UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed a group of independent scientists to write the third in a series of quadrennial reports providing evidence-based guidance on the state of global sustainable development. The forthcoming Global Sustainable Development Reports (GSDR) will inform the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) next SDG Summit, in September 2027. The 2027 edition will be the last GSDR to be published before the 2030 Agenda’s time horizon.
The report “aims to strengthen the science-policy-society interface and serve as a robust, evidence-based tool to support policymakers in accelerating progress toward poverty eradication and sustainable development,” according to a UN press release.
GSDR 2023 focused on “accelerating transformation through important entry points and enabling science to support this acceleration.” It drew on the six entry points for transformation, identified in GSDR 2019:
- Human well-being and capabilities;
- Sustainable and just economies;
- Sustainable food systems and healthy nutrition patterns;
- Energy decarbonization with universal access;
- Urban and peri-urban development; and
- The global environmental commons.
GSDR 2027 is expected to inform the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs by providing “scientific guidance on the state of global sustainable development, addressing emerging challenges, and offering actionable recommendations for governments and other stakeholders.”
The Secretary-General appointed the 14 scientists to lead the preparation of the 2027 GSDR on 19 September 2025. According to the Ministerial Declaration of the 2016 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the group of experts must represent “a variety of backgrounds, scientific disciplines and institutions,” and ensure geographical and gender balance.
The members of the group are:
- Phoebe Koundouri (Greece), Co-chair;
- Adedoyin Adeleke (Nigeria), Co-chair;
- Marianne Beisheim (Germany);
- Vanesa Castan Broto (Spain);
- Yensi Flores-Bueso (Honduras);
- Sarah Cook (UK);
- Hussam Hussein (Jordan);
- Mmaki Jantjies (South Africa);
- Sherif Kamel (Egypt);
- Milica V. Matijević (Serbia);
- Steven Ratuva (Fiji);
- Fabio Veras Soares (Brazil);
- Eliane Ubalijoro (Rwanda); and
- Taidong Zhou (China).
A UN task team will support the group by coordinating inputs from networks of UN bodies, the private sector, civil society, and academia. The composition of this task team is mandated in the 2016 ministerial declaration. The task team members are: the UN Secretariat, led by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA); the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); the UN Development Programme (UNDP); UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and the World Bank. [GSDR 2027 Webpage] [DESA Press Release]