The Imperatives of Sustainable Development

Discover Sustainability

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were conceived at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 (Rio + 20), and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. They are part of a larger framework, namely the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Since then, many countries round the world have been engaging in respect of their implementation. The slow progress seen in the implementation of the SDGs, is in contrast with the many negative implications of not implementing them. This paper outlines the relevance of the SDGs, the barriers currently seen in respect of their implementation and outlines what is at stake, if they are not duly implemented. To accomplish this, a thorough literature review of contributions published in the field of SDGs in English between the years 2012–2020 was performed.

At the turn of the millennium, the human development on the Earth called for a structured approach. That is when 189 states agreed upon key areas of global cooperation to ensure well-being for all. These key areas then translated into eight Millennium Development Goals, each split into several targets, dealing with poverty, education, gender equality, health and environmental sustainability. For 15 years these have been the ultimate goals of the United Nations member states. There has been progress on many targets, but the environmental conditions have been consistently deteriorating. In response to this, the MDGs and the outcome of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development have merged into Sustainable Development Goals, which will become the new guideline for the humanity until 2030. This article tries to answer what are the differences between these two sets of goals and what factors make the SDGs a more promising choice than the MDGs used to be.

Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (Briefing Paper 18/2012), 2012

2020

Received 04 January 2020 Accepted 11 June 2020 ABSTRACT In 2015 the United Na ons put forth 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are intended to be largely achieved by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals are a larger follow‐ up to the United Na ons’ Millennial Development Goals (MDGs), agreed to 2000, which were the first attempt by the UN to create metrics for improving societies that were to be used across the world (From MDGs to SDGs, n.d.). This study is on trends in attention to the SDGs, as indicated by trends in the produc on of academic ar cles on the topical areas of each of the 17 SDGs. Research related to the Sustainable Development Goals is important to see what is being prioritized and what needs to get more focus (Fayomi, 2018). The sub‐goals of the SDGs are called “indicators.” Key topics and terms of the SDGs and their indicators can be used in searching Google Scholar year by year to ascertain cardinal and ordinal measures of trends in article publicat...

The UN Sustainable Development Goals set ambitious targets aimed at reducing poverty and improving the state of human society. The goals set here are admirable however, as this paper argues, they are too large in their scope and therefore dilute their potential to set realistic reductions in poverty.

2020

The United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015are rightly celebrated as a major achievement: an agreement between nationson a comprehensive plan to tackle worldwide social and environmental crises.However, they rely on elements that are likely to undermine their success, andon trade-offs where some SDGs will have to be sacrificed to achieve others.Of particular concern is the injunction to foster economic growth, defined asgrowth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP).The SDGs include specific goals for conservation, protection and restorationof land, sea and climate for the first time. A fourth goal (SDG12), ‘sustainableconsumption and production patterns’, also implies environmental limits.These four goals are an advance on the 2001 Millennium Development Goalswhich, though they talked of ‘sustainable development’ in general terms,otherwise ignored the Earth system that supports all life, including human life.

Ambio

EPRA International Journal of Economic and Business Review, 2020

Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The Brundtland Commission Report 1987 defines Sustainable Development thus "Sustainable Development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." From the very beginning the United Nations have taken the initiative to make Sustainable Development a reality to protect our planet from degradation and depletion in various forms. The Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment or Stockholm Declaration was adopted on June, 1972 by the UN Conference on the Human Environment at the 21 st plenary meeting as the first document in International Environmental law to recognize the right to a healthy environment. In the declaration, the nations agreed to accept responsibility for any environmental effects caused by their actions. Keeping this in view the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, adopted 27 principles intended to guide future sustainable development around the world in tune with the Stockholm Declaration 1972 on Human Environment. In this paper an attempt would be made to study the various aspects of sustainable development especially reducing inequalities in all forms, including the empowerment of women and girls' and the most marginalized. To focus on balanced and sustainable economic growth with employment creation which is fundamental for addressing the multidimensional nature of poverty and which must be decoupled from environmental degradation.

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, 2023

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000-2015) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015-30) illustrate that we are one global human family. We are interconnected. Issues of poverty, ill health and natural disasters have an impact directly or indirectly on all the people and nations of the world. Today, the SDGs represent the global development agenda. Governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the SDGs, and ensuring follow-up and review over the coming 8 years, at the national, regional and global levels. However, according to SDG 17, which concerns partnerships, there is also a place for all stakeholders (government, business, academia, civil society and local community) to play a role. This entry, after a brief summary of the global development agenda, explains the relationship between SDGs and the social and solidarity economy (SSE) principles and models to illustrate the compatibility of the two, and showcases the SSE as a community-based strategy for the effective localising of the SDGs.