Sustainable Development Goals. An overview

 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were established at the United Nations conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil in 2012. In 2015, all 193 member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, outlining 17 goals and 169 targets. 

In July 2023, the UN has published a report which found that of 140 targets that had a sufficient data to be evaluated, 50% had moderate or severe deviations from the intended trajectory since 2015. 30% of targets had no progress or even showed a regress. 

Based on the pace of the progress since 2015, none of the goal is on track to be achieved globally by 2030. 

Below is an overview of the SDG goals and their importance.

Goal 1 - No Poverty. Poverty is not just a lack of income. It's a lack of education, food, health care, shelter, political inclusion, choice, safety and dignity. 

Goal 2 - Zero Hunger. If we don't act now, 600 million people will face hunger by 2030. That's 7% of world's population. 

Goal 3 - Good Health and Well-Being. Health care is not just for the few, the elite and the affluent. It's for everyone. 

Goal 4 - Quality Education. If we don't act now, 84 million children and young people are at risk of being out of school by 2030. 

Goal 5 - Gender Equality. At the current rate of progress, gender equality is 300 years away. 

Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation. It is estimated that 2.2 billion people still lack safe drinking water. 

Goal 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy. Around 2.3 billion people are still cooking with unsafe and polluting fuels. That's 1 in 4 people cooking with wood, charcoal, crop waste or kerosene. 

Goal 8 - Descent Work and Economic Growth. Globally, nearly 1 in 4 young people are not in education, employment or training.  

Goal 9 - Industries, Innovation and Infrastructure. 34% of world's population (2.7 billion people) still don't have internet access. 

Goal 10 - Reduced Inequalities. 10% of the world population owns 76% of the global wealth. Middle 40% owns 22% and the bottom 50% owns only 2% of the global wealth. 

Goal 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities. Future-proof our cities with affordable housing, electric transport, renewable energy, green public spaces, clean water and sanitation, sustainable waste solutions for everyone. 

Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production. A staggering 931 million tons of food is wasted every year, despite a huge number of the global population going hungry. 

Goal 13 - Climate Action. To preserve a liveable climate, greenhouse emissions need to be cut by 43% by 2030. 

Goal 14 - Life Below Water. Common ocean plastic waste (food wrappers, plastic bottles, shopping bags, straws) kill and replace our fishes. If this continues by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fishes by weight.

Goal 15 - Life on Land. 1 in 5 reptile species worldwide are threatened with extinction. 

Goal 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Hate has no place in our homes, workplace, school, streets, anywhere. 

Goal 17 - Partnership for the Goals. Global finance systems need to work for developing countries, not against them.