Montenegro has made progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and this year ranked 55th out of 167 countries, but it was rated worst in areas related to the protection of biodiversity in water and on land, which could negatively affect negotiating Chapter 27 (Environmental Protection and Climate Change).
This follows from the recently published global Sustainable Development Report (SDG Index & Dashboards)
Based on a set of data at the level of each country, the SDGs summarize baselines and compare performance.
Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and France are the top countries on the list, while Yemen, Somalia, Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan are at the bottom.
For comparison, Finland, which has the best result, has a score of 87, South Sudan, which is ranked the worst, has a score of 41,6.
Montenegro has a score of 73,8.
When it comes to the countries of the region, Croatia is ranked the best (score 82,4, eighth place on the list). It is followed by Slovenia (12th place, score 81,2), Serbia (33rd place, score 78,2), Albania (45th place, score 75,2). Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is two places behind (57), but has the same score as Montenegro (73,8), as well as North Macedonia.
CIiljevi
The United Nations 2030 Agenda, adopted by the General Assembly of the international organization a decade ago, targets 17 Millennium Development Goals. In addition to the informative part of the report, the SDGs also offer a graphical representation, with countries that are fulfilling their commitments in certain areas marked in green, those that are doing so but still face certain challenges shown in yellow. Orange means significant challenges, and red means that many and major ones have not yet been resolved.
Montenegro is positively assessed and marked green only when it comes to the goal that foresees poverty reduction. Significant challenges lie ahead in achieving the goal of zero hunger, but also in the health of citizens. There are still challenges when it comes to the quality of education, while the country faces significant challenges in the area of gender equality. According to the SDG assessment, Montenegro does not yet have fully “clean” and affordable energy, and significant challenges are also in the areas of work and economic development and industry, innovation and infrastructure. When it comes to reducing inequality, Montenegro is in the orange zone and faces significant challenges, just as in the area of peace, justice and strong institutions. Challenges also exist in the areas of sustainable cities and communities, climate action and partnerships for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
The preservation of flora and fauna, both in Montenegrin waters and on land, is in the red zone, with numerous major challenges facing the country.
Radulović: The state should be aware of its poor position
At the end of 2023, the Supreme State Audit Office of Montenegro (SAO), appreciating the importance of the UN Agenda 2030, which was adopted ten years ago at the UN General Assembly, conducted a performance audit with the aim of determining the degree to which state institutions are prepared for the implementation of the 17 Millennium Development Goals - Sustainable Development Goals.
Senator Branislav Radulović, responsible for conducting performance audits at the DRI, told "Vijesti" that one of the indicators for conducting this audit was the fact that Montenegro was ranked 166th in the SDG index, which is conducted for 2022 countries in the world, in 86 and was by far the worst-ranked European country.
The results of the 2023 audit showed that the competent state institutions were not sufficiently prepared for the implementation of the 17 Millennium Development Goals, despite the fact that Montenegro adopted its National Sustainable Development Strategy in 2016.
"The positive result of this audit is that, primarily through the work of the Office for Sustainable Development, certain activities from the SAI recommendations were implemented, which led to Montenegro improving its position by 2023 places in 19 and taking 67th place, and 2024th place in 57, but, unfortunately, it was still ranked the worst out of 44 European countries," Radulović emphasized.
This year, the SAI conducted an audit and published a report showing that out of 14 recommendations issued, only five were fully implemented.
In particular, the problem was again identified that the National Council for Sustainable Development, which has extremely important responsibilities and consists of as many as 39 members, has not been established and is chaired by the Prime Minister.
"In the new SDG index for 2025 published yesterday, Montenegro ranks 55th, and among European countries, only Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia are behind it. Montenegro has been quite proactive when it comes to sustainable development and formed its first Council for Sustainable Development back in 2002, immediately after the Sustainable Development Summit in Johannesburg. Due to its importance, the Council has always been chaired by the president of the state or government, and the Council had its last working session in 2019, when the state's spatial plan was considered," Radulović said.
He pointed out that the SAI will, if necessary, repeat the audit, but it is necessary that, first of all, state authorities are aware of Montenegro's extremely poor position on the SDG index and urgently convene a session of the Council.
The Council for Sustainable Development did not meet during the mandate of the 42nd Government, and during the mandate of the 43rd Government, it only had a constitutive session in December 2022. Since then, although the 44th Government was formed, it has neither been convened nor changed.
“The Council is a very important body that has the authority to consider and give opinions on national reports related to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs), the Green Deal, the EU Climate Package, the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention).
"Montenegro's very poor position on the SDG index may also have a very negative impact on negotiation chapter 27, which relates to environmental protection and climate change. Especially since the SAI audits relating to forest protection, air quality, medical waste and protection of the Adriatic Sea have generally shown that management by state authorities in these areas is not sufficiently successful," Radulović points out.
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