The General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly opened on Tuesday with the theme of "A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges."
Csaba Korosi, president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, presided over the opening of the debate.
The world needs solutions through solidarity, sustainability and science, said Korosi in his opening speech.
"(We need) solutions because we have drafted many treaties, set excellent goals, yet have taken too little action. We need solidarity because inequalities have reached record heights. We need sustainability because we owe it to our children to leave behind a liveable world. We need science because it offers us neutral evidence for our actions," he said.
"We gather today at the most consequential moment of the last four decades. Climate change has left us reeling under heat waves, floods, and droughts. Unsustainable consumption and production have left scars across our environment, from our skies to our seas," said Korosi.
"We live, it seems, in a permanent state of humanitarian emergency. Over 300 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid and protection -- a 10 percent rise since January," he added.
Driven by climate change, COVID-19 and conflict, global hunger has reached alarming levels. In the last six months, food and energy price hikes have pushed at least 70 million people into poverty. Meanwhile, inflation rates are at 40-year highs, he said.
One-quarter of humanity lives in conflict areas, caught amid fighting and political instability. The violence across the world has rarely been so fierce, he added.
The challenges are great, and they are interconnected. But they are not insurmountable, he said. "Our opportunity is here and now. Let us act."
