The European Commission on Friday said that the European Union (EU) welcomes the adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development by the United Nations, Xinhua reported.
The Commission said in a press release that the EU is committed to take the agenda forward, both inside the EU through initiatives such as the Circular Economy Strategy which is designed to address more sustainable patterns of production and consumption and through the EU's external policies by supporting implementation efforts in other countries, in particular those most in need.
The momentous sustainable development agenda, which charts a new era of sustainable development until 2030, was adopted on Friday by 193 UN member states at the UN Sustainable Development Summit at the UN headquarters in New York.
Ahead of the summit, European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, responsible for sustainable development and leading the Commission delegation to the summit, said the Agreement is a historic event, and a significant step forward for global action on sustainable development.
According to the Commission, the EU with its member states, already the world's largest donor of development aid, pledged to increase their collective Official Development Assistance (ODA) and achieve 0.7 percent of EU Gross National Income (GNI) within the timeframe of the 2030 Agenda.
With regard to environment and climate, the Commission said that 20 percent of the EU's assistance, about 14 billion euros (about 15.68 billion U.S. dollars) up to 2020, will address climate change objectives.
This momentous agenda, comprising of 17 goals, will serve as the launch pad for action by the international community and by national governments to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years.