By Greta Se.
In 2015, the United Nations approved the 2030 Agenda as a new action plan and revolutionary development model in which people, the planet, prosperity and peace play a fundamental role. It includes a total of 17 Sustainable Development Goals which will have to be achieved before the year 2030. No one is excluded from this project, nor shall they be left behind on the path leading towards a world of sustainability.
The 2030 agenda includes the 17 following goals for sustainable development:
- “End poverty in all its forms everywhere;
- 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.”1
Given that we now have only nine years to achieve all the objectives mentioned above, the Secretary of the United Nations has invited all economic sectors to take action in favour of development at a global and local scale, as well as encouraging individuals to live in a more sustainable way. Furthermore, numerous leaders and civil society organisations have also demanded that 2021 be a “year of great activism”, because between the 2020-2030 decade we must act to tackle poverty, empower women and girls and face the climate emergency. However, the 2030 Agenda is not free from criticism: it has been highlighted, for example, that its creation was influenced much more by companies than by the common man. In addition, the measures are not being put in place at the expected speed: this has highlighted to some inconsistencies and, with only nine years ahead, all countries still have much to achieve.