United States: The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has announced the first-ever Sustainability Week. It comprises a range of high-level talks and activities meant to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices and tackle urgent issues.
President Dennis Francis’ flagship program, which is scheduled to take place from April 15–19, combines multiple required events into one powerful week that will elevate the conversation on important topics including transportation, energy, infrastructure, and tourism.
“The Sustainability Week initiative is essentially designed to galvanize momentum around sustainability in a way that helps to supercharge implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Francis said.
He said that important UN representatives, ministers with expertise in particular sectors, and heads of state and government are expected to participate at a high level.
President Francis of the Assembly also emphasized efforts that go beyond the 2030 Agenda, such as the Choose Sustainability campaign, which motivates participants to make commitments and adopt sustainable behaviors.
“I encourage all permanent missions, stakeholders and the media to adopt pledges to promote sustainability and to declare their support on social media while adopting sustainability practices,” Francis stated.
Sustainability Week highlights
15th April: High-level thematic debate on debt sustainability and socioeconomic equality, highlighting the impact of surging debt on countries’ development trajectories.
16th April: High-level thematic event on tourism, addressing unsustainable practices within the industry and launching a statistical framework for measuring sustainability.
17th April: High-level meeting on sustainable transport, emphasizing its importance in achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
18th April: Informal dialogue on building global resilience and promoting sustainable development through infrastructure connectivity.
19th April: Global stock-taking on sustainable energy, reflecting on progress and shortcomings over the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014-2024 and launching a call to action to accelerate the implementation of SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy.