of transparent, open and responsive government that
recognises their dignity and human rights.
The Panel heard some similar priorities voiced by
mayors and local elected officials. These leaders deal
daily with marginalised groups asking for help getting
food, shelter, health care, meals at school, education and
school supplies. They strive to supply their constituents
with safe water, sanitation, and street lighting. They told
us that the urban poor want jobs that are better than
selling small items on the street or picking through
rubbish dumps. And, like people everywhere, they want
security so their families can safely go about their lives.
Young people asked for education beyond primary
schooling, not just formal learning but life skills
and vocational training to prepare them for jobs. In
countries where they have acquired good education
and skills, they want access to decent jobs. They want
opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty. They
crave mentoring, career development, and programmes
led by youth, serving youth. Young people said they
want to be able to make informed decisions about
their health and bodies, to fully realise their sexual and
reproductive health and rights (SRHR). They want access
to information and technology so they can participate
in their nation’s public life, especially charting its path
to economic development. They want to be able to hold
those in charge to account, to have the right to freedom

Women and girls asked in particular for protection of
their property rights, their access to land, and to have
a voice and to participate in economic and political life.
They also asked the Panel to focus on ending violence
against women and discrimination at work, at school
and in the law.

Businesses spoke of their potential contribution to a
post-2015 development agenda. Not just providing
good and decent jobs and growth, but delivering
essential services and helping billions of people
access clean and sustainable energy and adapt to
climate change. They spoke of being willing to share
accountability for the next agenda, and about what they
need from governments if they are to do more – sound
macroeconomic policies, good infrastructure, skilled
workers, open markets, a level playing field, and efficient
and accountable public administration.
All these groups asked that when the post-2015 agenda
is put into place, it includes a plan for measuring progress
that compares how people with different income levels,
gender, disability and age, and those living in different
localities, are faring – and that this information be easily
available to all.

The Panel’s Journey
These views and perspectives helped us to understand
better how to think about the post-2015 agenda and
how to put flesh on the idea of a bold yet practical vision
for development that the Secretary-General challenged
us to produce at our first meeting in New York.
In London, we discussed household poverty: the daily
reality of life on the margins of survival. We agreed to
seek to end extreme poverty by 2030. We learned how
important it is to tackle poverty in all its dimensions,
including basic human needs like health, education,
safe water and shelter as well as fundamental human
rights: personal security, dignity, justice, voice and

Post-2015 | 3

empowerment, equality of opportunity, and access to
SRHR. Several of these issues were not covered in the
MDGs and we agreed they must be added in a new
agenda. We recognised the need to focus on the quality
of public services, as well as on access to their delivery.
We realised that providing access to nutritious food and
drinking water would not endure unless food and water
systems are also addressed.
In Monrovia, we talked about economic transformation
and the building blocks needed for growth that delivers
social inclusion and respects the environment – how
to harness the ingenuity and dynamism of business for
sustainable development. We saw with our own eyes the
extraordinary progress that can be made when a country
once ravaged by conflict is able to build peace and
security, but also the enormous challenge of providing
basic services, like power, roads and telecommunications
to connect people and firms to a modern economy. We
heard about the business opportunities in pursuing
green growth to promote sustainable development,
and about the potential for individual entrepreneurs to
fulfil their dreams, and for large businesses to connect
to smallholder farmers. We learned that there are critical
shortages of the skilled professionals who are needed to
make governments and firms more efficient. We saw the
need for the agenda to include jobs, institutions, and
modern, reliable and sustainable energy.
In Bali, we discussed common global challenges,
including the dangers posed by climate change and
the need for development strategies to include making
households and countries more resilient. We focused
on the elements of a new global partnership. We
agreed that developed countries had to do more to
put their own house in order. They must honour their
aid commitments but go beyond aid to lead global
efforts to reform trade, crack down on illicit capital flows,
return stolen assets, and promote sustainable patterns
of consumption and production. We asked where
the money would come from to finance the massive
investments that will be needed for infrastructure in
developing countries, and concluded that we need to
find new ways of using aid and other public funds to
mobilise private capital.

Opportunities and Challenges in a
Changing World
Our conversations with people added to our own
experiences about how significantly the world has
changed since the Millennium Declaration was adopted
in 2000. We are also aware of how much more the world
will change by 2030. It will be more urban, more middle
class, older, more connected, more interdependent,
more vulnerable and more constrained in its resources
– and still working to ensure that globalisation brings
maximum benefits to all.
For many, the world today feels more uncertain than it
did in 2000. In developed countries, the financial crisis
has shaken belief that every generation will be better
off than the last. Developing countries, for their part, are
full of optimism and confidence as a result of a decadelong growth spurt, but many also fear that slow progress
in reforming global trade and stabilising the world
financial system may harm their prospects. Half the
world’s extreme poor live in conflict-affected countries,
while many others are suffering the effects of natural
disasters that have cost $2.5 trillion so far this century.3 In
today’s world, we see that no country, however powerful
or rich, can sustain its prosperity without working in
partnership to find integrated solutions.
This is a world of challenges, but these challenges can
also present opportunities, if they kindle a new spirit
of solidarity, mutual respect and mutual benefit, based
on our common humanity and the Rio principles. Such
a spirit could inspire us to address global challenges
through a new global partnership, bringing together
the many groups in the world concerned with economic,
social and environmental progress: people living in
poverty, women, young people, people with disabilities,
indigenous and local communities, marginalised
groups, multilateral institutions, local and national
governments, businesses, civil society and private
philanthropists, scientists and other academics. These
groups are more organised than before, better able to
communicate with each other, willing to learn about
real experiences and real challenges in policymaking,
committed to solving problems together.

Envisioning a new Global Partnership
“We agreed on the need for a renewed Global Partnership that enables a transformative, people-centred and
planet-sensitive development agenda which is realised through the equal partnership of all stakeholders.
Such partnership should be based on the principles of equity, sustainability, solidarity, respect for humanity,
and shared responsibilities in accordance with respective capabilities.”
Bali Communiqué of the High-Level Panel, March 28, 20134

4


We are deeply aware of the hunger, vulnerability, and
deprivation that still shape the daily lives of more than
a billion people in the world today. At the same time we
are struck by the level of inequality in the world, both
among and within countries. Of all the goods and services
consumed in the world each year, the 1.2 billion people
living in extreme poverty only account for one per cent,
while the richest 1 billion people consume 72 per cent.5
Every year, one billion women are subject to sexual or
physical violence because they lack equal protection under
the law;6 and 200 million young people despair because
they lack equal opportunities to acquire the skills they
need to get decent jobs and livelihoods.7
At the same time there is unprecedented prosperity and
dynamism in many countries. Two billion people already
enjoy middle class lifestyles, and another three billion are
set to join them by 2030. Low- and middle-income countries
are now growing faster than high-income ones – which
helps to reduce global inequality. And many countries are
using public social protection programmes and social and
environmental regulations to bring down high levels of
domestic inequality by improving the lives of the worst-off,
while also transforming their economies so that growth
is sustained over the long term and provides more good
jobs and secure livelihoods. This means it is now possible
to leave no one behind – to give every child a fair chance
in life, and to achieve a pattern of development where
dignity and human rights become a reality for all, where an
agenda can be built around human security.
While we were writing this report, the world passed
an alarming threshold: atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentration was measured at over 400 parts per million,
probably the highest level in at least 800,000 years.8 There is
no evidence yet that the upward trend has been slowed or
reversed, as it must be if potentially catastrophic changes
in climate are to be avoided. Despite all the rhetoric about
alternative energy sources, fossil fuels still make up 81 per
cent of global energy production--unchanged since 1990.9
To continue on this business-as-usual path would be very
dangerous. Changes in consumption and production
patterns are essential, and they must be led by the
developed countries.
Recent food and energy crises, and high prices for many
commodities, point to a world where increasing resource
scarcity is the norm. In environmental “hot spots,” the
harm that is coming if we don’t halt current trends will
be irreversible. Of the 24 most important ways the poor
depend on natural resources, 15 are in serious decline,
including: more than 40 per cent of global fisheries that
have crashed or are overfished; loss of 130 million hectares
of forests in the last decade; loss of 20 percent of mangrove
forests since 1980; threats to 75 per cent of the world’s
coral reefs, mostly in small island developing states where
dependence on reefs is high.10

Yet the Panel is impressed by the extraordinary innovations
that have occurred, especially the rate at which new
technologies are adopted and diffused, and by the
opportunities these technologies offer for sustainable
development. The number of mobile phone subscriptions
has risen from fewer than a billion to more than 6 billion,
and with it many mobile (m-) applications – m-banking,
m-health, m-learning, m-taxes – that can radically change
economies and service delivery in sustainable ways.
The powerful in today’s world can no longer expect to set
the rules and go unchallenged. People everywhere expect
businesses and governments to be open, accountable,
and responsive to their needs. There is an opportunity
now to give people the power to influence and control
things in their everyday lives, and to give all countries more
say in how the world is governed. Without sound domestic
and global institutions there can be no chance of making
poverty reduction permanent.
There are 21 countries that have experienced armed
conflict since 2000 and many others where criminal
violence is common. Between them, these claim 7.9 million
lives each year.11 In order to develop peacefully, countries
afflicted by or emerging from conflict need institutions
that are capable and responsive, and able to meet people’s
core demands for security, justice and well-being. A
minimally functional state machinery is a pre-requisite and
a foundation for lasting development that breaks the cycle
of conflict and distrust.
People care no less about sound institutions than they do
about preventing illness or ensuring that their children can
read and write – if only because they understand that the
former play an essential role in achieving the latter. Good
institutions are, in fact, the essential building blocks of a
prosperous and sustainable future. The rule of law, freedom
of speech and the media, open political choice and active
citizen participation, access to justice, non-discriminatory
and accountable governments and public institutions help
drive development and have their own intrinsic value. They
are both means to an end and an end in themselves.

One World: One Sustainable
Development Agenda
The Panel believes there is a chance now to do something
that has never before been done – to eradicate extreme
poverty, once and for all, and to end hunger, illiteracy,
and preventable deaths. This would be a truly historic
achievement.
But we wanted to do more and we thought: ending
extreme poverty is just the beginning, not the end. It is
vital, but our vision must be broader: to start countries on
the path of sustainable development – building on the

Post-2015 | 5

foundations established by the 2012 UN Conference on
Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro12, and meeting
a challenge that no country, developed or developing, has
met so far.
We recommend to the Secretary-General that deliberations
on a new development agenda must be guided by the
vision of eradicating extreme poverty once and for all, in
the context of sustainable development.
We came to the conclusion that the moment is right
to merge the social, economic and environmental
dimensions of sustainability guiding international
development. Why now? Because 2015 is the target
date set in the year 2000 for the achievement of the
MDGs and the logical date to begin a second phase
that will finish the job they started and build on their
achievements. Member states of the General Assembly
of the United Nations have also agreed at Rio+20 to
develop a set of sustainable development goals that
are coherent with and integrated into the development
agenda beyond 2015. 2015 also marks the deadline for
countries to negotiate a new treaty to limit greenhouse
gas emissions.
Developing a single, sustainable development agenda
is critical. Without ending poverty, we cannot build
prosperity; too many people get left behind. Without
building prosperity, we cannot tackle environmental
challenges; we need to mobilise massive investments
in new technologies to reduce the footprint of
unsustainable production and consumption patterns.
Without environmental sustainability, we cannot end
poverty; the poor are too deeply affected by natural
disasters and too dependent on deteriorating oceans,
forests and soils.
The need for a single agenda is glaring, as soon as one
starts thinking practically about what needs to be done.
Right now, development, sustainable development and
climate change are often seen as separate. They have
separate mandates, separate financing streams, and
separate processes for tracking progress and holding
people accountable. This creates overlap and confusion

when it comes to developing specific programs and
projects on the ground. It is time to streamline the
agenda.
It is also unrealistic to think we can help another one
billion people to lift themselves out of poverty by
growing their national economies without making
structural changes in the world economy. There is an
urgent need for developed countries to re-imagine
their growth models. They must lead the world towards
solutions to climate change by creating and adopting
low-carbon and other sustainable development
technologies and passing them on to others. Otherwise,
further strains on food, water and energy supplies and
increases in global carbon emissions will be inevitable
– with added pressures from billions more people
expected to join the middle class in the next two
decades. People still living in poverty, or those in nearpoverty, who have been the most vulnerable to recent
food, fuel and financial crises, would then be at grave
risk of slipping back into poverty once more.
This is why we need to think differently. Ending poverty
is not a matter for aid or international cooperation alone.
It is an essential part of sustainable development, in
developed and developing countries alike. Developed
countries have a great responsibility to keep the
promises they have made to help the less fortunate.
The billions of dollars of aid that they give each year
are vital to many low-income countries. But it is not
enough: they can also co-operate more effectively to
stem aggressive tax avoidance and evasion, and illicit
capital flows. Governments can work with business
to create a more coherent, transparent and equitable
system for collecting corporate tax in a globalised world.
They can tighten the enforcement of rules that prohibit
companies from bribing foreign officials. They can
prompt their large multinational corporations to report
on the social, environmental, and economic impact of
their activities.
Developing countries, too, have a vital part to play in
the transformative shifts that are needed. Most of them
are growing rapidly and raising their own resources to

Our Vision and Our Responsibility
“Our vision and our responsibility is to end extreme poverty in all its forms in the context of sustainable
development and to have in place the building blocks of sustained prosperity for all. The gains in poverty
eradication should be irreversible. This is a global, people-centred and planet-sensitive agenda to address
the universal challenges of the 21st century: promoting sustainable development, supporting job-creating
growth, protecting the environment and providing peace, security, justice, freedom and equity at all levels.”
Monrovia Communiqué of the High-Level Panel February 1, 2013

6


fund their own development. They already contribute
the most to global growth and expansion of global
trade. They have young, dynamic populations. They
are urbanising, modernising and absorbing new
technologies faster than ever before. But they face
critical choices. The infrastructure investments they
make today will lock-in energy use and pollution levels
tomorrow. The way they manage natural resource
revenues today will determine the options available
to their young people tomorrow. They must make
smart choices to turn cities into vibrant places full of
opportunities, services and different lifestyles, where
people want to work and live.
There is a global ethic for a globalised world, based
on our common humanity, the Rio principles and the
shared ethos of all traditions: “do as you would be done
by.” Moreover, the benefits of investing in sustainable

development are high. Every dollar invested in stopping
chronic malnutrition returns $30 in higher lifetime
productivity.13 Expanded childhood immunisation
improves health in later life, with benefits worth 20 times
the cost.14 The value of the productive time gained when
households have access to safe drinking water in the
home is worth 3 times the cost of providing it.15 And we
cannot wait before moving to sustainable development.
Scientists warn us that we must aggressively move
beyond current voluntary pledges and commitments to
reduce carbon emissions or else we will be on a path to
at least a 4-degree Celsius warming over pre-industrial
levels by this century’s end. According to the World
Bank, such “4°C scenarios” would be devastating.16
Pursuing a single, sustainable development agenda is
the right thing, the smart thing and the necessary thing
to do.

2. See Terms of Reference, Annex V.
3. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 15 May, 2013, http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6821.
4. Bali Communiqué of the High Level Panel, March 27, 2013, http://www.post2015hlp.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/FinalCommunique-Bali.pdf.
5. HLP Secretariat calculations.
6. UNiTE to end violence against women. Fact Sheet. http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf.
7. Education For All (EFA) monitoring report (2012). Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work. (p. 16).
8. Luthi et al., 2008, Nature 453, 379-382.
9. World Energy Outlook Factsheet, 2011, International Energy Agency, http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/media/weowebsite/
factsheets/factsheets.pdf.
10. UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). This was a four-year, multi-volume scientific appraisal by more than 1,000
experts.
11. The World Development Report, 2011: Conflict, Security and Development, World Bank.
12. The Future We Want, United Nations, A/RES/66/288*, 11 September 2012.
13. Copenhagen Consensus (2012). Expert Panel Findings, (p. 4) and Hoddinott et al. (2012). Hunger and Malnutrition. Challenge
Paper Copenhagen Consensus 2012 (p. 68).
14. Jamison, D., Jha, P., Bloom, D. (2008). The Challenge of Diseases. Challenge Paper Copenhagen Consensus 2008 (p. 51).
15. Whittington, D. et al. (2008). The Challenge of Water and Sanitation. Challenge Paper Copenhagen Consensus 2008 (p. 126).
16. Turn Down the Heat, The World Bank, November 2012, http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/Turn_Down_
the_heat_Why_a_4_degree_centrigrade_warmer_world_must_be_avoided.pdf .

Post-2015 | 7

Chapter 2: From Vision to Action—Priority
Transformations for a post-2015 Agenda
Five Transformative Shifts
The Panel views five big, transformative shifts as the priorities for a forward-looking,
compelling and integrated sustainable development agenda based on the Rio principles.
The first four shifts are where the focus for action is mostly at the country level, while the
fifth transformative shift, forging a new global partnership, is an overarching change in
international cooperation that provides the policy space for domestic transformations.
We believe there is a need for a paradigm shift, a profound structural transformation that will
overcome the obstacles to sustained prosperity.
The transformations described below apply to all countries. They are universally relevant
and actionable. The details may vary, and responsibilities and accountabilities will inevitably
differ, in line with the circumstances and capabilities of each country. We recognise that
there are enormous differences among countries in resources and capabilities, differences
rooted in long-ago history and often beyond their individual control. But every country has
something to contribute. Countries are not being told what to do: each country is being
asked what it wants to do, on a voluntary basis, both at home and to help others in meeting
jointly identified challenges.

1. Leave No One Behind
The next development agenda must ensure that in the future neither income nor gender,
nor ethnicity, nor disability, nor geography, will determine whether people live or die,
whether a mother can give birth safely, or whether her child has a fair chance in life. We must
keep faith with the promise of the MDGs and now finish the job. The MDGs aspired to halve
poverty. After 2015 we should aspire to put an end to hunger and extreme poverty as well
as addressing poverty in all its other forms. This is a major new commitment to everyone
on the planet who feels marginalised or excluded, and to the neediest and most vulnerable
people, to make sure their concerns are addressed and that they can enjoy their human
rights.
The new agenda must tackle the causes of poverty, exclusion and inequality. It must connect
people in rural and urban areas to the modern economy through quality infrastructure –
electricity, irrigation, roads, ports, and telecommunications. It must provide quality health
care and education for all. It must establish and enforce clear rules, without discrimination,
so that women can inherit and own property and run a business, communities can control
local environmental resources, and farmers and urban slum-dwellers have secure property
rights. It must give people the assurance of personal safety. It must make it easy for them to
follow their dreams and start a business. It must give them a say in what their government
does for them, and how it spends their tax money. It must end discrimination and promote
equality between men and women, girls and boys.
These are issues of basic social justice. Many people living in poverty have not had a fair
chance in life because they are victims of illness or poor healthcare, unemployment, a natural
disaster, climate change, local conflict, instability, poor local leadership, or low-quality
education – or have been given no schooling at all. Others face discrimination. Remedying
these fundamental inequalities and injustices is a matter of respect for people’s universal
human rights. A focus on the poorest and most marginalised, a disproportionate number
of whom are women, follows directly from the principles agreed to in the Millennium
Declaration and at Rio.17 These principles should remain the foundation of the post-2015
agenda.
To be sure that our actions are helping not just the largest number of people, but the
neediest and most vulnerable, we will need new ways of measuring success. Strategies

8

| Chapter 2: From Vision to Action—Priority Transformations for a post-2015 Agenda

and plans will have to be developed to reach those not
adequately covered by existing programmes. The cost of
delivering services in remote areas may be only 15 to 20 per
cent higher than average, to judge by practical experience
in many countries. This seems reasonable and affordable,
given higher tax revenues expected in most countries, and
sustained aid to the lowest income countries. Above all it is
the right thing to do.

2. Put Sustainable Development at the Core
For twenty years, the international community has aspired
to integrate the social, economic, and environmental
dimensions of sustainability, but no country has yet
achieved patterns of consumption and production that
could sustain global prosperity in the coming decades.
A new agenda will need to set out the core elements of
sustainable lifestyles that can work for all.
The Panel is convinced that national and local governments,
businesses and individuals must transform the way they
generate and consume energy, travel and transport
goods, use water and grow food. Especially in developed
countries, incentives and new mind-sets can spark
massive investment in moving towards a green economy
in the context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication, while promoting more sustainable and
more efficient consumption and production. Developing
countries, when they get access to new technologies,
can leapfrog straight to new, more sustainable and more
efficient consumption and production. Both approaches
are simply smart public policy.
It is sometimes argued that global limits on carbon
emissions will force developing countries to sacrifice
growth to accommodate the lifestyles of the rich, or that
developed countries will have to stop growing so that
developing countries can develop – substituting one
source of pollution for another. We do not believe that such
trade-offs are necessary. Mankind’s capacity for innovation,
and the many alternatives that already exist, mean that
sustainable development can, and must, allow people in
all countries to achieve their aspirations.
At least one-third of the activities needed to lower global
carbon emissions to reasonable levels, such as switching
to LED lighting to conserve electricity, more than pay for
themselves under current market conditions. Consumers
will pay more up front if they can see future savings
clearly and if the right incentives are in place to make the
switch. Examples abound of smart, feasible, cost-effective,
green economy policies: improved vehicle aerodynamics,
constructing buildings for energy efficiency, recycling
waste, generating electricity from landfill gas—and
new technologies are constantly coming on-stream. But
concerted efforts are needed to develop and adopt them.

There are other ways to reduce carbon emissions at very
little cost; for example restoring soil, managing grasslands
and forests in a sustainable way.18 Healthcare costs can
fall significantly with a switch to clean transport or power
generation, helping offset the costs. But incentives – taxes,
subsidies and regulations – must be in place to encourage
this – incentives that are largely not in place now. With the
right incentives, and some certainty about the rules, many
of the world’s largest companies are prepared to commit
themselves to moving to sustainable modes of production
on a large scale.
In developing countries too, the benefits of investing in
sustainable development are high, especially if they get
access to new technologies. Small investments to allow
cross-border trading in electricity could save sub-Saharan
Africa $2.7 billion every year, by substituting hydro for
thermal power plants.19 Sustainable production is far
cheaper than “Grow now, clean later.”
Already, some industries have developed global standards
to guide foreign investment in sustainable development.
Examples can be found in mining, palm oil, forestry,
agricultural land purchases, and banking. Certification and
compliance programmes put all companies on the same
footing.
As more industries develop sustainability certification, it
will be easier for civil society and shareholders to become
watchdogs, holding firms accountable for adhering to
industry standards and worker safety issues, and being
ready to disinvest if they do not. Today, however, only
25 per cent of large companies report to shareholders
on sustainability practices; by 2030, this should be
commonplace.

