ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a set of six highest-level sustainable development goals (SDGs) that can help transform the Post Rio+20 world towards a sustainable future. It also considers the role of education for sustainable development (ESD). Rather than create a wish list of sustainability issues to address, we follow a systematic approach. We identify six major interconnected challenges and set goals to reach those. We then recognize four middle-level contributory determinants for each challenge, yielding a total of 24 targets to be met. The 24 targets can, in turn, be divided into a number of lower-level action items. The six SDGs and the 24 targets are interlinked and global. But the action items must be taken up at the regional and national levels, as that is where people experience the effects of sustainability issues most directly. Solving these problems completely within a relatively short period (10–15 years) will be difficult, so we propose a progressive risk reduction approach to reduce vulnerability and to avoid planetary boundary–crossing catastrophes. Education and research-based capacity building are critical to developing concept models and implementation pathways for sustainable development (SD) that are relevant to the special circumstances and needs of individual countries. It is important to recognize every society’s right to develop, but it is also imperative to be conscious of their responsibility to develop sustainably. That is why this chapter presents a goal-based approach to global sustainability and provides a set of practical approaches for the sustainable future we want for everyone.
