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Mayors worldwide commit to boost SDG efforts
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Acting Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono (left) stands with Toyota Mayor Toshihiko Ota (second left) at the 2024 International Mayors Forum (IMF) press conference in Jakarta on July 4, 2024. (ANTARA/Lia Wanadriani Santosa.)
M
ayors and governors from around the world declared on Thursday their shared commitment to boost efforts to achieve the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as progress on the program lags.
The declaration was made at the 6th International Mayors Forum, held from Tuesday to Thursday in Jakarta. It brought together civil society groups, academics, officials and UN representatives to discuss ways for regional administrations to take on a greater role in localizing and advancing the SDGs.
Navid Hanif, the assistant secretary-general for economic development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), said in his opening remarks that regional administrations were a “beacon of hope” to accelerate progress in the six remaining years of the SDG program. Only 17 percent of the SDG targets are currently on track.
Meanwhile, with more than half of the global population living in urban areas, about 65 percent of the SDG targets are strongly related to the work and mandates of local governments.
The localization of the SDGs is especially crucial for the least developed and lower-middle-income countries, which are projected to see rapid urbanization until 2050.
“Recognizing the critical role of urban and rural authorities in global sustainability [...] we commit to fostering resilient, adaptive and inclusive municipal environments amid a changing climate to foment prosperous local economies, ensuring that no one is left behind,” said Murtaza Wahab, the mayor of Karachi, Pakistan, as he read out the joint declaration on Thursday.
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