To Prevent the Collapse of Biodiversity, the World Needs a New Planetary Politics

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals enshrine a new way of understanding and undertaking development in a holistic manner. No longer is it solely a measure of how much people earn or how long they live, but about how they experience life. It takes into account a tremendous range of factors, from the plastic floating in their oceans, through mental well-being and happiness, to their ownership of a mobile phone. Moreover, the new definition puts the emphasis on the long-term. Development that cannot provide for future generations economically, environmentally, and socially is not true development.