Page 24 - Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change

Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change

2. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015,
provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the
future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – as seen in Figure 1 – which are
an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They
recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go together with strategies that improve
health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change
and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
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Figure 1: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals [i]

The 2030 Agenda identifies climate change as ‘one of the greatest challenges of our time,’ a belief that
mirrors the scientific community’s concern that climate change now constitutes an ‘existential threat’
to humankind. It further elaborates that climate change and ‘its adverse impacts undermine the
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ability of all countries to achieve the SDGs. Rising global temperature, sea-level rise, ocean acidification
and other climate change impacts are seriously affecting coastal areas and low-lying coastal countries,
including many least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS). The survival
of many societies, and of the biological support systems of the planet, is at risk.’
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The Agenda acknowledges that ‘the spread of information and communications technology and global
interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide
and to develop knowledge societies, as does scientific and technological innovation across areas as
diverse as medicine and energy.’ It also envisages a world ‘in which development and the application
of technology are climate sensitive, respect biodiversity and are resilient.’ 43
However, it must be noted that despite their universal support from world leaders, according to a
recent UN Environment report, 68 per cent of the 93 indicators covering the environmental dimensions
of the SDGs cannot be measured due to a lack of global data (as seen in Figure 2). Of these, there are
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17 environment-related indicators that must be underpinned by geospatial data – and yet no public
system for storing or sharing geospatial data exists on a global scale. Without knowing the precise
location of certain environmental drivers and their evolution over time, it is impossible to understand
the challenges facing specific ecosystems and human settlements or the relationships between the
people, the planet and peace.

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