by Kari Grenade, PhD, Caribbean Economist and Macroeconomic Advisor
Over the period 2000-2015, the United Nations (UN) global development agenda was guided by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which focused on ending extreme poverty, hunger, and preventable disease in developing countries.
Building on the platform of the MDGs, the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — which benefitted from the inputs of multiple stakeholders from both developing and developed countries — was adopted by all 193 member countries in 2015 to systematically address a range of global development challenges over the period 2016-2030 within a coherent framework.
The centrepiece of the UN’s 2030 Agenda is the following 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 1 (No Poverty); SDG 2 (Zero Hunger); SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing); SDG 4 (Quality Education); SDG 5 (Gender Equality); SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation); SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy); SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth); SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure); SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities); SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities); SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production); SDG 13 (Climate Action); SDG 14 (Life below Water); SDG 15 (Life on Land); SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions); and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals).
Through the 17 SDGs, the UN’s 2030 Agenda aims to address pressing development challenges in both developing and developed countries, with a view to promoting and achieving social justice, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity for all people. Underpinning the SDGs is the fundamental commitment to “leave no one behind.” In a practical sense, this means that in each country policies, programmes, and actions must be intentionally designed to align with the various SDGs, and their implementation must be systematic and oriented towards uplifting and supporting people in meaningful ways, prioritising the most vulnerable in the process.
As ambitious as they are, the SDGs and their achievement matter for humanity now more than ever. The insatiable quest for economic and industrial power has contributed to human-induced climate change that poses an existential threat to women, men, children, animals, plants, and all inhabitants of our one earth. Globally, some animals, plants, and even communities have already been pushed into the category of “endangered species.” As such, the 2030 Agenda provides a coherent and collective framework within which SDG-related policies and actions can be taken that are necessary for equality, inclusion, resilience, and sustainability for all people.
The SDGs help governments, organisations, and individuals to agree on direction and to focus on what really matters for our collective future on our one earth. As inhabitants of this one earth, our lives and livelihoods depend on our relationship with nature. Sustainable living becomes paramount as a requisite for mending human’s broken relationship with nature and bending the course of our collective global development towards sustainability and resilience.
To be clear, the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are not perfect but, they are positive. Certainly, the framework is not a panacea; the SDGs have been critiqued with merit in some instances. And this brings me to the issue of whether the SDGs should be reviewed. And the answer is an unequivocal yes, any construct and framework must be reviewed as prevailing circumstances necessitate. Indeed, based on the UN’s Report released in April this year, progress on the SDGs is not going well. According to the Report, progress on nearly one-third of the SDGs has either remained unchanged or even fallen below 2015 levels. The Report notes that, “connected to increasing poverty, food insecurity has also been on the rise. More people are on track to face hunger in 2030 compared to in 2015. Currently, hunger levels have returned to levels last seen in 2005.” The Covid-19 pandemic as well as the effects of the Russian-Ukraine war are cited as factors that adversely impacted progress of the SDGs, derailing many SDG-related targets and causing SDG financing to slip. Sadly, even before the pandemic and the war, some SDG targets were already off track.
This year (2023) is the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda; therefore, it is an opportune moment to take stock and reset where needed. Despite the implementation challenges, the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are still relevant; they provide a coherent framework to organise our thinking about sustainable living as well as to help guide and shape global and national policies on sustainable development.
Sustainable development is more than a buzzword, it is a people-critical issue, and it is a planet-critical issue; as such, it matters for Caribbean citizens. The average Caribbean citizen has a vital role to play in contributing to the sustainable development of the Region and in creating its resilient and inclusive future. The way in which we live must support sustainability.
Accordingly, the SDGs and sustainable development more broadly must be mainstreamed in practical and meaningful ways across all spheres and segments of Caribbean communities. In other words, the SDGs must be localised. This requires public education and continuous engagement of people from all walks of life. The SDGs and principles of sustainable living, in general, must be mainstreamed in the curriculum of schools and other learning institutions. Their relevance and significance must also be explained (in simple terms) to people across communities. This is important because as Caribbean people, we must take collective responsibility for ensuring that development is sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and lends itself to prosperity, equality, equity, peace, and social justice for this generation and generations to come.
