In 2015, the U.N. adopted 17 goals for the year 2030 that will help push the wold to end poverty, improve education, combat climate change and preserve the environment. But halfway to the deadline, U.N. leaders warned progress isn't fast enough.
At the U.N. summit on Monday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned delegates that progress on these sustainable development goals was in peril.
Leaders, he said, made "a promise to build a world of health, progress and opportunity for all — a promise to leave no one behind, and a promise to pay for it."
A recent report on the SDGs' progress found that at current rates, most goals aren't on track, and some are regressing. Global events like the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine have hampered progress.
President Biden to address the UN General Assembly in New York Tuesday
In his speech Tuesday, President Biden will seek to strengthen his position as a world leader, with many other major leaders not in attendance.
The U.N. on Monday adopted a new declaration, recognizing that progress towards goals was threatened, and recommitting to achieving the goals as originally set out within the next seven years.
Secretary-General Guterres urged business leaders, academics and young people to join the push to meet the U.N.'s goals.
He outlined a proposed "SDG stimulus," which would tackle economic hurdles that slow down progress.
This plan calls for addressing the costs of debt, scaling up affordable financing for development, and making more contingency financing available.
He said the hope is that reforming bank systems will help big institutions like the World Bank "massively leverage private finance at affordable rates to benefit developing countries."
At a recent G20 meeting, delegates from the world's 20 leading economies welcomed the plan — but adopting it and seeing it through will be up to the U.N.
