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By Nancy Birdsall, Nancy Lee and Brian Webster

In 2015 the nations of the world agreed at the United Nations on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be reached by 2030. The SDGs are the closest the world has come to a definable and measurable global social compact.

By Dario Jos¨¦ Mej¨ªa Montalvo, Chair of the Ãå±±½ûµØPermanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

The recent sessions of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) have addressed crucial issues and persistent and emerging challenges for the realization of Indigenous Peoples' rights. For example, during the 2022 session, amidst the pandemic, the main theme was "Indigenous Peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence including free, prior and informed consent".

By Asma Rouabhia, Global Focal Point SDG 7 Youth Constituency Major Group for Children and Youth

Empowering youth advocacy is transformative. For me, the opportunity to participate in COP 28 helped me understand the interconnectedness of global issues. It was not just impressive but profoundly impactful for me.

By Edward Ndopu, Ãå±±½ûµØSecretary-General¡¯s SDG Advocate and award winning, internationally acclaimed activist and humanitarian

In my exploration of the critical intersection between disability and climate change, I¡¯ve had a profound realization: disability issues are not peripheral but central, crucial for innovative approaches in our collective fight against climate change. At this pivotal moment, the urgency for action is palpable, yet a significant piece is often missing from our climate dialogue. 

By Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General of the Ãå±±½ûµØDepartment of Global Communications

The case for information integrity has rarely been more compelling, or more urgent. In all my years in communications, I can¡¯t say I ever worked in such a troubled environment ¨C an information ecosystem so polluted that voices for positive change are struggling to make themselves heard.

By ?sa Persson, Research Director and Deputy Director of Stockholm Environment Institute and member of the Independent Group of Scientists that prepared the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report

Transformation is possible, and inevitable. This was the key message of the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) that we in the Independent Group of Scientists presented to Member States.

By Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

Over the past six weeks, the United Nations has facilitated an intensive round of consultations and meetings in the three regions of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the world.

By the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

The recently released ¡®Report of the Secretary-General on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals¡¯ reminds us that it will take exceptional efforts and commitments to deliver a ¡°rescue plan for people and planet.¡± 

By Ant¨®nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

The meltdown of several major banks in recent months made headlines around the world. More than $250 billion was mobilized during the course of just one weekend to protect banks in the United States and Switzerland.

By Ambassador Mathu Joyini and Ambassador Tom Woodroffe, Co-Chairs of the 8th Annual Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the SDGs

The STI Forum will explore concrete and pragmatic science-based solutions to some of the greatest global challenges. It will take us a step closer to the SDG Summit later this year and achieving the 2030 Agenda.

By Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Ãå±±½ûµØDESA

Financing for sustainable development has never been as important and urgent as it is now. To ensure that more humans around the world live a decent life, it is necessary to scale-up SDG investment.

By Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands and Sulton Rahimzoda, Special Envoy of the President of Tajikistan for Water

This month¡¯s Ãå±±½ûµØWater Conference comes not a day too early. We need actions and solutions that drive the change we need, that we can scale and replicate across the world. Water as a source of our life deserves to be highly respected, valued, and praised. Let¡¯s be united for water action in New York in March and beyond!

By Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General, International Labour Organization

When we think of social justice, we think of fairness, of equality, of having the means ¨C and the right ¨C to a dignified life. Decent work is key to social justice, opening up a world of possibilities on food, health, education and a safe and clean environment.

By Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of Ãå±±½ûµØDESA

Let us all come together, in the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and camaraderie, and work towards a world that is sustainable, inclusive and resilient, for current and future generations.

By Andrew Scott, Professor, London Business School and Research Fellow, Center for Economic and Policy Research

An ageing society means mourning fewer infant deaths, fewer parents snatched away in midlife, and more grandparents meeting their grandchildren.

By Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Let¡¯s plan for a future in which all 8 billion of us can fulfil our potential. By prioritizing the issues that impact the most vulnerable, we can support those bearing the brunt of the world¡¯s most pressing challenges.

By Krzysztof Szubert, High Representative of the Prime Minister for European Digital Policy, Republic of Poland

A positive vision for the future of digital services and the Internet itself must combine fundamental values such as human rights, access and openness, as well as economic considerations. Ensuring that all people have meaningful access to the Internet is a global priority.

By Eun Mee Kim, President of Ewha Womans University

The promise of the Agenda 2030 to ¡°leave no one behind¡± has never been so critical as it is now. The COVID-19 pandemic has left such a serious gap in education and gender inequality that reaching the SDGs by 2030 may be just a dream, unless we act now.

