Editor’s Note, 9 September 2026: An earlier edition of the SDG News Insider newsletter carried this Spotlight profile under the wrong section header. We apologise for this error. For Lene Oddershede, impact begins long before a technology reaches the market. It begins with the science, institutions and capabilities that make
The pioneering journalist, organizer and feminist leader, who died at 92, spent more than six decades helping move women’s equality from the margins of public debate into the center of political and social life. Gloria Steinem, the journalist and organizer who became one of the defining voices of the modern
OSLO — Norway’s monarchy changed hands on Friday with unusual simplicity. King Harald V died at 89, and his son Haakon immediately became king under Norway’s constitutional order. At 53, King Haakon VIII becomes Norway’s fourth monarch of the modern era, while his daughter Ingrid Alexandra becomes crown princess and
From Carbon Markets to Climate Resilience, Mikko Ollikainen Is Helping Shape the Next Era of Adaptation Finance As governments prepare for the UN General Assembly in New York and COP31 in Antalya, adaptation finance is moving back toward the center of global climate diplomacy. That puts Mikko Ollikainen, Head of
As governments face rising debt burdens, constrained public budgets and enormous infrastructure needs, International Finance Corporation Managing Director Makhtar Diop is pushing the World Bank Group to mobilize substantially more private investment into emerging markets, as job creation serves as the ultimate measure of success. Diop has led the International
Dilma Rousseff now leads a development bank that has approved nearly $43 billion across 139 projects — and is pushing to expand its role in financing infrastructure, climate action and development across the Global South. More than a decade after helping establish the New Development Bank (NDB) as president of
The former Colombian energy minister and IMF climate-policy leader has been selected to lead the Global Environment Facility as the institution begins a critical four-year financing cycle running through 2030. Diego Mesa Puyo has spent much of his career at the intersection of energy, economics and environmental policy. Now, he
From Syria and Lebanon to Washington and the UN Security Council, Denmark’s ambassador has built a global leadership profile around international law, civilian protection, women’s rights and coalition building across geopolitical divides. UNITED NATIONS — Christina Markus Lassen has spent much of her diplomatic career in places where international principles
At AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, the UNAIDS Executive Director urged governments to protect decades of progress as declining international financing, unequal treatment access and rising infections in parts of the world threaten the global response. At the 26th International AIDS Conference, Winnie Byanyima delivered a message of guarded
Few positions within the United Nations are as scrutinized—or as consequential—as that of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. At a time when armed conflicts, democratic backsliding, mass displacement, and geopolitical rivalry are testing the international rules-based order, Volker Türk has emerged as one of the UN system’s most
