SDG 13: Climate action
Goal 13 is about implementing the UN climate targets and strengthening resilience to climate-related hazards and natural disasters. Climate protection must also increasingly become part of national policies and strategies in order to limit global warming as much as possible. In addition, education about climate change and its effects should be improved.
SDG 15: Life on land
The protection of ecosystems and their restoration and sustainable use is the focus here. The sustainable management of forests is also relevant for the Alpine region, as is the preservation of biodiversity and protection against human-induced soil degradation and erosion.
Who is doing what?
Politics
Whether the SDGs are achieved within the self-imposed deadline of 2030 will depend to a very large extent on how the governments of the many countries in the world behave and coordinate with each other in this regard. This is primarily due to the fact that the agreement on the SDGs does not contain any international accountability or even a binding approach. Governments are therefore only morally obliged to make contributions. Although the same applies to companies and private individuals, they can be obliged to behave in a certain way by national governments and corresponding legislation. Voters and civil society organizations have a key role to play here, as they can ultimately have a strong influence on the behaviour of the government and its composition. Of course, it is not only the governments of states that have a major influence; the governments of federal states or cities are also important players.
The performance of the various countries with regard to the 17 SDGs must be regularly reported to the United Nations. In these reports, anyone can also see how their own country is doing.
Companies
Companies not only keep the global economy running, they are also crucial to achieving the SDGs. Although there are of course already numerous relevant laws and regulations in various countries, the voluntary commitment of companies to certain goals dominates. This may involve reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving working conditions or using more environmentally friendly materials. In some cases, companies also commit to taking the SDGs into account in everything they do. Of course, the commitment here varies greatly. While some companies take on a pioneering role and are true SDG champions, others are particularly committed to certain SDGs. There is, of course, a completely incomplete overview of the activities of companies here In addition, large companies in particular usually publish an annual report on their sustainability strategy, which is a good source of information.
Each individual
Of course, you are unlikely to save the world as a single person, and as already mentioned in other issues of this column, we here at PowderGuide are not interested in telling anyone how they should spend their lives. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that we live very comfortably here in Europe and that our relatively high level of consumption, our right to vote and our overall behavior have an impact on a wide variety of areas.
For example, SDG 12 (sustainable consumption) shows how each and every one of us can contribute. The goal sounds simple, but it is difficult to achieve. This is because it involves not only decoupling economic growth from the increasing consumption of natural resources, but also reducing the negative impact on the environment caused by the production and use of all products.
We can all contribute to fulfilling the SDGs, for example when shopping, by buying regional and seasonal food, not wasting it or preferring other products from manufacturers that operate as sustainably as possible. As described above, there are numerous initiatives that are easy to find online. A nice list of simple measures that you can take at home, when shopping or at work is provided here by the UN.
