In 2015, the United Nations set itself a noteworthy task: to achieve by the year 2030, 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”.
This year marks the halfway point of the deadline, but only about 12 percent of targets are on track. Over half are showing progress but are off track, while 30 percent have not moved the needle at all, or worse, have regressed.
“Today, the world is facing an array of complex and interlinked challenges,” said United States Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, Jonathan Shrier.
“These compounding crises – and their impact on countries’ ability to make critical investments in health, education, and other core development priorities – represent serious obstacles to achieving the SDGs.”
The United States is committed to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. “We believe economic development is transformative for all countries – including the United States,” said Ambassador Shrier.
“We are investing toward progress across all 17 SDGs including water, energy, climate, sustainable cities … Over each of the last two years, the United States has provided over $50 billion in total official development assistance and leveraged billions more in private finance for development projects.”
“The United States emphasizes the principles and best practices that underlie durable progress and impact, including transparency and accountability; high environmental, social, and labor standards; inclusion; respect for human rights; and local partnerships supported by foreign assistance and sound, sustainable financing,” said Ambassador Shrier.
“We know that achieving gender equality is foundational to the 2030 Agenda and a key accelerator to achieving all 17 SDGs. We cannot advance development without women and girls and their leadership, their full, equal, and meaningful participation, and the full realization of their human rights.”
“The bottom line is this: we can meet even these most daunting global challenges if we translate our commitment to the SDGs into meaningful action at all levels and do so with the urgency and ambition that this moment calls for,” said Ambassador Shrier. “We are strongest together – and when we mobilize the power of collective action to tackle shared goals.”
