Finnish PM Sanna Marin said Finland still had “ a lot to do “ to fully achieve its sustainable development goal by the end of this decade.
The United Nations maintained an annual ranking in cooperation with the Bertelsmann foundation.
Finland has ranked the first in league of 160 countries. According to a fresh report from the UN Finland has achieved — or has nearly achieved — The UN’s goal of alleviating poverty, improving health, education, water, energy, peace, & reducing inequality.
The report also noted that the biggest challenge that Finland faces is the fight against climate change, by fighting the loss of biodiversity along with satisfying increasing sustainable consumption level.
PM Marin: Still more to do –
In a statement,PM Sanna Marin ( SDP ) — who is also the chair of Finland’s sustainable development — said this top ranking was a result of extensive work, dedication &collaboration from the country as a whole.
“We are proud of our ranking, but we still have a lot to do to achieve all sustainable development goals by 2030. The crucial thing is now to understand that how can wesafeguard our wellbeing within the limits of our planet’s carrying capacity in the future “
Finland has found itself in the list of top 3 ranking countries in previous years, but now we topped the list for the very first time.
Sweden was in second & Denmark was in third place by following Finland at the first position. Meanwhile,Countries like Chad, Central African Republican, Somalia, Sudan were at bottom of the list in this year'sranking.
An executive report summary has said that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a setback to achieve sustainable development goals around the world. As goals had declined since the adoption in 2015.
Now the question arises, that even after the Covid-19 breakdown, how did Finland manage to secure the top at the list in sustainable management.
Well, an opening report has been issued by the Prime Minister of Finland’s desk, which consistsof the important keys & factors leading to this achievement.
Highlights –
Here each chapter of the VNR report includes a summary of key changes & lessons learned in the b/w year 2016 -2017.
Review Process.
The VNR of Finland was built on existing institutions, follow – up and monitoring mechanisms and relies on data, evaluations, research & reports. The VNR includes chapters written by stakeholders &institutions. The SDG process consists of two independent assessments: one by government & second by civil society actors.
Progress on SDGs-
Finland is at the forefront of many international sustainabilitystudies &development & close to reaching many SDGs related to social and economical sustainability. Major challenges in front of Finland were the pattern of consumption & production, climate actions & state of biodiversity, gender-based violence & labor market disparities, including a gender pay gap,still remain. Finland bears its responsibility in contributing to global crisis management and supporting developing countries.
Addressing interlinks -
Discussion of interlinkages has increased in Finland. Sanna Marin’s government program is based upon a cross-sectoral approach and effectively aims at interlinkage. All ministries have also submitted their yearly report in four consecutive years to parliament about the policies and measures to achieve the SDGs in their respective branches.
Leaving no one behind-
Finland pursues human rights-based foreign and security policies. Finland has achieved good results in strengthening women& girls' rights. Promoting sexual & reproductive health & rights, enabling developing countries more job & livelihoods, As well as good educational opportunities for the entire population.
Good practices –
A multi-stakeholder approach is highly valued. Commitment by society for sustainable developmentis a practical tool for anyone in Finland. With some concrete implementation of 2030 agenda to participate in sustainable development.
The national commission on sustainable development continues to provide a platform for the government and board range of stakeholders to jointly advance sustainable development in Finnish society.
Innovative institutional mechanisms support national implementation. Youth have taken a prominent role in the 2030 agenda of sustainable development.
Challenges encountered-
Finland‘s biggest challenges In the SDG implementation were related to the need for change in the pattern of consumptions & production patterns, biodiversity conservation, climate action. Finland wasn’t able to cut ODA to a level preceding the cuts in 2016.
These challenges ensure that all the phases of the policy cycle were interconnected systematically. Policy planning should guide the preparation of budget & reports should indicate the success of the government in the allocation of resources in the policy area of sustainable development, which helps to achieve desired goals.
Conclusion & Next step-
This voluntary review has described the work done and progress achieved in Finland during the last four years for the implementation of the 2030 agenda of sustainable development. These key changes at beginning of the chapter will give the reader a significant preview of issues.
The preparation of VNR is proved to be a milestone for the implication of the 2030 agenda over sustainable development.
The Finnish government will pay attention to all SDGs programs and will achieve them along with their national challenges, Finland will also strive for carbon neutrality by 2035. This ambitious goal will result in significant transitions in society that need to beachieved in all manner.
The government is planning to prepare a road map that would extend over electoral periods up until 2030. This road map will support long-term planning & policymaking. The government Is developing a roadmap to increase their development aid to 0.7% of GNI.
To achieve their goal of sustainable development,the Finnish government is preparing a toolkit for a systematic transformation.
The report was finalized with exceptional circumstances as the corona pandemic has caused upheavals around the world, Finland has also faced enormous challenges &the need for change in practices in society.
Corona pandemic has caused the government to change their short-term economical policies of counties but their long-term goals haven’t changed significantly. Investment making is even more important to promote a circular economy, to perform social health care reforms, employment reforms such actions must be taken as soon as possible so that we can limit the expenditure growth after the acute crisis has been subsided. Climate change continues, regardless of current circumstances, and requires even more vigorous actions. Safeguard of democracy is also important & implementation of human rights. Finland will keep caring about its global responsibility also during the time of global crisis by supporting long-term multilateral cooperation, fragile countries, and vulnerable groups of people.
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