Translating Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) interdependencies into policy advice

Breuer, Anita / Hannah Janetschek / Daniele Malerba
External Publications (2019)

in: Sustainability 11 (7)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11072092
Volltext/Document

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, and their 169 targets, are interdependent and interlinked. The successful implementation of all SDGs will rely upon disentangling complex interactions between the goals and their targets. This implies that implementing the SDGs requires cross-sectoral processes to foster policy coherence. Over recent years, academic research has produced a number of different proposals for categorizing the SDGs, systematically mapping the linkages between them, and identifying the nature of their interdependencies. The aim of this review article is to provide ideas of how to move from generic appraisals of SDG interdependencies towards translating these interdependencies into policy action. To do so, the article first provides an overview of existing frameworks for the systematic conceptualization of the SDGs and the interlinkages and interdependencies between them. Secondly, the article critically discusses advantages and limitations of these frameworks, with a particular focus on methodological weaknesses, practical applicability to specific contexts, and utility for the development of policy strategies for coherent SDG planning and implementation. Based on this discussion, the article proposes a roadmap for how research on interdependencies can meaningfully provide orientation for policy action.

Translating Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) interdependencies into policy advice

About the authors

Breuer, Anita

Janetschek, Hannah

Malerba, Daniele

Further experts

Baumann, Max-Otto

Götze, Jacqueline

Hackenesch, Christine

Hilbrich, Sören

Janus, Heiner

Keijzer, Niels

Koch, Svea

Mathis, Okka Lou

Schwachula, Anna

Srigiri, Srinivasa Reddy

Vogel, Johanna

von Haaren, Paula

Wehrmann, Dorothea

Contact