Eight key lessons for achieving sustainable development goals

A UN report shows poor progress so far. A new approach is essential to get the world back on track.

- ARUN MAIRA

In June, the United Nations Sustainable Development Network published its Sustainable Development Report 2026 (SDR).

In June, the United Nations Sustainable Development Network published its Sustainable Development Report 2026 (SDR). It reviews progress on 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that were adopted by all UN member states in 2015. These goals are further broken down into 169 targets (with 231 unique indicators), all of which must be achieved to reach the overall goal by 2030.

The report says that with less than four years remaining for the 2030 sustainable development agenda, progress is significantly off-track. Only 16% of the targets are projected to be achieved by the deadline. On another 16%, the world has gone backwards; and there is limited progress on the rest (about two-thirds). The conclusion: we are where we started in 2015. The report has focused, therefore, on what is wrong with the ‘how’ of achieving what all countries agreed to together. It lists eight lessons.

Lesson 1 is that “peace is the foundation of every goal.” It begs the question of how ‘peace’ is to be achieved.

Lesson 2 is more useful. “The SDGs are about transformation, not business as usual.” We must transform our approach to achieving the goals. We cannot carry on the way we are doing.