Direito em Movimento - Volume 19 - Número 1 - 1º semestre - 2021

83 Direito em Movimento, Rio de Janeiro, v. 19 - n. 1, p. 81-107, 1º sem. 2021 ARTIGOS The SDGs face myriad conceptual, structural and other challenges, most importantly that they are often treated as if disconnected from wi- thin. 3 For instance, the annual United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 4 (formerly the UN Commission on Sustai- nable Development) focuses on a few connected SDGs at a time, such as (in 2019) achieving SDGs 13 (climate action) and 17 (peace, justice and strong communities). Moreover, the concept of ‘sustainability’ has a gro- wing cadre of critics who hold that the concept has reached the limits of its own utility, is not a reliable basis for governance, has not much improved environmental outcomes, is no match for the Anthropocene, and should be replaced by the goal of ‘resilience.’ 5 Yet these criticisms and challenges overlook, if not ignore, the SDGs’ core purpose: to advance human dignity, which coheres and complements them. Appreciating this profound, if simple, attribute warrants exploration of the concept of dignity, how it has evolved in law, what it means to en- 3 See, for instance, John H. Knox, ‘Human Rights, Environmental Protection, and the Sustainable Development Goals’, 24 Washington International Law Journal (2015) 517-536 at 524 (‘the specific targets are often writ- ten in language that is neither concrete nor closely linked to existing human rights obligations.’); Ranjula Bali Swain, ‘A Critical Analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals’ in Walter Leal Filho et al. (eds), Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research (Springer, 2017) 341-355 at 341 (‘The ambitious UN adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been criticized for being inconsistent, difficult to quantify, implement and mo- nitor.’); Jayati Ghosh, ‘3 obstacles that stand in the way of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals’ (World Economic Forum, 2019), available at <https://www. weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/3-obstacles-that-stand-in- -the-way-of-the-un-s-sustainable-development-goals> (visited 25 August 2020) (‘For starters, the international economic architecture and associated patterns of trade and capital flows continue to drive inequality… Second, governments rely increasingly on regressive indirect taxation, because they do not generate enough revenue from direct taxes… Third, an ill-conceived focus on fiscal austerity is constraining governments around the world, aggravating existing inequalities and fueling new social tensions.’); Laura Ortiz Montemayor, ‘The trouble with the UN SDGs 2030 global goals’ (Medium, 2018), available at <https://medium.com/ @lauraom/the-trouble-with- -theun-sdgs-2030-global-goals-99111a176585> (visited 25 August 2020) (‘True Sustainable Development Goals would include individual empowerment, economy at the service of people and planet.’) 4 See <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf> . 5 See, for instance, Melinda Harm Benson and Robin Kundis Craig, The End of Sustainability. Resilience and the Future Of Environmental Governance in the Anthropocene (University of Kansas Press, 2017) (‘The time has come for us to collectively reexamine – and ultimately move past – the concept of sustainability in environmental and natural resources law and management.’). Cf., Frederico Cheever and John C. Dernbach, ‘Sustainable Develop- ment and its Discontents’, 4(2) Transnational Environmental Law (2015) 247-287 (supporting concept). See also John C. Dernbach. ‘Navigating the U.S. Transition to Sustainability: Matching National Governance Challenges With Appropriate Legal Tools’, 44 Tulsa Law Review (2008) 93-120 at 120: ‘The suggested legal structure inclu- des a required national strategy, long-term and short-term goals, better integration of environment into decision making across and among various levels of government, public education and engagement, a broad range of legal and policy tools, feedback mechanisms to foster learning, and designated governmental entities for coordi- nating or managing this effort as well as providing an independent review of their efforts.’