Excellencies,
I am here to sound the alarm: The world must wake up.
We are on the edge of an abyss — and moving in the wrong direction.
Our world has never been more threatened.
Or more divided.
We face the greatest cascade of crises in our lifetimes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has supersized glaring inequalities.
The climate crisis is pummeling the planet.
Upheaval from Afghanistan to Ethiopia to Yemen and beyond has thwarted peace.
A surge of mistrust and misinformation is polarizing people and paralyzing societies.
Human rights are under fire.
Science is under assault.
And economic lifelines for the most vulnerable are coming too little and too late — if they come at all.
Solidarity is missing in action — just when we need it most.
In his address to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday the Secretary-General, António Guterres, expanded on his warning last week in launching the Our Common Agenda project that unless action was taken rapidly, the outlook for humankind was frightening.
In June, he was unanimously re-elected to his position, giving him another five years at the helm of the 193-member organisation. So he is a man whose words carry a lot of weight.
Because of the sobering words used in his speech yesterday, Guterres' warning did get some airplay on TV and in news sites, but only in the usual 20-second sound bite form. But let's give our attention more fully to why Guterres feels so compelled to "sound the alarm". While we do so, note how he frames the series of crises we face as a breakdown of morality.
For a start, he says:
Perhaps one image tells the tale of our times. The picture we have seen from some parts of the world of COVID-19 vaccines … in the garbage. Expired and unused. On the one hand, we see the vaccines developed in record time — a victory of science and human ingenuity. On the other hand, we see that triumph undone by the tragedy of a lack of political will, selfishness and mistrust.
A surplus in some countries. Empty shelves in others. A majority of the wealthier world vaccinated. Over 90 percent of Africans still waiting for their first dose. This is a moral indictment of the state of our world. It is an obscenity. We passed the science test. But we are getting an F in Ethics.
World leaders are also not giving the necessary attention to climate change:
The climate alarm bells are also ringing at fever pitch.
The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was a code red for humanity. We see the warning signs in every continent and region. Scorching temperatures. Shocking biodiversity loss. Polluted air, water and natural spaces. And climate-related disasters at every turn.
Climate scientists tell us it’s not too late to keep alive the 1.5 degree goal of the Paris Climate Agreement. But the window is rapidly closing.
We need a 45 per cent cut in emissions by 2030. Yet a recent UN report made clear that with present national climate commitments, emissions will go up by 16% by 2030.
That would condemn us to a hellscape of temperature rises of at least 2.7 degrees above pre-industrial levels. A catastrophe.
Meanwhile, the OECD just reported a gap of at least $20 billion in essential and promised climate finance to developing countries.
We are weeks away from the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, but seemingly light years away from reaching our targets. We must get serious. And we must act fast.
Here is another powerful section:
Excellencies,
COVID and the climate crisis have exposed profound fragilities as societies and as a planet. Yet instead of humility in the face of these epic challenges, we see hubris [an arrogance that invites disaster]. Instead of the path of solidarity, we are on a dead end to destruction.
At the same time, another disease is spreading in our world today: a malady of mistrust. When people see promises of progress denied by the realities of their harsh daily lives… When they see their fundamental rights and freedoms curtailed… When they see petty — as well as grand — corruption around them… When they see billionaires joyriding to space while millions go hungry on earth… When parents see a future for their children that looks even bleaker than the struggles of today... And when young people see no future at all…
The people we serve and represent may lose faith not only in their governments and institutions — but in the values that have animated the work of the United Nations for over 75 years. Peace. Human rights. Dignity for all. Equality. Justice. Solidarity.
A breakdown in trust is leading to a breakdown in values. Promises, after all, are worthless if people do not see results in their daily lives. Failure to deliver creates space for some of the darkest impulses of humanity. It provides oxygen for easy fixes, pseudo-solutions and conspiracy theories.
It is kindling to stoke ancient grievances. Cultural supremacy. Ideological dominance. Violent misogyny. The targeting of the most vulnerable including refugees and migrants.
But what can we do?
Excellencies,
We face a moment of truth. Now is the time to deliver. Now is the time to restore trust. Now is the time to inspire hope. And I do have hope. The problems we have created are problems we can solve. Humanity has shown that we are capable of great things when we work together. That is the raison d’être of our United Nations.
But let’s be frank. Today’s multilateral system is too limited in its instruments and capacities, in relation to what is needed for effective governance of managing global public goods. It is too fixed on the short-term. We need to strengthen global governance. We need to focus on the future. We need to renew the social contract. We need to ensure a United Nations fit for a new era.
Guterres then covered what he called the world's "Six Great Divides", the first being the lack of peace. This is made clear by the fact of regional wars in Africa and unsettled conflicts in Iraq, Libya and Syria. However, also having an impact on global stability is the rumbling strife between the United States and China:
It will be impossible to address dramatic economic and development challenges while the world’s two largest economies are at odds with each other.
Yet I fear our world is creeping towards two different sets of economic, trade, financial, and technology rules, two divergent approaches in the development of artificial intelligence — and ultimately the risk of two different military and geo-political strategies.
This is a recipe for trouble. It would be far less predictable than the Cold War.
Dialogue is key to reconciling differences, and the will to understand each other. That is true, too, for the next of the Great Divides, climate change:
This requires bridging trust between North and South. ... We need more ambition from all countries in three key areas — mitigation, finance and adaptation.
More ambition on mitigation — means countries committing to carbon neutrality by mid-century — and to concrete 2030 emissions reductions targets that will get us there, backed up with credible actions now.
More ambition on finance — means developing nations finally seeing the promised US$100 billion a year for climate action, fully mobilizing the resources of both international financial institutions and the private sector, too.
