ABSTRACT
Ever since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), questions have arisen about their political impact on national and global governance, for instance, in addressing critical issues such as poverty, social justice and environmental protection. A 2022 meta-analysis of over 3,000 studies identified three types of possible effects: discursive, normative and institutional. While the SDGs have led to some discursive effects, such as the adoption of SDG-related language in global and national policies, their actual impact on policies has been modest, and the goals could not catalyze transformational changes. The SDGs may have raised awareness about sustainability issues, yet their political role remains limited, and they seem to function as a discursive tool rather than a transformative force. To realize the SDGs’ full potential, more fundamental changes are needed in governance, funding and policy enforcement.
