Policy Updates

On September 15, 2025, a UN Women report revealed that progress on women's rights is stagnating and regressing due to conflict, aid cuts, and a backlash against gender equality, and called on governments at the UN General Assembly in New York to commit to renewed action, highlighting that the US$420 billion needed annually to advance gender equality is a fraction of the US$2.7 trillion spent on the military.

The report, a gender snapshot monitoring progress on the SDGs, found that 676 million women and girls lived near deadly conflict in 2024, the highest number since the 1990s. Women are also more likely to be affected by rising food insecurity. The report projects that climate change could push an additional 158.3 million women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050.

Director of UN Women’s policy division, Sarah Hendriks, contrasted the US$2.7 trillion in annual military spending with the estimated US$420 billion needed to advance gender equality. The report also noted a digital gender divide, which if addressed, could lift 30 million women and girls out of poverty by 2050 and generate a US$1.5 trillion increase in global GDP by 2030. UN Women is calling for renewed commitments at the UN General Assembly, 30 years after the Beijing Declaration.

On September 8, 2025, at the Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, the AU, EU, and Germany launched two flagship energy programmes, CEPA and ENGAGE, to accelerate the implementation of the African Single Electricity Market, backed by the EU's US$174.9 billion Global Gateway investment package.

The programmes aim to advance the AfSEM and the CMP. These initiatives are key components of the AU's Agenda 2063 and are designed to create a fully integrated, cross-border electricity market, targeting the creation of the world's largest interconnected power market by 2040.

The launch celebrated 25 years of the AU-:abbrEU partnership. Speakers including Dr. Kamugisha Kazaura for the AU, Her Excellency Nardos Bekele Thomas of AUDA-NEPAD, Her Excellency Teresa Ribera for the European Commission, and Dr. Bärbel Kofler for Germany's BMZ, all highlighted the programmes' role in attracting investment to deliver reliable, affordable, and clean energy. Over 600 million people in Africa currently lack access to electricity.

On August 14, 2025, the resumed 5^th session of the INC-5.2 in Geneva, Switzerland, concluded without reaching a consensus on a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, though UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that all member states agreed to continue negotiations.

Negotiations to establish a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution concluded without an agreement. UN officials, including UNEP Executive Director Andersen and UN Secretary-General Guterres, acknowledged the outcome but emphasized that all countries remained committed to the process. The talks, which included delegates from 183 nations and representatives from over 400 CSOs faced significant differences on key issues.

The US delegation supported an agreement that allows for tailored, country-specific solutions to reduce plastic pollution while opposing prescriptive, top-down regulations. INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso and INC Executive Secretary Jyoti Mathur-Filipp reaffirmed their dedication to moving forward and achieving a future agreement.

On July 21, 2025, analysis from the Lowy Institute interactive Southeast Asia Aid Map highlighted the impact that major US and European ODA cuts are set to have on South-East Asia’s LICs.

Australia continues to provide targeted assistance in areas such as gender, climate, and disability, but its overall ODA contribution remains low compared to other OECD countries. The Lowy Institute warns that without renewed commitments from Western donors, long-term climate adaptation and poverty reduction efforts in South-East Asia may suffer.

Stakeholders are encouraged to review ODA strategies to ensure effective and equitable support for the region.

On July 17, 2025, the EU unveiled the draft seven-year MFF proposing a significant increase in development funding, with the Global Europe instrument set to receive EUR200 billion (US$234.2 billion, which is a large increase from the current EUR92.3 billion (US$108.1 billion) allocation amount.

This 75% boost aims to strengthen the EU’s external action and development finance, despite ongoing debates about prioritizing European interests. Experts have voiced concerns about the lack of a clear definition of what constitutes as ODA, raising questions about transparency and accountability. Additionally, the flexible nature of the proposed budget means that funding levels may not be reliable or guaranteed for long-term development priorities.

The final budget, part of the 2028–2034 MFF, should be decided in December 2027. Stakeholders are encouraged to monitor the final outcome to ensure development objectives remain central to EU external funding plans.

