The 54 economies with the most pressing debt problems are home to half of the world’s poorest people and need immediate access to restructuring or to obtain some relief to avoid a systemic development crisis, the United Nations Program said on Tuesday. for Development (UNDP).
In a new analysis, UNDP said debt burdens have worsened severely for those countries as a result of serial crises stemming from the pandemic and warned that immediate action is imperative.
If these nations – which represent just over 3% of the global economy – do not have access to effective debt restructuring, poverty will increase and urgently needed investments in climate adaptation and mitigation will not be made, especially because the affected countries are among the world’s most climate-vulnerable.
“Debt relief would be a pebble for rich countries, but the cost of inaction is brutal for the world’s poorest. We cannot afford to repeat the mistake of providing too little relief too late in managing the debt burden of developing economies,” said Program Managing Administrator Achim Steiner.
Clean energy, such as wind, is a key element in reaching zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Electricity supply from clean energy sources must double in the next eight years to limit global temperature rise. Otherwise, there is a risk that climate change, more extreme weather and water stress will undermine energy security and even jeopardize renewable energy supplies, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned.
The annual report of this UN agency on the state of the climate, which includes contributions from 26 different organizations, focuses this time on energy because it is the key to international agreements on sustainable development and climate change that will define the health of the planet .
“The energy sector is the source of around three quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions. Switching to clean forms of power generation, such as solar, wind and hydropower, and improving energy efficiency, is vital if we want to thrive in the 21st century. The goal is to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. But we will only achieve this if we double the supply of low-emission electricity in the next eight years,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
Young Turkish girls playing a soccer game with the aim of ending violence against women and girls.
The UN commemorates this Tuesday for the tenth time the International Girl’s Day, a day dedicated to celebrating teenage leaders in all their diversity. On this occasion, the event focuses on highlighting the tenacity of girls to promote change as transformative feminist leaders, from now on.
The interests and influence of girls cover the great themes of global agendas such as climate, education, mental well-being, gender-based violence or sexual and reproductive health and rights, in addition to seeking to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Women affirmed that girls are empowering themselves as leaders, advocates and agents of change, and highlighted their activism in feminist movements and mobilization for gender equality.
For his part, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, argued that when girls are supported to realize their human rights, they can reach their potential and create a better world for themselves, their communities and their societies.
Guterres expressed great concern about the ban on girls going to school in Afghanistan. “This hurts them deeply and hurts a country that desperately needs their energy and contributions,” he stressed, once again urging the Taliban to allow girls to study.
“Investing in girls is investing in our common future,” Guterres said.
Four minors sentenced in Hong Kong
View of Hong Kong Bay
The Human Rights Office expressed alarm at the three-year prison sentence handed down last Saturday to five more people, four of them minors, under the National Security Law in Hong Kong. Those sentenced are part of a group that advocates the independence of that Chinese island.
“We remind the Hong Kong authorities of their obligations under international human rights law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which in its article 37 states that ‘arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be carried out in accordance with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period possible,’” said the agency’s spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the Civil Rights Covenant, urged the government in July this year to take concrete steps to repeal the current National Security Law and in the meantime refrain from enforcing it, the spokeswoman added. .