3. Transform Economies for Jobs and Inclusive
Growth
The Panel calls for a quantum leap forward in economic
opportunities and a profound economic transformation
to end extreme poverty and improve livelihoods. There
must be a commitment to rapid, equitable growth – not
growth at any cost or just short-term spurts in growth, but
sustained, long-term, inclusive growth that can overcome
the challenges of unemployment (especially youth
unemployment), resource scarcity and – perhaps the
biggest challenge of all – adaptation to climate change. This
kind of inclusive growth has to be supported by a global
economy that ensures financial stability, promotes stable,
long-term private financial investment, and encourages
open, fair and development-friendly trade.
The first priority must be to create opportunities for good
and decent jobs and secure livelihoods, so as to make
growth inclusive and ensure that it reduces poverty and
inequality. When people escape from poverty, it is most
often by joining the middle class, but to do so they will need

Post-2015 | 9

the education, training and skills to be successful in the job
market and respond to demands by business for more
workers. Billions more people could become middle-class
by 2030, most of them in cities, and this would strengthen
economic growth the world over. Better government
policies, fair and accountable public institutions, and
inclusive and sustainable business practices will support
this and are essential parts of a post-2015 agenda.
A second priority is to constantly strive to add value and
raise productivity, so that growth begets more growth.
Some fundamentals will accelerate growth everywhere –
infrastructure and other investments, skills development,
supportive policies towards micro, small and medium sized
enterprises, and the capacity to innovate and absorb new
technologies, and produce higher quality and a greater
range of products. In some countries, this can be achieved
through industrialisation, in others through expanding a
modern service sector or intensifying agriculture. Some
specialise, others diversify. There is no single recipe. But it is
clear that some growth patterns – essentially those that are
supported by open and fair trade, globally and regionally
– offer more opportunities than others for future growth.
Third, countries must put in place a stable environment
that enables business to flourish. Business wants, above
all, a level playing field and to be connected to major
markets. For small firms, this often means finding the
right business linkages, through supply chains or cooperatives, for example. Business also wants a simple
regulatory framework which makes it easy to start,
operate and close a business. Small and medium firms,
that employ the most people, are especially hamstrung
at present by unnecessarily complicated regulations
that can also breed corruption. This is not a call for total
deregulation: social and environmental standards are of
great importance. But it is a call for regulation to be smart,
stable and implemented in a transparent way. Of course,
businesses themselves also have a role to play: adopting
good practices and paying fair taxes in the countries where
they operate, and being transparent about the financial,
social and environmental impact of their activities.
Fourth, in order to bring new prosperity and new
opportunities, growth will also need to usher in new ways
to support sustainable consumption and production, and
enable sustainable development. Governments should
develop and implement detailed approaches to encourage
sustainable activities and properly cost environmentally
and socially hazardous behaviour. Business should indicate
how it can invest to reduce environmental stresses and
improve working conditions for employees.

4. Build Peace and Effective, Open and
Accountable Public Institutions
Freedom from conflict and violence is the most fundamental
human entitlement, and the essential foundation for

building peaceful and prosperous societies. At the same
time, people the world over want their governments
to be transparent, accountable and responsive to their
needs. Personal security, access to justice, freedom from
discrimination and persecution, and a voice in the decisions
that affect their lives are development outcomes as well
as enablers. So we are calling for a fundamental shift—to
recognise peace and good governance as core elements of
well-being, not an optional extra.
Capable and responsive states need to build effective and
accountable public institutions that support the rule of law,
freedom of speech and the media, open political choice,
and access to justice. We need a transparency revolution so
citizens can see exactly where their taxes, aid and revenues
from extractive industries are spent. We need governments
that tackle the causes of poverty, empower people, are
transparent, and permit scrutiny of their affairs.
Transparency and accountability are also powerful tools for
preventing the theft and waste of scarce natural resources.
Without sound institutions, there can be no chance of
sustainable development. The Panel believes that creating
them is a central part of the transformation needed
to eradicate poverty irreversibly and enable countries
across the world, especially those prone to or emerging
from conflict, to develop sustainably – and that therefore
institutions must be addressed in the new development
agenda.
Societies organise their dialogues through institutions.
In order to play a substantive role, citizens need a legal
environment which enables them to form and join CSOs,
to protest and express opinions peacefully, and which
protects their right to due process.
Internationally, too, institutions are important channels
of dialogue and cooperation. Working together, in
and through domestic and international institutions,
governments could bring about a swift reduction in
corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and aggressive
avoidance, hidden ownership of assets, and the illicit trade
in drugs and arms. They must commit themselves to doing
so.

5. Forge a new Global Partnership
A fifth, but perhaps most important, transformative shift
for the post-2015 agenda is to bring a new sense of global
partnership into national and international politics. This
must provide a fresh vision and framework, based on
our common humanity and the principles established
at Rio. Included among those principles: universality,
equity, sustainability, solidarity, human rights, the right to
development and responsibilities shared in accordance
with capabilities. The partnership should capture, and will
depend on, a spirit of mutual respect and mutual benefit.
One simple idea lies behind the principle of global

10 | Chapter 2: From Vision to Action—Priority Transformations for a post-2015 Agenda

partnership. People and countries understand that their
fates are linked together. What happens in one part of the
world can affect us all. Some issues can only be tackled
by acting together. Countries have resources, expertise
or technology that, if shared, can result in mutual benefit
Working together is not just a moral obligation to help
those less fortunate but is an investment in the long-term
prosperity of all.
A renewed global partnership will require a new spirit
from national leaders, but also – no less important – it
will require many others to adopt new mind-sets and
change their behaviour. These changes will not happen
overnight. But we must move beyond business-as-usual
– and we must start today. The new global partnership
should encourage everyone to alter their worldview,
profoundly and dramatically. It should lead all countries to
move willingly towards merging the environmental and
development agendas, and tackling poverty’s symptoms
and causes in a unified and universal way.
What are the components of a new global partnership?
It starts with a shared, common vision, one that allows
different solutions for different contexts but is uniformly
ambitious. From vision comes a plan for action, at the level
of the individual country and of smaller regions, cities or
localities. Each needs to contribute and cooperate to
secure a better future.
A new global partnership should engage national
governments of all countries, local authorities, international
organisations, businesses, civil society, foundations and
other philanthropists, and people – all sitting at the table
to go beyond aid to discuss a truly international framework
of policies to achieve sustainable development. It should
move beyond the MDGs’ orientation of state-to-state
partnerships between high-income and low-income
governments to be inclusive of more players.
A new global partnership should have new ways of working
– a clear process through which to measure progress
towards goals and targets and to hold people accountable
for meeting their commitments. The United Nations can
take the lead on monitoring at the global level, drawing on
information from national and local governments, as well
as from regional dialogues. Partnerships in each thematic
area, at global, national and local levels, can assign
responsibilities and accountabilities for putting policies
and programmes in place.
Each participant in the global partnership has a specific
role to play:
National governments have the central role and
responsibility for their own development and for ensuring
universal human rights. They decide on national targets,
taxes, policies, plans and regulations that will translate the
vision and goals of the post-2015 agenda into practical
reality. They have a role in every sector and at many levels

– from negotiating international trade or environmental
agreements to creating an enabling environment for
business and setting environmental standards at home.
Developed countries must keep their promises to
developing countries. North-South aid is still vital for many
countries: it must be maintained, and increased wherever
possible. But more than aid is needed to implement
sustainable development worldwide. Developed countries
are important markets and exporters. Their trade and
agriculture practices have huge potential to assist, or
hinder, other countries’ development. They can encourage
innovation, diffusion and transfer of technology. With other
major economies, they have a central role in ensuring the
stability of the international financial system. They have
special responsibilities in ensuring that there can be no
safe haven for illicit capital and the proceeds of corruption,
and that multinational companies pay taxes fairly in the
countries in which they operate. And, as the world’s largest
per-capita consumers, developed countries must show
leadership on sustainable consumption and production
and adopting and sharing green technologies.
Developing countries are much more diverse than when
the MDGs were agreed – they include large emerging
economies as well as countries struggling to tackle high
levels of deprivation and facing severe capacity constraints.
These changing circumstances are reflected in changing
roles. Developing country links in trade, investment, and
finance are growing fast. They can share experiences
of how best to reform policy and institutions to foster
development. Developing countries, including ones
with major pockets of poverty, are cooperating among
themselves, and jointly with developed countries and
international institutions, in South-South and Triangular
cooperation activities that have become highly valued.
These could be an even stronger force with development
of a repository of good practices, networks of knowledge
exchange, and more regional cooperation.20
Local authorities form a vital bridge between national
governments, communities and citizens and will have a
critical role in a new global partnership. The Panel believes
that one way to support this is by recognising that targets
might be pursued differently at the sub-national level – so
that urban poverty is not treated the same as rural poverty,
for example.
Local authorities have a critical role in setting priorities,
executing plans, monitoring results and engaging with
local firms and communities. In many cases, it is local
authorities that deliver essential public services in health,
education, policing, water and sanitation. And, even if not
directly delivering services, local government often has a
role in establishing the planning, regulatory and enabling
environment—for business, for energy supply, mass
transit and building standards. They have a central role in
disaster risk reduction – identifying risks, early warning and

Post-2015 | 11

building resilience. Local authorities have a role in helping
slum-dwellers access better housing and jobs and are the
source of most successful programmes to support the
informal sector and micro-enterprises.
International institutions will play a key role. The United
Nations, of course, has a central normative and convening
role, and can join partnerships through its development
funds, programmes and specialised agencies. International
financial institutions can compensate for the market’s
failures to supply long-term finance for sustainable
projects in low- and middle-income countries, but they
need to be more innovative, flexible and nimble in the way
they operate. The Panel noted the huge potential to use
public money to catalyse and scale up private financing
for sustainable development. For example, only 2 per cent
of the $5 trillion in sovereign wealth fund assets has so far
been invested in sustainable development projects.21
Business is an essential partner that can drive economic
growth. Small- and medium-sized firms will create most of
the jobs that will be needed to help today’s poor escape
poverty and for the 470 million who will enter the labour
market by 2030. Large firms have the money and expertise
to build the infrastructure that will allow all people to
connect to the modern economy. Big businesses can also
link microenterprises and small entrepreneurs with larger
markets. When they find a business model that works for
sustainable development, they can scale it up fast, using
their geographic spread to reach hundreds of millions of
people.
A growing number of business leaders with whom we
discussed these issues are already integrating sustainable
development into their corporate strategies. They spoke
of a business case with three components that goes well
beyond corporate social responsibility. First, use innovation
to open up new growth markets, and address the needs of
poor consumers. Second, promote sustainable practices
and stay cost-competitive by conserving land, water,
energy and minerals and eliminating waste. Third, attract
the highest calibre employees and promote labour rights.
Many companies recognise, however, that if they are to be
trusted partners of governments and CSOs, they need to
strengthen their own governance mechanisms and adopt
“integrated reporting”, on their social and environmental
impact as well as financial performance. Many businesses
today are committed to doing this; the new global
partnership should encourage others to follow suit.
Civil society organisations can play a vital role in
giving a voice to people living in poverty, who include
disproportionate numbers of women, children, people
with disabilities, indigenous and local communities
and members of other marginalised groups. They have
important parts to play in designing, realising, and
monitoring this new agenda. They are also important

providers of basic services, often able to reach the neediest
and most vulnerable, for example in slums and remote
areas.
In a new partnership, CSOs will have a crucial role in
making sure that government at all levels and businesses
act responsibly and create genuine opportunities and
sustainable livelihoods in an open-market economy. Their
ability to perform this role depends on an enabling legal
environment and access to due process under the law,
but they should also commit to full transparency and
accountability to those whom they represent.
Foundations, other philanthropists and social impact
investors can innovate and be nimble and opportunistic,
forming bridges between government bureaucracies,
international institutions and the business and CSO sectors.
Foundations and philanthropists can take risks, show
that an idea works, and create new markets where none
existed before. This can give governments and business
the confidence to take the initiative and scale up successes.
Social impact investors show that there can be a “third
way” for sustainable development – a hybrid between a
fully for-profit private sector and a pure grant or charity aid
programmes. Because they make money, their efforts can
be sustainable over time. But because they are new, neither
business nor charity, they do not fall neatly into traditional
legal frames. Some countries may need to consider how to
modify their laws to take better advantage of this sector.
Scientists and academics can make scientific and
technological breakthroughs that will be essential to the
post-2015 agenda. Every country that has experienced
sustained high growth has done so through absorbing
knowledge, technology and ideas from the rest of the
world, and adapting them to local conditions.22 What
matters is not just having technology, but understanding
how to use it well and locally. This requires universities,
technical colleges, public administration schools and welltrained, skilled workers in all countries. This is one example
of the need for the post-2015 agenda to go well beyond
the MDG’s focus on primary education.
Energy is a good example of where a global technology
breakthrough is needed. When governments cooperate
with academia and the private sector, new ways of
producing clean and sustainable energy can be found
and put into practice.23 This needs to happen quickly: the
infrastructure decisions of today will affect the energy use
of tomorrow.
Science in many fields, like drought-resistant crops, can
be advanced by using open platforms where scientists
everywhere have access to each other’s findings and can
build on them freely and collaborate broadly, adding
useful features without limit. Open platform science can
speed the development of new ideas for sustainable

12 | Chapter 2: From Vision to Action—Priority Transformations for a post-2015 Agenda

development and rapidly bring them to scale. It can
support innovation, diffusion and transfer of technology
throughout the world.
People must be central to a new global partnership.
To do this they need the freedom to voice their views
and participate in the decisions that affect their lives
without fear. They need access to information and to
an independent media. And new forms of participation
such as social media and crowd-sourcing can enable
governments, businesses, CSOs and academia to interact
with, understand and respond to citizens’ needs in new
ways.

Ensure More and Better Long-term
Finance
The Panel believes that most of the money to finance
sustainable development will come from domestic sources,
and the Panel urges countries to continue efforts to invest
in stronger tax systems, broaden their domestic tax base
and build local financial markets. Low- and middle-income
country governments have made great strides in raising
domestic revenues, and this has helped expand public
services and investments, vital for sustainable growth, as
well as creating ownership and accountability for public
spending.
But developing countries will also need substantial
external funding. The main part of this will not be aid
from developed countries, although aid remains vital
for low-income countries and the promises made on aid
must be kept. The most important source of long-term
finance will be private capital, coming from major pension
funds, mutual funds, sovereign wealth funds, private
corporations, development banks, and other investors,
including those in middle-income countries where most

new savings will come from by 2030. These private capital
flows will grow and become less prone to sudden surges
and stops, if the global financial system is stable and well
regulated, and if they finance projects backstopped by
international financial institutions.
The money is there – world savings this year will likely be
over $18 trillion – and sponsors of sustainable projects are
searching for capital, but new channels and innovative
financial instruments are needed to link the two. Support
systems (know-how, financial institutions, policies, laws)
must be built and, where they exist, must be strengthened.
A broad vision of how to fund development has already
been agreed by governments at a conference held in
Monterrey, Mexico in 2002. The Monterrey Consensus
agreed that “each country has primary responsibility for
its own economic and social development, and the role
of national policies and development strategies cannot be
overemphasised. At the same time, domestic economies
are now interwoven with the global economic system…”24
So these efforts should be supported by commitments
made on aid, trade and investment patterns, as well as
technical cooperation for development.
The Panel believes the principles and agreements
established at Monterrey remain valid for the post-2015
agenda. It recommends that an international conference
should take up in more detail the question of finance
for sustainable development. This could be convened
by the UN in the first half of 2015 to address in practical
terms how to finance the post-2015 agenda. The Panel
suggests that this conference should discuss how to
integrate development, sustainable development and
environmental financing streams. A single agenda should
have a coherent overall financing structure.

17. The Millennium Declaration urged “efforts to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law, as well as respect for all
internationally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.” It also supported the
“freedom of the media to perform their essential role and the right of the public to have access to information.”
18. Towards a Global Climate Change Agreement, McKinsey (2009).
19. Rosnes et al. (2009), Powering Up: Costing Power Infrastructure Spending Needs in sub-Saharan Africa, Africa Infrastructure
Country Diagnostic, Paper 5 (Phase II).
20. South-South Cooperation is guided by the “principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence,
equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs and mutual benefit.” High-level United Nations Conference on
South-South Cooperation, Nairobi, Kenya (2009).
21. UNCTAD (2012) World Investment Report. Towards a New Generation of Investment Policies. http://www.unctad-docs.org/files/
UNCTAD-WIR2012-Full-en.pdf.
22. Commission on Growth and Development (2008) The Growth Report. Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive
Development. World Bank: Washington DC.
23. For example, the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy has already generated $1.7 billion in public and private resources
for clean energy.
24. United Nations, Monterrey Consensus on the International Conference on Financing for Development, in Monterrey, Mexico. United
Nations, 2002.

Post-2015 | 13

Chapter 3: Illustrative Goals and Global Impact
The Shape of the Post-2015 Agenda
Bold commitments in these five areas – leave no one behind, put sustainable development
at the core, transform economies, build peace and effective and accountable institutions,
and forge a new global partnership – would allow the international community to keep the
promises made under the MDGs, raise the bar where experience shows we can do more,
and add key issues that are missing. Together, these would be significant steps towards
poverty eradication as an essential part of sustainable development.
Precisely because the scope of the post-2015 agenda is so broad – blending social progress,
equitable growth and environmental management – it must have clear priorities, and
include shared global metrics as well as national targets. It is around these that the global
community can organise itself.
We believe that the combination of goals, targets, and indicators under the MDGs was a
powerful instrument for mobilising resources and motivating action. For this reason, we
recommend that the post-2015 agenda should also feature a limited number of highpriority goals and targets, with a clear time horizon and supported by measurable indicators.
With this in mind, the Panel recommends that targets in the post-2015 agenda should be
set for 2030.25 Longer time frames would lack urgency and might seem implausible, given
the volatility of today’s world, while shorter ones would not allow the truly transformative
changes that are needed to take effect.
Goals can be a powerful force for change. But a goal framework is not the best solution
to every social, economic and environmental challenge. They are most effective where a
clear and compelling ambition can be described in clearly measurable terms. Goals cannot
substitute for detailed regulations or multilateral treaties that codify delicately-balanced
international bargains. And unlike treaties, goals similar to the MDGs are not binding in
international law. They stand or fall as tools of communication, inspiration, policy formulation
and resource mobilisation.
The agenda should also include monitoring and accountability mechanisms involving states,
civil society, the private sector, foundations, and the international development community.
It should recognise each party’s contribution to development finance, recognising common
challenges but also different capabilities and needs. It will need to be informed by evidence
of what works, and focus on areas where, by acting together, the global community can
achieve the transformations needed for sustainable development.
A goal framework that drives transformations is valuable in focusing global efforts, building
momentum and developing a sense of global urgency. It can be instrumental in crystallising
consensus and defining international norms. It can provide a rallying cry for a global
campaign to generate international support, as has been the case with the MDGs.
The Panel recommends that a limited number of goals and targets be adopted in the
post-2015 development agenda, and that each should be SMART: specific, measurable,
attainable, relevant and time-bound. A set of clear and easily applicable criteria, to guide the
shape of the post-2015 agenda in line with the Rio+20 Outcome, is that each goal should:
• Solve a critical issue, and have a strong impact on sustainable development, based on
existing research;
• Encapsulate a compelling message on issues that energise people, companies and
governments;
• Be easy to understand and communicate without jargon;
• Be measurable, using credible and internationally comparable indicators, metrics and
data, and subject to monitoring;

14 | Chapter 3: Illustrative Goals and Global Impact

• Be widely applicable in countries with different levels
of income, and in those emerging from conflict or
recovering from natural disaster;
• Be grounded in the voice of people, and the priorities
identified during consultations, especially children,
youth, women and marginalised and excluded groups;
• Be consensus-based, whenever possible built on UN
member states’ existing agreements, while also striving
to go beyond previous agreements to make people’s
lives better.
Whenever possible, goals and targets should reflect what
people want, without dictating how they should get there.
For example, all countries might subscribe to a target of
reducing food waste by a given percentage. But a lowincome country might achieve this by investing in better
storage and transport facilities, to keep food from spoiling
before it gets to market, while a high-income country
might do it by changing how food is packaged, sold, and
consumed to reduce the amount of food thrown away by
households.
The Panel recommends that the post-2015 goals, while
keeping those living in extreme poverty, and the promises
made to them, at the heart of the agenda, should raise
the level of ambition for 2030 to reach all the neediest
and most vulnerable. They should call for improving the
quality of services. They should capture the priorities for
sustainable development. And they should connect to one
another in an integrated way.
Of course, given vastly different capabilities, histories,
starting points and circumstances, every country cannot
be asked to reach the same absolute target. All countries
would be expected to contribute to achieving all targets,
but how much, and at what speed, will differ. Ideally,
nations would use inclusive processes to make these
decisions and then develop strategies, plans, policies, laws,
or budgets to implement them.26
A few examples that came up during Panel discussions
illustrate how priorities might vary, depending on country
circumstances. The Panel agreed that some high-income
countries might be expected to move further and faster on
clean energy targets, because most start from a low base
and all have responsibilities to do more to move towards
sustainable consumption and production patterns. Many
can also do more to provide equitable access to health
and education services for isolated, poor or immigrant
communities at home. And youth unemployment is a
serious problem everywhere. The priorities expressed
in consultations in middle-income countries focused
more on reducing inequality, a good education, better
quality healthcare, reliable infrastructure, a transparent
and responsible government, especially at local levels
for improved city management, creating more and
better jobs and livelihoods and freedom from violence.
Similar priorities are expressed in low-income countries,
as well as the need to transform economies and reduce

extreme poverty. Landlocked countries often call for
better connections to the global economy; small island
developing states for economic diversification, and a
stronger response to climate change.
All countries have an interest in a better managed global
economy, one that is more stable, more fair, more attentive
to common resources, and more willing to cooperate in
scientific and technical exchange. All would benefit from
shared early-warning systems to identify and prevent
natural disasters and pandemics.

