“Whether rain or shine, we are here because we are committed to our planet,” Amina Mohammed said during a speech at the Global Citizen Festival, against the backdrop of the UN General Assembly’s High Level Week, which follows further takes place in the street.
All to play for at halftime
She highlighted the race to achieve the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), end the climate crisis and push for true gender equality.
“What is happening today is a reflection of the leaders who gathered all week, promises made seven years ago, and today we repeat what the great Al Pacino said: tell it like it is: it is half time and we are in trouble… am not leaving!”
She asked the crowd gathered in the green heart of Manhattan if they felt like they were changing the world: “At the United Nations, we join you, we mobilize people around the world.”
Global Citizen’s main mission is to end extreme poverty, through goals that are fully aligned with the UN and the SDGs.
At the festival, world leaders pledged $240 million for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), pledged to protect an additional 900,000 hectares of land in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and received promises from nine members of the US Congress and the leader of the Labor Party in Britain, Kier Starmer, to meet national climate commitments.
Difficulty keeping promises
The Deputy Secretary-General acknowledged that many around the world are suffering both physically and mentally, as wars rage and the planet not only warms but boils.
“Leaders are really struggling to use their power to deliver on the promises of the Global Goals and they risk breaking that promise to billions of people,” she said.
The good news is that, with seven years to go until 2030, the game can still be won in the second half, but “we can’t win unless we stop our world from warming.
Bridge the gap
“We need leaders to bridge the digital divide – because we cannot win if billions of people, especially girls, stay offline and behind.”
She said leaving women and girls on the sidelines of the collective effort means half the team isn’t even on the field.
“So New Yorkers, it’s crunch time. But it is a crucial time when champions are made,” she said.
“Let us unite and fight together – step by step – to fulfill the promise to achieve the Global Goals by 2030.”