Projecting progress: reaching the SDGs by 2030

Without increased effort, none of the 17 proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be met, according to a report by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). However, if countries emulate the performance of the top-performing countries “there is much to be hopeful about," it says. The report recommends early action to raise national ambitions, plan implementation and strengthen the focus on equity. Titled ‘Projecting Progress: Reaching the SDGs by 2030,' the report shows where the world will be in 2030 if current trends continue. A scorecard on the SDGs uses one target per Goal to evaluate how near the target will be to completion in 2030. The targets are classified as: reform; revolution; and reversal. The most positive projects are those on ending extreme poverty, halting deforestation and economic growth in least developed countries (LDCs). ODI's analysis finds that the world is on course to progress more than halfway to each of these targets by 2030. The report identifies nine targets where "revolution" is needed to meet the Goals: ending hunger; reducing maternal mortality; achieving secondary school completion; increasing access to sanitation; increasing access to energy (electricity); ending child marriage; reducing violent deaths; promoting industrialization in LDCs; and increasing domestic resource mobilization (DRM). Areas that will require reversal in their trajectories include combating climate change, protecting marine environments, reducing waste, limiting slum populations and reducing inequality.