Guterres urges countries to keep promises to end poverty, protect planet

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday called on countries and their leaders to stand firm in their promise to end poverty, protect the planet and leave no one behind.

In the launch of the 2024 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report, Guterres also called on countries to double their commitments to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, while only 17% of the goals are currently on track.

“The message is simple: our failure to guarantee peace, address climate change and stimulate international financing undermines development. We must accelerate action to achieve the SDGs – and we have no time to waste,” he stressed.

The Sustainable Development Goals 2024 report, released by the UN this Friday, shows that the world is falling short of the promise of the SDGs, highlighting that less than a fifth of the goals could be achieved by 2030.

With only six years left until the deadline, current progress falls far short of what is needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all members of the United Nations in 2015.

The report also found that nearly half of the SDGs had made minimal or moderate progress, while more than a third were stagnating or regressing.

“This report is known as the annual SDG report – and it shows that the world scores poorly,” Guterres said today.

“In a world of unprecedented wealth, knowledge and technology, denying the basic needs of so many people is outrageous and inexcusable. At the same time, we have everything we need to move towards a better future,” he recalled.

According to the document, the persistent effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, escalating conflicts, geopolitical tensions and growing climate chaos have seriously hampered progress.

Among the report’s key findings is that for the first time this century, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth in half of the world’s most vulnerable countries is slower than in advanced economies, and nearly 60% of countries face moderate GDP growth. abnormally high food prices in 2022.

At current rates, one in five children under 5 will be stunted by 2030.

According to data collected in 2022 from 120 states, 55% of states had no laws prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination against women.

However, progress in education remains a major concern, with only 58% of students worldwide achieving minimum proficiency in reading at the end of primary education, according to the UN.

According to the report, in 2022, compared with 2019, an additional 23 million people fell into extreme poverty and more than 100 million people suffered from hunger.

At the same time, civilian deaths in armed conflicts rose sharply in 2023, which also became the hottest year on record, with global temperatures approaching the critical limit of 1.5°C.

The report also warns that record high ocean temperatures have triggered a fourth global coral bleaching event.

On the other hand, global unemployment reached a historic low of 5% in 2023, despite persistent barriers to decent work, and in health, expanding access to treatment has prevented 20.8 million AIDS-related deaths over the past three decades.

The UN has identified development financing as an urgent priority, as the investment gap to achieve the SDGs in developing countries now stands at four trillion dollars (€3.7 billion) a year.

On a more encouraging note, the report highlights some examples of success and sustainability that can be leveraged by countries to achieve the SDGs, such as “remarkable recent achievements in the deployment of renewable energy”.

Moreover, in most regions of the world, girls have achieved gender parity and have even surpassed boys in school completion at all levels.

According to the United Nations, an increase in Internet access of approximately 70% in just eight years also illustrates how rapid, transformative change is possible.

“Time and time again, humanity has demonstrated that when we work together and apply our collective wisdom, we can find solutions to seemingly intractable problems,” said Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

One of the key moments that will put the world back on track to achieve the SDGs will be the Future Summit, which will take place in September at UN headquarters in New York.

Discussions at the summit will include addressing the debt crisis that is holding back so many developing countries and the urgent need to reform the international financial architecture.