The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have proven to be major setbacks for sustainable development. The recently released “Sustainable Development Report 2022” demonstrates that, for the second year in a row, the world did not make progress towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2021, the world average SDG Index score already began to decline slightly, mostly due to poor performance on SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), especially in low-income countries. A second year of lost progress is regrettable, especially since the world had been making steady (if insufficient) progress on the SDGs between 2015, the year they were adopted, and 2019.
Unsurprisingly, the effects of the pandemic have been unequal across countries. In high-income countries, automatic stabilizers including government spending and low borrowing costs on international markets helped soften the impact of pandemic. In low-income countries there was less fiscal space to deal with the health crisis. Borrowing on international markets proved costly because of higher interest rates these countries faced on bond markets. Consequently, low-income countries’ performance on SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. This reversal in SDG progress is particularly alarming, given that from 2015-2019 lower-income countries were making more progress towards the SDGs than higher-income countries, showing some degree of convergence in outcomes between high-income countries and low-income countries.
2022 SDG INDEX RANKING AND SCORE
Nordic countries lead the rankings in this year’s SDG Index, followed by other European countries. Compared to other high-income countries, Nordic countries tend to score better on SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and on some measures of environmental sustainability. In general, high-income countries tend to score better on the SDG Index because of the strong socio-economic nature of the SDGs, which focus to a large extent on ending poverty and providing universal access to services, jobs & infrastructure (SDGs 1-9). Our assessment shows, however, that no country is on track to meet all SDGs by 2030. Indeed, the SDG dashboards show that high-income countries face major challenges on sustainable agriculture (SDG 2), environmental sustainability and biodiversity (SDGs 12-15).
Other notable trends can be observed in East and South Asia, which has progressed more than any other region on the SDGs since 2015. Cambodia and Bangladesh progressed the most of all countries worldwide, while Venezuela declined the most on SDG progress since 2015.
Countries with the greatest change in SDG Index score between 2015 and 2021 (annualized point changes)
Policies and economic activity have significant spillover effects, impacting outcomes in other countries. High-income countries generate negative spillovers which impede developing countries from meeting the SDGs. Rich countries have offshored manufacturing, leading to increased CO2 emissions abroad for goods that will be imported back to them. The SDG Index also captures profit shifting in rich countries, which erodes tax bases in lower-income countries.
To enrich the work on outcome data and statistics, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) also conducts an annual survey of government efforts towards the SDGs, including the national targets, strategies and monitoring systems that are essential for meeting the SDGs. Surveying these measures is important because of time lags in the production of outcome data. For the first time, this year’s report included a “pilot” score of Governments’ Commitment and Efforts for the SDGs. Unsurprisingly, the results revealed that policy efforts and commitments vary widely across countries. Among G20 member states, the United States, Brazil, and the Russian Federation show the least policy support for the SDGs. On the other hand, Nordic countries show high support for the SDGs, as do Argentina, Germany, Japan and Mexico. Other countries have mixed efforts; Romania, for example, has submitted at least one VNR, integrated the SDGs in its sectoral action plans, designed a national monitoring system and designated a lead unit in government responsible for SDG achievement. However, the SDGs do not appear to be integrated into the country’s national recovery plan or its national budget.
The data demonstrates without a doubt that the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have set back progress towards Agenda 2030. But, rather than scale back ambitions, this situation is an opportunity to rethink and accelerate them. The evidence of gaps show that the world needs a global plan to finance the SDGs, one that ensures lower-income countries have the resources necessary to invest in Agenda 2030.
There are several potential mechanisms that would increase financial flows to low-income countries. These include having high-income countries meet their pledge of .7% GDP towards Official Development Assistance. More resources could be channeled through multilateral development banks. Assessments of debt sustainability could be redesigned by rating agencies to account for both growth potential and capital needs in low-income countries. Finally, better debt management by developing countries would strengthen their creditworthiness. These mechanisms – and others explored in detail in the Sustainable Development Report 2022 – would help put low-income countries and the world back on track to meeting the SDGs by 2030.
Grayson Fuller is a Senior Data Analyst at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). He manages the data, coding, and statistical analyses for the Sustainable Development Report. He additionally coordinates the production of regional and subnational SDG monitoring reports. Grayson received his Master’s degree in Economic Development at Sciences Po Paris. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude.
The article was published in November 2022, in the bilingual yearbook Community Index Magazine no. 4. The publication can be accessed here: https://communityindex.ro/flip-book-2022/
