RESEARCH (CRIT. A)
WHAT WILL I DO?
Nerves kick in
As every day went by I kept asking myself this, will I be able to make it? What route do I take? Did I make a mistake by choosing such a complicated subject? All of these doubts plus the fact that some people already had up to 50 slides while I just had 11, really scared me. I decided to relax for some time and realized I just needed to calm down and take things easy. I know what I’m capable of, no need to worry about anyone else.
After this I came up with some very simple steps I had to follow if I wanted to do this project well and surpass my overwhelming pressure on myself. My tips to myself were...
DEAR SAMUEL, CALM DOWN
If I wanted to calm down and relax I had to start:
Organizing a timetable to do all of my tasks, taking into account I had other classes I could not ignore because of P.P, for this I downloaded several apps that remind you when you have not finished your work, like “Todoist”
I had to learn the basics, for such a complicated topic so I decided to check different websites like Khan academy and also check some youtube videos about the basics of these different subjects.
So that was my next step, economics 101 here I come
EVEN MORE RESEARCH
The SDGs are integrated which pretty much means that they are directly connected, so when an aspect of one is changed it will affect another one. According to UNDP, regarding the SDGs, “They recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.”
Now, taking this into account, it was very clear that I would be looking at aspects of each and every SDG, however I decided to choose these 3 SDGs: Zero hunger (goal 2), affordable and clean energy (goal 7) and decent work and economic growth (goal 8).
WHY GOAL #2?
The reasoning behind my choice
I chose to do goal 2 because I believe that it is fundamental for the sustainable development of the world, undernourishment has been an issue present since the beginning of “modern” human civilization and it is time we solve it. Furthermore, my dad has worked extensively on this issue and on how to solve so it could be interesting to analyze and contrast his ideas but also try to apply them to a smaller scale.
GOAL #7
The difference between clean and green energy
In the actual world, energy is necessary for almost every aspect of our life, from security to food production, energy is necessary. It is really relevant that we focus on universal access to energy, improve energy efficiency and take advantage of the renewable sources of energy we possess (thermal, solar, wind power and hydropower).
Still, we need to change some numbers that put this goal at risk. One out of seven people in the world still lacks electricity, and most of them live in rural areas in developing countries. 60% of the total greenhouse gases are produced because of energy. Over 3 billion people who do not have access to clean cooking fuels are suffering because of the exposition to dangerous levels of air pollution.
The challenge with this goal is finding compromise, how do we create enough energy to power the whole world without damaging the earth and at the same time make it affordable for everyone?
WHY GOAL #8
Is economic growth sustainable?
Inequality and poverty is a chain that has dragged communities and populations all over the world, added to some poor conditions and opportunities especially in developing countries and past crises as the 2008 world recession, which took down the economy of all the globe. Since 1991 things are doing well for the growing middle class which has grown an estimated 300% mostly in developing countries. Unemployment is without a doubt one of the greatest factor to consider and it is prior to knowing that it diminished from 204 million in 2015 to 172 million in 2018. The labor force is another factor to consider, and actually is growing quickly taking the number of unemployed to more than 1 million per year being suffered by 3.5 billion people, around 3 in 5 part of it men, the rest women. There is in some aspects a positive constant of change in past years, but we must emphasize a good environment for business and work with a promotion on new job creation and access to suitable financial services. Fulfilling jobs for the population generates better results in productivity, innovation, helping the economy grow and developing the world.
WHICH COUNTRIES?
Now that I had my 3 SDGs it was time to choose the 3 countries I would be analyzing. For this I had to make sure the 3 countries were very different, their government, economic system, population, main exports and imports, religion, geographic region, etc
COLOMBIA
Home sweet home
Colombia is obviously my native country and the one I currently live in. This choice was a no-brainier, as one of my goals in life is to be able to leave a mark behind on this beautiful yet chaotic country.
CHINA
The Asian mystery
Choosing the economic giant was also quite easy. As someone who takes part in the MUN it should come as no surprise China was on the top of my list of “important countries to keep an eye on”. The Asian giant has found itself submerged by several issues over the recent years, that range from human rights violations to environmental crises, I felt that it was time to see the reasoning behind these actions and maybe try to find the solutions
ETHIOPIA
Beauty in plain sight
To be completely honest I didn't have a clear reason to choose Ethiopia. I wanted all my 3 countries to be completely different and I believe that by choosing a country that faces problems like famine and climate change and comparing it to China and Colombia which face problems completely different.
