India must make SDG goals available to all, says UN Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza

Dia Mirza at UN General Assembly: Ahead of attending the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York, UN (Environment) Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza said that while India is proving itself as an economic powerhouse, it also has a strong mandate to live up to its SDG goals.

“The climate crisis we witness today is the result of the current economic model. However, the New Delhi Declaration at G20 was inspiring because it established the way forward and illustrated that climate concerns are our biggest priority,” Mirza told Republic. “We have created a situation that we have to change,” she said.

Mirza added, “India can’t repeat the mistakes that the West has made. There is an emergency around climate concerns. It is now India’s task to make SDG goals available to everyone, especially the young leaders. The best part is India now has the opportunity set an example.”

Highlighting a couple of important tasks ahead of India while meeting its SDG goals, Mirza said, “It is up to us to accelerate the green energy transition. Pollution is also another major issue with 39 out of 50 most-polluted cities being in India. We must change how construction work takes place.”

“It is important for us to be able to breathe clean air. Our waste management must be prioritised because waste pollutes our soil, water, and food chain,” she said, adding, “We also must take a strong step towards protecting our forest coverage because it is shrinking every year. While a lot of effort is made towards planting lakhs of saplings each year, tending to their survival is also crucial.”

Dia Mirza, who is the UN Secretary-General’s Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Goodwill Ambassador, is travelling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly scheduled to take place from September 19 to 26. The theme this year for the annual high-level General Debate is ‘Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all'.