Halfway to 2030, a third of the goals have stalled or gone into reverse, emissions continue to rise & gender equality is 300 years away, says Guterres
Global hunger is back to 2005 levels and nearly 600 million people will remain mired in extreme poverty by 2030, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on July 17 2023.
Guterres was speaking at the ongoing High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in New York. HLPF is the central global platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Global upheavals have derailed the little progress made on UN-mandated SDGs. He insisted on increased investments in sustainable development and climate action.
Guterres said:
Halfway to 2030, a third of the goals have stalled or gone into reverse, emissions continue to rise, hunger is back to 2005 levels and gender equality is 300 years away.
He urged countries to come up with clear plans to address the situation at the upcoming SDG Summit. The 2023 SDG Summit will take place in New York in mid-September.
“Above all, we need the SDG Summit to send a clear message from world leaders through a strong political declaration, one that lays a path for faster progress and paves the way for much-needed reforms of the international financial architecture,” he underscored.
The limited progress made on SDG front has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, widespread violence and Russia’s war on Ukraine. However, he pointed out that the world was off track before these disruptions.
“The world is crying out for high-level political action — action to make SDG a reality — for everyone, everywhere,” he said.
Moreover, he urged G20 countries to fix a timeframe to establish a new debt-resolution mechanism. Guterres also insisted that developed countries must deliver the promised $100 billion per year in climate finance, replenish the Green Climate Fund and double funding for adaptation.
Financing the sustainable transition needed to achieve the targets remains a critical challenge, with the financing gap now exceeding $4 trillion per year — up from $2.5 trillion, said Csaba Korosi (Hungary), president of the UN General Assembly.
Korosi, however, holds hopes on the upcoming SDG Summit. “The Summit will be the moment to make new commitments to set in motion the game-changers we will need to agree on in only a matter of weeks,” he said.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Photo: UN..png)
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