On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested that the Group of 20 (G20) major economies address the COVID-19 vaccine shortage, provide debt relief to vulnerable nations, and fund climate action.
Guterres delivered a virtual address to the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors gathering in Venice, Italy. According to Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’ main spokesman, the meeting on Friday was placed behind closed doors.
According to Dujarric, the secretary-general restated his appeal for a worldwide immunization plan that would at least double vaccine production and ensure fair distribution, using COVAX as the platform.
Many poor countries, according to Guterres, are on the edge of defaulting on their debt. He urged the G20 to include vulnerable middle-income nations and small island developing states in the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and the Common Framework for Debt Treatment.
On climate change, Guterres expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on public climate financing and called on the G20 to mobilize 100 billion dollars per year for developing nations, as pledged in 2009.
According to the spokesman, Guterres told the ministers that in order to reestablish trust in multilateralism, vaccinations, economic recovery, and climate money must be delivered.
