In the Video CAFOD explains what the SDGs are and why they are transformational in the way the world fights extreme poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change.

“We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 139.

In 2015, world leaders from 193 countries agreed the Sustainable Development Goals – or SDGs – the world’s new action plan for the next 15 years to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, fight inequality, tackle climate change and achieve sustainable development for all. The SDGs follow the Millennium Development Goals - or MDGs –agreed in 2000 in a global coordinated attempt to tackle development issues.

There are four underlining principles that come with the SDGs and that are transformational in the way we work on development in the future: Firstly they are universal and apply to every country, rich and poor, north and south, developed and developing. Secondly, they integrate all dimensions of sustainability: economic development, social progress and environmental protection. Thirdly, the SDGs tell us we should leave no one behind. And finally, the SDGs require the participation of all.