The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the 17th of which is “Partnerships for the goals,” namely: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

Under this major goal, there are 19 targets, the 17.15 of which is “Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development.”

●Current Situation

The World

Lagging behind on sustainable development has become the drive for policy-making in various countries

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 indicates that only 17% of the SDG targets are on track, with nearly half showing minimal or moderate progress, and over a third experiencing stagnation or regression. This overall slow progress underscores the necessity for countries to exercise policy autonomy in addressing their unique sustainable development challenges.

The Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2024 highlights that, as of 2023, the average progress towards achieving all SDGs has incrementally risen to 17%. An unfavorable global context, including economic downturns and geopolitical tensions, is contributing to this slow progress.

Graph: United Nations

The current global geopolitical landscape, characterized by the co-evolution of major globalization and fragmentation trends, presents a critical moment for developing countries. These nations face the dual challenge of navigating constrained policy space and rising external pressures and compound crises, including rising external debt, climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, there are emerging opportunities, particularly in the rise of South–South trade, which could be leveraged to secure more favorable trade, aid, and financing conditions. Developing countries must strategically address the issue of policy space to identify trade and investment policies that can support economic resilience, structural transformation, and sustainability.

Key governance issues and international policy coordination are highlighted as crucial to achieving these goals. First, the coordination and coherence between various policy areas—including competition, trade, industrial strategy, digitalization, labor, consumer protection, progressive taxation, environmental protection, and fossil fuel phase out—must be strengthened. Second, there is a growing need for a global governance framework for emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, to ensure that these innovations align with broader development objectives. Yet, such technologies also bear significant risks, such as rising energy consumption delaying the overdue energy transition. Third, while some countries can rely on self-help policies to mobilize domestic revenue and secure development finance, these efforts must be integrated into a global trade and investment system to avoid harmful trade conflicts and deflationary pressures.

Source: United Nations, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

China

China’s rural revitalization and health services for the poor

Photo: Xinhua

After declaring the elimination of extreme poverty in 2020, China has shifted its focus to rural revitalization to sustain and build upon poverty alleviation achievements. This includes improving infrastructure, healthcare, and education in rural areas to prevent the recurrence of poverty. Studies in 2023 have evaluated changes in health service needs, utilization, and medical expenses for poor populations during China’s poverty alleviation period, highlighting improvements in access to healthcare services among previously impoverished groups.

Source: Xinhua

●Cases

The World

Brazil’s cooperation with Peru in forestry

Photo: United States Agency for International Development

Brazil has its own rich experience and policy system in sustainable forestry development, such as its policies on the protection and sustainable use of the Amazon rainforest. When carrying out forestry cooperation with other developing countries such as Peru, Brazil respects Peru’s policy space in forestry development. Based on Peru’s existing forestry development plans and policy priorities, the two parties jointly explore how to learn from Brazil’s experience to promote the sustainability of Peruvian forestry. develop. For example, in terms of forest resource monitoring technology sharing, Brazil provides targeted technical support based on Peru’s actual needs and the development direction within its policy framework, so that Peru can better promote the sustainable development of forestry under the guidance of its own policies.

Source: Amazon Fund

New York’s housing program

Photo: World News

In some cities such as New York, local governments have certain autonomy in formulating poverty alleviation policies. New York City has launched housing plans for low-income groups, aiming to provide affordable housing for poor families by negotiating and cooperating with various real estate developers and using special government funds. This initiative is based on New York City’s own judgment on the prominent problem of housing difficulties for local poor residents, and formulates and implements corresponding policies to alleviate poverty. It reflects the autonomy of local level policy formulation and implementation in eliminating poverty.

Source: World News

Shenzhen Grandsun builds green and low-carbon park

Photo: Grandsun

The park of Shenzhen Grandsun Electronic Co., Ltd. has built a foggy microcirculation system and three-layered three-dimensional greening, with a vegetation coverage rate of more than 65%. It has realized AI smart management of air conditioning, used vacant roofs to build a distributed photovoltaic power generation system, and used an energy consumption and carbon emission cloud management system to realize the visualization of energy efficiency and carbon emissions in the park. This not only reduces the company’s own carbon emissions, but also provides a green development model for other companies to learn from, and strengthens exchanges and cooperation between companies in the field of sustainable development.

Source: Grandsun

The green development of Shenzhen Metro

Photo: Shenzhen Metro

Shenzhen Metro practices the concept of green and low-carbon development from the perspective of the whole life cycle. It adopts Building Information Modeling forward design, prefabricated buildings, shield tunneling waste reduction technology and other technologies during the construction phase. It also promotes the large-scale application of distributed photovoltaic and building-integrated photovoltaic technology, and promotes the subway digital intelligent and efficient air conditioning system. These practices of Shenzhen Metro have served as a model within the industry, forming potential partnerships with subway companies or related transportation companies in other cities to jointly promote sustainable development in the transportation field.

Source: Shenzhen Metro

●Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiated by the United Nations

On January 1, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change while ensuring that no one is left behind.