G7 pledge for Vaccine and Climate Change.
Source: Reuters
Written By Oshina, UAE
The UK hosted the G7 Leaders' Summit on 11-13 June 2021, with the goal of uniting leading democracies to assist the world recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and establish a greener, more affluent future. The G7 summit in the UK ended with pledges on:
COVID-19, tax and the environment.
A promised billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine
CLIMATE CHANGE
G7 leaders have agreed to increase their contributions to meet a delayed $100 billion a year expenditure pledge by rich countries to help poorer countries cut carbon emissions and cope with global warming, but only two countries gave clear promises of more cash. Following the summit, Canada announced that it will quadruple its climate funding pledge to C$5.3 billion ($4.4 billion) over the next five years, while Germany announced that it would increase it by 2 billion euros ($7.26 billion) a year by 2025 at the latest.
A growing number of countries are adopting net-zero emissions objectives for their greenhouse gas emissions, and the globe has already committed to ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.These goals reinforce each other, sending a strong message to markets and businesses to align their plans and investments with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement goals. Businesses are already seizing opportunities and collaborating to take action faster. The momentum is growing. In the decades ahead, the SDGs and ambitious climate action could be major drivers of investment and innovation, resulting in more jobs and profits.
The globe is currently dealing with two major crises: COVID-19 and the resulting economic and social hardship, as well as the environment in terms of climate and natural disasters. Both situations demand quick and decisive action. COVID-19-related long-term unemployment, education loss, and health effects could have significant economic, societal, and political consequences.
While dealing with the outbreak, many G20 countries have emphasized the importance of remaining focused on the climate crisis. China's President Xi declared in September 2020 that the country's emissions will peak in 2030 and the country will be carbon neutral by 2060. Moreover India is expecting to reach its goal of generating 175 GW of renewable energy before the target date of 2022 and has a 450 GW target by 2030. It also aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. Korea and South Africa, both members of the UNFCCC Climate Ambition Alliance, seek to attain net-zero emissions by 2050 in the G20.
Source: Getty Images
COVID VACCINE
COVID-19 vaccine doses will be distributed internationally by world leaders in support of global equity of access and to assist finish the pandemic's acute phase. The G7 countries agreed to directly provide at least 870 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021, with the goal of delivering at least half by then. They also reaffirmed their support for COVAX.
COVAX partners applaud this commitment, as well as the government's sustained support for major exports, voluntary licensing, and non-profit worldwide production. COVAX anticipates dosages being sent to countries as soon as feasible.Faced with an acute supply shortfall, COVAX is focusing on acquiring as many shared doses as feasible as soon as possible, as the gap between delivery and countries' ability to absorb doses will be highest in the third quarter of this year.
Since February, COVAX has supplied over 70 million pills to 126 countries and economies around the world. COVAX helped over 35 countries get their first doses of COVID-19 vaccination.However, the virus's horrific outbreak in India has had a significant influence on COVAX's supply in the second quarter of this year, to the point where there will be a shortage of 190 million doses by the end of June.
Criticism of the G7 summit
Critics have described the G7 summit as falling far short of the action needed on climate change and global health. G7 states failed to agree on a deadline for ending their own use of coal power.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has been campaigning for richer countries to contribute more of the expense of vaccines for underdeveloped countries, described the G7 pledges as "passing around the begging bowl" rather than a serious solution.
"If the best G7 leaders can manage is to donate 1 billion vaccine doses then this summit will have been a failure," Oxfam's health policy manager Anna Marriott said.
“This agreement shows that instead of facing up to their international obligations by waiving intellectual property rules for vaccines, tests and treatments, and sharing life-saving technology, G7 leaders have opted for more of the same paltry half measures and insufficient gestures, despite their promise to vaccinate the world by 2022”, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard.
The G7 can create a grand bargain for the world that can deliver the four wins of rapid recovery in health and economics, stronger growth for this decade, innovations and lower-cost technologies for a sustainable future, and addressing the enormous threats of climate change, biodiversity destruction, and environmental damage if the world acts together and sustains its efforts.Failure in one area will cripple the economy in the others.
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