Overview and Highlights: The 2020 Sustainable Development Report

 
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Originally published by International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

On 30 June 2020, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) released the 2020 edition of the Sustainable Development Report which tracks the performance of all UN Member States on the 17 SDGs, measuring the distance remaining to achieve each target.

Written by lead author Jeffrey Sachs and a team of independent experts, the Sustainable Development Report annual report is one of several SDG assessment reports that are released annually prior to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) meeting in July.

The report includes an SDG index which illuminates progress towards each SDG since 2015 up until COVID-19 emerged. It also includes interactive dashboards to visually represent countries’ performances by SDG.

This year’s report specifically focuses on the impact COVID-19 has brought upon the Sustainable Development Goals. Key report findings on 25 June 2020 reveal that COVID-19 is negatively affecting the following goals: SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and wellbeing), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).

While the pandemic has negatively affected these goals, it has also brought some “immediate relief” in the following SDGS: SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 15 (life of land).

The report presented other key findings such as the effectiveness of OECD countries’ early responses to COVID-19 and negative “spillover” effects generated by high-income countries. The report additionally highlighted information on country-level and regional findings on SDG progress which indicate that:

  • All regions have made progress in the SDG index since 2015. East and South Asia have progressed the most

  • At the country level, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Cambodia progressed most

  • Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo regressed most, which the report attributes to conflicts and other economic and social reasons

  • The greatest progress has been towards SDGs 1 and 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure).The least progress has been seen against SDGs 2 and 15.

For more information on the 2020 edition of the report, click here.

To read the SDSN report in detail, click here.

 
 

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