Launch of the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 - Press Briefing — United Nations

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: All right, good afternoon. Thank you for your patience. We are delighted to be joined by the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, the Undersecretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, and next to the Undersecretary General is Björk Sandercher, who is the Assistant Secretary General in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Secretary General will say a few words, Mr. Li will then say a few words, then Mr. Li, the SG, and the DSG have to leave because of other events during, linked to the high-level political forum, but the Assistant Secretary General will stay behind and answer your questions, though the Secretary General will take a couple of questions as well. With that introduction, sir, you have the floor. [00:01:05] Speaker 2: Dear members of the media, today we launched the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, and the Secretary General Li will go through the details. But allow me to kick things off. We are now 10 years into our collective journey toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report is a snapshot of where we stand today. Since 2015, millions more people have gained access to electricity, clean cooking, and the Internet. Social protection now reaches over half the world's population, a significant increase from just a decade ago. Access to education has continued to increase, and more girls are staying in school. Child marriage is declining. Renewable energy capacity is growing, with developing countries leading the way. And women's representation is rising across governments, businesses, and societies. These gains show that the investments in development and inclusion yield results. But let's be clear: we are not where we need to be. Only 35% of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress. Nearly half are moving too slowly. And 18% are going in reverse. We are in a global development emergency. An emergency measured in the over 800 million people still living in extreme poverty. In intensifying climate impacts. And in relentless debt service, draining the resources that countries need to invest in their people. We must also recognize the deep linkages between underdevelopment and conflicts. That is why we must keep working for peace in the Middle East. First, we need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access as a first step to achieve the two-state solution. We need a ceasefire between Iran and Israel to hold. We need a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, based on the UN Charter, international law, and UN resolutions. And with an end to the horror and bloodshed in Sudan, from the DRC to Somalia, from the Sahel to Myanmar, we know that sustainable peace requires sustainable development. In the face of these challenges, the report we are launching today points the way to progress. Transformational pathways in food, energy, digital access, education, jobs, and climate are our roadmap. Progress in one area can multiply progress across all of them. But we must move faster, and we must move together. That means advancing affordable, quality health care for all. Investing in women and girls as a central driver of progress. Focusing on quality education and creating decent jobs and economic opportunities that leave no one behind. Closing the digital divide and ensuring that technologies like artificial intelligence are used responsibly and inclusively. And it means recognizing a fundamental fact: progress is impossible without unlocking financing at scale. The recent Sevilla commitment reflected the commitment to get the engine of development reviving again, through reform of the international financial architecture, re-election on that relief, and tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks, so countries can better access capital at scale and at a reasonable cost. We have more opportunities to drive these priorities forward from the high-level political forum, to the Second Food Systems Stock Aid Summit, to the World Social Summit, and more. We must maximize these moments for real commitments and real delivery. Today's report shows that the Sustainable Development Goals are still within reach, but only if we act with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve. It's a pleasure to be with you again, and I will give the floor to my dear colleague Lee. [00:05:53] Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you, Secretary General. Dear colleagues, as the Secretary General noted, we stand at a very defining moment. This report, the report 2025 serves as both our campus and call to action, providing the critical evidence needed to guide the discussions at the HLPF and beyond. Data reveals in the report just tells us a story of the positive progress alongside turbulent challenges. Over the past decade, we have seen following tangible achievements. For instance, the new HIV infections have decreased by nearly 40 percent since 2010. Malarial prevention efforts have saved more than 12 million lives since 2000. Forty-five countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease. An additional 110 million children have enrolled in school since 2015. Access to electricity has reached 92 percent of the global population, with 45 countries achieving universal electricity access in the past decade. Internet use has also increased by 70 percent, reaching 68 percent today globally. These are not the mere statistics. They