Risks to be Managed in a Single Agenda
If the new development agenda is to be truly
transformational, there are several major risks to be
managed. The international community will need to
ensure that a single, sustainable development agenda is
not:
• over-loaded with too many priorities, a product of
compromises rather than decisions – lacklustre and
bland instead of transformative and focused;
• Focused on the agenda of the past – and not oriented
towards future challenges;
• insufficiently stretching – business as usual;
• unworkably utopian;
• intellectually coherent, but not compelling;
• narrowly focused on one set of issues, failing to
recognise that poverty, good governance, social
inclusion, environment and growth are connected and
cannot be addressed in silos.
The best way of managing these risks is to make sure
that the post-2015 development agenda includes clear
priorities for action that the international community can
rally behind. These should be in areas where there are
genuinely shared global aspirations, and which will make a
transformative difference to sustainable development and
poverty reduction.
The MDGs show how a goal framework can be used. One
reason why they are successful is that they are inspirational,
limited in number – eight goals and 21 targets – and
easy to understand. The more successful targets are also
measurable with clear deadlines. With eyes on the goals,
money has been raised, partnerships built and strategies
designed. When new technologies were needed, partners
designed them. Good practices were shared. Field workers
on the ground and policymakers in capitals learned and
adapted. Of course, much progress would have happened
even without the MDGs, but there is little doubt in our
minds that they made a dramatic impact in some key areas.
The same should apply to the development agenda after
2015. Those priorities that can be addressed through
a goal framework should be. Goals have shown their

Post-2015 | 15

value in focusing global efforts, building momentum
and developing a sense of global jeopardy. They can
be instrumental in crystallising consensus and defining
international norms.
Making sure that countries stretch themselves is a risk in
a universal agenda. Setting the same targets for everyone,
as happened with the MDGs in practice (though not
by design), will not work because countries have such
different starting points. But in a few cases the ambition
for the whole world should be the same: to establish
minimum standards for every citizen. No one should live in
extreme poverty, or tolerate violence against women and
girls. No one should be denied freedom of speech or access
to information. No child should go hungry or be unable to
read, write or do simple sums. All should be vaccinated
against major diseases. Everyone should have access
to modern infrastructure – drinking water, sanitation,
roads, transport and information and communications
technologies (ICT). All countries should have access to
cost-effective clean and sustainable energy. Everyone
should have a legal identity.
It is tempting to apply universal targets at a high level
everywhere, but for some countries that risks becoming
utopian. The Panel would like every child not to suffer from
stunting or anaemia, but that can probably not be achieved
in all countries by 2030. We would like everyone to be
covered by social protection systems, but not if that means
reducing the quality of such systems to a meaningless
level. We would like everyone to have a decent job, but that
too is probably unachievable in a mere 15 years, even in
the most developed countries.
We found it useful to balance ambition and realism using
some guidelines. In most cases, national targets should
be set to be as ambitious as practical, and in some cases
global minimum standards that apply to every individual
or country should be set. We would suggest that in all
cases where a target applies to outcomes for individuals, it
should only be deemed to be met if every group – defined
by income quintile, gender, location or otherwise – has met
the target. In this way, countries would only be able to meet
their commitments if they focus on the most vulnerable.
Where data for indicators are not yet available, investments
in data gathering will be needed. When indicators are not
already agreed or are unclear (for example in defining
quality), we suggest inviting technical experts to discuss
and refine their models and methods.

Learning the Lessons of MDG 8 (Global
Partnership for Development)
The Panel saw some progress in the areas which are
covered in MDG8, but was disappointed with the pace of
progress in several areas. Many countries lowered tariffs,
but the Doha Development Round was not concluded.
Official agencies wrote down tens of billions of dollars of
debts, but still left many countries financially exposed.
There has been substantial progress in improving the
affordability of medicines, but many people still lack access

to affordable essential drugs. A technology revolution has
occurred in information and communications, but with
little contribution from MDG8.
Despite the shortcomings of MDG8, aggravated by the lack
of quantitative and time-bound targets, the Panel views a
stronger global partnership for development, the objective
of MDG8, as central to a new development agenda. The
Panel puts this new global partnership at the heart of
all its recommendations, and we believe a goal must be
included in the post-2015 agenda as a tangible way to
express key elements of the new global partnership. The
most important changes to MDG8 that we recommend are
to:
• Develop targets that are universal;
• Quantify targets, wherever feasible;
• Pay more attention to raising stable, long-term finance
for development;
• Signal priorities in areas that go beyond aid, so these can
be monitored;
• Infuse global partnerships and cooperation into all the
goals.
The Panel believes that the international community must
come together and agree on ways to create a more open,
more fair global trading system. An intergovernmental
committee of experts, mandated by Rio+20, will propose
options for an effective sustainable development financing
strategy. Reforms in the international financial architecture
are needed to ensure stability of the global financial
system and allow it to contribute to real economic growth.
The international agreement to hold the increase in global
average temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels must be kept. This would help countries
adapt to and mitigate the dangerous effects of climate
change. The world has the opportunity to work together
in new ways to reduce illicit flows, increase the recovery of
stolen assets, promote access to technology and science
and develop a global partnership on development data.

Illustrative Goals

The Panel has concluded that its agreed vision and
recommended priorities for the shape of the post2015 development agenda cannot be communicated
effectively without offering an example of how goals
might be framed. For this reason, a set of illustrative goals is
set out in Annex I, with supporting detail in Annex II. These
illustrative goals show how priorities can be translated
into compelling and measurable targets. To be completely
clear, the Annex material is not offered as a prescriptive
blueprint, but as examples that can be used to promote
continued deliberation and debate. But we hope that they
inspire, and that UN member states, and the many outside
constituencies from whom we have already heard, will find
them a useful contribution to their deliberations on the
post-2015 agenda.


A key issue is the balance among any proposed goals, and
the connections between them. A true transformation to
sustainable development will only happen when countries
move forward on several fronts at the same time. For
example, to reduce child deaths we may typically look
to the medical community and health solutions such as
vaccinations or insecticide-treated bed-nets. These are
indeed crucial. But empowering women and educating
girls is also very important in saving children’s lives; so for
the best results, work on all these fronts must be combined.
Equally, doubling the share of renewable energy in the
global energy mix will reduce carbon intensity, but so
will increasing consideration of sustainability in public
procurement, led by developed countries.
To take another example, smallholder farmers’ incomes
might be rapidly raised by giving them land security
and access to credit, but even more so if they are able to
transport their produce to market and have mobile phones
and electronic banking, so that they know how prices are
moving and can get paid straight away. And if global food
markets work better – are more transparent and stable –
smallholder farmers will have better information on what
to plant to get the most value from their farms. Similarly,
education can help reach many goals, by raising awareness
and thus leading to mass movements for recycling and
renewable energy, or to a demand for better governance
and an end to corruption. The goals chosen should be ones
that amplify each other’s impact and generate sustainable
growth and poverty reduction together.
The Panel wanted to test if there were indeed a few goals
and targets that would satisfy the criteria laid out above
and achieve its vision to end extreme poverty in all its
forms in the context of sustainable development – and
we considered many options. This led us to settle on a set
of goals and targets that we think would fulfil the vision
we expressed. Without being prescriptive, we believe it
is important to show, through specific examples, that it is
possible to express our ambition in a simple and concrete
way, despite the complexities of sustainable development
and countries’ vastly different circumstances and priorities.
The evidence leaves much room for judgment on what
goals would be most transformative, and relevant to the
most countries. But based on the criteria above, we have
narrowed down the illustrative list to 12 goals and 54
targets, the achievement of which would dramatically
improve the condition of people and the planet by 2030.
We have deliberately not divided the goals into categories
corresponding to the specific transformative shifts
described earlier. Our strong belief is that all the goals must
interact to provide results. In our illustration, we decided to
suggest the following goals: (i) end poverty; (ii) empower
girls and women and achieve gender equality; (iii) provide
quality education and lifelong learning; (iv) ensure healthy
lives; (v) ensure food security and good nutrition; (vi)
achieve universal access to water and sanitation; (vii)
secure sustainable energy; (viii) create jobs, sustainable

livelihoods and equitable growth; (ix) manage natural
resource assets sustainably; (x) ensure good governance
and effective institutions; (xi) ensure stable and peaceful
societies; and (xii) create a global enabling environment
and catalyse long-term finance.
We believe that if these goals and their accompanying
targets were pursued, they would drive the five key
transformations – leave no one behind, transform
economies, implement sustainable development, build
effective institutions and forge a new global partnership.

Addressing Cross-cutting Issues
Several issues are not directly addressed through a single
goal, but are treated in many of them. These include
peace, inequality, climate change, cities, concerns of young
people, girls, and women, and sustainable consumption
and production patterns.
Peace. The Panel strongly believes that conflict – a
condition that has been called development in reverse –
must be tackled head-on, even within a universal agenda.
We included in our illustrative list a goal on ensuring stable
and peaceful societies, with targets that cover violent
deaths, access to justice, stemming the external causes
of conflict, such as organised crime, and enhancing the
legitimacy and accountability of security forces, police and
the judiciary. But these targets alone would not guarantee
peace or development in countries emerging from
conflict. Other issues, like jobs, participation in political
processes and local civic engagement, and the transparent
management of public resources are also important.
These countries should also benefit from a strengthened
financing framework that allows resources to be allocated
to those countries most in need.
Inequality. Likewise, our illustrative framework tackles
inequality of opportunity head on, across all goals. When
everyone, irrespective of household income, gender,
location, ethnicity, age, or disability, has access to health,
nutrition, education, and other vital services, many of
the worst effects of inequality will be over. Other aspects
of inequality more relevant to social inclusion, such as
security of tenure and access to justice, are also addressed
as explicit targets. We recognised that every country is
wrestling with how to address income inequality, but
felt that national policy in each country, not global goalsetting, must provide the answer. History also shows that
countries tend to have cycles in their income inequality
as conventionally measured; and countries differ widely
both in their view of what levels of income inequality are
acceptable and in the strategies they adopt to reduce
it. However, the Panel believes that truly inclusive,
broad-based growth, which benefits the very poorest, is
essential to end extreme poverty. We propose targets that
deliberately build in efforts to tackle inequality and which
can only be met with a specific focus on the most excluded
and vulnerable groups. For example, we believe that many
targets should be monitored using data broken down by

Post-2015 | 17

income quintiles and other groups. Targets will only be
considered achieved if they are met for all relevant income
and social groups.
Climate change. In our illustrative targets, we address the
most important contributors to a low-carbon trajectory:
more sustainable transport infrastructure; improved
energy efficiency and use of renewable energy; the
spread of more sustainable agricultural practices; tackling
deforestation and increasing reforestation in the context
of improving peoples’ livelihoods, and food security,
taking into account the value of natural resources, and
bio-diversity. We also encourage incorporation of social
and environmental metrics into accounting practices.
These should be part of any sustainable development
agenda, even if there were no concern over rising global
temperatures, and are deservedly part of a universal
framework. We also strongly endorse the call to hold the
increase in global average temperature to 2⁰ C above preindustrial levels, in line with international agreements.
But we also recognise that already there is a need to build
climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction into
regional and national strategies, and encourage countries
to focus on these plans.
Cities. The Panel recognised that city governments have
great responsibilities for urban management. They have
specific problems of poverty, slum up-grading, solid waste
management, service delivery, resource use, and planning
that will become even more important in the decades
ahead. The post-2015 agenda must be relevant for urban
dwellers. Cities are where the battle for sustainable
development will be won or lost. Yet the Panel also believes
that it is critical to pay attention to rural areas, where three
billion near-poor will still be living in 2030. The most
pressing issue is not urban versus rural, but how to foster
a local, geographic approach to the post-2015 agenda.
The Panel believes this can be done by disaggregating
data by place, and giving local authorities a bigger role in
setting priorities, executing plans, monitoring results and
engaging with local firms and communities.
Young people. Today’s adolescents and youth are 1.8 billion
strong and one quarter of the world’s population. They are
shaping social and economic development, challenging
social norms and values, and building the foundation of the
world’s future. They have high expectations for themselves
and their societies, and are imagining how the world
can be better. Connected to each other as never before
through new media, they are driving social progress and
directly influencing the sustainability and the resilience
of their communities and of their countries. These young
people face many obstacles, ranging from discrimination,
marginalisation, and poverty, to violence. They find it hard
to find a first job, so we believe a jobs target with a specific
indicator for youth employment, should be included in the
next goal framework.27 Young people must be subjects,
not objects, of the post-2015 development agenda. They
need access to the right kind of health (including access
to SRHR) and education to improve their job prospects
and life skills, but they must also be active participants

in decision-making, and be treated as the vital asset for
society that they are.
Girls and Women. The majority of those living in extreme
poverty are female. A people-centred agenda must work to
ensure the equal rights of women and girls, and empower
them to participate and take on leadership roles in public
life. Women across the world have to work hard to overcome
significant barriers to opportunity. These barriers can only
be removed when there is zero tolerance of violence
against and exploitation of women and girls, and when
they have full and equal rights in political, economic and
public spheres. Women and girls must have equal access
to financial services, infrastructure, the full range of health
services including SRHR, water and sanitation, the equal
right to own land and other assets, a safe environment in
which to learn and apply their knowledge and skills, and
an end to discrimination so they can receive equal pay for
equal work, and have an equal voice in decision-making.
Gender equality is integrated across all of the goals, both
in specific targets and by making sure that targets are
measured separately for women and men, or girls and
boys, where appropriate. But gender equality is also an
important issue in its own right, and a stand-alone goal can
catalyse progress.
Sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Our main focus has been on food, water and energy
systems—the basics of life. But we also strongly believe
that a wider change towards sustainable consumption and
production patterns is vital. The most important changes
will be driven by technology, by innovations in product
design, by detailed policy guidelines, by education and
changed behavior, and by social innovations embedded
in communities. But change is already happening fast, and
today’s aspiration may be tomorrow’s discarded idea. For
this reason, we have framed illustrative targets that set a
high ambition but allow for details to evolve over time.
Much of the new technology and most of the new
products will come from business. We embrace the
positive contribution to sustainable development that
business must make. But this contribution must include a
willingness, on the part of all large corporations as well as
governments, to report on their social and environmental
impact, in addition to releasing financial accounts. Already
about one quarter of all large corporations do so. We
suggest that a mandatory ‘comply or explain’ regime be
phased in for all companies with a market capitalisation
above $100 million equivalent.28
The same principle should apply to governments. National
accounting for social and environmental effects should
be mainstreamed by 2030. Governments, especially in
developed countries, should explore policy options for
green growth as one of the important tools available to
promote sustainable development. Besides protecting
natural resources, these measures will support a movement
towards sustainable consumption and production. And, if
sustainable consumption is to be a part of everyday life,
as it must, tomorrow’s consumers will need to be socially


aware and environmentally conscious. Awareness-raising
in schools, and public information campaigns more
broadly, could play a big part in changing mind-sets by
showing the advantages of moving towards sustainable
consumption and production.

The Global Impact by 2030
What would happen if developed and developing
countries, and other partners too, committed themselves
to implementing the goals and targets we describe?
We can imagine a world in 2030 that is more equal,
more prosperous, more peaceful and more just than
that of today. A world where extreme poverty has been
eradicated and where the building blocks for sustained
prosperity are in place. A world where no one has been
left behind, where economies are transformed, and where
transparent and representative governments are in charge.
A world of peace where sustainable development is the
overarching goal. A world with a new spirit of cooperation
and partnership.
This is not wishful thinking. The resources, know-how and
technology that are needed already exist, and are growing
every year. Using these, much has already been achieved.
Twenty-five years ago, few would have imagined that by
2015, one billion people would have lifted themselves
out of extreme poverty. If a messenger from the future
had told us that polio would be gone from all but three
countries; that four out of five of the world’s children would
be vaccinated, or that 590 million children would attend
school, we would not have believed it. Yet it has happened.
In shaping the scenario for what the world can achieve
by 2030, the Panel considered several factors and made
several assumptions.
Growth: Global output is set to double by 2030. On current
trajectories, although the per capita income gap between
developed and developing countries will remain large, it
will have narrowed. By 2030, most developing countries
should have experienced fast enough economic growth,
averaging 5 per cent per year, to bring extreme poverty
down below five per cent. Specific policy measures must
do the rest of the job to ensure that no one is left behind.
We cannot take growth for granted, however, and must
redouble our efforts to ensure that it can continue at
these levels, and be made more inclusive and sustainable,
through structural transformations in every economy.
We believe that with the right policy measures, strong
political leadership and strengthened institutions, growth
can accelerate further – even, and perhaps especially, in
low-income countries where the potential for catch-up is
greatest.
Finance: As more countries graduate into middle-income
status and are able to access private capital markets, official
development assistance (ODA) can be concentrated on the
remaining low-income countries and grow proportionately
to match their needs. With large mineral projects about to
come on stream in many low-income countries, there is
great potential for raising domestic revenues. But these

new revenues will often be only temporary, and must be
managed wisely.
Demographic change: Global population growth is
expected to slow to just one per cent per year between
now and 2030, when the global population will likely reach
8 billion, on its way to more than 9 billion by 2050.29 There
will be more people and older people. The impact of both
trends must be taken into account. The world’s labour
force will grow by about 470 million. For many developing
countries, this surge is a demographic dividend in waiting, if
the extra people are given the right opportunities, services
and skills. Creating so many jobs sounds daunting, but it is
less than what nations achieved between 1995 and 2010,
when the global labour force grew by almost 700 million.
International Migration: The universal human rights and
fundamental freedoms of migrants must be respected.
These migrants make a positive economic contribution
to their host countries, by building up their labour force.
Sending countries benefit from getting foreign exchange
in the form of remittances and from greater trade and
financial flows with countries where they have a large
diaspora. By 2030, as global population rises, there could
be 30 million more international migrants, remitting an
additional $60 billion to their home countries through lowcost channels.
Urbanisation: The world is now more urban than rural,
thanks to internal migration. By 2030 there will be over
one billion more urban residents and, for the first time ever,
the number of rural residents will be starting to shrink. This
matters because inclusive growth emanates from vibrant
and sustainable cities, the only locale where it is possible
to generate the number of good jobs that young people
are seeking. Good local governance, management and
planning are the keys to making sure that migration to
cities does not replace one form of poverty by another,
where even if incomes are slightly above $1.25 a day, the
cost of meeting basic needs is higher.
Technology: Many efficient and affordable products are
already being engineered and adapted to meet the needs
of sustainable development.30 Examples include energyefficient buildings and turning waste into energy—proving
that it is possible to generate revenues while reducing
pollution. Among other proven new technologies are
smart grids, low-carbon cities, mass transit, efficient
transport and zoning policies, integrated storm-water
management, mini-grids for rural electrification, and solar
cookers and lanterns. New vaccines, mobile banking and
improved safety-nets are also potential game-changers.
Other technologies need to be developed: for that, we see
huge potential from international research collaborations
and voluntary open innovation platforms.
By 2030, if the transformative shifts we have described are
made, the barriers that hold people back would be broken
down, poverty and the inequality of opportunity that
blights the lives of so many on our planet would end. This
is the world that today’s young people can create.

Post-2015 | 19

Examples of Potential Impact31
By 2030 the world would have:
1.2 billion fewer people hungry and in extreme poverty32
100 million more children who would otherwise have died before they were five33
4.4 million more women who would otherwise have died during pregnancy or childbirth34
1.3 billion tons of food per year saved from going to waste35
470 million more workers with good jobs and livelihoods36
200 million more young people employed with the skills they need to get good work37
1.2 billion more people connected to electricity38
190 to 240 million hectares more of forest cover39
$30 trillion spent by governments worldwide transparently accounted for40
People everywhere participating in decision-making and holding officials accountable
Average global temperatures on a path to stabilise at less than 2° C above pre-industrial levels
220 million fewer people who suffer crippling effects of natural disasters41

25. Local and regional authorities are already working with a horizon of 2030 (Manifesto for the City of 2030) balancing a long-term
vision with the fast changing nature of the world today.
26. Similar national target setting was used after the Jomtien Summit on Education (1990) and the World Summit on Children in New
York (1990).
27. Young people are defined here as those aged 15 to 24.
28. This recommendation was previously made by the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Global Sustainability
(2012). Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, New York.
29. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2011). World Population Prospects: The 2010
Revision, Highlights and Advance Tables. ESA/P/WP.220.
30. World Bank (2012) World Bank Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development. World Bank: Washington DC.
31. All figures assume a baseline of 2015, unless otherwise noted (figures are approximate).
32 World Bank, PovcalNet (as of 2010): http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm?1.
33. WHO Factsheet 2012: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs290/en/.
34. WHO Factsheet 2012: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/.
35. FAO, Global Food Losses and Food Waste (2011).
36. International Labour Organisation, Global Employment Trends 2013.
37. International Labour Organisation, World Employment Report, 2012.
38. World Bank, Energy – The Facts, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTENERGY2/0,,contentMDK:22855502~pa
gePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:4114200,00.html.
39. Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations, 2010, http://www.fao.org/news/story/pt/item/40893/icode/.
40. General government total expenditure in Purchasing Power Parity, based on IMF, World Economic Outlook Database, April, 2013.
41. UN Development Programme, http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/fast-facts/english/FF_
DRR_05102012(fv).pdf.

Post-2015 | 21

Chapter 4: Implementation, Accountability and
Building Consensus
Implementing the Post-2015 Agenda
The illustrative goals and targets we have set out are bold, yet practical. Like the MDGs,
they would not be legally binding, but must be monitored closely. The indicators that track
them should be broken down in many different ways to ensure no one is left behind. We
recommend that any new goals should be accompanied by an independent and rigorous
monitoring system, with regular opportunities to discuss results at a high political level. We
also call for a data revolution for sustainable development, with a new international initiative
to improve the quality of statistics and information available to people and governments.
We should actively take advantage of new technology, crowd sourcing, and improved
connectivity to empower people with information on the progress towards the targets. We
see an opportunity in the post-2015 agenda to include new players in partnerships at all
levels, to introduce new ways of working across an agenda that goes beyond aid, and to
introduce a new spirit of multilateralism and international cooperation. Implementing an
agenda of this breadth and scope, holding people accountable for progress and keeping
the agenda high on the political radar of world leaders cannot be taken for granted. But
this time, unlike with the MDGs, we do not have to start from scratch. There are established
processes to move from an agreement in New York to a programme in a remote village,
agencies that are collaborating with statistical offices around the world, a willingness of
global leaders to pay more attention to sustainable development, and local initiatives that
can be scaled up.

