SDG-Summit 2023: World leaders unite to accelerate action on the SDGs

UNs annual General Meeting is an event with global importance, where all leaders from 193 UN member states and governments unite to discuss international challenges. This year the 78th Summit was held and is particularly interesting because of the event about the SDGs, located in the UNs Headquarters in New York from the 18th to the 19th of September. This part of the summit received the most focus during the high-level week.

SDG-Summit: Halfway through the 2030-agenda

In 2015 the UN members agreed on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – also called SDGs. The World Goals are universal and relies duty on all members states and governments to contribute to achieving the goals. This year SDG-Summit marks our halfway through the 2030-agenda. The 2023 SDG-Summit is the second follow-up after the first was held in 2019. During the summit, there was an evaluation of the progress made in implementing the SDGs so far. Even though we are halfway through the 2030-agenda, only 15% of the SDGs are on track, while many are moving in the opposite direction.

Read the 2030-agenda here.

An accelerated action for 2030-agenda

During the General Assembly, world leaders agreed to accelerate actions to immediately achieve the SDGs. In order for world leaders to achieve the SDGs before 2030, they must take immediate action. This became clear in the draft of the political declaration, that also underlines the world leader’s mutual responsibility. In the declaration there were special attention on financing the development, and the members responsibility to improve the developed countries access for financing the sustainable development. UN General Secretary António Guterres points out this duty and its impact, that can result a positive development on implementing the world goals.

Read more about United Nations 78th Summit here.