REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS SECOND VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEW Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Nicosia, June 2021 Overall Coordination: Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development Supervision: Georghia Solomonidou-Christofidou Assistance: Evita Michaelides, Andri Christoforou Publisher: Press and Information Office ISBN: 978-9963-50-541-8 Design: Stella Komninou Arakelian PIO 116/2021 – electronic publication © 2021 Press and Information Office. All rights reserved. The sale or other commercial exploitation of this publication or part of it is strictly prohibited. Excerpts from the publication may be reproduced with appropriate acknowledgment of this publication as the source of the material used. Press and Information Office publications are available free of charge. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Cyprus’ Second Voluntary National Review 2021 was prepared under the coordination of the Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development (DGEPCD) of the Ministry of Finance. The DGEPCD would like to express its appreciation to all the Ministries and Government Departments for their valuable contribution and continuous commitment. We also extend our thanks to all non-Governmental organisations, local authorities, academic institutions, businesses and the wider public for their input. Special thanks to the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus for designing the Review. We also extend our acknowledgements to our external consultants, notably the Cyprus International Institute of Management-CIIM Bio-Economia Centre. MESSAGE by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Amidst an unprecedented new reality brought about by the pandemic, we should intensify our efforts towards making sustainable development finally a reality for all countries and regions in need, through establishing the necessary political and socio-economic conditions which would lead to stability, economic growth and institution building. We need to embrace the new opportunities that arise and face the challenges with strength and resilience. In this regard, we reiterate our full commitment to strengthening the capacity of the United Nations in pursuance of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. An agenda which needs collective leadership, solidarity and the primacy of multilateralism in order to match the expectations of the people for a sustainable planet. To this end, as you read Cyprus’ second Voluntary National Review (VNR), it is evident that the Sustainable Development Goals form an integral part of our path towards social inclusion, stimulating innovation and accelerating digitalisation, whilst working in parallel towards green transition and reversing the effects of climate change. The review highlights the progress achieved since the last VNR of 2017, whilst not ignoring the remaining challenges we still have to tackle so as to fully achieve our Sustainable Development Goals. On this journey towards a more sustainable future for our generation and for the generations to come, we all have our share to contribute. Government initiatives do not suffice. We invite everyone, the business community, the social partners, the non-governmental organisations and every citizen to join forces so as to fully implement our ambitious strategy towards a new model for strengthening the economy’s resilience and achieving economic, social and environmentally sustainable long-term growth and prosperity. Nicos Anastasiades 1 CONTENTS 4 1. Executive Summary 6 2. Introduction 8 3. Methodology 9 4. Governance - Institutional Mechanism 13 5. Stakeholders’ Engagement 17 6. Covid-19: Impacts on SDGs and Actions Taken in Response to the Pandemic 23 7. Financing 28 8. Focus Areas 38 9. Progress Towards the Goals and Targets 40 9.1 SDG 1. No Poverty 44 9.2 SDG 2. Zero Hunger 48 9.3 SDG 3. Good Health and Well-Being 52 9.4 SDG 4. Quality Education 56 9.5 SDG 5. Gender Equality 62 9.6 SDG 6. Clean Water and Sanitation 66 9.7 SDG 7. Affordable and Clean Energy 70 9.8 SDG 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth 74 9.9 SDG 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 78 9.10 SDG 10. Reduced Inequalities 82 9.11 SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities 88 9.12 SDG 12. Responsible Consumption and Production 92 9.13 SDG 13. Climate Action 96 9.14 SDG 14. Life Below Water 100 9.15 SDG 15. Life on Land 104 9.16 SDG 16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 110 9.17 SDG 17. Partnership for Goals 114 10. Building Forward Better – Next Steps 118 Data Appendix 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION Cyprus’ 2nd Voluntary National Review (VNR) provides an overview of the progress and the remaining challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The challenges have been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which halted socio- economic and environmental progress. GOVERNANCE / STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Building on a lesson learned from the 2017 VNR, an Intergovernmental Commission has been established for the implementation of the SDGs under the coordination of the Ministry of Finance (Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development – DGEPCD), while the responsibility for each SDG target remaining with the competent Ministry. Under the adopted integrated policy framework, stakeholders from Civil Society, Active Citizenship, Volunteerism and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play a pivotal role in the implementation of the SDGs. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Cyprus, in the pre-covid period was experiencing for a period of 5 consecutive years a growing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, decreased unemployment, a significant decrease in non-performing loans, and a decline in the already high private and public sector debts. Inevitably, the prohibitive measures adopted due to the pandemic adversely affected economic activity in all sectors, including the vital sector of tourism with Real Output contracting by 5.1% in 2020. The Covid-19 reality brought unprecedented challenges and changes to everyday life. Cyprus’ Government top priority was the protection and health of its citizens as well as the support of the social and economic fallout of the pandemic. The prompt public health interventions, including non-pharmaceutical measures and active contact tracing, with extensive and targeted testing, proved to be a valuable combination of strategies to effectively control the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy, the Government has adopted a support package for employees, the self- employed, vulnerable groups and businesses, which in 2020 amounted to €2.6 bln or 12.5% of GDP. Cyprus’ pioneering mobilisation of its volunteer network, under the coordination of the Office of the Commissioner for Volunteerism and NGOs, received EU-wide recognition for its prompt and effective support of vulnerable groups following prescribed security protocols. PROGRESS OVERVIEW In the period that elapsed since its first VNR in 2017, and given the five years of continuous high economic growth, Cyprus has shown progress in most SDG indicators, even though it continues to rank low among the EU countries. Cyprus performs very well with regard to reducing poverty (SDG1), securing good health (SDG3), in high tertiary educational attainment, but falls behind in quality education (SDG4) as well as in affordable energy even though challenges remain towards clean energy. It is ahead of many EU countries in terms of the gender pay gap and while showing some improvement in the number of women in leadership positions (SDG5), continues to rank very low among EU27. On the other hand, Cyprus has the highest number in asylum applications, experiencing the highest influx of migrants in the EU (SDG10.) Finally, regarding the environment, Cyprus’ performance is below the EU average in most SDGs. Severe challenges exist with respect to sustainable agriculture (SDG2), clean water and sanitation (SDG6) due to the extended drought periods caused by climate change. Cyprus continues to lack behind with respect to responsible consumption and production (SDG12) and climate action (SDG13). However, the data show a continuous improvement towards most environmental goals, with the overall implementation rate for all SDGs rising from 70.60% in 2017 to 75.21% in 2020, reflecting the fruition of targeted Government policies and initiatives. 4 KEY INITIATIVES In promoting all three pillars of sustainable development, Cyprus focuses on social inclusion, stimulating innovation and accelerating digitalisation, as well as working towards green transition and reversing the effects of climate change. Adhering to the ‘leaving no one behind’ principle, Cyprus has implemented the following noteworthy initiatives: Social Inclusion • Introduction of the General Health System (GHS), a modern and universal healthcare system, that provides equal access to high quality healthcare services. • Implementation of a multidimensional Strategic Action Plan for the integration of migrants including labour market programmes and vocational orientation. • Adoption of the new National Action Plan for Equality between Men and Women (NAPD) (2019-2023). • Participation of youth in Government decision making through the Children’s Parliament ‘Annual Meeting’ and the launch of the ‘Public Consultation Day’. Innovation and Digitalisation • Establishment of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy to enable and accelerate Cyprus’ digital transformation. • Launch of