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5 GLOBAL ISSUES TO WATCH IN 2025

BY MEGAN RABBITT AND MJ ALTMAN ON DECEMBER 17, 2024

Children in the war-torn city of Borodyanka, Ukraine, play near an apartment building that was
destroyed by Russian shelling. Since 2022, the war in Ukraine has been escalating. Photo: Sergei
Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Catastrophic conflicts. Climate chaos. Staggering human rights losses. A fraught 2025 will still need to
deliver on an ambitious global agenda. And it will set the backdrop for the UN’s 80th year. We asked our
experts to weigh in and share five key issues to watch in the year ahead, and how leaders can meet the
moment.

As we turn the page on 2024, the world finds itself grappling with a multitude of crises that demand
urgent action.
The coming year will bring pivotal opportunities for progress, from the highly anticipated UN Climate
Change Conference (COP 30) in Brazil, to a global convening on development finance, to plans for
implementing the Pact for the Future.

Yet, the road ahead remains riddled with complex obstacles that will test global cooperation: coping
with the fallout of ongoing wars, navigating changes in leadership in the U.S and elsewhere, bracing for
the unpredictable impact of global warming, addressing systemic inequalities, and tackling the need for
UN reform. But within these challenges lie opportunities for progress and a reset for multilateralism.

“This isn’t a system designed because we’re all friends — it’s designed precisely because we sometimes
are not,” our President and CEO Elizabeth Cousens said last month, reflecting on global leadership and
the UN’s Charter.

2025 offers a fresh chance to address these challenges head-on amid heightened pressure to deliver
transformative progress. Our experts are both hopeful and clear-eyed about what the year could bring.
In their words and through their lens, here are five global issues to watch.

Palestinians receive meals as part of the UN’s emergency operation in Gaza, where devastating violence
and humanitarian blockades are pushing thousands of families to the brink of famine. Photo: Abed
Rahim Khatib/dpa

1. PEACE AND SECURITY: RESOLVING CATASTROPHIC CONFLICT

Negotiations to resolve the world’s most persistent conflicts will no doubt continue in 2025. The wars in
Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine as well as recent developments in Syria — each carrying grave geopolitical and
humanitarian consequences — will remain central to global peace and security agendas.

“These are not just terrible humanitarian tragedies, but they also fundamentally divide us,” says George
Hampton, Executive Director for Global Policy and Multilateral Initiatives. “The hope is that in 2025,
these conflicts may enter a new phase of resolution and rebuilding.”
While the international community is currently focused on securing ceasefires, the end of these wars
will be just the beginning of the path to shaping a peaceful future. Rebuilding after such protracted
violence, destruction, and societal trauma demands a great deal of planning, collaboration, and
resources. The UN will play a central role at each turn.

Even as the world watched the stunning fall of the longtime Syrian regime in the final month of 2024,
the immediate question was: What happens now? “We will need the support of the international
community to ensure that any political transition is inclusive and comprehensive and that it meets the
legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria, in all their diversity,” UN Secretary-General António
Guterres said in a statement on the country’s new chapter. He expressed a commitment to helping
Syrians build a country where “reconciliation, justice, freedom, and prosperity are shared realities for
all” on the journey to sustainable peace.

Meanwhile, long-simmering conflicts and instability in Haiti, Myanmar, and Yemen claimed tens of
thousands of lives in 2024 with no end in sight and few real resources or international support to
achieve peace.

At the COP 29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, activists protest for more global funding to help
low-income countries that are disproportionately confronting the impact of climate change. Photo: Sean
Gallup/Getty Images

2. FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT: INVESTING IN A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

In 2024 the drumbeat for an overhaul of international financing grew louder and louder. 2025 will be the
real test of political will, building on the adopted Pact for the Future and toward the 4th International
Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in the summer.

