With lectures led by IBGE officials, the second day of the IV Meeting of Information Producers aimed at the 2030 Agenda, held this Tuesday (31), was dedicated to thematic sessions on indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event brought together representatives from different data producing offices in discussions aimed at improving monitoring of the 2030 Agenda in Brazil. The program was organized in parallel sessions, promoting dialogue between institutions and experts around the main challenges related to the production and qualification of indicators.

Throughout the day, meetings were held in rooms to discuss the SDG indicators, divided into two moments. In the morning, there were eight rooms dedicated to the indicators of SDG 1 (Eradication of Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 13 (Action against Global Climate Change). Then, still in the morning, four more rooms were opened, starting debates on the indicators of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Clean and Affordable Energy), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Effective Institutions). In the afternoon, discussions continued in four rooms, focusing on SDGs 6, 7, 15 and 16.

The main objective of the discussions was to advance the definition of the SDG National Indicator Framework, an essential step for monitoring the goals of the 2030 Agenda in Brazil. In this process, the IBGE and the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic – National Commission for Sustainable Development Objectives (CNODS) contributed to the technical conduct of the debates, together with the other participating partner institutions.

In the debates, criteria such as the prioritization of indicators with immediate production, validated methodology and official data sources, with responsible institutions identified, were considered. Furthermore, participants discussed the adequacy of indicators to nationalized goals, methodological consistency, sustainability of data sources and the identification of priority statistical gaps.

SDG 13 indicators

In the room dedicated to debates on SDG 13 indicators, aimed at adopting urgent measures to combat climate change and its impacts, the presentations were led by Therence Paolliello de Sarti and Ivone Lopes (DGC/CMA). The debate also included the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) and the Geological Survey of Brazil (SGB), in addition to other offices.

During the discussion, the SGB representative, Patrícia Jacques, declared that the institution is interested in strengthening a partnership with the IBGE to build the indicator related to risk areas. According to her, the agency has recent and detailed information on mapped areas and stressed: “We can compose this indicator of geomorphological risk areas,” highlighting the potential of these bases to contribute to the construction of this type of indicator.

SDG 8 indicators

In the debate room on the SDG 8 indicators, referring to the promotion of decent work and economic growth, Cimar Azeredo Pereira (advisor to the IBGE Presidency) and João Hallak Neto (DPE/COPIS) spoke. Denise Kronemberger (head of the SDG Support Sector at the IBGE) was also present, as well as members of the Ministry of Culture, the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan), the Ministry of Women, among other institutions.

The main objective of this meeting was to discuss the regionalization, for the Brazilian context, of global indicators related to the economy. Among the points covered, proposals for adjustments to specific targets stood out, such as 8.3.1, which deals with the informality rate of the employed population aged 15 or over. The resumption of the Survey of Urban Informal Economy (Ecinf), previously carried out in 1997 and 2003, was also debated, as a way of updating knowledge about small non-agricultural enterprises in the informal sector, in light of the most recent definitions from the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Moreover, adjustments to this goal were discussed, such as the inclusion of disaggregation of data by sexual orientation, gender identity, color or race, in order to expand the analytical scope of the indicators. “The difficulty of a transgender person, for example, in entering the labor market is notorious. (...) We talk about the importance of not leaving anyone out, and we need to move forward in this direction,” said Azevedo, highlighting the importance of new possibilities for detailing data.

SDG 1 and SDG 10 indicators

During the morning, another debate room brought together experts to discuss the indicators for SDGs 1 and 10, aimed at eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities, respectively. The roundtable was opened by Leonardo Santos de Oliveira, coordinator of SDG 1 at the IBGE, who highlighted other indicators of a complementary nature to those that define the SDG targets.

For him, the discussions are fundamental to support global goals for combating poverty among groups in the most vulnerable situations: “SDG 1 makes a very practical commitment (...) because they are not restricted to just reducing poverty; it is about eradicating extreme poverty and reducing by half the proportion of men, women and children living in monetary and non-monetary poverty,” said Oliveira.

Gabriela Freitas, an official from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), also participated in the debate and spoke about the regionalization of global goals: “It is very important for us to adapt global indicators to the national reality, something that really makes sense for us in Brazil (...) we have the possibility of thinking about the context of our country and having goals that are more compatible with our level of development,” highlighted her.

Iqui Djú, a participant who came from Guinea-Bissau especially for the event, works in his country in the SDG 18 thematic chamber (ethnic-racial equality) and highlighted the relevance of following discussions on indicators in Brazil for the implementation of adjustments in the African context: “I thank the organizers and speakers of the thematic sessions. SDG 18, with which I work, has a strong connection with reducing inequalities and combating hunger and poverty, which reinforces the integration between the different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” highlighted Djú.

The set of discussions reinforced the importance of coordination between different producers of information. Furthermore, the meetings fostered alignment towards the consolidation of a robust national system of indicators capable of supporting the monitoring and evaluation of public policies related to the SDGs in Brazil.

Closing session

The IV Meeting of Information Producers for the 2030 Agenda brought together 350 participants from 93 institutions and consolidated itself as a strategic space for interinstitutional articulation to advance the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Brazil. The event highlighted technical maturity in the definition of methodologies, data sources and institutional focal points, in addition to reinforcing the integration between different actors and information bases.

The meeting also reinforced the importance of permanent cooperation to guarantee the quality, comparability and transparency of national statistics. The president of the IBGE, Marcio Pochmann, confirmed that the production of indicators is a collective effort, coordinated by the IBGE, but which depends on the continuous action of several institutions: “The success of our indicator framework will not be measured by what we define here, but by what we can, in fact, produce together, continuously, starting tomorrow,” he emphasized in his final speech.

Pochmann also thanked the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, for the fundamental support in holding the event, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Itaipu Binacional and all others involved, for the partnership and contribution to strengthening the 2030 Agenda in Brazil.