Forging a better future for all
Interview with Achim Steiner, administrator, United Nations Development Programme
With the Sustainable Development Goals as their compass and the power of digital technologies and artificial intelligence at their disposal, G20 leaders must cooperate for a future of development that preserves our planet for generations to come
How is the world progressing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by their 2030 deadline?
We are not progressing as fast or as evenly as we had envisaged in 2015. So many vulnerable economies are grappling with the post-pandemic debt crisis. The investments needed for key areas such as the just energy transition are being eroded because governments must service their debts. On top of the prolonged pandemic-related paralysis and global disruptions are the catastrophic impacts of war, conflicts and instability.
Yet I am struck by how countries with different policy regimes, capabilities and resources have very different outcomes. Many middle-income and upper-middle-income countries with social safety nets and temporary basic income programmes prevented millions of people from falling into poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic and have recovered remarkably quickly. Economic growth and job creation are advancing significantly in many high-income countries and emerging economies. But divergence is reappearing, with some countries recovering faster and investing in their future, and others stuck in a debt, governance, economic and financial trap.
The SDGs remain more relevant than ever in helping the world to come together in critical areas where it will fail without cooperation. They remain a compass, rather than a destination, to help the world converge to act on issues that no country can deal with on its own.
What is the impact on progress towards the SDGs on climate change?
We have lost vital years in which the world could have put in place the transformations and transitions that are needed to move to a net zero world. Now in 2024, the climate emergency is killing tens of thousands of people. Floods, droughts, displacement, disruption and diseases are extraordinary flashing lights telling us that climate change is happening and the time to move forward is pressing in with every passing day.
Yet there are also profound shifts. For instance, more than one in three new car registrations in China was electric in 2023. The United States, European Union, India, Uruguay and Kenya have exponential growth in renewable energy. Several European countries already produce more than 50% of their electricity from renewables. These remarkable transformations were unthinkable just a few years ago. That includes the prospect of finally connecting the 600 million people on the continent of Africa without electricity using technologies such as solar and wind.
Moreover, energy security is suddenly a prime driver of renewed, rethought energy policies and strategies. For instance, green hydrogen is driving the biggest industrial investment in Namibia, using abundantly available renewables – creating a new export commodity and helping it become independent of electricity imports.
How can the G20 leaders in Rio get the SDGs back on track?
Brazil’s G20 presidency has put financing at the top of the agenda. The G20, in its core relevance and role, sends significant fiscal, financial and economic signals that influence actors across capital markets and government policy. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is deliberately tackling issues that can divide countries internally – including hunger, poverty, inequality and social injustice – and calling on G20 leaders to act in unison to reduce the risks of these issues worsening. He has also embraced the climate change agenda, trying to lay the groundwork for the leading economies to step up financing.
However, the G20 has been negligent in acting consequentially on debt and preventing it from becoming chronic. There is much hope that the Brazilian presidency may be able to give much-needed impetus here.
Brazil’s finance minister Fernando Haddad has proposed bold tax reforms for the wealthy. It is unfair and unreasonable to tax a worker’s income at, say, 25%, while billionaires can sometimes pay 5% or less. Such reforms could mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars and achieve more liquidity for public investment, and also address the injustice of billionaires relocating to ‘optimise’ their taxes. These are signals that hopefully will emerge from Brazil’s G20 presidency, alongside many others.
What promise does artificial intelligence hold for spurring action on the SDGs?
Digital technologies and AI will fundamentally transform every policy decision, development trajectory and development choice over the coming decades. Indeed, analysis by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Telecommunication Union found that 70% of the SDG targets could benefit from accelerated implementation because of digital and AI technologies.
However, the world has been woefully unprepared for understanding and anticipating the risks. Yet major change is afoot. That includes the new Global Digital Compact, which marks the first truly worldwide agreement on the international regulation of AI, founded on the idea that technology should benefit everyone.
By their nature, AI and digital technologies transcend national boundaries. So how do we rapidly develop the institutional regulatory capacities and human capital required for these opportunities? If you have a digitally literate generation coming out of school, the entire national economy will still be at a disadvantage without a digital public infrastructure that enables broad internet access. So public policy really matters for DPI, education and international development to ensure that countries aren’t left behind.
It’s also a key multilateral moment because cybersecurity and cybercrime are so ubiquitous. Countries without regulatory frameworks, agencies, legislation and capacity to investigate and control crime become the weakest link in a global chain that ties us all together. The US, Japan, Australia and South Africa have significant legislation and cybersecurity infrastructure – but someone who can bring down an entire grid may sit in a country not even on
the map of supposedly digitally advanced economies.
That is why UNDP offers help to countries to assess their digital readiness, address DPI strategies, and look at the equity, rights and legislative parameters with which they can shape their digital ecosystem – because digital is now the platform for accelerated development. In this age of opportunities, digital technologies are spreading quickly but not evenly. With the groundbreaking Pact for the Future now in place, the United Nations family will continue to support countries to turn the immense possibilities inherent in digital technologies into tomorrow’s realities – ultimately helping to leave a legacy of a greener, more sustainable world for the many generations to come.
