SDIM24: Full coverage on Climate, Nature and Energy from the World Economic Forum

This year, 4 billion people go to the polls to select leaders who will grapple with an uncertain future and unpredictable geopolitical landscape.

Meanwhile, the Earth's systems tip into new states of equilibrium. 2024 will likely overtake 2023 as the hottest year on record, after the summer months broke heat records. Five natural thresholds, or climate tipping points, are set to be breached with massive cascading impacts to economies, society and human livability.

World leaders looking to maintain momentum on climate targets must do so as a host of global disruptions slow mitigation efforts. Focus will be critical, as will be the partnerships between government, business, civil society and philanthropic actors to drive innovative solutions.

Against this backdrop, world leaders will gather in New York for the 79th UN General Assembly (UNGA) and Climate Week NYC from 24-30 September.

At the same time, the World Economic Forum will convene leaders from politics, business and civil society to drive action and partnerships for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals at the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings (SDIM) from 23-27 September.

Throughout the week, new reports will be launched and leaders' dialogues will focus on the core themes of sustainable development and financing; investing in natural capital report; protecting nature; tackling pollution and the road to COP29.

Here's what you need to know.

From mining to manufacturing, achieving a successful energy transition and net-zero emissions will require industries to accelerate their pace of decarbonization. What new innovations and technologies can make decarbonization more efficient, cost-effective and scalable?

Vivek Salgaocar, Managing Director and Founder, Prospect Innovation PTE LTD, joined Melissa C. Lott, Professor, Climate School, Columbia University and Barinder Rasode, CEO and Co-Founder, Tersa Earth Innovations, in a session moderated by Sadaf Hosseini, Head of Growth, Partnerships and Innovation Ecosystems, UpLink, World Economic Forum.

You can catch up on the whole session below.

Global decision makers will convene at three COPs on the Biodiversity, Climate and Desertification agendas this year. How can actors from the public and private sector move beyond current geoeconomic tensions and take the necessary actions to curb carbon emissions and halt biodiversity loss while ensuring a more inclusive economy?

Ibrahim Thiaw, Undersecretary-General of the United Nations; Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), was joined by Maria Susana Muhamad, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Sumant Sinha, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ReNew and Jesper Brodin, Chief Executive Officer, Ingka Group (IKEA), in a session introduced by Mirek Dušek, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.

Thiaw said having three COPs in three months is "a wonderful opportunity for countries or parties... to actually have a much more holistic view rather than having decisions that are specific to one convention that may actually harm another treaty".

"You cannot just solve the issue of biodiversity or climate alone or land degradation, or you have to have a very coherent view," he added.

Sinha said we also need to involve ourselves much more in the other two COPs, because they are equally important.

"I think that the corporate sector is actually even further behind in getting involved in these two other COPs."

"If we don’t partner with nature, we won’t be able to control climate change,” said Muhamad, adding that the synergies between all three COPs would be evident this year.

You can catch up on the full session below.

Pollution is the world's largest environmental risk factor for disease, responsible for one in six deaths worldwide. As we modernize economies, extract more resources and continue our path to further growth, how can the sources and the impact of pollution be best addressed to support economic, societal and environmental health?

Leslie Johnston, Chief Executive Officer, Laudes Foundation, joined Stefan Klebert, Chief Executive Officer, GEA and Jane Burston, Chief Executive Officer, Clean Air Fund in a session moderated by Douglas McCauley, Director, Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory; Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Burston said air pollution kills one in eight people and has overtaken smoking as the second leading cause of deaths. "Deaths from air pollution are expected to double by 2050 unless we do something."

She added: "Most people don't understand that their heart attack, lung cancer, asthma, the stroke was brought on by air pollution."

Klebert said it's really important that we talk about the policy around air pollution - and that businesses start to measure it and put actions into place to decrease it.

According to the WTO, world trade is set to grow by 3.3% in 2025 but numerous challenges remain in ensuring this growth aligns with global nature and climate goals. How should business and government collaborate to create trade frameworks that promote economic development while supporting next-generation technologies and ensuring environmental sustainability?

John F. Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (2021-2024), US Department of State joined Laurence Tubiana, Chief Executive Officer, European Climate Foundation and Catherine Feingold, Director, International Department, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in a discussion moderated by Forum President Børge Brende.

Kerry said the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is starting to gain some traction in the US.

"We have an unfair trade structure globally and the WTO is teetering. We're going to need to have some very serious trade conversations after the US election.

“What we really need on a global basis is to price carbon. That's the single most impactful thing that we could choose to do as a group of nations around the planet. It's not about to happen and that's a challenge."

He added: "Meeting the challenge of the climate crisis is the biggest economic opportunity the planet has known since the industrial revolution, literally everything has to be changed."

You can catch up on the session in full below.

Urgent action is essential to mitigate the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. Earth observation (EO) technology and innovation are championing a new era for climate intelligence, offering unprecedented insights and solutions to address these urgent challenges. This white paper, written in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, highlights the transformative potential of EO for climate intelligence and forecasting.

Between 2018 and 2022, less than 5% of global corporate philanthropic funding was deployed to climate and nature. In January 2024, the Forum's Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) launched a Corporate Philanthropy Challenge for People and Planet to mobilize $1 billion of smart, catalytic funding towards climate and nature interventions by 2030. This white paper explores the role corporate philanthropy can play towards positive societal impact.

The Forum's Centre for Nature and Climate coordinates significant multistakeholder engagement to unlock greater finance for nature, with three focus areas: (1) mainstreaming natural capital in decision-making; (2) supporting the finance sector’s transition to become nature-positive; and (3) championing innovative approaches to finance nature. This report brings together insights in each of these areas to provide a clear message: investing in natural capital is essential, attractive and feasible. It aims to showcase new ways in which technology, people and new business models are making this possible and unlocking greater finance for nature. This report is a collaboration between the Nature Positive pillar of the Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate and UpLink, the Forum’s open innovation platform.

Areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) are one of the great remaining commons of the planet and critical to sustaining life on Earth and will be protected by the landmark Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. Representing two-thirds of the world’s ocean, they are home to millions of unidentified species and absorb heat and store excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, essential to regulating climate. They are also crossed by 90% of global trade; host critical infrastructure and contribute to global food security, accounting for up to 12% of global fisheries. In collaboration with the UN Global Compact, this white paper offers recommendations to support the private sector’s engagement in the implementation of the Agreement.

Watch live-streamed sessions from the meeting here and join the conversation on social media using hashtag #SDIM24