The Lid is On

Storytelling has the power to inspire action, and when celebrities and influencers use their platforms for climate advocacy, the impact can reach audiences across the globe.In September at UN Headquarters in New York, actor and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau shared his experiences of visiting UN Development Programme (UNDP) initiatives for his Bloomberg TV series, An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet.Joining him in the the SDG Media Zone was UNDP India Youth Climate Champion Prajakta Koli. Moderator Alyssa Hardy, Style Director at Teen Vogue, asked Mr. Coster-Waldau why, despite the severity of the climate crisis, there is still reason to be hopeful.Watch the full SDG Media Zone session here.

Wind and solar energy are now the cheapest sources of energy, bringing cleaner air, stronger communities, and new economic opportunities. In September at UN Headquarters in New York, the SDG Media Zone hosted a discussion highlighting the momentum of the clean energy transition, and how expanding access to wind and solar can improve public health, create jobs, and accelerate economic growth.The talk featured Jamie Henn of Fossil Free Media, activist and artist Antonique Smith, and Emerson Clark from the Global Wind Energy Council.The moderator, Melina Waling of the Associated Press, asked Mr Clark for his thoughts on the speech made by US President Donald Trump at General Assembly high-level week, in which he declared that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”Watch the full SDG Media Zone session here.Music: "Rise and Shine," Audiobinger

At UN Headquarters in New York, Karla Quintana, head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria (IIMP), has warned that time is running out to find the hundreds of thousands who disappeared during the country’s long conflict. “Everyone in Syria knows someone who has gone missing,” Ms. Quintana told UN News.In conversation with Ezzat El-Ferri, she underscored that the search must be Syrian-led and internationally supported, driven by the families who have long fought to learn the truth about their loved ones.Music: ‘Rise and Shine’ by AudiobingerSecretary-General’s September 2025 report on the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria: https://docs.un.org/en/A/80/359

In this episode of The Lid Is On, experts discuss the urgent need to restore the Ocean, which is facing a host of threats that could drive millions of marine life species into extinction and even endanger humanity.The protection of marine biodiversity will be under discussion at the UN Ocean Conference in June, where advocates will join politicians and members of the private sector to share solutions, including legal protections for the high seas, which lie outside national waters.The guests are Peter Thompson, the Secretary General's Envoy for the Ocean, Alfredo Girón, Head of the Ocean Action Agenda at the World Economic Forum, and Minna Epps, who runs the Ocean Program at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

A Thai woman has been talking about how she was tricked into handing over more than $300,000 to a criminal gang that entrapped her in an elaborate scam that began as a supposed case of identity fraud and which led her to believe that she and her family could be facing prison.A new report released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says that the transnational organized crime groups in Asia which carry out these types of scams are expanding their operations deeper into the region and beyond.In this episode of The Lid Is On, Laura Gil reports from Bangkok where she met Wannapa Suprasert from Thailand who is currently living and working in the United States.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a key UN policy document adopted in 1995, has been credited for several major advances for women, from legislation outlawing domestic abuse to inspiring a new wave of young gender justice activists.But despite undeniable progress in gender relations over the past 30 years, inequalities between men and women persist and, in recent years, there has been a notable backlash against the very concepts of feminism.In this episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon from UN News speaks to Laura Turquet, the deputy head of the research and data team at UN Women, and Lydia Alpizar, a Costa Rican feminist activist based in Mexico City, to find out why this renewed attack against feminism is taking place, and what it means for the decades-long fight for gender equality.Music by Joachim Harris, all rights reserved

COP29, this year’s UN Climate Conference, is being called the “climate finance COP”, because delegates are expected to sign off on a beefed-up funding target to replace the existing $100 billion per year commitment. The final figure the negotiators arrive at remains to be seen and it could be anywhere from a few hundred billion, to over a trillion dollars per year.On this episode of The Lid Is On, we explain what has been achieved so far, and why the deal gavelled through on carbon markets is important. We also find out what the UN is doing to prevent the rush for the minerals needed for the climate transition turning into a “stampede for greed.’Correspondents in Baku: Nazrin Babayeva and Lara Palmisano.Music by Joachim Harris (all rights reserved)UN News coverage of COP29: https://news.un.org/en/events/cop29

In the Pact for the Future UN Member States pledged to do more to fight the climate crisis, a subject that has dominated several sessions at UN Headquarters this week.On Thursday’s episode of Focus on the Future, Conor Lennon and Sachin Gaur discuss some of the big climate-related events, including a General Assembly meeting on sea level rise.The rate of sea level rise has more than doubled over the last three decades, causing havoc in low-lying and small island developing countries, driving populations away from their homes. The leaders of some of the most affected nations speak out.Music by Joachim Harris, all rights reservedLINKSOur email: thelidison@un.orgHigh-Level Meeting on Sea Level Rise | General Assembly of the United NationsUN Future LabUN Web TVWhat to expect at the United Nations general debate | UN NewsGA Debate pageSDG LoungeSDG Media Zone

Crippling debt burdens are holding many African countries back: some  of them are paying more on repayments than on health, education and infrastructure.On today’s show Conor Lennon is joined by Sachin Gaur from the UN News Hindi Unit, to cover the events focused on sustainable development and rethinking the entire international financial architecture. The big question is, how we can make it fairer?Also, star wattage has been lighting up Headquarters. Edward Norton and Meryl Streep were among the artistic talents at HQ, advocating for the environment and Afghan women.Music by Joachim Harris, all rights reservedLINKSthelidison@un.orgSummit of the Future | UN NewsSummit of the Future 2024 - United Nations | United NationsHome | UN Web TVFFD4 | Financing for Sustainable Development Office (un.org)SDG Lounge | Summit of the futureSummit of the Future Explainer: The push to connect a digitally divided world and counter AI threats | UN News‘Irrefutable’ need for global regulation of AI: UN experts | UN NewsSummit of the Future Explainer: Time to rethink ‘outdated and ineffective’ international financial architecture | UN News

Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers attending High-Level Week at UN Headquarters in New York have steadily ticked upwards, and this year is set to be a packed event.If that sounds overwhelming, worry not. UN News is releasing a daily podcast mini-series, designed to make sense of it all.Each episode of Focus on the Future will have a main topic linked to the focus of the day, and will include highlights from the GA debate, original interviews, and a colourful wrap up of the side events.The production team welcomes any questions and suggestions: conor.lennon@un.org 

Workers with the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, have some of the toughest assignments going in the humanitarian field, helping protect new mothers and babies often born in the midst of intense conflict zones.For this episode of UN News’s flagship podcast, The Lid is On, two UNFPA representatives reflect on their life-saving work with UN News’ Shanaé Harte. They discuss some of the most difficult challenges they've faced while providing insight into what changes can be made to improve women’s rights worldwide.

The cultivation of sisal plants by some of the most vulnerable communities in southern Madagascar is helping to tackle desertification and allow people to stay on their land, thanks to a project by the UN Development Programme.The seasonal Tiomena wind, a fiercely strong wind that blows over the coastline,  has driven sandy soils across productive farmland forcing many people to give up their subsistence farming activities.But the planting of sisal has helped to reverse the trend as Daniel Dickinson reports for the Lid is On Podcast from southern Madagascar.