The SDG Moment 2025 brought together Heads of State and Government and stakeholder groups to consider how to accelerate progress during the final five years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs.

Organized as a townhall, the event convened on 22 September 2025, at the opening of the High-Level Week of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Speakers highlighted 2025 events, including the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), and the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4), as well as the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development and the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30), as evidence of the possibilities and opportunities to move forward. They emphasized the role of peace and inclusivity for advancing towards the Goals.

Noting that we have a long way to go, UN Secretary-General António Guterres cited “signs of hope,” including record numbers of girls in schools, a drop in child mortality, and over 90% of global population with electricity access. He said these successes are the result of deliberate decisions. The Secretary-General underscored that the answer for how to speed up progress lies in the interconnectedness of the SDGs, as “the further we get on each SDG, the easier it is to achieve other SDGs.”

UNGA President Annalena Baerbock said the implementation gap is a gap of political will and resources rather than a gap of solutions. She called for attention to meeting commitments on loss and damage, energy transition, ecosystem restoration, and “development that makes space for voices that are often ignored.”

During a ‘World Leaders Panel Discussion,’ moderated by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the Marshall Islands and Ireland shared their countries’ work to achieve the SDGs.

President of the Marshall Islands Hilda Heine called for implementation of the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) and for “returning to the drawing board” to build a plastic pollution treaty. 

Taoiseach of Ireland Micheál Martin outlined how Ireland is applying the lessons of the Irish peace process in supporting conflict resolution in many parts of the world. He underscored the importance of reasserting multilateralism, noting that the most fundamental ingredient for peace is the political will of all parties.

Queen Mathilde (Belgium) highlighted her work as an SDG Advocate and stressed the importance of equality, inclusiveness, reduction of poverty, gender equality, and addressing the impacts of climate change.

Roya Mahboob, Founder and CEO of the Digital Citizen Fund, discussed the role of engaging women in Afghanistan with technology and digital literacy skills.

Gilbert Houngbo, Director-General, International Labor Organization (ILO), underscored the importance of reaffirming the “social” as the center of development strategies and encouraged stakeholders to see the glass as “half full rather than half empty.”

Following interventions from other stakeholders, Mohammed offered closing remarks. She said we need to ensure there is a sense of urgency to what we do and to focus on implementation at scale. She also expressed hope that participants would take the momentum from the SDG Moment into other events during the High-Level Week. [ENB Coverage of SDG Moment 2025]