From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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While attending the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) at the UN today, Ossian Smyth, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, with special responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy, has reiterated Ireland’s support for the call for renewed impetus and accelerated actions for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This call for support was outlined in the Political Declaration of the 2023 SDG Summit last September. The declaration, negotiated by co-facilitators Ireland and Qatar, confirms countries shared commitment to end poverty and hunger everywhere, to combat inequalities within and among countries and to build peaceful societies that leave no one behind.
Progress towards the SDGs globally is significantly off-course, with only 17% of SDG targets currently on track to be achieved, and with progress hindered by the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating wars and conflicts, and the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Delivering Ireland’s National Statement to the forum, Minister Smyth has reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to the full implementation of the SDGs.
Minister Smyth also highlighted the shared responsibility for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. This will be achieved through strong leadership, Government-society partnerships, and full, equal and meaningful participation and engagement of all stakeholders, on local, regional and national levels.
Minister Smyth said:
"Given the multiple and interlocking global crises, it is imperative that we harness the momentum from last September’s SDG Summit to steer us back towards delivering the goals. Ireland fully supports the summit’s call for a renewed impetus and accelerated actions for reaching the SDGs and, to that end, the full implementation of the collective commitments reflected in the 2023 SDG Summit Political Declaration.
"The upcoming Summit of the Future in September is a chance to build upon these commitments and provides us with a crucial opportunity to reinvigorate the ambitious, global action needed to rescue the goals and deliver progress for people and the planet by 2030. We need to reinvigorate the multilateral system to allow it deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda. Ireland will continue to work with all member states and the UN system to maximise the synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Our Common Agenda, and to accelerate progress toward achieving the SDGs."
During his statement, Minister Smyth also highlighted the effect of conflict on lives and livelihoods, and the link between peace and progress on the SDGs.
He has also spoken at the Pledging Conference for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), reiterating Ireland’s commitment to safeguarding UNWRA’s critical role in the humanitarian effort in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire, unimpeded access of humanitarian aid for civilian populations, and continued support for UNWRA’s work.
During his time in New York, Minister Smith is also attending a number of special events and meetings, on the issues of food security, climate-SDGs synergy, and current trends and impacts of the SDGs. Minister Smyth will attend a number of bilateral meetings, with New York City Chief Climate Officer, Rit Aggarwala, and with representatives, from Colombia, Lao, Sierra Leone, as well as with Palau, with whom Ireland is co-chairing the Steering Committee for Small Island Developing States Partnerships in 2024 and 2025. Minister Smyth also met with Ireland’s UN Youth Delegates Mohammad Naeem and Alicia Joy O’Sullivan, who were also attending the HLPF to address the importance of engaging youth for driving lasting change globally.
The achievements and outcomes of this year’s UNHLPF will build towards the Summit of the Future in September, which aims to reinvigorate global cooperation, accelerate action on current commitments, including the SDGs, and work towards a system better prepared to safeguard the future.
Minister Smyth's National Statement is available in full on the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications website.
ENDS
In September 2015, all 193 UN Member States, including Ireland, adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ‘end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all’ as part of the new agenda – Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This framework is made up of 17 SDGs and 169 targets. Ireland had a significant role in its development and adoption, as co-facilitator, together with Kenya, of the intergovernmental negotiations in September 2015.
Agenda 2030 recognises the importance of follow-up and review at the national, regional, and global level to measure implementation progress of the SDGs. The UN High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the main United Nations platform for sustainable development and Agenda 2030, and has the central role in overseeing follow-up and review at global level.
The 2024 HLPF is taking place under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (from 8-18 July 2024) at the UN Headquarters in New York, with the central theme Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions.
The HLPF in July 2024 will be the first HLPF under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to be held after the 2023 SDG Summit. The 2024 HLPF will follow up on the Political Declaration and other outcomes of the SDG Summit. It will also contribute to the preparations for the Summit of the Future, to be held in September 2024.
Find out more on the United Nations website.
The 2023 SDG Summit took place in New York in September 2023, with the aim of reigniting progress toward the SDGs. It marked the mid-way point of the 2030 Agenda and provided an important inflection point on progress towards the SDGs. The last Summit took place in 2023, with a further one scheduled for 2027 before the end-date of the 2030 Agenda.
The key deliverable from the SDG Summit was the Political Declaration, renewing and reaffirming UN member states’ collective commitment to implement the 2030 Agenda. Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Fergal Mythen, and the Permanent Representative from Qatar co-facilitated the negotiations on the political declaration.
Summit of the Future
The Summit of the Future (SotF) will take place on 22-23 September this year, during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week 2024. The Summit is intended to advance key elements of the UN Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report in which he sets out his vision for the future of global cooperation. Whereas the SDG Summit provided an opportunity to reignite progress toward the Goals, this provides an opportunity to check in and assess whether we are delivering on our commitment to the SDGs.