The cumulative implications of climate change, biodiversity loss, water insecurity, land degradation and toxic pollution threaten achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unless addressed, these drivers of change will act as a decelerator, slowing the rate of progress on SDG achievement, and could well lead to a reversal of development gains by mid-century, eroding the fundamental freedoms and choices at the core of human development. In addressing this challenge, the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs aim to set a new balance between people and planet.