View source for Sustainable Development Goals

{{Short description|United Nations goals for people for 2030}}
{{Infobox project
| name              = Sustainable Development Goals
| logo              = Sustainable Development Goals logo.svg
| mission_statement = "A shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future"
| location          = Global
| owner             =
| founder           = [[United Nations]]
| established       = 2015
| disestablished    = 2030
| website           = {{URL|https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/}} and {{URL|https://sdgs.un.org/}}
| abbreviation      = SDGs
}}

The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all [[United Nations]] (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world '''Sustainable Development Goals''' ('''SDGs'''). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet"<ref name="the17SDGs">{{Cite web |title=The 17 Goals |url=https://sdgs.un.org/goals | publisher = UN |access-date=2022-08-10 |website= Sustainable Development Goals}}</ref><ref name="UN-2017a"/> – while tackling [[climate change]] and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of [[sustainable development]]. [[Sustainability]] is at the center of the SDGs, as the term ''[[sustainable development]]'' implies.

These goals are ambitious,{{according to whom|date=May 2025}} and the reports and outcomes to date indicate a challenging path. Most, if not all, of the goals are unlikely to be met by 2030. Rising inequalities, climate change, and [[biodiversity loss]] are topics of concern threatening progress. The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in 2020 to 2023 made these challenges worse, and some regions, such as Asia, have experienced significant setbacks during that time.

There are cross-cutting issues and [[synergy|synergies]] between the different goals; for example, for SDG 13 on climate action, the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] sees robust synergies with SDGs 3 (health), 7 (clean energy), 11 (cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 14 (oceans).<ref name="IPCC-2018">IPCC, 2018: [https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/SR15_Full_Report_High_Res.pdf Global Warming of 1.5°C.An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty] [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J.B.R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M.I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, and T. Waterfield (eds.)]. In Press</ref><ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|70}} On the other hand, critics and observers have also identified [[trade-off]]s between the goals,<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|67}} such as between ending hunger and promoting environmental sustainability.<ref name="Machingura-2017" />{{rp|26}} Furthermore, concerns have arisen over the high number of goals (compared to the eight [[Millennium Development Goals]]), leading to compounded trade-offs, a weak emphasis on [[Sustainability#Environmental sustainability|environmental sustainability]], and difficulties tracking qualitative indicators.

The political impact of the SDGs has been rather limited, and the SDGs have struggled to achieve transformative changes in policy and institutional structures.<ref name="Biermann-2022" /> Also, funding remains a critical issue for achieving the SDGs. Significant financial resources would be required worldwide. The role of private investment and a shift towards [[Sustainable finance|sustainable financing]] are also essential for realizing the SDGs. Examples of progress from some countries demonstrate that achieving sustainable development through concerted global action is possible. The global effort for the SDGs calls for prioritizing environmental sustainability, understanding the indivisible nature of the goals, and seeking synergies across sectors.

The short titles of the 17 SDGs are: No poverty ([[Sustainable Development Goal 1|SDG 1]]), Zero hunger ([[Sustainable Development Goal 2|SDG 2]]), Good health and well-being ([[Sustainable Development Goal 3|SDG 3]]), Quality education ([[SDG 4]]), Gender equality ([[Sustainable Development Goal 5|SDG 5]]), Clean water and sanitation ([[Sustainable Development Goal 6|SDG 6]]), Affordable and clean energy ([[Sustainable Development Goal 7|SDG 7]]), Decent work and economic growth ([[Sustainable Development Goal 8|SDG 8]]), Industry, innovation and infrastructure ([[Sustainable Development Goal 9|SDG 9]]), Reduced inequalities ([[Sustainable Development Goal 10|SDG 10]]), Sustainable cities and communities ([[Sustainable Development Goal 11|SDG 11]]), Responsible consumption and production ([[Sustainable Development Goal 12|SDG 12]]), [[Climate action]] ([[Sustainable Development Goal 13|SDG 13]]), Life below water ([[Sustainable Development Goal 14|SDG 14]]), Life on land ([[Sustainable Development Goal 15|SDG 15]]), Peace, justice, and strong institutions ([[Sustainable Development Goal 16|SDG 16]]), and Partnerships for the goals ([[SDG 17]]).

== Principles ==
The SDGs are universal, time-bound, and legally non-binding policy objectives agreed upon by governments. They come close to prescriptive [[international norms]] but are generally more specific, and they can be highly ambitious. The overarching UN program "2030 Agenda" presented the SDGs in 2015 as a "supremely ambitious and transformative vision" that should be accompanied by "bold and transformative steps" with "scale and ambition".<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last1=van Driel |first1=Melanie |last2=Biermann |first2=Frank |last3=Vijge |first3=Marjanneke J |last4=Kim |first4=Rakhyun E |date=2023 |title=How the World Bank Engages with the Sustainable Development Goal on Reducing Inequalities: A Case of Organizational Jiu-Jitsu |url=https://academic.oup.com/isagsq/article/doi/10.1093/isagsq/ksad035/7223538 |journal=Global Studies Quarterly |language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |doi=10.1093/isagsq/ksad035 |issn=2634-3797 |doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref>

The SDGs apply to all countries of the world, not just [[Developing country|developing countries]] like the [[Millennium Development Goals]] (MDGs) did (from the year 2000 to 2015). They target all three dimensions of [[sustainability]] and [[sustainable development]], namely the environmental, economic and social dimension. Another aspect that makes the SDGs different to the MDGs is that the development and negotiations of the SDGs were not "top down" by civil servants but were relatively open and transparent, aiming to include "bottom up" participation.<ref name=":5" />

The SDGs are emphasizing ''inclusiveness'' in the national context and also in [[global governance]]. For the national context this means a focus on marginalised groups that are affected by [[Social exclusion|exclusion]] and inequalities. For the global context, ''inclusiveness'' means a special emphasis on the [[least developed countries]].<ref name=":7">{{Citation |last1=Sénit |first1=Carole-Anne |title=Chapter 5: Inclusiveness |date=2022 |work=The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals |pages=116–139 |editor-last=Biermann |editor-first=Frank |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781009082945%23CN-bp-5/type/book_part |access-date=2024-11-20 |edition=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009082945.006 |isbn=978-1-009-08294-5 |last2=Okereke |first2=Chukwumerije |last3=Alcázar |first3=Lorena |last4=Banik |first4=Dan |last5=Lima |first5=Mairon Bastos |last6=Biermann |first6=Frank |last7=Fambasayi |first7=Rongedzayi |last8=Hathie |first8=Ibrahima |last9=Kronsell |first9=Annica |editor2-last=Hickmann |editor2-first=Thomas |editor3-last=Sénit |editor3-first=Carole-Anne}}</ref>

At the heart of the SDGs lies the pledge of the United Nations Member States to ''Leave No One Behind'' (abbreviated as LNOB). In other words: to reach the people and countries who are furthest behind first. The LNOB concept is a politically and technically challenging approach that is ambiguous and open to interpretation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=de Jong |first1=Eileen |last2=Vijge |first2=Marjanneke J. |date=2024-09-19 |title=Institutionalizing leaving no one behind: operationalizing and analyzing worldwide national efforts |journal=Globalizations |volume=22 |issue=4 |language=en |pages=652–670 |doi=10.1080/14747731.2024.2401702 |issn=1474-7731 |doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]]  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]</ref> A study from 2024 investigated 77 voluntary national reviews and found that [[people with disabilities]] are most often identified as ''furthest behind'' (>70%), followed by women and girls (>60%), youth (ca. 50%), elderly (45%), children (>40%), and [[Refugee|refugees]] and [[Human migration|migrants]] (ca. 30%).<ref name=":0" />

== Structure ==
=== Goals and targets ===
The lists of targets and indicators for each of the 17 SDGs was published in a UN resolution in July 2017.<ref name="UN-2017a">United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, [[:File:A RES 71 313 E.pdf|Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] ([https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 A/RES/71/313] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128194012/https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313|date=28 November 2020}})</ref> Each goal typically has eight to 12 targets, and each target has between one and four indicators used to measure progress toward reaching the targets, with the average of 1.5 indicators per target.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Rakhyun E. |date=2023-04-01 |title=Augment the SDG indicator framework |journal=Environmental Science & Policy |language=en |volume=142 |pages=62–67 |bibcode=2023ESPol.142...62K |doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2023.02.004 |issn=1462-9011 |s2cid=256758145 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The targets are either ''outcome targets'' (circumstances to be attained) or ''means of implementation'' targets.<ref name="Bartram-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Bartram |first1=Jamie |last2=Brocklehurst |first2=Clarissa |last3=Bradley |first3=David |last4=Muller |first4=Mike |last5=Evans |first5=Barbara |date=December 2018 |title=Policy review of the means of implementation targets and indicators for the sustainable development goal for water and sanitation |journal=npj Clean Water |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=3 |bibcode=2018npjCW...1....3B |doi=10.1038/s41545-018-0003-0 |s2cid=169226066 |doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref> The latter targets were introduced late in the process of negotiating the SDGs to address the concern of some Member States about how the SDGs were to be achieved. Goal 17 is wholly about how the SDGs will be achieved.<ref name="Bartram-2018" />

The numbering system of targets is as follows: Outcome targets use numbers, whereas means of implementation targets use lower case letters.<ref name="Bartram-2018" /> For example, SDG 6 has a total of 8 targets. The first six are outcome targets and are labeled Targets 6.1 to 6.6. The final two targets are means of implementation targets and are labeled as Targets 6.a and 6.b.

However, the connection between ''means of implementation'' with outcomes is not well proven.<ref name="Bartram-2018" /> The ''means of implementation'' targets (those denoted with a letter, for example, ''Target 6.a'') are not well conceptualized and not formulated in a consistent manner. Also, measuring and tracking their indicators is difficult.<ref name="Bartram-2018" />

=== Indicators and data ===
[[File:SDG targets and indicators.jpg|thumb|The percentage of SDG targets measured using a single indicator (represented by bars, with an average of 62%) and the average number of indicators used per target (represented by markers, with an average of 1.5). For example, the progress towards [[SDG 6]] is measured using 1.4 indicators per target, with 63% of targets having a single indicator.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=SDG Indicators — SDG Indicators |url=https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=unstats.un.org}}</ref>]]
Indicators serve as the key tools for decision-makers to track progress towards the SDG targets.<ref name=":9" /> Therefore, they have a decisive impact on SDG implementation, as well as the ultimate determination of whether the world is closer to realizing the SDGs by 2030. National and local governments use the indicators to measure own progress towards sustainable development, which they report in their voluntary national and local reviews. The indicators are now widely deployed at all levels of sustainability governance.<ref name=":9" /> As of 2025, there are 234 official indicators in use.<ref name="UN Stats-2020c" /><ref name=":9" />

Each target is typically measured with only 1.5 indicators, which monitor quantifiable changes in proportion, rate, amount, and the like. 62% of the targets are supported by sole indicators, effectively equating progress measured on the 105 indicators with progress on the 105 targets.<ref name=":9" />

The implementation of the SDGs is underpinned by statistical data that should be accurate, timely, and reliable. This data, in turn, must be broken down by, for example, income, gender, age, disability, and geographic location. For example, the earlier Millennium Development Goal Number 1 aimed to “halve the proportion of people” suffering from hunger or extreme poverty. In contrast, the [[Sustainable Development Goal 1|SDG Number 1]] aims to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”.<ref name=":52">{{Cite journal |last1=de Jong |first1=Eileen |last2=Vijge |first2=Marjanneke J. |date=2021 |title=From Millennium to Sustainable Development Goals: Evolving discourses and their reflection in policy coherence for development |journal=Earth System Governance |language=en |volume=7 |pages=100087 |doi=10.1016/j.esg.2020.100087 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021ESGov...700087D }} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[ccorg:licenses/by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref> This is also called the central principle of ''leaving no one behind''.

