SDG Action was launched in 2021 by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to support the UN’s Decade of Action. Its aim is to encourage cross-sector dialogue and problem solving to accelerate the transition to sustainability.
Climate — Global
New technologies will play a vital role in achieving net zero. Getting them on stream and in widespread use fast enough to prevent climate catastrophe calls for bold and urgent action to unblock essential investment
If progress on empowering women and girls was already far too slow, COVID and the war in Ukraine have made entrenched gender inequalities even worse. We must urgently ramp up our support for women and girls across all spheres of development, or the SDGs are doomed to fail
Oil and gas companies turn record profits, while their fossil-fuelled emissions rapidly accelerate climate change. Tackling the problem means challenging these powerful economic interests and the political access it affords them
Education is key to achieving the entire Agenda 2030. With just eight years to go, 2022 will be critical for revitalizing national and global efforts to transform education, so that all people have the skills and knowledge to coexist in harmony with our planet
SDGs: 4
COVID has exacerbated already deep inequalities between rich and poor.
If left unchecked, the forces creating inequality will become even more
destructive as the climate crisis starts to bite, threatening all of Agenda 2030. The world must urgently redouble efforts to reverse these trends
Climate change, the threat of famine, and conflicts are driving more people than ever from their homelands. While the international community’s response to the Ukraine refugee crisis has been notable for its scale, solidarity, and humanity, there is still much work to do to ensure a fair and humane asylum system for all
The pandemic was the ultimate stress-test for the global health system, revealing both flaws and capabilities. We must build this new knowledge into health systems if we’re to achieve good health and well-being for all
SDGs: 3
Climate change, COVID-19, the war in Ukraine – these crises threaten to derail development for 1.7 billion of the world’s most vulnerable people. The international community must take swift, coordinated action now to put the SDGs back on track
There is finally a sense of urgency to act on anthropogenic damage to the environment. Earlier this year, the UN Environment Assembly delivered a resolution for a binding global agreement to end plastic pollution. Later this month, the UN will be holding a high-level thematic debate ‘Moment for Nature’, which focuses on the Paris Agreement and the environmental dimensions of the SDGs. The debate is intended to create greater cohesion in global efforts and to push a more ambitious timescale.
Despite many countries announcing more ambitious political commitments to net-zero, the policies and actions announced to date fall woefully short of achieving 1.5°C. We must rapidly increase the transition to renewable energy if we’re to avert climate catastrophe
In 2022 we should aspire to a Paris-style agreement on restoring biodiversity. Ambition alone, articulated in several published pledges, is not enough: governments must now commit to a strengthened Global Biodiversity Framework that compels them to take meaningful action
Air pollution is killing an estimated seven million people per year, causing environmental damage and climate change. Taking bold action now on black carbon, methane, and other short-lived pollutants, using existing, affordable technologies, can help us achieve 1.5°C and improve well-being for all
Over the last decade, numerous democracies have been eroded and populist leaders have dismantled the protections against authoritarianism. We need urgent action – at local, country, and international levels – to ensure that societies achieve equitable and sustainable development for all people everywhere
Where freedom of speech flourishes, so does misinformation. With more than half the global population now using social media, striking the right balance in managing online spaces is critical for healthy democracies, public safety, and achieving the SDGs
Recent attempts to place sanctions on Russia illustrate how easily illicit financial flows are concealed on a massive scale. With trillions diverted from critical development projects each year, jeopardizing many of the SDGs, the world has an urgent and moral duty to expose and stanch the movement of these ill-gotten gains
