Sustainable Development Goals

 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a set of 17 "Global Goals" with 169 targets between them.

The history of the SDGs can be traced to 1972 when governments met in Stockholm, Sweden, for the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, to consider the rights of the human family to a healthy and productive environment. It was not until 1983 that the United Nations decided to create the World Commission on Environment and Development which defined sustainable development as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". In 1992 the first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio. The first agenda for Environment and Development, also known as Agenda 21, was developed and adopted in Rio.

On 25 September 2015, the 194 countries of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Following the adoption, UN agencies under the umbrella of the United Nations Development Group, decided to support an independent campaign to help communicate the agreed Sustainable Development Goals to a wider constituency. Known as Project Everyone, the independent campaign introduced the term Global Goals and was supported by corporate institutions and other International Organizations. Because this decision was made without the approval of the member states, it met resistance.In addition, several sections of civil society and governments felt the UNDG ignored "sustainability," even though it was the most important aspect of the agreement. That the term "Global Goals" also refers to several other processes not related to the United Nations was another concern.
The Official Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted on 25 September 2015 has 92 paragraphs. Paragraph 51 outlines the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the associated 169 targets.
The 17 SDGs are listed below, together with some of their key facts and figures.

SDG Goals

Goal 1: No Poverty

No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms everywhere

• Extreme poverty has been cut by more than half since 1990- however, more than 1 in 5 people live on less than $1.25 a day
• Poverty is more than lack of income or resources- it includes lack of basic services, such as education, hunger, social discrimination and exclusion, and lack of participation in decision making.
• Gender inequality plays a large role in the perpetuation of poverty and its risks; They then face potentially life-threatening risks from early pregnancy, and often lost hopes for an education and a better income.
• Age groups are affected differently when struck with poverty; its most devastating effects are on children, to whom it poses a great threat. It affects their education, health, nutrition, and security. It also negatively affects the emotional and spiritual development of children through the environment it creates.

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Zero Hunger - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

• Globally, 1 in 9 people are undernourished, the vast majority of these people live in developing countries
• Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods for 40 per cent of today’s global population. It is the largest source of income and jobs for poor rural households. Women comprise on average 43 per cent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, and over 50 per cent in parts of Asia and Africa, yet they only own 20% of the land.
• Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45 per cent) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year.

Goal 2 targets :

• By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
• By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
• By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment
• By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
• By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed
• Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries
• Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round

Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Good Health and Well-being - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

• Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality, and major progress has been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
• However, only half of women in developing countries have received the health care they need, and the need for family planning is increasing exponentially, while the need met is growing slowly - more than 225 million women have an unmet need for contraception.
• An important target is to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from pollution-related diseases.
• 3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births 
• 3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births
• 3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases
• 3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
• 3.5 Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol
• 3.6 By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
• 3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
• 3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all
• 3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination

Goal 4: Quality Education

Quality Education - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

• Major progress has been made for education access, specifically at the primary school level, for both boys and girls. However, access does not always mean quality of education, or completion of primary school. Currently, 103 million youth worldwide still lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60 per cent of them are women
• Target 1 "By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes"- shows the commitment to nondiscriminatory education outcomes

Goal 5: Gender Equality

Gender Equality - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

• Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large
• While a record 143 countries guaranteed equality between men and women in their Constitutions by 2014, another 52 had not taken this step. In many nations, gender discrimination is still woven through legal and social norms
• Though goal 5 is the gender equality stand-alone goal, the SDG's can only be successful if women are completely integrated into each and every goal

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Clean Water and Sanitation - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
The first three out of eight targets include:

• "By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all."
• "By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations."
• "By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally."

WASH experts have stated that without progress on Goal 6, the other goals and targets cannot be achieved. Safe drinking water and hygienic toilets protect people from disease and enable societies to be productive. Attending school and work without disruption is a precursor to education and employment, both of which are the foundation of alleviating poverty. A study from 2016 showed how sanitation, when done with a resource recovery and reuse focus can contribute towards achieving at least fourteen of the SDGs, especially in an urban context. Recovering the resources embedded in excreta and wastewater like nutrients, water and energy contributes towards achieving Goal 12 (sustainable consumption and production) and Goal 2 (zero hunger) while ensuring adequate sanitation and wastewater management along the entire value chain in cities contributes to Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities), Goal 1 (no poverty) and Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth).

Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

Affordable and Clean Energy - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 7 targets :

• By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
• By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
• By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
• By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
• By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Decent Work and Economic Growth - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
World Pensions Council (WPC) development economists have argued that the twin considerations of long-term economic growth and infrastructure investment weren’t prioritized enough: “More worryingly, ‘Work and Economic Growth’ and ‘Technological Innovation and Infrastructure Investment’ joined the [SDGs] priority list at number 8 and number 9 respectively, a rather mediocre ranking which defies economic common sense” 
Goal 8 targets :

• Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries
• Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
• Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
• Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead
• By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
• By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
• Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
• Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
• By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
• Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
• Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries
• By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Reduced Inequalities - Reduce income inequality within and among countries

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Sustainable Cities and Communities - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Responsible Consumption and Production - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13: Climate Action

Climate Action - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by regulating emissions and promoting developments in renewable energy
Nations and other parties negotiating at the UN have highlighted the links between the post-2015 SDG process, the Financing for Development process to be concluded in Addis Ababa in July 2015, and the COP 21 Climate Change conference in Paris in December 2015.
In May 2015, a report concluded that only a very ambitious climate deal in Paris in 2015 will enable countries to reach the sustainable development goals and targets. The report also states that tackling climate change will only be possible if the SDGs are met. Further, development and climate are inextricably linked, particularly around poverty, gender equality, and energy. The UN encourages the public sector to take initiative in this effort to minimize negative impacts on the environment.
This renewed emphasis on climate change mitigation was made possible by the partial Sino-American convergence that developed in 2015-2016, notably at the UN COP21 summit (Paris) and ensuing G20 conference (Hangzhou). 

Goal 14: Life Below Water

Life Below Water - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15: Life on Land

Life on Land - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Partnerships for the Goals - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

Targets and indicators

As of August 2015, there were 169 proposed targets for these goals and 304 proposed indicators to show compliance