The Forumgathered to assess Europe’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals under review in the upcoming High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July, namely Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation; Goal 7 on affordable and clean energy; SDG 9 on industry. innovation, and infrastructure; SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities), and Goal 17 on partnership for the Goals.

As a result of the debates, the trade union delegation was successful in incorporating important workers’ priorities for development policies based on a New Social Contract into the opening and closing statements of the Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism delivered during the UNECE Forum. References include the promotion of the creation of decent and climate friendly jobs with just transition in renewable energies, sustainable infrastructure and the care economy, with a labour protection floor for all, minimum living wages and equal pay.

The closing statement also included a stark call to governments to include trade unions in their decision making by reinforcing the role of social dialogue and ensure broad stakeholder engagement in the context of governments’ Voluntary National Reviews on the SDGs.

In addition, trade union inputs were reflected in the roundtable on SDG 7 (sustainable energy), where the civil society representative called for “Just Transition policies based on social dialogue in renewable energy sectors, adequate state regulation in the energy sector for labour rights, environmental rights and social rights, skills development and social protection for workers transitioning from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy and gender-responsive energy policies to tackle energy poverty” (speech available here).