ESDN Policy Briefs are synthesis documents from the ESDN Conferences, Workshops, and Peer Learning Platforms and Visits. Policy Briefs are not only based on presentations given by keynote speakers, but also on the outputs generated by interactive group work between policymakers and experts in sustainable development during these events, which culminate in jointly made recommendations with respect to the topic of the specific ESDN event.

The need for transformations to achieve sustainable development is a fundamental part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Having passed the halfway point of implementing the 2030 Agenda, progress towards achieving the SDGs is still too slow and transformations have not been fully realized in practice. The recent polycrisis (e.g. climate change, armed conflicts, energy crisis, high living costs, etc.) has slowed progress in SDG implementation even further, frequently leading towards stagnation or even regression. The Europe Sustainable Development Report 2023/24 estimates that “the EU has achieved or is on track to achieve a little over two-thirds of the SDG target” and detects that “SDG progress in Europe has stalled since 2020”. Therefore, the Report concludes that “overall progress is too slow to achieve all of the SDGs by 2030”.

This was the backdrop and focus of the ESDN over the first 6 months of 2024. To that effect, the ESDN dedicated three different events to the topic of policy transformations for sustainable development and the SDGs. The following ESDN Policy Notes, which can be found below, are the result of the ESDN Workshop that took place in March in Budva, Montenegro on "Governance Transformations for More Effective SDG Implementation", the ESDN Young Civil Servants Workshop that took place in April in Vienna, Austria on "Transformative Policy – Addressing Intergenerational Equity", and the ESDN Conference 2024 that took place in June in Brussels, Belgium on "Upgrading Europe: Building Transformative Policies to Reach the Sustainable Development Goals".


For the second half of the year, the ESDN focused on culture and sustainability, as well as circular economy. The ESDN Youth Network focused on different scenarios for achieving sustainability and climate neutrality by 2050 and developed four Policy Notes on the four main themes to come out of their Workshop. The ESDN Policy note on culture and sustainability, as well as circular economy, is the result of the 9th ESDN Peer Learning Platform, which took place in Bucharest, Romania on 22-23 October. You can find this policy note below. The policy notes from the ESDN Youth Network will be released as soon as they are finished, so keep checking back.

ESDN Policy Notes 2024
  • 22nd ESDN Workshop 2024
    Download Aug. 2024
  • ESDN Young Civil Servants Workshop
    Download Aug. 2024
  • ESDN Conference 2024
    Download Aug. 2024
  • 9th ESDN Peer Learning Platform
    Download Nov. 2024

Past ESDN Policy Briefs

  • Approaches in SDG Budgeting, Mainstreaming, and Performance Management
    Download Jan. 2024
  • How Europe moves forward with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs
    Download Jan. 2024
  • 9th Peer Learning Platform - Addressing Spillover Effects
    Download Dec. 2023
  • Integrating Youth Perspectives in Addressing SDG Spillovers
    Download Dec. 2023
  • Conducting 2nd VNRs
    Download Jan. 2023
  • SDGs and Human Rights
    Download Dec. 2022
  • Triple Planetary Crisis
    Download Dec. 2022
  • Youth Involvement in Europe
    Download Oct. 2022
  • A More Resilient and Sustainable Europe
    Download Feb. 2022
  • Engaging Civil Society and Citizens for the 2030 Agenda
    Download Dec. 2021
  • Parliamentary Involvement in the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda
    Download Sept. 2021
  • Sustainable Finance
    Download March 2021
  • EGD as a Vehicle to Transform Europe to a Sustainable Society
    Download Dec. 2020
  • Achieving a Sustainable Recovery from the Covid-19 Crisis
    Download Sept. 2020
  • Communicating SD and the SDGs
    Download Feb. 2019
  • Implementing the SDGs at the Local and Urban Level
    Download Nov. 2017