The world made a groundbreaking commitment in 2015 when world leaders agreed upon the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, encompassing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure the well-being of all and to protect the planet. However, the convergence of challenges, including climate crisis, Ukraine conflict, gloomy global economic outlook, and COVID-19 pandemic, exposed systemic vulnerabilities and significantly hindered progress towards these goals.
With a mere seven years left to implement the SDGs, the stakes have never been higher. The latest data and estimates presented in The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023 paint a sobering picture of the current state of the goals as the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development commences. This forum, preceding the SDG Summit in September, serves as a critical moment for world leaders to urgently change course and accelerate efforts towards achieving the SDGs.
THE SDGS ARE IN PERIL
Approximately half of the roughly 140 targets that can be evaluated show moderate or severe deviations from the desired trajectory. Shockingly, more than 30% of these targets have witnessed no progress or, worse yet, regressed below the 2015 baseline.
The report highlights that COVID-19 pandemic halted three decades of steady progress in reducing extreme poverty. This led to a rise in the number of people living in such conditions for the first time in a generation. If current trends persist, an alarming 575 million people will remain trapped in extreme poverty by 2030. An estimated 84 million children and young individuals will continue to be out of school. Data collected in 2022 across 119 countries reveals that 56% of them lack laws prohibiting discrimination against women. Global temperatures have already surpassed 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels and are projected to exceed the critical 1.5°C tipping point by 2035.
The report further warns that while lack of progress is widespread, it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations who bear the brunt of these unprecedented global challenges.
UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL FOR PROGRESS
Nevertheless, progress made in certain areas since 2015 demonstrates the potential for further advancement. The percentage of the global population with access to electricity has risen from 87% in 2015 to 91% in 2021, benefiting nearly 800 million additional people. Additionally, the report highlights that by 2021, 133 countries had already achieved the SDG target for under-5 mortality, with another 13 expected to reach it by 2030. Despite a slowdown in global manufacturing growth, medium-high- and high-technology industries have exhibited robust growth rates. Developing countries have set a record-breaking pace by installing 268 watts per capita of renewable energy-generating capacity in 2021. Furthermore, the number of people using the Internet has increased by 65% since 2015, reaching 5.3 billion people worldwide in 2022.
These significant development gains serve as a testament to the potential for a better future through collective action, strong political will, and the effective utilization of available technologies, resources, and knowledge. This progress can lift millions out of poverty, enhance gender equality, and put the world on a low-emissions trajectory by 2030. Strengthening data ecosystems will also be vital in understanding our current standing and identifying necessary actions to achieve the SDGs.
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
- Given historical trends, only one-third of countries will have halved their national poverty rates by 2030 from 2015.
- Nearly 1 in 3 (2.3 billion people) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021.
- Between 2015 and 2022, rising access to safely managed drinking water, safely managed sanitation, and basic hygiene resulted in an additional 687 million, 911 million, and 637 million people gaining access to these essential services, respectively.
- Effective HIV treatment has significantly reduced global AIDS-related deaths by 52 per cent since 2010, and at least one neglected tropical disease has been eliminated in 47 countries.
- As of 2020, nearly 1.1 billion people lived in slums or slum-like conditions in urban areas.
- The number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies has doubled since 2015, indicating increased awareness and preparedness for managing and reducing the impact of disasters.