The [[United Nations Statistics Division]] (UNSD) website provides a current official indicator list which includes all updates until the 51st session Statistical Commission in March 2020.<ref name="UN Stats-2017">{{Cite web |title=SDG Indicators – Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development |url=https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/ |access-date=6 August 2020 |website=United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)}}</ref> The indicators for the targets have varying levels of methodological development and availability of data at the global level.<ref name="UN Stats-2020c">{{Cite web |title=IAEG-SDGs – Tier Classification for Global SDG Indicators |url=https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/tier-classification/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063855/https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/tier-classification/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=10 September 2020 |website=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division}}</ref> Initially, some indicators (called Tier 3 indicators) had no internationally established methodology or standards. Later, the global indicator framework was adjusted so that Tier 3 indicators were either abandoned, replaced or refined.<ref name="UN Stats-2020c" />

The indicators were developed and annually reviewed by the ''Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators'' (IAEG-SDGs). The choice of indicators was delegated to [[Statistician|statisticians]] who met behind closed doors after the goals and targets were established. However, scholars have pointed out that the selection of indicators was never free from politics. Statisticians received instructions from their governments, and the interests of powerful governments had a significant influence over the indicator selection process.<ref name=":9" />

The indicator framework was comprehensively reviewed at the 51st session of the [[United Nations Statistical Commission]] in 2020. It will be reviewed again in 2025.<ref name="UN Stats-2020b">{{Cite web |title=IAEG-SDGs 2020 Comprehensive Review Proposals Submitted to the 51st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission for its consideration |url=https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/2020-comprev/UNSC-proposal/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063956/https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/2020-comprev/UNSC-proposal/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=1 September 2020 |website=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division}}</ref> At the 51st session of the Statistical Commission (held in [[New York City]] from 3 to 6 March 2020) a total of 36 changes to the global indicator framework were proposed for the commission's consideration. Some indicators were replaced, revised or deleted.<ref name="UN Stats-2020b" /> Between 15 October 2018 and 17 April 2020, other changes were made to the indicators.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 April 2020 |title=SDG Indicator changes (15 October 2018 and onward) – current to 17 April 2020 |url=https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/List_of_changes_since_15_Oct_2018.pdf |access-date=10 September 2020 |website=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division}}</ref> Yet their measurement continues to be fraught with difficulties.<ref>{{cite book |last=Winfried |first=Huck |title=Measuring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with Indicators: Is Legitimacy Lacking? |date=2019 |work=The Protection of General Interests in Contemporary International Law: A Theoretical and Empirical Inquiry |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last1=Iovane |editor-first1=Massimo |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3360935 |editor-last2=Palombino |editor-first2=Fulvio |editor-last3=Amoroso |editor-first3=Daniele |editor-last4=Zarra |editor-first4=Giovanni |s2cid=203377817}}</ref>

==== Custodian agencies ====
For each indicator, the ''Inter-Agency and Expert Group'' tried to designate at least one ''custodian agency'' and ''focal point'' that would be responsible for developing the methodology, data collection, data aggregation, and later reporting.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=SDG Indicators, Data collection Information & Focal points |url=https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataContacts/ |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=unstats.un.org (Statistics Division)}}</ref> The division of indicators was primarily based on existing mandates and organizational capacity. For example, the [[World Bank]] established itself as a data gatekeeper in this process through its broad mandate, staff, budget, and expertise in large-scale data collection. The bank became formally involved in about 20 percent of all 231 SDG indicators; it served as the custodian agency for 20 of them and was involved in the development and monitoring of another 22.<ref name=":12" />

==Details of 17 goals and targets==
{{Further|List of Sustainable Development Goal targets and indicators}}

=== Goal 1: No Poverty ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 1}}
SDG 1 is to "end poverty in all its forms everywhere."<ref name="UNDP-2020b">{{Cite web|title=Goal 1: No poverty|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-1-no-poverty.html|access-date=2020-12-30|website=UNDP|language=en}}</ref> Achieving SDG 1 would end [[extreme poverty]] globally by 2030. One of its indicators is the proportion of population living below the [[poverty line]].<ref name="UNDP-2020b" /> The data gets analyzed by sex, age, employment status, and geographical location (urban/rural). One of the key indicators that measure poverty is the proportion of population living below the international and national poverty line. Measuring the proportion of the population covered by [[Social protection|social protection systems]] and living in households with access to [[Universal basic services|basic services]] is also an indication of the level of poverty.<ref name=":33">Ritchie, Roser, Mispy, Ortiz-Ospina (2018) "[https://sdg-tracker.org/no-poverty Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals]." (SDG 1) ''SDG-Tracker.org, website'' [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[ccorg:licenses/by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref>

=== Goal 2: Zero hunger ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 2}}
SDG 2 is to: "End hunger, achieve [[food security]], improved nutrition and promotes[[sustainable agriculture]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html|title=Goal 2: Zero hunger|website=UNDP|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063934/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Indicators for this goal are for example the prevalence of diet, prevalence of severe food insecurity, and prevalence of [[Stunted growth|stunting]] among children under five years of age.

=== Goal 3: Good health and well-being ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 3}}
SDG 3 is to: "Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages."<ref name="UNDP-2020c">{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-3-good-health-and-well-being.html|title=Goal 3: Good health and well-being|website=UNDP|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063900/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-3-good-health-and-well-being.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Important indicators here are [[life expectancy]] as well as child and maternal mortality. Further indicators are for example deaths from road traffic injuries, prevalence of current tobacco use, and suicide mortality rate.<ref name="UNDP-2020c" />

=== Goal 4: Quality education ===
[[File:(2011 Education for All Global Monitoring Report) -School children in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya 1.jpg|thumb|240x240px|School children in [[Kakuma Refugee Camp]], Kenya: an example for the difficulties with providing quality education for all, with limited resources.]]
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 4}}

SDG 4 is to: "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all."<ref name="UNDP-2018d">{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-4-quality-education.html|title=Goal 4: Quality education|website=UNDP|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911002735/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-4-quality-education.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The indicators for this goal are, for example, attendance rates at primary schools, completion rates of primary school education, participation in tertiary education, and so forth. In each case, parity indices are looked at to ensure that disadvantaged students do not miss out (data is collected on "female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples"<ref name="UNDP-2018d" />). There is also an indicator around the facilities that the school buildings have (access to electricity, the internet, computers, drinking water, toilets etc.).<ref name="UNDP-2018d" />

=== Goal 5: Gender equality ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 5}}
SDG 5 is to: "Achieve [[gender equality]] and empower all women and girls."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-5-gender-equality.html|title=Goal 5: Gender equality|website=UNDP|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=27 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227135817/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-5-gender-equality.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Indicators include, for example, having suitable legal frameworks and the representation by women in [[Parliament|national parliament]] or in local deliberative bodies.<ref name="UNESC2020">United Nations Economic and Social Council (2020) [https://undocs.org/en/E/2020/57 Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals Report of the Secretary-General] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063859/https://undocs.org/en/E/2020/57|date=30 December 2020}}, High-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (E/2020/57), 28 April 2020</ref> Numbers on [[forced marriage]] and [[Female genital mutilation|female genital mutilation/cutting]] (FGM/C) are also included in another indicator.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Female genital mutilation |url=https://www.unicef.org/protection/female-genital-mutilation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063938/https://www.unicef.org/protection/female-genital-mutilation |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2020-08-27 |website=www.unicef.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name="UNESC2020" />

=== Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation ===
[[File:School toilet 2 - WASH in schools (Bangladesh) (38403428742).jpg|thumb|Example of sanitation for all: School toilet (IPH school and college, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh)]]
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 6}}

SDG 6 is to: "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all."<ref name="SDG6_targets">{{Cite web|title=Goal 6 Targets|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-6-clean-water-and-sanitation/targets/|access-date=16 November 2017|website=United Nations Development Programme|archive-date=19 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219061511/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-6-clean-water-and-sanitation/targets/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Joint Monitoring Programme ([[Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation|JMP]]) of [[World Health Organization|WHO]] and [[UNICEF]] is responsible for monitoring progress to achieve the first two targets of this goal. Important indicators for this goal are the percentages of the population that uses safely managed drinking water, and has access to safely managed sanitation. The JMP reported in 2017 that 4.5 billion people do not have [[Improved sanitation|safely managed sanitation]].<ref name="JMP2017">WHO and UNICEF (2017) [https://washdata.org/reports Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725020452/https://washdata.org/reports|date=25 July 2019}}. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2017</ref> Another indicator looks at the proportion of [[Sewage|domestic]] and [[Industrial wastewater treatment|industrial wastewater]] that is safely treated.

=== Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 7}}
SDG 7 is to "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all."<ref name="UNDP-2018b">{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-7-affordable-and-clean-energy.html|title=Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy|website=UNDP|access-date=28 September 2015|archive-date=7 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907180441/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-7-affordable-and-clean-energy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One of the indicators for this goal is the percentage of population with access to electricity (progress in expanding access to electricity has been made in several countries, notably [[India]], [[Bangladesh]], and [[Kenya]]<ref name="Energyreport2019">IEA, IRENA, UNSD, WB, WHO (2019), [https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/data/files/download-documents/2019-Tracking%20SDG7-Full%20Report.pdf Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2019] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063844/https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/data/files/download-documents/2019-Tracking%20SDG7-Full%20Report.pdf|date=30 December 2020}}, Washington DC (on [https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/ Tracking SDG 7 website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064018/https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/|date=30 December 2020}})</ref>). Other indicators look at the renewable energy share and energy efficiency.

=== Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 8}}
SDG 8 is to: "Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all."<ref name="UNDP-2018a">{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-8-decent-work-and-economic-growth.html|title=Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=25 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225022602/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-8-decent-work-and-economic-growth.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Important indicators for this goal include economic growth in least developed countries and the rate of real [[Lists of countries by GDP per capita|GDP per capita]]. Further examples are rates of youth unemployment and [[occupational injuries]] or the number of women engaged in the labor force compared to men.<ref name="UNDP-2018a" />

=== Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, Technology and Infrastructure ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 9}}
SDG 9 is to: "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation."<ref>{{cite web|title=Goal 9: Industry, innovation, infrastructure|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-9-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure.html|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=1 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301060431/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-9-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Indicators in this goal include for example, the proportion of people who are employed in [[manufacturing]] activities, are living in areas covered by a [[mobile network]], or who have access to the internet.<ref name="UNESC2020" /> An indicator that is connected to climate change is "CO<sub>2</sub> emissions per unit of value added."

