United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

Q1. How have the COVID-19 pandemic and the current food, energy and financing crises changed the priorities of your organization? 

The pandemic and related containment measures have hit the industrial sector, a major employer and source of income, in various ways. Shop closures, unemployment, lower incomes for both workers and business owners, and other uncertainties on the consumer side resulted in a reduced demand for goods and products. Countries that are traditional producers, for example of leather, textiles and wearing apparel, machinery and motor vehicles, were hit particularly hard. With factories either closed or operating well below capacity, manufacturing output had also dropped, resulting in declining trade and disruptions in cross-border production networks.

Drawing on the lessons learned and experience with COVID-19, including the important role played by industry as a resilience factor both during and in the aftermath of the pandemic, UNIDO included in its strategic priorities for the Organization’s Medium-Term Programme Framework 2022-2025 a special initiative on COVID-19 recovery. This initiative will focus on efforts related to the socioeconomic recovery and builds on the Organization’s COVID-19 response and recovery framework.

The ongoing food and energy security crisis are once again highlighting the interdependence of the world’s economies, the importance of local industrial capacities to ensure resilience to shocks, as well as the availability of sustainable energy solutions at scale. Since the beginning of his term at the helm of UNIDO in December 2021, Director General (DG) Gerd Müller has underlined to critical nature of food and energy security. In the report to the General Assembly “Industrial Development Cooperation” (A/77/138) UNIDO prioritizes the fight against hunger and poverty, by creating decent jobs, giving prospects to young women and men, and increasing incomes locally to enable access to food and resilience to food price increases. Major progress must also be made with respect to quality and productivity, better local cooperation and value addition in food production, distribution and marketing, as well as processing and packaging and with regard to avoiding post-harvest losses. One of UNIDO priorities is to promote binding international standards for global supply chains in close cooperation with the WTO, ILO, ITC and other partners.

Addressing climate protection and the energy challenge is another priority. Energy is a fundamental precondition for socioeconomic development, progress in wellbeing, job creation, industrialization and economic growth. UNIDO prioritizes the promotion of energy and resource efficiency worldwide, supports the transfer of clean energy technologies, facilitates partnerships for investments in infrastructure and other transformative solutions, such as through technology and knowledge transfer. The development of green hydrogen and new technological solutions (e.g. on energy storage) offer tremendous opportunities for greening industrialization. Special attention is also given to decarbonizing the hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement. Overall, UNIDO promotes transformational change by promoting systems innovation, including technologies, policies, financing and broad engagement at all levels of society. UNIDO strives to drive a just green transition to achieve sustainable economies and societies for all.

Q2. How has your organization supported Member States to accelerate their recovery from COVID-19 and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda? How has your organization cooperated with other UN system organizations in these efforts to achieve coherence and synergies?

In addition to the wide range of UNIDO programmes and projects that, by their nature, contribute to socioeconomic recovery, UNIDO implemented specific activities in response to the COVID-19 crisis since 2020. The COVID-19 crisis has added to development challenges through disruptions in trade and investment flows and by altering established patterns of production, value chains and commerce. In 2021, UNIDO support to SMEs and MSMEs continued to follow the incremental approach of the COVID-19 Industrial Recovery Programme (CIRP). Examples of COVID-19 recovery support to MSMEs include the upgrading of PPE production in Nigeria and a Switzerland-funded project in Cambodia in the agribusiness and tourism sector.

Far-reaching disruptions of global supply chains for critical health products during the ongoing pandemic and persisting challenges encountered in making COVID-19 vaccines available across developing countries have reconfirmed the strategic importance of the geographically diversified provision of medical goods and services. Since 2006, UNIDO has been supporting the African Union in pharmaceutical sector development, specifically for the accelerated implementation of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa (PMPA).

