How synergistic barriers are affecting progress on SDGs

Source: This post has been created based on the article “How synergistic barriers are affecting progress on SDGs” published in The Hindu on 18^th October 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 Governance — Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

News: This article discusses the issue of the lack of synergy in SDG-related policies and the barriers to small-scale applications which has slowed the progress in attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What is the current status of accomplishing SDGs?

The recent SDG Summit recognized that the world could meet only 15% of its 169 targets that make up the 17 goals.

A 2023 report by UNCTAD estimated a $4 trillion investment gap in SDGs in developing countries. This large amount seems unachievable.

Considering this, world leaders have committed to an SDG stimulus of $500 billion annually.

What is the issue with SDG-related policies?

1) Lack of synergy:

5 types of synergies in an SDG-related policy includes — synergy arising from resource allocations; creation of enabling environments; co-benefits; cost-effectiveness; and saturation limits.

Concerns have been raised over the lack of synergistic action in the face of the indivisible and integrated nature of the 17 SDGs.

For example, in India, the push for renewable energy started with energy security, air pollution and climate commitments in focus. However, it hasn’t been able to leverage the health benefits arising from lower air pollution as an argument for investment in renewables.

2) Barrier for small-scale applications:

At the same time, the ambitious renewable energy targets themselves became a barrier for small-scale applications due to lack of coordination with respect to the goals.

For instance, primary health centres were neglected by the energy departments in terms of renewable energy generation, due to the small magnitude of their contribution.

Therefore, only recognising interlinks without a robust analysis and understanding of institutional barriers won’t yield the outcomes India desires.

What should be done?

Both assessing as well as addressing barriers identified should be done.

The country should strengthen the environment for synergistic action and make transparent both the opportunities and limits to synergies arising from SDG interventions.

A full cost estimation of alternative pathways with their synergistic opportunities and estimating India’s own vulnerability to climate-change impacts will be important.