Organizers: SDSN, University of Hong Kong, and The Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai

In the rapidly shifting global economic landscape, the dynamic economies of Asia must deepen their regional integration and trade to achieve continued rapid economic growth, technological innovation, and environmental sustainability. China and ASEAN are strong trading partners within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and strong investment partners in the Belt and Road Initiative. At the conference, the SDSN proposes an action-oriented program to strengthen GBA-ASEAN relations for the mutual benefit of the region.

Organizers: SDSN, Mission 4.7, and Columbia University's Center for Sustainable Development

The SDSN’s Mission 4.7 Malaysia project partnered with the Ministry of Education to pilot a teacher training program on Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Education (GCED). The pilot examined how GCED can be localized, inclusive, and equitable in diverse, multicultural contexts, while revealing systemic challenges in professional development and the value of teaching. This event will bring together education policymakers, practitioners, civil society, youth networks, and private-sector stakeholders to explore GCED’s potential for social inclusion and share lessons from two exemplary models.

Organizers: SDG Academy & Columbia University's Center for Sustainable Development

This session will explore how education can empower individuals, foster social cohesion, and promote just and equitable societies. It will highlight innovative approaches and local initiatives that re-center education on peace and dignity, focusing on three key themes: holistic learning and values, knowledge systems and epistemic justice, and the integration of social and environmental peace. Scholars, practitioners, and youth will come together to reimagine education’s role in advancing global harmony and sustainable progress.

Organizers: Government of Ireland SDG Champion: University College Dublin

Building on outcomes from the Global Higher Education Symposium, this event will explore the role of higher education as a transformative societal actor in advancing just, inclusive, and sustainable development. Framed by calls for multilateralism, social cohesion, and whole-of-society approaches, it will showcase multistakeholder collaborations addressing quality education and lifelong learning, technology and artificial intelligence, and innovations in finance to drive social development worldwide.

Organizers: SDSN Youth, SDSN Mexico, and SDSN Youth Mexico

In the context of the environmental, social, and cultural challenges facing humanity, Indigenous Peoples have proven themselves to be guardians of the earth and of ancestral knowledge. However, these historic contributions coexist with major challenges: the loss of territories and natural resources, the risk of cultural and identity erosion, and underrepresentation in decision-making spaces. In light of this, intergenerational dialogue becomes a key tool for ensuring that ancestral knowledge is transmitted to new generations and recognized in universities, academia, and international forums. Through this event, SDSN Youth, SDSN Mexico, and SDSN Youth Mexico seek to honor, highlight, and strengthen the voices of indigenous peoples as central actors in sustainability.

Organizers: University College Dublin, SDG Academy, and BuildSkills Academy

Thirty years after the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development, the nature of work has been transformed by technological innovation, demographic shifts, and the move toward sustainable, circular economies, yet gaps remain in achieving full employment and decent work for all. This webinar will highlight multistakeholder initiatives that promote a more inclusive and sustainable labour market, building on discussions from the 2025 EU Green Week session “Pathways to a Circular Economy: Adapting VET Training to Market Needs,” and exploring scalable solutions to equip workers with the skills needed for a sustainable future.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA)

The SPA will officially launch its Second Amazon Assessment Report (AR2025) at COP30 in Belém. Building on the foundations of the SPA’s landmark first assessment, released in 2021, the new report is developed around the concept of Amazon connectivity, providing science-based insights into the ecological, social, political, and economic interconnections that sustain the region.

Organizers: Science Panel for Borneo (SPB)

At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the SPB is previewing its 2025 Assessment Report, developed through contributions from seven thematic clusters — Geography and Geology; Flora; Fauna; Sustainable Agriculture; Social Well-Being and Cultural Diversity; Water and Minerals; and Economic Development — outlines a roadmap for urgent, coordinated action.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon

As the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) prepares to launch its Assessment Report at COP30, this event will serve as an intercultural knowledge dialogue focused on some of the SPA’s proposed recommendations, key messages, and calls to action for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in the Amazon Region.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA), Science Panel for the Congo Basin (SPCB), Science Panel for Borneo (SPB)

The Amazon, Congo Basin, and Borneo together hold the largest remaining areas of tropical forest on Earth. These regions are vital for global climate stability, biodiversity, and the livelihoods and cultures of millions of Indigenous and local peoples. The session will showcase how regional scientific collaborations are advancing practical solutions that strengthen climate resilience, protect biodiversity, and promote sustainable livelihoods.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Rede Amazônica de Informação Socioambiental Georreferenciada (RAISG), CANLA

This event frames the Amazon as key to global climate goals with crucial discussions for COP30 negotiators. Red de Redes Amazónicas, SPA, WWF, and Indigenous leaders will present solutions grounded in science and traditional knowledge to avoid reaching the tipping point.

