To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

×
      LATEST NEWSOPINIONCLIMATEECONOMY POLITICS RIGHTS & JUSTICEWAR & PEACE
      LATEST NEWS
      OPINION

      sustainable development goals

      Grain passing through a person's hands

      Is It Time to Drop the D from SDG?

      Our problem isn’t growth. Our problem is inequality.

      Simon Whalley
      Sep 19, 2023

      I recently found myself using one of those ecological footprint calculators on the internet. As a vegan who cycles to work, recycles religiously, refuses to take short-haul flights, wears secondhand clothes, and through being follicly challenged doesn’t require either shampoo or conditioner, I was shocked to find that my lifestyle still requires three Earths. That is, if everyone on Earth were to live like me, we would need three Earths to sustain us. It got me to thinking about the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, that I hear so much about. According to the latest estimated figures reported in the Sustainable Development Report, or SDR, for 2023, the highest performing country is Finland who achieved a Sustainable Development Index score of 86.8. Hat’s off to Finland!

      So, you might be wondering what got me checking my ecological footprint? Or maybe not! Either way, this summer has brought a cavalcade of disasters one after the other, with Southern Europe alternating between fire and floods, North America ditto, and now tens of thousands may have perished in Libyan floods. Add to this mix the report about the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) possibly shutting down completely by 2025 and you get a sense that we may have entered into uncharted territory. Our overlords seem intent on growing the economy at the expense everything and everyone else, so I figured I would have to try and limit the individual damage I cause instead. One of my personal solutions is to insulate my home to make my energy use more efficient. We’ll get to this later.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      Opinion
      sustainable development goals
      Light-up signs reading, 'Stop climate change," "End Inequality," and "End Poverty."

      Reform the Global Finance System to Fund the Sustainable Development Goals

      The SDGs are largely an investment agenda into human capital and infrastructure, yet many developing countries cannot finance these investments at reasonable terms.

      Guillaume Lafortune
      Sep 05, 2023

      July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. From the rising impacts of climate change evidenced by the deadly wildfires across the world to the growing global inequities, it is clear that we have reached a decisive moment for achieving sustainable development. Furthermore, the gap between rich and poor countries on sustainable development outcomes is at risk of being larger in 2030 than it was in 2015, as highlighted in the 2023 Sustainable Development Report (which includes the SDG Index).

      This is largely due to inefficiencies in the international financing system for financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To avoid a lost decade for convergence in sustainable development, we need long-term national SDG plans, backed by adequate financing, combined with global and regional cooperation.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      Opinion
      sustainable development goals
      A street in Seoul, South Korea, filled with people marching with signs.

      Disability Justice Is Key to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

      As long as people with disabilities are excluded and denied their human rights, the promise of the global goals is doomed to fail.

      Abia Akram
      Aug 23, 2023

      Growing up as a girl with a disability in Pakistan, I knew that my opportunity to go to an inclusive school and progress to university was unusual. For many children with disabilities, particularly girls, intersecting stigma and discrimination means that they are regularly excluded from learning or even seen as not worth educating. Children are sometimes hidden at home or protected by their parents, either viewed as a curse from God, or some kind of special blessing. Or, more mundanely, schools simply aren’t accessible or affordable for them. These barriers are faced by children in many counties, and as a result, children with disabilities are almost twice as likely to have never attended school than other children.

      Education can be just one of the first hurdles in a life of discrimination for many people with disabilities. Despite progress on disability rights in the past few decades (including the adoption of the groundbreaking U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008) the 1.3 billion people in the world who have disabilities still face a huge range of barriers to our full participation in society. That’s 16% of the global population. From Islamabad to Iowa, we still often find ourselves excluded in education, healthcare, travel, politics, and public services. For example, only 1 in 10 people in the world have access to the assistive technology and disability services they need to live a full life, and people with disabilities are up to twice as likely to live in poverty than people without disabilities. In many places in 2023, we are simply tired of having to constantly fight for our basic human rights.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      Opinion
      disability rights
      SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
      Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.
      Follow Us
      Most Popular

      'Epic Humiliation': GOP Mocked for Rejecting Hunter Biden Testimony Offer

      Mehdi Hasan Booted From MSNBC After 'Daring to Practice Journalism'

      Study Warns Human Health Still 'At the Mercy' of Fossil Fuels

      GOP Pushes Social Security 'Death Panel' After Years of Tax Cuts for Rich

      Netanyahu Says He Is 'Only One Who Will Prevent a Palestinian State'

      Team Biden Goes From Denial to Panic

      Gilded Age for Billionaire Offspring as $5.2 Trillion Wealth Transfer Accelerates

      House GOP to Hold Hearing on Social Security 'Death Panel'

      Outrageously Paid CEOs Are Making Us Sick—Literally

      PBS Mirrored GOP Lies on Social Security and the Debt

      Independent, nonprofit journalism needs your help.
      Please Pitch In
      Today!