This position note was published in September 2019 to coincide with the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold and transformative decisions to put an end to extreme poverty, inequality and address environmental challenges by 2030.
Of the global goals’ 93 environment-related targets, 22 per cent are likely to be met thanks to steady progress over the past five years, 62 per cent cannot be measured due to lack of data and 16 per cent will not be met at the current pace.
Action to reduce pollution, improve resource efficiency and better protect the environment must urgently increase in scale and speed if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the sustainability of our planet.
The Sustainable Development Goals Summit will be critical in determining what actions need to be taken to accelerate the pace and galvanize efforts from governments, the private sector, civil society and individuals towards their achievement.
Role of the UN Environment Programme
The environment underlies each one of the global goals, demonstrating how the interdependency between humans and nature is at the core of sustainable development. As the world’s leading authority on environment, UNEP plays a key role in supporting progress for achieving the goals.
There are 17 sustainable development goals, 169 targets and 244 indicators, which are used to track overall progress, identify gaps and provide evidence for policy and action.
Each indicator has been assigned to a ‘custodian agency’ and UNEP is the custodian for 26 indicators spanning 6 goals:
SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation
SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
SDG 14: Life below water
SDG 15: Life on land
SDG 17: Partnership for the goals
UNEP provides data and analysis on environmental indicators to the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators for the Secretary-General’s Report on global progress towards the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda.
Way forward
To help countries speed up progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, UNEP, in partnership with other United Nations entities and beyond, will continue to ensure the full integration of the environmental dimension in national policies and investments, provide and share data and statistics on environmental indicators and support countries in monitoring the environment.
Related links
Measuring Progress: Towards Achieving the Environmental Dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals
Measuring Progress Interactive
For more information contact: Wondwosen Asnake or Angela Mwandia
