Can SDG Acceleration Actions promote the key SDGs?

Through the promotion of the past five years, some positive signs have emerged in the progress of some SDGs. However, there is still a large gap between the speed and scale of sustainable transition compared to the extent needed to achieve the SDGs in 2030. United Nations has called on governments and international organizations to propose appropriate SDGs Acceleration Actions to reverse the current unfavorable situation. But before moving forward to more actions, it is important to know which SDGs are urgently needed to be addressed and the matching between the existing actions and priority needs. In this study, we attempt to reveal the SDGs that need to be focused on in promoting SDG Acceleration Actions in terms of expert inquiries, the current sustainable development level, the relationship among 17 SDGs, and the comparison between planetary boundaries and SDGs. We found that there is an obvious conflict between the boost of the SDGs and the control of the biophysical boundaries. And if considering achieving sustainability within the planetary boundaries, we should focus on SDG2, SDG9, SDG14, SDG15, the conflict between these SDGs and multiple biophysical indicators such as CO₂ emissions needs to be reconciled, and the gap between average and highest efficiency utilization efficiency needs to be narrowed. Compared to our results, existing actions are not enough for the key SDGs we screened. This study could be a step forward to optimizing the overall arrangement of SDG Acceleration Actions and implementing SDG policy effectively.

Keywords: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); SDGs Acceleration Actions; Planetary Boundaries; Sustainability