It is my great pleasure to address you today at this High-Level Concluding Event of the Seventh Italian Sustainable Development Festival.

This year, we are at the mid-point for making the UN Sustainable Development Goals a reality for all. But the achievement of these goals is increasingly under threat.

Our vulnerabilities, the gaps in solidarity and a lack of resilience have been acutely exposed in recent years by interconnected shocks.

From the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing number of extreme weather events around the world, to the war in Ukraine and associated crises in energy, food, and cost-of-living, and the wide-spread debt distress in many parts of the world.

In moments like these, it is always the most vulnerable that suffer the most. And the least developed countries have been let down – again and again.

These shocks are our wake-up calls.

We have been reminded that we urgently need to strengthen social protection systems and ensure access to essential services for all, including the most vulnerable.

We need to reorient our economies through green and digital transitions to make them more resilient and compatible with the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement.

We need to reform the international financial architecture, by giving developing countries a much greater voice and enabling more effective support for the transition to renewable energy-based, climate-resilient, inclusive economies.

We need to mobilize our whole societies and scale up financing for the future of people and the planet.

And we need to prioritize the means of implementation, including robust data systems, increased financing, effective governance structures, localized approaches, and fair-trade policies that work for all, to ensure the successful realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

History has shown us the worst hardships can be overcome through human determination, solidarity, leadership and resilience.

The SDG Summit, to be held in September this year, will be a milestone opportunity to embrace transformation and come up with an ambitious action plan for achieving the SDGs.

It is time for all of us to step up and work together towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet guided by the SDGs.

And the Summit of the Future to be held in 2024, will help us move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to deal with current and future challenges.

I look forward to hearing your insights on sustainable development in Italy as we work together to achieve a greener, safer and more equitable world.

Thank you!