SDSN Launches 10th Edition of the Sustainable Development Report
The 10th edition of SDSN’s Sustainable Development Report (SDR), which measures global and country progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reveals both concerning and hopeful trends in our region and globally.
Some highlights from the SDR, and the performance of our region, include:
- SDG commitment is high globally. To date, 190 of the 193 UN Member States have participated in the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process, presenting their national plans and priorities for sustainable development. Over 75% of countries have submitted two or more VNRs, including Fiji, with two, and Samoa, with three. In contrast, Australia and New Zealand are among the minority of countries that have submitted only one VNR.
- European countries, specifically Nordic countries, continue to lead the SDG Index, while East and South Asian countries outperform other regions in SDG progress. In our region, countries have performed about the same as in previous years, with New Zealand at #28, Australia at #36 and Fiji at #63. One area where both Australia and New Zealand perform particularly poorly (at #142 and #143, respectively) is in international spillovers, largely due to unsustainable consumption.
- At the global level, SDG progress has stalled; none of the 17 Global Goals are on track, and only 17% of the SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030. Conflicts, structural vulnerabilities, and limited fiscal space continue to hinder progress, especially in emerging and developing economies (EMDEs). In our region, the report assessed that in New Zealand and Australia just over 50% of targets are achieved or on track, and in Fiji this is 38%.
- Multilateralism is essential for solving global sustainable development challenges. The SDR 2025’s Index of countries’ support to UN-based multilateralism (UN-Mi) ranks countries based on their support for and engagement with the UN system. Small Island Developing States lead in the index, with Barbados ranking first, and in our region Fiji ranks #16. New Zealand is #55, but Australia is far behind at #146!
- Financing the future: The Global Financial Architecture must be overhauled to fund global public goods and sustainable development – this is a priority of the upcoming 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (Ff4D)
The report contains a huge amount of other interesting, important, and useful information and insights, and we highly recommend further exploration!
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