The UN building in New York (picture alliance/ASSOCIATED PRESS /Yasushi Kaneko)
In 2015, the world’s states set central intentions for global development with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Hunger and extreme poverty should be ended by 2030. But the corona pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a debt crisis in poor countries have set the goals back extremely: If things continue as before, according to the United Nations, there will still be 575 million people in severe poverty in 2030 and more than 600 million live in hunger.
Chancellor Scholz (SPD) will also speak at the sustainability summit. Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock, Federal Environment Minister Lemke (both Greens) and Federal Development Minister Schulze (SPD) are also expected in New York.
Schulze explained that it was high time to catch up on the path to the sustainability goals. She will campaign for a reform of the World Bank at the UN summit so that it has more scope for cheap loans. Lemke said there is no time to waste on the “three planetary crises of our time”: species extinction, climate crisis and increasing pollution. The church aid organizations Misereor and Bread for the World also called for more efforts to achieve the UN development goals. In this context, they criticized the cuts to development cooperation in the federal budget for 2024.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyj speaks at the UN general debate
The second day of the Sustainability Summit coincides with the opening session of the 78th UN General Assembly. Representatives of the 193 member states will give speeches there. As was the case last year, the central topic is likely to be the war in Ukraine.
This time, Ukrainian President Zelenskyj is traveling to New York in person. Last year he was connected via video. He is likely to use his speech to call on the international community to provide further help for his country. Given the difficulties in the counteroffensive against Russia, the president must worry about how long Western states will continue to support him with large-scale arms deliveries. Many countries in the global south, which were affected by the effects of the war, are also pushing for a compromise solution.
An open meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday will also deal with the Ukraine war, at which Chancellor Scholz also wants to speak.
Climate summit follows on Wednesday
The fight against global warming will be the topic of a climate summit on Wednesday, to which UN Secretary General Guterres has invited. Before the UN week, the Portuguese sent warning words to the heads of state and government who are expected in New York. They will come together at a time when humanity is facing enormous challenges, said Guterres. He cited the “worsening climate emergency, escalating conflicts, the global cost of living crisis and rapidly growing inequalities to dramatic technological disruptions.”
This message was sent on September 18, 2023 on the Deutschlandfunk program.
2023-09-17 19:05:00
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