78th General Assembly. Dan Jørgensen the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation called for urgent and massive transformational action to get the SDGs back on track and fast-track the green transition.
The minister, who spoke on behalf of Denmark in the General Debate of world leaders at the UN, expressed his deep worries on the slow progress in achieving the SDGs and Agenda 2030 -also called the Global Goals for sustainable development.
He pointed out that for more than 40 years, Denmark has met the UN target of providing at least 0.7 per cent of GNI for development assistance.
„But even if we all lived up to the 0.7 UN target, it would only cover 10% of the financing gap. It’s simply not enough. We need to find new, innovative ways to finance the 2030 Agenda and realization of the Paris Agreement goals.“
Støre leaves before speaking, meets SG
Norway´s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, was scheduled to speak in the General Debate but due to time constraints had to leave New York before it was his turn in the podium.
However, he met with António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General. They discussed the war in Ukraine and its regional and global impact. They also exchanged views on preparations ahead of COP28 as well as Norway’s climate pledges. The Secretary-General also welcomed Norway’s mediation efforts.
Today, 22 September, Tobias Billström the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden speaks in the afternoon session (evening Stockholm time). His Icelandic counterpart Thórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir is scheduled to speak in the afternoon (evening Reykjavík time) in the afternoon session Saturday 23 September.
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, the only head of state representing the Nordic Countries, spoke in the General Debate on Wednesday 20 September.
