Life on water, life on land, peace and cooperation are the UN’s latest goals to restore global order for a more sustainable and dignified world for all
There are nine more years ahead for nations to achieve all the goals set by the United Nations (UN) for the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda. Although ambitious, the goals are moving towards reestablishing a more sustainable and dignified order for the entire planet, especially in times of global warming: according to the European service Copernicus on climate change, the year 2020 was the hottest in the world alongside 2016, registering an increase of 1.25 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial.
Scientists have already been warning us for a while that, since 1970, 90% of all the heat generated by greenhouse gases is being absorbed by the ocean. No wonder, the preservation of the oceans, seas and all marine resources on the planet is all about the UN Agenda 2030. According to SDG 14 – Life Below Water, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” is a responsibility of cities; they must offer basic sanitation, disposal of solid waste, recycling programs, access to clean water and awareness programs to change marine’s life current situation in the world.
It is not only the ocean that suffers from the action of man on earth. According to official data from INPE (Brazilian Space Research Institute), the period from August 2018 to July 2019 had the highest rate of deforestation in Brazilian forests since 2008. It’s no wonder that UN includes among its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the SDG 15 – Life on Land, with the mission of “Protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems”. The goal combines efforts to ensure that the benefits of ecosystems on land — including sustainable livelihoods — can also contemplate our future generations.
Speaking of future generations, SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Effective Institutions comes next to ensure that conflicts, insecurity, weak institutions and limited access to justice are no longer a major threat to the sustainable development of cities. And to seal with a pact in the order of Agenda 2030, SDG 17 – Partnerships and Means of Implementation ends the objectives of the UN with the purpose of strengthening the partnership between nations. In a globalized world like ours, it is in the exchange of ideas, technologies and knowledge that nations can learn from each other and support each other in times of difficulty.
