Dear Members of the Press,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
I am pleased to present The Special Edition of Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023.
This annual report builds on the special edition of the Report of the Secretary-General on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals that was issued in April. Its visual presentation targets a broader audience and ensures that all stakeholders have the information that they need to move the 2030 Agenda forward.
Highlighting the state of progress halfway towards our 2030 deadline, the report provides a snapshot of the most recent and critical data on the SDGs. It underscores Secretary-General Guterres’ call for Member States and all stakeholders to deliver a Rescue Plan for People and Planet, as we head into the SDG Summit in September.
The picture of progress remains sobering.
Of the roughly 140 assessable targets, the latest data shows that only about 15 per cent are on track to be reached by 2030. Close to half of these targets are moderately or severely off track and over 30 per cent have either seen no movement or regressed below the 2015 baseline.
Under current trends, only about one-third of countries would meet the target to halve national poverty levels by 2030. 600 million people would be facing hunger. 300 million children or young people who attend school would leave unable to read and write. And it would take almost 286 years to close gender gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws.
We have continued our war on nature. Carbon dioxide levels continue to rise. The share of renewables in the energy mix, though expanding, remains small. Vast numbers of species worldwide are threatened with extinction. And climate-driven disasters continue to increase in number and intensity.
Colleagues,
Despite its sobering assessment, this report also is a source of hope. We can and must turn things around. This report reminds that we have the knowledge and the tools to deliver the transformations we need.
It reiterates the urgent actions and priorities recommended by the Secretary-General for delivering the much-needed Rescue Plan at the SDG Summit.
These include a commitment to seven years of accelerated, sustained and transformative action to deliver on the promise of the SDGs; a call on governments to advance concrete, integrated and targeted policies and actions to leave no one behind; and an appeal for governments to strengthen national and sub-national public sector capacities, to deliver accelerated SDG progress.
As the Secretary-General did at the Paris Summit on a New Global Financing Pact last month, the report calls on the international community to recommit to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, deliver an SDG Stimulus of at least 500 billion US dollars per year between now and 2030, and commit to urgent financial reforms.
It urges Member States to facilitate the continued strengthening of the 缅北禁地development system and to boost the capacity of the multilateral system to tackle emerging challenges.
As we pursue these actions and recalibrate our priorities, we must hold ourselves and each other accountable to the commitments that we have made. We must bridge the data gaps to keep us on course, and to better inform the reach and impact of our policies and practices.
Colleagues,
Bold action today can turn the tides towards a better tomorrow. History has shown this to be true.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report is a resource filled with practical ideas to help the global community rally behind the goals and shift toward lasting sustainability.
Thank you. I will invite my colleagues to present you more details of the Report and answer any questions you may have.