On Friday, September 25, 2015, in the city of New York, the 193 member states of the United Nations approved the document titled "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" in their General Assembly. This document establishes a roadmap towards a more equitable, sustainable, prosperous, and peaceful world. At its core, it presents a set of 17 goals and 169 targets known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Birth of Sustainable Development
On October 19, 1987, the United Nations (UN) presented an analysis of the current state of the planet. This report, known as "Our Common Future" or the Brundtland Report, bears this name because it was led by the former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland. In this report, the concept of "Sustainable Development" was introduced, defining it as "development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
This analysis has undergone review and updating by the international community, involving leaders, scientists, academics, and other relevant stakeholders. These revisions have been carried out through the establishment of Agenda 21 (introduced in 1992), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, presented in the year 2000 [1]), and starting in 2016, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as Agenda 2030.
The Beginning of the SDGs
During the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in June 2012 (held 20 years after the famous Rio Summit in 1992), the initiative "The Future We Want" was introduced. This planning document became the foundation for the development of the Agenda 2030. In this document, the importance of establishing a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on Agenda 21 [3], the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation [4], and the Principles of Rio [5] is emphasized. Additionally, it underscores the need for these goals to incorporate the three dimensions of sustainable development and their interrelationships in a balanced manner (Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Colombia). During this conference, several countries expressed concerns that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) would not be achieved and emphasized the need for a successor that would adequately address the identified limitations (Herrera-Cano, Uribe, Tamayo, Murcia, and Perez, 2016).
The Agenda that extends until the year 2030, also known as the "Post-2015 Development Agenda", emerged as a result of collaboration among representatives from 70 countries and global public consultations conducted by the United Nations. In these consultations, citizens were invited to select what they considered their priorities (World Vision, 2019).
The Agenda 2030 is presented as an action plan structured around five core areas, referred to as the "5Ps". These areas aim primarily to promote the well-being of people, preserve the health of the planet, foster economic prosperity, maintain peace, and strengthen international partnerships. This agenda encompasses a total of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which in turn include a set of 169 specific targets. These targets are designed with the purpose of balancing the three essential dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social, and environmental dimensions.
The proposed areas, new objectives, and targets came into effect on January 1, 2016, and will guide decisions aimed at addressing urgent global challenges over the next fifteen years. The Agenda 2030 is embodied in the document titled "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" (UN-Habitat). This document is registered with the United Nations under resolution A/RES/70/1 [2], and it was approved by 193 states on September 25, 2015, during the United Nations Summit for Sustainable Development in New York (Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Colombia, n.d.).
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals or the 17 SDGs, which are:
SDG 1: End Poverty
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
SDG 4: Quality Education
SDG 5: Gender Equality
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
SDG 13: Climate Action
SDG 14: Life Below Water
SDG 15: Life on Land
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals
The 5 spheres of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are of vital importance for both humanity and the planet, and they include the following SDGs [6]:
People: They aim to end poverty and hunger in all their forms and dimensions, ensuring that all human beings can live with dignity and equality in a healthy environment. This encompasses SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Planet: They focus on protecting the planet from environmental degradation, promoting sustainable consumption and production, responsible management of natural resources, and urgent measures to address climate change. The goal is to ensure that the planet can meet the needs of both current and future generations, involving SDGs 6, 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Prosperity: They aim to ensure that all people enjoy a prosperous and fulfilling life, and that economic, social, and technological progress develops in harmony with nature. This encompasses SDGs 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
Peace: They are oriented towards promoting peaceful, just, and inclusive societies free from fear and violence. It is recognized that there can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development, and this goal includes SDG 16.
Partnerships: They aim to mobilize the necessary resources to implement this Agenda through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. This partnership is based on a spirit of increased global solidarity and focuses particularly on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people. It involves the collaboration of all countries, stakeholders, and individuals and is realized through SDG 17.
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Notes:
[1] MDGs: They were agreed upon by the United Nations in the year 2000 and consist of 8 goals, including 18 targets and 48 indicators; link: https://www.cepal.org/es/temas/objetivos-de-desarrollo-del-milenio-odm/objetivos-metas-indicadores-odm [2] A/RES/70/1: https://undocs.org/es/A/RES/70/1 [3] Agenda 21: known at the United Nations as Program 21, lists 40 chapters; link: https://www.un.org/spanish/esa/sustdev/agenda21/agenda21toc.htm [4] Johannesburg Implementation Plan: A global summit on sustainable development held from August 26 to September 4, 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa; link: https://www.un.org/spanish/esa/sustdev/WSSDsp_PD.htm - https://unctad.org/es/Docs/aconf199d20_sp.pdf [5] The Rio Principles: There are 27 of them, and they were proclaimed in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Sustainable Development during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992; link: https://www.un.org/spanish/esa/sustdev/agenda21/riodeclaration.htm [6] A/RES/70/1 : https://undocs.org/es/A/RES/70/1
