The big leap: How to move from what is agreed and done to what needs to happen

Abstract

In this article, I tell about the key findings and action points from the Global sustainable development report 2019 – Future is Now (GSDR2019) - and raise, based on the report, messages and recommendations for the academic publishing community for consideration and action. The Agenda2030 for sustainable development was signed by all UN member countries in 2015. It is an ambitious political framework to transform the world into a safe and just place. Based on the GSDR2019, only little progress had taken place until 2019. To speed up the progress in a way that makes durable changes towards sustainable development, there is a need to identify the interlinkages between the various goals and targets and push transformation in six key societal systems side by side. To make this happen, four types of levers need to work in an integrated manner. To ensure this, universal science capacity is required, with an emphasis on sustainability science. The academic publishers play an important role here. Open access, searchable databases and syntheses are highly needed.