=== Goal 10: Reduced inequality ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 10}}
SDG 10 is to: "Reduce inequality within and among countries."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities.html|title=Goal 10: Reduced inequalities|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063954/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Important indicators for this SDG are: income disparities, aspects of gender and disability, as well as policies for migration and mobility of people.<ref name="UN Stats-2020a">United Nations (2020) [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2020.pdf Sustainable development goals report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064006/https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2020.pdf|date=30 December 2020}}, New York</ref>

=== Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 11}}
SDG 11 is to: "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-11-sustainable-cities-and-communities.html|title=Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911192025/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-11-sustainable-cities-and-communities.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Important indicators for this goal are the number of people living in urban slums, the proportion of the urban population who has convenient access to public transport, and the extent of built-up area per person.<ref name="UNESC2020" />

=== Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 12}}
SDG 12 is to: "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-12-responsible-consumption-and-production.html|title=Goal 12: Responsible consumption, production|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=13 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813113459/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-12-responsible-consumption-and-production.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One of the indicators is the number of national policy instruments to promote [[sustainable consumption]] and production patterns.<ref name="UNESC2020" />{{rp|14}} Another one is global fossil fuel subsidies.<ref name="UNESC2020" />{{rp|14}} An increase in domestic recycling and a reduced reliance on the global plastic [[waste trade]] are other actions that might help meet the goal.<ref name="Walker">{{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Tony R. |date=August 2021 |title=(Micro)plastics and the UN Sustainable Development Goals |journal=Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry |volume=30 |pages=100497 |doi=10.1016/j.cogsc.2021.100497 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021COGSC..3000497W }}</ref>

=== Goal 13: Climate action ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 13}}
SDG 13 is to: "Take urgent action to combat [[climate change]] and its impacts by regulating emissions and promoting developments in renewable energy."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-13-climate-action.html|title=Goal 13: Climate action|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=13 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813130618/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-13-climate-action.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021 to early 2023, the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC) published its [[IPCC Sixth Assessment Report|Sixth Assessment Report]] which assesses scientific, technical, and socio-economic information concerning climate change.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 — IPCC |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/ |access-date=2023-03-01}}</ref>

=== Goal 14: Life below water ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 14}}
SDG 14 is to: "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and [[marine resources]] for sustainable development."<ref name="UNDP-2018c">{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water.html|title=Goal 14: Life below water|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815201503/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The current efforts to protect oceans, marine environments and small-scale fishers are not meeting the need to protect the resources.<ref name="UNESC2020" /> Increased [[ocean temperature]]s and [[Ocean deoxygenation|oxygen loss]] act concurrently with ocean acidification to constitute the ''deadly trio'' of climate change pressures on the marine environment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2017 |title=Ocean acidification (Issues Brief) |url=https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/ocean_acidification_issues_brief.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063843/https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/ocean_acidification_issues_brief.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=3 November 2020 |website=IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)}}</ref>[[File:Nusa Lembongan Reef.jpg|thumb|[[Nusa Lembongan]] Reef is an example for a [[marine ecosystem]] that is to be protected as part of SDG 14.]]

=== Goal 15: Life on land ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 15}}
SDG 15 is to: "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat [[desertification]], and halt and reverse land [[Environmental degradation|degradation]] and halt [[biodiversity loss]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land.html|title=Goal 15: Life on land|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064011/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The proportion of remaining forest area, desertification and [[Extinction|species extinction]] risk are example indicators of this goal.<ref name="UNESC2020" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Desertification, land degradation and drought .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/desertificationlanddegradationanddrought |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063959/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/desertificationlanddegradationanddrought |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2020-09-05 |website=sustainabledevelopment.un.org}}</ref>

=== Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 16}}
SDG 16 is to: "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-16-peace-justice-and-strong-institutions.html|title=Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063908/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-16-peace-justice-and-strong-institutions.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Rates of birth registration and prevalence of bribery are two examples of indicators included in this goal.<ref name="SDGChildren20182">{{cite web |title=Progress for Every Child in the SDG Era |url=https://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Progress_for_Every_Child_V4.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715000653/https://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Progress_for_Every_Child_V4.pdf |archive-date=15 July 2020 |access-date=2 April 2018 |website=UNICEF}}</ref><ref name="UNESC2020" />

An ''inclusive society'' has "mechanisms to enable diversity and social justice, accommodate the special needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, and facilitate democratic participation".<ref name=":7" />

=== Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals ===
{{Main|Sustainable Development Goal 17}}
SDG 17 is to: "Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-17-partnerships-for-the-goals.html|title=Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064022/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-17-partnerships-for-the-goals.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Increasing [[Multilateralism|international cooperation]] is seen as vital to achieving each of the 16 previous goals.<ref name="Alan2">{{Cite web|last=Pierce|first=Alan|date=26 November 2018|title=SDG Indicators: why SDG 17 is the most important UN SDG|url=https://www.sopact.com/perspectives/sdg17-most-important-sdg|access-date=24 September 2020|website=Sopact|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064014/https://www.sopact.com/perspectives/sdg17-most-important-sdg|url-status=live}}</ref> Developing multi-stakeholder partnerships to facilitate knowledge exchange, expertise, technology, and financial resources is recognized as critical to overall success of the SDGs. The goal includes improving north–south and [[South–South cooperation|South–South]] cooperation. [[Public–private partnership|Public-private partnerships]] which involve civil societies are specifically mentioned.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg17|title=Sustainable Development Goal 17|date=16 November 2017|website=Sustainable Development Goals|access-date=16 November 2017|archive-date=5 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905221234/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg17|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Peccia, T., R. Kelej, A. Hamdy, A. Fahmi (2017), "A reflection on Public-Private
Partnerships' contribution to the attainment of Sustainable Development
Goals", Scienza e Pace, VIII, 1, pp. 81–103.</ref>

== Public relations ==
[[File:Flash Mop at Mirpur 14.webm|thumb|left|SDG materials are being painted in the form of graffiti to raise public awareness by independent volunteers in Dhaka, Bangladesh in collaboration with UNDP, Bangladesh.]]

[[File:Katherine Maher. Wikimania 2019.jpg|thumb|[[Katherine Maher]], then-Executive Director of the [[Wikimedia Foundation]], talks about "The role of free knowledge in advancing the SDGs" in Stockholm, 2019.]]

[[File:SDG-pyramid.jpg|thumb|A proposal to visualize the 17 SDGs in a thematic pyramid]]

The 2030 Agenda did not create specific authority for communicating the SDGs; however, both international and local advocacy organizations have pursued significant non-state resources to communicate the SDGS.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mulholland |first=Eric |url=https://www.esdn.eu/fileadmin/ESDN_Reports/ESDN_Quarterly_Report_51_Final.pdf |title=Communicating Sustainable Development and the SDGs in Europe: Good practice examples from policy, academia, NGOs, and media |date=January 2019 |publisher=European Sustainable Development Network |series=ESDN Quarterly Report 51 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230608062925/https://www.esdn.eu/fileadmin/ESDN_Reports/ESDN_Quarterly_Report_51_Final.pdf |archive-date= Jun 8, 2023 }}</ref> UN agencies which are part of the [[United Nations Development Group]] decided to support an independent campaign to communicate the new SDGs to a wider audience. This campaign, Project Everyone, had the support of corporate institutions and other [[international organization]]s.<ref name="Everyone-2018">{{cite web |title=Project Everyone |url=http://www.project-everyone.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917101256/https://www.project-everyone.org/ |archive-date=17 September 2018 |access-date=11 October 2016 |website=Project-everyone.org}}</ref>

Using the text drafted by diplomats at the UN level, a team of communication specialists developed icons for every goal.<ref name="Hub-2020">{{cite web |date=16 December 2014 |title=Guest Article: Making the SDGs Famous and Popular |url=http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/guest-articles/making-the-sdgs-famous-and-popular/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063939/http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/guest-articles/making-the-sdgs-famous-and-popular/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=14 November 2018 |website=IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub}}</ref> They also shortened the title ''The 17 Sustainable Development Goals'' to ''Global Goals'', then ran workshops and conferences to communicate the Global Goals to a global audience.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Wudel |first1=Katie |date=2015-09-24 |title=How This Great Design Is Bringing World Change to the Masses |url=https://www.good.is/slideshows/designing-the-global-goals-for-everyone |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010211100/https://www.good.is/slideshows/designing-the-global-goals-for-everyone |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=2017-11-11 |work=GOOD Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Festival of Action |url=http://globalfestivalofideas.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024035632/http://globalfestivalofideas.org/ |archive-date=24 October 2017 |access-date=2017-11-11 |website=globalfestivalofideas.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Aarhus Convention]] is a United Nations convention passed in 2001, explicitly to encourage and promote effective public engagement in environmental decision making. Information transparency related to social media and the engagement of youth are two issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals that the convention has addressed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Aarhus Convention safeguards transparency and supports disaster risk reduction and measurement of Sustainable Development Goals |url=http://www.unece.org/info/media/news/environment/2019/the-aarhus-convention-safeguards-transparency-and-supports-disaster-risk-reduction-and-measurement-of-sustainable-development-goals/doc.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063946/https://unece.org/environment/news/aarhus-convention-safeguards-transparency-and-supports-disaster-risk-reduction-and |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2020-01-25 |website=United Nations Economic Commission for Europe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mamadov |first=Ikrom |date=2018 |title=Youth, Aarhus and the Sustainable Development Goals |url=http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/pp/wgp/WGP-22/Special_sessions/Anniversary_segment/WGP-22_Special_Segment_Aarhus_Centre_Ikfrom_Mamadov.pdf |publisher=Youth Group on the Protection of the Environment |location=Geneva}}</ref>

=== Advocates ===
In 2019 and then in 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed 17 ''SDG advocates''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 May 2019 |title=United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has Appointed 17 Sustainable Development Goals Advocates |url=https://www.globalgoals.org/news/secretary-general-antonio-guterres-has-appointed-new |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064017/https://www.globalgoals.org/news/secretary-general-antonio-guterres-has-appointed-new |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=21 August 2020 |website=The Global Goals |author1=Admin_User }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2022 |title=UN Secretary-General António Guterres announces Founder and CEO of Chobani, Mr. Hamdi Ulukaya as SDG Advocate |url=https://www.unsdgadvocates.org/news/un-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-announces-founder-and-ceo-of-chobani-mr-hamdi-ulukaya-as-sdg-advocate |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=SDG Advocates |language=en-US}}</ref> The role of the public figures is to raise awareness, inspire greater ambition, and push for faster action on the SDGs. The co-chairs are: [[Mia Mottley]], Prime Minister of [[Barbados]] and [[Justin Trudeau]], Prime Minister of [[Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada - Co-Chairs of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group {{!}} United Nations Secretary-General |url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/personnel-appointments/2022-04-06/prime-minister-mia-amor-mottley-of-barbados-and-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-of-canada-co-chairs-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-advocates-group |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=www.un.org}}</ref>

=== Global events ===
[[File:Global Goals Week Logo.png|thumb|right|Global Goals Week logo]]

[[Global Goals Week]] is an annual week-long event in September for action, awareness, and accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals.<ref name="GGW">{{Cite web |title=Global Goals Week – About |url=https://globalgoalsweek.org/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063942/https://globalgoalsweek.org/about/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=4 August 2020 |publisher=United Nations Foundation}}</ref> It is a shared commitment for over 100 partners to ensure quick action on the SDGs by sharing ideas and transformative solutions to global problems.<ref>{{Cite web |title=global goals week |url=https://globalgoalsweek.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064024/https://globalgoalsweek.org/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=5 August 2020}}</ref> It first took place in 2016. It is often held concurrently with [[Climate Week NYC]].<ref name="IISD2019">{{Cite web |title=Global Goals Week 2019 |url=http://sdg.iisd.org/events/global-goals-week-2019/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064012/http://sdg.iisd.org/events/global-goals-week-2019/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=4 August 2020 |publisher=IISD SDG Knowledge Hub}}</ref>

The [[Arctic Film Festival]] is an annual film festival organized by [[HF Productions]] and supported by the SDGs' Partnership Platform. Held for the first time in 2019, the festival is expected to take place every year in September in [[Longyearbyen]], [[Svalbard]], Norway.<ref name="FilmFreeway">{{cite web |title=Arctic Film Festival |url=https://filmfreeway.com/ArcticFilmFestival |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064030/https://filmfreeway.com/ArcticFilmFestival |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=14 October 2019 |website=FilmFreeway |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Arctic Film Festival – United Nations Partnerships for SDGs platform |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnership/?p=32901 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063950/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnership/?p=32901 |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=14 October 2019 |website=sustainabledevelopment.un.org}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|Post-2015 Development Agenda}}

[[File:SustainableDevelopmentGoalsLogo.svg|thumb|The sustainable development goals are a UN initiative.]]

