The SDGs can save us, but can we save the SDGs?

WHAT are the roadblocks to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? And how can the pace of the SDGs gather momentum to meet the 2030 targets?

September 2023 marks the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

As leaders of governments, international organisations and the private sector convene in New York for the UN SDG Summit on 18 and 19 September, the mood is likely to be sombre.

Created in 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a bold commitment to end poverty and inequality and achieve a peaceful and prosperous future for both people and planet.

But the road to that destination has been a bumpy one. Interlinked global crises over the last few years have derailed progress on the goals and put them in jeopardy.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, a record number of forced displacements and migrations, extreme climate events and food insecurity have left the world poorer and more vulnerable.

The midpoint of a journey is a time to reflect, re-evaluate and course-correct. What are the roadblocks to achieving the SDGs? And how can the pace of the SDGs gather momentum to meet the 2030 target?

As people gather in New York to discuss ways to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, 360info in partnership with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) brings together expert analysis from around the world on how progress on the SDGs has been thwarted so far and solutions for how these challenges might be overcome.

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Piya Srinivasan is the Commissioning Editor, of 360info