Adopting the Global Goals for Sustainable Development
World leaders seek to eradicate extreme poverty, end climate change and fight inequality with ambitious goals through 2030
This September, 193 national leaders will commit to adopting 17 global goals as part of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs) initiative in efforts to end extreme poverty and reverse climate change by 2030. The goals are a world-wide plan of action to solve some of the world’s biggest problems and follow the successful Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were in place from 2000-2015 and galvanized unprecedented action.
How successful were the MDGs? Since 1990, more than one billion people have exited extreme poverty, a goal that was achieved five years ahead of schedule. Preventable child deaths have been cut in half while the maternal death rate dropped by 45%. Another 2.6 billion people have access to improved drinking water. Not bad, right?
While the progress has been incredible, there is still much to be done. One in nine people goes to sleep hungry. Every year, six million children die before their fifth birthday. 2.5 billion lack basic sanitation. There are 17 global goals created to assuage these and other challenges.
The success of the global goals affects everyone across the planet. They are about furthering human progress and respecting human dignity. On top of that, we can be the first generation to end extreme poverty and curb climate change.
Pledges are extremely important to drive the goals forward, but they must be tracked. We need robust monitoring and accountability systems at global and national levels, as well as more open source data platforms.
Finally, family planning has been cited as mitigating climate change, but it has been a hard topic to get on the climate agenda. A more inclusive agenda benefits us all. There needs to be a stronger narrative between addressing global development challenges and the impact on reversing climate change.
Other than making sure global development and climate change are part of the same conversation, there is plenty that you can do to get involved.
- Tell people! Find what goal matters most to you and share.
- Read Richard Curtis’ The World’s Largest Lesson.
- Join Project Everyone.
- Download the Fenton Global Goals toolkit.
- Call or write Fenton today.
This article originally appeared in our August 2015 newsletter. To help change the world with us, subscribe today.