Local Authorities Acting Globally for Sustainable Development

Graute U. Local authorities acting globally for sustainable development, Regional Studies. Member states adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 and aimed to adopt a New Urban Agenda during Habitat III in 2016. Related intergovernmental processes aim for a substantial benefit to impact sustainable development at the local level. Despite the high relevance of both processes for local development, local authorities and other Major Groups of stakeholders will only act as observers. This paper analyses why the United Nations acknowledges the relevance of cities while not changing the observer status. The paper claims that the approach may have a negative impact on the realization of objectives. It is suggested to strengthen further the voice of local authorities to increase the problem-solving capacity of multilevel governance of the SDG implementation.