1st World Summit on Leaving No One Behind

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure and privilege to join you for the First World Summit on Leaving No One Behind.

Let me first of all say thank you to Waterlex for bringing us together, to WIPO for generously hosting us and to the many sponsors for their support in making this summit possible.

“Leaving no one behind”: it’s one of the foundational pillars on which the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development rests.

The logic is simple and powerful: if the challenges are existential, global and interlinked, then we really are all in this together, and no one wins unless everyone wins.

Which means the benchmark for our success is first of all the fate of those at the bottom; those most vulnerable; those excluded or cut off from the waves of progress.

And on the question of water, it’s not just a matter of missed economic opportunities, of entrenched social injustice and poverty; on the question of water, it’s quite simply a matter of life and death.

That’s why access to water is a human right - universal, inalienable, and unconditional.

That’s why SDG 6 - ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all - is pivotal for the success of the entire 2030 Agenda and all of the other 16 goals:

̶ Take zero hunger - unimaginable without sufficient water to ensure food security.
̶ Consider health - inconceivable without safe, available and affordable sanitation.
̶ Look at economic growth - unreachable in conditions of water scarcity.

The list goes on, but the point is clear.

The importance of water is only matched by the challenge we face in managing it sustainably.

Today, 40% of the world’s people are affected by water scarcity; 80% of wastewater is discharged untreated into the environment, and more than 90% of all disasters are water-related.

More than 2 billion people lack access to safe, clean water, and more than 4.5 billion people lack adequate sanitation services.

That’s today.

By 2050 at least one in four people will live in a country where the lack of fresh water will be chronic or recurrent. And runaway climate change is only adding to the pressure.

What these numbers mean is a harsh daily reality for people in rural communities and urban slums in all regions of the world.

What these numbers mean is that we are failing in our ambition to leave no one behind.

And as with most development challenges, women and girls suffer disproportionately.

For example, women and girls in low-income countries spend some 40 billion hours a year collecting water.

That is equivalent to the annual effort of the entire workforce of a country like France.

Imagine the development gains if this time could be invested in earning a livelihood or - in the case of girls - attending school.

This hypothetical shows two things: the magnitude of the challenge; and the tremendous upside if we succeed.

And that’s why we are here today; to put us on a path that can realize this upside.

This summit does so, first of all, by raising awareness and creating momentum.

The growing water crisis should be much higher on the world’s agenda.

And there is welcome progress we can build on: We are now one year into the “International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development”, declared by the UN General Assembly.

In line with our Action Plan for the Water Decade, the UN system stands ready to help countries by promoting policy dialogue, exchanging best practices, raising awareness and forging new partnerships.

This summit is a welcome catalyst to these efforts. And I am particularly impressed by your laser-sharp focus on exploring innovative solutions.

̶ Solutions that are anchored in human rights.
̶ Solutions that focus above all on the marginalised.
̶ Solutions, in short, that are built around the 2030 Agenda - by connecting water to efforts underway across the development spectrum and by working together with local and regional governments, civil society and the private sector.
I am happy to see that beyond exploring and sharing solutions, the Summit will also provide awards to pilot some of the best ideas - helping them move directly from theory into practice.

That is exactly the kind of commitment to acceleration and impact we need.

After all, we only have 11 years left to realize the Sustainable Development Goals. That’s just 4,015 days left, or just under 3,000 working days if you insist on taking weekends off.

Clearly, now is the time to pick up the pace and start running towards 2030.

I look forward to seeing the results from the Summit and wish you every success. Thank you.