Never Waste a Good Global Crisis. SDG 17: A Blueprint for Humanity

In the understanding of “never waste a good global crisis”, Covid-19 is a blueprint for humanity in terms of learning how to handle global risks in the coming decades. The pandemic provides humanity with an insight into appropriate checks and balances: what worked out efficiently with regard to global cooperations and where the construction sites are that still need to be worked on in order to ensure sustainable development and enable states to act in concert to address interconnected global challenges. So far, it is clear that the lack of global institutions and partnerships is the main construction site for humanity regarding worldwide risks. Tracking global risks by rebuilding trust and perceiving global warming as a joint human endeavor is the core of SDG 17. Revitalizing international cooperation, fostering transnational partnerships and establishing capable global institutions that can deal with universal risks in a suitable manner is not only an ethical imperative, it is in everyone’s interest.