presentation image of children holding signs of each of the 17 development goals

Ten years to transform our world

The Sustainable Development Goals — our shared vision to end poverty, rescue the planet and build a peaceful world — are gaining global momentum.

With just 10 years to go, an ambitious global effort is underway to deliver the 2030 promise—by mobilizing more governments, civil society, businesses and calling on all people to make the Global Goals their own.

Decade of Action to deliver the Global Goals

Today, progress is being made in many places, but, overall, action to meet the Goals is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required. 2020 needs to usher in a decade of ambitious action to deliver the Goals by 2030.

The Decade of Action calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to all the world’s biggest challenges — ranging from poverty and gender to climate change, inequality and closing the finance gap.

In September 2019, the UN Secretary-General called on all sectors of society to mobilize for a decade of action on three levels: global action to secure greater leadership, more resources and smarter solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals; local action embedding the needed transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks of governments, cities and local authorities; and people action, including by youth, civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, academia and other stakeholders, to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for the required transformations.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on all 17 SDGs has shown that what began as a health crisis has quickly become a human and socio-economic crisis. While the crisis is imperiling progress towards the SDGs, it also makes their achievement all the more urgent and necessary. It is essential that recent gains are protected as much as possible. A transformative recovery from COVID- 19 should be pursued, one that addresses the crisis, reduces risks from future potential crises and relaunched the implementation efforts to deliver the 2030 Agenda and SDGs during the Decade of Action.

The Decade of Action will…

Mobilize everyone, everywhere

We will work to create an unstoppable force linked to the Global Goals.

We will identify risks to ensure no one is left behind.

This requires each of us to take action—individually and collectively, locally and globally.

Demand urgency and ambition

We must be the generation to end extreme poverty, win the race against climate change and conquer injustice and gender inequality.

We will hold leaders to account and point to what is possible when action delivers results.

Supercharge ideas to solutions

We will shine a light on solutions that expand access and demonstrate the possibilities of ideas.

We will drive sustainable innovation, financial investments and technology—while making space in our communities and cities for young people to lead.

Why we are hopeful

The spirit of human endeavor has demonstrated our shared ability to deliver the extraordinary. The 2030 Agenda is our roadmap for the world we all want. The Global Goals are our best hope—for people, for planet, for prosperity, for peace and for partnerships.

It’s time to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN75

To mark its 75th anniversary in 2020, the United Nations has launched the biggest-ever global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want. To join the conversation, visit our website: www.un.org/en/un75

Tackling issues such as the climate crisis, inequality, new patterns of violence and the major changes we are seeing in population and technology in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – our shared vision for the future – will require cooperation across borders, sectors and generations.

Through these conversations, the UN aims to build a global vision of 2045 – its centenary – increase understanding of the threats to that future, and support enhanced international cooperation to realise that vision.

SDG Good PracticesSDG Good Practices logo

Five years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, many governments, UN entities, international and regional organizations and other stakeholders have initiated evidence-based stock-taking of progress.

The Department of Economic and Social Affairs showcases these success stories and more here.

SDG Acceleration Actions logoSDG Acceleration Actions

SDG Acceleration Actions are initiatives voluntarily undertaken to accelerate SDG implementation by key stakeholder groups – governments, businesses, civil society organizations and others – individually or in partnership. More than 150 actions have been registered and vetted by UN DESA since the platform’s launch in 2019. These include the announcements of new or enhanced policies and programmes, new financing for projects related to SDG implementation. You can browse them here.

The Decade of Evaluation for Action

The Decade of Evaluation for Action, also the Eval4Action campaign, calls upon all actors, everywhere to accelerate the delivery of Sustainable Development Goals, by advocating for stronger evaluation capacities and evidence-based policies. Read more here.