President's Page: Advancing sustainability in SEG

Abstract

In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In this framework, development is conceived as an integrated approach to elevate the quality of life by raising economic progress with environmental protection considerations. This vision evolved into the formulation in 2015 of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to mitigate the hazards of climate change and to contribute to the development of society in every aspect, establishing targets to be attained by 2030. As an example, SDG 13: Climate Action calls for initiatives to moderate climate change within development frameworks. SDG 14: Life Below Water and SDG 15: Life on Land also call for more sustainable practices in using the earth's natural resources. The world is not making progress against the SDGs fast enough to achieve all the goals within the established timeline, yet with international agreements and specific actions, the success rate is growing incrementally.