We are over halfway through the 15-year plan for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The 17 objectives in the plan were intended to make the world a better, more sustainable place.
Each goal is a call to action. Goal #1 is “no poverty” and goal #2 is “zero hunger.” Both are laudable objectives but are they realistic? One could make the argument the world operates on a bell curve when it comes to questions of wealth. Most of us will be somewhere in the middle of the curve, but there will always be people at both the bottom and the top.
Of course, the bottom end does not have to be abject poverty. It really depends on how poverty is defined.
The same sort of argument might be made for “zero hunger” except we know the world’s agriculture sector produces more than enough food to feed the 8 billion people on Earth. Hunger is not a question of production but of distribution. For example, some 30 per cent of the food entering the North American market goes to waste, either at home, in the store, or in restaurants.
If we had better food practices and a less wasteful food supply, that food could be used to feed the 800 million people who go to bed hungry every night.
Goal #8 is “decent work and economic growth.” Both are good ideas and I don’t think anyone would argue with the Canadian government’s interpretation of decent work as: work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, and better prospects for personal development and social integration.
But economic growth is trickier. Sustained economic growth does not lead to a sustainable planet.
For the past seven decades, economic growth has been measured in terms of increasing GDP and considered essential for national prosperity. Targets for growth rates for least-developed countries are being met but at what cost? The sustainable part of the equation is in trouble and heading in the wrong direction. We are consuming more each year.
Our global material footprint shows no signs of slowing down. Consumption is increasing faster than both population and GDP.
The UN’s goals were a good first step but not ones we are likely to meet.
Todd Whitcombe is a chemistry professor at UNBC.
