Global Sustainability Forum: "The SDGs, Sustainability and Innovation"

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

On 24 December 1968, the first manned mission to the moon – Apollo 8 – entered into lunar orbit. Peering from the small windows of its command module, its three-man crew became the first human beings to see the Earth from a radically new perspective. They sent back images of an “earthrise”: a small, partially-obscured sphere of blue and white set in infinite darkness. The impact of those images is still felt today. What had previously seemed boundless was thereafter set firmly within bounds. Confined and fragile, our small planet had witnessed the entire human story and – as far as we know– that of all of life in the universe. Could it continue to do so in the future? The change in public consciousness that followed helped pave the way for the modern environmental movement, culminating in the first Earth Day celebrations less than 18 months later.

Today, the need for action to ensure the sustainable development of our planet has only grown more urgent. It is for this reason that I am particularly honoured to have the opportunity to speak to you today at the Global Sustainability Forum. I would like to take this occasion to thank the Forum, its partners and collaborators for making this event possible particularly professor Fitoussi, my old friend and colleague Khaled Malik and Valerio De Lucas for their gracious hospitality.

I’m especially happy be here because the sessions of yesterday and today have already proven to be very useful – linking the global to the local and the operational to the intellectual – imperative elements in order to ensure the sustainability that we are collectively striving for.

If today’s estimates hold, the global population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050 and will require the equivalent of almost three planets to sustain current lifestyles. Population growth and consumption patterns, however, are only two of the mega trends that are outpacing our ability to respond with existing solutions. Climate change, natural disasters, rapid urbanization and environmental degradation are compounding the struggle for limited resources and services. In this environment, while some prosper economically, too many are left behind. This divide contributes to the trust deficit in our institutions at all levels and to fuel the sharp inequalities now found both between and within countries. According to recent figures, the eight richest people in the world have more wealth than the 3.6 billion poorest – half of the world population. Clearly an unsustainable situation.

General uncertainty about the future, coupled with a sense that current policies have failed, has fuelled the rise of nationalists, populists and protectionists, who thrive on public mistrust of political and business elites. Their efforts benefit from the failure of existing institutions to keep up with the technological revolution we are now living in. At every level of governance – local, national and international – we are confronting the major challenges of the 21st century with the institutions, methods and approaches of the early 20th century. To face these challenges it is abundantly clear that we cannot continue with business as usual.

So what should be our response? The instinct of some is to blame the problems of today on globalization and multilateralism; to seek salvation in the narrow pursuit of national interests. Their solution is to build walls, impose trade barriers and abandon treaty obligations. Isolationism, however, is simply destined to fail. It cannot respond to problems that are global in nature. No state, no entity, can tackle today’s challenges alone because every issue is interlinked and has an international dimension. Carbon emissions know no boundaries, distant conflict lead to refugee flows and weak healthcare systems can lead to pandemics. Our global civilization can only survive and thrive if we learn to re-invent our governance structures and practices, if we place collaboration at the centre of our actions – in other words, if we manage to re-establish a strong rules-based, international solidarity.

Recognizing these realities, Member States came together in 2015 to forge four transformative agreements: the Sendai Framework for Action on Disaster Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action on Financing for Development, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, the most ambitious climate action treaty to date. Together, these agreements are shaping our collective responses to the challenges of our time. At the heart of this effort are the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Let me emphasize how truly transformational they are. First, the 2030 Agenda breaks with decades of bureaucratic precedent by cutting right across the three pillars of the United Nations: Peace and Security, Sustainable Development and Human Rights and Justice.

Second, the 2030 Agenda incorporates a universal and shared vision by the United Nations, its partners, all Member States and civil society and private sector actors. Climate change is strongly ensconced in the Agenda because it is a transformational force that will impact all 17 SDGs. Gender parity, plays an important, cross-cutting role in the Agenda, as we increasingly recognize that sustainable development is only possible if we unleash the potential of all of humanity. The Agenda is also premised on the realization that humanitarian and development work are two sides of the same coin. The World Bank, and their humanitarian counterparts, such as UNICEF and OCHA, for example, are increasingly collaborating in States like Yemen and Somalia, trying to avert imminent disaster while sowing the seeds for future recovery. The 2030 Agenda recognizing that our youth represent half the world’s population and will inherit our planet and it’s problems, is clear that we cannot achieve sustainable development without their involvement and leadership.

