Every month, the editorial content focuses on one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting its role and how it is intrinsic to advancing the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
IN FOCUS: PARTNERSHIPS
Today, we face multiple challenges of great magnitude that no single government or institution can address alone. The number of people fleeing their homes is record high. Climate change is ravaging the planet. Many young people are starved of economic opportunities. Inequalities continue to deepen and widen, fraying the fragile fabric of even peaceful societies.
We also live in an interconnected world and our futures are inextricably linked. We need principled and people-centred partnerships that can drive the inclusive implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Partnerships that go beyond borders, sectors, industries and societies can help us reach the commitments to which we hold ourselves accountable.
This month, we focus on Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships – the backbone of the 2030 Agenda and the connective tissue that brings us together to create the change that we want to see in the world.
It could also be called the Goal of Goals.
For more information on Goal 17 – Partnerships – including facts and figures click here.
Table of Contents
Taking Stock of Progress on Sustainable Development
Launch of the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019
Tackling Climate Change, One Bite at a Time
Chilling Moves in the Face of Climate Change
Shining a Light on Sustainable Power
Strawberries and Child Support: A Thai Partnership
New Partnership for First Response
Why Partnerships Matter
Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed on why partnerships matter.
Taking Stock of Progress on Sustainable Development
The United Nations will bring together governments, business and civil society leaders to take stock of the progress that has been made globally and locally on the SDGs from 9 to 18 July.
Called the largest annual gathering on SDG progress, the 4th High-level Political Forum (HLPF) will set the stage for the high-level week during the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in September, during which the organization will host the Climate Action and SDG Summits as well as high-level meetings on Financing for Development, Universal Health Coverage and the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway—galvanizing support for some of the major issues at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Check out our plans for HLPF and during the UN General Assembly high-level week (23 to 27 September) and our efforts to bring all stakeholders together with one goal in mind – a fairer and sustainable future for everyone on a healthy planet.
SDG Media Zone at HLPF, 9-10 July
The SDG Media Zone, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UNHQ Visitors’ Lobby and is open to everyone, will host government, civil society and private sector leaders as well as experts, celebrities and other change-makers committed to the global good. It will feature The event will feature action-driven and solutions-based initiatives, such as the award-winning UN Act Now climate action campaign, by the UN System and its partners. Live programming, including panel discussions, interviews, Ted-style Talks and presentations will take place between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. It will allow for in-depth conversations on major reports to be launched at HLPF justice and human rights. It will also host experts and initiatives from partners such as Sony Picture Entertainment, National Geographic and the Global Compact’s community of responsible businesses.
More information will be available on our website soon: un.org/sdgmediazone
Launch of the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019, 9 July
On 9 July, the United Nations will launch its latest report on SDG progress. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019 tracks global progress on the SDGs, looking at how far the world has come in realizing the commitments that were made in 2015 when the SDGs were adopted.
The report is based on the latest available data and highlights both gains and challenges as the international community moves towards full realization of the ambitions and principles espoused in the 2030 Agenda.
More information on the report will be available on their website after the launch.
From the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, each of us has the power to confront the climate challenge. To inspire behaviour change, the United Nations launched a global call to individual action, called ActNow in December 2018. The campaign uses a chatbot to recommend everyday actions to reduce our carbon footprints.
As a part of the campaign, chefs from around the world kicked-off a new challenge on Sustainable Gastronomy Day (18 June) to engage people in the global effort to tackle climate change through healthy and sustainable food choices.
Find out more about their creations and how the challenge has created a global wave of culinary creativity as people continue to share their favourite recipes and photos online and on our website.
As climate change becomes more pronounced, the need for sustainable technologies for cooling or refrigeration systems is more acute. Maintaining uninterrupted refrigeration during the delivery of food and vaccines and protecting people from extreme heat waves is “essential to human health and prosperity,” according to Rachel Kyte, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. She explains why she gets hot under the collar about cooling.
Hauwa, from Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, fled her home village of Adamari with her husband and four children in March, when violence struck. Now, she is in the relative safety of a UN-run camp but, with little electricity available at night, lighting is scarce, and darkness can mean danger. However, thanks to a solar-energy initiative from the UN migration agency, IOM, that is beginning to change. Read the full story on UN News.
UN News explores the importance of partnerships and the story of Mhee Saesong, a strawberry farmer and a mother of three from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.
“Our role as the UN is to really strengthen the partnerships with people and organizations in Thailand to achieve the SDGs,” says Deidre Boyd, the UN Resident Coordinator, the organization’s most senior official in Thailand.
This is the age of citizen journalism, where anyone armed with a smartphone and a social media account can report from the scene of an incident well before authorities have been notified. Receiving such real-time information in a humanitarian crisis can save lives and help keep our UN staff safer. UN Global Pulse, partners with Dataminr, the leading AI platform for first response, to equip UN teams with First Alert, Dataminr’s product for the public sector.
Achieving sustainable development in the face of today’s complex challenges is beyond the scope and capacity of any single institution or actor. Partnerships between UN entities, governments, civil society, the private sector and local communities are needed to accelerate delivery and ensure that no one is left behind. The human security approach helps build these integrated responses and alliances among stakeholders to transcend fragmented responses in favour of solutions that address the full range of insecurities holistically. Find out more about how this impacts people’s lives around the world.
Business Ambition for 1.5°C
In the lead-up to the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, the Global Compact challenges CEOs around the world to set even more ambitious targets for their companies in line with the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which made a compelling case for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The call-to-action asks companies to set verifiable science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative, which independently assesses corporate emissions reduction targets against scientific best practice.
Learn more about the campaign.
Enhanced international cooperation is needed to ensure that countries have the means to achieve the SDGs. Progress is being made on some of the targets of SDG 17. For example, personal remittances and the proportion of the global population with Internet access are at an all-time high. Yet, there are challenges in achieving other targets, with official development assistance (ODA) declining and trade tensions persisting. Read more facts and figures in UN DESA Voice.
7-10 July | Pacific Games (Samoa, 7 – 20 July)
Samoa will welcome over 4,500 athletes from 22 countries, including Small Island Developing States of the Pacific, to the region’s largest sporting event covering 27 different sports, from archery to weightlifting. The 16th Pacific Games are a unique occasion to use sport as a vehicle to foster development, social inclusion and peace, strengthen education, promote health and build life skills, particularly among youth. Website: www.samoa2019.ws
11 July | World Population Day
The latest global population estimates and projections just published in the UN World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights report on 17 June show that the world’s population is expected to increase by 2 billion people in the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050, and could reach its peak around the end of the century, at 10.9 billion. Websites: https://population.un.org/wpp ; www.un.org/en/events/populationday.
Goal of the Month – August Edition
In August, we will feature Goal 13: Climate Action as we continue to witness the worsening impact of climate change. Extreme weather conditions, frequent and severe natural disasters, land degradation, loss of biodiversity and ecosystems are rendering many parts of the world inhabitable. Food production and people’s health are at risk, forcing many people to suffer from hunger, poverty, displacement and widening inequalities. Visit us in August to read compelling content on our race against the climate emergency, ahead of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit on 23 September.