Yesterday the UN released its zero-draft text for the Post-2015 development agenda, which includes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There’s a rather weak climate change goal but no reference to the 1.5˚C target or to the huge effort that is needed across all the SDGs to put us on that pathway. Nor is there comment on the drastic implications for poverty reduction of not staying below 1.5˚C.
The main paragraph on climate change has no acknowledgement that the SDGs are the building blocks to a low-carbon and climate-resilient future. This needs to be corrected. To achieve sustainable development, the SDGs must address structural issues. Given all the knowledge mankind now has on the destructive effects of the fossil fuel economy, the declaration must not fail to mention the obvious need for a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
How New York fares will impact what happens in Paris. ECO hopes you’ll tap your colleagues, who are neck deep in the Post-2015 dialogues, on the shoulder and remind them of the central role action on climate has on the path to a sustainably developed future.