The 13th annual World Ocean Summit

The 13th annual World Ocean Summit, hosted by The Economist in Montreal, took place this week at a critical moment for ocean decision-making.

This summit saw global leaders, innovators, policymakers, and ocean champions come together to move from commitments to action for ocean health and the blue economy.

The theme of the event was ‘Innovate, Protect, Prosper: Securing Our Ocean Future’ – a timely focus following the entry into force of the High Seas Treaty in January this year. Global frameworks like this give us the tools to strengthen international collaboration, and now is the time for critical conversations.

The blue economy encompasses key ocean-based industries – fishing, shipping, marine protected areas, plastics, nature-based solutions and ocean technology – all of which must be managed responsibly to create a healthy future for the seas.

Philanthropy, finance and corporate capital must all be strategically channeled to support ocean health. Just $1.2 billion currently flows to marine protection annually, yet $15.8 billion is needed to achieve 30×30 in the ocean and could unlock $85 billion in annual returns and avoided costs by 2050*.

With potential cuts coming to ocean funding mechanisms (https://lnkd.in/eYtVXzpF), now is the time to coordinate vital conversations on finance hashtag#ForTheOcean. We must call on our governments and leaders to channel funds to protect the blue.

*Source: the Ocean Protection Gap report

Read more here: The 13th Annual World Ocean Summit

UN DESA Monthly Newsletter for March 2026

Monthly Newsletter: Vol 30, No. 3 – March 2026

Youth in the spotlight as UN DESA examines mental health and population trends in new reports

Last month, UN DESA launched the World Youth Report on Youth Mental Health and Well-being, highlighting the urgent need for inclusive, youth-informed mental health policies. Another report, World Population Highlights 2026: Youth, is now being released, homing in on the latest youth population trends, helping policymakers use population foresight to address the needs of young people everywhere and to ensure that demographic change supports equitable and sustainable development.

Expert Voices

Financial integrity – a precondition for addressing the defining challenges of our time

Each year, illicit financial flows divert vast public resources away from classrooms, hospitals and climate action, shrinking the fiscal space countries need to serve their people. Following ECOSOC’s first-ever Special Meeting on Financial Integrity last month, Nobel Laureate in Economics Joseph Stiglitz reflected on why financial integrity matters now and who is most affected when global rules fall short.

Things You Need To Know

5 ways forests drive inclusive and resilient economies

Forests generate employment, support rural and urban livelihoods, underpin food systems, supply raw materials and energy, and provide ecosystem services that enable productivity across sectors. Yet, despite their wide-ranging economic, social and environmental contributions, forests remain systematically undervalued in economic planning, investment strategies and financial systems.

More from UN DESA

Coming Up

UN Statistical Commission
International Day of Forests 2026
32nd Session of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters
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Read more here: https://desapublications.un.org/un-desa-voice/march-2026

Editorial APBest Relevance in Oil prices

Antonio A Ver
Convenor

From APBest’s roots at its founding in 2010 through its entry in the UNECOSOC in June 2014, the call for Oil pricing strategies continues more so in view of hitherto Regional war in the Middle East.

In two days from the attacks against Iran, oil prices spiked. Trading Economics reported: “WTI crude oil futures rose more than 6% to above $71 per barrel on Monday, the highest in over eight months, after earlier surging as much as 10% as unprecedented joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran sharply escalated tensions across the Middle East. Markets are closely monitoring the risk of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint that handles roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments and significant volumes of natural gas. Tehran insists the strait remains open, but shipping companies quickly began rerouting vessels away from the narrow waterway. Iran has also launched retaliatory missile barrages at US bases across neighboring countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to increase production by 206,000 bpd in April, ending a three-month pause, but well below the 411,000–548,000 bpd that had been previously considered.”

“During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for the U.S. decision to resupply the Israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations.”

