OPINION

How is the world doing on SDGs?

Homi Kharas & John W McArthur, Published on 16/10/2024

» 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.