In his yearly exhortation, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres laid out the consequences for our world if nations fail to measure up to the lofty goals they set for self-improvement by 2030.
"Our failure to secure peace, to confront climate change, and to boost international finance is undermining development," he told reporters.
The United Nations' annual self-reporting on the world's progress towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, unanimously adopted by the General Assembly in 2015 shows just 83% are on track, a slight improvement from last year's 85%.
"We must accelerate action for the Sustainable Development Goals – and we don’t have a moment to lose. Only 17% of the SDG targets are on track," Guterres said, adding the report shows some glimmers of hope.
There were some bright spots: Global unemployment dipped to a historic low of 5% in 2023. Mobile broadband accessibility for 3G and higher rose to 95% of the world's population, up from 78% in 2015, and renewable energy expanded at a rate of 8.% annually over the past five years.
"We must not let up on our promise to end poverty, protect the planet and leave no one behind," said Guterres. Some 48% of the goals are seeing marginal or moderate progress. Another 35% are either stagnating or regressing.
What stands in the way
Aside from the obvious setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report points to the climate crisis and rising geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
Nearly 120 million people were forcibly displaced as of May. Last year marked a 72% surge in the number of civilian deaths in armed conflict.
Another 23 million people were pushed into extreme poverty and 100 million more people suffered from hunger in 2022 – a year when food prices hit almost 60% of all countries – than they did in 2019.
"At the same time, the year 2024 marks a crossroads," the report says. "One path, the wrong path, leads to deepening ecological crises, increasing climate-driven disasters, widening inequalities, spreading conflicts, and even more dangerous new AI-enabled technologies for war, fake news, and state surveillance; while the other path leads to sustainability, the end of poverty, global peace, and the harnessing of digital technologies for human progress for all."
The report pitches Guterres' planned Summit of the Future in September as "a timely and urgent opportunity to choose the path of peace and sustainable development." Before that the U.N.'s High-Level Political Forum will take up the report at U.N. headquarters in July.
It recommends the world reverse course by increasing financing for developing countries to US$4 trillion per year, resolving conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, and investing more in food production, clean energy, social protection, and digital connectivity.