As part of its Health Industry Initiative, UNIDO has established a strategic framework of action focused on realizing the socio-economic benefits of inclusive and sustainable industrialization in ways that contribute to healthy lives and wellbeing of Member State populations during the pandemic and beyond. In order to support accelerated recovery from COVID-19 and implementation of the 2030 Agenda with a particular emphasis on SDGs 3, 9 and 17, the framework targets the following key systemic transformations in collaboration with Member States, international development partners, civil society and the private sector:

• Promoting a shared global vision and agenda for Health Industry Development;
• Enhancing trade frameworks and markets for health products from developing countries;
• Strengthening distributed health product development and manufacturing capacities.

To mitigate the fallout from COVID-19, UNIDO has helped reduce reliance on imports by developing local sources of quality-assured PPE products, hand sanitizer and disinfectants in Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania. To analyze the consequences of the pandemic on MSMEs in the agro-food sector in Côte d’Ivoire, UNIDO, FAO and the African Union Development Agency conducted a joint survey to inform strategies going forward.

Please highlight up to three high-impact initiatives, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs and involves interagency collaboration. Concrete initiatives might be selected to be spotlighted during relevant intergovernmental meetings.

Initiative	Sustainable and inclusive industrial development of the automotive supply chain in Colombia through enhanced quality and productivity
Partners	Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia (MINCIT), and its “Colombia Productiva” Initiative and UN Women
Relevant SDGs	SDG 9, SDG 5, SDG 17
Member States benefiting from the initiative	Colombia
Description	The global COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the automotive industry where by the end of March 2020, more than 80% of all North American vehicle production was put on hold, following governments’ instructions to protect employees’ health and safety, as well as to adjust to significant reductions in demand. This included the US, Mexico and Canada, which are important target export-markets for Colombian suppliers. Within Colombia, companies faced serious restrictions due to theCOVID-19 outbreak. On 24 March 2020, the Colombian government ordered the temporary closure of non-essential companies, which included most auto parts manufacturers and its two main vehicle production plants, which suspended operations temporarily. In order to support the country in countering the new challenges that arose due to the COVID-19 crisis, UNIDO developed a set of guidelines for the industry to restart production to support and ensure business continuity, and to enable firms to apply all possible measures to prevent contagion and protect the health of workers and customers. The guidelines were prepared based on good organizational practices and recommendations issued by health and business-related authorities and organizations. It sought to support needed decision-making related to the adjustments during the industrial reactivation process. These adopted pioneering guidelines were scaled-up for use in other industries in Colombia. At the enterprise level, the initiative provided automotive component suppliers with training to build their capacity on how to re-activate production following the nationwide lockdown. An extensive set of webinar- based trainings were provided to employees and managers of the companies on how to implement the industry guidelines to reactivate production. Efforts were also made to strengthen national capacities to build the resilience of the automotive enterprises. UNIDO and ProColombia, the Colombian government’s agency in charge of promoting domestic and foreign investments and exports published a “Guide for Investors: Colombian Automotive Industry” to reinvigorate investments. The initiative has also helped raise awareness, and promoted the uptake of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women offering guidance to businesses on the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Columbia automotive industry.
Website	https://tii.unido.org/sites/default/files/publications/Guide%20for%20in…

 

