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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 10
Publication Date: October 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/assrj.1010.15761.
Christensen, H. (2023). ECOSOC, As It Could Be. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(10). 217-230.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
ECOSOC, As It Could Be
Hanne Christensen
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
ABSTRACT
This article outlines the intentions of the UN charter with ECOSOC, one of five
charter-based organs of the United Nations. It suggests how they can be fulfilled in
its endeavor to develop macro-social and macro-economic strategies beneficial for
the entire UN membership for the General Assembly to adopt. Hence, to discuss the
world population's economic and social livelihood conditions with member-states
sharing memorable constructive experiences so that every member-state can
duplicate what works to improve people ́s livelihood. The potential of ECOSOC in
this regard may not yet be fully explored, but holds a promising outcome that does
not lead to conflict; on the contrary, it leads to cooperation and peaceful co- existence. And that is essentially what the United Nations is about. ECOSOC is an
essential engine for that travel.
Keywords: UN Charter, ECOSOC ́s mandate, economic conditions not yet fully considered,
fulfillment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), financing the SDGs.
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS ECOSOC?
ECOSOC is the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, one of the five charter-based
organs of the UN (UN Charter, 1965). It is assigned the function of “international machinery for
the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples” (Preamble of the Charter
of the United Nations). Twenty international organizations, regional commissions, and
autonomous entities report annually to the Economic and Social Council. ECOSOC initiates
studies and reports on global economic and social issues, including cultural, educational, health,
and related matters. It discusses the problems in detail and can make recommendations
concerning any of them to the General Assembly (UNGA), the members of the United Nations,
and the specialized agencies concerned (Article 62). Cross-cutting issues involving multiple
entities, such as providing humanitarian assistance, are striking items for debate.
WHAT DOES ECOSOC LOOK LIKE?
ECOSOC is a mini version of the General Assembly, 54 member states elected by the Assembly
for an overlapping three-year term with geographic rotation. About 60 percent of the UN
membership has been elected to ECOSOC. The presidency rotates among the United Nations
Regional Groups in UNGA to ensure equal representation.
ECOSOC meets twice a year in April and July. Venues of the latter alternate between the UN
Headquarters in New York and the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Over 1600 NGOs have
consultative status with the ECOSOC and the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), reviewing the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is convened under the auspices
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of ECOSOC or the General Assembly. The July sessions, attended by government representatives
and adjacent corridors crowded with NGO staffers, have attracted the expression: “The NGO
marketplace,” crowded by influencers trying to reach the ears of UN member states. A huge
juxtaposition of diversified opinions and attitudes filled the UN then.
WHAT DOES ECOSOC DO?
ECOSOC is the main organ to further economic and social cooperation and development by the
UN Charter. It is tasked with the formulation of policy recommendations to the General
Assembly, other parts of the UN system, and member states. It coordinates the UN's economic
and social fields, humanitarian affairs included, especially regarding the 20 specialized
agencies, regional commissions, and autonomous entities, which all annually report to it. The
Economic and Social Council may coordinate the activities of such agencies and entities through
consultations with and recommendations to them, through recommendations to the General
Assembly and the member states (Article 57 read with Article 63 of the Charter), and is also
mandated to consult with non-governmental organizations (Article 71). Based on these reports,
ECOSOC can discuss which particular agency/entity lives up to its mandate or the reasonability
of and extent to which specific mandates and aid programming overlap in various organizations
and entities, in principle, leaving room for inappropriate assistance programming. It may also
discuss, for example, if unhealthy competition exists, if one or more agencies guard their turf at
the cost of the target population, and if a change of course or thorough reform is
recommendable. Mandates of entities were drawn mainly up 50 to 70 years ago and to some
extent on a budding basis. A new entity was established when a problem had to be addressed
instead of fixing it with what was there or could be, as evidenced by the case of the World Food
Programme (WFP) that came into existence in 1966 when FAO was considered inadequate to
provide food aid to the world ́s poorest. Recent UN reform efforts have been an ongoing
exercise since 1997 and beforehand. At the age of 78, there is bound to be a need for more to
make it fit for purpose: to address the world population's needs. Members of ECOSOC can raise
their concerns in the relevant discussion segments of ECOSOC and set their mark on the UN.