Third, the 2030 Agenda is not an imposed top-down development plan. It was forged by Member States with the massive engagement of civil society. And, ultimately, its success will depend on the extent to which States and their people adopt the SDGs as their own. Nothing will happen unless national parliaments incorporate this agenda into their legislation, transforming aspirations made at the global level into concrete laws and regulations. Over 60 States are already walking down this path. This effort depends on national governments working closely with local officials, civil society, faith groups, academia, businesses and others. It also depends on the activism and robust oversight on the part of parliamentarians, journalists, and individual citizens who must promote change, monitor progress, and hold governments to account.

The United Nations System has an important support role to play in helping Member States to reach the SDGs. We are moving away from implementing small, time-bound and focused projects to serving as a convenor, facilitator, catalyst, broker and activator. In other words: we are keen to leverage the unparalleled expertise and know-how of the United Nations and its partners to support governments, the private sector, NGOs and others in their efforts, as well as to forge new partnerships and the exchange of lessons learned and best practices that demonstrate impact. Fulfilling this mandate, however, depends on the ability of the United Nations System to reimagine the way it thinks, works, reports, and collaborates. This is no easy feat, but our new Secretary-General has injected new energy into this effort by pushing for reforms and new partnerships. The private sector, for one, is increasingly a partner as more and more businesses recognize that sustainability has a direct impact on their performance. A changing climate, for example, threatens the future revenues of agro-businesses. Investors, meanwhile, are increasingly aware that capitalising on the SDGs makes financial sense. It offers solid returns and is popular with environmentally- and socially-conscious millennials, the investors of tomorrow.

As the United Nations and its partners work to support Member States in the implementation, Geneva has emerged as the global operational hub on SDGs. This status is the product of the close cohabitation in the Greater Lake Geneva region of about 100 international organizations, more than 400 NGOs, a vibrant private sector, world class academic institutions and representatives of 175 Member States. As is the case in "Silicon Valley" with respect to advanced technologies, this unique concentration of human capital and institutional know-how creates a conducive space for reflection, innovation, and collaboration. Geneva is about more than policymaking, it is a place where bridges are built and lasting partnerships formed. This is why the Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI), for example, a ground-breaking public-private partnership on immunization, was set up in Geneva. It is also why entities based elsewhere, like the Food and Agriculture Organization here in Rome, maintain an active presence in Geneva, where it can bring its unique expertise on food safety to bear, forge partnerships on humanitarian relief, health, migration and so many other issues.

The recently launched SDG Lab, in my Office, is an innovative initiative to leverage the multi-sectoral expertise found in Geneva and beyond by creating additional opportunities for cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration and partnerships, connecting partners to address operational challenges, amplifying practices that demonstrate impact at country level and encouraging innovation, both at policy and at operational levels.

Unleashing Geneva’s potential also requires that we rethink our approach to institutional knowledge: not as something to be hoarded, but as something to be shared globally. The United Nations Library and knowledge hub at Geneva has lived up to this challenge by unveiling its Sustainable Development Research Guide. This ground-breaking platform mobilizes the unprecedented amount of knowledge accumulated by the United Nations System over more than 70 years in an online format and classified by SDG. Readily accessible to those working on the frontlines of SDG implementation, this research guide is the first of its kind and is already inspiring the International Federation of Library Associations to follow suit. In addition we have created a portal called GVAData.ch which contains the date of over 100 organizations, all of it divided it up by 17 SDGs goals.

The 2030 Agenda is an enormous undertaking. Its 17 SDGs and 169 targets are wide-ranging and ambitious as is befitting our first truly collective Road map for the future of our planet. Implementing the Agenda will be challenging, but it is vital that we tackle it together. First, we have to get the word out. The Agenda will only succeed if enough people take action. The United Nations aims to have at least two billion people made aware of the SDGs by the end of this year. Second, we all have to think, work and invest horizontally across sectors. Achieving the SDGs will require us all to forge partnerships outside our own organizations, finding ways to collaborate and exchange ideas at local, national, regional and international levels. We have to overcome silos both within governmental and global structures. Third, we cannot forget that the SDGs are universal. They are as relevant to Switzerland as to Swaziland and progress across the board requires progress in each and every country. Finally, we cannot leave anyone behind. We have to address the challenges facing the bottom one percent, those struggling in refugee camps or on migrant boats, those left unseen and unheard.

All of this makes the point that innovation is essential if we want to achieve sustainability of our actions and ensure lasting impact of the 2030 agenda. We have to change mentally, existentially and structurally and we have to change our narrative in order to adapt to external innovation, particularly in technology, and translate them into impactful action.

Sustainable development is the challenge of this century. All of us – as leaders, citizens, activists and consumers – have a vital role to play in how our collective story will unfold in the years to come. We owe it to future generations to do everything we can to preserve this small, fragile planet and its people.

Thank you.