Initiative	West Africa Competitiveness and Quality Infrastructure Project (WACQIP)
Partners	International Trade Center (ITC), ECOWAS
Relevant SDGs	SDG 9, SDG 17
Member States benefiting from the initiative	West African states
Description	The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global economic activity in West Africa. Many essential global value chains are halted or severely interrupted. The pandemic highlighted the importance of standards for trade and quality infrastructures. For example, laboratory services need to ensure the quality and accuracy of tests as it contributes to the diagnostic, management and monitoring of patients. The pandemic necessitated the development of new standards to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic. Responding to the pandemic, UNIDO quickly adapted its technical assistance support Programmes in West Africa, its West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) to enable it to maintain efforts to overcome existing challenges of limited competitiveness of enterprises and the need for better value-chain integration at regional and national levels to help scale-up sustainable structural transformation. As a result of the agile adaptation of the project to the situation posed by the pandemic, two ECOWAS standards on barrier masks for non-sanitary use and hydro-alcoholic gels were successfully developed, and subsequently validated and submitted for emergency adoption by 15 National Standards Bodies. The ECOWAS standards on technical specifications for the manufacture of consumer masks for non-sanitary use (ECOSTAND 082:2020 Barrier Masks - Minimum Requirements - Methods of Testing - Making and Use [Serial Manufacture and Artisanal Making or DIY]) and hydro-alcoholic hand products (ECOSTAND 083:2020 Hydro-alcoholic products –Hand Sanitizer - Specifications and test methods) have since been approved. The adoption of the two ECOWAS standards will foster consumer protection, health, and safety in West Africa and support the resilience building of industries in West Africa. The two adopted ECOWAS standards will also become the benchmark in all 15 ECOWAS countries for the production of barrier masks for non-sanitary use and hydro-alcoholic hand products. It will foster regional trade and ensure enhanced safety of these products to the West African consumers
Website	https://open.unido.org/projects/M2/projects/170095 https://twitter.com/wacqip https://www.facebook.com/wacqip.wacomp/

 

Initiative	Support for transitioning from conventional plastics to more environmentally sustainable alternative
Partners	The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the University of Witwatersrand (Wits University)
Relevant SDGs	SDG 9, SDG 13, SDG 17
Member States benefiting from the initiative	South Africa
Description	Waste pickers play pivotal roles in recycling systems however often they are not recognized as key players. In South Africa there is a movement to integrate waste pickers as a government initiative in order to strengthen recycling capacity. The COVID19 pandemic has greatly affected the activities of waste pickers. With more than 60,000 waste pickers who play a substantial role in the waste management industry of the country, collecting 80 to 90% of used recyclables collected on an annual basis, under its level 5 lockdown regulations, their daily earnings were impacted by the restriction of movement. In addition, with the lifting of the lockdown restrictions, waste pickers have been risking their lives and safety as the pandemic continues to generate new types of hazardous infectious waste that could be contaminated by the virus. UNIDO responded to the situation by working with stakeholders to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to members of the South African Waste Pickers Association (SAWPA) at four integration sites in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape in early 2020. Sixty per cent of the waste pickers at the four participating sites are women. The PPE consists of work jackets and trousers, masks, gloves and work boots. UNIDO also donated a four-ton truck to contribute to a safer and more secure working environment for waste pickers. These initiatives are results of the US$136 million flash appeal launched by the United Nations in South Africa in April 2020, which aims to assist up to 10 million people in vulnerable communities facing various risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Website	https://www.unido.org/stories/helping-south-africas-waste-pickers-face-…

 

Q3. Has your organization published or is it planning to publish any analytical work or guidance note or toolkits to guide and support recovery efforts from COVID-19 while advancing full implementation of SDGs at national, regional and global levels? 

UNIDO’s flagship Industrial Development Report 2022, titled “The future of industrialization in a post-pandemic world”, presents evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on industrial development and on the prospects for the years to come. One major finding is that industrial capabilities are a key factor of resilience. Findings reaffirm the centrality of SDG 9 to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

To better track the impact of COVID-19 on manufacturing, UNIDO expanded its collection of monthly data on industrial production, and disseminated findings through regular information briefs and analytical reports, including a contribution to “How COVID-19 is changing the world: A statistical perspective”, published by the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities.

UNIDO also launched studies such as “Impact of COVID-19 on green enterprises: Policy guidance towards inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery”, focusing on Ghana, India and Uruguay.

UNIDO has also developed tools, including regional and national road maps for the pharmaceutical industry, to progress towards full compliance with international standards of Good Manufacturing Practices as well as guidance on vaccines manufacturing. UNIDO launched a global health industry initiative in 2021 and developed a strategic framework in consultation with Member States, international development partners and private sector representatives. The approach envisioned will address demand and supply side bottlenecks facing health industry development while promoting the enabling environment that is required for local manufacturing of high-quality health-care products.

