Why We Shouldn’t Give Up on the SDGs

At a time when progress on sustainable development is being slowed by multiple global crises and increasing tensions, anticipation for the Summit of the Future is high. The event, convened at the United Nations (UN), aims to strengthen multilateral cooperation and set out clear steps for how the global community can work together. The meeting's ultimate outcome will be a multilateral commitment, on paper, to keep up the momentum on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework at a time when so many of its targets seem out of reach, especially with a fast-approaching 2030 deadline.

The gaps are indeed daunting. Some may see them as reasons to give up on the SDGs. But as the Summit gets underway, we hope delegates consider all the ways in which the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs have, in fact, made progress (despite what the reporting may suggest) and built a solid foundation that will be crucial for future global cooperation.

SDG Progress Beyond the Averages

The long-story-short of SDG progress is that only 17% of the targets are on track toward their 2030 deadline; progress is moderate or minimal on close to half of the targets; and more than a third are either stalled or regressing. While overall progress is clearly insufficient, this “assessment by averages” can hide important success stories.

Progress in one group of countries can be offset by regression in others, and many SDG indicators amalgamate multiple trends that can hide success on a specific issue. In education, for example, the UN’s 2024 SDG report indicates girls have reached parity or even surpassed boys in school completion rates, while overall completion rates have been increasing steadily. However, a part of this success is offset by declines in student skills and a decrease in completion rates in some regions.

Similarly, in health, the world has seen significant reductions in HIV infections alongside improved access to HIV medications. Child mortality has reached a historic low. At the same time, the impacts of COVID-19 continue to show as a reduction in life expectancy. Grouped with several other troubling health metrics, this leads to an “average” finding of decelerating progress in health—hiding the first two wins.

These examples provide several lessons to keep in mind when we judge the value of the SDGs. First, the broad scope of the SDG framework leads us to look only at the highest levels of aggregation of both data and issues, almost systematically overlooking success stories in certain areas that would have been reason to celebrate under earlier hyper-focused development agendas.

Second, we must acknowledge the world is failing the very rationale for designing a comprehensive and universal agenda. Progress is highly uneven between countries and across issues.

Finally, we must not forget the aspirational nature of the SDGs. The Goals aim to articulate the ultimate vision of “the world we want.” It is regrettable but not entirely unexpected that we may not achieve the entirety of these Goals in the first attempt. Unforeseen events have pushed the world off track. But rather than blame or discard the SDG framework, we should learn from the successes and failures to date to understand where the framework can be improved and what may be missing.

Looking Beyond the SDG Framework

While the SDG framework tries to articulate a holistic vision of the world we want, events and discourse over the past years have revealed changing perspectives on principles like inclusion, equality, and life in harmony with nature.

The international community has dramatically failed to live up to its promise to leave no one behind and address the needs of those most behind first. Underneath the dire assessment, however, attention has shifted from defining targets that are thought to reflect outcomes—like reduced poverty, equality and prosperity for all—to reforming processes such as inclusive governance and economic decision making. For example, Indigenous voices advocating for a rights-based approach to self-determination have increased our awareness that we must address multi-dimensional barriers to participation in the decision-making process to empower marginalized groups in devising pathways out of poverty and discrimination.

This discussion is accompanied by a perceived shift from objectives defining equality—often framed as equality of opportunity—to equity in outcomes. This acknowledges those who have been pushed back by complex causes should receive direct support based on their specific needs to guarantee their well-being.

The key to achieving equity is giving agency to those with lived experience in poverty and marginalization. They should decide how marginalization is defined and measured so that their voices are heard and counted in decision making. This is also reflected in a growing debate among NGOs, academia and some governmental donors about the need to localize international development aid.

Our understanding of our relationship with our environment is also changing. For example, the Global Biodiversity Framework recognizes that humans are part of nature and that ecosystems are also livelihoods. This is a departure from older concepts that pitched conservation objectives against the rights of those living in the areas to be conserved. Similarly, the concept of ecosystem goods and services—which focused narrowly on the monetary values of ecosystem benefits—has been replaced by the broader concept of nature’s contributions to people, which recognizes non-monetary benefits as well as negative consequences of human-environment interactions, such as spreading new pathogens.

A growing wave of cities and local governments have produced voluntary local reviews, reflecting rising awareness of the shared challenges all communities face and commitment to align municipal development plans with the SDG framework. At local, subnational, national, and regional levels, the practice of regular voluntary reporting has also stimulated investments in statistical and other data-related capacities to track and critically review progress towards the SDGs.

The SDGs Are the Future

The Summit of the Future is an opportunity to rally behind the SDG framework, readjust priorities and restore trust and commitment in the multilateral system, making it fit for the next decades.

Without losing sight of the dwindling time to 2030, the momentum coming out of the Summit can provide a space and impetus to gather ideas on how the SDG framework can be tweaked and complemented beyond its current deadline, building on the SDG experience and success stories and integrating changing perspectives on the key principles of this Agenda. These ideas can and should inform discussions leading to the 2027 SDG Summit, when the debate on the Beyond 2030 SDG Framework will start in earnest.