‘Time for Course Correction Is Now’ Deputy Secretary-General Tells 2030 Agenda Event in Brazil, Highlighting Country’s Key Role in Advancing Sustainable Development

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks on the occasion of the event “Accelerating the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):  the 2030 Agenda in Brazil”, in Palácio Itamaraty, Brasília, today: 

I thank:  The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (my dear friend Mauro); The Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Márcio Macêdo; The Executive-Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, Osmar Ribeiro de Almeida Júnior; and the Secretary for International Affairs and Development of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, Renata Amaral.

I am grateful to the Government of Brazil for hosting this important conversation, which could not be more timely.

In many ways, the Sustainable Development Goals were born in Brazil.  From Rio to Rio+20, Brazil has always been a leading voice for a model of development that integrates social, economic and environmental dimensions.  A model of development that puts economic transformation at the centre.  And a new paradigm that applies to all countries — universally — focusing on financing, trade and technology transfers, going far beyond anachronistic North-South approaches.  This spirit of transformation is what the SDGs are all about.

But today, at the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we face a sobering reality.  Right now, the global community is failing people and planet.  Just 12 per cent of the 140 SDG targets (for which we have data) are on track.  Progress on more than 50 per cent of the targets is weak and insufficient. Thirty per cent have stalled or gone into reverse.  These include fundamental targets on alleviating poverty, hunger and the devastating impacts of climate change.  And there is a global blind spot on 29 targets for which we lack the data to judge progress.

These statistics are not just numbers on a page.  They have real-world consequences, being felt across the globe.  For example, hunger has increased, pulling the world back to 2005 levels.  At current rates of progress, only 30 per cent of all countries will achieve SDG 1 on poverty by 2030.

Some 3.3 billion people are living in countries burdened by crippling debt, forcing Governments with already meagre budgetary resources to spend more on debt servicing than on education or health.  Our planet is boiling, and we risk losing the fight against a changing climate, pollution and epic levels of biodiversity loss.

So many of these challenges are playing out right here in this region. The region was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many countries are still struggling to recover. Women have been hardest hit.  They make up more than half of Latin America’s informal economy, putting them in a precarious position as regional growth prospects dim.  Across the region, including here in Brazil, we’ve seen a rise in poverty and extreme poverty between 2020 and 2021.

Add to this worrying picture increased debt and low growth, the climate emergency, the impacts of the war in Ukraine, and the interconnected crises of food systems, energy, and finance.  Taken together, these challenges mean that just a quarter of SDG targets are projected to be met in 2030.

The time for course correction is now.  The actions being taken by Brazil give us hope — domestically and as it takes back its important role in the multilateral family. Brazil’s leadership will be essential as we raise our ambition on the SDGs, climate, and reforming the international financial system.

As the next chair of the Group of Twenty (G20) and of the Twenty-eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), Brazil can inspire collective global action towards the 2030 Agenda.  Action like boosting SDG investments in energy transition and renewables, climate action and justice, biodiversity and nature, sustainable food systems, digital technology, quality education, decent jobs and social protection.

Action like advocating for an SDG stimulus to provide immediate relief, reforming multilateral development banks and international financial institutions, and ensuring that developing countries have a strong voice at the decision-making table.  And action like increased South-South and triangular cooperation to achieve the SDGs — which Brazil has prioritized in recent years.

The SDG Summit this September will be the central stage for the world to come together around the decisions necessary to put the world back on track to a fair, inclusive, and sustainable future for all.  The Secretary-General is urging leaders to come to the United Nations General Assembly and the SDG Summit in September ready to contribute to a Rescue Plan for People and Planet. 

This means arriving with concrete national commitments and action plans to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.  Brazil will be the first country to take the floor — as it has done since the United Nations creation.  President Lula will have the world’s attention.  His voice can help inspire the world, and the examples from Brazil can show that achieving the SDGs is possible, if we raise ambition and summon the political will to do so. 

We encourage Brazil to be as concrete as possible on what it has implemented domestically, the challenges it faces, and experiences it can share with others.  I am grateful for the opportunity today to hear first-hand some of these insights.

Brazil is known around the world for its football — so you know better than any country that games are won in the second half.  I am convinced that this is also the case for the SDGs.  As we enter the second half, we see Brazil as a fundamental player (“um craque”) to help take us to a victory for people and planet.  I look forward to a frank and open conversation today.