Monday
February 9
2026

Viewpoint: After 2030: Defending the Global Goals in an Age of Retreat

By Mitu Sengupta

As the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), commonly known as the Global Goals, approach their  2030 deadline, a verdict is taking hold: they have failed. Progress has been uneven; targets are off track; and in some domains—hunger, inequality, democratic governance—conditions have stagnated or worsened. Against a backdrop of war, climate crisis, and resurgent nationalism, these goals are increasingly dismissed as aspirational overreach: well-meaning, technocratic, and misaligned with contemporary political realities.

Photo courtesy of Dushyant Kumar.

Source: Observer Research Foundation (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Agriculture, Education, Energy, Environment, Finance, Health Care, Investing, Technology, WASH
Tags
climate change, development finance, failure, global development, SDGs