Sustainable Development Goals on pillars

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals comprise a global agenda to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals—or SDGs or Global Goals as they are sometimes called—have 169 targets that countries are attempting to reach by 2030 at the latest. This is why the Goals are also referred to as the 2030 Agenda, which countries resolved to undertake with "bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind."

The goals and targets are universal, meaning they apply to all countries around the world, not just developing countries. Reaching the goals requires action on all fronts—governments, businesses, civil society, and people everywhere have a role to play.

To learn more about efforts to implement the SDGs around the world, visit IISD’s SDG Knowledge Hub.

2023: Five Areas to Target Through Resolve, Determination, and Hope

As the UN and other actors pursue global peace efforts and COVID-19 transitions from pandemic to endemic, environmental negotiations are moving on with renewed determination.

Accelerating the SDGs Through the 2024 Summit of the Future

UN Secretary-General António Guterres conceives of the Pact for the Future – the expected outcome of the Summit of the Future – as “a booster shot for the SDGs.”

Driving Sustainable and Inclusive Growth for Everyone

Rapid development in Asia and the Pacific has propelled the region to become a key engine of growth for the global economy, yet this prosperity has not reached everyone.

Governments and Experts Exchange Proposals for Improving HLPF

Experts are reviewing the format of the annual United Nations forum where countries report on their progress and challenges with the SDGs.

Experts

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Livia Bizikova

Lead II, Monitoring and Governance, Tracking Progress

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Eleonora Bonaccorsi

Program Officer, Geneva 2030 Ecosystem

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Stefan Jungcurt

Lead II, SDG Indicators and Data, Tracking Progress

Elena Kosolapova

Elena Kosolapova

Senior Policy Advisor, Tracking Progress

Hillary Rosentreter

Hillary Rosentreter

Policy Advisor, Tracking Progress

Trine Schmidt

Trine Schmidt

Strategic Advisor for Global Strategies

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Lynn Wagner

Senior Director, Tracking Progress

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Latest

Last Call for the Global Stocktake

The 2023 Bonn Climate Change Conference will be the last opportunity for countries and relevant stakeholders to provide inputs into the two-year Global Stocktake process. What are our expectations on adaptation?

Insight

May 24, 2023

A focus on water can lessen climate change’s burn

Canadians need water infrastructure to protect us in the face of mounting risks of flooding, drought, extreme heat, and wildfires.

Insight

May 18, 2023

Funding for Canadian Prairies’ water infrastructure urgently needed, but nature offers innovative solutions—new report

The Canadian Prairie provinces’ water infrastructure is aging and depreciating at an alarming rate. However, natural infrastructure can offer a practical and cost-effective solution when scaled up and adopted across all levels of government.

Press release

May 10, 2023

State of Sustainability Initiatives Review: Standards and the Sustainable Development Goals

This report explores the role that voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can play in helping governments advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and better track and report on their progress toward achieving them.

Report

May 4, 2023

G-7 meeting set to shape future of natural gas

A meeting of Group of 7 Cabinet-level officials this weekend is setting up a geopolitical battle that could play a major role in driving the future of U.S. natural gas — and determining the emissions of the fuel globally. The meeting in Sapporo, Japan, is a precursor to a G-7 head-of-state summit next month that could influence the trajectory of energy markets for years and help determine the international money flow toward gas projects.

IISD in the news

E&E News

April 14, 2023

Four Ways the G7 Can Show Leadership on Fossil Fuel Phase-Out

G7 ministers and leaders have a key opportunity this year to make concrete progress on fossil fuel phase-out, which could in turn encourage other economies to follow suit.

Insight

April 13, 2023

Women and the Mine of the Future

Uncovering the gender-disaggregated employment profile for large-scale mining, focusing on women and their occupations in 12 countries.

Report

April 10, 2023

A Quest for Legal Clarity: What the International Court of Justice's upcoming advisory opinion means for climate action

The United Nations General Assembly resolution comes at a pivotal moment for the international climate community, as governments, civil society, academia, and private actors all prepare for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) this November.

Insight

April 6, 2023