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Curated by Project Syndicate

The New Development Agenda

13 commentaries

The Sustainable Development Goals, recently agreed at the UN, will guide global development efforts for the next 15 years. Will the new agenda replicate the success of the just-completed Millennium Development Goals, or do the SDGs ask too much of developing countries?

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  1. A Fish Called Development
    Lung fish.

    A Fish Called Development

    Oct 1, 2015 Oby Ezekwesili, et al. urge leaders to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies at the WTO meeting in December.

  2. Leaving Our Children Nothing
    Portrait of a young girl.

    Leaving Our Children Nothing

    Sep 30, 2015 Johan Rockström wants to leave our descendants no poverty, no greenhouse-gas emissions, and no biodiversity loss.

  3. The Data Revolution for Sustainable Development
    Development data El Tiempo/ZumaPress

    The Data Revolution for Sustainable Development

    Sep 18, 2015 Jeffrey D. Sachs, et al. cite new technologies that can help meet long-term education, health, and poverty-reduction goals.

  4. Securing a Sustainable Future
    Flood water in Sylhet City Md. Akhlas Uddin/ZumaPress

    Securing a Sustainable Future

    Sep 16, 2015 Gro Harlem Brundtland & Graça Machel warn world leaders that climate change could erase progress toward development goals.

  5. Unsustainable Development Goals
    Typhoon in china Xu Yu/ZumaPress

    Unsustainable Development Goals

    Sep 15, 2015 Bjørn Lomborg calls the UN's Agenda for Sustainable Development the missed opportunity of a generation.

  6. Another Great Leap Forward for Development
    television dishes india Subhash Sharma/ZumaPress

    Another Great Leap Forward for Development

    Aug 27, 2015 Javier Solana underscores the universality of the Sustainable Development Goals.

  1. ito31_EVELYN HOCKSTEINPOOLAFP via Getty Images_modibidenlulag20 Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    Whither the G20?

    Takatoshi Ito

    Following the latest G20 summit, the G7 should be thinking seriously about deepening its own ties with more non-aligned countries. If the Ukraine war drags on, and if China continues to threaten to take Taiwan by force, the G20 will be split between friends of the BRICS and friends of the G7.

    sees the grouping as increasingly divided between friends of the G7 and friends of China and Russia.
  2. kitaw1_Per-Anders PetterssonGetty Images_africamining Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images

    Making the Most of Africa’s Strategic Green Minerals

    Marit Kitaw explains how the continent can move beyond resource extraction to build green industry.
  3. frankel128_ plus49Construction PhotographyAvalonGetty Images_emissions plus49Construction PhotographyAvalonGetty Images

    America Must Join Europe’s Climate Club

    Gary Yohe & Roger Kuhns urge US policymakers to create a carbon-pricing policy in line with the bloc’s emissions-reduction plan.
  4. ydeng1_ Feng LiGetty Images_chinapolicecorruption Feng Li/Getty Images

    Measuring Corruption in China

    Yongheng Deng & Shang-Jin Wei outline a novel approach to assessing the extent and scope of the country's graft problem.
  5. tyson115_ Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_local reporters Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    To Protect Democracy, Revive Local Journalism

    Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca identify promising new models and philanthropic initiatives geared toward supporting independent media.
  6. sjohnson2_ GHIEducation ImagesUniversal Images Group via Getty Images)_chemo GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    How to Achieve Universal Cancer Care

    Sonali Johnson urges governments worldwide to include the disease in national health-insurance schemes.
  7. roubini181_mmxxmmGetty Images_digitalclimate mmxxmm/Getty Images

    What Climate Finance Needs

    Nouriel Roubini & Reza Bundy

    To prevent catastrophic climate change and accelerate the global transition to a net-zero economy, policymakers and asset owners urgently need to rethink how we channel capital at scale. The key is to develop new financial instruments that are profitable, liquid, and easily accessible to savers and investors globally.

    explain what it will take to channel private capital and savings toward sustainable development.
  8. galbraith28_ Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_biden Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Down on the Biden Economy

    James K. Galbraith thinks the failure of wages to keep up with inflation explains much of the public’s dour mood.
  9. norloff2_PM ImagesGetty Images_dollar PM Images/Getty Images

    The Dollar’s Full-Spectrum Dominance

    Carla Norrlöf foresees the greenback’s continued global hegemony owing to network effects and opportunism.

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