TO GO MORE INTO DETAIL ABOUT MY CHOICES CLICK HERE
WHO IS CURRENTLY THE MOST ADVANCED IN EACH SDG
GOAL 2
According to the GHI, Global Hunger Index, several countries are currently unaffected, extremely, by malnourishment. These are; Australia, The U.S, Canada, The U.K, and the whole western EU. However, the reason these countries are so high up is that they are the most powerful economies in the world. So I decided to look at a country that wasn't that big and found 18 countries. According to the GHI Uruguay is the country with the lowest hunger rates in the world, tied with 17 others, with a score of below 5. However, I believe these data are quite deceptive for example in Belarus people with disabilities are extremely malnourished, according to the Human Rights Watch “Their legs are toothpicks covered with skin,” the director of one Belarus orphanage put it. One 20-year-old weighed only 11.5 kilos (roughly 25 pounds)." While on the other hand, Uruguay's child malnutrition has actually been growing slowly over the last few years.
After trying to find the country with the lowest malnourishment rates in the world and the solutions they had I realized that it is much more difficult to find positive news than negatives. When you Google country with the lowest malnourishment rates the first pages that come up are actually the "hungriest countries in the world" and when you look for what each country has done to improve their malnourishment rates you come across all the negatives.
GOAL #7
According to Oxford Univerity "Today, traditional biofuels remain the largest source of renewables, accounting for 60-70 percent of the total. Traditional biomass remains the dominant fuel source for cooking & heating across many low-income households. The World Bank reports that only 7 percent of the world’s low-income households have access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking; the average share in Sub-Saharan Africa was 13 percent; and approximately one-third in South Asia." With a fast-changing climate and necessary change, it is still very shocking how clean energy is still unaffordable for most of the world's population. But which countries are truly making a change?
I came across a surprise while researching for this goal, as most of the countries that have the cleanest energy are considered underdeveloped, like Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Kenya. Then I came upon the expected, Sweden, China, Germany, and the U.K. So what have they done?
Costa Rica:
According to climatecouncil.org, 95% of Costa Rica's energy comes from renewable energy. This comes after heavy investment in clean energy as Costa Rica aims to decarbonize its economy by 2050, a deed that seems heroic but unachievable by most countries. Costa Rica has actually managed to run on just renewable energy for over 200 days.
China: Although China is the major co2 emitter in the world the fact that they are trying to change is admirable. China is the major investor in clean energy worldwide and is actually becoming less polluted. According to the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management China has been the top investor in clean energy 9 out of the last 10 years. Apart from the fact that China is one of the only countries in the world to implement a carbon tax, taxation on the amount of co2 emitted by different companies. China sees this opportunity as both a way to improve its pollution but also as a power move. With the U.S out of the Paris Agreement China now has the perfect opportunity to become the larger producer and exporter of green energy sources, such as solar panels. As a country that is very focused on improving its economy, it comes as no surprise that China is extremely interested in becoming a clean energy giant.
GOAL #8
According to the UNDP "In 2017, the global growth rate of real GDP per capita was 1.9 per cent and is expected to remain at about 2 per cent from 2018 to 2020. This is significantly less than the 3 per cent rate attained in 2010 and slightly higher than the 2015 rate of 1.63 per cent. Real GDP growth rate for least developed countries is expected to increase from 4.5 per cent in 2017 to 5.7 per cent in 2020, which is less than the 7 per cent envisioned by the 2030 Agenda." This means the global economy is improving ,yes. But not at the rate necessary to achieve this Sustainable Development Goal.
According to Catherine Benson Wahlén, a Thematic Expert for Human Development, Human Settlements and Sustainable Development for the International Institute for Sustainable Development or IISD, she explains how this goal looks hard to achieve especially for underdeveloped countries. " The International Labour Organization (ILO) has released a report that identifies poor working conditions as the main global challenge in the world of work. The publication finds that progress in reducing unemployment around the world is not matched by improvements in the quality of work, and progress towards SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) has been slower than expected. This situation makes SDG achievement “unrealistic for many countries,” with major gaps within and across countries.
The publication titled, ‘World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO)-Trends 2019,’ warns that the world is off track to achieve many SDG 8 targets. The least developed countries (LDCs) have recorded an annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of less than five percent over the past five years, falling short of SDG target 8.1, which aims to achieve at least seven percent growth in the LDCs. Further, labor productivity is below the level needed to achieve SDG target 8.2 on economic productivity, and the report identifies key obstacles in raising productivity levels, including environmental vulnerability and limited economic diversification."
So what solutions do we have, or should we just give up on achieving this goal?
Well, one thing is for sure