OECD countries are not ready for development goals

A study released by the German Bertelsmann Foundation on Tuesday revealed that most of the world's wealthiest countries were far from achieving the new UN development goals, which are due to be set until 2030 and scheduled to be adopted by world at a special UN summit in New York later this month.

The so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contain 169 specific new targets to be met by countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by 2030. They include a wide range of social issues like fighting inequality, tackling climate change, driving economic growth and providing quality education.

Study first of its kind

The survey said that it was the first real "'stress test" of OECD countries with regard to "the new global policy goals," investigating the present state of each of the countries systematically, "both individually and in comparison with one another." It also stressed that the greatest deficits of industrialized nations lay in their "less-than-sustainable production and consumption behavior."

"In addition, in many cases their economic systems also exacerbate the trend toward social inequality," the study said in its introduction.

Nordic countries and Germany among top performers

The study found the best-performing OECD countries Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland. The study ranked Germany sixth.

It also concluded that the top five countries demonstrated "an economic and social model which is sustainable and inclusive is possible," setting an example for less developed nations to follow. But it also highlighted that some negative trends proved that even the best countries in the study had to "maintain their ambition" and meet their particular challenges.

The report did not overtly criticize the countries at the bottom of the 34-country comparison, which were Greece, Chile, Hungary, Turkey and Mexico. But it still provided concrete examples where there was room for improvement. The United States fell just short of being part of the bottom five performers, coming in at 29th.

Praise and criticism for Germany

Germany was ranked among the more sustainable nations, garnering points in particular for social stability and domestic safety. But despite strong initiatives to commit to renewable energy sources, Germany still failed to manage to score high points for environmental practices, and was highlighted as a country in need of more funds to be invested into public infrastructure.

Ireland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were the leaders in the energy sector in terms of conservation, while Iceland, Norway and Sweden scored top in renewables.

Surprise performances for Estonia

The former Soviet Republic of Estonia stood out in several of the key parameters measured. The Baltic state came first in issues pertaining to social justice, ocean health and biodiversity while also ranking highly in Gross Fixed Capital Formation, attainment rates in upper secondary education, and air pollution in urban areas.

Room for improvement

The study also found that many of the countries examined still had considerable inequality gaps. The analysis revealed that in 23 of the countries surveyed, the richest 10 percent earned as much as the poorest 40 percent. The disparities were particular noteworthy in the US, where the richest 10 percent made 1.7 times more money than the poorest 40 percent.

The Czech Republic stood out for coming in first place in tackling its poverty rate - ahead of the Nordic states.

The report also found that the developed nations fell behind on furthering measures to reduce environmental impact while raising the share of renewable energy sources. Iceland, Norway and Sweden were lauded for having a rate of renewable energy at nearly 50 percent, while the share of renewables in South Korea, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands was at less than 4 percent.

New targets update previous Millennium Development Goals

In the foreword of the report, former UN-Secretary General Kofi Annan said that he hoped the study would "spark reform debates" in rich countries. Annan, who had been a driving force behind the SDGs' predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), said that "despite some encouraging steps forward, we are still far from achieving all the targets we had set ourselves."

"Too many people remain caught in extreme poverty, too many remain hungry and sick, too many mothers die in childbirth, and too many children still do not go to school," Annan warned.