Remarks by the President of the General Assembly
H.E. Annalena Baerbock
at the Opening Segment of the 2026 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
13 July 2026
GA Hall, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters
[As Delivered]
Your Excellency, President of the Economic and Social Council,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
The bitter truth – as underlined by the distinguished previous speakers: we are not on track.
And the intro has shown that we are living in parallel worlds.
Yet, as the President of the General Assembly, I am calling on you to keep your optimism in this institution’s ability to deliver.
To choose hope.
To choose action.
Every single day.
And all the more, to never let cynics weaponize our shortcomings to claim now that the SDGs are overall irrelevant.
For sure, with less than four years left, delivering on the Agenda 2030 will not be easy.
But our United Nations, this house, was not built for easy tasks.
It was built for moments like this¡ªin which we have to decide every other day, which parallel track to take.
To choose the right track at the crossroads.
In a situation in which multilateralism itself is under strain.
It is upon us.
Our decisions.
Every single day.
And one thing is very clear.
There is not a single day when humanity would be better off without the United Nations.
Without delivering on the right of education, on health, on a world without hunger.
And when we work together, in this spirit – of our Charter – we deliver.
We have seen that lesson especially in one of this years focal SDG ¨C SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy.
If we remember, a little over a decade ago, many still dismissed renewable energy as unrealistic.
Some even saw phasing out fossil fuels as a sin.
Then came a crucial crossroad ¨C after failure after failure: the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Even though renewable energy was back then only mentioned once in the text of the climate conference in Paris ¨C the world committed in fighting the climate crisis together.
And eight years later – which is actually nothing in diplomacy – the world agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, and to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030.
Today, renewable energy is one of the fastest-growing sources of power, and low-carbon sources account for more than 40 per cent of global electricity generation.
And it boosted the global electricity access in general, which reached 92 per cent in 2024.
And this, being concrete again, means not only light after sunset; but it means children able to study after dark; it means families able to cook without breathing poisonous smoke.
And it is the base for another SDG, which we focus on at this forum. SDG 9, on digital infrastructure to expand.
As without electricity, there would not be any no internet access.
And without internet access – where by the way we reached by 2024, 5G coverage of more than half the global population, while 4G reached most of the world ¨C but without all this progress, the new AI opportunities would not reach the majority of people.
But when delivering on the SDG 9 ¨C now farmers can check their weather data before planting; a young person learning online from a remote village is suddenly able to receive his or her right of education; and a clinic sending information faster than any road could carry it.
Showing that while progress is not automatic or easy or always fast enough, it is always possible when true leadership shows their will to act.
Even, if not especially, as consensus is harder to reach.
But we have also seen lately, headwinds are not an excuse.
As said, this house was not build for the easy wins.
And its DNA is to explore even in the darkest hour, the chance of every crisis.
And we have seen the chance also of the current fragmented geopolitical times in this room over the last month, when we do choose action, when we do choose hope, when we do choose to deliver on the SDGs.
Because in the current situation, if full consensus is not possible because some simply refuse to take action, there is also no need to wait anymore to wait for the last to move.
And this, if you choose action, cross regionally, it opens a new opportunity.
It opens a new chapter for a huge majority of states, for example within the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and the Global Summit on AI Governance last week.
We even moved after years of stalemate on the Beyond GDP debate because some Member States chose action, and frontrunners joined cross-regional forces to deliver on the Seville commitments.
In doing so, this house demonstrated the enduring relevance of our Charter 80 years later.
And for sure our founders did not foresee 80 years ago, artificial intelligence ¨C they didn¡¯t even have a computer ¨C nor would they really debate climate change.
Yet they did foresee a fundamental truth: issues that cross borders need multilateral solutions.
And that is why my call to you, echoing the Pact for the Future, is this: keep working together.
Keep believing that we are Better Together, especially in these fragmented times.
Share your best practices in advancing the SDGs.
The solutions are all out there.
And they are being implemented.
Choose to help build the momentum we need to deliver for the peoples we serve.
To that end, Excellencies, dear Ministers, this Forum is a place to share stories on what is working, and work together, and to learn from one another.
Across the Goals under review, we can see what progress looks like when it reaches daily life and when we understand and build on the interconnectivity of these goals
For example, on SDG 6, clean water and sanitation: since 2015, nearly one billion people have gained access to safely managed drinking water, and more than one billion to safely managed sanitation.
That means not only fewer children drinking dump water that will make them sick; it also means fewer hours lost of children, especially girls, carrying water instead of going to school.
And for sure, none is easy, and none of this is enough.
Not when billions still remain excluded from the progress we have made.
And that is why Goal 17: partnerships matter so much and should be focus for this Forum and for the next days.
Because, frankly speaking, governments alone will never succeed in closing the SDG gap within the next 4 years.
But the answers are all out there.
The answer is sitting out there on the balcony, through civil society, stakeholder participation ¨C who are implementing already, on the ground.
And the applause is well deserved for those who are doing it every day without any coverage in the headlines.
I just learned about one initiative where private sector, supported by some Multi Development Banks are doing the debt swaps we are still talking about in this room – even connected to preserving biodiversity.
It¡¯s possible, and it¡¯s happening, if we choose the way of action.
And we have seen that in these rooms as well, how South-South and triangular cooperation can not only find agreements on cross-regional water management in the light of climate effects but by this also delivers on Peace and Security.
And we are seeing here at the HLPF again, that the innovative push of civil society is not only needed, but it is being implemented.
Not only for delivering on the SGDs with modern technologies but also make our own House more focused, coherent, and able to deliver for people.
So these days are also our chance to align this Forum with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80, and to join our efforts for the last mile.
As giving up is not an option.
And as we know that even partial progress would transform lives at extraordinary scale.
If we reached even 80 per cent of our goal to end hunger, more than half a billion people would see their lives changed.
And this is not nothing.
So giving up now would mean also having more than half of a billion people in danger of malnutrition, and even dying.
And yes we know, that the time is very short.
But ¨C and I guess many of you are looking towards tomorrow and the day after – as we are still in football season, this crazy world cup has not only shown us that if everybody plays by the rules, and if the rules are followed, that we are always Better Together.
But this crazy world cup has also told us very clearly one thing: to never give up at minute 80.
How many games that looked lost were turned in the ninetieth minute or just right after.
For the successes it¡¯s always the same.
One goal, at the right moment, can change everything.
And 17 goals at the same moment can change the world.
It is up to us to play the last minute, the last four years together, always remembering that we are Better Together.
This is why this Forum matters.
And this is why the engagement of everyone of you matters ¨C saving the goals, saving our dignity.
I thank you.
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