Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Q&A: getting indigenous women's voices heard on the SDGs

Q&A: Women are driving the change we need

Fatima Denton describes how women's voices are becoming more prominent in policy circles but why more work is needed for this change to make a real difference to women on the ground

Public-private partnerships and aid's 'private turn': addressing the investment law dimensions

Public-private partnerships are emerging as important vehicles for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Their legal and financial implications must be carefully considered

Making the link between the SDGs and natural capital accounting

There is a risk that policymakers working on the Sustainable Development Goals see the 17 goals as 17 separate issues and fail to integrate efforts to achieve them. Rosalind Goodrich reports on a forum that looked at how natural capital accounting can encourage an integrated approach to achieving the SDGs and provide useful information for policy decisions

Animations: explaining the SDGs in three minutes

The wide-reaching agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals was brought to life in an animation commissioned by IIED

Engaging for change – refreshing our strategy for the next two years

IIED's new strategy update will sharpen our focus on how we tackle the challenges of climate action, global social justice and sustainable development over the next two years

Investing in natural capital to deliver the SDGs and reduce poverty

With the meeting of the UN High-level Political Forum on sustainable development under way, Paul Steele discusses how natural capital can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and lift the poorest out of poverty

Sustainable development in the UK – an issue for party manifestos?

A cross-party report finds the UK government is falling behind on its commitment to sustainability but the election provides an opportunity for all parties to show the way forward.

Monitoring, evaluation and learning capacity development

IIED values monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) as an important tool for research and influence to foster sustainable development. We work with NGOs, communities, and local and national authorities to enhance their institutional MEL capacities

IIED's work on the post-2015 agenda

It took three years of international negotiations to agree the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the agenda for 2030. The scope and ambition of the SDGs resonate with IIED's work for a fairer and greener world

SDGs: from adopted framework to political force for change

One year on from the Sustainable Development Goals coming into effect, IIED asks whether the international consensus underpinning the goals is strong enough to drive the shift from vision to creating real political change

Fighting for the future – sustainable development and the battle for ideas in 2017

Following the landmark global agreements on sustainable development sealed in 2015, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change, the end of 2016 prompted the question: can the world sustain this hard-fought momentum?

Money where it matters: how to deliver finance to the local level

At an IIED-hosted event, financiers, decision makers, practitioners and researchers tackled three key questions on how to get climate finance to where it's needed most

Making World Bank aid sustainable

Clare Shakya sets out seven ways the World Bank can make its development aid sustainable and inclusive.

Are citizens being left behind by India's approach to the SDGs?

Although India has taken some important steps to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, there is still not enough participation in developing plans and not enough information has reached citizens

Why do we ignore the local processes that deliver global goals in urban areas?

International agencies must support local processes if we are to achieve ambitious global goals – so benefits reach urban communities on the ground whose needs these goals are set up to meet

Q&A: A pragmatic approach

Chime Wangdi from Bhutan explains how her country's philosophy of seeking Gross National Happiness aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals

Poverty Environment Partnership issues call to action on 2030 Agenda

A new report urges structural reforms to end extreme poverty and tackle climate change and the loss of environmental assets during the next 15 years

Untangling the net: what does 'leave no one behind' mean for fishers?

The ambition of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their 169 targets, according to the introductory text, is to 'leave no one behind'. But what does it mean in practice? This blog aims to explain this by focusing on the small-scale fishery sector in a developing country – specifically using the case of a fishing community in the Lower Meghna Basin in Bangladesh

2016 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

IIED was involved in three side events at the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development from 11-20 July, 2016

Navigating uncharted waters: the EU referendum, the spirit of Paris, and the SDGs

IIED's director Andrew Norton argues that a spirit of internationalism must live on in the UK following the seismic shock of Brexit

Painting a new picture of development

Can the Sustainable Development Goals trigger a new approach to development in the world's Least Developed Countries? A dialogue event explored the potential

Q&A: LDC Independent Expert Group chair on the SDGs and tackling inequality

Former Prime Minister of Haiti Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis discusses the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals and reducing inequalities related to gender, trade and climate change

In the world's poorest countries, cities could be the Sustainable Development Goals test

Ahead of next week's dialogue event on the challenges and opportunities posed to Least Developed Countries by the Sustainable Development Goals, Gordon McGranahan examines how cities and urbanisation can contribute to attaining development goals.

