Sustainable Development Goals Framework Research Articles

Evaluation of Green Agricultural Development and Its Influencing Factors under the Framework of Sustainable Development Goals: Case Study of Lincang City, an Underdeveloped Mountainous Region of China

This study aims to assess the current status of green agricultural development and its influencing factors in Lincang City, a national innovation demonstration zone for sustainable development; it also seeks to enhance the potential and competitiveness of green agricultural development in underdeveloped border areas. To achieve this, an evaluation index system is constructed encompassing six dimensions. Using a coupled coordination and obstacle degree approach, this study explores the spatiotemporal differences in the level of green agricultural and sustainable development, as well as the power, coupled coordination degree, and factors that negatively impact green agricultural development in Lincang City from 2010 to 2019. The Liang-Kleeman information flow method is applied to uncover the key information flow factors that influence the coupled coordination degree in each county and district of Lincang City. The results reveal several insights: First, the comprehensive score of sustainable green agricultural development increased from 0.4405 to 0.5975 during the study period. Second, the coupling coordination degree of green agricultural development was relatively low, fluctuating between 0.1821 and 0.2816. Overall, the development has shifted from severe imbalance to mild imbalance. Third, the obstacle degree increased by 3.75%. From a systemic perspective, the “resource conservation” layer had the highest barrier level, with the maximum value being observed in Yun County at 25.5%. Further analysis of the indicators reveals that the use of outdated water-saving irrigation techniques has resulted in low irrigation efficiency and excessive water resource waste. This is the main cause of the high barrier levels in terms of water-saving irrigation intensity and effective irrigation area. Moreover, the excessive use of chemical pesticides to enhance vegetable production has contributed to high barrier levels for achieving yields of pollution-free vegetable production per unit area. Finally, the information flow values of the factors influencing the coordinated and harmonious development of green agriculture exhibit significant regional heterogeneity among counties and districts. The highest information flow value for the area of drought- and flood-resistant crop cultivation is in Zhengkang County at 1.86. Based on these results, local government departments and decision-makers should focus on promoting comprehensive improvements in the level of green agricultural development. It is crucial to tailor measures to the specific needs of each county to address the shortcomings in green agricultural development. Additionally, efforts should be made to strengthen the innovation-driven chain of green agricultural development, including production, processing and sales. Enhancing the green agricultural development system is essential for long-term progress.

Incorporating scarcity into footprints reveals diverse supply chain hotspots for global fossil fuel management

In the current context of energy and geopolitical crises, the sustainable supply and use of energy play a critical role in responding to climate change and the global transformation towards a low-carbon economy. The supply-chain risks of fossil fuels (i.e., raw coal, crude oil, and natural gas) are closely linked to sustainable production and consumption, emphasized by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the impacts of scarcity or endowment of fossil fuels on the global scale remain unknown, which hinders sustainable fossil fuel management from a global perspective. This study analyses the scarcity-weighted fossil fuel extractions (i.e., supply side) and footprints (i.e., demand side) of nations. It identifies the hidden supply-chain risks that cannot be revealed when focusing on supply or demand itself (e.g., France, Norway, and Ecuador from the supply side, and France, Germany, and Norway from the demand side). Moreover, the net trade (= import-export) flows of embodied fossil fuels of certain nations (e.g., France, Australia, and Russia) have even reversed. The novel findings of this study demonstrate the importance of incorporating scarcity footprint into the SDG framework to reveal the hidden supply-chain risks. They could inform more explicit and targeted implications for global sustainable fossil fuel management. Under the background of complex international energy trade relations, nations with high risks should accelerate their energy transitions and strengthen international cooperation from both supply and demand sides.

