Government heads will meet in September to review progress on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and set a course for the next four years. The latest predictions are that no single country will meet all of the goals by the 2030 deadline (see go.nature.com/2nmfsxf) and that “countries need to step up efforts and act fast” (Nature Sustain. 1, 377; 2018).

Universities, businesses and science academies are rallying their communities to make the SDGs a reality. An InterAcademy Partnership report released in May calls for the global science community, particularly national academies, to support the goals more effectively and with greater urgency (see go.nature.com/2xqxq73).

The report, entitled ‘Improving Scientific Input to Global Policymaking with a focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals’, highlights mechanisms for feeding science into the UN and ways in which scientists can get involved. These include helping to strengthen targets and indicators for the SDGs, plugging data gaps and monitoring progress. Understanding interactions between goals, as well as their impact on wide-ranging policy interventions, is crucial. The report also advises on concrete actions that the scientific community should take to ensure that the best evidence is brought to bear at national, regional and global levels.

Scientists in all countries, from all disciplines and across all generations must play their part.