16. Pathways to sustainable development

Abstract: Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, global progress has been hindered by a range of challenges. These include violent conflicts, environmental degradation and climate change effects, inequality and multidimensional poverty, and lack of basic education and human rights. These complex and interrelated issues have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the geopolitical dynamics that continue to disrupt the international community's progress toward building a sustainable, socially equitable, and prosperous world. This concluding chapter summarizes the most recent key milestones shaping global responses that include the Stockholm+50 Conference (2022), the Transforming Education Summit (2022), and the Summit of the Future (2024) that adopted the Pact for the Future. The chapter offers lessons that the editors have learned from the authors and summarizes each chapter's conclusions and pathways. It concludes with an emphasis on unified efforts of the international community to continue pursuing the principle of Leaving No One Behind and ensuring a sustainable future for all.