9.1 Sustainable development goals

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide a global framework for addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, these 17 goals aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030.

The SDGs cover a wide range of issues, from poverty and hunger to climate action and biodiversity protection. They emphasize the interconnectedness of environmental conservation, social equity, and economic growth in achieving sustainable development for present and future generations.

Sustainable development goals

• Sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide a framework for addressing global challenges related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice
• SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• There are 17 SDGs that cover a wide range of social, economic, and environmental issues

Defining sustainable development

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• Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• Balances economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection
• Aims to improve quality of life while preserving natural resources and ecosystems

Environmental pillar of sustainability

• Focuses on protecting and preserving the natural environment
• Includes issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and pollution
• Emphasizes sustainable resource management and conservation of natural habitats

Social pillar of sustainability

• Addresses social issues such as poverty, inequality, education, health, and human rights
• Aims to ensure that all individuals have access to basic needs and opportunities
• Promotes social inclusion, diversity, and community well-being

Economic pillar of sustainability

• Focuses on economic growth and development that is inclusive and sustainable
• Encourages responsible production and consumption patterns
• Aims to create decent work opportunities and reduce income inequality

UN sustainable development goals

• In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 SDGs as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• SDGs provide a global framework for addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges
• Each goal has specific targets and indicators to measure progress

Goal 1: No poverty

• Aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere
• Targets include reducing the proportion of people living in poverty and ensuring access to basic services
• Strategies involve promoting inclusive economic growth and social protection systems

Goal 2: Zero hunger

• Seeks to end hunger, achieve food security, and improve nutrition
• Targets include ensuring access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food for all people
• Promotes sustainable agriculture practices and resilient food systems

Goal 3: Good health and well-being

• Aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
• Targets include reducing maternal and child mortality rates and combating communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria)
• Emphasizes access to quality healthcare services and essential medicines

Goal 4: Quality education

• Seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• Targets include ensuring access to free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education
• Promotes development of relevant skills for employment and entrepreneurship

Goal 5: Gender equality

• Aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Targets include ending all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls
• Promotes women's full and effective participation in decision-making and leadership roles

Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation

• Seeks to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Targets include achieving universal access to safe and affordable drinking water and adequate sanitation
• Promotes water-use efficiency and integrated water resources management

Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy

• Aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
• Targets include increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
• Promotes energy efficiency and clean energy technologies

Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth

• Seeks to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all
• Targets include sustaining per capita economic growth and achieving higher levels of productivity
• Promotes policies that support entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation

Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

• Aims to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation
• Targets include developing quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure (transportation, energy, communication)
• Promotes adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes

Goal 10: Reduced inequalities

• Seeks to reduce inequality within and among countries
• Targets include promoting income growth of the bottom 40% of the population and ensuring equal opportunities
• Encourages adoption of policies that achieve greater equality (social protection, fiscal policies)

Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

• Aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
• Targets include ensuring access to safe and affordable housing and transportation systems
• Promotes participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management

Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

• Seeks to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Targets include achieving sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
• Promotes adoption of sustainable practices by companies and public procurement policies

Goal 13: Climate action

• Aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Targets include strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
• Promotes integration of climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning

Goal 14: Life below water

• Seeks to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development
• Targets include reducing marine pollution and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems
• Promotes sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture

Goal 15: Life on land

• Aims to protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt biodiversity loss
• Targets include ensuring conservation and sustainable use of freshwater ecosystems and forests
• Promotes integration of ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning

Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

• Seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Targets include reducing all forms of violence and promoting the rule of law
• Promotes participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

• Aims to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
• Targets include enhancing international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries
• Promotes multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources

Challenges in achieving SDGs

• Lack of financial resources and investment in SDG implementation
• Insufficient political will and commitment from governments
• Limited awareness and engagement from the private sector and civil society
• Difficulty in measuring and monitoring progress towards SDG targets
• Complexity and interconnectedness of SDGs require integrated and holistic approaches

Role of governments in SDG implementation

• Developing national strategies and policies aligned with SDGs
• Allocating financial resources and budgets for SDG implementation
• Creating enabling environments for private sector and civil society participation
• Ensuring policy coherence and coordination across different sectors and levels of government
• Monitoring and reporting on SDG progress at the national level

Role of businesses in SDG implementation

• Aligning business strategies and operations with SDGs
• Investing in sustainable technologies and practices
• Collaborating with governments and civil society to achieve SDG targets
• Providing innovative solutions to sustainable development challenges
• Reporting on SDG contributions and impacts

Role of individuals in SDG implementation

• Adopting sustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns
• Engaging in community-level initiatives and actions
• Advocating for SDG implementation and holding governments and businesses accountable
• Volunteering time and skills to support SDG projects and programs
• Educating and raising awareness about SDGs among peers and networks

