UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday 24 June that the strategic partnership between the EU and the organisation he heads “is more essential than ever” to combat global inequalities, which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic - particularly in terms of access to vaccines - and climate change.
It is counting on the EU’s leadership to seize “a unique opportunity to create more sustainable and just societies” at a time when the pandemic has exposed grossly inadequate health systems, huge gaps in social protection, and major structural inequalities within and between countries.
Mr Guterres was invited to the European Parliament to “celebrate this partnership” on the opening day of the European Council, which was partly dedicated to vaccination in the EU and to global cooperation.
“We greatly appreciate your commitment to multilateralism and UN reform and your leadership in overcoming challenges in times of crisis”, said Parliament’s Speaker David Sassoli before the Secretary-General’s address.
In Guterres’ view, “vaccines are the only way out of the pandemic”, and the entire world population should be vaccinated by 2022.
“If the African continent does not receive an additional 225 million doses, nearly 90% of African countries will fail to meet the target set in September of vaccinating 10% of their population. And if we want 75% of the world's population to be vaccinated, we need not one, but 11 billion doses “, he said.
Mr Guterres believes the EU must use its “leverage as a global actor” to step up global efforts to “ensure safe vaccines for everyone”.
Denouncing “shocking inequalities” between developed and developing countries, he pointed to the fact that rich countries spend more than 28% of their GDP on stimulus, middle-income countries 6.5%, and LDCs 1.8% (15 times less). As a result, growth forecasts are 5.6% for rich countries and only 3-4% for the African continent.
With countries on the brink of default and the wealth of the wealthiest having increased by USD 5 trillion, he called for a “solidarity tax or wealth tax” to ensure that those “who have benefited from the pandemic” fund the socio-economic recovery. His words were met with applause.
While he supports the extension of debt relief to all developing countries and the new SDR allocation, Mr Guterres believes that we need to go further: “More than ever, the 2030 Agenda (UN Sustainable Development: Editor’s note) and the Sustainable Development Goals must be our collective roadmap”.
Climate. Speaking on the day the European Parliament endorsed the agreement on the ‘Climate Law’ (see other news), Mr Guterres welcomed the EU’s increased target for 2030 and its commitment to climate neutrality by 2050. At the global level, “this drive for net zero emissions must become the new normal for everyone, everywhere”, he said.
He expects the EU to play “a bridge role” between the parties at COP26, both in terms of ambition and in terms of funding to support the efforts of developing countries. In this regard, the USD 100 billion a year target, which has been promised to them until 2025, must be met, Mr Guterres insisted.
A breakthrough on the resilience front is “a moral imperative”, he said. However, adaptation represents only 21% of climate finance. Mr Guterres therefore renewed his call for this figure to be increased to 50%, saying that “European countries must support this target well in advance of COP26”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)