Lighting the path to a transformative vision

The United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with a set of bold new goals.

News | 29 September 2015
New York – With the simple words “it is so decided”, the Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, co-chair of the Summit, gavelled the formal adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its ambitious and wide-ranging new sustainable development goals.

“We have reached a defining moment in human history. The people of the world have asked us to shine a light on a future of promise and opportunity. Member States have responded with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” announced UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon just prior to the adoption.

The new development vision, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, is a global agreement by all 193 Member States of the UN to wipe out poverty, promote decent work, fight inequality and tackle climate change over the next 15 years and replace the Millennium Development Goals that were set back in 2000.

Mr. Ban speaking to the press after the adoption said that “these Goals are a blueprint for a better future. Now we must use the goals to transform the world. We will do that through partnership and through commitment. We must leave no-one behind."



Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly called the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development “ambitious” in confronting the injustices of poverty, marginalization and discrimination.

“We recognize the need to reduce inequalities and to protect our common home by changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. And, we identify the overwhelming need to address the politics of division, corruption and irresponsibility that fuel conflict and hold back development,” he said.

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda, also co-chair for the Summit, said that today marked the dawn of a new era towards eradicating poverty, transforming economies and protecting the planet. World leaders who gathered here were sending a message to every village and every nation that they were committed to taking steps to change people’s lives. The Agenda carried forward the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals.

The new Goals must be integrated into national and regional strategies and polices. One major challenge facing the developing world was access to long-term financing for infrastructure development. That gap must be closed, and he urged action to ensure the voices of developing countries were heard by multinational institutions while also confirming the fulfilment of ODA and trade agreements.

On the adoption of the new agenda, UN Economic and Social Council President (ECOSOC) Oh Joon said action on Sustainable Development Goals must start immediately. “The Economic and Social Council stands ready to kick-start the work on the new agenda,” he added.