10 years of UN Sustainable Development Goals (2015 – 2025)

With the 'Smurfs' issue, the Belgian Post Office highlighted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2025. In 2015 (ten years ago), the Sustainable Development Goals were established by the United Nations as the new global sustainable development agenda for 2030. They are promoted as the global goals for sustainable development. What do you know about these goals, and are you familiar with the stamps that were issued?

Sustainable Development Goals (UN)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established by the United Nations in 2015 to ensure that everyone has a good life and that the Earth is protected against climate change. 193 countries have signed the agreement. The intention is for the economy to continue growing and for the world to become somewhat fairer, while still taking the Earth into account. Over the past few decades, all countries have absorbed increasingly scarce resources and offset this with a great deal of pollution. Just think of, for example, all the plastic waste, air pollution, and global warming. The aim is that in 100 years, our descendants will also have a good life on Earth. The risk is growing that even in the Netherlands, the country will be overwhelmed by rising sea levels, periods of severe drought, river floods, climate refugees from other countries, and so on. The SDGs are in effect from 2016 to 2030 and replace the Millennium Development Goals, which expired at the end of 2015. There are 17 goals and 169 underlying targets to operationalize these objectives. Member states are responsible for translating them into national policy. It is a program of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG).  

The Sustainable Development Goals are:

