18th Goal Sustainable Development

ALAIN DESVIGNE asks why we have been so unsuccessful in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that officially came into force in 2016, and proposes an 18 th SDG that will allow us to fulfill all the others. This paper was first presented at the conference for “The Elevation of Consciousness Through Meditation for Global Harmony” in August 2019, at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India.

- By Alain Desvigne

The concept of sustainability was popularized in the Brundtland Report, published in 1987. This document, which was also referred to as Our Common Future, was elaborated for the United Nations in order to warn the world about the negative environmental consequences of economic development and globalization, with the aim of offering solutions to the problems arising from industrialization and population growth.

The concept of sustainability aims at achieving global wellbeing for present and future generations. In the report, the means to achieve that goal were provided and detailed around three essential pillars:

1. Environmental protection

2. Social development

3. Economic growth

It was on 1 January 2016, that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit – officially came into force: a call to action to protect the planet and guarantee the global well-being of people.

Although the concept of sustainability was acknowledged by the world community back in the 1980s, and despite the fact that global awareness of sustainable development has been growing over the years, actual tangible results still fall short of any of the set goals.

Why is it so? One possible explanation is our lack of a sense of urgency.

As a species, do we realize that the crisis we face is unprecedented and represents potentially the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced? Do we realize that the impact on each one of us, i.e. individuals, families, communities and ultimately nations, is absolutely key to shaping our collective destiny?