Time is almost up for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With the 2015 deadline fast approaching, the United Nations looks to build upon MDG progress by crafting an updated and inclusive post 2015 agenda. Enter the Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs). The goals will frame the next 15 years of international development by creating a focused and coherent plan of action toward a sustainable future.
In a panel hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Manish Bapna (Executive Vice President and Managing Director at the World Resources Institute) argued a revised set of goals is necessary in achieving universal prosperity. Over the next 15 years, poverty will become more intractable. An ever increasing percentage of nations are becoming environmental vulnerable, many of which already struggle with political and economic instability. These variables muddy the waters in international development considerably, slowing – and in many cases reversing – a nation’s progress by impeding its ability to meet time-bound goals. So how do the Sustainable Development Goals plan on addressing these obstacles? Bapna distilled the differences between the SDGs and MDGs to four key points. Here’s what you need to know: