Reuters NEXT Newsletter 

The city that never sleeps is extra busy this week – hosting both New York Climate Week and the United Nations General Assembly. Jump to Coming up NEXT and ICYMI for details on a quartet of Reuters NEXT Newsmakers we’re hosting across the week.The annual UNGA sees world leaders convene for talks on critical geopolitical issues. The theme for this year’s gathering is “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.” The wars in Gaza and Ukraine are expected to dominate discussions.

In a recent Reuters Econ World Podcast, my colleagues UN Bureau Chief Michelle Nichols, US Foreign Policy Editor Don Durfee and Deputy US Foreign Policy Editor Humeyra Pamuk laid out the major crises facing the UN, what it can do about it and how the US election is looming over this year’s meeting.

Leaders who joined UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a special two-day, climate-themed “Summit for the Future” over the weekend warned of growing mistrust between nations as climate-fueled disasters mount and spoke of the urgent need for climate finance amid US election uncertainty.

Pop quiz: which world leader was responsible for one of the longest speeches ever made during the opening of a UNGA, speaking for more than four and a half hours? Hint: it was in 1960. Find the answer in this explainer.

Coming up NEXT: 

• Reuters NEXT Newsmaker with HSBC Chief Sustainability Officer Celine Herweijer and Global Head of Climate Tech and Sustainable Finance Martin Richards, Sept. 25. Herweijer and Richards discuss HSBC’s role in the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy with Reuters Sustainable Finance Editor Simon Jessop.
  Register for the livestream here.
• Reuters NEXT Newsmaker with New York State Insurance Fund’s Rajith Sebastian and Lazard’s Samuel Scroggins, Sept. 26.
  Sebastian and Scroggins talk with Reuters Sustainable Finance Correspondent Isla Binnie about how the risks of physical climate shocks and changing energy policies are influencing capital allocation.
  Register for the livestream here.
• Reuters NEXT Newsmaker with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Sept. 26. 
  Peters, a veteran politician, is charged with steering the South Pacific nation through tricky regional geopolitics that have global implications. Peters sits down with Reuters Global Breaking News Editor Leela de Kretser during his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
  Register for the livestream here.

ICYMI

The Head of the European Central Bank’s Climate Change Centre, Irene Heemskerk, talked with Reuters U.S. Economics Editor Dan Burns in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker about the central bank’s developing climate agenda.
Watch a replay of the livestream here.

Suntory President & CEO Tak Niinami told Reuters Japan Deputy Bureau Chief David Doland in a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker how a $39 billion Canadian takeover bid for 7-Eleven’s owner indicates a shift in Japan’s corporate governance and has left CEOs “nervous” that their companies could be next.
Watch a replay of the livestream here.

Related reading: 

• Explainer: Why are NDCs important in global climate talks?
• Could the Palestinians get UNGA membership?
• Insight: Offshore wind opponents in Australia, Europe lean on US groups for advice
• Some 40% of regions, cities and companies lack emissions-cut targets

Happy reading, and catch you again in a couple of weeks.     

Jane Wardell