The United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was held in New York (18–19 September 2023), assessed progress towards achieving the SDGs. The assessment stated that the world It has “seriously deviated” from the path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2015 deadline.
Sustainable development goals
- Agenda-2030, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, had identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 specific targets to be achieved by 2030.
- The program is non-binding internationally, but all countries are committed to working towards these goals.
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were established by the United Nations in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. , was adopted as a universal call.
- The 17 SDGs are integrated, they recognize that actions in one area will influence outcomes in others, and that the rapid development currently taking place must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
Slow progress
- The UN’s 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report warns that the targets are “far away”.
The UN released “the results of a preliminary assessment of approximately 140 targets for which data are available”.
It was found that:-
- Only 12% of SDGs are on track.
- More than half are moderately or severely derailed.
- 30% have seen no improvement or dropped below the 2015 baseline.
- From 2015 to 2019, there were some improvements, although these were insufficient to achieve the goals. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises have brought progress to a near halt.
- Apart from slow progress, little attention has been paid to goals related to the environment and biodiversity (including responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water and life on land).
Five key areas for immediate action
UN SDG Report, 2023 identifies five key areas for urgent action
- A commitment by governments to seven years of accelerated, sustained and transformative action to deliver on the promises of the SDGs;
- Focus on advancing the rights of women and girls and empowering the most vulnerable in order to end the war on nature,
- Concrete, integrated and targeted government policies and actions to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality;
- Strengthening national and subnational capacity, accountability, and public institutions to deliver accelerated progress;
- Recommitment of the international community to provide and mobilize resources to assist developing countries and continue to strengthen the United Nations development system.