Aiming to advance action on inclusive economic growth, responsible technology, humanitarian crises and climate, the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2025 was held in New York from 22 to 26 September.
Over 1,000 global leaders from diverse sectors and geographies attended the meeting held alongside the 80th United Nations General Assembly gathering.
The meetings, part of the Forum’s year-round work to accelerate progress featured the release of key insights, including the Chief Economists’ Outlook and reports on scaling carbon capture, managing climate-health risks to the economy and reducing the carbon footprint of digital trade.
The Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) explored cooperative pathways on global security, geo-economics and frontier technologies in a shifting geopolitical era.
The latest edition of the World Economic Forum’s Chief Economists’ Outlook warned of weak growth and systemic disruption, with long-term shifts in trade, technology, resources and institutions, signalling the arrival of a new economic environment; global debt is forecasted to reach 100% of global GDP by the end of the decade.
The Forum also launched The Trade and Labour Pathways for Decent Work in Kenya’s Digital Economy report, which explores how domestic legislation, business practices, trade policy and investment frameworks can be leveraged to address labour challenges in the digital economy.
At the meeting, nine winners of Uplink’s Nature Returns Challenge, which seeks early-stage investors transforming capital deployment for nature, were announced.
The Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) also announced 10 winners of its Inclusive Plastic Action Programme 2025, tackling plastic pollution.
The Dominican Republic unveiled its National Plastic Action Roadmap, supported by the GPAP, which sets a path to 53% circularity and 87% reduction in plastic pollution by 2040.
The report on Asia’s carbon markets delved into opportunities, challenges and best practices for leveraging carbon markets to accelerate the green transition across Asia.