As representatives of the General Assembly, ECOSOC does deal with issues of concern to the
entire UN membership and would have the well-being of humanity as its guiding star, not
merely that of a particular segment. It is “one for all and all for one,” as Alexandre Dumas aptly
put it. All behind what one needs, and one behind what all need.
Given the prominence it was intended to have by the Charter, the forum for discussing macro- policies, ECOSOC could address all people’s economic and social needs and development on an
all-win basis. Still, though ECOSOC is singled out as the main organ to promote these three
issues worldwide, it is well-known that economic problems have been, to a large extent, left
mainly to international financial institutions, such as the Bretton Woods institutions, including
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, known for supporting developing
countries to invest in much-needed infrastructure, yet at times imposing severe loan conditions
on such lands, tying them in debts for years – which eventually they were partially relieved
from, and in connection with relief of unilateral debt to member states, assisted by the world of
art, notably the singer Bono and his campaign for debt relief for developing countries. Much
later, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, came onto the scene with essential
debate sessions on world economic issues. Nonetheless, it constitutes a significant part of
ECOSOC ́s mandate – and ECOSOC is still alive and kicking - as demonstrated by the message By
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Munir Akram, former President of ECOSOC, dated 23 January 2021 in connection with the
commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Economic and Social Council. In outlining
ECOSOC ́s response to ongoing challenges to its work of the most severe health and economic
crisis since the UN was established and the Economic and Social Council was created, his
message affirms that ECOSOC has the mandate and the responsibility to respond to the
challenges and the will to do so (speech ECOSOC, 2021).
Further, financial problems often are the root causes of conflict in the form of inequitable
resource allocation within a population, where a minority gets the lion ́s share, the majority
little or nothing, and may even have means taken from. Consequently, the balance in the Charter
between resolving socioeconomic causes of conflict and maintaining peace and security is not
upheld. In this light, strengthening the ECOSOC secretariat with holistic, high-caliber world
economics expertise could help restore the intended balance.
ECOSOC should address economic and social causes of conflict per Article 55 of the Charter. The
article promotes:
A. higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social
progress and development;
B. solutions to international economic, social, health, and related problems; and
international cultural and educational cooperation; and
C. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Where these causes of conflict could not be resolved or alleviated in time, the Security Council
would deal with the consequences, primarily through peaceful settlement and, if that fails,
through forceful action recommended in Chapter VII of the Charter.
In this connection, ECOSOC may furnish information to the Security Council upon request
(article 65). As for the impoverishment of a large part of the world population, a most potent
cause of conflict, ECOSOC can develop all-gain macro-economic strategies for the entire world
and macro-social strategy that would remove causes of conflict and help ensure that “WE THE
PEOPLES” who declared the UN Charter advance economically and socially (Preamble with
Article 62.1). Members of ECOSOC would have valuable lessons to share in both fields and could
offer input based on experience gained of what works and what doesn ́t. The regular sessions
of ECOSOC could accommodate that.
As for the impoverishment of a large part of the world population, a most potent cause of
conflict, current or potential, ECOSOC can develop for the General Assembly all-gain macro- economic strategies for the whole world and macro-social strategies that could remove causes
of conflict and help ensure that everybody advances economically and socially, (Article 62.1 of
the Charter).
What comes to mind here is the Global Development Goals (SDGs), which are due to be
accomplished by 2030. At this point, halfway into the period scheduled, we are on shaky
ground, not because of ECOSOC, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, subsequent worldwide
high inflation rates, looming economic crisis, and towering food prices, augmented by conflicts
boiling around the globe, though the ground started trembling under the SDGs beforehand—
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time to get our acts together and move determinedly forward. ECOSOC could be the catalyst for
that, more than it already is.
The balance between the deprivation of social and economic conditions of the world population
and conflicts worldwide is at stake if the General Assembly doesn ́t listen to ECOSOC and the
Security Council does neither listen to the Assembly nor ECOSOC. As a result, the world
population pays the price with deteriorating living conditions and social unrest or warlike
situations. A constructive balance must be found and maintained for benign conditions to settle
for humanity. The key word is listening. Those who do not listen do not learn from others; those
who do not know are left behind while others move forward. Sharp stratification could ensue,
ranging from a few extremely rich to multitudes of extremely poor who struggle to stay alive.
ECOSOC is the place where poverty can be addressed in a substantial, comprehensive, and
persistent manner.
