Summary
The High-level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took place on Thursday, 21 April 2016, at UN Headquarters, in New York. Following opening keynote speeches, plenary convened throughout the day for national statements on the theme “Action at All Levels: National Implementation.” In the morning, two panels took place on the theme “financing poverty eradication and sustainable development” addressing successful frameworks and strategies for financing SDGs and the paradigm shift towards low carbon societies, and enhancing international cooperation in tax and financial matters.
A high-level lunch discussed partnerships for SDG implementation. In the afternoon, two panels took place under the theme “technology and data for SDGs,” on enhancing technology development and cooperation for SDGs and harnessing the data revolution for SDGs. In the evening, a high-level reception addressed climate action in the context of sustainable development.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided web coverage from the High Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, IISD Reporting Services, has published a briefing note from the debate in HTML and PDF formats.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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Opening Ceremony
Drummers from Mamaroneck High School
President of the UNGA Mogens Lykketoft
Moderator Ghida Fakhry
UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson
Forest Whitaker, SDG Advocate and Actor
Victoria Barrett, ACE Fellow
Leymah Gbowee, SDG Advocate and Liberian peace activist
Sunny George Verghese, Co–Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Olam International Ltd.
Moderated dialogue on the SDGs
L-R: Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Deputy Director-General, International Institute for Applied System Analysis;
Moderator Ghida Fakhry; and Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University
Statements:
János Áder, President, Hungary
Ribulik Naoero, President, Nauru
Evo Morales, President of Bolivia
Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator
Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director
Youth participants at the SDGs
Interactive Dialogues:
Financing Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development
View of the interactive dialogue on financing poverty eradication and sustainable development
L-R: Barbara Adams, Senior Policy Advisor, Global Policy Forum; Namita Vikas, Group President and Country Head,
Responsible Banking & Chief Sustainability Officer, YES Bank; Torbin Möger Pedersen, CEO, Pension Denmark;
Izabella Teixeira, Minister of Environment, Brazil; Maggie Lake, Anchor and Correspondent, CNN International;
and Mark Carney, Governor, Bank of England
Barbara Adams, Senior Policy Advisor, Global Policy Forum
Namita Vikas, Group President and Country Head,
Responsible Banking & Chief Sustainability Officer, YES Bank
Izabella Teixeira, Minister of Environment, Brazil
Torbin Möger Pedersen, CEO, Pension Denmark
Maggie Lake, Anchor and Correspondent, CNN International
Mark Carney, Governor, Bank of England
L-R: Enrique García Rodríguez, Executive President and CEO, Development Bank of Latin America; Héla Cheikhrouhou,
Executive
Director, Green Climate Fund; and Stefano Prato, Managing Director, Society for International Development
Enhancing International Cooperation in Tax and Finance Matters
L-R: Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International; Vicente Paolo Yu, Head of
Administration and
Coordinator, Global Governance for Development Programme, South Centre; Min Zhu, Deputy
Managing Director, IMF; Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General, UNCTAD; José Antonio Ocampo, Director of the
Economic and Political Development Concentration in the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University;
and Tom Butler, President and CEO, International Council on Mining and Metals
Vicente Paolo Yu, Head of
Administration and
Coordinator, Global Governance for Development Programme, South Centre
Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International
Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General, UNCTAD
L-R: Tove Maria Ryding, Policy and Advocacy Manager – Tax Justice, EURODAD; and
Marcos Bonturi, Director, Global Relations Secretariat, OECD
Technology and Data for SDGs: Enhancing Technology Development and Cooperation for SDGs
L-R: Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute; Thomas Videbeck, Novozymes; Sirodjidin Aslov,
Minister
of Foreign Affairs, Tajikistan; Esben Lunde Larsen, Minister for Environment and Food, Denmark;
Rachel Kyte,
CEO,
SE4ALL, and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General;
and Barbara Birungi, Director, Women in Technology, Uganda
Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute
Barbara Birungi, Director, Women in Technology Uganda
Rachel Kyte, CEO, SE4ALL, and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General
Harnessing the Data Revolution for SDGs—Opportunities and Challenges
Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General, UNDESA
L-R: Amina Mohammed, Minister of Environment, Nigeria; Lara Birkes, Chief Sustainability Officer, Hewlett Packard
Enterprise; Lisa Grace Bersales, Co-Chair, IAEG-SDGs; Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UNFPA;
Christian Friis Bach, Chair, UN Regional Economic Commissions; and Erica Hagen, Board Member and
Founder, Map Kibera
Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UNFPA
Amina Mohammed, Minister of Environment, Nigeria
Christian Friis Bach, Chair, UN Regional Economic Commissions
High-Level Lunch: Partnerships for SDG Implementation
L-R: Rhea Suh, President, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); Peter Bakker, President, World Business
Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Jeremy Oppenheim, Programme Director, Global Business for
Sustainable Development; and Moderator Ghida Fakhry
High-Level Reception: Climate Action in the Context of Sustainable Development
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Rumaihi, Minister of Municipality and Environment, Qatar
Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez, Civil society representative
L-R: Victoria Barrett, ACE Fellow; Rima Cempaka, Office of the President of the General Assembly; Xiuhtezcatl
Roske-Martinez, Civil society representative