Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Returning to core principles to advance the 2030 Agenda

  • Comment
  • Published:

From Nature Sustainability

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Principles underpinning the 2030 Agenda — indivisibility, integration and universality — can safeguard against inaction or unsustainable practices but have not yet come into effect. We propose measures to strengthen alignment with them as the world gears up to accelerate implementation at the 2023 SDG Summit.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Illustration of SDG interlinkages and the goals’ systemic impact.

References

  1. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015); https://go.nature.com/3CsPxqn

  2. Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet. Report of the Secretary-General (United Nations, 2023); https://go.nature.com/3YqQXec

  3. Measuring Progress: Water-related ecosystems and the SDGs (UNEP, 2023); https://go.nature.com/3KAGebv

  4. SEI and CEEW. Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future (Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022); https://doi.org/10.51414/sei2022.011

  5. Breuer, A., Malerba, D., Srigiri, S. & Balasubramanian, P. (eds) Governing the Interlinkages between the SDGs: Approaches, Opportunities and Challenges (Routledge, 2022).

  6. Biermann, F. et al. Nat. Sustain. 5, 795–800 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Shawoo, Z., Maltais, A., Dzebo, A. & Pickering, J. Environ. Policy Govern. 33, 339–350 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Nilsson, M. & Persson, Å. Environ. Sci. Policy 78, 36–39 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2022 (United Nations, 2022); https://go.nature.com/3s5J0PJ

  10. Building blocks out of the crisis: The UN’s SDG Stimulus Plan (UNDP, 2023); https://go.nature.com/3YqQOaC

  11. High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB). A Breakthrough for People and Planet: Effective and Inclusive Global Governance for Today and the Future (United Nations University, 2023); https://go.nature.com/3KACKWy

  12. 2021 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2021); https://go.nature.com/3DN7tM3

  13. 2022 Voluntary National Reviews Synthesis Report (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2022); https://go.nature.com/3s1yIjw

  14. Bennich, T., Weitz, N. & Carlsen, H. Sci. Total Environ. 728, 138405 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Di Lucia, L., Slade, R. & Khan, J. Nat. Sustain. 5, 131–138 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Allen, C., Metternicht, G. & Wiedmann, T. Sustain. Dev. 29, 635–652 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Sachs, J. D., Kroll, C., Lafortune, G., Fuller, G. & Woelm, F. Sustainable Development Report 2022 (Cambridge University Press, 2022); https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009210058

  18. Fanning, A. L., O’Neill, D. W., Hickel, J. & Roux, N. Nat. Sustain. 5, 26–36 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Dawes, J. H. P. Sustain. Dev. 28, 101–117 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Pham-Truffert, M., Metz, F., Fischer, M., Rueff, H. & Messerli, P. Sustain. Dev. 28, 1236–1250 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Liu, J. Natl Sci. Rev. 10, nwad090 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Weitz, N., Carlsen, H., Nilsson, M. & Skånberg, K. Sustain. Sci. 13, 531–548 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank L. Järnberg for comments on earlier versions of this paper. This work was partially funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS) grant number 2022-02643, and Swedish foundation for strategic environmental research (MISTRA) grant number 2016/11.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Nina Weitz, Henrik Carlsen, Therese Bennich, Måns Nilsson & Åsa Persson

  2. Department of Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Åsa Persson

Authors
  1. Nina Weitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Henrik Carlsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Therese Bennich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Måns Nilsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Åsa Persson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nina Weitz.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Sustainability thanks Luis Roman Carrasco and Sander Chan for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Weitz, N., Carlsen, H., Bennich, T. et al. Returning to core principles to advance the 2030 Agenda. Nat Sustain 6, 1145–1148 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01212-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01212-7

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation