Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) Planetary Health Team submitted its written opinion on the “Call for Opinions on the Draft Revision of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” by the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted at the United Nations Summit in September 2015 as international goals for the entire international community, including developed countries, with 17 overarching goals by the year 2030.

At the 2nd Meeting of the SDGs Promotion Headquarters held on December 20, 2016, under the direction of the Prime Minister, the implementation guidelines for Japan’s government to implement the SDGs (SDGs Implementation Guidelines) were decided upon, and were revised at the 8th Meeting of the SDGs Promotion Headquarters held on December 20, 2019. The revised version of the guidelines is to be reviewed at least every four years in line with the cycle of the UN SDG Summit, and discussions are underway to revise the revised version of the guidelines again.

The public comment includes the following perspectives:

• The ‘new capitalism’ aims to create a ‘virtuous circle of growth and distribution’. This approach not only addresses social issues but also transforms efforts to tackle planetary health issues such as climate change, environmental pollution, and loss of biodiversity into engines of growth. This creates a mutually beneficial cycle of broad-based growth and appropriate distribution, which aligns with the achievement of the SDGs.
• It is expected to go beyond the original achievement of individual targets in terms of raising awareness of the trade-offs that arise in the achievement of the SDGs and methods known as co-benefits.
• Efforts to achieve the SDGs in local areas will be strongly encouraged through the Regional Development SDGs, the Environmental Future City concept, and the Regional Cooperation SDG Model Project. These initiatives can be re-evaluated through the newly established concept of planetary health. The government should also consider actively promoting the concept of planetary health both domestically and internationally.
• In particular, in the field of health care, in order to develop the concept of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that the Japanese government has been promoting domestically and internationally, and to accelerate the global trend, we will consider participation in the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH: Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health), and aim to realize Greener UHC.
• The paper proposes incorporating a planetary health approach that integrates the conservation of the local environment and the health of the population. This could be achieved, for example, by greening the community and promoting sustainable local food systems.

For more information on this public comment, please click here (only available in Japanese).