Premier Mario Draghi on Friday told
the Global Solution Summit 2021 that a priority in the global
COVID fight should be helping poorer countries amid a threat
from mutations of the virus.
"Our priority is, naturally, to defeat the pandemic," he said.
"That means to do so everywhere and not only in the developed
countries. Ensuring that poorer countries have access to
effective vaccines is a moral imperative. But there is also a
practical reason and, if you will, a selfish one. As long as the
pandemic rages, the virus may undergo dangerous mutations that
may also undermine the most successful vaccination campaign."
Draghi also said that "multilateralism is returning. The health
emergency has t aught us that it is impossiblle to tackle global
problems with domestic solutions. The same is true for the other
decisive challenges of our times: climate change and global
inequalities. As president of t he G20 this year, Italy is
determined to lead the paradigm shift. The world needs the whole
world, not a collection of individual states".
He said "the battle against the virus cannot distract us from
the fight against climate change. We have tow goals. The first
is to work to reach sufficiently ambitious emissions-reduction
targets, limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees and to
reach net zero emissions by 2050. The second is to mitigate
potential damage. WE must boost measures of containment,
accelerating the gradual elimination of carbon. And ensure a
greater flow of public and private capital towards initiatives
linked to the climate".
The Italian premier cited "shocking" forecasts of 250,000 deaths
per year by 2030 due to climate change.
Draghi added that "over the course of its history, Italy has
prospered thanks to international trade and cooperation. Openign
has been the best recipe for success. Our presidency of the G20
will reflect this long-standing commitment. Together with
Germany and the other G20 partners, we are confident of being
able to build a stronger world".
Draghi added that the US was back "in the field" on the climate
crisis and China's role was important too.
He called for cooperation with Beijing, but without taking any
"steps back" on human rights.
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