GenEd The Contemporary World — LET Practice Questions

The UN adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 with a target year of 2030 — which is why they are also called 'the 2030 Agenda.' The goals cover ending poverty, quality education, gender equality, climate action, and clean water, among others.

The Paris Agreement (2015) is the international treaty where nearly every country pledged to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The headline target: hold the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, ideally to 1.5°C. Scientists chose 1.5–2°C because warming beyond that triggers severe and largely irreversible damage to ecosystems and human societies. Each country sets its own emission reduction plan ('nationally determined contributions') and reports progress every five years.

Neoliberalism is the dominant economic ideology since the 1980s, championed by leaders like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Its core claims: free markets allocate resources better than governments do, so governments should be smaller; public services should be privatized (sold off to private companies); regulations should be cut; austerity (reducing government spending on social programs) is responsible fiscal management. Critics argue neoliberalism increases inequality and leaves vulnerable people without safety nets; supporters argue it promotes economic growth and innovation.