Cyprus is lagging behind UN sustainability goals

Cyprus is lagging behind in the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris agreement on climate change, according to a press release issued by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Cyprus.

Sent to the media on Monday, it stated that Cyprus’ results for the Sustainable Development Report (SDR) for 2023, published on June 21, were analysed with concern.

Cyprus was ranked 59th out of 166 countries and is in last place among EU member states, with an overall score of 72.5, which is lower than the score of 74.2 in 2022 (where Cyprus was ranked 43rd out of 163 countries).

SDSN Cyprus highlights that some of the most problematic indicators include excessive nitrogen use in agriculture, new HIV infections, women’s representation in parliament, compensatory water imports, the share of renewable energy in primary energy supply, the involvement of modern slavery in imports, low investment in research and development as a share of GDP.

They also include public dissatisfaction with public transport, e-waste production and plastic waste export, CO2 emissions, overfishing and the percentage of the island’s surface area that includes protected areas, both land and sea, perceptions of corruption and the percentage of prisoners who have not been convicted, and low levels of overseas development assistance and poor rating as a tax haven.

The press release notes that SDSN Cyprus has some reservations about the methodology used and is exploring the issue in depth as it says many of the data sources are from previous years, and some of the poor scores can be explained, to some extent, by Cyprus’ unique situation.

For example, the division of the island can partly explain the poor performance in terms of the percentage of surface area protected for wildlife, while climate change and the island’s geographical location can explain the lack of water resources.

“However, there is no doubt that we have the potential as a state and society to improve most, if not all, of the problematic indicators. Particular attention should be paid to climate action, responsible consumption and production and life below water,” it said.

There is progress in some indicators, such as health and education have improved, while the target of eradicating poverty can be considered to have been achieved.