Convening the Future: Planetary Governance Takes Center Stage in Hamburg
© Maximilian Glas | THE NEW INSTITUTE
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Convening the Future: Planetary Governance Takes Center Stage in Hamburg
In a series of landmark events held prior to and during the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC), the Climate Governance Commission, under the auspices of our Planetary Governance program, convened leading scientists, policymakers, and governance experts. The goal was to address the mounting challenges posed by Earth system destabilization.
The city’s air was heavy with anticipation as thinkers, policymakers, and scientists from around the world gathered on the banks of the Elbe River. In the days leading up to the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC), a series of high-level, quiet, and intense gatherings unfolded within the walls of THE NEW INSTITUTE. The agenda was nothing less than the future of life on Earth.
The Climate Governance Commission (CGC), at the helm of THE NEW INSTITUTE’s Planetary Governance program, orchestrated these meetings with singular urgency. The world stands at a precipice. Earth system destabilization is no longer a distant threat but a lived reality. As these days in Hamburg made clear, the response must be as ambitious as the challenge.
01.06.2025
As these things often do, it began in the early hours. On June 1, Professor David Obura, one of the world’s leading Earth system scientists, joined forces with the CGC for a workshop that was more of a call to action than a meeting.
The topic: How can we reimagine finance and economics to address the scale of planetary risk? The participants, a cross-section of climate finance thinkers and private sector innovators, did not leave with easy answers. Instead, they left with a mandate to form working groups, meet again, and push the boundaries of what is possible in planetary finance.
02.06.2025
The following day, the conversations became more intimate and urgent. During a closed-door session, senior academics, policymakers, and Brazil COP30 Team representatives gathered to address the question plaguing our time: How do we govern a planet in crisis?
The room pulsed with the latest scientific findings – including evidence of breached Planetary Boundaries and the emerging risks from tipping points and accelerating feedback loops. In turn, this highlighted the extent to which our current governance frameworks are inadequate to meet these planetary challenges. Concrete proposals emerged, including a Planetary Emergency Platform, a Global Climate and Nature Policy Innovation Hub, and the beginnings of a Global Environment Agency and an International Environmental Court. These were not utopian dreams but rather pragmatic blueprints ready to be handed to those who could make them a reality.
As dusk fell, the doors opened to the public. The evening panel was electric – an unscripted, honest, yet always necessary dialogue about the connection between climate, biodiversity, and geopolitical stability. The audience pressed the panelists for answers, and the panelists offered their visions.
02.–03.06.2025
On June 2 and 3, the CGC took center stage in the official HSC program. The Solution Pitch sessions, co-convened by Maja Groff and Donovan Dennis, brought together a diverse crowd of government officials, civil society leaders, and scholars. The pitches were sharp, urgent, and unafraid. The world is facing nonlinear, cascading risks. Our governance frameworks must evolve – fast.
The message was clear: incrementalism is a luxury we can no longer afford.
04.–05.06.2025
The crescendo came on June 4 and 5, when the full commission met in person for the first time since entering the implementation phase. The mood was one of resolve. They tallied achievements, mapped alliances, and noted the growing chorus of support from across sectors. However, the focus remained on the future. 2025 will be a year of climate shocks and geopolitical tension, but it will also be a year of opportunity – a time when the demand for systemic reform has become evident.
Commissioners debated updates to their flagship report, strategized ways to amplify their message, and engaged in deeper dialogue with the Brazil COP30 Team. The team's own reform proposals found resonance in the room. The agenda is global, but the work is deeply local, rooted in the lived realities of stressed communities and ecosystems.
The journey does not end in Hamburg. The next stops are: Bellagio, Italy, and then on to other global meetings, where the ideas forged in these rooms will be tested, refined, and – if the momentum continues – put into action.
The final act was intimate, an exchange between the Commission and the fellows of THE NEW INSTITUTE. Here, the abstract became personal as members reflected on the path forward, not just for planetary governance, but also for the concept of global cooperation in an era of fragmentation.
These past days in Hamburg were more than a backdrop. It was a crucible – a place where the contours of a new planetary politics quietly but unmistakably began to take shape.
The work continues. The stakes could not be higher.