Core Principles Underpinning the Agenda

The 2030 Agenda embodies the following core principles:

Universality

The 2030 Agenda is universal in scope and commits all countries, irrespective of their income levels and development status, to contribute towards a comprehensive effort towards sustainable development. The Agenda is applicable in all countries, in all contexts, and at all times.

Leaving no one behind

The 2030 Agenda seeks to benefit all people and commits to leave no one behind by reaching out to all people in need and deprivation, wherever they are, in a manner which targets their specific challenges and vulnerabilities. This generates an unprecedented demand for local and disaggregated data to analyse outcomes and track progress.

Interconnectedness and Indivisibility

The 2030 Agenda rests on the interconnected and indivisible nature of its 17 SDGs. It is crucial that all entities responsible for the implementation of SDGs treat them in their entirety instead of approaching them as a menu list of individual goals from which they pick and choose. Inclusiveness The 2030 Agenda calls for the participation of all segments of society—irrespective of their race, gender, ethnicity, and identity—to contribute to its implementation.

Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

The 2030 Agenda calls for establishing multistakeholder partnerships for mobilising and sharing knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of SDGs in all countries.

Dimensions of the 2030 Agenda

At the heart of the 2030 Agenda are five critical dimensions: people, prosperity, planet, partnership and peace, also known as the 5P’s. Traditionally viewed through the lens of three core elements— social inclusion, economic growth, and environmental protection—the concept of sustainable development has taken on a richer meaning with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, which builds upon this traditional approach by adding two critical components: partnership and peace. Genuine sustainability sits at the core of these five dimensions.

The 2030 Agenda Preamble

This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognize that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan. We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.

As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. They seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals and complete what these did not achieve. They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.
The Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet:

People

We are determined 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.

Planet

We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.

Prosperity

We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.

Peace

We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

Partnership

We are determined to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focussed in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.

The interlinkages and integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals are of crucial importance in ensuring that the purpose of the new Agenda is realised. If we realize our ambitions across the full extent of the Agenda, the lives of all will be profoundly improved and our world will be transformed for the better.

The full publication on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can be found here: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development