New Delhi: UN secretary general Antonio Guterres urged G20 countries to take strong action on pressing issues like climate change and sustainable development goals, even as he acknowledged the geopolitical divisions hurting the grouping.
Guterres welcomed India’s slogan for the G20: ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
However, he wryly noted, the world wasn’t living up to that promise.
“Because if we are indeed one global family – we today resemble a rather dysfunctional one,” Guterres said during a press conference here in New Delhi in advance of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. “Divisions are growing, tensions are flaring up, and trust is eroding – which together raise the spectre of fragmentation, and ultimately, confrontation.”
Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal who became UN Secretary-General in 2017, argued that global institutions are particularly unsuited to face the challenges of the 21st century. He particularly focused on the global financial architecture, which he called “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair”.
He called for deep structural reform, including of the UN Security Council.
Guterres called for major initiatives on two fronts: climate change and SDGs.
He called for countries to focus on keeping the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius alive. He also batted for a just transition to a green economy.
“I have put forward a Climate Solidarity Pact – in which big emitters make extra efforts to cut emissions; and wealthier countries support emerging economies to achieve this. And earlier this year, I presented a plan to super-charge these efforts through an Acceleration Agenda,” he said.
The plan calls for developed countries to hit net-zero targets “as close as possible to 2040″. The same targets would apply to emerging economies, who could reach this landmark around 2050. It also calls for an end to the licensing or funding of new fossil fuel projects.
Guterres also called for the G20 to show leadership in saving the Sustainable Development Goals.
He once again batted for his proposed stimulus plan, which would see developing countries receive at least $500 billion in additional financing every year. He also called for changes in debt redressal mechanisms and in the business model of multilateral development banks.
He praised India for its role in pushing the agenda of developing countries.
“All of this is within reach – but it will take all hands. No nation, no region, no group – not even the G20 – can do it alone,” Guterres concluded.
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