Evaluation of Organic Agriculture Production Efficiency in OECD Countries within the Framework of Sustainable Development Goals

Bu çalışmada, OECD ülkelerinde 2011-2020 yılları arasındaki her yıl için organik tarım etkinliğini ve bu dönemdeki etkinlikteki değişmeleri incelemek ve bunları sürdürülebilir kalkınma kapsamında değerlendirerek küresel kalkınmaya sunabileceği potansiyel katkının vurgulanması amaçlanmaktadır. Organik tarımsal üretim performansını değerlendirebilmek adına literatürde en çok kullanılan etkinlik ölçüm yöntemlerinden biri olan Veri Zarflama Analizi (VZA) kullanılmıştır. Etkinlik analizleri sonucu ortalama etkinlik skorlarının oldukça düşük değerlere sahip olduğu ve değerlendirme altındaki ülkelerin büyük bir bölümünün etkinsiz olduğu saptanmıştır. Katmanlı Veri Zarflama Analizi (KVZA) yaklaşımı ile OECD ülkeleri etkinlik düzeylerine göre katmanlara bölünerek gruplandırılmıştır. 2011-2020 döneminde ülkeler yıllara göre farklılık göstererek 7 ila 9 etkinlik düzeyinde kümelenmiştir. VZA’dan elde edilen etkinlik skorları ile dönemler arası etkinliği değerlendirebilmek amacıyla Malmquist Toplam Faktör Verimliliği (TFV) Endeksi hesaplanmıştır. 2011-2012 periyodundan itibaren ortalama Malmquist TFV Endeksinde sürekli bir gerileme gözlemlenmiştir. Analizlerden elde edilen nihai değerler ile Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Hedefleri Endeksi değerleri karşılaştırılarak değerlendirmelerde bulunulmuştur.

Mapping national development priorities under the Sustainable Development Goals framework: a systematic analysis

Mapping national development priorities under the Sustainable Development Goals framework: a systematic analysis

Role of Pakistani Universities in promoting Culture of Peace for achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Higher education can play a key role in the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address the world's environmental, economic, and societal issues. SDG16 promises to develop and promote a culture of peace by 2030. In this context, Pakistan is also committed to achieve this goal through education to develop a culture peace among entire society. The major objectives of the current study were to explore the role of universities in promoting a culture of peace and to identify the challenges faced by universities to promote a culture of peace. The present study was based on descriptive design. A qualitative research approach was adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. The sample of the study consisted of twenty-four chairpersons from the faculty of sciences and arts. For this purpose, data were collected through a semi-structured interview protocol. Thematic analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed some key roles of universities to promote peace including organizing public lectures, revising syllabi, and paradigm shifts. The study also identified some challenges including lack of awareness, an insecure environment, and a lack of budget. On the basis of the findings, the paper also suggests some measures to accelerate the process of developing a culture of peace.

Impact of Globalization on Human Rights in Developing Countries

This study focuses on the complex interaction between globalization and human rights. The study uses a multifaceted approach to analyze the possible overlaps and conflicts between globalization and human rights to find ways to lessen negative effects and maximize good ones. The research intends to identify the gaps and possibilities of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by looking at the particular difficulties encountered by developing countries. The study reveals the intricate interactions between globalization and human rights using data from several case studies as well as a thorough examination of the literature. It identifies several significant impact areas, such as labor rights, access to healthcare and education, environmental sustainability, gender equality, and the defense of indigenous peoples' rights. Additionally, the study evaluates how governments, civil society, international organizations, and other stakeholders are addressing the adverse effects of globalization on human rights and sustainable development. The paper unleashes mitigating factors and emphasizes the obligations of the many UN stakeholders to defend human rights and assist in the achievement of the SDGs. By resolving these issues, developing nations may more effectively take advantage of globalization's potential advantages while defending human rights and pursuing sustainable development objectives within the SDG framework. One of the key limitations of this paper is the lack of access to achieving primary data and the generalization of the concept itself. The impact of globalization has a deeper and specific scope of discussion.