[[File:A RES 71 313 E.pdf|thumb|Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development containing the targets and indicators, July 2017 (UN resolution A/RES/71/313)]]

[[File:UN SDGs consulltations in Mariupol (29274119644).jpg|thumb|UN SDG consultations in Mariupol, Ukraine]]

The Post-2015 Development Agenda was a process from 2012 to 2015 led by the United Nations to define the future global development framework that would succeed the [[Millennium Development Goals]] which ended in 2015.

In 1983, the United Nations created the [[Brundtland Commission|World Commission on Environment and Development]] (later known as the Brundtland Commission), which defined sustainable development as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm|title=Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development – A/42/427 Annex, Chapter 2 – UN Documents: Gathering a body of global agreements|last=Development|first=World Commission on Environment and|website=www.un-documents.net|access-date=2017-11-17|archive-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517002735/http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1992, the first [[United Nations Conference on Environment and Development]] (UNCED) or Earth Summit was held in [[Rio de Janeiro]], where the first agenda for Environment and Development, also known as [[Agenda 21]], was developed and adopted.

In 2012, the [[United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development]] (UNCSD), also known as Rio+20, was held as a 20-year follow up to UNCED.<ref>{{cite web|title=Major Agreements & Conventions .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=122|publisher=United Nations|access-date=6 August 2020|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063946/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=122|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Resources .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/resourcelibrary|publisher=United Nations|access-date=6 August 2020|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064120/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/resourcelibrary|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Colombia]] proposed the idea of the SDGs at a preparation event for Rio+20 held in Indonesia in July 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caballero |first=Paula |author-link=Paula Caballero |date=29 April 2016 |title=A Short History of the SDGs |url=http://deliver2030.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/A-short-history-of-the-SDGs-Paula-Caballero.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118221940/http://deliver2030.org/wp%2Dcontent/uploads/2016/04/A%2Dshort%2Dhistory%2Dof%2Dthe%2DSDGs%2DPaula%2DCaballero.pdf |archive-date=2017-11-18 |website=Deliver 2030}}</ref> In September 2011, this idea was picked up by the [[United Nations Department of Public Information]] 64th NGO Conference in Bonn, Germany. The outcome document proposed 17 sustainable development goals and associated targets. In the run-up to Rio+20 there was much discussion about the idea of the SDGs. At the Rio+20 Conference, a resolution known as "The Future We Want" was reached by member states.<ref name="SustDev-2012">{{cite web|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/futurewewant.html|title=Future We Want – Outcome document |website=Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063948/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/futurewewant.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Among the key themes agreed on were poverty eradication, energy, water and sanitation, health, and human settlement.

In January 2013, the 30-member UN General Assembly Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals was established to identify specific goals for the SDGs. The OWG submitted their proposal of 8 SDGs and 169 targets to the 68th session of the General Assembly in September 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgsproposal|title=Open Working Group proposal for Sustainable Development Goals |website=Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-date=6 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006035004/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgsproposal/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 5 December 2014, the UN General Assembly accepted the Secretary General's Synthesis Report, which stated that the agenda for the post-2015 SDG process would be based on the OWG proposals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/69/700&Lang=E|title=The road to dignity by 2030: ending poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet |date=4 December 2014 |website=United Nations|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-date=30 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064030/https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F69%2F700&Lang=E|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] (UNGA) created the SDGs as part of the [[Post-2015 Development Agenda]]. These goals were formally articulated and adopted in a [[United Nations General Assembly resolution|UNGA resolution]] known as the ''2030 Agenda''.<ref>United Nations (2015) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, [[:File:N1529189.pdf|Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] ([https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ A/RES/70/1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128002202/https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/|date=28 November 2020}})</ref> On 6 July 2017, the SDGs were made more actionable by a UNGA resolution that identifies [[List of Sustainable Development Goal targets and indicators|specific targets]] for each goal and provides indicators to measure progress.<ref name="UN-2017a" /> Most targets are to be achieved by 2030, although some have no end date.<ref name="UN Stats-2017" />

=== Adoption ===
[[File:N1529189.pdf|thumb|Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN Resolution A/RES/70/1), containing the goals (October 2015)]]

[[File:Sustainable Development Goals.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|A diagram listing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals]]

On 25 September 2015, the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."<ref name="UN SustDev-2017">{{cite web |title=Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205210925/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld |archive-date=5 December 2017 |access-date=23 August 2015 |website=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Sustainable Development}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=25 September 2015 |title=Breakdown of U.N. Sustainable Development Goals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/world/breakdown-of-un-sustainable-development-goals.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709115207/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/world/breakdown-of-un-sustainable-development-goals.html?_r=0 |archive-date=9 July 2017 |access-date=26 September 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=Sep 25, 2015 |title=World leaders adopt Sustainable Development Goals |url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2015/09/24/undp-welcomes-adoption-of-sustainable-development-goals-by-world-leaders.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064011/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2015/09/24/undp-welcomes-adoption-of-sustainable-development-goals-by-world-leaders.html |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=25 September 2015 |website=United Nations Development Programme}}</ref> This agenda has 92 paragraphs. Paragraph 59 outlines the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the associated 169 targets and 232 indicators.

The UN-led process involved its 193 [[Member states of the United Nations|member states]] and global [[civil society]].  The resolution is a broad intergovernmental agreement that acts as the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The SDGs build on the principles agreed upon in Resolution A/RES/66/288, entitled "The Future We Want".<ref name="United Nations Official Document">{{cite web |date=June 2012 |title=The Future We Want |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/733FutureWeWant.pdf/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423213340/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/733FutureWeWant.pdf/ |archive-date=23 April 2018 |access-date=2016-10-18 |website=United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development}}</ref> This was a non-binding document released as a result of [[United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development|Rio+20 Conference]] held in 2012.<ref name="United Nations Official Document" />

== Implementation ==
[[File:Finanzierung der Ziele für Nachhaltige Entwicklung.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Cost comparison for UN Goals]]

Implementation of the SDGs started worldwide in 2016. This process can also be called ''Localizing the SDGs''. In 2019 [[António Guterres]] (secretary-general of the United Nations) issued a global call for a ''Decade of Action'' to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decade of Action |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/decade-of-action/ |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development |language=en-US}}</ref> This decade will last from 2020 to 2030. The plan is that the secretary general of the UN will convene an annual platform for driving the Decade of Action.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digital generation |url=https://www.undp.org/digital-generation |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=UNDP |language=en}}</ref><ref name="UN-2022">{{Cite web |last1=Guterres |first1=António |date=24 September 2019 |title=Remarks to High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development |url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2019-09-24/remarks-high-level-political-sustainable-development-forum |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=United Nations Secretary-General}}</ref>

There are two main types of actors for implementation of the SDGs: state and non-state actors. The former include national governments and sub-national authorities, whereas the latter are corporations and civil society.<ref name="Llanos-2022">{{Citation |last1=Llanos |first1=Andrea Ordóñez |title=Chapter 3: Implementation at Multiple Levels |date=2022-07-31 |work=The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals |pages=59–91 |editor-last=Biermann |editor-first=Frank |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/EE1BEAD7D6D3F216EB2016FDCCC3936C/9781316514290c3_59-91.pdf/implementation-at-multiple-levels.pdf |edition=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009082945.004 |isbn=978-1-009-08294-5 |last2=Raven |first2=Rob |last3=Bexell |first3=Magdalena |last4=Botchwey |first4=Brianna |last5=Bornemann |first5=Basil |last6=Censoro |first6=Jecel |last7=Christen |first7=Marius |last8=Díaz |first8=Liliana |last9=Hickmann |first9=Thomas |editor2-last=Hickmann |editor2-first=Thomas |editor3-last=Sénit |editor3-first=Carole-Anne |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|80}} [[File:Sustainable Development Goals (Lima, Peru) 1.jpg|thumb|240px|Young people holding SDG banners in Lima, Peru]]

=== Cross-cutting issues ===
The widespread consensus is that progress on all of the SDGs will be stalled if women's empowerment and gender equality are not prioritized, and treated holistically. The SDGs look to policy makers as well as private sector executives and board members to work toward gender equality.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Firzli |first1=Nicolas |date=5 April 2017 |title=6th World Pensions Forum held at the Queen's House: ESG and Asset Ownership |url=https://amnt.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/6th-World-Pensions-Forum2017.pdf |access-date=28 April 2017 |work=Revue Analyse Financière |publisher=Revue Analyse Financière}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite news |last1=Firzli |first1=Nicolas |date=3 April 2018 |title=Greening, Governance and Growth in the Age of Popular Empowerment |url=http://www.pensions-expert.com/Special-Features/The-Cut/Greening-governance-and-growth-in-the-age-of-popular-empowerment |access-date=27 April 2018 |work=FT Pensions Experts |publisher=Financial Times}}</ref> Statements from diverse sources such as the [[OECD|Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development]] (OECD), [[UN Women]] and the [[World Pensions & Investments Forum|World Pensions Forum]], have noted that investments in women and girls have positive impacts on economies. National and global development investments in women and girls often exceed their initial scope.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gender equality and women's rights in the post-2015 agenda: A foundation for sustainable development |url=https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/POST-2015%20Gender.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063852/https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/POST-2015%20Gender.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2016-10-18 |website=Oecd.org}}</ref>

Gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the SDG framework by ensuring that as much sex-disaggregated data as possible are collected.<ref name="UNESCO-2019">UNESCO (2019) [http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/publication_culture_2020_indicators_en.pdf Culture | 2030 Indicators] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063854/http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/publication_culture_2020_indicators_en.pdf|date=30 December 2020}}, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, France, {{ISBN|978-92-3-100355-4}}, CC-BY-ND 3.0 IGO</ref>{{rp|11}}

[[Education for sustainable development]] (ESD) is explicitly recognized in the SDGs as part of Target 4.7 of the SDG on education. [[UNESCO]] promotes the [[Global citizenship education|Global Citizenship Education]] (GCED) as a complementary approach.<ref>[http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002329/232993e.pdf Global Citizenship Education: Topics and learning objectives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712215733/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002329/232993e.pdf|date=12 July 2018}}, UNESCO, 2015.</ref> Education for sustainable development is important for all the other 16 SDGs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=UNESCO |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002474/247444e.pdf |title=Education for Sustainable Development Goals: Learning Objectives |publisher=Paris, UNESCO |year=2017 |isbn=978-92-3-100209-0 |pages=7 |access-date=13 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063855/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247444_eng |archive-date=30 December 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Culture is explicitly referenced in SDG 11 Target 4 ("Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage"). However, culture is seen as a cross-cutting theme because it impacts several SDGs.<ref name="UNESCO-2019" /> For example, culture plays a role in SDG targets where they relate to environment and resilience (within SDGs 11, 12 and 16), prosperity and livelihoods (within SDG 8), inclusion and participation (within SDG 11 and 16).<ref name="UNESCO-2019" />{{rp|2}}

SDGs 1 to 6 directly address [[health disparities]], primarily in developing countries.<ref name="UN2015">{{Cite web |title=Sustainable development goals – United Nations |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ |access-date=25 November 2015 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development}}</ref> These six goals address key issues in global public health, poverty, hunger and food security, health, education, gender equality and women's empowerment, as well as water and sanitation.<ref name="UN2015" /> Public health officials can use these goals to set their own agenda and plan for smaller scale initiatives for their organizations.

