By Eleonora Bonaccorsi, Elena Kosolapova, and Lynn Wagner, IISD 

Over the next two years, governments and stakeholders will be developing, sharing, and refining ideas in the lead up to the 2027 SDG Summit, which will kick off the official discussion on what sustainable development might look like beyond 2030. The SDG Knowledge Hub is tracking these discussions and reports, to help our readers understand the direction they are taking. Following up on our Beyond 2030 Policy Brief, this update outlines some key developments in the Beyond 2030 space. 

Advancing the social pillar of sustainable development 

Described as “a booster shot for development” by the UN Secretary-General, the Second World Summit for Social Development convened in Doha, Qatar, from 4-6 November 2025, 30 years after the First World Summit for Social Development in 1995. The Summit adopted the Doha Political Declaration through which world leaders reaffirm their commitment to building a more just, inclusive, equitable, and sustainable world by addressing social challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and exclusion – and give momentum towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this regard, some delegates in Doha pledged to use their national planning process for the SDGs – the development of voluntary national reviews (VNRs) – “to advance their social development policies.” The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary report points out that “the Summit provided a launching pad for discussions on how to incorporate social development issues into the post-2030 Agenda.” 

To ensure full implementation of the social development agenda, leaders committed to a five-year follow-up process starting in 2031, including a high-level plenary meeting under the auspices of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). 

The Doha Political Declaration updates the agreements reached in 1995 and recognizes that new challenges threaten to undo much of the progress that has been made in the past 30 years. The ENB report highlights that “climate change, conflict, and rising inequalities have stalled progress and, in some regions, even caused it to regress.” The declaration also recognizes new challenges for social development, including digital transformation. In particular, the declaration calls for addressing misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech in a “way that protects democratic values” and upholds the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy. Changes in demographic shifts were also recognized, with both declining birth rates in some countries and rapid population growth in others, as well as population ageing.

In addition, the declaration reaffirms the commitment from the Pact for the Future to “develop a framework of measures of progress on sustainable development that complement or go beyond gross domestic product (GDP).” As part of a Solutions Session, held in collaboration with the Beyond Lab at UN Geneva at the World Social Summit, the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP presented its interim progress report. Following the launch event, the Expert Group opened consultations for further input to this report. 

GSDR Panel preparing for 2027 report 

Every four years, the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) meets under the auspices of the UNGA at the level of Heads of State and Government. Known as the SDG Summit, the meeting provides high-level political guidance on the 2030 Agenda and its implementation, identifies progress and emerging challenges, and mobilizes further actions to accelerate implementation. The Pact for the Future mandated the SDG Summit in 2027 to kick off the official discussions on the post-2030 agenda. It will be the last SDG Summit before 2030. 

Key in informing these discussions will be the third Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR). Following the appointment of a scientific panel for the 2027 report, a regional consultation for Asia and the Pacific was held from 5-6 November 2025. The two-day session focused on understanding best practices and lessons learned, taking stock of GSDR impact, as well as regional prospects for SDG implementation and stakeholder perspectives.

Scheduled for release in September 2027 ahead of the SDG Summit, the GSDR’s third edition aims to strengthen the science-policy-society interface and serve as a robust, evidence-based tool to support policymakers in accelerating progress on sustainable development in the final push to 2030. 

Making the UN fit-for-purpose 

As part of the UN80 Initiative to support a more aligned, efficient, and results-oriented UN system, in September, the UNGA established an informal Ad Hoc Working Group on mandate implementation review (Workstream 2). Since then, the Working Group has held several meetings and briefings and heard from members of civil society on how to better support the creation, implementation, and review of UN mandates. Its schedule of future meetings and shared modalities for engagement are also available. 

In September, the Secretary-General published a report outlining options for structural changes and programme realignments across the UN system (Workstream 3). In October, the Secretary General updated Member States on progress, noting that initial findings and options will be presented to Member States in early 2026.

The revised estimates for the UN’s 2026 programme budget, finalized in September and presented to the UNGA’s Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) in October, introduced the first set of proposals for the UN Secretariat under Workstream 1 (efficiencies and improvements), focused on management and operations. 

Most recently, the UN released an action plan to serve as a coordination framework across all three workstreams, a planning and accountability tool aligning responsibilities and actions across the system, and a transparency measure showing how the UN system will operationalize actions outlined in the Secretary-General’s reports produced under the Initiative. 

Timed to the UN’s 80th anniversary, a UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) report summarized lessons from the eight decades of progress towards sustainable development. Collective action, inclusive multilateralism, norms and frameworks, and foresight and intergenerational equity were identified as key critical lessons to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda and address longer-term global challenges. 

Looking beyond 2030 

The SDG Knowledge Hub’s mini-series published with the Beyond Lab at UN Geneva reviewed key shifts towards building a more resilient and sustainable future for people and the planet. The shifts represent key themes of the recently concluded Beyonds Challenge Initiative by the UN Geneva Beyond Lab: constructive hope; regeneration; debt to the future; and the great unknowns. In the spirit of the ‘Beyonds,’ they aim to sketch out the outlines of a future not yet written, aiming to take us beyond crisis narratives and fear, beyond resignation, and beyond short-term thinking, towards positive visions of the future and long-term sustainability. Key takeaways include: 

A recent commentary, ‘Building Momentum Towards 2030 and Beyond,’ reviewed two scientific inputs, two major UN reports, and a key Member State negotiated outcome that have built on the SDGs by identifying and refining entry points for transformation and levers for change that are likely to underpin – and to be elaborated on – during discussions in the lead up to 2027, where official conversations on the future of the sustainable development agenda beyond 2030 will begin. 

Focusing on the theme, ‘Charting New Directions: Shaping the Future of Sustainable Development,’ a DESA Global Policy Dialogue sought to demonstrate how global cooperation can accelerate progress, strengthen resilience, and ensure no one is left behind. The event featured three thematic panels, where experts shared perspectives on reimagining economics to foster social inclusion, identify emerging trends, and envision sustainable development beyond 2030 in the light of global transformations.

At the SDG Knowledge Hub, we will continue to provide regular updates as we journey the path to Beyond 2030 together.