2 December 2023 - As the UN climate conference, COP28, brings together some 70,000 representatives from governments, international organizations, business and civil society groups in Dubai, United Arab Emirates this month, the SDG Pavilion hosted by UN DESA is playing a key role in bringing attention to the need to achieve climate goals and the SDGs together.
Dennis Francis, President of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, speaking at the opening of the SDG Pavilion on 1 December, connected COP28 to September¡¯s SDG Summit, stating that this is the moment, halfway through the 2030 Agenda, for a course-correction to achieve both the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. He announced that as General Assembly President, he would host a sustainability week in April 2024 in New York that will include high-level events on inequality, energy, transport, infrastructure connectivity and sustainable tourism. Action requires optimism and collaboration, he concluded, noting that the SDG Pavilion is a testament to the power of the SDGs that will inspire us to keep pushing for delivery.
Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of Economic Affairs and Head of UN DESA, said that at this pivotal moment, we must harness all opportunities to promote synergistic solutions that address both climate change and the SDGs. He invited the audience to attend the 5th Global Conference on Climate and SDG Synergies in 2024. He said he was heartened that so many youth activists had come to COP and this particular event and noted that the SDG Pavilion was one venue where youth would have a voice.
Indeed, the SDG Pavilion inauguration gave three young people a place to share their ideas for improving global climate action. Asma Rouabhia, global focal point for the SDG7 Youth Constituency, spoke about a youth call to action that would not only support clean and affordable energy, but also all the other SDGs.
Prasiddhi Singh, an 11-year-old climate activist from India, said that the SDGs provide an action agenda to us all and can give us hope when we hear about so many disasters and climate change impacts. The seven years between now and the 2030 deadline for the SDGs are an ¡°opportunity¡± to achieve these goals and make a huge difference, she said. For her own part, she has chosen to focus on enabling nature-based solutions, and since she was six years old has planted more than 130,000 mangroves and other trees, mobilizing some 80,000 people across 20 countries.
Josh Oxby, a youth activist from Scotland, stated that the SDG Pavilion provides hope that we can still reach the target of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius. He said this will happen only through this kind of holistic thinking and by empowering ourselves as changemakers.
After all, climate action on the ground benefits all the SDGs, said Daniele Violetti, Senior Director for Programme Coordination at UNFCCC. He invited attendees both in-person and online, to join the movement to build on climate and SDG synergies, which has been gaining considerable support and momentum from governments and other key players during the past few years.
For more information: SDG Pavilion at COP28