If we don’t act now, we won’t achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

The UN Deputy Secretary General said Wednesday that, according to current projections, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean will only achieve a quarter of the goals of the 2030 AgendaFor this reason, he called for promoting cooperation and accelerating plans to comply with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Amina Mohammed participated in the Sixth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Developmentheld in Santiago, Chile.

In this forum, which brings together representatives of the 33 countries of the region with the purpose of promoting bold and transformative actions, Mohammed warned that halfway towards 2030, the year set for the achievement of the Goals, the world is still a long way from the goal.

He explained that the Latin American economies face a low growth and deepening vulnerabilities to climate changein a post-COVID context, where the cost of food and other basic inputs increase food insecurity, poor nutrition and inequality.

The senior official added that the region struggles with a growing series of obstacles to its development, among which she cited the burden of a debt in many cases unsustainableas well as weather-related catastrophes and natural disasters.

Ambitious policies are needed

“Unless we act now, all of these factors could put the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals out of reach. Ambitious policies are urgently needed, with course corrections, to reinforce positive trends and reverse negative ones”, he emphasized.

Mohammed recognized, however, that the commitment of Latin American countries to the 2030 Agenda remains firm and is part of the national development plans.

care society

He affirmed that many local initiatives are an example of transformation and change of focus of the whole societyas is the case of the care society and the prioritization of gender equality.

In this regard, he highlighted the adoption last year of the Buenos Aires Commitment, which calls for the fair social organization of care.

“This Commitment is an ambitious and complete roadmap that aims to move towards a ‘care society’, which recognizes the interdependence between people, as well as between production processes and society: a society that puts the sustainability of life and the planet at the center”, he detailed.

persistent gaps

However, he stressed, gaps persist between high and low income groupsand rural areas are still far behind.

Mohammed recalled that the region is rich in resources for the transition to green energy and related industries, including critical minerals, green hydrogen, storage technologies, and electromobility.

pivotal year

To achieve this transition, like other points of the 2030 Agenda, regional integration and cooperation is vital, he stressed and asserted that this year will mark the future of that plan.

“World leaders will have to make a decision: fulfill their commitment to a better future or leave it by the wayside”, he said, asking the Latin American and Caribbean countries to promote collaborative action aimed at lasting and inclusive peace and development.

“Let’s mobilize a new collective will to drive a sustainable and prosperous future for all”, concluded Mohammed.

75% of the goals will not be met

In the same vein, the executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) -organizer and headquarters of the Forum-, warned that 75% of the goals of the 2030 Agenda are at risk of non-compliance if decisive measures are not taken to recover the correct path.

“This situation urgently calls on the countries of the region to strengthen commitment to the SDGs. Bold, innovative, inspiring and, especially, transformative actions are required; otherwise, we will be going through a new lost decade”, pointed out José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.

The head of ECLAC considered that public strategies, policies and programs should be strengthened, accompanied by initiatives and alliances with the private sector, civil society and international cooperation to reposition the region on the path towards achieving the Goals by 2030.