The Context of Paris: The MDGs and the SDGs

Abstract

In 2000, the eight international Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted and considerable progress was made to advance them until 2015, the year they expired, or more correctly put, were reshaped when more ambitious targets – the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – were adopted. Like the MDGs, the SDGs address human rights concerns, such as ending hunger and improving nutrition, as well as highlighting the necessity of promoting development of poor countries. The SDG Summit was held in September 2016 and the Paris conference on climate change in December 2016. This provided the opportunity to include climate goals in the SDGs and to highlight sustainability in the Paris Agreement.