Monitoring and reporting on SDG progress

• Developing indicators and metrics to measure progress towards SDG targets
• Collecting and analyzing data on SDG indicators at national and sub-national levels
• Preparing voluntary national reviews (VNRs) to report on SDG progress at the global level
• Engaging stakeholders in monitoring and reporting processes
• Using SDG data to inform policy-making and decision-making processes

SDGs and environmental conservation

• SDGs provide a framework for integrating environmental conservation into sustainable development efforts
• Several SDGs directly address environmental issues (climate action, life below water, life on land)
• Achieving SDGs requires sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems
• Environmental conservation is essential for ensuring long-term sustainability and resilience

SDGs and biodiversity protection

• SDG 15 specifically aims to halt biodiversity loss and protect terrestrial ecosystems
• Biodiversity is essential for maintaining ecosystem services and supporting human well-being
• SDGs promote sustainable use of biodiversity and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources
• Achieving SDGs requires mainstreaming biodiversity considerations into national and local planning processes

SDGs and climate change mitigation

• SDG 13 specifically aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Achieving SDGs requires transitioning to low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways
• SDGs promote adoption of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures
• Climate change mitigation efforts can also contribute to other SDGs (poverty reduction, health, economic growth)

SDGs and sustainable resource management

• Several SDGs address sustainable management of natural resources (water, land, forests, oceans)
• Achieving SDGs requires efficient and equitable use of natural resources
• SDGs promote adoption of sustainable production and consumption patterns
• Sustainable resource management is essential for ensuring long-term availability of resources for future generations

SDGs and circular economy

• SDGs promote transition towards a circular economy that minimizes waste and maximizes resource efficiency
• Circular economy approaches can contribute to several SDGs (responsible consumption and production, sustainable cities, industry and innovation)
• SDGs encourage adoption of circular business models and design principles
• Achieving a circular economy requires collaboration and partnerships among different stakeholders

SDGs and green technology

• SDGs promote development and deployment of green technologies that support sustainable development
• Green technologies can contribute to several SDGs (affordable and clean energy, industry and innovation, climate action)
• SDGs encourage investment in research and development of green technologies
• Adoption of green technologies requires enabling policies and financial incentives

SDGs and sustainable agriculture

• SDG 2 specifically aims to end hunger and promote sustainable agriculture
• Sustainable agriculture practices can contribute to several SDGs (poverty reduction, food security, climate action)
• SDGs promote adoption of agroecological approaches and climate-smart agriculture
• Achieving sustainable agriculture requires support for small-scale farmers and rural communities

SDGs and sustainable urban development

• SDG 11 specifically aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
• Sustainable urban development can contribute to several SDGs (poverty reduction, health, economic growth)
• SDGs promote adoption of integrated and participatory urban planning and management
• Achieving sustainable urban development requires investment in infrastructure and services

SDGs and renewable energy transition

• SDG 7 specifically aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
• Renewable energy transition can contribute to several SDGs (climate action, economic growth, health)
• SDGs promote increased share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
• Achieving renewable energy transition requires enabling policies and financial incentives

SDGs and sustainable transportation

• Sustainable transportation is essential for achieving several SDGs (sustainable cities, climate action, health)
• SDGs promote development of safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems
• Sustainable transportation options include public transit, cycling, and walking
• Achieving sustainable transportation requires investment in infrastructure and behavior change

SDGs and waste reduction and management

• SDG 12 specifically aims to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, including waste reduction
• Waste reduction and management can contribute to several SDGs (sustainable cities, responsible consumption and production, health)
• SDGs promote adoption of 3R principles (reduce, reuse, recycle) and circular economy approaches
• Achieving waste reduction and management requires behavior change and infrastructure development

SDGs and water conservation and management

• SDG 6 specifically aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Water conservation and management can contribute to several SDGs (health, food security, ecosystem protection)
• SDGs promote adoption of integrated water resources management and water-use efficiency measures
• Achieving water conservation and management requires investment in infrastructure and governance systems

SDGs and air pollution reduction

• Air pollution reduction is essential for achieving several SDGs (health, sustainable cities, climate action)
• SDGs promote adoption of clean technologies and fuels to reduce air pollution
• Air pollution reduction measures include emissions standards, monitoring, and enforcement
• Achieving air pollution reduction requires collaboration among different sectors and stakeholders

SDGs and ecosystem restoration

• SDG 15 specifically aims to protect and restore terrestrial ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss
• Ecosystem restoration can contribute to several SDGs (climate action, food security, water security)
• SDGs promote adoption of nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches
• Achieving ecosystem restoration requires long-term commitment and investment

SDGs and environmental education and awareness

• Environmental education and awareness are essential for achieving all SDGs
• SDGs promote integration of sustainable development into education curricula at all levels
• Environmental education can empower individuals and communities to take action for sustainability
• Achieving environmental education and awareness requires partnerships among schools, civil society, and media