by Ewa Kochańska

In September of 2019, the United Nations released its latest edition of the Global Sustainable Development Report, titled "The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development."

The objective of the report, which gathered scientific research from across the globe to come up with concrete strategies for sustainable growth transformation, is not to produce new evidence but rather to advise what actions must be taken to responsibly achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Its core message is that in order to fulfil the SDGs, it is essential to separate economic advancement from ecological deterioration and to halt inequality when it comes to wealth, income, gender, health, and access to opportunities.

Additionally, the UN goals must be pursued in a coordinated way to ensure that achievements in different geographic areas don't cancel each other or worse yet, cause ecological or human-factor damage.

Ultimately, the authors warn that the sluggish approach to implementation of UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda should serve as a warning "and even sound the alarm for the international community" and mobilise countries to a more urgent, well-thought-out action in SDGs application.

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