UNGA 81 Highlights Two Development Crises: The Right to Development and Just Climate Transition

WPO GLOBAL NEWS - New York/Jakarta, 24 September 2026

The 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 23 September New York time convened two high-level meetings that will define the future of global development.

The two agendas were the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development and the High-Level Meeting on Climate Action and Just Transition.

This year's UNGA theme, _"Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All,"_ was strongly reflected in both meetings.

In the Right to Development session, developing countries reaffirmed the importance of sovereignty in determining their own development models without being hindered by inequalities in the global financial system.

Meanwhile, in the Climate session, the UN emphasized that the energy transition towards net-zero must not become a new burden for poor nations. Developed countries were urged to fulfill their climate finance pledges and technology transfer commitments.

In response, Deputy Secretary General for Education, Culture, IT, Human Resource and Presidential Staff for Public Communication and Information of the World Peace Organization (WPO), I. S. Agustiani (Yenny) Agoestian, Dra. MBA. PhD., stated that both issues are highly relevant to Indonesia's current condition.

"UNGA is discussing the core issue: how developing nations can develop justly amid the climate crisis. This is no longer about aid, but about system justice," Yenny said in Jakarta on Wednesday (9/24).

According to her, financial innovations such as the study of the Digital Rupiah (CBDC) by Bank Indonesia are a concrete example of claiming the right to development in the digital era, while ensuring a just economic transition for MSMEs and coastal communities who are most vulnerable to climate change.

The UNGA 81 agenda will continue today, 24 September, with discussions on the existential threat of sea-level rise.