Unifying Global Goals with National Plans for Development
The post-2015 agenda must enable every nation to realise its own hopes and plans. We
learned from the MDGs that global targets are only effectively executed when they are
locally-owned – embedded in national plans as national targets – and this is an important
lesson for the new agenda. Through their national planning processes each government
could choose an appropriate level of ambition for each target, taking account of its starting
point, its capacity and the resources it can expect to command. They could receive input
on what is realistic and achievable in each target area from citizens, officials, businesses and
civil society in villages, towns, cities, provinces and communities. This is an opportunity for
governments to ensure access of citizens to public information that can be used as the basis
of national strategies and plans.
In many circumstances international partners and agencies will be invited to assist in
helping countries implement their plans and achieve their targets—on average 30 official
development partners, many with more than one development agency, are operating in
each developing country. These agencies have a responsibility to harmonise their efforts
with national plans, operate through the government budget where practicable, and
collaborate with each other to ensure the maximum impact for the least effort.

Global Monitoring and Peer Review
The post-2015 development agenda must signal a new era for multilateralism and
international cooperation. The United Nations can lead in setting the agenda because
of its unique and universal legitimacy and its ability to coordinate and monitor globally.
But the UN system has yet to fully realise the vision of “working as one’”. It is beyond the
scope of this report to propose options for reform at the UN, but the Panel calls for every
step to be taken to improve coordination and deliver on a single, integrated sustainable
development agenda, including building on positive recent steps to improve collaboration
between the UN’s agencies, funds and programmes, and with the international financial
institutions.

22 | Chapter 4: Implementation, Accountability and Building Consensus

The Panel has three suggestions that could assist with
a coordinated and cooperative international approach
to monitoring and peer review. The monitoring must be
seen by everyone as a way of motivating progress and
enhancing cooperation, not as a tool for conditionality.
First, the Panel suggests that the UN identifies a single locus
of accountability for the post-2015 agenda that would
be responsible for consolidating its multiple reports on
development into one review of how well the post-2015
agenda is being implemented. Starting in 2015, the UN
could produce a single Global Sustainable Development
Outlook, jointly written every one or two years by a
consortium of UN agencies and other international
organisations.42 This would monitor trends and results,
as well as risks that threaten to derail achievement of the
targets. It would also recommend ways of implementing
programmes more effectively.
Second, the Panel suggests that the UN should periodically
convene a global forum at a high political level to review
progress and challenges ahead. An independent advisory
committee should give advice and recommendations as
background for this forum. Such a body should be invited
to comment in a blunt and unvarnished way, and include
business, civil society and other voices.
Third, reporting and peer-review at the regional level
could complement global monitoring. It is often easier
to review policies in-depth with friendly and constructive
neighbours than with the whole world. The UN’s five

regional commissions, with regional development banks,
member governments and regional organisations, could
form part of an improved coordinating mechanism in each
region of the world, which would discuss and report on
the sustainable development agenda in advance of each
global forum.43

Stakeholders Partnering by Theme
We live in an age when global problems can best be solved
by thousands, even millions, of people working together.
These partnerships can guide the way to meeting targets
and ensuring that programmes are effective on the ground.
Such groups are sometimes called ‘multi-stakeholder
partnerships’. They bring together governments (local,
city, national), experts, CSOs, businesses, philanthropists,
universities and others, to work on a single theme. These
partnerships are powerful because each partner comes
to the table with direct knowledge and strong evidence,
based on thorough research. This enables them to
innovate, to advocate convincingly for good policies,
and thus to secure funding. They have the skills to apply
knowledge of what has worked before to new operations,
and to scale up promising ideas to reach large populations
in many countries – ‘implementation and scaling up.’ There
are already a number of such global multi-stakeholder
partnerships delivering promising results, at scale: in
health, nutrition, education, agriculture, water, energy,
information and communications technology, financial
services, cities and open government.

An Example of a Multistakeholder Partnership in Practice: Delivering Quality
Education
The Global Partnership for Education is getting quality education to marginalised children, coordinating
education’s many players, offering aid without wasteful replication, and following local leadership.
It directs funds to a single local group in a country. 70 low-income countries are eligible. A typical group
includes educators, development agencies, corporations (domestic and global), regional development banks,
state education ministries, civil society and philanthropic organisations, sometimes UNESCO and UNICEF
representatives, and other experts—with the ministry of education leading.
GPE’s funds come with technical support to strengthen the national (or provincial) education plan. GPE helps
create capacity to monitor progress. Its work is whatever the country deems necessary: building latrines or
early-childhood centres; training teachers or writing curricula in mother tongues; distributing textbooks,
adding vocational programmes or digital learning systems with corporate partners (Microsoft, Nokia and
publisher Pearson now offer digital, mobile educational tools around Africa).
GPE’s board of directors is global, with a tilt toward developing-country representation. Funding is long-term,
phasing out when national income rises. Its budget today exceeds $2 billion.
GPE is single-sector (education) but shows how collaboration can bring better results. Similar models might
prove useful in other areas.

Post-2015 | 23

A decade or more ago, when the first global partnerships
started in earnest, they mostly shared the costs, benefits
and risks of financing large projects. Today they do much
more. They can bring know-how and training, and in
other ways tackle obstacles that no single government
ministry, private business or CSO could surmount alone.
They are especially good at scaling up, because they
are global and experienced. Bringing evidence from
business, civil society and experts worldwide to bear on
a single topic, they can be persuasive about fixing weak
policies and institutions. And when they see that their
task cannot be accomplished by business-as-usual, they
innovate to develop new solutions, always in line with
national policies and priorities.
One of their most exciting features is that they can bring
about a change in mind-sets, altering the thinking of
millions of people worldwide. It may be a simple issue:
the campaign to encourage hand-washing or to use
insecticide-treated bed nets against malaria. It may
be complex, like a campaign to recognise and address
human contributions to climate change, or the need to
change to sustainable consumption patterns. But always
it involves reaching people in every country and in every
walk of life.
The Panel suggests that the concept of goal- or sectorspecific global partnerships should be a central part
of the new development agenda. These should aspire
to a high standard of transparency, evaluation and
monitoring, and involving business, civil society,
philanthropic organisations, international organisations
and governments.

Holding Partners to Account
Accountability must be exercised at the right level:
governments to their own citizens, local governments
to their communities, corporations to their shareholders,
civil society to the constituencies they represent.
Accountability is central to the global partnership and, in

line with that spirit, all parties should respect these lines
of accountability and trust their partners to fulfil their
commitments.
But accountability only works when people have the right
information, easily available and easy to use. New types
of transparent accounting make this possible. We need
data to be available, and we need the accountability that
follows. Without them, the global partnership will not
work.
The MDGs brought together an inspirational vision
with a set of concrete and time-bound goals and
targets that could be monitored by robust statistical
indicators. This was a great strength of the MDGs and,
as time progressed, data coverage and availability have
increased. However, much more needs to be done. Even
now, over 40 developing countries lack sufficient data
to track performance against MDG1 (eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger), and time lags for reporting MDG
outcomes remain unsatisfactorily high.

Wanted: a New Data Revolution
The revolution in information technology over the last
decade provides an opportunity to strengthen data
and statistics for accountability and decision-making
purposes. There have been innovative initiatives to
use mobile technology and other advances to enable
real-time monitoring of development results. But this
movement remains largely disconnected from the
traditional statistics community at both global and
national levels. The post-2015 process needs to bring
them together and start now to improve development
data.
Data must also enable us to reach the neediest, and find
out whether they are receiving essential services. This
means that data gathered will need to be disaggregated
by gender, geography, income, disability, and other
categories, to make sure that no group is being left
behind.

A New Data Revolution
“Too often, development efforts have been hampered by a lack of the most basic data about the social and
economic circumstances in which people live... Stronger monitoring and evaluation at all levels, and in all
processes of development (from planning to implementation) will help guide decision making, update priorities
and ensure accountability. This will require substantial investments in building capacity in advance of 2015. A
regularly updated registry of commitments is one idea to ensure accountability and monitor delivery gaps. We
must also take advantage of new technologies and access to open data for all people.”
Bali Communiqué of the High-Level Panel, March 28, 2013

24 | Chapter 4: Implementation, Accountability and Building Consensus

Better data and statistics will help governments track
progress and make sure their decisions are evidencebased; they can also strengthen accountability. This is
not just about governments. International agencies,
CSOs and the private sector should be involved. A true
data revolution would draw on existing and new sources
of data to fully integrate statistics into decision making,
promote open access to, and use of, data and ensure
increased support for statistical systems.
To support this, the Panel recommends establishing
a Global Partnership on Development Data that
brings together diverse but interested stakeholders
– government statistical offices, international
organisations, CSOs, foundations and the private sector.
This partnership would, as a first step, develop a global
strategy to fill critical gaps, expand data accessibility,
and galvanise international efforts to ensure a baseline
for post-2015 targets is in place by January 2016.
A further aspect of accountability and information is
how governments and businesses account for their
impact on sustainable development. Only a few
progressive, large businesses try to account for their
social and environmental footprint. The Panel proposes
that, in future – at latest by 2030 – all large businesses
should be reporting on their environmental and social
impact – or explain why if they are not doing so.
Similarly, governments should adopt the UN’s System
of Environmental-Economic Accounting, along with
the Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem
Services (WAVES) introduced by the World Bank, with
help provided to those who need help to do this.
These metrics can then be used to monitor national
development strategies and results in a universally
consistent way.
This will help sustainable development evolve, because
new and better accounting will give governments, and
firms clear information on their bottom line, keeping
them accountable for their actions, and will give
consumers the chance to make informed choices.

Working in Cooperation with Others
Countries already come together informally in many
settings to discuss what they can do to achieve more,
and more sustainable, development. These global
cooperation forums, such as the g7+, G-20, the BRICS
(Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), the Global
Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation,
and regional forums, are playing important roles. None
tackle the whole agenda, but each one tackles important
parts. These groups may be informal, but they can be
of enormous help in providing political leadership and
practical suggestions to sustain the post-2015 agenda

and bring to life the spirit of global partnership in their
respective forums.
• The g7+, for instance, has drawn attention to the special
challenges faced by fragile states in defining countryowned and country-led plans to move from conflict to
peaceful and sustainably developing societies.
• The G-20 has worked to address global bottlenecks
in food and energy security, financial stability and
inclusion, and infrastructure.
• The BRICS are working to develop a large new bank for
financing sustainable infrastructure projects.
• The Global Partnership for Effective Development
Cooperation established in Busan in 2011, is working to
help countries and thematic groups establish effective
partnerships involving many different stakeholders.
• Regional platforms in Asia, Latin America, Africa, the
Middle East and Europe are stepping in to cooperate
successfully in areas of specific concern to the region
and to form unified approaches towards trade, climate
adaptation and mitigation, finance, infrastructure and
other cross-border issues.
In each of these cases an existing international forum
is already actively promoting an aspect of sustainable
development. They, and others, can make an important
contribution to the post-2015 development agenda.

Building Political Consensus
International agreement on a single, universal agenda
to succeed the MDGs is vital, but not assured. One
challenge is to agree on clear, compelling, and ambitious
goals, through a transparent and inclusive process in
the UN. And to do so within a timescale that enables a
smooth transition from the MDGs to a new development
agenda from January 2016.
Success will drive forward efforts to help hundreds of
millions of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable
people as well as efforts to achieve sustainable
development. Furthermore, the Panel believes that
international trust and belief in the credibility of the
UN would be at stake if the MDG targets were to expire
without agreement on what will succeed them.
Already several important milestones are in view on the
path to 2015. A special event convened by the President
of the General Assembly on the MDGs is planned for 25
September 2013. This presents an opportunity for the UN
to set a clear path towards final agreement on the post2015 development agenda and we encourage member

Post-2015 | 25

states to seize that opportunity. During 2014, an Open
Working Group, established at Rio+20, will report to the
UN General Assembly with recommendations on a set of
sustainable development goals.
Another UN working group is expected to begin work
soon on financing for sustainable development. And the
UN Secretary-General will again report to the General
Assembly on the MDGs and the post-2015 development
agenda during 2014. The Panel believes that these
discussions and processes could culminate in a summit
meeting in 2015 for member states to agree the new
goals and to mobilise global action so that the new
agenda can become a reality from January 2016.
The Panel calls for the continued constructive
engagement of UN Member States and their affiliated
groupings, such as the G77 and other country groupings,
to reach such an agreement within a timescale that
enables a smooth transition from the MDGs to a new
development agenda. Only UN member states can
define the post-2015 agenda. However, we believe
that the participation of civil society representatives in
the UN processes will bring important perspectives to
the discussions and help raise public awareness and
interest. And we suggest that private sector experience
and the insights of academic experts from every region

of the world would also support a strong and credible
process.
A transparent and inclusive process will help build
the conditions for political agreement, but it alone is
insufficient. The courage and personal commitment
of political leaders will be needed to reconcile myriad
national views, and to embrace useful insights from
others. We must develop trust through dialogue,
and learn lessons on reaching consensus from other
multilateral processes. There will be difficult decisions
to be made and not everyone will get everything they
want. But global agreement is essential and we believe
strongly that the global community and member states
of the United Nations can and will rise to the occasion.
At the Millennium Summit in 2000, the world’s leaders
renewed their commitment to the ideals of the United
Nations, paving the way for the MDGs. The significance
and value of such global goals has steadily grown since
the Millennium Declaration was universally agreed.
Today’s leaders – whether from government, business
or civil society – must be as ambitious and practical
about a new development agenda. They must embrace
a dynamic, innovative approach to partnership, if we are
to fulfil the hopes and expectations of humanity.

42. This reiterates the recommendation made by the High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability (2012).
43. The joint Asian Development Bank, UNESCAP and UNDP, for example, recently reported jointly on the achievements of the MDGs
and the post-2015 development agenda in South-East Asia.

Post-2015 | 27

Chapter 5: Concluding Remarks
We envision a world in 2030 where extreme poverty and hunger have been ended. We
envision a world where no person has been left behind, and where there are schools,
clinics, and clean water for all. It is a world where there are jobs for young people,
where businesses thrive, and where we have brought patterns of consumption and
production into balance. Where everyone has equal opportunity and a say over the
government decisions that affect their lives. We envision a world where the principles
of equity, sustainability, solidarity, respect for human rights and shared responsibilities
in accordance with respective capabilities, has been brought to life by our common
action.
We envision a world in 2030 where a renewed global partnership, building on the
solid foundations of the Millennium Declaration and the Rio principles and outcomes,
has transformed the world through a universal, people-centred and planet-sensitive
development agenda achieved with the shared commitment and accountability of all.
We have a historic opportunity to do what no other generation has ever done before:
to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 and end poverty in many of its other forms.
But we will not be able to do this if we neglect other imperatives of the sustainable
development agenda today – the desire to build prosperity in all countries, the need
to slow or reverse environmental degradation and man-made contributions to global
warming, the urgent need to end conflict and violence while building effective and
accountable institutions for all. Tackling these social, economic and environmental
issues at the same time, while bringing to bear the energy and resources of everyone
concerned with development – governments at all levels, international organisations,
civil society, businesses, foundations, academics and people in all walks of life – is our
singular challenge.
We recognise that the world has changed significantly since the Millennium Declaration
in 2000, and are aware how much it will change by 2030. There will be more people in
the middle class, and more retired people. People will be more connected to each other,
using modern communication technologies, but perhaps more uncertain about what
the future may bring. We are convinced that the next 15 years can be some of the most
transformative in human history and that the world possesses the tools and resources it
needs to achieve a bold and ambitious vision.
We envision a new global partnership as the basic framework for a single, universal
post-2015 agenda that will deliver this vision for the sake of humanity. We have a choice
to make: to muddle through as we have done, making progress on some fronts but
suffering setbacks elsewhere. Or we can be bold and set our eyes on a higher target,
where the end of many aspects of poverty is in sight in all countries and where we have
transformed our economies and societies to blend social progress, equitable growth
and environmental management.
The illustrative goals and targets annexed to this report are offered as a basis for further
discussion. We do not know all the answers to how to reach these objectives, but it is
our fervent hope that by coming together we can inspire a new generation to act in a
common interest.

Post-2015 | 29

Annex I: Illustrative Goals and Targets
The world faces a historic opportunity. Not only to end poverty – but also to tackle the challenges to people and
planet so that we can end extreme poverty in all its forms irreversibly in the context of sustainable development.
The destination is clear: a world in 2030 that is more equal, more prosperous, more peaceful, and more just. A world
where development is sustainable. Making this vision a reality must be a universal endeavor. There is much work
to be done, but ending extreme poverty – and creating lasting prosperity – is within our reach. We do not need to
wait for others to act to start moving. We can, each one of us, begin taking steps towards a more prosperous and
sustainable 2030. Here’s how:
Commit. Commit to changing the way we think and the way we act. In the new global partnership, each of us has a
role and a responsibility.
Prioritise. We believe five transformative shifts can create the conditions – and build the momentum – to meet
our ambitions.
• Leave No One Behind. We must ensure that no person – regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race
or other status – is denied basic economic opportunities and human rights.
• Put Sustainable Development at the Core. We must make a rapid shift to sustainable patterns of production and
consumption, with developed countries in the lead. We must act now to slow the alarming pace of climate change
and environmental degradation, which pose unprecedented threats to humanity.
• Transform Economies for Jobs and Inclusive Growth. A profound economic transformation can end extreme poverty
and promote sustainable development, improving livelihoods, by harnessing innovation, technology, and the
potential of business. More diversified economies, with equal opportunities for all, can drive social inclusion,
especially for young people, and foster respect for the environment.
• Build Peace and Effective, Open and Accountable Institutions for All. Freedom from violence, conflict, and oppression
is essential to human existence, and the foundation for building peaceful and prosperous societies. We are calling
for a fundamental shift – to recognise peace and good governance as a core element of wellbeing, not an optional
extra.
• Forge a New Global Partnership. A new spirit of solidarity, cooperation, and mutual accountability must underpin
the post-2015 agenda. This new partnership should be built on our shared humanity, and based on mutual respect
and mutual benefit.
Make a Roadmap. We believe that a goal framework that drives transformations is valuable in focusing global efforts,
mobilising action and resources, and developing a sense of global jeopardy. It can be instrumental in crystallising
consensus and defining international norms. It can provide a rallying cry for a global campaign to generate
international support, as has been the case with the MDGs. Goals are the crucial first steps to get us, as a global
community, moving in the same direction. They must, therefore, be few, focused and with quantitative targets. Here
we set out an example of what such a set of goals might look like. Over the next year and a half, we expect goals to
be debated, discussed, and improved. But every journey must start somewhere.
The Panel recommends that all these goals should be universal, in that they present a common aspiration for all
countries. Almost all targets should be set at the national level or even local level, to account for different starting
points and contexts (e.g. 8a increase the number of good and decent jobs and livelihoods by x). A few targets are
global, setting a common and measurable standard to be monitored in all countries (e.g. 7a doubling the share
of renewable energy in the global energy mix). Some targets will require further technical work to agree robust,
measurable indicators (e.g. 11d on external stressors). And some targets could represent a global minimum standard
if a common numerical target could be agreed internationally (e.g. 4c if a global standard for maternal mortality was
set at 40 per 100,000). To ensure equality of opportunity, relevant indicators should be disaggregated with respect
to income (especially for the bottom 20%), gender, location, age, people living with disabilities, and relevant social
group. Targets will only be considered ‘achieved’ if they are met for all relevant income and social groups.

30 | Annex I: Illustrative Goals and Targets

Universal Goals, National Targets
1
2
3

Candidates for global minimum standards, including ‘zero’ goals.
Indicators to be disaggregated.
Targets require further technical work to find appropriate indicators.

