The seventeenth and final Goal promotes effective partnerships between governments, the private sector, and civil society, which are essential for achieving the SDGs at the global, regional, national, and local levels. These partnerships must be inclusive, grounded in shared principles and values, and place people and the planet at the heart of their concerns.
SDG 17 - The seventeenth and final Goal
Where does France stand ?
Domestic challenges
The international community wanted to combine the new objectives with the financial and non-financial resources which will enable them to be implemented. This is why, in addition to the 16 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the seventeenth has been added, which is in fact the main lever for transformation, because:
- it contributes to the connection between the SDGs and promotes coherence between players and their projects;
- it provides a common frame of reference for sustainable development, throughout the world and for all players, whatever their operating logic (State, civil society, businesses, local authorities, researchers, etc.);
- it lists the areas and resources that can contribute to implementing the Agenda, such as technology and finance.
Aware that the involvement of all players is necessary for the success of the SDGs, France is increasingly committed to a resolutely partnership-based approach to implementing Agenda 2030, through various initiatives and tools.
France’s actions
The Voluntary National Review of the implementation of Agenda 2030 presented in 2023, as well as the 2016 review and the milestones achieved in 2017, 2018 and 2019, were produced in a collaborative manner with the French community committed to the SDGs via numerous workshops.
In 2018, the 98 national indicators for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals in the most relevant way possible were defined following a participative working group within the National Council for Statistical Information.
In addition, the roadmap on France’s implementation of the SDGs at national and international level was drawn up between 2018 and 2019 by an interministerial and multi-player steering committee, co-chaired by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Its adoption by the government was announced on 25 September 2019, the anniversary of the adoption of Agenda 2030 in 2015.
COMETE, the COMmunity of Ecology and TErritories, provides a forum for discussion between key French players in the ecological transition: the Partners’ Club. Within this group, partnerships are being forged, strengthened and made complementary, illustrating the transversal nature of the transition supported by Agenda 2030.
In order to give meaning to this SDG17 on an international level, France has considerably increased the resources dedicated to its policy of inclusive and sustainable investment in developing countries: as a result, official development assistance spending reached 0.56% of GNI in 2022, a historic level that places France as the world’s 4th largest funder.
Law no. 2021-1031 on Inclusive Development and the Fight Against Global Inequalities (LOP-DSLIM), adopted on 4 August 2021, places France’s development policy within the multilateral framework set by the international community with Agenda 2030, the Addis Ababa Action Programme on Financing for Development and the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as within the framework of European Development Policy.
In 2017, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) drew up an initial policy guidance document on its partnership with civil society in the field of international solidarity. Since then, regular dialogue has led to a new "Civil Society and Civic Engagement" strategy for the period 2023-2027. This strategy identifies five operational areas, each with objectives, means of implementation and monitoring indicators to:
- Promote a favourable environment for all components of civil society throughout the world and in France;
- Support the development, structuring and initiative of partner civil society organisations;
- Develop partnerships with all those involved in civil society;
- Promote civic engagement;
- Strengthen the presence and voice of civil society organisations, in particular French-speaking civil society organisations, on the international stage.
This dialogue is organised within the framework of the National Council for Development and International Solidarity (CNDSI), as well as during the preparation of the Ministry’s sectoral strategies.
In particular, the CNDSI was consulted on the drafting of France’s Voluntary National Review in 2023: to this end, an "Agenda 2030" working group was set up, whose conclusions were incorporated into the final document. At the end of 2023, the working group also published a more comprehensive report containing recommendations on the implementation of Agenda 2030.
Additionally, the law of 4 August 2021 integrates the 17 sustainable development goals into the preparation of the new wealth indicators report and, in the same way, completes the articles relating to the “sustainable development report” in the General Code of Regional Authorities.
Internationally
The strategic frameworks presented below are a non-exhaustive illustration of the operational commitments made by the French government internationally in response to SDG17:
- In June 2023 in Paris, France organised a summit for a new global financial pact, which led to the adoption of the Paris Pact for People and the Planet (4P). This document, which has been formally endorsed by over fifty countries, sets out a roadmap and broad guiding principles for reforming the international financial architecture and supporting the most vulnerable countries in the face of crises.
- France is part of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, launched in 2015, dedicated to high-level political mobilisation, coordination of civil society, governments and the private sector, and alignment of statistical standards.
- Support programme for the production of statistical data for the SDGs in West Africa (SODDA): launched in 2017, this programme aims to map the interministerial processes put in place for the production of SDG indicators, strengthen them and promote complementary methods for the production of data for development, particularly in the "governance" sector.
- France was one of the initiators of the Alliance for the Conservation of Tropical Rainforests. To step up this momentum, France and Gabon co-organised the first One Forest Summit in March 2023, which led to the Libreville Plan.
- In March 2022, in response to the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food security, France also launched the FARM (Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission) initiative, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, comprising three pillars: trade, solidarity and support for sustainable local production in the most vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa.