What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

5. Highlights the fact that the current trend of democratic backsliding worldwide, marked by the erosion of the rule of law, weakened institutions, shrinking civic space and growing anti-gender and anti-rights movements, in particular with regard to women’s rights and LGBTQI+ rights, risks slowing down and reversing progress on the SDGs and undermines the achievement of the 2030 Agenda;

6. Stresses that accelerating SDG implementation requires a pragmatic and results-driven approach, prioritising science- and evidence-based, transformative, innovative and coordinated solutions that deliver measurable results, and necessitates greater coherence across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus; emphasises that effective SDG implementation depends on good governance, the rule of law, anti-corruption measures and sound public financial management; reaffirms the importance of a human-rights-based approach; calls for more efficient monitoring, accountability and results-based reporting on SDG implementation at EU and global level;

7. Highlights the important role played by the private sector, innovation and sustainable finance in closing the SDG financing gap and calls for strengthened public-private partnerships and public governance and improved business environments in partner countries; emphasises the importance of supporting local entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized enterprises, skills development and appropriate regulatory frameworks while upholding environmental and social standards;

8. Stresses the need to prioritise vulnerable groups, especially children, and particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, and calls for strengthened, coordinated and long-term investment in quality education, healthcare and child protection systems, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda and the principle of leaving no one behind, recognising such investment as essential for human development, resilience and sustainable long-term stability;

SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

9. Notes that SDG 6 is one of the SDGs on which performance has been the poorest, with none of its targets being met or on track to being met, and with half of its targets experiencing either stagnation or regression; recalls that access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation are fundamental rights related to the public interest and public and global goods, and are instrumental in improving global health coverage and access to education, achieving poverty reduction and food security and protecting ecosystems; stresses, furthermore, that it is crucial to strengthen water resilience in the face of increasing pressures from climate change, droughts, floods and pollution, in a context of increased water demand and competing uses; insists that access to water and water resilience are key for achieving several other SDGs; recalls the Right2Water European Citizens’ Initiative and the Parliament resolution thereon, and therefore calls for the adoption of the measures proposed therein in order to achieve SDG 6;

10. Highlights the fact that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified WASH services as one of the most effective adaptation measures for short-term climate shocks and a ‘low regrets’ adaptation measure, and underlines that progress on SDG 6 is closely linked to the strengthening of efficient and resilient WASH systems and sectors; recognises that WASH services are essential for women’s and girls’ dignity, health – including sexual and reproductive health and rights – and equality and calls on the Commission and the Member States to support gender-responsive WASH interventions, prioritising interventions to ensure women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services and support women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in WASH-related decision-making; stresses the need to ensure a disability-inclusive approach in WASH programming;

11. Recognises the central role of healthy ecosystems in achieving water security; stresses that restoring and protecting the water cycle is key to building resilience against floods, droughts and water scarcity; stresses the importance of protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems, which are essential for water security, biodiversity, climate resilience, ocean health and the provision of ecosystem services; calls on the Member States, in this regard, to fully implement all EU water legislation;

12. Is alarmed at the irreversible losses of natural water capital, with many critical water systems already water-bankrupt, which impacts the reliable provision of water services; recalls that access to water underpins global stability and calls on the international community to use the upcoming UN Water Conference to place water-related issues higher on the international agenda; underlines that water policies must support the sustainable management of water bodies and integrate water efficiency practices, including water-smart solutions and innovative digital solutions, across all sectors; calls for stronger international action to prevent and mitigate water stress and overexploitation of water resources, restore degraded ecosystems and improve water governance;

14. Calls for improved data and monitoring, particularly in informal settlements and water-scarce regions, and for targeted, climate-resilient investments to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience;

15. Stresses that water pollution should be addressed both at source and by ensuring access to efficient waste water treatment; highlights the need to improve the collection of data on freshwater quality and quantity and to enhance the monitoring of these; encourages public-private partnerships to scale up fresh water and waste water infrastructure, including water and sanitation projects; encourages the roll-out of early-warning systems and water-risk planning to prevent irreversible losses; highlights the importance of waste water treatment for the health of populations and communities; underlines, furthermore, that waste water serves as a vital source of data, offering key indicators for tracking the spread of pandemics; emphasises the crucial role of monitoring and data collection, which should be designed in a practicable and realistic way;

16. Recalls that solutions that are codesigned with the participation and knowledge of local communities are the most effective in achieving social and community resilience to water-related shocks; stresses the importance of supporting capacity-building for local communities, authorities and utilities, especially in fragile and developing contexts, including by promoting solutions that are adapted to and sustained in local contexts and leave no one behind; calls for targeted support for women, children and the most vulnerable communities as regards access to water and sanitation;

17. Calls for the phasing out of forever chemicals (PFAS) – starting with consumer goods – linked to harmful effects on human health and the environment, based on scientific evidence, allowing their use where there are no safe alternatives; underlines the need to scale up investments and accelerate research into and development of equivalent and safe alternatives;

18. Calls for the EU to take the lead in water diplomacy and in supporting transboundary water cooperation, notably through integrated water resources management, to harness its global potential for sustainable development, human rights, climate resilience, food security, biodiversity protection, conflict prevention, the building of a sustainable peace and gender equality, including by fully integrating climate-resilient water and sanitation instruments and infrastructure into the EU climate agenda; calls for the EU to integrate transboundary water management and water security into EU development cooperation and humanitarian action; calls, furthermore, for the EU to ensure that EU-supported transboundary water initiatives, including Global Gateway-funded infrastructure projects, address the needs of people, including those in poverty, and vulnerable and marginalised groups; calls for the inclusion of women, youth and indigenous communities in water governance; recommends that multilateral cooperation on water be strengthened, including through the ratification of the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses;

19. Calls for the EU and its Member States to integrate the implementation of water policy objectives into other relevant policy areas, in order to ensure policy coherence across a range of areas, including agriculture, trade and environment policy, and also in its external policies, in line with the principle of policy coherence in the area of international development;

20. Welcomes the Commission’s first-ever water resilience strategy, which commits to supporting access to clean drinking water and sanitation for at least 70 million people; calls for the EU and its Member States to step up its efforts, in this regard, and close the gap towards achieving the SDG 6 targets by effectively and fully implementing this strategy;

21. Calls on the Member States to ensure better coordination of their water resilience programmes, with a focus on climate-resilient water and sanitation services and infrastructure; calls for the EU, through Team Europe Initiatives, to support capacity building, institutional strengthening and integrated water resource management approaches in partner countries, in order to improve the planning, governance and maintenance of water and sanitation services, including through partnerships with local authorities, public service providers and civil society; calls for a highly ambitious approach to strengthening global water governance and engagement, in this regard, in multilateral forums, such as the G7 summits, the G20 summits, the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action and the UN Water Conference;

22. Expresses alarm at the lack of progress regarding the sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources; calls for the EU and the Member States to build on the 2025 UN Ocean Conference commitments to urgently protect the ocean, and to step up their financial contribution to protecting and restoring marine ecosystems; expresses deep concern about the increasing levels of marine pollution; calls for stronger measures and accelerated implementation, as a matter of urgency, to put an end to marine pollution both at EU and international level; regrets that global negotiations on a first-ever intergovernmental plastics treaty have failed; calls for the adoption of an ambitious binding global treaty on plastic pollution at the resumption of the intergovernmental negotiations in 2026;

SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

23. Underlines that achieving universal access to clean and affordable energy is a key cross-cutting enabler for the entire 2030 Agenda; stresses that achieving SDG 7 will help advance many other SDGs, including those related to poverty eradication, living standards and socio-economic developments, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, gender equality, climate change, food security, public health, sustainable cities and communities, clean water and sanitation;

