• Print

Details

Published: Wednesday, 10 July 2019 07:16

Hits: 181

United Nations, July 10 .- Actions aimed at eradicating poverty, hunger and combating climate change are still too slow to achieve compliance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, warns a new UN report.

According to the deputy general secretary of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, Liu Zhenmin, there is a big gap in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the world runs out of time to revert the current situation, points out Prensa Latina.

Above all, in terms of climate change, the reduction of poverty and hunger, he said.

According to the 2019 Sustainable Development Goals Report released at the UN High Level Political Forum, climate change continues to be the main obstacle.

With the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, global warming is advancing at a faster pace than anticipated and its effects are already perceived, the report said.

Liu gave as an example the figures showing an increase in sea level, a rise in global temperatures and the occurrence of more extreme weather events.

Therefore, it is urgent to reduce polluting emissions and increase adaptation efforts: the clock is running and we run out of time, stressed the UN representative.

Also more people in the world suffer from hunger, it is estimated that 821 million were malnourished in 2017, compared to 784 million who suffered this condition in 2015. That is, one in nine people do not have enough to eat, reveals the report.

Africa remains the continent with the highest prevalence of malnutrition, with some 256 million people affected or a fifth of the global population of the planet.

Meanwhile, extreme poverty - a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs - continues to decline, but that decline has slowed down in such a way that the world is not on track to reach the goal set for 2030.

According to current estimates, the number of people in this situation cannot be reduced to less than three percent and the percentage is more likely to be around six percent by 2030.

This would be approximately 420 million, a trend of 'serious concern', said the head of the UN, António Guterres, in his comments to the report.

Many people are left behind: as inequalities increase, and poverty and hunger hit the most vulnerable populations hardest, there are not enough actions to combat these trends, warned the Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Global problems require global solutions, he added, and although the Sustainable Development Goals are a high goal, all UN member states have an obligation to promote those goals, he recalled.

It is not about lack of money, it is a lack of interest to invest in those areas that are so necessary, said the Chinese diplomat.

'If more is invested in the Sustainable Development Goals, the scenario will not be so precarious and we could reach the 2030 Agenda.' (RHC)