World leaders at UN pledge to end poverty

New York.– World leaders on Friday pledged to end extreme poverty within 15 years, adopting an ambitious set of UN goals to be backed up by trillions of dollars in development spending.

Making his first address to the United Nations, Pope Francis welcomed the new global agenda as an important sign of hope in his speech to the UN General Assembly and urged leaders to deliver on their promise to transform the world by 2030.

The new UN agenda aims to end poverty, ensure healthy lives, promote education and combat climate change, at a cost of between $3.5 and $5 trillion per year until 2030. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the plan as a "to-do list for people and planet" that laid out a "universal, integrated and transformative vision for a better world."