Sustainability & The Sustainable

Development Goals: A Summary

Module 1: Sustainability and Society
1. What is Sustainability?
• Definition (Brundtland Commission, 1987): "meeting the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs" [1, 2].
• Society's ability to exist and develop without depleting natural resources
needed for the future [3].
• Three Dimensions (Pillars): Environmental, Economic, and Social [3]. Many
definitions emphasize the environmental dimension, including climate change
and biodiversity loss [3, 4].
• Sustainability vs. Sustainable Development:
o Sustainability: Often seen as the long-term goal (e.g., a more
sustainable world) [4].
o Sustainable Development: Refers to the processes and pathways
used to achieve that goal [4].
2. History of Sustainability
• Origins: Concept began around the Industrial Revolution, marked by
increased CO2/greenhouse gas emissions, air/water pollution, and
deforestation [5, 6].
• Early Concerns:
o 1798: Thomas Malthus predicted population growth would surpass
food supply [6].
o 19th Century: Discussions on industrialization's impacts;
environmentalist groups formed (e.g., Sierra Club in 1892); George
Perkins Marsh warned of potential human extinction (1864) [7].
• Post-WWII Growth: Environmental concerns intensified, especially regarding
plastics, chemicals, pesticides, and fossil fuels [8].
o Example: The 1952 London air pollution incident killed 12,000
people [2].
• Key Milestones:
o 1972: Term "sustainability" first used; first UN Conference on the
Human Environment held [2].
o 1987: UN Brundtland Commission published "Our Common Future"
report, popularizing the definition of sustainable development [2, 9].
o 1988: Global warming recognized widely after a NASA scientist
testified to the U.S. Senate [9].
o 1997: Kyoto Protocol adopted – an international treaty committing
state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [10].
o 2015: Paris Agreement signed by nearly every country, a legally-
binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol, aiming to limit global warming
to 1.5°C [11].
3. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Framework: Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015 [12].
 • Goals: 17 interlinked goals for 2030, calling for efforts to end poverty, fight
inequalities, and tackle climate change, ensuring no one is left behind [12,
13].
• Examples of SDGs: SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 14: Life Below Water,
SDG 15: Life on Land [5].
• Importance:
o Global Call to Action: Provide a common agenda for pressing global
challenges [13, 14].
o Basic Needs: Help provide shelter, food, and water, utilizing
sustainable energy [15].
o Environmental Protection: Encourage sustainable agriculture (e.g.,
crop rotation), reduce fossil fuel use, and protect biodiversity [15, 16].
o Stability: Contribute to global balance and financial stability through
new employment opportunities in clean energy [16].
• Challenges:
o Financial Constraints: Significant funding gap; need for private capital
and international commitments [17].
o Food Security: Persistent hunger, with 680 million projected to still
face it by 2030 [18].
o Climate Change: An overarching challenge, leading to increased
natural disasters, disproportionately affecting vulnerable countries [18].
o Education: Many children still lack access or suffer from poor-quality
education [19].
o Gender Inequality: Persists globally, hindering progress across all
SDGs [19].
o Digital Divide: Exacerbates inequalities, requiring universal internet
access and leveraging digital technologies [20].
o Political/Institutional: Political polarization and lack of consensus on
issues like finance and trade impede progress [20].
4. Sustainable Development in India
• Commitment: India, along with 193 member countries, committed to the 17
SDGs in 2015 [12].
• Global Role: Crucial for achieving the goals as it is home to ~17% of the
world population [12].
• SDG India Index:
o Developed by NITI Aayog and the United Nations to measure India's
and its States' progress towards the SDGs for 2030 [12, 21].
o Provides a holistic view of social, economic, and environmental
status [21].
o The Baseline Report 2018 covered 13 out of 17 SDGs (excluding
Goals 12, 13, 14, and 17 in that report) [22].
o Tracks 62 National Indicators [22].
