Week 10
Implementing the SDGs
Solutions and Best Practices at the Individual, Local, National, and International Level.
In the previous lectures we learned about sustainability, sustainable development, and the sustainable development goals and how currently, all countries are working on the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda. Over the past 7 weeks we have looked closer at the 17 SDGs and how they work together at the local and international level to help promote a shared global framework to achieve a fair, equitable, and sustainable future for all.
Culminating SDG Assignment
Now that we have looked at all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, rank in order of importance which SDGs you think are the most important for your country (rank them in order of most important to least important). Explain for each SDG why you choose the corresponding placement order / rationale for your ranking.
Achieving the SDGs
To achieve the SDGs, the next step is planning and implementation. This week we will be looking at implementing the SDGs with local, national, and international collaboration a critical component to the success of the 2030 Agenda.
Videos
In this 11-minute video made available from the SDG Academy, Jeffery Sachs looks at creating Sustainable Development Plans or Strategies at the country level. These strategies use the SDGs as an endpoint from which to plan backward to the current day. The premise is, if we take stock of where we are and know where we want to be in 2030, we will need a roadmap and the will to implement it.
In this 10-minute video made available from the SDG Academy, Jeffery Sachs emphasizes the role of the stakeholder, specifically looks at transnational cooperation for success in achieving the SDGs.
In this 16-minute video, made available from the SDG Academy, Jeffery Sachs discusses overcoming the globalization of indifference, understanding the moral case and urgency for sustainable development, and achieving global cooperation for the Sustainable Development Goals. He also discusses climate refugees and the disasters that we are experiencing at the hands of nature and how we must approach the future together.
Exercise
Comprehension Questions
Recommended Reading
SDG implementation at the national level – Canada
Previously we learned how the 17 SDGs, with their 169 targets and 230+ indicators work together. We also learned the different scales of SDG implementation – at the global, national, and local level.
To support Canada’s domestic implementation of the SDGs, the Government of Canada has committed to a national strategy, Moving forward together: Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy. As well, the Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) for the Sustainable Development Goals encompasses the 17 goals and adds 31 Canadian Ambitions. In order to report on these Ambitions, Statistics Canada has developed 76 indicators that monitor progress on the National Ambitions and targets. The CIF lays the foundation for Canada to track and report on its progress on the 17 SDGs in the Canadian context.
- Read about what Canada is doing to take action on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Read about Canada’s voluntary national review for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
Additional Readings
- Bhowmik J., Selim S. A., & Huq S. (2017). The role of universities in achieving the sustainable development goals.
