H. E. Mr. Csaba Kór?si, President of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Honorable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Colleagues,
On behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres, I am pleased to welcome you to the 4th Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.
I would like to thank UNFCCC for co-convening this important event together with my own department, UN DESA.
I would also like to welcome and express my sincere appreciation to the representatives of Denmark and Japan who are present today as the previous conference hosts.
Excellencies,
The adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement in 2015 established a firm foundation for the coherent implementation of climate action and sustainable development objectives at all levels.
Yet, halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda, we are leaving more than half the world behind.
A mere 15 percent of assessable SDG targets are on track.
The climate crisis is worsening as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.
Catastrophic and intensifying heat waves, droughts, flooding and wildfires have become far too frequent, with widespread impacts on development efforts.
Maximizing the synergies between climate action and the SDGs has never been more critical.
As the Secretary-General has said “climate action is the biggest opportunity in the 21st century to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Excellencies,
Last year’s Global Synergy Conference in Tokyo presented a set of concrete recommendations on the way forward to enhance climate action and SDG Synergies.
Let me highlight progress made since last year’s conference:
First, an Expert Group on Climate and SDG Synergies has been launched to deepen the evidence-base on this important topic.
The Group, composed of 14 experts from diverse geographical and technical backgrounds, will be delivering the 1st Global Report on Climate and SDG Synergies, in September.
Second, political momentum is building for strengthening synergetic action.
I welcome the recent G7 and G20 recognition of the importance of synergies and look forward to strengthening cooperation.
Third, multi-stakeholder dialogues and engagements are increasing.
Today’s event brings together 70 speakers and over 1000 registered participants.
We plan to expand our regional-level engagement and will convene dialogues on climate and SDG synergies via the upcoming UNFCCC Regional Climate Weeks.
Distinguished participants,
In the seven years towards 2030, we must keep the goal of 1.5 degrees alive, and deliver a Rescue Plan for People and Planet to get the SDGs on track.
An integrated approach that seeks to strengthen synergies between these two global agendas is critical to that end.
First, we must renew our commitment to accelerated, sustained and transformative action to deliver on the promise of the SDGs.
The SDG Summit this September will be an opportunity to turbo-charge that shift through bold commitments and targeted action to deliver breakthroughs that the world needs at both national and international levels.
Second, the 1st Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement will be crucial.
The Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit in September provides an important opportunity to create momentum towards the COP28.
I invite you all to join us at the SDG Pavilion at COP28 to showcase concrete examples of progress on the synergistic implementation of climate action and the SDGs.
Third, we will strengthen our efforts on evidence-building and deeper analysis of climate and SDG Synergies.
The 1st Global Report of Climate and SDG Synergies will form the basis for a more comprehensive assessment of synergies and trade-offs in future years.
Excellencies,
The time to act is now. We must urgently scale up action.
We invite all stakeholders to join us to advance this agenda and ensure a truly joined-up approach to implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
Thank you.