By Anastasia J. Gage, Professor, Department of International Health and Sustainable Development, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University

To achieve sustainable development, the world will have to lessen its impact on the environment. Environmental impact is driven not just by the number of people in the world but also by the way humans produce and consume goods and resources.

By Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General of Ãå±±½ûµØDESA and Secretary-General of the 2022 Ãå±±½ûµØOcean Conference

It is time to turn the tide. Now is the time to save our ocean, if we want to protect our future. For the sake of life on our planet ¨C above and below water, and for current and future generations, let¡¯s make this an event that will go down in history books for the way it changed our course.

By Josiah Hester, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University, and Director of the Ka Moamoa Ubiquitous and Mobile Computing Lab

Computing is all around us ¡ª health trackers on wrists, flow sensors on water mains, smart meters on power lines, pedestrian counting cameras in cities ¨C sensors and smart devices are everywhere. This computational fabric is only growing and is crucial for sustainable development.

By Mahmoud Mohieldin, Ãå±±½ûµØSecretary-General¡¯s Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

As we call for closing vaccine and fiscal gaps in our economic stimulus packages, and for increasing support to countries¡¯ suffering the brunt of the impacts of the war in Ukraine, our focus must be on directing investments to foster inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth.

By Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, Director, United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat, Ãå±±½ûµØDESA

Sustainably managing the forests we have, and restoring the health of forests that are degraded, is critical to closing the emissions gap and regaining balance within our natural ecosystems.

By Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Partnerships mean different things to different people. To some, partnerships can mean sharing the financial burdens and profits of joint ventures. To others, partnerships may entail a deeper commitment to common objectives and working with others to find solutions to shared problems.

By Ambassador Peter Thomson, Ãå±±½ûµØSecretary-General¡¯s Special Envoy for the Ocean

For the future security of our species on this planet, it is vital, in the true sense of the word, that we stop the decline and work to restore a healthy Ocean.

By Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Ãå±±½ûµØAssistant Secretary-General and Officer in Charge of the Office of the Ãå±±½ûµØSecretary-General¡¯s Envoy on Technology

If you are reading this online, you are fortunate to have access to Internet. 2.9 billion people, particularly in Least Developed Countries, are not as lucky.

By Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao, Founder of C2X and MIT Climate & Sustainability Consortium Impact Fellow

From a kid in a small village in China to Forbes 30 under 30.

By Jean Todt, Ãå±±½ûµØSpecial Envoy for Road Safety and Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador

Join us on a journey across six areas of transport that are essential to move the world in the right direction.

By Alok Sharma, President of COP 26

Together, we can revolutionise the way we power the world, leaving no one behind. Spurring growth and development, while protecting our planet for future generations.

By Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO, Sustainable Energy for All

The energy transition story is a story of energy access. I¡¯ve often said this, and it¡¯s worth repeating. The climate crisis and the energy access crisis are intrinsically linked.

By Amina Mohammed, Ãå±±½ûµØDeputy Secretary-General

How can this generation¡ªcoming of age in the middle of a pandemic, in a world facing gross inequalities, a climate crisis and an economic depression not seen in decades¡ªbe ready? How can any of us prepare for what comes next?

By Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, World Bank

As the world continues to grapple with what it means to ensure an inclusive recovery, we must remember that persons with disabilities remain disproportionately excluded from accessing adequate health, education, transportation, and other basic services.

By Daron Acemoglu, MIT Economics

Automation and AI (artificial intelligence) are fundamentally reshaping our labour markets, yet they are often seen as problems of developed economies of the West. That is a mistake.

By Adekoyejo Kuye, Manamuz Electric, Nigeria

One third of the food produced globally for human consumption never gets to the final consumer. In Africa, the numbers are even more alarming. This is mainly due to the huge energy gap and the inefficient supply chain infrastructure.

By Nadine Gasman Zylbermann, Inmujeres, Mexico

The world has changed dramatically since 1995. Yet not one country has reached substantive equality between women and men. We live in a world where there has been important progress, but the Beijing Platform for Action is more current than ever.

by Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit

In 2020, the entire world knew what it was to be hungry. Millions went without enough to eat, the many victims of COVID-19 were starved of air, and the lonely and remote were deprived of human contact.

