The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 interlinked global goals that were established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. These were designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs, intended to be achieved by the year 2030, are part of Agenda 2030, a United Nations Resolution, a decision or declaration voted on by all members' states of the United Nations in the General Assembly.

 

The goals are broad and mutually dependent, so two years later, on 6th July 2017, the SDGs were made more “actionable” by another United Nations decision, which identifies specific targets for each goal, along with indicators to measure progress. The year by which the target is meant to be achieved is between 2020 and 2030. For some targets, no end date is given.

 

Can we save the world?