Guterres calls for focus on finance, climate, peace to meet 2030 SDGs

SDGs

SDGs

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has emphasized the urgent need for enhanced finance, climate action, and peace in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline.

Speaking at an event tagged the SDG Moment at UN Headquarters on Tuesday, Guterres revealed the significance of the 17 Goals, which aim to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequalities, promote gender equality, and combat climate change.

“Let’s keep the SDG commitment alive,” Guterres stated, acknowledging the numerous challenges hindering progress.

He pointed out that over 80% of the targets are currently off track due to the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising debt burdens, conflicts, and systemic inequalities.

Despite these obstacles, Guterres stated that “the world has the wealth, the technology, and the know-how to achieve the SDGs,” urging global leaders to concentrate on three key development drivers to accelerate progress.

First among these is finance. The Secretary-General stressed that “crushing debt and inefficient tax systems are starving investments in health, education, and food in many developing countries.”

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He noted the recently adopted Pact for the Future, which includes support for an SDG stimulus plan aimed at reforming the global financial architecture to alleviate the debt crises afflicting numerous developing nations.

Next, Guterres called for ambitious national climate action plans that align with the imperative of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“This requires aligning national energy strategies with a 1.5-degree world, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and putting a price on carbon,” he elaborated. He also revealed the critical need to protect development gains from climate upheaval and urged for new contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund, alongside a commitment from developing countries to double adaptation funding by 2025.

The third driver, peace, is essential for sustainable development, Guterres emphasized. “All our development plans are quickly erased by relentless conflicts that cause death, destruction, hunger, displacement, and gender-based violence,” he said, calling on global leaders to “heal divisions, end conflicts, and invest in people and peace.”

Philémon Yang, President of the UN General Assembly, reiterated the importance of maintaining focus on the SDGs. He reminded attendees that world leaders had adopted a political declaration at the SDG Summit in 2023, marking the beginning of a new phase of accelerated action. “Success is born from determined action. And this is a moment for ambition,” Yang stated.

 

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