The United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.Infrastructure is critical to the quality of human life, which explains why infrastructure is mentioned both implicitly and explicitly in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .
Infrastructure touches every aspect of human life; from the water we drink to the way we commute to work, school or home. It has the ability to alter the natural environment for better or for worse. As the global population grows, urbanisation accelerates, and emerging middle classes in developing nations demand more services, the demand for infrastructure is growing rapidly.Goal 9 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is exclusively reserved for Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
The SDGs targets to achieve reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic growth and human well-being, with an emphasis on affordable and equitable access for all. By 2030, with goals in motion every nation is sworn for the upgradation of infrastructure and industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with each country acting according to its capacity.
Infrastructure is not to be viewed as individual assets, such as a power plant, hospital, or water network, but as part of a system with a portfolio of assets that have the potential to deliver the three pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
The economic benefits of infrastructure range from the jobs created during construction and maintenance to the infrastructure’s ability to generate economic activity (such as a bridge that links a rural village to urban markets). Infrastructure such as transportation and telecommunications support national economic objectives by linking communities to cities, education, and employment.
Infrastructure assets play a crucial role in protecting the environment by conserving natural resources and mitigating the effects of climate change. In order to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, clean energy generation plants are crucial. By shifting to electric and eco-friendly automobiles and mass transit systems contributes to the reduction of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
When equitable access is ensured, society benefits from infrastructure because it provides essential services for sustainable development (such as power supplies, healthcare services, and sewage networks). Infrastructure also promotes gender equality, whether through the provision of public transportation, which makes it easier for rural women to participate in the workforce, or clean water and sanitation, which reduce maternal mortality.
All 17 goals of the SDGs, ranging from poverty alleviation to climate action, are fundamentally infrastructure initiatives. According to a recent UN report on SDGs, the world is facing cascading and interconnected global crises and conflicts, putting in jeopardy the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year, the war in Ukraine worsens the food, energy, humanitarian, and refugee crises, all against the backdrop of a full-fledged climate emergency.
Even in these challenges what is required is greater focus and investments in data infrastructure to efficiently target current investments, anticipate future demands, prevent crises from escalating into all-out conflict, and plan the immediate steps required to achieve the 2030 Agenda.Precision in infrastructure development is the key for modern-day survival and expansion.
Sources:
- https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals
- https://www.globalgoals.org/goals/9-industry-innovation-and-infrastructure/
- https://content.unops.org/publications/The-critical-role-of-infrastructure-for-the-SDGs_EN.pdf
- https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2022.pdf
