The multiple crises we face today – from the climate crisis, the fight against global poverty and biodiversity loss to the COVID pandemic and the war against Ukraine – show that we need to become more resilient to crises and take an integrated approach to solving them. Sustainable development is the key to success and the 2030 Agenda is our guide.

Our livelihoods, our security and our prosperity are at stake. The German government is therefore involved in various measures at national and international level and in cooperation with partner countries.

The German government has set the SDGs as the guiding principles of its policy, and Germany’s National Sustainable Development Strategy will undergo an extensive update in 2024. Together, we are working to make progress in the key transformation areas for sustainability and to strengthen the binding nature of sustainable development strategies, goals and programmes.

Global health systems have not yet fully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. This is why the German government supports the COVAX Facility for vaccine procurement in developing countries and the establishment and expansion of strong healthcare systems.

Around the world, women and girls are especially vulnerable to poverty, hunger or violence, and they are also suffering from the impacts of the pandemic. At an international level, the German government therefore takes a feminist approach with the goal of gender equality.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine also threatens food security of many partner countries. In addition, prices for energy and food staples are rising. At the German government’s initiative, the G7 have agreed to establish a Global Alliance for Food Security.

This experience shows that sustainable supply chains are more resilient. We want to speed up this process with the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains, which will enter into force at the beginning of 2023.

Waste volumes and plastic consumption are growing throughout the world. UNEA’s decision to negotiate a UN agreement was an important first step in combating plastic pollution in the environment and oceans. By reducing waste, improving circularity and adopting more sustainable consumption and production practices, we can make an essential contribution to environmental protection and climate change mitigation.

At the second part of the 15th UN Conference on Biological Diversity, a transformative global framework for biodiversity must be agreed with ambitious targets and more robust implementation mechanisms. Germany will invest four billion euros in ecosystem restoration by 2026 under its Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity.

Only by fast-tracking implementation of the 2030 Agenda will we successfully preserve the livelihoods and development opportunities of this and future generations better than before, and overcome the crises of our time together.

It is up to us.