The Sustainable Development Impact Meetings, organized by the World Economic Forum in New York from September 18 to 22, bring together global leaders in politics, business, and civil society for impactful discussions on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As 2023 marks the halfway point for the 2030 Agenda, leaders at the UN General Assembly will address the progress made and the pressing challenges ahead.
The ongoing "polycrisis," encompassing climate change, geopolitical tensions, and more, threatens the achievement of the 17 SDGs designed to create a better world by 2030. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the urgency of addressing these crises, given recent events like wildfires around the Mediterranean and drought affecting the Panama Canal, which have global implications.
Focus of the Event
The World Economic Forum's Sustainable Development Impact Meetings will host dialogues involving business leaders, policymakers, international organizations, and innovators. Key sessions include discussions on the economic outlook and the SDG agenda, financing agricultural growth in Africa, the impact of artificial intelligence on the global workforce, and how technology can bridge the SDG gap.
Additionally, participants will explore strategies to decarbonize industries like mining and aviation, accelerate progress on gender parity, and transition from aid dependency to sustainable investments in frontier markets.
Topics at the Forum
Reports and announcements during the event include the Chief Economist Outlook for September 2023, which highlights economic challenges and the potential for volatility due to geopolitics and domestic politics. The "Jobs of Tomorrow" report examines the impact of artificial intelligence on over 800 job roles, revealing opportunities for automation and the need for adaptation in various sectors.
The Sustainable Development Impact Meetings provide a critical platform for addressing the world's most pressing challenges, from climate change to economic development, as leaders work toward achieving the SDGs by 2030.
Map Analysis
The map of global risks includes six categories, which are economic, societal, environmental, geopolitical, and technological. The biggest issues of each category are as follows:
- Economic — collapse of a systematically important supply chain. One of the examples for this issue would be the interruption of grain supply from Ukraine, as the deal with Russia reached its end, which led to food insecurity in many regions around the globe.
- Erosion of social cohesion — refers to the extent of connectedness and solidarity among groups in society. For instance, ethnic and religious tensions can lead to conflicts and violence, as seen in regions like Myanmar, the Balkans, and parts of Africa.
- Natural resource crises — are about shortage of natural resources like wood, gas, oil, water, etc., which we now see all around us.
- State collapse — one of the main threats to regional and world security. If a state collapses, which might happen for many reasons (war, bad economy), this will result in territorial conflicts, like conflicts that have existed since after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- Widespread cybercrime and cyber insecurity — the current online network is very complicated and it is hard to ensure security all over it, so many people are becoming victims of cybercrimes.
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