City action is critical to achieving global visions for sustainability such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, SDG ‘localisation’ is complex procedure, with divergent outcomes depending on context and diverse city processes. This paper considers the operational challenges faced by city actors in taking on the SDGs, and subsequent implications for initiating local (and global) sustainability transitions. We analyse emergent approaches to SDG localisation within the Asia–Pacific, using a policy analysis framework (transition management) to assess transformation potential. We find that SDG localisation can influence urban sustainability, but effective implementation requires sufficient data, resourcing, and guidance—which are not readily, nor equally available to all city governments. City-to-city peer learning can accelerate SDG uptake, but realising the transformative ambition set out by the SDGs will require an approach to localisation that clearly demonstrates why and how any city government can and should engage with global sustainability frameworks.

城市行动对于实现联合国可持续发展目标 (SDG) 等全球可持续发展愿景至关重要。然而，可持续发展目标的“本地化”是一个复杂的过程，根据背景和不同的城市进程会产生不同的结果。本文探讨了城市参与者在实现可持续发展目标时所面临的运营挑战，以及对启动当地（和全球）可持续发展转型的后续影响。我们使用政策分析框架（转型管理）来评估转型潜力，分析亚太地区可持续发展目标本地化的新兴方法。我们发现可持续发展目标本地化可以影响城市的可持续性，但有效的实施需要足够的数据、资源和指导，而这些数据、资源和指导并不容易，也不是所有城市政府都能平等获得的。城市间的同行学习可以加速可持续发展目标的实施，但实现可持续发展目标所设定的变革性雄心需要一种本地化方法，明确说明为什么以及如何任何城市政府能够并且应该参与全球可持续发展框架。