Climate Change, Conflict And AI: What To Expect From The Upcoming UN General Assembly High-Level Week

In the coming days heads of state and high-level representatives from all 193 United Nations (UN) member states will meet in New York to address the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the main policy-making organ of the UN, as part of the UNGA high-level week.

At the summit, world leaders will have the opportunity to meet with each other in both public and private forums to address some of the most pressing issues facing the international community and humanity as a whole.

Below are the main issues that the international delegates are likely to discuss.

The global propagation of conflict

Discussions about the political, economic and humanitarian consequences of the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine will doubtless feature prominently on the agenda during the general debate.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for greater commitment to de-escalation and peace from all belligerent parties.

"At this crucial moment in the Middle East, de-escalation must be priority one, priority two and priority three", Guterres said. In particular, the UN diplomat urged the United States and Iran to refrain from targeting civilians and respect "navigational rights" in the Strait of Hormuz, the most important maritime chokepoint for the transit and global supply of oil.

Guterres also called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and expressed his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Debates relating to both of these conflicts are on next week's UNGA agenda.

In his speech, which is scheduled for Tuesday, President Donald Trump, will "touch on the importance of Iran never having a nuclear weapon" and highlight "many of the peace deals that he has driven to conclusion or is in the process of driving to conclusion", U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said in a call with reporters.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to speak. Although the contents of their speeches are not known, they will likely focus on the perceived culpability of the U.S. and Russia respectively in the conflicts of their home countries.

The Iranian delegation has been allowed to travel to the U.S. for the UNGA, albeit under travel restrictions. The Palestinian delegation to the UN has, like last year, not been granted visas by the U.S.

Climate Change

During Wednesday's press conference, Secretary-General Guterres identified "the climate crisis" as one of the existential threats facing humanity.

Guterres' remarks appear substantiated by a groundbreaking new report published by the UN Environmental Programme, which revealed that the world is set to cross the 1.5°Celsius warming threshold (compared to pre-industrial temperatures) in the coming years.

Exceeding this limit will increase the likelihood of deadly weather events, such as heatwaves and floods, UN officials warn.

The report's findings will therefore probably be a subject for discussion at the 2026 Climate Summit, which will be held on September 23.

The meeting, convened by Guterres, will see leaders from developed and developing countries gather to discuss increasing international cooperation to combat climate change.

During this summit, developing countries whose populations are at risk of climate change, are likely to pressure wealthier nations to provide them with "fair compensation and legally binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions", digital news platform The Climate Watch reported.

Bangladesh, a developing country with high population density and flat, flood-prone geography, will likely be a leading voice in demanding stronger financial commitments from wealthier, high-emission nations; the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman assumed the presidency of the 81st (and current) UNGA session on September 8.

On September 24, the focus will shift to the rise in global sea levels, where it is expected that international delegates will be informed of the threat that rising seas pose to smaller, developing island states.

Artificial Intelligence

The Trump administration will reportedly hold a high-level meeting on AI on the sidelines of the UNGA on Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

AI has featured prominently on the news agenda this week, as reports emerged that a U.S. intelligence report partially generated with AI assistance had falsely suggested a Chinese ship in the Middle East was carrying nuclear weapons components. The U.S. military was reportedly preparing an interception of the vessel when the error was uncovered.

This military close call coincides with a recent wave of calls to check the rapid advance of AI. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Open AI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla Co-founder Elon Musk have all called for frontier AI development to slow, warning of AI's ability to potentially "take over the entire internet" within a year.

Guterres has also categorized "runaway artificial intelligence" as an existential threat to humanity, in addition to the "climate crisis". The outgoing UN leader urged nations to implement AI guardrails that would make the technology "safe, transparent and accountable, with human dignity at the centre".

"The world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety ... International cooperation is more necessary than ever", Guterres emphasized.

Guterres' remarks are likely principally targeted at the U.S. and China, the two leading powers in the field of AI innovation.

Although Chinese leader Xi Jinping will reportedly not address the UNGA ahead of his summit with Trump on Thursday, the developing AI competition between the U.S. and China will feature prominently at the international gathering regardless.

Sam Altman is set to brief the UN Security Council, which includes both U.S. and Chinese representatives, on AI safety concerns and developments next week, an OpenAI spokesperson told Reuters.