Fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals On a Quest for a Sustainable World

This book contains assessment of the progress, or the lack of it, in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through review of the assessments and of case studies, readers can draw lessons from the actions that could work to positively address the goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is designed to catalyze action in critical areas of importance to humanity and the planet. The effort to implement the SDGs, however, demands a sense of urgency in the face of environmental degradation, climate change, emerging conflicts, and growing inequality, among a number of other socio-economic problems. Five years after the launch of the 2030 Agenda, this book takes stock of how far the world has come and how we can position ourselves to achieve the global targets. The book is one of the first to assess how the implementation is impeded by the onset of COVID-19. It contains a special chapter on COVID-19 and the SDGs, while many thematic chapters on different SDGs also assess how COVID-19 adversely affects implementation, and what measures could be taken to minimize the adverse effects. This publication thus provides a fresh look at implementation of the SDGs highlighting impactful and creative actions that go beyond the business-as-usual development efforts. The volume reinforces this analysis with expert recommendations on how to support implementation efforts and achieve the SDGs through international and national strategies and the involvement of both the public and private sectors. The result is an indispensable textual tool for policy makers, academia, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as the public, as we march toward the 2030 deadline.

Foreword: James Gustave Speth Preface: Narinder Kakar, Vesselin Popovski and Nicholas Robinson I SDGs in CONTEXT A. Special Introduction: H.E. Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations B. Multilateralism Under Challenge: H.E. Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly C. COVID-19 and the SDGs: Joe Colombano and David Nabarro II IMPLEMENTING THE SDGs P E O P L E Chapter 1: Extreme Poverty Eradication: Conceptual Evolution and Policy Challenges Vesselin Popovski and Krassen Stanchev Chapter 2: Critical Assessment of the Latest Progress in Eradication of Extreme PovertyAisha Muhammed-Oyebod Chapter 3: Achieving Zero Hunger Using a Rights-based Approach to Food Security and Sustainable AgricultureSmita Narula Chapter 4: Health and Sustainable Development: Assessing Progress and Challenges Obijiofor Aginam Chapter 5: Gender Equality and Women Empowerment: Critical Assessment of the Implementation of SDG 5 Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode Chapter 6: Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation: A Long and Winding Road AheadZhou Di Chapter 7: Inclusive, Safe, and Resilient Cities and SettlementsDuan Cheche P R O S P E R I T Y Chapter 8: Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education: Why Are We Missing the Mark? Anna Shostya Chapter 9: Environmental EducationLye Lin-Heng Chapter 10: STEM Education: Environmental Restoration Science in New York HarborLauren Birney and Denise McNamara Chapter 11: Working Together Toward Sustained and Inclusive GrowthJoseph Morreale Chapter 12: The Road to Sustainable IndustrializationAnna Shostya Chapter 13: Reducing Inequality and Sharing Opportunities for AllVesselin Popovski P L A N E T Chapter 14: Accelerating the Energy Transformation Minoru Takada, David Koranyi, Richard Ottinger, Bo Fu, and Pianpian Wang Chapter 15: Toward Sustainable Consumption and ProductionAnna Shostya and Narinder Kakar Chapter 16: Missing Climate Action: Gaps in the Implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate ChangeVesselin Popovski Chapter 17: Climate Change and Small IslandsTessel van der Putte Chapter 18: Achieving SDG 14: Time for a Global Ocean ApproachKristina Gjerde and Marjo Vierros Chapter 19: Legal Tools in Combating Marine Pollution and Mitigating the Effects of AcidificationAnnick de Marffy-Mantuano Chapter 20: Marine Pollution: Maximizing Synergies for Transformative ChangesHiroko Muraki Gottlieb Chapter 21: Sustainable Use of Terrestrial Ecosystems and Protection of Biodiversity John G. Robinson and Federica Pesce Chapter 22: Restoration of Ecosystems and Land Degradation NeutralityBen Boer and Ian Hannam P E A C E Chapter 23: Peaceful Societies and Leaving No One BehindFatima Akilu Chapter 24: Nigeria’s Alternative Pathway to PeaceFatima Akilu P A R T N E R S H I P Chapter 25: Partnering for a Better World: Shift from Sustainable Finance to Financing Sustainable DevelopmentJoe Colombano, Marco Nicoli, and Aniket Shah Chapter 26: Private Corporations and Environmental Social Governance: An Uneven ResponseMark E. Meaney Chapter 27: From Means of Implementation to Implementation of Means: Realizing the SDGs as if they MatterMihir Kanade III INTEGRATING THE SDGs Chapter 28: Interlinkages between Climate Change, Economic Inequality, and Human MigrationJoseph Morreale Chapter 29 Indigenous Peoples, the SDGs, and International Environmental lawAnxhela Mile and Railla Puno Chapter 30: Codification and Implementation of Customary International LawJuanCarlos Sainz-Borgo Chapter 31: Integrating the SDGs through "One Health"Nicholas Robinson IV CONCLUSIONS Chapter 32: Pathways to 2030Narinder Kakar, Vesselin Popovski and Nicholas Robinson

Narinder Kakar is Director of the Sustainable Development Research Program and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, USA, and Permanent Observer to the UN for the University of Peace, Costa Rica. Vesselin Popovski is Professor and Vice Dean and Executive Director at the Center for the Study of United Nations, Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, India. Nicholas Robinson is University Professor for the Environment at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, USA.