Project Syndicate: The U.N. at 70
Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and special adviser to the U.N. secretary general on the Millennium Development Goals

“…If the U.N. is to continue to fulfill its unique and vital global role in the twenty-first century, it must be upgraded in three key ways. … [T]he first reform that I would suggest is an increase in funding with high-income countries contributing at least $40 per capita annually, upper middle-income countries giving $8, lower-middle-income countries $2, and low-income countries $1. … [T]he second major area of reform: … the U.N. needs to strengthen its expertise in areas such as ocean health, renewable energy systems, urban design, disease control, technological innovation, public-private partnerships, and peaceful cultural cooperation. … The third major reform imperative is the U.N.’s governance, starting with the Security Council, the composition of which no longer reflects global geopolitical realities…” (8/21).