3. Space for Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were approved by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 as a response to the current and anticipated challenges facing the global community until 2030. In contrast with their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which were geared primarily towards developing countries – the SDGs present a holistic and global perspective which calls upon all relevant actors, both at national and regional levels, in the public and private sectors, to unite to come up with solutions to the 17 identified challenges, thus improving life across the world. According to Prof. Sachs, these challenges arise from current developments in technology, particularly the digital revolution, which have pushed the boundaries of planetary resource utilisation, such as fossil fuels, land and water, to unsustainable levels. Diminishing poverty rates have been fuelled by practices that can no longer be maintained due to rising populations, coupled with the finite resources that our planet offers. Agenda 2030 thus calls for a new development model, based on the principles of environmental sustainability coupled with social inclusion. The 17 goals comprise different but related objectives, from decarbonisation to improvements in agriculture and from healthcare to transportation and urban environments, and request all levels of society and all global regions to contribute towards this new paradigm.