The Third Global Financial Forum ECUMENE concluded its work in Moscow on Friday, September 29. ECUMENE 2023 became a platform for discussing key issues of long-term sustainable development of the world economy, harmonization and improvement of the financial agenda, and the development of new approaches to implementing the main objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The Forum’s sessions were watched over three days by 718,000 viewers from 87 countries — twice as many as last year. The event brought together 143 speakers from 31 countries.
The results of ECUMENE 2023 were summed up at the Closing Panel, which highlighted key issues on the global sustainable development agenda and climate action. “This July and August were the hottest months ever recorded. We are witnessing unprecedented climate impacts on every continent, in every region and in every country. Science tells us that the battle to prevent a climate catastrophe will be won or lost during this decade. The good news is we have never had more clarity on what needs to be done, by whom and within what timeframe,” Selwin Charles Hart, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action, Assistant Secretary-General for the Climate Action Team, said in his address to participants in the Closing Panel. He also emphasized that the global community already has the financial and technical tools needed to meet climate goals.
“The entire system of international relations after the Second World War was built according to the rules of the victors — essentially, on the right of the strongest. But new challenges are so global that they cannot be resolved unilaterally by a ‘group of the strong.’ Today, the world is moving from the ‘right of the strongest’ to the ‘right of trust,’ which will require a change in mindset and a new global social contract. The most effective and successful will be those who can adapt to this,” said Elena Borisenko, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of Management, Gazprombank JSC.
Viacheslav Fetisov, UN Goodwill Ambassador and Chair of All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, drew attention to the importance of the climate agenda: “Climate will soon be the main topic in the world, and the Russian Federation, with its potential, should lead this movement. My colleagues and I share a common understanding that this is what matters most today.” He also noted that conflicts end sooner or later, while environmental protection remains on the agenda. Andrey Slepnev, Member of the Board (Minister) for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, developed this point further: “Counteracting anthropogenic impact is only possible together. <…> Achieving the goals requires an unprecedented level of cooperation.”
During the session, speakers noted Russia’s special role in addressing climate-change challenges. “We live in a changing world. Russia is the largest forest country and the largest Arctic country. In this respect, Russia can indeed play a key role in the green transition,” said Erik Solheim, The Sixth UN Environment Programme Executive Director, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Artem Bondarevsky, General Director, GES-2 House of Culture and V–A–C Foundation, noted that culture is absent from the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. In his view, however, culture is becoming a link between people and nature, with cultural institutions playing a special role in this process. He urged colleagues working in finance, economics and environmental issues not to overlook this dimension.
The detailed ECUMENE 2023 programme and online broadcast are available on the official website: https://ecumeneforum.com/en/ecumene2023.
About ECUMENE 2023
The first ECUMENE Forum took place in Moscow in September 2021. More than 130,000 viewers from 50 countries followed the intensive two-day business programme, which featured more than 70 speakers from 16 countries. In 2022, the ECUMENE Global Financial Forum brought together more than 100 speakers from 22 countries. More than 300,000 viewers from 83 countries followed the three-day business programme online. The results of the discussions were presented, among other venues, at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Gazprombank is the General Partner of ECUMENE 2023. The event is held with the support of the United Nations, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Environment Programme Russia Office, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Ivannikov Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation and other respected Russian and international organizations. The V–A–C Foundation for Contemporary Art is the organizer of the cultural programme session.