Q&A: A shift in mindset for the LDCs

The Least Developed Countries need a new way of thinking if they are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, says Saleemul Huq

Q&A: Linking low-carbon pathways with the SDGs

Youba Sokona discusses the challenges and opportunities around low-carbon development in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals

Q&A: Making the SDG agenda work for LDCs

Farah Kabir discusses how the Least Developed Countries have been driving their own sustainable development, and outlines what's needed for these vulnerable countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

Reimagining development in the LDCs: what role for the SDGs?

The challenges and opportunities that the Sustainable Development Goals create for Least Developed Countries were discussed at an event in London in June

Improved water access unaffordable for urban poor

On World Water Day, a new briefing shows that the urban poor are missing out on the benefits of 'improved' water services because the costs are too high

Where are the local indicators for the SDGs?

As discussions on the SDG indicators are under way in New York, David Satterthwaite asks where are the indicators that report on local needs and support local action in urban areas

Does "leave no-one behind" risk too narrow a focus?

"Leave no-one behind" has become a key phrase in interpreting the Sustainable Development Goals, but we should think carefully about what it implies

What can Southern NGOs teach us about disruptive change?

Interviews with Southern NGOs reveal valuable lessons in how to see disruptive change as a force for good – and highlight how donors and Northern partners can provide more effective support

What's happening to aid to the Least Developed Countries?

New figures show an overall decline in aid to the world's Least Developed Countries, yet commitments made in Paris and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda call for more aid, not less

Food demand and forests in sub-Saharan Africa

With the support of country partners, IIED is conducting research to better understand existing and future competition and trade-offs between food production and natural forests, and the implications for land use policies in sub-Saharan Africa

The SDGs speak and we like what we hear

Smallholder and community carbon projects have shown they can deliver local benefits and promote climate resilience. Now the Plan Vivo Standard and its partners, representing the oldest ethical carbon standard, have pledged their commitment to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals

The SDGs don't adequately spell out cities' role in implementation

The new development framework lays out a groundbreaking vision on the common good. But it doesn't say enough about how this is to be achieved, by whom and with what funding

Mountain communities rebuild diverse, climate-resilient crops

The Sustainable Development Goals have been agreed, but for mountain communities around the world this action can't come quickly enough. Climate change is already here, threatening their food security, nutrition and livelihoods

Why listen to and support the most vulnerable?

Four reasons why the voices of the most vulnerable must be heard and prioritised if we are to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals leave no one behind

Global goals, global audience – how well did we score?

IIED's animation about the Sustainable Development Goals took us into new territory – but what were we trying to achieve?

Sustainable goals for a sustainable green economy

The Sustainable Development Goals set the priorities for a more sustainable, green economy, but that means that how we assess and measure that economy needs to change, argues Oliver Greenfield

The SDGs and 'a new urban agenda'?

If the world delivers on the Sustainable Development Goals, will IIED be out of a job? The SDGs may have a lot to say about what needs to be achieved but not about how, by whom and with what funding and support. There is hardly any mention of local government and local civil society. But you cannot meet the commitments listed above or indeed most of the other goals and targets in urban areas without their support.

Global goals for sustainable development

The final text of the Sustainable Development Goals marks an important advance for the international development community, but enormous challenges still lie ahead

A step change in our approach to development

IIED's chief economist Paul Steele says the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise the crucial challenge of achieving zero poverty and zero net emissions

Understanding the SDGs: Tom Bigg

In the first of a series of video interviews with IIED experts working on issues relating to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Strategy and Learning Group director Tom Bigg highlights the importance of their universality

Least Developed Countries Independent Expert Group

The Least Developed Countries Independent Expert Group is an informal group of individuals with a deep commitment to sustainable development and an understanding of the challenges to achieving it in the world's poorest countries

It's the thought that counts: how can Addis deliver for the world’s poorest?

