![]() It would be difficult to find solutions to these global interlinked problems in the best of times, and in a world that would be united.īut these are far from the best of times - and the world is far from being united. They are piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash. But we are a far cry from peace in line with international law and the United Nations Charter.Īll these challenges are interlinked. We are doing our best making progress where we can - particularly in facilitating exports of food and fertilizers from Ukraine and also Russia. On the very foundations of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Now, this insanity belongs in science fiction, yet we know the ecosystem meltdown is cold, hard scientific fact.Īdd to this toxic brew yet another combustible factor - conflict, violence, war.Įspecially the Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine - not only because of the untold suffering of the Ukrainian people, but because of its profound global implications. Today, fossil fuel producers and their enablers are still racing to expand production, knowing full well that this business model is inconsistent with human survival. And like the tobacco industry, those responsible must be held to account. And just like the tobacco industry, they rode rough-shod over their own science. We learned last week that certain fossil fuel producers were fully aware in the 1970s that their core product was baking our planet. ![]() I am talking even about fossil fuel scientists. ![]() And I am not talking only about United Nations scientists. And for many, it would mean a death sentence.īut this is not a surprise. Several parts of our planet would be uninhabitable. The consequences, as we all know, would be devastating. Without further action, we are headed to a 2.8☌ increase. The commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5☌ is nearly going up in smoke. Greenhouse gas emissions are at record levels and growing. We are flirting with climate disaster.Įvery week brings a new climate horror story. We are nowhere near ready for the pandemics to come.Īdd to all that another major and, indeed, existential challenge. Somehow - after all we have endured - we have not learned the global public health lessons of the pandemic. COVID-19 is still straining economies - with the world’s failure to prepare for future pandemics, that failure is straining our credulity. Add to all of that the lingering effects of the pandemic. And debt levels pounding vulnerable countries. ![]() Rising interest rates along with inflation. Supply chain disruptions and an energy crunch. We see deepening inequalities and a rapidly unfolding cost-of-living crisis - affecting women and girls the most. Many parts of the world face recession and the entire world faces a slowdown. Start with the short term, a global economic crisis. Our world is plagued by a perfect storm on a number of fronts. And we are looking into the eye of a Category 5 hurricane. We can’t confront problems unless we look them squarely in the eye. I am not here to sugar-coat the scale of that challenge - or the sorry state of our world. Your theme perfectly sets out the dilemma of today’s world: We need cooperation, yet we face fragmentation. It is very good to be back in Davos, and once again in person. Thank you very much for your welcome and thank you, dear President Schwab, for your kind words. There is much more openness for joint European funding for investments, that's where the landing zone could be," the senior EU official said.Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, today: "Countries will not be comfortable with European funding for consumption. A compromise solution could be if the money jointly borrowed by the EU was in the form of loans to EU governments and could only be spent on investment, rather than consumption. Germany drew sharp criticism from its EU peers last week when it announced a support programme for companies and households of up to 200 billion euros (S$280 billion), dwarfing similar French and Italian schemes one third its size.īerlin's plan prompted top European Commission officials to propose new joint borrowing by the bloc to generate funds that could be used to deal with the energy crisis.īut several northern European countries are reluctant. While welcomed by voters, such measures work against the European Central Bank's efforts to bring down inflation and can threaten fair competition in the bloc because not every country can afford the same amount of support to businesses.
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