Welcome to the first edition of our In Case You Missed It monthly review.

At the SDG Knowledge Hub, we’ve tracked efforts to advance the global plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity since its inception in 2015. Last year at the Summit of the Future, countries committed to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, pledging a renewed commitment to multilateralism.

We know it’s hard to follow all these commitments, however. Each country and region has its own approach to the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. Plus the pace of global news in 2025 has been “intense” to put it mildly.

ICYMI is our chance to pause and reflect. The once-a-month long read will bring together highlights from our recent stories, draw out links and trends, and help you make sense of it all. So: kick off your shoes, curl up in your favorite chair with a beverage of your choice, and dig in for some motivation. After all, there are many reasons for optimism. For one, “people are much kinder than we expect.”

Getting HLPF ready

Preparations are in full swing for the July session of the 2025 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The co-facilitators of the negotiations on the HLPF outcome document have circulated a “zero draft” ministerial declaration, based on the elements paper shared last month and delegations’ interventions during the two rounds of informal consultations and inputs submitted in writing. The co-facilitators also circulated a revised indicative timeline for the remainder of the talks.

Regional inputs are also coming in. Every year, five regional forums on sustainable development (RFSDs) meet in preparation for the HLPF. In April, RFSDs convened in Africa, the Arab region, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region. The meetings took stock of SDG progress, highlighted regional priorities, explored solutions to accelerate the SDGs while leaving no one behind, and discussed policies and innovations that can drive the transformation towards sustainability. The Asia-Pacific forum convened in March.

To inform the RFSD deliberations, each of the UN’s five regional commissions – the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), UNECE, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) – produces an annual regional progress report, highlighting SDG implementations gains, assessing gaps, and proposing solutions to accelerate the needed transformations. Key findings included:

  • UNECE: “almost no change” in SDG progress since the previous two years;
  • ESCWA: uneven progress across countries and targets while acknowledging “notable gains” in sanitation and health; 
  • ECLAC: recommended “a comprehensive approach that prioritizes effective governance, strengthens institutional capacity and enables the active and meaningful participation of all development stakeholders;” and
  • ESCAP: called for a whole-of-society approach and investments in the digital transformation of countries’ statistical systems. 

The UNECA report is forthcoming.

Follow up and prep for major summits

The 2024 Pact for the Future represents “a new global consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.” Commitments under the Pact span:

  • sustainable development and financing for development (FfD);
  • international peace and security;
  • science, technology and innovation (STI), and digital cooperation;
  • youth and future generations; and
  • transforming global governance.

During April, we reported on a number of initiatives that contribute to advancing the Pact, including: 

  • A call for coalitions of countries and other stakeholders to submit voluntary initiatives to boost a “renewed financing framework” to be put in place at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4); 
  • The establishment of the UN CSTD Multi-Stakeholder Working Group on Data Governance at All Levels;
  • Efforts to go beyond gross domestic product (GDP); and
  • The annual Youth Forum, convened by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) featured discussions on youth-led solutions for sustainable development, well-being in an era of digitalization, and advancing gender equality.

Preparations are also underway for the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) in November. The annual Petersberg Dialogue discussed strengthening the UNFCCC process and global climate governance through whole-of-government, whole-of-society, and whole-of-economy approaches. Preliminary findings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) presented during the ministerial made the case for investing in ambitious climate action to foster better growth and development for all.

BRICS environment ministers agreed on a shared position ahead of COP 30. In a joint statement, the ministers urge developed countries to disclose how they plan to achieve the goal of USD 300 billion per year by 2035 under the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG). Initially comprised of Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa, the bloc now also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Brazil holds the 2025 BRICS Presidency as well as the Presidency for COP 30.

Our recent reporting on climate action also includes stories about:

UN-Water met in early April to discuss preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference. Some speakers called for messaging around that event to focus on generating hope and inspiring participants “to envision what is possible.” 

Making multilateralism work

It is no secret multilateralism is facing serious challenges. In the Pact for the Future, countries committed to “strengthen and reinvigorate multilateralism and deepen international cooperation.” According to the Chair of ECOSOC’s Committee for Development Policy (CDP), strong multilateralism requires pragmatism and innovation as well as ambition. 

Arguably, the recent conclusion of negotiations on a pandemic agreement demonstrates that combination of pragmatism and ambition. The draft, which includes provisions to establish a pathogen access and benefit-sharing system and take measures on pandemic prevention, will be considered by the World Health Assembly in May.

Steady progress in recent meetings of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) and the Working Group tasked with enhancing the functioning of the Multilateral System (MLS) of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) offers no reason to give up on multilateral cooperation either. 

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) forged ahead with developing deep sea mining rules amid major concerns over the recent announcement by the Metals Company USA LLC that it has formally initiated a process under existing US legislation to apply for exploration and recovery permits. This announcement has far-reaching implications as the US is not a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which governs the ISA. Ahead of the first meeting to prepare for the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement, the Co-Chairs of the BBNJ Finance Advisory Group outlined priorities around resource mobilization, fund governance, and coordination. The BBNJ Agreement is open for signature until 20 September 2025 and will enter into force 120 days after the date of deposit of the 60th instrument of ratification, approval, acceptance, or accession. As of last month, the Agreement had 112 signatories and 21 parties.

Sharing solutions, celebrating champions

Global cooperation aside, there is no shortage of regional, national, local, and sectoral initiatives, solutions, and calls to action seeking to advance sustainability. Our recent stories highlight:

  • The Urok communities in Guinea-Bissau that blend traditional knowledge with modern ecological management and community-based conservation, protecting both biodiversity and cultural identity;
  • Lessons from Africa that suggest the potential for transformative change within food systems rests in governance that embraces vertical integration, inclusivity, and financial transparency;
  • Calls for “de-risking” private investment in ocean protection heard at a meeting of the Monaco Blue Initiative;
  • The Prime Minister of Tuvalu’s plea for powerful fishing nations to ratify the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies; and
  • Improved coordination of diverse sectoral goals enabled by the regional governance approach of the Pacific Island region.

Meanwhile in Qatar, four winners shared a USD 1 million Earthna Prize in support of their work in water resource management, food security, sustainable urbanism, and land stewardship. We hope this snapshot of April’s SDG news helps you identify pathways to follow and actors to involve as you seek solutions to advance sustainability challenges.