In addition, UNIDO developed several analytical work and resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and are compiled and consolidated on its “Building a Better Future” website. Examples of resources with links to them on this website include:

• COVID-19 Industrial Recovery Programme (CIRP)
• Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis, Pathway to Business Continuity and Recovery: Guidance for MSMEs (June 2020)
• COVID-19 Implications and Responses: Digital Transformation and Industrial Recovery (July 2020)
• Impact Assessment of COVID-19 on Thai Industrial Sector
• World Manufacturing Production Report
• UNIDO firm-level surveys 2020
• Industries post-COVID-19: A gender-responsive approach to global economic recovery

Please select up to three high-impact resources to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs. Selected resources will be highlighted to inform relevant intergovernmental meetings.

Resource	Industrial Development Report 2022, “The future of industrialization in a post-pandemic world”
Publishing entity/entities	UNIDO
Relevant SDGs	SDG 9, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13
Target audience	policymakers, development practitioners, Member States
Description	The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that manufacturing remains the backbone of our economies. Yet, it also shows the vulnerability of our production systems to sudden shocks. For the recovery to take hold, it is critical to understand how the pandemic has affected the industrial sector—and the prospects for the future of industrialization as economies all over the world continue to rebound and recover. The Industrial Development Report 2022 contributes to this discussion by providing evidence at the country, industry and firm level that documents the impacts of the crisis, and by examining the drivers of resilience and vulnerability in those same contexts. Findings documented in the report strongly re-affirm the centrality of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9—which is at the core of UNIDO’s mandate—to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Website	https://www.unido.org/idr2022
Language	English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish

 

Resource	Sustainable Technology Promotion Platform
Publishing entity/entities	UNIDO
Relevant SDGs	SDG 9, 7, 12, 13
Target audience	policymakers, development practitioners, Member States
Description	UNIDO ITPO Tokyo promotes selected sound and productive Japanese technologies in order to accelerate the transfer of such technologies to developing and emerging countries. Technologies registered on STePP tackle many issues and challenges faced by current societies striving for inclusive and sustainable industrial development. This includes energy technologies, environmental technologies, agribusiness technologies and human health technologies, all of which are provided by Japanese companies seeking to implement their technologies in developing and emerging countries. STePP aims to become a platform where Japanese technology providers and governments/ companies in developing and emerging countries can find partners for collaboration to achieve effective and sustainable technology transfer.
Website	http://www.unido.or.jp/files/sites/2/STePPbrochure2021_ss_final.pdf
Language	English

 

Resource	UNIDO strategic framework for health industry development 2022–2030
Publishing entity/entities	UNIDO
Relevant SDGs	SDG 9, 3
Target audience	policymakers, Member States
Description	As the United Nations specialized agency with a mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development , UNIDO is well-placed to assist Member States in improving their public health services through inclusive and sustainable health industry development. To this effect, UNIDO can leverage its technical cooperation, policy analysis and advisory services, normative function, and convening and partnerships role. To further enhance its support to Member States, UNIDO is developing a strategic framework to guide a UNIDO-wide joint effort for health industry development which will permit the Organization to strengthen its position as a global leader in this area and produce results by: a) Advocating health industry development as an integral part of global health agenda-setting; b) Systematically and strategically convening multi-stakeholder partnerships on topics pertaining to health industry development in order to promote synergies with other United Nations agencies and development partners, regulators, national, regional and multilateral development banks and the business sector at country, regional and international levels; including by integrating a health industry contribution into UNIDO’s partnerships and programmes, including through the Programmes for Country Partnerships and country programmes; c) Developing results-oriented approaches, programmes and tailored interventions that advance health industry development in Member States whilst considering regional perspectives; d) Attracting additional funding to scale up solutions that address health industry development priorities in Member States as well as increasing the visibility of UNIDO’s activities and better showcasing the potential of its project pipeline; e) Integrating different health-related UNIDO services in order to provide comprehensive support relating to research and policy advice, quality and standards compliance, investment and technology transfer, innovation, digitalization, new technologies and 4IR, waste management, and through leveraging related platforms such as the network of Investment and Technology Promotion Offices, the Learning and Knowledge Development Facility, and the Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production Centres, with a focus on gender-balanced interventions and on maximizing the role and potential of young people in health industry development while addressing their specific vulnerabilities. The lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a notable increase in demand from Member States and other partners for UNIDO’s support in strengthening the local production of and access to health products and services like essential medicines, vaccines, medical equipment and supplies, provide renewed impetus for UNIDO to use its expertise and mandate to perform a lead role in the development of health-related industries in low- and middle income countries. In response to the pandemic, UNIDO has already further expanded its support to health industry development and repurposing of industries, including through the provision of technical assistance to manufacturing PPE and other medical devices.
Website	https://open.unido.org/api/documents/25979979/download/GC.19_CRP_Health…
Language	English

