On 27 September 2015, Prime Minister, Minister of State of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, participated in the plenary of the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development in New York, where 17 sustainable development goals (SDG), broken down into 169 'targets', were adopted after more than two years of negotiations.
Along with Minister of Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Romain Schneider, and Minister for the Environment, Carole Dieschbourg, Prime Minister Bettel was in New York to represent the Grand Duchy as the sustainable development programme for 2030 was adopted.
Following over two years of negotiations between governments and with the active participation of the private sector and civil society, the 193 UN member countries present agreed upon the 17 SDGs which will have as their primary objective the eradication of poverty in all its forms by 2030.
The sustainable development agenda offers a universal and inclusive approach to deal with the 1.22 billion people around the world who live on less than $1.25 a day. This approach will tackle, amongst others, issues such as the elimination of hunger, universal access to education and healthcare, the fight against inequality, combatting climate change, natural resource conservation, the protection of biodiversity, decent work for all and the creation of peaceful socieites.
"Let us not forget that the scope of the new sustainable development goals, compared with the previous Millenium Development Goals, will require diverse and mutually complementary sources of funding," stated the Luxembourgish Prime Minister in hiw speech welcoming the new 2030 programme. "[Official Development Assistance] is still relevant and will remain a crucial lever for providing addiitonal capital".
The Prime Minister then commended the clear indicators established by the UN to gauge the progress made by the country, commenting: "A rigorous monitoring of the implementation of the measures adopted today will be crucial, in order to objectively measure the results and have an overview of the collected progress accomplished. UN leadership, supported by regional and national efforts, should be the guarantor of an inclusive and transversal implementation of the agenda".
Prime Minister Bettel also formed part of the interactive dialogue concerning "Combatting Climate Change and Protecting Our Planet", which forms one of the seventeen sustainable development goals. The Prime Minister emphasised the link between humanitarian and environmental crises, explaining that "We will not overcome the major crises - migrations, wars and hunger - without restoring the dignity of men and women with respect to the land that feeds us".
Luxembourg is significantly engages in international financing for climate action, providing a contribution which "will amount to €120 million for the years of 2014-2020", as announced by the Prime Minister in New York. This investment will be in addition to the official development assistance.
Photos by Luxembourg Government (Bottom L-R: Minister of the Environment, Carole Dieschbourg; Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Romain Schneider; Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel)
