Backgrounder: Facts about Sustainable Development Goals

More than 150 world leaders are expected to attend the UN Sustainable Development Summit from Sept. 25-27 at UN headquarters in New York to formally adopt an ambitious new sustainable development agenda.

This momentous agenda, comprising of 17 goals, will serve as the launch pad for action by the international community and by national governments to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years.

The following are some basic facts about the sustainable development goals according to the UN website.

WHAT ARE THE GOALS

The 17 SDGs cover a wide range of issues, including poverty, hunger, health services, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, energy, economic growth, employment, infrastructure, climate change, environmental protection, among others.

Moreover, the SDGs also aim to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, and strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

The sustainable development agenda builds on the successes of, and lessons learned from, the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) -- United Nations anti-poverty targets that are due to wrap up at the end of 2015.

The Millennium Development Goals that were launched in 2000 set 2015 as the target year. Recognizing the success of the goals -- and the fact that a new development agenda was needed beyond 2015 -- countries agreed in 2012 at Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to establish an open working group to develop a set of sustainable development goals.

After more than a year of negotiations, the Open Working Group presented its recommendation for the 17 sustainable development goals. In early August 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations reached consensus on the outcome document of the new agenda "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

The summit, also known as the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, will be convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the 70th session of the General Assembly.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GOALS

There are 17 SDGs with 169 targets in contrast to the eight Millennium Development Goals with 21 targets. The complex challenges that exist in the world today demand that a wide range of issues is covered. It is, also, critical to address the root causes of the problems and not only of the symptoms.

The sustainable development goals are the result of a negotiation process that involved the 193 UN member states and also unprecedented participation of civil society and other stakeholders. This led to the representation of a wide range of interests and perspectives. On the other hand, the MDGs were produced by a group of experts behind closed doors.

The goals are broad in scope because they will address the interconnected elements of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The MDGs focused primarily on the social agenda.

The MDGs targeted developing countries, particularly the poorest while the sustainable development goals will apply to the entire world, the rich and the poor. Enditem