 

Q4. How has your organization engaged with stakeholder groups to support SDG implementation and COVID-19 recovery at national, regional and global levels? Please provide main highlights, including any lessons learned. For example, what has worked particularly well as a model for effective stakeholder engagement? If your organization has established multi-stakeholder partnership(s) in this regard, please describe them (name, partners involved, relevant SDGs, Member States benefiting from the partnership) and provide links to relevant websites for more information.

Partnership	The Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF)
Partners	Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and various private sector businesses
Relevant SDGs	SDG9, SDG4
Member States benefiting from the initiative	Ethiopia, Iraq, Liberia, Morocco, Southern Africa, Uruguay, Zambia
Description	The Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF) is a platform that promotes industrial skills development among young people in emerging economies. Working with the private sector through Public Private Development Partnerships, the LKDF supports the establishment and upgrading of local industrial training academies to help meet the labour market’s increasing demand for skilled employees, ultimately contributing to inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
Website	https://lkdfacility.org/about/about-lkdf/

 

Partnership	Programme for Country Partnerships (PCPs)
Partners	multi-stakeholder partnerships
Relevant SDGs	SDG 9 supporting the other SDGs, depending on the design of the PCP
Member States benefiting from the initiative	Cambodia, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia
Description	The PCP is UNIDO’s integrated model for accelerating inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Member States. Aligned with the national development agenda and focused on sectors with high growth potential, the programme supports a country in achieving its industrial development goals. The PCP rests on a multi-stakeholder partnership led by the host government. It builds synergies with ongoing government and partner interventions relevant to industrial development. The PCP leverages additional investment in selected priority sectors. As such, it is a model that facilitates the mobilization of partners and resources to achieve larger development impact.
Website	https://www.unido.org/programme-country-partnership

 

Q5. In the 2019 SDG Summit declaration (GA Resolution 74/4), Member States outlined ten priority areas for accelerated action in SDG implementation. Please highlight any major integrated and innovative policies or initiatives that your organization may have adopted in these ten priority areas:

5.1 leaving no one behind

5.2 mobilizing adequate and well-directed financing;

5.3 enhancing national implementation;

5.4 strengthening institutions for more integrated solutions;

5.5 bolstering local action;

5.6 reducing disaster risk and building resilience;

5.7 solving challenges through international cooperation and enhancing the global partnership;

5.8 harnessing science, technology and innovation with a greater focus on digital transformation for sustainable development;

5.9 investing in data and statistics for the SDGs;

5.10 strengthening the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

The UNIDO theory of change, and results management framework is premised on an actor-based, behavioural change model where the Organization’s results chain links its activities and outputs to outcomes and relevant impact levels. Knowledge, skills and institutional capacities are important enabling elements of the UNIDO theory of change. Through the strengthening of knowledge and institutions by as a result of the interventions and engagement between UNIDO and its stakeholders, developmental impact is achieved through changes in behaviour, business practices, policies, technologies and investments, ultimately contributing to long-lasting SDG impact through inclusive and sustainable industrial development. The latest edition of the UNIDO Annual Report is here.