24. Calls for the EU to continue supporting the global transition towards a renewables-based energy system, which constitutes a key driver of economic development, resilience and long-term energy security; recalls, for the delivery of SDG 7, the central role of renewable energy;

25. Stresses that achieving SDG 7 requires a modernised, interconnected European grid; recognises the potential of the European Grids Package for enabling the cross-border flow of affordable energy;

26. Highlights the pivotal role of affordable, sustainable and secure energy in supporting sustainable economic growth, strengthening the EU’s industrial base and preserving quality jobs; emphasises the importance of strengthening the long-term resilience of Europe’s energy system by ensuring sustainable supply chains, fostering innovation and maintaining competitive, affordable and fair energy costs, thereby enabling a reliable and future-proof energy system for citizens and industry;

27. Emphasises the need to diversify energy sources, particularly by boosting renewable energy production, as well as the need to promote energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate sustainable and responsible investment in clean tech as key components of achieving SDG 7; calls, moreover, on the Commission and the Member States to stay ahead of the curve in the renewable energy roll-out, and to reduce dependencies on non-EU countries;

28. Welcomes the fact that SDG 7 is one of the goals with the most progress recorded, to date, largely due to the rapid expansion of renewable energy production; encourages the Commission to prioritise the deployment of cost-effective renewable, energy-efficient solutions, for households and industry, along with partner countries, by securing the necessary financing, in this regard, and in particular by helping to unlock private financing; calls, in particular, for the scaling up of renewable and independent power systems in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, using a conflict-sensitive approach, benefiting both displaced populations and host communities, and strengthening resilience and local economic and human development;

29. Stresses the importance of phasing out fossil fuels as soon as possible, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the UAE Consensus, and the phase-out of all fossil fuel and environmentally harmful subsidies in line with the EU’s 8th Environment Action Programme; welcomes, in this regard, the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, which was held in Santa Marta, Colombia, from 24 to 29 April 2026;

30. Underlines the importance of promoting EU investment in decentralised, sustainable and renewable energy systems, including solar home systems, mini-grids, off-grid systems and community-owned initiatives, in order to strengthen efforts to close the energy access gap, particularly in partner countries and in fragile settings, recognising its critical impact on education, healthcare and protection, especially for women and children;

31. Stresses that the expansion of energy access can be accelerated by partnerships between public institutions and the private sector; underlines that energy interventions and projects should be informed by conflict-sensitive analysis, and responsive to local realities and needs, in order to maximise their transformative impact, particularly in underserved and fragile contexts; underlines the critical role played by civil society organisations in this regard, and the need for meaningful engagement with local stakeholders;

32. Calls on the Commission to strengthen EU investments, both under the Global Gateway initiative and the proposed Global Europe instrument, ensuring equal benefits to partner countries, notably in terms of the sharing of knowledge and the transfer of technology, the training and re-skilling of the local population, job creation, the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industrial activities and access to cleaner mobility and energy;

33. Stresses the need to further develop global cooperation and sustainable value chains to ensure that critical raw materials (CRMs), which are required for global energy security, as well as the digital and green transition, are sourced following a rights-based approach; emphasises that this approach must take into account the needs of both demand and supply sides, in a way that mitigates adverse social, environmental and economic impacts, human rights implications, such as child labour, as well as impacts on local communities, and contribute to the industrial and socio-economic development of source countries, including their role in the entire CRM value chain, and ensure the meaningful engagement of local communities and civil society in the process; underlines, in this regard, the need to build upon the objectives and principles of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, co-chaired by the EU, to promote the sustainable production of minerals and the development of local value chains;

34. Emphasises the importance of the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities throughout the CRM value chain, in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

35. Acknowledges that without proper management, the increasing demand for CRMs risks reinforcing strategic dependencies, increasing geopolitical vulnerabilities and tensions and human rights violations, and contributing to environmental and social challenges; emphasises, therefore, the importance of strengthening a competitive and resilient circular economy, specifically by enhancing resource efficiency, boosting recycling capacities and fostering innovation in secondary raw materials, with a view to reducing the use of natural resources and dependencies on CRMs; to this end, calls for steps to be taken towards increased global cooperation for sustainable resource management;

