UN chief calls for accelerating progress toward 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the international community to “accelerate progress at scale and speed” in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Speaking at the opening of the ministerial segment of the high-level political forum on sustainable development, Guterres said important progress has been made since the 2030 Agenda was launched a decade ago, marked by 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.
“But our journey has faced some major setbacks in recent years,” with conflicts multiplying, inequalities concentrating power at the very top, and the world speeding closer to a temporary overshoot of the 1.5-degree limit, he said.
