Czech Republic
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
1. I'm honoured and pleased to present the Czech Republic's
National Review on the 2030 Agenda implementation here at the
High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development today.
Since the adoption of the Agenda for Sustainable Development
in 2015, we have thrown ourselves into its mainstreaming into
national policies. In this respect, the Voluntary National Review
gave us a unique chance to look carefully at our national
priorities towards the global goals while analysing our own
strengths and weaknesses.
2. Let me start with the procedural side of our efforts - a boring but
very important element. The main coordinating body, the
Government Council for Sustainable Development, has been
chaired by the Prime Minister. This fact alone was instrumental
in achieving the full involvement of all ministries, many NGOs,
business people, academia and other stakeholders. It has
ensured not only factual accuracy but also wider acceptance
among stakeholders. Our Voluntary National Report has also
been coordinated by the Council in the same cooperative
manner.
3. Its main springboard was a solid document with a robust
analytical and stakeholder segment, our sustainable
development strategy called 'the Czech Republic 2030'. The
most relevant principles, such as good governance and local,
regional and global action for sustainable development have also
been embedded there. While covering all three sustainable
development pillars, it specifically addresses six key areas. And
so, what results have we arrived at?
4. Under the social pillar, we are very strong. We have the lowest
score in the EU of people threatened by poverty and social
exclusion. I am proud to say that in the whole of Europe only
Norway and Iceland are doing better! Also, we are a healthy and
educated nation that cares for family life and loves children.
Social bonds are important for us. On the other hand alcohol,
cigarettes and dirty toxins from transport and obsolete domestic
heating systems are dragging us down. Another obstacle to our
development is gender inequality. To speak from my personal
experience, out of 17 government members, there are only two
women. This, together with a big gender pay gap, is still sad
reality in spite of forward looking policies already in place. We
need to change this.
5. On our economic performance, I am proud to say that we are a
hardworking nation. Our economy - very open and dependent
on foreign trade - is growing steadily. In addition to very low
unemployment, the Czech Republic has the lowest income
inequalities in the OECD, making us a frontrunner in the
implementation of the SDG 10. The downside of the automotive
industry playing a big part in our economy - employing a lot of
people - is high energy demand and low energy efficiency. It is
clear that the shift to a low-carbon economy will be a challenging
but inescapable part of what we have to do in order to achieve
the SDG 7.
6. As Mister Environment in the government, I am happy to say that
the Czech Republic is a beautifully green country in the heart of
Europe. Forests are our national treasure, covering one third of
the land area. Our four national parks are places where people
find not only unspoilt nature but also many opportunities to
relax. My main goal has been to strengthen the protection of the
most precious spots but, at the same time, bring nature closer to
the people. Therefore, our greatest priority for 2030 is to
strengthen the resilience of our natural ecosystems so that our
kids and grandkids can enjoy the same nature as we do. For this,
we will need to make sure that human activities together with
invasive species stop being a threat for our native species.
Another 'hot' issue, literally, is climate change. We are already
facing its impacts such as soil degradation, drought and changes
in rainfall distribution. Some of them have been truly shocking as
to their intensity.
7. In terms of division of power, next to the central government,
our 14 regions and over 6 200 municipalities are very influential.
They have a huge impact on the everyday lives of our citizens
thus proving that the subnational dimension is extremely
relevant for the SDGs. Take the water-management system, for
example. Without close cooperation between the state and the
municipalities, it would not be possible to have 98 % of people
connected to the public water supply system. Also, we report
good results in treating waste water. However, we are still
grappling with the run-off of agricultural fertilizers in rivers and
water reservoirs. In the area of participation, it is encouraging to
see that people are getting increasingly more involved - the
number of Local Action Groups is rising and so is the involvement
of towns and cities in the Local Agenda 21. However, we need to
move up a gear to tackle regional inequalities in income and
quality of the environment, and to get to the SDG 11.
