This article introduces “Why Do States Adhere to the Sustainable Development Goals?”, a new open access article in Transnational Environmental Law.

We live in a world of crises. These crises – human rights violations, climate catastrophe, mass extinctions, food and energy insecurity – are frequently interconnected and reinforcing. Their effects, as is the case for the climate crisis, are often unequally distributed, disproportionately impacting nations in the Global South who have contributed the least to the climate emergency. As we continue to experience devastation of human life and the natural world, we must scrutinize the role of international law in addressing these challenges. In this case, what does it take for the international community to take systemic action and truly transform our world for the better?

Through 17 interrelated goals and 169 targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to do just that. Established in 2015, the framework represents a so-called ‘plan of action for people, planet and prosperity’. These goals rely upon political leadership and global partnerships with all stakeholders to realize non-binding commitments. The SDGs can be seen to mimic established principles and complex obligations of international law in their highly ambitious bid to eradicate poverty and hunger, empower women and girls, tackle climate change, and restore marine and terrestrial ecosystems, amongst others. While enthusiastically supported by many members of the international community, the SDGs have come under significant scrutiny in light of their limited political impacts alongside projections of missed targets. With less than six years until the deadline of the SDGs, widespread mobilization is essential if there is any possibility of getting these goals back on track. 

My article ‘Why Do States Adhere to the Sustainable Development Goals?’, published in Transnational Environmental Law, explores why virtually all nations would commit to monitoring and reporting on domestic progress and cooperating with other actors to realize aspirational goals under the SDG framework. Building upon existing theories of state compliance and behaviour in the field of international law, I present six, likely overlapping, factors to provide new perspectives on how we understand the influencing power of the SDGs. 

For instance, could the relationship between international law and the framework reinforce the mandate of the SDGs? The degree to which the perceived legitimacy of the SDG framework motivates state adherence also warrants consideration. The role of reciprocity and concerns for national reputation for failing to achieve the SDGs may play a role in shaping state behaviour. While it is argued that there exists a moral duty to address the shared challenges of sustainable development, perhaps more cynically (or realistically), it is national self-interest and the conservative economic agenda of the SDGs that are effective in garnering state support.

Whether a critic of or an advocate for the agenda of the SDGs, I argue that it is important to understand what drives states to alter their behaviour, and by extension, make changes in domestic settings to implement time-sensitive objectives. Indeed, it is only by identifying and understanding these existing dimensions that they can be used to inform our approach to international policymaking and strengthen state responses to pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges.

Read “Why Do States Adhere to the Sustainable Development Goals?” in the new issue of Transnational Environmental Law.