are the stories of lives transformed. More children in school, more families are protected, and more communities are empowered. However, the report also lays a better harsh reality. A challenging global context is storing progress. Conflicts are escalating. Temperatures are breaking records. The debt burdens are rising, while developing countries face an annual 4 trillion U.S. dollars SDG financing gap. The water is not moving fast enough to achieve SDGs amid the overlapping crisis. Just to share some of the very sobering facts from the report. Over the 800 million people remained trapped in extreme poverty. Billings of the people lacked access to saved water, sanitation, and hygiene. Women continue to devote two and a half times as many hours to unpaid domestic and care workers as men. Climate change is accelerating, with 2024 marking the hardest year on the record. At the 1.55 Celsius grade above the pre-industrial levels. Lower-end middle-income countries face the record high debt servicing cost of the 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. Well, despite all those monumental challenges, the path forward is clear. In the report, it shows that the progress is still possible if we scale up solutions and build it on hard-earned games. We must have focused on our efforts on six key transitions. That represented our most promising levers for systemic changes. The recent global events, such as UNOC 3 and FFD 4, have demonstrated a renewed spirit and commitment to collective action. Let us seize the moment to recommit, to act decisively, and deliver on the promise. Thank you. [00:09:38] Speaker 1: Thank you very much. We'll take a few questions. Edie, please. [00:09:43] Speaker 4: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary General, on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association for doing this briefing. As you well know, my name is Edith Letterer from the Associated Press. You said that there had been progress on 35 percent of the SDG targets. But which, if any, of the 17 SDG goals are on target to be achieved by 2030? And if I may, what is your reaction to President Trump saying, just an hour or two ago, that if there is no peace deal in Ukraine in the next 50 days, he will impose binding sanctions on Russia. And I think we also would all like to know what, if any, role the UN is being asked to play if there is a new ceasefire in Gaza. Thank you. [00:10:57] Speaker 2: There are many different questions. First, there are only 35 percent of the goals that are on target. But that means that 35 percent of the goals are on target. And some are extremely important. Extreme poverty has reduced. Child mortality and women's mortality have dramatically reduced. And the excessive goals to education and, in general, the access to education has substantially increased. So, if there were no Sustainable Development Goals, many of these achievements would never have been reached. Because the Sustainable Development Goals have created a framework in which governments and other entities could be united to deliver on some of the key priorities of development in today's world. So, the Sustainable Development Goals are a success already, because at least one third of them are achieving the results that were determined. Now, but why is it not the same everywhere? Where are the obstacles? Let's be clear. There is something fundamentally wrong in the structure of the economic and financial architecture and in the way it operates to the detriment of developing countries. And this has nothing to do with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals are objectives to improve the living conditions of everybody. The problem is that the Sustainable Development Goals do not include the instruments that will be necessary to make them happen. And that is why we have been strongly insisting for the need to deep reforms in the international financial architecture, and I would say in the rules of the global economy, in order to make sure that it is possible for countries that are drowning in debt, for countries that are – we have no access to concessional funding, for countries that are marginalized in international trade. We need those reforms to create the conditions for those countries to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. So I think that the discussion is not whether or not we have reached enough. The discussion is what are the roots in the injustices and inequalities of our global economic and financial system that make it so difficult to implement things that everybody would recognize are the things that are needed for us to live with dignity. The second question that you have asked is about the sanctions. I would say that what we absolutely need is to have an immediate ceasefire, and to have an immediate ceasefire paving the way for a political solution, and a political solution based on the Charter, on the international law, and on the different resolutions of the bodies of the UN. Whatever can contribute to these objectives will, of course, be important if it is done in line with international law. What we are witnessing in Gaza is horrific. We all condemned the horrible, terrible attacks of Hamas, but what we are witnessing in Gaza is a level of death and destruction that has no parallel in recent times. And it is something that undermines the, I would say, undermines the most basic conditions of human dignity for the population of Gaza, independently of the enormous suffering that they are having. We absolutely need a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. And I hope