scholarly journals Intergenerational Equity and the Sustainable Development Goals

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto Spijkers
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Intergenerational Equity ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
United Nations General Assembly ◽  
The United Nations

The contribution of the present research is to link the global consensus in international legal scholarship on the principle of intergenerational equity to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The methodology used is, first, to provide a literature review of theories of intergenerational equity developed in international law scholarship, followed by a textual analysis of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that contains the SDGs. To place the SDGs in their proper context, an overview is provided of the most important declarations on sustainable development of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), and outcome documents of the most important World Conferences on sustainable development organized under the auspices of the United Nations. Two general conclusions can be drawn from the present research: in international law scholarship and in the SDGs and previous declarations, the earth is generally seen as a resource, to be used by present and future people, and not as something warranting respect regardless of its worth to human beings. Second, the main challenge is to find a proper balance between intergenerational equity—present and future people—and intragenerational equity—the rich and the poor of the present generation.

scholarly journals Is It Time to Shift Our Environmental Thinking? A Perspective on Barriers and Opportunities to Change

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Daigle ◽  
Liette Vasseur
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
United Nations General Assembly ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
Over Exploitation

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals. In 2019, the release of the global assessment report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services unfortunately demonstrated that our planet may be in more trouble than expected. The main drivers have been identified for many years and relate to human activities such as over-exploitation of natural resources leading to land degradation, deforestation, ocean and atmospheric pollution, and climate change. Despite international agreements and conventions, we are gradually reaching the planet’s boundaries. In this commentary, we present an analysis of the current worldview, discuss the humanist roots of this view, and the barriers to be able to move forward with the transformative changes that are needed for sustainability. We suggest that for these transformative changes to happen, there is a need to reconnect humans with nature, and we propose that some solutions could be devised in areas like education and social media. Changing our mindsets and worldviews are the most urgent courses of action we must undertake to avoid the inevitable.

scholarly journals The UK'S largest volume housebuilders and the sustainable development goals

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Jones ◽  
Daphne Comfort
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
United Nations General Assembly

PurposeThe sustainable development goals (SDGs) agreed at a United Nations General Assembly in 2015 embrace an ambitious and wide ranging set of global environmental, social and economic issues designed to effect a transition to a more sustainable future. The United Nations called on all governments to pursue these ambitious goals but also acknowledged the important role of the private sector in addressing the SDGs. This paper offers an exploratory review of how some of the UK's largest volume housebuilders publicly claim to be committed to addressing the SDGs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides an outline of the characteristics of sustainable development, of the SDGs and of the frame of reference and method of enquiry employed in the study, prior to reviewing the findings from the largest UK housebuilders.FindingsThe findings revealed that seven of the largest housebuilding companies claimed to be committed to contributing to the SDGs, though the scale and the extent of their claimed commitments varied. In reviewing the housebuilders approach to the SDGs, the authors drew attention to three challenges the housebuilders may face in pursuing their claimed commitment to the SDGs, namely, concentrating on specific goals, measurement and reporting.Originality/valueThe paper offers an accessible review of how seven of the UK's largest housebuilders claimed to be committed to addressing the SDGs.

Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Biological Diversity in Nigeria: Current Issues and Future Directions

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damilola S. Olawuyi ◽  
Olaitan O. Olusegun
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Legal Barriers

The aim of this article is to examine the application of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs) on biological diversity in Nigeria, emphasizing the preconditions for implementation and the barriers and difficulties for their realization. Given Nigeria’s faltering attempts and failure to achieve the biodiversity goals in the Millennium Development Goals (mdgs), a predecessor to the sdgs, this article builds a profile of the salient law and institutional barriers to the implementation and attainment of the sdgs on biodiversity in Nigeria and proffers practical and normative solutions to those challenges. The methodology approach is based in an analytical and survey of the scope and status of the implementation of international law norms on biodiversity in Nigeria. The results indicate that archaic legislative provision on biodiversity; lack of coherent post-2015 biodiversity agenda; lack of institutional coordination; absence of political will; and inadequate stakeholder engagement in evolving national biodiversity plans are the main legal barriers that must be addressed if the sdgs are to be attained in Nigeria.

scholarly journals Utilizing Zakat for Attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 231-242
Author(s):  
Rafiu Ibrahim Adebayo
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Millennium Development Goals ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Expiry Date ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Year 2000

At the United Nations Conference in Stockholm in the early 1970s, the idea of sustainable development was mooted. It became a global phenomenon in the year 2000 when the United Nations (UN) declared the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with over one hundred and eighty-nine member states and about twenty-three international organizations. With the expiry date of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) came in vogue. The SDGs as a global project could only be attained through joint efforts of all sectors of human life, religion being one. In human history, religion plays significant developmental roles, hence a strong factor in attaining developmental goals. Islam in particular could not be left out in any developmental project, as it is not only a religion and but also a way of life. Indeed, the maqasid ash-shari’ah are meant for all-round development and protection of human life – religion (Din), life (Hayat), procreation (Nasl), Property (Māl) and Intellect (cAql). This study is designed to specifically relate the institution of zakat in Islam to attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with particular reference to Nigeria as a country. Historical, descriptive and exegetical methods are adopted for this purpose. The paper therefore concludes that zakat can be a veritable tool for achieving the SDGs if properly harnessed, monitored and utilized for the purpose it is meant.

scholarly journals Tackling the Big Challenges of the Future

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Garcia Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Millennium Development Goals ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Future ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Year 2000

AbstractThe end of 2015 was the deadline that 189 countries gave themselves to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a list of eight goals that were agreed upon and approved by the UN after the Millennium Summit in year 2000. Despite some legitimate criticism, the MDGs were revealed as an important tool towards building a more equitable and sustainable world. Yet our planet still faces many challenges. In September 2015, the UN approved a new set of 17 goals, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to develop and implement strategies to create “The Future We Want”; strategies that 192 countries agreed upon to work together towards a more sustainable planet [

Knowledge Societies in China, Portugal, and Uganda

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-50
Author(s):  
Nuno Vasco Lopes ◽  
Kenneth Bagarukayo ◽  
Jun Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
International Telecommunication Union ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The United Nations

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) Member States subscribed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda (General Assembly 2015). This work makes an analysis on how Knowledge Societies can effectively contribute for the achievements of the Agenda's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, it will be presented the research overview conducted by UNU-EGOV for producing the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Knowledge Societies Handbook (UNESCO/IFAP and UNU-EGOV 2016). In addition, three countries from three different Continents of Asia, Europe and Africa - China, Portugal and Uganda respectively - will be analyzed in the context of the knowledge societies architecture proposed in the handbook. For making that analysis a set of indicators collected from the “The World Bank” (The World Bank 2016) and “International Telecommunication Union” (ITU) (ITU 2015) databases have been selected. The indicators have been interpreted taking into consideration the socio-cultural, political, and economic context of each of the three countries.

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