What have 10 years of implementing the sustainable development goals meant? And what ideas are there for a future agenda, post 2030? These were the topics when Nordregio co-hosted the European Sustainability Network’s conference 2025.
Global challenges can’t be solved without global collaboration, making the sustainable development goals more important than ever, one participant said.
The ESDN-conference gathered policy makers from national and subnational levels from all over Europe, along with representatives from academia, civil society and youth groups working with sustainability.
10 years of implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs) have meant progress. More nations are under democratic rule, more girls are receiving education and extreme poverty has decreased. However, only around 20 percent of the SDG targets are on track (UN Sustainable Development Goals report 2025) and politicians are deprioritizing SDGs on a global and national level.
We need to supercharge the SDGs and reaffirm them as our guiding northern star, one participant put it.
Lessons learned and visions for the future
The conference revolved around lessons learned from the implementations of the SDGs and visions for the future. Some highlights were the importance of involving municipalities and youth and the importance of accountability along with the insight that commitment is not always enough, SDG-implementation also needs financing and budget alignment.
In terms of visions for the future, most participants wanted the current Agenda 2030 to be extended, but there were also discussions on how the agenda should be developed. Should the focus be prioritizing well-being over GDP? Should the process aim to be as inclusive as possible or as impactful as possible but for fewer?
SDG implementation in the Nordic countries
Apart from co-hosting the conference, Nordregio also presented preliminary findings from a study looking at Nordic regions and municipalities work with the 2030 Agenda and their view for future sustainability goals post 2030. The results will be presented in full in winter 2026. Read more about the project here.
The commitment to the agenda remains strong, particularly at the local level where Nordic municipalities continue to play a leading role in advancing sustainable development, a participant said.