University-driven coastal partnerships to address ghost gear pollution: A case study in Penghu Islands of Taiwan

Ghost gear has become a significant environmental and economic challenge affecting oceans worldwide. Preventing and eliminating ghost gear is essential for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), and partnerships between universities and multi-stakeholders are considered feasible solutions. This case study illuminates the implementation of the Partnerships for Ghost Gear Cleanups & Education Project (PGGCEP) conducted by the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) in the Penghu Islands of Taiwan, which involves engagement with local stakeholders to prevent and remediate ghost gear in Penghu seas, providing insights into coastal partnerships building to promote ocean sustainability. The conceptual schemes of PGGCEP include education projects, marine citizenship practices, and awareness campaigns. The outcomes of PGGCEP were analyzed under the framework of SDGs. The results showed that PGGCEP not only successfully supported SDG 14 life below water through the achievement of SDG17 partnerships for the goals, and it also contributed to other SDGs, including SDG 4 quality education, SDG 5 gender equality, SDG 8 decent work and economic growth, and SDG 10 reduced inequalities. Future directions for PGGCEP were subsequently provided to refine the project. Based on the findings, this study proposed a framework of university-driven coastal partnerships to address ghost gear pollution. This 4-phase framework highlights the pivotal role played by universities as facilitators of collaborative efforts that involve a broad spectrum of stakeholders for enhancing ocean sustainability.

Assessing urban smart growth in China based on the sustainable development goals framework

Assessing urban smart growth in China based on the sustainable development goals framework

Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in domestic settings: a global analysis for selected adverse health outcomes

Assessments of disease burden are important to inform national, regional, and global strategies and to guide investment. We aimed to estimate the drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-attributable burden of disease for diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, undernutrition, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, using the WASH service levels used to monitor the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as counterfactual minimum risk-exposure levels. We assessed the WASH-attributable disease burden of the four health outcomes overall and disaggregated by region, age, and sex for the year 2019. We calculated WASH-attributable fractions of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections by country using modelled WASH exposures and exposure-response relationships from two updated meta-analyses. We used the WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene public database to estimate population exposure to different WASH service levels. WASH-attributable undernutrition was estimated by combining the population attributable fractions (PAF) of diarrhoea caused by unsafe WASH and the PAF of undernutrition caused by diarrhoea. Soil-transmitted helminthiasis was fully attributed to unsafe WASH. We estimate that 1·4 (95% CI 1·3-1·5) million deaths and 74 (68-80) million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) could have been prevented by safe WASH in 2019 across the four designated outcomes, representing 2·5% of global deaths and 2·9% of global DALYs from all causes. The proportion of diarrhoea that is attributable to unsafe WASH is 0·69 (0·65-0·72), 0·14 (0·13-0·17) for acute respiratory infections, and 0·10 (0·09-0·10) for undernutrition, and we assume that the entire disease burden from soil-transmitted helminthiasis was attributable to unsafe WASH. WASH-attributable burden of disease estimates based on the levels of service established under the SDG framework show that progress towards the internationally agreed goal of safely managed WASH services for all would yield major public-health returns. WHO and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

WASH and health: from global estimates to whys and hows

New, relevant studies have been published, improving our understanding of the extent to which different interventions in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) can reduce childhood diarrhoea 1 Wolf J Hubbard S Brauer M et al. Effectiveness of interventions to improve drinking water, sanitation, and handwashing with soap on risk of diarrhoeal disease in children in low-income and middle-income settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2022; 400: 48-59 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (17) Google Scholar and the burden of a series of health outcomes. 2 Wolf J Johnston RB Ambelu A et al. Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in domestic settings: a global analysis for selected adverse health outcomes. Lancet. 2023; (published online June 5.)https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00458-0 Google Scholar These efforts provide figures that can inform public policies, support advocacy for these essential needs and human rights, and promote the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in domestic settings: a global analysis for selected adverse health outcomesWASH-attributable burden of disease estimates based on the levels of service established under the SDG framework show that progress towards the internationally agreed goal of safely managed WASH services for all would yield major public-health returns. Full-Text PDF Open Access

Analyzing SDG interlinkages: identifying trade-offs and synergies for a responsible innovation

