Europe faces its greatest SDG challenges in the areas of sustainable diets and agriculture, climate and biodiversity – and in strengthening the convergence of living standards across its countries and regions. Even before the onset of the pandemic, no European country was on track to achieve all 17 SDGs by 2030.
The EU and partner countries were performing especially poorly on SDG 2 (No Hunger), due to unsustainable diets, high and rising obesity rates, and unsustainable agricultural and farming practices. Major performance gaps are seen for SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
Education and innovation capacities must be strengthened to accelerate the convergence in living standards across EU Member States, and to equip EU citizens with the skills they need to thrive in a digital economy. That is the Summary of the Europe Sustainable Development Report 2020, which was issued in Paris and Brussel.
„Europe Sustainable Development Report 2020 – Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic“ was prepared by teams of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP).
Download the full report as PDF here.