The topic of SDG interactions is a relatively new research area with many knowledge gaps. Some of these gaps are addressed in this summary of a Special Feature of Sustainability Science, including new findings and emerging issues on (1) the characteristics of SDG interactions; (2) methods/methodology to analyse these interactions; and (3) the elaboration of drivers that influence SDG synergies. The importance of scale is clear in two emerging issues. First, there is evidence of a disconnect between national planning for SDGs and their implementation at the local scale which is leading to SDG trade-offs between these scales. Second, the concept of a “critical transition zone” is introduced where SDG trade-offs pose a particular challenge to SDG implementation. These are areas (e.g., peri-urban and forest margin areas in the Global South) undergoing rapid biophysical and/or socio-economic changes and inhabited by populations especially vulnerable to these changes. While trade-offs occur among the SDGs, there are also many examples of synergies which provide opportunities for advancing multiple goals. To distinguish between synergies and the actions that exploit them, the term “synergy driver” is introduced to refer to policies and measures that positively advance two or more goals. Several examples of synergy drivers are presented, including sustainable global supply chains, people-centred early warning systems, and joint conservation-public health programmes. To make synergy drivers relevant to the broader policy community, the research community (working with stakeholders) should first consolidate knowledge about these drivers and then evaluate their effectiveness/applicability to different policy settings.

SDG 互动的主题是一个相对较新的研究领域，存在许多知识差距。其中一些差距在可持续发展科学专题摘要中得到解决，包括关于 (1) 可持续发展目标相互作用的特征的新发现和新问题；(2) 分析这些相互作用的方法/方法；(3) 阐述影响可持续发展目标协同效应的驱动因素。在两个新出现的问题中，规模的重要性显而易见。首先，有证据表明可持续发展目标的国家规划与其在地方范围内的实施之间存在脱节，导致在这些规模之间进行可持续发展目标的权衡取舍。其次，引入了“关键过渡区”的概念，其中可持续发展目标的权衡对可持续发展目标的实施构成了特殊挑战。这些是区域（例如，全球南方的城郊和森林边缘地区）正在经历快速的生物物理和/或社会经济变化，并且居住着特别容易受到这些变化影响的人群。虽然可持续发展目标之间存在权衡取舍，但也有许多协同作用的例子为推进多个目标提供了机会。为了区分协同效应和利用协同效应的行动，引入“协同效应驱动”一词来指代积极推进两个或多个目标的政策和措施。介绍了几个协同驱动的例子，包括可持续的全球供应链、以人为本的早期预警系统和联合保护-公共卫生计划。为了使协同驱动因素与更广泛的政策界相关，