“Where are the opportunities to deliver on the Pact? For me, of course, it’s financing,” says Julie Kofoed,
Senior Director for Sustainable Development Initiatives. “A lot of that hinges on the appetite to give up
power and privilege, and that’s never an easy task. There is a lot at stake,” she says, referring to the
widely recognized need to rebuild trust through meaningful reform of the international financial system,
which could offer a transformative path forward for the world’s least developed countries.
Julie says FfD4 could be a critical juncture for transforming global governance, particularly in terms of
the extent to which wealthier UN Member States step up with development assistance. “This is a steep
hill ahead,” she warned, acknowledging that significant reform is necessary to make current financial
systems more inclusive, equitable, and effective. “But it’s also a massive opportunity to deliver on this
central point around redistribution of wealth and power, and rectifying outdated systems,” she added.
Ongoing discussions about reforming the World Bank, and International Monetary Fund, and other
international financial institutions will need to focus on breaking down entrenched power structures.
Further, global discussions in 2025 will also need to focus on how funding for development and disaster
assistance must evolve, notes Julie.

Lead Next Generation Fellow Inés Yábar also stressed the importance of financing, specifically for young
people. “The way financing is set up is letting young people down,” she says. Even though nearly half the
global population is under 30, just a fraction of development aid reaches young people and children.”
Investing in us isn’t just about fairness,” says Inés. “It’s about unlocking the future’s full potential.”

When it comes to investing in global health and well-being, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell, Vice President for Global
Health Strategy, says finalizing the pandemic accord and funding overall are two goals for 2025. “How
are key parts of global health going to be resourced?” he says, pointing out the many ways that health
and the UN’s work intersect with other issues around the environment and rights. “We are talking about
reproductive health. We are talking about climate and health. We’re talking about funding the work of
agencies like UN Women and UNFPA [the United Nations Population Fund], not just WHO [the World
Health Organization].”

Video: The International Maritime Organization (IMO)

3. CLIMATE ACTION: THE ROAD TO COP 30 AND IMO NEGOTIATIONS

All eyes will be on COP 30 in Belem, Brazil, next fall, by which time countries will have announced a new
round of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, known as nationally determined contributions
(NDCs). “There’s already a lot of attention on making sure the next set of NDCs are sufficiently ambitious
to move us substantially closer to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target,” says Pete Ogden, Vice President
for Climate and Environment, referring to the 2030 goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above
preindustrial levels. “Leaders have a responsibility over the next year to shift the current trajectory and
get us pointed in that direction.”
In addition to the topline targets, Pete will be watching to see if the quality of the NDCs themselves will
be improved. For instance, agricultural innovation and sustainable food systems need to be better
reflected than they have in the past, given their enormous importance. “One of the things we want to
focus on is countries really making headway into food and agricultural emissions,” he says.

When counties gather in Belem, climate negotiators will also likely confront a new diplomatic dynamic,
including potential withdrawals from the Paris climate agreement. “That’s the reality of 2025, so you
have to look at other major economies, like China,” Pete says. “As the world’s largest emitter, they have
the biggest ability to move us back toward the 1.5° objective.”

“It’s pretty unappealing to walk out on these systems and give up your seat at the table,” Pete says. He
is also quick to note that nations can outperform their own NDCs, continuing vital work at the sub-
national level despite global headwinds.

Another opportunity on the horizon for a climate win will come from negotiations at the International
Maritime Organization around how to achieve the IMO’s ambitious new targets for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions. This is a big deal, according to Pete, because if the shipping industry were a country, it
would be the sixth largest emitter in the world — and its emissions are growing steadily. “This is a
significant source of pollution that, traditionally, hasn’t gotten the same level of attention as other
sectors,” Pete says, emphasizing the potential for a “breakthrough climate victory” at the IMO in 2025.

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, a
watershed moment for girl's and women’s rights in which governments agreed, for the first time, on a
comprehensive plan to secure the global equality of men and women in law and in practice. Photo: UN
Photo/Yao Da Wei

4. GENDER EQUALITY: REFLECTING ON PROGRESS AMID ROLLBACKS

As 2025 begins, the outlook for gender equality remains bleak. Hard-won gains, including the right to
education, health care, and freedom of movement, are being challenged across the globe. The Taliban’s
2024 ban on girls and women from speaking in public in Afghanistan is among the most egregious.
At the same time, 2025 is a commemorative year for the global gender equality movement, marking the
30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the 1995 adoption of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+30).

Acknowledging the duality of this moment, Michelle Milford Morse, Vice President for Girls and Women
Strategy, says: “The girls and women of the world have a right to be really impatient. But they are also
allowed to celebrate the sweat, the solidarity, the strategies that got us here, and show us the way
ahead.”

