Five priorities for the UN Sustainable Development Goals

This week, the United Nations is deliberating in New York how to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that it will launch formally in September. Science must be at the heart of its plans.

 

The SDGs place greater demands on the scientific community than did the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which they replace1. Addressing climate change, renewable energy, food, health and water provision requires coordinated global monitoring and modelling of many factors — social, economic and environmental.

 

Much remains to be done: the 17 goals comprise 169 targets, 91 of which need to be specified in more detail. Metrics need to be developed to measure progress towards the targets on local, national, regional and global levels and across sectors. Monitoring and evaluation procedures and standards need to be set up.

Read More: Policy: Five priorities for the UN Sustainable Development Goals : Nature News & Comment.