Scientific Evidence on the Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the central normative framework for sustainable development worldwide.  The effectiveness of governing by such broad global goals, however, remains uncertain and the question arises whether these 17 SDGs have had any political impact within national and global governance to address the pressing challenges.  Findings suggest that the SDGs have had some political impact on institutions and policies, from local to global governance and has been largely discursive, affecting the way actors understand and communicate about sustainable development.  More profound normative and institutional transformative political impact, from legislative action to changing resource allocation, remains rare.