1. End

Poverty

1a. Bring the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day to zero and reduce by x% the share of
people living below their country’s 2015 national poverty line 1, 2
1b. Increase by x% the share of women and men, communities, and businesses with secure rights to land,
property, and other assets 2, 3
1c. Cover x% of people who are poor and vulnerable with social protection systems 2, 3
1d. Build resilience and reduce deaths from natural disasters by x% 2

2. Empower

2a. Prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against girls and women 1, 2, 3

Girls and
Women and
Achieve
Gender
Equality

+

2b. End child marriage 1, 2

3. Provide

3a. Increase by x% the proportion of children able to access and complete pre-primary education 2

Quality
Education
and Lifelong
Learning

2c. Ensure equal right of women to own and inherit property, sign a contract, register a business and
open a bank account 1, 2
2d. Eliminate discrimination against women in political, economic, and public life 1, 2, 3

3b. Ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, completes primary education able to read, write and
count well enough to meet minimum learning standards 1, 2
3c. Ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has access to lower secondary education and increase
the proportion of adolescents who achieve recognised and measurable learning outcomes to x% 1, 2
3d. Increase the number of young and adult women and men with the skills, including technical and
vocational, needed for work by x% 2, 3

4. Ensure
Healthy
Lives

4a. End preventable infant and under-5 deaths 1, 2
4b. Increase by x% the proportion of children, adolescents, at-risk adults and older people that are
fully vaccinated 1, 2
4c. Decrease the maternal mortality ratio to no more than x per 100,000 1, 2
4d. Ensure universal sexual and reproductive health and rights 1, 2
4e. Reduce the burden of disease from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases
and priority non-communicable diseases 2

5. Ensure
Food
Security
and Good
Nutrition

5a. End hunger and protect the right of everyone to have access to sufficient, safe, affordable, and
nutritious food 1, 2
5b. Reduce stunting by x%, wasting by y%, and anemia by z% for all children under five 1, 2
5c. Increase agricultural productivity by x%, with a focus on sustainably increasing smallholder yields
and access to irrigation 3
5d. Adopt sustainable agricultural, ocean and freshwater fishery practices and rebuild designated fish
stocks to sustainable levels 1
5e. Reduce postharvest loss and food waste by x% 3

6. Achieve
Universal
Access to
Water and
Sanitation

6a. Provide universal access to safe drinking water at home, and in schools, health centres, and
refugee camps 1, 2
6b. End open defecation and ensure universal access to sanitation at school and work, and increase
access to sanitation at home by x% 1, 2
6c. Bring freshwater withdrawals in line with supply and increase water efficiency in agriculture by x%,
industry by y% and urban areas by z%
6d. Recycle or treat all municipal and industrial wastewater prior to discharge 1, 3

Post-2015 | 31

7. Secure

Sustainable
Energy

7a. Double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
7b. Ensure universal access to modern energy services 1, 2
7c. Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency in buildings, industry, agriculture and
transport
7d. Phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption 1,3

8. Create Jobs, 8a. Increase the number of good and decent jobs and livelihoods by x 2

Sustainable
8b. Decrease the number of young people not in education, employment or training by x% 2
Livelihoods,
8c. Strengthen productive capacity by providing universal access to financial services and infrastructure
and Equitable
such as transportation and ICT 1, 2, 3
Growth
8d. Increase new start-ups by x and value added from new products by y through creating an enabling
business environment and boosting entrepreneurship 2, 3

9. Manage

Natural
Resource
Assets
Sustainably

9a. Publish and use economic, social and environmental accounts in all governments and major companies 1
9b. Increase consideration of sustainability in x% of government procurements 3
9c. Safeguard ecosystems, species and genetic diversity
9d. Reduce deforestation by x% and increase reforestation by y%
9e. Improve soil quality, reduce soil erosion by x tonnes and combat desertification

10. Ensure

Good
Governance
and Effective
Institutions

10a. Provide free and universal legal identity, such as birth registrations 1,2
10b. Ensure people enjoy freedom of speech, association, peaceful protest and access to independent
media and information 1, 3
10c. Increase public participation in political processes and civic engagement at all levels 2,3
10d. Guarantee the public’s right to information and access to government data 1
10e. Reduce bribery and corruption and ensure officials can be held accountable 3

11. Ensure

11a. Reduce violent deaths per 100,000 by x and eliminate all forms of violence against children 1, 2, 3

Stable and
Peaceful
Societies

11b. Ensure justice institutions are accessible, independent, well-resourced and respect due-process rights 1, 2 , 3

12. Create

12a. Support an open, fair and development-friendly trading system, substantially reducing trade-distorting
measures, including agricultural subsidies, while improving market access of developing country products 3

a Global
Enabling
Environment
and Catalyse
Long-Term
Finance

11c. Stem the external stressors that lead to conflict, including those related to organised crime 3
11d. Enhance the capacity, professionalism and accountability of the security forces, police and judiciary 3

12b. Implement reforms to ensure stability of the global financial system and encourage stable, long-term
private foreign investment 3
12c. Hold the increase in global average temperature below 2⁰ C above pre-industrial levels, in line with
international agreements
12d. Developed countries that have not done so to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7% of gross
national product (GNP) as official development assistance to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20% of GNP
of developed countries to least developed countries; other countries should move toward voluntary targets
for complementary financial assistance
12e Reduce illicit flows and tax evasion and increase stolen-asset recovery by $x 3
12f. Promote collaboration on and access to science, technology, innovation, and development data 3

32

Annex II: Evidence of Impact and Explanation of
Illustrative Goals
Goal 1

End Poverty

a) Bring the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day to zero and
reduce by x% the share of people living below their country’s 2015 national
poverty line
b) Increase by x% the share of women and men, communities and businesses
with secure rights to land, property, and other assets
c) Cover x% of people who are poor and vulnerable with social protection
systems
d) Build resilience and reduce deaths from natural disasters by x%

Every day, poverty condemns 1 out of 7 people on the planet to a struggle to survive. Many
of those living in extreme poverty are ignored, excluded from opportunities, sometimes
for generations. Today, 1.2 billion people suffer under the hardship of living on less than
the equivalent of $1.25 per person per day.1 This means that they can only buy the same
amount of goods and services as $1.25 would buy in the United States. For more than a
billion people, $1.25 a day is all there is to feed and clothe, to heal and educate, to build
a future. We can be the first generation to eradicate this extreme poverty. This is a global
minimum standard and must apply to everyone, regardless of gender, location, disability
or social group.
Continuing on current growth trends, about 5% of people will be in extreme poverty by
2030, compared with 43.1% in 1990 and a forecast 16.1% in 2015. With slightly faster growth
and attention to ensuring that no one is left behind we can eradicate extreme poverty
altogether.
Poverty is not, of course, just about income. People who live in poverty in whatever country
are always on the edge, chronically vulnerable to falling sick, losing a job, forced eviction,
climate change or natural disaster. Their earnings vary by day, by season and by year. When
shocks hit, it is catastrophic. Since 2000, deaths related to natural hazards have exceeded 1.1
million and over 2.7 billion people have been affected. Poor people often lack the resources
or support to recover.
Global leaders have agreed that “poverty has various manifestations, including lack of
income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihoods, hunger and
malnutrition, ill-health, limited or lack of access to education and other basic services,
increased morbidity and mortality from illness, homelessness and inadequate housing,
unsafe environments, and social discrimination and exclusion. It is also characterised by a
lack of participation in decision-making and in civil, social, and cultural life.” 2
The post-2015 agenda should tackle all of these aspects of poverty and confront inequality
to make sure no one is left behind. People want the chance to lift themselves out of poverty
and they aspire for prosperity. We considered suggesting a higher target – perhaps $2 a
day – to reflect that escaping extreme poverty is only a start. However, we noted that each
country, and places within countries, often have their own threshold for what constitutes
poverty. Many such poverty lines are well above $1.25 or $2 a day. It is our hope and
1. Based on World Bank’s PovcalNet data from 2010 (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/
index.htm?1). These figures may change considerably when updated purchasing power parity
figures become available later this year.
2. WSSD (1995): http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf166/aconf166-9.htm. Paragraph 193.
WSSD (1995): http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf166/aconf166-9.htm. Paragraph 19.

Post-2015 | 33

expectation that countries will continuously raise the bar
on the living standards they deem minimally acceptable
for their citizens and adjust their poverty line upwards over
time, and that the global poverty line will follow suit to at
least $2 by 2030. That is why we have included a target for
reducing the share of people below the national poverty
line as well as for extreme poverty.
People in poverty need the tools to cope with adverse and
potentially devastating shocks. They have a strong interest
in good management of their environment because on
average they get more than half their income from farming
marginal lands, fishing coastal waters and scouring forests
for wild foods, medicinal plants, fodder, building materials
and fuel. No one is more vulnerable than people in poverty
to desertification, deforestation and overfishing, or less
able to cope with floods, storms, and droughts. Natural
disasters can pull them into a cycle of debt and illness,
to further degradation of the land, and a fall deeper into
poverty.
To address these challenges, one target focuses on
resilience. Resilience means individuals being ready
to withstand, able to adapt–when it comes to health,
economic or climatic shocks—and able to recover quickly.
Resilience enables people to move from the fringes of
survival to making long-term investments in their own
future through education, better health, increased savings
and protection for their most valuable physical assets such
as home, property and means of livelihood. For society, the
by-product is greater economic productivity.
People are more likely to make long-term investments

when they feel secure on their property.3 Tenancy reform
in West Bengal led to a 20% increase in rice productivity.
Indigenous peoples and local communities often
have traditional rights over land.4 But when people or
communities lack legal property rights they face the risk
that they will be forced to leave their land. Business will also
invest less and be less able to contribute to the economy.
We know property rights are important, but also realise the
challenges of measurement. We urge further work on this
issue.
Social assistance programmes are another potential
game-changer that can directly improve equality. They
have been extraordinarily successful in Mexico, Brazil and
other countries. We can build on these successes and
adopt them more widely. We can aim to improve the
effectiveness of these programmes by ensuring greater
coherence, reducing overheads and overall costs. And
we can use modern technology and increasing evidence
of what works to more precisely target specific needs. But
social assistance programmes vary considerably in quality
and perverse incentives can be created if the focus is just
on access. We do not yet know how to measure all aspects
of quality, but encourage experts to think about the proper
standards.
Targets found under other goals address non-income
dimensions of poverty: basic needs like health, education,
water, sanitation, electricity and other infrastructure;
basic freedoms like legal registration, freedom from fear
and violence, peace, freedom to access information and
participate in civic life.

Number of Developing Countries with Social Protection Coverage5
60
50

Countries

40
30

School Feeding

Cash Transfer

20
10
0

Food Rations

Food for Work

Source: Nora Lustig, Author’s construction based
on information from the World Bank and Asian
Development Bank.

3.Tenure security was originally included in the MDGs, but a lack of globally comparable data at the time led to its replacement;
since then, UN Habitat and partners have made progress in developing a methodology consistent across countries and regions.
See MDG Report (2012), p. 57. Secure tenure is defined by UN Habitat as “evidence of documentation that can be used as proof of
sencure tenure status; or when there is either de facto or perceived protection against forced evictions.”
4. Karlan, D. et al. (2012). Agricultural decisions after relaxing credit and risk constraints. Yale University, Processed; Banerjee, A. et
al. (2002). Empowerment and efficiency: the economics of tenancy reform. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 110 (2): 239-280.
5. Estimate based on sample size of 144 countries.

34 | Annex II: Evidence of Impact and Explanation of Illustrative Goals

Goal 2

Empower Girls and Women and
Achieve Gender Equality

a) Prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against girls and women
b) End child marriage
c) Ensure equal right of women to own and inherit property, sign a contract,
register a business and open a bank account
d) Eliminate discrimination against women in political, economic, and public life

Far too many women continue to face oppression and deeply embedded discrimination.
This affects everything from access to health and education to the right to own land and
earn a living, to equal pay and access to financial services, to participation in decisionmaking at local and national levels, to freedom from violence. Gender equality is integrated
across all of our illustrative goals, but the empowerment of women and girls and gender
equality is an important issue in its own right. Half of the world’s people are women – and a
people-centred agenda must work to realise their equal rights and full participation.
Gender-based violence is both persistent and widespread. This violence takes many
different forms: rape, domestic violence, acid attacks, so-called “honor” killings. It cuts across
the boundaries of age, race, culture, wealth and geography. It takes place in the home, on
the streets, in schools, the workplace, in farm fields, refugee camps, during conflicts and
crises. Our first target on preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against girls and
women is universal. But measurement is complex. When women feel more empowered and
believe justice will be done, reported incidents of violence may rise.
Child marriage is a global issue across, but sensitive to, culture, religions, ethnicity and
countries. When children marry young, their education can be cut short, their risk of
maternal mortality is higher and they can become trapped in poverty. Over the last decade,
15 million girls aged 10-14 have been married.6
Women should be able to live in safety and enjoy their basic human rights. This is a first
and very basic step. But we must go further. Women across the world strive to overcome
significant barriers keeping them from realising their potential. We must demolish these
barriers. Women with equal rights are an irreplaceable asset for every society and economy.
We know that gender equality transforms not only households but societies. When women
can decide how to spend their household’s money, they tend to invest more in their
children.7 A woman who receives more years of schooling is more likely to make decisions
about immunisation and nutrition that will improve her child’s chances in life; indeed, more
schooling for girls girls and women between 1970 and 2009 saved the lives of 4.2 million
children.8, 9
No society has become prosperous without a major contribution from its women.10 The
World Economic Forum finds that the countries with small gender gaps are the same
6. Who Speaks for Me? Ending Child Marriage (Washington DC); Population Reference Bureau 2011.
7. Source: World Bank, 2012. “World Development Report. Gender Equality and Development.” From:
http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2012/0,,c
ontentMDK:22999750~menuPK:8154981~pagePK:64167689~piPK:64167673~theSitePK:7778063,00.
html. p 5.
8. Decreases in child mortality 1970-2009 meant that 8.2 million more children survived. The survival
of more than half of these children (4.2 million) can be attributed to increased years of schooling for
girls.
9. Gakidou, E, et al. 2010. “Increased Educational Attainment and its Effect on Child Mortality in 175
Countries between 1970 and 2009: a Systematic Analysis.” The Lancet 376(9745), p. 969.
10. With the potential exception of some natural resource-rich principalities.

Post-2015 | 35

countries with the highest ratings for “international
competitiveness”—and microeconomic studies suggest
that the economic participation of women drives
household income growth.11
Considerable progress has been made in bringing about
greater gender equality in access to health and education.
This momentum must be maintained by making sure that
targets in these areas are broken down by gender. Much
less progress has been made in narrowing social, economic
and political gaps, so our focus is on these two issues.
Half of the women in the labour force are in vulnerable
employment, with no job security and no protection
against economic shocks. Women are far more likely than
men to be in vulnerable employment in many places, with
rates from 32 per cent to 85 per cent in different regions,
versus 55 per cent to 70 per cent for men.12 All too often,

they receive less pay than their male counterparts for the
same work.
We must work to fulfill the promise of women’s equal
access to, and full participation in, decision-making, and
end discrimination on every front. This must happen in
governments, companies and in civil society. In countries
where women’s interests are strongly represented,
laws have been passed to secure land rights, tackle
violence against women and improve health care and
employment.13 Yet women currently occupy less than 20
percent of parliamentary seats worldwide.14
The message is simple. Women who are safe, healthy,
educated, and fully empowered to realise their potential
transform their families, their communities, their economies
and their societies. We must create the conditions so they
can do so.

Higher Gender Equality Associated with Higher Income 15

Human
Development
Index

Gender Inequality Index

0.2

0.9
0.8
0.7

0.4

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.6

0.3

6

8

10

GDP per Capita in constant 2005 Dollars, log scale

11. Hausmann,R, L.Tyson,Y.Bekhouche S.Zahidi (2012) The Global Gender Gap Report 2012. World Economic Forum: Geneva.
12. ILO, 2012. “Global Employment Trends: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis.” From: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_171571.pdf.p 11.
13. UN WOMEN, 2012. “In pursuit of justice” From: http://progress.unwomen.org/pdfs/EN-Report-Progress.pdf.
14. UN WOMEN, 2012. “In pursuit of justice” From: http://progress.unwomen.org/pdfs/EN-Report-Progress.pdf.
15. Based on UNDP Public Data Explorer: http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/explorer/.


Goal 3

+

Provide Quality Education and Lifelong
Learning
a) Increase by x% the proportion of children able to access and complete preprimary education
b) Ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, completes primary
education able to read, write and count well enough to meet minimum
learning standards
c) Ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has access to lower
secondary education and increase the proportion of adolescents who achieve
recognised and measurable learning outcomes to x%
d) Increase the number of young and adult women and men with the skills,
including technical and vocational, needed for work by x%

Education is a fundamental right. It is one of the most basic ways people can achieve wellbeing. It lifts lifetime earnings as well as how much a person can engage with and contribute
to society. Quality education positively effects health, and lowers family size and fertility
rates. Availability of workers with the right skills is one of the key determinants of success for
any business—and of capable and professional public bureaucracies and services. Investing
in education brings individuals and societies enormous benefits, socially, environmentally
and economically. But to realise these benefits, children and adolescents must have access
to education and learn from it.16
Across the world, investment in education clearly benefits individuals and societies. A
study of 98 countries found that each additional year of education results in, on average,
a 10 per cent increase in lifetime earnings – a huge impact on an individual’s opportunities
and livelihood. In countries emerging from conflict, giving children who couldn’t attend
school a second chance is one way to rebuild individual capabilities and move into national
recovery.17
However, globally, there is an education, learning and skills crisis. Some 60 million primary
school-age children and 71 million adolescents do not attend school. Even in countries
where overall enrolment is high, significant numbers of students leave school early. On
average, 14 per cent of young people in the European Union reach no further than lower
secondary education.18 Among the world’s 650 million children of primary school age, 130
million are not learning the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.19 A recent study of 28
countries found that more than one out of every three students (23 million primary school
children) could not read or do basic maths after multiple years of schooling.20
We believe it important to target learning outcomes, to make sure every child performs
up to a global minimum standard upon completing primary education. To do this, many
countries have found that pre-primary education, getting children ready to learn, is also
needed, so we have added a target on that.21
All around the world, we are nearing universal primary school enrollment, although 28
million children in countries emerging from conflict are still not in school. In more than

16. Brookings Institution (2013) Toward Universal Learning: What Every Child Should Learn.
17. Psacharopoulos, G., Patrinos, H. Returns to Investment in Education: A Further Update. Education Economics 12(2). 2004.
18. EFA Global Monitoring Report (2012). Youth and skills: Putting education to work. (Page 21).
19. EFA Global Monitoring Report (2012). Youth and skills: Putting education to work. (Page 7).
20. Africa Learning Barometer.
http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/01/16-africa-learning-watkins.
21. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
(2010). Head Start Impact Study. Final Report. Washington, DC.
esco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2012skills/.

Post-2015 | 37

20 countries, at least one in five children has never even
been to school.22 There, the unfinished business of MDG
2, universal primary education, continues to be a priority.
We need to ensure all children, regardless of circumstance,
are able to enroll and complete a full course of primary
and lower secondary education and, in most cases, meet
minimum learning standards.
Of course, education is about far more than basic literacy
and numeracy. While the targets are about access to school
and learning, education’s aims are wider. As set out in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, education enables
children to realise their talents and full potential, earn
respect for human rights and prepares them for their role as
adults.23 Education should also encourage creative thinking,
teamwork and problem solving. It can also lead people to
learn to appreciate natural resources, become aware of the
importance of sustainable consumption and production
and climate change, and gain an understanding of sexual
and reproductive health. Education supplies young people

with skills for life, work and earning a livelihood.
Teachers are often early mentors who inspire children to
advance. The quality of education in all countries depends
on having a sufficient number of motived teachers, well
trained and possessing strong subject-area knowledge.
Equity must be a core principle of education. Educational
disparities persist among and within countries. In many
countries where average enrolment rates have risen, the
gaps between, for example, rural girls from a minority
community and urban boys from the majority group are
vast. Some countries have made significant gains in the
last decade in reducing disparities based on disability,
ethnicity, language, being a religious minority and being
displaced.
As children move on to higher levels of education the
education gap still remains enormous. Many children who
finish primary school do not go on to secondary school.
They should, and we have included a target to reflect this.

Education Benefits Individuals and Societies24

Return on Investment (%)

Asia

Europe/ MENA

LAC

OECD

SSA

20%

10%

Skills learned in school must also help young people
to get a job. Some are non-cognitive skills—teamwork,
leadership, problem solving. Others come from
technical and vocational training. Wherever it takes
place, these skills are important components of inclusive
and equitable growth. They are needed to build capacity

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and professionalism in governments and business,
especially in fragile states.
The barriers to education, and the most effective
solutions, will vary by country. But the commitment to
learning must be constant and unwavering

22. EFA Monitoring Report October 2012 Youth Skills: Putting Education to Workhttp://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/
themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2012-skills/.
23. UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, United Nations.
24. Psacharopoulos, G., Patrinos, H. Returns to Investment in Education: A Further Update. Education Economics 12(2). 2004.


Goal 4

Ensure Healthy Lives

a) End preventable infant and under-5 deaths
b) Increase by x% the proportion of children, adolescents, at-risk adults and
older people that are fully vaccinated
c) Decrease the maternal mortality ratio to no more than x per 100,000
d) Ensure universal sexual and reproductive health and rights
e) Reduce the burden of disease from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria,
neglected tropical diseases and priority non-communicable diseases

Health enables people to reach their potential. Healthy children learn better. They
become healthy adults. Healthy adults work longer and more regularly, earning higher
and more regular wages. Though we focus on health outcomes in this goal, to achieve
these outcomes requires universal access to basic healthcare.
We must start with a basic commitment to ensure equity in all the interconnected areas
that contribute to health (social, economic and environmental). But in addition, we
must make steady progress in ensuring Universal Health Coverage and access to quality
essential health services. That means reaching more people, broadening the range of
integrated, essential services available to every person, and ensuring that services are
affordable for all. Countries at all income levels have work to do to reach this ideal.
The Panel chose to focus on health outcomes in this goal, recognising that to achieve
these outcomes requires universal access to basic healthcare. Health outcomes are
often determined by social, economic and environmental factors. Discrimination can
create barriers to health services for vulnerable groups and lack of protection leaves
many individual and families exposed to sudden illness and the catastrophic financial
effects this can bring. Investing more in health, especially in health promotion and
disease prevention, like vaccinations, is a smart strategy to empower people and build
stronger societies and economies.
Almost 7 million children die before their fifth birthday, every single year.25 For the
most part, these deaths are easily preventable. We know that the solutions are simple
and affordable: having skilled birth attendants present; keeping babies warm and
getting them safe water, nutritious food, proper sanitation, and basic vaccinations.26
Many children who die before they reach their fifth birthdays are born to mothers
living in poverty, or in rural communities, or who are still in adolescence27 or otherwise
vulnerable. By ending preventable child deaths, we are aiming for an upper threshold of
20 deaths per 1000 live births in all income quintiles of the population.28
Women continue to die unnecessarily in childbirth. The World Health Organization
estimates that every minute and a half, a woman dies from complications of pregnancy
or childbirth. Women living in poverty, in rural areas, and adolescents are especially
at risk.29 Timely access to well-equipped facilities and skilled birth attendants will
25. WHO (2012). Fact sheet No. 290. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs290/en/.
26. UNICEF/WHO (2012). Global Immunization Data. http://www.who.int/immunization_monitoring/Global_Immunization_Data.pdf.
27. WHO (2012). Adolescent pregnancy. Fact sheet N°364. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs364/en/.
28. Child Survival Call to Action, http://apromiserenewed.org/files/APR_Progress_Report_2012_final_web3.pdf.
29. WHO (2013): http://www.who.int/features/qa/12/en/.

