Sustainability | ~4 min read

UN SDGs: countdown to 2030

Nicole Papassavvas

19/11/2025

A decade has passed since the launch of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With the clock ticking on a 2030 deadline, can investors accelerate progress towards climate, planetary and social prosperity?

Launched by the United Nations (UN) in September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development centred around 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and prosperity for all.

To date, the world is well behind schedule to meet the SDGs by 2030. According to the 2025 Sustainable Development Goals Report, only 35% of the total 169 targets are currently on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are advancing too slowly and 18% have regressed.

Falling short

Greater action is needed, particularly on social issues – see diagram below. Currently, 1 in 10 people worldwide live in extreme poverty.¹ While the numbers of those suffering hunger or food insecurity have fallen slightly in recent years, they are still above 2015 levels, due to the rising global population, armed conflicts and climate change impacts.

Furthermore, accelerated impacts from climate change, geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty have added additional headwinds to achieving the goals. Annual investment of USD 5-7 trilion is needed globally to achieve the SDGs, but current investment levels are far below this, with a financing gap of around USD 4 trillion, according to the UN.

An overview of SDG progress

Sources: Allianz Global Investors 2025, UN The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 and Communications materials - United Nations Sustainable Development

Yet, the SDGs remain achievable if coordinated action is taken urgently. There has been encouraging and significant progress in the last 10 years – for example, universal electricity, elimination of certain tropical diseases and reduction in HIV infections – demonstrating the power of well-funded, co-ordinated action.² But the UN has urged increased international cooperation and sustained investment to turn the ambition of the 2030 Agenda into reality.³ It has highlighted six critical systemic transitions: food; energy access; digital transformation; education; jobs and social protection; and climate and biodiversity.

Role of investors

Allianz Global Investors supports the UN SDGs and we have developed proprietary methodologies for defining the Sustainable Investment (SI) and SDG share in our products.⁴ These methodologies are interconnected: they validate contributions to environmental and social goals across 490 business activities. Where business activities directly support the goals, they can be linked to one or more of the 169 SDG-specific targets.

For example, a water-related business activity might contribute to SDG 6 – clean water and sanitation – and SDG target 3.3, which aims to end epidemics of water-borne diseases, as well as to achieve resilient infrastructure under SDG 9.

This allows mapping of the contribution of specific environmental or social targets at the portfolio level, enabling investors to set quantitative thresholds for directing their investments towards the SDGs.

¹ Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere - United Nations Sustainable Development
² UN, Press Briefing Launch of The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025
³ UN, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025
⁴ These require investment products to exhibit a certain and relevant share of SI or SDGs respectively, while limiting exposure to issues that significantly harm environmental or social objectives.

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