> THE SUSTAINABLE 17
The Sustainable Development Goals wish list and examples of the real hurdles it faces:
1. End poverty Reality: The world’s poorest country, Democratic Republic of Congo, has a GDP per capita of $394 (U.S.) a year.
2. End hunger Includes improving nutrition, creating food security and promoting sustainable agriculture Reality: Six million of Syria’s 22 million people are totally dependent on food aid.
3. Ensure healthy lives Reality: The world’s highest infant mortality is in Afghanistan, with 117 deaths per 1,000 live births.
4. Education Ensure inclusive, equitable, quality education and promote lifelong learning for all Reality: Nigeria has more than 10 million children out of school, the world’s highest dropout figure.
5. Gender equality Includes empowering all women and girls Reality: Yemen is ranked last of 142 countries rated by the World Economic Forum’s gender equality report, and civil war is making it worse.
6. Water and sanitation for all Reality: Parched North Korea lost 30 per cent of its rice paddies in the past two years from drought, which is increasing from climate change. 7. Affordable, reliable, sustainable energy Reality: In Basra, Iraq, riots broke out this summer when power was cut at temperatures above 50 C as heat deaths rose through the Middle East.
8. Full employment and decent work for all Reality: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s youth unemployment rate is a staggering 62.8 per cent, the highest in a country at peace.
9. Build resilient infrastructure and foster innovation Reality: Equatorial Guinea has the world’s fewest paved roads, stretching 2,880 kilometres.
10: Reduce inequality Reality: In South Africa, the most unequal country, the bottom 10 per cent share 1.1 per cent of the wealth, according to World Bank; the top share 53.8 per cent.
11: Make cities safe, resilient and sustainable Reality: Latin America has one-third of the world’s homicides — 8 per cent of its population — the highest instance in the world.
12: Ensure sustainable consumption Reality: Norway discards the highest per-capita amount of e-waste a year, at 26 kilograms.
13: Urgently combat climate change Reality: China produces 28 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions and the top 10 producers, 78 per cent. 14: Conserve oceans and marine resources
Reality: Recent reports say oceans absorbed 90 per cent of the heat created by industrialization and 30 per cent of CO2 over the past two centuries. 15: Protect ecosystems Reality: Loss of species today is up to 10,000 times higher than the rate of natural extinction. 16: Access to justice and accountable institutions
Reality: China carries out the greatest number of executions worldwide, numbering in the thousands each year, without fair trials. 17: International sustainable development
Reality: Only five of the 34 wealthy OECD countries met or surpassed their 0.7-per-cent gross national income targets for supporting development aid.