This paper responds to recent calls to address the indivisible nature of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework and the related knowledge gap on how SDG targets interlink with each other. It examines how SDG targets interact in the context of a specific technology, point of care (PoC) microfluidics, and how this relates to the concept of responsible innovation (RI). The novel SDG interlinkages methodology developed here involves several steps to filter the relevant interlinkages and a focus group of experts for discussing these interlinkages. The main findings indicate that several social synergies occur when deploying PoC microfluidics, but that the environmental trade-offs may jeopardize the total progress toward the SDGs. More specifically, the environmental sacrifices (use of plastics and lack of recyclability) resulted in the product being cheaper and, thus, better accessible. This work suggests that attention should be given (and prioritized) to the use of renewable and recyclable materials without jeopardizing the accessibility of the product. This should minimize the identified trade-offs. These findings inform how analyzing SDG interlinkages relates to the responsibilities and dimensions of RI in several ways. First, analyzing SDG interlinkages helps to execute the governance responsibility by using the RI dimensions (anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion and responsiveness). Second, analyzing SDG interlinkages gives insights into if and how a technology relates to the do-good and avoid-harm responsibility. This is important to assess the responsiveness of the technology to ensure that the technology can become truly sustainable and leaves no one behind.

Towards Communication in Achieving Sustainable Economic Development Goals: The Role of Communication in UAE Media Institutions

Communication is vital in achieving the economic sustainability of media institutions. They adopt strategies that help organizations to communicate effectively, foster partnerships, and promote the adoption of innovations. This study examined the role of communication in developing the media institutions in the United Arab Emirates to acquire economic sustainability goals. The researchers applied the case study method and selected 500 respondents from the UAE Business-to-Business Communication Database. Research revealed that communication positively affects Emirati media institutions. Public relations and communication practices help these organizations to achieve economic sustainability. It was found that public relations and communication affect these organizations to foster partnerships in terms of ensuring transparent operations and trust building. However, the effect of public relations and communication on promoting innovation remained insignificant, as a slight agreement was shown regarding the relevant phenomenon. It was concluded that economic sustainability holds great significance in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, and communication ensures they are achieved in the best possible manner. As a result, Emirates-based corporate sector organizations acknowledge the significance of public relations and communication and integrate these strategies into their comprehensive business plans to attain sustainable economic growth and development.

How landscape characteristics in a heterogeneous oil palm plantation mitigate pest abundance: A case study from Mapiripán, Colombia

The oil palm sector is widely known for its strong impact on biodiversity and human well-being. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework calls for a sustainable biodiversity management approach to oil palm plantations and thereby balancing palm oil production and biodiversity conservation. Heterogeneous agricultural landscapes, comprising different vegetation types in a complex spatial pattern, provide habitat to a variety of species and support high biodiversity. Biodiversity can thus offer pest control ecosystem services to agricultural systems. However, so far it remains unclear whether landscape structure and diversity foster or mitigate pest occurrences in plantations. Our case study is the oil palm plantation of Mapiripán in Colombia, which integrates local ecosystems such as secondary forests, relict old-grown forests, riparian forests, and water body remnants in between and around the palm stands of the plantation. With this nature-improved design, we ££pose two main questions: which landscape structural properties characterize the landscape of the oil palm plantation?, and how do specific landscape structural properties foster or mitigate the presence of two main oil palm pests (the butterfly larvae split-banded owlet (Opsiphanes cassina) and the red weevil (Rhynchophorus palmarum))? We first characterize the plantation landscape with a multivariate cluster analysis which led us to identify up to nine different landscape structural types for the Macondo plantation. A mosaic of different landscape types ranging from homogeneous and simple landscapes to heterogeneous, diversified, and connected landscape types. Second, we performed an NMDS ordination to show similarities among the landscape structural types, land cover, and pest occurrence. Our results show that the integration of local ecosystems such as forests and water bodies improves landscape connectivity and suppresses the abundance of the two main oil palm pests.

