According to the 2024 SDG Report, only 17% of SDG targets are on track to being achieved by 2030. The prolonged impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating conflicts, geopolitical tensions and growing climate chaos have severely hindered SDG progress. Without massive investment and scaled-up action, the achievement of the SDGs will remain intangible. Therefore, the global report calls for bold action on peace and finance, highlighting the upcoming Summit of the Future, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, and the second World Summit for Social Development, as critical milestones to achieving the SDGs. To reconfirm this commitment, the HLPF adopted a ministerial declaration, which identified the current situation and challenges, alongside future actions and investment pathways needed to reinforce the 2030 Agenda.
In the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates that 22% of targets either have been achieved or will be achieved by 2030, while 46% of them are headed in the right direction but not quickly enough to be fulfilled on time, and the remaining 32% are not expected to be achieved. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, actively participated in several of the global forum’s plenary sessions and side events, where he shared his vision for moving towards a more productive, inclusive and sustainable development model in the region and reaffirmed its proposal for economic and social transformation to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
In the opening of the HLPF, Chair Paula Narváez, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations, called for a renewed commitment to multilateralism and constructive dialogue to achieve the necessary transformations. About 90 Heads of State and Government, Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, Vice Ministers and ministerial level officials participated over the course of two weeks in the Forum, accompanied by a thousand actors from major groups and other stakeholders. Apart from the plenary sessions, 236 side events, 14 Exhibitions, 13 special events and 13 VNRs Labs were organized. To monitor national progress towards the SDGs, HLPF 2024 featured 36 Voluntary National Review (VNR) presentations, out of which eight were from the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, namely Belize and Brazil for the second time, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras and Peru for the third time, and Colombia and Mexico for the fourth time. These reviews provided valuable insights into national experiences, lessons learned, and obstacles encountered in implementing the 2030 Agenda.
As a highlight of this year’s programme, the five UN Regional Commissions organized the annual plenary session entitled “Messages from the Regions” to showcase regional challenges, innovative pathways and opportunities for accelerating progress towards the SDGs and present transformative policies and actions for the remaining six years until the established deadline for the SDGs in 2030. The session discussed the recommendations from the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development and provided a particular focus on the Pact for the Future and its pillars on sustainable development and financing for development as well as science, technology, innovation and digital cooperation. It also featured a joined brochure with key messages from the five regions and a video which captured the voices of diverse stakeholders around the world.
With only six years left to fulfill the vision of the 2030 Agenda, its achievement requires an unprecedented level of collective action. International cooperation and greater commitment from all relevant actors must be urgently scaled up to find lasting solutions. ECLAC's Community of Practice on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries as well as the upcoming eighth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development to be held at the ECLAC’s Headquarters in Santiago de Chile in April 2025 provide an opportunity to promote regional cooperation to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Only together can we create an environment in which no one is left behind, and all people can fulfil their true potential, shaping a just and sustainable future for all, ahead of the Summit of the Future and beyond.
