Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Please allow me to begin by thanking the International Chamber of Commerce and the 51³Ô¹Ï Global Compact for another successful SDG Business Forum. I am particularly pleased to note the continued close collaboration with my Department, UN DESA on the arrangements for the Forum.
The 7th SDG Business Forum is taking place at a particularly challenging time for the international community, amidst the cascading crises of war, pandemic, climate, debt, and unrest.
Over just a few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of hard-earned development gains.
Prices of food, fertilizer and energy are skyrocketing, triggering a cost-of-living crisis across the globe, and further shrinking the fiscal space in developing countries.
Despite these headwinds, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains our best shared guidepost to overcome the current challenges and build a better world.
To achieve the necessary transformations at the scale and speed needed, the scientific community has identified six central areas for action.
These include
1) advancing human-wellbeing,
2) creating economies that work for everyone,
3) improving how we produce and consume food,
4) expanding energy access and decarbonization,
5) promoting sustainable cities, and
6) safeguarding our environmental global commons.
Today¡¯s SDG Business Forum will focus on a number of these areas, and on the crucial role that the private sector can play.
As the engine that drives much of the world¡¯s economic activity, you will be critical partners in efforts to transform the way we live, work, travel, interact, consume and produce.
I hope this Forum will identify and seize opportunities for game-changing commitments, bold leadership, and practical steps for turning away from business-as-usual.
As we continue to navigate the current challenges, the global community is already looking ahead to several landmark events that will take place next year.
These include
? the UN 2023 Water Conference in March, which is the first time in more than 40 years that the 51³Ô¹Ï will be addressing this critical topic; and
? the next SDG Summit in September 2023, which will be a crucial stock-taking moment and an opportunity to re-energize our collective efforts.
It will be important to have the private sector perspective in these and other critical moments for global action and I encourage you to take active part.
We cannot make the SDGs a reality without active engagement from the private sector.
We count on your continued efforts to protect the global environmental commons, including through assessing and addressing the full impacts of your business operations on people and planet, throughout the value chain.
We call on you to help foster a just and inclusive economy that invests in human well-being and capabilities, that provides decent jobs and opportunities for all and eliminates all forms of discrimination and exclusions.
We count on your continued leadership to drive technology and innovation, which will lead us to better solutions to tackle the various global challenges of our times.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let us use today¡¯s SDG Business Forum to learn from each other¡¯s successes and failures.
Let us use this opportunity to share our ideas and innovations and foster new connections and partnerships.
Let us join forces to build a more inclusive, sustainable and greener world, for current and future generations.
I wish you fruitful discussion.
Thank you.