The impact of EO for the 2030 Agenda

Seven years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and its dedicated SDG initiative, Earth Observations for Sustainable Development Goals (EO4SDG), working with partners globally and locally, have laid the foundation for governments and organizations across regions to capitalize on the benefits Earth Observations (EO) provide to monitor, track, and implement the SDGs through 2030. This side event will take stock of where we are to-date and provide a platform for discussion of the road to 2030 to further create and promote integrated results at speed and at scale required to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

The event will highlight key successes and progress to date including efforts to make the global community aware of effective ways to use EO relative to the SDGs; improve skills and capabilities of countries and stakeholders to employ smart practices and solutions that use EO in SDG planning, tracking, and reporting; highlight real, value-added benefits of EO to fill data gaps and support positive social, economic, and environmental impacts; and share demonstrated progress against the SDGs to prompt broad desire for more practical EO solutions.

Furthermore, the event will highlight opportunities to power progress towards the SDGs and build integrated solutions that are moving us towards the 2030 Agenda. Such opportunities may focus on how we can scale up existing EO applications to measure and make progress on SDGs — e.g., what are the right partnerships, modes of user engagement, capacity development needs and required resources — or what are new SDG areas where EO can help countries make progress and meet relevant development targets.