Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly

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SDG 6 Research and Innovation Marathon Relay (CUNY event as part of NYC Water Week)

20 March 2023

[As Delivered]

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to all of you,

As a runner, I like the idea of a race that involves partners, working together in sync to cross the finish line as a team.

As a global community – of governments, the UN system, civil society, the private sector, scientists, academics and stakeholders of diverse backgrounds – we all are in a race against time.

Water touches every aspect of our lives.

Yet, our efforts to achieve SDG6 targets remain painfully off track.

Billions of people will lack access to basic clean water and sanitation services by 2030 unless we transform the way we understand and manage water.

The UN Water Conference offers a prime opportunity for us to deliberate on SDG6 and its targets.

We are here to expand our thinking about water and a water secure future.

To identify the innovations that will readjust and accelerate our actions.

It is the moment to devise integrated solutions and practical plans.

I am confident that, at the end of this water conference, that will start after tomorrow, we can deliver the “New York Moment”.

A moment that will be on scale with the “Paris Moment” following the landmark climate change talks in 2015.

What would this moment include?

We need to reframe our questions and answers.

We need transformative agendas.

We need game changers that boost cooperation across our entire SDG framework.

And, finally, we need conscious and focused political action.

Since my first day in office, I’ve been encouraging all our partners to come to the UN Water Conference this week with ambitious, forward-looking commitments.

There are a few game-changing ideas already being discussed, for example:

decoupling water consumption and food production,

integrating water and climate policies at national and global levels,

creating a Global Water Information System for better data to improve water management and resilience,

providing Early Warnings for All to safeguard lives and livelihoods, and

establishing a water education network around the world to support capacity development, especially in Africa.

Some of these gamechangers were identified during extensive consultations organized by my Office last October.

Many thanks to all of you who participated.

More broadly, in the General Assembly we are working to strengthen the science-policy interface:

We are organizing science briefings on topics related to our negotiation tracks, including water.

We are designing a validation mechanism for sustainable development, which is still largely missing in the UN system, unfortunately.

Our next set of briefings will focus on the “Beyond GDP” model that could measure the well-being of not only the economies, but of our societies and nature, too.

It matters what we measure and how, and I invite you all to share your ideas.

In these discussions, we need all voices – all the knowledge we have on our planet.  

Like a marathon, tackling the water crisis requires endurance.

Here in New York, we look forward to welcoming Australian ultramarathoner Mina Guli on 23 March – World Water Day.

She will be completing her 200th marathon in the span of a year to raise awareness of the world’s water crisis, having run in some of the most water-stressed areas across the globe.

She is right when she says, “every single one of us can make a difference.”

I am encouraged to see your interest and engagement.

I do not want to beguile you by promises: the New York Moment we are hoping for, will be just the beginning of our great race.

As you start your marathon, I wish you a fruitful run ahead.

When you cross the finish line, it will be a victory for all of us.

Thank you very much indeed.