Massive projections on Sustainable Development Goals are seen on the north facade of the Secretariat building, and west facade of the General Assembly building at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 22, 2015 [Xinhua]
Massive projections on Sustainable Development Goals are seen on the north facade of the Secretariat building, and west facade of the General Assembly building at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 22, 2015 [Xinhua]

 

BRICS countries need to do much more towards reaching the United Nations’ goals to end poverty and inequality, ranking much lower on a new global list published on Thursday.

Russia fared the best within the BRICS, ranking 47th in the list. India at 110th was the worst BRICS performer on the UN SDSN list.

Brazil ranked 52nd, China was 76th, South Africa was 99th and India was 110th on the index of 149 countries, scoring poorly on promoting clean energy and fighting inequality and climate change, said the ranking by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German social responsibility foundation.

The top six countries, in that order, are: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Germany.

The UK ranked 10th while the United States ranked 25th on the list.

In September last year, the UN general assembly formally adopted 17 new development goals designed to end poverty and hunger by 2030.

At the UNGA where the SDGs were adopted, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed hope the world would rise to the challenge of implementing these goals.

“May all be happy, may all be healthy, may all see welfare and may there be no sorrow of any kind,” Modi said quoting from an ancient Indian text.

World leaders have faced tough choices when it came to implementation of these sustainable development goals.

With scarce resources at their disposal, the Central African Republic, Chad and Niger are at the bottom of the Index published on Thursday.

“World leaders have talked the talk at the historic summit last year. Now we must ensure they also walk the walk. The first years of implementation will be crucial for fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals until 2030,” says Aart De Geus, CEO and Chairman of the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

“The Sustainable Development Goals are stretch goals, but they are within reach if countries work towards them with clarity and determination. The SDG Index and Dashboard can help each country to chart out a practical path for achieving the Goals,” says Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network.