UN Chief Guterres Warns World is Flirting with Disaster
“Our world is plagued by a perfect storm on a number of fronts,” warns UN Secretary-General Guterres in his keynote remarks at the World Economic Forum 2023 (#WEF2023) in Davos. Indeed, due the #COVID pandemic, the Russian-Ukraine Conflict, #ClimateChange as well as Income and Gender Disparity, the world is facing a Global Economic Crisis which necessitates urgent coordinated actions on a number of interconnected challenges. His call to action was spot on the theme for this edition of the Davos Summit which is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World.”
Talking about the looming economic crisis, he reminded that the cost of living has risen abruptly pushing more people below the poverty line, with women being most affected. Supply chain disruptions and the energy crunch are leading to high inflationary pressures. As a result, interest rates are also rising, and the debt burden is crushing several economies.
Extracting the lessons learned from the #COVID pandemic, he warned that “the world is nowhere near ready for the next pandemic.” The initiative to share critical technology and ensure an equitable distribution of vaccines still has a long way to go.
“The world is flirting with Climate Disaster … We risk what I have called a Great Fracture …. The World is nowhere near ready for the next pandemic … We must respect International Laws and the UN Charter.”
UN SG Antonio Guterres
In addition, the world is heading towards a climatic disaster. The commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C is “going up in smoke.” It looks more likely that the world is heading towards a 2.8C rise with all the dire consequences. Climate chaos is knocking on our doors and wreaking havoc in many countries and regions as the world is “flirting with climate disaster.”
The Russian-Ukraine conflict has not only caused a rise in food and fuel prices but risks degenerating into a nuclear conflict. The UN has been active in facilitating exports of wheat and fertilizers from Ukraine to ease pressure on #FoodSecurity. To resolve conflicts, we must strive for a negotiated settlement rather than to resort to military action. We must respect international laws and the #UN Charter.
Furthermore, the brewing US-China trade war is boiling over and evolving into an East-West Divide. “We risk what I have called a Great Fracture — the decoupling of the world’s two largest economies — a tectonic rift that would create two different sets of trade rules, two dominant currencies, two internets and two conflicting strategies on AI.” At the same time, the North-South Divide is deepening with a race to woo the #GlobalSouth. Learning from history, we must avoid the Thucydides Trap.
In conclusion, UN SG Guterres urged: “Now more than ever, it’s time to forge pathways to cooperation in our fragmented world. The world can’t wait!”