Committee Topic: Sustainable Development Goals
Country: Italy
Name: Nicholas Jennings
Introduction
15 years ago, at the beginning of a new millennium, the United Nations created the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Now, after 15 years of work to achieve these goals, the General Assembly is called on to create a new set of goals for the next 15 years: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the most part, the MDGs were successful, but there are many areas that still need improvement. Namely, access to water has shown itself to be a major problem. Nearly 800 million people around the globe do not have access to safe drinking water, and because agriculture requires more water than any other use of water, lack of water is surely a contribution to the nearly 1 billion people facing undernourishment, hunger, and famine every day. Water is one of the fundamental components to human survival, without it, no true sustainable development can be achieved. Sanitation, too, has appeared to be an important issue. Along with lack of water, lack of sanitation and hygiene breed diseases that affect millions of people, mostly children. These are important issues, and must be addressed in the SDGs.
National Action
Italy has been extremely effective at reaching the Millennium Development Goals, having a near 100% completion of every goal it set out to achieve. Child mortality rates have been reduced from 9.6 per 100,000 to only 3.6; Women representation in parliament has been raised from 12.9% in 1990, to 31% in 2015; and deaths from tuberculosis have been halved. In short, the only areas where Italy hasn’t seen improvement are areas where it had already met it’s goals. Italy itself has never had an issue with clean drinking water, however it feels strongly that it is a pressing global issue, given the statistics above.
International Action
As a member of the OWG, Italy has made its opinions on issues such as the idea of a green economy, and the role of the HLPF. It supports the idea of a green economy, and feels that a green economy environment working together with the SDGs is the key to eradicating poverty and other world issues. We need a strong, transparent HLPF ready to respond to the coming challenges the world will surely face post-2015 and lead the world to achieving the SDGs, whatever those may be. During the Rio+20 conference Italy helped strengthen UNEP, and helped establish UNEA (the Environmental Assembly of the United Nations). Through these methods Italy has helped to ensure that the UN is prepared to help the world succeed in meeting the coming SDGs.
Plan for Action
Italy believes that, given that the fundamental human right of clean water and proper sanitation has not been met around the globe, one of the SDGs for the next 15 years should be to provide every person on the planet with safe drinking water and sanitation. This SDGs completion would be measured by the equity with which a water resource is shared in countries, the rate at which countries are using a water resource, and the percentage of a country's population affected by diseases caused by lack of sanitation, and the quality of water in a country. The ultimate goal of this SDG would be to achieve, by 2030, total equity of water usage throughout the globe, a 50% increase in the efficiency with which water is used, a 90% reduction of diseases caused by lack of sanitation, and halving the amount of untreated wastewater put back into communities. Although water conservation and sanitation are most pressing in areas with lower supplies of water, Italy believes that, due to the effects of climate change, these problems will soon become global. Therefore, this SDG must be strived for by all countries.
Citations
"Member States: Italy." Rio 20. United Nations, 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
"Italy: Statement." Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. United Nations, 15 Feb. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
MDG Country Progress Snapshot: Italy. United Nations, Aug. 2015. .xlsm.
"Water and Sanitation - United Nations Sustainable Development." UN News Center. United Nations, 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
"Improved Water Source, Rural (% of Rural Population with Access)." Data. World Bank, 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Country: Italy
Name: Nicholas Jennings
Introduction
15 years ago, at the beginning of a new millennium, the United Nations created the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Now, after 15 years of work to achieve these goals, the General Assembly is called on to create a new set of goals for the next 15 years: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the most part, the MDGs were successful, but there are many areas that still need improvement. Namely, access to water has shown itself to be a major problem. Nearly 800 million people around the globe do not have access to safe drinking water, and because agriculture requires more water than any other use of water, lack of water is surely a contribution to the nearly 1 billion people facing undernourishment, hunger, and famine every day. Water is one of the fundamental components to human survival, without it, no true sustainable development can be achieved. Sanitation, too, has appeared to be an important issue. Along with lack of water, lack of sanitation and hygiene breed diseases that affect millions of people, mostly children. These are important issues, and must be addressed in the SDGs.
National Action
Italy has been extremely effective at reaching the Millennium Development Goals, having a near 100% completion of every goal it set out to achieve. Child mortality rates have been reduced from 9.6 per 100,000 to only 3.6; Women representation in parliament has been raised from 12.9% in 1990, to 31% in 2015; and deaths from tuberculosis have been halved. In short, the only areas where Italy hasn’t seen improvement are areas where it had already met it’s goals. Italy itself has never had an issue with clean drinking water, however it feels strongly that it is a pressing global issue, given the statistics above.
International Action
As a member of the OWG, Italy has made its opinions on issues such as the idea of a green economy, and the role of the HLPF. It supports the idea of a green economy, and feels that a green economy environment working together with the SDGs is the key to eradicating poverty and other world issues. We need a strong, transparent HLPF ready to respond to the coming challenges the world will surely face post-2015 and lead the world to achieving the SDGs, whatever those may be. During the Rio+20 conference Italy helped strengthen UNEP, and helped establish UNEA (the Environmental Assembly of the United Nations). Through these methods Italy has helped to ensure that the UN is prepared to help the world succeed in meeting the coming SDGs.
Plan for Action
Italy believes that, given that the fundamental human right of clean water and proper sanitation has not been met around the globe, one of the SDGs for the next 15 years should be to provide every person on the planet with safe drinking water and sanitation. This SDGs completion would be measured by the equity with which a water resource is shared in countries, the rate at which countries are using a water resource, and the percentage of a country's population affected by diseases caused by lack of sanitation, and the quality of water in a country. The ultimate goal of this SDG would be to achieve, by 2030, total equity of water usage throughout the globe, a 50% increase in the efficiency with which water is used, a 90% reduction of diseases caused by lack of sanitation, and halving the amount of untreated wastewater put back into communities. Although water conservation and sanitation are most pressing in areas with lower supplies of water, Italy believes that, due to the effects of climate change, these problems will soon become global. Therefore, this SDG must be strived for by all countries.
Citations
"Member States: Italy." Rio 20. United Nations, 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
"Italy: Statement." Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. United Nations, 15 Feb. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
MDG Country Progress Snapshot: Italy. United Nations, Aug. 2015. .xlsm.
"Water and Sanitation - United Nations Sustainable Development." UN News Center. United Nations, 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
"Improved Water Source, Rural (% of Rural Population with Access)." Data. World Bank, 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.