Watch the announcement of the Statement of Action at the Daily Press Briefing here.
COVID-19 has sent the global economy into a tailspin. A global recession is now all but certain, as the global economy is set to contract significantly this year. Vulnerabilities caused by inequality, unsustainable debt and climate change are being amplified by the pandemic. Global poverty is set to rise for the first time since 1990. Our efforts towards implementing the 2030 Agenda are at risk of being reversed.
These extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. The UN Secretary-General has issued a strong call to action on a number of extraordinary measures to address the unprecedented crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to recover from this crisis must be aligned with the 2030 Agenda and need to go beyond approaches of the past. The response to the pandemic also needs to act as a wake-up call on climate change, which is another existential threat to livelihoods around the world.
To address these challenges, the UN Secretary-General is convening GISD leaders, with the following objectives: (1) Identify the risks and opportunities posed by COVID-19 for the SDGs; (2) Develop solutions to align the response and recovery with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; (3) Rethink business models and reshape the partnership between the public and private sector for the achievement of the SDGs; and (4) Advance actions by the GISD Alliance to scale up finance and investment for sustainable development in the post COVID-19 world.
Photo by Dylan Ferreira on Unsplash.