that the parties are able to overcome the, both parties are able to overcome the difficulties that they still find for that ceasefire to take place. But the ceasefire is not enough. It is essential that that ceasefire leads to a solution, and that solution can only be possible if both Palestinians and Israelis can have a state where they can exercise their rights. The idea, and that is why we are going to have in July, one conference on the two-state solution, the idea that it would be possible to have five million people inside the country, in their own lands, without any rights, is something that is totally against humanity and totally against international law. [00:17:07] Speaker 5: MR. Sherwin, Bryce Pease. The Secretary General of the Sherwin Bryce Pease. South African Broadcasting. What is your estimation, sir, of the impact of the decisions by the United States in recent months to withdraw from various development-related initiatives, including climate finance and the recent Financing for Development conference that you referred to in Sevilla, its rejection also of increased lending by development banks in particular, essentially pushing back at the reforms you are seeking to achieve in terms of the restructuring of the global financial institutions? How are you going to fill the gaps that are going to be left by the United States's withdrawal from these initiatives? Thank you. [00:17:46] Speaker 2: The problem is not the presence or not presence in international meetings. The question is that obviously we need, in an international economic and financial system that is fundamentally wrong and unfair, we need reforms. And to put obstacles to those reforms is indeed something that is extremely negative. And I hope that the countries that lead the global economy, the G7 countries, understand that it is better to lead the reforms of a system today than to wait and one day suffer the reforms of the system that will become inevitable. [00:18:37] Speaker 6: The G7 countries of China Central Television. We know that Trump administration now reversed multiple policies, not only just the international financial institution, it's also about the clean energy policy, it's about its tariffs to bring instability of the world economy. How much impact would that be to the SDGs? And given the fact this is only the first year of this administration, you will have four years, you will have four years. How would other countries to do to achieve the SDGs? Thank you. [00:19:12] Speaker 2: Well, first of all, about clean energy, I think that independently of the will of the government of any country, and in particular the United States, we are witnessing an irreversible movement towards the hegemonic role of renewables. This is moving at a speed that nobody could forecast just a few months ago, and the truth is that even in the United States, you have a number of states that are moving forward very strongly, and you have the private sector that makes their accounts and sees where profits are. And today the cheapest energy is renewable. And so you are not intelligent if you invest in more expensive forms of energy, or if you invest in things that will be stranded in the near future. So I am pretty confident that the realities of the global economy will make any attempt to slow down the process ineffective. And I am optimistic about the capacity of renewable energy to very quickly assume a leading role in the global economy. About trade, it is clear that any trade war is something in which nobody wins. Everybody loses. And so I strongly believe that it is absolutely essential to avoid trade wars. And we don't know yet what is going to happen. Many things are changing every day. But I hope we come to the end of this with a rational global trade system. [00:21:13] Speaker 1: Thank you, Pam, and then we'll have to go. [00:21:15] Speaker 7: Thank you very much for a somewhat grim report, but an optimistic view of it. Pamela Falk from U.S. News and World Report. So a big-picture question. The Pew Charitable Trust, other organizations, look at the UN and favorability around the world. And although it's still positive, it's trending downward. What can you do, particularly since global goals like nutrition that overlaps two SDGs? People -- the N4D is looking for private sector funds, clusters of countries. Is that the new multilateralism? And what can you do to bring up the favorability of the UN? Thank you. [00:22:01] Speaker 2: What you are witnessing in the world today is a progressive trend for a multipolar world. You see the emerging economies growing at a faster rate than developed countries. We can talk about China, but we can talk about India, we can talk about Indonesia, we can talk about so many other countries. So the global economic relations are changing. And we see a trend more and more for these different entities to network. And in that networking, multipolarity will tend to strengthen multilateralism. So I'm very optimistic about the future of multilateralism, because I see that every single day there is a bit more equilibrium in international relations. Every single day, every single day, we move a little bit more to multipolarity. And every single day, we are heading into a direction that -- because multipolarity by itself requires multilateralism -- we are heading into a direction in which the present trends and the present attacks and the present, I would say, forms of undermining multilateralism will inevitably fail. Thank you very much. [00:23:33] Speaker 1: We need to let our guests go, but ASG Bjork-Sancher and her colleague will