The Sustainable Development Conference took place in Rio,
Brazil in June 2012. The main outcome of the conference was the "practical
measure for implementing sustainable development", which manifested in the
Sustainable Development Goals. [1] The
conference was organized as a result of the General Assembly (GA) resolution 64/236, which also marked
the "20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED), and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD). [2]
"What is sustainable development?
Sustainable
development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
the future generations to meet their own needs. Seen as the guiding principle
for long-term global development, sustainable development consists of three
pillars: economic development, social development and environmental
protection."[3]
However, the SDGs were not created from a vacuum, prior to
launching the SDGs in 2015, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were
launched in 2000. The purpose of the MDGs is relatively similar to that of the
SDGs, and that is to achieve medium and long term developmental goals. The
following are the 8 MDGs that were sought to be fulfilled by 2015:
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Achieve universal primary education
- Promote gender equality and empower women
- Reduce child morality
- Improve maternal health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
- Ensure environmental sustainability
- Develop a global partnership for development
Even though the 8 MDGs were not fulfilled by 2015, the developmental agenda continued in order to
achieve the goals. Thus, the SDGs contain 17 goals, which contain 169 targets;
the SDGs are also known as Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. The purpose of breaking down the goals into
targets is to allow for a more simple approach for all the countries to follow
and implement. There are several reasons as to why the developmental agenda
will continue to be implemented to 2030, and one of them simply is that:
"We don't have plan B because there is
no planet B." - Ban
Ki-moon, UNSG (2007-2016).
 |
| The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (postage stamp) |
In addition, recognizing and acknowledging that
"eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions…is the greatest
global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable
development", is why the SDGs are not targeting some countries while
excluding others; on the contrary, all countries are expected to work towards
achieving the goals. [4] Despite most
member states agreeing with the developmental agenda, there are disagreements
on some of the specifics of the goals, as well as the fact that there seem to
be a lot of goals and targets for countries to focus on.
Regardless, of the various views towards the SDGs and their
effectiveness, the SDG progress
report that was released in 2017 has shown that there is steady progress
across the 17 goals. However, like many global projects on such a large scale,
there will be challenges along the way to implement and fulfill these goals;
nonetheless, it is only 2018 and there are 12 years to go!
To end this post with a reminder about the United Nations,
from none other than the Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld (UNSG 1953 - 1961):
"Dag
Hammarskjöld famously said that the United Nations "was not created to take mankind to
heaven, but to save humanity from hell." [5]
[Side note: I'll also
recommend reading The United
Nations: Very Short Introduction by Jussi M.
Hanhimaki to learn more about the UN and its history.]
____________________________________
Sources:
1) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/rio20
2) https://web.archive.org/web/20140818215812/http://www.uncsd2012.org/about.html
3) https://web.archive.org/web/20140818215812/http://www.uncsd2012.org/about.html
4) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld
5) https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2016-03-30/secretary-generals-remarks-dag-hammarskj%C3%B6ld-lecture-%E2%80%9Cevolving
Hanhimaki, Jussi M. The United Nations: Very Short Introduction. 2015. Print.
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