Defining the future of our planet

Director of the Monash Sustainability Institute (MSI), Professor Dave Griggs has attended a meeting of experts at a UN-sponsored meeting in New York to develop a set of universal Sustainable Development Goals.

The meeting follows the decision at last year's Rio Earth Summit to develop goals to guide the process of lifting the world's rapidly growing population out of poverty while ensuring the Earth can continue to support human life.

The SDGs are due to come into effect in 2016, adding an increased environmental emphasis to the Millennium Development Goals. Professor Griggs said their importance should not be underestimated.

"If these goals are not meaningful, measurable and achievable, we risk having gains made in poverty reduction undermined by environmental impacts," Professor Griggs said.

"We are already seeing the damage that human development has caused to the Earth's oceans, forests, waterways, atmosphere and biodiversity. Our population is due to hit nine million by mid-century. To continue to operate the way we have until now will result in irreversible environmental damage, which in turn will undermine development."

Professor Griggs delivered the keynote presentation on a paper he and colleagues have published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, outlining their preferred approach to the goals, which is based on the latest research.

They argue for six specific goals couched within a new conception of sustainable development.

"Until now, discussion and policy around sustainable development has been guided by three pillars - economic, social and environmental," Professor Griggs said.

"We argue that it is more beneficial, and indeed necessary, to think of these pillars as concentric circles - economy within society within the environment." 

The six goals are: thriving lives and livelihoods; sustainable food security; sustainable water security; universal clean energy; healthy and productive ecosystems; and governance for sustainable societies.

"Since the Millennium Development Goals were introduced, we have seen a reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty in many developing areas of the globe. This success illustrates both the effectiveness of goal-setting on an international scale and the importance of this week's meeting for our future," Professor Griggs said.