Contribution of biotechnology to attaining UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – I

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. Moreover, these 17 SDGs are structured roadmaps for sustainable transformation. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go together with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. Springer Nature, conscious of this endeavour, has fostered the publication of many scientific articles on this subject, and the journal Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture has undertaken to publish an ad hoc Topical Collection entitled Contribution of biotechnologies to attaining UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) | Springer Nature Link, that will run for six years (2024–2030), i.e. until the end of the UN’s SDG initiative. This preface briefly describes the first 31 articles published within this Topical Collection since it was launched.