Human Development Goes Down
9.9.2022
Since the UN began to report on the Human Development Index in 1990, a steady upwards trend of the Index was to be observed. That held on for nearly thirty years, until 2019. Yet the latest report paints a different, grimmer picture. For the first time, the global Human Development Index value has declined two years in a row.
The obvious reason behind this is the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a deeper look brings awareness to a much broader problem: The world is not resilient to crises. Even Switzerland, one of the world’s richest and both politically and economically stable countries, is facing the next crisis right away with a looming energy shortage.
Carole Küng, Co-Director of SDSN Switzerland, says: “We are occupied with dealing with crises and at the same time we are neglecting long-term investments for a more sustainable future.” Because of global trends like climate change but also political extremism, we must expect crises to become more frequent. And as both Covid-19 and the Ukraine war unequivocally demonstrate, those crises are not bound to national borders.
Therefore, we need to focus our politics consequently on sustainable development, as agreed in the UN Agenda 2030, adopting a global perspective. In the long-term, this will save us costs and contribute to global well-being, with benefits as much for us as for the rest of the world.
The obvious reason behind this is the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a deeper look brings awareness to a much broader problem: The world is not resilient to crises. Even Switzerland, one of the world’s richest and both politically and economically stable countries, is facing the next crisis right away with a looming energy shortage.
Carole Küng, Co-Director of SDSN Switzerland, says: “We are occupied with dealing with crises and at the same time we are neglecting long-term investments for a more sustainable future.” Because of global trends like climate change but also political extremism, we must expect crises to become more frequent. And as both Covid-19 and the Ukraine war unequivocally demonstrate, those crises are not bound to national borders.
Therefore, we need to focus our politics consequently on sustainable development, as agreed in the UN Agenda 2030, adopting a global perspective. In the long-term, this will save us costs and contribute to global well-being, with benefits as much for us as for the rest of the world.