Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,
H.E Annalena Baerbock
SDG Moment
Monday, 22 September, 2 pm
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[As Delivered]
10 years ago, world leaders gathered here at the United Nations and made an audacious commitment: to transform our world through sustainable development.
Seventeen Goals.
And one promise: to leave no one, behind. absolutely no one
Where do we stand with five years to go until 2030?
As the Secretary General has said, certainly, we have made some progress.
Child mortality has been halved compared to the start of the millennium.
Clean energy now generates more than 40 percent of the world¡¯s electricity, part of an urgently needed shift to renewables.
Nearly a billion people have gained access to safe drinking water since 2015.
Social protection now reaches over half of humanity, up from less than 43 percent a decade ago.
These are not abstract gains.
They matter.
They matter to the children in sub-Saharan Africa who survive their fifth birthdays.
To the families in South Asia who drink from a tap instead of contaminated rivers.
To parents in Latin America who can send their children to school because social protection spares them the choice between food and fees.
Every life improved matters.
Every life saved matters.
However, we hear some people speaking about the goals, as if they were just abstract numbers: 1 and 7 – and not real lives.
And that is why
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We ?should not wonder why we are not moving as fast as we should on the foundational promise of the Sustainable Development Goals.
That is why we have to speak out to those who are trying to get rid of these numbers. The 17 goals.
And that is why in today¡¯s people are being left behind.
We are falling far short of our ambitions.
And our stalled progress has yet to recover from the blow dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Only 35 percent of the SDGs are on track.
Nearly half, 47 percent, are seeing insufficient progress.
18 percent have even gone into reverse.
The financial picture is equally stark.
At a moment of rising need, net official development assistance fell by 7.1 percent last year.
Meanwhile, developing countries paid a record 1.4 trillion US dollars just to service external debt in 2023.
That could have funded solar panels.
That money could have used for expanded healthcare, for schools.
The gap towards 2030, our challenge is not a lack of solutions.
It is a lack of political will and ¨C sometimes intentionally, it is a lack resources.
Achieving the SDGs requires investments.
Political and financial investments.
And therefore it was an important moment when member States reaffirmed in the Sevilla Commitment last June that closing financing gaps is essential.
Vulnerable countries must have access to concessional financing to build infrastructure and uphold the rights of their people.
This includes not only Least Developed Countries, such as Mozambique, where much of the population still lacks clean water and struggles with basic necessities.
But also nations deemed middle income by GDP despite their acute vulnerabilities¡ª
- Small Island Developing States like the Maldives, confronting rising seas that threaten their very territory,
- And landlocked nations like Mongolia, where harsh winters and advancing desertification undermine food security.
All of them need the financial support required to secure their future.
But they also need support to protect themselves from the climate crisis.
Loss and damage must be addressed to those who lose their homes or livelihoods and bear the cost alone.
Energy transitions must be fair, protecting both workers and towns as we move away from fossil fuels.
And ecosystems must be restored, because without healthy forests, rivers, and reefs, there is no foundation for life.
Development will only be fair and sustainable if it makes space for voices too often ignored and if we combine our efforts and show solidarity with each other.
Let us act with the understanding that the 2030 Agenda is not beyond reach.
Let us generate the necessary political will and the financial resources,
Yes 5 years time is not much time.
But if we need, we can proceed with urgency and solidarity.
If we can act with the conviction that we are truly better together, we can still shape a better future.
Or as Salome has said in her wonderful poem ¡°let us build a time capsule for our children, filled with dignity and justice, for every person in every community, in a world where no one is left behind.