Agenda 2030 Coordination and SDG Implementation in Lithuania

The Agenda 2030 is nationally coordinated by the Lithuanian Ministry of Environmental Affairs, but there is no clear policy on the implementation of SDGs. Lithuania presented for the first time the voluntary national review (VNR) at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF).

NGOs were invited to coordination meetings on the SDGs and also presented comments to the draft version of the VNR. NGOs were not invited to be a member of the Lithuanian delegation to the HLPF.

An SDG Experts’ Network has been created under the leadership of the Lithuanian NGDO Platform, Reach for Change, Diversity Development Group, Create Lithuania, and the Ministry of Environment. This coalition currently gathers CSOs, academics, people from the private sector, and civil servants from the Ministry of Environment. This network has actively participated in the elaboration of the National Progress Plan (NPP) for 2021-2030. The feedback of the network aimed to ensure SDG-friendly policies and to reflect on which kind of mechanisms inside the governmental institutions are necessary to monitor the progress of SDGs indicators. Through these processes, this recently created network has been recognized as a key stakeholder in the implementation of the SDGs in Lithuania.

Furthermore, while working on NPP, Lithuanian NGDO Platform and SDG Experts’ Network attended the discussion in the Parliament organized by the Energy and Sustainable Development Commission where the representatives from Ministries, members of the Commission, and SDG Experts’ Network discussed ways of closer inter-institutional collaboration and developments of NPP with a strong focus on SDGs.

Lithuanian NGDO Platform contributed to carrying out an opinion survey on how Lithuanians understand SDGs and sustainable investment. Almost a quarter (24%) of the respondents were familiar with 17 SDGs: 3% responded “yes”, 21% believed they have heard about it, and 76% indicated they do not know what SDGs are. CSOs started to contribute more effectively to the advocacy and awareness-raising activities on SDGs, but there is still a high percentage of citizens that are not aware of Agenda 2030.

Two policy recommendations papers on SDG implementation, strengthening development cooperation, and the 2030 Agenda were presented to the national authorities. The first recommendation was for the President and Head of the Foreign Policy Group of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. The second recommendation was presented to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. The Committee is composed of 7 members, one of whom is currently the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Lithuania.