Human rights
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation are established human rights. Yet, halfway through the Water Action Decade, billions of people are still denied them. This year, nations have pledged to drive transformation to a water-secure world, and must now urgently act on their promises
For the developed world, increasingly there appears to be only one existential crisis in town: climate change. Achieving the broader agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demands deep reform of the international financial system and urgent recalibration of political will
Economic development
The world’s poorest countries have most to gain from tech like AI that can rapidly accelerate SDG action, but are often the least able to utilize such innovations. We need a global, cooperative effort to ensure that the technical tools and skills that humankind has developed are available to all
Financing
In the words of the UN Secretary-General, developing countries have limited access to the financial resources they need to address the dramatic challenges they face and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global financial architecture, created for a very different world eight decades ago, needs urgent reform to make it fit for purpose
Global governance
The Global Goals represent a quest to achieve human rights for all. In the face of democratic backsliding and a global trend to restrict free speech, we must ensure that civil society remains an active force for their progress
Business
As the pace of societal change accelerates, many jobs considered essential today will become obsolete tomorrow. Creating resilience and adaptability, particularly among the world’s most vulnerable workers, is essential and requires a global, whole-of-society policy effort and investment
Rapid urbanization is placing unprecedented strain on the life-critical resources of water, energy, and food. We need rapid take-up of coordinated (or “nexus”) approaches to urban development and resource management if we’re to make sustainable cities a reality
Cyberspace
In this digital age, over two billion people worldwide still lack internet access. With progress on the SDGs way off course, we must ramp up access to, and application of, digital technologies – including AI – to get Agenda 2030 back on track
At current progress rates, 1.6 billion people will lack safely managed drinking water by 2030. Ramping up financial and political investment in access to water, sanitation, and hygiene, particularly in the world’s poorest countries and in the face of climate change, is now essential for achieving the SDGs
Each year, trillions of dollars are poured into harmful fossil fuel subsidies or tax breaks that undermine our progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Shifting these funds to fuel the clean energy transition would accelerate access to basic energy services, improve public health, and put the world on a safer climate trajectory
