Financing the future

Welcome to Diplomatic Courier’s World This Month, which explores key trends in global affairs in the past month to keep you up to date.? ?

It’s been a busy several months with a bevy of international summits. This month featured COP29 and the G20 meetings, and in both cases sustainability and finance were major focal points. Other trending themes in this newsletter include: attempts to evolve or reform international institutions and a look at what’s next for international climate cooperation.

We hope you find these insights useful! As always, we welcome your comments or suggestions.

This newsletter is approximately a 5-min read.

Shane Szarkowski, PhD

Editor–in–Chief

Rethinking finance for equitable, sustainable development

Smart, equitable finance is critical to achieving each one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With the G20 and COP29 summits convening this month plus the UN General Assembly, World Bank/IMF, and BRICS meetings having just taken place, finance—and what equitable, sustainable finance might look like—has been in focus.?

• A pact for the world’s poorest – Deodat Maharaj
• At COP29, a need to balance finance, adaptation, and justice – Nicole Monge
• Bridging the climate finance gap for a just transition at COP29 – Mark Akrofi, Ph.D.

Global institutions, evolving?

It’s no secret that institutions need to evolve, not only to meet contemporary challenges but also to rebuild eroding public trust. Yet knowing how to evolve is almost as tricky as putting changes into place. Here’s a look at what is happening—or what experts say should be happening—at the G20, BRICS, and the UN.

• G20 must lead on just development, sustainable planet – Gene Leon
• A BRICS retrospective – Stephanie Gull , Shane Szarkowski, PhD
• Increased youth participation at the UN decision–making table – Anoussa Salim

What next for climate action?

COP29 was meant to be the ‘finance COP,’ but for many observers, the financial agreements coming out of Baku underwhelmed. While the economic and geopolitical landscapes may be becoming more challenging for climate action, multiple avenues remain for real progress.?

• Energy transition goes from tailwinds to headwinds – Robert McNally
• Achieving COP’s mission requires patience, adaptation – Duane Dickson
• Coordinate COP16 and COP29 agendas to survive – Ligia Collado-Vides
• Make no mistake: The climate crisis is a health crisis – Lauren Sorkin

In case you missed it…

Other important reads from November include evolving youth political engagement on TikTok, shifting Ukrainian sentiment toward the war with Russia, and the changing geopolitical and investment landscape of the Central Asia–Caspian region.

• Tik–Tokracy: When politics goes viral – Klara Grochowska
• Half of Ukrainians want quick, negotiated end to war – Benedict Vigers
• Central Asia–Caspian region, a high–stakes arena for global investors – Elkhan Nuriyev, Ph.D.

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