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

Earlier this month, we heard a call to lead with hope by shifting the focus from fear-induced paralysis in the face of global crises – to a more positive, forward-oriented outlook. Indeed, while there are numerous causes for concern, there’s also much to feel hopeful about. A recent Stimson report cited “slow yet visible” progress toward realizing the Pact for the Future. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Frontiers report offered solutions to emerging problems before they escalate into global or regional crises. Our conversation with journalists on SDG reporting shared how to focus on responses to challenges in ways that help readers identify solutions.

There’s also an observed shift toward solutions-oriented approaches in global governance. This was reflected in the very theme of the 2025 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF): ‘Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.’

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) outcome document, which includes the Sevilla Platform for Action with its 130+ initiatives already underway “to turn the pledges into real-world results,” is more ambitious than what many anticipated. If the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) outlined what was needed, FfD4 focused on how to get it done. In addition to reform of the international financial architecture and improved debt sustainability and transparency, among other agreed measures, the Conference clearly demonstrated the uptake of the Pact for the Future in its outcome. This reinforced the call for the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP to develop recommendations for a limited set of country-owned and universally applicable indicators that go beyond GDP to measure sustainable development progress more comprehensively.

In other big news from July, the advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has provided legal claritywhen it comes to States’ climate change-related obligations – and what happens in case of their breach.

HLPF 2025: All Hands on Deck

A sense of “positive realism” permeated discussions at this year’s HLPF. While 35% of the SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress, nearly half are moving too slowly and 18% have regressed. Delegates celebrated progress in areas such as health, energy access, social protection, and girls’ education during their in-depth reviews of five Goals – SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals). In addition, 35 countries presented their voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of SDG implementation, sharing lessons learned and best practice examples through peer-learning sessions and VNR Labs. Ahead of the HLPF, many stakeholders, including youth, business, and environment associations, made use of opportunities to offer their perspectives on VNR reporting and SDG implementation.

Events taking place in the margins of the Forum highlighted, among others, climate and SDG synergy solutions and links between ocean, climate, and employment. Governments shared their efforts to localize the Goals. Updates were issued on SDG-related statistical data. Stakeholders emphasized the importance of empowering young people to lead on sustainability. The High-Level Expert Panel on Beyond GDP held its first stakeholder consultation.

One of the main takeaways from the HLPF is that in promoting “an open exchange on how multilateral and other forms of international cooperation can move SDG implementation forward,” the Forum represents a “glass half full rather than half empty.” “We must turn momentum into transformation,” urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Setting Legal Benchmark for Climate Action

Occasionally, there are watershed moments that carry significant potential to translate swelling momentum into transformative action. July witnessed more than one such moment for climate action.

The ICJ’s delivery of its advisory opinion on the obligations of States with respect to climate change – and the legal consequences for breaches thereof – brought much-needed legal clarity, which is expected to bolster climate action. A little earlier, in a ruling of a regional scope, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) recognized the right to a healthy climate as a component of the right to a healthy environment.

With the third round of increasingly ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs) due to be submitted this year, leaders at an EU-China bilateral summit signaled their intention to submit, before the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30), their respective climate plans covering all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases (GHGs), in alignment with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.

Meanwhile, African ministers adopted decisions that will bolster African countries’ positions on the global environmental stage with respect to climate change, among other issues, and safeguard the future of generations to come.

Mainstreaming Water

Preparations for the UN 2026 Water Conference are picking up. The UNGA adopted six themes for the Conference: water for people; water for prosperity; water for planet; water for cooperation; water in multilateral processes; and investments for water. Co-chairs for each of these themes will be selected soon, following which preparatory processes for the December 2026 dialogues are anticipated to begin.

UN-Water launched an implementation plan for the UN System-wide Strategy on Water and Sanitation, which aims to mobilize the UN system and partners to elevate the ambition of UN Water Conferences, among other priority collaborative actions. In collaboration with UN-Water, the SDG Knowledge Hub calendar is now updated regularly with key upcoming events on the water agenda.

Multilateralism in Action

Other multilateral developments we reported on over the course of last month may lack the luster of the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ – or the weight of the ICJ advisory opinion on climate change. These developments are nonetheless important for driving multilateral solutions to global problems. They include:

• Progress in the talks to enhance the functioning of the Multilateral System (MLS) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA);
• Efforts to ensure continued success of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer; 
• A revised draft political declaration, to be finalized before its adoption at the Second World Summit for Social Development in November;
• Completion by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council of the second reading of the revised consolidated text on the draft regulations for the commercial exploitation of deep-sea minerals;
• The first meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) for the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC), to prepare for the first meeting of the GFC’s governing body – the GFC International Conference (IC-1);
• A BRICS’ declaration committing to strengthening cooperation in political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people matters;
• Efforts by the BBNJ First Movers initiative to accelerate the first generation of high seas marine protected areas (MPAs); and
• A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Securing the Means to Implement Solutions

As FfD4 and other high-level gatherings reiterated time and again, countries cannot implement solutions without the means to do so. At the SDG Knowledge Hub, we explored innovative financing such as REDD+ results-based payments and how to make projects bankable.

As the role of technology in enabling sustainable development is gaining prominence, the AI for Good Global Summit and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 High-level Event worked towards a sustainable and inclusive digital future and fostered collaboration on artificial intelligence (AI) governance, skills, and standards. The 2025 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) discussed access to the Internet, human rights, Internet fragmentation, cybersecurity, AI, and emerging technologies. Conversations during a UNFCCC-associated event focused on locally led AI and digital solutions for climate action.

To respond to risks associated with global technological advancements, countries agreed to establish a global mechanism on information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of international security that will advance responsible State behavior in their use.

We hope this snapshot of July’s SDG news helps you identify – and implement – solutions to address sustainability challenges.