• Key Government Initiatives:
o Ratifying Paris Agreement: Emphasizes climate justice and
sustainable lifestyles, aiming to limit global temperature increase to
well below 2°C, and ideally 1.5°C [23, 24].
o Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects: India has issued
191 million Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), accounting for
13.27% of the global total. Most projects are private sector-led,
facilitating significant investments (e.g., Rs 583,751 crore) [24, 25].
 o State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC): 28 states and 5
UTs have submitted plans to address climate change through
adaptation and mitigation [25, 26].
o Coal Cess and National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF): India
implemented a carbon tax on coal (Rs. 200/ton) [26]. The NCEF
finances clean energy initiatives [27].
o National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC):
Established to assist states in vulnerable areas with adaptation
measures [27, 28].
• India's Contributions (Examples):
o Clean Fuel: Introduction of BS-VI petrol and diesel in major cities
(2019) and nationwide (2020) [29].
o No Plastics: Pledged to eliminate all single-use plastic by 2022
[29].
o International Solar Alliance (ISA): Co-founded by India, aims to
deploy 1000 GW of solar energy and mobilize over $1000 billion into
solar power by 2030 [29, 30].
o Climate Change Targets: Committed to reducing emissions
intensity of GDP by 33-35% by 2030 (from 2005 levels) and
achieving 40% cumulative electric power capacity from non-fossil
fuels by 2030 [30]. Also, aims to create an additional carbon sink of
2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through forest/tree cover by
2030 [31].

Overview of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
are a global call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all
people enjoy peace and prosperity [1, 2]. These goals are interconnected, and
success in one often requires addressing issues linked to others [2]. They provide
clear guidelines and targets for all countries to adopt, considering their priorities and
global environmental challenges [3].

Here are the 17 SDGs:

1. No Poverty
• Objective: To end poverty in all its forms everywhere [4]. This includes
addressing not only direct poverty but also the services people rely on and
social policies that either promote or prevent poverty [5].
• Challenges:
o The COVID-19 pandemic significantly exacerbated poverty, increasing
the global poverty rate and setting back progress by three to four years
[5, 6].
o Conflict, such as the war in Ukraine, has led to plummeting incomes
and pushed millions into poverty, undoing years of progress [7].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
 o Target 10.1: By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income
growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than
the national average [8].
§ Indicator 10.1.1: Growth rates of household expenditure or
income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the
population and the total population [9].
2. Zero Hunger
• Objective: To end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition,
and promote sustainable agriculture [10].
• Challenges:
o In 2022, approximately 9.2% of the world population (about 735
million people) faced chronic hunger, a significant increase from
2019 [10].
o Climate shocks, the locust crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic
have stressed food systems, reducing purchasing power and food
accessibility for vulnerable populations [11, 12].
o A profound change in the global food and agriculture system is needed
to feed today's hungry and the additional 2 billion people expected by
2050 [10].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in
particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including
infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round [13].
o Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and
implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and
production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for
adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and
other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
[13].
3. Good Health and Well-being
• Objective: To ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all
ages [12].
• Challenges:
o Despite strides in improving health, inequalities in healthcare access
persist [14].
o The COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing crises have impeded
progress, leading to the largest decline in childhood vaccinations in
three decades and increased deaths from tuberculosis and malaria
[14].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 3.1: By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less
than 70 per 100,000 live births [15].
o Target 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children
under 5 years of age [15].
o Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk
protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access
 to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and
vaccines for all [16].
4. Quality Education
• Objective: To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and
promote lifelong learning opportunities for all [17].
• Challenges:
o Progress was slow before the pandemic, and COVID-19 caused
devastating learning losses, increasing educational inequalities [17,
18].
o An estimated 84 million children and young people will remain out
of school, and 300 million students will lack basic literacy and
numeracy skills without additional measures [17].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free,
equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to
relevant and effective learning outcomes [19, 20].
o Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to
affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education,
including university [21].
o Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge
and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including,
among others, through education for sustainable development and
sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a
culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation
of cultural diversity and of culture's contribution to sustainable
development [18, 22].
5. Gender Equality
• Objective: To achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
[23].