The following model is suggested to restore a functional balance, which could serve a
constructive purpose:
A. ECOSOC is the forum for discussing and initiating actions and for making
recommendations to the General Assembly in both economic and social matters,
including compelling, international economic cooperation for the benefit of all;
B. the General Assembly is the organ for adopting these strategies.
C. ECOSOC is responsible for the subsequent coordination of their implementation by the
specialized agencies and entities of the UN, including international financial institutions.
The model would balance attempts to address socio-economic causes of conflict and those to
maintain and enforce peace and security in the Charter, i.e., Chapter IX against Chapters VI and
VII. It would inspire the United Nations to move forward on the issues of poverty eradication,
conflict prevention, and conflict management. That is, striving to manage and lead the world
into peace and prosperity.
REFORM OF ECOSOC FOR MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY
AND FULFILLMENT OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS).
As mentioned, ECOSOC could be utilized more in conflict prevention and resolution. There is
also room for more involvement in the SDG process, and ECOSOC is potentially improved as per
Article 55 of the Charter. In this light, ECOSOC could discuss and devise strategies for improving
social cohesion within Member States and ways and means to build inclusive, effective, and
accountable government institutions with in-built anti-corruption measures. ECOSOC could
also devise strategies for fair and democratic use of natural resources and revenues from
taxation to benefit the entire population, including support to vulnerable segments, ensuring
that no one is left behind. In short, equitable resource-sharing and promoting equality within
the people and government institutions in which the population can have confidence. Members
of ECOSOC would have important lessons to share in both areas and could offer input based on
experience gained of what works and what doesn ́t. The regular sessions of ECOSOC could
accommodate this kind of experience-sharing.
It is well-known that social cohesion requires understanding within the population of other
people ́s lives and conditions and empathy with one another, especially the disadvantaged. This
is best obtained in direct encounters and dialogue among people of different social
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backgrounds. That requires networking among people, which civil society, including the NGO
sector, can contribute as a supplement to what people do on their own accord. The more varied
the networking, the more understanding ensues, and the better-equipped people will be to
understand one another and feel connected. As connectivity increases, social cohesion will be
enhanced. Member states with vibrant civil societies in which citizens relate to one another,
crisscrossing the entire nation aided by a large, experienced NGO sector, could offer their
lessons learned, such as what has been achieved, for instance, with voluntary work for the
support of the vulnerable, or adult education programs where people sign up for a subject of
interest and get to know one another, or sports programs with a great popular appeal where
corps d ́esprit is developed, etc. The media, social media included, is already playing a
significant role in informing on the situation of the entire population of a country so that
everybody knows that hardship exists and where it is found, but can be addressed and
improved with the support of fellow human beings, the state and government and NGO
institutions. Democratic representation in the governing boards of media institutions is vital to
ensure broad-based coverage of the situation of the various population groups in a country.
Member states with experience in these fields could offer their lessons learned.
Social cohesion also requires the reduction of inequality, and that takes redistribution of
wealth, which in turn takes taxation, with the broadest shoulders contributing most to the
national economy, and social welfare programs for those in need so that everybody gets a share
of the development of a country and nobody goes hungry. In measuring economic inequality,
the Gini coefficient and the Gini index are valuable tools; the smaller they prove, the better (One
World in Data, 2023). They can measure development in time and enable countries to follow
up with appropriate policies to reduce high values. Countries with experience in making use of
the Gini coefficient and Gini index for the reduction of inequality can provide advice to ECOSOC.
Inequality, however, has connotations other than economic ones. Stereotypes and
discriminative laws and practices spur inequality. They are best removed by new legislation in
which everybody is equal before the law, irrespective of gender and ethnicity, followed by
corresponding training and dialogue with groups where stereotypes flourish within the
population. Incorporating the entire human rights regime in national law is essential here.
Member states with constructive experience with stereotype eradication could share their
lessons with others in ECOSOC. Here again, a balanced coverage by the media of the situation
of stereotyped groups is vital so that a fuller picture of them emerges within the population.
Also, social media could be a very effective tool to combat stereotypes, even though a stern tone
sometimes flourishes. Well-known, concerned citizens could go active on social media, provide
information, and campaign against stereotypes. Serving often as role models, they stand a good
chance of being listened to. Religious institutions preaching tolerance also play an essential part
and could be encouraged to take up the issues regularly and frequently. Member states with
constructive experience in combatting intolerance in these or other ways could provide input
to ECOSOC.
