Context Determines the Path: Comparative Analysis of Australia, Fiji and Costa Rica to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

This article presents a comparative study of Australia, Fiji, and Costa Rica to explore how national contexts influence the legal implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. It contends that effective SDG governance depends on each country’s economic structure, social inequalities, environmental vulnerabilities, and institutional capacities. Australia, a high-income federal resource-exporter, uses legislated emissions targets and mandatory climate disclosures, yet its efforts are undermined by governance fragmentation and federal-state policy clashes. Fiji, a small island state facing climate threats, adopts an adaptation-focused strategy via its Climate Change Act and National Adaptation Plan, but implementation is hampered by scarce financing, weak data, and social tensions from relocations. Costa Rica, with strong ecological traditions, utilises decarbonisation plans and payments for ecosystem services, but faces enforcement deficits and unequal benefit distribution. The paper concludes that law can support SDGs only when it is locally responsive, coordinated, and socially just; otherwise, legal frameworks risk perpetuating fragmentation and inequality.