尊敬的 杨洁篪 主任，(H.E Yang Jiechi)

尊敬的 吴政隆 书记，(Secretary Wu Zhenglong)

尊敬的 许昆林省长，(Governor Xu Kunlin)

各位领导，各位来宾，女士们先生们，

大家上午好.

Today’s 2022 World Canal Cities Forum comes at a critical juncture. Economies are continuing to be impacted by the pandemic. An estimated additional 423 million people will fall back into extreme poverty due to the global economic slowdown. At the same time, we are not on track to meet the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement, in fact, we are on a trajectory to exceed it twofold. The consequences of this are dire. The looming climate crisis will leave coastlines and cities under water, and will exacerbate the other two environmental crises we face, of biodiversity loss and pollution.

All of this means, we must redouble our efforts. We must instill new momentum in the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, which provide the roadmap to collectively solve the world’s most intractable problems! Ending poverty and safeguarding our planet will require vastly different ways of thinking and cutting-edge solutions to change how our economies and societies develop. Growth can no longer come at the expense of the environment and our climate and cities will have a critical role in this transformation.

Cities account for the majority of our energy consumption, and most of our greenhouse gas emissions. They are also highly vulnerable to climate change, particularly coastal and river cities that are prone to rising sea levels. Canal cities, which facilitate trade, support irrigation, and offer flood control, are key in helping us achieve the SDGs.

To this end, UNDP, WCCO and CASS have jointly produced the Yangzhou Canal City SDGs Report. The report analyses Yangzhou’s role as a key city along the Grand Canal and reviews its achievements in implementing the SDGs. It also identifies challenges facing Yangzhou’s sustainable transformation, and proposes solutions.

Overall, the report shows that Yangzhou has made great progress in implementing the SDGs. As of 2020, Yangzhou had a 92.2% completion rate of its 2030 SDG targets with more than half the indicators already reaching their final targets. These are remarkable results that can help inform SDG driven development of other canal cities. Yet, gaps still remain and more work is to be done.

We therefore hope that this report can help policymakers assess SDG implementation progress and address remaining challenges. As such, UNDP and WCCO will extend the SDG assessment to cover more canal cities. We are also planning a demonstration project with the Yangzhou Municipal Government, including an SDG innovation lab for canal cities. And, we encourage Yangzhou to continue on this course, and even raise its targets to new ambitious levels, to become a champion and inspiration to other canal cities globally.

As the Chinese proverb says 百尺竿头，更进一步。

In closing, I would like to wish this event success and congratulate Yangzhou on lauching this first SDG report for canal cities.

Today opens a new chapter in UNDP’s partnership with Yangzhou and WCCO.

Through our continued cooperation, I am confident the road ahead for Yangzhou and other canal cities can be sustainable and inclusive for all who call them home.

让我们携手迈进，共谋未来！

Thank you!