Summit of the Future: a global deal to reshape future governance

CIDOB Report nº 12

The United Nations Summit of the Future: Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow, takes place on September 22nd and 23rd, 2024. It promises to adopt a “Pact for the Future” whose goal is to act as catalyst to reinvigorate the organisation and adapt it to a new geopolitical reality. Discussions will be conditioned by factors such as China’s consolidation as an assertive power with worldwide reach, or the emergence of a Global South that questions the geopolitical order of a globalisation fashioned to suit Western powers and which perpetuates inequality and dependency.

There is criticism of the lack of representation in the decision-making bodies that shape global governance from states and regions that feel sidelined, as well as complaints from other actors that wield increasing influence in the international arena, such as cities and civil society organisations. Further demands stem from the need to provide multilateral institutions with the financial, human and technical resources to get the 2030 Agenda back on track in the wake of the multiple, overlapping crises of recent decades. There is also a call to arm the multilateral system with a greater capacity to anticipate and react to manage the effects of such crises, like climate change, where the scope is global. Added to that is the uncertainty arising from rapid technological change and the breakthrough of artificial intelligence.

Against this backdrop, this CIDOB Report examines the reasons and arguments driving the necessary reforms; the proposals and measures under negotiation; and the positions of the various actors involved plus the interests in play.

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