The event, hosted by Microsoft, highlighted the importance of private sector engagement and partnership in impact, relevant to the draft UN Pact for the Future and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As the impact of climate change is felt around the world in the form of extreme weather events and hotter summer weather, the subject matter is no longer just an academic exercise.

On July 17, The USCIB Foundation and the Moving the Needle initiative convened a roundtable: Navigating the UN Summit of the Future and Beyond with Business: Tackling Climate Change Across the Global Pact for the Future.
The event, hosted by Microsoft, highlighted the importance of private sector engagement and partnership in impact, relevant to the draft UN Pact for the Future and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As the impact of climate change is felt around the world in the form of extreme weather events and hotter summer weather, the subject matter is no longer just an academic exercise.
Featured speakers included:
- Whitney Baird , President & CEO, USCIB
- Ambassador Chris Lu , US Ambassador for UN Management and Reform
- Ambassador Norberto Moretti , Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the UN
In her opening remarks, Baird noted that USCIB has been a part of the discussions that led to the 2030 agenda, and we intend to follow through in this effort. USCIB’s partners, including the IOE and ICC, have embraced this agenda: “Today’s meeting reflects that collective commitment and effort. USCIB is and always has been committed to the essential role of the UN and multilateral institutions overall.”
USCIB has been a steadfast supporter of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement since 1993. USCIB has been present at every COP and examines both long term and very immediate challenges.

The roundtable discussion was robust and solutions-oriented, founded on USCIB’s support for the importance of multilateral institutions, including how businesses can help UN decisionmakers innovate in policy design and delivery; the complicated and sometimes confusing entry points businesses face in order to engage with the UN; and the ability of the private sector to bring integrated quantifiable data and other tools and forms of expertise to inform global decisions and policies.
A key theme was the importance of private sector engagement and partnership in action, as an indispensable part of a stronger, more effective UN fit to tackle current and future challenges. An engaged private sector is critical to the UN being able to deliver on its goals: advancing energy transitions, reducing unabated greenhouse gas emissions and mobilizing resources for mitigation and adaptation are just a few elements of a comprehensive climate change agenda on economic and social levels.
Roundtable attendees included representatives of diplomatic missions, UN system officials, academic and think tank leaders, and executives from business and private sector organizations. This session was the third in a series, building on prior roundtables on innovation and infrastructure. Its takeaways and proposals will be reflected in the development of a Business “Pact” for the Future.
Published on July 17, 2024
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