25 September 2012
UN Secretary-General Releases Annual Report
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released his report on the work of the Organization, which discusses: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20); climate change; Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL); and the global jobs crisis; among other topics.

September 2012: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has released his annual report on the work of the Organization. The report includes nine sections and highlights Ban’s five-year Action Agenda, which identifies opportunities for joint action. The section on promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development discusses: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20); climate change; Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL); and the global jobs crisis.

In a speech delivered on the launch of the report, Ban emphasized changing time horizons for national and international action, noting that “The world is moving faster, and we must react faster. This is as true in the peace and security and in the human rights arena as it is in the development arena.”

The report indicates that while progress has been made on some MDGs, inequalities are prevalent. It calls for accelerating action on the MDGs and notes that the UN plans to develop accountability mechanisms to monitor delivery on commitments made to advance the MDGs. An Annex provides statistics on the MDGs, targets and indicators.

On Rio+20, the report underscores that governments and other stakeholders began charting a course for sustainable development beyond 2015. It describes activities related to the post-2015 agenda, from defining sustainable development goals (SDGs) to the High-level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. It highlights that a new disaster risk reduction (DRR) framework will be developed to replace the 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters.

On climate change, the report notes the growing need for action while recognizing three outcomes from the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol; mitigation plans among 89 countries through 2020; and an agreement to negotiate a future legal framework by 2015. The report calls for mobilizing financial and technological resources and expresses Ban’s commitment “to working to secure a global, binding agreement commensurate with the threat and impacts of climate change, by 2015.”

The report highlights the SE4ALL Initiative, as well as the role of bold commitments and public-private partnerships (PPP) in achieving SE4ALL on the ground. It underlines that over 50 developing countries have committed to the Initiative’s aim to achieve sustainable energy for all by 2030 through: ensuring universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

This year’s report is paperless, in line with the UN commitment to go green. [Statement by the UN Secretary-General] [Publication: Report on the Work of the Organization]

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