Global goal number 13 — the goal to reverse climate change — is already proving unlucky for the U.K. government.
As Prime Minister David Cameron, Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening and various members of parliament descend on New York City to adopt the sustainable development goals this weekend, the U.K. government in London is coping with media reports of leaked documents revealing it secretly supported loopholes in European Union carbon emission tests.
It may be the first time a top aid donor comes face-to-face with its own contradictions before the ink is dry on the SDGs, but based on comments from experts and officials at U.K.-based Plan International, NGO confederation Bond and U.K. aid chief Greening, it likely won’t be the last — and this may be good news.