Q&A with Åsa Persson on the SDG Summit and GSDR: charting the path forward to 2030

Transcript: I am Åsa Persson. I am Research Director and Deputy Director at the Stockholm Environment Institute, and I have also been contributing as a member of the Independent Group of Scientists to the Global Sustainable Development Report underpinning the SDG Summit this year.

So the SDG Summit coming up marks the halfway point in Agenda 2030, and it is an important moment to review progress and commit to new action to really advance on the goals. Unfortunately, we are not on track and the reports show that we are on track with only 10 or 20% of the goals. So it is a big, big task ahead for world leaders as they gather in New York.

Well, setting the scene, it has been a difficult process so far. We have very deep geopolitical divisions in the world: we have gone through major crises in the past few years, the pandemic, the Ukraine war. So it has been difficult for member states to agree. But I hope they take this opportunity and present new initiatives, new action, everything from SDG financing through to domestic policy initiatives and working more with science, as well as recognizing that SDG action takes place at many levels in society. Fortunately, it is not only in the UN General Assembly halls.

Transcript: Well I do hope that some impactful initiatives are presented at the SDG Summit that boost the Agenda 2030 for the second-half. But realistically it is only one meeting and really what matters is what happens after. And three things must happen: implementation, implementation, implementation.

Transcript: For SEI’s part, and to continue to try to be a relevant knowledge partner, it would be great if the SDG Summit could shed light on what are the bottlenecks, what are the key impediments that are facing national governments and how can we contribute knowledge? For example, is it more evidence on the costs and benefits of taking action, the economics of sustainable development?

Or is it how we overcome difficult goal conflicts? We tend to highlight a lot of synergies, but there are also goal conflicts. So how can we support governments deal with those in a systematic, science-based and responsible way?

Transcript: I think science can play a very important role and a bigger role as we enter the second-half of Agenda 2030. Actually, science on the SDGs has exploded. There is a strong interest, but there is still a gap between science and policymaking. So we need these communities to get closer, for example, by really applying all tools that have been developed, or models and scenario work.

A particular area also where science can do more is to understand international spillovers, because all countries are in this together. One country can’t make progress at the expense of another country. So that is a particular research area that we need more work on.

Transcript: I have been a member of the Independent Group of Scientists preparing the Global Sustainable Development Report this year. The Global Sustainable Development Report is a scientific report. It is prepared every four years.

Of course, there are many scientific reports focusing on the SDGs and how to advance them, but this one is a bit different in that member states actually requested the report to underpin each SDG Summit and it is also quite a consultative report. We have been meeting with a lot of stakeholders and we have been out in the regions of the world to understand regional and local perspectives.

So it was a privilege to be a member of the Independent Group of Scientists preparing this report, and I could focus on our research on SDG action, what are different actors doing in society? It was very inspiring also to travel to Malawi and meet local and regional stakeholders there and hear their perspectives.

One of the things we tried to highlight in the report is that there are many science-based tools available to, for example, look at SDG interlinkages. So in that context, SEI’s work with the SDG Synergies is a very interesting example to highlight to policymakers.

Transcript: So one of the key messages that we try and bring out is that transformation is possible and inevitable. What do we mean by that? Well, we do look at historical examples of really transformative action, what enabled it, what were the impediments that had to be overcome, and we show it is possible.

Secondly, we also say transformation is inevitable. And this is looking at the trends and, for example, climate change, biodiversity laws. We know that our societies will undergo a lot of change and the SDG framework is the best insurance that societies can have to really be in the driver’s seat of these transformation rather than be victims of it.

Transcript: Well, it was the UN member states that asked for the report. And still national governments have a lot of power of course to make decisions on the government budgets, on new laws, etcetera, really the bread and butter of what is needed to advance on the SDGs. So that is a primary audience, but I really do hope that business leaders and local government politicians read it.

Of course, other scientists and experts, because what we point out in the report is that there is an accountability gap in reaching the goal. So we really need this mobilization of a lot of actors to not just take action, but also demand action from their governments.