UN | Publication: The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development

In 2015, United Nations Member States decided that the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development would be informed by the Global Sustainable Development Report. In 2016 Member States decided that the report would be produced quadrennially by an independent group of scientists appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General and comprising 15 experts representing a variety of backgrounds, scientific disciplines and institutions, with geographical and gender balance.

This report, The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, is the first quadrennial Global Sustainable Development Report prepared by an independent group of scientists.

“This Global Sustainable Development Report is a poignant reminder of the risks we face if we do not act swiftly and with purpose. The Report makes clear that we are at risk of irreversibly degrading the natural systems that sustain us and further points out where we are off track in “leaving no one behind”. More ambitious, more transformative and more integrated responses are urgently needed. This evidence-based and action-oriented Report further highlights the indispensable role of science for ending hunger, tackling climate change, reducing inequality and accelerating progress across the Sustainable Development Goals.”, according to Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

Equal land governance as an integrated pathway to sustainable development is explicitly mentioned (p. 108):

Download the whole report here.