“Now is the time for leadership and vision,” the UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters in Johannesburg on Friday, a day before the official opening.
The G20 bloc is made up of the world’s largest economies, although the United States has announced it will not officially participate.
This year’s summit highlights the need for climate adaptation and sustainable financing, under the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”.
The UN chief is attending the summit to promote economic and climate action, as well as to end the spiral of conflict around the world.
“Unfortunately underrepresented”
Developing countries, particularly in Africa, suffer from shrinking fiscal space, a crushing debt burden and a failing global financial architecture, Guterres said.
He lamented that after decades of colonial rule, the continent remains “woefully underrepresented” in global institutions.
“The G20 can help right this historic injustice and drive reforms that give developing countries – and Africa in particular – a real voice in global policymaking.and make global economic governance more inclusive, representative, equitable and effective in the years to come,” he said.
Economic action
Mr. Guterres called on the G20 to respect the commitments made in June during the Conference on financing for development in Sevillewhere countries promised to unlock more financing to stimulate sustainable growth.
This would involve tripling the lending power of multilateral development banks, reducing borrowing costs and allowing developing countries to mobilize their domestic resources.
Climate action
Countries have failed to keep temperatures at the 1.5 degree Celsius limit, Mr Guterres warned.
“To avoid further climate chaos, the adaptation gap must be closed – urgently» and this requires an increase in funding, namely doubling adaptation funding to at least $40 billion this year.
He added that even though 90% of new electricity capacity comes from renewable energy and global investment in clean energy reached $2 trillion last year, only a negligible proportion went to Africa.
“Africa should be at the heart of this clean energy revolution“, he insisted.
Action for peace
Listing some of the world’s most devastating conflicts, including in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine and Gaza, Guterres called on G20 members to use their influence to end the fighting.
“Everywhere – from Haiti to Yemen to Myanmar and beyond – we must choose a peace anchored in international law“, he concluded.
Publicado anteriormente en Almouwatin.
