The Sustainable Development Goals.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals. Here, in brief, are the 17 SDGs:
- End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
- End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
- Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
- Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.
- Achieve gender equality and empower women and girls.
- Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
- Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
- Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all.
- Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
- Reduce inequality within and among countries.
- Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
- Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
- Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
- Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
- Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.
- Promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.
- Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
Why follow the SDGs?
The Sustainable Development Goals successfully identify the challenges humankind is facing. They are also interlinked. This means they recognise that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Success in one or two fields will not bring lasting change. For example, desertification brings food insecurity, poverty, and disease alike. Additionally, even if it does rain, it is only a temporary respite as baked earth does not absorb water properly, and so widespread flooding occurs, along with erosion, and the decimation of waterways. Effective solutions should seek to improve the SDGs as a whole. Additionally, the SDGs are designed to keep true to the pledge of Leaving No One Behind, which is why they have a focus on fast-tracking the progress of those furthest behind first.