23 June 2010: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report 2010, a yearly assessment of global progress towards the MDGs.

The report warns that while some progress has been achieved, it is uneven. It highlights areas where accelerated efforts are needed to meet the MDGs by 2015. In his remarks at the press conference to launch the report, Ban called for focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable to lay the foundation for a more sustainable and prosperous future.

Under Goal 7 on environmental sustainability, the report indicates that, inter alia, the world lost 13 million hectares of forest each year over the last decade and population increases and economic growth have lead to a nearly 50% increase in global carbon dioxide emissions between 1991 and 2007, from 21.9 to 29.6 billion metric tons. Due to the economic downturn, the report notes that it is possible that total emissions may have decreased in 2009, but predicts that unless action is taken, emissions will rise again rapidly as the world economy recovers. The report also notes that even though the economic crisis negatively impacted job creation and incomes around the world, the world is still on track to achieve the MDG target of halving the rate of extreme poverty by 2015. [UN Press Release] [The Report]