With Sustainable Development Goals Severely Off Track, UN Forum To Boost Global Efforts Ahead Of Summit Of The Future

With current progress falling far short of what is required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, this year’s High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development on 8 to 17 July at UN Headquarters in New York, will be critical to boosting efforts to accelerate SDG implementation in the remaining six years. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, war and conflict have derailed progress on the SDGs. The annual investment gap for developing countries to achieve the SDGs stands at $4 trillion. About 23 million more people were living in extreme poverty and over 100 million more were suffering from hunger in 2022 compared to 2019. Greenhouse gas concentrations hit record highs in 2022, with real-time data in 2023 indicating a continued rise. Against this background, the Forum will bring together governments, the private sector, civil society and other partners to assess challenges, share experiences and showcase innovative solutions to urgently set the world back on track to achieving the SDGs. High-level officials participating at the HLPF will include:

• H.E. Mr. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda (virtual)
• H.E. Ms. Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of Samoa (virtual)
• H.E. Ms. Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• H.E. Ms. Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica
• Mr. Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City (TBC)
• H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly
• Ms. Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
• H.E. Mr. Abdullah Bin Ali Amri, Chairman of the Environment Authority of Oman, President of UNEA-7

Forum Background

The theme for this year’s High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions”. 

During the Ministerial Segment of the Forum (15 to 17 July), thirty-seven countries will present their Voluntary National Reviews — highlighting the bold actions they have taken to achieve the SDGs. The countries are: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belize, Brazil, Chad, Colombia, Congo (Republic of the), Costa Rica, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Oman, Palau, Peru, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

The Ministerial Segment is part of the High-level Segment of ECOSOC which will conclude on 17 July. 

Highlights

Thematic review of SDGs 1, 2, 13, 16 and 17
During the first week, the Forum will conduct in-depth reviews of Goal 1: End Poverty in all its forms everywhere; SDG 2: Zero Hunger; SDG 13: Climate Action; SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions; and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

From the SDG Summit to the Summit of the Future Debate 
During the Ministerial Segment, countries will participate in the general debate “From the SDG Summit to the Summit of the Future”. This debate will be an opportunity to exchange experiences, transformative actions and initiatives following the 2023 SDG Summit, as well as highlight priorities and expectations for the upcoming Summit of the Future on 22 to 23 September at UN Headquarters in New York. 

Special Event on Transforming Education (Thursday, 11 July 2024, 10 am–1 pm)
As we approach the two-year anniversary of the Transforming Education Summit (TES), the UN Secretary-General will convene a Special Event on Transforming Education, in collaboration with the President of the General Assembly and the President of ECOSOC.

At current rates of progress, only just over 16.5% of countries will achieve the SDG4 target of universal access to quality education by 2030.
The Special Event will seek to spur greater commitment and action on education transformation in the context of the upcoming Summit of the Future and to inform the 2025 World Summit on Social Development and the 2025 Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. 

Special Event on Keeping the SDG Promise: Pathways to Acceleration (15 July 2024, 3:00-6:00 pm)
The Deputy Secretary-General, in her role as Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Spain and (TBC), is convening an HLPF Special Event entitled Keeping the SDG Promise: Pathways for Acceleration.

The Special Event will provide an update on progress being achieved through the “High Impact Initiatives” (HIIs), championed by the United Nations development system and others at the 2023 SDG Summit. It will also explore the importance of mobilizing investments for critical SDG transitions and showcase countries and programmes that are already making progress in that direction, drawing on the work of the Joint SDG Fund. 

Special event on Delivering the Future We Want: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue with the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs (15 July, 1:15 pm-2:30 pm CR 11 and online)
The United Nations High-level Advisory Board (HLAB) on Economic and Social Affairs, convened by Mr. Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General of DESA, will take part in an interactive Global Policy Dialogue. The Dialogue, which will be both online and in-person, will focus on identifying key emerging socioeconomic trends, risks and opportunities and suggestions for overcoming key challenges. It will also focus on ways to build capacities to cope with complex global challenges, generate synergies and manage trade-offs in support of the SDGs. Register here.

Launch of the World Population Prospects 2024 (11 July, 12:30 pm)
The World Population Prospects 2024 will be launched on 11 July at UN Headquarters in New York at 12:30 pm EDT. It is the twenty-eighth edition of the official population estimates and projections of the global population that have been published by the UN since 1951. These estimates and projections form a comprehensive set of demographic data to assess population levels and trends at the global, regional and national levels. The launch may be followed on UN Web TV.

Other Special Events (latest special event flyer)
1.   SDGs in Practice: a series of learning and training workshops (Opening on 8 July, 11 am-1 pm, and subsequent virtual sessions daily) 
2.   Science Day: Driving Science-Based Action on the SDGs (9 July, 10 am-1 pm) 
3.   Local2030 Coalition Special Event (10 July, 10 am-1 pm) 
4.   Local and Regional Governments Forum (11 July, 10 am-1 pm) 
5.   The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024: Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in All its Forms (15 July, 11 am-1 pm)
6.   Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) Global Forum (15 July, 3 pm- 6 pm) 
7.   SDG Global Business Forum (16 July, 8-10 am)
8.   Bridging the Ambition Gap for the Future We Want through Climate and SDGs  Synergy (16 July, 10 am-1 pm) 
9. SDG 6 and Water Action Agenda Special Event (16 July, 10 am-5 pm) 
10. Parliamentary Forum (16 July, 10 am-1 pm) 

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