G20 Summit: Delhi Leaders’ Declaration focuses on accelerating SDG progress

 An ideal perfect world is one that is prosperous and sustainable, in which no one sleeps hungry, and all the people can lead productive lives by living peacefully on a healthy planet. Dreaming of a similar perfect world, the United Nations (UN), in 2015, set forward with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) - a collection of 17 global goals, including 169 targets - aimed at improving the planet and the quality of human life around the world by the year 2030.

While until 2019, significant progress was made in some critical areas, the COVID-19 pandemic and the triple crisis of climate, biodiversity and pollution had a devastating impact with only 12 per cent of the targets on track. Acknowledging the need to steadfast actions, the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration also includes ‘Accelerating Progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’.

Recommitting to achieving SDGs, the declaration states accelerating progress on SDGs, by taking collective action for effective and timely implementation of the G20 2023 Action Plan to Accelerate Progress on the SDGs, including its High-Level Principles.

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The 7-year action plan for the G20 focuses on three core agendas: Harnessing data and digital technologies for development, Implementing Sustainable, Inclusive, and Just Transitions globally while leaving no one behind (LNOB), and Investing in Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. The declaration also reiterates G20 nations' commitment to take action to scale up sustainable finance.

Other focus areas under acceleration progress on SDG include eliminating hunger and malnutrition, macroeconomic impacts of food and energy insecurity, strengthening global health and implementing one health approach, finance-health collaboration, delivering quality education, and culture as a transformative driver of SDGs.

For Eliminating Hunger and Malnutrition, the G20 group has committed to enhance global food security and nutrition for all in line with the G20 Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition 2023. As the global food and energy prices have fallen from their peak levels, the potential for high levels of volatility in food and energy markets remains, given the uncertainties in the global economy.

In this context, the decertation takes note of  G20 Report on Macroeconomic Impacts of Food and Energy Insecurity and their Implications for the Global Economy and will focus on replenishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) resources at the end of the year by IFAD members to support IFAD’s fight against food insecurity.

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