come up and take some more questions on the report itself. [00:23:41] Speaker ?: So thank you. [00:23:41] Speaker 1: Thank you very much. All the best. All the best. [00:24:00] Speaker ?: All right, sir. [00:24:02] Speaker 1: Thank you. Great. Thank you. We're delighted to be joined for more questions on the report by SG Bjork-Sancher and Yung-Gi Min, the chief of the SDG monitoring section in DESA. So I don't know if you had -- anyone had any more questions on the report itself? Yes, Linda. Thank you. Sorry. [00:24:22] Speaker 8: Thank you. Thank you, Steph. I have a question in regard to population growth in that since 2015, I gather there have been about 700 million more people born. And it was also said, of course, that there are about 800 million people still living in extreme poverty. Well, I was just wondering, the SG mentioned how, you know, women's rights are improving, lower child marriages, better access to education, all that. But that there seems to be a still big unmet need for family planning. And according to what I was -- some research I was doing was that there are, like, something like 100 million births each year that are unintended, that women who would like to have contraception. Is that accurate? And what could be done about this? [00:25:15] Speaker 9: Should I start? Thank you. That's a great question. In terms of population dynamics, I think we see great changes in the world at the moment. We have still high fertility in some regions, but the general trend is that fertility is reducing. So the average total fertility rate is actually 2.2 children per woman in the world right now. But, of course, that's very unevenly distributed. You asked about access to family planning. That's part of Sustainable Development Goal 3. And I think we have -- we have data here. The good thing about when unmet need to family planning increases, it means that the demand is increasing, which is part of -- sorry, we don't -- you want to -- [00:26:31] Speaker 10: Sorry. I don't have the number that -- in this report, what you're seeing, but the proportion of women use modern methods of contraception. It's the state at around 77.2%. And now it has improved a little bit since 2015, but still about one-quarter of a million -- like a quarter of women still don't have access. [00:26:55] Speaker 8: But also in terms of the birth rate, it's still very high in the poorest -- like in Africa, for example, I gather that's where it still hasn't come down as much. Maybe it's five or six. Are there any -- I mean, what's the explanation for that? [00:27:13] Speaker 9: You're asking key questions. It's true that the total fertility rate is the highest in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa. We see fertility rates coming down in those regions as well. So fertility rates are actually coming down all over the world. Access to contraceptives is part of that. And the global community has had, for decades, a great push to provide that choice of contraceptives to women, globally, including in sub-Saharan African countries. But there still is great unmet need. And there is still demand for modern contraceptives that is not being met. So that's part of the global push to increase progress towards SDG3. But we aren't there yet. [00:28:09] Speaker 1: Thank you. I think -- yes, please. Please, go ahead. [00:28:16] Speaker 11: I'm from Azerbaijan News Agency Report. So my question is specifically about Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Please elaborate on how do you assist Azerbaijan's progress towards achieving to the UN SDGs? [00:28:36] Speaker 9: No, thank you for that question. I think it's difficult for us to answer a specific question on countries, but we can certainly get back to you with more specifics to respond to that question. [00:28:47] Speaker 1: Thank you. Yes, please go ahead, and then we'll go to Eftikar online. Go ahead. [00:28:52] Speaker 12: Hi, I'm Kyoto Tanaka from Asashi, a Japanese newspaper. I'm looking at the progress tracker, where you said the only 35% of targets are on track or making progress. I'm looking at -- I'm also looking at the last year's report, and it's basically the same, like 35% and should I be -- would you say that this is, you know, how -- what's written in the report? Has it worsened compared to the last year or is it something that I shouldn't be, like, comparing it to the last years and maybe focusing on that we only have five years to go kind of thing? [00:29:40] Speaker 9: I think what the Secretary General said that what this shows when we are at about 35% more or less on track is in many ways a success. We are on one-third where we should be, but, of course, it's not good enough, and five years is not a long time to get to where we, as a global community, agreed that we wanted to be in the year 2030. In terms of the data I think you're asking about as well, can we compare from year to year? We -- there have been comments -- I just came from the General Assembly Hall where member states are making their comments, and several member states raised the importance of data and having good data to be able to track progress. That is also improving. I think in terms of you asked where should our focus be, well, one-third on track, great success given the many challenges that we are facing. Another report that was released from UNDESA recently is the World Social Report, which showed that we are achieving progress on important social indicators. But there are groups of countries where progress is stalling or even reversing linked to conflicts in crisis, where there is conflict, where