The US committed to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, but like other countries, it's struggling to make progress
These problems are made harder by the ways in which people, including elected representatives, often talk past each other.
- These problems are made harder by the ways in which people, including elected representatives, often talk past each other.
- This understanding – that economic, social and environmental well-being are intertwined – is the premise of sustainable development.
- In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals, known as the SDGs, with 169 measurable targets to be achieved by 2030.
- It’s a good opportunity for Americans to review their own progress because, as we see it, sustainable development is fundamentally American.
Environment, economy and health intertwined
- Goldman Sachs estimated the law would spur about US$3 trillion in renewable energy investment.
- The law has already been credited with creating 170,000 new jobs and leading to more than 270 new or expanded clean energy projects.
- The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals cover a broader range of environmental, social and economic issues, and there are indicators for assessing progress on each.
How is America doing?
- The U.S. ranked 39th out of 166 countries in a 2023 review of national efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
- The resulting 2023 book, Governing for Sustainability, provides some 500 U.S.-specific recommendations for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Health and access to quality health care loom large in many of the goals.
- This often occurs in communities of color and low income, and it can impede economic prosperity and development in these areas.
- This has been shown repeatedly as some developing nations backslide from democratic progress and prosperity to civil war and poverty.
Taking the reins
- Businesses, universities and other organizations, as well as individuals, are essential to help the country realize its environmental, health and climate goals, fair practices and living wages.
- Look at what our book recommends and what others are already doing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.