More ambition on adaptation — means developed countries living up to their promise of credible support to developing countries to build resilience to save lives and livelihoods.
This means 50 per cent of all climate finance provided by developed countries and multilateral development banks should be dedicated to adaptation.
To prevent a worsening of the ravages of climate change...:
Don’t wait for others to make the first move. Do your part. Around the world, we see civil society — led by young people — fully mobilized to tackle the climate crisis. The private sector is increasingly stepping up.
Governments must also summon the full force of their fiscal policymaking powers to make the shift to green economies. By taxing carbon and pollution instead of people’s income to more easily make the switch to sustainable green jobs.
By ending subsidies to fossil fuels and freeing up resources to invest back into health care, education, renewable energy, sustainable food systems, and social protections for their people.
By committing to no new coal plants. If all planned coal power plants become operational, we will not only be clearly above 1.5 degrees — we will be well above 2 degrees.
This is a planetary emergency. We need coalitions of solidarity—between countries that still depend heavily on coal, and countries that have the financial and technical resources to support their transition. We have the opportunity and the obligation to act.
The third of the Great Divides is inequality:
We must bridge the gap between rich and poor, within and among countries. That starts by ending the pandemic for everyone, everywhere.
We urgently need a global vaccination plan to at least double vaccine production and ensure that vaccines reach seventy percent of the world’s population in the first half of 2022. [...]
We have no time to lose. A lopsided recovery is deepening inequalities. Richer countries could reach pre-pandemic growth rates by the end of this year while the impacts may last for years in low-income countries.
Is it any wonder? Advanced economies are investing nearly 28 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product into economic recovery. For middle-income countries, that number falls to 6.5 per cent. And it plummets to 1.8 per cent for the least developed countries — a tiny percentage of a much smaller amount.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the International Monetary Fund projects that cumulative economic growth per capita over the next five years will be 75 percent less than the rest of the world.
Ways of mitigating inequality include:
Countries shouldn’t have to choose between servicing debt and serving people.
With effective international solidarity, it would be possible at the national level to forge a new social contract that includes universal health coverage and income protection, housing and decent work, quality education for all, and an end to discrimination and violence against women and girls.
I call on countries to reform their tax systems and finally end tax evasion, money laundering and illicit financial flows.
Fourth:
Bridging the gender divide is not only a matter of justice for women and girls. It’s a game-changer for humanity. Societies with more equal representation are more stable and peaceful. They have better health systems and more vibrant economies.
Women’s equality is essentially a question of power. We must urgently transform our male-dominated world and shift the balance of power, to solve the most challenging problems of our age.
That means more women leaders in parliaments, cabinets and board rooms. It means women fully represented and making their full contribution, everywhere.
I urge governments, corporations and other institutions to take bold steps, including benchmarks and quotas, to create gender parity from the leadership down.
That half of humanity has no access to the internet points to the reality of the digital divide:
We must connect everyone by 2030 [...] — to embrace the promise of digital technology while protecting people from its perils.
One of the greatest perils we face is the growing reach of digital platforms and the use and abuse of data. A vast library of information is being assembled about each of us. Yet we don’t even have the keys to that library. We don’t know how this information has been collected, by whom or for what purposes.
But we do know our data is being used commercially — to boost corporate profits. Our behavior patterns are being commodified and sold like futures contracts. Our data is also being used to influence our perceptions and opinions. Governments and others can exploit it to control or manipulate people’s behaviour, violating human rights of individuals or groups, and undermining democracy.
This is not science fiction. This is today’s reality. And it requires a serious discussion.
So, too, do other dangers in the digital frontier. I am certain, for example, that any future major confrontation — and heaven forbid it should ever happen — will start with a massive cyberattack.
That certainly is a sobering prediction. Servers and digital pathways around the world could be impacted by such an attack. For our knowledge-based global society, this would truly be another of Guterres' catastrophes.
Guterres goes on to the final Great Divide, the intergenerational mistrust affecting today’s 1.8 billion young people:
The urgency of Guterres' warning to world leaders come through in his concluding statements: "We need to act now"..., "with real engagement"..., "to bridge the Great Divides and save humanity and the planet".Young people will inherit the consequences of our decisions — good and bad. At the same time, we expect 10.9 billion people to be born by century’s end. We need their talents, ideas and energies.
Young people need more than support. They need a seat at the table [...]
Young people need a vision of hope for the future. Recent research showed the majority of young people across ten countries are suffering from high levels of anxiety and distress over the state of our planet. Some 60 percent of your future voters feel betrayed by their governments.
We must prove to children and young people that despite the seriousness of the situation, the world has a plan — and governments are committed to implementing it.
Throughout his speech, it is clear the UN chief really does believe that it is a matter of certainty that we, in this decade, are at the point of saving humanity — and the only planet where we know life exists.
Therefore, his final thoughts are all the more pertinent:
We can live up to the promise of a better, more peaceful world.
The best way to advance the interests of one’s own citizens is by advancing the interests of our common future.
Interdependence is the logic of the 21st century.
This is our time.
A moment for transformation.
An era to re-ignite multilateralism.
An age of possibilities.
Let us restore trust. Let us inspire hope.
And let us start right now.
We have a moral obligation to open ourselves to change in our lifestyle and in the government policies we support. It's often the public's lack of support that pushes weak politicians to not do the right thing to save the environment, reverse climate change, and establish a social framework that makes possible greater participation by women and those on low incomes. We have to step up to the plate and get involved fully in reshaping our society with solidarity and the common good foremost in our minds and hearts.
For ideas on how to reshape society, refer to my previous post on the Solidarity Party.
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