No progress on achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) was recorded in 2021 due to multiple and simultaneous crises, a recent report published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) shows. Apparently, nor is any particular improvement being seen in 2022 either with the International Spillover Index indicating that rich countries are generating international spillovers, creating additional obstacles towards progress on the SDGs.
The reasons behind such a disturbing development are multiple and include geopolitical, military, health, climate, and biodiversity crises that cause setbacks in global sustainable development, the Sustainable Development Report shows. The President of the SDSN, Jeffrey D. Sachs, commenting on the progress noted:
“Fifty years after the first UN Conference on the human environment in Stockholm in 1972, the bedrock SDG principles of social inclusion, clean energy, responsible consumption, and universal access to public services are needed more than ever to respond to the major challenges of our time. Poor and vulnerable countries are being hit particularly hard by multiple health, geopolitical, and climate crises and their spillovers. To restore and accelerate SDG progress, we need global cooperation to end the pandemic, negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, and secure the financing needed to achieve the SDGs.”
According to the report, with an average SDG Index score equal to 66.0 points, 2021 is the second year in a row when countries have failed to record improvement towards the SDGs. In 2020, for the first time since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, the global average SDG Index score dropped compared to the preceding years. However, compared to 2020, the drop in 2021 was marginal. This decline was mainly due to the negative effect of the pandemic on the SDGs such as No Poverty (SDG 1) and Decent Work, and Economic Growth (SDG 8). The decline was also caused by the poor progress of countries toward biodiversity, climate, and sustainable urban development goals (SDG 11-15). This deceleration is a major setback as even before the pandemic, countries were already making only sluggish progress toward the SDGs with the average rate of progress equal to 0.5 points annually.
Fig.1.SDG Index Score over time, world average (2010-2021)
Source: Sustainable Development Report
The ranking of the 2022 SDG Index which measures the overall progress being made towards achieving all 17 SDGs is led by Finland with 86.51 points, followed by Denmark, Sweden, and Norway with 85.63 points, 85.19 points, and 82.35 points, respectively. For comparison, the 2021 SDG Index was led by Finland with 85.9 points, Sweden with 85.6 points, Denmark with 84.9 points, Germany with 82.5 points, and Belgium with 82.2 points.
All 10 countries with the highest scores in the ranking are European countries. However, in terms of overall progress since 2015, East and South Asian countries have advanced on the SDGs the most with Bangladesh and Cambodia recording the highest rate of progress since then. In the ranking of the 2022 SDG Index, Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan have the lowest scores on SDG progress with 41.29 points, 39.28 points, and 39.05 points, respectively.
Fig.2. Performance of countries on SDGs
Source: Sustainable Development Report
Besides the disruption to progress towards achieving the SDGs, another worrying aspect was revealed by the 2022 International Spillover Index. According to the report, rich economies are creating adverse international socioeconomic and environmental spillovers mainly through unsustainable trade and supply chains. International spillovers should be carefully monitored as adverse spillovers stemming from one country can negatively impact on the progress toward SDGs in other countries. For instance, environmental and social spillovers can have international effects such as those related to pollution or how natural resources are used.
Fig.3. SDG Index Score versus International Spillover Index Score
Source: Sustainable Development Report
Resuming progress towards the SDGs requires new investment plans since low-income and lower-middle-income countries have no access to a basic amount of capital. The SDSN’s President, Jeffrey Sachs, commenting on the outcomes of the report noted:
“The bedrock SDG principles of social inclusion, clean energy, responsible consumption, and universal access to public services are needed more than ever to respond to the major challenges of our time.”
The report itself highlights several fundamental approaches that are important if progress is to be resumed. Firstly, advanced countries should ensure a larger amount of financial support to developing countries in order for the latter to meet development and SDG targets. Besides this, developed countries should dedicate more funding to the Multilateral Development Banks and G20 countries should increase their support to developing countries through channels such as higher ODA, large-scale philanthropy, and the refinancing of debts. Secondly, on one hand, the IMF and credit-rating agencies should take into account the development prospects of countries in their assessments of debt sustainability while, on the other hand, developing countries should strengthen their debt management and creditworthiness through better policy targets.