Studying environmental science at university in the early 2000s, I would often leave class in despair. There was too much wrong, too much environmental degradation, too many negative environmental trends. Unfortunately, the health of earth has progressively worsened since then.
Today, I’m easily overwhelmed when I consider the global challenges we all face. Challenges like mitigating climate change and ending world poverty seem insurmountable, too massive to confront. There are so many systemic interconnected problems, too many governments and organisations who are not prioritising the well-being of people and the planet, too much fear associated with change, too many ingrained outdated ways of thinking that make necessary transformation difficult.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Enter the SDGs – have you heard of them? The optimist in me, sees the SDGs as a progressive way that we, as a global community, can unite to work towards a common vision to make this world a better place for all. Launched in 2015 and signed by all member states, the SDGs are 17 goals, with 169 targets centred around interconnected issues with a focus on:
- People – poverty, hunger, health
- Planet – sustainable consumption & production, sustainable natural resource management, climate change action
- Prosperity – progressing economic, social and technological outcomes
- Peace – peaceful, just and inclusive societies
- Partnership – global solidarity
To read this rest of this blog, head over to my new blog at Community Changemakers.
An Ethical Yarn 