As mentioned, ECOSOC can develop for the General Assembly all-gain macro-economic
strategies for the full world and macro-social method that would remove causes of conflict and
help ensure that WE, THE PEOPLES, who declared the UN Charter, advance economically and
socially (Article 61.2) and serve as support strategies for the fulfillment of the SDGs. Also, with
ECOSOC as THE forum for discussing and initiating actions and for making recommendations
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to the General Assembly in both economic and social affairs, including practical international
economic cooperation for the benefit of all, the General Assembly as the organ for the adoption
of these strategies, and ECOSOC responsible for the subsequent coordination of their
implementation by the specialized agencies, including international financial institutions, the
balance between addressing socio-economic causes of conflict and maintenance and
enforcement of international peace and security in the Charter would be upheld.
ECOSOC should, from its forthcoming session onwards, discuss and address the detrimental
impact of macro-economic conditions on the world population, which, if not resolved, could
become a significant cause of tomorrow ́s strife, resulting in a battle between the poor and the
rich as long as one percent of the world population owns as much as all the 99 percent others.
Economic issues are a significant part of ECOSOC ́s mandate, and Article 56, encouraging
member states to strive to fulfill Article 55, includes state members of ECOSOC. One or more
member states may wish to press for the issue to be entered into the agenda of ECOSOC, and
the NGO community within and across member states may want to lobby for it, more than
already done. As the Charter foresaw, ECOSOC should strengthen its commitment to promote
all peoples' economic and social advancement. This can be done by making the United Nations
the leader in all-gain macro-economic policies.
UN agencies, funds, and programs report to ECOSOC, including on activities related to the SDGs.
Tight cooperation between ECOSOC and specialized agencies would be necessary to monitor
the SDG process and its deliberations with UN entities and member states on the fulfillment.
The Secretariat could devise a strategy that appoints lead agencies within the UN system for
every SDG, based on which ECOSOC would monitor progress made towards 2030 of UN action
every year to supplement other SDG monitoring mechanisms. The more these issues are
observed, the greater the chances of fulfilling the SDGs in time. Tight cooperation with social
research institutions worldwide is essential so that social science research follows the process,
particularly the parameter that no one must be left behind, and provides appropriate advice to
the various entities.
NEED OF A GRETA THUNBERG FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN TIME
The overarching theme of the 17 SDGs is leaving no one behind. Adopted by all 193 UN member
states in a resolution by UNGA at its seventieth session on 25 September 2015 (A/RES/70/1),
they are due to be fulfilled by 2030. Hence, all UN member states support the defining
instrument. Half the scheduled period has now passed, and prospects of meeting the targets on
time seem dim. The top level of the UN secretariat has announced it in public. The deputy
secretary-general was the first to do so at the spring meeting with the Bretton Woods
Institutions on 12 April 2023 (UN News A, 2023). Five days later, the secretary-general followed
it up with a warning to member states that the agenda for sustainable development goals is
turning into a “mirage of what might have been,” pointing out that since the Covid-19 pandemic,
the wealthiest one percent of the world population accumulated nearly twice as much new
wealth as the rest of it combined (UN News B, 2023). That is within a five-year timespan. So far,
it has gone up and down with the fulfillment of the sustainable development goals in uneven
sequences. Most are down, with exceptions - global access to the Internet, for example, an issue
essential for development. Overall, there is a long way to go to implement the 17 SDGs in time,
but the travel has been set into motion.
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degree formula is closing according to the WMO. The reality is that Increasing temperatures
contribute to speeding up the evolution of foul weather conditions and devastating impact.
Catastrophes for decades with excessive heat in parts of the planet, drought, torrential rains,
flooding, rising sea levels threatening to swallow up low-lying SIDS (Small Island Developing
States), thundering storms, hurricanes, etc. Hardly any member state escapes it. People are
losing everything, their homes, family members, jobs, and entire livelihoods – while societal
infrastructures, which took decades to save up for and establish, get demolished within hours.
