Planet

Water is a fundamental element of life and clean drinking water a basic requirement for survival. Yet today, despite all the achievements of mankind, more than 660 million people do not have access to this most basic of requirements.

We live on a planet with finite resources. How we manage and consume those resources will have real and lasting implications for prosperity and equity today and for future generations. Goal 12 addresses some of the key challenges regarding sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Limiting the effects of climate change will be necessary to achieve sustainable development, equity and poverty eradication. Doing so raises challenging issues of equity, justice and fairness as all countries, irrespective of where they are on the development spectrum, will share the consequences of not taking mitigating and adaptive actions.

Oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the earth’s surface and are central to life on earth. They are a rich source of food and valuable minerals, a vast waterway for international commerce and movement of people, and for many, a giant recreation and cultural heritage space. Unfortunately over the past decades, ocean degradation has grown, resulting in an erosion of marine biodiversity, habitats and species and endangering marine ecosystems on which humans depend heavily. Restoring the health and resilience of our oceans is thus a global priority.

Biodiversity sustains life on earth. Terrestrial biodiversity - life on land - covers the variety of living organisms found in plants and animals, their genes, ecosystems and ecological processes. The majority of the world’s poor live in rural areas and are dependent on forests, waters, wetlands, fields and pastures for their livelihoods. Many of these ecosystems and related biodiversity are under threat and poorly managed.