From Taboo to Necessity: Preparing for a New Dawn in Global Governance
The contemporary crises faced by humanity require a new kind of international agreement. One that will prevent accelerating climate change from ruining the world for future generations, de-escalate the high levels of nationalism that risk precipitating further global conflicts, and address economic and social inequities that could undermine the basis of democracy and good governance. If, as noted by UN Secretary-General Guterres, “global governance is stuck in time and we cannot effectively address problems as they are if institutions don´t reflect the world at it is” then what should a new UN Charter look like, to modernize our global governance architecture and empower the UN to help us address the myriad global catastrophic risks that threaten our future?
Professor Augusto Lopez-Claros is an international economist and the Executive Director of the Global Governance Forum. He has published several books on global governance reform and is currently spearheading the Global Governance Forum’s drafting of a Second United Nations Charter. He brings more than 30 years of experience in international organizations, including most recently as director of the Global Indicators Group at the World Bank, one of the departments within the Bank’s research Vice Presidency. Previously he was chief economist at the World Economic Forum, where he directed the Global Competitiveness Program and edited the Global Competitiveness Report, the Forum’s flagship publication. Before joining the Forum, he worked for several years in the financial sector in London, with a special focus on emerging markets. He was the International Monetary Fund’s Resident Representative in Russia during the 1990s. He has also been a Senior Fellow at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Educated in England and the United States, he received a diploma in Mathematical Statistics from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Duke University. Recent publications include “Removing Impediments to Sustainable Economic Development: The Case of Corruption” (2015), Equality for Women = Prosperity for All (2018, St. Martin’s Press) and Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century (2020, Cambridge University Press). His book Global Governance and International Cooperation: Managing Global Catastrophic Risks in the 21st Century, coedited with Richard Falk, was published by Routledge in 2024. He has lectured at some of the world's leading universities, think tanks and international organizations; a list of recent lectures can be found at: www.augustolopezclaros.com.
Professor Augusto Lopez-Claros
