ABSTRACT
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a series of seventeen goals and 169 targets that aim to eradicate poverty, promote peace and prosperity, and protect the planet by the year 2030. The SDGs were first introduced in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 70/1 “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which was adopted by all UN member states in September 2015. Since their launch, the SDGs have been the target of both praise and criticism. The inclusive goal-setting process and the Herculean task of getting 193 member states to unanimously adopt the 2030 Agenda have been widely applauded. Despite these positive attributes, the SDGs are not without flaws. The same participatory process of negotiations that put member states in the driver’s seat has been faulted for the long list of targets, which are very costly to measure, let alone to implement.
