Overview
2023 marks the midpoint of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With development gains being reversed by multiple global crises, including conflicts, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, urgent action is needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Photo: OCHA/Vincent Tremeau
UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5)
The world’s 46 least developed countries are in a race against time to deliver the SDGs by 2030. World leaders, businesses, civil society, young people and other partners will gather in Doha, Qatar from 5 to 9 March for The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), a once-in-a-decade opportunity to accelerate sustainable development in the most vulnerable countries.
LDC5
Photo: Riccardo Niels Mayer/Adobe Stock
UN 2023 Water Conference
Humanity’s demand for water is growing. Pressure on water resources is increasing due to overuse, pollution and climate change. The UN 2023 Water Conference – the most important event on water in a generation – seeks to raise awareness of the global water crisis, exchange game-changing ideas, and spur global action towards achieving the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets.
PHOTO:Think4photop/ Adobe Stock
Midterm Review of Sendai Framework
The world is experiencing a growing number of disasters, many compounded by climate change, putting millions of lives and every social and economic gain in danger. The High-Level Meeting on the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 will gather leaders and decision makers under the theme “Working Together to Reduce Risk for a Resilient Future” on 18 to 19 May 2023 at the UN Headquarters in New York, and adopt a political declaration to accelerate implementation of the Sendai Framework.
Photo: Caner/Adobe Stock
High-level Political Forum (HLPF)
The High-level Political Forum is the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs at the global level. The Forum, to be held from 10 to 19 July 2023 under the theme “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”, will take a deep dive on Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation), Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy), Goal 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), Goal 11 (sustainable cities), and Goal 17 (partnerships).
Photo:Supavadee/Adobe Stock
UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment
The number of people unable to afford a healthy diet increased by an additional 112 million between 2019 to 2020, to almost 3.1 billion, reflecting the impacts of rising consumer food prices during the pandemic. The UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment, taking place in Rome, Italy from 24 to 26 July 2023, will serve as the first global follow-up to the 2021 Food Systems Summit and highlight the central role of food systems transformations in overall SDG advancement, ahead of the SDG Summit in September. It will also provide a conducive space for countries to share stories of success and early signs of transformation.
Food Systems
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
UN General Assembly High-level Week
The curtain rises on the busiest diplomatic season of the year at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly opens on 5 September. During the high-level week, world leaders will convene for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, the Climate Ambitions Summit and the General Debate, among other key events.
UNGA HL Week
Photo: NASA
UN Climate Change Conference (COP28)
The 28th annual Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates, will seek to deliver ambitious outcomes to keep global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, increase climate finance for developing countries, and urgently scale up investments in climate adaptation as needs continue to grow amid the worsening climate crisis.