Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.


With Agenda 2030, the UN adopted wide-ranging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that integrate development and environmental agendas. This book focuses on the political tensions between the environmental objectives and socio-economic aspects of sustainable development.


The collection provides an introduction to interlinkages, synergies and trade-offs between the ‘green’ and other goals, such as gender equality and economic growth. It also considers related goals on cities and partnerships as crucial for implementing environmentally sound sustainability. Identifying governance failures and responsibilities, it advocates for a shift towards cooperative economics and politics for the common good.

Contributions by: Aino Mäki, Alice Vadrot, Andreas Goldthau, Anna Kosovac, Claudia Ringler, Daniel Pejic, Daniela Kleinschmit, Ekaterina Chertkovskaya, Eva Alfredsson, Javier Gonzales-Iwanciw, Jens Marquardt, Julie Duval, Lyla Mehta, Manuel Fischer, Mareike Blum, Maria Brockhaus, Markus Kröger, Maurie Cohen, Mawa Karambiri, Miranda Schreurs, Montserrat Rosas, Nopenyo Dabla, Paúl Cisneros, Philipp Pattberg, Sabaheta Ramcilovik-Suominen, Sabine Reinecke, Sandra Schwindenhammer, Sherilyn MacGregor, Shiney Varghese, Sofia Cordero, Sylvia Lorek