The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .
The HLPF was established at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012 in its outcome “The Future We Want“. The HLPF is an integral part of the global architecture for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
The Forum is convened annually under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for eight days, including a three-day ministerial segment, The Forum conducts regular in-depth reviews of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and includes Voluntary National Reviews where countries present the findings from national reviews of progress with a view to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
This year the HLPF met July 7-15 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin provided the following summary from the final day.
The theme of the 2026 ECOSOC and HLPF was “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs for a sustainable future for all”. The Goals to undergo in-depth review are Goals 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 9 (Industry Innovation and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) , and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). In coming days it will be good to get reaction to see how successful it was. 2030 is not far off. It is important for EiD readers to understand this process since we are regularly discussing the importance of the SDGs.
Highlights from July 15th HLPF meeting
The outcomes of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), despite what its name might suggest, are not intended to be political. The 2030 Agenda is a voluntary commitment by UN Member States to collaborate for sustainable development and so is the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the end of each HLPF session. What is seen as political, however, lies in the eyes of the beholder.
One issue that turned out to be political at this year’s HLPF is the UAE Consensus, a landmark agreement on fossil fuels named after the host country of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai in 2024. Adopted with unanimous support, it calls on countries to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The link to Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7, clean and affordable energy) is obvious, so few delegates were surprised to see a reference to the UAE Consensus in the section on measures to accelerate SDG 7 implementation.
During the closing session, the Group of 77 and China introduced an amendment to remove the reference, noting that the HLPF should not mention specific UNFCCC initiatives. The amendment was accepted by vote, following which the EU, UAE, and Brazil expressed their full continued commitment to the UAE Consensus.
Anther political issue that was prominent in the general debate is the role of conflict and its impact on sustainable development, either directly through harm to humans and damage to infrastructure and ecosystems, or indirectly through market distortions like the recent spike in fuel prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormoz.
Delegates repeatedly stated that there can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development. In their Voluntary National Review (VNR) presentations, many representatives described the setbacks conflict can cause across many SDGs and the challenges of re-establishing the basic conditions for a life in dignity and safety in post-conflict zones.
The Declaration reflects these concerns in a paragraph stating that factors that can give rise to conflict, such as inequality, corruption, poor governance, and illicit financial and arms flows are addressed in the 2030 Agenda. The reference asks Member States to redouble their efforts to resolve or prevent conflict and support post-conflict countries.
Israel requested deleting the paragraph, stating it cannot support a declaration that contains “politicized elements.” This amendment was rejected and the paragraph remains in the declaration.
With these “political” issues resolved, HLPF delegates adopted the Ministerial Declaration by acclamation. The HLPF 2026 Ministerial Declaration is a 64-paragraph document structured around two main sections:
- An opening section titled “Current trends, successes, challenges and their impacts on accelerating the implementation of the SDGs;” and
- A section outlining transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, including general considerations on how to accelerate SDG implementation, as well as specific actions for each of the SDGs under review.
Following the adoption of the Declaration, Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, delivered closing remarks on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterrez. He said while HLPF 2026 showed that progress on many SDGs is stagnating or reversing, it also demonstrated that progress is possible, noting that the world is expanding renewable energy at record speed.
He added that more than 400 VNRs to date show that development works best when policies are integrated, country-led, and aligned with national priorities. Noting that reducing debt and sustainable financial management are essential, he urged countries to rapidly implement the Sevilla Commitment to close the SDG financing gap.
Reminding delegates that multilateralism can succeed if countries are willing to compromise and follow up their commitments with tangible action, Economic and Social Council President Lok Bahadur Thapa gaveled HLPF 2026 to a close at 5:22 pm.
Coverage of the entire event is available here.
External link
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 