The Agenda 2030 is an international framework of action with five main parts. It is for the people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The plan comes from about 40 years of global efforts to deal with environmental, social and economic challenges. The Agenda 2030 was created in 2015 at a historic UN meeting about sustainable development.

The agenda guides 195 UN countries. The name “2030 Agenda” comes from the aim of fulfilling the targets before 2030. 

The core principles of Agenda 2030

The most famous core principle of the Agenda 2030 is “leave no one behind “. This principle highlights the need for global solidarity, including the people in the most vulnerable and challenging situations. Universality is another example, emphasising the importance of including all nations. More so, multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential, for example, by sharing technology and financial resources.

The agenda works with the world’s social, environmental and economic problems. In other words, the essential elements are social inclusion, environmental protection and economic growth.

The 5 Ps mentioned above – people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership – is an upgraded understanding of sustainable development. Before 2015, the concept only included people, the planet and prosperity. With the Agenda 2030, peace and partnership became integrated parts of the idea. “Genuine sustainability sits at the core of these five dimensions”.

The Sustainable Development Goals

The most prominent part of the agenda is the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). These are focal points for understanding what the world needs to create a sustainable future. More so, they are the result of many political debates addressing today’s most urgent necessities. For example, there are goals for “no poverty” (goal 1) and “gender equality” (goal 5). Others deal with climate change. 

Agenda 2030

The agenda aims to tackle the underlying problems in the world instead of just working with the symptoms, such as rescue camps for climate refugees. Therefore there needs to be more focus on direct action, such as reassuring access to food, with long-term sustainable projects.

For example, the agenda works through local bodies. Each government in the UN has the responsibility to establish these bodies. The idea is to collect experts in cultural, climate, environmental, business and research areas. Then, they can create national action plans that align with the values of Agenda 2030. 

Example of source: Agenda 2030