When the world's leaders meet in Addis to decide how they fund the SDGs, the real question is whether this money will support the world's poorest to shape their own futures

Putting ourselves out of business – forward planning for the PEP

The 20th Poverty Environment Partnership (PEP) meeting focused on the opportunities for an integrated approach to development as embraced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but recognised that key challenges still remain to make implementation a reality

Walking along the road to Paris

Much is at stake in 2015 – IIED's director Camilla Toulmin looks at how far we have come, the obstacles that remain, and what we need to do if we are to bring about change

Animating the universal ambition of the SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs) aspirational, wide-reaching agenda for change is brought to life in a new animation, commissioned by IIED

Taking an integrated approach to eliminating poverty and sustaining natural resources

As the UNDP-UNEP Poverty Environment Initiative celebrates its 10th anniversary in Edinburgh, guest blogger Michael Stanley-Jones explains how its integrated approach is key for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Integration: will the UN Forum on Forests lead the way?

Ahead of the UN Forum on Forests meeting in New York, IIED’s Jonathan Reeves argues that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – particularly for forests – depends upon integration and compromise and asks whether the political will exists to lay aside egos and break down institutional barriers

Securing indigenous and community land rights in the future we want

Explicit inclusion of secure land rights for local communities and indigenous peoples is key to "leaving no one behind" in global Sustainable Development Goals, writes Jenny Springer of Rights and Resources Initiative

The right to sustainable development: what the post-2015 agenda declaration should say – but won't

Negotiations underway this week will focus on the declaration text for the Sustainable Development Goals. Jonathan Reeves suggests this is an ideal opportunity to raise global ambition – but says the signs are not good

The glass is half full: in 2015 we need to demand that our leaders deliver

As leaders from politics, business and civil society gather in the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum, IIED's chief economist argues that "hope" is the most scarce resource

Can the road to Paris lead to the road to dignity?

After climate negotiations drew to a close in Lima, Jonathan Reeves reflects on the UN Secretary General's synthesis report on the post-2015 agenda and asks whether the "road to dignity" will take us to the right destination.

Zero-zero, dolphins and conversations for change

IIED director Camilla Toulmin reflects on her trip to Lima for the COP20 Development and Climate Days

The IPCC and an urbanising planet

The IPCC's Fifth Assessment gets the importance of understanding and acting on urbanisation

Ebola – what must we learn?

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is launching an unprecedented appeal in response to the Ebola crisis, but what lessons must we learn if we are to effectively and equitably tackle future shocks of this scale?

A week that may change the world

It's been a busy week for IIED senior fellow Saleemul Huq, with plenty of action unfolding on the climate change front in New York. Here he provides an inside look into what transpired, and some reflections on how the recent events may impact upcoming climate negotiations

Well-financed climate change action must be central to the post-2015 goals

Climate change and sustainable development are inextricably linked. It is critical, therefore, that the post-2015 sustainable development agenda fully embeds climate change

LDC experts to share ideas on building productive capacity

How can Least Developed Countries (LDCs) progress so they are no longer held back by extreme poverty? A conference next week in Cotonou, Benin, will address this issue, bringing together ministers and experts from LDCs, along with UN representatives and development experts.

Can we change the goals of development without changing the implementers?

The latest draft of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets contains a stunning list of commitments, but fails to address how we will achieve them.

If we don't count the poor, the poor don't count

Research in several countries shows how governments and development agencies undercount the scale and depth of urban poverty

Making gender equality a global and local reality

The UNFCCC has taken significant steps to promote women's increased participation in the global climate change negotiations process. It's a gain for gender equality, but gaps remain

Ensuring an Energy Sustainable Development Goal delivers for poor people and the planet

In late February, discussions over the post-2015 development agenda reached a milestone. The co-Chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG), the body tasked with preparing a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposal for consideration by the UN General Assembly in September 2014, issued a "Focus Areas Document".

Transforming growth for least developed countries

A focus on four key priorities could help Least Developed Country governments lift their citizens out of poverty by generating inclusive growth

Saving the forests for last – in the hope, at last, of saving the forests

The Sustainable Development Goals must not only mention saving the world's forests, but also explain how to do this.

Ten ways to ensure there are plenty more fish in the sea

Sustainable fisheries must be central to the new global development goals that all nations will pursue from 2015, says Essam Yassin Mohammed.

Sustainable development requires an infusion of love

Next year, new Sustainable Development Goals will set our trajectory into an increasingly uncertain future. But country delegations are arguing over the wrong thing

New international development goals: score or miss?

The UN Secretary General's High-Level Panel has published their set of recommendations for international development. What is the verdict? How do they ‘score’?

Influencing the outcomes at Rio+20

IIED is playing an important role in getting government representatives and environmentalists together at our