Mexican President Peña urges global push to achieve ‘brave, demanding’ UN 2030 Agenda

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, said that for more than seven decades, the diverse members of the world body had been working for a better future.

The current generation must continue in that spirit and assume responsibility for the planet and achieving sustainable development. In that regard, he noted that initial steps have been taken with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“The 2030 Agenda – which we created and agreed to at the United Nations – is, without a doubt, the bravest, most noble and most demanding plan of action that the international community had adopted in recent history,” he said.

For its part, Mexico is working on implementing the 2030 Agenda at the State, federal and regional level, he continued. This past July, Mexico was one of 22 countries who presented a voluntary national revision in that respect.

Noting that Mexico places great significance on human rights, Mr. Peña said his country has driven forward a national strategy on social inclusion focused on, among other things, reducing poverty and increasing equality.

In addition, he highlighted that Mexico has adopted the Paris Agreement on climate change, which was ratified by the Senate just a few days ago.

“Moving forward, the priority is to count on national mechanisms that will coordinate, verify and inform the fulfilment of the commitments made in that agreement,” Mr. Peña said.

As an example, as part of an energy reform in Mexico, the country is working towards having 25 per cent of its electrical energy from clean energy sources by 2018, and increasing that figure to 60 per cent by 2040.

He also reaffirmed Mexico’s commitment to sustainable peace worldwide.

“Peace, in order to last, must be sustainable,” Mr. Peña said, adding that Mexico has historically promoted disarmament and condemned nuclear testing. In addition, he noted that governments should make more of an effort to communicate with the societies they serve.