Sustainable Development Goals 1 & 2 Compliant: Evaluating Nigeria’s Agricultural Policies 2010 - 2019

The study focuses on Nigeria's agriculture policies and their alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 2. It examined historical and present agricultural policies, food security, and their compliance or relevance to the United Nations set goals or policy framework of Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2. According to the document, despite the Nigerian government's laws and programs, there is still a severe threat of food insecurity to the Nigerian cooperative's existence. In this context, it was investigated to what extent the Nigerian economy is in sync or accord with the idea of the Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2 and agricultural and food security plans. It questioned and investigated the capacity of the Nigerian economy's structural features to impede or assist the realization of food security under Sustainable Development Goal 1&2. As a result, the study detailed and analyzed the agricultural aims, concepts, and programs of the Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2. It also looked at the structure of the Nigerian economy concerning its output structure, domestic economic capacity, and social structure capacity in the context of SDGs 1 and 2 agriculture and food security objectives. Furthermore, it x-rayed the requirements for compliance. Finally, it concluded and made some policy recommendations.

Sustainable Expatriate Management: Rethinking International Assignments

This article explores the concept of sustainable expatriate management, which incorporates environmental, social, and economic factors, and how it can be implemented in a corporate context. We argue that with increasing societal and environmental issues, it is crucial to revisit the overall global philosophy and policies, including the expatriate life cycle. We apply the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework to examine how businesses can remodel their practices to become more resilient. Furthermore, based on a systematic literature review, we identified gaps in research on the integration of environmental factors into sustainable expatriate management. Lastly, this article presents a model for understanding the three layers of sustainability in expatriate management, which can assist practitioners in identifying blind spots and material topics.

Islamic Law, Islamic Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals: A Systematic Literature Review

In essence, Islamic law (Maqasid al-Shariah) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) initiated by the United Nations have the same goal: to achieve the perfection of a sustainable human life. Meanwhile, Islamic finance is regarded as an implementation of Islamic law, as many Islamic finance products and instruments are derived from Islamic law. Prior studies on Islamic law, Islamic finance, and SDGs tend to be scattered, and the role of Islamic finance in SDGs is still questionable. This paper uses a systematic literature review to investigate the intersection of Islamic finance, Islamic law, and SDGs. We selected papers that focused on Islamic finance as an inclusion criterion and excluded papers that only discussed Islamic countries as an exclusion criterion. We retrieved 65 papers and book chapters published from 2008 to 2022 from the Scopus database to analyze which parts of Islamic finance and law can contribute to the SDGs. We use thematic analysis for data synthesis by grouping findings into their relation to Islamic law using Al-Ghazali’s Framework of Maqashid Al-Shariah and SDGs from the UN, and then explaining the research results using a narrative method. Through this study, we found that Islamic finance supports the SDGs with the most significant contribution to humanity. In addition, it is essential to know that the support of the government, regulators, and related institutions is much needed to improve Islamic finance for the achievement of SDGs.

Evaluation of the Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals on an Activity Recognition Platform for Healthcare Systems

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030. The 17 SDGs have been designed to end poverty, hunger, AIDS and discrimination against women and girls. Despite the clear SDG framework, there is a significant gap in the literature to establish the alignment of systems, projects or tools with the SDGs. In this research work, we assess the SDG alignment of an activity recognition platform for healthcare systems, called ACTIVA. This new platform, designed to be deployed in environments inhabited by vulnerable people, is based on sensors and artificial intelligence, and includes a mobile application to report anomalous situations and ensure a rapid response from healthcare personnel. In this work, the ACTIVA platform and its compliance with each of the SDGs is assessed, providing a detailed evaluation of SDG 7-ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. In addition, a website is presented where the ACTIVA platform's compliance with the 17 SDGs has been evaluated in detail. The comprehensive assessment of this novel platform's compliance with the SDGs provides a roadmap for the evaluation of future and past systems in relation to sustainability.

