4.7.1 The Sustainable Development Goals

• Sustainable development is economic development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

• In 2015 the United Nations Member States committed to a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future

  • This blueprint is called The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

• Integral to the blueprint are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and generate economic growth – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests

  • The SDGs build on more than fifty years of work by countries and the United Nations

• The SDGs provide both a target for sustainable development and also a metric to measure and gauge the progress made
   

An Explanation of the 17 SDGs (Source: UN SDGs)

2030 Goal	Explanation
	End all forms of poverty by 2030, including absolute and relative poverty
	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 equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
	Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
	Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
	Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
	Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
	Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
	Reduce inequality within and among countries
	Make cities and human settlements 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 for sustainable development
	Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
	Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
	Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development