
28th Annual Conference of the International Environment Forum
Where do we go from here? - Deeds, not Words!
Report of the fourth conference event, 28 September 2024
In this closing session of the IEF conference, the panelists reported about and reflected on the Summit of the Future and its main outcome document, the Pact for the Future. They explored how IEF and all of us can apply Baha’i principles to the Summit outcomes and support any projects or initiatives launched.
Panelists:
Arthur Lyon Dahl, Environmental scientist, President of the International Environment Forum
Liliane Nkunzimana, Representative of the Baha'i International Community’s UN Office in New York
Monica Maghami, International regulatory lawyer, focused on sustainability and technology
Moderator: Victoria Thoresen, emerita and former UNESCO Chair for Education about Sustainable Lifestyles
Recording of the panel discussion:
Summary by Diana and Tim Schaffter
Opening Remarks by Arthur Lyon Dahl:
The IEF conference is in association with and in support of the United Nations Summit of the Future -- a once in a generation opportunity to reconsider what is wrong with global governance and what changes are required to address the urgent needs of today. The Pact for the Future includes 56 actions under 5 themes:
(1) sustainable development and financing for development.
(2) international peace and security. We can see how urgent this in the world.
(3) science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation.
(4) youth, future generations
(5) transforming global governance
This last conference event will review the results of the Summit of the Future and discuss ways forward, both for the International Environment Forum and more broadly.
Panel Presentations:
Liliane Nkunzimana
It is interesting to look at how some of the emerging themes in the Summit of the Future, specifically climate change, gender equality and peace, intersect.
The Summit of the Future was mandated by the members of the United Nations when the UN celebrated its 75th anniversary. One recommendation was to have a Summit of the Future where Member States would come together, negotiate, and write a Pact for the Future to really address issues facing the multilateral order today.
Because the Pact was approved by consensus, it reflects compromises, some related to articulating how issues of climate change exacerbate or create conflict or how climate change has an impact on some specific populations and how it affects women.
The failure to recognize how we are interconnected and interdependent is replicated in the systems and the processes that govern our relations as Member States. This is reflected in how we see humanity behaving in a way that is exploitative, with an insatiable want for material comforts and showing competitive tendencies seeking power and influence. It is reflected in the way we have been treating the environment, the way that we relate to one another, especially when it comes to gender relations, and in the way that we arrange our global affairs.
What does it look like for us to behave in a way that really recognizes this interconnectedness? The Baha'i Community recognizes that every single individual, every citizen from every walk of life, can have this capacity to promote what a peaceful and prosperous society can look like.
In many communities, we're learning that when we embrace our oneness, there are many implications. We have learned:
- Any kind of adversarial approach, no matter how noble the cause it supports, is limited in being able to achieve enduring transformation.
- Differences of opinion can create opportunities to explore values and strategies from diverse perspectives. This can be a source of innovative ways of doing things.
- Each individual has the capacity, the right, and the responsibility to contribute to the common good.
Ahead of the UN Summit of the Future, young people from around the world were asked for their perspectives on what this gathering can represent. Here are their thoughts:
What's needed is a shared vision, with everyone on the same wavelength and playing a role in improving the world.
Arthur Lyon Dahl
The Pact for the Future is mainly a compilation of existing commitments that Governments have been promising for decades. There is not much in terms of direct action to take or a sense of urgency. It doesn't really question the political and economic system as we have it, and the responsibility of the actors in the system. It is not proposing the fundamental transformation that is really needed moving forward.
The environment is mentioned without any real emphasis: only three times in 39 pages. There are more than five mentions of climate change including its environmental dimension, its impact on young people and the need for finance, so a little bit more, but it is only a tiny part of the challenges that are addressed in the Pact for the Future.
The Pact does acknowledge the need to protect our planet and address global environmental challenges by strengthening international cooperation on the environment and by implementing and complying with multilateral environmental agreements.
The United Nations noted that the Pact serves as a blueprint for a more inclusive, resilient, and effective international system but the agreement's non-binding nature has raised concerns about implementation. At the same time, its ambitious goals offer a renewed sense of hope and direction for global cooperation. The Pact represents the most comprehensive global agreement in decades tackling both longstanding issues and entirely new challenges to ensure a more just, sustainable and peaceful future. Without comprehensive reforms of the UN System, global institutions risk losing credibility and legitimacy and are unable to deal with the current global issues. However, those with the political and economic power are always reluctant to change.
Joining the debate on effective global governance through reforming the UN system, we wrote a book in 2020 entitled, “Global Governance Emergence of Global Institutions, 21st Century” (2 of the 3 authors are members of the International Environment Forum, and all are Baha'is.) It details proposals on how to fix the United Nations for the 21st century.
IEF members have had a leading role in proposing stronger Global Environmental Governance, and prepared a report in 2021 on a Global Environment Agency to be an upgrade from UNEP, to legislate planetary boundaries and negotiate equitable sharing of responsibility for respecting those boundaries. This report has been widely cited.
The Climate Governance Commission, also organized by an IEF member, prepared a report in November 2023, with 10 short-term priorities and 5 medium-term priorities, which also addressed the need for climate governance.
