By Bhanu Kode
Sustainable Development Goals, also known as Global Goals are not some dreams that we cannot achieve. 193 nations have come together and set these 17 goals to achieve together, sustainably for the best of all mankind, and animal kind.
These are the goals to achieve by 2030, and they were made in 2015. Let’s see what we achieved in 5 years. A way to measure the progress we did is to look at the “5 Ps” that shape the goals- People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships.
People
In 2019, the global prevalence of extreme poverty is the lowest ever recorded in human history, with less than eight per cent of people living on less than 1.90 dollars a day, very significant progress compared to the 36% who lived in extreme poverty nearly 30 years ago.
But, the pandemic has struck hard strong to all the years of progress we made. Over 1 billion would be in extreme poverty by 2030, a quarter of them due to the reason of the pandemic.
We can still get out of the falling graph, by cooperation and acquainting people with knowledge of the SDGs and promoting them. The 1 billion can be brought down to 44 million by successful SDG intervention.
Basic needs such as nutrition, education, and access to water, sanitation and electricity, there is inadequate progress and this means by 2030 hundreds of millions of people will be left behind. We have made significant progress in health and well being but need more effort and focus.
Planet
A goal for protecting mother earth, so it can support the needs of the present and future generations. Climate change is to be battled, and we all can already see the impacts of global warming. Global warming is likely to reach at least 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052. What anyone can do to help is. Share the word around. Plant a tree on your birthday at least. Participate in climate awareness programs.
Deforestation has slowed but we still have a long way to go. Land degradation and desertification have increased. Water quality is worse than three decades ago due to organic and chemical pollution.
The marine ecosystem is better and marine pollution has seen a decrease, forest loss is decreasing. People are getting more aware of climate problems and are pressuring their governments for pro-climate activities.
Prosperity
The goals aim to ensure that all people can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social, and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
Inequality is a major problem that is still here. Progress toward gender equality has stalled overall, while movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp continue to expose the scale and severity of discrimination and violence facing girls and women. The global gender pay gap will now take over 200 years to close.
From 1995 to 2013, 23 countries successfully decoupled economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions while also reducing their carbon footprint. At the global level, the carbon intensity of world output is falling, meaning we produce fewer emissions to generate each unit of GDP, but total emissions are still growing.
Peace
“There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.” War and battle are always a breach of peace and therefore to sustainable development. The number of people killed in armed conflicts is the highest at any point in the last 30 years. The people living in war-torn countries are the furthest from achieving the SDGs and by 2030, could account for 80% of the world’s extreme poor.
Justice underpins the success of the SDGs, from ending poverty and inequality to ensuring no one is left behind. But 5.1 billion people lack meaningful access to justice. While these numbers are sobering, there is a huge opportunity to drive progress on the SDG agenda by focusing on peace and justice for all.
Partnership
Problems that cross geographies and sectors require collaboration that does as well. A variety of people are stepping up for the goals, from youth activists striking for climate change cities embracing sustainable living conditions. Governments alone cannot achieve the Goals, but they are important, and they have to perform better.
Covid-19 had hit us hard, devastating all progress across all the goals, but it made us understand there are many things we need to improvise upon. We still can and will achieve the goals someday. Helping hands are better than praying ones, so make people aware of the Global Goals and contribute to them in any way you can. I am doing it right now by writing this.
