The 2030 Agenda defines 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which are very broad and inclusive of many aspects. This Report presents a small part of the issues and challenges included in the world plan. Is it then possible to make a general assessment of the progress towards the Goals. Such an attempt has been made by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Foundation, which have jointly prepared the Global SDG Index based on more than 100 sustainable development indicators. The Index allows an estimation of the extent to which the 2030 Agenda and its particular goals have been achieved, and a specification of the countries which have made the greatest progress towards them.

The results of the most recent analyses, published in the Sustainable Development Report 2020, indicate that OECD countries are the closest to attaining Sustainable Development Goals (reaching 77% of the goal implementation), whereas countries of the Oceania region are the farthest from this objective (they have only achieved 50% of the goals overall). Similar differences in the degree to which the 2030 Agenda has been fulfilled occur when dividing countries into those with high and low income; however, countries with low or medium income have made the greatest progress towards SDGs since the beginning of the decade, while the achievement of the most affluent countries in this area has been moderate.

Since the beginning of the decade, the following goals have been advanced to the largest extent worldwide: Goal 1. No poverty, Goal 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure, and Goal 11. Sustainable cities and communities, whereas the attainment of Goal 2. Zero hunger and Goal 15. Life on land, has been the slowest; the situation has not improved (or has even deteriorated since 2010) in the area of food security and protection of land ecosystems. The Global SDG Dashboard, which complements the SDG Index and assesses how challenging the achievement of particular goals is, indicates that Goal 10. Reduce inequality, will be the most difficult for the world to attain. As regards other goals, the obstacles to their full implementation are scarcer and relatively less serious. The authors of the Report emphasize that the COVID-19 pandemic, which afflicted countries in 2020, will have a strongly negative impact on the process of advancing the 2030 Agenda, but it is still difficult to foresee the full scale of its effects on the global development.

Realization of 17 Goals worldwide – Global SDG Index (%)

Poland, according to the Global SDG Index, has achieved 78% of the 2030 Agenda Goals overall, which puts it in 23^rd place among 166 countries that were evaluated. However, the EU SDG Index, calculated jointly by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), formulates a slightly different assessment of the degree to which Poland has progressed in achieving the SDGs. This index takes into account over 100 indicators adjusted to specific challenges of sustainable development, which particular EU Member States have to face nowadays. According to the EU SDG Index, Poland has attained 70% of the Goals overall (which is only slightly less than the EU average of 71%), thus ranking 12^th among all the EU Member States. Poland has achieved Goal 6. Clean water and sanitation, to the largest extent (89%), and Goal 9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure, to the least extent (47%). According to the EU SDG Dashboard, which complements the SDG Index and shows the scale of challenges to be faced by countries on their way towards the particular goals, the attainment of Goal 13. Climate action, and Goal 14. Life below water, will pose the greatest difficulty for Poland. These goals concern the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining fish stocks at a renewable level, respectively. However, the Dashboard estimates that Poland is close to the full attainment of goals such as Goal 1. No poverty, Goal 4. Quality education, and Goal 8. Decent work and economic growth.

SDG Index for EU countries 2020 (%)

Data concern EU-27.