Demark rallies wealthy nations to back ‘climate solidarity’, boost financing for hard-hit poor countries

Collectively, “we must address…the fundamental imbalances in the world we share,” Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Thursday, calling for global “climate solidarity” to support vulnerable countries that have suffered “loss and damage” from climate change.

The industrialized world must acknowledge its responsibility to deliver on the climate crisis “and we must listen to those affected the most by climate-induced damages,” Foreign Minister Kofod said in his early evening address to the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level debate.

While the most pressing challenges of our time are being felt and even exacerbated all over the planet, particularly as climate-induced disasters impact food supplies and increase inequalities, “there is no doubt that they are being most strongly felt by the poorest and most vulnerable among us,” he stated.

“Developing countries are hardest and most unjustly hit,” continued Mr. Kofod, pointing to the lingering fallout from the COVID-19pandemic, “which is still inflicting human and economic wounds in societies of the global South, and calling for more concerted action to address “both the problems at hand and the fundamental imbalances in the world we share, and we must do it now.”

The future hinges on solidarity

“None of us can steer through pandemics or counter the climate crisis alone. Nor should we. It should be clear that the future we share depends on solidarity and overcoming the fault lines that increasingly drive us apart,” he said, so, solidarity is an investment in prosperity, security and peace for all.

Noting that Denmark was one of the few Member States to live up to the UN-defined target of 0.7 per cent of its GDP for official development assistance (ODA) [which specifically targets support to the economic development and welfare of developing countries], he said another focus of such efforts should be to ensure “climate solidarity”.

Indeed, even as Demark has worked to reduce its own footprint, Foreign Minister Kofod said his country had undertaken major global commitments on climate adaptation and climate financing, including by scaling up grant-based finance to some $500 million a year by 2023, 60 per cent of which would be dedicated to adaptation in poor and vulnerable countries.

“If a small country like Demark can do this, the G20 also can,” he said urging other countries to follow suit. Also citing the need to “step up and listen to those impacted by climate induced damages,” he said that just this week, Denmark had followed up with several new initiatives for the world’s hardest-hit and poorest countries, referring to his Government’s pledge to pay for “loss and damage” in other countries affected by increasing cases of extreme weather events.

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Egypt’s Foreign Minister calls for improved climate commitments at COP27

Egypt, which is hosting the 2022 UN Climate Conference this November, is calling on the international community to act on climate pledges made to developing countries, the country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, declared on Saturday.

In his speech to the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly, Sameh Hassan Shoukry Selim said that the world is at a delicate historical moment of increased polarization, at which serious action, and a commitment to multilateralism, are needed.

The fault lies, he said, not in the UN system, but in the failure of Member States to respect the Organization. He called for States to reinvigorate and reform it, and urged them not to leave the process incomplete, so the UN can better respond to challenges and meet the goals of the people.

On the Ukrainian invasion of Russia, Mr. Selim warned that this has exacerbated the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to an increased burden for developing countries, especial in terms of growing public deficits.

Respect sovereignty

There is a need, he said, for developed countries to convert the debt they hold into joint investment projects, which would “create more job opportunities and contribute to positive economic growth.”

There must be an international consensus, said Mr. Selim, without threats to countries, or the undermining of sovereignty. Current challenges, he continued, threaten the very notion of nation-states, leading to a lack of respect, and the weakening of State entities, which allows non-State terrorists to control the destiny of nations.

Support for global food security

The food crisis faced by Africa, claimed Mr. Selim, is the consequences of many years in which there has been a failure to hit the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to hunger and food security.

With one in five Africans at risk of hunger, and the Continent a net importer of food, declared Mr. Selim, the crisis needs to be addressed through an international strategy that tackles its root causes.

Solutions include the implementation of sustainable farming and food systems that meet the needs of people in food importing African countries whose products, he declared, must allowed to be a part of the global supply chain without hindrance.

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‘We must continue to believe in the power of diplomacy,’ India says in UN speech

India was represented at the opening of the 77th General Assembly by Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who reminded his audience that India is celebrating 75 years of independence, which he described as a story of the “toil, determination, innovation, and enterprise of millions of ordinary Indians”. 

The Minister outlined India’s commitment to multilateralism, evidenced, he said, by the decision to supply vaccines to over 100 nations, provide disaster relief to those in distress, and partner with other countries, with a focus on green growth, better connectivity, digital delivery and accessible health.

Mr. Jaishankar declared that India is filling gaps in humanitarian needs in nearby countries and regions, mentioning the supplies of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and multiple tranches of medicines and vaccines sent to Afghanistan, the extension of $3.8 billion worth of credit to Sri Lanka for fuel, essential commodities and trade settlement, and the supply of 10,000 metric tons of food aid and vaccine shipments to Myanmar.

Whose side are we on?

Turning to the war in Ukraine, Mr. Jaishankar raised the question of whether India sides with Ukraine or Russia.

“India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there,” he said. “We are on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles. We are on the side that calls for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out”.

He went on to note that, with food, fuel, and fertilizer costs rising, it is in the interests of the international community to work constructively to find an early resolution to the war. 

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