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https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/assessing-uneven-progress-toward-sustainable-development-goals-by-homi-kharas-and-john-w-mcarthur-2024-09>
"WASHINGTON, DC – Any reader of the daily news could be forgiven for thinking
the world is in decline. Amid so many conflicts and societal strains, the
United Nations regularly warns that only 17% of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) – the economic, social, and environmental targets all countries
set in 2015 – are on track to be met by 2030, as agreed, leading many to wonder
whether such goals still serve any purpose. But rather than succumb to
pessimism, we would do better to examine where the world is making sound
progress, where it seems stuck on autopilot, and where things are indeed moving
backwards or approaching a tipping point for the worse.
This is what we set out to do in a recent study, with our colleague Odera
Onyechi, estimating country-level progress around the world. One of our topline
findings is that “business as usual” aptly describes many trends since 2015.
Yet the SDGs must be evaluated remembering the nature of their ambition. They
were not established merely to perpetuate longer-term patterns of progress
toward more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable societies. Instead, they
sought to hasten such progress dramatically. SDG 5, for example, does not just
call for a secular continuation of the centuries-long journey toward gender
equality. It calls for rapid, transformational change to achieve full gender
equality by 2030 – and rightly so. Even if the pace of progress is not
sufficient to achieve what 193 countries committed to delivering, this does not
mean everything is getting worse. Our study examined 24 SDG-relevant,
country-level indicators and started with a basic question: Have things
improved since 2015? We found humanity-wide improvements for 18 – ranging from
the enlargement of marine protected areas to expanded access to water and
sanitation. Such gains do not minimize the pain of backsliding on the six
remaining measures, especially those linked to hunger and food security, not to
mention the horrendous health and educational consequences of the COVID-19
pandemic. But they do show why we need to differentiate progress toward the
SDGs more systematically."
Via
What Could Go Right? The Race to 2030
https://theprogressnetwork.org/sustainable-development-goals-progress/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