we see different natural crises that is hindering progress towards sustainable development goals. So I think, you know, in terms of focusing our efforts, I would look at how can we identify the barriers and how do we address them to make sure we unlock the progress in those areas where we see entrenched poverty and entrenched social exclusion, entrenched issues and barriers to achieving that progress. I hope that answered your question. [00:31:38] Speaker 1: Thank you. Iftikhar, Ali will go online. Iftikhar, can you hear us? [00:31:43] Speaker ?: Thank you, Steph. [00:31:44] Speaker 13: Can you hear me? Go. Go. [00:31:47] Speaker ?: Go. Go. Go. [00:31:50] Speaker 13: Okay. Thank you, Steph. My question is that the Secretary General in his opening statement said that sustainable peace requires sustainable development. then he spoke about developing countries drowning in debt and how can there be development when the developing countries are drowning in debt? The reforms of the financial system have been on the court for a long time and no relief has come to the developing countries. So is there any initiative coming up? [00:32:34] Speaker 9: No, thank you for that question. So we just concluded the fourth Financing for Development conference in Sevilla. And some very important decisions were made there where the global community again came together to recognize the scale of debt distress that a number of countries are facing. When you have countries that spend more servicing their debt than they spend on health or education or important social services for their population, I think we can recognize clearly that we have a problem and that's not going to help us make progress towards the SDGs. So there were some key decisions made in Sevilla that I would like to recognize. And first of all, there is recognition that we need to catalyze investment at scale for sustainable development. I'm sure you've heard the number of the financing gap for the SDGs, which is more than four trillion US dollars. So how do we unlock that type of financing? So catalyze investment at scale. Second, to address the debt and development crises. And there were some important decisions made in Sevilla around coming together to restructure debt to make it more manageable for countries that are in debt distress. And the third, again, recognition of the importance of reforming the international financing architecture and some movement on that issue. So thanks for raising that question. I think it's one of the key questions in ensuring that we actually make progress towards the SDGs and that we try to make sure that we don't have countries drowning in debt, as you said, when they should be investing in social development and welfare for their populations. Thank you. [00:34:26] Speaker 1: Yes, please go ahead. Thank you very much. [00:34:29] Speaker 14: This is Noreen Hussain with IPS News. I just want to track down to the goal 13, which is on climate action. And just specifically with the breakdown of like the targets for each SDG, the target for UNFCC commitments is sort of marked green, which indicates it's on track or it is on target. Could you clarify exactly what that means since there doesn't seem to be any particular mention of the UNFCC commitments in that section itself? I'm not sure we have that information. Do you have it? [00:35:12] Speaker 10: Yep. We have a technical note on how this is calculated because it's a space reason we have shortened it. So we can provide that afterwards to you. [00:35:23] Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Linda, you had one more question. Oh, sorry. Did you have another follow? [00:35:28] Speaker 14: Go ahead. Yes, I had a follow -- just another question on the SDG goal for reduced inequality. So you've noted that discrimination is on the rise globally. Could you -- is there a way to sort of break down if there are particular regions where we're seeing -- where we're sort of seeing that discrimination more acutely? [00:35:48] Speaker 10: We also have the regional breakdown in the data. And just come back -- sorry. The UNFCC's commitment is the NDC, the number of country to have the NDC. Just remember that. For that, we have some regional breakdown data, but I don't have it right now with me, but I can provide that also to you. Thank you. Linda, and then we'll close it off. Thank you. [00:36:10] Speaker 8: I just -- my question has to do with corruption in governments across the world. And how much does that factor into not attaining some of the economic goals? [00:36:31] Speaker 9: I'll start, and you can. Corruption certainly factors into not attaining some of the goals. There are -- it's very, very hard to estimate exactly how much money disappears into corruption. There is one estimate that we often use that says that five to seven percent of public financing disappears into corruption in general. But, of course, I mean, given the nature of corruption, it's very, very hard to have accurate data on that. There are some quite strong initiatives at the moment to try to stem corruption, illicit financial flows, and so on. It was also discussed in the context of the financing for development conference in Sevilla. So, I think it's -- well, good commitment from that conference to really try to step up efforts against corruption. Because, as you said, it's stealing money that should be going to welfare for people. [00:37:35] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:37:36] Speaker 1: Great. Thank you very much. Björg Younghi, thank you so much. And thank you all. See you tomorrow. Thank you.