17 September 2014: The UN University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), the Earth System Governance project, and the Sustainability Transition beyond 2015 project (POST2015 Project) published a policy brief evaluating the inclusiveness of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ‘Sustainable Development Goals and Inclusive Development’ is the fifth in the POST2015/UNU-IAS Policy Brief Series.

The authors evaluate the proposed goals against criteria for inclusive development, and find that: they do not provide guidance to establish targets that would build capacity for the most marginalized populations, so that they can learn about and access SDG-related opportunities; they neither adequately address ecosystemic limits nor the allocation of responsibilities, rights and risks among countries and peoples in relation to fixed and diminishing resources; and the OWG document focuses more on effects than root causes.

The brief also notes that, in general, social goals tend to be marginalized in the implementation of sustainable development, while economic growth is prioritized, often at the cost of ecological goals. [Publication: Sustainable Development Goals and Inclusive Development] [Policy Brief Series] [Earth System Governance Press Release]