A new framework for the sustainable development goals of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Achieving sustainable development goals agenda 2030 is the aspiration of all the United Nation’s member countries. Countries have an uneven distribution of natural resources, economic strength, and capacity building. Many studies analyze these goals using various models and considering different aspects of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) economy. However, none of the studies modelled the key indicators mathematically to quantify the achievement level towards vision 2030; hence aims to bridge the existing literature gap In this paper, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of KSA are considered, a mathematical model is formulated in light of fuzzy and weighted goal programming using membership function. The model comprises three goals related to the gross domestic product, sustainable energy consumption and employment capacity of the economy's contributing sectors. The analytic hierarchy process integrated to compute the goals’ weights using row geometric mean method. The study established the goals's satisfaction level with 57% overall achievement of the vision 2030. Individually, economic growth goal is 45% achievable. The clean energy consumption-related goal is 67% realizable. The employment-related goal is 78% attainable within the time frame of the vision 2030. The study suggests that KSA diversify its energy sector by concentrating and investing more resources in alternative energy sources, including renewable energy such as solar, wind, biomass, and nuclear energy. Also, there is a need to involve more vibrant and talented youths in the critical decision-making process. The model is simple and can be replicable in a similar country with slight modifications.