United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. (Flickr)
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday said he would call on G20 members to use their leverage to lead much-needed action on economic issues, climate and peace.
“My message to the leaders is simple: now is the time for leadership and vision.
We are living through tumultuous times.” Guterres told a media briefing in Johannesburg ahead of the two-day G20 leaders’ summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre this weekend.
“Conflicts, climate chaos, economic uncertainty, mounting debt, inequality, and the collapse in global aid are inflicting massive suffering around the world, and rising military expenditure is drawing resources away from development,” he said.
“As the world’s largest economies, the G20 can exert enormous influence to ease this suffering, ensure that economic growth is widely shared, and set our world on a better, more peaceful course for the future.”
Guterres said developing countries — particularly in Africa — are suffering from a perfect storm of shrinking fiscal space, crushing debt burdens, and a global financial architecture that is failing to support or even adequately represent them.
Africa has been a double victim of colonialism: first through centuries of exploitation and plunder, and then again when international institutions were created while most African countries are still under colonial rule and their voices are absent from the table, he added.
The UN head said Africa remains woefully underrepresented across global institutions, and this must change.
He noted that the Pact for the Future, adopted by UN member states last year, called for reform of international financial institutions.
“Africa must have a fair seat in every forum where decisions are made — from the boards of international financial institutions to permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council and other global bodies,” he said.
“The G20 can help repair this historic injustice and drive reforms that give developing countries — and Africa in particular — a real voice in shaping global policies, and make global economic governance more inclusive, representative, equitable, and effective in the years ahead.”
He said global investment in clean energy had reached $2 trillion — $800 billion more than fossil fuels — but only a negligible proportion went to Africa.
“Africa should be at the heart of this clean energy revolution. The continent holds immense solar and wind potential but lacks the investments needed to harness them.
A just energy transition must also mean fully electrifying Africa — powering homes, schools, clinics, and industries, and creating decent jobs for its young people.”
Guterres said he would also urge G20 members to use their influence and voices to end conflicts that are causing much distress, destruction, and destabilisation around the world.
He added that inequality has become a cancer in societies, concentrating power and eroding trust in democracy, and he commended South Africa for commissioning a bold report on global inequality.