I wrote, back in February, about the UN's sustainable development goals [SDG], particularly about Goal 4, the one relating to education, learning, ESD / etc / etc. This has 10 targets associated with it.
Altogether, there are now 17 goals, and a whopping 169 targets. You'll remember that there were only 8 millennium development goals [MDG]. So, is this appropriate ambition (given the dire state of the world), or bureaucratic over-reach?
The 169 look unwieldy, and the process of generating them certainly was. As the Economist has noted, there is certainly something there for everyone. The UN involved not just countries in the development process, but NGOs as well, who all piled their ideas in, and then scrabbled to retain them: horse trading without the horses. The result is both extensive, and sometimes baffling. The grab-bag nature of many of the outcomes is well illustrated by one of the goal 4 (education) targets:
“by 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
As The Economist says, "Try measuring that."
The Economist has an illuminating piece on how well the world fared with the MDGs (and how it did so). It also cites a study from The Copenhagen Consensus Centre that asked economists and researchers to look at issues covered by the SDGs to see which might be the most cost-effective. The Centre found that 18 of the 169 would pay back $15 or more for every $1 spent.
This report sets out 19 targets in three areas:
People
Lower chronic child malnutrition by 40%
Half malaria infection
Reduce tuberculosis deaths by 90%
Avoid 1.1 million HIV infections through circumcision
Cut early death from chronic diseases by 1/3
Reduce newborn mortality by 70%
Increase immunization to reduce child deaths by 25%
Make family planning available to everyone
Eliminate violence against women and girls
Planet
Phase out fossil fuel subsidies
Halve coral reef loss
Tax pollution damage from energy
Cut indoor air pollution by 20%
Prosperity
Reduce trade restrictions (full Doha)
Improve gender equality in ownership, business and politics
Boost agricultural yield increase by 40%
Increase girls’ education by 2 years
Achieve universal primary education in sub-Saharan Africa
Triple preschool in sub-Saharan Africa
Of course, some will see this sort of hard-headed approach as part of the problem; it will doubtless be dismissed as neoliberal by fellows whom it hurts to think. As for the UN bureaucracy, it will likely be incapable of now doing anything different from what it has proposed. Such a pity.
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