Building off the Millennium Development Goals nearly 15 years later, in 2015 the U.N. established the current 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to find more sustainable ways to live on this earth we share. With the current methods of development – let’s not even get into how only a small fraction (<12%) of one-time-use-plastics is actually recycled, and the rest ends up either incinerated or in landfills- the 2030 agenda aims to find solutions to save our Earth. With current advances in technology, we are in an optimal position to be sustainably developing our landscapes.
The 2030 agenda outlines 17 sustainable development goals with 169 targets, agreed upon by an almost astounding unity by world leaders, and was implemented on January 1st 2016 for a 15 year period. The 2030 agenda aims to create global sustainable development, where all countries partaking shall have huge gains that extend to all parts and corners of the world. Goal 13 as outlined by the Agenda, focuses on Climate Action – to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Goal 13 of the Agenda focuses on strategies and ways climate change can be mitigated through polices and sustainable development. It promotes educating and creating awareness, of how real of an issue climate change is. More general public awareness is necessary as there are many individuals – even world leaders – that are simply un-aware and un-educated in the reality of climate change. This is detrimental as one of the most effective manners of climate change mitigation is the implementation of government policies. On a global front, goal 13 undertakes the responsibility of helping under developed countries mitigate climate through the Green Climate Fund. This fund is a commitment undertaken by developed-country that were parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The goal is for developed countries to aid undeveloped countries jointly by assembling $100 billion annually, by 2020 from all party sources to address the needs of developing countries.
Hopefully, this new 2020 decade ushers in with it global commitment to fulfill the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda. But above all, the influence of our commitment – on an individual and personal level – to mitigating climate change may be what inspires others, to lend a helping hand in fighting climate change.
References:
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 