UNGA: Sustainability must anchor progress

UNITED NATIONS: UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis has said that there is no conflict between promoting sustainability and economic growth and development, underscoring that sustainability has to be the anchor for development in the 21st century.

Francis will convene the UN’s first-ever ‘Sustainability Week’ April 15-19 under the theme ‘Paving the Way for a Sustainable Future’ at the world body’s headquarters here. The week will feature dedicated events focused on sustainability in critical sectors such as tourism, infrastructure connectivity, transport, energy and debt.

“The reality is that sustainability has to be the anchor for development in the 21st century. Since we are talking about prioritizing people and the planet, the sustainability dimension of things lies at the very heart of everything we are seeking to do developmentally in the UN,” Francis, President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, told PTI in an exclusive interview here.

“We have identified five key areas or economic sectors that we think have extraordinary potential for really transformative change.… and we know these five sectors have a great impact on sustainability. They are tourism, transportation, infrastructure, energy and debt” sustainability, “Francis said.

He added that these sectors have a huge impact and potential “if we make sensible choices in the way we restructure our behaviours in those sectors, to have an extraordinary impact in effecting the transition towards sustainability.”

He highlighted issues such as climate change, energy security concerns, and investments in sustainable infrastructure as well as addressing problems of debt traps.