New York City, NY – During a United Nations Climate Week conference in New York City, Lieutenant Governor Joshua Tenorio committed Guam to taking action on sustainability, putting the island at the forefront of a global island sustainability movement.
Tenorio joined leaders from islands around the world to launch the Local2030 Islands Network aimed at collectively advancing the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (U.N. SDGs). In 2015, U.N. Member States adopted 17 SDGs designed to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future as part of the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Lieutenant Governor Tenorio’s speech demonstrated that the spirit of sustainability is deeply rooted in the people of Guam. Borrowing the words written on the outer wall of the Senator Antonio A. Palomo Guam Museum attributed to Chief Hurao in 1671, the Lieutenant Governor stated, “Ti ta nisisita ayudun sanhiyong para ta fan moalek guini gi tåno-ta. Tåya’ ta’lo—Satisfied with what our islands furnish us, we desire nothing else.”
He added: “Fortified by the Local2030 Islands Network, Guam will accelerate our implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in ways that are locally and culturally relevant to our people.”
Last week, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero signed Executive Order 2019-23 to create the Guam Green Growth (G3) Working Group. The G3 Working Group will bring public and private sector partners together to create an ambitious action strategy to meet U.N. SDGs. The working group and interactions with the Local2030 Islands Network will be chaired and coordinated by the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability.
Joining the Lieutenant Governor at the high-level event, UOG Center for Island Sustainability Director Dr. Austin Shelton stated, “As a founding member of the international island network, Guam will be part of cutting-edge sustainability initiatives and partnerships. Together, we will contribute island wisdom to help achieve a sustainable global future.”
The Global Island Partnership event was held on the margins of the U.N. 74th General Assembly and Climate Week NYC. Founding partners and supporters of the Local2030 Islands Network include Guam, Republic of Seychelles, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Belize, Curacao, Ireland, Hawai‘i, and the U.N. Development Programme, U.N.-Habitat, the Global Island Partnership, Hawai‘i Green Growth, UOG Center for Island Sustainability, and the U.N. Foundation.
Led by islands for islands, the Local2030 Islands Network will serve as the platform to recognize and accelerate island-led SDG implementation as part of the United Nations Local2030 partnership. The Local2030 Islands Network aims to catalyze local implementation of sustainable development goals, connecting communities with the global effort to advance the SDGs. The network will engage island partners at all levels—nations, states, provinces, and localities—that are committed to advancing locally driven models for sustainability to set culturally informed priorities, integrate climate goals, measure and track progress, and implement concrete actions.