• Challenges:
o Gender inequality persists everywhere, affecting social progress
[23]. Women earn 23% less than men globally and spend three times
as many hours in unpaid care work [23].
o Sexual violence and exploitation, unequal division of unpaid work,
and discrimination in public office remain huge barriers,
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic [23, 24].
o At current rates, it will take centuries to end child marriage, close legal
protection gaps, and achieve equal representation in power and
parliaments [24].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all females
everywhere [25].
§ Indicator 5.1.1: Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to
promote, enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination on
the basis of sex [25].
o Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and
forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) [26].
 o Target 5.5: Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal
opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political,
economic and public life [27, 28].
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
• Objective: To ensure availability and sustainable management of water
and sanitation for all [29].
• Challenges:
o Billions still lack access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene
services [29]. In 2022, 2.2 billion lacked safely managed drinking
water, and 3.5 billion lacked safely managed sanitation [30].
o Water scarcity is projected to increase due to climate change [29].
o Progress is not on track to reach Goal 6 by 2030, requiring increased
investment, capacity-building, and integrated water management [31].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe
and affordable drinking water for all [31, 32].
§ Indicator 6.1.1: Proportion of population using safely managed
drinking water services [32].
o Target 6.2: By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable
sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special
attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable
situations [32, 33].
o Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution,
eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals
and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and
substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally [33, 34].
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
• Objective: To ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all [35].
• Challenges:
o Energy consumption is the dominant contributor to climate
change, accounting for around 60% of global greenhouse gas
emissions [35].
o In 2021, 675 million people worldwide still had no access to
electricity, despite increased access in other areas [36].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 7.1: By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable
and modern energy services [37].
§ Indicator 7.1.1: Proportion of population with access to electricity
[38].
o Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable
energy in the global energy mix [38].
§ Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy
consumption [38].
o Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy
efficiency [39].
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Objective: To promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic
growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all [40].
• Challenges:
o More progress is needed to increase employment opportunities,
especially for young people, and to reduce informal employment
and labor market inequality (e.g., gender pay gap) [41].
o Insufficient investments and under-consumption contribute to the
erosion of the social contract [41].
o Achieving this goal requires wholesale reform of the financial system to
tackle rising debts, economic uncertainty, and trade tensions [42].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with
national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross
domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries
[43].
o Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and
decent work for all women and men, including for young people and
persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value [44, 45].
o Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced
labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the
prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including
recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in
all its forms [46].
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• Objective: To build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and
sustainable industrialization and foster innovation [47].
• Challenges:
o The manufacturing industry's recovery from COVID-19 is
incomplete and uneven [48].
o The share of manufacturing in Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
remains low, challenging the target of doubling industry's share of
GDP by 2030 [48].
o Some areas still remain underserved by mobile broadband
networks [49].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient
infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to
support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on
affordable and fair access for all [50].
o Target 9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and by
2030, to raise significantly the industry's share of employment and
GDP in line with national circumstances as well as to double its share
in least developed countries [51].
o Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to
make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and
 greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and
industrial processes [52, 53].
10. Reduced Inequalities
• Objective: To reduce inequality within and among countries [54].
• Challenges:
o Inequality threatens long-term social and economic development,
harms poverty reduction, and destroys people's sense of fulfillment
[54].
o The COVID-19 pandemic may have reversed progress in reducing
within-country inequality and caused the largest rise in between-
country inequality in three decades [55].
o Requires equitable resource distribution, investment in education/skills,
social protection, combating discrimination, and fostering international
cooperation [8].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 10.1: By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income
growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than
the national average [8].
§ Indicator 10.1.1: Growth rates of household expenditure or
income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the
population and the total population [9].
o Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and
political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race,
ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status [9].
o Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration
and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned
and well-managed migration policies [56].
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Objective: To make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable [57].
• Challenges:
o Rapid urbanization, especially in the developing world, outpaces
the development of housing, infrastructure, and services, leading
to a rise in slums [58]. In 2020, an estimated 1.1 billion urban residents
lived in slums [58].
o Requires transforming how urban spaces are built and managed,
ensuring access to affordable housing, upgrading slums, investing in
public transport, and creating green spaces [59].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and
affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums [60].