New Year resolution: working together to achieve the goals

by Volkan Bozk?r, President of the Ãå±±½ûµØGeneral Assembly

2020 was set to be a celebratory year for the United Nations as it turned 75 years old. Yet the globe was turned upside down by a virus which no one was prepared for. The year also marked a ten year countdown to 2030: the deadline to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

by Mariana Mazzucato, University College London

The 21st century is increasingly being defined by the need to respond to major social, environmental and economic challenges. Sometimes referred to as ¡®grand challenges¡¯, these include the climate crisis, demographic challenges and promotion of health and well-being. 

by Liu Zhenmin, Ãå±±½ûµØDESA

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world, but it has not broken us. Over a million people have died worldwide, and the death toll continues to rise. We must confront the onslaught of the pandemic with fortitude, resolve and unity, not with fear, division and despondence. 

by Poorvaprabha Patil, Medical Students Association of India and Sophie Gepp, Health for Future

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the worst health crisis since the Spanish Flu of 1918. With over 844,000 deaths, as of 30th August 2020, and slowing economies due to strict quarantine measures, human lives have been disrupted in more ways than one. 

by Izabella Teixeira, International Resource Panel

It¡¯s the year 2060. In classrooms around the world, children learn about the apocalyptic climate catastrophe that had been threatening their planet just decades earlier and whose worst effects had been averted. Impossible? Not according to the latest science.

by Li Yong, UNIDO

Just as we entered the Decade of Action, determined to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread loss of life and human suffering in all parts of the world. 

by SDG Advocates Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana

Our world today is grappling with a crisis of monumental proportions. The novel coronavirus is wreaking havoc across the globe, upending lives and livelihoods. 

by Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS

The COVID-19 outbreak has been placing unprecedented strains on sophisticated health systems in Europe and Asia, with overstretched medical staff struggling to treat their patients and intensive care facilities overwhelmed in rich countries. 

COVID-19: We won¡¯t improve global health one disease at a time

by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO

We are now confronting the defining health crisis of our time. We are at war with a virus that threatens to tear the world apart¡ªif we let it.

by Marta Vieira da Silva, Brazil and Ãå±±½ûµØWomen

In 1995, I was a 9-year-old girl living in the village of Dois Riachos, in the Northeast of Brazil. At that early age, I was already fighting to have the same opportunities as boys. I wanted to be out there on the playing field and scoring goals...

by Maimunah Mohd Sharif

Every week, three million people move to our cities and towns across the planet. Over half the global population currently live in cities and towns ¨C and this will rise to two thirds by 2050.

by Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Ãå±±½ûµØDESA

Reading the news these days can be a nerve-racking experience. The headlines tell stories of an unprecedented wave of protests and of wildfires, stoked up by climate change, that are engulfing the green lungs of our planet from the Amazonian rainforest to Australia. And yet, I remain hopeful for our common future. Here is why.

by Sheila Oparaocha, ENERGIA

Close to 1 billion people in the world lack access to electricity, and another 3 billion lack access to clean cooking. This energy poverty disproportionately affects women and girls.

by Gilbert F. Houngbo, IFAD, Chair of UN-Water

The sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. So, four years into the SDGs, how are we doing?

First end hunger to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

by M¨¢ximo Torero, FAO

An astonishing number of people worldwide ¡ª about 820 million or 11 per cent of those alive today ¡ª don¡¯t have enough food to eat.

by Achim Steiner, UNDP

Development is working. There has been a massive drop in global extreme poverty rates ?¡ª from 36 per cent in 1990 to 8.6 per cent in 2018? ¡ª vastly increasing the economic and social opportunities for so many across the world.

by Ant¨®nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

The Italian author, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa once wrote that ¡°if we want everything to stay the same, everything must change.¡± If we want our planet to remain the same ¨C healthy and able to support prosperity and opportunity for all ¡ª we will have to completely transform our world.

by Natalie Draisin, FIA Foundation

Road crashes are the leading cause of death for children over the age of five. The majority of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries despite the lower rates of motorization.

by Liu Zhenmin, Ãå±±½ûµØDESA

If we sow the right seeds of change and work hard over the next 10 years to help them flourish, then by 2030, everyone will reap the rewards.

by Joyce Msuya, UNEP 

Someone very wise once said, ¡°the best way to predict the future is to create it.¡± So, what does this mean practically for us? 

by Louis Meuleman, CEPA

How does one know when countries have implemented good governance? Although a cornerstone of all developmental efforts and the sine qua non of sustainability, governance is often nebulous.

by Elliott Harris, Ãå±±½ûµØDESA

Today¡¯s youth are the cornerstone of tomorrow¡¯s society. How well-equipped they are with education, skills and professional experience will determine their success and our future. 

by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Ãå±±½ûµØWomen 

If you wonder why gender equality is so important, just try to think of any part of the world, or even any business, where it¡¯s possible to say that we¡¯ve already achieved it.