The world’s cities are “critical battlegrounds” to making multilateralism work for all in the struggle for a sustainable future, UN secretary-general António Guterres said in a recent message to the United Nations Habitat Assembly.
Guterres said cities were on the frontline for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda and the Parsi Agreement on climate change.
“Cities are critical battlegrounds. They generate 70 percent of global emissions. They house half of humanity. And by 2050, over two billion more people will call them home,” he said,
The UN meeting ended in Nairobi, Kenya. It is hosted by the government of Kenya in collaboration with UN Habitat, the UN human settlements program.
More than 80 ministers and vice ministers attended, along with 5,000 delegates from around the world, said the UN urban affairs agency.
Guterres’ blueprint for action, Our Common Agenda, calls for a reinvigorated and more inclusive multilateralism, recognizing the pivotal role cities and other local authorities play, in addressing the challenges ahead.
“Such multilateralism is vital to help cities to play their part”, he said, “to ensure the finance, information and support is in place for them to become resilient, inclusive and sustainable.”
Although cities have always spawned the ideas and innovations that have led human development, they’re more important than ever, “amidst a world in crisis,” he added.
“Inequalities are increasing. Global temperatures are rising, with catastrophic effects. Debt is straining developing countries’ economies to the limit. And halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we are leaving more than half the world behind.”
Guterres pointed out that an estimated 670 million still live in extreme poverty, and over one billion people, continue to endure slum conditions, due to lack of services available elsewhere.
“There is still time to reverse these trends”, he said, and multilateralism must support cities to act on climate change, affordable housing, and the SDGs.
“I am confident that this UN Habitat Assembly will advance these aims, including through your ministerial declaration. Together, we can achieve the sustainable urban future we need to build a peaceful, prosperous and healthy world for all,” he said.
In his video remarks to the conference, general assembly president Csaba Kőrösi outlined key ways that cities can become more sustainable.
He noted the importance of compiling comprehensive data and statistics and urged governments to fully assess urban development in the context of climate change, health, food security and water supply.
“But what we urgently need is a mindset shift. From a business-as-usual planning and operation, to one aiming at real sustainability transformation,” he said. “This means strengthening the science-policy interface, advancing evidence-based solutions, and approaching our goals holistically.”
Kenya president William Ruto officially opened the conference assembly, along with UN-Habitat executive director Maimunah Mohd Sharif.
Sharif told delegates that member states needed “to prioritize national and local cooperation as the basis of a just transition. Let us never forget human rights and the UN Charter, as the basis for sustainable urbanization.”
She described the challenge facing all humankind as “enormous.”
“The only way we can achieve positive and transformative impact on the ground, is not to go at it alone, but to embrace multilateral action.” UN News
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