The links between the various sustainable development goals and [[public health]] are numerous and well established:
* SDG 1: Living below the poverty line is attributed to poorer health outcomes and can be even worse for persons living in developing countries where extreme poverty is more common.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Child Poverty |url=http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624190322/http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html |archive-date=24 June 2018 |access-date=25 November 2015 |website=www.nccp.org}}</ref> A child born into poverty is twice as likely to die before the age of five compared to a child from a wealthier family.<ref name="UNhealth2015">{{Cite web |title=Health – United Nations Sustainable Development |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/health/ |access-date=25 November 2015 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development}}</ref>
* SDG 2: The detrimental effects of hunger and malnutrition that can arise from systemic challenges with food security are enormous. The World Health Organization estimates that 12.9 percent of the population in developing countries is undernourished.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hunger and food security – United Nations Sustainable Development |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/ |access-date=25 November 2015 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development}}</ref>
* SDG 4 and 5: Educational equity has yet to be reached in the world.  Public health efforts are impeded by this, as a lack of education can lead to poorer health outcomes. This is shown by children of mothers who have no education having a lower survival rate compared to children born to mothers with primary or greater levels of education.<ref name="UNhealth2015" />{{Not in source|date=May 2025}}

=== Synergies ===
Synergies amongst the SDGs are "the good antagonists of trade-offs."<ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|67}}With regards to SDG 13 on climate action, the IPCC sees robust synergies particularly for the SDGs 3 (health), 7 (clean energy), 11 (cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 14 (oceans).<ref name="IPCC-2018" /><ref name="Berg-2020" />{{rp|70}}

To meet SDG 13 and other SDGs, sustained long-term investment in green innovation is required to: [[Decarbonization|decarbonize]] the physical capital stock – energy, industry, and transportation infrastructure – and ensure its resilience to a changing future climate; to preserve and enhance [[natural capital]] – forests, oceans, and wetlands; and to train people to work in a climate-neutral economy.<ref name="EIB-2020">{{Cite book |last=Bank |first=European Investment |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/the-eib-group-climate-bank-roadmap |title=The EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap 2021–2025 |date=2020-12-14 |publisher=European Investment Bank |isbn=978-92-861-4908-5 |language=EN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Amar |last2=Ivanyna |first2=Maksym |last3=Oman |first3=William |last4=Stern |first4=Nicholas |date=2021-05-26 |title=Climate Action to Unlock the Inclusive Growth Story of the 21st Century |url=https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2021/147/article-A001-en.xml |journal=IMF Working Papers |language=en |volume=2021 |issue=147 |page=1 |doi=10.5089/9781513573366.001 |s2cid=242841434 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Grand Duchy of Luxembourg International Climate Finance Strategy |url=https://gouvernement.lu/dam-assets/documents/actualites/2021/07-juillet/26-fci-dieschbourg/Strategie-FCI.pdf}}</ref>

=== International organizations ===
Many [[international organization]]s have committed to the SDGs since 2015. Examples for international organizations include: [[UN General Assembly]], [[World Trade Organization]], [[African Development Bank]], [[United Nations Economic and Social Council|UN Economic and Social Council]], [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]], [[Asian Development Bank]].<ref>Our World in Data team (2023) - [https://ourworldindata.org/sdgs/peace-justice-institutions "Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies"] Published online at OurWorldinData.org.</ref> However, some international organizations, such as the [[World Bank]], often have "cherry-picked" goals and engaged in selective mainstreaming.<ref name=":12" />

In general, the SDGs might be a low priority for international organizations that have many other assignments that are often more binding, have more urgent deliverables, and have more repercussions in case of inaction. The breadth of the SDGs, covering nearly all areas of [[global governance]], is at odds with international organizations that over time have become highly functionally differentiated and that operate through intra-organizational compromises.<ref name=":12" /> Most international organizations primarily see the SDGs as separate goals rather than an integrated agenda, leading to the cherry-picking of those goals that best fit their agenda.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=Bogers |first1=Maya |last2=Biermann |first2=Frank |last3=Kalfagianni |first3=Agni |last4=Kim |first4=Rakhyun E. |last5=Treep |first5=Jelle |last6=de Vos |first6=Martine G. |date=2022 |title=The impact of the Sustainable Development Goals on a network of 276 international organizations |journal=Global Environmental Change |language=en |volume=76 |pages=102567 |bibcode=2022GEC....7602567B |doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102567 |doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref>

== Funding ==
=== Cost estimates ===
The United Nations estimates that for Africa, considering the continent's population growth, yearly funding of $1.3 trillion would be needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. [[International Monetary Fund|The International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) also estimates that $50 billion may be needed only to cover the expenses of [[Climate change adaptation|climate adaptation]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bank |first=European Investment |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/finance-in-africa-navigating-the-financial-landscape-in-turbulent-times |title=Finance in Africa – Navigating the financial landscape in turbulent times |date=2022-10-19 |publisher=European Investment Bank |isbn=978-92-861-5382-2 |language=EN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2021 |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021-Report.pdf |website=UN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nations |first=United |title=Population growth, environmental degradation and climate change |url=https://www.un.org/en/desa/population-growth-environmental-degradation-and-climate-change |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=United Nations |language=en}}</ref> The IMF has also taken the initiative to achieve the SDGs by offering their support to developing countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IMF and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) |url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/IMF-Sustainable-development-goals-SDGs |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref>

Estimates for providing clean water and sanitation for the whole population of all continents have been as high as US$200 billion.<ref name="Hutton-2017">{{Cite web |last=Hutton |first=Guy |date=15 November 2017 |title=The Costs of Meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Targets on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene |url=http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/847191468000296045/pdf/103172-PUB-Box394556B-PUBLIC-EPI-K8632-ADD-SERIES.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063857/http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/847191468000296045/pdf/103172-PUB-Box394556B-PUBLIC-EPI-K8632-ADD-SERIES.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=15 November 2017 |website=Documents/World Bank}}</ref> The [[World Bank]] says that estimates need to be made country by country, and reevaluated frequently over time.<ref name="Hutton-2017" />

In 2014, [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|UNCTAD]] estimated the annual costs to achieving the UN Goals at US$2.5 trillion per year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2014 |title=UNCTAD {{!}} Press Release |url=https://unctad.org/en/pages/PressRelease.aspx?OriginalVersionID=194 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063956/https://unctad.org/press-material/developing-countries-face-25-trillion-annual-investment-gap-key-sustainable |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2019-12-08 |website=unctad.org}}</ref> Another estimate from 2018 (by the Basel Institute of Commons and Economics, that conducts the [[World Social Capital Monitor]]) found that to reach all of the SDGs this would require between US$2.5 and $5.0 trillion per year.<ref name="Dill-2018">Alexander Dill (2018) [https://developmentfinance.un.org/sites/developmentfinance.un.org/files/The_SDGs_are_public_goods_IATF_2019.pdf The SDGs are public goods – Costs, Sources and Measures of Financing for Development] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063900/https://developmentfinance.un.org/sites/developmentfinance.un.org/files/The_SDGs_are_public_goods_IATF_2019.pdf|date=30 December 2020}} – Policy paper to the UN Inter-Agency Taskforce on Financing for Development, Basel Institute of Commons and Economics</ref>

A cost estimate from 2020 stated that: "In developing countries, the [financial] gap is estimated to be US$ 2.5 trillion per year pre-COVID-19 pandemic, which was projected to have risen to US$ 4.2 trillion in 2020 alone."<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Yunita |first1=Abbie |last2=Biermann |first2=Frank |last3=Kim |first3=Rakhyun E |last4=Vijge |first4=Marjanneke J |date=2023 |title=Making development legible to capital: The promise and limits of 'innovative' debt financing for the Sustainable Development Goals in Indonesia |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/25148486231159301 |journal=Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=2271–2294 |doi=10.1177/25148486231159301 |bibcode=2023EnPlE...6.2271Y |issn=2514-8486}}</ref> For example in Indonesia, the ''SDG financing gap'' (or costs to achieve the SDGs), was estimated in 2021 to be US$4.7 trillion. The same study explains that the SDGs are also an ''investable proposition''. This means that the SDGs are also a [[business opportunity]]. The financial value of this opportunity amounts to "US$ 12 trillion per annum in four sectors alone – food, cities, energy and materials and health and well-being – with developing countries accounting for more than half the value of SDG business opportunities".<ref name=":6" />

=== Sources of finance ===
There have been several processes and agendas at the United Nations level for financing the SDGs, for example the ''Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development'' in 2015 (the [[Addis Ababa Action Agenda]]<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=13 July 2015 |title=Addis Ababa Action Agenda |url=https://www.un.org/esa/ffd/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AAAA_Outcome.pdf |access-date= |website=www.un.org}}</ref> was the outcome of the 2015 Third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) and the ''[[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]] Strategy for Financing the 2030 Agenda'' in 2018''.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=United Nations |title=UN Secretary-General's Strategy for Financing the 2030 Agenda |url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sg-finance-strategy/ |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=United Nations Sustainable Development |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2017 the UN launched the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (UN IATF on FfD) that invited a public dialogue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the IATF {{!}} United Nations |url=https://developmentfinance.un.org/about-iatf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063959/https://developmentfinance.un.org/about-iatf |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2019-12-08 |website=developmentfinance.un.org}}</ref> Also, [[multilateral development banks]] initiated the agenda ''From Billions to Trillions: Transforming Development Finance'' in 2015''.<ref name=":6" />''<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 April 2015 |title=Press Release: From Billions to Trillions--Transforming Development Finance Post-2015 Financing for Development: Multilateral Development Finance |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr15170 |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref>

The top-5 sources of financing for development were estimated in 2018 to be: Real new [[Government debt|sovereign debt]] OECD countries, [[Military budget|military expenditures]], official increase sovereign debt OECD countries, [[remittance]]s from expats to developing countries, [[official development assistance]] (ODA).<ref name="Dill-2018" /> Private finance or ''market-making processes'' are another option for development finance, for example [[green bond]]s and SDG bonds.''<ref name=":6" />''

The [[Rockefeller Foundation]] asserted in 2017 that "The key to financing and achieving the SDGs lies in mobilizing a greater share of the $200+ trillion in annual private capital investment flows toward development efforts, and philanthropy has a critical role to play in catalyzing this shift."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Madsbjerg |first=Saadia |date=19 September 2017 |title=A New Role for Foundations in Financing the Global Goals |url=https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/new-role-foundations-financing-global-goals/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823162537/https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/new-role-foundations-financing-global-goals/ |archive-date=23 August 2018 |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref> Large-scale funders participating in a Rockefeller Foundation-hosted design thinking workshop concluded that "while there is a moral imperative to achieve the SDGs, failure is inevitable if there aren't drastic changes to how we go about financing large scale change."<ref name="Burgess-2018">{{Cite web |last=Burgess |first=Cameron |date=March 2018 |title=From Billions to Trillions: Mobilising the Missing Trillions to Solve the Sustainable Development Goals |url=https://sphaera.world/billions-to-trillions/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917215312/https://sphaera.world/billions-to-trillions/ |archive-date=17 September 2018 |access-date=4 June 2018 |website=sphaera.world}}</ref>

A meta-analysis published in 2022 found that there was scant evidence that governments have substantially reallocated funding to implement the SDGs, either for national implementation or for international cooperation. The SDGs do not seem to have changed public budgets and financial allocation mechanisms in any important way, except for some local governance contexts.<ref name="Biermann-2022" /> National budgets cannot easily be reallocated.<ref name="Llanos-2022" />{{rp|81}}

