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Facing a worsening climate crisis, spreading conflict, and a gloomy global economic outlook, humanity must rise to the occasion and come together to create a brighter future for all. The 2030 Agenda remains the clearest blueprint of humanity’s highest aspirations. Indeed, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the universally-agreed road map to bridge economic and geopolitical divides, restore trust and rebuild solidarity in support of creating sustainable societies based on inclusivity and equity. No country can afford to see the 2030 Agenda fail. However, current progress is severely off-track. Building on the SDG Summit 2023, there is a dire need to accelerate momentum on the 2030 Agenda in the run-up to the Summit of the Future.
Energy is an essential ingredient for getting the world on track towards meeting the SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change. SDG7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is inextricably linked to many other SDGs, including poverty eradication, food security, health, education, prosperity, gender equality, jobs, transport, ocean, water and sanitation, and the empowerment of women and youth.
Energy transitions are key to achieving the 1.5? Celsius objective of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The UNFCCC COP28 has underlined energy’s centrality to climate action, recognizing the need to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, including by tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. It also calls for phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or just transitions. But reaching SDG7 will require increased ambition, accelerated implementation, and scaled-up multi-stakeholder partnerships. Realizing just, inclusive and equitable energy transitions is the prerequisite for ensuring that no one will be left behind, including the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). All stakeholders need to step up to achieve universal energy access and accelerate clean energy transitions in support of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
The High-level Dialogue on Energy convened by the Secretary-General in 2021 under the Auspices of the General Assembly resulted in considerable momentum towards SDG7, including the Global Roadmap for Accelerated SDG7 Action and the Energy Compacts. At the SDG Summit in September 2023, it was announced that over USD 1,3 trillion have already been mobilized through the Energy Compacts which featured prominently as one of 12 High-Impact Initiatives. However, efforts must be further scaled up and accelerated to ensure effective follow-up to the High-level Dialogue and the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All (2014–2024) to achieve SDG 7 by 2030 and accelerate action towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
As mandated by , the President of the General Assembly will “convene a global stocktaking, funded from extrabudgetary resources, to be held in 2024, marking the completion of the ongoing efforts to implement the plan of action of the Decade, and building on the follow-up to the high-level dialogue on energy, to further accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 7 of the 2030 Agenda.”
The global stocktaking to further accelerate the implementation of SDG7 under the auspices of the General Assembly will be a unique opportunity to increase ambitions, accelerate implementation, and strengthen multi-stakeholder partnerships to fulfil the promise of SDG7.
The global stocktaking will be convened as part of the Sustainability Week organized by the President of the General Assembly in April 2024. The Sustainability Week will also include events on sustainable transport, infrastructure, tourism and on debt sustainability and socio-economic equality, thereby fostering interlinkages across many interlinked issues while ensuring high-level attendance.