National Voluntary Review to the HLPF: Brazil

The aim of the present Voluntary National Review is to provide information on the Brazilian preparation process and the strategies for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda as of September 2015, when the Federal government committed in the United Nations General Assembly to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and their targets.

Initially, information that depicts Brazilian reality is provided based on social, economic and environmental data. The Report then outlines the steps that the country has taken towards the development of strategies for the internalization and localization of the 2030 Agenda.

Chapter 4 presents a study on the convergence between the Federal government's planning instrument, public policy implementation and the SDGs targets. By analyzing the relation between the programmes, goals, targets and initiatives of the 2016-2019 Pluriannual Plan and the 169 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals it became possible to identify the current alignment between the 2030 Agenda and the Federal government's main planning instrument.

In light of the challenges posed by the new Agenda, the Report highlights the creation of the National Commission for the Sustainable Development Goals, the main institutional governance mechanism for fostering dialogue, engagement and integration of the initiatives carried out by subnational entities and civil society. The aim of the Commission is to internalize, disseminate and ensure the transparency of the 2030 Agenda implementation process.

The initiatives carried out by civil society, subnational governments, the Legislative branch and external control institutions are subsequently discussed. In order to draft Chapter 6, several actors were invited to share their experiences regarding the new Agenda. Their valuable contributions underscore the range and plurality of initiatives currently underway in support of the SDGs.

In order to establish a basis for the follow-up of the SDGs targets proposed by the 2030 Agenda, the relevant global role played by Brazil in the discussions regarding the formulation of global indicators is highlighted, in addition to the process of definition of national indicators.

In accordance with the central theme of the 2017 High-Level Political Forum –, Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world –, Chapter 8 discusses the results achieved by Brazil in recent years and the efforts of the current government regarding SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14 and 17.

In the social dimension, progress made towards eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring healthy lives, and promoting gender equality is presented in the Report. In the economic dimension, the Report underscores actions that promote greater fiscal discipline and the expansion of investments in infrastructure, which are among the main challenges faced by the Brazilian government. In the environmental realm, it is highlighted that the Brazilian energy mix continues to be one of the cleanest in the world. The diversification of the country's energy sources and the increase in the proportion of renewable sources, as well as an approach for greater efficiency in the sector, comprise an essential strategy from both the economic and environmental perspectives and directly addresses the Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

In addition to the short-term challenges that the country has been facing and overcoming, particularly in the economic dimension with the structural reforms introduced by the Government and currently under discussion and approval by the Legislative branch, there are many other challenges that need to be faced in the medium-term and long-term, such as guaranteeing, improving and expanding recent achievements and advancing towards new ones.

The next steps to be taken as outlined in this Report are aimed at better public administration, ranging from the production of statistics to the implementation of sectorial programmes, from governance practice to engaging networks of actors, as well as optimizing public spending.

This first Voluntary National Review outlines the main challenges we have before us, which will guide the planning and monitoring of Brazilian public policies over the coming years. This document is an initial assessment of the country and the challenges to be faced towards the eradication of poverty and the promotion of a more prosperous and sustainable Brazil.