8. Moving from local to global level, I can assure you that in spite
of being rather a small nation, we actively support global efforts
to achieve sustainable development and in this sense have
pledged to meet international development commitments and
standards. Building on our own transition experience, we are
strong advocates of human rights, gender equality and good
governance. During the 2030 Agenda negotiations, we have
consistently argued for the SDG 16 to promote just, peaceful and
inclusive societies. In this spirit we have chosen 'participation' as
a priority for our possible ECOSOC presidency. As it is important
to lead by example, I am proud to inform that the Czech Republic
is one of the countries with the most significant increase in
official development assistance in 2016 - a rise of more than 29
%. However, increased efforts are still needed in order to
strengthen policy coherence for sustainable development and
gradually increase ODA to meet our commitment of 0.33% of
Gross National Income.
9. Sustainable development cannot work without good governance
and institutions that respond well to citizens' needs. The
Regulatory Impact Assessment which has been a formal part of
the Czech legislative processes since 2007, could serve as an
example of good practice in achieving this goal. Our results are,
however, still far from the 2030 desirable target levels of
efficiency, accountability and transparency of public institutions.
For me personally, the fact that the confidence in national
institutions index was only 51% in 2014, far behind the bestscoring
European countries, is especially worrying.
10. We must not forget that as for every other walk of life,
communication matters also for the 2030 Agenda. We need to
work hard on spreading the word about the principles of
sustainable development among public institutions, business
and civil society. Most importantly, we need to bring sustainable
development closer to the people and share our best practices in
doing so. To give you one example, we appointed Ambassadors
for all SDGs that you can see now on screen and in May of this
year, the first recipients of the Czech SDGs Awards were
announced. The contest - first of its kind in Europe - was
organised by a consortium of public institutions and the
Association for Social Responsibility to reward projects
contributing to the SDGs' implementation. The initial response
was huge. In total, 215 projects applied proving that there is
great appetite for action towards the global goals in the private
sector and beyond.
11. It is clear that the communication role requires cooperation
between the public and private sector. A short video which you
will see now features Czech SDGs Ambassadors, including our
current NGO representative and Miss World 2006, Ms. Tatana
Gregor Brzobohata. After the video, Tatana will introduce the
Czech civil society's vision for the sustainable agenda.
12. Ladies and gentlemen, as Antoine de Saint-Exupery once
said, "we do not inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; we Borrow
it from Our Children." Let us all act in this spirit. Thank you.
1. I'm honoured and pleased to present the Czech Republic's
National Review on the 2030 Agenda implementation here at the
High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development today.
Since the adoption of the Agenda for Sustainable Development
in 2015, we have thrown ourselves into its mainstreaming into
national policies. In this respect, the Voluntary National Review
gave us a unique chance to look carefully at our national
priorities towards the global goals while analysing our own
strengths and weaknesses.
2. Let me start with the procedural side of our efforts - a boring but
very important element. The main coordinating body, the
Government Council for Sustainable Development, has been
chaired by the Prime Minister. This fact alone was instrumental
in achieving the full involvement of all ministries, many NGOs,
business people, academia and other stakeholders. It has
ensured not only factual accuracy but also wider acceptance
among stakeholders. Our Voluntary National Report has also
been coordinated by the Council in the same cooperative
manner.
3. Its main springboard was a solid document with a robust
analytical and stakeholder segment, our sustainable
development strategy called 'the Czech Republic 2030'. The
most relevant principles, such as good governance and local,
regional and global action for sustainable development have also
been embedded there. While covering all three sustainable
development pillars, it specifically addresses six key areas. And
so, what results have we arrived at?
4. Under the social pillar, we are very strong. We have the lowest
score in the EU of people threatened by poverty and social
exclusion. I am proud to say that in the whole of Europe only
Norway and Iceland are doing better! Also, we are a healthy and
educated nation that cares for family life and loves children.
Social bonds are important for us. On the other hand alcohol,
cigarettes and dirty toxins from transport and obsolete domestic
heating systems are dragging us down. Another obstacle to our
development is gender inequality. To speak from my personal
experience, out of 17 government members, there are only two
women. This, together with a big gender pay gap, is still sad
reality in spite of forward looking policies already in place. We
need to change this.
5. On our economic performance, I am proud to say that we are a
hardworking nation. Our economy - very open and dependent
on foreign trade - is growing steadily. In addition to very low
unemployment, the Czech Republic has the lowest income
inequalities in the OECD, making us a frontrunner in the
implementation of the SDG 10. The downside of the automotive
industry playing a big part in our economy - employing a lot of
people - is high energy demand and low energy efficiency. It is
clear that the shift to a low-carbon economy will be a challenging
but inescapable part of what we have to do in order to achieve
the SDG 7.
