Finance

Reforming Global Finance: 2025 as the Turning Point

The current global financial system plays a significant role in hindering the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A pivotal conference in Spain in 2025 presents a crucial opportunity to begin reforming it.

The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development is scheduled to take place in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, 2025.

In 2022, global healthcare spending reached nearly US$10 trillion, with the United States contributing 43% of the total. In contrast, around 75 of the world's poorest countries spent less than 4% of the total and are often unable to increase this expenditure. This financial constraint is due to their immense debt obligations to wealthier nations, with lending agreements mandating that debt repayment must take precedence over public spending.

This situation is just one example of how inequality is embedded in the global financial system, where creditors can impose terms on some of the world's most vulnerable nations without accountability. However, in June and July 2025, the global community will have a chance to ensure that such practices become a thing of the past.

Leaders of international financial institutions will convene in Seville for a summit focused on funding the UN's SDGs, including SDG 3, which aims to ensure health for all. According to UNCTAD, over $2 trillion annually is needed to meet the SDGs, yet current funding levels are far below this amount. As we highlighted in our December 2024 editorial (Nature 636, 521–522), delegates must do everything in their power to ensure the Seville summit achieves meaningful progress.

A Legacy of the Past
Today's global financial system traces its origins to the 1944 UN Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. This meeting established two major global financial institutions: the World Bank, created to finance post-war reconstruction, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), designed as a "lender of last resort."

The United States, emerging as the dominant power after the war, became the largest shareholder in both institutions, holding veto powers over key policy decisions. Washington, DC was chosen as the headquarters for both organizations, and the US dollar became the world’s reserve currency, used by all countries for trade and borrowing. The global financial system operates largely by these rules to this day.

TECH

AI, Quantum Threats, and Social Media: A Glimpse into 2025’s Tech Landscape

In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) was the tech buzzword, but will it maintain its momentum in 2025? What other technologies will rise in prominence, and how will cryptocurrency evolve? How might social media change? Euronews Next takes a look at the emerging tech trends as we begin the new year.

AI: More Agents and Data Centres
In 2024, AI made remarkable advances, such as deciphering 2,000-year-old scrolls that would otherwise be too fragile for human handling.

AI's potential to simplify daily life remains promising, especially with the rise of AI agents. Although many companies have introduced AI agents, these tools are still evolving. We can expect a surge in their presence in 2025.

“Enterprises will deploy numerous AI agents—semi-autonomous models trained to function across internal networks, assisting with customer service, HR, data security, and more,” explained Kari Briski, Vice President of Generative AI Software at Nvidia.

“Knowledge workers will benefit from increased productivity, leveraging a personalized team of AI-powered experts. Developers will be able to create advanced agents using customizable AI blueprints,” she added.

Space Data Centres and Sustainability
To power this expanding technology, AI factories and data centres will be crucial in 2025, according to Nvidia’s Charlie Boyle.

As AI continues to grow, making the energy-hungry technology more sustainable will be a priority. “Pioneering organizations will transition to liquid cooling to optimize both performance and energy efficiency,” Boyle said.

“Hyperscale cloud providers and large enterprises will lead this shift, employing liquid cooling in new AI data centres housing vast arrays of AI accelerators, networking, and software,” he added.

Tech in Europe: Cleantech AI Start-ups and Romania's Moment
In 2025, Europe may find its strength in green AI technologies, said Federico Menna, CEO of EIT Digital, a European education and innovation organization.

“The key development for Europe next year will be the continued growth of AI in the sustainability and green tech sectors,” Menna shared. “Climate-related topics are increasingly attracting investment and talent, and Europe has a competitive edge due to its values-driven focus on these areas.”

As the urgency to address climate change intensifies, Europe is likely to see a boom in cleantech start-ups, he concluded.

CRYPTO

US Regulator Issues Crypto Warning to Banks, No Immediate Business Ban

A U.S. bank regulator advised banks to halt direct involvement in cryptocurrency in 2022 and 2023, but did not mandate them to cease offering banking services to crypto companies, despite industry claims of widespread "debanking," according to documents released on Friday. A judge instructed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to release versions of supervisory "pause letters" it sent to unnamed banks, following a lawsuit filed by History Associates Incorporated, a research firm hired by crypto exchange Coinbase, to obtain the documents.