Several IEF members worked with a high-level group to draft the “Second United Nations Charter: modernizing the UN,” which was launched on 19 September before the Summit. The Second Charter incorporates the missing pillar of the environment into the United Nations. In particular, it proposes a new Earth System Council alongside the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and the Human Rights Council as the 4th pillar of the United Nations.
The Summit marks the beginning of a much longer journey that will push the United Nations and the world towards long-term multilateral collaboration from reforms of the UN Security Council to the governance of emerging technologies. The Summit has raised the stakes for what is at play.
A critical issue raised throughout the discussions has been the need to rebuild trust in the United Nations.
IEF will continue building the future by co-sponsored events, working closely with the G 20 Interfaith Forum and other partners, and joining other interfaith activities to take these things forward.
Monica Maghami
We are at a time when we must move from consultation to effective action; not just words, but deeds. This is the time we need to work together and act together in harmony with systems thinking.
One of the aims of the Pact for the Future is to transform global governance and challenge leaders to turn promises into actions. The 3rd chapter on science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation refers to the Global Digital Compact to promote global cooperation on digital governance. It emphasizes the need for international cooperation to ensure that technological advancements benefit all of humanity and not just part of humanity, and addresses global challenges like climate change and inequality. The Global Digital Compact aims to bridge inequalities in access and ensure that AI and technology are used responsibly and ethically.
Some countries are concerned about the implications for national sovereignty and the potential for external interference in national digital policies. However, resource allocation is also important as developing countries will likely struggle with the financial and technical resources needed to implement the Digital Compact recommendations, and privacy concerns. The document is quite positive in the sense that it mentions creating an international scientific panel on AI.
Points from the discussion:
• Everyone should be seen as being equal and having dignity. There are enormous disparities and critical environmental problems. The existing assumptions must be questioned in order to address these.
• Global cooperation and technology should benefit all of humanity, not just some sections. AI should be used responsibly in all schools and hospitals.
• We need systems thinking and being able to break down silos. Subjects in schools are studied in isolation, but we need young people to learn to think in terms of systems with holistic approaches. What principles are involved in reducing the disparities and increasing global well-being? We need to foster new habits and attitudes, and a sense of shared responsibility with dialogue to inspire all.
• The complexities of today's world, especially those tied to sustainable development goals, require integrated solutions and systems thinking to connect diverse fields from social to environmental factors, fostering holistic approaches to problem-solving rather than isolated fixes.
• We need a new global economic system to overcome paternalism and compartmentalized ideas.
• Better indicators to measure well-being beyond GDP are needed. How do we measure environmental systems? GDP is easy to measure, but it is not an indicator of well-being. There is extensive research and practical examples of how to measure sustainability, environmental impact, and things beyond GDP, but such new approaches threaten the basic assumptions of our materialistic society.
• We need to stimulate creativity, different ways of thinking and more complex thinking. We need to foster the process of consultation and the process of collective learning. All of this will lead to fundamental system change.
• Digital revolution. How do we use technology? Can it be used for the benefit of all, and can we overcome it being driven by private corporations motivated by making money and not empowering others? We must create a sense of trust and shared goals and a sense of a common cause that requires diverse perspectives and collaboration.
• Everyone needs access to digital tools, but we’re trapped with issues around intellectual property and commercial interests with regard to adopting, innovating and sharing learning.
Speaker biographies
![]() Liliane Nkunzimana is a Representative of the Baha'i International Community’s UN Office in New York. Her areas of work include gender equality and peace. Liliane has a background researching and writing issues related to diversity and inclusion. She currently serves as a Member at Large on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women. Previously, Liliane served as Secretary of the NGO Committee on Social Development and as Co-Chair of the Communications Task Force of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security. Liliane has also served as a community organizer engaging youth and their families in educational programs designed to build capacity to contribute to the well-being of society. She has worked on government-funded development projects as well as public affairs in the private sector. Liliane holds a Masters in Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor of Social Science specializing in African Studies with a minor in Political Science. |
![]() Dr. Arthur Lyon Dahl, a specialist in complex systems, is President of the International Environment Forum, and a retired Deputy Assistant Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. He coordinated the UN System-wide Earthwatch, led work on indicators of sustainable development and global solidarity accountability, represented the Baha'i International Community at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and other international meetings, served in the Secretariat of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit drafting Agenda 21, and has participated in numerous UN conferences on sustainable development and climate change, addressing most recently challenges of global environmental governance. |
![]() Monica Maghami (LLB and LLM) is an EU and Brazilian senior regulatory lawyer, with focus on technology and sustainability for over 20 years, living in London, England. She holds a Master's degree in Commercial and Business Law from Coimbra, Portugal. Monica worked for global leading law firms (Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith), Big 4 consultancies (Deloitte) and top tier technology and media companies (Accenture, G&D and BBC). Most recently she was invited to participate at COP28, the UN Nairobi Conference and speak at the upcoming IF G20 in Brazil. Monica is a trustee of NAWO, an NGO that advocates for the rights of women and girls in the UK. She facilitated a SotF workshop for the FCDO UK and regularly consults with them in meetings to review Chapters 3 and 4 of the Pact for the Future. Monica is a convenor and co-convenor of several Working Groups, including Institutional Mechanisms and Environment of the UN UNECE countries for Beijing+30, AI SIG and Climate Change for the OPA UK and an active member of the global IF 20 Environment forum. |
![]() Victoria W. Thoresen |
Last updated 4 October 2024