Multilateralism UNpacked – Details, episodes & analysis

President Lula of Brazil has called COP30 the “Turnaround COP” – warning that it may represent our last chance to avoid an irreversible rupture in the climate system. In episode 2 of Multilateralism UNpacked, UNU-CPR Director, David Passarelli, speaks to the COP30 President, Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, a veteran Brazilian climate diplomat who will guide negotiations in Belém. Recorded at a workshop organized by a new UNU-CPR project – the Global Governance Innovation Platform – the conversation explores the challenges facing climate diplomacy, mobilizing support for a more sustainable climate agenda and Brazil’s COP30 priorities. 

Dr. Jack Durrell, Head of Communications at UNU-CPR, speaks to Dr. Nicole Goldin, Head of the Centre's Equitable Development research pillar, on key takeaways from the recent IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC. Dr. Goldin shares insights on recent economic headwinds, the funding crisis and how the development sector can adapt through cooperation, domestic resource mobilization and innovation. Looking toward pivotal moments on the international agenda, such as this month's Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the conversation lays out what’s at stake and where solutions may lie.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched ten years ago. But their implementation over the past decade has been uneven and evidence suggests we are unlikely to achieve the goals by the 2030 deadline. In episode 3 of Multilateralism UNpacked Dr. Nicole Goldin and Dr. Jack Durrell explore the factors behind this lack of progress and how we can now accelerate implementation of the SDGs. The conversation also reflects on relevant discussions at two recent UN conferences - the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development and the High-Level Political Forum – and considers what comes next for the ‘2030 agenda’.

Related information:

1. The FFD4 Outcome Document, the 'Sevilla Commitment': https://financing.desa.un.org/document/ffd4-outcome-booklet-spread
2. Sevilla Platform for Action: https://financing.desa.un.org/ffd4/sevilla-platform-action
3. Connecting Decent Work to Sustainable Growth (Dr. Nicole Goldin's intervention at HLPF 2025): https://unu.edu/cpr/news/connecting-decent-work-sustainable-growth
4. Multilateralism Meeting the Moment: Moving forward from FFD4: https://unu.edu/cpr/blog-post/multilateralism-meeting-moment-moving-forward-ffd4

As the United Nations approaches its 80th anniversary, questions about its agility and relevance have taken centre stage. In Episode 4 of Multilateralism UNpacked, UNU-CPR Director Dr. David Passarelli speaks with journalist, academic and UNU-CPR Fellow Dr. Adam McCauley about the need for international organizations to adapt and evolve in the face of deep geopolitical flux and rising scepticism toward multilateral cooperation. Drawing on lessons from organizational theory and his experience in government and academia, Dr. McCauley explores how the UN can become a learning institution, one that balances ambition with realism and reimagines coalitions, especially the role of middle powers. As the UN80 reform agenda moves ahead, this conversation lays out what’s at stake and how culture, structure and strategy must align for the UN to thrive in a new era.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly become one of the most transformative technologies of our time. From reshaping industries and labour markets to influencing education, healthcare and security, AI is increasingly embedded in every part of our societies.

Although there is increasing convergence on the risks and opportunities associated with AI, policy solutions are diverse and fragmented, with standards, sectoral regulations and strategies varying from country to country.

In response, the United Nations has provided a platform for global dialogue and scientific consensus on AI, and recently, during this year’s 80th General Assembly, Member States launched both the International Scientific Panel (ISP) on AI , designed to build a common, evidence-based understanding of the technology, and the Global Dialogues on AI Governance, bringing together governments, civil society, industry and academia to exchange perspectives on a regular basis.

This episode of Multilateralism UNpacked explores these developments with Lucia Velasco, Head of AI Policy at the Office of the UN Office of Digital and Emerging Technologies, who spoke to Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, Head of Anticipatory Action and Innovation at UNU-CPR, about where global AI governance stands today, what the ISP and Global Dialogues mean in practice, and how AI governance may evolve in the years ahead.

Suggested reading list:

• Global Digital Compact: https://www.un.org/global-digital-compact/sites/default/files/2024-09/Global%20Digital%20Compact%20-%20English_0.pdf.
• International Scientific Panel on AI: https://www.un.org/independent-international-scientific-panel-ai/en.
• Global Dialogues on AI Governance: https://www.un.org/global-dialogue-ai-governance/en.
• A Global Architecture for Artificial Intelligence: https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:9284/A_Global_Architecture_for_Artificial_Intelligence.pdf
• ¿Te va a sustituir un algoritmo?: El futuro del trabajo en España: https://www.amazon.com/-/es/%C2%BFTe-sustituir-algoritmo-futuro-trabajo/dp/8418895055

In this episode of Multilateralism Unpacked, UNU-CPR’s Head of Communications, Jack Durrell, speaks with Senior Researcher Michael Franczak, sharing insights from his experience at COP30 in Belém. 

