2015 was a critical year in the poverty and environment arena, with a number of major global agreements sealed, including the signing of the SDGs.

These aspirational goals link poverty, environment and climate and could change the lives of citizens across the world. But implementation will not be easy and, as the meeting heard, bring challenges as well as opportunities.

We are in the stage of filtering the 169 SDG targets, deciding which of these we will focus on. – Jorge João Francisco Chindela, Mozambique’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The PEP was set up at the 2002 Johannesburg Summit (Rio+10) and seeks to build a wider understanding of the relationship between poverty reduction, environmental management and climate change.

Chakrapani Sharma of Nepal’s Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development agrees: “SDGs must be aligned with plans and programmes of central government and local government, and indicators determined by the country context.”

Image: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (top row, centre) poses for a group photo with volunteers serving with the Vienna-based international organisations showcasing icons of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UN Photo/Nikoleta Haffar.