'Our Mission is Clear: to Accelerate Progress at Scale and Speed' - UN Secretary-General at the High-Level Political Forum

Excellencies,

Just over a decade ago, we began a journey together — the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We’ve made important progress.

Lower child and maternal mortality.

Greater access to social protection, safe drinking water, sanitation, electricity and the internet.

Faster declines in harmful practices like child marriage. 

And exponential growth in renewable energy.

The voluntary national review process has registered clear results.

So far, 401 country reviews have been presented — with another 36 this session — showing that where political will exists, solutions are found and progress can be made.

All of this is true.

But our journey has faced some major setbacks in recent years.

And we’re now entering the toughest stretch of our journey.

Conflicts are multiplying.

Inequalities are concentrating power at the very top, while millions are caught in prolonged cycles of suffering, instability and displacement.

We’ve just endured the eleven hottest years on record, and we’re speeding closer to a temporary overshoot of the 1.5-degree limit.

Developing countries face a whirlwind of financial woe whipped up by crushing debt burdens, weakening currencies, lack of investment, rising borrowing costs and limited fiscal space.

And beyond its clear impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure, the conflict in the Middle East sent the cost of fuel, fertilizers and food skyrocketing, and disrupted global trade, transportation and tourism.

The ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon, and the Gulf region must be fully re-established and respected.

And the exercise of navigational rights and freedoms in accordance with international law must be respected.

Excellencies,

Crisis by crisis, the Sustainable Development Goals are drifting further out of reach.

Just 36 per cent of the 139 assessable SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress, and 15 per cent have gone into reverse.

Our mission is clear: to accelerate progress at scale and speed.

By investing in the proven tools of poverty reduction — from education, to universal health coverage, energy security, and adaptive social protection systems.

By adopting policies that promote decent work, gender equality and technological access.

By grounding progress in human rights.

And by protecting our planet through climate action, biodiversity conservation and a just transition to renewable energy.

This year’s Forum focuses on five SDGs.

On clean water and sanitation, the Global Synthesis Report launched last week clearly shows the progress governments have made in recent years.

Hundreds of millions more people now have access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services.

But the world is far from meeting SDG 6.

About 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, and 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation.

Meanwhile, we are living beyond our hydrological means.

Driven by overconsumption, pollution and climate change, our world is using freshwater faster that it can be replenished, with permanent, irreversible effects on many river basins, lakes, aquifers and freshwater ecosystems.

Governments, the private sector, businesses and communities must work together to fill gaps in finance, innovation, infrastructure, capacities and governance.

They must join efforts and leverage resources to build accountable, equitable, and inclusive institutions that secure clean water and sanitation for all, manage conflicting demands on water, and address the growing risks stemming from unsustainable water use and climate change.

Water is humanity’s common denominator — central to all life on earth.

This year’s UN Water Conference will be a critical opportunity to drive collective action on this issue.

On affordable and clean energy, the world now has an off-ramp away from fossil fuels.

Renewables are the cheapest, fastest and most scalable source of new electricity in most of the world.

Last year, for the first time, wind and solar exceeded all new electricity demand growth.

More than 90 per cent of new renewable power added globally is already cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives.

And clean energy now attracts twice as much investment as fossil fuels.

But four out of every five dollars invested in clean energy have gone to advanced economies and China.

Africa receives just two per cent of global clean energy investments — despite having 60 per cent of the world’s best solar potential.

And many developing countries face exorbitant borrowing costs.

We need to reduce the cost of capital so investment flows where the opportunities are greatest.

The critical minerals needed to power the clean energy transition must be managed responsibly and sustainably.

And we need to support the countries, communities and workers that depend on fossil fuels throughout the transition.

On industry, innovation and infrastructure, we see enormous opportunities for digital tools like artificial intelligence to drive development, create decent jobs, and expand the reach of public services.

This requires ensuring that all people have access to digital technology and the internet, along with the capacity to build the infrastructure and the skills needed to share in those gains.

And it means technology serving humanity — not the other way around.

Artificial Intelligence must reduce inequalities and mitigate the environmental impacts — not multiply them.

In February, I called for a $3 billion Global Fund, to ensure AI benefits all people and all countries, particularly the development ones.

Earlier this month in Geneva, we convened the first Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence to make further progress on these issues.

And last month in London, I called for the establishment of an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative calling on all major AI companies to publicly disclose the full environmental impacts of their systems, and commit to powering all data centres with renewable energy by 2030.

On sustainable cities and communities, we need action to address the global housing crisis, and build smart, resilient and safe cities.

Governments, the private sector, local authorities, and civil society must work together to mobilize equitable and sustainable financing to scale up urban infrastructure and services.

And marginalized groups must be part of the planning process for adequate and affordable housing, climate resilience and green spaces.

This year’s mid-term review of the New Urban Agenda will be an opportunity to push for progress.

And on partnerships, we must recognize that governments cannot act alone.

Development requires all hands on deck — businesses, development banks, innovators, civil society, community leaders and young people.

And it requires south-south cooperation, so countries can benefit from shared development expertise and experience, without limiting the need for North South cooperation to continue.

Excellencies,

Throughout, we need urgent action to close the SDG financing gap, which now stands at over $4 trillion annually.

Developing countries face borrowing costs that are often several times higher than those borne by advanced economies.

Many spend more on servicing debt than investing in their people.

And development assistance has suffered its steepest fall on record — falling back to where it was when the 2030 Agenda was born.

The Sevilla Commitment shows the way forward.

Countries pledged to better mobilize domestic resources — including by tackling illicit financial flows — and channel them to the areas of greatest need.

Multilateral Development Banks must use their expanded lending capacity to aggressively scale up investment.

The shareholders of MDBs must also give them far greater firepower.

By accelerating reforms.

Providing fresh capital.

Expanding concessional finance.

And enabling them to take more risk where it matters most.

Every public dollar must unlock many more in private investment — through guarantees, blended finance, local-currency financing and other instruments.

We must accelerate the development and implementation of new debt management tools, and initiatives like the Borrowers Platform launched this year.

And we need to increase the voice and participation of developing countries, reforming the global financial architecture to ensure those countries receive the support they need.

Excellencies,

In the midst of all this work, I have enormous hope.

Even in this era of division, multilateralism is producing results.

From the Pact for the Future, to the Sevilla Commitment, the Doha Political Declaration, the High Seas Treaty, and the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Development States, countries have shown cooperation is possible. 

And our growing progress on data and measurement is giving us a much stronger evidence base for countries to better target their development efforts.

Next year’s SDG Summit will be a critical opportunity to carry all this work forward, and summon the leadership, financing, and solidarity this mission requires.

Let’s keep Agenda 2030’s vision alive.

Let’s make these final years count.

Thank you. 

These remarks were delivered by UN Secretary-General António Guterres during the High-Level Political Forum.