Sustainable development depends on choices we make now

Moon Aree

The author is the president of the Korea Foundation for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology and a distinguished professor at Duksung Women's University.

The concept of sustainable development inevitably arises whenever discussions turn to future generations. Introduced in the United Nations' “Our Common Future” in 1987, the idea calls for meeting the needs of the present generation without damaging the foundation on which future generations must live. In 2015, the United Nations translated the concept into the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, consisting of 17 goals and 169 detailed targets.

The agenda includes ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, advancing gender equality, securing clean water and energy, creating quality jobs, responding to climate change, reducing inequality and strengthening peace and cooperation. None of these tasks can be postponed. More importantly, the goals are closely interconnected. When progress in one area weakens, the effects spread into others as well.

Korea has also established an institutional foundation for sustainable development. The government introduced the Korean Sustainable Development Goals, or K-SDGs, in 2018. In 2024, it launched the National Commission on Sustainable Development under the presidential office in accordance with the Framework Act on Sustainable Development. This year, the government is preparing its fifth national basic strategy covering the period from 2026 to 2045. Next year, Korea plans to submit a voluntary national review to the UN for the first time in a decade.

The institutional framework is now largely in place. The remaining challenge is translating it into meaningful change. That requires cooperation across government ministries. The framework act stipulates that major administrative plans should be reviewed in advance to determine how they affect the K-SDGs. Yet it remains necessary to examine whether those procedures are functioning effectively in practice.

Sustainable development cannot remain the responsibility of a single ministry. It should be reflected in the budget standards of the Ministry of Planning and Budget and linked to climate and energy transition policies at the Ministry of Science and ICT. It should also be incorporated into education policy and the design of social safety nets.

Even if one ministry works to reduce carbon emissions, the impact will remain limited if another maintains energy-intensive industrial structures. Policy effectiveness will emerge only when all ministries adopt the SDGs as a shared standard.

Public awareness and participation are equally important. According to a survey conducted last year, 57.6 percent of respondents said they were familiar with sustainable development, more than double the level recorded in 2007. Yet only 34.5 percent said Korean society was actually operating in a sustainable way. The gap suggests that although awareness has increased, many people still do not feel a meaningful change in daily life.

Particularly concerning is that people in their 30s and younger, who will live with these issues the longest, showed lower levels of engagement than older generations. That trend should not be dismissed lightly.

Public participation must also expand beyond environmentally friendly consumption. Building a sustainable society requires not only changes in individual lifestyles but also civic action capable of influencing policy. People need to pay attention to issues such as local air quality and youth employment rates and participate in regional discussions if they hope to shape government decisions.

Recently, the UN's Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals was held in New York under the theme of achieving the 2030 Agenda through transformative and equitable science and technology innovation. Representatives reviewed implementation efforts in areas including water, energy, cities and industry. I attended the forum and presented proposals on youth entrepreneurship support and water infrastructure.

Each time I attend a UN forum, I am reminded that technology and institutions already exist. What remains insufficient is the willingness to implement them and the ability to connect different sectors and interests.

Korea faces the same challenge. With a new presidential commission now established, the next task is to produce tangible results. The year 2024 was recorded as the first since the Paris climate agreement in which global average temperatures exceeded the 1.5-degree-Celsius (2.7-degree-Fahrenheit) threshold. Sustainable development is no longer a distant future objective. It is a measure of the kind of society being built now.

Last year, more than 100 people died during extreme heat waves in Korea. Forecasts suggest this summer may be even hotter. The rising heat may not simply reflect seasonal change but serve as a warning about how sustainable society truly is and whether people are willing to act. The longer that warning is ignored, the greater the burden future generations will face.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.