Participating at the ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, Mr. Ádám Zoltán Kovács, Deputy Secretary of State for international cooperation reiterated Hungary’s strong commitment to actively contribute to the effective implementation of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement. Convinced that the implementation of SDG6 (“Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”) is both a crucial driver and enabler for the realization of sustainable development, Hungary continues to play a leading role in promoting the global water agenda.
In the general debate Ádám Zoltán Kovács, Deputy Secretary of State for international cooperation underlined that the Sustainable Development goals and the Paris Climate Agreement can only be realized if pursued in a coherent, mutually reinforcing manner. Mindful of the need for an early and decisive climate action, Hungary has not only signed the Paris Agreement on the 22 April in New York, but the Hungarian Parliament also approved the agreement’s ratification with a unanimous vote on 24 May. Deputy Secretary of State Kovács urged big emitters to follow suit.
While ready to continue the active role on the global level Hungary was playing during the creation of the SDGs as co-chair of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development, our country has also started to develop its own framework of implementation in collaboration with the responsible ministries and other bodies, the national statistical office and all the stakeholders with the aim of integrating the 2030 Agenda into national development plans and strategies.
To further contribute to the shared goals of the international community, Hungary is taking an extraordinary commitment regarding the water-related issues in the world. To realize the transformative and integrated Agenda 2030 vision of water, Hungary is of the view that the reform of the highly fragmented global water governance structure is indispensable. The establishment of a UN intergovernmental Body on Water stands at the core of improved water architecture in order to enable regular dialogue among governments and major groups at the global level, providing guidance and recommendations for implementation of the SDG targets related to water.
To give momentum to the implementation of the water-related agenda transpiring from SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement and to seek to link political decision-making closer to technology development, financing and public perceptions on sustainable water management, Hungary is hosting the Budapest Water Summit 2016 from 28 to 30 November 2016.
On the margins of the HLPF Deputy Secretary of State Kovács actively engages in numerous side events, including UNEP’s High-level dialogue on achieving environmental sustainability for sustainable development, the event entitled “Tracking progress to ensure no-one is left behind – contributing to follow-up and review of the water, sanitation and hygiene target of the SDGs” and an event on “A renewed European development policy in response to the UN 2030 Agenda: Revision of the European Consensus on Development”.