36. Stresses the need to scale up measures to combat energy poverty, particularly in situations that are fragile and involve population displacement; highlights the fact that energy poverty affects living standards and undermines livelihoods and people’s health, impacts the delivery of essential services and requires dedicated measures for vulnerable groups, particularly women and children, including social energy tariffs and subsidies;

37. Stresses that energy poverty in fragile and displacement-affected contexts undermines livelihoods, essential service delivery, human development and social stability, particularly affecting vulnerable groups;

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

38. Commends the overall progress made on SDG 9, notably the significant advances in infrastructure development, inclusive and sustainable industrial growth and innovation; notes, however, that progress is uneven across countries and regions; believes that focused action is needed to bridge this divide and secure equal progress towards the implementation of SDG 9;

39. Stresses the strategic importance of secure, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including digital, transport and energy and water infrastructure, to support economic development, enhance connectivity, climate mitigation and climate adaptation, and also improve human development, particularly in rural and peripheral areas; calls for a holistic approach to integrate climate resilience into every stage of the infrastructure life cycle;

40. Stresses the need to close the infrastructure and socio-economic inequality gaps, including those related to digital accessibility and energy poverty; insists that infrastructure and connectivity projects must contribute to local value creation and respect principles of universal accessibility to ensure that infrastructure projects do not create new barriers, and encourage the full inclusion of the most vulnerable groups; stresses the need to ensure gender-responsive approaches in digital investments to close the gender digital gap, as persistent barriers limit women’s and girls’ prospects of gaining from emerging technologies;

41. Stresses the need to promote sustainable solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of businesses in all sectors, such as the responsible consumption of resources, resource efficiency and increased actions towards achieving a circular economy; recalls the importance of the ‘polluter pays’ principle;

42. Highlights the fact that, while fostering competitiveness, innovation and investment, inclusive and sustainable industrialisation for the purposes of the 2030 Agenda and beyond must be aligned with the goals of climate neutrality, environmental and biodiversity protection, and a just transition that leaves no one behind; stresses, in this regard, the need for further investment to achieve SDG 9, notably through public-private partnerships and other de-risking instruments, including via the Global Gateway strategy, and other European development finance institutions; calls for increased public investment in green, digital and social infrastructure, including public transport, energy grids and digital connectivity, harnessing progress across regions, particularly in least developed countries; calls, furthermore, for the EU to further mobilise private capital in order to make investments attractive to private investors; stresses that, in order to be mutually beneficial, such investments should support local value addition, good governance, fiscal benefits and high environmental standards;

43. Highlights the role of innovation, research and technological development in enhancing productivity, competitiveness and sustainability, including for the research, development and deployment of sustainable technologies; calls for enhanced support for entrepreneurship, vocational education and training, and skills development, as key enablers of innovation, productivity and inclusive industrial growth, especially in low-income countries;

44. Calls for strengthened cooperation on technology transfer, research partnerships and innovation ecosystems between the EU and partner countries, fostering research cooperation and enabling the least developed and low-income countries to move up global value chains;

SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

45. Notes the risks associated with rapid urbanisation combined with climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss; underlines, in this regard, the need to integrate climate change adaptation and biodiversity into urban planning and to strengthen urban resilience measures, including by fostering energy-efficient and climate-resilient housing, expanding green areas for ecosystem restoration, strengthening disaster preparedness, prevention and response, and improving water management and flood protection; highlights, furthermore, the importance of ensuring efficient land-use and limiting the negative effects of urban sprawl, in order to protect ecosystems and achieve sustainable urban development;

