UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that more than half of the world has been left behind at the midpoint for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which leaders agreed to realize by 2030.
"Halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we are leaving more than half the world behind. The SDG Progress Report shows that just 12% of the Sustainable Development Goal targets are on track," the UN chief said in remarks at the launch of the special edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Progress Report.
"Progress on 50% is weak and insufficient. Worst of all, we have stalled or gone into reverse on more than 30% of the SDGs. Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been," he stressed.
The report reveals that just 12% of the 169 SDG targets are on track, while progress on 50% is weak and insufficient. Worst of all, Guterres said is the fact that progress has either stalled or even reversed on more than 30% of the goals.
The 17 SDGs are in a sorry state due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating "triple crisis" of climate, biodiversity and pollution. As a result, the number of people living in extreme poverty is higher than it was four years ago. Hunger has also increased and is now back at 2005 levels. Other fallouts include record-high inequality and rising greenhouse gas emissions.
The UN chief noted that many developing countries cannot invest in the SDGs because of burdensome debt, while climate finance is far below commitments. Richer nations have not yet delivered on the $100 billion promised annually in support, he recalled, among other climate pledges.
"The 2030 Agenda is an agenda of justice and equality, of inclusive, sustainable development, and human rights and dignity for all. It requires fundamental changes to the way the global economy is organized," he said.
"The SDGs are the path to bridge both economic and geopolitical divides; to restore trust and rebuild solidarity," the UN Secretary-General stressed. (QNA)
Source: Qatar News Agency