After many years of focusing on the symptoms of extreme poverty with the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the UN system is finally picking up a universal sustainability agenda, enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), that address sustainability and causes of poverty and inequality.
The Open Working Group of the UN General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals has proposed a list of 17 goals and 169 targets. The consensus outcome of this group, endorsed by the UN General Assembly in September 2014 as the »main basis« of the post-2015 development agenda, goes far beyond the narrow scope of the MDGs.
All of the 17 goals proposed by the Open Working Group not only take forward the unfinished business of the MDGs, by ending poverty in all its forms everywhere but add important dimensions. Apart from the potential to tackle inequalities and injustices worldwide, it would trigger decisive action to protect the integrity of our planet, combat climate change, and put an end to the overuse of resources and ecosystems by acknowledging planetary boundaries and promoting respect for nature.
(Excerpt from “Goals for the Rich: Indispensable for a Universal Post-2015 Agenda.” Discussion Paper by the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives. March 2015).