Prosperity

How efficiently society uses energy and where that energy comes from are key aspects of the United Nations Agenda 2030. The efficiency gains in emissions and energy usage have been offset by growing population and wealth at the global level. As population, wealth and energy usage have increased, the overall level of emissions has grown consistently over the last decades.

Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) has been widely used as an indicator of human development. However, using GDP as a direct measure of welfare has a variety of limitations. Although GDP should not be interpreted as a precise and direct measure of social welfare, economic growth is nevertheless an important, widely available and internationally comparable, summary indicator for an economy’s advancement in its capacity to produce resources for the satisfaction of people’s needs. As such, it is of high value in the context of measuring progress in sustainable development.

In today’s information age, more attention must be given to soft infrastructure. In particular, given the growing complexity of policy decisions, it is essential that countries put in place a well-organized and coherent national data infrastructure. Such an infrastructure will be of paramount importance from a statistical perspective, as modern national statistical systems must be able to access and use administrative data from all parts of the national administrative system if they are expected to meet the significant information requirements of Agenda 2030 and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

Inequality, and how it affects economies and societies, is of growing concern to politicians, economists and the global community. There is an emerging consensus that existing levels of inequality are not only morally unacceptable, but also economically and politically damaging. Hence the growing interest in trying to assess whether globalization and new technologies have exacerbated or improved the situation. Inequality has implications far beyond simple economic development, as it is recognized that it can be damaging to society, even threatening peace and security.

Goal 11 is a complex cross-cutting goal, of immediate relevance for a rapidly urbanizing planet. The successful implementation of this goal will play a vital role in the wider realization of the aspirations for planet, people, peace, partnership and prosperity. It aims to provide safe and affordable housing and public transport, and develop well-planned cities with environmentally sustainable buildings and increased green public spaces where cultural and natural heritage is protected.