2023-04-27 12:33:39
More than half of the world’s population is being left behind halfway to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told ambassadors in New York on Tuesday. York.
On the occasion of the publication of the Report on the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he warned that the collective promise made in 2015 of a greener, just and equitable global future, is in jeopardy .
“If we don’t act now, the 2030 Agenda will become the epitaph of a world that could have been,” he said.
Rise in poverty and hunger
The report reveals that only 12% of the 169 SDG targets are on track, while progress on 50% of them is weak and insufficient. Worst of all, he said, is the fact that progress has stalled or even reversed on more than 30% of the goals.
All 17 SDGs are in a sorry state due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating “triple crisis” of climate, biodiversity and pollution, amplified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As a result, the number of people living in extreme poverty is higher than four years ago. Hunger has also increased and is now back to 2005 levels, and gender equality will only be achieved in about 300 years. Other fallout includes record inequality and rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Fundamental changes needed
The UN chief noted that many developing countries cannot invest in the SDGs due to heavy debt, while climate finance is well below commitments. Wealthier nations have yet to honor the $100 billion in support pledged each year, he said, among other climate pledges.
“The 2030 Agenda is an agenda for justice and equality, inclusive and sustainable development, human rights and dignity for all. This requires fundamental changes in the way the global economy is organised,” he said.
“The SDGs are the way to bridge economic and geopolitical divides; to restore trust and rebuild solidarity,” he added. “Let’s be clear: no country can afford to see them fail.”
Relaunch of the SDGs
Guterres called for an SDG stimulus package of at least $500 billion a year and deep reforms of the international financial architecture, two key recommendations of the report.
The SDG recovery plan aims to increase affordable long-term financing for all countries in need, tackle debt and expand emergency financing – areas that all need action.
While these measures may help reverse the situation, he stressed that they will not solve the fundamental problem of the current unfair and dysfunctional global financial system, which will require deep reforms.
A globalization that benefits everyone
Reiterating his call for “a new Bretton Woods moment” – when the first negotiated international monetary rules were established in 1944, including the International Monetary Fund – Mr Guterres said developing countries needed to be better represented in financial institutions world.
“We need a financial system that guarantees the benefits of globalization to all, putting the needs of developing countries at the center of all its decisions,” he said.
The SDG progress report also contains five other important recommendations.
The first calls on all UN member states to recommit to achieving the goals, nationally and internationally, by strengthening the social contract and steering their economies towards the green transition.
The second point urges governments to set and meet national benchmarks for reducing poverty and inequality by 2027 and 2030, which requires focusing on areas such as expanding social protection and employment, but also education, gender equality and “digital inclusion”.
The report calls on all countries to commit “to ending the war on nature”. Governments are urged to support the Accelerating Climate Action Agenda, under which leaders of developed countries commit to net-zero emissions, and to implement the new global biodiversity framework, signed in December.
Development support
The fourth point relates to the need for governments to strengthen national institutions and accountability. “This will require new regulatory frameworks and stronger public digital infrastructure and data capacity,” Guterres said.
His final point underscores the need for greater multilateral support for the UN development system and decisive action at the Future Summit next year.
In the meantime, world leaders will gather at the UN in September for the SDG Summit. It will be a moment of truth, Mr. Guterres said, while adding that it must also be a moment of hope to rekindle new momentum to achieve the goals.
The Secretary-General insisted that “the progress of the SDGs is not lines on a graph”, but rather healthy mothers and babies, children learning the skills to realize their potential, renewable energy and clean air, and other similar development achievements.
“The path ahead is steep. Today’s report shows us how steep it is,” he said. “But it’s the one we can and should borrow – together – for the people we serve.”
INFOS
#Guterres #urges #countries #recommit #Sustainable #Development #Goals #Info #Mali