UN
September 21, 2022
Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the seventh Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Business Forum, held virtually, today:
Excellencies, business leaders, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining the seventh SDG Business Forum. This year’s event has provided a much-needed space for business leaders to share their experiences and insights to overcome our common challenges — from the COVID‑19 pandemic, to the war in Ukraine and its impacts on food, energy and finance, to the escalating climate emergency.
The private sector is an indispensable partner in promoting investment in sustainable development and mobilizing financing to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Let me highlight two key messages from today’s discussions. First, the business community should be a driving force to protect our global environmental commons, from climate action to ending pollution and restoring biodiversity.
Investing in biodiversity makes both environmental and economic sense. Estimates by the World Economic Forum suggest that protecting nature and increasing biodiversity could generate business opportunities worth $10 trillion a year and create nearly 400 million new jobs.