Post-2015 | 39

drastically reduce this risk. Universal access to sexual
and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is an
essential component of a healthy society. There are still
222 million women in the world who want to prevent
pregnancy but are not using effective, modern methods
of contraception. This results in 80 million unplanned
pregnancies, 30 million unplanned births and 20 million
unsafe abortions every year. About 340 million people
a year are infected by sexually-transmitted disease.30
Every $1 spent on modern contraception would save
$1.40 in maternal and newborn health care.31 But access
to SRHR, especially by adolescents, is low. The quality
of such services is generally poor. The public health
case is clear – ensuring these rights benefits not only
individuals, but broader communities.
In high-income countries, rising health costs are a
major threat to fiscal stability and long-term economic
growth. Obesity is a growing problem. When people

live longer, they face increased rates of cancer, heart
disease, arthritis, diabetes and other chronic illness. On
average, people lose 10 years of their lives to illness,
mostly to non-communicable diseases.32 These should
be addressed, but the priorities will vary by country.
The benefits of investing in health are immediate
and obvious, both for specific interventions and
for strengthening health systems more broadly.
Immunisations save 2 to 3 million lives each year.33 Bednets are a well-known and affordable way to ward off
malaria. Education that leads people to understand and
use quality health services is a useful complement.
The table below shows how the benefits of investing in
health outweigh the costs.34 Every $1 spent generates
up to $30 through improved health and increased
productivity.

Health Solutions are Affordable and Available
Tuberculosis:
case finding treatment
Heart attacks:
acute low cost management
Expanded immunisation
Malaria:
prevention treatment
HIV:
combination prevention
Local surgical capacity

0

10

20

30

Ratio
Affordable solutions are within reach. Modern medicine
and improved treatment can help, as can a range of other
factors, such as cleaner air, more nutritious food and

other parts of the interconnected post-2015 agenda.
Ensuring healthy lives will be an ongoing process in all
countries and communities.

30. Glasier, A. et al. (2006). Sexual and reproductive health: a matter of life and death. The Lancet Vol. 368: 1595–1607. Singh, S., Darroch,
J. (2012). Adding it up: Costs and benefits of contraceptive services. Estimates for 2012. Guttmacher Institute: p.16.
31. Singh, S., Darroch, J. (2012). Adding it up: Costs and benefits of contraceptive services.Estimates for 2012. Guttmacher Institute: p.16.
32. Salomon et al. (2012). Healthy life expectancy for 187 countries, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden Disease Study 2010.
The Lancet Vol. 380: 2144–2162.
33. UNICEF/WHO (2012). Global Immunization Data. http://www.who.int/immunization_monitoring/Global_Immunization_Data.pdf
34. Jamison, D., Jha, P., Bloom, D. (2008). The Challenge of Diseases. Copenhagen Consensus 2008 Challenge Paper.


Goal 5

Ensure Food Security and Good
Nutrition
a) End hunger and protect the right of everyone to have access to sufficient,
safe, affordable, and nutritious food
b) Reduce by x% stunting, wasting by y% and anemia by z% for all children
under 5
c) Increase agricultural productivity by x%, with a focus on sustainably
increasing smallholder yields and access to irrigation.
d) Adopt sustainable agricultural, ocean, and freshwater fishery practices and
rebuild designated fish stocks to sustainable levels
e) Reduce postharvest loss and food waste by x%
Food is essential to all living beings. Producing it takes energy, land, technology and
water. Food security is not just about getting everyone enough nutritious food. It is
also about access, ending waste, moving toward sustainable, efficient production and
consumption. The world will need about 50 percent more food by 203035; to produce
enough food sustainably is a global challenge. Irrigation and other investments in
agriculture and rural development can help millions of smallholder farmers earn a
better living, provide enough nutritious food for growing populations, and build
pathways to sustainable future growth.
Today, 870 million people in the world do not have enough to eat.36 Undernourished
women give birth to underweight babies, who are less likely to live to their fifth birthday
and more likely to develop chronic diseases and other limitations. The first 1,000 days of
a child’s life are crucial to giving a child a fair chance; 165 million children are ‘stunted’ or
smaller than they should be for their age; others are ‘wasted’ and anaemic. Inadequate
nutrition prevents their brains from developing fully and, ultimately, limits their ability
to make a living.37
Poverty is the main cause of hunger – most people are hungry or undernourished
because they cannot afford sufficient nutritious food, not because of supply failures.
Recent increases in food price volatility have shown how sharp rises in the price of food
can worsen poverty. Producing more food will be essential. But it will not alone ensure
food security and good nutrition.
In developed countries, the lack of a nutritious diet in childhood increases the risk
of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In all countries, adequate nutrition
in childhood improves learning as well as lifelong physical, emotional and cognitive
development. It lifts the individual’s potential, and the country’s.

Childhood nutrition programmes have proven successful. Reducing malnutrition,
especially among the youngest children, is one of the most cost-effective of all
development interventions. Every $1 spent to reduce stunting can yield up to $44.50
through increased future earnings.38
Moving to large-scale sustainable agriculture, while increasing the volume of food
produced, is the great challenge we face. It can be done, but this will require a dramatic
shift. Agriculture has for many years suffered from neglect. Too few policies are in place
to improve rural livelihoods. Too little investment has been made in research. This is
true even as the goods and services produced in rural areas are in high demand—
food as well as biofuels, eco-system services and carbon sequestration, to name a few.
35. http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/who-will-feed-the-world-rr-260411-en.pdf
36. FAO (2012). The state of food insecurity in the World.
37. UNICEF / WHO (2012). Information sheet. http://www.who.int/nutgrowthdb/jme_infosheet.pdf.
38. Hoddinott, J. et al. (2012). Hunger and malnutrition. Copenhagen Consensus 2012 Challenge
Paper.

Post-2015 | 41

In many places, food production tripled in the 20th
century, thanks in part to high-yield crop varieties. But
in many places, soils have eroded and been depleted
of nutrients, holding back food production, despite
incredible potential.39 Improved land management,
fertilisers, more efficient irrigation systems and crop
diversification can reverse land degradation.
Specific investments, interventions and policies can
deliver results. Agricultural investments reduce poverty
more than investments in any other sector. In developed
countries, agricultural research provides returns of 20
to 80 per cent – a great investment in any economy.40
Greater yields, sustainable agricultural intensification
and less postharvest loss can help smallholder farmers
produce enough to feed their families and earn a
living. At the same time, less food waste in developed
countries can help reduce demand for food. With these
changes towards sustainable agricultural consumption
and production, we can continue to feed this generation
and the 8 billion people on the planet in 2030.
We cannot forget the world’s oceans. Poor management
of the oceans can have particularly adverse impacts for

Small Island Developing States. Reducing wastewater in
coastal areas, as outlined the illustrative goal on water
and sanitation, will help. But overfishing is another
problem, reducing an important source of protein
for billions of people. Three-quarters of the world’s
fish stocks are being harvested faster than they can
reproduce and 8-25 per cent of global catch is discarded.
This degradation and waste creates a cycle which
depletes necessary fish stocks to unsustainable levels.
It also harms the ocean’s biosystems. We can and must
correct this misuse; properly managing fish stocks gives
fish enough time to reproduce and ensure sustainable
fisheries. Currently, 30 per cent of fish that are harvested
are overfished, while 12.7 per cent have greater capacity
and could be fished more before reaching their natural
limit.41
Sustainable food production will also require
infrastructure and access to markets and financing,
agricultural extension services to spread the benefits
of technology and innovation, more predictable global
markets and enhanced tenure security. Together, they
can overcome the constraints that limit agricultural
productivity.

Benefit-Cost Ratios of Investments Reducing Stunting
24

Bangladesh

15

Ethiopia

44.5

India

24.4

Kenya

0

10

20

30

40

Ratio

39. Sanchez, Pedro. Tripling crop yields in tropical Africa. Nature Geoscience 3, 299 - 300 (2010).
40. Alston, J. (2010). The benefits from agricultural research and development, innovation and productivity growth. OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers. No. 31. OECD Publishing.
41. FAO: The State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012.


Goal 6

Achieve Universal Access to Water and
Sanitation

a) Provide universal access to safe drinking water at home and in schools,
health centres and refugee camps
b) End open defecation and ensure universal access to sanitation at school
and work, and increase access to sanitation at home by x%
c) Bring freshwater withdrawals in line with supply and increase water
efficiency in agriculture by x%, industry by y% and urban areas by z%
d) Recycle or treat all municipal and industrial wastewater prior to discharge

Access to water is a basic human right. Safe drinking water is something everyone in
the world needs. Between 1990 and 2010, more than 2 billion people gained access to
basic drinking water, but 780 million people still remain without.42 Around two billion
people lack access to continuous, safe water.43 Improving access – as well as quality – is
becoming more urgent as the world faces increasing water scarcity. By 2025, 1.8 billion
people will live in places classified as water scarce.44 People living in poverty are likely
to be most at risk.
Even those who currently have access to basic drinking water do not have a guarantee
of continued access. Agriculture draws 70 per cent of all freshwater for irrigation and
may need even more as the demand for intensive food production rises. Already, rising
demand from farms is causing water tables to fall in some areas and, at the same time,
industry and energy are demanding more water as economies grow.
Better water resource management can ensure there will be enough water to meet
competing demands. Distribution of water among industry, energy, agriculture,
cities and households should be managed fairly and efficiently, with attention to
protecting the quality of drinking water. To accomplish this, we need to establish good
management practices, responsible regulation and proper pricing.
The MDG targets have focused on improving the sources of water collection and
reducing the amount of time it takes, especially for women, to collect water for basic
family needs. We must now act to ensure universal access to safe drinking water at
home, and in schools, health centres and refugee camps. This is a global minimum
standard that should be applied to everyone—regardless of income quintile, gender,
location, age or other grouping.
Investing in safe drinking water complements investments in sanitation and hygiene.
Water, sanitation and hygiene work together to make people healthier, and to reduce
the grief, and time and money spent, when family members fall ill and need to be cared
for. There is some evidence that private and adequate sanitation in schools allows
menstruating girls to continue to attend school and learn, and reduces the likelihood
that any child will get sick and have to leave school. Agriculture and tourism also benefit
when the physical environment is cleaner and more hygienic. On average, the benefits
of investing in water management, sanitation, and hygiene range from $2 to $3 per
dollar invested.45

42. UNICEF/ WHO (2012). Progress on drinking water and sanitation. 2012 update.
44. UNDESA (2013). International decade for action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015. http://www.un.org/
waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml.
45. Whittington, D. et al. (2008). The Challenge of Water and Sanitation: Challenge Paper. Copenhagen Consensus 2008, p. 126.

Post-2015 | 43

Benefit-Cost Ratios of ICT Interventions
3.2

Rural water

Biosand filter

2.7

Community−led
total sanitation

2.7
1.8

Large dam

0

1

2

3

Ratio
The MDG target on increasing access to sanitation
is the one we are farthest from reaching. Around 1.1
billion people still defecate in the open and another 1.4
billion have no toilets, septic tanks, piped sewer systems
or other means of improved sanitation.46 Such poor
sanitation contributes to widespread chronic diarrhea
in many lower-income areas. Each year, 760,000 children
under 5 die because of diarrhea.47 Those who survive
diarrhea often don’t absorb enough essential nutrients,
hindering their physical and mental development.
Building sanitation infrastructure and public services
that work for everyone, including those living in poverty,
and keeping human waste out of the environment, is a
major challenge. Billions of people in cities capture and
store waste, but have nowhere to dispose of it once
their latrines or septic tanks fill. Innovations in toilet
design, emptying pits, treating sludge and reusing
waste can help local governments meet the enormous

challenge of providing quality public sanitation services
– particularly in densely populated urban areas.
While we aspire to a global goal to have sanitation in
the home for everyone by 2030, we do not believe this
would be attainable. So our target is more modest, but
we hope still achievable.
As cities grow and people consume more, solid waste
management is a growing problem. Wastewater
pollutes not only the natural environment, but also the
immediate living environment, and has an enormous
detrimental impact on the spread of disease. Establishing
or strengthening policies – at national, subnational and
local levels – to recycle or treat wastewater collection,
treatment and discharge can protect people from
contaminants and natural ecosystems from harmful
pollution.

47. WHO (2013): http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs330/en/.


Goal 7

Secure Sustainable Energy

a) Double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
b) Ensure universal access to modern energy services
c) Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency in buildings,
industry, agriculture and transport
d) Phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful
consumption

The stark contradictions of our modern global economy are evident in the energy
sector. We need reliable energy to reduce poverty and sustain prosperity, but must
increasingly get it from renewable sources to limit the impact on the environment.
Globally, 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity.48 2.6 billion people
still burn wood, dung, coal and other traditional fuels inside their homes, resulting
in 1.5 million deaths per year.49 At the same time, extensive energy use, especially
in high-income countries, creates pollution, emits greenhouse gases and depletes
non-renewable fossil fuels. The scarcity of energy resources will grow ever greater.
Between now and 2030, high-income economies will continue to consume large
amounts. They will be increasingly joined by countries which are growing rapidly and
consuming more. And by 2030, when the planet reaches around 8 billion people,
there will be 2 billion more people using more energy. All this energy use will create
enormous strains on the planet.
Governments naturally seek growth, prosperity and well-being for their people. In
seeking sustainable energy for all, we must ensure that countries can continue to
grow, but use all the tools at our disposal to promote less carbon-intensive growth.
As high-income countries replace outdated infrastructure and technologies, they can
and should transition to less energy-intensive pathways.
These challenges are enormous. But so are the opportunities. Done right, growth
does not have to bring huge increases in carbon emissions. Investments in efficient
energy usage, renewable energy sources, reducing waste and less carbon-intensive
technologies can have financial benefits as well as environmental ones. Tools are
already available. We can reach large-scale, transformative solutions worldwide with
more investment, collaboration, implementation and political will.
There is considerable momentum already. The Sustainable Energy for All initiative
(SE4ALL) has signed up over 50 countries, mobilised $50 billion from the private
sector and investors and formed new public-private partnerships in transport, energy
efficiency, solar cooking and finance.50 The G20 committed to phasing out inefficient
fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while providing targeted
support for the poorest. This means that governments can have life-line energy
pricing for poor consumers—they are not the ones who are wasting consumption.
It also means that large energy consumers should pay full price—including for the
damages caused to health by pollution and the taxes that should be paid on energy.
We can build on and consolidate this momentum by explicitly drawing on SE4ALL
and G20 targets and focusing on access, efficiency, renewable energy and reducing
the waste of fossil-fuel subsidies. Up-front investment in new technologies – from
48. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTENERGY2/0,,contentMDK:22855502~pa
gePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:4114200,00.html.
49. World Health Organization, Fuel For Life: Household Energy and Health, http://www.who.int/
indoorair/publications/fuelforlife.pdf.
50. United Nations (2013). Sustainable Energy for All Commitments - Highlights for Rio +20. http://
wwwsustainableenergyforall.org/actions-commitments/high-impact-opportunities/item/109-rioplus-20.

Post-2015 | 45

simple solar LED lights to advanced hydropower –
can save lives, reduce expenses and foster growth. In
making this transition to sustainable energy, we must
pay particular attention to the poor and vulnerable.
Subsidies are one way that countries help people in
need get affordable energy, so phasing out inefficient
subsidies should not exclude targeted support for the
poorest.
Providing people with access to modern and reliable
energy to cook and light their homes has enormous
social, economic and environmental benefits. The use
of traditional fuels indoors is toxic, causing illness and
death. A lack of light prevents children from studying
and learning and women can spend too much time
gathering wood for fires. Just one kilogram of ‘carbon
black’ particles produced by kerosene lamps contribute
as much warming to the atmosphere in two weeks
as 700 kilograms of carbon dioxide circulating in the
atmosphere for 100 years.51
The solutions are available and affordable – all we must
do is act.
Rising energy use need not parallel faster growth – as
the figure shows. Between 1990 and 2006, increased
energy efficiency in manufacturing by 16 member
countries of the International Energy Agency resulted
in 14-15 per cent reduction of energy use per unit of
output and reduced CO2 emissions, saving at least
$180 billion.52
But we must pick up the pace. Globally, we must
double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency in
buildings, industry and transport and double the share
of renewables in the energy supply.53
Although new infrastructure requires an up-front
investment, the long-term financial, not to mention

environmental and social, payoffs are substantial.
Adopting cost-effective standards for a wider range of
technologies could, by 2030, reduce global projected
electricity consumption by buildings and industry by
14 per cent, avoiding roughly 1,300 mid-size power
plants.54
It is crucial that technologies and innovations be widely
shared. Low- and middle-income countries have the
chance to leapfrog the old model of development
and choose more sustainable growth. But they face
two significant constraints: technology and finance.
Cleaner and more efficient technologies are often
patented by private corporations. Finance is also a
problem: the benefits of more efficient technologies
come from future savings, while the costs are
concentrated at the beginning. If developed countries
take the lead in applying these technologies, costs will
fall and the technologies will become more accessible
to developing countries.
To overcome these constraints, governments can use
a mix of taxes, subsidies, regulations and partnerships
to encourage clean-energy innovation. Partnering
countries can use open-innovation forums to accelerate
the development of clean-energy technologies and
rapidly bring them to scale. These open-source forums
should be linked to real public-works projects that can
offer financing, and the chance for rapid adoption and
broad deployment.
We must also reduce waste by ensuring proper
pricing. About 1.9 trillion dollars, or 2.5% of the world’s
total GDP, is spent every year to subsidise fossil fuel
industries and protect low prices.55 If subsidies are
reduced, these revenues could be redirected to other
pressing priorities. Elimination could reduce as much
as 10 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions by
2050.56

51. UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana published by the Journal of Environmental Science Technology. http://
news.illinois.edu/news/12/1210kerosene_TamiBond.html47. http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Indicators_2008-1.pdf.
52. http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Indicators_2008-1.pdf.
53. This implies a 2.4% annual efficiency gain by 2030 compared to 1.2% from 1970 to 2008, according to the Global Energy Assessment (GEA) from the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis.
54. United Nations (2012). Sustainable Energy For All: A Framework for Action.
http://www.un.org/wcm/webdav/site/sustainableenergyforall/shared/Documents/SE%20for%20All%20-%20Framework%20for%20
Action%20FINAL.pdf.
55. International Monetary Fund, Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications (Washington: IMF, 2013) http://www.imf.org/
external/np/pp/eng/2013/012813.pdf.
56. Allaire, M and Brown (2009), S: Eliminating Subsidies For Fossil Fuel Production: Implications for U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Markets:
Washington DC: Resources for the Future.
http://rff.org/RFF/Documents/RFF-IB-09-10.pdf.


Goal 8

Create Jobs, Sustainable Livelihoods,
and Equitable Growth
a) Increase the number of good and decent jobs and livelihoods by x
b) Decrease the number of young people not in education, employment or
training by x%
c) Strengthen productive capacity by providing universal access to financial
services and infrastructure such as transportation and ICT
d) Increase new start-ups by x and value added from new products by y through
creating an enabling business environment and boosting entrepreneurship

Countries at different stages of development all need to undertake profound socioeconomic transformations to end extreme poverty, improve livelihoods, sustain
prosperity, promote social inclusion and ensure environmental sustainability.
The Panel’s discussions on “economic transformation” identified key aspects of
a transformative agenda: the necessity to pursue inclusive growth; to promote
economic diversification and higher value added; and to put in place a stable,
enabling environment for the private sector to flourish. Changing consumption and
production patterns to protect our ecosystems and societies, and putting in place
good governance and effective institutions are also important for the growth agenda,
but discussed under other goals.
There is no quick, easy way to create jobs for all. If there were, every politician in
every country would already be doing it. Every country struggles with this challenge.
Globally, the number of unemployed people has risen by about 28 million since the
onset of the financial crisis in 2008, with another 39 million who have likely given up in
frustration. Rising unemployment hits young people especially hard. More and more
young people are not in employment, education or training, with long-lasting effects
on their ability to lead a fulfilling and productive life.
We have separate targets for jobs and livelihoods, and for jobs for young people to
give specific emphasis to the latter. These targets should be broken down by income
quintile, gender, location and other groups. Through these targets, we want societies
to focus on how well the economy is performing, through a measure that goes
beyond GDP or its growth. Indicators for the jobs target could include the share of
paid employment by sector (services, manufacturing, agriculture); and the share of
informal and formal employment.
Between 2015 and 2030, 470 million more people will enter the global labour force,
mostly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.57 This is potentially a huge boon that could
sustain growth that is already happening. Over the past decade, 6 of the 10 fastest
growing economies in the world were in Africa. As more young people enter the work
force and birth rates decline, Africa is set to experience the same kind of ‘demographic
dividend’ that boosted growth in Asia over the last three decades. But young people
in Africa, and around the world, will need jobs — jobs with security and fair pay — so
they can build their lives and prepare for the future.
The ILO’s concept of “decent work” recognises and respects the rights of workers,
ensures adequate social protection and social dialogue, and sets a high standard
toward which every country should strive. However, it has become clear that there can
be middle ground for some developing countries, where “good jobs” – those which are

57. Lam, D M.Leibbrandt (2013) Global Demographic Trends: Key Issues and Concerns. Input
Paper to HLP Panel. Processed.

Post-2015 | 47

secure and fairly paid – are a significant step towards
inclusive and sustainable economic development. The
conditions of labour markets across countries differs
so much. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach – good
jobs and decent jobs will both be needed in the next
development agenda.
Sustained, broad-based, equitable growth requires
more than raising GDP. It takes deliberate action.
Businesses need reliable, adequate infrastructure.
That means roads, power, transport, irrigation and
telecommunications. It means customs, government
inspections, police and courts that function smoothly,
and cross border arrangements that facilitate the
movements of goods to new markets. Business also
adds the most lasting value when it embraces a
responsible corporate business code with clear norms
for transparency and accountability.
People and businesses need the security and stability
of a predictable environment to make good economic
decisions. The prospects for diversification and
moving towards higher value added—needed in
some countries to go beyond reliance on commodity
exports—can be measured by the number of new
start-ups that occur each year and the value added
from new products. As countries become richer and
their economies get more sophisticated, they usually
produce a larger array of goods and services.
There are some essential elements we know work across
countries and regions. Jobs and opportunities expand
when the market economy expands and people find

their own ways to participate. Every economy needs
dynamism to grow and adapt to consumer demand.
This means enabling new businesses to start up and
creating the conditions for them to develop and market
new products, to innovate and respond to emerging
opportunities. In some economies this is about
moving from primary extractive industries to value
added products and more diverse manufacturing and
services. In others it might be about specialisation.
Financial services are critical to the growth of business,
but also raise the income of individuals. When people
have the means to save and invest or get insurance,
they can raise their incomes by at least 20 per cent.
We know this works. Farmers in Ghana, for example,
put more money into their agricultural activities
after getting access to weather insurance, leading to
increased production and income.58 We need to ensure
that more people have access to financial services, to
make the most of their own resources.
Policies and institutions can help ensure that
governments establish promising conditions for job
creation. Clear and stable rules, such as uncomplicated
ways of starting a business, and fair and stable rules
on taxes and regulations, encourage businesses to hire
and keep workers. Flexibly regulated labour markets
and low-cost, efficient access to domestic and external
markets help the private sector thrive. Businesses and
individuals alike benefit from training and research
programmes that help adapt new, breakthrough
technologies to local conditions and foster a culture of
entrepreneurship.

