How a war-distracted world staves off irreversible damage

How A War-Distracted World Staves Off Irreversible Damage | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The UN's blueprint for making the world a better place is on life support. The pandemic wiped out years of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, and right now there's no way they'll be met by 2030.

Secretary-General António Guterres has a message for world leaders converging in New York for the annual UN General Assembly: We need to rescue the SDGs.

But Guterres (and the international community) still has a lot more on their plate. On GZERO World, he warns that we may run out of food next year if the deal to get Ukrainian grain shipments out is not extended to Russian fertilizer.

Still, the UN chief laments that we got here because Russia invaded with impunity — and he worries that'll embolden more countries to become more aggressive amid a deeply divided geopolitical environment.

Also, what happened to the idea that the world was about to fall off the climate cliff? Guterres has some new thoughts on this too.

More from GZERO Media

Demonstrators attend a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, in front of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, February 6, 2025.
REUTERS/Umit Bektas

President Donald Trump on Thursday doubled down on his proposal to remove Palestinians from Gaza for resettlement, insisting that Israel will give the territory to the US, with no military intervention required. He then imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court for having issued an arrest warrant last year against Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Annie Gugliotta

Is this the end of American soft power and, if so, how should allies respond? GZERO Publisher Evan Solomon explores the shuttering of USAID and the tariff taunts between the US and Canada.

Be sure to catch next week’s groundbreaking discussions on new technologies for global energy security in disruptive times live from the MSC Energy Security Hub at the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Pavilion. On Friday, Feb. 1: See the exclusive keynote by Fatih Birol, executive director of International Energy Agency, entitled “Europe’s Energy Power Struggle: Rising Demand and a New Competitive Landscape”, Join an expert panel as they discuss “Net Zero for Global Security? Geopolitics of Energy Transition and Hydrogen Trade,” featuring Leila Benali (Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development of Morocco), Jennifer Morgan (State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, German Federal Foreign Office), Rainer Quitzow (professor for Sustainability and Innovation, TU Berlin), Katherina Reiche (CEO, Westenergie AG; Chairwoman, National Hydrogen Council), Narendra Taneja (energy expert & chairman, Independent Energy Policy Institute). Saturday, Feb. 15 “Shaping Tomorrow’s Renewable Energy Paradigm in Times of Uncertainty,” the keynote by William Chueh, director, Precourt Institute for Energy, associate professor of materials science and engineering, Stanford University Plus many more panels and fireside chats. If you’re eager to explore how nations can boost their competitiveness, strengthen their economies, and create a future-proof society, sign up for our free livestream here.