The COVID-19 pandemic pushed back progress on the SDGs but also exposed fundamental flaws in the way countries and the global community have been approaching them. Inequalities have widened and the mantra ‘leave no one behind’ feels like a distant memory. We are halfway along the Agenda 2030 timeline – it is time to tackle the structural reforms that are needed to unlock the Goals.
For the developed world, increasingly there appears to be only one existential crisis in town: climate change. Achieving the broader agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demands deep reform of the international financial system and urgent recalibration of political will
In the words of the UN Secretary-General, developing countries have limited access to the financial resources they need to address the dramatic challenges they face and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global financial architecture, created for a very different world eight decades ago, needs urgent reform to make it fit for purpose
In this digital age, over two billion people worldwide still lack internet access. With progress on the SDGs way off course, we must ramp up access to, and application of, digital technologies – including AI – to get Agenda 2030 back on track
As the pace of societal change accelerates, many jobs considered essential today will become obsolete tomorrow. Creating resilience and adaptability, particularly among the world’s most vulnerable workers, is essential and requires a global, whole-of-society policy effort and investment
The Global Goals represent a quest to achieve human rights for all. In the face of democratic backsliding and a global trend to restrict free speech, we must ensure that civil society remains an active force for their progress
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation are established human rights. Yet, halfway through the Water Action Decade, billions of people are still denied them. This year, nations have pledged to drive transformation to a water-secure world, and must now urgently act on their promises
With just seven years to go, the SDGs remain severely underfunded, as cash-strapped governments worldwide struggle to resource them. Generating more private-sector investment that seizes the huge business potential of the Goals is therefore critical
At current progress rates, 1.6 billion people will lack safely managed drinking water by 2030. Ramping up financial and political investment in access to water, sanitation, and hygiene, particularly in the world’s poorest countries and in the face of climate change, is now essential for achieving the SDGs
Over a billion women and girls worldwide lack safe and adequate sanitation. Addressing this fundamental human right offers a unique chance to both address poor sanitation and foster gender equality
Each year, trillions of dollars are poured into harmful fossil fuel subsidies or tax breaks that undermine our progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Shifting these funds to fuel the clean energy transition would accelerate access to basic energy services, improve public health, and put the world on a safer climate trajectory
Gender inequalities in energy access are substantial but largely unmeasured. SDG 7 – affordable and clean energy – is one of six SDGs without gender-specific indicators. Clean and safe energy is a prerequisite for achieving all the social and economic SDGs, and SDG 5 – gender equality – will only be achieved if a more targeted approach is adopted on energy
The world’s poorest countries have most to gain from tech like AI that can rapidly accelerate SDG action, but are often the least able to utilize such innovations. We need a global, cooperative effort to ensure that the technical tools and skills that humankind has developed are available to all
Massive investment is needed in infrastructure to achieve the transition to clean energy and create resilience against the impacts of global warming. The scale of investment – as much as $9 trillion per year – exceeds the capabilities of public finance and will rely on aligning private sector financing. Green or climate bonds seem an obvious instrument for the task – are they the killer solution?
Years of delays are being added to climate commitments because of bureaucratic planning processes. We must speed up action in ways that are transparent, equitable, and effective if we’re to protect vulnerable communities from the devastating impacts of global warming
Rapid urbanization is placing unprecedented strain on the life-critical resources of water, energy, and food. We need rapid take-up of coordinated (or “nexus”) approaches to urban development and resource management if we’re to make sustainable cities a reality
The EU’s unilateral approach to curb deforestation through restrictions on imports sends a powerful message, but will it deliver? Here, the authors argue that successful global action on deforestation calls for a carefully balanced system of tariffs and subsidies from a wider coalition of countries
For most countries, public finance, raised through tax, should be the primary source of investment in the SDGs. How can developing countries increase their tax receipts, fairly and efficiently?