Growing tensions between the Global South and Western economic powerhouses overshadowed a UN meeting in New York. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke at the summit, proposing initiatives to reverse the trend.
UN Secretary-General Guterres called for a 'rescue plan' for the Agenda 2030Image: Jason Szenes/UPI Photo/newscom/picture alliance
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In 2015, the United Nations (UN) agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), summarized in the Agenda 2030. According to these goals, the world should be eradicated from hunger and poverty by 2030, and all people should have access to education, clean water, and reliable energy. Gender equality and limiting the global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) were also on the list.
Now, at the halfway mark, it has already become clear that most of these goals will not be met. A special UN report found that about 30% of the goals set have seen either no improvement or reverse trends. If the world stays on the current trajectory, the UN estimates that over 600 million people will suffer from hunger in 2030.
"The goals were certainly ambitious, but they would have been attainable with the right political will. But not enough states took their commitment seriously," Johannes Varwick, a political scientist and an expert on international relations at the University of Halle, told DW.
One further problem he saw was that international relations were always "short-term and conflict-driven." He added that "crises like the 2008 global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, or the war in Ukraine have shifted priorities. While this may be understandable, it is also short-sighted."
Progress on reducing poverty and hunger 'has been reversed'
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German government pinching pennies
Despite this, the 193 UN member states have recommitted themselves to the SDGs. The new declaration states: "We will act with urgency to realize [the Agenda 2030] vision as a plan of action for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership, leaving no one behind." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a "rescue plan" for the SDGs.
"The SDGs aren't just a list of goals," Guterres said. "They carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people everywhere. In our world of plenty, hunger is a shocking stain on humanity and an epic human rights violation. It is an indictment of every one of us that millions of people are starving in this day and age."
Germany's government has also been making increasingly urgent appeals.
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze also called upon states to step up the tempo.
But critics believe Berlin is partially to blame for the lack of progress. The German Catholic aid organization Misereor, for example, has pointed out that it is "not an encouraging sign" that the upcoming federal budget cut the development aid budget by 15%. The Protestant relief agency Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World) has also criticized German plans to slash the development aid budget.
The climate activist Luisa Neubauer recently described the UN SDG Summit to the German television channel Phoenix this way: "Everyone makes sweeping promises, and then they go home and don't do what they need to do." Germany, Neubauer has said, also does not appear willing to make a meaningful change of course.
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Erosion of Western power
While Scholz spoke to a practically empty room, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had all eyes on him in the General Assembly. He used his speech to issue a dire warning of Russian aggression.
But even the amount of attention the UN devotes to the war in Ukraine is a bone of contention. Many countries from the Global South have accused the West of devoting too much of their time and energy to Ukraine and neglecting important issues such as global poverty reduction.
For some time, Russia and 10 other nations had threatened to block a joint declaration from the sustainable goals summit, complaining that sanctions harmed their nations' economic development. Numerous countries did not condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and have refused to join Western sanctions against Russia.
Varwick said he believes this shows that power has shifted away from the West and towards authoritarian states such as Russia and China.
"The political West lacks followers. The increasing importance of the BRICS+ format, which can also be seen as a direct challenge to Western power, makes this evident," he told DW.
What are the UN's 17 sustainability goals?
The United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aimed at promoting a fairer, more eco-friendly world without hunger and poverty. The action plan was adopted at a UN summit in 2015.
Image: Christoph Soeder/dpa/picture alliance
Goal 1: No poverty
The first goal calls for the eradication of poverty "in all its forms everywhere." This is an extension of the old Millennium goal that set out to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Opinions are divided on the feasibility of the target.
Image: Daniel Garcia/AFP/Getty Images
Goal 2: Zero hunger
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, some 800 million people in the world who don't have enough to eat. Sustainable agriculture, small-scale farming and rural development have all been cited as factors that could contribute to wiping out malnutrition by 2030.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Goal 3: Good health and well-being
Every five seconds, an infant dies somewhere in the world. Around 6.6 million children under the age of 5 die every year, and almost 300,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth. Child and maternal mortality could be prevented through simple measures. By 2030, everyone should have access to health care, affordable medicines and vaccines.
