Voluntary National Reviews: The Environmental Dimension - Policy Brief

By focusing on the extent to which the environmental dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been addressed in the voluntary national reviews (VNRs) submitted by countries to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in 2016 and 2017, the policy brief uses a set methodology to review all the voluntary national reviews submitted by 64 countries in 2016 and 2017. Though early in the timeline, the two cycles of reviews indicate the growing interest of member states to focus on actions related to environmental dimension of achieving the SDGs. The brief also provides an overall assessment of the VNRs as a review mechanism and suggests recommendations to strengthen the reporting of the environmental dimension moving forward.