SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ON THE
POLITICAL IMPACT OF THE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
GOALS
In 2015, the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable
Development
Goals
as
the
central
normative
framework for sustainable development worldwide.
The efectiveness of governing by such broad global
goals, however, remains uncertain, and we lack
comprehensive meta-studies that assess the political
impact of the goals across countries and globally. We
present here condensed evidence from an analysis of
over 3,000 scientifc studies on the Sustainable
Development Goals published between 2016 and April
2021. Our fndings suggests that the goals have had
some political impact on institutions and policies, from
local to global governance. This impact has been
largely discursive, afecting the way actors understand
and communicate about sustainable development.
More profound normative and institutional impact,
from legislative action to changing resource allocation,
remains rare. We conclude that the scientifc evidence
suggests only limited transformative political impact of
the Sustainable Development Goals thus far.
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
The barriers to environmental sustainability are not
only technical. They are also political. Passing laws that
lower emissions, creating incentives for technological
innovation, and striking alliances and treaties across
countries — all require political agreements. Progress
on
environmental
sustainability
requires
understanding politics. It requires an understanding of
political institutions and political actors, and of how
issues of sustainability evolve within political systems.
This conference showcased research at the intersection
of politics and the environment, and in this podcast
episode we describe some of what was learned.
P L AY V I D E O