World leaders adopt political declaration to achieve sustainable development

The Sustainable Development Goals Summit continues at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, while Member States have adopted a political declaration to accelerate action to achieve the Development Goals, to stimulate economic prosperity and well-being for all people and to protect the environment.

Addressing world leaders at the United Nations on the first day of the summit on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for urgent action to fight hunger and urged member states to work to end what he described as the three-dimensional Earth crisis of climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity.

Guterres said that only 15 percent of this year's development goals to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty and combat climate change are on the right track while many are in the opposite direction, stressing the need for action on hunger, which he said is a stain on humanity and a violation of human rights in the world of abundance in which we live.

Political Declaration

At the opening session, the UN General Assembly adopted the draft political declaration on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which renews commitment to the SDGs and revives hope towards achieving them by 2030.

According to the text of the project, the 2030 Agenda remains the comprehensive roadmap to achieve sustainable development and overcome the multiple crises facing the world.

The project also reaffirms the commitment of world leaders to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and adherence to all the principles enshrined therein, as well as their commitment to sustained, substantive and urgent action at all levels and by all stakeholders to overcome the crises and obstacles facing the world.

The United Nations said this month that 745 million more people suffer from moderate to severe hunger in the world today than in 2015, and that the world is far from on track in its efforts to achieve the UN's ambitious goal of ending hunger by 2030.

Last year's report said the cost of achieving global goals increased by 25% to $176 trillion in the year to September 2022, with performance falling on many measures.