Press Kit for the Sustainable Development Summit

2015: Time for Global Action for People and Planet

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.
Sustainable development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive,
sustainable and resilient future for people and planet.
For sustainable development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonize three core
elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These
elements are interconnected and all are crucial for the wellbeing of individuals and
societies.
Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions is an indispensable requirement
for sustainable development. To this end, there must be promotion of sustainable,
inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for all,
reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living, fostering equitable social
development and inclusion, and promoting integrated and sustainable management of
natural resources and ecosystems.

What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

The 193 Member States of the United Nations reached consensus on the outcome document
of a new sustainable development agenda entitled, Transforming Our World: The 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development. This agenda contains 17 goals and 169 targets. The
complete list of goals and targets are available at:
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/
The outcome document is available at:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld
World leaders will officially adopt this universal, integrated and transformative agenda in
September to spur actions that will end poverty and build a more sustainable world over the
next 15 years.
This agenda builds on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
which were adopted in 2000 and guided development action for the last 15 years. The MDGs
have proven that global goals can lift millions out of poverty.
The new goals are part of an ambitious, bold sustainable development agenda that will focus
on the three interconnected elements of sustainable development: economic growth, social
inclusion and environmental protection.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets are global in nature and universally
applicable, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of
development and respecting national policies and priorities. They are not independent from
each otherthey need to be implemented in an integrated manner.
The SDGs are the result of a threeyearlong transparent, participatory process inclusive of
all stakeholders and peoples voices. They represent an unprecedented agreement around
sustainable development priorities among 193 Member States. They have received world
wide support from civil society, business, parliamentarians and other actors. The decision to

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 launch a process to develop a set of SDGs was made by UN Member States at the United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Rio de Janeiro in June
2012.

What are the elements underpinning the Sustainable Development Goals?

The Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next 15 years in areas of critical
importance: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership.

People, as we are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions,
and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a
healthy environment.

Planet, to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption
and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on
climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.

Prosperity, to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that
economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.

Peace, to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies free from fear and violence. There can
be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

Partnership, to mobilize the means required to implement this agenda through a revitalised
global partnership for sustainable development, based on a spirit of strengthened global
solidarity, focussed in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the
participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.

Why are new goals being adopted this year?

The Millennium Development Goals that were launched in 2000 set 2015 as the target year.
Recognizing the success of the Goals and the fact that a new development agenda was
needed beyond 2015 countries agreed in 2012 at Rio+20, the UN Conference on
Sustainable Development, to establish an open working group to develop a set of sustainable
development goals for consideration and appropriate action.
After more than a year of negotiations, the Open Working Group presented its
recommendation for the 17 sustainable development goals.
In early August 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations reached consensus on the
outcome document of the new agenda Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.
Member States decided that the UN summit for the adoption of new sustainable development
agenda with its 17 goals will be held from 25 to 27 September 2015, in New York and
convened as a highlevel plenary meeting of the General Assembly.

Why are the Sustainable Development Goals so broad in comparison to the Millennium
Development Goals which were very specific?
There are 17 sustainable development goals with 169 targets, in contrast to the 8 Millennium
Development Goals with 21 targets. The complex challenges that exist in the world today

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 demand that a wide range of issues be covered. It is, also, critical to address the root causes of
the problems and not only the symptoms.
The Sustainable Development Goals are the result of a negotiation process that involved the
193 UN Member States and also saw unprecedented participation of civil society and other
stakeholders. This led to the representation of a wide range of interests and perspectives. On
the other hand, the MDGs were produced by a group of experts behind closed doors.
The SDGs are broad in scope because they will address the interconnected elements of
sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.
The MDGs focused primarily on the social agenda.
The MDGs targeted developing countries, particularly the poorest, while the Sustainable
Development Goals will apply to the entire world, developed and developing countries.

Arent 17 SDGs and 169 targets too many, too ambiguous and unrealistic?
Poverty eradication, shared prosperity and planetary sustainability cannot be reduced to a
simple formula.
The SDGs represent the shared global goals and targets that will be tailored at the country
level, informed by contextbased evidence.

How are the SDGs different from the MDGs?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals with 169 targets are broader in scope and will go
further than the MDGs by addressing the root causes of poverty and the universal need for
development that works for all people. These goals will cover the three dimensions of
sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.
Building on the success and momentum of the MDGs, the new global goals will cover more
ground with ambitions to address inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, cities and
human settlements, industrialization, energy, climate change, sustainable consumption and
production, peace and justice.
The new goals are universal and apply to all countries, whereas the MDGs were intended for
action in developing countries only.
A core feature of the SDGs has been the means of implementation the mobilization of
financial resources as well as capacitybuilding and the transfer of environmentally sound
technologies.
The new goals recognize that tackling climate change is essential for sustainable development
and poverty eradication. SDG 13 aims to promote urgent action to combat climate change and
its impacts.

Civil society has participated in the process of negotiations for the new sustainable
development agenda. How can we quantify their contribution to the final document?
The negotiating process on the sustainable development goals involved the
unprecedented participation of civil society and other stakeholders, such as the private
sector and mayors.
During the negotiations, civil society and other stakeholders were able to speak
directly to government representatives.

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 Many young people were also involved from the beginning on social media platforms
and the UNs global My World survey that received more than 7 million votes from
around the world, with approximately 75% of participants under 30 years of age.

How much will the implementation of this new sustainable development agenda cost?
The means of implementation how to mobilize the financial resources to achieve the
sustainable development agenda is a core feature of the new agenda.
This ambitious agenda will require the mobilization of significant resourcesin the
trillions of dollars. But these resources already exist. There are far more than enough
savings in the world to finance the new agenda.
Resources need to be mobilized from domestic and international sources, as well as
from the public and private sectors.
Official development assistance is still necessary to help finance sustainable
development to assist the least developed countries.
The agenda can be met within the framework of a revitalized global partnership for
sustainable development, supported by the concrete policies and actions as outlined in
the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the outcome document of the Third International
Conference on Financing for Development held in July.

