The 2025 annual gathering of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) came ten years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and amid an increasingly urgent multilateral reform agenda.

Following the Summit of the Future in 2024 and as the UN commemorates its 80th anniversary in 2025, many awaited the unveiling of new proposals for consolidating UN governance and reforming key pillars of multilateral action, including peace and security and the acceleration of the SDGs. These themes were at the heart of the Summit’s outcome: the Pact for the Future, and related Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations.

Convening under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC), HLPF 2025 addressed the theme: “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.” As is customary, the HLPF took an in-depth look at five SDGs: SDG 3 (good health and well-being); SDG 5 (gender equality); SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth); SDG 14 (life below water); and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals). In addition, 35 countries presented their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), bringing the total number of country progress reports reviewed at the HLPF so far to more than 398. To enhance the sharing of good practices and lessons learned in SDG implementation, multistakeholder “VNR Labs” – an informal platform for experience-sharing and reflection held under Chatham House rules – will convene in parallel to the official programme.

HLPF 2025 explored interlinkages and synergies with other key intergovernmental processes in 2025, including the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+30), the Third United Nations Ocean Conference, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), and the Second World Summit for Social Development.

These issues dominated discussions during the ministerial segment and ECOSOC high-level segment, which will convened in parallel. The high-level discussions focused on current global trends in globalization and their impacts on the achievement of the SDGs as well as the support of the multilateral system on the way forward. The multilateral system is facing many challenges, including ongoing conflicts, the global economy, trade, and climate change. In addition, many are concerned about the impact of the current US government’s distancing itself from several UN-mediated global targets and programmes, directly affecting the implementation of several SDGs, particularly on gender, health, climate change, and sustainable energy.

The consultative process to develop the draft HLPF outcome was co-facilitated by Amb. Jakub Kulhánek (Czechia) and Amb. Inga Rhonda King (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). The co-facilitators published a zero draft of the Ministerial Declaration on 14 April 2025. 

The 2025 meeting of the HLPF convened at UN Headquarters in New York from 14-23 July 2025. The meeting brought together ministerial and high-level representatives of governments, as well as a wide range of expertise and stakeholders, including heads of UN entities, academics and other experts, and representatives of Major Groups and other stakeholders. Diverse side events, special events and exhibitions were organized on the sidelines of the HLPF.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting were Wangu Mwangi; Deborah Davenport, Ph.D.; Gabriella Boger Prado; and Stefan Jungcurt, Ph.D. The Photographer was Kiara Worth, Ph.D. The Editor was Pam Chasek, Ph.D.