As the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) unfolds in Nairobi, a familiar message is resurfacing with sharper urgency: the world’s sustainability agenda cannot be complete without recognising the role of animal welfare in the health of people and the planet.

For years, the One Health approach, which links human, animal, and environmental well-being, has gained global traction. Although even as governments operationalize it through legislation, surveillance systems, and cross-sector partnerships, experts warn that a critical element remains missing in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): animal welfare and animal health.

A new report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection (CEAP) points to this oversight as a structural weakness in the global development agenda. Without animals, they argue, the world is leaving out an essential component of climate resilience, public health stability, and ecological balance.

The report, Integrating Animal Health and Welfare into the 2030 Agenda and Beyond, highlights the consequences of this omission. Weak animal welfare and health systems can accelerate the emergence of zoonotic diseases, increase antimicrobial resistance, and worsen biodiversity decline, all of which have climate and sustainability implications.

With the SDGs entering their final five years, this gap has become more pronounced. Across debates on nature loss, food security, climate adaptation, and pandemic preparedness, the connection to animals, from livestock systems to wildlife to working animals, remains under-addressed.

“Improving the well-being of animals can help tackle the root causes of many global crises, from pandemics to climate change, while improving livelihoods and public health,” said Cleo Verkuijl, Senior Scientist at SEI and co-lead author of the report.

Cleo emphasizes that for the attainment of a coherent and effective sustainable development agenda, we can no longer treat animal welfare as an afterthought.

The report outlines several priority areas where action is most urgent, such as transforming industrial animal agriculture and integrating welfare considerations into conservation and anti-trafficking efforts. Others include evaluating welfare impacts in new technologies and infrastructure, and strengthening education and research for One Health–aligned solutions.

Experts also caution that emerging sectors, from AI-powered farming to deep-sea exploration, are evolving faster than governance frameworks, creating new risks for animals and ecosystems. These developments, they argue, make it even more crucial to embed animal welfare into global policy structures.

Jeff Sebo, Director of CEAP and co-lead author, reflected on the significance of the moment as crucial.
“With the world not on track to meet the 2030 Agenda, UNEA-7 offers an opportunity to embed animal health and welfare into global policy and shape a post-2030 agenda that benefits humans, animals, and the environment,” he said.

Notably, momentum is visible as UNEA-7 has already acknowledged the relevance of animal welfare to sustainable development. From UNEA-7, it’s apparent that global efforts such as the One Health High-Level Expert Panel and the ongoing Pandemic Agreement negotiations signal a shift toward more integrated responses.

Pathways to Embedding Animal Welfare in Global Governance

The report identifies three pathways for integrating animal health and welfare into global governance to ensure the sector is not left behind as the world advances.

The first pathway involves strengthening animal welfare within current SDG implementation, for example, incorporating wildlife coexistence into urban planning under SDG 11.

The second pathway is the introduction of new SDG targets and indicators that reflect human-animal-environment interconnections, such as metrics that reduce zoonotic spillover or track the phase-out of harmful agricultural subsidies.

The third pathway is the consideration of a dedicated SDG on animal health and welfare, elevating the issue to the level of other global priorities and reinforcing One Health principles.

To support integration, the report features a technical supplement that offers suggested refinements to SDGs 1–17 and proposes potential targets and indicators for a dedicated SDG 18 on animal health and welfare.