The UN’s new report takes stock of a decade: there is progress, but not enough. In our reading, the real message between the lines is this: on the road to 2030, the capacity to resolve disputes is at least as critical as financing.
On 7 July 2026, the United Nations published the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026. The report demonstrates that the SDGs, in effect since 2015, genuinely work. But it also carries a very clear warning: with less than four years to 2030, this progress is not enough. In this article, we read the report through the lens of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Because a significant part of the bottleneck behind the numbers stems from disputes left unresolved.
Key Findings of the Report
The concrete progress achieved over a decade is noteworthy. Around one billion people gained access to safe drinking water, and 1.2 billion people gained access to sanitation services. Electricity now reaches 92 percent of the global population. Internet access rose from 40 percent to 74 percent. For the first time in history, social protection covers more than half of the world’s population. New HIV infections fell by 30 percent and AIDS-related deaths by 35 percent. Child labour declined by more than 20 million between 2020 and 2024.
But the other side of the picture is heavy. Of the 139 SDG targets with trend data, only 36 percent are on track or making moderate progress. 49 percent are moving too slowly. And 15 percent have regressed below their 2015 levels.
The numbers are concrete: one in ten people worldwide still lives in extreme poverty. 2.3 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity. More than 150 million children suffer from stunting. Not a single gender equality target is on track. The global refugee population has doubled compared to a decade ago; as of December 2025, 117.8 million people worldwide are displaced.
On the financing front, there is an alarming development: official development assistance suffered the largest annual drop in its history in 2025, falling by 23.1 percent. The annual SDG financing gap stands at around 4 trillion dollars. The climate picture is equally critical: in 2025, global temperatures rose 1.43°C above pre-industrial levels, and atmospheric carbon dioxide reached its highest concentration in two million years.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres summarised the report’s message as follows: “Guided by the data in this report, our vision for the 2030 Agenda remains within reach. Together, let us make a determined final push to deliver on the SDGs.”
Why Is It Not Enough?
The report’s most important finding is this: progress is possible, but only when political will, financing, innovation and international cooperation align at the same time. Overlapping crises keep disrupting that alignment. Climate change, escalating conflicts, slowing economic growth and rising debt burdens disproportionately affect the most vulnerable communities.
This is what makes the report’s central call meaningful: “Scale up what works.”
So what stands in the way of scaling up what works?
Disputes left unresolved.
Disagreements over resource allocation, institutional gridlock, multi-stakeholder tensions, competing claims over climate finance; none of these can be closed through unilateral decisions or court proceedings alone. Resolution requires a different foundation: one that brings the parties to the same table, built on trust and constructive dialogue.
SDG 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, point directly to that foundation. Strong institutions are measured not only by their legal frameworks, but by their capacity to manage the tensions within them constructively.
What Does This Mean for ADRIstanbul?
Reading the SDG Report 2026 through an ADR lens brings the picture into focus: alternative dispute resolution is not a footnote to the development agenda, but one of the instruments at its centre. Mediation, facilitation and restorative justice approaches are among the most effective ways of managing institutional tensions without escalation, generating common ground in multi-stakeholder processes, and securing the durability of agreements.
In the four years remaining to 2030, “scaling up what works” is not only a question of financing; it is a question of being able to bring the parties to the same table. The shortest path to sustainable development runs through institutions and societies capable of resolving their disputes. At ADRIstanbul, we see building that table as the very centre of our work.
Sources
United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026
