In September 2024, the United Nations is set to launch its “Global Digital Compact,” which will outline shared principles for an “open, free and secure digital future for all.” This sounds promising in theory. But a growing divide between U.N. leaders and their Silicon Valley counterparts threatens to undermine these efforts.
Last year was a strange mix of chaos and continuity for the United Nations. Yet, despite the general rancor between the West and Russia, a lot of U.N. business ground on much as before. Now, U.N. officials and diplomats remain uncertain if the months ahead will involve more chaos or more business-as-usual. Three questions stand out.
A landmark framework agreed to at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 summit in December includes the “30X30” commitment to conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030. The target was welcomed by most environmental groups, but some observers question whether the “protected area” approach is enough.