Intervention by Mr Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th session of the General Assembly, at Sustainability week, Panel 1: Beyond 2015: translating the 2030 Development Agenda and the Paris Agreement into action
18 January 2016
I am very grateful for the opportunity to be here with you today. Last year’s agreements provide us with incredible hope for the future.
The 2030 Agenda is the overarching vision for where we want our world to be in 15 years’ time. It consists of three major parts:
First, 17 Sustainable Development Goals to realize that vision:
To address the root causes of poverty and hunger; advance human development and gender equality everywhere and leave no one behind. To promote shared prosperity and decent work for all while transitioning to a low-carbon climate-resilient economy. To protect our natural environment – our oceans, seas, ecosystems and biodiversity. And to build peace, justice and inclusive societies through better governance at all levels.
Second, a dedicated set of measures and a global partnership to support implementation where all actors play their part.
Those measures focus on mobilizing public finance (through domestic taxation, cooperation on tax, corruption and illicit financial flows; and development assistance); mobilizing private investment (an enabling environment for small-medium sized enterprises; improving corporate behaviour and incentivizing investment into transformative areas like agriculture, gender equality and infrastructure); on investing in capacity building; data and information; on nurturing potential of science, technology, innovation; and on addressing global issues like trade, debt, economic governance etc.
Third, a set of rules on how to advance implementation focusing on universality – every country must take action; on Integration – Goals must be implemented in an integrated manner; on multi-stakeholder action –: governments, cities, companies, the finance industry, civil society, foundations and ordinary citizens; and on accountability – progress in meeting SDGs to be reviewed through public processes at the national, regional and international level.
Now, we need to get implementation off to the best start.
We need all hands on deck. That means involving everyone – governments, the private sector, research institutes, civil society actors and ordinary citizens; promoting greater awareness of what the new Goals can achieve; elaboration of plans from all actors on how they will contribute; creating new and reinvigorated partnerships by building on those announced in Paris but expanding their focus and engaging more actors.
We need action on all 17 SDGs. None of the 17 SDGs can be achieved in isolation. Success on one depends on success on the other. We need integrated implementation – energy for agriculture; infrastructure for sustainable energy; energy for gender equality.
We need to move energy investments, research and markets. We need a broad range of resources and investment from all sources, clear trajectories to realize both developing and climate finance commitments (such as the $100 billion a year commitment in climate finance by 2020) and policy and regulatory frameworks that incentivize investment in research, development and transfer of climate technologies and related capacity building.
We must also maintain momentum in the climate negotiations. The INDCs are a collective message on the urgent need to shift to more sustainable trajectories but we need greater ambition. Negotiations will have to continue to close the ’emissions gap’ between what is pledged and what is scientifically required.
For all of this, I will hold a High Level meeting for major actors in New York, 21 April.
It will focus on encouraging government efforts to prepare for implementation of the SDGs and the INDCs. On catalysing multi-stakeholder action to implement the SDGs through technology, information and communication; through financing in all its aspects, and most urgently through investment in sustainable, resilient and climate smart infrastructure; On getting the UN ready to support member states. And on ensuring partnerships are accountable, transparent and effective.
It will take place immediately prior to the Secretary General’s high level signing ceremony of the Paris Climate Agreement on 22 April. And I would welcome your active engagement and participation in this meeting. Thank you.