Massive human effort and financial input have gone down the drain, leaving misery, individual
and societal frustration, and unfulfilled hopes of a promising future. Nonetheless, it is
commonly known that trees absorb CO2 and turn it into oxygen. In 2019, an international
research team, in a report for the International Climate Change Panel (ICCP), identified vacant
land distributed around the globe suitable for trees: at the size of the territory of the USA or
about ten times that of Egypt. Were these areas afforested, global greenhouse gas emissions
could be reduced by two-thirds, according to the scientists (National Geographic, A, 2019). The
planet would get a good deal more forest cover, people areas for picnics and other leisure
activities, and humanity wouldn ́t be so dependent on the Amazonas to serve as the lungs of the
globe. Why continue down a misleading road when it is time to change direction? And why not
get scientists worldwide to contemplate how to turn extreme weather events into our
advantage? Eight years ago, that same magazine pointed at the prospects of tapping the
enormous voltage of tornados, forceful enough to light up megacities if used to supply humanity
with much-needed energy - before they unfold and become devastating on a massive scale
(National Geographic, B, 2015). Scientists could be delighted to pick up the glove and throw
themselves into that endeavor if not yet sufficiently done so.
In the above picture of the destructive effects of climate change, vulnerable communities, which
have contributed least to it, bear the brunt of its devastating impact - some of which could have
been mitigated had we been more observant of the surge of extreme weather and climate
events occurring in every region of the world, and of what meteorologists warned about for
decades – and acted accordingly: To check the changing climate conditions effectively by
substituting fossil fuel with clean, green energy sources and adjusting lifestyles to the new
reality with strengthened cross-sectoral policies. On average, the global population's footprint
per capita of CO2 emission amounts to about 6 tons annually, up from 4.8 in 2017 (Our World
in Data, 2023). Still, it should not exceed 3 tons to not exhaust the planet's resources, according
to the IPCC – and to not arrest its capacity to regenerate its resources annually, such as water.
Humanity is depleting the earth's resources – cutting the branch we are sitting on, hanging over
the abyss - by speeding up climate change through continued use of fossil fuel and unhelpful
policies rather than arresting it.
The world population, however, does not, in equal measures, exhaust the planet ́s capacity to
regenerate its resources. Considerable variation exists among member states. In 2023, it was
documented that if all of humanity consumed like the people in the one country doing it least,
the planet would arrive at that stage on 20 December 2023, whereas if doing it like the one most
- already on 20 February 2023. The former situation relates to a low-income developing
country, the latter to a high-income, industrialized member state (overshoot day, 2023). There
is an apparent deficit if it represents the reality of the situation, which needs to be urgently
addressed. Otherwise, the future of human and animal existence on the planet, in the long run,
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The history of the SDGs is a little longer. The idea of Sustainable development goals was born
at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, which
decided to create an open working group under the auspices of the UNDP, consisting of
members from 70 member states, which came up with a draft of 17 suggestions two years later.
The suggestions were thoroughly considered in member state negotiations, the final wording
agreed, and the preamble and declaration attached to the SDGs adopted by the General
Assembly in 2015. In the course of this process, and simultaneously with the endeavors of the
working group, a comprehensive consultation process unprecedented in the history of the
United Nations took place as a three-year-long consultation with all stakeholders and people ́s
voices (UNDP, 2023). It is here that the millions of participants come into the picture.
One reason for the UN to decide on the SDG process surfaced with Kofi Annan when he assumed
the position of secretary-general of the UN in 1997, and noted that the Millennium Goals
process was heading towards halving the population living in absolute poverty globally because
of the world's attention to the issue spurred by substantial donor countries- and media
commitment. What worked in the period 2000-2015 might work in 2015-2030, too, was the
thinking at the Secretariat. Not until later did it become clear that primarily three UN member
states, China, India, and Brazil, on their own, at a time of high national economic growth rates,
succeeded in unilaterally lifting hundreds of millions of their inhabitants out of poverty. Still,
donor and media attention would have eased the way.
WHAT CAN CITIZENS OF THE WORLD DO TO FULFILL THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS?
The population and national institutions could be involved; some are already more so in
fulfilling the SDG plans than others. A place to start is to inform the people of the contents of
the SDGs. Here, libraries come into the picture and can be found all over the globe, including in
its remotest places. Traveling to refugee camps at the edge of nowhere confirms it. It may not
be called the library, but the center of documentation it is. Add to this NGO action, and we have
the ball rolling. Shining examples exist of NGO-action in collaboration with libraries of the
locality with or without government funding, doing a fantastic job of popular education. (Global
Seniors, 2019). Learning about the SDGs is an essential start for fulfilling all 17 goals.
