The Ratification Of The Un Sustainable Development Goals

As the global population increases exponentially, having passed six billion in 1999, the world population is expected to be 8.9 billion by the year 2050. The worlds energy consumption will increase by an estimated 54 percent by 2025. Energy demand in the industrialized world is projected to grow 1.2 percent per year. Energy is a critical component of sustained economic growth and improved standards of living. One of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. As the world’s technological enhancements and standards of living improve, so too does their appetite for electricity.

Anderson, D. United Nations Development Programme, United Nations. & World Energy Council. (2000). World Energy Assessment: Energy and the challenge of sustainability. New York, NY: United Nations Development Programme

Energy is crucial to almost every major and opportunity the world faces today. From the perception of jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to sustainable energy for all is essential for strengthening economies, protecting ecosystems and achieving equity.

Nowadays, energy is pivotal to almost every major challenge and opportunity the world confronts. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. Sustainable energy is needed for strengthening economies, protecting ecosystems and achieving equity. In accordance with The UN Conference on Environment and Development, energy consumption is expected to increase dramatically over the next 50 years as the world’s population grows and developing countries become more industrialized. With environmental requirements for lower CO2 emission sources and the need to invest in a sustainable energy mix, new energy sources must be developed. At the same time, climate change is known to be one of the most

Global economy is driven by energy markets. Energy does not only play a significant role in consumer products but also an important input in nearly all the industries. (Efimova O. and

The International Energy Agency estimates that by the year 2003 forty percent of the world's energy production will be from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear power. Nevertheless, the need for

In the international arena, it is difficult to construct effective and durable environmental policies because many agreements between nation states are held by soft law, which is non-binding law. This differs from hard laws, such as binding treaties, in that soft laws are generally considered “codes of

Access to energy is unequivocally one of the determining factors in eradicating poverty and improving socioeconomic wellbeing. On the other hand, unsustainable energy consumption has been one of the main causes leading to climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and the associated environmental damages. In an attempt to optimize the beneficial aspects of energy consumption and mitigate its undesirable effects, the United Nations included “Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all” as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). While goals are simply aspirational, in order to translate them into an achievable reality, targets must be set out that have the ability of adequately measuring the

In order for the sustainability goals to be successful and meaningful, the targets must be measurable. By nature, some of the targets are more measurable than others. It is easy to measure those that are quantitative as the goals are very precise. Target 14.1, to reduce marine pollution of all kinds can be measured by surveying micro-plastic concentrations in seawater and marine life (Global Ocean Commission 2). Similarly, the goal of minimizing acidification can be measured by collecting pH samples (Leadership Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network 172) and the conservation of coastal and marine areas can be measured by collecting data on marine protected areas (GOC 5). It is more difficult to measure targets that are more broad and subjective. The success or failures of these targets are measured by monitoring programs, administering policies, law enforcement and assessing the environmental impacts (4). For example, targets 14.7 and 14.9, which look at the economical benefits and subsidies are measured by monitoring data and policies used in various countries. Likewise, target 14.12, to ensure full implementation of international law, is measured by looking at the number of flag states and countries who have ratified laws (6). Some targets feature both precise and subjective indicators. For instance, targets 14.4 and 14.6 which deal with the regulation of dangerous fishing practices can be measured by looking at the reported data of fish tonnage within

The energy systems seen in the present day are vastly different from those seen in the past two decades amid the ongoing transition of energy systems. The issue of climate change and the alarmingly high levels of Global Greenhouse Gas (GCG) emissions have meant there has been a transition in energy systems as countries worldwide continuingly proceed into a post-carbon world. Developing energy systems of the future is one of the central challenges to policy makers, a challenge which is “complex and multifaceted” (Miller et al 2013:135) as large scale shifts in the use of fuels and energy technologies have “often underpinned broad social and geographical change” (Jiusto 2009:537). The aim of this essay is to investigate how the transition

All of the targets are measurable and there are many studies that have been done that have already measured them.

By 2030, the 7th UN Sustainable Development Goal aims to improve the accessibility, quality, and efficiency of energy. While some of the targets are clearly defined, others use ambiguous terms, making them not truly measureable. Firstly, terms used in targets 7.1, 7.2, and 7.b are not clearly defined, making them not truly measurable. Being able to provide a service universally, implies that every person worldwide should have access to the service. This is neither reasonable nor measureable. The term ‘affordable’ is not clearly defined, therefore not measurable. Affordability differs depending on economic status. With over 13% of the world’s population below the poverty line, the definition of affordable varies and therefore needs to be

There are many negative critiques on the goals outlining why the global goals are not complete and although I believe they are not attainable within 15 years, I would like to outline what we can do to best focus on the goals. The post 2015

The targets (1-7) of Goal 14 are designed to provide ways to monitor the progress of this goal. Generally, these targets do this, however, they do not provide specifics for the ways in which they should be measured. For instance, target 14.1 refers to prevention and reduction of marine pollution, but there is no indication of the way in which this can be done. Target 14.5 is to

The twelfth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to “Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns” ("Open Working Group”).