"The Sustainable Development Goals are a to-do list for people and the planet, and a blueprint for success," UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon said at the launch of the SDGs. "We will also need a new global partnership," Ban ki-Moon said. "We need action from everyone, everywhere. Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are our guide."
To achieve all the goals by 2030, governments, businesses, citizens and organizations must work together. The main issues are technology, knowledge transfer, trade, data, policy coherence and financial flows. Official development assistance (ODA) reached $135.2 billion in 2014, the highest level ever. The debt burden of developing countries remains stable at about 3 percent of export earnings. The number of Internet users in Africa nearly doubled in the past four years, but more than 4 billion people do not use the Internet, and 90 percent of them live in developing countries.
A successful sustainable development agenda requires partnerships between governments, business and civil society. Shared principles and values, a shared vision and shared goals are needed at the global, regional, national and local levels.
Long-term investment, including foreign direct investment, is needed, particularly in developing countries, in renewable energy, infrastructure and transport, as well as information and communications technology. Regulations must be adapted to attract investment and promote sustainable development. National oversight mechanisms such as courts of account and legislation should be strengthened.
