Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1007/s13280-022-01809-w
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) The politics of national SDG indicator systems: A comparison of four European countries
Author Lepenies, R.; Büttner, L.; Bärlund, I.; Jax, K.; Lyytimäki, J.; Pedersen, A.B.; Ørsted Nielsen, H.; Mosoni, C.; Mille, R.; Payen, G.; Richard, D.
Source Titel Ambio
Year 2023
Department ASAM; NSF; UPOL
Volume 52
Issue 4
Page From 743
Page To 756
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13280-022-01809-w/MediaObjects/13280_2022_1809_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Keywords Environmental policy; Indicators; Indicator systems; Politics of monitoring; SDG indicators; Sustainability
Abstract The sustainable development goals (SDGs) constitute an ambitious comprehensive global framework including monitoring mechanisms and indicators to evaluate progress towards precise targets of sustainable development. Most European countries have adapted their national sustainability indicator systems to conform to the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, introducing new indicators and monitoring frameworks and governance processes in which these are embedded. What do we know about the political processes and struggles of implementing this important global framework? How does the politics of indicators differ in national contexts? We propose a classification of national indicator systems along dimensions of indicator selection, appraisal landscape, participatory nature, and political communication. We empirically explore these dimensions for four European national sustainability indicator systems through a comparative analysis based on national policy documents, indicator databases, and web portals as well as inputs from workshops and expert interviews. Given the considerable variation with respect to the trajectory of national sustainability indicator systems, we posit that these differences correspond to different national interpretations of sustainability.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=24898
Lepenies, R., Büttner, L., Bärlund, I., Jax, K., Lyytimäki, J., Pedersen, A.B., Ørsted Nielsen, H., Mosoni, C., Mille, R., Payen, G., Richard, D. (2023):
The politics of national SDG indicator systems: A comparison of four European countries
Ambio 52 (4), 743 - 756 10.1007/s13280-022-01809-w