United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that millions of people are struggling with hunger and famine in an increasingly troubled and unequal world as the world’s population approaches 8 billion, a milestone that will be officially passed next week.
Despite advances in health and food, divisions are widening globally, leading to record numbers of people displaced in search of «opportunity» by war, conflict and climate disasters.
«Unless we narrow the huge gap between the haves and have-nots, we will be facing a world of 8 billion people full of tensions and mistrust, crisis and conflict,» Guterres said in a tribune published Saturday by Europa Press.
He lamented that «a handful of billionaires control as much wealth as the poorest half of the world» and pointed out that «the richest 1 percent of the world’s population receives one-fifth of the world’s income.
Meanwhile, people in richer countries have a life expectancy «up to thirty years longer than those in poorer countries.» «As the world has become richer and healthier in recent decades, inequalities have also increased,» he warned.
In this sense, he has stated that «the acceleration of the climate crisis and the uneven recovery from the coronavirus pandemic are boosting inequalities.» «We are heading straight for climate catastrophe as emissions and temperatures continue to rise. Floods, storms and droughts are devastating countries that have contributed almost nothing to global warming,» he said.
«The war in Ukraine adds to the ongoing food, energy and financial crises, hitting developing economies the hardest. These inequalities hit women and girls hardest, and marginalized groups already suffering discrimination,» he has argued.
In addition, he stressed that the countries of the southern hemisphere are facing «enormous debts» and increasing «poverty and hunger», as well as the growing impacts of the climate crisis, so «they have few possibilities to invest in the recovery from the pandemic, the transition to renewable energies or education focused on the digital era».
«Anger and resentment against developed countries are reaching breaking points,» he said before pointing out that «toxic divisions and lack of trust are causing delays and deadlocks on a range of issues, from nuclear disarmament to terrorism to healthcare,» he stressed.
COMMON STRATEGY Guterres stressed that the first step is to «recognize the rampant inequality», which is a «choice», and recalled that «developed countries have the responsibility to reverse it, starting with the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt and the G20 summit in Bali.
«I hope that COP27 will witness a historic Climate Solidarity Pact whereby developed and emerging economies unite around a common strategy and combine their capacities and resources for the benefit of humanity,» he said.
He also urged COP27 leaders to «agree on a roadmap and an institutional framework to compensate Southern countries for climate-related losses and damages, which already cause enormous suffering.»
He has also noted that the G20 summit will be an opportunity to «address the plight of developing countries.» «I have urged the G20 economies to adopt a stimulus package that will provide southern governments with investment and liquidity,» he added.
For him, the initiative to export grains across the Black Sea is «fundamental» to take these measures forward as it «helps stabilize markets and lower food prices.» «Every fraction of a percent has the potential to alleviate hunger and save lives,» he explained.
Guterres insisted that this month’s major global meetings should serve as «an opportunity to begin to close gaps and restore trust on the basis of equal rights and freedoms for every member of the 8 billion people who make up humanity.»