How will the new development agenda be implemented?

Implementation and success will rely on countries own sustainable development policies,
plans and programmes, and will be led by countries. The SDGs will be a compass for
aligning countries plans with their global commitments.
Nationally owned and countryled sustainable development strategies will require equivalent
resource mobilization and financing strategies.
The 17 SDGs and 169 targets of the new agenda will be monitored and reviewed using a set
of global indicators. The global indicator framework, to be developed by the Inter Agency
and Expert Group on SDG Indicators, will be agreed on by the UN Statistical Commission by
March 2016.
Governments will also develop their own national indicators to assist in monitoring progress
made on the goals and targets.
The followup and review process will be undertaken on an annual basis by the High Level
Political Forum on Sustainable Development through a SDG Progress Report to be prepared
by the SecretaryGeneral.
The means of implementation of the SDGs will be monitored and reviewed as outlined in the
Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the outcome document of the Financing for Development
Conference, to ensure that financial resources are effectively mobilized to support the new
sustainable development agenda.
A Technology Facilitation Mechanism, to be launched at the September Summit, will address
the technology needs of developing countries, the options to address those needs and capacity
building. Recognizing the central role of technological cooperation for the achievement of
sustainable development, countries agreed on this mechanism at the Financing for
Development Conference.

How does climate change relate to sustainable development?

We are already seeing that climate change is impacting public health, food and water
security, migration, peace and security. Investments in sustainable development will

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 help address climate change by reducing emissions and building climate resilience.
Action on climate change will drive sustainable development and viceversa.
Climate change, left unchecked, will roll back the development gains we have made
over the last decades and will make further gains impossible.
Tackling climate change and fostering sustainable development are two mutually
reinforcing sides of the same coin; sustainable development cannot be achieved
without climate action, as many of the SDGs are actually addressing the core drivers
of climate change.

How does the climate component of the SDGs influence the debate on climate change
and the upcoming climate change conference in Paris later this year?
The consensus reached on the outcome document of the new sustainable development
agenda does not aim to anticipate or usurp the role of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, the body responsible for the Climate Change
Conference in Paris in December.
Nevertheless, the agreement will send a strong signal that the world has high
expectations that the time has come for decisive positive outcomes on matters of
climate change.
Given that many of the SDGs guide action on the core drivers of climate change, their
implementation, beginning on 1 January 2016, will accelerate transition towards the
implementation of the climate agreement that will enter into force in 2020.

What have the MDGs accomplished?

The MDGs have produced the most successful antipoverty movement in history and will
serve as the springboard for the new sustainable development agenda.
Poverty and hunger: only two short decades ago, nearly half of the developing world lived in
extreme poverty. The number of people now living in extreme poverty has declined by more
than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015.
Gender equality: The world has also witnessed dramatic improvement in gender equality in
schooling since the MDGs, and gender parity in primary school has been achieved in the
majority of countries. More girls are now in school, and women have gained ground in
parliamentary representation over the past 20 years in nearly 90% of the 174 countries with
data.
Child mortality: globally, the underfive mortality rate dropped from 90 to 43 deaths per
1,000 live births between 1990 and 2015.
Maternal health: the maternal mortality ratio shows a decline of 45% worldwide, with most
of the reduction occurring since 2000.
Fighting diseases: new infection rates from HIV fell approximately by 40% between 2000
and 2013. Over 6.2 million malaria deaths were averted between 2000 and 2015, while
tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions saved an estimated 37 million
lives between 2000 and 2013.
Sanitation: Worldwide, 2.1 billion have gained access to improved sanitation and the
proportion of people practicing open defecation has fallen almost by half since 1990.
Global partnership: official development assistance from developed countries saw an
increase of 66% in real terms from 2000 and 2014, reaching $135.2 billion.

What are the remaining gaps left by the MDGs?

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 About 800 million people still live in extreme poverty and 795 million still suffer from
hunger.
Between 2000 and 2015, the number of children out of school declined by almost half.
However, there are still 57 million children who are denied the right to primary education.
Gender inequality persists in spite of more representation of women in parliament and more
girls going to school. Women continue to face discrimination in access to work, economic
assets and participation in private and public decisionmaking.
Economic gaps still exist between the poorest and richest households, and rural and urban
areas. Children from the poorest 20% of households are more than twice as likely to be
stunted as those from the wealthiest 20% and are also four times as likely to be out of school.
Improved sanitation facilities are only covering half of rural population, as opposed to 82% in
urban areas.
While the mortality rate for children under five dropped by 53 per cent between 1990 and
2015, child deaths continue to be increasingly concentrated in the poorest regions and in the
first month of life.

How will progress of the SDGs be measured? How many indicators will be developed
for the 169 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals?
The 17 goals and 169 targets will be monitored and reviewed using a set of global indicators.
These will be complemented by indicators at the regional and national levels, which will be
developed by Member States.
The Inter Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators will develop the global indicator
framework which the UN Statistical Commission will subsequently agree on in March 2016.
Thereafter, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly will adopt these
indicators.
Chief statisticians from Member States are working on the identification of the targets
with the aim to have 2 indicators for each target. There will be approximately 300
indicators for all the targets. Where the targets cover crosscutting issues, however,
the number of indicators may be reduced.

When are the SDGs expected to start and end?

The SDGs are expected to start on 1 January 2016 and to be achieved by 31 December 2030.
However, some targets that build on preset international agreements are expected to be
achieved even earlier than the end of 2030.