It's been two years since the United Nations adopted 17 goals aimed at fighting poverty and inequality, protecting the environment and fostering peace.
The target year for achieving those goals is 2030, but that's little time, given the scope of the agenda, and experts note formidable obstacles stand in the way of achieving these "sustainable development goals," or SDGs.
"We had the SDG agreements in 2015. Everybody felt very good," said Homi Kharas, co-director in the global economy and development program at the Brookings Institution.
But while there was progress in 2016 and 2017, there also was some regression, Kharas said. "The pace is not fast enough to achieve the SDGs. I feel that we are coasting somewhat," he said.
Among other things, the 17 goals call for advances in education, wages, gender equality and human rights.
"The SDGs are very ambitious," said Kal Raustiala, a law professor and director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Burkle Center for International Relations. "One of the criticisms is that there are so many goals ... with everything being a priority and therefore arguably nothing being a priority. So implementing them in full is hard to imagine."
When the United Nations begins its General Debate on Tuesday, the subjects of the 17 goals will be among the issues that take center stage. The debate theme is "Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet."
Addressing the opening of the General Assembly on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged the need to maintain momentum to achieve the goals.
"People around the world are rightly demanding change and looking for governments and institutions to deliver," Guterres said. "We all agree that the United Nations must do even more to adapt and deliver."
Some of the goals are more challenging than others.
