Public Opinion of the 2030 Agenda: A Mid-Term review

Abstract

The interim report of the 2030 Agenda (UN, 2015) in summer 2023 shows that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved by 2030 with the progress that is currently observed (UN, 2023). In addition, the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the numerous wars and conflicts as well as economic challenges are likely to further set back the achievement of the goals. In the year marking the half-way point of the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations (UN) is therefore calling on all countries to intensify their efforts. At the same time, all citizens continue to be called on to make their own contributions to sustainable global development. Against this backdrop, it is important to continuously monitor public perception of the 2030 Agenda. This is the only way to enable evidence-based communication and education work and to get the general public more committed to sustainability. The German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval) has therefore analysed how awareness of the SDGs has changed since 2015 and how the attitude of the German population towards the 2030 Agenda has changed compared to 2017. Based on the Opinion Monitor for Development Policy 2018 (see Schneider et al., 2018a, Section 6; 2018b), questions on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs from 2017 were replicated in a representative online survey conducted by the Development Engagement Lab (DEL) in October 2023 and analysed for this policy brief. The analysis focused in particular on the following aspects: 1. How well known are the SDGs among the general public? 2. How does the population rate the achievability of the SDGs as well as their own potential influence and contribution to achieving the goals?