The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has issued the 2026 edition of its Europe Sustainable Development Report (ESDR). Against the backdrop of declining public trust in governmentsand a weakening political emphasis on the SDGs, the report illuminates science-backed pathways for sustainable development progress in Europe by 2030 and mid-century.

Themed, ‘SDG Pathways to 2030 and Mid-Century,’ ESDR 2026 warns that SDG progress has stalled in all EU Member States, Candidate Countries, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, and the UK, with some environmental and socioeconomic targets showing signs of stagnation or reversal. It finds that no country in Europe has achieved or is on track to achieve all 17 SDGs.

The report’s Leave-No-One-Behind (LNOB) Index reveals increasing material deprivation in high-performing countries like Finland, Sweden, and Germany, since 2021, while within-country inequalities persist in the Baltic States, Central and Eastern Europe, and Candidate Countries. The LNOB Index includes 35 indicators and a new measure of income-based gaps in exposure to pollution and environmental problems.

Finland, Sweden, and Denmark continue to lead in the rankings, yet, the report notes, all European countries face significant difficulties in at least two SDGs. SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 14 (life below water), SDG 15 (life on land), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), and SDG 2 (zero hunger) appear particularly challenging. According to the report, Europe performs best on SDG 1(no poverty), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), and SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation).

The ESDR shows that many national governments in Europe are losing public trust. In 2025, fewer than 40% of citizens in France, Germany, and the UK, among other countries, expressed trust in their governments. This, the SDSN press release states, “complicat[es] sustainable development reform and implementation efforts.”

At the same time, political emphasis on the SDGs is on the decline across the EU, most notably within the European Commission. “Since 2025, references to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda have largely disappeared from European Commission Work Programmes, and the political guidelines of the second von der Leyen Commission (2024-2029) do not refer to them,” according to the SDSN release. Official development assistance (ODA) is also dwindling, with only Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Denmark meeting the 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) target in 2025.

In addition, the global footprint of high-income countries (HICs) across Europe continues to be significant.According to the report’s International Spillover Index, around 40% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the EU’s 27 Member States are generated abroad through trade or “imported emissions.” The ESDR highlights the need to improve the governance of national and global supply chains and to formally integrate the value of natural capital into corporate and national financial reporting.

The report calls for better integration of European countries’ sustainability agendas. For example, contributions to the ESDR by Phoebe Koundouri, who co-chairs the Independent Group of Scientists leading the preparation of the UN’s 2027 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), and other experts analyze 35 European Energy Plans, pointing to fragmented, sectoral policies and unclear financing strategies that threaten progress.

Overall, the ESDR finds that the realization of the SDGs in Europe in an economically efficient, environmentally sustainable, and socially equitable manner is only possible through a systemic, cross-sectoral approach. Such action, it argues, must be propped by scientific tools, shared goals, harmonized timelines, and robust oversight.

Now in its seventh edition, ESDR 2026 was launched on 26 February. Prepared by the SDSN in collaboration with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and published with the support of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, the report was co-designed and co-created with civil society in Europe. [Publication: Europe Sustainable Development Report 2026] [Publication Landing Page] [SDSN Press Release]