UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said during the G20 meet that there was a “lack of trust between peoples in general and institutions everywhere, both at a national level – in the form of governments and parliaments – and internationally; because globalization has divided the world into winners and losers”.
The UNSG expressed that “Those [countries or people]feel angry, that feel frustrated, that many times…there was not enough effort from their government, or from international organizations like the UN, in order to attend their problems, to attend their difficulties in the rustbelts of this world. I think it is very important to come together, the different countries around the world, and to have a common strategy for a fair globalization, which means a globalization that leaves no one behind.”
UN released a statement on the same remarks and among his statement, Mr Guterres pointed that in light of the G20, a group of the world’s largest economies, and other such groups must support the UN’s 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, “which was developed precisely to ensure a fair globalization and aims to eradicate poverty and address a wide range of governance problems worldwide”.
Mr. Guterres also pointed out that this year’s G20 meeting is crucial because it precedes the COP24 climate change conference taking place in Katowice, Poland from 3 December. It will be a watermark event as it’s at the COP24 where the “Work Programme” or rule book of the 2015 Paris Agreement is expected to be agreed. Under the Paris Agreement, countries sign and pledge to work towards preventing the earth’s temperature from rising by 2 degrees.
Addressing the media on Friday, the Secretary-General said that “Katowice must succeed. We need to build in Katowice the momentum that is necessary for an increased ambition to be shown by the international community…when in 2020 the commitments made in Paris will be renewed in order to make sure that we are able to bring the increase of temperature in the world until the end of the century to clearly below 2 degrees and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees.”
“Political will is lacking,” said the UN chief. “That is why it’s so important to come here and to express to political leaders how important it is for everybody to understand that this is a make it or break it moment in relation to guaranteeing that the Paris Agreement is implemented.”