As she points out, the 1995 conference was much more than a single point in time. It was the
culmination of years of advocacy and a launching point for action that continues to this day, Michelle
says.

“Thanks to the generations of activists who showed up at the conferences that preceded Beijing — from
Mexico to Copenhagen, and Nairobi — and their steadfast hope and hard work, transformational change
followed within just a decade,” Michelle says. “There was massive progress between Nairobi in 1985 and
Beijing in 1995: in laws, in social norms, in reproductive rights, and economic power.”

As the global gender equality movement has demonstrated, the journey toward progress can be slow,
halting, and non-linear. But with the persistence of many people over many years — and sometimes
decades, it is possible to fix systemic misogyny and outdated institutions, and to make 2025 an inflection
point.

Video: UNICEF

5. THE UN AT 80: REFORMING AN INSTITUTION BORN AMID WORLD WAR II

This year the UN will mark its 80th year, and enacting urgent reforms to upgrade some of its World War
II era bodies and processes will continue to be a major priority. “The world has changed drastically since
1945, and the UN must adapt to remain fit for purpose,” George says.
Elaborating on the need to help the UN evolve, George likened criticism of multilateralism to blaming
the stadium when your team loses. Echoing the words of the renowned late U.S. diplomat Richard
Holbrooke, and citing another iconic New York institution as an example, he says, “We wouldn’t be able
to play at Madison Square Garden today if they hadn’t upgraded the floors since it was first built in the
1960s.”

And that’s exactly what the Pact for the Future aims to do. The first-of-its-kind international agreement,
ratified at the UN General Assembly in 2024, outlines concrete steps to upgrade multilateralism that can
be taken across borders and industries — and yield global wins. After its historic adoption in September,
the focus now turns to implementing the Pact in full.

Photo: UN Photo

The 56 steps outlined in the Pact for the Future cover the agreement’s five key areas: 1) sustainable
development and financing for development; 2) international peace and security; 3) science, technology,
innovation, and digital cooperation; 4) youth and future generations, and 5) transforming global
governance. Given its extensive scope, implementing the Pact will require cross-cutting action — but not
by any one nation, sector, or institution.

“Person after person, institution after institution, each UN Member State has something to grab onto in
the Pact and something to move forward. It’s not a one-size-fits-all proposal. There’s no single owner to
the actions that have been agreed to in the Summit’s outcomes,” George says. “That’s what the Pact
proposes and shows the opportunity for: that we can still get more done together than we can alone.
There’s power in that sentiment.”

Finally, the campaign for the election of the next UN Secretary-General will gain momentum in 2025,
with the General Assembly already taking steps, potentially bringing fresh perspectives and plans to the
organization as a whole. And perhaps, the first woman to lead the global organization will emerge as
discussions advance.

Passengers disembark from a UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flight to the border of Sudan, where
thousands of families are seeking refuge from escalating conflict. Without UNHAS, aid workers across
the globe would not be able to reach far-flung and volatile places where commercial airlines cannot
operate. Photo: UNHCR/Nicolo Filippo Rosso

TURNING THE PAGE

As we look ahead, it’s clear that 2025 will present both opportunities and challenges for global
cooperation. The UN, alongside its partners, will be tasked with navigating increasingly complex issues
and ensuring that the international community remains focused on collective action for a sustainable
and peaceful future. From resolving conflicts to securing financing for development, driving climate
action, advancing gender equality, navigating new leadership, and reforming the UN itself, the road
ahead will require collaboration, compromise, and an unwavering commitment to the values that
multilateralism represents.

“Expect the unexpected,” George concludes, acknowledging the rapidly changing and unforeseen
developments the coming year could bring, particularly considering the new political landscapes. With
the world increasingly interconnected, however, the need for global solutions has never been greater —
and the UN’s continued funding shortfalls could deal more setbacks. Last year the UN Refugee Agency
(UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme, and other
humanitarian agencies received just 43% of the funding needed to reach the planet’s most vulnerable
people, the majority of whom are women, children, and the elderly.

“Today’s growing crises need more support, not less,” the Secretary-General declared at the launch of
the 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview, calling on world leaders and the private sector for a surge in
both funding and political will to protect the most vulnerable among us, especially women and children.

“Let’s make 2025 a year in which we ease human suffering, heal divisions, and make progress to a
better, more peaceful and hopeful future for all people,” he concluded.

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