SDG M1 PDF

3  Module I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SDGS AND THE AGENDA 2030 (FROM RIO SUMMIT/RIO+10 & RIO+20, MDGS AND THE SDGS) 1.1. The Earth Summit, and the run-up to the MDGs Historical background The Earth Summit is the name most commonly used for the United...

3  Module I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SDGS AND THE AGENDA 2030 (FROM RIO SUMMIT/RIO+10 & RIO+20, MDGS AND THE SDGS) 1.1. The Earth Summit, and the run-up to the MDGs Historical background The Earth Summit is the name most commonly used for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. It was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the first Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. The Earth Summit was an unprecedented milestone in terms of stakeholder engagement, with the participation of political leaders, diplomats, scientists, media representatives and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 179 countries. The summit was groundbreaking in that it brought together environmental and development issues in a single international programme and action plan to guide international cooperation and development policy in the 21st century. Previously, these two issues were dealt with separately. The main outcomes were reflected in the 27 principles of the Rio Declaration. The most important action programme developed by the Earth Summit was Agenda 21. This programme identified new methods of environmental education, and innovative forms of environmental preservation for the consolidation of a sustainable economy. Key environmental contents Although Agenda 21 addressed the three dimensions of development, social, economic, and environmental, the discussions and follow-up within the sustainable development negotiation track placed a strong emphasis on the environmental dimension. This focus on environmental aspects can be found in the Rio Declaration in the following principles: 1st principle: Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature; 4th principle: To achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. The economic and social issues, as well as resources and stakeholder participation addressed by the Earth Summit had their core in environmental aspects. The key contents developed by the Rio Declaration can be summarized as follows: 4  SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSERVATION AND STRENGTHENING THE ROLE DIMENSIONS MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES OF STAKEHOLDERS FOR DEVELOPMENT International cooperation to Protection of the atmosphere Global action for women accelerate sustainable towards sustainable and development in developing equitable development countries Combating poverty Integrated approach to the Children and youth in planning and management of sustainable development land resources Demographic dynamics and Combating deforestation Strengthening the role of sustainability non-governmental organizations, indigenous communities, local authorities, trade unions, businesses, scientific and rural communities in support of Agenda 21 Protecting and promoting Managing fragile ecosystems human health Promoting sustainable human Promoting sustainable settlement development agriculture and rural development Integrating environment and Conservation of biological development in decision- diversity making Protection of the oceans Environmentally sound management Protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources The main achievements were also focused on environmental development with the creation of: the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention for Combat Climate Change and Desertification, in addition to the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) to ensure effective follow-up to the Earth Summit. To sum up, the Earth Summit was a relevant global meeting to lay the foundations for the major changes that followed. Severn Cullis-Suzuki, a 12-year-old girl, summed up this relevance in the following well-known speech of hers: https://www.unmultimedia.org/avlibrary/asset/1991/1991366/ 5  1.2. The Millennium Declaration and the MDGs: achievements and limitations of the MDGs Historical Background In September 2000, following the momentum of the Earth Summit, 189 countries signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration, pledging to eradicate extreme poverty in all its forms by 2015. To help track progress towards this commitment, a set of quantified and time-bound goals and objectives was established, called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), unlike the Earth Summit which focused on development from the environmental challenges, the MDGs sought to solve social challenges. Two characteristics made the MDGs innovative. First, the targets became the first global results framework for development policy. It included an integrated set of quantitative targets to reduce poverty and address other aspects of social development, such as health, education, and empowerment, within a defined period of time. Most of them had 2015 as the cut-off date and used 1990 as the main reference year. The MDGs were formulated to translate these commitments into eight goals and corresponding targets that the world could easily achieve by 2015. The first seven focused on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, and guaranteeing environmental sustainability. The eighth goal called for a global partnership for development, with targets for aid, trade and debt relief. Figure 1 The 8 Millennium Development Goals Source: Our World in Data 6 Key MDGs achievements Many studies that provide global statistics reveal two decades of significant progress in all areas of the MDGs: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger: The implications were significant: extreme poverty fell significantly around the world by 2015, as did the percentage of undernourished people. To achieve universal primary education: The education goal was met worldwide and a significant number of children gained access to education. To promote gender equality and empower women: For girls, increased access to education. Women around the world improved their income in activities outside the agricultural sector and there was a clear increase in the participation of women in parliamentary seats. To reduce child mortality: In developing countries, the number of deaths of children under five years of age has decreased significantly. From 1990 to 2015, the speed of progress more than tripled. Additionally, global access to measles vaccination increased between 2000 and 2013. To improve maternal health: The global maternal mortality ratio has decreased, while global births attended by skilled health personnel have increased significantly. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases: New HIV infections have decreased thanks to increased access to HIV antiretroviral therapy. Millions of lives were saved thanks to TB interventions. To ensure environmental sustainability: The main achievements were related to access to water, where half of the world's population gained access to drinking water by 2015. Another important achievement was the elimination of almost all substances that caused water depletion. the ozone layer. Develop a global partnership for development: Official development assistance increased significantly in developing countries. In addition, the global internet penetration showed a significant increase worldwide helping the promotion of global networks. 7 Lessons learned from the MDGs that paved the way for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) The experience with the implementation of the MDGs left many lessons to pave the way for the implementation of a new global agenda. According to the UNDP report “From the MDGs to sustainable development for all”, the MDGs drove progress to feed the new global development agenda in the following ways: → Persuade and empower decision makers to follow progressive policies: Existing evidence supports that policies, budget increases and progress in certain countries were, to some extent, influenced by the MDGs. The MDGs spurred global efforts to reach commonly agreed metrics, motivating countries to monitor their progress against that of their neighbours. → Make local challenges more visible: The MDGs increased the demand for more disaggregated, accessible and reliable data and information regarding inequalities and injustices. → Enable stakeholders to hold leaders accountable: Evidence suggests that the Global Goals empowered people to take a more active role in achieving the change they wanted, and this includes holding leaders to account for their actions. commitments. The MDGs helped identify global and national policies that were not consistent with the intended outcomes of the MDGs, including the impact of unfair trade and debt policies, illicit financial flows, corrupt businesses, rapidly depleting natural resources, and other drivers of global inequalities. → Motivate greater coordination and coherence: during the period of implementation of the MDGs, UNDP received several requests for assistance from national partners on issues related to strengthening justice systems, compliance with human rights, reconstruction of ecosystem essentials and the generation of livelihoods. The legacy and achievements of the MDGs provided valuable lessons and experiences to set the path towards a new set of goals. The post-2015 development agenda was intended to reflect the lessons learned from the MDGs to build the path that will help shift the world towards a more sustainable path. The MDGs, 15 years later, will be transformed into the SDGs, as explained in the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_hLuEui6ww 8  1.3. The alignment of the Global Agendas Although the Earth Summit, from the environmental perspective, and, mainly, the MDGs, from the social perspective, were the bases for the constitution of the SDGs, there were also other multinational processes and agreements that collaborated to its development. The key processes and agreements were the following: Johannesburg Summit As a consequence of the limited progress in the 90's of the objectives proposed at the Earth Summit, a new World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in Johannesburg in 2002 with the mandate to agree on measures to strengthen the implementation of the principles and the plan of action of Rio. The Johannesburg Summit reiterated the social and environmental objectives reflected in the MDGs and Agenda 21 and recognized the growing inequalities in the context of globalization. Added new targets under MDG 7, it called for a more rapid shift towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and spawned a series of voluntary international multi-stakeholder initiatives. Rio +20 The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 is known as Rio+20. This Conference aimed to secure a renewed political commitment to sustainable development; assess progress to date and remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development; and address new and emerging challenges. The member countries of Rio+20 decided to create a set of universal sustainable development goals (SDGs), as an international framework for monitoring development progress in participating countries. Paris Agreement Out of the 4 major agreements adopted in December 2015, only the Paris agreement, which was the result of the third complementary process known as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is legally binding. The Paris Agreement, adopted through Decision 1/CP.21, addresses crucial areas necessary to combat climate change. Some of the key aspects of the Agreement are set out below: 9 Figure 2 Key aspects of the Paris Agreement Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction The UN member countries adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) in Japan in March 2015. This Framework contains seven goals and four priorities for action to reduce the negative impact and increase resilience. The 2030 agenda explicitly recognizes the importance of disaster risk reduction and makes a reference to the Sendai Framework and the need to develop holistic disaster risk management at all levels in the Goal 11. Addis Ababa In July 2015, in Addis Ababa, Member States held the Third International Conference on the Financing of Development organized in follow-up to the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration. The conference has resulted in an agreement entitled the “Addis Ababa Action Agenda” which identifies key areas for action to provide means and create an enabling environment for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda is considered an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 10