UN chief urges more effective implementation of UN sustainable blueprint

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday underlined the importance of devising creative and coherent approaches in linking the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development as world leaders continue to work toward successfully implementing the UN sustainable development agenda.

"Now is the time for implementation," the secretary-general said at a three-day meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on promoting integration of the three pillars of sustainable development that opened Monday at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The Sustainable Development Agenda, also known as the 2030 Agenda, is a set of 17 development targets approved by world leaders in September last year to serve as the blueprint for the global development efforts for the next 15 years.

"We now have a set of goals and targets that form the basis for a coherent, integrated and indivisible approach to eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development," Ban said. "We must pursue the goals with their complementarity and interlinkages in mind, and with the aim of breaking down silos and avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions."

While noting that the Monday meeting was the first such gathering since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, the secretary-general said it also followed other landmark conferences and agreements on disaster risk reduction, financing for development, and climate change.

"This Integration Segment focuses on the importance of implementation through policy innovation and integration. It is a reminder that we will have to be creative in linking the three dimensions of sustainable development," he said, referring to the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability.

The secretary-general also said that the financing requirements to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are "enormous," stressing mobilizing these resources will be a significant challenge, particularly at a time of continued economic uncertainty and financial constraints.

The inaugural Forum on Financing for Development two weeks ago had sent a clear message that the full realization of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda remains "a matter of urgency," he said.

"We must strive to continually assess challenges of integration -- whether they are policy and institutional questions, capacity or technological gaps or questions in programming and financing," he said.

Ban pledged that the UN system will do its "utmost to fully support" member states in transitioning to a sustainable development path, including in setting priorities, planning, implementing and assessing progress.

"We must ensure that actions at every level are concerted and coherent," Ban said. "In doing so, we have to work with all partners towards common country support objectives. Our aim to 'deliver as one' is finding broader translation in the way we work with all partners."