As Sdg Summit Concludes Secretary General Urges World Leaders To Lift

Leo Migdal

-Dec 3, 2025, 10:41 AM

as sdg summit concludes secretary general urges world leaders to lift

The Political Declaration adopted yesterday leaves world leaders with “a to-do list” to turn words into action to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations chief said today at the close of... (For background, see Press Release GA/12529.) “We must make the most of this Summit’s momentum to spur progress in the months ahead,” Secretary‑General António Guterres appealed to participants as he closed the Summit — known formally as the high-level political... Calling for the formation of a leaders group to deliver clear steps that enable the $500 billion per year needed for sustainable development to start flowing before the end of 2024, he also urged... In addition, Mr. Guterres stressed, among other things, the need for recapitalization and urgent additional rechannelling of $100 billion in unused special drawing rights, as well as reform of the global financial architecture.

The twenty-eighth United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change next month will be the moment to operationalize the new loss and damage fund. “This development to-do list is not just homework. This is hope work,” he emphasized, adding: “We have a rescue plan before us in the Political Declaration. Now is the time to lift the Declaration’s words off the page and invest in development at scale like never before.” Giving keynote remarks, Justin Pierre James Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group, stressed that “stability benefits us all”. With nearly 50 per cent of SDG targets moderately or severely off track, the world needs an immediate course correction.

However, “it’s just halftime — we can do this,” he stated, adding: “The SDGs are not a luxury, not some wish list generated by academics of global nice-to-haves.” Rather, they are the building blocks... It will only become harder and more expensive the longer the international community drags its heels. “The future is expecting us all to meet this moment,” he emphasized. Taking stock of the Summit, Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, noted that world leaders had assembled to energetically affirm their commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global... Highlighting steps to scale up actions towards progress, including in key areas such as energy, he pointed out that many emphasized that climate change is both a critical challenge and an existential threat. He also noted that many described their national priorities in protecting the most vulnerable, leaders noted the possibilities afforded by science, technology and innovation and welcomed participation by women, girls and youth.

Governments should double down on digital solutions, he affirmed, as they can accelerate 70 per cent of SDG targets. Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Moment event, in New York today: The Sustainable Development Goals represent a bold vision: a commitment to a better, healthier, safer and more prosperous and sustainable future. But the Goals are facing massive headwinds. More than four out of five SDG targets are off track. On top of the impacts from a global pandemic, many countries are being crushed by massive debt burdens, limited liquidity and sky-high borrowing costs.

Conflicts, hunger, inequalities and the climate crisis are all intensifying. And the global financial architecture is not providing developing countries with sufficient financing and liquidity or to act as an effective safety net for all. The world has the wealth, the technology and the know-how to achieve the SDGs. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives to the SDG Summit at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Sept. 17, 2023. Biden is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly and fundraisers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi meets with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at U.N.

headquarters Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa waits for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to arrive for a meeting, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, Pool)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to wounded Ukrainian soldiers during a visit at Staten Island University Hospital, in New York, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz, Pool) World leaders have agreed to urgently step up their efforts to deliver on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations Secretary-General warns that the goals are far off their 2030 deadline. As part of the UN's High Level week, a summit by Antonio Guterres to urge the acceleration of the progress of the SDG's.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report. Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466 Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466 The SDG Summit in September 2023 provided an opportunity to change course and to secure the breakthroughs and momentum needed to achieve the SDGs by 2030. To this end, the Secretary-General urged world leaders to deliver a “Rescue Plan for People and Planet" at the Summit including by announcing national and global commitments to drive SDG Transformation in the years... In line with the Guidance Note on National Commitments circulated in May 2023, Member States were encouraged to present forward-looking national commitments to SDG transformation that included (i) priority transitions and areas for investment...

Member States in a position to do so were further encouraged to put forward time-bound global and regional commitments to strengthen international cooperation and support for developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable countries. Registration of National Commitments closed on 22 September 2023. A listing of commitments made is available below. Delegations seeking further information on National and Global Commitments to SDG Transformation can contact decadeofaction@un.org. Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, delivered by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, at the opening of the ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum convened under the auspices of the Economic and... Thank you for the opportunity to deliver this statement on behalf of the Secretary-General.

I congratulate the President of the Economic and Social Council for her leadership. Today, we gather here in the General Assembly Hall — the birthplace of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) nine years ago. From the very start, the Goals represented a promise of a better future to hundreds of millions of people across the world. Last September, world leaders gathered once again in this Hall. They recognized that this promise was twisting in the wind. Halfway to the 2030 deadline, the SDGs were in trouble.

Today, just 17 per cent of the targets are on track. Future generations deserve more than 17 per cent of a sustainable future. The barriers are plain to see. Lack of financing. Geopolitical tensions and mistrust. Ferocious conflicts.

The climate emergency. And a crippling debt crisis that is leaving many countries unable to invest in development progress.

As Sdg Summit Concludes Secretary General Urges World Leaders To Lift

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