The Summit of the Future – What’s at stake for the SDGs

In September 2024, on the margins of the 79^th session of the United Nations High Level week, the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres will host the “Summit of the Future” to bring “world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.”

With the global agenda as packed as it is, it would not be unreasonable to ask: Why another Summit and why now?

In recent years, the world has faced unprecedented challenges not the least among them being the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts around the globe, and the adverse effects of climate change. These have tested the resilience of international architecture and highlighted the urgent need for global unity around shared principles and common goals. The benefits and opportunities of progress such as digital connectivity and globalization, among others, have not reached all corners of the world, resulting in these challenges disproportionately being felt by the world’s most vulnerable. The gap between haves and have not is so severe, the Oxfam annual inequality report for 2022 “Inequality Kills” has alarmingly found that inequality is contributing to the death of at least 21,000 people each day, or one person every four seconds. A staggering number that should shock the conscience of all, particularly global policy makers.

Moreover, the Sustainable Development Goals, the world’s blueprint for achieving a better world and leaving no one behind, is in peril. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024, “only 17 percent of the SDG targets are currently on track, with nearly half showing minimal or moderate progress, and over one-third stalled or regressing”.

As if this wasn’t bad enough the Report continues to note that “an additional 23 million people were pushed into extreme poverty and over 100 million more suffered from hunger in 2022 compared to 2019. While some health targets improved, overall global health progress has decelerated alarmingly since 2015”.

Given the foregoing, the answer to “why another Summit and why now?” appears to be it is now or never. The SDGs and the global development agenda is at stake and needs an immediate injection of political will and resources for accelerated action.

The idea of the Summit of the Future therefore originated from the Our Common Agenda report, which was a response by the UN Secretary General to a call from Member States for ideas on how to better respond to current and future challenges. The report called for a renewal of trust and solidarity at all levels and advocated for a fundamental rethink of the global political, economic and social systems to be inclusive and effective.

The Summit of the Future therefore is a defining moment for the United Nations Member States and indeed the world – inclusive of all stakeholders, such as the Private Sector and Civil Society – to come together and agree on the most critical improvements needed in the global system and make good on the promise of a better world for future generations by enhancing implementation of the SDGs and addressing the challenge of multilateral cooperation in an effort to tackle current global challenges and prepare for the future.  Decisions made at the Summit of the Future must positively impact the world for generations to come.

The importance of the Summit and its success will be determined by its ability to save and accelerate advancement of the SDGs, through strengthened reaffirmation of global commitments particularly those on sustainable development and climate change.

To do this, the Summit must review progress, identify challenges and mobilize necessary resources, including political will and greater financing for development, towards strengthened and enhanced implementation of the SDGs.

Further, the Summit must restore the global trust in multilateralism by providing a platform for a review of the current multilateral architecture, strengthen areas that have proven successful and take an honest and frank approach to restructuring and revitalizing areas that are no longer fit for current and emerging global challenges. Renew the trust of the world’s populace in multilateral systems and prove that these systems work for people and planet, through transformed global governance and greater global cooperation on critical challenges such as peace, climate change and sustainable development.

Critical to the success of the Summit is the Outcome Document titled “Pact for the Future”. This document, currently being negotiated, is expected to be an action-oriented outcome document that will seek to speed up and enhance global efforts to meet existing international commitments, such as the SDGs. The document will chart a way forward to meet new and emerging challenges while simultaneously designing international architecture that will allow opportunities and progress to be evenly distributed across the world, to developing and developed countries alike.

The Pact for the Future addresses five important topics:

1. Sustainable Development and Financing: Addressing the financial mechanisms required to achieve sustainable development.
2. International Peace and Security: Focusing on strategies to maintain peace and security in an increasingly complex global landscape.
3. Science, Technology, and Innovation: Harnessing the power of technology and innovation for the common good.
4. Youth and Future Generations: Ensuring that the voices of the youth are heard and their interests are protected.
5. Transforming Global Governance: Rethinking how global governance can be more effective, inclusive and responsive.

In light of the importance of these issues, it is imperative for all stakeholders—governments, civil society, private sector, and individuals—to engage actively in the discussions in a spirit of inclusivity and transparency. This can mend the broken trust with global populations and will demonstrate the ability of our leaders and international institutions to address current challenges and be prepared for those to come.

For the Private Sector, this is a crucial moment to demonstrate its willingness and commitment to be a constructive partner in these efforts and the Pact for the Future provides an opportune moment for the sector to align business strategies with enhanced efforts towards SDG implementation and achievement and global sustainability targets. Active engagement in discussions and alignment with actions, provide tangible evidence towards the Sector’s leadership and consolidate its role in a transformative future for all, for today, tomorrow and decades to come.

Learn more about the Summit of the Future here.