Ireland has ranked in eighth place out of 14 comparable EU countries in this year’s Sustainable Progress Index report released today (Tuesday, February 20) by Social Justice Ireland.
The report entitled ‘Measuring Progress: Sustainable Progress Index 2024’ ranked 14 comparable EU countries based on their delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sweden ranked the highest for sustainable progress index ratings, followed by Denmark; Netherlands; Finland; Austria; Germany; Luxembourg; Ireland; Belgium; France; Portugal; Italy; Spain; and Greece.
The report looked at 17 SDGs, with 83 indicators overall and covered the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability reflected in Agenda 2030.
Ireland ranked at number nine out of the 14 countries in the economy section. On the social index, Ireland is in the middle of the ranking, in 7th place.
Sustainable progress
Ireland ranked 11th on the environment index, according to the report.
The score has improved on some environmental SDGs, such as on SDG 11 ‘sustainable cities and communities’.
However, “poor performance” can be seen on goals relating to water quality, affordable and clean energy, responsible production and consumption, and climate change, according to the report.
Ireland ranked 11th for clean water and sanitation; 14th for affordable and clean energy; second for sustainable cities and communities; 10th for responsible consumption and production; ninth for climate action; eight for life below water; and seventh for life on land.
Research and policy analyst with Social Justice Ireland, Michelle Murphy said: “At the midpoint of the implementation of the 2030 agenda, a reality check reveals significant challenges are still evident in meeting some of the environment goals.
“Ireland is still seriously underperforming in areas such as affordable energy, clean water, innovation and infrastructure, gender equality, and sustainable agriculture.
“This is dragging our overall ranking down even though we are performing well in some areas. We are failing to balance core essentials such as economic and social progress, sustaining the planet’s environment and resources and combatting climate change.”