=== SDG-driven investment ===
[[Stewardship|Capital stewardship]] is expected to play a crucial part in the progressive advancement of the SDG agenda to "shift the economic system towards sustainable investment by using the SDG framework across all [[asset class]]es."<ref name="auto2" /><ref name="Revue Analyse Financiere">{{cite news |last1=Firzli |first1=M. Nicolas J. |date=October 2016 |title=Beyond SDGs: Can Fiduciary Capitalism and Bolder, Better Boards Jumpstart Economic Growth? |url=https://www.academia.edu/28982570 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063938/https://www.academia.edu/28982570/Beyond_SDGs_Can_Fiduciary_Capitalism_and_Bolder_Better_Boards_Jumpstart_Economic_Growth |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=1 November 2016 |work=Analyse Financiere}}</ref> The notion of ''SDG Driven Investment'' gained further ground amongst institutional investors in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Firzli |first1=Nicolas |date=10 February 2020 |title=G7 Pensions Roundtable: Les ODD ('SDGs') Désormais Incontournables |work=Cahiers du Centre des Professions Financières |publisher=CPF |ssrn=3545217}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=McGregor |first1=Jena |date=20 August 2019 |title=Group of top CEOs says maximizing shareholder profits no longer can be the primary goal of corporations |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/19/lobbying-group-powerful-ceos-is-rethinking-how-it-defines-corporations-purpose |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063945/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/19/lobbying-group-powerful-ceos-is-rethinking-how-it-defines-corporations-purpose/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=17 March 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |publisher=WP}}</ref>

In 2017, 2018 and early 2019, the [[World Pensions & Investments Forum|World Pensions Council (WPC)]] held a series of ESG-focused (Environmental, Social and Governance) discussions with pension board members (trustees) and senior investment executives from across [[G20]] nations. Many pension investment executives and board members confirmed they were in the process of adopting or developing SDG-informed investment processes, with more ambitious investment governance requirements – notably when it comes to climate action, gender equality and social fairness.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Firzli |first1=Nicolas |date=7 December 2018 |title=An Examination of Pensions Trends. On Balance, How Do Things Look? |url=https://securities.bnpparibas.pl/insights/examination-pensions-trends.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063939/https://securities.bnpparibas.pl/insights/examination-pensions-trends.html |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=3 January 2019 |work=BNPSS Newsletter |publisher=BNP Paribas Securities Services}}</ref><ref name="auto2" />

Some studies, however, warn of selective implementation of SDGs and political risks linked to private investments in the context of continued shortage of [[public funding]].<ref name="Biermann-2022" />

== Results and outcomes ==
Most or all of the goals and targets are unlikely to be achieved by 2030.<ref name="CEEW-2022">{{Cite journal |last1=SEI |last2=CEEW |date=2022-05-18 |title=Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/stockholm50-unlocking-better-future |journal=SEI Reports |doi=10.51414/sei2022.011 |s2cid=248881465 |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|41}} Countries are falling particularly short in efforts to reduce inequality ([[Sustainable Development Goal 10|SDG 10]]), with inequality actually widening according to many indicators (as of 2023).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Browne |first1=Katherine |last2=Dzebo |first2=Adis |last3=Iacobuta |first3=Gabriela |last4=Faus Onbargi |first4=Alexia |last5=Shawoo |first5=Zoha |last6=Dombrowsky |first6=Ines |last7=Fridahl |first7=Mathias |last8=Gottenhuber |first8=Sara |last9=Persson |first9=Åsa |date=2023 |title=How does policy coherence shape effectiveness and inequality? Implications for sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda |journal=Sustainable Development |language=en |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=3161–3174 |doi=10.1002/sd.2598 |issn=0968-0802|doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]</ref>

Of particular concern - which cut across many of the SDGs – are rising inequalities, ongoing climate change and increasing biodiversity loss.<ref name="CEEW-2022" />{{rp|41}} In addition, there is a [[trade-off]] between the planetary boundaries of Earth and the aspirations for wealth and well-being. This has been described as follows: "the world's social and natural biophysical systems cannot support the aspirations for universal human well-being embedded in the SDGs."<ref name="CEEW-2022" />{{rp|41}}

Due to various economic and social issues, many countries are seeing a major decline in the progress made. In Asia for example, data shows a loss of progress on goals 2, 8,10,11, and 15.<ref name="SEI-2020">{{cite web |date=1 October 2020 |title=Let's get the SDGs back on track |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/lets-get-the-sdgs-back-on-track/ |access-date=19 October 2022 |website=Stockholm Environment Institute}}</ref> Recommended approaches to still achieve the SDGs are: "Set priorities, focus on harnessing the environmental dimension of the SDGs, understand how the SDGs work as an indivisible system, and look for synergies."<ref name="SEI-2020" />

=== Assessing the political impact of the SDGs ===
In 2022, a research project analyzed the political impacts of the SDGs as well as their "steering effects".<ref name="BiermannCh8">{{Citation |last1=Biermann |first1=Frank |title=The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals |date=2022-07-31 |pages=204–26 |editor-last=Biermann |editor-first=Frank |contribution=Chapter 8: The Sustainable Development Goals as a Transformative Force?: Key Insights |edition=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009082945.009 |isbn=978-1-009-08294-5 |last2=Hickmann |first2=Thomas |last3=Sénit |first3=Carole-Anne |last4=Grob |first4=Leonie |editor2-last=Hickmann |editor2-first=Thomas |editor3-last=Sénit |editor3-first=Carole-Anne |doi-access=free}}</ref> The project was a "systematic meta-analysis of peer-reviewed academic literature". It reviewed over 3,000 scientific articles, mainly from the [[social science]]s. These steering effects could be one of three types: discursive, normative or institutional effects.<ref name=":5">{{Citation |last1=Biermann |first1=Frank |title=Assessing the Impact of Global Goals: Setting the Stage |date=2022 |work=The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals |pages=1–21 |editor-last=Biermann |editor-first=Frank |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781009082945%23CN-bp-1/type/book_part |access-date=2024-10-16 |edition=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009082945.002 |isbn=978-1-009-08294-5 |last2=Hickmann |first2=Thomas |last3=Sénit |first3=Carole-Anne |editor2-last=Hickmann |editor2-first=Thomas |editor3-last=Sénit |editor3-first=Carole-Anne}}</ref> The presence of all three types of effects throughout a political system was defined as ''transformative impact'', which is the eventual goal of the 2030 Agenda.<ref name="Biermann-2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Biermann |first1=Frank |last2=Hickmann |first2=Thomas |last3=Sénit |first3=Carole-Anne |last4=Beisheim |first4=Marianne |last5=Bernstein |first5=Steven |last6=Chasek |first6=Pamela |last7=Grob |first7=Leonie |last8=Kim |first8=Rakhyun E. |last9=Kotzé |first9=Louis J. |last10=Nilsson |first10=Måns |last11=Ordóñez Llanos |first11=Andrea |last12=Okereke |first12=Chukwumerije |last13=Pradhan |first13=Prajal |last14=Raven |first14=Rob |last15=Sun |first15=Yixian |date=2022-06-20 |title=Scientific evidence on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals |journal=Nature Sustainability |language=en |volume=5 |issue=9 |pages=795–800 |doi=10.1038/s41893-022-00909-5 |issn=2398-9629 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022NatSu...5..795B |hdl-access=free |hdl=2066/253734}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref>

''Discursive effects'' relate to changes in global and national debates that make them more aligned with the SDGs. ''Normative effects'' would be adjustments in legislative and regulatory frameworks and policies in line with, and because of, the SDGs. ''Institutional effects'' would be the creation of new departments, committees, offices or programs linked to the achievement of the SDGs or the realignment of existing institutions.<ref name="Biermann-2022" />

The review found that the SDGs have had only limited transformative political impact thus far. There have been some ''discursive'' impacts, like the broad uptake of the principle of ''leaving no one behind'' in pronouncements by policymakers and civil society activists. However, there is doubt that the SDGs can steer societies towards more ecological integrity at the planetary scale. This is because countries generally prioritize the socioeconomic SDGs (e.g. SDGs 8 to 12) over the environmentally oriented ones (e.g. SDGs 13 to 15), in alignment with their long-standing national development policies.<ref name="Biermann-2022" />

=== Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic ===
The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] slowed progress towards achieving the SDGs. It was "the worst human and economic crisis in a lifetime."<ref name="UNESC2020" />{{rp|2}} The pandemic threatened progress made in particular for SDG 3 (health), SDG 4 (education), SDG 6 (water and sanitation for all), SDG 10 (reduce inequality) and SDG 17 (partnerships).<ref name="UNESC2020" />

At the UN [[High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development]] in July 2023, speakers remarked that the pandemic, and multiple worldwide crises such as climate change, threatened decades of progress on the SDGs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Impact of Pandemic, Worldwide Crises Must Be Overcome to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals, Speakers Stress, as High-Level Political Forum Opens {{!}} UN Press |url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/ecosoc7134.doc.htm |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=press.un.org}}</ref>

=== Uneven priorities of goals ===
There is a risk of countries favoring (or [[Cherry picking|cherry-picking]]) certain goals, thereby creating trade-offs and threatening [[Policy coherence for development|policy coherence]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Forestier |first1=Oana |last2=Kim |first2=Rakhyun E. |date=September 2020 |title=Cherry-picking the Sustainable Development Goals: Goal prioritization by national governments and implications for global governance |journal=Sustainable Development |language=en |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=1269–1278 |doi=10.1002/sd.2082 |issn=0968-0802 |s2cid=225737527 |doi-access=free}} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[ccorg:licenses/by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref> As a result, some goals are "left behind" and hardly prioritized. For example, global and domestic inequality only barely made it into the final set of SDGs as [[Sustainable Development Goal 10|SDG 10]], and this goal is still poorly supported and often marginalized.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Bogers |first1=Maya |last2=Biermann |first2=Frank |last3=Kalfagianni |first3=Agni |last4=Kim |first4=Rakhyun E. |date=2023 |title=The SDGs as integrating force in global governance? Challenges and opportunities |journal=International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics |language=en |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=157–164 |doi=10.1007/s10784-023-09607-9 |issn=1567-9764 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023IEAPL..23..157B }} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50x50px]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref>

In 2020, researchers conducted a content analysis of the voluntary national reviews of 19 countries of varying income levels to find out which SDGs receive more attention than the others in national policies. They found that SDGs 1 and 8 (on poverty eradication and economic growth) are by far most widely prioritized.<ref name=":8" /> Some commentators argue that insufficient capacity of many countries to fully implement all SDGs makes prioritization inevitable or even necessary.<ref name=":8" />

The practice of prioritizing certain SDGs by national governments is real and happening. Which SDGs are prioritized depends at least in part on the level of economic development of respective countries. The goals that are prioritized often correspond with what their existing priorities were before the SDGs came about. This implies the SDGs themselves do not directly steer national policies but rather the goals are used to legitimize existing priorities of national governments.<ref name=":8" />

