Transforming multilateral diplomacy : the inside story of the sustainable development goals / Ambassador Macharia Kamau ; Pamela Chasek ; David O'Connor.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Transforming Multilateral Diplomacy provides and insider's perspective of the negotiations that produced the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Not only did this process mark a sea change in how the UN conducts multilateral diplomacy, it changed the way the UN does its business. Told from the unique point of view of Ambassador Macharia Kamau and other key participants from governments, the UN Secretariat, and civil society, this book tells the story of the people, issues, negotiations, and paradigm shifts that unfolded through the Open Working Group (OWG) on SDGs and the subsequent negotiations on the 2030 goals and their negotiation make this story a must-read for anyone interested in multilateral negotiations, sustainable development, and the UN."--book cover

Setting the stage. What are the sustainable development goals? ; Time for a change ; A quick guide to UN negotiations ; The journey ahead -- Multilateralism: complexity and intrigues. Twenty-first century challenges to multilateralism ; Rebalancing economic and political power ; The millennium development goals ; The need for a paradigm shift ; The tipping point: Rio+20 and the birth of the SDGs -- Getting started: creating the open working group. Back to New York: Rio+20 follow-up ; Electing the co-chairs ; Initial challenges -- Uncertain beginning. Playing the long game to educate, depoliticize, and level the playing field ; The stocktaking process ; Changing alliances ; Expanding horizons ; The elephants in the room -- The cast of characters. Reading the room ; State actors ; Non-state actors -- The use of process and drama. A bird's-eye view of the SDG negotiations ; Strategies and tactics ; The End Game -- The birth of the goals. Goals 1-6: Updating and enhancing the MDGs ; Moving beyond the MDGs: energy, economic growth, employment and equality for the new agenda ; Urbanization, consumption patterns, climate and the environment ; The enabling environment -- Pulling it all together: the SDGS and the post-2015 development agenda. Beginning anew -- Changing dynamics ; The politics of a declaration ; "Tweaking" the targets -- Means of implementation and the global partnership: almost a disaster ; Follow-up and review: another elephant in the room ; The final push -- Transforming our world. Launching the goals ; Ownership in implementation -- The legacy of the open working group on sustainable development goals. Lessons learned ; Negotiating processes matter.