UN SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (or Global Goals for Sustainable Development) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly. The SDGs are part of Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly: "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." That has been shortened to "2030 Agenda." The goals are broad and interdependent, yet each has a separate list of targets to achieve. Achieving all 169 targets would signal accomplishing all 17 goals. The SDGs cover social and economic development issues including poverty, hunger, health, education, global warming, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, urbanization, environment and social justice.

Paragraph 54 of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25 September 2015 contains the goals and targets. The UN-led process involved its 193 Member States and global civil society. The resolution is a broad intergovernmental agreement that acts as the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The SDGs build on the principles agreed upon in Resolution A/RES/66/288, entitled "The Future We Want". This was a non-binding document released as a result of Rio+20 Conference held in 2012.

Implementation as of 2016 is described as "Localizing the SDGs" to highlight the role of local institutions and local actors. Regional efforts included agreements like the Baltic 2030 Action Plan. Some remain pessimistic about the potential for achieving the SDGs, especially because of estimates of the cost of achieving all 17. However, progress had been reported by 2018. For example, fewer African children under the age of 5 are suffering from stunting and wasting. However, the same study concluded that it is unlikely there will be an end to malnutrition by 2030.

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs)

The SDGs were developed to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which ended in 2015. The gaps and shortcomings of MDG Goal 8 (To develop a global partnership for development) led to identifying a problematic "donor-recipient" relationship. Instead, the new SDGs favor collective action by all countries.

A commentary in The Economist in 2015 argued that 169 targets for the SDGs is too many, describing them as "sprawling, misconceived" and "a mess" compared to the eight MDGs used previously. The MDGs were about development while the SDGs are about sustainable development. Finally, the MDGs used a sole approach to problems, while the SDGs take into account the inter-connectedness of all the problems.

Whilst the MDGs were strongly criticized by many NGOs as only dealing with the problems, the SDGs deal with the causes of the problems.

SDG14 - OCEANS & SUSTAINABILITY

The United Nations have adopted a goal that we hope will eventually generate funding for SeaVax via the G20 or other group of nations who want to see the seas clean of plastic waste. At the moment they appear to be pursuing a land based approach to reducing plastic, leaving the ocean to choke. Whereas, we are proposing a dual pronged attack from land and sea.

The SeaVax project encompasses many of the Sustainable Development Goals that the UN are hoping to achieve in one. To begin with Seavax is solar and wind powered, meeting SDG 7 aims and in the longer term SDG13, as in research into zero emission ocean transport. The objective is to develop the innovative technology (SDG9) to help in the fight alleviate hunger and provide food security (SDG2) and the vessels clean rivers and oceans (SDG6). Lastly, WOAA sits well with SDG17 in that the proposed World Ocean AntiPlastic Alliance encourages international cooperation in seeking to clean the oceans as per SDG14.

ANTONIO GUTERRAS - The Secretary General of the United Nations from 2017.

ABOUT THE UN

The United Nations (UN; French: Organisation des Nations Unies, ONU) is an international organization whose stated aims include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and the achievement of lasting world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.

At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. From its offices around the world, the UN and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout the year. The organization has six principal organs: the General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly); the Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security); the Economic and Social Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development); the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN); the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ); and the United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive). Other prominent UN System agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The UN's most prominent position is that of the office of Secretary-General that was held by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea since 2007, now held by António Guterres since 2017.

The United Nations Headquarters resides in international territory in New York City, with further main offices at Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, and has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

BAN KI-MOON - The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, is quoted as saying: The world is "living in an era of unprecedented level of crises," Ban Ki-moon told the United Nations General Assembly in September 2014. Guiding the 193-member organization through those crises - an Ebola epidemic that has killed some 5,000 people; more than 800,000 displaced by the Ukraine conflict; the "genocide threat" of ISIS; and reported use of UN facilities by Palestinian militants, to name a few - has been Moon's job as secretary-general for the past seven years.

One of the Secretary-General’s first major initiatives was the 2007 Climate Change Summit, followed by extensive diplomatic efforts that have helped put the issue at the forefront of the global agenda. Subsequent efforts to focus on the world’s main anti-poverty targets, the Millennium Development Goals, have generated more than $60 billion in pledges, with a special emphasis on Africa and the new Global Strategy on Women’s and Children’s Health. At the height of the food, energy and economic crises in 2008, the Secretary-General successfully appealed to the G20 for a $1 trillion financing package for developing countries and took other steps to guide the international response and protect the vulnerable and poor.

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/secretary-general/

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