In 2019 five progress reports on the 17 SDGs were published. Three came from the [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs]] (UNDESA),<ref>{{cite book |title=The Sustainable Development Goals report 2019 |date=2019 |publisher=United Nations |isbn=978-92-1-101403-7 |oclc=1117643666}}{{page needed|date=June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Publications |first1=United Nations |title=Report of the inter-agency task force on financing for development 2019: financing for sustainable development report 2019 |date=2019 |isbn=978-92-1-101404-4 |oclc=1098817400}}{{page needed|date=June 2021}}</ref> one from the [[Bertelsmann Foundation]] and one from the [[European Union]].<ref>Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the Secretary-General, Global Sustainable Development Report 2019: [https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24797GSDR_report_2019.pdf The Future is Now – Science for Achieving Sustainable Development] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063857/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24797GSDR_report_2019.pdf|date=30 December 2020}}, (United Nations, New York, 2019)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sustainable development in the European Union |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/9940483/KS-02-19-165-EN-N.pdf/1965d8f5-4532-49f9-98ca-5334b0652820 |publisher=Eurostat}}</ref> A review of the five reports analyzed which of the 17 Goals were addressed in priority and which ones were left behind.<ref name="BICE-2020">{{cite web |title=Leaving Biodiversity, Peace and Social Inclusion behind |url=http://commons.ch/wp-content/uploads/Synopsis_SDG_Reports_Goals_Allocation_2019.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063855/http://commons.ch/wp-content/uploads/Synopsis_SDG_Reports_Goals_Allocation_2019.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=27 November 2019 |publisher=Basel Institute of Commons and Economics |language=en}}</ref> In explanation of the findings, the Basel Institute of Commons and Economics said [[Biodiversity]], Peace and Social Inclusion were "left behind" by quoting the official SDGs motto "Leaving no one behind."<ref name="BICE-2020" />
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+SDG preferences in the World's five major SDG reports in 2019<ref name="BICE-2020" />
!SDG topic &nbsp;
!Rank&nbsp; &nbsp;
!Average rank
!Mentions
|-
|Health
|1
|3.2
|1814
|-
|Energy<br />Climate <br />Water
|2
|4.0
|1328<br />1328<br />1784
|-
|Education
|3
|4.6
|1351
|-
|Poverty
|4
|6.2
|1095
|-
|Food
|5
|7.6
|693
|-
|Economic Growth
|6
|8.6
|387
|-
|Technology
|7
|8.8
|855
|-
|Inequality
|8
|9.2
|296
|-
|Gender Equality
|9
|10.0
|338
|-
|Hunger
|10
|10.6
|670
|-
|Justice
|11
|10.8
|328
|-
|Governance
|12
|11.6
|232
|-
|Decent Work
|13
|12.2
|277
|-
|Peace
|14
|12.4
|282
|-
|Clean Energy
|15
|12.6
|272
|-
|Life on Land
|16
|14.4
|250
|-
|Life below Water
|17
|15.0
|248
|-
|Social Inclusion
|18
|16.4
|22
|}

== Monitoring progress ==
[[File:Map Sustainable Development Goals 2019.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright=2|Countries that are closest to meeting the SDGs (in dark blue) and those with the greatest remaining challenges (in the lightest shade of blue) in 2018<ref>Sachs, J., Schmidt-Traub, G., Kroll, C., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G. (2019): [https://www.sustainabledevelopment.report/ Sustainable Development Report 2019] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922112837/https://www.sustainabledevelopment.report/|date=22 September 2019}}. New York: Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)</ref> ]]

=== Voluntary national reviews ===
Countries can carry out voluntary national reviews (VNRs), thereby documenting their progress in achieving the SDGs and sharing their experiences with other interested parties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Voluntary National Reviews {{!}} High-Level Political Forum |url=https://hlpf.un.org/vnrs |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=hlpf.un.org}}</ref> VNRs are loosely based on common guidelines that the UN published for VNRs which makes it relatively easy to compare them. For example, as part of these guidelines, countries are asked to include a separate chapter on ''Leave No One Behind'' in which they explain how the principle has been translated into concrete actions.<ref name=":0" /> Annual synthesis reports summarise the VNRs across a group of countries. For example, the ninth annual VNR Synthesis Report was published in 2024 and included notable experiences and trends from 36 countries.<ref>UN DESA (2024) [https://hlpf.un.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/VNR%202024%20Synthesis%20Report.pdf 2024 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report]</ref>

=== Tools and websites ===
To facilitate monitoring of progress on SDG implementation, the online SDG Tracker was launched in June 2018 to present all available data across all indicators.<ref name="SDGtracker">{{Cite web |title=SDG Tracker |url=https://sdg-tracker.org/ |access-date=6 August 2020 |publisher=Our World in Data}}</ref> It relies on the [[Our World In Data|Our World in Data]] database and is also based at the [[University of Oxford]].<ref name="Ritchie-2020">Ritchie, Roser, Mispy, Ortiz-Ospina. "[https://sdg-tracker.org/ Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals]". SDG-Tracker.org, 2018. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063910/https://sdg-tracker.org/|date=30 December 2020}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SDG-Tracker.org Releases New Resources |url=http://sdg.iisd.org/news/sdg-tracker-org-releases-new-resources/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063949/http://sdg.iisd.org/news/sdg-tracker-org-releases-new-resources/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2019-03-10 |website=IISD's SDG Knowledge Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> The publication has global coverage and tracks whether the world is making progress towards the SDGs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eerste 'tracker' die progressie op SDG's per land volgt {{!}} Fondsnieuws |url=https://www.fondsnieuws.nl/nieuws/eerste-tracker-die-progressie-op-sdgs-land-volgt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063913/https://www.fondsnieuws.nl/nieuws/eerste-tracker-die-progressie-op-sdgs-land-volgt |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2019-03-10 |website=www.fondsnieuws.nl}}</ref> It aims to make the data on the 17 goals available and understandable to a wide audience.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=SDG Gracker |url=https://sdg-tracker.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063944/https://sdg-tracker.org/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref> The SDG-Tracker highlights that the world is currently (early 2019) very far away from achieving the goals.

The ''Global SDG Index and Dashboards Report'' is the first publication to track countries' performance on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=SDSN |last2=Bertelsmann Stiftung |title=SDG Index |url=https://sdgindex.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064016/https://sdgindex.org/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2019-05-24 |website=SDG Index and Dashboards Report |language=en-US}}</ref> The annual publication, co-produced by [[Bertelsmann Stiftung]] and [[Sustainable Development Solutions Network|SDSN]], includes a ranking and dashboards that show key challenges for each country in terms of implementing the SDGs. The publication also shows an analysis of government efforts to implement the SDGs.

=== UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) ===
{{Main|High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development}}

The SDGs are monitored by the United Nations' [[High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development]] (HLPF), an annual forum held under the auspices of the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]]. This subdivision should be a "regular meeting place for governments and non-state representatives to assess global progress towards sustainable development."<ref name="BiermannCh8"/>{{rp|206}} High-level progress reports for all the SDGs are published in the form of reports by the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|United Nations Secretary General]].

The HLPF has several problems due to a lack of political leadership and divergent [[national interest]]s.<ref name="BiermannCh8" />{{rp|206}} It has not been able to promote system-wide coherence. Therefore, this reporting system is mainly just a platform for voluntary reporting and [[peer learning]] among governments.<ref name="Biermann-2022" />

== Challenges ==
=== Too many goals and overall problems ===
Scholars have pointed out flaws in the design of the SDGs for the following aspects: "the number of goals, the structure of the goal framework (for example, the non-hierarchical structure), the coherence between the goals, the specificity or measurability of the targets, the language used in the text, and their reliance on [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] economic development-oriented sustainable development as their core orientation."<ref name="Kotzé-2022">{{Cite journal |last=van Norren |first=Dorine E. |date=2020-09-01 |title=The Sustainable Development Goals viewed through Gross National Happiness, Ubuntu, and Buen Vivir |journal=International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=431–458 |doi=10.1007/s10784-020-09487-3 |issn=1573-1553|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020IEAPL..20..431V }}</ref>{{rp|161}}

The SDGs may simply maintain the ''status quo'' and fall short of delivering an ambitious development agenda. The current status quo has been described as "separating human wellbeing and [[environmental sustainability]], failing to change governance and to pay attention to trade-offs, root causes of poverty and environmental degradation, and social justice issues."<ref name="Schleicher-2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Schleicher |first1=Judith |last2=Schaafsma |first2=Marije |last3=Vira |first3=Bhaskar |date=2018 |title=Will the Sustainable Development Goals address the links between poverty and the natural environment? |journal=Current Opinion in L̾o̾l̾o̾l̾o̾47 |volume=34 |pages=43–47 |bibcode=2018COES...34...43S |doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2018.09.004 |doi-access=free|hdl=1871.1/f71d1736-39d2-4125-bdf7-f484bb57d404 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

A commentary in ''[[The Economist]]'' in 2015 argued that 169 targets for the SDGs is too many, describing them as sprawling, misconceived and a mess compared to the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).<ref name="The Economist-2017">{{Cite news |title=The 169 commandments |url=https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21647286-proposed-sustainable-development-goals-would-be-worse-useless-169-commandments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018114345/https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21647286-proposed-sustainable-development-goals-would-be-worse-useless-169-commandments |archive-date=18 October 2017 |access-date=2016-02-19 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>

=== Problems with indicators ===
A concern has been raised over the large number of indicators and the associated cost of SDG monitoring, which is estimated to be in the billions of dollars.<ref name=":9" /> Investments in building statistical capacity in developing countries through training, resources, and support is needed. This burden, coupled with the fact that many indicators have been found to be inadequate measures of progress, has sparked debate among scholars. Some have called for reducing the number of indicators whereas others say more, and more diverse, indicators are needed.<ref name=":9" />

Some indicators are controversial such as those based on [[gross domestic product]] (GDP).<ref name=":9" /> For example, GDP forms the basis of 17 indicators used to measure progress towards 9 goals and 15 targets, when most of these goals and targets do not include GDP in their wording. Scholars have suggested developing alternative indicators  by creating of a new measure that could complement and eventually replace GDP. The SDG framework, specifically Target 17.19 of [[SDG 17]], already provides a basis for organizing such an effort. This target highlights the need to move beyond indicators such as GDP and to embrace ''well-being'', ''happiness'', or ''life satisfaction'' as key measures.<ref name=":9" />

=== Weak on environmental sustainability ===
{{Further|Sustainability}}

[[File:SDG wedding cake.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|SDG wedding cake model: A way of viewing the economic, social and ecological aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).<ref name="Resilience-2016">{{Cite web |date=14 June 2016 |title=The SDGs wedding cake |url=https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2016-06-14-the-sdgs-wedding-cake.html |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=www.stockholmresilience.org |language=en}}</ref>]]

Scholars have criticized that the SDGs "fail to recognize that planetary, people and prosperity concerns are all part of one earth system, and that the protection of [[planetary integrity]] should not be a means to an end, but an end in itself."<ref name="Kotzé-2022" />{{rp|147}} The SDGs "remain fixated on the idea that economic growth is foundational to achieve all pillars of sustainable development."<ref name="Kotzé-2022" />{{rp|147}} They do not prioritize [[environmental protection]].<ref name="Kotzé-2022" />{{rp|144}} In regions still dependent on fossil fuels, the rapid growth and profitability of AI infrastructure is creating economic incentives to invest in clean energy. However, AI-driven expansion has also led to higher emissions, revealing a tension between economic growth and sustainable goals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Young |first=Jeff |date=October 4, 2024 |title=Climate Hero or Villain? |url= |journal=Newsweek Global |volume=183 |issue=9 |pages=20–27 |via=Academic Search Complete}}</ref>

The SDGs include three environment-focused SDGs, which are Goal 13, 14 and 15 (climate, land and oceans), but there is no overarching environmental or planetary goal.<ref name="Kotzé-2022" />{{rp|144}} The SDGs do not pursue planetary integrity as such.<ref name="Kotzé-2022" />{{rp|144}}

