Beyond the pledges: reflections on sustainability transitions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region

The adoption of the SDGs is a step, not a success. (James 2015) On 1 January 2016, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) paving the way towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development became effective, after being adopted by world leaders at a UN General Assembly held in September 2015. States gave themselves the next 15 years to take concrete action towards achieving these new universally applicable goals. Yet to date, it is evident that there remains a discrepancy between the rate of global progress and the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda (UN 2018). We need to move beyond the initial euphoria of endorsement that occurred in September 2015 and focus on what needs to be done to realise the sustainability agenda in the most effective context-relevant ways, given the various different regions. This places a critical responsibility on researchers, policymakers, and practitioners worldwide to take stock of where things stand and the road ahead