In the context of being another year closer to 2030, the firm sees no movement in annual scores to 13 of the 17 goals.

Nevertheless, it notes that there has been a marginal improvement in two of the goals. These relate to SDG 3, focusing on good health and wellbeing, and SDG 9 focusing on industry, innovation and infrastructure. 

SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy and SDG 10 on reduced inequalities have decelerated over the review period, the report adds.

Progress on global poverty has also stalled, it says. Pre-Covid, momentum towards eliminating global extreme poverty had been strong, but this progress is in reverse for the second successive year. 

The World Bank estimates that 150 million people were pushed into poverty by the effects of the pandemic with a further 50 million people at risk of extreme poverty if current food inflation continues. These factors have disproportionately affected low-income countries.

What investors can do 
The report outlines what investors can do to prevent this, saying that policy action and public-private partnerships remain imperative. Investors can also play a key role by investment and stewardship activities, it says. Seeking out companies that are delivering solutions to improve working conditions can also play a role. These could be early-stage projects that require fresh, catalytic capital from private assets investors, or listed businesses where public equity investors can provide patient and supportive capital to enable company growth. Investors can also provide targeted financing for emerging market infrastructure. 

Global healthcare systems are continuing to recover but are feeling the strain following the global Covid-19 pandemic, with the rollout of vaccines in most developed countries effectively reducing the number of deaths due to the virus, the report adds. The regional disparities in the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines also continues to highlight the inequalities of access to global healthcare.

Although improving, the findings show that massive infrastructure investment in energy, telecoms, transport and water is needed, with the UN estimating that €2.6 trillion must be invested annually through to 2030 to meet the SDGs and achieve net zero. A notable hurdle for achieving this goal is that government stimulus and readily available credit are rarely available in low-income countries.

Interlinked to infrastructure investment is affordable and clean energy. Despite displays of international unity at the COP26 conference on climate planning and energy transition, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the global energy system, generating the biggest surge of energy prices since the 1970s, the report states.

This derailment of progress and a significant contributor to the current cost-of-living crisis will have a disproportionate impact on developing economies – with the potential to cause a ripple effect across many of the SDGs, the report reveals.

Nevertheless, Ben Constable-Maxwell, head of impact investing at M&G Investments, said: “The good news is that across asset classes and financial instruments, investors are increasingly recognising this responsibility, and the investment opportunity represented by sustainability solutions, which can prove profitable as well as societally beneficial.” 

“The SDGs are the planet’s most pressing challenges, of relevance to us all. Given deep strains on public finances, investors have a particular responsibility to step up urgently to the plate, to allocate private capital to solving these challenges, rather than continuing on a path that is causing many of them,” he added.