By Emma Vovk

The world’s race to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is entering its final sprint. Convening in New York, US, amid successive heatwaves and wildfires across the Mediterranean and North America, the 2026 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) heard urgent calls for integrated solutions to address compounding crises.

Since the SDGs were adopted in 2015, progress has been significant. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 highlights that more than 92% of the world now has access to electricity, one third of which is produced from renewable sources. Productive and sustainable agriculture is increasing in Western Europe and North America, and the region has achieved universal primary school completion and near-universal upper secondary completion. It also leads in research and development capacity: as of 2023, Europe and North America counted an estimated 4,358 researchers per million people, compared to 88 per million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Yet gains for people and planet are unfolding alongside setbacks. Across the 139 SDG targets with available data, only 15% are on track to be met by 2030, while 32% are stagnating or regressing compared to 2015 levels.

Addressing delegates, Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience, and Competitive Circular Economy, recalled the 2015 promise that global cooperation could deliver concrete benefits for people. She echoed calls to narrow the persistent gap between commitments and implementation.

Data Underpin National Reviews

There has never been more data available to assess progress toward the Goals. In ten years, the availability of data for SDG indicators has effectively doubled, with more than 3.2 million data points covering nearly every indicator. Countries presenting Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) pointed to this as a fundamental marker of progress: the evidence exists to support policymaking. The task now, they stressed, is to translate this evidence base into integrated solutions that deliver impact across multiple dimensions of sustainable development.

VNRs also provide opportunities for mutual learning. Norway’s third review was considered by peers, with Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Finland, and Tanzania offering recommendations for the coming years of SDG implementation. Norway is among the global leaders on the 2030 Agenda, ranking fourth out of 169 countries on the Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s Europe Sustainable Development Report 2026. A strong welfare system underpins its progress toward leaving no one behind.

Switzerland’s fourth VNR acknowledged mixed results. The share of renewable energy consumed has risen by more than 60% since 2000, and recycling rates are high. At the same time, waste per capita has increased, and the state of biodiversity remains “unsatisfactory,” due to overlapping pressures from climate change, land-use change, and pollution, compounded by harmful subsidies estimated at CHF 10 billion annually.

Italy’s third VNR was complemented by a youth review and several local reviews from cities and towns across the country, underscoring the importance of localizing the SDGs and fostering stewardship. Among Italy’s strengths is the integration of climate change and sustainability into compulsory civic education since 2020. Following secondary education, however, the number of young people not in employment, education, or training remains high.

Persistent Inequalities Temper Regional Gains

Basic security and wellbeing are key enablers of sustainable development. While Western Europe and North America perform well on basic services, including water and sanitation (SDG 6), education (SDG 4), and energy (SDG 7), the region faces entrenched housing affordability challenges. In Switzerland, the poorest 20% spend more than one-third of household income on housing. Rising energy prices are also affecting transport, heating, and food costs: in Canada, food insecurity grew in 2023 as rising prices outpaced economic growth.

Further progress is needed to ensure equitable access to healthcare and social services. In 2023, more than half the global population benefited from at least one form of social protection for the first time, but coverage remains uneven geographically and socially. France faces shortages of doctors in rural areas, and Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to experience poorer health outcomes. Europe and North America also record high rates of male suicide, with 23 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021—almost double the global male average.

Europe is also losing ground on biodiversity. Grassland butterfly populations have declined by 50% since 1991, signaling wider pressure on insects and pollinators. These trends raise concerns not only for ecosystems, but also for agriculture and food security.

Integrated Action Must Address Spillovers

Integrated solutions are increasingly important, and reframing problems previously understood as stand-alone can support more effective outcomes. Water, one of the SDGs under review during the July 2026 session of the HLPF, is a cross-cutting enabler of development. Europe’s water services and infrastructure are strong, but the region is regressing on inland water quality, pollution, and pesticide levels in rivers. Addressing water-related challenges can deliver benefits for drought resilience, sustainable agriculture, and microplastic-free drinking water, among other priorities.

The 2026 VNRs showed how countries are monitoring “spillover effects”—the cross-sector and cross-border consequences of policies and consumption patterns. Switzerland, for instance, contributes open-access research globally while also contributing to deforestation abroad through demand for imported products.

At the global level, retreating official development assistance (ODA) from North America and Western Europe is affecting efforts to reach the Goals. In 2025, ODA fell by 23.1%, returning to 2015 levels. Five donors accounted for nearly 96% of the drop: France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US. The US accounted for three-quarters of the cuts. With inadequate funding identified as a bottleneck for sustainable development, the estimated USD 4 trillion annual SDG financing gap remains significant. Remittances rebounded strongly in 2024, supported by more stable labour markets in the US and Gulf region, but cannot meet global needs alone.

The region continues to lead in the effort to meet the 2030 Agenda objectives, but speakers at the HLPF emphasized the need for future-proof planning and management, including how to manage emerging technologies’ growing demand for electricity. They also underscored the importance of rebuilding trust. Gregor Robertson, Canada’s Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, said “resilience is not built in isolation, but through cooperation built on common values.”

Emma Vovk is an associate of the International Institute for Sustainable Development and a consultant on international biodiversity governance.