The Sustainable Development Goals are a first in human history—a global compact to create a future where nobody is left behind.
The 17 goals were adopted by all countries at the United Nations in September 2015.
They encompass every aspect of human and planetary well-being; a universal call to action to end poverty, to protect Earth and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
The goals were followed, in 2015, by the Paris Climate Agreement— where 196 countries plus the European Union pledged to keep the planet’s temperature at “well below” 2C higher than when the industrial revolution began.
Every country that signed on for Paris also agreed on their Nationally Determined Contributions—pledges that would help them reach their goals.
Member states pledged to mobilize financing, enhance national implementation and strengthen institutions to achieve the sustainable development objectives of the 2030 Agenda, and leave no one behind.
However the United Nations submits, as we enter a new decade it is abundantly clear that much more action is needed. Very few countries have made the changes to keep the promises they have made. Yet everybody is needed on board.
“It is necessary to think of new ways of accelerating SDGs action for those that are still behind in meeting the goals.” UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammed-Bande.
Last year’s Sustainable Goals Summit—the first since the 2030 Agenda was adopted—brought renewed calls for action and concrete plans to get back on track.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the progress being made by governments beginning to integrate the SDGs into their national policies, but he said deadly conflicts, the climate crisis, gender-based violence and persistent and rising inequality were holding everybody back.
World leaders called for a decade of action to deliver the SDGs by 2030 and announced more than 100 ‘accelerated actions’—voluntary undertakings to speed up progress.
