Future Summit: Focus on solving global challenges

Amid growing climate disasters, the United Nations held a two-day Future Summit on September 22-23, focusing on addressing major global challenges such as climate change, social inequality and economic crises.

The conference aims to promote cooperation between countries, enhance transparency and trust in international relations.

Leaders discussed boosting climate finance, reforming global institutions to better meet people's needs, and making new commitments to respond more effectively to issues like natural disasters and public health crises.

Speaking at the event, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned: "International challenges are moving faster than we can respond. Crises are intertwined and feed off each other, for example when digital technology spreads climate misinformation, deepening mistrust and increasing social polarization."

Echoing the UN Secretary-General, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for a reset in the governance of global institutions to better respond to crises and provide support where it is needed most.

“Instability in governance institutions coupled with a lack of trust between leaders and citizens will continue to fuel social distancing globally,” she stressed.

The Future Summit continues on September 23 with speeches from leaders from countries such as China, India and the United States. Around 900 climate-related events are expected to take place in New York City during Climate Week this year, attracting the participation of many multinational corporations, non-profit organizations and climate activists.

US President Joe Biden will speak at an event featuring actress and climate activist Jane Fonda and World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Meanwhile, another event organized by the Clinton Foundation will feature Britain's Prince Harry and actor Matt Damon - a clean water activist.

Climate conferences and events like Climate Week in New York have taken on more urgency in recent years, as rising temperatures bring about extreme disasters like heat waves and hurricanes.

Many observers of the climate negotiations expressed regret that the Pact for the Future adopted at the Future Summit on the morning of September 22 could not go further than the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai (United Arab Emirates - UAE) in affirming the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels.

Leaders are also facing a more urgent challenge on the climate agenda. With just two months to go until COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, it is more urgent than ever to reach a new global finance target to replace the $100 billion annual commitment that expires in 2025.

With some UN agencies estimating that the annual financing needs will run into the trillions of dollars, leaders are looking for ways to increase climate finance beyond their own national budgets.

The World Bank and other multilateral development banks are undergoing reforms that could allow them to provide more financing or take on more climate-related risks.

Under the initiative of Barbados, France and Kenya, countries also continue to discuss the adoption of new global taxes to support climate finance, such as financial transaction taxes or transport taxes.

“We must do more to understand the fundamental injustice of the debt crisis that is affecting most developing countries,” Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said.