The United Nations chief warned on Friday that the world was “in the wrong” and urged countries to take immediate action to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic and climate change.
“Covid-19 is a wake-up call, and we are fast asleep,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a news conference.
Speaking before the UN General Assembly which kicks off in New York on Sept. 21, Guterres complained that vaccinating countries have failed to increase production with the goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the world’s population by the first half of 2022.
“The epidemic has shown that we are all failing to come together and make decisions together, even in the face of global threats,” Guterres said.
Guterres rejected calls for a delay in the UN General Assembly, known as COP26, to be held in Scotland in November. Advocates have called for the delay in the event due to vaccination inconsistencies, the deadly Covid epidemic and the difficulties in planning the event.
“Reducing the COP is not a good thing,” Guterres said. “The delay has been significant and the matter is urgent.”
Guterres urged the United States and China, one of the world’s most devastating agents, to do more to tackle climate change.
“We want a strong US connection, which is development funding, for climate change, mitigation, transformation, and we need more experiments from China on air,” Guterres said.
prh / cjc / md / dw