Global Cooperation in Retreat? Multilateralism Faces Its Toughest Test Yet

A decade after the SDGs and Paris Agreement peaked, multilateralism confronts financing gaps, climate setbacks, and geopolitical fractures threatening global progress. Introduction: The Promise of 2015 September 2015 felt like the culmination of humanity’s aspirational instincts. In New York, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals—17 ambitious targets to end poverty, protect the planet, and…