SDGs

UN agencies-backed "Forests for Fashion" exhibit
UN News/Fatima E. Mendez

Dress the world in wood, UN says in its ‘Forests for Fashion’ initiative

16 July 2018
Global

The fashion industry is valued upward of 2.5 trillion dollars, and employs some 75 million people globally – so it makes good sense to shift textile production from fossil fuel-based synthetic fibers to renewable, biodegradable textiles, made from wood, according to a new United Nations initiative that aims to make forests literally more fashionable.

Left to right: Keynote Speaker Michelle Yeoh, USG Liu Zhenmin (DESA), DSG Amina Mohammed, PGA Miroslav Lajčák, ECOSOC President Marie Chatardová, USG Catherine Pollard (DGACM) and UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake at the Ministerial segment of 2018 HLPF on Sustainable Development.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Progress has been made, but 'not at a sufficient speed to realize the SDGs': UN ECOSOC President

16 July 2018
Global

One week after zeroing-in on how to build sustainable, resilient societies, key players from around the world debated on Monday at United Nations Headquarters in New York, how to keep up the momentum to turn the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into a reality.

Sustainably managed forests hold vast potential to play a decisive role in ending hunger, improving livelihoods and combating climate change.
FAO/Simon Maina

UN Forum examines three pillars of 2030 Global Goals

13 July 2018

The first week of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) concluded on Friday at United Nations Headquarters in New York, with a review of the progress made so far by countries on nature preservation, partnerships for development, and the need to ensure no one is excluded, during the drive towards the 2030 deadline.

Plastic pollution in the world's oceans is threatening marine life.
Saeed Rashid

Consuming and producing sustainably, a ‘cornerstone’ for reaching 2030 Global Goals, UN Forum stresses

12 July 2018

A reckoning on the importance of maximising the world’s resources is taking place across the world, and achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 depends heavily on reeling in our global consumption and production patterns, a key United Nations forum heard on Thursday.

Women learning to code at a technology centre in Herat, western Afghanistan.
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

UN chief pushes for greater benefits from new technology, as he launches digital experts panel

12 July 2018
Global

A high-profile group of tech experts has been assembled at the request of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, tasked with putting the benefits of digital technology to more effective use, while also protecting against unwanted or unexpected negative impacts.

View of Manhattan from Long Island City, Queens, New York.
UN News/Eric Ganz

UN forum spotlights cities, where struggle for sustainability ‘will be won or lost’

11 July 2018
Global

Although cities are often characterized by stark socioeconomic inequalities and poor environmental conditions, they also offer growth and development potential – making them central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a main focus of the third day of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Wednesday.

A UNEP solar energy system, the largest of its type in Africa.
PresseBox.de flickr

Achieving targets on energy helps meet other Global Goals, UN forum told

10 July 2018
Global

Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today, including poverty eradication, gender equality, adaptation to climate change, food security, health, education, sustainable cities, jobs and transport, speakers told a key United Nations forum on sustainable development on Tuesday.

UNICEF and its partners, together with the government of Haiti, have been able to ensure safe water is available daily to over 281,000 individuals, including over 118,000 children, three months after hurricane Matthew struck the country on 4 October 2016.
UNICEF/Maxence Bradley

‘Laser-sharp focus’ needed to achieve Global Goals by 2030, UN political forum told

9 July 2018
Global

Progress has been made on achieving global goals to end poverty and hunger but meeting the targets by the deadline of 2030 will require a laser-sharp focus and a true sense of urgency, a key United Nations forum on sustainable development heard on Monday.

A market at a food cooperative in Orto Sole cooperative farm in Fiumicino and Torrimpietra, Italy. Photo: FAO/Alessandra Benedetti.
FAO/Alessandra Benedetti

International Day of Cooperatives sets stage for long-standing production and consumption

7 July 2018
Global

Each year on the first Saturday in July, the international community celebrates the International Day of Cooperatives – successful businesses based on ethical values and principles. This year, the Day focuses on the theme “Sustainable consumption and production of goods and services.” 

A resident of the National Tapajos Forest in Brazil collects wild foliage for preparing a meal.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Forests ‘essential’ for the future, UN agriculture chief spells out in new report

6 July 2018
Global

Time is running out for the world’s forests, warns a new report by the United Nations agriculture agency, urging governments to foster an all-inclusive approach to benefit both trees and those who rely on them.