Global Sustainable Development Report, 2022

Why in the News?

Recently, the UN SDSN released the Global Sustainable Development Report, 2022.

Peace, diplomacy, and international cooperation are fundamental conditions for the world to progress on the SDGs towards 2030 and beyond
For the second year in a row, the world is no longer making progress on the SDGs. A global plan to finance the SDGs is urgently needed
At mid-point on the way to 2030, policy efforts and commitments supporting the SDGs vary significantly across countries, including among G20 countries
2023 Heads of States SDG Summit should be an opportunity to re-commit to this Agenda
Rich countries generate negative international spillovers notably through unsustainable consumption; Europe is taking action
The COVID-19 pandemic forced data providers to innovate and build new forms of partnerships; these should be leveraged and scaled up to promote SDG impacts by 2030 and beyond
Science, technological innovations and data systems can help identify solutions in times of crisis and can provide decisive contributions to address the major challenges of our times
These require increased and prolonged investments in statistical capacities, R&D, and education and skills

The 2022 SDG Index is topped by Finland, followed by three Nordic countries –Denmark, Sweden and Norway
East and South Asia is the region that progressed most on the SDGs since their adoption in 2015
Bangladesh and Cambodia are the two countries that progressed most on the SDGs since 2015
By contrast Venezuela has declined the most on the SDG Index since their adoption in 2015

India’s rank in the global Sustainable Development Report, 2022 has slipped for the third consecutive year
India has been ranked 121 in the index with the SDG index score of 60.3. It had ranked 117 in 2020 and 120 in 2021
The country continues to face major challenges in achieving 11 of the 17 SDGs, which has pushed down its global ranking on SDG preparedness
The progress in around 10 of these goals is similar to those in 2021
These include SDG 2 on ending hunger, SDG 3 on good health and well-being and SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation
But ensuring decent work (SDG 8) has become more challenging
According to the report, India is on track to achieving SDG 13 on climate action
This decline in India’s overall performance is primarily due to eight states — Bihar, Telangana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand — whose scores have dipped under SDG 13 in the two years

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity

It is a global assessment of countries’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
It is published by a group of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
SDSN was launched in 2012 to mobilize global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical problem-solving for sustainable development and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Following their adoption, SDSN is now committed to supporting the implementation of the SDGs at national and international levels
Ranking: Countries are ranked by their overall score
The overall score measures the total progress towards achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
Since 2015, the report has been tracking and ranking the performance of 163 UN member states on SDGs