While the pandemic has threatened to reverse decades of development gains and impeded the decade of action for the Sustainable Development Goals, it has also given us a unique opportunity to reset the clock – to build back better, build back stronger and build back greener and bluer.
Ideally, a post-COVID-19 world is a more sustainable one – adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as its guiding framework. It is a world where the means for implementation, such as financing, trade, technology and debt sustainability, are realized as outlined in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, and other outcomes of discussions on financing sustainable development. It is a world at peace, where terrorism, violent extremism, radicalization, the proliferation of crime and arms and the trafficking of people and drugs are kept at bay.
To realize that world, the international community must work together towards the eradication of poverty and to ensure that no country is left behind, by delivering targeted interventions, especially for countries in special situations.
- On the longer-term recovery from COVID-19, I will push for a recovery that builds back better, stronger, greener, and bluer. I will ensure that we do not return to business as usual after the pandemic.
- While the UN Environment Emissions Gap Report notes that we are not on track to achieve this, there is still time to change course. I appeal to Member States to utilize this rare opportunity for transformation.
- By following the paths laid out by Agenda 2030 we can pivot away from destructive practices and embrace a better future.
- On financing, the message is loud and clear: developed countries must fulfil their pledge to make 100 billion dollars of financing available annually to fund the global green transition. And gaps already incurred can and should be added on to upcoming transfers. We must target $1 trillion in financing by 2030, if not more.
- The end argument is the same: as a planet, we have more than enough wealth to address climate finance. But up to this point we simply haven’t been willing – politically, economically or personally – to take the steps needed, to fundamentally change how we live and exist on this planet. We have the power to change this.
- In terms of ensuring the right skills are available for transitions to a green/blue economy, we must scale up efforts to train people in emerging technologies, particularly the world’s 1.8 billion young people.
- A green transition is not possible without the right tools and skills – this requires planning for and investing in re-training at all levels, including our education systems.
- This will not only prepare our youth for new green jobs, but it will also allow us to turn every single job into a green job, including through transforming supply chains and procurement practices.
- By backing green technologies and sectors, we can create up to 18 million new jobs by 2030 according to the International Labour Organization.
- Finally, when it comes to green technical capacities, we must upscale global cooperation, technological transfer, and joint research and development as never before.