Image: Maxwell Suuk/DW
Goal 4: Quality education
Whether a girl or a boy, rich or poor – by 2030 every child should have access to a school education that gives them an opportunity to have a career. Men and women should have equal educational opportunities regardless of their ethnic or social background and regardless of any disabilities.
Image: picture alliance/Robert Harding World Imagery
Goal 5: Gender equality
Women should be able to equally participate in public and political life. Violence and forced marriage should be a thing of the past and all women should have access to contraceptives and family planning services — a controversial point in some religious circles.
Image: Alexandar Detev/DW
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
Almost 750 million people have no access to clean drinking water, and 1 billion people lack access to sanitation, according to UN estimates. By 2030, safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation should be available to everyone. Water resources should be sustainable and the ecosystem must be protected.
Image: Arka Duttaa/Pacific Press/picture alliance
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
By 2030, everyone should have access to electricity and other forms of energy, preferably from renewable sources. Global energy efficiency should be doubled and infrastructure constructed — particularly in the poorest countries. There are around 1.3 billion people that still live without access to electricity.
Image: Thomas Imo/photothek/picture alliance
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
This pledge calls for fair working conditions worldwide and job opportunities for young people in a sustainable global economy. This applies both to industrialized and developing countries and also includes an end to child labor and compliance with the international labor standards of the International Labor Organization.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Better infrastructure to promote economic development — that's something everyone could benefit from. But industrialization should be socially and environmentally sustainable, create more and better jobs and encourage innovation. This would contribute to sustainable and social justice.
Image: imago/imagebroker
Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
One percent of the world's population generates more than half of global economic growth, according to the UN. The gap between rich and poor has continued to grow. International development policy should help the poorest half of the population living in the world's poorest countries.
Image: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Human and environmentally-friendly living spaces with affordable housing should be a feature of every city in the world. These urban centers should also be more sustainable and green, particularly in developing countries, which should receive support to make them more resistant to climate-related natural disasters.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Directo
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Recycling, reuse of resources and waste mitigation, particularly with regard to food production and consumer use: everyone shares responsibility for this goal. Resources should be used in a way that is both ecologically and socially sustainable, and fossil fuel subsidies should be phased out.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J.-K. Kasper
Goal 13: Climate action
A global agreement on measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change is a necessity. Developed nations should help poorer countries with technological and financial means to achieve this pledge. At the same time, they should work to massively reduce their own emissions.
Image: AP
Goal 14: Life below water
The ecosystems that make up the world's oceans are on the verge of collapse, and swift action is needed. By 2030, measures should be taken to prevent overfishing, destruction of coastal areas and marine biodiversity. The aim by 2025 is to significantly reduce pollution caused by garbage and overfertilization.
Image: imago
Goal 15: Life on land
UN member states must put a stop to extensive environmental degradation of watersheds, forests and biodiversity. By 2030, land, forests and water resources should be better protected and use of natural resources fundamentally changed.
Image: WILDLIFE/I.R.Lloyd/picture alliance
Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Everyone should be equal before the law. National institutions and international bodies need to work together to do more to prevent violence, terror, corruption and organized crime. By 2030, everyone should have the right to a legal identity and a birth certificate.
Image: imago/Paul von Stroheim
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Developed countries should set aside 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) to support developing countries, a target that was already part of the Millennium Development Goals. In Germany, only 0.39% of the GNI is set aside for development aid at the moment. Just five countries have reached 0.7% so far: Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Image: Christoph Soeder/dpa/picture alliance
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"The G77+China summit in Havana also shows the growing claims of the Global South," he added. But he also stated that he did not see a viable alternative to the UN. "We don't have anything better than the United Nations."
What comes next for the Sustainable Development Goals?
The German government has launched several initiatives. In New York, Scholz and Schulze invited guests to the Hamburg Sustainability Conference in June 2024 "to convene government representatives from the Global North and the Global South, as well as thought leaders from the private sector, science, civil society and international organizations to develop joint solutions for a much-needed social-ecological transformation," Schulze's ministry stated.
Germany is currently celebrating 50 years of UN membership, and, along with co-facilitator Namibia, is planning a UN Summit of the Future for next year.
