The Next Big Step, How do we Green the Green Economy?

Since the Paris Climate Summit in November of 2015 there has been quite a bit of conversation as to what the next big step is. We want to do something about climate change and 175 countries have signed the Paris Agreement, but now that the promises have been made, we have to begin to fulfill them. The next steps include addressing our economy as a part of our efforts to tackle climate change- but with such a big task ahead of us, where do we go from here and what role do we have to play?
In September of 2015 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sustainable Development Goals were adopted. The idea is that the SDGs will take over from the Millennium Development Goals which were adopted in the year 2000. The purpose of these 17 new goals are to “end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.” (UNDP, 2015) These goals, on a fundamental level address the idea that our economic well-being is very much intertwined with the well-being of our planet. Incorporating sustainability into our future development helps ensure the health of ourselves and our environment for generations to come.