Second SDG Moment to review progress in 2030 Agenda

The second Sustainable Development Goals Moment of the Decade of Action will take place as a virtual, day-long event Monday prior to the opening of the 76th UN General Assembly's general debate. It aims to provide a snapshot of progress, highlight actions that show change is possible, and advance the transformations needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

United Nations: The second Sustainable Development Goals Moment (SDG Moment) of the Decade of Action will take place as a virtual, day-long event Monday prior to the opening of the 76th UN General Assembly's general debate.

The annual SDG Moment was created by the political declaration adopted at the first SDG Summit in 2019, which mandated the Secretary-General to convene the event as part of every high-level week of the UNGA from 2020 to 2030. The first SDG Moment was a virtual half-day event in September 2020 and brought together 21 heads of state and government.

The UN Secretary-General had then called on all sectors of society to mobilise for a decade of action on three levels: global action to secure greater leadership, more resources and smarter solutions for the SDGs; local action embedding the needed transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks of governments, cities and local authorities; and people action, including by youth, civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, academia and other stakeholders, to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for the required transformations.

The SDGs are a blueprint for fighting poverty and hunger, confronting the climate crisis, achieving gender equality and much more, within the next 10 years. At a time of great uncertainty, the SDGs show the way forward to a strong recovery from COVID-19 and a better future for all on a safe and healthy planet.

The Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on all 17 SDGs has shown that what began as a health crisis has quickly become a human and socio-economic crisis. While the crisis is imperiling progress towards the SDGs, it also makes their achievement all the more urgent and necessary. It is essential that recent gains are protected as much as possible. A transformative recovery from Covid-19 should be pursued, one that addresses the crisis, reduces risks from future potential crises and relaunched the implementation efforts to deliver the 2030 Agenda and SDGs during the Decade of Action.

As the world is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic and major challenges to progress across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the SDG Moment will seek to reinforce the continued relevance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and build momentum in advance of major summits and intergovernmental meetings; highlight urgent actions needed to ensure Covid-19 response and recovery efforts are equitable, inclusive and accelerate the transition to sustainable development; and demonstrate that transformative change at scale is possible between now and 2030.

The UN Food Systems Summit will take place during the UN General Assembly session September 23. It will seek to set the stage for global food systems transformation to achieve the SDGs by 2030. The UN Secretary-General will convene the Food Systems Summit with the aim of maximising the co-benefits of a food systems approach across the entire 2030 Agenda and meeting the challenges of climate change. The Summit aims to provide a platform for ambitious new actions, innovative solutions, and plans to transform food systems and leverage these shifts to deliver progress across all of the SDGs.

It is envisioned that the Summit will have objectives and outcomes including to raise awareness of food systems' centrality to the entire sustainable development agenda, and the urgency of transforming food systems, particularly in the wake of a global pandemic; align stakeholders around a common understanding and narrative of a food system framework as a foundation for concerted action, making food and food systems a more widespread issue for advocacy and action to achieve the 2030 Agenda; recognise the need for inclusivity and innovation in food systems governance and action; motivate and empower stakeholders who support food systems transformation through the development of improved tools, measurement, and analysis; and catalyze, accelerate, and enlarge bold action for the transformation of food systems by all communities, including countries, cities, companies, civil society, citizens, and food producers.

Under the theme ‘Building Resilience through Hope’, and against the background of the Covid pandemic and global insecurity, the General Assembly’s opening will underscore the need for greater urgency and ambition to end the pandemic and ensure an equitable and green recovery and accelerated implementation of the SDGs.

Apart from the UN Food Systems Summit, September 23 will also see the UN Security Council Debate on Climate and Security. Climate change and climate-related disasters can exacerbate risks that lead to conflict and insecurity. The Security Council Debate provides the opportunity to explore this pressing topic.

On September 24, a High-Level Energy Dialogue will held aiming to advance action on SDG 7 and toward net-zero emissions and universal access to energy. The target of SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

To highlight the ecosystem-wide solutions, plans, and investments needed to impact people’s lives and the future of our planet, an SDG Action Zone will run from September 22 to 24.

In June this year, the Sustainable Development Report 2021 was released. The report assesses each country based on its performance against all 17 SDGs. It ranked India at 120th out of 165 countries with a country score of 60.1. Finland topped the rankings with a score of 85.90 followed by Sweden with 85.61 and Denmark with 84.86, Germany at 82.48, and Belgium with 82.19.

While the pandemic is a setback for sustainable development, the SDGs along with the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement provide the right compass for “building forward better”. Before the pandemic hit, significant progress had been achieved on the SDGs in many regions and on many goals – especially in East and South Asia, which has progressed more on the SDG Index than any other region since the goals’ adoption in 2015. At the national level, Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire and Afghanistan have improved most on the SDG Index since 2015.

Though Finland, Sweden and Denmark topped this year’s SDG Index, still these countries face major challenges in achieving several SDGs. The 2021 International Spillover Index included in this report underlines how rich countries can generate negative socioeconomic and environmental spillovers, including through unsustainable trade and supply chains. Tax havens and profit shifting in many rich countries undermine other countries’ ability to mobilise needed financial resources to achieve the SDGs. Various types of global tax reforms could significantly increase government revenue in developing countries.

The SDGs can only be achieved if they enjoy societal legitimacy. This requires transparency and accountability of political processes and the engagement of the public in participatory decision making. But while many countries have launched stakeholder engagement processes, these are often limited in duration and focused on specific objectives and deliverables.

The annual SDG Moment aims to provide a snapshot of progress, highlight actions that show change is possible, and advance the transformations needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda.