Sustainable Development Goals and the Built Environment in Australia

ARBE2101
Construction Ecology 2
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Essay
Being at the fringe of global transmutation the UN members have set new targets to build a more
flourishing and more secure world by the end of the year 2030. The Sustainable Development goals
will focus on 17 key areas:
1. Poverty,
2. Quality Education,
3. Hunger,
4. Well-being,
5. Clean Water and Sanitation,
6. Gender equality,
7. Affordable clean energy,
8. Decent work and economic growth,
9. Infrastructure, industry, and innovation,
10. Climate actions,
11. Reduced inequalities,
12. Sustainable cities and communities,
13. Sustainable consumption and production,
14. Life below water,
15. Life on land,
16. Peace justice and strong institutions
17. Partnership for the goals.
These seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets are adopted by the 193 State
members at UN General Assembly Summit as a part of 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in
September 2015. These goals will be commenced from January 2016. ‘Leaving No One Behind” is
the core principle of this global agenda 2030. This aspiring plan will make the world partnership
between government and non-government institutions, civil society and the people for the
betterment of the world. (UN News Centre, 2015)
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Development and need for UN Sustainable Development Goals
After the success of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were executed from the year
2000 onwards, the world government negotiated on a set of Sustainable Development Goals for the
year 2015 to 2030. The SDG will continue fighting the MDGs goal like poverty, hunger, and
preventable diseases. Along with these goals, they will add challenges to ensure impartial economic
growth and sustainable environment.
The need for sustainable development starts from our overcrowded planet which is approximately
nine times of the people calculated to live in the year 1750 i.e. at the go-ahead of Industrial
Revolution. The population is rising continuously by approximately 75 million individuals each
year. With this growing population, we need to make the world economy grow rapidly and cease
the unequal distribution of wealth confined within and between countries of the globe. In our
world, few people enjoy stupendous wealth and few faces enormous poverty. These conditions of
the world are extremely frightening to the global world. Thus we arrived to develop sustainable
development objectives which would suggest societal objectives and goals for the world to flourish.
SDOs interact with the three intricate systems: the economy of the world, the global society and
physical environment of the society. To accomplish all these objective proper governances is
required. Hence within the framework of UN, this global government is attempting to overcome the
environmental crisis faced today. (World Economic Forum, 2014)
According to Mr. Wu Hongbo, (UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs) if
we continue to consume and produce like it is today, we will fail to sustain the resources of our
planet. So we all need to work collaboratively on SD goals to change the way our planet is treated
today. Sustainability is not limited to one person or country, it belongs to all because it is directly
related to our environment and resources that are depleting day by day, hence harming our future
generations. (UN News Centre (I), 2015)
Relationship between the Sustainable Development Goals and built environment in Australia
Even though Australia is a home to some world’s most happening cities, but it needs to a travel a
long way to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. When comparing the nations based on their
performance on SDGs, Australia ranks to be on 20th position which is ahead of US but behind
Canada and other European Countries.
Australia is known to emit the highest carbon outrush per person in the world; hence it is rated low
on Clean Energy and Climate Change SDGs. With Loss of Biodiversity, high levels of solid wastes
and land clearance, Australia is poorly rated on Environmental SDGs as well. Australia is also
known to rank high in rates of obesity around the world. However, Australia ranks second on social
and economic development but need to accomplish the goals for environmental sustainability.
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