The World Not On Track To Achieve SDGs – UN Sec-Gen

Posted by Eric Ojo Europe, Featured, Latest Headlines Tuesday, August 24th, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Amina Mohammed has said that the world is currently not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mohammed made the observation on Monday during the opening ceremony of this year’s World Water Week holding in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden, under the theme, “Building Resilience Faster”.

Thirty years after it was initiated, the world’s leading water conference has been redesigned for maximum impact. Moreover participants from all over the world will spend the coming week developing and co-creating actionable solutions to help the world address challenges such as water scarcity, the climate crisis, poverty, and biodiversity loss.

There will be over 400 sessions for participants in the week-long event. The highlights include the royal award ceremonies for the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize and Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

She noted the world was way of the mark on SDGs before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, adding that it even got worse after pandemic.

“Before COVID we were off track and after COVID, even more so. But the recovery could get us back on track. There is a silver lining there. There are things that we can scale up, there are things that we can put more at the centre of the investments that we are asking for now”, she said.

Director of World Water Week at Stockholm International Water Institute, the organizer of the global event, Henrika Thomasson said they want World Water Week to be an action platform engaging all.

Similarly, the Executive Director, Torgny Holmgren noted that collaboration across borders is more important than ever, adding that in the coming decade, all sectors of society need to undergo massive transformations.

He also stressed the crucial role of water for these transformations and for reaching the climate targets and the SDGs.

In his keynote, Prof. Johan Rockström from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, described how humans are dangerously altering Earth’s life support systems.

One example, according to him, is how freshwater is impacted by the change humans are causing in climate and biodiversity.

Rockström and his team have identified freshwater as one of the nine planetary boundaries that should not be crossed.

“Freshwater must be integrated within the climate agenda. We must first meet the SDGs by 2030, but then transform towards a safer future within planetary boundaries”, he stressed.