What to know from the UN: Leaders speak of emerging threats as meeting nears

The security cordons are up. The streets are ready to be sealed off. Aircraft from myriad nations are landing in New York.

It all means one thing for the eastern part of Manhattan – the yearly gathering of world leaders at the United Nations is at hand.

The UN General Assembly’s high-level leaders’ meeting convenes on Tuesday in a troubled world — arguably even more troubled than last year, when the chief of the United Nations warned that the problems were overwhelming. Secretary-general Antonio Guterres will likely issue a similar warning on Tuesday as he opens the meeting, and world leaders take the stage amid war and rumours of war.

The day before the big meeting starts was full of hints as to the agenda in the days to come:

— World leaders spoke at an event called Summit of the Future, with many focusing on emerging threats, to the earth’s climate, on the battlefield and in cyberspace.

— Iran’s president pointed to the deadly explosions of pager and other devices in Lebanon, and the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh, as proof Israel is trying to coax Iran into war.

— Most of Earth’s systems are out of balance when it comes to climate change, and nations vary on who should pay to help poor nations deal with the impacts and switch to cleaner energy.

– From the podium

At the Summit of the Future, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced concerns about “emerging theaters of conflict”, including in cyberspace.

“There is a need for balanced regulation at a global level for the safe and responsible use of technology,” Mr Modi said, cautioning that “we need global digital governance which ensures that national sovereignty and integrity are upheld”.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi talked up key Beijing initiatives such as the Belt and Road programme, which brings Chinese companies to build Chinese-funded transportation, energy, and infrastructure projects overseas. He also hit some oft-repeated Chinese complaints, such as criticising “bloc confrontation” and sanctions imposed by a single country.

Representing a country where the median age is 28, Ecuador’s president urged the international community to have “a clear vision” for education and youth employment. Then suddenly, the microphone of Daniel Noboa Azin was cut off. Speech time limits often are not enforced at top-level UN meetings, but at the Summit of the Future, the mic was shut off after five minutes.

– On the sidelines

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says upcoming leadership changes in Japan and the United States will not have any impact on their commitments to security in Northeast Asia.

Speaking at a meeting with the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers on the sidelines of the general assembly, Mr Blinken said the US presidential race pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against former president Donald Trump, as well as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s impending retirement, will not change the three countries’ joint resolve to combat threats posed by China and North Korea.

He said the three-way collaboration among the allies after last year’s historic Camp David summit between the leaders “is stronger than it’s ever been, more effective than it’s ever been, and more important than it’s ever been, given the shared challenges that we face as well as the many opportunities before us to seize”.

A group of scientists produced the first of what they hope is an annual planetary health check. The prognosis is grim.

Earth is in the danger zone on six of the nine special systems that scientists looked into, with a seventh flirting with that risky area and maybe already breaching the boundary, according to the “planetary health check” by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research and the group called Planetary Guardians.

The six areas definitely out of balance are the freshwater system, the climate, the phosphorous cycle, biodiversity, general land health and “novel” chemicals (such as microplastics). Ocean acidification is about to cross the danger line or may have done so already, the report said.

Only the ozone layer and health of the air are in decent shape, said Potsdam Institute director Johan Rockstrom, who has done a similar planetary health check every several years and there is not much change from last year’s.

“For 30, 40 years, the world has been conscious that Earth is going in the wrong direction but we did not feel the earth was on fire. Right now the planet is on fire and that’s why we need to act,” former Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos said in a press briefing.

– Voices you might have missed

Leaders of countries around the world spoke at the UN’s Summit of the Future one by one. Or, San Marino’s case, two by two.

For centuries, the tiny European republic has had two heads of state at any given time. They are called capitani reggenti and they are selected every six months by the nation’s 60-person legislature.

The current captains regent, Alessandro Rossi and Milena Gasperoni, took turns delivering their country’s speech. It touched on issues including refugees, food waste, violent extremism and the value of multilateralism — the type of broad-based international system that the UN represents.

“In the case of small states, international law is seen as the one and only safeguard in the event of a threat to their existence, and multilateral fora represent a valuable megaphone to make their voices heard, which would otherwise remain unheard,” Ms Gasperoni said.

– One notable number

The number of women scheduled to address the assembly during the general debate, out of 194 total speakers, is 19.

– What else?

Caribbean leaders want big polluters — especially fossil fuel companies — to pay more of the trillions of dollars the world needs to help poor nations deal with climate change’s impacts and switch to cleaner energy.

In a brief video appearance, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, a leader in the call for global financial reform and seen as a possible future UN secretary-general, said poorer and middle income nations realise that private money is going to have to be part of a financial deal. But she said many multinational companies, which are richer than dozens of small nations, should pay more.

Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said fossil fuel companies need to be held accountable, but it will probably have to be in the courts through international lawsuits.

John Podesta, US president Joe Biden’s top climate official, says the US is doing its part to fight climate change and it is paying off around the world. Mr Podesta said the 300 billion-dollar (£224 billion) Inflation Reduction Act spurred private businesses to spend 270 billion dollars (£202 billion) in clean energy.

But the payoff was not just in the United States because for every tonne of heat-trapping carbon that the country reduced because of the new law, the world cut 2.9 tonnes, he said.

– Up next

On Tuesday, among other remarks, is the last UN address from Joe Biden as president of the United States after five decades on various parts of the world stage.

Conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan are expected to take centre stage all week. Mr Guterres opens the debate on Tuesday morning.