United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015

The third and final day of the UN Sustainable Development Summit included many country statements to the plenary of the UN General Assembly, side events, and an informal climate meeting of country leaders. Interactive dialogues took place on the topics of “Building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions to achieve sustainable development” and “Protecting our planet and combatting climate change” in the morning and afternoon.

At a press conference after the lunchtime climate meeting, Olanta Humala, President of Peru, and François Hollande, President of France, briefed the press on the discussion, noting general expectation that there will be an agreement in Paris, but the question remains as to what level of ambition.

Among the world leaders who addressed the plenary on the final day of the summit were Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil; Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan; Ahmet Davutoğlu, Prime Minister of Turkey; David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and Barack Obama, President of the US.

At the start of the closing plenary in the afternoon, US President Obama pledged to work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urged everyone to take action, saying that, “supporting development is not charity, but the smartest investment we can make for our own future.” Many speakers addressed the task of implementation and announced their national commitments toward achieving the SDGs, as well as the support that they would provide for other countries.

At the end of the afternoon, the co-chairs of the six interactive dialogues presented summaries of each dialogue.

Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda and Co-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Summit, welcomed the global agreement on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, saying that, “At long last, we have an agreement that is sensible and global.” He gaveled the UN Sustainable Development Summit to a close at 7.38 pm, and invited delegates to stay for a short video, “The Story You Are Shaping.”