From 6 to 18 November, Heads of State and government representatives, along with climate activists, civil society and CEOs will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for the largest annual gathering on climate action. This 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – known as COP27 - aims to deliver action to tackle the climate emergency. Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas levels, and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement.
Agrifood systems face complex and unprecedented challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, migration, conflict, economic instabilities, and COVID-19. The FAO Science and Innovation Forum, organized together with the World Food Forum and the FAO Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum from 17 to 21 October 2022, highlight the centrality of science, technology and innovation to catalyze the transformation of our agrifood systems. The events encourage a diversity of perspectives based on science for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all.
The World Health Summit (16-18 October) is the international strategic forum for global health. Held annually in Berlin, it brings together stakeholders from politics, science, the private sector, and civil society to set the agenda for a healthier future by inspiring innovative solutions for better health and well-being for all. The World Health Summit strengthens collaboration and open dialogue guided by science, fosters global health as a key political issue and promotes the global health debate in the spirit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 17 “Partnership for the Goals.”
As the UN’s 77th general debate enters its third day, Heads of State and Government from around the world continue to outline their priorities and concerns, reinforcing the Secretary-General’s call for urgent, concerted action to address the world’s most pressing challenges. The annual event is an opportunity for the world’s nations to come together to surmount global, interconnected challenges through solidarity and multilateralism. The General Assembly’s debate started on 20 September and will continue through 26 September. Watch the debate live and join the conversation #UNGA!
The 77th general debate of the UN General Assembly, which offers Member States the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and discuss world issues, opens on 20 September at 9 a.m. in New York and will take place through 26 September. Heads of State or Government may elect to either deliver their statement live from the podium in the General Assembly Hall, or have a delegate introduce their pre-recorded statement. Watch the debate live and join the conversation #UNGA!
On 13 September 2022, the UN General Assembly starts its 77th session, under the leadership of its President, H.E. Csaba Kőrösi. This session, under the theme “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges,” will focus on mustering global solutions to achieve political and social stability, sustainable environmental management and security in a world entangled in complex crisis. It will be marked by high-level meetings, such has the Transforming Education Summit and the commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, among others.
The eighth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is held on 22-26 August in Geneva, Switzerland. The landmark ATT, regulating the international trade in conventional arms – from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships – is an international treaty that regulates the international trade and seeks to prevent and eradicate illicit trade and diversion of conventional arms by establishing international standard. At this stage the Treaty has a total of 111 States Parties and 30 States that have signed but not yet ratified the Treaty.
Over the 41 years since AIDS was first reported, the International AIDS Conferences have served as a communal platform for collective action, driving some truly watershed moments in the HIV response. AIDS 2022, the 24th International AIDS Conference (29 July - 2 August) in Montreal, Canada, will call on the world to come together to re-engage and follow the science. It will define future research agendas, shift the latest evidence to action, and chart a new consensus on overcoming the HIV epidemic as a threat to public health and individual well-being.
As the world struggles to recover from COVID-19 amidst continuing crises, the High-Level Political Forum 2022 (HLPF) will reflect on how recovery policies can reverse the negative impacts of the pandemic on the SDGs and move countries on to a path to realize the vision of the 2030 Agenda. 44 countries will expose their national progress and measures for a better world. The meeting (5-15 July) will also review in-depth goal 4 quality education, 5 on gender equality, 14 on life below water, 15 on life on land, and 17 on partnerships for the Goals.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly; and 40 other guests, among them Cody Simpson, explain why the oceans matter for the 2022 UN Ocean Conference. The ocean covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, is the planet's largest biosphere, and is home to up to 80 percent of all life in the world. It generates 50 percent of the oxygen we need, absorbs 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90 percent of the additional heat generated from those emissions.
Recognizing that education is a human right and a foundation for peace, tolerance, and sustainable development, the UN Secretary-General announced in his report ‘Our Common Agenda’ his intention to convene a Transforming Education Summit (TES) in September 2022. In preparation, UNESCO is hosting a Pre‐Summit on 28 to 30 June at its Headquarters in Paris. The Pre-Summit will harness the evolving discussions on transforming education, elaborate initial content and establish a shared vision to generate greater momentum in the lead up to September. View the programme for more information.
The ocean is not just ‘the lungs of the planet’ but also its largest carbon sink - a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change. It nurtures unimaginable biodiversity and produces food, jobs, mineral and energy resources. However, the science is clear – the ocean is facing unprecedented threats as a result of human activities, and we need to act now. The UN Ocean Conference (Portugal, 27 June -1 July) will seek to propel much needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.
ITU organizes a World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) every four years to further telecommunication development. At a time when access to digital technologies has never mattered more, WTDC is a unique opportunity to develop innovative approaches and new models of collaboration for connectivity and digital solutions towards the achievement of the SDGs. The conference takes place this year in Kigali, Rwanda, from 6 to 16 June. In parallel, launching on 6 June, the Global Connectivity Report 2022 takes stock and charts a path to universal and meaningful connectivity.
On 2 and 3 June 2022, world leaders and other representatives including youth, gather in Sweden for Stockholm+50 – an international meeting to drive action towards a healthy planet for the prosperity of all. The event commemorates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm - which marked a new era of global cooperation. Stockholm+50 comes at a crucial time as the Earth is in emergency mode, and urgent action is needed to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
The 15th of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) takes place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022. Leaders from around the world meet to drive progress in the future sustainable management of one of our most precious commodities: land. Drought, land restoration, and related enablers such as land rights, gender equality and youth empowerment are among the top items in the conference agenda.