Infographics: Missing the goals

The Millennium Development Goals have led to tangible progress in many developing countries. The UN's global Sustainable Development Goals will also require industrialized countries to implement these standards for the first time, beginning in 2016. But most of them are a long way from serving as role models for sustainable development.

Most industrialized countries in the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) are not yet ready for the international community's new sustainability pledge. Many are nowhere near achieving the global policy objectives that are to be adopted by the heads of state or government at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit this month. Indeed, there is the danger that the targets for many indicators will be missed entirely. The greatest deficits of the industrialized nations lie in their less-than-sustainable production and consumption behavior. In addition, in many cases their economic systems also exacerbate the trend toward social inequality. 

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