Sustainable Development Goals in the EU and the Challenges in Their Implementation

The chapter describes the milestones at the global and European level on the path toward sustainable development. The first steps toward a different growth agenda were made in 1970s when the “Limits to growth” highlighted the divergence with the increasing needs of the growing population, the limited supply of resources, the planet can provide and the growing pollution. In 1980s the Brundtland report defined sustainable development as a three-dimensional one: economic, social and environmental, stressing not only the interplay between the goals, but also the global interdependence and the need for joint action to achieve the goals. Several ambitious strategies were prepared, most notably the Kyoto protocol, the Millenium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which are shaping global policies at the moment. The European Union has always been at the forefront of the efforts toward sustainability with its ambitious goals, which includes not only achieving SDGs, but also moving further, for example, toward a circular development approach.