Ukraine (8% of official development assistance) and in-country expenses for refugees (14%). We hear much about ‘soft landings’ but for many developing countries, there may be hard ones, possibly including crashes with debt defaults. For many least developed countries, home to 40% of the world’s poorest people, and highly indebted middle-income countries, the international financial system has been unable to tackle the debt problem at the scale needed. The G7 and G20 carry some responsibility for this because in a world with more financial resources than at any point in human history, the 20% of the global economy not represented by the G20 risks paralysis and global economic and political insecurity without more assistance. A few countries in deep debt distress could have major consequences, including political destabilisation, polarisation, perhaps even violent conflict. Therefore, to finance the SDGs including climate action and pandemic preparedness, we need to rethink how to attract more private-sector investment to drive the clean energy transition, digital public infrastructure and beyond. Africa’s needs alone are in the hundreds of billions of dollars just for the clean energy transition. You cannot have the wealthy recovering and the poor unable to invest in the very elements that would help them recover. Wealthy countries need to combine short-term measures to deal with the debt crisis with long-term measures to mobilise more public and private finance to invest in development that all agree is imperative, from decarbonisation to digitalisation. How can G7 leaders at Apulia help? Italy’s Apulia Summit agenda includes a focus on addressing the concerns of the Global South. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has already hosted an Africa summit and launched the Mattei Plan. The G7 will examine the many possibilities for co-investing to expand Africa’s electricity infrastructure, hydrogen, gas pipelines, renewable energies, schools, hospitals and agriculture. Migration is also a contested issue among G7 members. Therefore, Apulia is a timely moment to better understand its root causes and systemic responses. Italy’s inclusion of artificial intelligence on the agenda is also welcome, as we seek the right regulatory instruments to proactively respond to this revolution. We are also months away from the next UN climate change conference in Azerbaijan, where global leaders can build a new global climate finance framework. To arrive without answers could derail today’s growing momentum on investing in decarbonisation and more inclusive development pathways. In short, Italy has focused the agenda on shared interests rather than just addressing a narrower economic and political security agenda. This broader, macro approach exemplifies the direction the G7 may pursue to spearhead a global agenda reset with an emphasis on bolstering multilateral cooperation and reshaping financing and investment frameworks. This is pivotal to ensure that all countries can play their part in tackling existential challenges including climate change, which transcend borders and require bold new approaches that cross long-standing international divides.
Africa’s needs alone are in the hundreds of billions of dollars just for the clean energy transition. You cannot have the wealthy recovering and the poor unable to invest in the very elements that would help them recover” 40 % of the world’s poorest people live in least developed countries $ 1.8 trn investment in renewable clean energy infrastructure in 2023
to bring 193 countries around a drafting table to negotiate an outcome for the Summit of the Future is difficult. There are many things on which countries disagree, so we risk losing sight of the fact that there is much more on which countries concur. In this context, the UN secretary-general remains focused on an agenda for cooperation. The New Agenda for Peace and the Global Digital Compact will be unifying elements for the Summit of the Future and an antidote to a world drifting apart. How will progress be affected by this year’s funding replenishments?
Development assistance overall has increased, but much of that increase focuses on support for
ACHIM STEINER Achim Steiner has been the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme since 2017. He is also vice-chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which unites 40 entities of the UN system that work to support sustainable development. Prior to joining UNDP, he was director of the Oxford Martin School and professorial fellow of Balliol College at the University of Oxford. Mr Steiner led the UN
Environment Programme (2006–2016) and was also director-general of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. He previously held other notable positions including director general of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and secretary-general of the World Commission on Dams.
X-TWITTER @Asteiner undp.org
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2024 — G7 ITALY: THE APULIA SUMMIT
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