6. As Mister Environment in the government, I am happy to say that
the Czech Republic is a beautifully green country in the heart of
Europe. Forests are our national treasure, covering one third of
the land area. Our four national parks are places where people
find not only unspoilt nature but also many opportunities to
relax. My main goal has been to strengthen the protection of the
most precious spots but, at the same time, bring nature closer to
the people. Therefore, our greatest priority for 2030 is to
strengthen the resilience of our natural ecosystems so that our
kids and grandkids can enjoy the same nature as we do. For this,
we will need to make sure that human activities together with
invasive species stop being a threat for our native species.
Another 'hot' issue, literally, is climate change. We are already
facing its impacts such as soil degradation, drought and changes
in rainfall distribution. Some of them have been truly shocking as
to their intensity.
7. In terms of division of power, next to the central government,
our 14 regions and over 6 200 municipalities are very influential.
They have a huge impact on the everyday lives of our citizens
thus proving that the subnational dimension is extremely
relevant for the SDGs. Take the water-management system, for
example. Without close cooperation between the state and the
municipalities, it would not be possible to have 98 % of people
connected to the public water supply system. Also, we report
good results in treating waste water. However, we are still
grappling with the run-off of agricultural fertilizers in rivers and
water reservoirs. In the area of participation, it is encouraging to
see that people are getting increasingly more involved - the
number of Local Action Groups is rising and so is the involvement
of towns and cities in the Local Agenda 21. However, we need to
move up a gear to tackle regional inequalities in income and
quality of the environment, and to get to the SDG 11.
8. Moving from local to global level, I can assure you that in spite
of being rather a small nation, we actively support global efforts
to achieve sustainable development and in this sense have
pledged to meet international development commitments and
standards. Building on our own transition experience, we are
strong advocates of human rights, gender equality and good
governance. During the 2030 Agenda negotiations, we have
consistently argued for the SDG 16 to promote just, peaceful and
inclusive societies. In this spirit we have chosen 'participation' as
a priority for our possible ECOSOC presidency. As it is important
to lead by example, I am proud to inform that the Czech Republic
is one of the countries with the most significant increase in
official development assistance in 2016 - a rise of more than 29
%. However, increased efforts are still needed in order to
strengthen policy coherence for sustainable development and
gradually increase ODA to meet our commitment of 0.33% of
Gross National Income.
9. Sustainable development cannot work without good governance
and institutions that respond well to citizens' needs. The
Regulatory Impact Assessment which has been a formal part of
the Czech legislative processes since 2007, could serve as an
example of good practice in achieving this goal. Our results are,
however, still far from the 2030 desirable target levels of
efficiency, accountability and transparency of public institutions.
For me personally, the fact that the confidence in national
institutions index was only 51% in 2014, far behind the bestscoring
European countries, is especially worrying.
10. We must not forget that as for every other walk of life,
communication matters also for the 2030 Agenda. We need to
work hard on spreading the word about the principles of
sustainable development among public institutions, business
and civil society. Most importantly, we need to bring sustainable
development closer to the people and share our best practices in
doing so. To give you one example, we appointed Ambassadors
for all SDGs that you can see now on screen and in May of this
year, the first recipients of the Czech SDGs Awards were
announced. The contest - first of its kind in Europe - was
organised by a consortium of public institutions and the
Association for Social Responsibility to reward projects
contributing to the SDGs' implementation. The initial response
was huge. In total, 215 projects applied proving that there is
great appetite for action towards the global goals in the private
sector and beyond.
11. It is clear that the communication role requires cooperation
between the public and private sector. A short video which you
will see now features Czech SDGs Ambassadors, including our
current NGO representative and Miss World 2006, Ms. Tatana
Gregor Brzobohata. After the video, Tatana will introduce the
Czech civil society's vision for the sustainable agenda.
12. Ladies and gentlemen, as Antoine de Saint-Exupery once
said, "we do not inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; we Borrow
it from Our Children." Let us all act in this spirit. Thank you.
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