From June 9-13, 2025, the 3^rd UN Ocean Conference was hosted in Nice, France, ending with over 170 countries adopting a joint declaration committing to urgent measures for ocean conservation and sustainable use.

The event featured 55 heads of state and government as well as upwards of 15,000 participants from civil society, business, and science. The Nice Ocean Action Plan, combining this declaration with voluntary pledges, was said to mark renewed global political will for marine protection.

Key commitments included:

• A European Commission pledge of EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) for ocean conservation;
• A pledge by French Polynesia to create the world’s largest marine protected area;
• A pledge by New Zealand of US$52 million for Pacific Ocean governance;
• A pledge by Italy of EUR6.5 million (US$7 million) to strengthen Coast Guard surveillance in marine protected areas and on oil platforms;
• A pledge by Spain to establish five new marine protected areas, aiming to safeguard 25% of its marine territory;
• A pledge by Germany of EUR100 million (US$115 million) for Baltic and North Sea munitions clearance;
• The launch of a Coral Bond for reef conservation by Indonesia, WB, and partners.

37 countries, led by Panama and Canada, launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, while Canada pledged US$9 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Alliance. UN agencies and global partners also launched a co-design process for One Ocean Finance to unlock billions in new financing from ocean-dependent industries and blue economy sectors.

Nineteen more states ratified the Marine Biodiversity Treaty, bringing total signatures to 136 and ratifications to 50 states, plus the EU. Ten more ratifications are needed for the Agreement to enter into force. The 4^th UN Ocean Conference, in 2028, will be co-hosted by Chile and the Republic of Korea.

On March 27, 2025, at the N4G Summit in Paris, the European Commission pledged EUR3.4 billion (US$3.7 billion) through 2027 to tackle global malnutrition.

The funding will target children under the age of 5, as well as pregnant or lactating mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on severe acute malnutrition in vulnerable populations. It builds on the EU’s previous EUR2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion) pledge for 2021-2023, which it exceeded by EUR1.9 billion (US$2.1 billion).

The EU will also strengthen nutrition governance and research while integrating nutrition into its Global Gateway strategy, linking humanitarian and development efforts.

On December 17, 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed former Italian Prime Minister and European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni as co-chair of a high-level expert group tasked with addressing the debt crisis by advancing policy solutions and building political and public support.

The group will be led by UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda Mahmoud Mohieldin, co-chaired by Gentiloni, former South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, and Senior Researcher at Boston University's Global Development Policy Centre Yan Wang.

The group will present its recommendations at the FfD4, to be held from June 30 to July 3, 2025, in Sevilla, Spain.

On December 13, 2024, the EC announced the launch of a new Humanitarian Air Bridge operation to deliver health, education, and shelter supplies from EU stockpiles to those in need in Syria.

The EU-funded assistance flights will transport nearly 100 tons of supplies from stockpiles in Dubai and Denmark, to be distributed within Syria with support from WHO and UNICEF. EC President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the importance of continued EU assistance to the Syrian people, noting that the additional funding will support food, health, shelter, and sanitation needs through humanitarian organizations.

The EU also pledged an additional EUR4 million (US$4 million) in humanitarian assistance, raising its total humanitarian assistance for Syria in 2024 to EUR163 million (US$176 million).

On December 11, 2024, the EC officially endorsed the roadmap for a strategic partnership with the DRC on raw materials, which commits to secure, sustainable, and resilient value chains - from extraction and processing to recycling and value-added industries.

The partnership aims to strengthen the EU's autonomy while supporting the DRC’s economic development, especially in the mining sector.

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela stated that while securing and diversifying critical rawmaterials essential for the EU's green transition, the EU is also developing economic opportunities, local jobs, and sustainable value chains in the DRC.

The EC has already established 14 strategic partnerships on raw materials, essential for green and clean energy objectives of the EU’s Green Deal.