Skip to content
Media
Valtioneuvosto frontpage

UN Member States adopted the new sustainable development goals and agenda

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Publication date 25.9.2015 20.06
Press release 215/2015

In the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September, UN Member States adopted the new sustainable development goals (SDGs) and agenda, which will steer the promotion of sustainable development between now and 2030 everywhere in the world – also in Finland.

The goals and the agenda Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development builds upon the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development. The new agenda is more ambitious and comprehensive than its predecessor: it contains 17 goals and 169 targets. It aims to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development in economic, social and environmental dimensions. The goals include, among other things, ending hunger, ensuring quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, achieving gender equality, promoting peaceful societies and building effective institutions, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, combating climate change and protecting natural diversity.

In his statement in the opening session President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö highlighted the importance of the SDGs for gender equality and the environment.

"Investing in gender equality is one of the surest paths towards poverty reduction, inclusive growth and prosperity.  We simply cannot solve the world's problems while keeping half of the population out of leadership positions and subordinated to the other half.  To achieve this goal, we need to change the way in which we act and think.  

Besides, we cannot overlook or overcome is environmental sustainability.  This also requires an ambitious climate deal in Paris in 2015.  Decisions made in Paris may be the world’s best, last chance of reaching an agreement on cutting carbon emissions," President Niinistö said.

The three-day SDG summit gathered a record number of participants, about 160 heads of state and government and a large number of representatives of organisations, companies and other actors in society.

"The record number of participants tells about a firm commitment. Societies all over the world are expected to take part in the promotion of sustainable development. Even though official development assistance (ODA) still plays a significant role especially in the least developed countries, a large number of actors and financiers support sustainable development in them. It is important to increase the countries' own resources. Finland promotes also this, for example, by supporting developing countries' domestic resource mobilisation and private sector," says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka.

The SDG goals and agenda serve as an important foundation for Finland's new development policy programme, which will be issued this autumn.

Links:

 
Back to top