Briefing

Czechia country profile - SDGs and the environment

Briefing Published 02 Dec 2020 Last modified 02 Dec 2020

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Czechia adopted the Framework for SDG action through a Government Resolution in January 2016. The government followed this framework with ‘Czech Republic 2030’ which was published in April 2017. Czech Republic 2030 serves as an overarching strategic framework for sustainable development policy at the national, regional and local level, while the country’s VNR provides the main roadmap for achieving the SDGs. This will be complemented by the framework of voluntary commitments by civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders (Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, 2017).

The Czech Republic 2030 strategic framework organises national SDG action into six national priority areas: social (people and society), economic (economy) and environmental (resilient ecosystems). ‘Resilient Ecosystems’ prioritises SDGs 6, 13, 14 and 15. Besides the goals for the planet, SDGs 2, 11, 12 are also addressed in this key area. For SDG 7, Czechia points to an increase in the use of renewable energy and recognises the need to improve its energy efficiency in consumption and production processes (Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, 2017).

Czechia’s actions towards SDGs with an environmental dimension focus primarily on SDGs 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

The government office’s Sustainable Development Department is designated to lead the SDG actions. Furthermore, the Government Council for Sustainable Development, chaired by the prime minister, serves as a coordination body to ensure that all key ministries, institutions and stakeholders are involved and informed about the process (Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, 2017).

Czechia submitted a VNR to the UN in 2017.

Czechia has 97 national SDG targets and 192 indicators designed to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The compatibility of national strategies with the SDGs is measured through the regularly updated national database of strategies, which is an online platform. In addition, the compliance of sectoral and regional strategic documents, programmes and measures with the 2030 Agenda will be monitored by the Sustainable Development Department ever two years, in the form of analytical reports (Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, 2017).

Sources

Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, Government Council for Sustainable Development,2017,National Report on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Government of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czechia (https://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/udrzitelny-rozvoj/dokumenty/CZE-VNR-to-HLPF_2017_National-Report.pdf) accessed 5 November 2017.

UN-DESA, 2017, ‘Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform – Documents and Reports’, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York, USA (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/) accessed 15 October 2017.

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The country assessments are the sole responsibility of the EEA member and cooperating countries supported by the EEA through guidance, translation and editing.