§ Indicator 11.1.1: Proportion of the urban population living in slum
households [60].
o Target 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible
and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety [60,
61].
 o Target 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world's
cultural and natural heritage [62].
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
• Objective: To ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
[63].
• Challenges:
o If the global population reaches 9.8 billion by 2050, almost three
planets' worth of natural resources will be needed to sustain
current lifestyles [63].
o Global crises have led to a resurgence in fossil fuel subsidies,
nearly doubling from 2020 to 2021 [63].
o Significant food waste persists: in 2021, 13.2% of the world's food
was lost after harvest, despite 828 million people facing hunger [64].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 12.1: Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on
Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, with developed
countries taking the lead [65].
o Target 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail
and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and
supply chains, including post-harvest losses [66].
o Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through
prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse [67].
13. Climate Action
• Objective: To take urgent action to combat climate change and its
impacts [68].
• Challenges:
o Human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate
change at faster rates than anticipated, leading to changing weather
patterns, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events [68].
o Between 2010 and 2020, highly vulnerable regions experienced 15
times higher human mortality rates from floods, droughts, and
storms [69].
o Sea levels reached a new record in 2022 [69].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-
related hazards and natural disasters in all countries [70].
§ Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing people and directly
affected people attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
[70].
o Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies,
strategies and planning [71].
o Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and
institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact
reduction and early warning [72].
14. Life Below Water
• Objective: To conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and
marine resources for sustainable development [73].
 • Challenges:
o Marine pollution is reaching alarming levels, with over 17 million
metric tons clogging the ocean in 2021 [73].
o Ocean acidification (average pH 8.1, 30% more acidic than pre-
industrial times) threatens marine life and food security [74].
o Requires increased funding for ocean science, intensified conservation
efforts, and urgent climate action [74].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution
of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities [75].
o Target 14.3: Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification,
including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels [76, 77].
o Target 14.4: By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end
overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive
fishing practices [77, 78].
15. Life on Land
• Objective: To protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt
and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss [79].
• Challenges:
o In 2022, 21% of reptile species were threatened [80].
o Between 2015 and 2019, at least 100 million hectares of healthy and
productive land were degraded every year, impacting 1.3 billion
people [80].
o Halting deforestation and restoring terrestrial ecosystems is crucial to
reduce the loss of natural habitats and biodiversity [80].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and
sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and
their services [81].
§ Indicator 15.1.1: Forest area as a proportion of the total land
area [82].
o Target 15.2: By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable
management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore
degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and
reforestation globally [82, 83].
o Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land
and soil, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world [83].
16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
• Objective: 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 [84].
• Challenges:
o Civilian deaths from conflicts increased by 53% between 2021 and
2022, marking the first rise since 2015 [84].
 o In 2021, there were approximately 458,000 intentional homicides, the
highest in two decades [85].
o Requires strengthening the rule of law, promoting human rights,
reducing illicit arms flow, combating corruption, and ensuring inclusive
participation [85].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death
rates everywhere [86].
§ Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per
100,000 population, by sex and age [86].
o Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international
levels and ensure equal access to justice for all [87].
o Target 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their
forms [88, 89].
17. Partnerships for the Goals
• Objective: To strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
global partnership for sustainable development [90].
• Challenges:
o The 2030 Agenda is universal and requires partnerships between
governments, the private sector, and civil society [90].
o Significant funding gaps exist to achieve the SDGs, and public
funding is insufficient, necessitating the unlocking of private capital and
fulfilling international financial commitments [91].
o Developed countries need to fulfill their official development
assistance (ODA) commitments [92].
• Targets & Indicators (Examples):
o Target 17.1: Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including
through international support to developing countries, to improve
domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection [92, 93].
o Target 17.2: Developed countries to implement fully their official
development assistance commitments, including the commitment to
achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for ODA to
developing countries [93, 94].
o Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable
development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that
mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial
resources [95].
§ Indicator 17.16.1: Number of countries reporting progress in
multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring
frameworks that "support the achievement of the sustainable
development goals" [96].
These goals underscore a common agenda for addressing pressing global
challenges and uniting efforts for positive change for both humans and the planet [3,
97].