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The agreement on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a tremendous achievement. The goals represent an advance on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by aiming to eliminate poverty, by including an equality goal and by bringing sustainability into the agenda. Nonetheless, three outstanding issues remain. First, national ownership is likely to be a problem. The centrally agreed goals need to be interpreted nationally to allow for national priorities and circumstances and to secure national commitment to them. Secondly, the goals are silent on the underlying economic structures needed to realize some of the goals, particularly of reducing inequality. Existing economic structures and policies are likely to result in a move away from achievement of this goal. Thirdly, most important, there is not true integration of the sustainability and economic goals. The goal of promoting economic growth needs to be seriously qualified for middle and high income countries, if the sustainability objectives – particularly on carbon emissions – are to be realized. This requires either that economic growth should only be promoted if sustainability can be assured, or that growth is redefined as 'green growth' so that promoting economic growth and achieving sustainability become consistent.
Frances Stewart (Wed,) studied this question.