Organizers: Global Citizenship Foundation

As part of the International Conference on Transformative Education (ICTE) 2025, the SDG Academy's Shannon Kobran will join Bridge 47's Rilli Lappalainen and Dr. Yusef Waghid, a Distinguished Professor at Stellenbosch University, for a Global Debate on whether Global Citizenship Education perpetuates Western ideologies and fails to address local contexts.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Congo Basin (SPCB)

The Science Panel for the Congo Basin (SPCB) is announcing the first-ever Congo Basin Assessment Report. This report, entitled "Resilience and Sustainability in the Congo Basin: Retracing the Past, Looking to the Future," synthesizes scientific knowledge about this unique region, examines critical questions on the Congo Basin’s ecosystems, and current and future threats that arise from local, regional, and global human activity.

Organizers: Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET), UNIDO, UNFCCC

This session will explore how carbon dioxide removal (CDR) can complement emission reduction efforts through equitable Article 6 partnerships under the Paris Agreement. Panelists will examine governance, financing, and cooperation models to scale nature-based, hybrid, and engineered CDR solutions while ensuring ecosystem protection, Indigenous rights, and alignment with national and voluntary climate frameworks.

Organizers: Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET), SEforALL

Building on the findings of the Green Hydrogen Task Force introduced at the official launch, this session will focus on practical pathways to scale green hydrogen deployment in developing markets. Policymakers, investors, and industry experts will explore solutions to overcome cost, regulatory, and financing barriers, along with highlighting opportunities for regional leadership, especially across Africa and the broader Global South.

Organizers: Science Panel for Borneo

The Science Panel for Borneo is announcing its 2025 Assessment Report, developed through contributions from seven thematic clusters — Geography and Geology; Flora; Fauna; Sustainable Agriculture; Social Well-Being and Cultural Diversity; Water and Minerals; and Economic Development — outlines a roadmap for urgent, coordinated action.

Organizers: Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET), SEforALL, and UNFCCC

This event will launch the work of the Green Hydrogen Task Force, co-led by the CEET and SEforALL under the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact. The session will present key findings and pathways to accelerate green hydrogen deployment in the Global South through targeted policies, investment frameworks, and technology collaboration.

Organizers: GEIDCO, UNFCCC, Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB), SDSN

Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires rapid, inclusive, and well-governed energy transitions. Yet countries and institutions face persistent capacity gaps—in policy design and implementation, human resources and skills, project preparation and financing, and cross-border coordination. This session responds to those needs by convening international organizations and implementation partners to share practical experience, assess capacity-building gaps, and discuss collaborative mechanisms for future action.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon, Fundación Ecuatoriana de Estudios Ecológicos - EcoCiencia (Fundación EcoCiencia), RAISG, Aguas Amazónicas, Alianza Norte Amazónica, Harvard University, University of Twente, University of Zurich

Integrated assessment of ecosystems using satellite observations, field experiments and biodiversity data can inform science-based strategies and decision making to address the interconnected challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss to enhance ecosystem resilience.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon, Aguas Amazónicas, Alianza Norte Amazónica, RAISG

Investigadores y líderes de cuatro importantes redes que trabajan por la Amazonía: el Panel Científico por la Amazonía (SPA), la Alianza Aguas Amazónicas (AAA), la Alianza NorAmazónica (ANA) y la Red Amazónica de Información Socioambiental Georreferenciada (RAISG), presentarán hallazgos clave y recomendaciones construidas a partir de los informes elaborados por las cuatro redes mencionadas.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon Youth Advisory Committee

Join the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA), together with partner organizations, for the launch of the Amazon Youth Manifesto at COP30 — the first COP hosted in the Amazon.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon, Science Panel for the Congo Basin, Science Panel for Borneo, The Met Office Hadley Centre, The University of Exeter

Tropical forests are pivotal to Paris Agreement goals, supporting carbon storage, biodiversity, and food and water security. This event presents new international collaborative science in the Amazon, Borneo, and Congo, informing carbon budgets, global partnerships and policy, and science-driven solutions.

Organizers: CEET, Enel Foundation, UNFCCC

Brazil’s power system faces rising risks from extreme weather, biodiversity pressures, and rapid distributed generation growth. This session will explore strategies to enhance grid resilience through digitalization, smart grids, and adaptive planning. Drawing on CEET’s issue brief on this topic, experts will discuss regulatory innovation and public-private collaboration to integrate technology, biodiversity, and policy for a sustainable, climate-ready grid.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon Youth Advisory Committee, Instituto Concertação/Instituto Arapyaú

The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) will launch the Amazon Youth Manifesto at COP30. This manifesto is the product of five participatory workshops that brought together young leaders and scientists from across all Amazonian countries to reflect deeply on the multiple dimensions of Amazonian connectivity.

Organizers: Science Panel for the Amazon

The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) will officially launch its Second Amazon Assessment Report (AR2025) at COP30 in Belém. Building on the foundations of the SPA’s landmark first assessment, released in 2021, the new report is developed around the concept of Amazon connectivity, providing science-based insights into the ecological, social, political, and economic interconnections that sustain the region.

Organizers: MDP Student and Alumni Advisory Council (SAAC) & the MDP Secretariat

Students in the Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) program will team up with peers from over 35 global MDP programs to tackle real-world sustainable development challenges. Collaborating online with partner NGOs, each team will design an innovative, interdisciplinary proposal addressing a regional issue. The top proposal will receive $2,000 in seed funding for implementation, with expert evaluation by professionals from multilateral organizations and government agencies.