UN Sustainable Development Goals 2015 .. What, why and how ?

Climate change is the greatest threat faced by humanity due to environmental pollution.  Sustainability efforts have thus gained importance world over, with leadership actions initiated by United Nations. 

Sustainable development means "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland Commission).Apr 21, 2015

UN' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, 2015 - 2030.

The historic Paris Agreement of 22 April 2016,  provides an opportunity for countries to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It entered into force on 4 November 2016. (click here..)

The UN continues to encourage all stakeholders to take action toward reducing the impacts of climate change.

Click here for the UN website of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by 187 countries in 2015 to help transform our world, to be achieved by 2030 AD. 

The Lazy person's guide to saving the world (click here) is an interesting UN document which explains how each individual on this planet can contribute to making the earth sustainable in the long run in our small small ways.

Organisations big or small or even individuals need to analyse each of these 17 goals and 

• segregate goals which they can influence and which they cannot, 
• identify and prioritize goals which they can influence, 
• work out smaller macro and micro goals
• set measurable targets 
• try to achieve them in a fixed time frame.

The UN stated goals have been arrived at through consensus by all the 189 countries to be achieved over 15 years from 1 st January 2016. It is not legally binding on the countries of the world, but in the interests of the future generations, we need to take these goals in full earnestness and seriousness and ensure its accomplishment.

Kochi International Airport at Kochi, Kerala, India's third largest in infrastructure (1.5 m sq.ft T3) and fourth largest in terms of passenger traffic at 9 million annually, has built the world's first and only solar energy powered International airport. It remains unchallenged as the first and only fully solar energy powered international airport of the world even after 20 months of its initial insolation in July 2015. With faster economic development happening around the world, more people move around for work and leisure purposes. Air travel will become more popular and common, even though cheaper Mass Rapid Transport Systems alternatives like Hyperloop, do offer great promise. Airports going truly green can help make future air travel more sustainable, though air travel per se still depends on non-renewable resources..

2.5 acres of solar panels at Kochi International
Airport, India.

We find very less awareness of these  in the press and media on the time limit and the goals to be achieved by then ? Let us take it upon each one of us, reading this document and the links given above to act in whatever small way possible to achieving the grand goal for the sake of humanity on planet earth...

It is our world, it is our joint responsibility to protect his world not only for our generation, but for all future generations..

George.. (photo courtesy Kochi airport, taken by Daily Mail, UK.)

Ref :

1. Bhaskar Chakavarthi, How companies can champion sustainable development, Harvard Business Review, March 2017.
2. www,un.org/sustainabledevelopment, Sustainable Development Goals - 17 Goals to transform our world,  Last accessed , 17 April 2017.
3. george-easaw,blogspot.in, Truly green airport at Kochi, Last accessed 17 April, 2017,