2030 Agenda – Goal 8

2030 Agenda – Goal 8

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full employment and decent work for all

Goal 8 of the Agenda 2030 program includes sub-goals concerning economic growth, increasing productivity and creating decent jobs. Forced labor must be combated and the phenomena of modern slavery and human trafficking must be eradicated by 2030. Furthermore, sustainable economic growth cannot take place at the expense of the environment. Objective 8 therefore requires the improvement, worldwide, of the efficiency in the use of resources in consumption and production and pursues the decoupling of economic growth from environmental degradation.
Currently, according to current data, there are more than 200 million people without a source of income in the world, especially young people. Jobs and economic growth make a decisive contribution to eradicating poverty. The promotion of sustainable growth and a green economy as well as the creation of a sufficient number of decent jobs, together with respect for human rights and the limits of our planet, are of crucial importance both for the countries in developing way for both emerging and industrialized ones.
8.1: Support per capita economic growth in accordance with national conditions, and in particular annual growth of at least 7% of gross domestic product in developing countries.
8.2: Achieving higher standards of economic productivity through diversification, technological progress and innovation, also with particular attention to high added value and labor-intensive sectors.
8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, the creation of decent jobs, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and that encourage the formalization and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
8.4: Progressively improve, by 2030, global efficiency in the consumption and production of resources and attempt to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the Ten-Year Framework of Programs relating to Sustainable Production and Consumption, with the most developed countries at the forefront.
8.5: By 2030, ensure full and productive employment and decent work for women and men, including young people and people with disabilities, and fair remuneration for jobs of fair value.

8.6: By 2030, reduce the share of young people unemployed and out of any study or training cycle.
8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including the recruitment and employment of child soldiers, and an end to child labor in all its forms by 2025.
8.8: Protect the right to work and promote a safe and healthy working environment for all workers, including immigrants, especially women, and precarious workers.
8.9: Conceive and implement policies by 2030 to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.
8.10: Strengthen the capacity of internal financial institutions to encourage and increase the use of banking, insurance and financial services for all.
8.a: Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, especially the least developed, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for technical assistance related to trade in least developed countries.
8.b: Develop and implement a global strategy for youth employment by 2020 and implement the Global Employment Pact of the International Labor Organization.
The main challenge of this objective will obviously be to tie future generations to the heritage of their territories and to ensure long-lasting well-being.

Guido Bissanti