Sustainable development is a concept that dates back to 1987 when it first appeared in the Brundtland Report (‘Our common Future’). However, long before this, experts started to see the need to transiting into more sustainable ways of living, as it came to the realisation that populations will only grow if natural resources were unlimited. Non-renewable resources, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, will reach a limit of existence if they keep on being used at these rates. Excessive consumption of natural resources results in their depletion, which negatively impacts the environment. The extraction and process of these resources result in the pollution of the air, water and soil, which then leads to other environmental issues, the biggest being climate change.

Climate change, long-term changes in the patterns of weather and temperature, is mainly caused by various human activities, which then have tremendous effects and consequences for humans and the planet. The greenhouse effect, which takes place naturally allows life on Earth to exist, as it maintains the Earth’s temperature warmer than it would be otherwise. However, human activities cause the concentration of greenhouse gases to increase, resulting in the increase of the greenhouse effect, which contributes to global warming. This shows how our life choices of consumption can lead to the environmental crisis we face. Young people are indeed the main victims of this crisis. However, they can also be the ones contributing to mitigating it. The Sustainable Development Goals, which are the main core of the Agenda 2030, were set to help the governments and all citizens not only mitigate climate change or any other environmental issues but also live more sustainably. This way inequalities in all forms will be reduced, while also saving natural resources for the present generations and the next ones. Living sustainably is important for saving the environment and using resources efficiently. Whether people are zero waste or just getting started, individual practices can make a difference.