A Guide to SDG Interactions: From Science to Implementation

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development wasadopted in September 2015. It is underpinned by 17 Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs) and 169 targets. National policy- makers now face the challenge of implementing this indivisible agenda and achieving progress across the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development world- wide. As the process moves towards implementation, there is a need to address the scope and systemic nature of the 2030 Agenda and the urgency of the challenges.

This requires a wide range of tools and science-based analysis to navigate that complexity and to realise the ambition. This report explores the nature of interlinkages between the sdgs. It is based on the premise that a science-informed analysis of interactions across sdg domains – which is currently lacking – can support more coherent and effective decisionmaking, and better facilitate follow-up and monitoring of progress. Understanding possible trade-offs as well as synergistic relations between the different sdgs is crucial for achieving long-lasting sustainable development outcomes. A key objective of the scoring approach described here is to stimulate more science-policy dialogue on the importance of interactions, to provide a starting point for policy-makers and other stakeholders to set their priorities and implementation strategies, and to engage the policy community in further knowledge developments in this field.

Publications
A Guide to SDG Interactions: From Science to Implementation