The world is not running out of oil. However, aggression has brought disruption in supply and demand. Peaceful, diplomatic means have not settled disputes in oil rich economies. Is the United States’ peace through deterrence the trigger to hit middle east countries with “Epic Fury” to gulp the oil from the Gulf? Or is it a euphemism because prices have surged?

APBest’s advocacy from its birth in 2010 has not been diminished, and needs a closer look in global energy economics of fossil fuels and renewables.
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UN DESA Monthly Newsletter for February 2026

A world on the move for sustainable, inclusive and resilient transportation

Every morning around the world, billions of people step onto a bus, bike to work, wait for a train, or drive long distances to reach their jobs, schools, markets, and health care. Meanwhile, freight systems operate around the clock to deliver food, medicines, and essential goods to communities everywhere. As it connects lives and livelihoods, access to sustainable transport is a question of life and death, poverty and prosperity, and overall well-being.

Expert Voices

Photo: UNDP. A woman and a man carrying a box of fruit.

Advancing social development: Time to turn commitments into action

When the Commission for Social Development convenes this month, it will be the first global gathering after the Second World Summit for Social Development. It offers a key opportunity to start turning the commitments made to advance social development into action. We asked the team in UN DESA’s Division for Inclusive Social Development what we can expect from the Commission’s work this year.

Things You Need To Know

UN Photo of the UN General Assembly Hall

5 ways UN DESA makes a difference for people and planet

At a time when global cooperation and sustainable development are under pressure, UN DESA continues to deliver. The department brings countries together to find common solutions, build capacity on the ground, and deliver trusted data and analysis that inform decisions shaping economies, societies and the planet. Here are five things you need to know.

SDG Blog by Khrystyna Hayovyshyn, Chair of the CSocD

More from UN DESA

ECOSOC Feature

Volume 30 | No.1 | January 2026

ECOSOC at 80: A milestone for global cooperation and sustainable development
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will commemorate its 80th anniversary by holding a special event on 23 January 2026. The event will be an opportunity to celebrate the Council’s many milestone achievements in improving people’s lives around the world. “We need to reflect on the legacy of ECOSOC and reaffirm its central role in shaping a more inclusive, resilient, and forward-looking multilateral system,” says H.E. Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa (Nepal), President of ECOSOC.

Established by the Charter of the United Nations in 1945, the United Nations Economic and Social Council held its first meeting on 23 January 1946 in London. As one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, ECOSOC has been at the centre of global progress, advancing the principles of the United Nations Charter and promoting international cooperation on economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related issues.

ECOSOC has brought nations together to advance dignity, equality, solidarity and opportunity. It has championed human rights, promoted gender equality, and guided countries toward shared goals for a better future.

ECOSOC has also provided strategic policy guidance to the UN development system, while fostering, integration and coherence across its broad network of subsidiary and expert bodies.

By the 2000s, ECOSOC emerged as a central platform to review the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and, since 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), helping to unite the global community behind a common vision of multilateralism and solidarity.

Throughout its history, ECOSOC has served an important platform for reflection, debate and innovative thinking, bringing together diverse actors to address the world’s most pressing sustainable development challenges. The Council’s work is enriched by over 6,500 NGOs in consultative status, and it provides civil society, youth and other stakeholders a platform to contribute to intergovernmental policy making.

Today, the world continues to face poverty, rising inequalities, fast-moving crises and growing pressures on our planet. Yet, ECOSOC remains steadfast in promoting sustainable development, safeguarding people and the planet while ensuring that no one is left behind.

“The role of ECOSOC has never been more relevant and important,” says President Thapa. “ECOSOC’s convening power is indispensable—for restoring trust in multilateralism and driving coherent, collective action in our shared interests.”

Follow the commemoration of ECOSOC at 80 live on UN Web TV to:

Learn more about ECOSOC’s impact and legacy over the past eight decades.
Celebrate ECOSOC as a forum for inclusive engagement
Highlight its crucial role in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
For more information: ECOSOC at 80: Commemoration Event

Note: APBest is active in Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC.