2017/07/11 by Mathis Wackernagel, Laurel Hanscom, David Lin · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Energy · #Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy #Climate Change Policy and Economics #Global Energy and Sustainability Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.3389/fenrg.2017.00018
openalex publication_date 2017/07/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the most significant global effort so far to advance global sustainable development. Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) released an SDG index to assess countries’ average performance on SDGs. Ranking high on the SDG index strongly correlates with high per person demand on nature (or “Footprints”), and low ranking with low Footprints, making evident that the SDGs as expressed today vastly underperform on sustainability. Such underperformance is anti-poor because lowest-income people exposed to resource insecurity will lack the financial means to shield themselves from the consequences. Given the significance of the SDGs for guiding development, rigorous accounting is essential for making them consistent with the goals of sustainable development: thriving within the means of planet Earth.