Some specific examples of initiatives that have been developed and enhanced by the Organization to support one or more of the areas listed above include:

UNIDO Statistics Data Portal

UNIDO maintains a statistics data portal which is overseen by its Statistics Division. The Statistics Division of UNIDO is responsible for collecting industrial data from countries, compilation of internationally comparable data, to support increased adoption and compliance with internationally agreed standards and to strengthen national statistical capacity.

Monitoring SDG 9

UNIDO is the custodian agency of six indicators on industry-related targets under SDG9. As part of this role, UNIDO is responsible for global monitoring of these SDG indicators and reporting to the Inter-Agency Expert Group on SDG indicators (IAEG-SDG). In doing so, UNIDO publishes a biennial thematic report on Statistical Indicators of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization, which provides an analysis of global trends to track the progress towards achieving SDG9 targets. The latest report is the Statistical Indicators of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization: Biennial Progress Report 2021.

Industrial Analytical Platform

The UNIDO Industrial Analytical Platform (IAP) features data on selected indicators of industrial development and provides relevant research by leading experts in the field in an accessible format. It is aimed at supporting a wide range of stakeholders, including government, regulators and policymakers to better understand the various dimensions of industrial development in countries and around the globe using the platform’s unique Data Explorer. UNIDO offers in-situ capacity building on the tool whilst efforts are ongoing to develop eLearning material on the Platform.

Analytical articles include:

- Green Hydrogen: The energy opportunity for decarbonization and developing countries 

- A world without hunger is possible. This is how! 

- Working together on global supply chains can help prevent climate disaster

- Global value chains in times of multiple crises

Industrial Development Report Series

The Industrial Development Report (IDR) is a bi-annual flagship publication of UNIDO. The Report covers the latest developments and trends in the area of industrial development in a global context. Each issue focuses on a pertinent aspects of industrial development based on global development trends, and provides policy implications for consideration at the global, regional and national levels. Publications of interest include:

• Industrial Development Report 2022: The future of industrialization in a post-pandemic world

• Industrial Development Report 2020: Industrialization in the Digital Age

• Industrial Development Report 2018: Demand for Manufacturing: Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development

• Industrial Development Report 2016: The Role of Technology and Innovation in Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development

• Industrial Development Report 2013: Sustainable Employment Growth: The Role of Manufacturing and Structural Change

 

Q6. Following the adoption of the 2022 Ministerial Declaration, please highlight any major integrated and innovative policies or initiatives that your organization may have adopted related to the below, if applicable:

6.1 Member States encouraged "the United Nations system and all relevant actors to take advantage of emerging technologies and their applications, as appropriate, in order to maximize impact and effectiveness in data analysis and collection and stress the need to bridge the digital gap among and within countries" (Paragraph 86)

Strengthening science, technology and innovation - Science, technology and innovation policies should contribute to fostering post-pandemic recovery in the medium to long term by enabling economic diversification and repositioning of global value chains through circular economy approaches that promote the efficiency of the use of resources and maximize the added value of materials. Private sector companies in developing countries, especially micro, small and medium enterprises, should be supported to adopt new technologies through various means, such as virtual collaboration platforms, innovation-friendly business policies, capacity-building initiatives and enhanced access to finance.

UNIDO has prioritized digital transformation amongst its focus areas in its Medium-Term Programme Framework 2022-2025.

UNIDO contributes to various science, technology and innovation (STI) forums in the United Nations system, including in the context of the HLPF, the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), and the Technology Facilitation Mechanism and its Inter-agency Task Team (IATT) on STI. The Organization contributed on “Industry 4.0 for inclusive development”, one of the priority themes of the CSTD for the 2021–2022 period. In the framework of the IATT, UNIDO delivered capacity-building to more than 250 policymakers in Latin America and the Southern African Development Community. In partnership with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, UNIDO contributed to the STI roadmap for Serbia and Ukraine. Analytical work on emerging technologies served as a contribution to the IATT report “Emerging science, frontier technologies, and the SDGs.”

