IN A NUTSHELL
Editor's note  Far-reaching reflections here PEAH just received from our acknowledged partner Dr. George Lueddeke. 

 Originally from Canada, now residing in the United Kingdom, George Lueddeke PhD MEd Dipl.AVES (Hon.) is an education advisor in Higher, Medical and One Health education and global lead of the International One Health for One Planet Education initiative (1 HOPE) in association with national, regional, and global organisations

George Lueddeke

By George Lueddeke, PhD

Consultant in Higher, Medical, and One Health Education

Global Lead – International One Health for One Planet Education initiative (1 HOPE)

Betting on SDGs in a Disequal World

Excerpts on SDGs shared with evolving regional 1 HOPE-TDR steering committee members (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe) may be of interest to PEAH readership… trying to raise awareness of several important developments impacting on our collective futures:

G7 leaders at the Italy summit (13-15 June 2024). Image Credit: International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

(1) “G7 Pledges to Accelerate SDGs, Transition from Fossil Fuels This Decade“

(2) UN Sustainable Development Goals

…The 2024 progress assessment reveals the world is severely off-track to achieve the 2030 Agenda. As illustrated in Figure 1, out of 135 targets with trend data and additional insights from custodian agencies, only 17% are progressing as expected to be achieved by 2030. Nearly half (48%) exhibit moderate to severe deviations from the desired trajectory, with 30% showing marginal progress and 18% indicating moderate progress. Alarmingly, 18% have stagnated, and 17% have regressed below the 2015 baseline levels…

(3) UN 2024 SDG progress report

Countries are ranked by their overall score. The overall score measures the total progress towards achieving all 17 SDGs. The score can be interpreted as a percentage of SDG achievement. A score of 100 indicates that all SDGs have been achieved.

(4) Country Rankings

(5) 1 HOPE-TDR: “Cultivating an active care for the world and those with whom we share it” (UNESCO)

It is in Part 2 of the 2024 SDG Report and gives a clear picture - including progress- of where the world stands in relation to the SDGs and makes a case for 1 HOPE-TDR (e.g., #14,#15,#16)  and the urgency for all stakeholders - Government, Civil Society (e.g., academia),  Business..- to shift from human-centrism ('it's all about us') to Earth /eco-centrism ('it's about all life on the planet) and sustaining our 'blue' planet in a shared environment.

(6) Figure 2.2 | World SDG Dashboard 2024

Importantly, the countries with the highest scores are all democracies (freedoms!). Anyone who believes that living in an autocracy or neo-fascism is better must take a close look at North Korea today – along with recalling life under Nazi Germany. The recent article North Koreans face lives devoid of hope, UN rights chief says is a wake-up call for us all and clearly demonstrates that freedom of choice in all aspects of life is far better than enslavement! Indeed, the happiest countries in the world are those where freedom of the press is the greatest!