Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and other government leaders are currently in New York at the United Nations General Assembly to revitalize a plan, first introduced approximately seven years ago, to enhance the lives of people worldwide.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a collection of ambitious initiatives aimed at safeguarding the environment. This crucial plan was devised to raise awareness about the disastrous effects of climate change and explore ways to mitigate them. Given the pressing challenges we face, there can be no limit to our ambition.
Despite the necessity of these steps, only about 15% of the proposals have been implemented halfway through the program. We cannot compromise on these actions; they cannot be adjusted. Our attitude towards them must undergo a complete transformation. What were once choices are now imperatives.
Such meetings are more than useless if there is no unified will to act collectively, as they simply deceive people into believing urgent issues are being addressed when, in reality, they are being delayed further.
The lack of progress is often attributed to the pandemic, the rise in armed conflicts, and the increase in extreme weather events, but weren’t these the very issues the UN was established to tackle? Without the necessary level of determination and cooperation, the entire endeavor is bound to fail.
This would betray the billions of people depending on a significant shift in global behavior and a belated transition to sustainable living. Strong leadership, which has been regrettably absent thus far, is the key to achieving this objective.
Ireland and Qatar were assigned the task last year of formulating a resolution that can reignite and reinforce commitment to the meaningful change underpinning the goals.
Mr. Varadkar has pledged to urge leaders to maximize their efforts to make up for lost time.
However, leaders should not require further prompting to do the right thing. The apocalyptic scenes of fires, floods, and droughts speak for themselves.
Extreme weather events have repeatedly reminded us that time is running out. Mr. Varadkar has recognized the critical challenges facing the world.
If Ireland has committed itself to play a central role in ensuring real progress in the implementation of these goals, as stated by Mr. Varadkar, then we must deliver. Otherwise, we risk being seen as merely offering superficial “good intentions” when concrete results are desperately needed to assist the world’s most vulnerable.
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