The world was not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals before the pandemic. The COVID crisis has exacerbated existing challenges, systemic injustice and inequalities, and in today’s complex global conjuncture and unprecedented emergencies, the SDGs hang in the balance and humanity is likely to lose its chance to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
Malaysia’s national development targets, as laid out in the 12th Malaysia Plan, reflect the ambition and scale required to recover from the pandemic and build the foundations for an inclusive, prosperous and sustainable future. The Voluntary National Review carried out in 2021 highlights SDG achievements and bottlenecks, and the imperative of structural transformation.
Despite progress on many targets, and the Government’s response and ability to take decisive actions swiftly to protect lives and livelihoods, much remains to be done to put the country back on a resilient and sustainable trajectory. This will require action, ambition, solidarity and investment at scale in innovation and long-term transition to cleaner energy.
In a conversation with the UN Resident Coordinator in Malaysia and a broad range of policymakers, development actors, academics and civil society representatives, Professor Sachs will provide an overview of the current global situation and its implications for countries like Malaysia. He will discuss how the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the SDGs, remains the most relevant development roadmap to drive structural transformation. He will also provide entry points and practical solutions to steer the economy towards a green and fair transition, reduce poverty and inequalities, bolster adaptation and leverage technology and innovation.
What will it take for Malaysia to keep the SDG promise?
Join us in this kick-off session to a series of conversations and thematic consultations leading up to the second Malaysia SDG Summit, planned for September 2022.
