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The Nature for Life: Business and Finance Day focused on how to better align goals to protect, restore and sustainably manage nature with goals for sustainable economic development and financial investment. Different sessions considered various elements of the topic, with a key theme being the need to disrupt business-as-usual by placing nature at the center of decision-making, and by launching new initiatives that focus on improved reporting, data, and risk management.

During the third day of the SDG Action Zone, the focus was on partnerships, with participants examining what the world really wants, what policies are needed to turn unwise practices into robust, lasting actions, and where both data and young people might help catalyze healthy solutions for change. Master of Ceremony Nadira Hira opened the third day’s session, declaring that the urgency, optimism and incredible stories of the previous days had inspired new and different partners through a unique virtual platform. She invited everyone to “smash the silos” and join hands to achieve the SDGs during the coming decade.

The Nature for Life Hub’s first day was organized under the theme of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sessions held during the day explored ways in which protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing nature can support achieving the SDGs, in particular relating to climate change, health, security, water, jobs and livelihoods.

In a moderated roundtable event that included remarks by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, global climate leaders highlighted the "boldest actions" on the Secretary-General’s “6 climate-positive actions”, which were launched on Earth Day.

What do migrants’ access to healthcare during COVID-19, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocates, resilient food systems, urban mobility, and circular economies have in common? These and other diverse topics were unpacked during the second day of the SDG Action Zone, which focused on ‘the planet’. The main thread of our planet’s survival in the face of unsustainable practices by consumerist societies weaved through all sessions, with Nadira Hira, Master of Ceremony, opening the day and encouraging participants and the audience to “keep up the amazing energy” to drive the exponential change needed for the people and planet.

The 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly opened with a gathering of world leaders from 23-29 September 2020. These leaders and other stakeholders participated in a series of summits, high-level meetings and side events.

Tackling societal inequalities and committing to transformative change that helps everyone—including minorities and marginalized people—were major themes on the first day of the SDG Action Zone. With sessions on issues ranging from how to address systemic inequalities to how to protect jobs and bridge the digital divide, speakers set out the challenges and potential solutions for achieving the “people” part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The day concluded with forward-looking sessions on the future of leadership, society, and work. It ended with a passionate call for “parity” in order to create a healthy global society.

The official commemoration of UN75, which took place at a socially distanced UN Headquarters, with Heads of State and Government joining virtually, focused on the theme of “The future we want, the United Nations we need: Reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism.” The meeting was addressed by 111 Heads of State and Government and 14 Ministers, who spoke in support of multilateralism and global solidarity, among other themes.  

The SDG Moment was convened virtually by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to identify changes needed to recover better from COVID-19 and deliver the SDGs over the next decade. A “reality check” on progress on the SDGs was followed by a session on SDG gaps and plans, with interventions by 21 nominated Heads of State and Government. Contributions from stakeholders then addressed finance for the decade, climate solutions, and inequality.