Can UN Initiatives Revitalize the Sustainable Development Goals?

In 2023, the United Nations launched twelve flagship initiatives to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. These projects, called High Impact Initiatives, mark a shift in how the organization approaches global governance. They are not presented as simple partnerships, but as coordination mechanisms aimed at strengthening the UN’s influence in a context of political fragmentation and interconnected crises.

Since 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals have promoted an inclusive approach, involving not only states but also civil society, businesses, and international organizations. However, despite the proliferation of collaborations, progress remains insufficient. Recent reports highlight that existing partnerships struggle to create synergies between economic, social, and environmental dimensions. They often operate in isolation, failing to achieve a comprehensive vision capable of transforming systems in depth.

Faced with these limitations, the UN has gradually sought to strengthen its supervisory role. Successive Secretaries-General have advocated for better coordination of actions while maintaining the principle of broad and diverse participation. International summits, such as the one in 2019, have served as platforms to promote this idea, although member states remain reluctant to grant the organization more power. Some governments prefer a traditional, state-centered approach rather than a model where the UN would play a more directive role.

The High Impact Initiatives fit into this dynamic. Presented as partnerships, they are in reality tools of indirect governance. Their stated goal is to mobilize diverse resources and actors to support necessary transitions, such as clean energy, food system transformation, or social protection. However, their selection and implementation reveal a sometimes disjointed approach. Some initiatives target specific goals, while others focus on more general implementation means, such as financing or data. None explicitly focus on combating climate change, even though this area offers the most potential for synergies with other goals.

These initiatives rely mainly on UN entities, with limited involvement from external actors. They function as internal coordination platforms, intended to guide the actions of existing partnerships rather than create new structures. For example, the Energy Compacts initiative builds on voluntary commitments from governments, businesses, and NGOs, while being led by UN bodies. Similarly, the Local2030 Coalition seeks to strengthen local actions, but its operation largely depends on UN institutions.

The UN justifies these initiatives by the need to demonstrate that concrete progress is possible. Yet, their ability to produce transformative change remains uncertain. They reflect more the organization’s desire to reaffirm its authority in a world in crisis than to address the structural challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals. Member states, for their part, have not clearly supported these initiatives at their launch, which underscores the persistent tensions between centralized global governance and a decentralized approach.

These mechanisms illustrate a strategy of indirect governance, where the UN seeks to influence without imposing. In the long run, they could serve as a model for future actions, but their effectiveness will depend on their ability to overcome current limitations: a lack of overall coherence, weak integration of cross-cutting issues, and still fragile legitimacy. In a context of global polycrisis, where challenges are mounting, these initiatives reveal both the ambitions and constraints of international governance.

Our References

Reference Work

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-026-09719-y

Title: Orchestrating multistakeholder partnerships for sustainable development: can UN High Impact Initiatives contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals?

Journal: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Authors: Ian Higham; Karin Bäckstrand