The world is failing to meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urgent action is needed to unlock progress and overcome the growing annual SDG funding gap, according to Force for Good’s latest report.
The fourth annual Capital as a Force for Good report – Shifting the Global Order Through the Mass Mobilization of Solutions – showed the funding gap for the UN SDGs has risen by 10% to as much as $136trn in total, due to the costs of global climate transition and development needs in the global south.
Further, only 16% of the goal’s 169 underlying targets are on track to be met by 2030, with 50% falling behind and 30% regressing below their 2015 levels when the UN SDGs were kicked off.
Therefore, the report outlined ‘Nine Big Ideas’ that, if scaled globally, could move SDG progress from less than 66% today, to nearly 90% by the end of the decade. These include climate transition frameworks, AI-enabled connectivity and universal digital financial services.
Firms that engaged with Force for Good for this year’s report include BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Nordea, Schroders and UBS.
“This report shows how the global order and the systems itself can be transformed by delivering solutions en-masse across the planet, engaging everyone in this endeavour. By leveraging the strengths of governments, private companies and NGOS, and mobilising the individual as an agent of change, we can create a sustainable, secure, and prosperous future,” said Ketan Patel, chair of the advisory council.
According to the report, the world’s failure to meet the goals is being driven by a series of interrelated economic, political, geopolitical and environmental shocks – including the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Gaza, the energy, cost-of-living and climate crises – interacting with one another to create a ‘polycrisis’ that is diverting attention and resources away from sustainable development.
A mass and fast rollout of the Nine Big Ideas, sponsored by appropriate champions across government, private sector or multi-lateral institutions, working with the United Nations, could “make a transformative impact on developing countries”, while benefitting the global economy, it goes on to say.
Meanwhile, the largest developing countries, particularly India, China, and Brazil, account for two-thirds of the world’s sustainable development potential. These countries represent the first wave of opportunity in a multi-wave project to realise the future faster.