MECHANISM OF MARINE POLLUTION - THE CASE OF PAKISTAN

The aim of this paper is to study the major causes of marine pollution & its negative effects on coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan in Pakistan; the role of the regulatory setup to control marine pollution; and the status of local & international legal implications in Pakistan. In addition, due to ports & shipping developments/activities, they are causing environmental and human health problems by disrupting the ocean ecosystem and biota. This paper also identifies the direct and indirect sources of marine pollution through ports & shipping activities, infrastructural developments, and the discharge of wastes into the sea from different sources. It also explores the failures of the system to control marine pollution due to the lack of political will, unsustainable management practices, lack of traditional knowledge and modern standards and technologies, lack of community participation, and not ratifying the mandatory laws and conventions on marine pollution nor proper implementation of them. The analysis indicates the weakness of the implications of the legal setup as per international standards (by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)). The results showed that only pollution by ports and shipping activities is an insignificant reason for the weakness of the shipping business. The analysis shows that legal bodies, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MOMA), associated organizations, policy matters, the role of ports of Sindh and Balochistan, and coastal communities have less understanding about management and procedures to control pollution in the coastal areas and in the sea. It can be concluded that pollutants can cause a variety of biological effects, including metabolic dysfunction, genetic damage, and phonological changes. Therefore, it is recommended that the government formulate specific policies within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 14)-2015-2030 and UN Ocean Decade Challenges for 2021–2030 that would develop the significant objectives and implementation plans for the green environment, which would contain potential procedures for the sustainable growth of ports and shipping businesses through compliance with IMO standards and maintain the positive relationship between national and international levels.

Localizing and Monitoring Climate Neutrality through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Framework: The Case of Madrid

Madrid’s Roadmap to Climate Neutrality by 2050 is the city’s strategy to attain a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and decarbonisation in 2050. This paper analyses the Roadmap to extract a concept of neutrality, as defined from the perspective of a local or regional government (LRG). It then runs a semantic comparison between the Roadmap’s policy lines and indicators and the metrics used in a sample of other LRGs voluntary local reviews on the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It assesses the extent to which the roadmap’s policy priorities and goals fit with the idea of climate neutrality and decarbonisation that other LRGs are monitoring. The paper also links the Roadmap with the SDGs, studying to what extent certain goals resonate with the climate neutrality dimension monitored therein and the other reviews in the sample. The paper suggests that there is still significant diversity in the way LRGs approach climate neutrality, although carbon emissions and sustainable transport remain common priorities. A large majority of indicators monitoring climate neutrality still refer to key climate-related SDGs, such as SDG 7, 11, 12, and 13, even though there is growing evidence that LRGs are diversifying the concept of decarbonisation policy with which they are working.

Localizing SDG 11.6.2 via Earth Observation, Modelling Applications, and Harmonised City Definitions: Policy Implications on Addressing Air Pollution

While Earth observation (EO) increasingly provides a multitude of solutions to address environmental issues and sustainability from the city to global scale, their operational integration into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework is still falling behind. Within this framework, SDG Indicator 11.6.2 asks countries to report the “annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities (population-weighted)”. The official United Nations (UN) methodology entails aggregation into a single, national level value derived from regulatory air quality monitoring networks, which are non-existent or sparse in many countries. EO, including, but not limited to remote sensing, brings forth novel monitoring methods to estimate SDG Indicator 11.6.2 alongside more traditional ones, and allows for comparability and scalability in the face of varying city definitions and monitoring capacities which impact the validity and usefulness of such an indicator. Pursuing a more harmonised global approach, the H2020 SMURBS/ERA-PLANET project provides two EO-driven approaches to deliver the indicator on a more granular level across Europe. The first approach provides both city and national values for SDG Indicator 11.6.2 through exploiting the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service reanalysis data (0.1° resolution and incorporating in situ and remote sensing data) for PM2.5 values. The SDG Indicator 11.6.2 values are calculated using two objective city definitions—“functional urban area” and “urban centre”—that follow the UN sanctioned Degree of Urbanization concept, and then compared with official indicator values. In the second approach, a high-resolution city-scale chemical transport model ingests satellite-derived data and calculates SDG Indicator 11.6.2 at intra-urban scales. Both novel approaches to calculating SDG Indicator 11.6.2 using EO enable exploration of air pollution hotspots that drive the indicator as well as actual population exposure within cities, which can influence funding allocation and intervention implementation. The approaches are introduced, and their results frame a discussion around interesting policy implications, all with the aim to help move the dial beyond solely reporting on SDGs to designing the pathways to achieve the overarching targets.