UPSC » UPSC CSE Study Materials » General Awareness » Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of seventeen goals that have been set at the global level and are meant to serve as a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all."

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, are a set of seventeen goals that have been set at the global level and are meant to serve as a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” The United Nations General Assembly (UN-GA) adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 with the goal of accomplishing them by the year 2030. They are outlined in a resolution that was passed by the United Nations General Assembly and are collectively referred to as Agenda 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the next set of goals for global development that will take the place of the Millennium Development Goals, which came to an end in 2015. They were developed as part of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Sustainable development goals

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are as follows: (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reduced Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land,(16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals.

Two years later, on July 6, 2017, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were made more “actionable” by a United Nations Resolution that was adopted by the General Assembly. This is despite the fact that the goals are broad and interdependent. The resolution lays out particular benchmarks to achieve for each objective, as well as the indicators that will be utilised to evaluate the degree to which each benchmark is being attained. In most cases, the year by which the objective is expected to be accomplished is somewhere between 2020 and 2030. There is no specified conclusion date for some of the objectives.

A variety of tools that can track and visualise progress towards the goals are available, which can make monitoring much easier. The goal is to simplify the data presentation and make them more readily accessible. For instance, the data that is available across all indicators is presented in the online publication SDG Tracker, which was released in June of 2018. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pay attention to a number of issues that are considered to be cross-cutting, such as gender equality, education, and culture. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 had significant effects and repercussions on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the year 2020.

Ratification

January 2015 marked the beginning of negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which continued through August of that same year. The negotiations took place in tandem with discussions at the United Nations on financing for development, which determined the financial means of putting the Post-2015 Development Agenda into action; those discussions led to the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in July of 2015. During the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, which took place in New York City in September 2015, a final document was approved.

The United Nations General Assembly held a vote on September 25, 2015, to adopt the 2030 Development Agenda, which was titled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” The vote was attended by 193 countries.

There are 92 paragraphs in this agenda. In paragraph 59, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, along with their 169 associated targets and 232 associated indicators, are outlined.

Objectives and indicators

In July of 2017, a resolution of the United Nations published a list of targets and indicators for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

In general, 8–12 subgoals are assigned to each goal, and between one and four indicators are assigned to each subgoal in order to measure the amount of progress made toward achieving the subgoals. Either “outcome” targets (circumstances that are to be attained) or “means of implementation” targets are included in the goals to be attained. The latter targets were added relatively late in the process of negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to address the concern expressed by some Member States regarding the manner in which the SDGs were to be accomplished. The realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals is the sole focus of Goal 17.

The following is how the targets are numbered according to the system: “outcome targets” use numbers, while “means of implementation targets” use lower case letters. For instance, there are a total of 8 goals that fall under the SDG 6 umbrella. The first six are outcome targets, and they are denoted by the numbers 6.1 to 6.6 in the target list. The last two goals, which are referred to as “means of implementation targets,” have been given the designations Targets 6.a and 6.b.

Reviews of indicators 

At the 51st session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2020, as was originally intended, the indicator framework was subjected to a comprehensive review. It is scheduled to be looked at once more in 2025. During the 51st session of the Statistical Commission, which took place from March 3rd to March 6th, 2020 in New York City, a total of 36 different amendments to the global indicator framework were presented to the Commission for their consideration. A few of the indicators have been changed, removed, or updated. Alterations to the indicators were made in other ways between the dates of 15 October 2018 and 17 April 2020.However, determining their size remains fraught with difficulties.

On the website of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), a current official indicator list can be found. This list incorporates all updates that will take place up until the 51st session of the Statistical Commission in March 2020.

The indicators were arranged into three distinct tiers after being ranked according to the amount of methodological development they possessed and the quantity of data that was accessible on a global scale.

Conclusion

By gradually shifting the ways in which we create and apply technologies, sustainable development encourages us to preserve and expand our resource base. This can be accomplished by reducing waste and conserving energy. It is imperative that nations be permitted to fulfill their fundamental requirements in terms of employment, food, energy, water, and sanitation.The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, are a set of seventeen goals that have been set at the global level and are meant to serve as a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” The United Nations General Assembly (UN-GA) adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 with the goal of accomplishing them by the year 2030.

faq

Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the most common queries related to the UPSC Examination Preparation.

To put it another way, what do the SDG goals mean?

Ans. The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint that will guide us toward a future that is better and more ...Read full

Explain the significance of the concept of sustainable development.

Ans. The concept of sustainable development constantly urges us to preserve and improve our existing resources by gr...Read full

What motivated the creation of SDGs?

Ans. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012, ...Read full

Who was the initial founder of SDG?

Ans. The Assembly of the General Assembly of the United Nations ...Read full

Are the SDGs actually effective?

Ans. According to the Sustainable Development Goals 2020 Report, the global community is not on track to achieve the...Read full