UN Secretary-General António Guterres identifies the “perfect storm” plaguing the global economy and shares what the UN is doing to help with Davos 2023.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres offered a sobering view of the global economy In Davos 2023warning that the world is heading towards the eyes of a Category 5 economic hurricane.
“We are looking into the eye of a Category 5 hurricane. Our world is in a perfect storm on a number of fronts,” Guterres said at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. “Start with the global economic crisis in the short term. The outlook is bleak, as we all know. Many parts of the world are facing a recession and the entire world is facing a slowdown. We are seeing rising inequality and rapidly unfolding costs of living. The crisis affects women and girls the most. Supply chain disruptions and an energy crisis and high prices.”
Guterres also made clear his concerns about the “perfect storm” that is hitting the world.Morning with Maria” Wednesday.
“I’m concerned about the fact that we have a bunch of things that are intertwined and that have negative synergies,” he said.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was worried about the “perfect storm” hitting global economies on “Morning with Maria”. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File/AP Newsroom)
The war in Ukraine, skyrocketing food and energy prices, climate change and increasing wealth inequality are factors that Guterres fears are “creating a situation” that provides “a clear perspective on recession”.
In addition, Guterres referred to economies outside the United States, Europe and Asia burdened by economic difficulties.
“Interest rates are skyrocketing in the global south. Countries are on the verge of default. They don’t have resources because they can’t print money like the United States did, like Europe did during the coronavirus outbreak,” Guterres said. “They don’t have access to concessional financing because many of them are middle-income countries. Look at the small island developing states, the Caribbean islands. They’ve been living on tourism. Tourism has been gone for two years, but they’re average.”–Income countries, they didn’t have debt to live on, and they didn’t have concessional financing. So we have in the Global South, a situation where people are suffering and we have to understand that.”
Guterres called for increased “mechanisms of global solidarity” in light of the widespread economic hardship.
When asked what the UN could do to combat the economic hurricane, Guterres floated a UN proposal emphasizing global stimulus to address economic problems as well as tools abroad for a “just transition” from fossil fuel dominance to clean energy.
“Our proposal is to have a global stimulus, a global stimulus that can fix economies, a global stimulus that can meet the challenges of the world’s poorest, and at the same time create the funds needed to achieve a fair transition with regard to climate change,” Guterres told host Maria Bartiromo.
“We need to move from A Fossil fuel dominance dominance of renewable energy sources. “But we need to do it in a fair way. We take into account the people who will be negatively affected in the regions where fossil fuels predominate. Given the training and the search for new jobs, the regions need to invest. This transition needs to be well managed, not like the rust belt in The past when the transition from heavy industry in the United States, in Europe, in other parts of the world was not achieved properly either.
Guterres also made it clear that the United Nations wants “higher commitments” from China to move more quickly in reducing its domestic emissions to help global efforts to combat climate change. However, he noted that technology assistance may be needed to help China achieve faster emissions reductions.
“We need to make sure of that China cuts emissions. Guterres said: This is vital for the world. But China needs some technological support, I wouldn’t say financial support, but technological support to be able to do that because they have old-fashioned industry in a number of areas and more dependence on coal.”
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Given the global economic outlook and climate concerns, Guterres added that it is “absolutely necessary” for “serious” negotiations between the West and China.
“With the climate, with the slowdown in the global economy, with the dire situation of the developing world, with the resurgence of pandemic risks, I think it is absolutely necessary to have serious negotiations at the table where everything is very clearly laid out between China and the Western World. “