Produced by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and led by renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs, this report is particularly relevant in the context of the recent European elections, which have cast doubt on Europe’s climate ambitions, and the upcoming United Nations’ “Summit of the Future” in September.
The SDR introduces a new Index that measures countries’ support for UN-based multilateralism and identifies priorities for upgrading the United Nations. This effort is endorsed by over 100 leading scientists and practitioners worldwide. Additionally, the report offers new pathways to achieve sustainable food and land systems by mid-century.
While only 16 percent of the SDG goals are likely to be realized by 2030 worldwide, the report notes that 84 percent have been lagging behind or regressing. The Nordic countries maintain their lead in terms of SDG attainment, with Finland emerging on top and Sweden in the second position among others including Denmark, Germany , France. Slovenia ranks #11, whish shows notable progress.
The report identifies five SDG targets with the highest reversal of progress since 2015: the obesity rate (under SDG 2), press freedom (under SDG 16), red list index (under SDG 15), sustainable nitrogen management (under SDG 2) and life expectancy at birth (under SDG 3). The SDR notes that targets related to food and agriculture systems are especially off track, proposing new FABLE pathways that show how we can avoid 100 million hectares of deforestation by 2030 and 100 Gt CO2 emissions by 2050.