Once we have digested the SDG messages, we can assist in spreading the knowledge of the goals,
develop good ideas on how best to achieve them - and help keep governments firm on honoring
their obligations to fulfill them.
We can, for instance, reduce our water consumption so that our planet will have enough water
to supply all its 8 billion inhabitants daily. As mentioned, Mother Earth does not contain
sufficient water supplies to fit the enormous consumption pattern we display. That would take
more than one planet. Or, we could think about increasing food production by growing
vegetables and fruits wherever possible, with or without access to a strip of land – in cities, pots
at window sills would do - and delimit food wastage by sharing surplus food with those in need
of it, so that those who suffer from hunger gets more to eat and can improve their health
conditions.
It is the responsibility of all of us to accomplish sustainable development goals by 2030. A must
to be remembered.
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THE SDG FUNDING SITUATION
On 18-19 September 2023, a halfway SDG summit took place at the High-Level Political Forum
on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in connection with the launch of the 78th session of UNGA.
It was recognized that achievement of the SDGs is in peril and that at “the midpoint of the 2030
agenda...the progress on most of the SDGs is either moving much too slowly or has regressed
below the 2015 baseline” (UNGA resolution A/RES/78/1). The Forum reaffirmed that it would
act urgently to realize the SDGs, leaving no one behind, with the endeavor to reach the furthest
behind first. This involves an enormous investment in education, health facilities, green energy,
transport, sustainable agriculture, protection of Nature, and other issues. It was recognized that
countries with meager means need support to fulfill the SDGs, and that international
development financing is to be substantially enlarged. An enlargement is calculated to be about
USD 4 trillion, with at least USD 500 billion annually up to 2030 (GSDGR, 2023). The funding
was to be contributed by the whole world, partially granted as development aid and partially
as low-interest-rate loans. It was, as mentioned below, during the General Debate of the
Assembly, suggested by President Joe Biden, 46th President of the USA, and, as such,
representative of a founding father of both the UN and the Bretton Woods institutions, that the
latter could step in to help make funding available for the SDG fulfillment process (Biden, 2023).
On his part, the UN secretary-general requested member states to lend a hand to developing
countries through debt relief and each country to design a plan with clear benchmarks for how
much poverty eradication they would concretely ensure by 2030.
WHAT ELSE COULD ECOSOC DO FOR THE SDGS?
ECOSOC could look at severe issues at risk of being insufficiently addressed by the international
community and speed up the implementation process through attention and debates, especially
if consistently well-covered by the media. Air pollution is an example. It is a global, significant,
fatal, not merely urban phenomenon killing multitudes of people annually. Some controversy
seems to exist, whether it is number one or number two, after tobacco, which costs people their
lives on a big scale, and the sad story is that countries with the highest rate of air pollution also
have the least means to prevent it. Further, air pollution must be tackled with climate change
as they interact, mutually worsening one another, as the World Meteorological Organization
pointed out on several occasions. Further, according to the World Health Organization, the
expected lifetime would increase by 2.3 years globally if air pollution were diminished
permanently by lowering the magnitude of harmful particles from the air stemming from
vehicles, industrial emissions, wildfires, and linked to lung diseases, heart diseases, cancer, and
strokes (GSDGR, 2023) - and to rising temperatures worldwide. Many member states have
devised successful policies to restrict air pollution and would have important lessons to share
with others on what works and how much – and what doesn ́t. On that basis, ECOSOC could
devise strategies to restrict air pollution with clear benchmarks inspired by WHO
recommendations for limits of harmful particles in the air to ensure good public health, such as
the recommendation limiting the concentration of PM2,5 from surpassing five micrograms per
cubic meter (WHO, 2023) - the PM2,5 being small airborne particles primarily stemming from
burning of fossil fuel that can move into lungs and blood vessels in the human body. The
magnitude of member states that do not live up to the WHO recommendation is quite
comprehensive; for example, up to 98 percent of the population in Europe (where data is
available) have been found to live in places that do not live up to the WHO recommended level.
An ECOSOC strategy for air pollution could make a huge difference and reduce the
unnecessarily high mortality rate. An essential part of it is to indicate funding prospects for low-