Since the 1970s, the world has been increasingly confronted with global crises. Rapid economic growth has had harmful environmental consequences. But on a social level too, it has become clear that increased wealth has not led to a proportional increase in global living standards. Several disasters widely covered by the media in the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as Seveso, the Olympic Bravery, the Boehlen, the Amoco Cadiz and the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, shook public opinion, which called on its leaders to take action. At the same time, following the process of decolonisation, the issue of development in the Global South became more pressing.
The United Nations, which has an essential role in sustainable development, responded by convening the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on Environment and Development) in 1983, under the chairmanship of the then Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland. Although the Club of Rome's 1972 report ‘The Limits to Growth’ was the first intellectual reflection which successfully brought the issue to the attention of the public, it was mainly the publication of the Brundtland report (Our Common Future) from 1987 which caused the concept of sustainable development to be picked up by both the highest political levels and the public.
The basis for the most commonly used definition of sustainable development can be found in this report, namely:
The kind of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This way it contains two key elements: "needs" and "limitations". The needs of the poor, to which overriding priority should be given, and the limitations imposed by society and the state of technology on the use of our environment.
Several major milestones have been achieved in the course of international conferences on sustainable development:
The Brundtland report was the basis for the organization of the historical UN summit for the environment and development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
During this summit, an agreement was found for different elements which would become guiding for the further international, national and local policies on sustainable development. This included:
- The UN Conference on Environment and Development. It sets out 27 basic principles for sustainable development.
- Agenda 21: a concrete action programme consisting of 40 chapters, with attention for the social and economic dimensions, the maintenance and the management of resources for development, the implementation means, and the strengthening of the role of the Major Groups in society. These Major Groups represent key sectors in society which are responsible for channelling the engagement regarding sustainable development. Finally, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was founded which is responsible for the effective implementation and follow-up on the engagements from Agenda 21
- The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or Climate Convention) forms the basis for the fight against climate change
- The Convention on Biological Diversity is a guideline for the further efforts to maintain biodiversity
- The Convention to Combat Desertification aims to combat the desertification and drought in all countries faced with these issues.
- The Forest Principles reflects a global consensus regarding the management, maintenance and sustainable development of all types of forest.
In the nineties many UN conferences took place: the World Summit for Children (1990), the World Conference on Human Rights (1993), the World Conference on Women (1995), Habitat II (1996), etc. Building on these active years and with the dawn of the 21st century, the Heads of State and Government launched a new global partnership to eradicate extreme poverty.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are derived from the Millennium Declaration adopted in 2000. They consist of a limited, but clear set of targets for the global community - with a deadline of 2015 - which mainly focus on the traditional development themes.
In 2002 a new conference on sustainable development was organized in Johannesburg. As this conference took place 10 years after the Rio summit, this conference is also known as Rio+10. On the one hand, the objectives from 1992 were unabatedly reaffirmed. On the other hand, the agenda was broadened, as attention for economic and social development (such as poverty reduction) was significantly increased. While in Rio much more emphasis was put on the narrower environmental dimension, this was no longer the case in Johannesburg. Sustainable development essentially relates to the cohesion between environmental quality and social developments. The eradication of poverty, changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns, and the protection and management of the natural resources as a basis for economic and social development are acknowledged as the most important objectives of and the essential conditions for sustainable development.
Furthermore, less emphasis was put on reaching new agreements, and more on creating a framework for efficient and effective implementation of the existing commitments, an approach reflected in the agreement about the "Johannesburg plan of Implementation (JPOI )". In this plan, attention was paid to poverty reduction, sustainability consumption and production, natural resources, resources for implementation, as well as the institutional framework for sustainable development.
In 2012, 20 years after Rio and 10 after Johannesburg, the United Nations returned to Rio de Janeiro for the so-called Rio+20 summit.
This name aptly reflects the dual time horizon of the conference: not only will the past twenty years be evaluated, but also, and above all, the focus is on the future, and especially on the challenges of the coming twenty years.
Besides reaffirming the Agenda 21, a number of initiatives were launched, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These must form a new, inclusive global agenda when the Millennium Goals expir,. Furthermore, the UN Environmental Programme was strengthened, programmes were launched to benefit a sustainable economy (Green Economy, Sustainable Consumption and Production) and energy (sustainable energy for all: SE4All).
Lastly, it was decided that after 20 years the Commission on Sustainable Development of the Agenda 21 would be replaced by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The aim is to anchor the management of sustainable development more firmly within the UN framework. Every four years, this body gathers during the General Assembly, the other years the gathering takes place at the ECOSOC.
Watch the full outcome of this conference here.
In September 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which had been announced during Rio+20, were formally adopted by the UN General Assembly with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
By 2030, 17 sustainable development goals, associated with 169 sub-goals, must form an action plan to free humankind from poverty and move the planet onto the path towards sustainability. These goals, which are one and indivisible, reflect the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and ecological dimensions. You can find the 17 SDGs on the SDGs page.
The 2030ASD is a unique fusion of the two global agendas of sustainable development and development cooperation. The agenda is also based on previous UN conferences:
- UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio 1992)
- Millennium Declaration (Millenium summit 2000)
- World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg 2002)
- UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio 2012)
This agenda focuses on 'universality', which means that the implementation must not only take place in the Global South, but the entire planet.
Every country, no matter which one, has work to do. It is no coincidence that the SDGs' motto is ‘To leave no one behind’. Added to this is their close interconnection: we cannot achieve one SDG without taking the other goals into account. In other words, the Agenda is one and indivisible!
In order to monitor progress towards achieving the UN's goals and sub-goals, a set of 242 global indicators, designed to measure the 169 sub-goals, was presented by UNSTAT in March 2016. A central point of attention is that several indicators must be separated according to relevant categories such as gender, age, geographical situation etc.
Broad methodological convergence has been reached for certain indicators, while for others further research must be conducted. It is therefore a list which will certainly evolve in the future. It is also important to remember that these indicators are solely a global impetus, as the member states are urged to further refine the indicators at a national level to ensure accurate measurements.