Insights from Agenda 21 for enhancing the implementation of the SDGs and shaping the Post-2030 sustainable development agenda
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13129166 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark Elder (0000-0002-1651-7843, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, corresponding author), Susanne Grünewald (University of Bayreuth) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Pages | 100262-100262 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-17 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Earth System Governance (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2589-8116 • E-ISSN: 2589-8116 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.esg.2025.100262 |
| OpenAlex | W4411372911 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
This paper re-examines Agenda 21 for lessons to improve SDG implementation and contribute to discussions on the post-2030 sustainable development agenda. The SDGs' roots in Agenda 21 have been almost forgotten, as analyses of the SDGs' creation and structure highlighted “governance through goals” as a core feature and presented SDGs as the MDGs' successor. This paper, however, demonstrates that the SDGs' contents are substantially based on Agenda 21, especially their broad scope and integrated perspective, not just MDGs. While Agenda 21 was considered unsuccessful, no systematic assessment was conducted, so the lessons for improvement were not clear. Now is a good time to reconsider Agenda 21's experience to better understand the SDGs' strengths and weaknesses and consider possible implications for developing the post-2030 sustainable development agenda. Concretely, this paper surveys and synthesizes the similarities and differences between Agenda 21 and SDGs (including Agenda 2030), and existing non-systematic evaluations of Agenda 21. This paper argues that despite Agenda 21's uneven progress, it had more impact than is generally appreciated, so discussions of post-2030 should take its experience into account. Lessons to inform discussions on achieving the SDGs and developing the post-2030 agenda are presented
Business · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Political science · Process management · Sustainable development · Environmental Science · Human Rights and Development · International Development and Aid · Public Administration · Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy
From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals
Limitations of the Millennium Development Goals
The Ambitious Modesty of the High‐Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Governing through Goals
Asean countries’ environmental policies for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Johannesburg Conference
Scientific evidence on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals
Global governance by goal-setting
Prospects for implementing the SDGs
The 2030 Agenda compared with six related international agreements
The Sustainable Development Goals prioritize economic growth over sustainable resource use
The sustainable development goals
The effectiveness of UN environmental institutions
The UN Commission on Sustainable Development
Empty Institutions in Global Environmental Politics
Local Agenda 21
Success factors of global goal‐setting for sustainable development
Hot Air or Comprehensive Progress? A Critical Assessment of the SDGs
Determinant factors in the degree of implementation of Local Agenda 21 in the European Union
Integration versus prioritization in the Sustainable Development Goals
Localizing Agenda 21 in small cities in Kenya, Morocco and Vietnam
How Should MDG Success and Failure be Judged
Local agenda 21, capacity building and the cities of Peru
The Challenges of Attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The MDG Story
| Highly cited | No |
|---|