58. Karlan et al (October 2012) Agricultural Decisions After Relaxing Credit and Risk Constraints. Yale University.


Goal 9

Manage natural resource assets
sustainably

a) Publish and use economic, social and environmental accounts in all
governments and major companies
b) Increase consideration of sustainability in x% of government procurements
c) Safeguard ecosystems, species and genetic diversity
d) Reduce deforestation by x% and increase reforestation by y%
e) Improve soil quality, reduce soil erosion by x tonnes and combat
desertification

Protecting and preserving the earth’s resources is not only the right thing to do, it is
fundamental to human life and well-being. Integrating environmental, social and
economic concerns is crucial to meeting the ambition of a 2030 which is more equal,
more just, more prosperous, more green and more peaceful. People living in poverty
suffer first and worst from environmental disasters like droughts, floods and harvest
failures, yet every person on earth suffers without clean air, soil and water. If we don’t
tackle the environmental challenges confronting the world, we can make gains towards
eradicating poverty, but those gains may not last.
Today, natural resources are often used as if they have no economic value, as if they do
not need to be managed for the benefit of future generations as well as our own. But
natural resources are scarce, and damage to them can be irreversible. Once they are
gone, they are gone for good.
Because we ‘treasure what we measure’, an important part of properly valuing the
earth’s natural abundance is to incorporate it into accounting systems. Our current
systems of accounting fail to integrate the enormous impact of environmental concerns;
they become ‘externalities’, effects which matter and have real social and economic
consequences, but which are not captured in calculations of profit, loss and growth.
Countries’ standard measure of progress is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or, for
companies, profit. This leaves out the value of natural assets. It does not count the
exploitation of natural resources or the creation of pollution, though they clearly effect
growth and well-being. Some work is already being done to make sure governments
and companies do begin to account for this: the UN System of Environmental-Economic
Accounting, the Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services and corporate
sustainability accounting have been piloted and should be rolled out by 2030. More
rapid and concerted movement in this direction is encouraged.
Value for money assessments in public procurement can be a powerful tool for
governments to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development. This
can enable governments to use their considerable purchasing power to significantly
accelerate the market for sustainable practices.
Ecosystems include forests, wetlands and oceans. Globally, over a billion people living
in rural areas depend on forest resources for survival and income.59 Yet the world loses
about 5.2 million hectares of forest per year to deforestation. Growing global demand
for food, animal feed, fuel and fiber is driving deforestation. Many of these forests have
been traditionally managed by indigenous peoples and local communities. When
forests are cleared, people and communities lose a traditional source of their livelihoods
while societies lose an important natural resource that could be managed for more
sustainable economic development. The destruction of forests also accelerates climate
change, which affects everyone.
59. Forest resources provide 30% or more of the cash and non-cash incomes of a significant number of households living in and near forests. Shepherd, G. 2012. IUCN; World Bank.

Post-2015 | 49

Emissions from deforestation

Billion tons of CO2e/yr

3

2

1

0

Without REDD

Africa

National
Historical

Asia

Higher than
Historical
for Low
Deforestation

Weighted
Global and
National
Rates

Flow
Withholding
and Stock
Payment

Annualised
Fraction of
Forest Carbon
at Risk of
Emission

Cap and
Trade for
REDD

Latin America

Maintaining forests with many different species and
planting a wide range of food crops benefits people’s
livelihoods and food security.60 Such measures would
keep forests providing essential services, such as
protecting the watershed, mitigating climate change,
increasing local and regional resilience to a changing
climate and hosting many species. With 60 per cent of
the world’s ecosystems degraded, tens of thousands of
species have already been lost.
New partnerships are needed to halt the loss of forests,
to capture the full value of forests to people and society,
and to tackle the drivers of deforestation. Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation
(REDD+) is an emerging global effort to give developing

countries economic incentives to conserve their forests
and increase reforestation in the context of improving
people’s livelihoods and food security, taking into
account the value of natural resources, and bio-diversity.
These major efforts in low-carbon development and
carbon sequestration need more financial support.
Every year, 12 million hectares of land become
degraded—half the size of the United Kingdom-losing opportunities to grow 20 million tons of food.
World leaders have already agreed to strive for a land
degradation-neutral world and to monitor, globally,
what is happening in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid
areas. It is time to do this systematically in the new post2015 framework.

60. Busch, Jonah, et. al. Environmental Research Letters, author calculations (October-December 2009). Available at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/4/4/044006/fulltext/.


Goal 10

Ensure Good Governance and Effective
Institutions

a) Provide free and universal legal identity, such as birth registrations
b) Ensure that people enjoy freedom of speech, association, peaceful protest
and access to independent media and information
c) Increase public participation in political processes and civic engagement at
all levels
d) Guarantee the public’s right to information and access to government data
e) Reduce bribery and corruption and ensure officials can be held
accountable

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed over 60 years ago, set out the
fundamental freedoms and human rights that form the foundations of human
development. It reiterated a simple and powerful truth – that every person is born free
and equal in dignity and rights. This truth is at the very heart of a people-centred agenda,
and reminds us how high we can reach, if we reaffirm the value of every person on this
planet. It is through people that we can transform our societies and our economies and
form a global partnership.
People the world over are calling for better governance. From their local authorities to
parliamentarians to national governments to the multilateral system, people want ethical
leadership. They want their universal human rights guaranteed and to be recognised in
the eyes of the law. They want their voices to be heard and they want institutions that
are transparent, responsive, capable and accountable. People everywhere want more
of a say in how they are governed. Every person can actively participate in realising the
vision for 2030 to in bring about transformational change. Civil society should play a
central, meaningful role but this requires space for people to participate in policy and
decision-making. This means ensuring people’s right to freedom of speech, association,
peaceful protest and access to independent media and information.
Strengthening the capacity of parliaments and all elected representatives, and
promoting a vibrant, diverse and independent media can further support governments
to translate commitments into action.
The word “institutions” covers rules, laws and government entities, but also the informal
rules of social interactions. Institutions enable people to work together, effectively and
peacefully. Fair institutions ensure that all people have equal rights and a fair chance at
improving their lives, that they have access to justice when they are wronged.
Government is responsible for maintaining many of society’s central institutions. One of
the most basic institutional responsibilities is providing legal identity. Every year, about
50 million births are not registered anywhere, so these children do not have a legal
identity. That condemns them to anonymity, and often to being marginalised, because
simple activities – from opening a bank account to attending a good school – often
require a legal identity.
Openness and accountability helps institutions work properly – and ensures that
those who hold power cannot use their position to favour themselves or their friends.
Good governance and the fight against corruption are universal issues. Everywhere,

Post-2015 | 51

institutions could be more fair and accountable. The
key is transparency. Transparency helps ensure that
resources are not wasted, but are well managed and put
to the best use.
Many central institutions are public. But not every one.
The need for transparency extends to all institutions,
government entities as well as businesses and civilsociety organisations. To fulfill the aims of the post2015 agenda requires transparency from all of them.
When institutions openly share how much they spend,
and what results they are achieving, we can measure
progress towards each goal. Openness will make success
much more likely.
Publishing accounts – including sustainability accounts
– brings ownership and accountability to the entire
post-2015 agenda. Sustainability encourages societies
to measure more than money -- and to account for the

value of all of the other natural and societal resources
that bring prolonged prosperity and well-being.
Accountability works best in an environment of
participatory governance. The Millennium Declaration
declared freedom one of six fundamental values, and
stated that it is best ensured through participatory
governance.
One target that would be useful is to decrease the
extent of bribery and corruption in society. There are
concerns with how reliably this is measured—but many
indicators are imprecise and this should just lead to
re-doubled efforts to improve the understanding of
how pervasive this may be. When evidence is found
of bribery or corruption, involving public officials or
private individuals, they should be held to account. Zero
tolerance.


Goal 11

Ensure Stable and Peaceful Societies

a) Reduce violent deaths per 100,000 by x and eliminate all forms of violence
against children
b) Ensure justice institutions are accessible, independent, well-resourced and
respect due-process rights
c) Stem the external stressors that lead to conflict, including those related to
organised crime
d) Enhance the capacity, professionalism and accountability of the security
forces, police and judiciary

Without peace, there can be no development. Without development, there can
be no enduring peace. Peace and justice are prerequisites for progress. We must
acknowledge a principal lesson of the MDGs: that peace and access to justice are not
only fundamental human aspirations but cornerstones of sustainable development.
Without peace, children cannot go to school or access health clinics. Adults cannot go
to their workplaces, to markets or out to cultivate their fields. Conflict can unravel years,
even decades, of social and economic progress in a brief span of time.
When it does, progress against poverty becomes daunting. By 2015, more than 50 per
cent of the total population in extreme poverty will reside in places affected by conflict
and chronic violence.61 To end extreme poverty and empower families to pursue better
lives requires peaceful and stable societies.
Children are particularly vulnerable in situations of conflict.62 In at least 13 countries,
parties continue to recruit children into armed forces and groups, to kill or maim
children, commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, or engage
in attacks on schools and/or hospitals. Recognising their particular vulnerability to
violence, exploitation and abuse, the Panel proposes a target to eliminate all forms of
violence against children.
The character of violence has shifted dramatically in the past few decades.63
Contemporary conflict is characterised by the blurring of boundaries, the lack of clear
front lines or battlefields, and the frequent targeting of civilian populations. Violence,
drugs and arms spill rapidly across borders in our increasingly connected world.
Stability has become a universal concern.
Physical insecurity, economic vulnerability and injustice provoke violence, and violence
propels communities further into impoverishment. Powerful neighbours, or global
forces beyond the control of any one government, can cause stresses. Stress alone,
though, does not cause violence: the greatest danger arises when weak institutions
are unable to absorb or mitigate such stress and social tensions. Safety and justice
institutions are especially important for poor and marginalised communities. Security,
along with justice, is consistently cited as an important priority by poor people in all
countries.
In 2008, the International Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor estimated
that as many as 4 billion people live outside the protection of the law.64 But every
country can work towards social justice, begin to fashion stronger institutions for
61. OECD, Ensuring Fragile States are Not Left Behind, 2013 Factsheet on resource flows and trends, (2013)
http://www.oecd.org/dac/incaf/factsheet%202013%20resource%20flows%20final.pdf
62. Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict (A/66/782–S/2012/261, April
2012).
63. WDR 2011, p.2.
64. Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (2008), Making the Law Work for Everyone. Volume
I in the Report of the Commission. United Nations: New York.61. WDR (2011), pp218-220.

Post-2015 | 53

conflict resolution and mediation. Many countries have
successfully made the transition from endemic violence
to successful development, and we can learn important
lessons from their powerful example.
It is crucial that we ensure basic safety and justice for
all, regardless of a person’s economic or social status or
political affiliation. To achieve peace, leaders must tackle
the problems that matter most to people: they must
prosecute corruption and unlawful violence, especially
against minorities and vulnerable groups. They must
enhance accountability. They must prove that the state
can deliver basic services and rights, such as access
to safety and justice, safe drinking water and health
services, without discrimination.
Progress against violence and instability will require
local, national, regional and global cooperation. We
must also offer sustained and predictable support. Too
often, we wait until a crisis hits before providing the
necessary commitments to bring safety and stability.
Assistance from the international community to places
suffering from violence must plan longer-term, using a

65. WDR (2011), pp218-220.

ten- to fifteen-year time horizon. This will allow enough
time to make real gains and solidify those gains. And
during that time, providing the basics, from safety to
jobs, can improve social cohesion and stability. Good
governance and effective institutions are crucial. Jobs
and inclusive growth are linked to peace and stability
and deter people from joining criminal networks or
armed groups.
Steps to mitigate the harmful effects of external
stressors such as volatile commodity prices,
international corruption, organised crime and the illicit
trade in persons, precious minerals and arms are sorely
needed. Effectively implementing small arms control
is especially important to these efforts. Because these
threats cross borders, the responses must be regional
and international. Some innovative cross-border and
regional programs exist, and regional organisations are
increasingly tackling these problems.65
To ensure that no one is left behind in the vision for
2030, we must work collectively to ensure the most
fundamental condition for human survival, peace.


Goal 12

Create a Global Enabling Environment
and Catalyse Long-Term Finance

a) Support an open, fair and development-friendly trading system,
substantially reducing trade-distorting measures, including agricultural
subsidies, while improving market access of developing country products
b) Implement reforms to ensure stability of the global financial system and
encourage stable, long-term private foreign investment
c) Hold the increase in global average temperature below 2⁰ C above preindustrial levels, in line with international agreements
d) Developed countries that have not done so to make concrete efforts
towards the target of 0.7% of gross national product (GNP) as official
development assistance to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20% of GNP
of developed countries to least developed countries; other countries should
move toward voluntary targets for complementary financial assistance
e) Reduce illicit flows and tax evasion and increase stolen-asset recovery by $x
f ) Promote collaboration on and access to science, technology, innovation,
and development data

An enabling global environment is a necessary condition for the post-2015 agenda to
succeed, to set us on a course towards our vision of a 2030 which is more prosperous,
more equitable, more peaceful and more just. An enabling environment makes concrete
the spirit of a new global partnership, bringing cooperation to bear on pressing global
challenges.
Creating a global trading system that actively encourages sustainable development is
of paramount importance. Increasingly, countries are driving their own development,
and this dynamism is driven by trade more than aid. Ensuring that the global trading
system is open and fair creates the platform for countries to grow.
The WTO is the most effective tool to increase the development impact of trade, and
a successful conclusion of the Doha round of trade talks is urgently needed to put the
conditions in place for achieving the post-2015 agenda. Currently, goods and services
produced by firms in least-developed countries (LDCs) face quotas and duties that
limit their ability to cross borders and succeed in the global marketplace. Systems that
provide market access for developing countries, including preference programmes and
duty-free, quota-free market access, can assist LDCs. However, even when these fees and
limits are reduced, other complications can arise, such as ‘rules of origin’, that can create
unnecessary red tape and paperwork for LDCs. This curtails the participation of LDCs in
global production chains, and reduces their competitiveness in the global marketplace.
Some agricultural subsidies can distort trade and market access of developing country
products.
A system that better facilitates the movement of people, goods and services would
go a long way towards allowing more people and more countries to benefit fully from
globalisation. Increased trade and access to markets brings more equitable growth and
opportunity for all – the surest way to defeat poverty and deprivation.

Post-2015 | 55

Stability of the financial system is crucial to enable longterm growth and sustainable development. The severe
downsides of an interconnected world were brought
to life in the global financial crisis in 2008. Risky actions
in one part of the world can wreak havoc on people
across the globe – and can reverse gains in eradicating
poverty. Commodities are especially volatile and we
urge continued commitment to initiatives such as the
Agricultural Market Information System, to enhance
food market transparency and encourage coordination
of policy action in response to market uncertainty.

that has been put in. Some of this is money-laundering
of bribes and stolen funds, and some is to evade taxes.
Much more can and should be done to stop this. It
starts with transparency in all countries. Developed
countries could be more actively seizing and returning
assets that may have been stolen, acquired corruptly, or
transferred abroad illegally from developing countries.
The average OECD country is only “largely compliant” in
4 of 13 categories of Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
recommendations when it comes to detecting and
fighting illicit financial flows66.

Following the financial crisis, there is more concern
that the international financial architecture must be
reformed, and agreed regulatory reforms implemented
consistently, to ensure global financial stability.
Recommendations and actions are being implemented,
both in major individual financial centres and
internationally.

If the money is openly tracked, it is harder to steal.
That is the motivation behind the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative, a voluntary global standard
that asks companies to disclose what they pay, and
has governments disclose what they receive. Other
countries could adopt EITI and follow the example of the
United States and the EU in legally compelling oil, gas
and mining companies to disclose financial information
on every project.

The proper place to forge an international agreement to
tackle climate change is the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change. The Panel wants to underline the
importance of holding the increase in global average
temperatures below 2 degrees Centigrade above preindustrial levels, in line with international agreements.
This is all the more important as, despite existing
agreements, the world is missing the window to meet
the promise made to limit global warming to a 2 degree
rise over pre-industrial temperatures.
Without tackling climate change, we will not succeed
in eradicating extreme poverty. Some of the concrete
steps outlined in this report, on renewable energy, for
example, are critical to limiting future warming and
building resilience to respond to the changes that
warming will bring.
The 2002 Monterrey Consensus was an historic
agreement on development finance that guides policy
today. Developed countries that have not done so
agreed to make concrete efforts towards lifting their
aid budgets towards the target of 0.7% of GNP. As
part of that, they reaffirmed their commitments to
offer assistance equal to 0.15 to 0.2% of GNP to leastdeveloped countries. This is still the right thing to do.
Official development assistance (ODA) that flows to
developing countries is still a very important source
of financing: 55 cents of every dollar of foreign capital
that comes into low-income countries is ODA. Other
countries should also move toward voluntary targets for
complementary financial assistance.
Developed countries have to go beyond aid, however.
There are signs that the money illegally taken out of
sub-Saharan Africa and put in overseas tax havens and
secrecy jurisdictions is greater than all the aid money

Developed countries could also pay more attention
to exchanging information with developing countries
to combat tax evasion. Together, they can also crack
down on tax avoidance by multinational companies
through the abuse of transfer pricing to artificially shift
their profits across international borders to low-tax
havens. When developed countries detect economic
crimes involving developing countries, they must work
together to make prosecuting such crimes a priority.
Domestic revenues are the most important source for
the funds needed to invest in sustainable development,
relieve poverty and deliver public services. Only through
sufficient domestic resource mobilisation can countries
ensure fiscal reliance and promote sustainable growth.
Data is one of the keys to transparency, which is the
cornerstone of accountability. Too often, development
efforts have been hampered by a lack of the most basic
data about the social and economic circumstances in
which people live.
To understand whether we are achieving the goals,
data on progress needs to be open, accessible, easy
to understand and easy to use. As goals get more
ambitious, the quality, frequency, disaggregation and
availability of relevant statistics must be improved. To
accomplish this requires a commitment to changing the
way we collect and share data.
Systems are not in place today to generate good data.
This is a special problem for poor countries, but even the
most powerful and wealthy countries have only a limited
understanding of, for example, how many patients in a
given area are accessing healthcare services, and how
and what happens when they do.

66. OECD, “Measuring OECD Responses to Illicit Financial Flows,” Issue Paper for DAC Senior Level Meeting 2013, DCD/
DAC(2013)13, 2013, p.4.


The availability of information has improved during the
implementation of the MDGs, but not rapidly enough
to foster innovations and improvements the delivery of
vital services. Learning from data – and adapting actions
based on what we learn from it – is one of the best ways
to ensure that goals are reached.
To be able to do this, we need to start now, well ahead
of 2015. We need to build better data-collection
systems, especially in developing countries. Without
them, measuring the goals and targets set out here
can become an undue and unfeasible burden. With
them, a global goal framework is an effective way of
uniting efforts across the globe. Building the statistical
capacities of national, subnational and local systems is
key to ensuring that policymakers have the information
they need to make good policy. The UN Statistical
Commission should play a key role.
Data are a true public good, and are underfunded,
especially in low-income countries. That must change.
Technical and financial support from high-income
countries is sorely needed to fill this crucial gap.

The innovation, diffusion and transfer of technology
is critical to realising true transformation. Whether in
information, transportation, communications or lifesaving medicines, new technologies can help countries
leapfrog to new levels of sustainable development.
Some technologies exist which can help us reach our
vision for 2030, and science is making ever greater
progress in this direction, but some technologies have
yet to be developed. Partnerships can help us develop
the tools we need, and ensure that these innovations
are more broadly shared.
At its heart, a global enabling environment must
encourage substantial new flows for development,
better integrate resources by engaging the talents of
new partners from civil society and the private sectors,
and use new approaches. This goal underpins the action
and partnerships needed to fully achieve the ambitious
aims of the post-2015 agenda.

Post-2015 | 57

Annex III: Goals, Targets and Indicators: Using a
Common Terminology
In consultations for the report, we talked a lot about goals and targets and found
that people use these words in quite different ways. Since the global community
will continue with this discussion over the next year and a half, we hope that a clear
understanding of and a commonly-shared terminology will make those discussions as
productive as possible.
For the sake of clarity, we use definitions for goals, targets and indicators as shown in
Table 1.

Term

How it is Used in this Report

Example from MDGs

Goal

Expresses an ambitious, but
specific, commitment. Always
starts with a verb/action.

Reduce child mortality

Targets

Quantified sub-components that
will contribute in a major way to
achievement of goal. Should be
an outcome variable.

Reduce by two-thirds, between
1990 and 2015, the under-five
mortality rate

Indicators

Precise metric from identified
databases to assess if target
is being met (often multiple
indicators are used).

Under-5 mortality rate
Infant mortality rate
Proportion of 1-year olds
immunised against measles

A goal should be specific and relate to only one objective. By now, most of the proposals
for post-2015 goals agree that they should be few in number in order to force choices
and establish priorities. But there are different ways of doing this. In some proposals,
each goal tackles several issues. For example, we have seen proposals to combine
food and water into one goal, but these are distinct challenges, each with their own
constituencies, resources, and issues. When they are combined into a single goal, it does
not lead to more focus or prioritisation; it just obscures the reality of needing to do two
things.
It is important that goals be as specific as possible in laying out a single challenge and
ambition.
We believe that the focus of goals should be on issues with the greatest impact on
sustainable development, measured in terms of the number of people affected, the
contribution to social inclusion, and the need to move towards sustainable consumption
and production patterns. Ideally each goal has ‘knock on’ effects in other areas so that
the set of goals, taken together, is truly transformative. So for example, quality education
is important in itself, but it also has an enormous impact on growth and jobs, gender
equality, and improved health outcomes.
Targets translate the ambition of goals into practical outcomes. They may be outcomes
for people, like access to safe drinking water or justice, or outcomes for countries or
communities, like reforestation or the registration of criminal complaints. Targets should
always be measurable although some may require further technical work to develop
reliable and rigorous indicators.

