Some of the world’s leading accountancy and finance bodies are urging the UK government to take ‘transformative action’ to ensure we reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
There are 17 goals, which cover areas including social inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace, and justice. As is often pointed out the goals are interconnected and often the key to success for one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another.
The 11 accountancy and finance bodies, which include the ICAEW, CIPFA, AIA and ICAS, have written an open letter to the UK PM Rishi Sunak, explaining we are currently on track to meet only 12% of the 2030 targets. The UK is on course to meet just 17% of targets, but the letter rightly points out that it is developing countries that are bearing the brunt of our collective failure.
The letter also stresses the importance of sticking to domestic net zero commitments, with a clear policy framework to help businesses accelerate innovation and investment.
The bodies stressed: “The science shows us that, not only are we failing to collectively tackle the climate and nature crises, but inequalities are also growing at an alarming rate. This isn’t just a crisis of people and planet, it’s a crisis of our economies and global financial system.”
