LocationsUNDP at the 2025 Hamburg Sustainability Conference
May 28, 2025
The HSC is a joint initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Michael Otto Foundation, and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Event Details
June 2, 2025
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June 3, 2025
8:30 AM - 7 PM
Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Hamburg City Hall, Germany
The Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) brings together decision makers and leaders from politics, business, science, and civil society to accelerate joint action toward the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The second edition of the HSC will take place on 2 and 3 June 2025 at the Hamburg City Hall and the adjacent Chamber of Commerce in Germany.
In the face of growing geopolitical instability and global fragmentation, the HSC 2025 offers a platform for open dialogue across sectors and future-oriented collaboration. As the world confronts converging crises—from climate change and conflict to economic volatility and disruptive technologies—this year’s conference aims to help recalibrate global cooperation for sustainable development. Building on the momentum of the Summit of the Future and the inaugural HSC 2024, it provides a unique opportunity to translate international commitments into concrete action.
HSC 2025 will provide space for diverse voices to forge new sustainability alliances. It will feature a mix of public sessions, thematic hubs, and high-level closed door strategic discussions to explore critical issues such as governance, prosperity, equity, artifical intelligence, and sustainable finance in a rapidly shifting global landscape.
The HSC is a joint initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Michael Otto Foundation, and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
List of UNDP's led sessions at the HSC:
| Date | Event | Description |
June 2, 08:30 - 9:00 | Press Conference | Press conference by the HSC initiators:
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| June 2, 10:00 -11:00 | HSC Official High-Level Opening Keynotes | Participants:
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| June 2, 13:00 -14:00 | Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs | The Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the Sustainable Development Goals will outline principles and commitments to harness AI for development, with a Global South focus. It will be endorsed by a broad alliance and structured around 5 pillars: people, planet, prosperity, peace, partnerships. |
| June 2, 13:00 -14:00 | Shaping Tomorrow’s Cities: Social Innovation for Mobility and Circularity | With two-thirds of the world expected to live in cities by 2050, urban growth must be inclusive and sustainable. While cities drive 80% of global GDP, nearly a billion urban poor remain underserved. How can social innovation as a key driver help us shape sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban mobility systems and circular local economies? |
| June 2, 13:00 -14:00 | Navigating Sustainability and International Cooperation in a Multipolar World | Abstract from concrete policy and project level to the geopolitical and geoeconomic transformation and turbulence in international order and cooperation and learn from past geopolitical crises, like the Cold War, and their insights for today’s and tomorrow’s navigation in international cooperation. The session brings together internationally recognized thinking voices from different regions, including Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe - from a diversity of backgrounds, including civil society, academia and think-tanks, bringing with them a non-conventional look at current and future trends. |
June 2, 15:00 -16:00
| From Hamburg to Seville: How Can Financial Reform Close the Sustainable Development Gap? | Ahead of the 2025 Financing for Development Conference in Seville, this session will focus on concrete solutions to reform the international financial system – at both global and country levels - and close the SDG financing gap. How can integrated financing frameworks and global initiatives drive sustainable development? |
| June 2, 16:00 -17:00 | A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI | This high-level panel will discuss the power of digitalization and particularly AI, as a new and transformational force/power, with the capacity to shift economic systems and boost or undermine human wellbeing, the role and relevance of traditional governance systems and the trust between citizens and the institutions. It will also look at the structural and power changes needed to turn AI and data analytics into a tool to promote new ways of thinking and speed up human development. |
June 3, 10:00-11:00 | Building Sustainable Peace: Bridging Security and Development in Fragile Environments | Crisis settings often shift priorities, thereby sidelining sustainability. How can we integrate security and development to ensure lasting peace and sustainable recovery? This session explores how security-development initiatives can pave paths out of conflict and fragility. |
June 3, 10:00-11:00 | Insuring Our Planet: Protecting Communities and Biodiversity | Over 50% of global GDP depends on nature, yet its economic value is widely overlooked. Insurance can help mitigate human-wildlife conflict, restore ecosystems, and protect biodiversity. A $100M global nature resilience platform aims to scale these solutions - how can we unlock investment for nature-based insurance? |
| June 3, 11:00-12:00 | Transforming Global Crises into Opportunities for Sustainable Development | The world faces interconnected crises. Global inequality continues to widen, with the Human Development Index showing growing disparities. Over $13 trillion is required to combat climate change by 2030. How can we rethink development strategies to transform risks into opportunities? |
| June 3, 11:00-13:00 | Prosperity and Planetary Systems Under Threat in a Multipolar World | In a context in which planetary boundaries are stretched or breached, prosperity and human wellbeing are also destabilized together with the basic principles of human development. The interdependence of climate and development (financing) has never been more evident, as both are essential to achieving sustainable human development. How can development pathways for prosperity shift to approaches that absorb and reflect the complexities and fragility of planetary boundaries? How can the current international climate discussions be better integrated with the development agenda? |
| June 3, 15:00–16:00 | Internal Displacement, Its Impact and the Search for Sustainable Solutions | By the end of 2023, 76 million people were displaced within their own countries, facing poverty, limited access to services, and uncertain futures. This session focuses on scaling sustainable solutions to internal displacement through blended finance and global cooperation. How can we close the financing gap to ensure lasting solutions? |
| June 3, 18:00–19:00 | Innovative Partnerships for the SDGs: Scaling Impact Through Collaboration | AI-driven innovations are already transforming key sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and climate resilience, but access remains unequal. With 90% of AI research and development centered in high-income countries, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face significant barriers. How can scalable AI solutions amplify local voices and bridge these divides? |
More information about this year’s conference is available at:
www.sustainability-conference.org/en
