UNEP Perspectives Publication - Issue 12

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Publication: March 2014 

Convergence between MDGs and SDGs: a huge and necessary challenge

At the Rio+20 Summit the United Nations General Assembly (GA) resolved to put in 

place a set of Sustainable Development Goals (§ 245-251 of “The Future We Want”). 

For this purpose, an Open Working Group for Sustainable Development Goals was 

established on 22nd January 2013 by decision 67/555 (see A/67/L.48/rev.1) of the GA. 

Since that decision, several meetings of the Open Working Group have taken place at 

which numerous representatives from governments and civil society have expressed 

the view that the post 2015- and the SDG-framework should be merged into a single 

process. Although by no means a simple task, the authors of this article are in 

support of such a merger, arguing it is necessary to fully transform the development 

agenda, putting environmental sustainability at its core, and avoid the development 

of “green MDGs” that simply enable business-as-usual. The predominant focus of 

development cooperation on a “trade and aid” agenda must be replaced by policies 

that put equity, solidarity and justice at the forefront, addressing the root causes 

of unsustainable consumption and production patterns, and transforming them 

into sustainable lifestyles and livelihoods that benefit all. A paradigm shift is thus 

needed that replaces the mainly growth-based economic model with a new model 

that aims to achieve sustainable and equitable economies and societies worldwide, 

and ensures greater public participation in decision-making, in line with Principle 10 

of the Rio Declaration from 1992.