Madam Chair,
Bangladesh aligns itself with the statements of the LDC group and the G-77 and China.
Madam Chair,
The momentum towards implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been challenged by multiple interlinked, crises- the pandemic, Ukraine conflicts, and climate change, to name a few.
Halfway through 2030, the world is far off track from achieving the SDGs.
Madam Chair,
The way we live, work, produce and consume drives climate change. As per UNEP estimate, globally one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, and 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are thrown away each year. We hardly realize that our lifestyle is massively polluting the environment every moment.
Similarly, the way we grow food to feed the growing population, our unsustainable way of producing goods and services, and the irresponsible extraction and processing of natural resources cause massive biodiversity loss and water stress and affect lives below water and on land.
There is clearly a mutually reinforcing relationship between sustainable consumption and production and climate action.
Madam Chair
Before the pandemic, Bangladesh was on track to achieve many SDG targets. We presented our second VNR in 2020 where we highlighted how we approached SDGs implementation through a well-set-out SDGs Action Plan, involving financing strategy and alignment of our short- and long-term economic plans and development visions with sustainable development targets.
However, shocks of the pandemic, climate crisis, and geopolitics affect our progress on SDG implementation.
Madam Chair
The challenges that threaten to set back our progress on SDGs demand bold, collective actions. Allow me to make a few specific points:
First,
Amid looming global economic uncertainties, many developing countries, especially the LDCs, find themselves in an ever-shrinking fiscal space. Many of them face stagnant or negative growth prospects and high levels of debt distress.
We need a more just and inclusive global financial system that recognizes the vulnerabilities of these countries and provides them with access to adequate and affordable financing, more so during times of crises and uncertainty.
The glaring ‘financial divide’ must be bridged and financial safety net for the vulnerable countries strengthened.
The international financial architecture must be aligned with global development goals to accelerate a post-pandemic, post-conflict recovery.
Second,
In recognizing the adverse effects of climate change on SDGs, we need urgent, coordinated, system-wide, and transformative climate actions. Transforming agri-food systems as agreed at the first United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2021, and building on the UNEA’s historic resolution to end plastic pollution through a legally binding international agreement by 2024, for example, are important steps forward.
Countries need to fulfill their emissions targets to keep 1.5 degree target alive. The promised annual 100-billion-dollar climate funds need to be delivered to ensure that badly needed climate finance flows to developing countries. The COP-27 must set an ambitious agenda for climate financing, both for adaptation and mitigation.
Third,
Science, technology and innovation will drive future growth and play a catalytic role in humanity’s collective response to sustainable development challenges. For low-income economies, the ability to meaningfully participate in and benefit from the trillion-dollar technology-led, data-driven economy remains an unattainable development frontier. We must work to close the digital divide, which has become a new face of inequality. Equitable access to sustainable technology will be a great enabler for sustainable development.
Finally, Madam Chair,
Partnerships are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda.
The challenges to sustainable development require all stakeholders to support each other with finances, technology transfer, capacity and skills development, and debt relief.
Together we can leverage technologies to speed up innovation and spur economic growth.
We need collective endeavors to shift to sustainable consumption and production patterns in our quest to build a fairer, greener, bluer, and more equitable world.
I thank you.