October 24, 2019

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Introduces Resolution Supporting United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to End Poverty, Reduce Inequality, and Fight Climate Change

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced a House resolution supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which lays out seventeen goals that will help end poverty, reduce inequality, and protect the climate. The resolution, whose objectives were adopted by the United Nations in 2015, provides a clear pathway for countries to increase prosperity and peace for all. The resolution also provides a shared blueprint of progressive goals to reach peace and prosperity for people and the planet by 2030, building off the decades-long work by UN member countries, including the United States.

“As the Democratic Congressional Representative to the United Nations, I believe it is more important than ever to support the United Nations and our shared ambition of making the world a truly just and equal place for all,” said Congresswoman Lee. “This resolution reaffirms the United States’ support for the UN’s goals and ideals of making the world a better, more peaceful, and more sustainable place.”

The SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. 

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are:

  1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
  2. End hunger, achieve food security, and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
  3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
  4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
  5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
  6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
  7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
  8. Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
  9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
  10. Reduce inequality within and among countries.
  11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
  12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
  13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
  14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.
  15. Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
  16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
  17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

Representatives Gregorio Sablan, Jim McGovern, Alcee Hastings, Eleanor Holmes-Norton, Raul Grijalva, Bobby Rush, Ro Khanna, Rashida Tlaib, Andy Levin, Anthony Brown, and Karen Bass are all original co-sponsors of the bill.

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