The age of longevity: UN marks 36th International Day of Older Persons
1 October 2026 - Increased longevity holds the promise of a “longevity dividend” through sustained health, productivity and participation across generations. On 8 October, UN DESA’s Programme on Ageing, in partnership with the NGO Committee on Ageing in New York, will commemorate the 36th United Nations International Day of Older Persons.
New SDG Chat launched to empower global engagement on sustainable development
1 October 2026 - How do we make sure that AI is powered for good and in the service of humanity? One such AI tool – the SDG Chat – has just been launched to make reliable sustainable development information more accessible to people around the world.
From energy crisis to energy transition: How renewables are reshaping energy security
29 September 2026 - The continuing conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global energy markets and pushing up fuel prices, with knock-on effects far beyond the region. For Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the crisis is also reshaping how the world understands the phrase “energy security.”
What will it take to build a future-ready Caribbean?
28 September 2026 - From 29 September to 1 October, public sector ministers, permanent secretaries, general directors, CEOs and heads of agencies in charge of public policy implementation from across the Caribbean will gather in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for the Governance Innovation Forum: People-Powered and Inclusive Public Administration for a Resilient and Future-Ready Caribbean.
Right to development: A blueprint for unmet promises
25 September 2026 - Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking Declaration on the Right to Development this December, world leaders gathered at a High-Level Week meeting on Wednesday to map progress made and the 21st century challenges still ahead – from narrowing the digital divide to levelling the AI playing field – as the UN chief presented a “blueprint” to address promises that remain unfulfilled.
At the 5-year mark, action under Energy Compacts has delivered electricity access to over 300 million and strong renewables growth
24 September 2026 - Annual report shows expanding impact, but trillions more in finance needed to meet targets for universal energy access and climate goals.
One water cycle: Why connecting the ocean and freshwater will allow the economic benefits to flow
23 September 2026 - The ocean and freshwater are part of one interconnected hydrological cycle, but are often short-sightedly managed through separate policy and investment systems. While the ocean’s health declines as a result of anthropogenic activities, changes to the security of freshwater are already disrupting communities, economies and businesses. For more information, see the World Economic Forum's Year of Water campaign.
When a country goes underwater: Island States fight for their future
23 September 2026 - Rising sea levels and ever-more-powerful storms are eroding shorelines, submerging land and threatening to evict millions of people from their homes worldwide. Yet, for the people of some low-lying small island States, what is at stake is more than just their houses. Their countries face the possibility of substantial losses of land territory and even complete submergence, which could render them uninhabitable.
Guterres: 'Cracks have become canyons' as world faces four tests of power
22 September 2026 - Humanity faces four defining “tests of power” – around war or peace, inequality, climate change and AI – that will determine whether the world moves towards a new era of cooperation or deeper division, the UN chief warned the General Assembly on Tuesday.
Global growth under pressure as energy shock renews inflation risks and heightens uncertainty
22 September 2026 - The crisis in the Middle East has dealt yet another blow to a world economy already grappling with the lingering effects of recent shocks, heightened geopolitical and trade tensions, and shrinking fiscal space. A severe global downturn has so far been avoided, but growth remains subdued and risks are substantial.
Why the UN General Assembly still matters
19 September 2026 - Richard Gowan, Director of UN and Multilateral Diplomacy at the International Crisis Group in New York, has spent years studying the organization – its highs and lows. Ahead of the General Assembly’s high-level week, he sat down with UN News to discuss why the Assembly remains a vital stage for international diplomacy – and why, despite a changing world rife with division, its role still matters.
Less than 4 years from development goals deadline, progress shows what's possible
18 September 2026 - For Benin, making progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has meant finding new ways to finance development. The West African country has increased domestic revenue by 0.5 per cent of GDP each year for the past decade, issued Africa’s first SDG bond in 2021 and used the resulting funding to expand access to education and drinking water, Aristide Medenou, Benin’s minister of economic cooperation, said on Friday.
New UN system platform puts millions of data points at users’ fingertips, says Guterres
18 September 2026 - The United Nations system is hoping to make that task much easier with the launch of the UN System Data Commons, a new online platform that brings together data and statistics from across the Organization into a single gateway. Speaking at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, Secretary-General António Guterres unveiled the new platform, which allows users to search, explore and access trusted publicly available data from 26 UN entities in one website.
Gender equality woefully off track, new UN report reveals
18 September 2026 - At the current rate of progress, gender equality would take 171 years to achieve, a new UN report finds as institutions built to advance gains are being defunded and demobilised. Strikingly, not a single indicator on the Sustainable Development Goal for gender equality (SDG 5) is on track to be met by 2030, the initial deadline, according to Gender Snapshot 2026.
One in three institutions built to advance gender equality stripped of power in just two years, new UN report reveals
17 September 2026 – The Gender Snapshot 2026 report, released today by UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), shows that where women hold real power, outcomes improve across every dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - from peace to education, and from poverty to climate action.