UN Chief Urges Urgent Action as Global Crises Threaten Sustainable Development Goals
Photo: EFE
July 22, 2025 Hour: 2:51 pm
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning Monday at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), declaring that the world is facing a “global development emergency” and must act with “urgency and ambition” to rescue the 2030 Agenda.
Speaking to ministers and delegates from UN member states, Guterres emphasized that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not aspirational ideals but a concrete plan to uphold promises to the world’s most vulnerable. “They are a plan to keep our promises to each other and to future generations,” he said.
According to the newly released Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, only 35% of SDG targets are currently on track. Nearly half are progressing too slowly, and 18% have regressed, falling below 2015 baseline levels.
Guterres cited a range of global challenges undermining progress:
- A slowing global economy
- Rising trade tensions and inequalities
- Shrinking aid budgets amid soaring military spending
- Deepening mistrust and geopolitical divisions
“These forces are placing the international problem-solving system under unprecedented strain,” he warned.
Despite the grim outlook, Guterres pointed to recent breakthroughs as signs of hope:
- The Pandemic Agreement adopted at the World Health Assembly in May
- Commitments to expand marine protected areas from the UN Ocean Conference in June
“These are not isolated wins,” he said. “They are signs of momentum.”
The HLPF, held annually under the auspices of ECOSOC, is the UN’s central platform for reviewing progress on the 17 SDGs, which were adopted in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and reduce inequality by 2030.
Author: OSG
Source: EFE-Africanews