Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals post-COVID-19: A study of Australia and Sweden

Abstract

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers countries an opportunity to align domestic law and policy through its framework of international Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in an effort to transform the global community. The success of the SDGs rests on their domestic implementation, which can be judged by measurement against targets. This article demonstrates the variable effects of mixed domestic approaches to implementation, through a comparison between Australia and Sweden. Noting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying renewed importance of the SDGs, this article asserts that an integrated multilateral approach to implementing the SDGs (such as Sweden’s) and stronger domestic implementation will be key to recovering the losses sustained during the pandemic and meeting the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda (in Australia and in other countries).