The Organization promotes digitalization, resource-sharing, policy coordination, and investment and technology matchmaking in close cooperation with a variety of partners in this field. For example, in Africa, together with the United Nations Regional Collaborative Platform, UNIDO leverages new technologies and enables digital transitions through strengthened integrated data and statistics, macroeconomic management and industry diversification. With UNIDO support, countries across the Arab region are transitioning to a green economy through circular economy approaches and cleaner and resource-efficient industrial production, and are increasingly digitalizing with the use of technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia are among the supported countries. With the signature of the PCP document by Prime In the context of Egypt’s Programme for Country Partnership, UNIDO has undertaken several initiatives to speed up digital transformation, including webinars on enhancing readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, reports such as the “Production Transformation Policy Review of Egypt”, in partnership with the OECD. A study on value chains for the industrial recovery from COVID-19 formed a joint industrial policy initiative with the African Development Bank (AfDB).

As a specific example of emerging technology, hydrogen offers the opportunity for a paradigm shift in how to decarbonize energy, mitigate climate change and diversify economies. As this technology matures, the International Hydrogen Energy Centre in China works together with UNIDO to develop the skills needed to create policy and regulatory frameworks, safety codes and standards harmonization.

UNIDO launched its Global Programme for Green Hydrogen in Industry in July 2021 to foster the global application of GH2 to decarbonize industry and promote low carbon industrial development. The two pillars of UNIDO’s programme are:

1. Global Partnership to engage in policy dialogue, to enhance the development and distribution of knowledge, technical guidelines and standards, joint project development and the adoption of innovative financing schemes.
2. Technical Cooperation to promote the production and uptake of GH2 for industrial applications, through the design and implement national industrial green hydrogen roadmaps and pilot projects.

To develop the necessary conducive policies, legal frameworks, and coherent international standards for the global uptake of GH2, UNIDO will partners with relevant institutions to ensure collaboration with different stakeholders around the globe, including public and private sector, financial organizations, and academia. For more information: https://www.unido.org/green-hydrogen

UNIDO also coordinates the Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI), an international coalition of public and private organizations that are working to decarbonize heavy industries, starting with the steel, cement and concrete sectors. The IDDI aims to stimulate demand for lower-carbon versions of these common construction materials through greener public procurement. For more information: https://www.unido.org/IDDI

6.2 Member States specifically called upon the UN system "to work with the newly established United Nations Food Systems Coordination Hub, hosted by FAO, to support Governments to develop and strengthen SDG-based national pathways for sustainable food systems transformation" (Paragraph 128)

UNIDO is a member of the UN Food Systems Summit Task Force and is currently exploring options to join the established United Nations Food Systems Coordination Hub.

In this field, UNIDO helps plan, design and implement hubs, where farmers and processors of agricultural products also benefit from integrated approaches. Synergies are created between agricultural producers and processors, business service providers, government agencies, and research and training centers. Capacity-building led by UNIDO in coordination with other UN agencies helps smallholder farmers and agro-processing enterprises adopt and implement good agricultural and manufacturing practices, improve post-harvest management practices, apply food safety standards and enhance business operations

Within the framework of the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the United Nations food standards-setting body, UNIDO is implementing initiatives in West Africa and the Arab region to raise awareness of and to support the piloting of the use of data generated by voluntary third-party assurance programmes. To support its Codex Alimentarius work, UNIDO has conducted a survey of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization to assess remote audit and inspection practices in food control. This analytical assessment will also support the future work of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification System on remote audit and verification of regulatory frameworks. UNIDO has also organized a three-day hybrid event, the Vienna Food Safety Forum, which focuses on data-driven innovation in food safety. The event gathered over 400 participants, including regulators and representatives of industry, development partners and academia.

