The Secretary-General’s report on Our Common Agenda, released in September 2021, calls for stronger governance of key issues of global concern. The report notably proposes a Summit of the Future in 2024 to advance ideas for governance arrangements in certain areas that could be considered global public goods or global commons, including climate and sustainable development beyond 2030.

The High-Level Advisory Board was established to build on the ideas in Our Common Agenda – including the centrality of women and girls, and the need to take into account the interests of young people and future generations – to make concrete suggestions for more effective multilateral arrangements across a range of key global issues. 

The Board aims to consult with a wide variety of stakeholders throughout 2022 and will report to the Secretary-General in early 2023. Their non-binding recommendations will inform deliberations by Member States at the proposed Summit of the Future.

Described in economic terms as vital resources that cannot be excluded or competed over, global public goods capture the bedrock issues of our collective survival: a sustainable environment, a stable global economy, healthy populations, and peaceful coexistence. What distinguishes these domains is that their protection is an increasingly urgent task that we can only undertake together.