Environmental constraints and [[planetary boundaries]] are underrepresented within the SDGs. For instance, the way the current SDGs are structured leads to a negative correlation between environmental sustainability and SDGs, with most indicators within even the sustainability-focused goals focusing on social or economic outcomes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wackernagel |first1=Mathis |last2=Hanscom |first2=Laurel |last3=Lin |first3=David |date=11 July 2017 |title=Making the Sustainable Development Goals Consistent with Sustainability |journal=Frontiers in Energy Research |volume=5 |pages=18 |doi=10.3389/fenrg.2017.00018 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2017FrER....5...18W }}</ref> They could unintentionally promote [[Environmental degradation|environmental destruction]] in the name of sustainable development.<ref>{{Cite web |last=The University of Queensland |date=6 July 2020 |title=Latest U.N. sustainability goals pose more harm than good for environment, scientists warn |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-07-latest-sustainability-goals-pose-good.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706163936/https://phys.org/news/2020-07-latest-sustainability-goals-pose-good.html |archive-date=6 July 2020 |access-date=27 August 2020 |website=phys.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zeng |first1=Yiwen |last2=Maxwell |first2=Sean |last3=Runting |first3=Rebecca K. |last4=Venter |first4=Oscar |last5=Watson |first5=James E. M. |last6=Carrasco |first6=L. Roman |date=October 2020 |title=Environmental destruction not avoided with the Sustainable Development Goals |journal=Nature Sustainability |volume=3 |issue=10 |pages=795–798 |doi=10.1038/s41893-020-0555-0 |bibcode=2020NatSu...3..795Z |s2cid=220260626}}</ref>

Certain studies also argue that the focus of the SDGs on [[neoliberal]] sustainable development is detrimental to planetary integrity and justice.<ref name="Biermann-2022" /> Both of these ambitions (planetary integrity and justice) would require limits to economic growth.<ref name="Kotzé-2022" />{{rp|145}}

Scientists have proposed several ways to address the weaknesses regarding environmental sustainability in the SDGs:
* The monitoring of essential variables to better capture the essence of coupled environmental and social systems that underpin sustainable development, helping to guide coordination and systems transformation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reyers |first1=Belinda |last2=Stafford-Smith |first2=Mark |last3=Erb |first3=Karl-Heinz |last4=Scholes |first4=Robert J |last5=Selomane |first5=Odirilwe |date=June 2017 |title=Essential Variables help to focus Sustainable Development Goals monitoring |journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability |volume=26–27 |pages=97–105 |bibcode=2017COES...26...97R |doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2017.05.003 |s2cid=113715479 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002E-1851-0}}</ref>
* More attention to the context of the biophysical systems in different places (e.g., coastal [[river delta]]s, mountain areas)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scown |first1=Murray W. |date=November 2020 |title=The Sustainable Development Goals need geoscience |journal=Nature Geoscience |volume=13 |issue=11 |pages=714–715 |bibcode=2020NatGe..13..714S |doi=10.1038/s41561-020-00652-6 |hdl=1874/410039 |s2cid=225071652|hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kulonen |first1=Aino |last2=Adler |first2=Carolina |last3=Bracher |first3=Christoph |last4=Dach |first4=Susanne Wymann von |date=2019 |title=Spatial context matters in monitoring and reporting on Sustainable Development Goals: Reflections based on research in mountain regions |journal=GAIA – Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=90–94 |doi=10.14512/gaia.28.2.5 |s2cid=197775743 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019GEPSS..28...90K |hdl-access=free |hdl=20.500.11850/350274}}</ref>
* Better understanding of feedbacks across scales in space (e.g., through [[globalization]]) and time (e.g., affecting future generations) that could ultimately determine the success or failure of the SDGs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reyers |first1=Belinda |last2=Selig |first2=Elizabeth R. |date=August 2020 |title=Global targets that reveal the social–ecological interdependencies of sustainable development |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=4 |issue=8 |pages=1011–1019 |doi=10.1038/s41559-020-1230-6 |pmid=32690904 |bibcode=2020NatEE...4.1011R |s2cid=220656353 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2263/78221}}</ref>

=== Ethical aspects ===
There are concerns about the ethical orientation of the SDGs: they remain "underpinned by strong (Western) modernist notions of development: sovereignty of humans over their environment (anthropocentricism), [[individualism]], competition, freedom (rights rather than duties), self-interest, belief in the market leading to collective welfare, [[private property]] (protected by legal systems), rewards based on merit, [[materialism]], quantification of value, and instrumentalization of labor.":<ref name="Kotzé-2022"/> 453{{rp|}}

A meta-analysis review study in 2022 found that: "There is even emerging evidence that the SDGs might have even adverse effects, by providing a "smokescreen of hectic political activity" that blurs a reality of stagnation, dead ends and business-as-usual."<ref name="BiermannCh8" />{{rp|220}}

=== Trade-offs and priorities ===
The trade-offs among the 17 SDGs might prevent their realization.<ref name="Berg-2020">{{Cite book |last=Berg |first=Christian |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1124780147 |title=Sustainable action: overcoming the barriers |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-57873-1 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |oclc=1124780147}}</ref>{{rp|66}} For example, these are three difficult trade-offs to consider: "How can ending hunger be reconciled with environmental sustainability? (SDG targets 2.3 and 15.2) How can economic growth be reconciled with environmental sustainability? (SDG targets 9.2 and 9.4) How can income inequality be reconciled with economic growth? (SDG targets 10.1 and 8.1)."<ref name="Machingura-2017">{{Cite web |last=Machingura |first=Fortunate |date=2017-02-27 |title=The Sustainable Development Goals and their trade-offs |url=https://odi.org/en/publications/the-sustainable-development-goals-and-their-trade-offs/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=ODI: Think change |language=en-gb}}</ref>

The SDGs do not specifically address the tensions between economic growth and environmental sustainability. Instead, they emphasize "longstanding but dubious claims about decoupling and resource efficiency as technological solutions to the environmental crisis."<ref name="Kotzé-2022" />{{rp|145}} For example, continued global economic growth of 3 percent (SDG 8) may not be reconcilable with ecological sustainability goals, because the required rate of absolute global [[eco-economic decoupling]] is far higher than any country has achieved in the past.<ref name="Hickel-2019">{{cite journal |last1=Hickel |first1=Jason |date=September 2019 |title=The contradiction of the sustainable development goals: Growth versus ecology on a finite planet |journal=Sustainable Development |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=873–884 |doi=10.1002/sd.1947 |s2cid=159060032}}</ref>

The SDGs are also said to be internally incoherent, with some inherently conflictive targets.<ref name=":32" />

== Examples of progress ==
A study in 2024 predicted SDG scores of regions until 2030 using [[machine learning model]]s.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Chenary |first1=Kimia |last2=Pirian Kalat |first2=Omid |last3=Sharifi |first3=Ayyoob |date=2024 |title=Forecasting sustainable development goals scores by 2030 using machine learning models |journal=Sustainable Development |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=6520–6538 |doi=10.1002/sd.3037 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The forecast results for 2030 show that "OECD countries" (80) (with a 2.8% change) and "Eastern Europe and Central Asia" (74) (with a 2.37% change) are expected to achieve the highest SDG scores. "Latin America and the Caribbean" (73) (with a 4.17% change), "East and South Asia" (69) (with a 2.64% change), "Middle East and North Africa" (68) (with a 2.32% change), and "Sub-Saharan Africa" (56) (with a 7.2% change) will display lower levels of SDG achievement, respectively.<ref name=":3" />

=== Asia and Pacific ===
==== Australia ====
{{excerpt|Sustainable Development Goals and Australia|paragraphs=2-3}}

==== China ====
UN Secretary General Guterres has praised China's [[Belt and Road Initiative]] for its capacity to advance the sustainable development goals.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=Simon |title=The Belt and Road City: Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China's Search for a New International Order |last2=Klaus |first2=Ian |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=9780300266900 |location=New Haven and London |publication-date=2024 |doi=10.2307/jj.11589102 |jstor=jj.11589102}}</ref>{{Rp|page=164}} Institutional connections between the BRI and multiple UN bodies have also been established.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=164}}

=== Africa ===
{{See also|Sustainable Development Goals and Ghana}}

The [[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP) has collected information to show how awareness about the SDGs among government officers, civil society and others has been created in many African countries.<ref name="UNDP-2020a">{{Cite web |title=Sustainable Development Goals |url=https://www.gh.undp.org/content/ghana/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064154/https://www.gh.undp.org/content/ghana/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=2020-09-20 |website=UNDP in Ghana |language=en}}</ref>

==== Nigeria ====
{{excerpt|Sustainable Development Goals and Nigeria|paragraphs=2|file=no}}

=== Europe and the Middle East ===
{{See also|Sustainable Development Goals and Iran}}

Baltic nations, via the [[Council of the Baltic Sea States]], have created the [[Baltic 21|Baltic 2030 Action Plan]].<ref name="cbss.org-2030">{{Cite news |title=Sustainable Development – Baltic 2030 |url=http://www.cbss.org/sustainable-prosperous-region/egsd-baltic-2030-2/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115220914/http://www.cbss.org/sustainable-prosperous-region/egsd-baltic-2030-2/ |archive-date=15 November 2017 |access-date=2017-11-11 |work=cbss.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Lebanon ====
{{excerpt|Sustainable Development Goals and Lebanon|paragraphs=2|file=no}}

==== Syria ====
Higher education in Syria began with sustainable development steps through Damascus University.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Al-Raeei |first=Marwan |date=2023-05-22 |title=Analysing of the sustainable development goals in Damascus University during Syrian crisis using the strategy in the university and the bibliometrics data from SciVal |journal=Discover Sustainability |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=24 |bibcode=2023DiSus...4...24A |doi=10.1007/s43621-023-00140-y |issn=2662-9984 |pmc=10201509 |pmid=37251498}}</ref>

==== United Kingdom ====
The UK's approach to delivering the Global SDGs is outlined in Agenda 2030: Delivering the Global Goals, developed by the [[Department for International Development]].<ref>Department for International Development (2017) [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/603500/Agenda-2030-Report4.pdf Agenda 2030 The UK Government's approach to delivering the Global Goals for Sustainable Development – at home and around the world] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064022/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/603500/Agenda-2030-Report4.pdf|date=30 December 2020}}</ref> In 2019, the Bond network analyzed the UK's global progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 June 2019 |title=The UK's global contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals – Progress, gaps and recommendations |url=https://www.bond.org.uk/resources/the-uks-global-contribution-to-the-sustainable-development-goals |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230064057/https://www.bond.org.uk/resources/the-uks-global-contribution-to-the-sustainable-development-goals |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=30 October 2019 |website=Bond}}</ref> The Bond report highlights crucial gaps where attention and investment are most needed. The report was compiled by 49 organizations and 14 networks and working groups.

== See also ==
{{portal|Politics|Environment|World}}
* {{annotated link|SDG Publishers Compact}}
* [[List of Sustainable Development Goal targets and indicators]]
* [[Political representation of nature]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource}}
{{offline|med}}
* [http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform – The SDGs]
* [http://www.globalgoals.org "Global Goals" Campaign] Campaign on the SDGs published by Project Everyone
* [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/database/ Global SDG Indicators Database of the United Nations]
* [https://sdg-tracker.org/ SDG-Tracker.org] – Visualized tracking of progress towards the SDGs
* [https://sdg-pathfinder.org/ SDG Pathfinder] – Explore content on SDGs from six international organizations (powered by the [[OECD]])

{{United Nations}}

{{Sustainable Development Goals}}

{{Sustainability}}

{{Poverty}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Global policy organizations]]
[[Category:International sustainable development]]
[[Category:Sustainability]]
[[Category:Sustainable Development Goals| ]]
[[Category:Sustainable development]]
[[Category:United Nations Common Agenda]]
[[Category:United Nations documents]]