ad 1. No poverty The United Nations indicates that many people still live in poverty. These are people who earn less than 1 dollar and 25 cents per day. That is approximately 1 euro. The countries where the most people live in poverty are the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. In Europe, people are also at risk of poverty. That risk is greatest in Romania and Bulgaria. In the Netherlands, the chance of people falling into poverty is about 15 percent. Developing countries must be helped to ensure that people no longer live in poverty. Governments must ensure that there is no more poverty in their countries.   ad 2. No hunger The goal of the United Nations is to ensure that no one suffers from hunger anymore. Due to hunger, children cannot grow properly and become malnourished. According to the UN, we can stop hunger by producing, distributing, and eating food differently. Everyone involved in food production must be paid fairly. In reality, there is enough food in the world, and it is a goal that could easily be achieved. People do not only suffer from hunger in developing countries. People in European countries can also go hungry because they cannot afford food. Food banks have to distribute more and more food parcels. In 2014, approximately 2,5 million food parcels were distributed in Europe. Addressing hunger also means that less food must be wasted. More than 1,3 million tons of food are thrown away every year.   ad. 3 Good health and well-being The goal of good health and well-being covers four key topics: mother and child, epidemics, road safety, and healthcare. Regarding the topic of mother and child, the aim is to reduce the number of women who die when they become mothers. Globally, 800 women die every day due to complications during pregnancy. Almost all of these are women living in developing countries. Many newborn babies also die: two out of every five children under the age of 5 die.   The topic of epidemics concerns diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and coronavirus. Many people in developing countries are dying from these. This is because few people in those countries know what diseases exist, and people have difficulty obtaining medicine. The third topic is road safety. In Europe, 85 people die in traffic every day. Road safety must be improved so that fewer people die in traffic.   The fourth topic is healthcare. More people must be able to go to the doctor or the hospital. More people must be able to access medicines and treatments. Medicines must be affordable so that everyone who needs them can use them. The UN also wants research into which widely used substances can make us sick.   ad. 4 Quality education The UN believes that everyone has the right to education. There are 121 million children who do not attend school or who are forced to leave school early. Often, it is girls who are unable to go to school. Because children do not attend school, they are illiterate. They cannot read or write. By 2030, all young people and many adults must be able to read, write, and do arithmetic.   ad. 5 Gender equality Gender equality means that there are no differences between men and women in how they are treated. Women are often discriminated against. They may not be allowed to do something (or are required to do something) that a man is allowed to do (or does not have to do). In some countries, for example, women do not have access to healthcare. Problems women face include female genital mutilation, child marriage, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking. Furthermore, in all countries, women are not allowed to participate in politics, start a business, or go out without another person. Many women also do not earn the same as a man doing the same work.   ad. 6 Clean water and sanitation With this goal, the UN aims to ensure that everyone has clean water to drink and is able to wash, sleep, and use the toilet (sanitation). Because not everyone has access to clean water, about three million people die every year. Most of them are children under the age of 5. More and more people have access to clean water. Nevertheless, there are still many people and countries facing water shortages. They are then forced to use water that is not very clean. This causes diseases. In Europe, too, there are people who do not have access to water.   ad. 7 Affordable and sustainable energy With this goal, the UN aims to ensure that everyone has access to modern electricity and no longer has to cook using wood, coal, charcoal, or animal waste. Energy emissions contribute to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases. Fewer greenhouse gases must be emitted, and greater use must be made of sustainable energy.   ad. 8 Decent work and economic growth With this goal, the UN aims to ensure that forced labor, slavery, human trafficking, and child labor (including child soldiers) no longer occur. The UN also wants to ensure that no one is unemployed. Therefore, there must also be work for women and people with disabilities. Economic growth means that more money is earned by people and businesses. The UN states that economic growth must increase through diversification, technological renewal, and innovation. Economic growth must not lead to environmental pollution.   ad. 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure New inventions must ensure that new jobs are created and that work is done using sustainable energy (good for the environment). The new jobs must ensure that more people can earn enough money. The UN also believes that infrastructure must be improved. This must be done using clean energy. The UN also wants everyone to have access to the internet so that they can easily look up information themselves. ad. 10 Reducing inequality There are huge differences between poor and rich people. The combined wealth of the world's richest people is more than the combined wealth of all other people. There are still more than 700 million people living in extreme poverty. The UN wants to reduce this inequality. Everyone should be able to improve their lives. This should not depend on age, gender, disabilities, ethnicity, skin color, ancestry, religious beliefs, or economic status. Therefore, there must be no discrimination. Countries that are currently not very wealthy should also be able to earn more money.     ad. 11 Sustainable cities and communities Many people live in cities. Across the globe, that amounts to nearly 3,9 billion people. And that number is only increasing. In developing countries, cities are growing rapidly. The rapid growth of cities creates all kinds of challenges. Everyone needs a place to live and access facilities. Therefore, there must be affordable housing for everyone. Facilities in the city must also be up to standard. Worldwide, 828 million people currently live in slums. The UN indicates that slums need to be renovated. Because the number of elderly people is increasing, cities must adapt to this as well. Facilities must be upgraded, and public spaces must be made safer for them. Cities require a lot of energy and emit a lot of CO2. Therefore, cities must be made as environmentally friendly as possible.   ad. 12 Responsible consumption and production A lot of food is wasted (consumption) worldwide, and moreover, the way food is produced (production) is not always good for the environment. The UN wants less food to be wasted and for the way food is produced to be more sustainable.   ad. 13 Climate Action The UN indicates that the climate is changing due to the emission of too many greenhouse gases. Climate change is causing rising sea levels and more frequent severe weather. If no measures are taken, the temperature will rise by 3 degrees Celsius. This rise increases the risk of natural disasters (such as floods, tropical storms, tsunamis, and earthquakes). Funding is needed for developing countries to mitigate the consequences of climate change. To prevent the climate from changing too much, all countries must work together. At various climate conferences, countries have made agreements to take measures. These agreements concern reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Developing clean technology is therefore important. The use of fossil fuels must be significantly reduced.   ad. 14 Life in the water Aquatic life is threatened by the way we treat the water. A lot of waste ends up in the water. This has led to large floating garbage patches in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. These floating garbage patches consist largely of microplastics and plastic. Floating garbage patches are therefore also known as plastic soup. Overfishing is another problem. Due to overfishing, there are fewer and fewer fish species, and fish species are threatened with extinction. This applies, for example, to the bluefin tuna and the whale. Biodiversity is declining due to climate change, fertilizers from wastewater, and agricultural waste. There are areas in the ocean where little to no life exists anymore (desert areas). This creates dead zones. Animals and plants cannot live here. There are now 500 dead zones. The UN wants to protect the oceans and seas and ensure that they become less polluted. Fishing must also comply with regulations, and overfishing must stop.   ad. 15 Life on land Life on land must be protected. Land is important for living and growing food. However, life on land faces deforestation, desertification, land degradation, and the loss of biodiversity. The UN wants continental ecosystems to be protected and restored. The UN also wants to promote the sustainable use of continental ecosystems. Forests and woodlands must be managed sustainably. Desertification must be combated, and land degradation must be halted. Finally, biodiversity must not decline further.   ad. 16 Peace, justice and strong public services With this goal, the UN aims to achieve less violence in the world: no ill-treatment, exploitation, human trafficking, or torture. To achieve this, there must be no more illegal financial flows, arms trafficking, or corruption. Developing countries must also be involved in the plans being made. Countries must cooperate to prevent violence, terrorism, and crime. Citizens must be able to use the justice system to help them address injustice.   ad. 17 Partnership to achieve objectives The goals of the UN can only be achieved if countries cooperate and help each other. Developing countries must receive development aid when there is a problem, for example due to war or a natural disaster. Poor countries must be helped to pay off their debts, and investments must be made in those countries. Countries must be able to conduct fair trade with one another. The countries affiliated with the World Trade Organization make agreements on this together.  

Controversy

Although the Goals are designed to reconcile environmental protection with socio-economic development, research shows that while most countries are making good progress toward environmental goals, this bears little relation to biodiversity conservation and prioritizes socio-economic development instead. Critics call the Goals a “smokescreen for further environmental destruction.” In *Replacing Sustainable Development*, Prof. Jem Bendell called it an illusion “that we can simultaneously grow economies, reduce poverty, and avert environmental disasters,” and advocates for disaster risk reduction as the future frame of reference. The UN itself admitted in its 2021 report that progress toward the goals had stalled. In March 2022, UN Secretary-General Guterres concluded that the world is moving backward rather than forward regarding the SDGs.  

<strong> More info: </strong>

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): https://sdgs.un.org/goals

UN Group on Sustainable Development (UNSDG): https://unsdg.un.org/