A two-day summit on sustainable development begins in New York on Monday (9 a.m. local time; 3 p.m. CEST). At the discussions during the week of the UN general debate, heads of state and government want to take a mid-term review of the 2030 Agenda adopted in 2015. This has set 17 global goals for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development, which are to be achieved by 2030. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), among others, is taking part for Germany.
The second day of the Sustainability Summit, also known as the SDG Summit because of the English acronym for Sustainable Development Goals, coincides with the opening session of the 78th UN General Assembly. Representatives of the 193 member states will give speeches there. Chancellor Scholz is expected to speak for Germany on Tuesday evening.
It contains urgent demands on the global community: “Heads of state and government should recommit themselves to faster, sustained and transformative action at national and international levels over the next seven years in order to fulfill the promise enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals,” it says. The interim results are also sobering – if not downright devastating: “Halfway to implementing the 2030 Agenda, a sobering picture emerges: the world will not achieve most of the goals by 2030. Despite progress in certain areas, there is a worrying proportion of them Targets either show only sluggish progress or even regression.”
UN meets on sustainability goals and climate
Before the start of the UN General Assembly, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in New York to demand more climate protection and an end to fossil fuels. Supporters from around 700 organizations and activist groups took part in Sunday’s protests. They held placards with slogans like “Biden, end fossil fuels” and “I didn’t vote for fires and floods.” US President Joe Biden is one of the leaders who will take part in the UN general debate that officially begins on Tuesday.
She was there “to call on the government to declare a climate emergency,” said Analilia Mejia, director of the activist group Center for Popular Democracy, to the AFP news agency. “We must wake up and take immediate action,” she added. The 46-year-old described recent extreme weather events in Canada, Hawaii, Greece and Libya as evidence of the “existential crisis” that climate change represents.
Another participant said she was inviting the politicians “to her home” in California to “spend the night next to an oil and gas well.”
Billions of dollars for green energy projects in the USA
California sued five of the world’s largest oil companies on Friday, accusing them of causing billions of dollars in damages and “active misinformation” about risks associated with fossil fuels.
In a historic push, Biden has allocated billions of dollars for green energy projects. But activists accuse him of not doing enough to wean the U.S. off fossil fuel dependency.
A climate summit will take place at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday at the initiative of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
