New commitments and partnerships to accelerate SDG progress in the United States – Brookings Institution

On the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly, U.S. leaders gathered in New York City at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice for the fourth annual American leadership in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals hosted by the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution and the United Nations Foundation.
The gathering showcased ways different segments of American society are embracing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to tackle local and global challenges, from new commitments to community partnerships. The event also reflected the diversity of experience and expertise needed to accelerate progress, showcased reverse SDGs trends that are moving in the wrong direction, and unlocked new resources and political leadership as the world reaches the midpoint to SDG’s 2030 target.
 “As we advance our work in support of the 2030 Agenda, let us redouble our efforts, take an inclusive approach, and remember that each of those 17 goals is linked to an individual human life.” – Ambassador Lisa Carty, U.S. Representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council
Several key insights emerged from the conversation on how to enable greater ambition on the SDGs and fill the gaps in U.S. progress:
“The real question is how can we get the private sector more engaged? What is my differential strength that I can bring, that our company can bring, to achieving the SDGs together as a global community?” – Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org
“Failure in the U.S. on the SDGs would be a betrayal of America’s promise of opportunity for all and a blow to our efforts to advance human rights and dignity around the world.” – Rep. Barbara Lee, D-CA
“Use your power to actively reach out to us to hear our stories, thoughts, and ideas… We can never achieve a world that we dream of – a world of peace and justice for all – without our young people.” – Himaja Nagireddy, UNA-USA Youth Observer to the U.N.
This event displayed bright spots on American leadership and action toward the SDGs across different segments of American society. It also highlighted the opportunities for action across the U.S., from university campuses and boardrooms to Congress and city halls. As Ridgway White suggested in his closing remarks, the U.S. government also has an opportunity to reinforce the existing leadership and tap into this momentum by producing a “Voluntary National Review” to report its national progress on the SDGs.
Working together across sectors, the U.S. can help accelerate efforts to bring the SDGs progress back on track as the world approaches the midpoint in 2023. As Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the U.N. Foundation said, “this is a perishable opportunity and one that we cannot miss.”
Future Development
The Future Development blog informs and stimulates debate on key sustainable development issues within and across all countries.
Now hosted by the Center for Sustainable Development, this blog was originally launched in September 2013 by the World Bank and the Brookings Institution in an effort to hold governments more accountable to poor people and offer solutions to the most prominent development challenges. Continuing this goal, Future Development was re-launched in January 2015 at brookings.edu. In the ensuing years, the blog’s scope evolved in parallel with ongoing international policy debates and was formally updated in November 2022 to focus on broader challenges of sustainable development around the world.
For archived content, visit worldbank.org »

source