46. Underlines that the achievement of SDG 11 requires a dedicated focus on tackling inequalities in urban areas; stresses, furthermore, that climate change, including in urban settings, disproportionately affects women and girls, particularly those in fragile or vulnerable contexts; calls on governments and local authorities to ensure that investments are distributed equitably, addressing marginalisation, particularly in areas that currently suffer from a systemic lack of accessible and affordable transport, public services, local and sustainable food chains and housing, while paying special attention to vulnerable and socio-economically disadvantaged groups;

47. Regrets that a large proportion of the urban population still lacks access to affordable, efficient and sustainable transport systems; notes that increasing the availability, accessibility and use of public transport, alongside soft mobility infrastructure, as well as other innovative and clean mobility solutions, is a crucial tool for reducing air pollution; stresses the importance of ensuring adequate infrastructure and services for people with reduced mobility, including people with disabilities;

48. Underlines the urgent need to further improve and implement waste collection and management systems, in line with the waste hierarchy principles, including, where appropriate, through the use of digital technology and AI, and by investing in reuse and recycling systems and the reduction of waste; emphasises the role of the upcoming Circular Economy Act in unlocking the value of the circular economy; calls for measures to facilitate a true EU market for secondary raw materials;

49. Recalls the urgent need to implement energy and climate solutions at the local and municipal level, including through nature-based solutions, to address the effects of climate change, including exposure to extreme heat;

50. Recalls the need to act on the modernisation, affordability and sustainability of housing by scaling up energy-efficient and climate-resilient housing models and construction strategies; emphasises the importance of increasing investments, in this regard, which may include private investments and public-private partnerships, and calls for the EU to support cities in leveraging capital through innovative financing instruments;

52. Encourages closer cooperation between cities, businesses, research institutions and civil society to foster innovation, share best practices and scale up successful urban solutions, including through partnerships between European and partner-country cities, EU platforms and knowledge-exchange initiatives;

SDG 17: strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

53. Calls for the EU to continue advocating for multilateralism, for an international rules-based order and for support for the UN system to provide global leadership in implementing the 2030 Agenda, and fill voids left by others, by building new alliances and strengthening existing ones, and working with global partners to mobilise funding; stresses the need to reinforce international treaties and agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and regional conservation initiatives;

54. Reiterates its full commitment to the enduring value of multilateralism and underlines that a modernised multilateral system for governing trade is essential; recalls the EU’s support for the mandate of the WTO and the ongoing negotiations regarding the UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights;

56. Strongly encourages the exploration of options to leverage private finance, including through the capital markets union; welcomes, in this regard, the UN Development Programme’s SDG Investor Platform, which allows private companies to identify ‘investment opportunity areas’ in order to contribute to sustainable development, and encourages further investment, including through public-private partnerships, to contribute to filling the SDG funding gap, respecting the criteria of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; further encourages the combating of illicit financial flows, tax avoidance and tax evasion;

57. Expresses deep concern about the prospects of a debt crisis for developing countries, particularly for low-income and least developed countries, and calls for debt relief and debt restructuring for affected countries, taking into account the UN Conference on Trade and Development principles on promoting responsible sovereign lending and borrowing and the OECD debt sustainability principles, as well as resource sovereignty, as a first step; stresses the need for the efficient and responsible use of available resources; recognises the importance of grant-based and highly concessional finance and non-debt-creating instruments for affected countries; underlines the limits of the global financial architecture and insufficient international support, in this regard; stresses that these countries urgently require more financial resources and fiscal space to facilitate far greater investment in the SDGs; notes, in this regard, the ongoing negotiations on creating and implementing a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation;

58. Emphasises that effective global partnerships should be based on mutual cooperation and deliver on the partners’ common objectives; stresses the importance of transparency, good governance and measurable impact in all development cooperation efforts;

59. Underlines the strategic importance and potential of the EU’s Global Gateway as a flagship instrument for strengthening sustainable partnerships and delivering high-quality infrastructure, while promoting international standards and long-term economic and social development in partner countries;