The 2019 SDG Index and Dashboards Report for European Cities (prototype version).

This 2019 SDG Index and Dashboards Report for European Cities (prototype version) provides an overview of the performance of 45 capital cities and large metropolitan areas on the Agenda 2030 and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by global leaders in September 2015 at the UN Sustainable Development Summit. It builds on previous work conducted by SDSN to monitor the SDGs at national and subnational levels and on TELOS’ scoping study “Sustainability Monitoring of European Cities” prepared in collaboration with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment.The interactive dashboard provides a visual representation of cities' performance by SDGs to identify priorities for action.

How can it help? – This is the first report comparing the performance (index scores and detailed dashboards) of capital cities and a selection of large metropolitan areas in the EU and EFTA on the 17 SDGs. In total, results for 45 European cities using 59 indicators are presented in this first prototype version.

Results: Three Nordic European cities are at the top of the Index this year – Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki. Yet, even for these top performing cities major challenges remain in order to achieve all 17 SDGs. The report generates five major findings:

No capital cities and large metropolitan in Europe has achieved the SDG’s.
There are persistent challenges related to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
Decarbonizing transportation in cities and providing access to affordable housing remain major policy priorities.
Compared to the US Cities Index, better nutrition, diet and a more active lifestyle in Europe drive higher performance on SDG 2 (No Hunger) and SDG 3 (Health and Well-Being).
Inequalities in economic and social outcomes and international spillover effects from consumption in cities require better data.

The report was prepared by a team of researchers from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Brabant Center for Sustainable Development (Telos, Tilburg University).

KeywordsSDGs targets, country analysis, SDG 15.3, land use, sustainable land management, urban areas
Geographical keywordEurope