Scoping article: research frontiers on the governance of the Sustainable Development Goals

• Published in: Global sustainability Vol. 7
• Main Authors: Hickmann, Thomas, Biermann, Frank, Sénit, Carole-Anne, Sun, Yixian, Bexell, Magdalena, Bolton, Mitzi, Bornemann, Basil, Censoro, Jecel, Charles, Aurelie, Coy, Dominique, Dahlmann, Frederik, Elder, Mark, Fritzsche, Felicitas, Gehre Galvão, Thiago, Grainger-Brown, Jarrod, Inoue, Cristina, Jönsson, Kristina, Koloffon Rosas, Montserrat, Krellenberg, Kerstin, Moallemi, Enayat, Lobos Alva, Ivonne, Malekpour, Shirin, Ningrum, Dianty, Paneva, Aneliya, Partzsch, Lena, Ramiro, Rodrigo, Raven, Rob, Szedlacsek, Eszter, Thompson, John, van Driel, Melanie, Viani Damasceno, Jéssica, Webb, Robert, Weiland, Sabine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2024
• Subjects: 2030 Agenda; Annan samhällsvetenskap; Earth; Empirical analysis; goal-setting; governance; Green & Sustainable Science & Technology; implementation; Meta-analysis; Other Social Sciences; policies; Politics; Samhällsvetenskap; Social Sciences; Social Sciences Interdisciplinary; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap; United Nations; Working groups
• ISSN: 2059-4798; 2059-4798
• DOI: 10.1017/sus.2024.4

Abstract Non-Technical Summary This article takes stock of the 2030 Agenda and focuses on five governance areas. In a nutshell, we see a quite patchy and often primarily symbolic uptake of the global goals. Although some studies highlight individual success stories of actors and institutions to implement the goals, it remains unclear how such cases can be upscaled and develop a broader political impact to accelerate the global endeavor to achieve sustainable development. We hence raise concerns about the overall effectiveness of governance by goal-setting and raise the question of how we can make this mode of governance more effective. Technical Summary A recent meta-analysis on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has shown that these global goals are moving political processes forward only incrementally, with much variation across countries, sectors, and governance levels. Consequently, the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains uncertain. Against this backdrop, this article explores where and how incremental political changes are taking place due to the SDGs, and under what conditions these developments can bolster sustainability transformations up to 2030 and beyond. Our scoping review builds upon an online expert survey directed at the scholarly community of the ‘Earth System Governance Project’ and structured dialogues within the ‘Taskforce on the SDGs’ under this project. We identified five governance areas where some effects of the SDGs have been observable: (1) global governance, (2) national policy integration, (3) subnational initiatives, (4) private governance, and (5) education and learning for sustainable development. This article delves deeper into these governance areas and draws lessons to guide empirical research on the promises and pitfalls of accelerating SDG implementation. Social Media Summary As SDG implementation lags behind, this article explores 5 governance areas asking how to strengthen the global goals.