We are half way to 2030 and the ambitious goals agreed in 2015 including the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are under threat, action is urgently needed, there is no time to lose.

World leaders will gather at the UN SDG Summit on 18-19 September 2023, but time is running out on the negotiations for the Political Declaration now, we need governments to step up and deliver a new deal for people and planet based on global justice.

Recent years have seen a series of inter-locking crises leading to growing inequality, escalating cost of living and devastating impacts around the world, pushing many people further behind. The Covid-19 pandemic is still taking its toll, affecting health, education and economic opportunities. Authoritarianism, armed conflicts and militarism are tearing through already fragile communities. Millions of people are facing oppression, war, displacement, and loss of homes and livelihoods.

At the same time, the effects of the climate crisis are already affecting people and ecosystems, especially in the Global South, presenting a long-term threat to our shared home on this earth. With temperatures continuing to rise, we are witnessing irreversible slow progress impacts and an increase in extreme weather events that are already affecting communities at the frontlines.

We call on leaders to show real ambition for the coming 7 years and set out a clear pathway to deliver the SDG Stimulus Package of $500 billion to achieve the transformation embodied in the 2030 Agenda.

1.Financial Justice

Step up financial commitments to deliver the ambition of the 2030 Agenda, through a fairer financial architecture. We call on governments to:

• Cancel the debt: Deliver extensive debt cancellations and create a sovereign debt workout mechanism at the UN.
• Deliver new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for low and middle income countries and channel unused SDRs through debt-free mechanisms.
• Adopt fair taxes: Ensure everyone contributes by taxing companies and individuals fairly with progressive tax systems, ending illicit financial flows and tax evasion, new taxation of wealth and increasing taxes on high emitting sectors to pay for climate action.
• Provide 0.7% of GDP for development cooperation. Establish a human rights-based framework anchoring all forms of development finance on the four development effectiveness principles while ensuring that aid is not used to advance trade, military or political objectives of donor countries.

2. Social Justice

Deliver bold ambition to tackle authoritarianism, inequalities, and all forms of violence, and respect fundamental rights to ensure a fairer future for all, in which no one is left behind. We call on governments to:

• End conflicts: We call for a global commitment from states to end all conflicts, stop the military aggression in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan and elsewhere. We call for a reduction in military expenditure and we call on governments to shift these funds to address the shortfall in financing for the achievement of 2030 Agenda commitments.
• Set timebound targets to reduce inequality, which undermines democracy, society and our economy.
• Deliver universal health and social protection: governments should submit national plans as well as clarifying funding support for free health and social protection for all.
• Stop persecution of civil society activists and guarantee people’s participation including respect for fundamental freedoms of peaceful assembly, association and expression.
• Promote the inclusion and participation of the most vulnerable communities in decision making processes and in law, policy and practice as a means to accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda.

3. Climate Justice

Deliver real progress on commitments for the protection of our shared home, based on the Paris Agreement goals to limit mean global temperature rise to 1.5°C. We call on governments to:

• Move towards a fossil fuel free future for all. Northern governments must stop financing fossil fuels in other countries, while at the same time ensuring a just and equitable transition towards sustainable models of production and consumption.
• Commit to science-based national targets and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 with ambitious climate action plans in place in every country.
• Deliver additional, non-debt creating climate finance beyond the unfulfilled $100billion pledge, considering real needs, mainly in southern countries that are least responsible for the climate crisis, and are the most vulnerable to its impacts.
• Operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund to guarantee new, additional, predictable, accessible and non-debt creating resources to help countries in the Global South address the impacts of extreme weather events.
• Place an equal focus on climate adaptation to ensure no one is left behind and develop community-based disaster risk reduction frameworks.
• Adopt a One Health approach that recognises the interlinkages between sustainable development, environment and animal welfare.
• Protect the ecosystems on which all life depends by strengthening international environmental law and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. With the aim of ensuring ecosystem integrity – returning to live within planetary boundaries & the carrying capacity of the Earth.

In summary, we call for an ambitious agreement at the SDG Summit on 18-19 September.

A new deal for people and planet which delivers global justice!

Promote this statement with the hashtag #FundOurFuture on social media.