To speed up on the SDGs, address inequality

The author contends that the stall in progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is due to a failure to address inequality. While 'policy coherence'—the alignment of mutually reinforcing policy actions—is often treated as a technical institutional tool, the document argues that managing the trade-offs and distributional effects of policies is a political act. Without a deliberate focus on reducing inequality, sustainable development policies risk benefiting some groups while marginalizing others, as seen in examples from Sri Lanka's fertilizer ban and Australia's renewable energy transition.

• Progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has stalled over the last three years, and currently, no country is on track to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• The current emphasis on 'policy coherence'—defined by the OECD as the promotion of mutually reinforcing policy actions—is insufficient because it is often treated as a technical institutional measure rather than a political act of managing trade-offs and deciding who bears the burdens of progress.
• Failure to prioritize inequality in policymaking can lead to severe negative outcomes, such as the 2021 ban on chemical fertilizers in Sri Lanka, which caused agricultural yields to plummet and pushed vulnerable farmers into poverty.
• In Australia, the transition to renewable energy demonstrates that even synergetic goals can create inequalities, including local opposition from Indigenous communities over cumulative project impacts and tensions caused by vested fossil fuel interests.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2023). To speed up on the SDGs, address inequality. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/to-speed-up-on-the-sdgs-address-inequality/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. To speed up on the SDGs, address inequality. 2023. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/to-speed-up-on-the-sdgs-address-inequality/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=To speed up on the SDGs, address inequality |date=1 June 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/to-speed-up-on-the-sdgs-address-inequality/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2023speed, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{To speed up on the SDGs, address inequality}}, publisher = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/to-speed-up-on-the-sdgs-address-inequality/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }