Abstract
The United Nations Member States set a very high bar for themselves at the Rio+20 conference in June 2012: reaching agreement among 193 countries on a broad ‘post‐2015’ sustainable development agenda that could enhance international coordination on all aspects of human and planetary well‐being. However, at a point in history when States were increasingly failing to reach consensus on key decisions, they made history by agreeing on a course that could ‘transform our world’, through ‘an agenda of breathtaking ambition and scope’. This article reviews the two negotiating tracks to develop the post‐2015 outcome – the work of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which originated out of the decision taken at Rio+20; and the agreement to launch a post‐2015 development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals. The final outcome from these two processes represents a fine balance among competing interests and concerns. The article sets the stage for a closer examination of the results of these negotiations. We begin our examination of the ‘original intent’ of the post‐2015 agenda by reviewing the negotiation of the SDGs and the post‐2015 development agenda, with attention to their similarities and differences. The article concludes with a focus on challenges for the implementation stage, based on the themes that emerged during the negotiations.
Published Version
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