Transforming food systems to make them more inclusive, sustainable and resilient remains a key priority for UNIDO. The Agrifood Systems Transformation Accelerator (ASTA), jointly managed by UNIDO and FAO, continues to expand its technical portfolio to accelerate investments in this area. In Suriname, a joint programme on sustainable pineapple value chain development implemented as part of the ASTA portfolio will enable farmers, processors and other stakeholders along the pineapple value chain to increase their productivity, competitiveness and market access in a sustainable and transformational manner with a focus on generating incomes for indigenous communities.

With the support of the Ministry of Commerce of China, UNIDO has been providing technical assistance in China’s rural areas in Quannan County, Jiangxi Province, to support the development of agro-industrial value chains and local capacities for poverty alleviation, food safety supervision, agribusiness and entrepreneurship. UNIDO also works on the establishment, operation and management of centers of excellence to foster structural transformation in the agribusiness sector. In Egypt, with funding from the Government of Italy, UNIDO conducts a project for the inclusive and sustainable development of the tomato value chain. The project forms partnerships with existing public, private and academic institutions to establish a Tomato Learning and Service Center, which will provide a number of services such as technical support, training, production development and market access to the tomato industry in Egypt in a sustainable manner.

Q7. The 2023 SDG Summit is expected to provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development and follow-up and review progress in the implementation of sustainable development commitments and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, including through national and regional consultations, which will mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the SDGs. In the lead up to the 2023 SDG Summit, please provide your organization’s recommendations on how to overcome challenges to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs, taking into account the thematic reviews and voluntary national reviews conducted to date. 

In their input to the HLPF 2022, UNIDO Member States underscored the importance of “international cooperation and the effective multilateralism” and the “need for shared responsibility, global governance and solidarity”.

Furthermore, UNIDO stresses the critical role of “connectivity on all levels, globally, locally and societally”, particularly for the most vulnerable, to trigger the required transformations. “Effective partnerships, cooperation and development finance” are also emphasized to regain the progress made before the pandemic towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. To accelerate recovery, UNIDO recommends the prioritization of “building-up of inclusive and sustainable industrial potential and economies with sound efficient resources management, including the possibility of using, as appropriate, different circular economy approaches that are more resilient to future pandemics, climate change impacts and other global challenges, whilst creating jobs at all skill levels, based on the development, dissemination and diffusion as well as transfer of environmentally sound technologies, including decarbonizing technologies, to developing countries on favorable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed”.

Economic stimulus packages should favor quality education, the creation of new skilled jobs and quality infrastructure, green growth policies and investments, taking into account the pivotal role of women and youth as agents of change. Policy frameworks should enable inclusive and sustainable industrial development, with a view to “bend the global GHG emissions curve, increase resilience to adverse climate change impacts, to halt biodiversity loss” and “ensure social and economic inclusion”. Sustainable consumption and production patterns should be strongly promoted, as well as “education, science, technology and innovation policies” aimed at “enabling poverty alleviation, prosperity, economic diversification and repositioning of global value chains” towards more sustainable practices.

In the report to the General Assembly “Industrial Development Cooperation” (A/77/138) UNIDO also stresses the need to intensify international industrial policy coordination to boost a rapid and sustainable recovery that leaves no one behind. That requires “improving access to finance and technology, enhancing governance mechanisms in order to secure uninterrupted flows of essential goods, a more even distribution of the costs of disruptions in global value chains and establishing selective policies and performance criteria to encourage innovation and create complementarities”, while placing environmental sustainability at the forefront of international frameworks for recovery. Transforming energy and industrial systems, land management, buildings and infrastructure and lifestyles will be needed to put the global economy on track to implement the 2030 Agenda and the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

DG Müller is consistently making the case for bold action and strong global commitment to achieve the SDGs. This includes the need for highly visible demonstration projects (e.g. to show the viability of technology applications in developing countries to address the main challenges of our time) undertaken together with a multitude of partners, especially from the private and financial sectors. The normative dimension (standards, coherent regulatory frameworks) will play a critical role here as well and even more so than before, including for UNIDO’s future engagement.