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2.1.4. Recommendations by the International Councilfor Science (ICSU) and the International SocialScience Council (ISSC)In early 2015, the two major non-governmental groupsrepresenting science at the UN – the International Councilfor Science (ICSU) and the International Social ScienceCouncil (ISSC) – presented a report entitled “Review ofTargets for the Sustainable Development Goals – TheScience Perspective”. 83In addition to a review of the 169 SDG targets, the reportalso made a number of recommendations regarding theoverall framework for the SDGs 84 which also built on workby Future Earth 85 , the UNU-IAS Post-2015 project 86 , and theIndependent Research Forum 87 . It noted that from ascience perspective the SDGs offered “major improvementson the Millennium Development Goals…” and welcomedthe universal framework and process that created acollective and shared commitment for SDGimplementation. However, it also pointed out the absenceof a systematic means-end separation, of scenario-basedpathways towards the SDGs, and noted that “the level ofintegration is far lower than justified from a scienceperspective”. While the SDGs are presented as 17 separateelements, “it is clear from systems science that goal areasoverlap, that many targets might contribute to severalgoals, and that some goals may conflict…. It is possible thatthe framework as a whole might not be internallyconsistent – and as a result not be sustainable“.Interestingly, the report highlighted the importance ofwhat Sen called “key freedoms” 88 , including economicopportunities and political liberty. It was suggested to buildon the values highlighted in the Millennium Declaration:“freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for natureand shared responsibility”.In addition to specific suggestions on improvedspecification of the SDG targets and potential aggregationor “packaging” of goals, the ICSU/ISSC report made threerecommendations which promote an integratedperspective on the SDGs. They are described next and couldbe carried out in partnership among scientific communities,the UN system and Member States, and could complementand support the SDG proposal of the Open Working Group.2.1.5. ISCU/ISSC recommendation to formulate anoverarching goalFormulating an overarching goal can help communicatingthe SDGs to a wider public and tracking overall progress.The aforementioned ISCU/ISSC report provides an example42of an overarching goal - “a prosperous, high quality life thatis equitably shared and sustainable” 89 - and highlights theneed for new integrated economic metrics of progressbeyond GDP, beyond the Human Development Index andother established aggregate indices which were alreadyreviewed in the Prototype Global Sustainable DevelopmentReport 2014. The latter also provided information onselected proposals by scientists that remain outside theofficial statistical systems. Aggregate measures, such as theGlobal Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) 90 , respond toKuznets’ request voiced already in 1934 that “Goals formore growth should specify more growth of what and forwhat.” 912.1.6. ISCU/ISSC recommendation to developinterlinking targets that are common todifferent goalsWhile acknowledging that the proposed OWG formulationof the SDGs reflects important political and institutionalrealities and thus creates ownership indispensable for theirimplementation, the ICSU/ISSC report also proposes acomposite framework to link interdependent targets thatspan different goals 92 . For example, efficiency, pollutionintensity and access targets can be linked to most goals(e.g., water and energy efficiency targets can be linked tofood security goals, energy access to industrialdevelopment, carbon intensity to most goals, etc.). Sometargets must be realized in order for another one to beviable, some targets impose constraints, some targetsreinforce each other, and trade-offs may also occur. ThePrototype Global Sustainable Development Report 2014provided an overview of the inter-linkages between trendsand sustainable development issues as they actually playedout from 1950-2013 93 . It shows a complex picture wheretrade-offs and synergies also depend on trends in multipleareas and their direction can change over time. Forexample, economic growth can increase or decreasepollution loads depending on the type of growth and thepresence of many other factors. The ICSU-ISSC reportconcludes: “Ultimately, there is a need to incorporate awider systems perspective that can articulate how the goalsand targets would interact over time, in both positive andnegative ways, and how they would contribute to theoverarching goal.” 84 Eventually, “integrated indicators”based on causal linkages could support monitoring progressagainst such interlinking targets (see Box 1-8)