When world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly next week, the contrast between the rhetoric of co-operation and the reality of division will be stark.
While the 2018 General Assembly theme is “Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies”, the backdrop is a torn-up climate agreement, discarded nuclear weapons treaties and trade wars, pushing nations further apart.
A special session will also confront another casualty of the stalling in international co-operation. Having three years ago unanimously agreed the most ambitious set of targets ever for eradicating extreme poverty, illiteracy and avoidable disease by 2030, there is now a $30tn funding shortfall for these Sustainable Development Goals — and no agreement on how to cover it.