The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are part of the United Nations 2015-2030 global agenda for achieving poverty reduction and sustainable development for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships, through 17 goals, 169 targets and 230 indicators measuring progress. Engineers play an important role developing innovative solutions to address the SDGs, driving societal change. Read more below….
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reversed the steady progress of poverty reduction over the past 25 years. This unprecedented reversal is being further exacerbated by rising inflation and the impacts of the war in Ukraine. It is estimated that these combined crises will lead to an additional 75 million–95 million people living in extreme…
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
In 2020, between 720 million and 811 million persons worldwide were suffering from hunger, roughly 161 million more than in 2019. Also in 2020, a staggering 2.4 billion people, or above 30 per cent of the world’s population, were moderately or severely food-insecure, lacking regular access to adequate food. The figure increased by nearly 320…
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
As of mid-2022, COVID-19 had infected more than 500 million people worldwide. The latest estimates show that global “excess deaths” directly and indirectly attributable to COVID-19 could have been as high as 15 million by the end of 2021. The pandemic has severely disrupted essential health services, triggered an increase in the prevalence of anxiety…
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Education gives people the knowledge and skills they need to stay healthy, get jobs and foster tolerance. The COVID-19 outbreak, however, has caused a global education crisis. Most education systems in the world have been severely affected by education disruptions and have faced unprecedented challenges. School closures brought on by the pandemic have had devastating…
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
The 2022 Gender Snapshot report shows that the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030. COVID-19 and the backlash against women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are further diminishing the outlook for gender equality. Violence against women remains high; global health, climate and humanitarian crises have further increased risks of…
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being. Demand for water is rising owing to rapid population growth, urbanization and increasing water needs from agriculture, industry, and energy sectors. 40 per cent shortfall in freshwater resources by 2030 coupled with a rising world population has the…
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Worldwide, 1.1 billion people still have no electricity. Three billion burn solid fuels such as wood and animal dung for cooking and heating, filling their homes with dangerous pollutants. Huge disparities in access to modern sustainable energy persist. Achieving energy and climate goals will require continued policy support and a massive mobilization of public…
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Sustained and inclusive economic growth can drive progress, create decent jobs for all and improve living standards. COVID-19 has disrupted billions of lives and endangered the global economy. Setbacks include higher unemployment than before the pandemic, and Russia’s war on Ukraine slowing economic growth. But progress is still being made. …
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
Inclusive and sustainable industrialization, together with innovation and infrastructure, can unleash dynamic and competitive economic forces that generate employment and income. They play a key role in introducing and promoting new technologies, facilitating international trade and enabling the efficient use of resources. Global manufacturing growth has been steadily declining, even before the outbreak of the…
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries.
Inequality within and among countries is a persistent cause for concern. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic appear to be reversing any positive trends of narrowing income inequality. The pandemic has also intensified structural and systemic discrimination. Emerging markets and developing economies are experiencing slow recoveries, widening disparities in income between countries. The number of…
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The world is becoming increasingly urbanized. Since 2007, more than half the world’s population has been living in cities, and that share is projected to rise to 60 per cent by 2030. With cities growing larger, populations rising, and urbanization spreading, the systems and infrastructure that support everyone’s livelihood must grow sustainably and equally for…
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Worldwide consumption and production, a driving force of the global economy, rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet. Economic and social progress over the last century has been accompanied by environmental degradation that is endangering the very systems on which our…
13. Take urgent action to combat the climate crisis and its impacts.
The UN has defined 5 Targets and 8 Indicators for SDG 13. Targets specify the goals and Indicators represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether these Targets are achieved. The global temperature has already risen 1.1ºC above the pre-industrial level, with glaciers melting and the sea level rising. Impacts of climate change…
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
The ocean drives global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. The ocean covers over 70% of the planet. It is our life source, supporting…
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Nature is critical to our survival: nature provides us with our oxygen, regulates our weather patterns, pollinates our crops, and produces our food. But it is under increasing stress. Human activity has altered almost 75 per cent of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into an ever-smaller corner of the planet. While for many…
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Conflict, insecurity, weak institutions and limited access to justice remain a great threat to sustainable development. In 2019, the United Nations tracked 357 killings and 30 enforced disappearances of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in 47 countries. The births of around one in four children under age 5 worldwide are never officially recorded,…