Narrating Sustainability: Literary Pathways to Achieving the UN SDGs

Abstract

The intersection of literature and sustainability has emerged as a critical discourse within the twenty-first century’s global intellectual agenda. As the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outline a universal framework for equitable and ecologically responsible development, literature assumes a pivotal role in narrating the moral, emotional, and cultural imperatives that underlie sustainable futures. This paper investigates how literary narratives—through ecological imagination, ethical storytelling, and affective engagement—mediate the principles of sustainability across social, environmental, and cultural dimensions. By examining the narrative potential of contemporary eco-literature, postcolonial fiction, and indigenous storytelling, this study argues that literature not only reflects but also enacts the epistemological and ethical transitions demanded by the SDGs. The analysis draws from works by Amitav Ghosh, Margaret Atwood, and Alexis Wright, among others, to demonstrate how literary expression shapes global consciousness toward sustainability.

DOI - https://doi.org/10.65525/SVUP.9788199392090.2025.18-24.