Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2020 shows the outside view of the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
Yongyi Min, lead author of the annual United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Report, emphasized the urgent need for partnerships and increased data investment to achieve the global goals by 2030.
by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang
UNITED NATIONS, July 21 (Xinhua) — In a recent interview with Xinhua, Yongyi Min, lead author of the annual United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Report, emphasized the urgent need for partnerships and increased data investment to achieve the global goals by 2030.
“Building partnerships is critical for achieving better and more inclusive data for development. Partnerships play a crucial role in enhancing data collection, analysis, and reporting processes, ensuring that data reflects the diverse needs and experiences of different populations,” said Min, also chief of the Sustainable Development Goal Monitoring Section at the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
“Recognizing the diverse national capacities in data and statistics, it is crucial to adopt a ‘whole-of-society’ approach. This involves engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector, to collectively work towards the SDGs,” she added.
Min, who manages SDGs monitoring outputs at the global level, said “each stakeholder brings unique strengths and expertise that can contribute to monitoring progress, generating inclusive data, and implementing effective solutions. Inclusivity is vital for effective SDG implementation.”
“Engaging a broad range of stakeholders, as demonstrated by many countries’ Voluntary National Review process, ensures diverse perspectives are considered,” she said. “Inclusive partnerships help generate more accurate and representative data, increase ownership of the SDGs, and enable better decision-making.”
While highlighting some successful examples, such as regular stakeholder meetings on SDG data in Cameroon, Mozambique and Uganda, and the establishment of a National Commission for the SDGs in Brazil involving various stakeholders, Min noted the overall gloomy picture in the progress of SDGs.
“According to the most recent data as of June 2022,” she said, “half have shown deviations from the desired trajectory, and more than one third have experienced no progress or regression below the 2015 baseline.”
“This is a very sobering reality, as the world is falling short of meeting most of the goals by 2030,” she added.
Emphasizing the importance of data investment, Min said “data and statistics are the engine that can drive the acceleration of the SDGs.”
“Every (U.S.) dollar invested in strengthening data systems generates 32 dollars in economic benefits. But too many countries still lack the capacity to take advantage of the data dividend and risk being left behind because they do not have fully funded and effective foundational systems on which the new data solutions can build and can be integrated,” she said.
Min also showed concern over the impact of human activities on climate change and emphasized the importance of raising awareness and giving special attention to this issue by the entire international community.
“Over a century of burning fossil fuels, unsustainable energy and land use, and untenable consumption and production patterns have caused global warming of 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” she said.
She warned that the world is on track to surpass the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius tipping point of global warming by around 2035, with the potential for an unsustainable warming of around 2.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
Despite global climate finance flows reaching an annual average of 803 billion dollars in 2019-2020, there remains a significant shortfall in meeting the needs of developing countries.
Min estimated that nearly 6 trillion dollars in additional funding will be required by 2030 to support countries in achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions related to climate action.■
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