In September 2015, a historic event took place at the United Nations in New York. Heads of State, Government and dignitaries celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations took a landmark decision on a new, comprehensive and people-centred framework for global development. This document, entitled "Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"“, presents a supremely ambitious vision aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all by 2030. The central promise of this collective journey is a deeply moral commitment: no one must be left out (leave no one behind) and aid must be directed primarily to those who are furthest behind.

The 2030 Agenda did not emerge in a vacuum. It builds on the foundations and achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), while seeking to complete what they failed to achieve, particularly in helping the most vulnerable populations. Compared to its predecessors, however, this new agenda has an unprecedented scope and depth. It is universally applicable to all countries of the world – developing and developed alike – while sensitively respecting different national realities, capacities and levels of development.

Five Pillars of Development (5P)

At the heart of the entire structure of the 2030 Agenda are five core areas of critical importance to humanity and the biosphere, known as five pillars (5P): People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership.

1. People: World leaders have committed to ending poverty and hunger in all their forms and dimensions. Every person should have the opportunity to develop their full potential in dignity, equality and a healthy environment. This includes access to quality education, health care and social protection.
2. Planet: Protecting our Earth from degradation is essential for survival. The pillar focuses on sustainable consumption and production, the prudent management of natural resources, and urgent action on climate change, so that the Earth can meet the needs of present and future generations.
3. Prosperity: Economic, social and technological progress must take place in perfect harmony with nature. The goal is to ensure that all people can lead prosperous, secure and fulfilling lives.
4. Peace: There can be no sustainable development without peace, and there can be no peace without sustainable development. The Agenda emphasizes building peaceful, just and inclusive societies that are free from fear and violence.
5. Partnership: To turn the vision into reality, it is essential to mobilize resources through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. This partnership is built on a spirit of global solidarity, with a priority focus on the poorest and most vulnerable.

17 goals and 169 target values: Integrated system

To fulfill these five pillars, the 2030 Agenda defines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 related targets (targets). These targets are essentially integrated and indivisible. This means that progress in one area is closely linked to success in another; for example, addressing climate change (SDG 13) cannot be separated from ensuring clean energy (SDG 7) or protecting biodiversity (SDG 15).

The goals cover three fundamental dimensions of sustainable development:

• Social dimension: Combating poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2), ensuring healthy lives and well-being (SDG 3), inclusive and equitable education (SDG 4) and achieving gender equality (SDG 5). Gender equality is seen as a key accelerator – development is not possible if half of humanity is denied full access to rights and opportunities.
• Economic dimension: Access to energy (SDG 7), promoting sustained, inclusive economic growth and decent work for all (SDG 8), building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation (SDG 9), reducing inequalities (SDG 10) and developing sustainable cities (SDG 11).
• Environmental dimension: Water and sanitation (SDG 6), sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), climate change (SDG 13), oceans and seas (SDG 14) and terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15).

The document explicitly acknowledges that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) remains the primary international forum for negotiating a global response to climate threats.

Implementation and financial mechanisms

One of the most important aspects that distinguishes the 2030 Agenda from previous initiatives is the thorough definition of means of implementation (Means of Implementation). World leaders realized that without massive resource mobilization, the goals would remain only on paper.

The key pillar of the financial strategy is Addis Ababa Action Plan of July 2015, which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda. This plan links national public resources, the domestic and international private sectors, international development cooperation, trade and debt sustainability. Countries confirmed the importance of Official Development Assistance (ODA), with developed countries reaffirming their commitment to achieving the goal of providing 0.7 % of gross national income (GNI) for development aid and 0.15 to 0.20 % for least developed countries (LDCs).

In addition to finance, technology transfer and capacity building play a critical role. For this purpose, a Technological facilitation mechanism (Technology Facilitation Mechanism – TFM). The TFM operates on the basis of cooperation between Member States, civil society, the private sector and the scientific community. It consists of three pillars:

1. UN Inter-Agency Working Group for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
2. Multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation, which meets once a year to discuss thematic areas and connect needs with solutions.
3. Online platform, which serves as a comprehensive gateway to information on existing JTI initiatives, good practices and open access scientific publications.

Progress tracking and the power of data

To ensure transparency and accountability to citizens, the 2030 Agenda establishes a robust system of Follow-up and Review at national, regional and global levels. This process is voluntary, country-led and respects national political space.

At the global level, it plays a central coordinating role The main political forum for sustainable development (High-level Political Forum – HLPF) under the auspices of the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The HLPF facilitates the sharing of experiences, provides political guidance and oversees thematic reviews of progress. The Forum’s assessments are informed by annual report on progress in implementing the SDGs prepared by the UN Secretary-General and The Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), which strengthens the link between science and policy.

The basis for accurate measurement of success is global indicators. These were developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators and endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission in March 2016. The Agenda emphasises that for good decision-making, high-quality, timely, reliable and disaggregated data – not only by income, but also by gender, age, race, ethnicity, migration status or disability. The aim is to develop broader measures of progress that will appropriately complement gross domestic product (GDP), which in itself does not reflect the social and environmental aspects of development.

Responsibility for the future

By adopting the 2030 Agenda, world leaders recognized that humanity is at a historic crossroads, faced with enormous challenges, such as deepening inequalities, environmental degradation, conflict and climate change that threatens the very biological support systems of our planet. At the same time, we live in an era of unprecedented opportunities, driven by the development of information technology, scientific innovation and global connectivity.

As stated in the final statement of the Agenda: „"We may be the first generation to end poverty; just as we may be the last to have a chance to save the planet"“. The future of humanity and our planet lies squarely in our hands. Successfully completing this journey by 2030 requires the tireless efforts of governments, parliaments, the private sector, academia and every single inhabitant of this planet. Only by acting together can we ensure that the gains made are lasting and irreversible.

This article was based on the official UN document "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". JRi&CO2AI