United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015

The UN Sustainable Development Summit continued on Saturday, 26 September 2015. Heads of State and Government and other dignitaries addressed the plenary all day and into the evening. Speakers noted the accomplishments as well as the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals, including their uneven achievement across the world. They urged building on this experience to enhance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many speakers stressed the need to engage with actors at the national level, especially youth, to ensure country ownership for implementation.

Plenary speakers also stressed the need to agree on a durable and ambitious climate change agreement in Paris this December. Others highlighted the crosscutting influence of climate change on achieving sustainable development outcomes.

Interactive dialogues on “Fostering Sustainable Economic Growth, Transformation and Promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production” and “Delivering on a Revitalized Global Partnership” took place in the morning and afternoon.

Many side events convened in and around the conference venue, including the UN Global Compact’s Private Sector Forum, and events promoting stakeholder engagement in implementing the SDGs, and ensuring accountability, organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Government of Switzerland, respectively. The day was capped off for many at an evening concert, the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, where cultural icons, artists and policy makers educated and entertained the audience about the “Global Goals.”