Their conversation explores why COP 30 felt substantially different from previous summits – marked by the acknowledgement of a 1.5°C overshoot, shrinking aid budgets and Europe’s energy and security pressures. 

While meaningful advances emerged on trade, adaptation and subnational leadership, the absence of new finance pledges and stalled fossil fuel phase-out language underscored the limits of the process. 

Together, they reflect on the mixed outcomes, the obstacles holding back global climate ambition and the opportunities that could still drive momentum forward.

In this episode of Multilateralism Unpacked, Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, Head of Anticipatory Action and Innovation at UNU-CPR, speaks with Laurent Gisel, Head of the Arms and Conduct of Hostilities Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), about one of the most urgent challenges in global governance: the rise of AI-enabled autonomous weapons.

Military investment in AI is accelerating, and systems capable of independently selecting and attacking targets are already being developed. Gisel explains how the use of these weapons can violate the principles of the Geneva Conventions. 

Drawing on a recent ICRC report to the UN Secretary-General, as well as the ongoing activities of the UN’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security, the podcast explores the various military uses of AI and considers the urgent need for a new international treaty on lethal autonomous weapons systems.  

Related information: 

The Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols: https://www.icrc.org/en/law-and-policy/geneva-conventions-and-their-commentaries

ICRC Submission to the UN Secretary-General on Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain: https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/ICRC_Report_Submission_to_UNSG_on_AI_in_military_domain.pdf

United Nations Resolution 78/241 on lethal autonomous weapons: https://docs.un.org/en/A/RES/78/241

Episode 8 of Multilateralism UNpacked examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping global governance at a moment when the technology is advancing faster than multilateral systems can adapt. AI is reshaping information environments, influencing conflict dynamics, transforming labour markets, and accelerating both opportunities and risks for sustainable development.

For the United Nations – an institution mandated to maintain peace and security, protect human rights and advance global development – AI presents both a major governance challenge and an important test of international cooperation.

To examine these issues, Dr. Jack Durrell, Head of Communications at UNU-CPR, speaks with Dr. Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, whose research at UNU-CPR has helped shape global debates on AI governance. Her work has ranged from analysing AI’s implications for peace and conflict to co-developing the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs and contributing to emerging thinking on scientific consensus mechanisms and the International Scientific Panel on AI. Most recently, she co authored the ITU’s AI for Good flagship report, Unlocking AI’s Potential to Serve Humanity, which outlines practical pathways for deploying AI in support of human and planetary well being.

As Eleonore now transitions into a senior public leadership role as New York State’s Chief AI Officer, she reflects on her work at UNU CPR and considers:

1. How AI is challenging existing UN capacities and processes;
2. What role the UN can realistically play in global AI governance;
3. How that role is evolving as Member States, companies and civil society shape the agenda;
4. And where the most significant future risks and opportunities are likely to emerge.

For more information:

1. Unlocking AI's Potential to Serve Humanity: https://unu.edu/cpr/report/unlocking-ais-potential-serve-humanity-robotics-geospatial-ai-and-communications
2. Four Ways the International Scientific Panel on AI Should Approach AI Risks: https://theglobalobservatory.org/2025/09/how-international-scientific-panel-on-ai-should-approach-risk/
3. Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs: https://unu.edu/cpr/news/hamburg-declaration-responsible-ai-sdgs
4. Foundation of Scientific Consensus for International Cooperation: https://unu.edu/cpr/brief/foundations-scientific-consensus-international-cooperation
5. Disinformation and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa: https://unu.edu/publication/disinformation-and-peacebuilding-sub-saharan-africa
6. A Global Architecture for Artificial Intelligence: https://unu.edu/publication/global-architecture-artificial-intelligence

In this episode of Multilateralism UNpacked, UNU-CPR’s Daouia Chalali welcomes Professor Edith Brown Weiss of Georgetown University, one of the leading architects of the concept of intergenerational equity in international environmental law.

Their conversation revisits the ideas behind her landmark book In Fairness to Future Generations and explores how the principle of intergenerational equity has evolved over the past decades, and why considering the rights and wellbeing of future generations is increasingly urgent.

Drawing on legal cases, international agreements and national policies, Professor Brown Weiss reflects on how courts, governments and international institutions are beginning to translate this principle into practice and what more can be done to ensure that today’s decisions do not undermine the world inherited by future generations.

Together, they discuss how the UN system, policymakers and civil society can help build an “ecosystem for future generations,” embedding long-term thinking into global governance at a critical moment for people and the planet.

For more information:

1. Access new research on future generations
2. Access the Future Generations Platform