UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged global leaders to unite in confronting pressing global challenges, including the worsening climate crisis, escalating conflicts, disruptive technology, and a growing cost-of-living crisis causing increased poverty and hunger. Notably, leaders from China, Russia, France, and Britain are absent from the annual General Assembly, leaving U.S. President Joe Biden as the lone representative among the powerful U.N. Security Council nations. Developing countries, represented by the G77, stress the importance of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, which are falling significantly behind schedule. Guterres emphasizes the need for immediate action and financing, citing a U.N. report revealing that many targets are off-track, with grim projections for poverty, education, gender equality, and climate change. Leaders have adopted a declaration recognizing the SDGs’ imperilment and pledging support for an annual SDG stimulus of at least $500 billion to assist developing nations.