The Sustainable Development Goals as a Transformative Force?

Abstract

Key Insights frank biermann, thomas hickmann, carole-anne sé nit and leonie grob The scope of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals is unprecedented. So is the broad ambition expressed in this agreement. While the United Nations has rarely shied away from declaring far-reaching policy aspirations in the past, the 2030 Agenda sets the bar high-possibly higher than it has ever been before, with ambitious goals to end hunger and poverty while simultaneously reducing unsustainable consumption and protecting the natural foundations of life on earth. The Sustainable Development Goals also add new areas of policy ambition that have not been promoted in this form before, such as reducing global and national inequalities or promoting good governance, both now enshrined as stand-alone global policy goals. And yet we need to ask: Have these 17 goals helped to steer governments, civil society or corporations towards sustainable development? Have actors, from global to local levels, adjusted their course of action because of the global goals that the United Nations General Assembly set in 2015? If evidence on these questions were positive, this would support those who argue that 'governance through global goals' can work-that the global agreement of ambitious goals can steer policies and change behaviours even when they lack legal force, institutionalization and large funding and are not preceded by major reforms in political and economic structures (Kanie and Biermann 2017). If the goals had steered political systems and societies towards sustainability over the last few years, goal-setting as a global political strategy could be expanded. More goals could be set, the ambition further raised, and slowly but steadily the world would transition towards sustainability. Yet, is there evidence of such steering effects of the Sustainable Development Goals? What is the state of knowledge in the social sciences about this important question that is relevant for both global governance and global sustainability? Did the non-legally binding, often qualitative and ambiguous global goals and targets show normative force in shaping the policies of governments, 204