Delegates watch a video presentation during the second opening session of Sustainable … [+]
In less than a week (September 22-23), the Future Summit will bring world leaders to the United Nations headquarters in New York to produce the Pact for the Future. This negotiated intergovernmental pact is supposed to provide an actionable roadmap for a better present and future for all.
The summit is seen as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a new consensus on what the future of humanity and nature should look like and what needs to be done to secure it. This event will be a critical step toward a revitalized multilateralism that enhances cooperation on critical challenges, addresses current gaps in global governance, and positively impacts our lives.
World leaders have some important decisions to make and their choices. Their decisions can pave the way for a future breakdown or a breakthrough to a better world for all. If you care about our lives, our world, and our future, you should care about this historic event. Here’s why:
1. A rescue mission to save the SDGs
First, we face a development emergency. We’re falling short of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – 17 goals to end poverty, fight inequality and protect the planet by 2030 – to the point where many wonder if they’re even accessible. The summit could be the world’s last chance to save the SDGs, which require unlocking finance for developing countries and transitioning to sustainability.
The summit aims to jump-start progress on the SDGs by driving more investment in developing countries, addressing global debt and finding new ways to finance a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and a sustainable energy transition. It’s about saving the planet and creating millions of new jobs in clean energy, digital infrastructure and sustainable industries.
2. A New Peace Agenda
Second, we are living through an extremely dangerous geopolitical moment. Ongoing wars between and within states are lasting longer and becoming more deadly. It is no secret that the risk of a major global conflict is higher than it has been in decades. In addition to terrorism and nuclear threats, the world now has to worry about cyber warfare and the militarization of outer space.
The summit proposes a new agenda for peace – a plan for improving global security by focusing on preventing war, maintaining peace and addressing the root causes of conflicts such as poverty and inequality. He will also discuss the need to regulate emerging domains such as cyberspace and outer space.
3. The end of the digital divide, chaos and anarchy
Third, technology has transformed our lives at lightning speed. Innovations such as artificial intelligence and digital currencies offer great benefits, but also have great risks. Misinformation, digital divides and inequalities, and the potential misuse of AI are serious threats that we cannot afford to ignore. The huge energy demand of data centers and AI models is worrying, and their high carbon and water footprints remain unmonitored and unregulated.
The summit will introduce a Global Digital Compact – a set of shared principles and guidelines for governing the digital world. This compact is about ensuring that digital technologies benefit everyone, not just tech giants and other specific groups. There will be extensive discussions on data governance, closing the digital divide and risk management of AI and other emerging digital technologies. These discussions are expected to lay the groundwork for how we can use these technologies responsibly to drive progress without leaving anyone behind.
4. Empowerment of youth and future generations
Fourth, young people are at the forefront of climate action and social justice movements. But when it comes to global decision-making, they are systematically left out. Young people have been successful in challenging the current decision-making model and holding leaders accountable for their actions and inactions. As future stewards of the planet, they rightly demand a seat at the table to shape the world they will inherit.
With 1.9 billion young people today, their participation is critical to rebuilding trust in global institutions. They and their children are the ones who stand to lose the most if world leaders do not follow through on their promises. They want to discuss how policy choices today will affect the 10 billion people who will be born before the end of this century.
The Future Summit could be a turning point for youth participation in setting the global development agenda and ensuring that youth voices are heard in the corridors of power. The summit is an opportunity to ensure that the concerns of young people are front and center.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is convening two Days of Action (September 20-21) ahead of the Summit to provide additional engagement opportunities for all stakeholders, with a special focus on youth. The Days of Action will begin with dedicated, youth-led events, reflecting the growing appreciation of the need to raise the voice of young people in the multilateral system. The summit will adopt a Declaration for Future Generations to protect the interests and needs of future generations in decision-making.
5. Transformation of the Global Governance Model
Fifth, the way the world is being run doesn’t work. Our world has fallen apart and we need a new game plan. The problems facing the world are products of the same institutions we expect to solve such problems. This is an impossible mission. We need fundamental transformations.
Our system of global governance was designed decades ago for a post-World War II world that looked nothing like today. That is why it is so outdated, unfair and dysfunctional. The UN Security Council is divided and blocked by geopolitical rifts, becoming increasingly ineffective in ensuring a peaceful and equal world. Effective global cooperation turns out to be unattainable in an atmosphere of mistrust. The current architecture of international finance is only favoring the rich countries that designed it nearly 80 years ago without responding to the needs of developing countries.
At the Summit, world leaders are expected to discuss how to reform the system of global governance to make it fairer, more inclusive and equipped to handle the political and economic realities of today’s world. We should also expect big conversations about how to make the UN Security Council more inclusive and rework the international financial system to give all countries, especially the most vulnerable, a fair chance at success.
There will be discussions about the creation of an Emergency Platform to strengthen the international response to complex global shocks with cascading socio-economic consequences in an interconnected world. This platform is expected to make nations and the global system more resilient to extreme climate and environmental events, future pandemics, biological incidents and wars, destructive cyber activities and black swan events. As the planet approaches irreversible climate and environmental damage, the Summit also aims to spur meaningful action, reaffirming the commitments made in the Paris Agreement and protecting gender equality, human rights and the empowerment of future generations.
What happens in New York in September 2024 will not stay in New York. The outcomes of the UN Future Summit will touch every corner of our lives today and in the future. World leaders have a historic opportunity to make the world a better place—a world that is more inclusive and just, and better prepared to manage its current and future challenges. Will they succeed?