Ten years after its adoption, Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are increasingly on the defensive. While poverty, hunger and inequality are once again rising worldwide, the climate crisis is intensifying and violent conflicts have reached record levels, public and political debates are dominated by geopolitical crises, the growing shift to the right and security concerns. At the same time, rejection or ignorance of the global sustainability agenda is growing, and the development discourse between the Global North and South is increasingly drifting apart.
This briefing analyses the political and structural causes behind the lack of progress in implementing the SDGs and discusses different options for an effective “Beyond 2030 Agenda”, from questions of development financing and international cooperation to a fundamental debate about the current understanding of development policy.
This publication is the final publication by our former director Jens Martens, who passed away in May 2026. We publish it in grateful memory of his longstanding commitment to global justice and sustainable development.
