The United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda took place from 25 to 27 September 2015, in New York and convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. The utmost objective of the Summit was to discuss and adopt an extensive number of sustainable development goals and targets. These goals and targets were the result of three years of endless negotiations and consultations. The meeting was attended by a large number of Heads of State or Government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, along with business and civil society representatives.
The new SDGs, which should be achieved by 2030, replace and extend the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000. In the context of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable development (Rio +20), the international community decided to establish an Open Working Group with the view to developing a new set of sustainable development goals. This Working Group presented its work after more than a year of extensive consultations.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda, entitled “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, enumerates a set of 17 goals and 169 targets.
These underlying sustainable development goals include:
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
The Goals and targets proposed in the Agenda will set in course numerous actions within the next 15 years in areas of critical importance for mankind. More specifically, in terms of the first “P”, which stands for people, the goals’ target is to “end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment”. In parallel, in view of ensuring the well-being of the planet (the second “P”), the Agenda promotes actions aimed at protecting it from degradation, through sustainable production and consumption, natural resources sustainable management and comprehensive climate change management measures. The idea behind the third “P” (prosperity) is to create a world in where each and every one can enjoy “prosperous and fulfilling lives”, ensuring that progress taking place in harmony with nature. In addition, the post-2015 Agenda promotes the concept of peaceful, tolerant and fear-free societies. This implies that peace (the fourth “P”) can not exist without sustainable development and vice versa. Finally, the last underlying issue of the agenda pays heed to the determination of the Nations to reach their goals through a revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development that is based on the virtue of global solidarity, focusing particularly on the most vulnerable ones.
The post-2015 development agenda is significantly comprehensive, inclusive and applies to all countries and stakeholders. It addresses, in coherent way, all the three main dimensions of sustainable development. Furthermore, the importance of the post-2015 development agenda lies in the fact that it reflects a wide range of specific values (peace, justice), problems (climate change, desertification, biodiversity loss) and several pertinent issues such as human settlements, industrialization, energy sustainable consumption and production. Equally important, it places particular emphasis on the appropriate means of implementing of SDGs, the establishment of revitalized global partnerships for sustainable development, the mobilization of the necessary financial resources, the capacity–building process and the transfer of environmentally sound technologies.
The implementation process of the new SDGs is expected to start on the 1st of January 2016 and it shall last till the 31st of December 2030, whereas some goals and targets are believed to be achieved even earlier.
Source: United Nations
For further information:
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/summit
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics
About the author

MEPIELAN Centre
MEPIELAN Centre is an international research, training and educational centre established by Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos at the Panteion University of Athens in 2008.
Before its establishment as a University Centre, MEPIELAN operated as a successful international research, training and informational programme (2002-2007) under the scientific direction of Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos and the aegis of the Panteion University of Athens, supported by the Mediterranean Action Plan/UNEP and the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works.
MEPIELAN Centre is an accredited UNEP/MAP PARTNER (since 2013), a Member of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) (since 2016), and a Member of the Steering Committee of the MCSD (since 2019).
On 22 May 2022, MEPIELAN Centre proceeded to the development of MEPIELAN as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) for the more effective and efficient advancement of its Goals and Missions and furtherance of its activities. MEPIELAN Centre as a Non- Profit Civil Organization (INGO) is registered in Greek Law (Hellenic Business Registry, Reg. No. 16477300100) in accordance with Laws 4072/2012 & 4919/2022 as applicable