On June 2 and 3, 2025, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) returns for its second edition. Again, the conference will bring together high-level representatives from politics, science, business, civil society, and international organisations to Hamburg.
Their shared goal: to forge alliances for sustainable development and accelerate progress on the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This year, around 1,600 participants from more than 110 countries will convene across 60 sessions to develop concrete solutions to the most pressing global challenges of our time.
The conference will focus on three key objectives: reforming the international financial architecture, mobilising new investments to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and driving transformation in critical sectors — including mobility and logistics, global health, biodiversity, and digitalisation.
Although only eight months have passed since the first conference, the second HSC will unfold in a markedly different global context. It takes place at a time of profound shifts in international relations, rising geopolitical tensions, and increasing fragmentation. In a survey conducted by UNDP ahead of HSC 2025 among conference participants, approximately 67 per cent of respondents identified geopolitical tensions as the greatest challenge to global cooperation in the year ahead.
In this context, the HSC sends a clear and deliberate message: sustainable development can only succeed through joint action. The conference was intentionally conceived as a continuous process, with the ambition to generate impact well beyond the conference days.
This sustained, action-oriented approach is essential not only to achieve real-world impact, but also for the HSC to truly fulfill its mission: to co-create sustainable development. This year’s high-level participation sends a strong signal: the HSC approach resonates widely — even in times of heightened uncertainty.
The HSC is supported by a strong alliance: the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Michael Ofto Foundation, and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
The first day of the HSC 2025 will be opened by the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Reem Alabali-Radovan, the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.
The subsequent opening panel will feature Reem Alabali-Radovan, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany; Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment, St Kifts and Nevis; Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UNCTAD; Cindy McCain, Executive Director, WFP; and Maropene Ramokgopa, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, South Africa. The second day of the conference will be opened by the German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, Lars Klingbeil, with a keynote address, followed by a Q&A session.
Further notable high-level participants include Michael Ofto, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ofto Group; Antoine Denoix, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Climate; Günther Thallinger, Member of the Board of Management for Investment, Management and Sustainability, Allianz SE; Amitabh Behar, Executive Director, Oxfam International; Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director, Greenpeace Brazil; and Elizabeth Wathuti, Climate Activist and Founder of the Green Generation Initiative.
A more profound list of selected high-level participants can be found here. The diversity of participants and the cross-sector collaboration between leaders from politics, business, science, and civil society — across all world regions — reflects the HSC’s multidimensional approach and creates the foundation for new alliances and collaborative action. This makes the HSC a platform for real, tangible progress.
Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan: “The international challenges are greater than ever before – which means that international cooperation must be stronger than ever before. If the Hamburg Sustainability Conference didn’t already exist, then now would be the time to invent it. Many of the traditional forums for exchange are currently blocked. The value and the benefit of international cooperation are being questioned worldwide, in some cases quite aggressively. This makes a format like the Hamburg Sustainability Conference even more important, since it defies these aftacks and breathes new life into a simple truth: It is befter for all of us to work with each other and not against each other. And we are creating the framework for this to happen. This is how new alliances and models for cooperation are emerging.”
First Mayor Peter Tschentscher: “With the Sustainability Conference, Hamburg has created a forum to promote the practical implementation of the SDGs worldwide. Our city itself pursues a consistent sustainability strategy, is a strong business location and is well connected internationally. Last year, the conference led to many concrete agreements and projects. This should be continued. We are looking forward to the guests, an interesting exchange and new ideas for implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda.”
UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner: “We are in a time of uncertainty with rising geopolitical divisions, where development pathways are under pressure because of aid cuts, trade tension, and the debt crisis. What we need now is more cooperation, not less. It is in opportunities like the Hamburg Sustainability Conference where we find those critical touch points to take on big ideas, rebuild trust, advance innovative solutions, and forge meaningful connections across communities around the world.”
Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Ofto Group Michael Ofto: “The enormous potential of the private sector to accelerate progress on the SDGs must be unleashed; the economy must be transformed from its role as a contributor to the sustainability crisis to a new role as the key solution.”
At its inaugural edition in 2024, the HSC delivered important progress with tangible results — including the Hamburg Declaration on the Decarbonisation of Global Shipping, the Hamburg Declaration on Green Aviation, and the first governments joining the Global Baftery Alliance.
Building on this momentum, HSC 2025 aims to take the next step by advancing significant new initiatives and alliances designed to deliver concrete improvements in key areas. These include the signing of the Hamburg Declaration on Responsible AI for the SDGs as well as the establishment of the Global Alliance against Inequality.
Detailed information about the conference program and the list of speakers is available here. Livestreams of selected sessions can be found here.
On June 4, HSC Future Economy Day will take a closer look at the challenges of achieving a just and sustainable transformation of the economy — building on core conference debates. Further information is available here on the HSC homepage.
From June 1 to 6, Hamburg Sustainability Week 2025 will take place, offering a diverse program aimed at engaging the people of Hamburg and the wider public. All information can be found here.
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