58 | Annex III: Goals, Targets and Indicators: Using a Common Terminology

The target specifies the level of ambition of each
country, by determining the speed with which a country
pursues a goal. That speed can be a function of many
things: the priorities of the country, its initial starting
point, the technical and organisational possibilities for
improvement, and the level of resources and number of
partners that can be brought to bear on the problem.
We believe that a process of allowing countries to set
their own targets, in a highly visible way, will create
a “race to the top”, both internationally and within
countries. Countries and sub-national regions should
be applauded for setting ambitious targets and for
promising to make large efforts. Likewise, if countries
and sub-national regions are too conservative in their
target setting, civil society and their peers can challenge
them to move faster. Transparency and accountability
are central to implementing a goals framework.
In some cases, there may be a case for having a global
minimum standard for a target, where the international
community commits itself to do everything possible
to help a country reach a threshold level. That applies
to the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030, for
example. This could be extended in several other areas,
including ending gender discrimination, education,
health, food, water, energy, personal safety, and access
to justice. Such minimum standards can be set where
this is a universal right that every person on the planet
should expect to realise by 2030.
The only global targets we kept were those that have
already been set out as objectives by the SecretaryGeneral’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative; and those
that are truly global problems for which only a global
target would work, such as reform of the international
financial and trade systems.
In the report, we often talk about “universal access” or
“eradicating extreme poverty”. These terms need to be
interpreted in each country context. Social issues are not
like diseases. It is possible to be clear about eradicating
small-pox, but it may be harder to demonstrate that
extreme poverty has been eradicated. Someone,
somewhere, may be excluded or still living in poverty,
even if the proper social safety nets are in place. The
intention is that such exceptions should be very rare;
specialists in each area should be called upon to define
when the target can be said to be reached.
Targets should be easy to understand. This means
one direction should be a clear ‘better’ outcome. For
example, a reduction in child mortality is always a good
thing; an increase in literacy rates is always a good thing.
Some potential targets, however, are less clear-cut. Take
rural jobs, for example, a target that was suggested at
one point. It could be that more rural jobs are due to
improved market access, infrastructure or participation

in value chains; but it could just as easily be that there
is an increase in rural jobs because there aren’t enough
jobs being created in cities and migrants are returning
home. In the first case, more rural jobs are a sign of
improvement. In the latter case, they are a signal of
decline. Hence, the number of rural jobs is probably
not a good candidate for a target. The interpretation of
the direction of change depends too much on country
context.
It is important to be clear that allowing countries to set
the speed they want for each target is only one approach
to the idea of national targets. The other suggestion
considered by the Panel is to have a “menu”, whereby a
set of internationally agreed targets are established, and
then countries can select the ones most applicable to
their particular circumstances. For example, one country
might choose to focus on obesity and another on noncommunicable disease when thinking about their
priorities for health.
In the terminology used in this report, national targets
refer only to the national differences in the speed with
which targets are to be achieved. As an example, every
country should set a target to increase the number of
good or decent jobs and livelihoods by x but every
country could determine what x should be based upon
the specific circumstances of that country or locality.
Then these can be aggregated up so that you can
compare achievements in job creation across countries
and over time.
The indicator reflects the exact metric by which we
will know if the target has been met. The Panel did
not discuss specific indicators, but it does recommend
that indicators be disaggregated to allow targets to be
measured in various dimensions, by gender, geography,
age, and ethnicity, for example.
Averages conceal more than they reveal. The more
disaggregated the indicator, the easier it is to identify
trends and anomalies. If a target is universal, like access
to basic drinking water at home, it is not enough just
to measure the average trend and expect that will
continue. For example, the national average trend on
basic drinking water may be very good if a major urban
project is being implemented, but rural homes may be
left out completely. Universal access requires sufficient
disaggregation of the indicator to allow discrepancies
from the average trend to be identified early on. We
suggest that a target should only be considered achieved
if it is met for relevant income and social groups.
The Panel reiterates the vital importance of building data
systems to provide timely, disaggregated indicators to
measure progress, in all countries, and at all levels (local,
sub-national, and national).

Post-2015 | 59

Annex IV: Summary of Outreach Efforts
The High Level Panel and its individual members have undertaken an extensive and
multi-faceted outreach effort, spanning every major region of the world and bringing
together a diverse cross-section of stakeholders and interest groups. Widespread
interactions have created an active and deliberate process to listen to people’s
voices and aspirations as an input into the Panel report. Many groups, including UN
entities, helped organise these meetings, and the Panel would like to express its deep
appreciation for these efforts.

Global, Regional and Thematic Consultations
During its meetings in New York (September 2012), London (November 2012), Monrovia
(January 2013) and Bali (March 2013), the Panel held global meetings with youth,
academia, private sector, parliamentarians and elected representatives of civil society.
Social media channels were also used to enable individuals to contribute virtually to
these interactions.
Panel members have also hosted regional and thematic consultations. These have
enabled a deeper understanding of regional specificities - Latin American and the
Caribbean, Asia, Arab States, Africa, the g7+ group of fragile states, Pacific Island
countries and the group of Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) - as well as
engagement with specific issues and constituencies - including Conflict and Fragility,
Governance and the Rule of Law, Migration, Local Authorities, Businesses, and Health.
These meetings are listed on the Panel website.
Written outcomes of these and other consultations with recommendations for Panel
consideration are available on the Panel’s website (www.post2015hlp.org).

Online Outreach Efforts
Online consultations, eliciting more than 800 responses from civil society to the 24
Framing Questions guiding the work of the High Level Panel, were undertaken in two
phases between October 2012 and January 2013. The summary is on the Panel website.
A third online consultation on partnerships was also undertaken in March 2013.
Teleconferences and ‘Twitter town halls’ have also been organised by Panelists to
facilitate engagement with sub-national and youth groups. Online and social media
channels – including the use of the ‘World We Want’ platform and HLP linked Facebook
and Twitter accounts – have helped to share updates and invite responses to the
Panel’s work. The HLP website has been used to disseminate information on the Panel’s
outreach efforts in multiple languages.

Key Recommendations:
Each conversation enabled an appreciation of the complex, multi-dimensional and
yet integral nature of the lessons and aspirations for the post-2015 agenda, and each
has deeply influenced and informed the Panel’s work, even if not all recommendations
were taken on board. While it would be impossible to capture all the insights,
recommendations that have emerged from the major consultations held as part of the
Panel’s outreach include:

60 | Annex IV: Summary of Outreach Efforts

Theme

Examples of Some of the Issues Raised (More Extensive List and Inputs at
www.post2015hlp.org)

Inequality;
Universal
Access
and Equal
Opportunity

• Metrics should be put in place to track progress on equal access and opportunity across
age, gender, ethnicity, disability, geography, and income
• Social protection floors should be established, alongside the right to decent work; A
Global Fund for Social Protection should be established
• Inequality should be a stand-alone goal and cross-cutting theme; it should address
inequality within and between countries
• Goals and targets on universal access to health (including sexual and reproductive rights);
access to inclusive education and life-long learning; access to water, sanitation, hygiene,
food sovereignty and nutrition security are included
• Investments are made in essential services and participatory and accountable systems for
the sustainable management of resources are created;
• Participation is emphasised and people are empowered with the right information
• Infrastructure with improved access to roads, land and energy is developed; Social
partnerships must supersede public-private partnerships

Employment
and Inclusive
Growth

• A goal on decent work with targets on employment creation, reduction of vulnerable
work with indicators for women and young people is included
• Sustained access to productive assets by the poor communities, or nations is enabled;
Green jobs for sustainable development are promoted
• Specific benefits and safeguards are provided for the informal sector; Innovative ways for
them to organise such as through unions and cooperatives is encouraged
• A new trade system based on expanding production capabilities is encouraged and Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is not the only measure of economic progress
• Global Future studies and foresight are emphasised; Alternative paths such as delinking
growth from natural resource extraction and consumption are researched
• Better use of sovereign funds, development finance institutions and a global knowledge
commons is promoted

Environment,
Natural
Resource
Management
and Climate
Change;
Challenges of
Urbanisation

• A single framework integrates environmental sustainability and poverty elimination
• New goals are considered within planetary boundaries; polluters pay and patterns of
consumption are addressed
• International support for climate change mitigation, adaptation, disaster risk reduction
(DRR) and humanitarian response is mobilised; DRR is integrated into sustainable
development strategies
• Means of resilience for vulnerable communities are defined – with a focus on women
• Scientific knowledge is built at every level and shared across countries
• Specific measures to improve the lives of the urban poor are taken; their right to housing;
essential services, jobs and livelihoods is enabled by policies adapted to informal sectors
• Environmental sustainability in cities is enhanced by improving risk prevention, reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and promoting renewable energy sources
• The ‘Avoid-Shift-Improve’ approach in the transport sector is adopted
• Partnerships around migration are promoted; the its role in development is recognised

Post-2015 | 61

Theme


Conflict,
Fragility and
State Building

• The needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS),
Landlocked Developing Countries, and Fragile and Conflict Affected States are prioritised
• The New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States (Busan, 2011) is reinforced as a key step for
national and international partners to work in conflict-affected and fragile states
• LDCs are protected against scarcity of vital resources and destabilising price shocks
• Measures to end violence against women and girls are prioritised; Steps are taken to end
impunity and ensure access to justice for all social groups
• All social groups must be able to express political opinion without fear and participate in
decision making; Divisions within society are constructively resolved
• Steps are taken to eliminate trans-national crime stop the flow of illicit drugs, arms and
war commodities
• Objectives on the ‘right to self-determination’ are included and a time-bound programme
to achieve development targets is set at the end of every occupation
• Measures to strengthen regional, sub-regional and cross-regional cooperation, especially
South-South cooperation, are undertaken
• Enhanced transparency of the business sector, particularly in their relations with fragile
states is ensured; along with alignment of efforts for shared prosperity.

Governance
and Human
Rights

• A stand-alone goal for open, accountable and participatory governance with measurable,
intermediate and progressive targets on citizen engagement, rule of law, fiscal
transparency and procurement is established
• Principles of transparency, accountability, integrity and participation are integrated into
all other goals; capacities of public institutions at all levels are strengthened
• Poor and socially excluded groups are part of decision making at all levels; minimum
standards for an enabling environment for CSOs are promoted
• Existing human rights norms, operational standards and commitments are a nonnegotiable normative base of the new framework; development policies, programmes
and practice at all levels reflect obligations under international human rights law
• Strengthen access to justice and judicial accountability for human rights; national human
rights monitoring bodies and quasi-judicial regulatory bodies are supported with the
mandate, capacities and resources required to monitor violations of human rights and to
act on complaints
• Systematic integration of national reporting on development goals in reports to the
Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council and to international human rights
treaty monitoring bodies is promoted
• International cooperation and technical and financial assistance is consistent with human
rights obligations and due diligence to prevent human rights abuses

Means of
Implementation

• Call for changes in the global economic and financial architecture through fair trade,
stopping illicit financial flows and effectively tackling tax evasion and avoidance
• Existing commitments on quantity and quality of aid must be met; climate finance must
be public, obligatory, predictable, grant-based, and free from conditionalities


Theme

• International trade rules and policies must be socially inclusive and environmentally
sustainable; public financing for development guarantees financial and development
additionality to promote positive and sustainable development impact
• Commodity markets must be regulated, and speculation banned; trade-distorting
agricultural subsidies in developed countries should be eliminated
• Domestic resource mobilisation must be enabled through changes to international tax
regulation; loan-based forms of development cooperation should not be used to deliver
financing commitments
• Comprehensive and participatory debt audits should be conducted, with measures for
immediate cancellation and repudiation of debts illegitimately owed
• Flexibilities in the Trade Related Aspects of intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) must allow
greater access to technology, knowledge, food sovereignty, access to health
• Countries must build regional agreements to address tax competition and excessive tax
incentives; Increase transparency and information exchange around tax havens
• Reach universal domestic resource targets: corporate tax take, tax/GDP ratio; innovative,
democratic financing mechanisms, with a focus on women, is prioritised

Children and
Youth

• Include child rights provisions in constitutions, review national laws and codes in line with
international standards; increase budgets for child protection agencies
• Ensure the participation of children and youth in decision making at all levels; invest in
innovative and sustained youth-led and youth-serving programmes
• Health care services must be sensitive to young people’s sexual and reproductive health
and rights and barriers faced by groups such as youth living with HIV and young women
• Young people must be able to access employment and economic opportunities that
encompass fair wages, possibilities for funding and mentorship, equal opportunities, job
and social security that offer chances for career development and training.
• Traditional education is made relevant to youths’ daily lives, the progress of their
communities, their work and economic prospects, and the exchange of knowledge and
information in the digital economy
• A focus on the post-conflict context and vulnerable groups - including women and girls,
disabled youth, LGBT youth, and youth in war-affected areas - is necessary

Women

• There is a reinforced standalone gender goal and expanded gender targets and indicators
• Women’s access to land, property, productive resources, information and technology is
strengthened; their unpaid care and social reproduction roles are accounted for
• All forms of gender-based violence are addressed; access to justice must be prioritised
and a package of critical services is made available to all victims of gender-based violence
• Laws that discriminate on the basis of gender, criminalise or marginalise specific groups
on the basis of their gender identify or sexual orientation must be repealed
• Specific and cross-cutting financial allocations for women’s rights (gender budgeting) is
ensured; disaggregated data is available to monitor implementation and outcomes
• Women’s leadership in decision-making, including affirmative action measures for
political participation at all levels; and in the private sector must be prioritised
• The role of climate change, natural disasters, land grabbing and the extractives model of
development in perpetuating women’s poverty is recognised and addressed

Post-2015 | 63

Theme


Other Vulnerable
Groups:
i. Disability and
Ageing
ii. Informal Sector
iii.Indigenous
Groups
iv. Ethnic
Minorities
v. Dalits
vi. Migrants
vii. LGBTQI
viii. Victims and
Survivors of
Gender Violence
ix. Small–scale
farmers, peasants,
Fisherfolk
communities
x. Workers and
Unemployed
xi. Urban Poor

• The new framework should be human rights-based and include stand-alone goals
on inequality and non-discrimination, healthy life expectancy and universal social
protection floors

Parliamentarians
and Local
Authorities

• Elected representatives at all levels are recognised as key stakeholders by virtue of their
legislative oversight, budget approval and representation duties

• Disaggregation of data by disability, age group and gender should be part of all targets
• Disability and ageing must be mainstreamed across policies of the government, and
laws that prevent discrimination against the disabled and aged must be put in place
• Mechanisms to recognise and protect the collective rights of indigenous peoples to
land, territories and resources and other rights under the UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) must be ensured
• Legislative and institutional mechanisms to recognise the indivisible rights of indigenous
peoples, ethnic minorities, dalits and other socially excluded groups must be put in place
• Discriminatory laws and policies that criminalise LGBTQI groups and sex workers must
be repealed
• Policies that defend the rights of peasants, Fisherfolk and other marginalised groups to
access land, water and other resources are put in place; legal status to the urban poor is
provided and their rights as citizens is protected
• Affirmative actions to empower women and other vulnerable groups to participate in
the formal economy are introduced

• The importance of eliminating corruption, removing discriminatory laws and promoting
respect for human rights, the rule of law and democracy is stressed
• Establish robust strategies for enhancing the quality, production, use and timely
distribution of socio-economic data, in particular disaggregated data, to inform
development strategies, policies and targets at all levels
• Develop a set of sustainable development goals which fully respect all the Rio principles;
call for accelerated implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) 2005-2015
and achievement of its goals.
• Align national and international macroeconomic policies (fiscal, trade, monetary,
financial flows) to ensure accessible and inclusive growth, human rights, social justice
and sustainable development
• Emphasise full delivery on all ODA commitments by OECD/DAC, including the target of
0.7% of GNI for ODA. Put in place mechanisms for accountable and transparent public
expenditures, including redirecting military related resources to development purposes

Private Sector

• Adopt an integrated approach reflecting all three pillars of sustainability – social,
economic and environmental – with one set of combined goals
• Promote scalable and transformational partnerships for development as a critical
enabler; precise targets, with regular milestones and clear accountabilities are set to
evaluate progress
• The ten principles of the UN Global Compact (covering human rights, labour,
environmental and anti-corruption measures) serve as the basis for standards for
business in the post-2015 agenda.


Theme

• Businesses can adopt inclusive and sustainable business models, that benefit SMEs in
developing countries and support transitions from informal to formal sectors.
• Innovation and new technology in developing countries is encouraged; investment in
telecommunications and infrastructure is made essential
• Increased and better targeted financial flows from private finance are supported; incountry hubs of public-private partnership supported; foreign direct investment to
developing countries is encouraged as way to move beyond aid

Post-2015 | 65

Annex V: Terms of Reference and List of Panel
Members
Terms of Reference for the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015
Development Agenda
1. The High-level Panel of Eminent Persons will be
convened by the UN Secretary-General to advise him
on a bold and at the same time practical development
agenda beyond 2015.
2. The High-level Panel will consist of 26 Eminent
Persons, including representatives of governments,
the private sector, academia, civil society and youth,
with the appropriate geographical and gender balance.
Panelists are members in their personal capacity.
3. The panel should conduct its work on the basis of
a rigorous analysis of credible shared evidence. The
panel should engage and consult widely with relevant
constituencies at national, regional and global levels.
4. The Special Advisor of the Secretary-General for Post2015 will be an ex-officio member of the HLP and serve
as link to the UN system.
5. The output of the Panel will be a report to the
Secretary-General which will include:
a) Recommendations regarding the vision and shape
of a Post-2015 development agenda that will help
respond to the global challenges of the 21st century,
building on the MDGs and with a view to ending
poverty.
b) Key principles for reshaping the global partnership
for development and strengthened accountability
mechanisms;
c) Recommendations on how to build and sustain
broad political consensus on an ambitious yet
achievable Post-2015 development agenda around
the three dimensions of economic growth, social
equality and environmental sustainability; taking
into account the particular challenges of countries in
conflict and post-conflict situations.
6. To this end, it would be essential for the work of the
HLP and of the intergovernmental Working Group on the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to inform each
other in order to ensure both processes are mutually
reinforcing. The HLP should advise the SecretaryGeneral on how the SDGs relate to the broader Post2015 development agenda.
7. To prepare the report, the Panel will take into
consideration:

a) The Millennium
Document of Rio+20;

Declaration,

The

Outcome

b) The findings of the Report of the Secretary-General’s
UN Task Team for the preparation of the Post-2015 UN
Development Agenda; as well as lessons learned and
best practices from the MDGs.
c) The findings of the various national and thematic
consultations at regional and national levels which are
coordinated by the UNDG as part of the preparations
for the Post-2015 Development Agenda;
d) The need to build momentum for a constructive
dialogue on the parameters of the Post-2015
Development Agenda, and propose innovative
ways for governments, parliaments, civil society
organisations, the business sector, academia, local
communities to engage continuously in such a
dialogue;
e) The ongoing work of the UN Task Team, the
Special Advisor to the SG on Post-2015, the report
of the Global Sustainability Panel of the SecretaryGeneral and the findings of the Global Sustainable
Development Network Initiative; as well as
f ) Any other relevant inputs it may deem appropriate.
8. The HLP will be supported by a dedicated and
independent secretariat headed by a senior official
(Lead Author of the HLP report). The secretariat will
also be able to draw from the wealth of knowledge and
expertise made available to it by the UN system.
9. The Deputy Secretary-General will oversee, on behalf
of the Secretary-General, the Post-2015 process.
10. The Panel will present its report to the SecretaryGeneral in the second quarter of 2013. The report will
serve as a key input to the Secretary-General’s report
to the special event to follow up on efforts made
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals
and to discuss the possible contours of the Post-2015
Development Agenda to be organised by the President
of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly in
September 2013.

66 | Annex V: Panels Terms of Reference and List of Panel Members

List of Panel Members

H.E. Dr. Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, President of
Indonesia
Co-Chair

H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
President of Liberia
Co-Chair

The Right Honourable David
Cameron MP, Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom
Co-Chair

H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah
Jordan

Gisela Alonso
Cuba

Fulbert Amoussouga Géro
Benin

Abhijit Banerjee
India

Gunilla Carlsson
Sweden

Patricia Espinosa
Mexico

Post-2015 | 67

Maria Angela Holguin

Naoto Kan67

Tawakkol Karman

Colombia

Japan

Yemen

Sung-Hwan Kim

Horst Köhler

Graça Machel

Republic of Korea

Germany

Mozambique

Betty Maina

Elvira Nabiullina

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Kenya

Russian Federation

Nigeria

67. Mr. Naoto Kan attended the first two meetings, which were respectively held in September (New York) and November (London) of 2012. Mr.Kan subsequently stepped down from the panel.

68 | Annex V: Panels Terms of Reference and List of Panel Members

Andris Piebalgs

Emilia Pires

John Podesta

Latvia

Timor-Leste

United States of America

Paul Polman

Jean-Michel Severino

Izabella Teixeira

Netherlands

France

Brazil

Kadir Topbas

Yingfan Wang

Turkey

China

Amina J. Mohammed
ex officio

Post-2015 | 69

Annex VI: High Level Panel Secretariat And
affiliated institutions
Homi Kharas, Lead Author and Executive Secretary

The Brookings Institution

Karina Gerlach, Deputy Executive Secretary
UN Department of Political Affairs

Molly Elgin-Cossart, Chief of Staff

New York University, Center on International Cooperation

David Akopyan, Chief of Operations
UN Development Programme

Asan Amza, Operations Associate

Kara Alaimo, Head of Communications
Hany Besada, Research Specialist
North-South Institute

Haroon Bhorat, Head of Research
University of Cape Town

Lysa John, Head of Outreach
Nicole Rippin, Research Specialist
German Development Institute

Nurana Sadikhova, Operations/Finance Specialist

Céline Varin, Executive Associate

Jiajun Xu, Junior Research Specialist
Oxford University

Natabara Rollosson, Logistics Coordinator
Jill Hamburg Coplan, Editor

UN Report of HLP Post-2015

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