Sustainable Development Goals

Spearheaded by the United Nations through a deliberative process involving its 193 Member States, as well as global civil society, the goals are contained in a Resolution that acts as the Post 2015 Development Agenda and constitutes a successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The SDGs build on the Principles agreed upon in the United Nations, popularly known as "The Future We Want".

Implementation of the SDGs has started worldwide. In each country, governments must translate the goals into national policy and legislation, develop a plan of action within the national and subnational context, allocate budgets, and search for partners and create the capacity for effective implementation. Civil Society Organisations, who helped develop the Agenda have a crucial role to play in its implementation as well, in mobilizing society, helping in the organisation and capacity building of stakeholder groups, promoting action-research and field-level implementation, and facilitating knowledge management, and , dissemination of information.

TERI's mission is to tackle issues of concern to Indian society and the world at large and to be a knowledge-based agent of change for realizing a shared vision of global sustainable development. TERI seeks to develop deeper understanding and expertise around SDGs, particularly those related to energy, environment and natural resources, which inevitably involve a complex interplay of science, technology, social and economic forces and regulatory and governance issues. TERI has been closely involved in many aspects relating to the Millennium Development Goals and brings its accumulated knowledge in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals which are far more complex and wide ranging.

A TERI-wide initiative on SDG and Policy Coordination (SPC) has been constituted to facilitate integrated and multi-disciplinary research on resources, energy and environment-related SDGs and policy across the Institute. Through this initiative, TERI hopes to strengthen its engagement with stakeholders in the government and non-government sectors to promote integrated thinking on sectoral and multi-sectoral national policies in the context of the SDGs. For this purpose, the SPC will also coordinate the publishing on a continuing basis, of policy products including "Think Pieces", "Policy Briefs" and "Discussion Papers" to provide high quality multidisciplinary insights to its partners.

Special Commentary: Sustainable Development Goals - An India Perspective

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reached their December 2015 deadline, and the world adopted a new set of transformative and universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". The Agenda is an inter-governmental agreement that is meant to guide national development efforts over 15 years, from 2016 until 2030. The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) constituted by the UNGA is convening a meeting from 10th to 19th July at New York to review progress on SDGs, focussing on Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere; Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture; Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages; Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation; and Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.The review will presumably look at national implementation mechanisms and strategies and assess issues related to the achievement of the goals and targets in specific contexts.

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