In less than a week (September 22-23), the Summit of the Future will bring the world leaders to the United Nations Headquarters in New York to produce the Pact for the Future. This inter-governmentally negotiated pact is supposed to offer an actionable roadmap to a better present and future for all.
The Summit is considered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to forge a new consensus on what the future of humanity and nature should be like and what needs to be done to secure it. This event will be a critical step toward a reinvigorated multilateralism that enhances cooperation on critical challenges, addresses the current gaps in global governance and positively impacts our lives.
The 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 everyone. If you care about our lives, our world, and our future, you should care about this landmark event. Here is why:
1. A Rescue Mission to Save the SDGs
First, we face a development emergency. We are failing to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals—the 17 goals to end poverty, fight inequality, and protect the planet by 2030—to the point where many wonder if they are even achievable. The Summit might be the world’s last chance to rescue the SDGs, which demand unlocking finance for developing countries and sustainability transitions.
The Summit aims to jump-start progress on the SDGs by pushing for more investment in developing countries, addressing global debt, and finding new ways to fund green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and sustainable energy transition. It is 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 a uniquely dangerous geopolitical moment. The 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 should now worry about cyber warfare and the militarization of outer space.
The Summit proposes a New Agenda for Peace—a blueprint for improving global security by focusing on war prevention, peacekeeping, and addressing the root causes of conflicts like poverty and inequality. It will also discuss the need to regulate emerging domains like cyberspace and outer space.
3. Ending Digital Divide, Chaos and Anarchy
Third, technology has transformed our lives at lightning speed. Innovations like artificial intelligence and digital currencies offer huge benefits but also have major 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 concerning, 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 the tech giants and other specific groups. There will be extensive discussions on data governance, closing the digital divide, and managing the risk of AI and other emerging digital technologies. These discussions are expected to set the stage for how we can use these technologies responsibly to drive progress without leaving anyone behind.
4. Empowering the Youth and Next Generations
Fourth, youth are at the forefront of movements for climate action and social justice. But when it comes to global decision-making, they are systematically left out. Youth have been successful in challenging the current decision-making model and holding the leaders accountable for their actions and inactions. As the future custodians of the planet, they are rightfully demanding a seat at the table to shape the world they will inherit.
With 1.9 billion youth today, their participation is critical to rebuilding trust in global institutions. They and their children are the ones who would lose the most if world leaders fail to fulfil their promises. They want to discuss how the policy choices today will impact the 10 billion people who will be born before the end of this century.
The Summit of the Future can 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 the youth concerns are front and center.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres is convening two Action Days (September 20-21) prior to the Summit to provide additional engagement opportunities to all actors, with special attention to youth. The Action Days will kick off with dedicated, youth-led events, reflecting the increasing appreciation for the need to elevate the youth voices in the multilateral system. The Summit will adopt a Declaration on Future Generations to safeguard the interests and needs of future generations in decision-making.
5. Transforming the Global Governance Model
Fifth, the way the world is being run is not working. Our world is broken and we need a new game plan. The problems that the world is dealing with are the products of the same institutions that we expect to solve such problems. This is a mission impossible. We need fundamental transformations.
Our global governance system was designed decades ago for a post-World War II world that looked nothing like today. This is why it is so outdated, unfair, and dysfunctional. The UN Security Council is divided and deadlocked by geopolitical fissures, becoming increasingly ineffective in securing a peaceful and equitable world. Effective global cooperation proves to be unachievable in an atmosphere of mistrust. The current international finance architecture is only favoring the rich countries that designed it nearly 80 years ago without being responsive to the needs of developing countries.
At the Summit, the world leaders are expected to discuss how to reform the global governance system 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 ones, a fair shot 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 the nations and the global system more resilient against extreme climatic and environmental events, future pandemics, biological incidents and warfare, destructive cyber activities, and black swan events. As the planet inches closer to irreversible climatic and environmental damages, the Summit also aims to galvanize meaningful action, reaffirming commitments made in the Paris Agreement and championing gender equality, human rights, and empowerment of future generations.
What happens in New York in September 2024 will not stay in New York. The outcomes of the UN Summit of the Future will touch every corner of our lives today and in the future. The world leaders have a historic opportunity to make the world a better place—a world that is more inclusive and fairer, and better prepared to manage its present and future challenges. Will they succeed?
