Hamburg Sustainability Conference

12/10/2026

“I learned that hope is not waiting for change — it is choosing to create it, even when the odds are against you.”
— Fatoumata Fofana, HSC Youth Ambassador

Fatoumata Fofana acts on that belief in Guinea, where she works on microplastics, waste reduction and circular-economy solutions.

For the portrait series, she is joined by four fellow HSC Youth Ambassadors. In Nepal, Mansingh Aidee​ works across public and environmental health while supporting Indigenous youth. Gianella Basilio from Peru co-founded an AI-powered platform for sustainable and traceable food systems. Pritty Sunny​ promotes fair-trade farming and climate-resilient rural livelihoods in India. Damani Thomas​, a cleantech innovator from Jamaica, develops low-carbon biofuel solutions for emerging markets.

They are five members of HSC’s 16-person Youth Ambassador cohort for 2026, drawn from 14 countries. Months before arriving in Hamburg, they helped shape conference content through workshops and consultations, including a session on youth political voice and economic futures. At , Youth Ambassadors spoke on panels, moderated discussions and brought their experience into exchanges with decision-makers.

Applications for the 2027 Youth Ambassador Program are now open. If you are 18 to 30, live in an eligible Global South country and already lead sustainability work in your community, apply by 19 October 2026: hsc.link/youth2027

09/10/2026

What is climate finance—and why is getting the money to the right places still so complicated?
At , Nigerian journalist and content creator Charity Ekezie asked Martin Ewald of SCALED Development to explain it in plain language:

At its core, climate finance seeks both a financial return and a positive environmental impact. Delivering it requires private capital, investment teams on the ground, local communities, governments—and trust.

Their conversation also turns to how standardisation could help capital move faster, and why Africa should be recognised for its investment opportunities, not viewed only through the lens of aid.

The opportunities are there. The challenge is building the structures that allow capital to reach them.

What would you change first to help climate finance reach communities faster?

07/10/2026

The headlines rarely tell the whole story. They don't show the meeting that changed someone's perspective. The partnership that started over coffee. Or the idea that kept evolving long after the closing session.

This film is a glimpse of what brought those moments together.

Thank you to everyone who made possible—and to everyone continuing the work today.

To explore the outcomes and discussions behind this film, follow the links below:
Conference Report hsc.link/hsc26report
Chair's Summary hsc.link/hsc26summary
HSC26 session recordings hsc.link/youtube

See you in Hamburg on May 31–June 1, 2027.

06/10/2026

Applications for the 2027 are now open. Know someone who should apply? Tag them in the comments.

We’re looking for community leaders aged 18 to 30 who come from and currently live in an eligible Global South country, with a track record of advancing sustainability in their communities.

Youth Ambassadors contribute to the conference, meet decision-makers and connect with peers from around the world. Travel and accommodation are covered.

The program includes the HSC Youth Roundtable Series from December 7–11, 2026, and the Hamburg Sustainability Conference from May 31–June 1, 2027.

Applications close October 19, 2026.

Check the full eligibility criteria and apply online:
hsc.link/youth2027

05/10/2026

Launched at , the South-North Commission on Development reaches its next milestone today with the announcement of its members. We look forward to following the Commission's work under the co-chairmanship of Olaf Scholz and Laura Chinchilla.

Read their update here:

The South-North Commission on Development creates an independent space for strategic debate, for new perspectives and for advancing concrete proposals. The Commission will develop recommendations for new and more effective forms of global partnership, help defend and reform multilateralism, and prop...

02/10/2026

“We must not stand idly by and watch as the cooperative, rules-based order is weakened, undermined, and shattered.”
— Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany



Inside the Great Banquet Hall of Hamburg City Hall, monumental wall paintings of the city’s port framed President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s address at the High-Level Opening of . The setting reinforced one of his central points: countries rely on functioning international partnerships and secure trade routes.

He warned that international cooperation can no longer be taken for granted. Disruptions to shipping routes can drive up the cost of food, fertiliser and fuel, with the harshest consequences often felt in poorer countries.

Steinmeier called for deeper partnerships and a stronger voice for more countries in shaping world affairs. Many countries, he noted, are seeking broader relationships to reduce their dependencies. He described HSC as helping to build those connections.

Watch his full address on why Germany must deepen its international partnerships as the rules-based order comes under pressure:

hsc.link/hsc26-steinmeier

Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier​

About the portrait series:
Each year, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference brings people from around the world to Hamburg to form alliances and work on solutions that no country or sector can deliver alone.
For , photographer Dominik Butzmann portrays the people leading this work. Away from panel discussions and formal meetings, the photographs capture moments of concentration and resolve. Their words show how experience has shaped their priorities and the change they seek.
The Hamburg Sustainability Conference provides the setting. Facing Forward presents leaders whose work matters to the future of sustainable development—and whose readiness to work with others gives reason for hope.

29/09/2026

Got an idea that could make a real difference? Great. Now try getting it funded.

Across Africa, young people are building businesses that respond to climate challenges. But the money they need to get those ideas off the ground is often out of reach.

At , storyteller and content creator Charity Ekezie asked X**a Maunze which climate investment could make the greatest difference.

X**a, a climate finance specialist from Mozambique and HSC Youth Ambassador, had a clear answer: dedicated funding for youth-led initiatives.
The ideas are already there. What is missing is the backing to turn more of them into viable businesses.

What idea would you fund?

Interested in becoming an ? Follow us for updates on the next Call for Applications.

25/09/2026

The fault lines in the international system are impossible to ignore. This week’s United Nations General Debate is taking place at a difficult moment for international cooperation. Wars continue while development budgets shrink, and many countries are asking whether global institutions still hear them.

The pressure on the United Nations is real. It must change—and show what that change means in people’s lives. So what should guide that change?

This question was already part of the conversation at . In the session “Bridges Not Barriers,” Amina J. Mohammed joined ministers from Africa and Europe, as well as a youth representative, to discuss how the reform process could help the UN development system work better in countries and communities.

During the session, the Alliance of Supporters of the UN Development System presented ten reform proposals to the UN Deputy Secretary-General.

The speakers brought different experiences and priorities to Hamburg. Yet they returned to the same practical test: will reform help the UN work better for the people who rely on it?

That is where trust can begin to grow again.

is bringing global attention to this debate. Progress will depend on what follows—and whether decisions lead to change in practice.

Follow the General Debate live: gadebate.un.org/en

Rewatch the UN80 session from : hsc.link/hsc26-un80

22/09/2026

2030 is getting closer. So what happens when the Agenda 2030 actually reaches its target year?
HSC Chair Achim Steiner and Kai Niebert take on that question in a new op-ed for Table.Briefings. Their argument: rather than simply rewriting, replacing, or expanding the SDGs, we should look harder at how global goals translate into concrete action.

Tell us what you would keep or rethink .

Read the full article in German at hsc.link/table-2030.

18/09/2026

Waiting for everyone to see eye to eye leaves opportunities on the table. So where can cooperation still work in a fragmented world?

Our Chair’s Summary of HSC 2026 argues that countries and businesses can act together where national self-interest, economic opportunity, and shared global interests converge. It draws out what HSC 2026 tells us about cooperation in a changing world.

"No Time for Lamentation: A New Agenda for Cooperation" explores where cooperation can go from here. The Chair’s Summary was prepared by HSC Chair Achim Steiner in cooperation with Axel Berger, Franco Jauregui Fung, and Lena-Marie Putz of German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)​.

Read the full Chair’s Summary: hsc.link/hsc26summary