Highlights and images for 13 July 2026

“Delivering the SDGs in four years will not be easy, but this house was not built for easy tasks. Headwinds are no excuse; the UN was not built for easy winds.” 

If the general debate at the 2025 meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) was characterized by an atmosphere of shock in the face of emerging conflicts, climate shocks and open attacks on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock’s words captured a spirit of “now more than ever,” that resonated with many Member States. 

Following the assessment by UN Secretary-General António Guterres that SDG progress is limited or reversed by global conflicts, debt burdens, limited fiscal space, concentration of power, and increasing climate impacts, Baerbock challenged delegates to “chose hope” reminding them that no country can achieve sustainable development in isolation. 

Speaking for Children and Youth, Jaewon Choi urged delegates to take practical steps to address some of the crises holding the SDGs back, including the negotiation of an international convention on sovereign debt and reinforcing the independence of the UN Human Rights System. He also said progress on international tax cooperation and artificial intelligence (AI) governance show that true partnership can drive progress, expressing hope that enhanced participation of Youth and other stakeholders across the UN system can drive accelerated implementation. 

Speakers from small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries reported moderate progress despite setbacks from disaster, spikes in energy prices, and internal or external conflicts, expressing their determination to overcome these challenges. 

These statements, however, came with a consistent reminder that Member States and stakeholders alike must walk the talk of cooperation with effective and predictable partnerships and a reform of the international financial system that will increase access to concessional funding for the most vulnerable states and show pathways towards closing the USD 4 trillion dollar SDG financing gap. 

Finance continued to be a common theme in the Voluntary National Review (VNR) presentations as well, with many SIDS and developing countries explicitly stating progress made to mobilize domestic resources. In most cases these are increased tax revenues, which many countries are reportedly aiming to push towards the recommended 15% of gross domestic product (GDP). In some cases, these actions are complemented by the establishment of national development banks or sovereign wealth funds. 

Another common theme in the VNR presentations was the participation of stakeholders in VNR production and SDG implementation overall. Here the reported models vary from temporary national committees collecting feedback from stakeholder groups to complex-multi-level systems that aim to engage stakeholders more permanently in the design, implementation, and monitoring of SDG implementation. 

Many VNR presentations ended with a strong commitment to implement the SDGs by 2030 “and beyond.” In a similar vein, minsters and other high-level speakers used their general debate statements to affirm their support for the SDGs and, in principle, for the HLPF as the venue for honest assessment and learning, although some noted the need for HLPF reform. 

Overall, Member States seemed to confirm the Secretary-General’s optimism, when he declared “I have enormous hope” that the global community will keep the 2030 vision alive and “make the final years to 2030 count.”