Key Takeaways
- SDG progress in Europe has slowed dramatically—advancement between 2020-2023 was more than two times lower than in 2016-2019.
- Environmental and social inequalities persist, with food system sustainability and socio-economic disparities emerging as key challenges.
- SDSN calls for decisive EU action, including stronger pro-social policies, sustainable consumption reforms, and ambitious investments in clean energy and digital technologies.
Europe’s Sustainable Development Faces Major Setbacks
The Europe Sustainable Development Report 2025 (ESDR), released today by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), signals stagnating SDG progress across the EU. The report highlights rising environmental and biodiversity challenges, social inequalities, and the urgent need for the new EU leadership to reaffirm its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Progress on the SDGs has significantly slowed: from +1.9 points (2016-2019) to just +0.8 points (2020-2023), with Western and Northern Europe seeing slight declines due to worsening socio-economic indicators. The study also warns of the EU’s negative global spillover effects, driven by unsustainable consumption and supply chains.
“The world is increasingly dangerous, unstable, and uncertain,” said Guillaume Lafortune, Vice President of the SDSN and lead author of the report. “It is the historic responsibility, but also the strategic interest of the new EU leadership, to uphold the universal principles of the UN Charter and implement the SDGs.”
Food Systems and SDG 2: A Critical Challenge
A new SDSN and European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) study, accompanying the ESDR 2025, underscores sustainable food systems as a crucial driver of SDG implementation. Findings highlight:
- Unhealthy diets and unsustainable agriculture are key obstacles to achieving SDG 2, as well as climate and biodiversity goals.
- Dietary shifts and policy mechanisms must be prioritized to promote health and sustainability.
- Fair distribution in the supply chain and farmer protections are essential for a just transition.
“We only have five years ahead of us to implement Agenda 2030,” said Peter Schmidt, EESC NAT Section President. “To accelerate action, we need more ambitious mechanisms to safeguard the livelihoods of farmers and small-scale food producers.”
Europe’s Unequal SDG Progress
Despite 19 of the top 20 SDG-performing countries being in Europe, progress remains uneven:
- Northern Europe leads, with Finland topping the SDG Index for the fifth consecutive year.
- Central, Eastern, and Baltic states struggle, ranking lowest on the Leave No One Behind Index (LNOB), which measures inequality, service access, and disability employment gaps.
- Gender equality shows improvement, but income inequality and access to services remain stagnant—with poverty and material deprivation worsening since 2020.
Urgent Priorities for the EU (2024-2029)
To reverse stagnation and accelerate SDG implementation, the report outlines four key priorities for EU leadership:
- Scale up investments in clean energy and digital technologies, laying the foundation for a robust industrial strategy.
- Strengthen social policies to counteract inflation and geopolitical disruptions.
- Implement sustainable consumption reforms, particularly in food systems, to reduce environmental and health impacts.
- Advance global SDG diplomacy, leveraging the 2025 International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) to unlock private and public capital for sustainability.
The report also calls for a joint political statement from the European Commission, Council of the EU, and European Parliament to reaffirm the EU’s SDG commitment. Additionally, it recommends the European Commission publish a second Voluntary Review before the 2027 UN SDG Summit.
The ESDR 2025, prepared by independent experts at the SDSN, is supported by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and uses methodologies peer-reviewed by Cambridge University Press, Nature Geoscience, and the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC).
Click here to read the Europe Sustainable Development Report 2025 (ESDR)
